COMMUTERS were evacuated from Britain’s busiest train station today after a suspicious package was found.

Cops dashed to London Waterloo this afternoon and hundreds of passengers awaiting trains were told to leave.

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Tube services in the area were also halted.

The Jubilee line was partially suspended and the Waterloo and City line was completely suspended.

Southwark Tube station also shut completely.

A spokesperson from British Transport Police said: “Officers were called to Waterloo Underground station at 3.53pm today following reports of a suspicious package.

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“Specialist officers are in attendance and the station has been evacuated while they assess the item.”

Speaking at around 4.15pm, officials at Transport for London said: “There is no service on the Jubilee Line between London Bridge and Green Park while we respond to a security alert at Waterloo.

“There are severe delays affecting service on the rest of the line.”

However, just before 5pm, cops confirmed the station could reopen.

The official said: “Thankfully, it was deemed to be non-suspicious and the station will shortly be re-opened.”

Delays will likely remain for some time to come as travellers return to platforms.

Customers told of their frustration this afternoon.

One said: “Waterloo Underground station closed… nine Met Police cars, no one allowed in and Transport for London staff say police are inside.”

Waterloo links the capital with major towns and cities across the south and south-west.

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It serves areas including Bournemouth, Guildford, Portsmouth, Southampton and Windsor.

Before the pandemic, Waterloo serves 86.9million passengers a year, although numbers plummeted to just 12.2m in 2020/21.

THERE’S transport chaos this morning after the Transport for London and Network Rail websites AND the Bolt app crashed.

Brits across the country are facing a nightmare journey to work as a £1billion “lockdown” imposed by militant rail unions force workers into cars and onto buses – with main roads already jammed.

LNP

Brits have been warned they should NOT travel as just one in five trains are running and entire regions – such as Cornwall and Dorset – have been completely cut off.

And Londoners are marooned too as a Tube strike bites – while the Bolt app has crashed under the demand.

Uber fares are also rocketing under high demand.

A three-mile journey from Paddington to King’s Cross with the service was estimated to cost £27 at 8.45am.

Read more on strikes

'STAY AT HOME'

Brits face MORE travel chaos today after delay misery

NETWORK FAIL

Latest rail strike updates as 2nd walkout goes ahead after failed RMT talks

There are walk-outs on all Tube lines: Circle Line, Jubilee Line, District Line, Hammersmith and City Line, Metropolitan Line, Northern Line, Central Line, Victoria Line, Bakerloo Line, Piccadilly Line, and the Waterloo & City Line.

The Overground and trams are also disrupted.

But those trying to get help from TfL and National Rail were hit with an error message as their websites collapsed this morning.

The Chiltern Railways website is also down. It’s understood the sites may have been knocked out by a Cloudflare outage.

Tube bosses have already warned commuters not to attempt to travel if it can be avoided.

“We are advising customers to avoid travelling on Tuesday, June 21, when strike action will severely disrupt most of TfL’s and national rail’s services.

“If you need to travel, you are advised to complete your journey by 6pm.

“Disruption on all Tube lines will continue through the morning of Wednesday 22 June.

“No London Underground services are expected to run before 08:00, when they will begin running with delays.

“We encourage customers to avoid making journeys until mid-morning.”

There are problems around the country as thousands of members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union at Network Rail and 13 train operators walk out today, Thursday and Saturday.

They took action after last-ditch talks failed to resolve the bitter dispute over pay, jobs and conditions, with all sides blaming each other for the lack of progress.

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps confirmed this morning that Cobra meetings will take place in a bid to resolve the crisis – but warned Britain is back in the “bad old days” of union strikes.

And a “summer of discontent” may only just be beginning after unions last night threatened to stage more crippling strikes for months to come.

Furious ministers have accused union barons of inflicting “misery and chaos” on millions with their “callous” three-day action amid claims cities and towns will go into “lockdown”.

COMMUTERS’ MISERY

Patients will be unable to get to hospital, teens will miss their GCSEs and Glastonbury will be wrecked for many.

Ros Morgan, chief executive of the Heart of London Business Alliance, said: “The rail and Tube strikes will impose another lockdown on the West End at a time when central London’s economy needs all the support it can get.”

Despite Brits’ pleas, the RMT defiantly admitted it’s causing the carnage to protect ancient rules which mean train staff only have to work 35 hours a week — the equivalent of seven hours a day.

Boss Mick Lynch said: “The strike will go ahead – we call on our members to stand firm, support the action and mount the pickets.

“We are not special. The whole country is suffering. We have a trade union prepared to fight.”

He also said strikes could continue for some time to come.

UNION’S THREAT

He added: “Our campaign will run as long as it needs to run until we get a settlement acceptable to our people.

“It will go on until somebody offers us a deal we can put to our members and we can vote for it in a referendum.”

Downing Street said it was “deeply disappointing” that the strikes are going ahead, arguing that they will not resolve the issues faced on the railways.

The Prime Minister’s official spokesman said: “This is deeply disappointing, that these disruptive, these self-defeating strikes will take place this week.

“Striking does nothing to address the long-standing issues that we need to sort to make sure our railway, that the public use and treasure, is fit for the long term.”

Boris Johnson will tell his Cabinet today they have to face down hardline unions or risk wrecking the economy.

He will say: “The unions are harming the very people they claim to be helping.

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“By going ahead with these rail strikes, they are driving away commuters who ultimately support the jobs of rail workers, while also impacting businesses and communities across the country.

“Too-high demands on pay will also make it incredibly difficult to bring to an end the current challenges facing families around the world with rising costs of living.”

LNP

DESPERATE Brits spent hours trying to get home yesterday as their commutes were plunged into chaos – but the mayhem is far from over.

Workers have been urged to stay at home TODAY as well, with the worst rail strike in a generation continuing to disrupt trains.

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Workers faced a nightmare journey into the office yesterday as a £1billion de facto “lockdown” imposed by militant rail unions bit.

Fewer than one in five trains across the country were running and the London Underground effectively shut down as rail workers walked out.

And yesterday evening, all last trains were called far earlier than normal, sending end-of-day commuters into an even darker cloud of queues, delays and despair.

But there is little light at the end of the tunnel, with knock-on effects from Tuesday’s walkout plunging travellers into further chaos today.

Read more on strikes

NETWORK FAIL

Latest rail strike updates as 2nd walkout goes ahead after failed RMT talks

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A total of 40 per cent of Wednesday’s services have already scrapped, while no passenger services will run before 6.30am.

Only 60 per cent of trains will be running, mainly due to a delay to the start of services as signallers and control room staff are not doing overnight shifts.

Walkouts by signallers and control room staff who would usually work overnight from Tuesday night into Wednesday morning means trains will leave depots later than normal, delaying the start of services.

Yesterday’s London Euston to Glasgow route ended at 1.30pm, while London King’s Cross to Edinburgh stopped in its tracks at 2pm.

And in London, commuters who are stuck in work till late in the evening struggled to get home.

Workers in the capital were warned to attempt their journeys earlier, with Elizabeth line customers travelling between Paddington and Reading, and Shenfield and Liverpool Street advised to complete their journeys by 6pm.

The situation is so dire that some NHS workers have told how colleagues have been forced to sleep in hospitals to avoid the travel chaos.

Hospital worker Helen Nansamba told the i: “We couldn’t cancel the surgeries so what we had to do is get some of our staff to sleep in the hospital.”

Another nurse said: “NHS staff do not work regular 9-5 days, the trains that are running leave after our shifts start and stop running before our shifts finish, if they are running at all.”

The lack of public transport is causing collosal traffic on roads up and down the country.

The M74, M8 and A9 in Scotland and the M4, A55, A5, and A483 in Wales could see especially severe traffic. 

And with Glastonbury and the Goodwood Festival of Speed due to take place, local drivers are being urged to give these areas a “wide berth” as well.

This morning one irate Londoner was seen standing in the middle of the road to block a bus that had failed to stop this morning as tempers flared.

Network Rail chief Andrew Haines said an empty Waterloo station was like a “wasteland”.

“It’s like the darkest days of Covid,” he said.

More gruelling strikes are planned for Thursday and Saturday, and Brits have been warned NOT to travel on those days.

Entire regions – such as Cornwall and Dorset – are completely cut off. Residents living in swathes of the South West, Scotland and Wales are also stranded today, along with those in Chester, Hull, Lincoln and Worcester.

Even those in London, the UK’s best-connected city, are struggling.

People who managed to get in by train said that a 10- to 15-minute journey into the capital took 90 minutes or more. 

One healthcare support worker, who was an hour-and-a-half late for work, blasted those behind the action.

David Raposo Buzon was waiting at a bus stop from 6.30am on Tuesday to make it in for his 7.30am scheduled start. However, he didn’t make it in until 9am.

“I feel angry when I think that NHS workers are not able to strike, even if our conditions at work are really bad,” the 34-year-old said.”

He shared footage of long delays on Twitter with the caption: “My salary is totally worse than the ones that are striking.

Strike misery grips UK:

• The Transport for London and National Rail websites crash
• Uber fares have rocketed and the Bolt app crashed amid surging demand
• Richard Madeley has blasted Mick Lynch on Good Morning Britain – after the union boss was accused of being a “Marxist”
• But Lynch hit back – accusing Madeley of spouting “absolute twaddle”
• Millions of people will be affected today as fewer than one in five services run
• Grant Shapps confirmed Cobra meetings will take place in a bid to end the chaos
• Brits are warned not to attempt travelling by rail if they can avoid it

“The country needs a change.”

Jack Pook, who lives in Winchester, Hampshire, waited to board a train home at Clapham Junction in hospital pyjamas after falling ill on Monday.

The family support officer, 54, was rushed to A&E after he collapsed, and said he was “very stressed” about how to get home.

Major stations around the country are closed until 7.30am and half of all lines aren’t running at all. The services that are running will end at 6.30pm.

Many of those faced with cancellations got behind the wheel instead – adding pressure to the roads network.

Traffic data from TomTom shows congestion levels in London increased from 77 per cent on June 14 to 98 per cent on Tuesday.

The AA says the worst affected roads are likely to be main motorway arteries, as well as rural and suburban areas.

Highways England operations manager Louise Boothman told Good Morning Britain another peak in traffic is expected at around 3.30pm.

Lengthy travel delays could last into the early evening, she said.

It comes as thousands of members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union at Network Rail and 13 train operators walk out today, Thursday and Saturday.

They took action after last-ditch talks failed to resolve the bitter dispute over pay, jobs and conditions, with all sides blaming each other for the lack of progress.

There are also strikes on all London Underground lines apart from the newly-opened Elizabeth Line. The Transport for London website has collapsed as thousands of people look for advice.

Uber fares have rocketed and the Bolt app was also down this morning, with users unable to make a booking.

A three-mile journey from Paddington to King’s Cross with Uber was estimated to cost £27 at 8.45am.

Company reps say the service uses “dynamic pricing”, which increases automatically when there’s heavy demand.

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps confirmed this morning that Cobra meetings will take place in the coming days to resolve the crisis – but warned Britain is back in the “bad old days” of union strikes.

Our campaign will run as long as it needs to run until we get a settlement acceptable to our people

Mick Lynch

And a “summer of discontent” may only just be beginning after unions last night threatened to stage more crippling strikes for months to come.

Boris Johnson say commuters must be prepared to “stay the course” in the face of the “unnecessary aggravation”, suggesting the Government will not cave to demands for an 11 per cent pay raise for rail workers.

And furious ministers have accused union barons of inflicting “misery and chaos” on millions with their “callous” three-day action.

Patients will be unable to get to hospital, teens will miss their GCSEs and Glastonbury will be wrecked for many.

Ros Morgan, chief executive of the Heart of London Business Alliance, said: “The rail and Tube strikes will impose another lockdown on the West End at a time when central London’s economy needs all the support it can get.”

Despite Brits’ pleas, the RMT defiantly admitted it’s causing the carnage to protect ancient rules which mean train staff only have to work 35 hours a week — the equivalent of seven hours a day.

Boss Mick Lynch said: “Our campaign will run as long as it needs to run until we get a settlement acceptable to our people.

CHAOTIC COMMUTE

“It will go on until somebody offers us a deal we can put to our members and we can vote for it in a referendum.”

He was was bullish during an appearance on GMB today, accusing rail companies of “escalating the dispute” with talk of redundancies.

“You don’t have to be a Marxist to work out there’s a problem at the heart of our society, and it’s up to unions to being back balance and equality,” he warned.

And he denied claims himself is a Marxist – telling a stunned Richard Madeley: “Richard, you do come up with the most remarkable twaddle sometimes, I’ve got to say.”

Meanwhile, the PM has told his Cabinet today they have to face down hardline unions or risk wrecking the economy.

BORIS BLAST

“The unions are harming the very people they claim to be helping,” he said.

“By going ahead with these rail strikes, they are driving away commuters who ultimately support the jobs of rail workers, while also impacting businesses and communities across the country.

“Too-high demands on pay will also make it incredibly difficult to bring to an end the current challenges facing families around the world with rising costs of living.”

And Mr Shapps is facing huge criticism after Mr Lynch put the crisis squarely on his shoulders.

He appeared on GMB today to tell hosts Ranvir Singh and Richard Madeley: “For everyone struggling to get into work today, people missing hospital appointments and kids like mine having their exams disrupted, I am very, very sorry about what’s happened.

“Unfortunately unions have walked out of talks, I think very unnecessarily. There was a pay increase on the cards, on the table.”

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In another TV appearance, he accused Lynch of wanting to become a “1970s union baron”.

Despite his fight-back today, the minister is in hot water, with chaos across his remit. There’s trouble on planes too, with hundreds of services cancelled and hols in disarray.

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Paul Edwards

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SWNS

Ryan Jenkinson/ Story Picture Agency

SWNS

THOUSANDS of railway workers are staging their second strike of the week after talks failed to resolve a row over pay, jobs and conditions.

Today’s rail strikes have gone ahead after last-ditch talks failed on Wednesday, with the country set to be plunged into chaos once more.

Members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport union (RMT) at Network Rail and 13 train operators have taken industrial action, crippling services across the UK.

Only around one in five trains will run and mainly on main lines during the day.

Ahead of the strike, the Government announced plans to change the law to enable businesses to supply skilled agency workers to plug staffing gaps during industrial action.

Ministers pointed out that under current trade union laws, employment businesses are restricted from supplying temporary agency workers to cover for strikers, saying it can have a “disproportionate impact”.

The legislation will repeal the “burdensome” legal restrictions, giving businesses impacted by strike action the freedom to tap into the services of employment businesses who can provide skilled, temporary agency staff at short notice, said the government.

Network Rail welcomed the move but Labour and unions condemned it as a “recipe for disaster.”

Read our rail strike 2022 live blog below for the latest updates…

A WOMAN who fell on to a live Tube track was saved from death by her boots.

Tegan Badham suffered burns to her back, legs and arms after tripping on to the rails.

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Athena

Getty

But as the 21-year-old lay stunned on the track, her thick rubber soles were in contact with the live rail and acted as insulation from a fatal electric shock.

With a train seconds away, a mystery hero reached down to pull the 8st hospital cleaner to safety from the 630-volt line.

The incident happened at King’s Cross St Pancras station on London’s Underground on Sunday night.

Tegan, of Cwmbran, South Wales, was wearing £40 black boots ordered from PrettyLittleThing.

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She said: “I was in agony, I could smell my own flesh burning and my brand new dress shrivelled up from the electricity.

“Even my hair extensions were fried.

“It all happened so fast but a man grabbed hold of my arms and pulled me up. I just have to find him, he saved my life.

“I was too shocked to thank him and he was catching the train that came into the station.

“I was so lucky that he bravely reached down to me, without him I would be dead now.”

Tegan added: “He had light brown, blonde hair and was maybe in his 30s. He didn’t want to leave me but his friends were telling him to get on the train.”

Music fan Tegan was on her first trip to London with pal Hannah Smith, 21, to attend the Wireless Festival in Finsbury Park.

She added: “The paramedics couldn’t believe I’d survived — one of them said, ‘We thought we were picking up a body’.”

Tegan was taken to St Thomas’s Hospital in Westminster and checked over.

 Doctors later allowed her home to be treated at a local hospital.

She said: “It’s amazing but my boots escaped without a scratch. I thought they’d be scorched.

“I had two drinks on the train up to London but I was stone-cold sober, I don’t know why I fell.

“My mobile phone, sunglasses and other bits and bobs were scattered over the line. I’m hoping to get them back.”

 Tegan is now recovering at home with mum Louise, 53, and dad Mostyn, 74.

A Transport for London spokesman said: “We are sorry to hear that a customer sustained injuries after a fall on to the Victoria Line track and would like to thank those who helped her. We wish her a full and quick recovery.”

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Athena

TWO men were shot dead within just four miles of each other while another man was stabbed to death in London in a 24-hour bloodbath.

A 58-year-old man was arrested after a man was knifed to death in a pub in West London just before midnight on Saturday.

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And the bloodshed continued when cops were called to Cheney Row Park in Waltham Forest, East London, at 12.35am on Sunday where 100 revellers had gathered for a rave.

Sam Brown, 28, turned up at hospital suffering from critical gunshot injuries along with a second man.

Sadly he died shortly after, while the second man, aged in his 30s, was arrested after being discharged from hospital.

Horrified residents revealed they expected “trouble” after swathes of revellers descended on Cheney Row Park.

Partygoers ran for cover as multiple shots were fired during the bloodbath.

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DCI Kelly Allen of the Specialist Crime unit, heading up the probe, said: “My heart goes out to the family of Sam, who has lost his life in this reckless act of violence.

“To anyone considering whether or not to come forward to police, I ask you to put yourself in the position of the victim’s grieving mother and father this morning. They deserve answers.

“And whoever took a gun to a gathering like this does not deserve your protection, nor do they deserve to be free to inflict further harm on others. Please do the right thing and make contact today.”

Officers then raced to Haringey, North London, after receiving reports of a shooting near Wood Green station at 9.30pm.

A man, believed to be in his 20s, couldn’t be saved and was declared dead at the scene.

There have been no arrests and enquiries continue.

The Met Police said: “Officers are in the process of notifying his next of kin. A post-mortem examination will be held in due course.

“A crime scene is in place and the road is closed to traffic.”

Meanwhile, cops released an urgent appeal to find a knifeman who snuck up behind his victim before stabbing him in the back.

In a cold-blooded attack, the suspect took a knife to his defenceless victim’s back amongst a crowd of pub-goers, with no motive yet known.

@999London

PA

A TUBE passenger’s head was crushed as they tried to urinate between two moving carriages.

The accident happened on the Piccadilly Line service earlier this year, according to a report by Transport for London.

Alamy

The commuter suffered serious injuries but miraculously survived the bizarre incident.

Tube carriage doors can be easily opened as the train is moving but signs warn of a danger of death if passengers do this.

The stupid stunt was revealed in TfL’s quarterly health and safety report.

Amongst the accidents included, a woman died after falling down steps at Walthamstow Central station in North East London.

On the Overground – the capital’s inner-city rail network – a visually impaired passenger was seriously injured after falling out of a train onto the platform.

The report revealed one death and 43 serious injuries across the capital’s transport network between April and June this year, Metro reported.

Meanwhile, 263 injuries were recorded among TfL’s workforce, including two serious injuries.

A TfL spokesperson said: “We have initially prioritised common customer safety concerns including slips, trips and falls; passenger/transport interfaces; and road risk.

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“First and foremost, we will focus on improving what is within our control.

“However, we acknowledge that customer incidents will always be influenced by human behaviour.”

LONDON is facing the “biggest event and challenge” in its history as more than one million people are expected to pour into the capital to pay their respects to the Queen.

Andy Byford, TfL’s commissioner, said planning for the Queen’s lying in state and funeral is more complicated than the 2012 Olympics.

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Reuters

He said this was largely because it is “impossible” to accurately predict crowd sizes.

Mr Byford said TfL is “used to dealing with big crowds” and will take measures such as temporarily restricting access to the busiest Tube stations.

Operators such as Southeastern, Chiltern Railways, Great Western Railway confirmed they will all run overnight services to and from London Victoria.

These will also go between Marylebone and Paddington stations respectively in the next few days.

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And mourners waiting for the next departure in the early hours of the morning are expected to be invited to sit on stationary trains at stations such as Charing Cross, Euston, King’s Cross, Liverpool Street, Paddington and Victoria.

Network Rail warned visitors of “unprecedented travel demand in the capital”.

Southeastern will run overnight services every two hours from today until next Monday.

These will go from Victoria to Dartford, Gillingham, Orpington and Ashford; Charing Cross to Orpington and Tunbridge Wells; and St Pancras to Ashford.

Chiltern will operate two additional overnight trains every day until Monday from Oxford to Marylebone, leaving at 1.35am and arriving at 3am.

A return journey will leave Marylebone at 3.15am and arrive in Oxford at 4.38am.

Great Western Railway said extra services in the very early morning and late evening will be laid on next Monday to take people towards London and back home again.

It added that all services “are expected to be extremely busy”.

The extra trains are now being displayed on journey planners such as Trainline.

But a rail industry source told MailOnline that the limited number of overnight services means they are ‘not something people should be relying on’.

There is likely to be further strain on the rail network because London Victoria Coach Station will be shut next Monday due to many of the roads around it being closed – with National Express switching services to Wembley.

And Avanti West Coast said it is running up to four additional services a day in each direction between London and Manchester up to and including this Friday.

It will add a total of around 16,000 seats to its capacity.

TfL will be directing passengers to other stations to “spread the load”, he added.

The situation is being managed “minute by minute” from a command centre alongside other agencies and Government departments, Mr Byford, the group’s commissioner revealed.

Mr Byford said: “The most recent approximation or estimate is that there will be around potentially up to 750,000 people in the queue for lying in state, which is itself a huge number.

“But then if you take the whole 10-day mourning period and the various events that happen during that – obviously some happened elsewhere – but even the London element of that, we are talking well north of a million people.

“So this is huge. This is the biggest event and challenge that TfL has faced in its history, and we must rise to that challenge.

“With something like the Olympics, you know what the events are, where they are, and you know what the numbers will be because it’s ticketed.

“This is more challenging. It’s over a long period and although there are estimates, it is impossible to say with certainty how many people will turn up to the various elements, so we’ve assumed the highest possible number and we’re aligning our service to match that.”

London Underground stations near Buckingham Palace have seen a surge in passenger numbers since the Queen died on Thursday.

TfL figures show more than 19,000 people started or finished journeys at Hyde Park Corner station on Tuesday – double the total on the same day last week.

Green Park has been made an exit only station to prevent overcrowding.

Across the Tube network as a whole, TfL recorded 2.99 million journeys on Tuesday, up 8 percent compared with a week earlier.

A special service will run on the Elizabeth Line railway between Paddington and Abbey Wood on Sunday to ease the pressure on other parts of London’s transport network.

Mr Byford added: “We have recruited literally an army of people from across TfL.

“We’ve cancelled non-essential meetings.

Read More on The Sun

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“I’ve asked everyone to step up, I’ve asked everyone to volunteer, and the response has been fantastic.

“We’ve dropped everything in order to pull out all the stops and send Her Majesty off in style with an excellent transport offering.”

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© Jeff Moore

A MAN who fell on hard times and was forced to sleep on the Tube now has a hobby worth £100,000.

Ed Worley, 34, is now back on his feet and has found fame as the artist ‘Opake’.

OPAKE

OPAKE

OPAKE

Worley’s parents had a working-class background growing up in Hoxton, East London, and built their way up, eventually owning 12 galleries before moving to Essex.

While an interest in art was a big part of the family’s life, so was drinking and the alcohol would flow at parties that went on to the early hours of the morning.

Ed’s memory stretches back to when he was just four and hearing guitarist Jimi Hendrix being played while his parents and their friends were partying.

He told MyLondon: “I had a normal childhood as a kid but I guess where the madness came into it was with alcohol.

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“My family’s friendship group and the social drinking aspect of life were so evident that I thought that’s what having fun was about; going to pubs, adults getting drunk and us playing.”

“I grew up associating a good time with drinking,” he said. “I remember laying in bed around 3am in the morning hearing Jimi Hendrix being hammered out and that was cool.”

He smoked his first cigarette when he was nine and got drunk with a friend after stealing a bottle of wine and Bacardi from the fridge.

Ed was busted though after he was caught calling his pal’s landline and slurring down the phone to her mum.

He attended a boarding school but was seen as an outsider as his family didn’t have any generational wealth.

Ed said he was seen as “problematic” at the school and had the nickname “Chav”.

During the school holidays he would go and visit his friends back home who were more like himself.

It was around then he started to sell weed and gain an interest in graffiti art.

That interest soon developed into an obsession which led him down a dark path.

To fund his creativity he would steal paint from shops when he was just 13 but admitted he “loved it”.

HARD DRUGS

As he became more involved in the culture of graffiti art he was introduced to harder drugs, including mushrooms and cocaine.

After leaving school he went to Leeds University where his life continued to spiral.

He said: “I was writing graffiti every night, stealing paint then taking drugs and drinking every day.

“Uni introduced me to lots of different people but also the concept of selling drugs to survive – university is a bubble and you justify your behaviour in your head as it is allowed.”

After leaving university, he began smoking crack and started having psychotic episodes.

Ed said: “I was driven by my addiction to smoking crack to then drinking to fall asleep every day. I was a drug addict.”

He ended up homeless and would stay in derelict buildings in Tottenham. He spent the next eight years sleeping on the Piccadilly line.

TURNED HIS LIFE AROUND

Amid his desperate life he realised he needed to sort himself out.

He said: “It’s a very rare thing for a human being to be broken down, to be a shell, then be able to build yourself back up to the person you want to be.

“I didn’t want to be cured, so to speak, of my addiction but I wanted whatever my addiction was to be harnessed into a real positive outlet, to change my life for the better.

“I take that drive and will I had when I was broken and I transfer that to what I do day to day with my artwork. My art is now my addiction.”

Some five years ago Ed ditched the drink and drugs and is now a successful artist known as ‘Opake’ who describes his style as “the disintegration of pop culture”.

He now has more than 120,000 followers on Instagram and recently turned down a six-figure offer from a high-end London gallery to create works of art.

Ed said: “I believe everything happens for a reason. I could have made over £100,000 with this contract and I was ready to sign then I met James and Will who run Quantus Gallery. They understood me instantly and gave me the freedom to create what I wanted to create.”

He is now going to be working with homeless charity Centre Point ad Quantus Gallery to put on an exhibition showcasing his work.

To mark the opening he will be hosting a breakfast for the homeless, rather than the usual canapes and champagne.

He added: “I had a choice to take a safe option or the right one. I had to take the right one regardless of how rocky that road is going to be.

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“My addiction now is my artwork – that’s what I want. I want to show people there is a way out.

“It’s never too late. It’s all about living in the moment because my brain is the issue, not the drugs and alcohol. They were the solution and now my artwork is.”

OPAKE

OPAKE

FILM buffs in London might not know it, but there’s a hidden slice of Hollywood history right beneath their feet.

A disused underground station platform that has appeared in some of Hollywood’s biggest blockbusters, including Paddington, London has Fallen and Skyfall.

London Transport Museum

Alamy

Charing Cross, near Trafalgar Square, is one of London’s busiest tube stations, but what people might not know is that it’s also the go-to location for any tube-based scenes for films.

The station has an old Jubilee line platform that hasn’t been used by travellers since 1999.

The Jubilee line travelled through Charing Cross until November 1999, but then it was diverted away – from Green Park to Westminster instead.

Now the old Jubilee platform acts as a purpose built film set, with the likes of Daniel Craig, Idris Elba and even Paddington Bear filming scenes there.

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Siddy Holloway, Engagement Manager for London Transport Museum’s Hidden London, told Sun Online Travel why it is a perfect location to film any underground scenes.

She said: “Charing Cross is where we marry up underground history with pop culture because it is used extensively as a film set for Hollywood blockbusters.

“Skyfall was filmed there, Paddington, Thor, the Bourne Ultimatum, Luther, Sherlock Holmes and others.

“It’s the old Jubilee Line concourse that closed in 1999 and so they can authentically create the atmosphere of the underground without disturbing passengers on the actual underground.”

However, the abandoned platform isn’t exclusively reserved for A-listers, with members of the public able to book tours of the hidden former Charing Cross platform, as well as several other disused stations in the city.

London Transport Museum

London Transport Museum

Siddy said that the film set is one of the highlights of the Hidden London tours.

Hidden London tours have been run by London Transport Museum since 2015 and offer people access to secret locations across the capital’s Underground network that are usually off limits.

She added: “It’s a really fun one for film buffs to come and experience because you get to actually stand in the spaces where Daniel Craig is sliding down the escalator, or where Hugh Bonneville is chasing after Paddington because he’s gone the wrong way.

“It’s really fun for people to experience that and take those photos as well.”

While the disused Charing Cross platform has been given a new future, a lot of other stations also have fascinating pasts.

Some were particularly important during World War 2, as their locations deep underground made them the perfect places to take care of both people and important items.

Siddy said: “These stations that are disused simply had to be changed around in order to fit in modern equipment, such as the escalator, and to improve passenger flow.

“Piccadilly Circus actually operated as both the public bomb shelter and as a valuable art store for the London museums.

London Transport Museum

“That blows my mind that you can go through Piccadilly Circus hundreds, if not thousands of times in your life and never would you imagine that some of the most precious artefacts of either the Museum of London or the Tate galleries, were stored in a corridor just off where you could wait as a passenger today.

“Clapham South, with the deep level shelter that we have, is one of my favourite places on our program because it is essentially an air raid shelter underneath Clapham South Station.

“It comprises of over a mile of tunnel and could have housed 8000 people to shelter away from the bombs raining from above.”

A new series of tickets for the tours are now on sale. The tours will take place from January 4 until February 19.

Meanwhile, there’s a hidden shopping gem in London that is loved by tourists and could save you hundreds.

And you can stay in a secret wizard’s chambers in London, with magic potions and a broomstick.

Alamy

FULHAM’S clash against Tottenham has been DELAYED by 15 minutes due to travel chaos.

The London derby is now set to get underway at 8.15pm.

Ian Whittaker - News Group Newspapers Ltd

Thousands of fans have been forced to find a new route to Craven Cottage after the District Line was suspended.

My London reports that this is due to signal failures.

Another two London Underground lines have been “shut down”.

The Circle and Hammersmith & City lines, as well as the Elizabeth line have also been completely suspended.

One fan said to Spurs‘ announcement on Twitter: “Bit late, on the Uber now cheers!”

Another replied: “Guess I’ll have to walk to the game then.”

While others have likened the District Line’s suspension to that of their inactivity in the transfer market.

Spurs advised supporters to check alternative routes, and have listed ways they can get to the stadium on their website.

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On getting to Fulham‘s stadium, a section on the Tottenham website reads: “Craven Cottage is accessible via all major transport links.

“Putney Bridge is the closest London Underground station and is served by the District line and is a 10-20 minute walk from the stadium.

“District and Piccadilly lines also serve Hammersmith Underground station which is approximately a 20-40 minute walk from the stadium

“Putney station is served by Southwestern rail services and is a 17-35 minute walk from the stadium and can be easily reached from Clapham Junction and Waterloo stations.

“Parking around Craven Cottage is extremely limited and access to surrounding streets on a matchday is restricted by a Traffic Management Order.

“Supporters are advised to use TfL’s Journey Planner to plan their journey in advance.”

Spurs will be hoping that all 2,299 of their travelling fans can make Monday night’s clash as they hope to keep chase of a top-four finish.

Antonio Conte’s men are sat fifth in the Prem, but six points off fourth-place Manchester United.

Fulham, meanwhile, can leapfrog opponents Tottenham with a win.

The Cottagers are two points and two places below Spurs in the table.

POLICE are urgently hunting a man after a schoolboy was sexually assaulted at Leicester Square tube station in front of his mother.

The 10-year-old was walking up a set of stairs in the bustling Underground station when the suspect groped him.

His horrified mother chased after the man but was unable to catch him before he fled, police said.

The boy was assaulted at the station at around 4.30pm on February 16.

The British Transport Police have now released a CCTV image of a man they would like to speak to regarding the incident.

A spokesman for the force said: “Do you recognise this man?

“Officers investigating a sexual assault at Leicester Square Underground station are releasing this image in connection.

“At around 4.30pm on Thursday February 16, a 10-year-old boy was walking up a set of stairs at the station with his family when a man sexually assaulted him and ran away.

“The victim’s mother chased the man through the station, but didn’t catch him.

“Officers believe the man in the CCTV image may have information which could help their investigation.

“If you recognise him, or have any information, please contact BTP.”

Anyone with information can contact BTP by texting 61016 or calling 0800 40 50 40 quoting reference 474 of 16 February.

Alternatively, call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

VIRGIN Media and O2 mobile customers may notice something different when travelling around the capital.

The firm is finally bringing its 5G service to London Underground.

But it’ll only be available on parts of the Tube for now.

The Central Line between Queensway station and Holland Park station will be the first to benefit from Virgin Media O2’s 4G and 5G.

So you’ll no longer have to worry about catching emails or keeping in touch with friends.

Notting Hill station has been upgraded to become a “full 5G station” so you can use top speed mobile data on the platform and in ticket halls.

Customers at Queensway and Holland Park stations will be able to use 4G services while waiting for their train.

Elsewhere, parts of the Northern Line are set to gain too.

5G is now at Archway and Tufnell Park stations, while 4G is at Kentish Town station.

The firm is aiming to bring mobile connections across the whole of London Underground by the end of 2024.

EE has already brought 4G to its customers around the same lines.

It’s part of a partnership between BAI Communications and TfL.

“For the first time, our customers can access the latest 5G mobile services deep under London,” said Gareth Turpin, chief commercial officer at Virgin Media O2.

“This is set to revolutionise commuting in the capital, and in the weeks and months ahead we’ll be rolling out ultrafast mobile services at more Tube stations, in tunnels and on platforms to bring high-speed connectivity to our customers as they travel on the Underground.”

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FILM fans in London walk past scenes from their favourite movies every day, without knowing it.

One such location is an abandoned underground station, which was used in the recent Luther film, The Fallen Sun.

AFP

2023 Netflix, Inc.

A fighting scene from the movie was filmed at the abandoned Aldwych Tube Station, where

This London underground station was originally opened in 1907, but has been closed since 1994.

The empty station, along with Charing Cross, is among several now-disused terminals that can be hired out for exclusive use.

Aldwych has also featured in TV shows and films, including Sherlock, Atonement, V for Vendetta and Superman IV: The Quest for Peace.

The empty terminus has also been dubbed a “ghost station” after it was officially closed to the public nearly 30 years ago – with maps from the decade still hanging on the walls.

Despite being closed, adverts can still be seen along the platform and signs still warn people to ‘Mind the Gap.’

The station was mainly served by a shuttle train and had fairly low passenger numbers, in comparison to most stops in London.

For this reason, it was considered for closure on more than one occasion before its doors were eventually closed off to the public.

It only provided services during weekday peak hours from 1962 and they were eventually discontinued in 1994.

Eventually, it was the cost of replacing the lifts that provided the final nail in its coffin, which was considered too much to pay.

Like several other stations in London, the tunnels of Aldwych were used as shelters during both world wars – although as well as protecting people, it was also used to house artworks from London’s public galleries and museums.

It was also the venue for a concert performed for people sheltering in 1940.

Getty - Contributor

Alamy

The London Transport Museum still offer tours of the station, which they describe as “one of London’s secret places, holding myths and memories of times gone by”.

Their excursions will resume on May 10 and will last 75 minutes.

Aldwych is not the only of London’s stations that can be toured that have a history of appearing in both television and cinema.

Charing Cross, near Trafalgar Square, is typically the go-to location for any tube-based scenes for films.

The station has an old Jubilee line platform that hasn’t been used by travellers since 1999.

Now the old platform acts as a purpose built film set, with the likes of Daniel Craig, Idris Elba and even Paddington Bear filming scenes there.

Siddy Holloway, Engagement Manager for London Transport Museum’s Hidden London, told Sun Online Travel why it is a perfect location to film any underground scenes.

She said: “Charing Cross is where we marry up underground history with pop culture because it is used extensively as a film set for Hollywood blockbusters.

“Skyfall was filmed there, Paddington, Thor, the Bourne Ultimatum, Luther, Sherlock Holmes and others.

“It’s the old Jubilee Line concourse that closed in 1999 and so they can authentically create the atmosphere of the underground without disturbing passengers on the actual underground.”

Meanwhile, this London underground station secretly protected Sir Winston Churchill during World War II.

And these tourists found a forgotten but perfectly preserved station in London that hadn’t been touched for decades.

AFP

THIS is the dramatic moment hero Tube passengers appear to jump on the tracks and help a woman who fell off her mobility scooter before being hit by a train.

King’s Cross Tube Station, London, was evacuated at 1.45pm on Saturday after the horror unfolded.

Twitter

Twitter

Emergency services rushed to the scene where the victim reportedly came off the electric motor whilst making her way down the platform.

London Ambulance Service said they treated the woman at the scene for head injuries.

She was then taken to a major trauma centre with potentially life-changing injuries.

A second person, who tried helping the victim, was also taken to hospital with injuries.

They are not life-changing or life-threatening, say police.

In a video circulating online and understood to be of the same incident, a group of men were filmed risking their lives on the tracks as they tried to help – with an incoming train minutes away.

Panicked bystanders can be heard in the video telling the men on the tracks “take off her shoe” in a bid to save her.

As chaos unfolded on the platform for the Victoria Line train, an abandoned mobility scooter can be seen in the clip.

British Transport Police said the incident is not being treated as suspicious.

A spokesperson said: “Officers were called to Kings Cross Underground Station at around 1.40pm on 29 April following reports of a casualty on the tracks.

“Colleagues from London Fire Brigade and London Ambulance Service also attended and a woman was taken to hospital for treatment, thankfully her injuries are no longer thought to be life-changing.

“A second person was also taken to hospital for treatment after sustaining an injury coming to her assistance.

“Thankfully their injuries are not life-changing or life-threatening.

“The incident is not being treated as suspicious.”

The station was quickly cleared before reopening later that afternoon.

Transport for London said: “The station was closed due to an obstruction on the track on the Victoria line.

“The line was shut at 13.45 and reopened at 15.44.”

Twitter

Twitter

LONDON commuters were baffled this morning as the architects of the Gunpowder Plot from 1605 boarded the Tube – heading straight for the Houses of Parliament.

Draped in cloaks and wearing boots with spurs, the likes of Guy Fawkes and his fellow plotters mingled with confused workers en route.

Ben Stevens

But after disembarking at Westminster, they were halted by Lady Cecil and agents of the Crown holding an anonymous letter revealing details of the planned atrocity.

The plotters were then frogmarched to the Tower of London, where they were historically imprisoned in 1605 before suffering a traitor’s execution.

Fortunately, this group posed no threat – and were actually actors from The Gunpowder Plot immersive experience from Layered Reality.  

The group hit the London streets on the 16th day of the fifth month to raise awareness of the failed attempt to blow up King James I and his government in 1605 after research found more than one in four people – 27 per cent – have little or no understanding about the Gunpowder Plot.

Commuter Nomazulu Ramachela, 29, from south-west London, said: “It’s not something you see every day on the Tube, a carriage of people dressed in period clothing – it was certainly intriguing.

“The spectacle definitely brightened up my morning commute.”

The study of 2,000 UK adults found a quarter, or 26 per cent, believe the infamous conspirator Guy Fawkes acted alone – while 33 per cent had no idea which king was being targeted.

And one in 10 even thought it was the newly-crowned King Charles III who was in the firing line.

More than a fifth, 23 per cent, misunderstood where the treasonous plot was due to take place – as they thought Buckingham Palace was the target in 1605, not the Houses of Parliament.

And 16 per cent of those polled via OnePoll admitted they believed the story of the Gunpowder Plot was a work of fiction and did not really happen.

Of these, 25 per cent assumed it was a fairytale, while 45 per cent just thought the plot was the source material for the 2005 film V For Vendetta.

Layered Reality CEO Andrew McGuinness, whose firm commissioned the study, said: “The story has been told for more than 400 years – so it’s only fair to assume many believed a tale so captivating it must have been too good to be true.

“We had lots of fun on the streets of London this morning giving commuters a glimpse into what happened all those years ago – as well as letting them know just how close the iconic Houses of Parliament was to being reduced to rubble in 1605.

“Now Brits can live out the failed Gunpowder Plot for themselves – and be at the centre of the story, with a mix of live actors, movie quality sets, virtual reality, and multi-sensory effects to create a truly immersive experience.

“It’s a fantastic way to learn about our history whilst making some great memories too.”

Following the capture, torture and execution of Guy Fawkes, James I went on to make it law that citizens celebrate his escape from the Gunpowder Plot – leading to the famous mantra “Remember, remember the fifth of November”.

The events of 1605 have inspired firework displays and bonfires across the country for more than 400 years.

Game Of Thrones star Kit Harington played plotter Robert Catesby in a 2017 BBC drama about the plot, called Gunpowder– while Sherlock and League Of Gentlemen performer Mark Gatiss depicted then-ruler Robert Cecil.

Ben Stevens

Ben Stevens

Ben Stevens

Ben Stevens

A FAMILY from the Scottish Borders helped launch an exhibition which has been seen by a million people around the world – after finding two suitcases of “priceless” designer clothes in a garage.

Linda Kirby was the goddaughter of Pamela Howard who had worked for 60s fashion icon Dame Mary Quant, creator of the miniskirt.

But when Pamela died in 2008, Linda discovered the locked cases packed with original designs from London-born Dame Mary who herself passed away last month aged 93.

Linda, from West Linton, donated the clothes to London’s V&A Museum who went on to launch Mary Quant: Fashion Revolutionary, which opens at Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum on Saturday May 20. 

The 62-year-old, who attended the launch yesterday with her mum Dorothy Kirby, who was Pamela’s school pal, and her daughter Ruth, 27, says: “When she died I was the executor of her will but when I was clearing out her house I came across two big locked suitcases in her garage.

“So we had to break into them and lo and behold everything in them had a Mary Quant logo on them.

“We knew she had worked at Mary Quant for years but she never really talked about it. When she was with me she was just my ‘aunty’ Pam.”

She adds: “But I knew I had to do something with the clothes. So I got in touch with the V&A in London to see if they would like them and they said ‘yes please.’

“My friend and I then lugged these suitcases on the London tube and took them into the museum. They couldn’t believe how many Mary Quant’s we had.”

The exhibition’s co-curator Jennie Lister, 54, said: “Linda had found this amazing wardrobe which helped us tell the incredible story of the people who had worked for Mary Quant.

“We already had a collection at the V&A but these donations filled a lot of gaps.

“It also gave us the idea of launching a social media campaign to ask other people to come forward with clothes and their memories of Mary.

“But those two suitcases really kick-started it all and are why the collection is now so huge now.”

Mary Quant pal and company director Heather Tilbury Phillips, 80, said: “This exhibition has travelled from London to Japan, Australia, New Zealand, Taiwan and has been seen by one million people globally.

“But Mary would have been delighted it will be finishing in Glasgow, as she loved coming to Scotland to source materials from Harris Tweed to Paisley pattern.”

She adds: “People know Mary for the miniskirt as she has been credited with creating it.

“But she always said that it was the girls who had come into her shop who had said to her ‘we want our skirts shorter,’ so that’s why they went up and up.

“However Mary did call in the miniskirt because she loved the mini car so much. But she influenced so much that you still see today – including the Austin Powers movies.

“She was as much a part of the swinging sixties as the music and the art from that era too.”

Freelance proofreader Linda joked: “I think aunty Pam would’ve be proud to see what her suitcases of clothes sparked off – I’m just glad we never threw them out.”

*Mary Quant: Fashion Revolutionary runs until October 22 at Glasgow’s Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum. Tickets cost £8.50, concession £6.50, children under 12 are free.

A WAVE of planned Tube strikes across London have been called off.

Many routes were set to be impacted by the July 2023 industrial action but it has since been confirmed that the walkouts will no longer take place.

Ray Collins

When are the next London underground strikes?

The RMT had announced six days of tube strikes would take place at the end of July, but they have since been cancelled.

Workers had been set to launch a “week of action” from Sunday, July 23 until Friday, July 28, 2023, involving some form of strike or walkout.

Aslef and Unite union members were also due to strike, with some days overlapping with the RMT.

The underground walkouts were in addition to strikes across the main train network, with industrial action being held by both Aslef and RMT members.

On Friday, July 21, it was confirmed that the walkouts had been called off.

Aslef wrote on their website that, after a week of negotiations at ACAS, they had received a formal proposal that covered the three issues in dispute; pensions, attendance at work procedures, and train modernisation.

RMT and Unite have also both withdrawn their strike threats, according to the Evening Standard.

Glynn Barton, chief operating officer at TfL, said: “We are pleased that the RMT, Aslef and Unite have suspended their planned industrial action next week.

“This is good news for London and we will continue to work closely with our trade unions to discuss the issues and seek a resolution.”

Why were the London Underground strikes supposed to take place?

The previously-announced strikes were part of a long-running row with TfL over job cuts, working conditions and pensions.

The union said the cuts could lead to the loss of 600 jobs across the network. 

RMT general secretary Mick Lynch had previously said: “This week of action will shut down the London Underground and show just how important the work of our members is.

“Plans by TfL to cut 600 jobs and attack our members pensions are simply unacceptable.

“We are aware that Mayor of London Sadiq Khan has had the TfL budget cut.

“However, he needs to align himself with our union and his London Underground staff in pushing back against the Tory government, exposing their damaging agenda to a key part of London transport infrastructure.”

When the strikes were announced, Glynn Barton said: “We are disappointed that the RMT has announced strike action on this range of issues that we have been attempting to discuss with them openly and co-operatively.

“We are urging the union to reconsider and engage with us to discuss the issues and seek a resolution.”

RESIDENTS who live in the shadow of a major sports stadium say their once-thriving village is now more like a ghost town.

Thousands of tennis fans flock to the Wimbledon Championships every year but locals say the area is becoming too expensive for businesses to survive in.

Rex Features

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Southfields tube station, in south-west London, is just a five-minute walk from the world-famous ground with the neighbourhood lying between the park and the River Wandle as well as being close to Wandsworth, Putney and Wimbledon Common and Richmond Park.

Wandsworth Council recently implemented a £1.6million scheme to improve the area, putting in wider pavements, new trees, more cycle stands and upgraded street lamps, saying the move would improve the travel options and enhance the “village-style” atmosphere.

Sarah Spencer, 59, who moved to Southfields eight years ago, said she loved living in the area as it was “lovely” and had a “nice vibe”.

She particularly liked the Wimbledon fortnight when the tournament was held because all the shops decorated their windows and the area was buzzing with tourists, visitors as well as famous tennis stars.

Sarah also liked it had good transport links with a tube station on the District Line, Earlsfield was just a walk away if you needed a mainline train and you could catch the tram going to Croydon.

She also pointed out the local schools had a “very good reputation”.

However, she said the number of empty shops was “awful”.

She told MyLondon: “What’s really sad is, here it’s quite an affluent area and nobody is opening new businesses because they’re stymied by the rent.”

Sarah said that while there were three chemists, three opticians and three supermarkets there wasn’t a bookshop or a dress shop and added it would be nice to have a little tapas bar, a deli and a wine bar.

That sentiment was echoed by Rie Bromley, a manager at the local branch of Oxfam.

While she praised the area’s green spaces and good transport links she bemoaned the lack of small businesses.

Rie said: “There are some empty shops so people need to maybe have more small businesses, restaurants – stuff like that is lacking. We have the coffee shops, they are everywhere, but we need little independent businesses, eateries and things like that.”

She added that three banks in Southfields had closed down which hadn’t helped as people now had to go to Wimbledon for their banking.

A 20-year-old woman, who wanted to remain anonymous described the area as “peaceful” and one where everyone got along and it was a “friendly community” which was “family-oriented”.

Paulina Smolarczyk, 32, the manager of the local branch of the Polski Sklep food store said the area was “so nice,” adding it was “peaceful” and everyone was “very nice”.

Speaking about the issue of the empty shops, a spokesperson for Wandsworth Council said: “The council is fully committed to working with local residents and businesses to keep Southfields special and to doing all it can to ensure any shop vacancies are short-lived.”

James Glossop - The Times Glasgow