The seasons are turning, and London is coming into its own. As the air turns crisp and jumpers come out, the parks of the capital transform into magnificent tapestries of reds, oranges, and golds. 

It’s the perfect time to pull on your walking boots and explore our green spaces as they shift into autumn. 

From royal parks to woodland trails, London has dozens of routes where you can enjoy the changing leaves up close and personal.

Each one highlights a different side of the city – whether it’s history, a family-friendly stroll, or a quiet corner, there’s a route for everyone.

The Hampstead circular walk 

Tucked away in north London, with cobbled lanes, cosy pubs and Georgian houses, Hampstead feels more like a quaint village than a part of bustling London.

Its charm draws you in long before you step onto the Heath –  a vast landscape of woodlands, meadows, and ponds that provides welcome respite from the febrile energy of the Underground.  

The best way to take it in is the Hampstead Circular walk, which starts in Hampstead village, just up from the Tube station, along Heath Street.

From here, it runs up Holly Hill and Hampstead Grove, passing the Holly Bush, an 18th-century pub that makes a tempting early stop, before reaching the entrance to Hampstead Heath. 

Once on the Heath, the path takes you through a mix of oak-lined trails and open meadows. Make sure to take a breather at the ponds, watch the colours of autumn ripple on the surface, and look out for brave swimmers.

A highlight of the route is the climb to Parliament Hill, one of London’s best natural viewpoints, where you can catch a panoramic view of the city skyline.  

You could also head north to Kenwood House, a stately home with landscaped gardens, and stop at the Brewhouse café for a matcha. 

The route then loops back towards Hampstead village, passing Keats House – a must for literature lovers – and Burgh House, before finishing on Flask Walk.

End with a well-earned pint (or even a full Sunday roast) at the Flask pub, the perfect reward after completing the trail.

Duration: Around 4km, taking most walkers 1–1.5 hours.

Difficulty: Moderate – a couple of steep hills, but nothing too demanding.

Getting there: Start at Hampstead Underground Station (Northern line).

Best stop-off: The Flask Hampstead, a gastropub at the walk’s end that claims to serve the best Sunday roast in North London –  a worthy reward.

Little Venice to Camden Lock 

Little Venice and Camden Lock have a distinct charm during autumn.

Flanked by the Regents Canal, the walk between them offers fresh air,  picturesque houseboats and small businesses, before ending at Camden’s bustling food market. 

Start your journey at Paddington station: Regent’s Canal and signs to ‘Little Venice’ should be in view immediately. If you’d like a coffee in hand, Darcy and May Green is a nearby brunch spot serving takeaway drinks. 

You’ll find Little Venice at the junction where Grand Union and Regent’s Canal meet. From here, follow the path east all the way to Camden Lock.  

Along the water, you’ll pass restaurants and bars worth the detour, as well as the Puppet Theatre Barge – always a hit if you’ve brought little ones along.

Keep going and you’ll come across Café Laville, an Italian spot on a bridge with views over the canal.

As you near Monkey Valley and London Zoo, you’re almost at your destination. A sharp bend in the canal signals Camden is just ahead, where terrace bars and street food stalls make the perfect place to refuel after your walk.

Duration: About 3.3km (2 miles), roughly 1 hour on foot.

Difficulty: Easy – an accessible, gentle stroll for all walkers.

Getting there: Start at Paddington Station and finish at Camden.

Best stop-off: The Puppet Theatre Barge for some mid-walk entertainment, or The Bridge House near Westbourne Terrace for a cosy pint by the canal.

The Tamsin Trail, Richmond Park 

The Tamsin Trail is a walking and cycling route around the perimeter of Richmond Park, London’s largest royal park.

At 11km, it’s no quick stroll, but with ancient woodland, wide meadows and herds of deer, it’s worth the effort.

Most start at Richmond Gate, (a short walk from Richmond station) and head clockwise.

This takes you from Richmond Gate to Pembroke Lodge, where you’ll find views of the Thames Valley, and the Pembroke Lodge cafe. 

From Pembroke Lodge, wander through the woodlands and meadows towards Kingston Gate, this stretch is a prime location for spotting red and fallow deer – residents of the park.

Richmond Park is also a great spot to catch birdlife – keep an eye out for woodpeckers and green parakeets.

Finish up this walk heading up to Richmond Gate, an uphill climb that will reward you with views of St Paul’s Cathedral.  

Duration: 11km (7 miles), roughly 3-4 hours on foot.

Difficulty: Medium – generally accessible and well-marked paths, some hills along the trail.

Getting there: Head to Richmond Station for the closest access to Richmond Gate.

Best stop-off: The Puppet Theatre Barge for some mid-walk entertainment, or The Bridge House near Westbourne Terrace for a cosy pint by the canal.

The Diana Princess of Wales Memorial walk 

Another longer walk through London’s Royal Parks, the 7-mile Tamsin Trail crosses four of the eight parks. It’s circular, so you can start anywhere, though Green Park is recommended.

From there, stroll towards St James’s Park and its lake, then circle back past Buckingham Palace and the Queen Victoria Memorial. Continue through Wellington Arch to Apsley Gate, an entrance to Hyde Park.

A broad walk down to the Four Winds Fountain makes a good resting spot before heading past the Old Police House and up Buck Hill, where you can take in the views of Kensington Palace.

Pass Queen Anne’s Alcove and the fountains of the Italian Gardens, then on to the Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Playground – a perfect stop if you have little ones in tow. 

Fancy a treat? The Orangery offers royal-inspired afternoon tea before you continue past Kensington Palace, taking in the Albert Memorial opposite the Royal Albert Hall.

Finish your loop along the Serpentine, stopping at the gallery if you’re an art lover, passing the Dell Restaurant,  and closing your journey within the tranquility of the Rose Gardens, beautiful even in Autumn, and a peaceful end to a long journey. 

Duration: 11km (7 miles), 3 hours.

Difficulty: Easy – Medium – mostly flat and paved, with the main challenge being the distance.

Getting there: Multiple stations around the route; Green Park or Hyde Park Corner Station are convenient starting points. 

Best stop-off:  For a treat, visit the Orangery; or for a quick coffee or sandwich, the Italian Gardens Café is ideal.

The Hampton Court Barge Walk 

Heading southwest, the Barge walk takes you along the River Thames, from Kingston-upon-Thames to Hampton Court Palace.

This walking and cycling-friendly trail is named after the moored boats that line the riverside, passing Kingston’s lively waterfront, the Thames Sailing Club, and finishing with views of the Palace framed by autumn leaves.

Start near Bushy Park and head towards Kingston; just before the bridge, you’ll find the entrance to the Barge Walk. From there, follow the riverside path all the way down to Hampton Court. Keep an eye out for Ravens Ait and Thames Ditton islands, privately owned stretches of land with beautiful River Houses.

Near the end, you’ll reach Hampton Court Park. If you’re still full of energy,  extend the walk for another angle on the Palace and its gardens, another way to peek into the Palace’s history. 

Duration: About 4.5km (3 miles), roughly 1 to 1.5 hours on foot.

Difficulty: Easy – an accessible, gentle flat path suitable for all walkers.

Getting there: By train, head to either Hampton Wick station or Kingston station.  You can also find parking near Bushy Park.

Best stop-off: The Pistachio Cafe is located in Bushy Park, near the Kingsfield Playground, or the 1910 Coffee House can be found just before the Kingston Bridge.

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Mayor Sadiq Khan has dismissed Donald Trump’s claims that London is crime-ridden as ‘misinformation’.

The US President zeroed in on the Labour mayor during his 55-minute UN speech – saying he’d allowed crime to go ‘through the roof’.

But Khan has hit back, highlighting statistics from the mayor’s office for policing and crime showing a 12% fall in violent offences over the last two years.

Figures also show that since replacing Boris Johnson in 2016, Khan has overseen a 17% fall in the homicide rate.

Mayor Sir Sadiq Khan said: ‘We’ve seen a number of politicians here and across the globe talking down London and spreading misinformation about crime and safety in the capital.

‘The evidence is clear, our approach to tackling crime and its complex causes works. It’s driving down violence right across the capital.’

Trump isn’t the only politician to have accused Khan of overseeing a crime wave in the capital.

Tory MP Robert Jenrick told Times Radio that young Londoners don’t feel that ‘London is a safe city they want to live in’.

Meanwhile, Susan Hall, Crime Spokeswoman for the City Hall Conservatives, has accused Khan of failing to fulfil Labour’s manifesto pledge to ‘take back the streets’.

The mayor’s office figures on violent crime compared the twelve months ending in August with the previous twelve months.

All 32 boroughs saw violent crime fall, with Havering’s 16.3% drop the biggest, followed by Enfield’s 16.1% reduction.

Greenwich saw the smallest decrease of 4.3%, followed by Kensington and Chelsea’s 4.6% fall.

The homicide rate fall was calculated by comparing the twelve months to June this year with the twelve months to May 2016.

Overall homicides in London are at a ten-year low, according to the mayor’s office and better than Paris, Brussels, Berlin, Madrid and all major US cities.

Office for National Statistics data, also showed Londoners are less likely to be a victim of violent crime (26.4 offences per 1,000 population) than across the rest of England and Wales (31.9 offences per 1,000 population).

However, Susan Hall has previously pointed to figures that suggest certain types of crime are rising in the capital.

The Tory politician often highlights knife crime – with research from the Policy Exchange think tank showing  that such offences have risen by nearly 60% in three years.

Metropolitan Police Assistant Commissioner Rachel Williams said: ‘Violence with injury is down in every single borough – a clear sign that our approach is making a difference.

‘Homicide is now at its lowest level in a decade, violent crime resulting in injury has fallen and firearms discharges are less than half what they were seven years ago.’

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On September 28 1975, staff at the Spaghetti House restaurant in Knightsbridge were confronted by a terrifying sight.

Three robbers had stormed into the restaurant, holding a sawn-off shotgun and two handguns demanding that week’s takings of £11,000 (£117,921 in today’s money.)

They barricaded staff in the basement and had a getaway driver at the ready.

But the plan was left in tatters after the alarm was raised by one of the managers who managed to escape their clutches.

More than 400 officers, including firearms teams, later surrounded the building. After holding the hostages for six days they were later released unharmed.

The armed trio were affiliated with Black action groups, later claiming the raid was a political act. But this explanation was dismissed by detectives who treated it as a robbery gone wrong. A court later heard claims that the robbery was launched to raise funds to pay off a gambling debt.

While the restaurant was once known as one of London’s go-to Italian restaurants, it closed in 2015 after the landlord decided to redevelop the block into luxury shops.

However, some locals remember how one of the most affluent neighbourhoods on the planet was transformed into a no-go zone as police with guns, shields and chattering radios surrounded the restaurant on that fateful day.

Faisal, an Egyptian pensioner who lived near the Spaghetti House and still resides in the area just 100 metres from Harrods, told Metro he was told by police to leave his flat in the aftermath of the raid.

He told Metro: ‘It was chaos. There were lots of police sirens and then they all parked up outside the spaghetti house. I used to eat there it was a great place and very popular.

‘A police officer told me to leave my flat as there was an “armed incident”. It was only the next day when I got my paper that I realised what had happened in Knightsbridge of all places.

‘Because I was not directly opposite the restaurant and in the firing line I suppose, they let me return to my flat. All of the locals watched what was going on from behind the police lines though. It was like watching a crime film, it was very surreal.’

He joked: ‘Harrods remained open but I had to go the long way round, which was inconvenient.’

A concierge at a local flat block nearby told Metro: ‘I wasn’t around when the siege happened but my dad was working round the corner at the time.

‘He told us kids what had happened. We were very shocked and he said he and his workmates had been evacuated.

‘It was a big deal at the time. When the Spaghetti House closed I suppose the memories went with it.’

While nearby residents remember the siege as a terrifying attack, for the Met Police it marked the first time they used groundbreaking fibre optic technology to monitor the scene.

Two tiny cameras were placed in the building to film the gunmen, with one being pushed through a vent, while an audio device captured their conversations as it unfolded.

As well as Met hostage negotiators, a psychologist was brought in to analyse them and their threat level.

Through the covert operation, police established the gang leader as Franklin Davies, and began to work up a profile of him.

Davies told officers during negotiations that he was a member of Black Liberation – an organisation modelled on the Black Panthers in the US.

He demanded the release of two black prisoners, even though they had already been freed.

He also requested a visit to the scene from the Home Secretary and an aircraft to facilitate the group’s escape to the West Indies.

The only concession the police allowed was a demand for a radio so the robbers could listen to the way the siege was being reported.

Although police initially categorised the robbery as a terrorist act, the Met Commissioner at the time Sir Robert Mark later dismissed any political motivations.

He later wrote: ‘From the outset it was rightly assumed that this was a simple armed robbery that had gone wrong and any attempts by Davies to represent it as a political act were received with the derision they clearly deserved.’

On October 3, the group gave up and released all the remaining hostages after previously letting two go.

A shot rang out in the building and it emerged that Davies had turned a gun on himself but he was not fatally wounded. He later stood trial alongside his two accomplices.

Davies was sentenced to 22 years while the others – Wesley Dick and Anthony Munroe – were jailed for 18 and 17 years respectively.

Today, the restaurant is an empty space within one of London’s prestigious postcodes, quietly sitting unused and surrounded by shops and whizzing traffic.

While motorists and shoppers passing by might be unaware of the location’s significance, its local residents and workers nearby keep the venue’s history alive.

‘I remember thinking that it was something that we only though happened in America with the armed cops on the rooftops,’ the concierge added.

‘No one really remembers it here, but it’s part of London’s history.’

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Whether your sexual kink involves role play or something a little more unsavoury, like ‘cum walks’, the secret is about to be out.

The biggest sexual kinks for each UK city have been revealed after researchers trawled through Britain’s search history to expose just what get’s us going.

When it comes to Londoners, they’re pretty vanilla, but Leeds and Birmingham both seem to have a slightly unexpected fetish.

The study, conducted by porn site BabeStation, found the top search across the nation was ‘UK models’ when it came to pleasuring themselves, but when it looked at individual cities, there were some naughtier searches taking the crown.

Starting with the capital, Londoners get off on lesbian porn, with the most common search being for ‘girl on girl’ adult content.

It’s not all that surprising given that lesbian porn is also very popular with women, and it was the fourth most searched for category on Pornhub in 2024.

Londoners love getting down and dirty too, although not always responsibly, given the London borough of the City of Westminster has the highest rates of syphilis, gonorrhoea and genital warts per 100,000 people in the country.

In the south, Bristol was also fairly vanilla with ‘couples’ porn being the most searched for. But as we head to the midlands and further north, things start to head up a little.

Birmingham residents have been dipping their toes into some good old fashioned foot fetish content.

Sex therapist Aliyah Moore previously told Metro that food fetishes aren’t uncommon and that happy experiences with our feet early on in life can help shape this kink.

‘Chance sightings of bare feet, positive reinforcement during foot-related activities, or early sexual experiences involving feet could all have been factors,’ Aliyah said.

‘How the particular body part is portrayed in the media or how society views them might influence a person’s tastes and cause a foot fetish.’

A University of Bologna study found 47% percent of body part fetishists got off on feet content. Among those people preferring objects related to body parts, footwear (shoes, boots, etc.) was the second most popular, too. So if this is what floats your boat, you certainly aren’t alone.

Sheffield locals have a predisposition to MILFs, with searches for mother figures being extremely popular. It’s surprising that more cities don’t also share this as the most alluring kink, given its the second most searched for term on PornHub.

But just an hour up the road in Leeds, locals are looking for women who have aged like fine wine, with the most searched for term being ‘grannies’.

Interestingly, Golden Age content (featuring senior men and women) was the biggest sex trend of the year back in 2023, with mature porn becoming the second most popular category on PornHub.

It was also the fifth most popular category for women, while searches for the term granny jumped 132% that year.

‘The real surprise this year is that grannies have overtaken lesbians,’ a BabeStation spokesperson says. ‘It shows just how adventurous viewers are getting.’

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Liverpudlians have the opposite preference preferring ‘college’ porn with young men and women performing for the camera. It’s a preference that has come under scrutiny, ever since Bonnie Blue began selling content by taking university students’ virginities in Freshers week.

In Manchester, locals are adopting a more-the-merrier approach, with ‘threesome’ being the number one searched for term.

This was the 13th most popular term on Pornhub last year, with the allure of a third party seemingly never getting old.

So, do you share the same kink as the rest of your neighbours?

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When officers arrived at the home Dorothy ‘Cherry’ Groce on September 28 1985, her family weren’t expecting how much it would change London – and the UK – forever.

They were looking for her 21-year-old son Michael, believing he was connected to an armed robbery and was hiding out at the family home in Normandy Road, Brixton.

While she was in bed, and three of her six children were at home, officers, including one armed inspector, burst into the property, leaving the family terrified.

‘It was a loud noise that made me run down the stairs – by the time I got down there were three police dogs, police rushing everywhere and one of them had a gun,’ Cherry’s daughter said at the time.

During the aggressive confrontation, the armed officer shot Cherry, leaving her serious injuries. The 37-year-old was taken to hospital but later declared paralysed from the waist downwards.

As word of the shooting spread across south London, skirmishes broke out and escalated, leading to two days of protests and riots. Tensions were already high between members of the Black community and the police after a previous uprising in 1981.

During the 1985 riot, 43 civilians and ten police officers were left injured. Cars were burnt out, shops were set on fire, looting was reported. Photo journalist David Hodgson, who was taking a photograph of the scene when he was attacked, later died in hospital of an aneurysm.

While Brixton later returned to normality, the mental scars remained in the area for decades, and Cherry’s health never recovered. She later died in hospital in 2011 of kidney failure after suffering an infection.

Her youngest son, Lee, was just 11 when the police raided their home and shot his mother in front of him.

He said she had told officers ‘I can’t breathe, I can’t feel me legs’ after the gun was discharged.

After the death of George Floyd, who murdered by a white police officer in 2020 , the memories of what happened to Cherry came flooding back.

‘She would have been appalled at what happened to George Floyd,’ he told Metro. ‘It would have probably triggered trauma for her, especially as he said the same words as her – “I can’t breathe”.

‘I know she would want things to have been better and want us to have learnt from the past. She would probably be disappointed with how slow we’ve made progress but also want to acknowledge some of the progress that has been made regardless.’

After her death, Lee set up the Cherry Groce Foundation in 2014 to help those in the community whose voices have been unheard.

He fought for a full apology from the police for the shooting, after they initially gave her compensation but did not admit liability. The policeman who shot her, Inspector Douglas Lovelock, was charged with inflicting unlawful and malicious grievous bodily harm and later was acquitted.

Lee told Metro: ‘The uprisings in 1981 had a huge impact on the community, which I felt gave momentum to the second uprisings four years later.

‘In terms of what has changed since then, we had the Scarman report which highlighted the failures of police officers. Not everything was implemented by Lord Scarman’s recommendations, however, some things were, for instance, the Sus Law was scrapped.

‘Twenty years later, when the Macpherson report looked into the murder of Stephen Lawrence, many of the same recommendations were made all over again.’

The Sus Law, which was officially known as section 4 of the Vagrancy Act, allowed officers to stop anyone they thought was going to commit a crime. Met police officers disproportionately used them against the Black community, and they were finally scrapped in 1981.

In 2014, former Met Commissioner Bernard Hogan-Howe apologised for the wrongful shooting.

The acceptance of blame was prompted by an inquest which found that there were eight separate failings by the police during the raid and Cherry was unlawfully shot.

‘Could we see what happened in 1985 happen again? Yes, we could,’ Lee said. ‘The community will only take so much and we still haven’t fully healed from the wounds of the past so therefore it makes it very, very sensitive.

‘Any type of injustice, particularly against Black people, there is always a risk that we could have another uprising, and that it why it is so important we learn, we apply and hopefully transform.’

He urged young people channel their trauma into something positive.

‘Trauma is a real thing and has a real serious impact,’ he said. ‘Some hurt people hurt people, so therefore, I would like to say to the young Londoners, seek support and secondly in your attempt to heal from trauma find purpose.

Following her death, a memorial to Cherry was erected in Windrush Square, in the centre of Brixton, and a Blue Plaque was placed on the family’s former home.

Ridge Gunessee, 33, now lives at the house and told Metro he was ‘overwhelmed’ by its significance.

‘People come to pray outside sometimes and obviously being the 40th anniversary it’s really important to remember what happened,’ he said. ‘Things are a lot better around here now, but we should not forget.’

For Lee, his mother’s strength and positivity lives on in his mind, and remains a constant source of inspiration for him.

‘She never dealt with her ordeal with negativity; she tried to stay positive. My mum tried to be the best mother that she could within the position that she was in,’ he said.

‘I’ve taken on a lot of her values in terms of how I’ve dealt with this and I want what happened to my mum to stand for something.

‘I don’t want it to be in vain, and in order for that to happen I have to ensure that I do my bit to ensure that lessons are learned, implemented and that we see the benefits.’

The Colour of Injustice, by Lee Lawrence, is published by Abacus on October 2nd. His first book The Louder I will sing: A story of Racism, Riots and Injustice won the 2020 Costa Biography award.

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A man has been charged with murder after a missing person was found dead in a derelict building.

Junior Ryan Coleman, 43, was reported missing on August 20 and his body was found in Brockley Road, Lewisham, southeast London, a month later, on September 19.

A post-mortem examination revealed he died from a blunt force trauma to his head and a murder probe was launched the following day.

Daniel Watkis, 39, of Hackney, was arrested on Thursday and charged on Friday before being remanded in custody at Bromley Magistrates’ Court.

He is due to appear at the Old Bailey on October 24.

Mr Coleman’s family are being supported by specialist officers.

Detective Chief Inspector Sam Townsend, leading the investigation, said: ‘Our thoughts are with the family and friends of Junior during this difficult time.

‘My team are working at pace to establish the exact circumstances of Junior’s disappearance and his murder.

‘We’re appealing to anyone who knew Junior to come forward, especially if you had seen him in the summer months.

‘If you have any information, no matter how small it may seem, please get in touch. It could be crucial to our investigation.’

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A murder probe has been launched after a man died following an altercation in west London.

The alarm was raised after two men were involved in a fight on Cowley High Street in Uxbridge yesterday at about 12.27pm.

Paramedics treated a 62-year-old man at the scene, but he succumbed to his injuries.

Officers have taken a 43-year-old man into custody after arresting him on suspicion of murder.

DI Richard Kempsall, who is leading the investigation, said: ‘My team are working at pace to establish the full circumstances that led to this man’s tragic death.

‘We have arrested a man and no other suspects are being sought at this time.

‘However, we are urging anyone who may have been in the area of Cowley High Street to look at any doorbell or camera footage and share anything that may be of use with police.’

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Harrods has warned online customers that their data may have been compromised in an IT systems breach.

Clients have been reassured that only ‘basic personal identifiers’ have been leaked, such as names and contact details.

The department store said that no payment details or passwords had been taken.

They added that the breach relates to a third-party platform and not the Harrods website directly, Sky News reported.

The luxury store in Knightsbridge was previously the subject of a cyberattack in May.

However, this latest breach is an unrelated incident.

A spokesperson for Harrods said: ‘We have been notified by one of our third-party providers that some Harrods e-commerce customers’ personal data has been taken from one of their systems. 

‘We have informed affected customers that the impacted personal data is limited to basic personal identifiers including name and contact details but does not include account passwords or payment details.

‘The third-party has confirmed this is an isolated incident which has been contained, and we are working closely with them to ensure that all appropriate actions are being taken. We have notified all relevant authorities.

‘No Harrods system has been compromised and it is important to note that the data was taken from a third-party provider and is unconnected to attempts to gain unauthorised access to some Harrods systems earlier this year.’

It is the latest in a string of cyber-related incidents affecting retailers and other organisations.

Household high street names, including M&S, Jaguar Land Rover and Coop have all been hit with attacks.

Third-party providers and platforms have also become a subject of concern after thousands of flights were disrupted at various airports including Heathrow and Brussels after shared check-in software suffered from a cyber incident.

Experts say that such firms can be a ‘weak point’ to be exploited by hackers, as they can allow access to data across a range of organisations.

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As a freelancer, Moira Mulvey found her mortgage options limited – but shared ownership helped her buy her own home.

One of the best things about shared ownership is its flexibility. 

Deposits are low, the initial share ranges from 10% to 75% of a home’s value, depending on affordability, and the door is always open to buying more shares later on – via a process known as staircasing. 

For self-employed people such as Moira Mulvey, the scheme has made all the difference between owning a property or not as, with its help, she was finally able to buy in 2021 and subsequently increase her share just three years later. 

Moira, an osteopath who is in her 50s, had rented privately for years but became tired of pleasing landlords and not being able to put her own stamp on a home. 

‘I was always happy renting but you are so restricted with what you can do,’ she says. ‘Landlords often act as if they’re doing you a favour by letting out their property, and I never felt I could completely relax in a home or decorate it the way I wanted to.’ 

She starting thinking seriously about buying but soon discovered that, being self-employed, some lenders were unwilling to offer her a mortgage on open-market homes. 

‘Many lenders view it as a more unreliable way of earning a living so tend to steer clear as it’s viewed as riskier than those with PAYE salaries,’ she says. 

Realising that shared ownership would be her best option because of the low deposit and smaller amount of money she would have to borrow, Moira bought a 40% share of a two-bedroom, top-floor apartment at a development by SNG in Hounslow, west London, in March 2021. 

She paid £158,000 (the full market value of the apartment was £395,000) and took out a five-year mortgage. After receiving money from an inheritance in 2023, Moira chose to invest it in her home and buy a further 25% share – so she now owns 65%.

‘When I saw property prices were creeping up, I thought it was the right time to get the property valued and increase the share,’ she says. ‘The staircasing process was incredibly easy and I managed to navigate it myself. 

‘The only thing I would say is that the suppliers you use – such as conveyancers – can be very expensive. You just have to make sure you do your research and shop around. 

‘The original conveyancers I used quoted me double to do it the second time around, so I went with a different company. I’ve really seen a difference in my monthly outgoings since staircasing.

‘My mortgage has stayed the same as I haven’t renewed it yet, but the rent has decreased a lot, which is amazing. 

‘My mortgage is up for renewal in 2026 so I’m hoping I can staircase further to full ownership then. Thank goodness for shared ownership. It has given me the opportunity to gradually staircase to full ownership, rather than buying upfront and being rejected for a mortgage on the open market.’

‘Some might say not to go for shared ownership as you have to staircase at the current value and not the price you bought it at. But if you wanted to buy a brand new property, you would have to buy that at the current market value and not the price it was five years ago, so what’s the difference?’

‘The option for staircasing has allowed me to get out of renting and gradually own my own home, so I think it’s brilliant.’ sales.sng.org.uk.

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A ‘sadistic’ nursery worker who abused 21 babies in her care has been jailed for eight years.

Roksana Lecka, 22, ‘badly harmed’ children while employed at the £1,900-a-month Riverside Nursery in Twickenham, south-west London, which has since closed.

She also assaulted another at the Little Munchkins Montessori Nursery in Hounslow, west London.

Jailing her, Judge Sarah Plaschkes KC said Lecka should never be allowed to work with children again.

She told her: ‘You pinched, slapped, punched, smacked and kicked them. You pulled their ears, hair and their toes. You toppled children headfirst into cots. You caused bruising and lingering red marks.

‘When you committed these acts of cruelty you would look at the other members of staff to make sure that they were not watching you.

‘Often the child would be quietly and happily minding its own business before you deliberately inflicted pain causing the child to cry, arch, try to get away or writhe around in distress.

‘Time after time you calmly watched the pain and suffering you have caused. Your criminal conduct can properly be characterised as sadistic.’

Her crimes were uncovered in June last year after she was sent home for pinching a number of children and appearing ‘flustered’ at Riverside.

Jurors were shown CCTV of Lecka pinching children and scratching them under their clothes on their arms, legs and stomachs.

Footage of one ‘writhing’ in pain drew gasps from parents watching in the public gallery at Kingston Crown Court.

In another incident she kicked a little boy in the face several times.

She was also seen to push babies head-first over cots and cover a toddler’s mouth when he started to cry.

Lecka admitted seven counts of cruelty to a person under the age of 16 and was convicted of another 14 following a trial.

Jemma Till, a lawyer at Irwin Mitchell representing parents of some of the children harmed, said they were ‘deeply shocked’ and ‘traumatised’ by what their sons and daughters experienced.

Several took to the witness box to read impact statements.

One looked directly at Lecka in the dock, saying: ‘These children were so innocent and vulnerable.

‘They couldn’t speak, they couldn’t defend themselves and they couldn’t tell us as parents that something had happened to them.

‘They were totally helpless and Roksana preyed upon them.’

Another mother, referencing the CCTV footage, said: ‘This really highlighted how defenceless all the children were and how sickening Roksana’s crimes were to target such young babies.’

The court heard from a different mum that some of the CCTV showed babies ‘reach back out to Roksana after she hurt them’.

She said: ‘I think Roksana is a huge threat to society.

‘It is objectively shocking that she has been hiding in plain sight in society up until she was arrested. I think all of us can agree that only the worst kind of human would assault vulnerable babies.’

Many expressed their fears over what further abuse their children may have endured.

One father told the court that his wife ‘always says’ if Lecka had not been caught ‘she could have gone on to seriously injure or even kill’.

Parents detailed the guilt they feel about placing their children in Lecka’s care, with one mother, whose son the defendant kicked in the face, telling the court: ‘We weren’t there to protect them.’

The court heard one family has moved away from London altogether, while other sets of parents have suffered breakdowns in their relationship, after Lecka’s actions.

Others spoke of now finding it difficult to trust people to care for their children, with one mother saying she has flown her parents out from Panama to look after her daughter while she was away on a business trip.

And several told of experiencing their children pinching them, and how they wonder whether that is something they learned from Lecka.

The court has heard evidence that Lecka was not her ‘normal bubbly self’ towards the end of June.

Giving evidence, Lecka said she would ‘smoke cannabis quite regularly with my boyfriend’ until very late at night.

She said: ‘I was really addicted to vapes, I would smoke two little crystal disposables a day. I was vaping in nursery. Because if I did not smoke, I would get agitated and fed up.

‘I couldn’t keep asking to go to the toilet. Any opportunity I would take. I would be really moody and fed up.’

At one point was seen vaping a metre away from a young baby.

Of one alleged assault, in which she is said to have ‘smacked’ a young girl while vaping, she said: ‘I had two to three tokes, that would be my normal amount. I did not smack her. I put my arm around her really quickly.

‘I do not accept smacking her in the face. I think she’s distressed and tearful because she’s just woken up from a nap.’

But prosecutor Tracy Ayling KC asked jurors in her closing speech to consider whether the footage showed ‘innocuous or innocent squeezes’, like Lecka claims, or pinches and rough treatment.

‘If she was tired, grumpy and feeling put upon by others, is what we see her taking it out on children by hurting them?’ she added.

‘There are, of course, some clips where Ms Lecka – as we put it – keeps going back for more.’

Arlette Piercy, defending, told jurors in her closing address that there were times when Lecka ‘could simply not cope – she had not slept enough, she had been burning the candle at both ends, she was under too much pressure and she cracked’.

She said Lecka has expressed remorse and cited her previous good character and young age in mitigation.

The court heard Lecka wrote a letter to the court saying she has reflected on her actions, wanted to apologise to parents and that cannabis turned her into a different person.

Ms Piercy told the court that Lecka has been attacked in custody, describing her experience in prison as having been ‘extremely challenging’, and said she has spent time in the vulnerable prison wing.

Detective Inspector Sian Hutchings of Met Police’s Public Protection Command said: ‘Today’s sentencing concludes a complex and emotional investigation.

‘The victims in this case are just babies, with the youngest being just 10 months at the time of the offences.

‘Something which our officers have found shocking throughout this investigation is Roksana’s lack of accountability and her inability to explain her unjustifiable actions.’

Ms Till said: ‘We welcome today’s sentence and hope it acts as a warning that perpetrators of such abuse will be caught and punished.

 ‘However, serious questions remain as to how Lecka’s abuse was allowed to go unchecked for several months.

‘Now that the criminal case has concluded, our focus is now on securing families, who will continue to be affected by Lecka’s actions for years to come, with the further answers they deserve.’

Lecka was also found not guilty of three counts of child cruelty.

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