This week 30 years ago: Janet Street-Porter in bizarre row with Islington Council

TV personality Janet Street-Porter was pleading with Islington Council to move a lamp-post – so she didn’t miss out on her beauty sleep.

Architects supervising the conversion of her luxury home in Britton Street, Finsbury, claimed the lamp-post would be of “permanent nuisance to our client’s sleep”.

But the town hall refused to be cowed. It claimed that removing the post would cause road safety issues.

Cllr Chris King said: “Now she’s got a designer house, she wants a good street lamp to go with it. I’m afraid we can’t accommodate Ms Street-Porter’s request.”

Meanwhile, a man was jailed for three-and-a-half years for setting fire to his ex-girlfriend’s flat.

Welder Kim Lafrensis poured petrol through the woman’s letterbox after they broke up. Thankfully, she and her two children managed to escape from the flat in York Way Court. Lafrensis was convicted of arson.