Seven years after it was first put up, residents in Upper Norwood got a rare sight last week - one of their local cafes WITHOUT scaffolding.

Since the turn of the century, concerned residents and businesses in the Croydon conservation area have been trying to find out why the unsightly scaffolding outside the Crystal Pantry in Church Road had never come down.

They feared it was giving people a negative impression of the area and anyone wishing to walk outside the shop was forced to go on to the road instead.

But finally the framework has been removed and life at the Crystal Pantry is beginning to resemble normality - albeit seven years later than planned.