This week 30 years ago: Police blame shopkeepers for Homerton solvent sniffer’s death
August 5, 1988 edition of the Hackney Gazette. - Credit: Archant
Police blamed greedy shopkeepers for the death of 16-year-old solvent sniffer Calvin Radleigh, and set up a special hotline to trap them.
Calvin, of Churchill Walk, Homerton, collapsed and died in front of friends outside Homerton House School after sniffing a lethal dose.
And police hit out at traders selling large quantities of lighter fluid, aersoal sprays and correction fluid.
Insp Tom Lund-Lack said: “These shopkeepers are responsible, at least in part, for this young man’s death.
“Shopkeepers who sell several years’ supply of correction fluid to a youngster must know they are planning to sniff it.”
You may also want to watch:
Cops wanted people to call the hotline and report shopkeepers.
Meanwhile, health chiefs ordered medical checks for youngsters and staff at Clapton Park nursery after the matron was found to have tuberculosis. Four kids were found to have been exposed to the virus, though nobody had shown signs of contracting the highly-infectious disease.
Most Read
- 1 Investigation launched after Stamford Hill lockdown wedding
- 2 Man sentenced for assault on Homerton Hospital nurse
- 3 Prospect of £10K fine after Stamford Hill wedding
- 4 Man sentenced after teenage boy groomed on Snapchat to sell heroin
- 5 Police seize lock and 'Rambo-style' knifes in London Fields
- 6 Man wrestled to floor during attempted robbery in Finsbury Park
- 7 Hackney surgery named GP Team of the Year
- 8 Covid vaccination hub opening in Westfield next week
- 9 Jailed: 'Dangerous' Hackney predator found with 1,600 indecent child images
- 10 Hackney ‘poised’ to undertake school closures after drop in pupil numbers
