One of the more lighthearted events this week took a dark turn on Tuesday as a cow that escaped from a field near Wyndham Park was shot by police.

The cow led members of the public and the police force as well as social media on a race around town before being trapped in the car park of Belton Lane Children’s Centre. As many of us were sharing jokes about the spectacle, police decided that the cow was a threat to public safety and had to be put down.

I’m not going to pretend I know the specifics of the situation. I don’t know how agitated the cow was throughout the chase or just how much damage it could have done if it charged and injured a human being. But I do feel there had to have been better ways to have dealt with it.

The cow was trapped in the car park for a long while with people saying that it was stood still for close to 10 minutes before finally being shot and killed. With this sort of time available, the police’s statement declaring the animal 
was still a threat to locals seems odd. I find it hard to believe it was much of a threat with a 20-metre exclusion zone around the car 
park.

While it would have been preferential to have caught the cow alive and returned it to the owner, I do understand the concern for public safety.

Furthermore, I would like to know why it took so long in order to come to a conclusion in either case. It appears the cow was leading a Keystone Cops-like police force around Grantham, as specially trained marksmen tried to take a shot at the bovine.

However the ultimate decision was reached it is still sad to see a confused animal slaughtered in a primary school car park particularly when it appears to have been rushed.

Why has the council not noticed the craters (potholes) on the approach to the tip and Mowbeck House? I am surprised a dustbin lorry or anything else has not vanished completely down one.

I realise this is a nation-wide problem.

This could easily be rectified by all councils and county councils, by bringing back town clerks, clerks of works and the ways and means departments. This could be done by shedding the grossly overpaid CEOs and directors. That would free up nearly half a million pounds in the SKDC area alone. Potholes and many other much-needed things could then be attended to.

Simples.

F. N. Cunningham

Alexandra Road, Grantham

I think David Brown shot himself in the foot last week when comparing Margaret Thatcher with Isaac Newton, saying Grantham waited 130 years before recognising him with a statue.

This says more about the mean spirited people of Grantham than the universal fame of Isaac Newton.

Maybe, in time, the universal fame of Margaret Thatcher will reach Grantham and the petty animosity in some provincial minds resolved.

Rod Hatherill

Lodge Way, Grantham

I would like to say a very big thank you to everyone who made our bag-packing fundraiser in Morrisons on Saturday such a huge success.

With the help of local police cadets, friends and family, we raised over £400 .

I am undertaking a series of walking challenges for Breast Cancer charities this year tohelp them aid vital research (a 5k, 10k, half marathon, full marathon and 100k ultramarathon).

For anyone who missed it, we will be bag-packing again in Morrisons on Saturdays, June 1 and 22.

Julie Mckie

By email

When we moved to Grantham my husband and I didn’t know the town at all.

Now nine months on we are very happy that we came here. The majority of people are friendly and welcoming and the facilities are good. It’s a lovely little town.

Particularly we enjoy visiting the Guildhall Theatre and seeing the great shows that are put on there. Not least was Cats, which we watched on Saturday night. I have seen this performed in the West End and didn’t enjoy it. The Star Academy version however did not disappoint. The young people showed such talent and it had a warmth and exuberance that was missing I feel in the London show.

Congratulations to them all. Keep up the good work Grantham.

Geraldine Lee

By email

The headteacher of Charles Read Academy in Corby Glen has told parents and pupils to ‘hang on in there’ as the future of the school remains uncertain.

Ali Story says there are reasons to be positive about the school’s future, with the latest OFSTED report and news of talks taking place between the West Grantham Academies Trust and a potential sponsor.

The trust revealed plans earlier this year to close Charles Read in 2014, moving more than 200 pupils to St Hugh’s in Grantham

Mrs Story said: “It’s a difficult time for staff, students and parents and we have all been working hard to make sure the educational standards are maintained despite the turbulence around us and I think this OFTED report confirms that we are improving in so many different areas. So, if we are given the opportunity to stay open we will improve further.”

Mrs Story said: “Some parents are taking their children out of school because they want to know where their children will be for the coming years, and a lot of parents are still staying because they do believe there will be another sponsor.

“I think the future is brighter. We have to hang on in there. I am feeling very positive and I want to keep what we have stable and calm.”

There have been rumours that Carphone Warehouse founder Sir Charles Dunstone could be the potential sponsor who has been talking to the trust, but no one has confirmed this. Sir Charles sponsors a school in Lancashire. He was a pupil at Uppingham School.

A cyclist says he was lucky not to be seriously injured after being thrown over his handlebars when he rode over a pothole in Grantham.

Dave Barrett, 49, was riding in Earlesfield Lane late one night recently when his front wheel went into the hole and flung him off his mountain bike. He had slowed down as a car approached him to pass some parked vehicles near the Physical Culture Club when the accident happened. He sustained some bruising and a sore neck.

Mr Barrett, of Spring End, Great Gonerby, said: “I just bruised myself and luckily did not break anything. The driver got out and helped to pick me up. He offered to call an ambulance.”

He added: “It was wet and snowing at the time and I was not going that fast. I was braking all the time I was going down the hill.”

Mr Barrett, who taught cycling proficiency at Gonerby Hill Foot Primary School for 11 years, is in the process of putting in a claim against Lincolnshire County Council for the damage caused.

He said repairs made to potholes around Grantham were a waste of time as heavy lorries soon “peeled” the tarmac away again. He said it was not a case of bad weather causing problems but poor materials.

The county council received a Government grant of £6.4million earlier this year to repair potholes and said work would be carried out in the next financial year. But road safety campaigners have said that to fix all the potholes in the county would cost more than £100million.

Last weekend saw the rearranged Junior Masters tournament come to Grantham College, after the event was postponed in January due to bad weather.

The event was one of the highest calibre tournaments in the English table tennis calendar with lots of top quality matches on show. It saw 14 of the top Junior boys and girls fight it out over the course of two days for the coveted Masters titles.

After two days of fierce competition and exciting table tennis action, the Junior Masters reached its conclusion. In the boys, Sam Walker (Ng) came first, winning all of his matches. Igor Morais (Mi) was runner up and George Downing (Do) came third. In the girls’ event, Tin-Tin Ho (Mi) was crowned Masters champion and completed the double, winning both the Cadet and Junior Masters this season. Maria Tsaptsinos (Bk) was a gallant runner up and Lois Peake (Sx) took third place.

Both days of play were thrilling with lots tension as players fought for final positions in front of England selectors. A high level of fair play was maintained throughout and all players won at least one match.

There was local interest with two players from Lincolnshire competing and one from Grantham. Adam Harrison, who is studying for his A-levels at Grantham College and is part of the Grantham College Table Tennis Academy, played very well to finish fifth. Olivia Churchill also played well, winning two matches and taking many other top junior players close. She finished in 13th place.

Played for the first time at Grantham College, the event this year was run very efficiently, due in part to the superb work of stand-in referee Cathy Steeples, an experienced group of umpires, and the contribution of young, enthusiastic and competent volunteers from the college’s academy.

Athletes from Grantham gave a good account of themselves in the Ashby 20-mile road race last Sunday.

Despite some testing weather conditions when the sleet turned to snow for the second half of the hilly event, Grantham Running Club’s Paul Rushoworth was first Grantham man home, some four minutes under his previous best for the course, followed by Arthur Short (Grantham Athletic Club).

Also setting their own personal best times for the distance were Catherine Payne and Sophie Stanley.

Results: Paul Rushworth (GRC) 2hr 15min 13sec pb, Arthur Short (GAC) 2.19.22, Ben Hatherley (GRC) 2.26.24, Andrew Pask (GRC) 2.29.28, Ben Mason (GRC) 2.31.01, Catherine Payne (GRC) 2.32.10 pb, Robert McArdle (GRC) 2.37.22, Gordon Geach (GRC) 2.41.58, Sophie Stanley (GAC) 2.48.56 pb, Lucy Roberts (GRC) 2.55.55, Keith Measures (GAC) 3.03.07, Philip Hall (GAC) 3.15.50.

Two members of Ropsley Road Runners also took part. Tony Johnson recorded 2.23.07 and Steven Thacker 2.49.26.

Walton Girls’ High School and Sixth Form Academy joined forces with three other Grantham schools for the annual National Junior Indoor Rowing Championships at Enfield last Friday.

Walton combined with Priory Ruskin Academy, King’s School and Kesteven and Grantham Girls’ School, along with Newark Rowing Club.

They were among more than 2,200 Year 7 to 13 competitors from all over the UK and the atmosphere was electric with more than 120 Concept2 rowing machines going at any one time and spectators screaming encouragement. Also in attendance were members of this year’s Oxford and Cambridge boat race crews and 2012 Olympic doubles gold medallist Catherine Granger.

Local individual stars on the day were George Mitchell (Priory/Newark RC) who achieved third place and the bronze medal in Year 11, with Ashley Cowley (King’s/Newark RC) finishing fourth. Rowena Price (KGGS/Newark RC) finished fifth in the Year 12 girls.

The Boat Race Relay A Team consisted of Walton’s Steph Hennessy and Georgia Powell along with KGGS/Newark Rowing Club’s Jenna Draycott, Hannah Fulton, Katie Mcloughlin, Gabrielle Price, Rowena Price and Harriet Swindells. They had a demanding and exhausting race, dipping in and out of first and second places in their heats, eventually gaining fifth place overall with a fantastic time of 23.23.9min. The B Team of Walton’s Abbie Byron, Nina Giraffa, Kyra Greetham, Beth Hennessy, Gwen James, Amy Newell and Poppy Thorpe, along with Meggan Pepper representing KGGS/Newark RC, achieved a creditable 31st place in a time of 26.51.8.

Full individual results (competitor numbers in brackets): Yr 7 - Beth Hennessy 120th (207); Yr 8 - Jenna Draycott 6th, Katie McLoughlin 7th, Abbie Byron 35th, Poppy Thorpe 162nd (239); Yr 9 - Sophie Eaves 8th, Gabrielle Price 17th, Georgia Powell 43rd, Meggan Pepper 63rd, Nina Giraffa 105th, Lucy Kitchen 107th, Esme Lockyer 115th, Amy Newell 144th, Kyra Greetham 170th, Gwen James 175th, Steph Hennessy DNS (204); Yr 10 - Hannah Fulton 71st, Tilly Foster 83rd, Harriet Swindells DNF (169); Yr 11 - George Mitchell 3rd, Ashley Cowley 4th (100); Yr 12 - Rowena Price 5th (47).

+ The next indoor rowing competition for Kesteven District Schools will be held at Priory Ruskin Academy on April 18.

A Team are, from left – Katie Mcloughlin, Gabrielle Price, Harriet Swindells, Hannah Fulton, Jenna Draycott and Rowena Price; front – Steph Hennessy and Georgia Powell.

B Team are, from left – Amy Newell, Kyra Greetham, Meggan Pepper, Abbie Byron, Poppy Thorpe and Nina Giraffa; front – Gwen James and Beth Hennessy.

Witham Wheeler juvenile Karl Baillie returned to the boards for the final round of the Manchester Friday night track league last weekend.

Karl missed the previous week’s competition due to an Olympic Development and Talent team training camp, and was keen to put into practice what he had learnt as he took to the track in Group Four races.

In the four-lap scratch race, he found himself boxed in and finished down the order. But in the points race, he finished second in the first sprint, and first in the third and fifth, to amass a total of 13 points to take the overall win by five clear points.

Karl rode near the front for the whole of the elimination race and finished as runner-up. He broke away with five laps to go in the 20-lap course des primes and pulled out almost half a lap on the field to take a comfortable victory.

He also rode well in the final event of the night, the 50-lap scratch race, and finished a respectable fourth.

A woman denied two counts of dishonestly failing to notify the council of a change in her circumstances, namely that she was living with someone as husband and wife, and as a result received £66,000 in Income Support which she was not entitled to.

Andrea Freestone, 37, of Princess Drive, Grantham, denied the charges which allegedly took place between August 2, 2004 and February 12, 2012, and between August 1, 2004, and February 1, 2012.

The case was adjourned until May 20.

The defendant was given unconditional bail.

Police officers were sworn at when they attended a domestic dispute in Grantham last year.

The two officers were called to an address in Ivatt Court on September 28 where they saw Carl Moore, 30, banging on the front door.

Jim Clare, prosecuting, told the court that when he noticed the officers, Moore was abusive towards them.

He was asked to calm down but became angry.

The homeowner was not happy for him to be there and he had been kicking and banging on the door.

Neighbours were opening their windows and the police believed Moore to be drunk.

He called them a “bunch of b*******” and when one of the officers thought he was about to be struck, Moore was arrested and taken to Grantham police station.

Defending himself in court, Moore said: “It was a disagreement between me and the kids’ mother and that was the result of it.”

He admitted a charge of using threate ning words or behaviour.

Moore was handed a conditional discharge for 12 months and ordered to pay £40 costs.

A man who missed appointments and broke a community order was sent to prison for eight weeks.

John Gaskin, of Oakleigh Road, Grantham, admitted failing to comply with the requirements of a community order and was sent to prison by Grantham magistrates.

The court heard Gaskin had missed several appointments with the probation service.

Defending, Bill Fraser told the court that Gaskin was on a course of Methadone.

He said: “He goes to Addaction to pick up his prescription.

“He is not in a good state of mind until he has got his prescription.”

Mr Fraser said Gaskin had been homeless until somebody gave him a place to stay in Oakleigh Road.

He said if Gaskin was given appointments with the probation service later in the day he would do his very best to comply.

Gaskin was originally sentenced for assault.

The bench said Gaskin was being jailed because he “wilfully refused to comply with the order”.

A driver accused of failing to give a specimen for analysis will appear on trial at Grantham Magistrates’ Court.

Pawel Karwat, of Ipswich Gardens, Grantham, pleaded not guilty to the offence allegedly committed on February 18.

His trial was set for June 14.

He was given unconditional bail.

Police raided a house in Sedgebrook and found a quantity of cannabis in a Kinder Egg on a bedside table.

Brett White, 40, admitted possessing cannabis and was fined £215 with £85 costs and a £15 victim surcharge by Grantham magistrates.

Prosecutor Jim Clare told the court that White admitted to police that he smoked cannabis and it was for his personal use.

Bill Fraser, defending, said White had smoked cannabis for a number of years.

Mr Fraser said: “He finds it calms him down and relaxes him.

“He has a heart condition and it keeps him calm and allows him to chill out a bit.”

The court heard that White had recently got a job with Centrebus doing repairs, but had got into a lot of debt over the last seven years.

A man accused of driving dangerously on the A52 will appear on trial at crown court.

Arturs Smalnieks, 28, of Kedleston Road, Grantham, is accused of driving his Mitsubishi Gallant dangerously on the A52 at Sedgebrook on July 25, 2008. He has pleaded not guilty and will appear at crown court on May 3. He was granted bail on condition that he lives and sleeps at his home address and remains under curfew between 8pm and 4am.

Police stopped a suspicious man in Grantham and found nine wraps of heroin and crack cocaine on him.

Andrew David Robinson, 25, was stopped in Harlaxton Road, on August 10 last year by police officers.

As he was being approached he texted friends to say he was being stopped and searched.

When asked what he had, he told the officers he had some “brown and white”.

Jim Clare, prosecuting, told the court that Robinson admitted to police buying the wraps but would not say where he got them. He said Robinson had been taking controlled drugs for eight years and had been on a Methadone programme for several years.

When he was arrested, he was on his way to his mates to score and share.

Rory Macmillan, defending, said Robinson had not bought the drugs with the intention of selling them and making money.

He was going to share them among his friends, payment or not, and that was why he was found with slightly larger amounts than would be the case if it was solely for his own use.

The court heard Robinson had referred himself to Addaction 18 months ago and was on a Methadone programme.

They were helping him with an application for accommodation in Grantham because he wanted to find work which was difficult in Ancaster where he lived with his parents in Water Lane.

Robinson admitted possessing crack cocaine with intent to supply and possessing heroin with intent to supply.

He was given a community order which included 12 months supervision and six months of drug rehabilitation.

He was ordered to pay £85 costs and the drugs were ordered to be destroyed.

A drug addict was persuaded to burgle a Colsterworth company to repay his debts to his suppliers.

It was third time unlucky for Dean Keith Mohammed, 22, who tried to enter the premises of Associated Timber Services on November 7, 2011, by cutting a hole in the perimeter fence and smashing a window, but he set off the alarm and ran away.

Mohammed, of Mussons Close, Corby Glen, pleaded guilty to two counts of burglary and one of attempted burglary at Grantham Magistrates’ Court.

Jim Clare, prosecuting, told the court that on the first occasion between September 30 and October 3, 2011, the duty manager had locked the front gates as the last person out of the building.

When he returned on the Monday morning he found the office block broken into and that every unlocked room had been entered.

An untidy search had been made of the building and four computers, landline and mobile phones had been stolen.

On the second occasion, later that month, three computers and phones were stolen.

Again a hole had been cut in the fence and a window smashed in the canteen.

On November 7, 2011, a third attempt to burgle the premises failed when a newly fitted alarm was triggered.

Mr Clare said the defendant was caught when another man went into Barclays Bank to pay a cheque in, in the name of the company director whose cheque book had gone missing.

When arrested, he said Mohammed had asked him to cash the cheque.

In a statement, the comp-
any director said that more than £8,400 worth of goods were stolen on the first occasion and more than £6,300 worth was taken in the second burglary.

He said the company had lost more money in custom.

He added: “I do feel let down by the police and I think they should have done a lot more sooner.”

Mr Clare told the court that Mohammend had said he was in a lot of debt, to the tune of about £1,000.

He was addicted to MCAT and his suppliers suggested he burgle Associated Timber Services, a site he knew because his family owned a company nearby.

He burgled the company with another male and when he got the money he used it to pay for more drugs and petrol, and to pay off his debt.

Bill Fraser, defending, said that Mohammed was not the only person involved in the burglary, but the other male had “got off Scot free”.

He said Mohammed had pleaded guilty at the first opportunity, was in work and had not committed any offences since.

The court handed Mohammed a 12 weeks sentence to run concurrently for all three offences, suspended for 12 months.

An order was made for him to undergo 12 months’ supervision and undertake 150 hours of unpaid work.

He was ordered to pay costs of £85.

Cliffedale Chandlers Table Tennis Club’s second primary and secondary schools tournament of the season enjoyed another high turnout of entries.

More than 40 local school children participated in the competition from 10 primary and four secondary schools. Every player received a certificate of participation and medals were awarded for first, second and third place final positions.

Results: under-9 boys – 1 Joshua Kettle (Cliffedale), 2 Flynn Connolly (Cliffedale), 3 Harvey Hamilton (Isaac Newton); under-9 girls – 1 Shana Hamilton (Isaac Newton), 2 Amber Halsey (Cliffedale), 3 Ella Newboult (Cliffedale); under-11 boys – 1 Marco Pierbattisti (Dudley House), 2 Frazer Winfield (Huntingtower), 3 Nitesh Shyam (Cliffedale); under-11 girls – 1 Jessica Austin (Colsterworth), 2 Sarah Henderson (Long Bennington), 3 Caitlin Kittridge (Cliffedale); under-13 boys: 1 Hubert (St. Hugh’s), 2 Henry Wood (King’s), 3 Thomas Edwards (Belvoir High); under-16 boys 1 Luke Mason (Priory Ruskin).