The FixMyStreet website also has two reports of the problem. The first of them dates back to June 15th: "Manhole cover rocks and is noisy as cars drive over it". The second, from 22nd July, describes a "collapsed catchpit cover". Both include pictures of the damage.

The cover was originally broken by a utilities worker, who had said it would be fixed the next day, according to one resident. Another said he had reported it to Thames Water, who sent the report to Lambeth council, while a third said he had reported it to Lambeth directly.

Contact with the damaged ironwork sent the car onto the pavement of Heybridge Avenue at around 2pm. Residents of the street described it as an "accident" that was "foreseeable", and said that several of them had reported the broken cover as a problem.

...occupied a slot in "The Dip" between Streatham Green and the station. That unit has since had several incarnations, including as an international call centre and clothes shop, a "purveyor of lovely stuff" selling craft beer, and most recently a hairdresser and wiggery.

The British Heart Foundation operates a second-hand bookshop on the High Road, but the new Waterstones branch is otherwise Streatham's only specialist bookseller, and the first since Words Worth Books, fondly recalled by long-time Streatham watchers...

"We haven't figured out yet whether busy there means good or bad for us," one said. "Most people are very positive about it - it could help create a little hub, as people go there and notice us," said another.

In nearby cafes and gift shops, staff were positive about their new neighbour, although they said it was too early to know whether it was good for business.

Staff asked by @streathamstuff didn't remember selling Boris Johnson's memoir 'Unleashed', but one copy seemed to have gone from the central half-price display between Friday and Sunday's close. "We are selling a lot of books, that's for sure," one diplomatic staff member said.

Local MP and Environment Secretary Steve Reed cut the ribbon to formally open the store on Saturday morning, and said it was "really good news for the area". There was no suggestion that the scissors used in the ceremony were hand-crafted or controversially expensive. x.com/SteveReedMP/...

The High Road's new bookshop was immediately busy on its unannounced "soft" opening on Friday, and stayed that way. Staff said the shop felt busier than other branches they had worked in, with people "constantly coming in and saying how excited they are about it".

Staff said they were "really pleased about the amount of excitement" around the soft launch, business had "exceeded expectations", and nothing had gone badly wrong so far. They did also say, "Sorry, it's my first day," at least once.