César Azpilicueta has broken his silence on signing his new Chelsea deal and admitted he was keen on moving to Barcelona. The #CFC captain had agreed personal terms with the Catalan, and head coach Xavi was very keen to bring him to the Nou Camp. londonworld.com/sport/football… But after allowing Andreas Christensen and Antonio Rudiger to leave, Chelsea decided that they could not also let the club captain slip out the door to Spain. And eventually Cesar Azpilicueta signed up to a new two-year deal at Stamford Bridge. #CFC

Breaking: A child has died in the 'gas explosion' which has destroyed a house in Thornton Heath. Three other people have been taken to hospital with serious injuries, the London Ambulance Service said. londonworld.com/news/thornton-… An LAS spokesperson said: "We treated four people. One was discharged and three others were taken to hospital. Sadly, a child was also pronounced dead at the scene." Firefighters are still combing the rubble in Thornton Heath, looking for missing people.

Multiple roads in Islington are four feet under water due to a burst Thames Water main. Firefighters are tackling flooding in Hornsey Road, between Holloway Road and Finsbury Park, and people have been urged to avoid the area. Buses are on diversion. londonworld.com/news/thames-wa… Ten fire engines and around 70 firefighters have been called to flooding after a 36-inch water main burst. Water can be seen pouring across the roads with vehicles struggling to pass. @LondonFire said: "If you are affected by flood water, if possible move to a higher level."

NEW: A woman who went viral after being "forcibly removed", held down and later prosecuted for attending the Sarah Everard vigil has raised £10,000 for a legal case against the Met Police.
londonworld.com/news/sarah-eve… Activist and student @PatsyeStevenson was charged by the Met for breaching Covid-19 laws by attending a vigil held in memory of the 33-year-old marketing executive, murdered by serving armed cop Wayne Couzens, on Clapham Common on March 13, 2021.

[Photo: @GettyImages]

A housing association cut off its dead tenant’s gas supply almost TWO YEARS before her remains were found by police, an inquest has heard. Police found Sheila Seleone's skeleton in her Peckham flat in February 2022, but she probably died in August 2019. londonworld.com/news/housing-a… Her housing association Peabody had cut off her gas in June 2020 after she had stopped paying rent - however did not check up on her. Residents had made several reports to Peabody - raising concerns about a bad smell, mail building up in her letter box and not having seen her.

A GP has called for a return to wearing face masks to cope with the rise in Covid-19 cases across the country. Dr Jackie Applebee has said a face mask mandate “is such a small thing”, and explained that the new variant is making “people sicker”. londonworld.com/health/coronav… It comes as coronavirus rates continue to tick up - with more than 200K people now dead and almost 3.5m currently infected. In London at the start of the month, Covid hospital admissions increased by a fifth in a week due two Omicron subvariants. londonworld.com/health/coronav…

Two firefighters have been admitted to hospital and 16 injured while battling the vicious wildfire blaze in Wennington, east London. At least eight houses are feared to have burned to the ground and 90 properties were evacuated.
londonworld.com/news/wenningto… It comes as deputy commissioner Jonathan Smith admits climate change is now “front and centre” of the challenges faced by the emergency services. London was scorched by a record-breaking 40.2C heatwave yesterday, while the fire service declared major incident as fires surged.

A fundraiser has been set up for a family of five who “lost everything” after fires in Wennington destroyed their home.
londonworld.com/news/wenningto… The Taylor family, who live in Wennington, lost their home and possessions, according to a GoFundMe page set up to help them.
Clair and Anthony Taylor have three boys – aged six, eight and 18 months – and are “absolutely heartbroken by the devastation caused by the fires”.

Sixteen firefighters were injured - with two taken to hospital - on the London Fire Brigade's busiest day since the Second World War. 41 properties across the capital were destroyed, as the fire service was placed under immense pressure. londonworld.com/news/london-fi… It was the hottest day in London’s history, as temperatures rose above 40C for the first time in the UK. And that extreme heat saw a swathe of grass and building fires break out across the city. At one point the crews were called to 12 major fires simultaneously.

The London Fire Brigade has declared a ‘major incident’ due to rapid surge in fires on hottest day on record. Mayor of London @SadiqKhan said: “This is critical: the London Fire Brigade is under immense pressure. Please be safe.” londonworld.com/news/london-fi… Almost 200 firefighters are currently tackling a blaze in a cornfield next to the M25, while 100 other firefighters are attempting to contain a grass fire which has spread to buildings in Wennington. Grass fires have also broken out in Croydon and Harrow. londonworld.com/news/traffic-a…

Police fear that a predatory paedophile - who has been jailed for raping a 12-year-old girl he met on Snapchat - could have had other victims as young as 10. Driss Serhir was in contact with many other girls and travelled round the country using aliases. londonworld.com/news/crime/rap… The 21-year-old was convicted of three counts of raping a child under 13. He was jailed for nine years and placed on the sexual offenders register for life on Monday, after being guilty during a trial at Harrow Crown Court.

EXCL: The police watchdog is probing a former officer’s bombshell claims that police slept with women - including suspects - at Charing Cross police station, LondonWorld can reveal.
londonworld.com/news/crime/exc… Cops at West End station called black officers “monkeys” and one had sex with an arrested woman, amid a “toxic” culture dating back to 2006, a former constable has alleged.

The ex-officer told LondonWorld of a “awful” atmosphere at Charing Cross police station.

The Met Police is “not able or equipped” to improve declining satisfaction rates, the victims’ commissioner has said.
londonworld.com/news/crime/met… London’s police force has a "culture issue" preventing it from supporting victims of crime, a top City Hall chief has warned.

Claire Waxman said she was "not confident the @metpoliceuk are able to deliver what I need to be delivered to victims in order to improve satisfaction".