A man from Rotherhithe was jailed on Monday for the rape of a 17-year-old girl.

24-year-old Frank Walker of Shipwright Road was sentenced at Woolwich Crown Court to 36 months imprisonment.

On Saturday 28 July last year the victim attended a party at friend’s house in Acorn Walk which Walker also attended. A number of people attended the party and the pair were not known to each other.

The victim had gone to sleep in a bedroom and woke up to find Walker raping her. Following her ordeal she managed to escape the room, alerted her friends and reported the incident to police.

The victim was forensically examined at the Haven and DNA samples were taken.

Following enquiries Walker was arrested by police on 29 July and subsequently charged.

Initially Walker tried to maintain his innocence; however on 19 March this year he changed his plea to guilty.

Detective Inspector Faye Churchyard said: “Walker took advantage of the victim and tried to spin a web of lies to mask his guilt, but those lies did not stand up to the evidence available and he has rightly pleaded guilty to rape.

“He will spend a lengthy time in prison for what he did to the victim.

“I also hope this will encourage others who have been victims of a sexual crime to report what has happened to them.”

The long-awaited Connect2 bridge across Rotherhithe New Road next to South Bermondsey Station was opened on Friday afternoon by Cllr Peter John, Labour leader of Southwark Council.

The ceremony was delayed after Cllr John and council colleagues were stuck on a train at London Bridge Station for nearly an hour.

Originally proposed in the mid-1990s, the project received National Lottery funding in a public vote in 2007 as part of the Sustrans Connect2 initiative.

The project suffered a series of bureaucratic hold-ups which led the late Barry Mason to campaign and cajole to ensure the scheme went ahead.

“It’s been a long wait, but I’m really pleased to see this bridge finally up and running,” said South Bermondsey Lib Dem councillor Graham Neale.

“Locals have told me they are pleased that the walk to the station will now be just a few minutes and may even increase the value of their homes.

“However there are some security fears that come with easy access to Stubbs Drive which must be addressed by the council.”

The new structure replaces a disused railway bridge which had been built to link the old goods depot at Bricklayers Arms with the main line.

Two Southwark off licences have had their right to sell alcohol suspended after they were caught selling to an underage customer during a pre-Christmas operation.

Both Payless on Jamaica Road SE16 and Costless Express on Lower Road (just across the SE8 border) have had their licences reviewed after being caught out during a crackdown by Southwark Council’s trading standards officers on 8 December last year.

A 16-year-old volunteer for trading standards went into both shops and was sold alcohol and cigarettes without being questioned or asked for proof of age. The council’s test purchasing was part of Operation Condor – the Metropolitan Police’s partnership working initiative where licensing and regulatory issues are targeted on the same day in a London Wide blitz.

As a result the stores have had their licences reviewed by a Southwark licensing sub-committee. Councillors agreed that Costless Express would have its premises alcohol licence suspended for 8 weeks with immediate effect while Payless has had its licence revoked.

Councillor Richard Livingstone, cabinet member for finance, resources and community safety, said: “This needs to serve as a warning to all the licensed premises in Southwark that this council takes its responsibilities seriously and we will come down hard on anyone serving alcohol illegally to our younger residents.  They must make it their habit to check for proof of age when selling to young people.

“As well as being against the law there are serious health consequences to drinking too much alcohol at such an early age and we know that under-age drinking is often linked to anti-social behaviour on our streets and estates.”

Payless has 21 days to appeal to a magistrates’ court and in the meantime can continue to sell alcohol.