27/02/2018 London News

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Good evening from BBC London News.

There are concerns over

the diagnosis and treatment

of breast cancer in the capital.

Women in Greater London

are the least likely to be screened

and early detection rates lag

behind other regions.

The findings have been revealed

in a major new report by MPs

and a leading cancer charity.

Tolu Adeoye reports.

So, my mum's had breast cancer,

my aunt's had breast cancer,

I've had breast cancer.

And in my family in total,

12 members of the family

have had breast cancer.

Toral's family know more than most

how important detecting

cancer early can be.

She found a lump while checking her

own breasts, but said her mother

She had three tumours.

was saved by screening.

She had three tumours.

They were the size of peas,

and they wouldn't have been able

to be felt through self-examination,

so it's so important

she went for screening.

Because if she had waited,

if she thought she was too busy now,

which she nearly did,

it might have been too late.

The figures are stark.

Every year around 11,500 women

die from breast cancer.

That's nearly 1000

deaths each month.

And this is concerning in London

because here the attendance rate

at screenings was the lowest

in England's last year.

Just 64% of women who were invited

to a screening attended within six

months, and that falls well short

of the national target of 70%.

Screening is offered to women aged

between 50 and 70 years old.

The vast majority of women survive

for at least five years

if it is caught at the earliest

stages, but statistics show women

are less likely to go for breast

screening appointments in London.

Why?

We know women in London are very

busy, and that it can be

very difficult to attend

a screening appointment.

We've also seen that women tend

to be more transient in London.

So, they move house more regularly,

and if they are registering

with a GP, that can mean

their screening

invitation is delayed.

But we also know London has

higher rates of BME women,

and there are some cultural

sensitivities around talking

about breast screening,

talking about breast cancer,

and that can make it much more

difficult for women to attend.

There is some good news.

Although still below

the national average overall,

more women are taking up screening

in London than ever before.

Tower Hamlets had one of the lowest

uptake rates across the country,

but following a number

of interventions, there's been

significant improvement.

They include offering people

a second appointment if they don't

respond to the first invite,

calling people up before

an appointment, and also going out

into the community to remind people

how important it is

to go for screenings.

NHS England says it's helping local

areas to improve the consistency

of service for patients

across the country.

Toral says awareness is vital.

It's so important to talk about it,

so other people are conscious of it

and know to check themselves and go

for screenings so they can

be diagnosed earlier.

Tolu Adeoye, BBC London News.

Two men have died in a fire

in a flat above a shop

in South West London.

Flames ripped through the property

in Tolworth in the early hours.

Five other people were taken

to hospital for smoke inhalation.

An investigation's begun

into how the blaze started.

Let down by prison management -

that's the claim by the family

of an inmate who recently

took his own life

at Wormwood Scrubs.

It comes months after a damning

report found numerous

failings at the prison.

Marc Ashdown has more.

Just four weeks ago,

an inmate at Wormwood Scrubs

was stabbed to death.

Outside, we spoke to

worried relatives of other

prisoners at visiting time.

I'm terrified what's

going to happen next.

Whoever's been visiting today,

they are all really shocked.

This is Sarah today.

Tragically, her partner died

at the prison on Friday.

He took his own life.

She believes the authorities

let him down.

They could have done more, yes,

cos I was concerned and they said

to me that they would monitor him

every day, and I don't

think that was true.

So, he was on hunger strike?

Yes.

And I don't think that was true,

that he was getting monitored.

Her partner was jailed

after he became abusive

in a betting shop last year.

After a short sentence,

he was due to be deported

to his native Sri Lanka.

He had been refusing to eat.

The Prison Service has

offered its sincere condolences

and says a full independent

investigation will be carried out.

CHANTING:

No more prison deaths!

Protesters outside Wormwood Scrubs

earlier this month again raised

concerns about conditions inside.

Repeated inspections have

flagged staff shortages

and high levels of violence.

Families just want to know

prisoners are safe.

London prisons take

people from local courts,

and there is a churn of people

coming in and out,

so people will come in on remand

or for short periods of time,

or until they are transferred

to a longer term prison.

So there are people coming

and going every day in huge numbers.

That puts a great strain

on the prison because the staff

don't know the prisoners.

They are awash with drugs, vermin,

they are overcrowded, filthy,

under-resourced, understaffed.

They are not safe.

My partner was a loving

person, and...

I loved him too much,

and he shouldn't have...

He shouldn't have died.

He shouldn't, he shouldn't.

I just...

I just wish he was

with me, that's all.

Mark Ashdown, BBC London News.

More now on the disruption

to the travel network

today due to the weather.

While it wasn't as widespread

as expected - commuters

in Essex and Kent did face

delays and cancellation.

As our Transport Correspondent

Tom Edwards reports.

This time-lapsed footage

from a tower block shows a snowstorm

engulf the Greenwich peninsula.

Blizzards and snow showers came

and went throughout the day

in London and the Home Counties.

Sometimes it was localised,

sometimes thick.

It meant Central London looked more

like Moscow at times.

And out in Essex, commuters this

morning faced cancellations

and delays on the trains.

It is annoying that it got

cancelled at the last

minute, when you have got

here, especially when...

I have planned this,

for, like, a month.

They are doing OK, aren't they?

The main trains are going through,

they are working, it is just

the little stations that

are struggling at the moment.

An amended timetable

was brought in by Network Rail

and the train companies.

They thinned out services, it meant

that they could use more of these.

I think we were right to make

contingency plans and also to warn

customers what they were going to be

and what the levels

of service were going to be.

I also think we are quite right,

now, when the weather has not proved

as bad as it was predicted,

to start reinstating services.

At some stations like Chelmsford,

it took over an hour to get

on a train as they were full and TfL

rail also suffered.

On the roads, ice did mean some

tricky driving conditions in places

and longer journeys.

The M20 was just gridlocked.

We tried to go some

backstreets and basically

it was just even worse.

Most transport in the capital has

not been badly affected.

Yet.

Although there will still be

apprehension from commuters

about what lies ahead

later this week.

Tom Edwards, BBC London News.

You might remember these

toys from the late 90s.

But for one east Londoner Furbies

have proved to be somewhat

of a musical inspiration

and online hit.

Our own Furby, well Gareth Furby,

has been to meet the inventor.

And his report does contains

some flashing images.

We're inside a disused building off

the Mile End Road in East London

to meet a 27-year-old called Sam

Battle.

He's rapidly filling this

room with electronic

inventions he's built himself.

They are musical instruments, often

made out of other people's junk.

When I'm very lucky,

I find it on the streets.

I've never been shy of diving

into a skip when I see one.

He's starting to make a bit

of a name for himself,

taking his inventions on tour,

so here are his top three.

In third place, the musical bike.

With a synthesiser and

a drum machine on it.

In second place, the megadrone.

I call it a megadrone

because one pitch would be

a drone going "uuuhhhh",

but this is 100 of them.

But even that can't compare to his

newest and most ambitious creation.

At number one...

This is a Furby Organ.

It takes 45 Furbies.

I've found them in charity

shops, car-boot sales.

Each of the Furbies

are assigned a note,

and they are assigned a key to sing,

so they are singing in tune.

Of course, for someone

who shares the name Furby,

which has been traced back

to medieval Yorkshire but was then

adopted by a toy company,

this is all quite fascinating.

But even Sam admits he may

have created something

a little unpleasant.

I've made a monstrosity.

What have I done?!

But it's already a viral hit

on the internet, and soon they'll be

joining him on tour.

Gareth Furby, BBC London News.

I'll say goodnight now,

and let's get that all important

weather check from Stav Danaos.

What's the latest?

What's the latest?

All the snow showers have been

piling in from the east.

They are

showers, which is why some areas

have seen lots of snow and others

haven't seen so much. Tomorrow is

looking bitterly cold, probably the

coldest day of the week with further

snow showers. Tonight 's concerns a

pretty frequent prolonged snow

showers across the east of the

region, particularly of Kent, East

Anglia and the Thames estuary. An

amber warning has been issued.

Further inland shouldn't be so bad

but snow showers working in land and

it will be a very cold night.

Tomorrow, we have yellow warnings in

force for further snow showers but

fewer than the last few days. The

odd passing one with good spells of

sunshine and the wind will be

strong, bitterly cold. The maximum

temperatures, but add in the wind

and it will feel much colder. It is

set to stay bitterly cold to the end

of the week as wind picks up to gale

force as we