31/07/2017 London News

An 82 year-old grandmother who was attacked on her own doorstep

after being targeted by a female stranger says it was

Catherine Smith, who was strangled with a dog lead, says

she wants her attacker caught before it happens again to

She's been speaking to Tolu Adayoye about her ordeal.

I pushed the door and as I pushed the door she pushed it back on me

and then she knocked me down on the floor.

She grabbed me and said, give me your money,

82-year-old Catherine Smith was attacked on her own doorstep

last week in what police have described as a vicious

Now recovering at her home in Streatham, she believes

she could have lost her life that day if she hadn't fought back.

It's an instinct, you know what I mean.

She grabbed me and I grabbed her because I really had a go

at her as best I could, you know what I mean.

I was surprised how strong I was in my left hand

because I've got arthritis in the fingers and that.

But I grabbed hold of anything I could get hold of.

Police believe the suspect saw Catherine here in

Palace Road Nature Gardens while she was out on her mobility

She then a followed Catherine home, repeatedly asking her for money.

When Catherine tried to go inside her home,

When that was refused she became aggressive,

pushed the front door open, causing Catherine to fall back

She then grabbed Catherine's dog lead and started to strangle her.

I thought, no, I'm not having this, I'm not going to die here.

So I got hold of the lead and I pulled it down quick

She has been described as a black woman, about 5'5" tall,

She was wearing a khaki coloured zipped coat,

I got here and open the door and there was blood all up

the side of the stairs, all up the banister.

Catherine's son said it crucial she's caught before

She's beat my mum black and blue for ?60.

And she needs to be taken to hospital.

She's done this to my mum, she could do it to anyone else.

Press the green button for about five seconds

Catherine now has a panic alarm but she's worried for those

She is urging anyone with information to contact the police.

I mean I'm vulnerable enough but people that

are worse than I am, you know, that won't

If I hadn't have done that, she'd have strangled me to death.

There are reports of a serious disturbance tonight

Riot trained officers have been sent the male prison.

The Ministry of Justice says there is an ongoing incident

but the facility is secure and there is no risk to the public.

Adina Campbell has the latest from Bovingdon.

What is the latest you are hearing? In the last hour or so the Ministry

of Justice has confirmed to us that this disturbance has now been

resolved and authorities are back in control here. The emergency teams

were called at around two o'clock this to new after reports of a

serious disturbance. Specially trained prison officers were called

to two wings which housed up to 230 inmates but we know that the

Ministry of Justice has told us that significantly fewer inmates were

involved in the disturbance. There have been reports recently of a

concern about staff shortages and the day to day running of the prison

but Mount prison is a category C prison, category A being home to the

most dangerous criminals, it is home to more than a thousand prisoners

and has been open since 1987. A recent inspection in 2015 found the

prison was performing well but there will be concerns tonight and ongoing

questions about how peaceful the prison will stay. Many thanks.

EU countries have until midnight to bid to host two agencies,

currently based in Canary Wharf, that will move after Brexit.

Between them, they employ just over a thousand staff.

Sonja Jessup is here with more details.

Given these are European agencies, this was on the cards

That's right. We are leaving the EU after all and losing the European

medicines agency which monitors the safety of medicines and the European

banking authority that deals with banking rules but you only have to

look at the competition this has sparked between different countries

to get an idea of what we could be missing out on. They are pitching

with glossy brochures, promotional videos, it has been likened to the

Eurovision Song Carr says -- contest. The agencies employed

around a thousand highly skilled staff, and of course they come with

their families and bring a lot of business. 36,000 visitors came to

the BMA in 2015, that is 30 dozen hotel nights between -- to the EMA.

There has been a lot of talk of companies relocating so put this in

context. It is a blow but we should be cautious about seeing this as the

start of some sort of mass exodus. It is true that some banks have

looked at moving out of the capital but the Centre for London think tank

says we should be cautious at seeing this as an example of that with

these agencies and it is not a typical example.

It was inevitable once we voted to leave the EU that these agencies

What they do remind us of is the huge contribution that

high skilled organisation businesses like these make to London

London is a tenth of the population roughly,

a court of the economic activity, a third tax take so we can't afford

to lose these really important high skilled businesses.

He went on to say that he thinks this is where a transitional deal is

needed as soon as possible to stop as falling off a cliff edge as he

said. As for the agencies and their staff, they are waiting to find out

where their jobs are going to go and it is understood there are around 20

countries involved in the bidding process. Frankfurt is thought to be

the favourite to host the EBA but we have to wait until November to find

out. Thank you. A study by two London universities

says offering routine HIV tests to people when they register

with a new GP in high risk areas could be cost

effective and save lives. One charity is calling

on healthcare commissioners Tom was diagnosed with HIV six years

ago after a routine screening They kept calling me and calling me

and I didn't want to pick up because I was on holiday and having

a good time. And I finally gave in and picked up

and they told me I had It wasn't really the best way

to find out I don't think. He would have preferred to have

been told by his GP. I think I would have preferred

to have found out about my HIV diagnosis from a doctor in person,

the doctor that is just around the corner from our house rather

than having to go into the city I think if we are doing HIV testing

clinics in GP surgeries, that normalises HIV testing as well

and it puts it in the same bracket as diabetes and I think

that's good for everyone. A simple finger prick test

which costs the NHS around ?25 is all that's needed to find out

whether you are HIV positive or not. But, despite this, it is thought

more than 13,000 people in the UK are living with the virus that

causes AIDS and don't yet know it. A trial by two London universities

involving nearly 90,000 people from 40 GP surgeries tested how

effective it would be to offer finger prick testing

when registering with a GP. They found it led to a fourfold

increase in the HIV diagnosis rate. Now they are calling for HIV tests

to be offered to everyone registering with a new GP living

in a high-risk area and here in London that would mean making

them available to people Having an HIV test at your surgery

will allow you to have access to excellent treatment but then also

prevent you from passing But with estimated roll-out costs

of around ?4 million and huge pressures on NHS budgets already,

health bosses will have to decide whether this is an area where much

needed cash should be spent. I'll wish you a very goodnight now

and leave you with Wendy The weather for the week ahead is

the second week of the unsettled conditions but that does mean we

will have some bright and bright spells but with that some rain and

it will be somewhat breezy. Not all bad even in this unsettled spell,

this was the London sky with a few clouds tonight and the shower

bearing clouds kept a bit away from us. One or two across Kent but most

of north-west London across Hertfordshire and Buckinghamshire

and ethics and the capital itself stayed largely in the sunshine --

Essex. It will be clear and dry mostly tonight with temperatures

falling back to around ten to 13 degrees and we will start the

morning with some sunshine. Once again, the cloud will start to

bubble up but we are looking for the same places with the showers,

Berkshire and Buckinghamshire and Hertfordshire and one or two heavy

showers. London and south-east of Beckham 's Ntep and temperatures up

to 23 degrees. -- and South East of there. The breeze will pick up on

Wednesday and the rain comes in in the evening and overnight and it

will be heavy going through and we'd resume with the sunshine and showers

at the end of the week. As for the weekend, we will have bright and

breezy conditions, mostly dry and the temperatures will be average

with high pressure building on Sunday.

with high pressure building on Sunday. Now the National forecast

with Nick Miller. Another summer months nearly gone but let's face

it, the weather has not covered itself in glory in the past few

weeks, just a few moments of summer sunshine. It was Merseyside today

and in Kent, they might avoid the showers tomorrow but the rest is not

so lucky. Sometimes the showers fade away through the evening and the

night and some have but some continue as you see in the past few

hours in the western UK and there is a threat later in the night and the

first part of tomorrow of some more prolonged, intense downpours in

parts of north-west England and Wales so be aware of that. Elsewhere

it is mainly dry with some clear spells and temperatures lower than

this rate -- away from town and city centres so tempted into single

figures. Some sunshine to start the day tomorrow, a