Two brothers accused of the murder of Grantham man Danny Walsh were today (Tuesday) cleared by a jury at the end of a 12-day trial at Lincoln Crown Court.

The jury of four men and eight women took less than 30 minutes to return ‘not guilty’ verdicts.

Ben Croft, 24, and his younger brother Sam Croft, 22, both of Barrowby, had denied murdering 30-year-old Mr Walsh on July 28, 2013.

The prosecution claimed that Mr Walsh was attacked as he walked home along Edinburgh Road, Grantham, with his partner and young daughter.

He stopped to complain about the noise from a house party and was then allegedly attacked. The jury heard Mr Walsh suffered fatal head injuries after being punched and kicked.

But Ben Croft, a semi-professional boxer, denied he was involved in any violence.

His brother Sam told the jury that Mr Walsh grabbed him by the throat and he reacted in self defence.

He said: “I felt his hand around my throat. I couldn’t breathe properly. I hit out. It was just a reaction. I didn’t really think. I just did it.

“I remember him looking at me. If he was angry before he was really angry now. I could see he was going to get back up. Then I kicked him. From start to finish it was just seconds.

“To me it felt like the right thing to do. I felt it was necessary.”

** More on this story to follow shortly.

Grantham Tennis Club’s Mini Red and Mini Green squads had the honour of playing in the Nottinghamshire County Finals at the weekend, after qualifying from their leagues for the second consecutive year.

The Red team consisted of Oliver Anderson, Luke Cullen, Lilia Dunn and Josh Harris, and played some fantastic tennis against three other teams. Grantham beat Caunton but narrowly lost out to the other two.

The Mini Green team comprised of Nitesh Shyam, Heidi-Louise Roberts and James Peace. They played some very good tennis but were unfortunate not to manage to beat a team overall.

l Grantham men’s third team missed out on promotion from Division Three of the Winter League.

With Division Two in their sights, the team of captain Colin Walton, Josh King, Toby King, Rob Start, Ed Milner and Martin Garret had their hopes of advancement dashed after they lost 74-34 to a very strong side from The Park.

Stoke Rochford’s Tanya Taylor has enjoyed a lot of a success in a short space of time.

Just three years after she started orienteering, Tanya has won five titles over the past 12 months.

The first was the East Midlands Urban League which is contested by clubs from Lincoln, Nottingham, Leicester and Derby. This was a series of events around towns in the East Midlands which included Lincoln, Stamford, Ashby and Chesterfield. Tanya achieved maximum points in each of the four events.

Her second title was the NopeSport trophy. This was a national league with events taking place all over the country. The best scores from seven out of the 16 events were taken into account and, once again, Tanya was a comfortable winner of her age group.

Thirdly, Tanya won the East Midlands rural league with events taking part in the woods and over the moors around the four counties.

The other two titles came courtesy of her own orienteering club’s winter and night-score competitions. Added to the titles, Tanya achieved a national ranking of sixth in her age group.

A customer services manager stole thousands of pounds from cashpoint machines at a Grantham bank where he worked, Lincoln Crown Court was told.

Jason Thurlby carried out the thefts while refilling the machines at the Halifax bank, despite being accompanied by at least one colleague and being monitored by CCTV.

Phil Howes, prosecuting, said Thurlby was caught out in June last year after a colleague spotted him concealing some notes while filling one of the machines.

Mr Howes said: “She felt sick by what she witnessed. She felt betrayed and compromised by what she had seen.”

The woman discussed the issue with a colleague before reporting the matter to management.

Thurlby was spoken to the following day but tried to brazen it out.

Subsequent checks revealed a number of shortfalls on the cash machines at times when he was involved in refilling them.

Thurlby was suspended by the bank and initially tried to claim a device must have been placed over the machine allowing money to be taken out.

Later he changed his story and after first admitting to taking £200 in “a moment of madness” he went on to confess he had been stealing cash for a year.

Mr Howes said: “He said the losses were down to him. He said he was surprised it had not been picked up before. He said he was using the money to live off. He was taking approximately £1,000 a month.”

Thurlby, 25, of Manners Road, Balderton, admitted the theft of £12,000 in the 12 months up to the end of June 2013.

He was given a 12-month jail sentence suspended for 18 months with 100 hours of unpaid work. A further hearing will take place to decide on the confiscation of his assets.

Stephen Kemp, defending, said: “He is genuinely ashamed of what he has done. His motivation for doing this was financial pressures.”

He said Thurlby was already in debt before becoming a father and was struggling to pay the mortgage on his home.

Mr Kemp added: “Having heard about the ATMs not balancing he took the opportunity, foolishly, to take advantage of that situation. It was inevitable that sooner or later it would be discovered.

“He has now lost his employment with the bank. He is someone who had been showing some promise and that has been thrown away.”

Mr Kemp said that Thurlby, who had no previous convictions, is now working as a labourer.

A volunteer for Kesteven Rideability, her boyfriend and her family are all heading to Mount Everest in April to raise money for charity.

Chloe Barratt, 23, helps out at the saddle club which enables disabled people to go horse riding, but from April 4 to 20 she and her loved ones will be on the other side of the world climbing to Everest base camp which sits at 5500m above sea level.

Along with her mum, dad, sister Ellie and boyfriend Nick, Chloe will be walking six hours everyday over varied terrain, and attempting to avoid any altitude sickness by climbing higher during the day and then returning to lower ground to sleep at night.

The team of trekkers are paying for the trip themselves and have each chosen a charity to give their sponsorship money to, with Chloe fundraising for Kesteven Rideability as she knows what great work they do first-hand.

“I love volunteering at Kesteven Rda because it is so easy to see the effect and enjoyment that it brings to the kids,” said Chloe.

She has already exceeded her £500 target, while her 15-year-old sister Ellie has been fundraising for Water Aid and Nick, 22, has been collecting for the charity Dreams Come True.

As well as raising money for the Newark hospice Beaumond House, Chloe’s parents Donnella and Richard are marking their 25th wedding anniversary this year with the challenge.

Chloe explained: “My dad walked to Everest base camp when he was 22 with his mum and has always spoken of it which made me eager to do it.

“Me and my sister asked if we could come and to top it off my boyfriend Nick is coming too so it’s a whole family adventure!”

The family who live in Brant Broughton are preparing with lots of walks and gym sessions, and Chloe added: “I cannot believe that it is next month - I’m getting more and more excited!”

If you would like to sponsor Chloe go to https://mydonate.bt.com/fundraisers/chloebarratt1

Grantham Autistic Information Network (GAIN) is holding an autism-friendly screening of Muppets Most Wanted at the Reel cinema on Sunday, April 6, at 10am.

Entry is £3.50. During the screening the sound will be turned down and the lights will be turned slightly up. Film goers will be able to move around the cinema and no trailers will be shown before the screening.

Further details on the screening can be found at www.facebook.com/GAINGrantham

Northern Premier League

Premier Division

Grantham Town 3

Stafford Rangers 2

Grantham Town scrapped it out to defeat lowly Stafford Rangers and register another valuable three points which edged them further up the table.

Referee Mr Pashley allowed the game to kick off with two of Stafford’s players still in the changing room, but Darren Bullock and Daniel Cope were soon on to the field.

It was a brisk start at a chilly Meres stadium and Grantham were stunned to concede a goal after just seven minutes. Deon Meikle gave the ball away in midfield and Stafford’s Chris Smith spotted Dan Haystead off his line and lobbed over him from all of 40 yards.

The Gingerbreads upped pressure on the Rangers goal and Michael Towey missed a golden opportunity on 17 minutes when he failed to get a shot off from the centre of the penalty area.

The home side found an equaliser a further 10 minutes on, with new striker Jordan Hempenstall dancing through the visitors’ defence, rounding keeper Jonathan Sutherland and tucking into the empty net.

Hempenstall almost doubled his tally two minutes later but lifted his shot over the bar.

At the other end, Cope looped a header just over on the half hour mark, and his 37th minute drive went the same way following a poor kick from keeper Haystead.

The last real action of the half saw Greg Smith attempt to shoot in from an extremely acute angle at the near post, but Stafford keeper Sutherland caught with confidence.

Grantham’s Paul Lister and Jack McGovern had chances early in the second half but the home side found themselves trailing for a second time with 10 minutes played. Rangers caught Town on the break and Saul Henderson was in the right place to get a touch on a squared ball across the face of goal and poked home.

But the Gingerbreads wasted little time in posting a reply. Two minutes later, Lee Potts won a corner kick, on to which Michael Jacklin headed deftly over Sutherland and into the back of the net.

Sitting back, Stafford appeared to be happy to settle for a point and let Grantham come at them, although Haystead was forced to tip a cross-cum-shot wide in the 59th minute and watch Matthew Berkeley miss a sitter 10 minutes later.

Hempenstall scuffed a strike wide and McGovern was denied by Sutherland as Town chased a third goal. Jacklin’s 82nd minute ball into the box turned into an on-target effort but Sutherland was there to catch.

The Gingerbreads scored a deserved winner three minutes later. McGovern’s 25-yard free kick found Lister who headed in with aplomb from the centre of the penalty area.

As the clock ticked down and into four minutes of added time, Grantham had further opportunities through substitutes Paul Grimes and Rhys Lewis.

Town’s final attempt on goal saw Hempenstall try to walk the ball in for a second time, but Sutherland bravely snatched the ball from his feet.

Grantham Town: Haystead, Purcicoe, Jacklin, Meikle, Lister (c), McGovern, Walker (Lewis,70), Towey, Hempenstall, Smith (Grimes, 76), Potts (King, 88). Subs not used: Hawes, Ridley. Att: 138.

Energetic pupils of a Grantham primary school smashed their target of walking or running 112 miles for Sport Relief – by a whopping 235 miles!

Every pupil of St Anne’s arrived in sports gear on Friday, ready to do laps of the school field to cover the equivalent of the distance between the school and the BBC TV Centre in London.

Year 6 teacher Peter Shaw said: “They were ready for a full day of sporting goodness; we had swimmers, footballers and even an identical pair of 118 runners (Matthew and Thomas in Year 6).

“We completed laps of the school field with each child getting a sticker for every lap they completed.

“Our children were so enthusiastic about the whole event and managed to pass the 112-mile point before lunch with Patrick, one of our Year 1 children, being the lucky individual who crossed the line for us.”

And by the end of the day, thanks to a huge effort by children from reception class to Year 4, they reached 347 miles. This equates to 2,665 laps of the field, which the youngsters tackled in 30-minute slots.

Mr Shaw said: “To put it another way, the children could have run from our school, past London, through the Channel Tunnel and beyond Paris!

“We are so proud of their efforts.”

School children across the county were treated to a talk from paralympian Sam Ruddock last week.

As part of this year’s Inspire+ legacy tour Sam, who is an ambassador of the sports charity, visited numerous schools in the area to speak to pupils in assemblies about his experiences and the importance of sport.

Sam said: “I think it is important for them to see what it is like for someone who has been at this level of competition. It shows them that anyone can get there through hard work, and you can start from anywhere, even from the hard wood floor of the school gym.”

After competing at London 2012 in the T35 100m and 200m events, Sam wants to help keep the legacy of the Games alive through his work with Inspire+.

At one of the schools on the tour, Huntingtower Primary Academy, talented 11-year-old gymnast Ellie Booton was amongst the students inspired by Sam’s talk, and she already has hopes to compete at the next Olympics in Rio.

Speaking after the assembly at Huntingtower teaching assistant and P.E. teacher Tracey Duxbury-Mead said: “It has been absolutely fantastic. Earlier this week we had the legacy tour with the baton, and to have Sam come here today has been great - the children couldn’t take their eyes off him.”

Lincolnshire Police are asking for information from the public about three recent incidents in the town.

A Black BMW with a registration ending BWN was stolen from the drive of a property in the Balmoral Drive area at some point during the night of March 25.

Sometime overnight on March 19 a caravan was broken into and two gas canisters stolen in Rosemary Crescent,

Also a hedgecutter was taken from a shed in the Victoria Street area between March 18 and March 20.

If you can help police with their inquiries please contact them on 101.

Grantham’s Meres leisure centre hosted The Butterfly Michael Hawkesworth Championships last weekend.

More than 90 competitors took part in two days of thrilling table tennis action that saw winners in 12 classes of competition.

Paralympic silver medalist Will Bayley, members of the GB Para Table Tennis Team, and rising star Thomas Matthews, a member of the GB Pathway squad, were among those who competed.

Many of the athletes used the competition as a warm-up to an international Para event – the Lignano Master Open – in Italy later this week.

The competition was also the BTTAD National Championships and represented the opportunity for young, up-and-coming players to compete against the best in the UK.

SKDC’s portfolio holder for leisure, arts and culture Councillor Bob Adams joined current England number one and four times national women’s singles champion Kelly Sibley to help present the medals and trophies to winners.

Coun Adams said: “It was a fantastic event for The Meres to stage and we were privileged to witness some of the best and up and coming athletes in the sport go head to head here in South Kesteven.

“Competitors came from every corner of Great Britain and we hope they enjoyed heir weekend in Grantham.

“The skill and dedication of the competitors was at times breathtaking and we look forward to welcoming the championships back to The Meres next year.”

A reunion is set to take place next month for ‘old girls’ of Kesteven and Grantham Girls’ School.

A luncheon will be held on Saturday, April 5.

It is a chance for former pupils to get together and catch up.

For further information, email Paula at pebbins@gmail.com

Families and businesses living and operating in the southern part of Grantham are invited to join in a discussion of policing and other matters.

Police community support office Jackie Fulker and Councillor Charmaine Morgan will hold a residents’ meeting at St Anne’s Church, in Harrowby Road, on Friday, April 4.

Up for discussion will be priorities set at the first such meeting, held earlier this month. They are to:

* install temporary speed cameras in specified streets

* monitor and tackle anti-social behaviour in McDonald’s car park

* tackle fly-tipping

* have a zero tolerance approach to drug dealing

* complete late night surveys of public open spaces where potential criminal activity is taking place, including Harrowby Road allotments

Meetings will be held at the church on the first Friday of every month at 7pm.

Meanwhile, Coun Morgan is available to talk to residents at the Jubilee Church Life Centre on the second Tuesday of each month.

Under-17 RFU Midlands Cup Semi-final

Birmingham & Solihull 18

Kesteven 28

Kesteven battled through to the final of the Midlands Cup but it was the National Division Two side from the West Midlands that were first on the scoresheet.

After a wayward kick, Birmingham’s fast and agile full back found the space to put the ball down in the corner.

But Ks were soon to dominate the field and after a quick three-point penalty, cleanly struck by Matt Grinney, and forward dominating run of play, Kesteven eventually found the whitewash. Grinney slotted the conversion to put his side 10-5 up.

The Black Army did not relinquish the lead from then on. Taylor Bowers clicked his heals and rounded two defenders to score in the corner. Grinney missed the difficult extra points but managed to hit both posts in the process.

The next 40 minutes was a dogged affair and both sides found the whitewash again. With 10 minutes to go, the score was 23-18. Ks camped on the opposition five-yard line taking phase after phase and hitting a strong defence. Birmingham could only hold on so long and after two decisions of held-up, Kesteven eventually found the line.

The Midlands final will be held in Coventry on April 6 when Kesteven will meet Wolverhampton. Ks also have the NLD Cup Final this Sunday.

Kesteven under-17s are from left, back – Oscar White, Nathan Peters, Jo Ryder, Jordan Addlesee, Sam Butler, Ed Bloodworth, Dan Singer, Taylor Bowers, Jack Shennan, Josh Adams, Charlie Perie and Dan Bosworth; front – Will Aspinall, Ed Cole, Sam Danford, Matt Grinney, Phil Fletcher, captain Josh Allen, Ben Addlesee, Daniel Taggart and Andrew Cartwright.

Midlands League 2

East (North)

Loughborough 46

Kesteven 16

It took Loughborough just five minutes to minutes to catch Kesteven off-guard when the home side found their way through the defensive line for an easily converted try under the posts.

A penalty awarded to Kesteven allowed Martyn Parker to secure three points after 20 minutes. Straight from the kick-off, the ball found Martin Carew who drew several players into a tackle before releasing Kieran Taylor who galloped the length of the pitch for the first of his two unconverted tries.

Not to be outdone by their visitors, Loughborough pulled ahead with another converted try five minutes later.

Another penalty to Kesteven was struck home by Martyn Parker before centre James Goodrich made a break and released the ball to Taylor for his second to give Ks a 16-14 half time lead.

The second half saw a very lethargic Kesteven side grace the pitch and Loughborough capitalised, running in five tries.

Kieran Taylor received Kesteven management’s man of the match and Loughborough voted Kesteven’s lock, Martin Carew, their overall man of the match.

Kesteven: Odams, Hayward, Cowley, Pert (Sheardown, 61), Carew, Cann, Woolerton (Midgley, 70), Mark Sayle Jnr, Parker, Young, Templeton, Goodrich, Taylor, Whittaker. Subs not used: Webster

Nottinghamshire Pennant League

Group Two

Kesteven 2nd 34

Nottingham Moderns 19

A move out wide provided Kesteven’s first points when Charles was released on the right.

Brought down on the five metre line, a speculative pass back inside found the supporting Jamie Flear who mopped the bouncing ball up with great skill to touch down for the try.

Makwana, Dent and Windsor in midfield all combined to set Danny Williams free. His pace surprised the defence and he ran round them for the score near the posts. Williams was again given the ball in space to complete a quickfire brace.

Ks were good value for the bonus point lead before half time. An and under from Makwana was chased by full back Andy Price who took it on to the final defender before passing to the supporting Jordan Hughes for a classy score.

Kesteven gave away too many penalties early in the second half which Moderns used to engineer two quick tries.

Ks replied when they manufactured a long range try finished off by Price.

The Nottingham side did not give up but a loose ball was mopped up and led to Windsor powering through three Moderns men to complete the scoring.

Kesteven: Brown, P. Dolan, Osbourne, Hanson, Clarke, Flear, R. Dolan, J. Smith, J. Hughes, Makwana, Williams, Dent, Windsor, Charles, A. Price, Reps: Peabody.

Lincs Merit League

Horncastle 7

Kesteven 3rd 8

A physical game ensued with a series of exchanges between the forwards, with Cheetham, Welham and Vincent giving the opposition no sympathy, complemented with aggressive play from Emery and Arnold.

A left hand wing effort between Blackley and Anderson pushed Ks within striking point for Leo Vincent to drive it over, but they were denied by a hold-up.

Then Horncastle came back hard before half time, with their full-back breaking through following a ruck and taking one through the middle. The conversion kick was good.

Kesteven replied after the break when Anderson handed off two tackle attempts to dive for the corner to score.

A failed conversion left Ks two points down, but the kick-off provided a sequence of exchanges and led to a knock on by Horncastle. This was punished by the golden boot of Chris Roughan for three points from long range which sealed victory.

Under-15

Nottingham Moderns 10

Kesteven 12

The hosts registered the game’s first try after sustained pressure on Kesteven’s try line but were unable to convert their score.

Ks then started to kick into gear and some lovely back play saw Ollie Jakes outsprint his opposite man to touch down for his first try of the season.

A spilled ball was picked up by Josh Udom who sprinted upfield. Udom was tackled short of the line and offloaded to Charlie Barnard who in turn was held up short. Udom himself was on hand to finish off the move. Barnard converted to make the score 12-5 at half-time.

Moderns started the second half off the stronger and made the most of Ks ill discipline to score but again missed the conversion.

The last five minutes were dominated by Moderns who were awarded a penalty and chose to kick for goal, but it went wide and Ks were able to hold out for the win.

Under-14

Kesteven 0 Market Rasen 24

Kesteven 20 Derby 7

Kesteven 25 West Bridgford 0

Kesteven 7 Paviors 26

Kesteven welcomed 17 teams to Woodnook for the Notts, Lincs and Derbys Sevens Tournament on Sunday.

Ks conceded an early try in their first game against a strong and fast Market Rasen side who went on to win the pool. The hosts spent most of the match on the back foot as Rasen enjoyed a comfortable victory.

With regained confidence Brenton and Spriggs ran in tries before Brighten scored a try of his own to seal victory for Ks against Derby.

West Bridgford were similarly well handled with forwards Peters and Kwasau this time making bullocking runs through the middle to allow space for the Kesteven wingers to run in the tries. A Spriggs hat trick and fine individual efforts from Tapson and Palin saw a strong Bridgford side well beaten.

Having finished second in the group, Kesteven faced a tough Nottingham Paviors in the Plate semi-final.

Despite having a lot of the possession, a couple of loose passes from the home side saw Paviors run in tries from deep in their own half. Some brave Kesteven play saw a mini comeback with winger Spriggs running in his sixth try of the morning, but Paviors finished strongly to go into the final and emerge victorious.

Kesteven: Brenton, Brewis, Brighten, Cox, Edwards, Fuller, Kwasau, Palin, Peters, Spriggs, A. Tapson, Taylor.

Under-11 NLD Shield

Kesteven 10 Southwell 5

Kesteven 35 Ashbourne 0

Kesteven 20 Ashfield 5

Kesteven 10 Notts Moderns 0

Kesteven won the NLD Shield in style, only ever going behind in their first game against Southwell.

Ks levelled through Daniel Brumhead and Daniel K. scored the winning try.

The Grantham side whitewashed Ashbourne with tries from Daniel K., Oscar Brady, Zak Draycott (2) and Tom Helliwell (3).

The semi-final against Ashfield started with Tom H. scoring a try in the opening seconds, which he quickly followed up with a second.

Further tries from Dan and Jack Edwards ensured Kesteven’s place in the final.

Good tackles and communication led to victory over Notts Moderns, with two more tries from player-of-the day Tom Helliwell.

Grantham Badminton Club second string hammered Lincoln Albion 2nd 9-0 at home in Newark League Mixed Division Two.

Jaz Gilbert played with Chung Chan, Laura Graves with Adrian Ackroyd, and Bex Davison with Martin Peat.

Away from home, the first mixed team took on Weststide in Division One. Sophie Turley with Nick Gill had a very good night, scoring all three of Grantham’s rubbers in the 6-3 defeat. Susie Steeples played with Martin Chambers, and Kerry Durham with Martin Peat.

Walton Girls’ High School needs help to put up talented youngsters so they can perform there next week.

A charity showcase concert will be held by The Young Americans at Walton Girls’ High School on Wednesday (April 2).

Jayne Robb, homestay coordinator, said: “We need 12 more homestay places to make this event happen. The commitment involves picking up your guests (or better still going to the show), a late evening meal, bed, breakfast, a packed lunch to take away and returning to Walton Girls in the morning. As this concert is a fundraiser for Africa, sadly there are no free tickets for homestay families but there will be gifts of merchandise instead.”

If you can help, contact Jayne on jayne.robb@hotmail.com

The Young Americans, a charitable organisation, are a group of talented young people who attend college level classes, sing, dance, teach others, learn from others, and entertain throughout the world.

The tickets for the Walton Girls’ School showcase cost £10 and the money raised will fund and support the continuing work and efforts of the International Music Outreach programme in South Africa.

For tickets call the Finance Office at Walton Girls’ High School, telephone 01476 563251. For details on The Young Americns to to www.youngamericans.org

The world’s largest Shire horse show came to Grantham at the weekend and attracted more than 4,000 visitors.

The Shire Horse Society held its National Show at the Arena Uk in Allington for the first time after many years hosting the show in Peterborough.

Among the special guests was chairman of Lincolnshire County Council, Coun Ray Wootten, who also presented an award at the show.

Coun Wootten said: “I really hope this becomes a regular event which is good for the local economy and tourism in Grantham.

“I spoke to the show’s president, Richard Fuller, who was pleased to be at the show’s new venue in the Arena UK. Visitor numbers were in excess of 4,000, double that expected. Over 300 horses were displayed over the two day event.”

Deputy Mayor of Grantham Ian Selby also visited the show with his father John, a former third generation blacksmith.

Coun Selby said: “It was a wonderful show and at an excellent venue Arena UK, Allington. The Shire horses were truely magnificent in all their splendour. To see the world’s largest gathering of this endangered breed on our doorstep was something special.”

STOKE ROCHFORD

Over £730 was raised for charity as more than 100 members of Stoke Rochford Golf Club provided a warm welcome to their new club captains for 2014.

A special stableford competition was organised to mark the appointment of Gary Skerritt and Carol Hamilton as club captains for the next 12 months.

Twenty-six teams of four (104 players in total) were set on their way by club professional Angus Dow, with the best two scores from four to count on each hole.

On the warmest day this year, scoring was of a very high standard with the winning team (Knight, Hackett, James and Pickup) finishing well clear of the field with a stunning 92 points.

After the main competition, men’s skipper Gary Skerritt and lady captain Carol Hamilton gathered on the first tee for their traditional drive-in. Club member Dave Esswood won the spot the drive for the club captain’s drive, and Alan Church won the corresponding lady captain’s drive.

Money raised will be split between charities chosen by each captain – Prostate Cancer UK and St Barnabas Hospice Lincolnshire.

l Twenty-four Stoke Rochford seniors and 16 ladies enjoyed their annual mixed competition, played as a two gents and one lady best-two-from-three stableford. The competition was followed by an informal lunch.

Winners with 84 points on countback were ladies’ captain Carol Hamilton, seniors’ captain Barry Coop and Cliff Mills. Runners-up were Roni Proctor, Eddie Plant and Don Werner, with Sue Bellingall Keith Eddy and Duncan Bennett third on 82 points.

BELTON PARK

Belton Park’s Lifeboat Trophy was an any combination betterball competition and was won by Nigel Harris and Mark Sutton with 41 points, on countback from Glen Carpenter and Dean Scott.

Third with 40 points were Gerry Short and Dale Maplethorpe.

l Danny Coyle won the Gents’ Bogey with +1 and runner-up was Nigel Graham -1.

l Winner of the Mixed Gender Stableford was Sean Purnell with 40 points on countback from Dean Maplethorpe. Anna Clarke was third with 39 points.

l Belton Park were unable to adapt to the cold, windy conditions for the second round of the Mail on Sunday competition at Stoke Rochford.

Despite a superb fight-back from Chris Haynes, who won the last three holes to earn a half in the lead match, the rest of the Belton Park team could not quite match his heroics and the hosts eventually ran out comfortable winners.

Seniors

Belton Park seniors contested a bogey competition for the Cyril Woods Trophy, with Shaun Boney and John Carey well ahead of the pack.

Shaun finished first on +2, one shot ahead of second-placed John on +4. Third was Manny Barker, on countback from new senior Dave Dobney and John Clarke in fifth.

Ladies

The March Stableford competition was won by Sue Walker-Sherriff with 35 points in Silver Division.

Second place on countback went to Jose Short, ahead of Ann Bartlett with 34 points.

In Bronze Division, first place with 37 points went to Becky Lloyd. Runner-up was Ann Shaw with 36 points and a further point adrift in third was Denise Adam.

BELTON WOODS

Sixty players contested a Men’s Stableford Competition on the Lakes Course on Sunday.

Played off the white tees and with a full handicap allowance, the course standard scratch was 74, against a par of 72. Conditions were difficult with high winds.

Results: Division One – 1 Mick Holland 37pt, 2 Paul Otter 36, 3 Joshua Stevens 35; Division Two – 1 Andy Williams 36, 2 Ian Williams 34 ocb, 3 Rob Fox 34.

SUDBROOK MOOR

Sudbrook Moor seniors were among 64 gents who contested the early season Trophy Day at Sleaford for the five South Lincolnshire Matchplay League teams.

In an individual stableford format, Sudbrook Moor skipper Colin Henfrey retained the Captain’s Trophy, whilst Mike Cobb of Pottergate GC won the Trevor Price Trophy.

Captain Colin’s senior took part in a warm-up matchplay practice in a fourball betterball format from championship tees.

Results: Graham Mackinder and Alfie Kent beat Colin Henfrey and Ken Wingad 3&2, Barry Kay and John Johnson beat Graham Buxton and John Came 5&3, Tony Rose and Dave Guy beat John Costall and Ron Selby 7&5, Mike Dyason and Jeff Ward beat Dennis Green and Mick Massingham, Andy Milner and Eric Dickens halved with Harry Cruickshank and Melvin Claricoates.

SATURDAY (March 29)

Football

Northern Premier League

Premier Division – Witton Albion v Grantham Town (3pm).

United Counties League

Division One – Bugbrooke St Michaels v Harrowby United (3pm).

Central Midlands League

South – Holbrook St Michaels v Barrowby FC (3pm).

Grantham & District Saturday League

Premier Division – AFC Three Gables v Caythorpe, Bottesford v Cranmer Arms, CK Dons Reserves v Ancaster Rams.

Grantham Hospital Charity Cup – Greyhounders v White Horse Sleaford.

Memorial Cup – Ancaster Rovers v Barrowby Reserves.

Rugby

Nottinghamshire Pennant League

Group Two – Mellish 2nd v Kesteven 2nd.

Lincolnshire Merit League

Kesteven 3rd v Market Rasen 3rd.

SUNDAY

Football

Grantham & District Sunday League

Division One Cup Final – Ropsley FC v Nobody Inn Athletic.

Premier Division – AFC Harrowby v Springfield AFC, Lions FC v AFC Red Lion Ruskington, Helpringham Rovers v FC Osbournby Rangers.

Division One – Totemic FC v Caythorpe Sports & Social FC, Colsterworth United v Witham Wanderers.

Lincolnshire Intermediate League

Premier – Grantham Town v Ruston Sports (2.15pm).

TUESDAY

Football

Northern Premier League

Premier Division – FC United of Manchester v Grantham Town (7.45pm, at Stalybridge Celtic).

FOOTBALL RESULTS

Northern Premier League

Premier Division – Grantham Town 3 Stafford Rangers 2, Buxton 3 Grantham Town 1.

United Counties League

Division One – Harrowby United 7 Buckingham Town 2.

Central Midlands League

South – South Normanton Athletic 8 Barrowby FC 1.

Grantham & District Saturday League

Premier Division – Greyhounders 4 Cranmer Arms 3, Newark Flowserve FC 1 Bottesford Reserves 2.

HITS Consultancy Senior Cup – CK Dons Reserves 0 Ancaster Rovers 3, White Horse Sleaford 6 Caythorpe 7.

Grantham Hospital Charity Cup – Ancaster Rams 3 Bottesford 0.

Grantham & District Sunday League

Premier Division Cup, semi-final – Springfield AFC 3 Helpringham Rovers 1.

Charity Shield, semi-final – Caythorpe Sports & Social FC 3 Lions FC 5.

Premier Division – AFC Harrowby 0 FC Osbournby Rangers 3.

Division One – Colsterworth United 2 Nobody Inn Athletic 5, Long Bennington FC 9 Ancaster Athletic 0.

Lincolnshire Intermediate League

Premier – Grantham Town 2 Collingham 3.

South – Pointon 2 Swifts JFC 6.

A 93-year-old whose packed weekly schedule includes yoga class and visits to the Royal Air Force Association, but who still found time to help children with their reading at St Mary’s Catholic Primary School, received a farewell ceremony from pupils and staff last week.

Pamela Holden from Jubilee Avenue moved to West Bridgeford this week on health grounds, but before she went the school wanted to thank her for decades of voluntary service with a special ceremony at St. Mary’s Catholic Church. On her connection to St Mary’s Primary, Mrs Holden said: “It goes back to 1958 when my step-grandchilden were in the school.

“Then in 1972 I became a governor, and was so for 22 years.

“For 30 years I have been listening to the children read.”

Every Tuesday afternoon Mrs Holden has gone into the school to hear their pupils reading, which forms just part of her busy week.

As well as that, she also enjoys yoga, attends an arthritis care group and is a keen member of the Royal Air Force association, having worked for the RAF throughout her life.

Headteacher at St Mary’s Geraldine Willders had the idea to hold a special service for staff and students to say goodbye.

Mrs Willders said: “She has been associated with the school for such a long time.

“We did a show of hands during the ceremony of who Mrs Holden has listened to reading and every child put their hand up.

“If she has been able to touch that many lives.

“ I think it is only right and fitting that we express our thanks and wish her well as she moves to her new place.”

During the service the children sang hymns which reminded them of Mrs Holden, and to demonstrate just how much she has helped them gave readings in front of the packed church.

In honour of her commitment the school have created a ‘Mrs Holden’ trophy to be awarded each term to the most improved reader.

In particular Mrs Holden wanted the award to be for children in the lower years at the point when they are just starting to read, with the first winner being Miller Bradley from year two, who said: “I was really proud and happy when Mrs Holden gave me the trophy and I have put it near the television so we can see it.”

Asked what she thought of the very special ceremony Mrs Holden said: “I thought it was wonderful and very overwhelming.

“It is an excellent school, and a very caring school.”