Local Authority

Schools have been warned to be on the lookout for fraudsters posing as classified directory Yellow Pages after a scam was uncovered in Westminster.

Conmen have been tricking innocent victims into parting with £499 or £599 a time to place adverts for what they were told was an online entry in The Yellow Pages, although the company, which calls itself The Yellow Pages 24, has no connections to the genuine directory.

Toys brought smiles to the faces of dozens of children who are spending the festive period at a Paddington hospital.

Westminster mayor Cllr Duncan Sandys and his wife Mary Brown Sandys set up a toy drive, encouraging council employees and councillors to donate brand new toys to children at St Mary's Hospital, in Praed Street.

Motorists visiting Westminster on Boxing Day will be charged to park in council bays.

Westminster Council is instead offering free parking on Monday, December 28 - the country's official bank holiday.

An 'eyesore' North Paddington wall has been transformed with a beautiful mural.

The 10-metre wide painting, based on the theme 'transformation', was revealed on a wall by the Elgin Estate, in Harrow Road, last night.

A by-election contested in the Queen's Park ward has been won by the Labour candidate.

Cllr Patricia McAllister will join current ward members Cllr Barrie Taylor and Cllr Paul Dimoldenberg, who is also the Westminster Labour group leader.

Controls which aim to tackle nuisance dogs have come into force in Queen's Park and Pimlico.

Dog control orders have been introduced in the Queen's Park ward and on the Churchill Gardens Estate, in Pimlico, by Westminster Council.

Work has just begun on a new natural wonderland in Queen's Park.

Residents on the Mozart Estate, in Third Avenue, worked with housing organisation CityWest Homes on the designs of the playground which will have a natural theme.

Months of disruption could face parts of Paddington as lorries begin removing earth to make way for the Crossrail tunnel.

Campaigners fear an increase in traffic, excessive noise and vibrations and a rise in pollution levels as work gets under way on the new Berkshire to Essex rail link.

Supermarket giant Tesco has been accused of killing local businesses as it plans to open a fourth store in Marylebone.

Independent traders fear a massive drop in trade when a branch of Tesco Express is launched in George Street, adding to the pressure already felt from three existing stores in Baker Street, Marylebone High Street and Melcombe Street.

A tribute afternoon will be held in memory of Cllr Mushtaq Qureshi.

The popular Queen's Park ward councillor, who died last month, will be remembered at the Beethoven Centre, in Third Avenue, on Sunday, November 29.