20/12/2016 London News

of the German flag in tribute to those who lost their lives

A ?20,000 reward is being offered by police to help solve the mystery

of the disappearance of a 16-year-old 30 years ago.

Kevin Hicks from Croydon went to the shops and never came home.

Detectives now believe he may have been murdered.

They're appealing for an unnamed woman, who called a local newspaper

a decade after he disappeared, to come forward.

The last photo of a missing schoolboy.

16-year-old Kevin Hicks went missing from his home in Croydon

His disappearance in 1986 prompted a huge search effort from police

Maybe he's run away and we're looking for him, but maybe something

30 years on, and for those missing this 16-year-old boy,

He was only going down the road to buy some eggs.

He had a pound on him and that was it.

In October 1996, the Croydon Advertiser newspaper took

an anonymous phone call about his case.

Now, following a review, police have announced

When police reviewed the case earlier this year

First of all, the night that Kevin disappeared he told his parents

he was going to a local shop to buy some eggs, yet an hour-and-a-half

later he was seen here on Shirley Road for the last time,

leading police to believe he may have been meeting someone.

Secondly, he had received some speakers from an anonymous person

days before his disappearance, something he tried to

Thirdly, there was the anonymous call to the Croydon Advertiser

newspaper ten years after his disappearance, suggesting

that that person knew the location his body was buried.

Police now believe he had been groomed and perhaps

When this disappearance is viewed with a grooming aspect in mind it

does raise suspicions that he met with foul play that night.

There was a huge police response at the time and massive area

searching around south Croydon and lower Addiscombe.

Now we're being more intelligence-led and evidence-led

and that's why we are basing this appeal now.

Investigators believe whoever called the Croydon Advertiser 20 years ago

What I would appeal to is the person that made that call

I believe that person has some very specific information

as to what happened to Kevin's body that night and I would urge them

Make that phone call. You know what happened that night.

Ring the police. Get that secret told.

Just come forward. Let me have closure.

That's all I'm asking. I just need closure.

Alexandra Hicks ending that report by Dan Freedman.

The mayor, Sadiq Khan, says he wants to reassure Londoners

and tourists that the capital is still one of the safest

It follows yesterday's lorry attack on a Christmas market in Berlin.

Let's get more from Ayshea Buksh who's outside City hall tonight.

The German Embassy in London lowered its flags to half-mast today and

from tomorrow afternoon there will be a book of condolence open in

memory of the victims of the attack in Berlin for the public to sign.

Here at City Hall the mayor has said that London stands shoulder to

shoulder with Berlin and any concerns Londoners or visitors to

the capital may have over security are being looked at very seriously.

I would reassure Londoners and those visiting London

that the Met Police Service and others are doing

The Met Police are currently reviewing safety and security around

events like Winter Wonderland, around events like the New Year's

Eve fireworks, around markets taking place across London.

Scotland Yard have said in addition to reviewing those festive events

they've also brought forward plans to close roads around Buckingham

Palace during the changing of the guard. They point out these plans

were being considered before the attack in Germany but in light of

events in Berlin they're being brought forward. London Fire Brigade

has also pointed out they would be prepared for any potential terrorist

attack here in the capital. Earlier we spoke to the outgoing commission

error for the NFB. There were useful lessons to come out of 7/7, we have

learned those, we have new equipment, firefighters have new

skills than previously. I am confident that we are as best

prepared as we can be without knowing what the next attack is

going to be and unfortunately that next attack will come at sometime.

Scotland Yard has said that the threat remains severe here in the UK

but the public should be alert but not alarmed.

Thank you. Next, it can be a vital lifeline

for frail and vulnerable people, but with pressure on budgets

a growing number of councils are cutting their meals on wheels

services to save money. However, one County Council

is increasing the number of meals it delivers,

which it claims will Yvonne Hall reports

from Hertfordshire. Hi.

Do come in. Margaret has very painful

osteoarthritis, she can't cook A hot, balanced meal delivered

to her home in Harpenden in Hertfordshire every day helps

the former secretary stay well I don't have to worry

working in the kitchen And someone is checking on me every

day to make sure that I am perfectly all right,

which means an awful lot to me. Because I have no family

to check on me at all. How's your appetite been

since I last saw you? Regular health checks

are included in the service. It's run by Hertfordshire

County Council and Hills, Staff have found that more

than a third of the people referred to them are at serious

risk of malnutrition. In a recent survey of more than 800

clients like Margaret, 87% said 76% visit their GPs less

and about 93% feel happier Despite budget cuts,

Hertfordshire's now providing more of them than anywhere else

in the UK. The health checks

included are unique. If the people that we serve meals

on wheels to were to go into care it It's estimated we could spend

?40 million more per year on residential care,

if we didn't pay for the meals on wheels service

which is just ?1 million. But elsewhere, meals on wheels have

been drastically cut, some fear it's leading

to an increase in malnutrition. In 2014, 67% of councils in the

south-east provided meals on wheels. This year, that's

fallen to just 17%. It's estimated that more

than a million people over 65 in the UK are now suffering

malnutrition or are That's 10% of the

elderly population. I think it's a very,

very sad state of affairs for our country because it didn't

used to be like this. With the number of over 65s

predicted to rise by nearly 50% in the next 20 years,

the need to ensure basic nourishment and care will continue to challenge

hard-pressed council budgets. She's the UK soul singer

Beverley Knight and he's the Grammy-winning jazz

singer-songwriter Gregory Porter. Together they're hosting a gospel

inspired Christmas at the Church Our entertainment correspondent

Brenda Emmanus went And how much has music always been

a part of your Christmas experience? I think my mother,

she put on Nat King coal I think my mother,

she put on Nat King Cole That would be spinning on the record

player and at the point at which you're opening your gifts

or first coming into the room and you see the tree,

in a way it's the backdrop, Together with singer and musical

star Beverley Knight, Gregory introduces a feast

of festive music from the cream I don't think this will be the last

time that I work with so many people that I have met during the course

of putting the show together. The show, recorded at the Church

of St John at Hackney, promises to be an uplifting

experience with popular songs I think we've done a really good job

of matching the artist with songs that they will really get stuck

into and really give Well, you can join in this

big spiritual singalong on Christmas Day at 8.30pm on BBC

Two. OK. On that festive note let's check

on the weather with Wendy. Thank you. A beautiful day across

London and still clear skies above us at the moment. It means it's

chilly out there. The temperature has fallen to freezing. However,

it's going to start clouding over soon. Look at what that does to the

temperatures, they're going up through the night, probably higher

than through today underneath that cloud. You can also see that we get

rain starting to come from that cloud as we go through the early

hours of the morning and that takes us through the rush hour, as well.

It's also going to start feeling more breezy. The middle part of the

day, the rain will be out of the way and a brighter slot but it's not for

long because the next batch shows up and that's even more persistent and

heavier and it will take us through the evening rush hour. Temperatures

looking mild but when you factor in the rain and wind it's not going to

feel great. You can see the sunshine returns on Thursday. We will have

blue skies again. Turning breezy by the end of the week. If you are

making a journey elsewhere in the country it's worth knowing the

national forecast. country it's worth knowing the

national forecast. Over now to Tomasz.

So, the weather's going to blow a few