Crime

MOVIEGOERS will finally be able to watch a film about John Lennon's teenage years that was partially shot in Pinner.
Scenes from the feature about The Beatle's early life in Liverpool, called 'Nowhere Boy', were recorded in March last year in Woodhall Gate and High Street, Pinner, and at the North Harrow Methodist Church in George V Avenue.
However, despite a nationwide release on Boxing Day, the film was not being shown at the nearest picturehouse, Vue cinema in St George's Shopping Centre, St Ann's Road, Harrow, due to "limited screen capacity".
However, the company scheduled screenings after the Observer alerted them to the missed opportunity.
The 88-minute long film, rated 15, can be seen twice a day on weekday and once a day at weekends.

Thieves tried to remove the alloy wheels of a BMW sitting in the driveway of a house in Winchester Drive, Pinner, between 10pm on Tuesday (03/11) and 4.30am the following day.
The vehicle's 37 year old owner told police the wheel nuts had been loosened and eight paving bricks were missing from his drive.

A postman has pleaded guilty to masturbating in front of a girl in broad daylight.

Married stepfather-of-three Dean Richens, 38, of Greenway, Pinner, indecently exposed himself in Copse Wood, Northwood, on April 1 at 2.40pm, Uxbridge Magistrates' Court heard on Friday (17).

A MAN who hired an escort to help him celebrate his birthday allegedly held a gun to her head and waved a Samurai sword at her.

Janardan Ganesh, 27, of Argyle Road, North Harrow, hired Aijamal Abdieva - who went by the name Sienna - from Bubbles Escort Agency on August 11 last year.

When she arrived at his flat at Postmasters Lodge, Exchange Walk, Pinner, everything was going well at first, Harrow Crown Court heard today (Wed).

However, Ganesh, who had been drinking vodka and orange, then started acting strangely.

The prosecution described how he asked her to go the bedroom with him and when she asked why he told her to shut up and became aggressive.

He then left the living room, but when he did not return she decided to go and look for him. She found him in the bedroom and at that stage he went over to his wardrobe and pulled out a gun and put it to her head.

Not knowing it was a toy gun, she became scared for her life.

He put the gun back and went back to the living room where he removed a Samurai sword from the shelf and began waving it at her in a cutting motion.

When he put the sword down she managed to escape from the flat and rejoined her driver.

Ganesh was later charged with possessing an imitation firearm with intent to cause fear of violence and affray, but denied both the charges.

The trial continues.

A MAN has been arrested and charged following alleged driving offences in the Ruislip and Northwood area.

Martin Anthony Cassidy, 18, of Greenway, Pinner, was arrested on Saturday (18).

He was later charged with driving a motor vehicle dangerously, driving whilst disqualified and driving without insurance on Ickenham Road, Field End Road, Joel Street, Uxbridge Road, Green Lane, Watford Road and High Street, Northwood, as well as failing to stop at a road accident on Watford Road.

He appeared at Uxbridge Magistrates' Court on yesterday (20) and has been remanded in custody to appear at Isleworth Crown Court on May 22.

A wanted criminal was given nearly two years in prison after he went on the run for eight months following a double stabbing in Pinner.

Phillip Wilson, 44, of Hemel Hempstead, fled the King George IV pub in Marsh Road, last January, after stabbing one man in the stomach and slashing another in the ear.

The attack, on men aged 52 and 20, left the pair needing urgent treatment at Northwick Park Hospital, where at first the older man's injuries were thought to be life threatening.

Fortunately they both recovered, but it was later discovered there was no security on the door of the pub when the stabbing took place at about 7.30pm on January 11.

But the weapon, a, kitchen knife with a four-inch blade, was found at the scene by forensic teams and the search for Wilson began.

He was then hunted by police for eight months before he was finally caught, thanks to an appeal on BBC television programme Crimewatch UK. The programme showed pictures of Wilson on September 11 and within two days he was arrested by Bedford Police and transferred back to Harrow.

Originally he pleaded not guilty to all charges and was set to stand trial this week.

However, he changed his plea at the 11th hour and was convicted of grievious bodily harm (GBH) and actual bodily harm (ABH) at Harrow Crown Court last Tuesday.

Judge Ronald Moss ordered Wilson to serve 20 months in jail for GBH and six months for ABH to be served concurrently, meaning he could be out in less than a year.

Ruth Boff, a spokeswoman for The Pinner Association, a group which looks after the interests of the residents in the village, said: "The Pinner Association congratulates the authorities on finding the man and we hope that this will act as a deterrent against violence in Pinner.

"It's a shock that something like this happened in the pub, but fortunately there has been no trouble there since and its reputation has improved vastly since the attack."

Alloys wheels were stolen from a BMW left overnight on a driveway.

The 40-year-old owner of Parkview, Pinner, awoke last Friday to find his blue car without wheels. The theft is believed to have occurred between 10.30pm on the Thursday 26 and 8am on Friday 27.

A Pinner man was stabbed in the stomach in the early hours of Saturday morning, sending shockwaves through the village.

The 24-year-old victim suffered non life-threatening injuries after the attack outside Grove Avenue, Pinner, just before 2am.

Two men, aged 22 and 24, have been arrested on suspicion of causing grievious bodily harm (GBH) with intent and have been bailed until next month.

News of the stabbing has come as a surprise to residents in the area, but some are concerned that these incidents are no longer as infrequent as they used to be.

Ian Sutton, 31, of Cannon Lane, Pinner, said: "It seems that this kind of thing is happening a lot more recently than it ever used to.

"By and large Pinner is a safe place to live and go out, but incidents like this are becoming a real worry.

"Unfortunately I think this kind of thing is becoming more and more of a problem everywhere and as much as we might like to think Pinner is immune to it, it clearly isn't."

Before the start of the new year Pinner saw a spate of serious incidents.

Two separate fights outside The Victory in the High Street saw a handful of arrests for GBH, while in November a 24-year-old man was stabbed in the chest with a kitchen knife in Pinner Hill Road.

Also, a 44-year-old man is due to stand trial next month, after an alleged double stabbing in The George pub in Marsh Lane.

But not everyone feels Pinner has ever been as trouble-free as some might think, despite its quaint image.

Councillor John Nickolay (Conservative), a councillor for Pinner South, said: "Obviously this is very bad news for Pinner and everyone is horrified by this kind of incident.

"Although I hope this is an isolated incident I have to say that when I first came to represent the area 10 years ago it was apparent even then that the area had problems on Friday and Saturday nights.

"I, like many others, always thought it was a very quiet place but there is a lot more nuisance there than you might think."

The Pinner owner of an expensive BMW car woke up to find his X5 propped up by bricks with all four wheels stolen during the night.

It is thought the wheels were taken between 10.30pm on Friday and 7am on Saturday, while the car was left on the owners driveway in Malpas Drive.

Anyone with information can contact Harrow Police on 020 8423 1212 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

Passengers can quiz British Transport Police (BTP) officers next week about crime and safety on the Jubilee line.

The Jubilee Line Neighbourhood Policing Team - comprising one sergeant, two constables and two PCSOs - has been patrolling the line and stations between Stanmore and St Jonh's Wood stops since its launch in August.

They will take questions at the conference room at Wembley Park London Underground Station, Bridge Road, Wembley, on Thursday 5 February from 7pm onwards. It will the second such public Q&A the team has held.

PC Matt Dobbs said: "The neighbourhood team means we can respond to issues and needs more easily, as well as making people feel safer using the Tube.

"We are easy to contact and always welcome feedback from the community.

"These meetings give passengers the opportunity to highlight issues of concern and discuss them with us. ItÕs always very helpful to speak to people face-to-face."

Tunde Taiwo, group station manager for the London Underground's Willesden Green Group, said: "Our staff work closely with the BTP Neighbourhood Policing Teams and whilst crime remains low on our network we know it's important to talk with our passengers as well as the communities that live and work close to our Tube station.

"We are fully supportive of these meetings and hope they'll help everyone move around more confidently and safely across our network."

n Anyone who is unable to attend but would like to share comments can email the Jubilee Line NPT by email at Jubileelinenorth.npt@btp.pnn.police.uk