26/02/2017 London News

Good evening, I'm Alice Bhandhukravi.

Five people were injured this morning after being hit

by a car, which then ploughed into a wall in Lewisham.

Three of them are in a critical condition.

Police picked through the wreckage, puzzling over how this high-powered

Mercedes ended up crashed into a tree.

Eyewitnesses say the car wash was at the centre of the drama,

It's unclear if the driver at the time was the owner,

or if this was an attempted carjacking.

Somebody just jumped into the driver's side,

took the car, went up towards the traffic lights,

turned around behind me and five people were standing to the left

of the yellow bollards and basically smashed into the people.

There was two men flat on their back on the floor,

and another lady, they'd moved her, had her sitting upright,

and they were shaking her, trying to get her to wake up.

And there was two guys, one bleeding from his head.

Five people were injured, four men and a woman,

Three of them, including the woman, remain in a critical

The driver was arrested at the scene by an off duty police officer

on suspicion of causing serious injury by dangerous driving.

He was also arrested on suspicion of drink-driving.

He too was taken to hospital with a head injury.

The incident caused traffic problems through the day

in south-east London, with dozens of buses diverted.

Police are still appealing for witnesses to an incident which left

Council tax is set to rise in most parts of London to fund social care.

London councils predict a shortfall of ?600 million by the year 2020.

Dan Freedman went to Greenwich, which is raising its tax

by the maximum allowed, to see how the money

It's been an arduous journey for Gerald, to be able

In November last year, after struggling for some time

with a throat infection and feeling short of breath,

A day later he was in a coma, which lasted for two weeks.

Back at home now, he's still recovering.

Which makes up close to seven weeks in hospital and that time,

especially the time when I was in the coma,

I've lost pretty much, yes, my ability to walk around.

Greenwich Council provided free daily care for Gerald at home,

including physiotherapy, occupational therapy and help with

But to pay for care like this, Greenwich are now putting

up their council tax by 4.99% - the maximum amount allowed.

For an average banded taxpayer, it's about an extra ?1

But the whole problem with this debate is why should it be right

that people like Gerald, people from the wartime generation

who helped create this country, now have to pay for this locally?

The government is under pressure to come up

It's obviously an issue around funding and the government has

agreed to a further 3% allowance on top of what they can raise.

Thousands of people were in Trafalgar Square this

evening for the UK premiere of an Iranian film which has been

Its director, Asghar Farhadi, is boycotting the awards ceremony,

which takes place tonight, in protest at the travel ban

The Mayor of London joined those supporting the director.

And what's really important is the fact that people around

the world, at a time when others are talking about banning people,

A few showers going through into the first part of the night.

A bit of clear sky north-west of London.

The mixture we had today of cloud and some sunny spells,

that will be a familiar theme this week as it's rather unsettled and it

will feel rather chilly, particularly in the breeze.

We'll have that from the outset tomorrow.

Perhaps dry at first, but quite quickly some showers get going.

They could be heavy, thundery, with some hail mixed in as well,

and it will feel chilly towards the end of the day.

So a busy week, rather unsettled and a bit on the cool side.