A farmer pleaded guilty to driving over the alcohol limit, after police found a bottle of wine and can of beer he’d been drinking inside his vehicle.

Alan Strawson, 51, of Pinfold Lane, Marston was seen by police at around 9.15pm on March 17 driving a Subaru Justy erratically and then going into the car park on Five Gates Lane.

When police went over to the vehicle they found Strawson and a partly drunk bottle of wine and half empty can of beer.

Initially Strawson refused to co-operate with police by giving a breathalyser reading, and instead was taken to the police station where a urine test revealed he was over the drink drive limit with 119 milligrams of alcohol in 100 milliliters.

The court heard how earlier that day Strawson had been sitting with his terminally ill mother, and it was at this point that he had been drinking the alcohol, which he was then taking home.

Strawson had pulled into the car park ‘to get his head right’, and acknowledged that he could have been more accommodating to the police when asked to be breathalysed.

The court was informed of the logistical problems Strawson’s loss of licence would cause, as a tenant farmer who lives two and half miles away from the farm.

Magistrates disqualified Strawson from driving for 12 months, with the chance to reduce this by three months if he completes a drink drive rehabilitation course.

In addition he was fined £580, and ordered to pay prosecution costs of £85 and a victim surcharge of £58.

Crowds lined the route through Grantham to see Grantham Carnival parade on Saturday.

The theme this year was Pantomimes and Nursery Rhymes. See our slideshow, Pictures are by Toby Roberts.

Two young women appeared in court charged with assaulting two female police constables.

Courtney Rowarth, 18, of Edward Street in Grantham and Bethany Wagstaff, 20, of Launds Green in South Witham had been charged with assaulting two different policewomen in the execution of their duty on May 25, when they were both still teenagers.

However prosecutor Marie Stace argued that their offences were more appropriate to be dealt with through a caution or restorative justice, and applied for a month-long adjournment so that their cases could be referred back to police.

Magistrates agreed to adjourn the case until July 7.

A young mum punched another woman during an incident on the dance floor at a Grantham night club, Lincoln Crown Court was told today.

Louise Serle carried out the assault in the Late Lounge moments after her victim had been subjected to an attack at the hands of a number of other women.

Siward James-Moore, prosecuting, said that in the earlier incident the victim was set upon and knocked to the floor where she was assaulted by a group of women.

Serle then became involved after the group attack had ended.

Mr James-Moore said “The defendant lunged towards the complainant and hit her in the face at which point the door staff intervened.”

Later Serle posted on apology on Facebook saying that matters got out of hand.

Serle, 22, of Heathfield Road, Grantham, admitted a charge of assault by beating on 1 December 2013. She was given a 12-month conditional discharge.

Chris Milligan, defending, said no charges were brought against any of the people involved in the earlier more serious attack on the victim.

He told the court that Serle has no previous convictions and what she did was relatively minor compared to the actions of others who were not taken to court.

An 83-year-old man appeared in court accused of sexually assaulting an 87-year-old female resident at a care home.

David James McBride, of School Lane, Ropsley, denied the charge of sexually assaulting a woman through non-consensual touching.

The case was sent for trial at crown court on June 23.

McBride was granted bail on the condition that he does not enter any residential care home.

Two days of entertainment took place over the weekend as the Grantham Carnival parade made its way through town followed by a weekend of entertainment in Wyndham Park.

Coun Ray Wootten, Vice-Chairman of South Kesteven District Council, who took part in the parade with his wife Coun Linda Wootten,said: “I am pleased to see that the people of Grantham are still getting behind the carnival and I thank Roy Wright, Sharon Evans and the committee for all the hard work they have put into the carnival for the good of the community.”

A man who got into a tussle with a police officer appeared in court charged with being drunk and disorderly.

Russell Brown, 38, of Main Street, Walesby was charged with committing the offence on May 18.

Prosecutor Marie Stace told the court how at approximately 1.10am police were called to a report of a domestic incident at Caythorpe, and spoke to a young woman who said she had been assaulted.

A police officer went out to look for Brown and found him sitting in the driver’s seat of a vehicle asleep.

On opening the car door the officer immediately noticed a strong smell of alcohol, and when Brown woke up his speech was slurred.

He told the officer that he and his partner had been arguing and he had left taking her car keys.

Due to the accusation of an assault the police officer could not let Brown return to his partner, but he made several attempts to do so to the point that the officer decided to arrest him for breach of the peace.

Brown and the officer then struggled, with both falling against the car and to the ground, and Brown calling the policeman a “f***ing w***er”.

Brown represented himself in court, and although he contested the description of events he entered a guilty plea and said: “I had some bad news that day regarding the health of my son. I did have a fall out with my partner, now ex-partner.”

Referring to the arrest Brown added: “My actions after that were terrible but up to that point I’d given him no cause to treat me in that way.”

Brown was given a conditional discharge of six months and ordered to pay £85 prosecution costs and a victim surcharge of £15.

A South Witham man has been jailed for 10 months after Lincoln Crown Court heard how he knocked a man unconscious during a street incident following a 21st birthday party.

Lee Rhodes delivered a single blow which felled his victim and left him with brain injuries. Edna Leonard, prosecuting, said the attack happened on a night when a mass brawl broke out in South Witham following a party in the local community centre.

She told the court: “Police were called out and arrived to find between 50 and 80 people in the street. One male was lying on the floor receiving first aid and officers were informed of several fights breaking out around the village.

“The defendant was not involved in the mass brawl but he came to have words with the complainant. Following a verbal exchange the defendant then delivered one punch that left the victim unconscious on the floor.”

The victim was taken to hospital but initially there was no indication of the severity of his injury and he was discharged at 5am. But the following day he complained of feeling sick and dizzy. An ambulance was called and he was taken back to hospital.

Doctors then discovered he had more serious injuries than was first thought including damage to his brain. He has since suffered loss of smell and taste as well as memory loss.

Miss Leonard added “The victim struggles to concentrate and he is still suffering from dizziness. He says the impact on his life has been massive.”

Rhodes, 24, of Great Close, South Witham, admitted assault occasioning actual bodily harm on July 27, 2013.

Judge Sean Morris told him: “When you assault people you never know what damage you are going to do. In this case the injury was extremely serious.”

Andrew Howarth, defending, said Rhodes delivered a single blow and then ran away. He said: “The significant and serious consequences were not intended. He has spent five years avoiding getting into trouble until this situation where there appears to have been general mayhem.”

He said that Rhodes lost his job as a result of the incident.

Long Bennington Junior Football Club is on the lookout for unattached players for its girls’ team.

Players should currently be in school Years 8 or 9.

The team trains on Wednesday evenings at Long Bennington playing fields.

Anyone interested should contact Julie Gilbert on 07752 489153 or Sally Hibbert on 07799 871172.

Guest speaker at Grantham Town’s next ‘sportsman’s dinner’ will be former West Ham United legend Martin ‘Mad Dog’ Allen on Saturday, July 5.

The after dinner speech will be followed by a question and answer session, and a photograph and signature opportunity.

Tickets priced at £30 per person include a sit down meal. All proceeds will go into Grantham Town FC’s youth set-up to help fund new kits and training equipment.

Tickets are available from the club’s MCS Centre. Alternatively, contact Matt Smith on 07958 509878 or Russ Cousins on 07539 644160.

Grantham organisations have joined a national restaurant chain and SKDC for a town-centre litter pick.

Staff from McDonald’s joined members of the authority’s Economic Development team, and Grantham Business Club members to clear litter.

The teams cleared items from Bridge End Road, London Road, St Peter’s Hill, High Street, Watergate and Brook Street and surrounding roads before finishing at Wyndham Park.

They filled over 20 bags of litter after being supplied with litter pickers, bags and high viz jackets from SKDC’s waste and recycling team.

Stuart Pigram, chairman of Grantham Business Club, joined Simon Pell from Wardour Secure Networks to help the effort on the day.

McDonald’s Grantham manager Zara Thomas said: “This was a really worthwhile exercise that we hope might make other Grantham businesses think about similar efforts in their area of the town. As a local restaurant and employer we’re always looking at ways to make our local environment cleaner. Our teams loved getting out in the community and doing their part and we’d like to support future litter clearing efforts whenever we can.”

SKDC’s portfolio holder for healthy environment Coun John Smith said: “We thank McDonald’s for co-ordinating this day of action and were pleased we could support it. It’s great to see a local business in South Kesteven offering help to deliver a cleaner, greener and healthier district.”

Grantham and District North Road Club’s race from Fraserburgh was won by John Norris.

Race sponsor was Dean Fardell Photography of Grantham.

Results: 1 J. Norris 1408.5, 2 J. Norris 1370.0, 3 J. Norris 1282.0, 4 M. Tudor 1142.2, 5 M. Tudor 789.8, 6 J. Norris 752.4.

l Grantham United’s race from Berwick was won by Mr and Mrs L. Gilbert.

Nine members sent 161 birds.

Results: 1 Mr and Mrs L. Gilbert 1589, 2 J. Ramm 1547, 3 Mr and Mrs L. Gilbert 1541, 4 D. Parker and son 1535, 5 Mr and Mrs L. Gilbert 1528, 6 D. Parker and son 1526, 7 D. Parker and son 1525, 8 Mr and Mrs D. Dixon 1522, 9 D. Parker and son 1517, 10 D. Parker and son 1515, 11 Mr and Mrs D. Dixon 1508, 12 K. Meadows 1506, 13 J. Ablitt 1488, 14 Mr and Mrs D. Dixon 1488, 15 Mr and Mrs D. Dixon 1486, 16 J. Ablitt 1484, 17 E. Crawford 1482, 18 J. Ramm 1470.

Members of the Rotary Club of Grantham recently visited a primary school in Kenya, to officially hand over a physiotherapy building.

President Kevin Lawry and Immediate Past President Irvin Metcalf and their wives Barbara and Pam visited Joy Town Primary School in Thika, Kenya, and during their visit handed over the new physiotherapy building extension to the school.

The Joy Town School hosts 350 children with varying diabilities who will make use of the building and equipment, which has been jointly funded by Jenny, Irvin and Pam Metcalf of Harlaxton and The Rotary and Inner Wheel Clubs of Grantham.

President Sam Mwangi and his members from the Rotary Club of Thika monitored the building project and were in attendance together with the headmaster and many of the dedicated staff.

They watched as the Building plaque was unveiled by the Commissioner Vinece Chigariro, Irvin Metcalf and The Salvation Army Territorial Commander, whose band played along with the choir of disabled children.

To find out more visit www.granthamrotary.org or the Facebook page www.facebook.com/RotaryClubofGrantham

Harrowby United go back in to training on Tuesday, June 24.

The Arrows’ newly promoted first team will begin limbering up as they look forward to a season in the United Counties League Premier Division. They will be joined on the training field by the club’s under-14s, under-17s and under-18s.

The first training session commences at 7pm on United’s Dickens Road ground.

Any new players interested in joining in with the training should contact Mark Fardell on 07954 323147 or Peter Brothwell on 07912 202248.

Planning applications before South Kesteven District Council include:

Allington

S14/1421/TCA - Mr and Mrs McLean - Fell two cherry trees, one sycamore tree, one elder tree and one hawthorn tree, Berberene, Main Street.

S14/1660/TCA - Mr D. Headland - Reduction in height of conifers by 50 per cent, The Cottage, The Green.

S14/1679/FULL - Gary Howell - Demolition and replace dwelling and relocate vehicular access (amendments to permission S13/0841), 1 Bottom Street.

Ancaster

S14/1454/NMAH - Les Johnson and Partners - Non-material amendment to originally approved scheme S12/0327 to provide external fenestration changes, internal alterations and increase in size of eastern wing, Sudbrook Hill Farm, Carlton Road, Sudbrook.

S14/1612/TCA - Mrs L. Tyndall - Reduction and reshape of beech (T1) by not more than 3m, Ancaster House, Ermine Street.

S14/1713/TPO - Mrs L. Tyndall - Cut back limbs to clear building and reshape crown of sycamore (T2) not exceeding 2m, Ancaster House, Ermine Street.

Ancaster, Normanton

S14/1712/EIASC - Lightsource Renewable Energy Ltd - EIA Screening Opinion - land north of Sudbrook Heath, Ancaster.

Barrowby

S14/1563/OUT - Mr J. Bradley - Erection of dwelling - Plot between The Rise and 3 Lawson Leas.

Billingborough

S14/1399/FULL - Mr M. Goodall - Conversion of public house to form two dwellings, erection of three dwellings and associated detached garage, George and Dragon, 1 Victoria Street.

Boothby Pagnell

S14/1484/HSH - Ros Nicholson - Creation of new vehicular access (including blocking up of existing) and alteration to boundary treatment, Home Farm, Ponton Road.

S4/1485/LB - Ros Nicholson - Alteration to boundary treatment, Home Farm, Ponton Road.

Carlton Scroop, Hough on the Hill, Normanton

S14/1026/FULL - Dick Baines - Single wind turbine (hub height 34.45m, rotor diameter 29.1m and total height to blade tip 49m) and associated infrastructure, Bellevue Farm, Carlton Scroop.

Castle Bytham

S14/1156/RAG - Rob Chorlton - Erection of an anaerobic digestion plant and associated equipment, Park House Farm.

Caythorpe

S14/0630/HSH - Mr P. Sowerby - Retention of various alterations and extensions to Caythorpe Hall and adjacent Coach House, relocation and retention of various minor structures within the curtilage, erection of leisure building, greenhouse and cold frames within the walled garden, Caythorpe Hall, Church Lane.

S14/1447/HSH - Mrs Sarah Richardson - New external brick skin to dwelling and erection of single storey rear extension, 3 Templeway Close.

S14/1575/FULL - Lovett Race Homes UK Ltd - Construction of new bungalow, 5 Frieston Road.

Colsterworth

S14/1380/FULL - Richard Lambert, National Trust - Demolition of wall and construction of replacement limestone wall, Woolsthorpe Manor, 23 Newton Way, Woolsthorpe by Colsterworth.

S14/1381/LB - Richard Lambert, National Trust - Demolition of existing wall and rebuild using limestone, Woolsthorpe Manor, 23 Newton Way, Woolsthorpe by Colsterworth.

Corby Glen

S14/1483/FULL - Jonathan Love - Erection of detached dwelling, 43 Bourne Road.

S14/1598/HSH - Ms Lisa Johnson - Demolition of outbuilding and erection of single storey side extension and erection of front porch, 10 Coronation Road.

S14/1635/TCA - Mr and Mrs B. Walsingham - Removal of one apple tree, one walnut tree, two yew trees and lop holly tree, Glebe Farm, 8 Church Street.

Denton

S14/1663/TCA - Mr J. Mitchell - Work to trees, 135 Main Street.

Folkingham

S14/1737/DCLB - Miss H. Weston Smith - Approval of details of Condition 2 of p/p S14/0875/LB, 36 Market Place.

Grantham

S14/1525/FULL - Mr G. Dixon - Change of use from B2 (General Industrial) to D2 (Assembly and Leisure), land at Springfield Road.

S14/1583/ADV - Miss M. Sanders - Erection of two free-standing and one wall-mounted sign, The Old Barracks, Sandon Road.

S14/1595/HSH - Mr A. Padovano - Proposed two-storey extension to side and rear of dwelling, 163 Manthorpe Road.

S14/1608/LB - Mr J. Bradley - Alterations to listed building, Grantham College, Stonebridge Road.

S14/1611/DC - Mr J. Kendle - Approval of details of Conditions 3 (drainage), 6 (footpath provision) and 8 (cycle shelters) of p/p S12/1290/FULL, King’s School Playing Field, North Parade.

S14/1617/HSH - Bruce Watt - Single storey rear extension, 21 Neals Crescent.

S14/1683/DC - Community Assets, South Kesteven District Council - Approval of details required by Condition 5 (surface and foul water drainage) of S13/2103, 15 Sandon Road,

S14/1727/TPO5 - Ian Keen, Ian Keen Ltd - Removal of trees T22, T32, T47 lawson cypress and T50 western red cedar, former St Catherine’s House, 49 and 1A Dudley Road, St Catherine’s Road.

Harlaxton

S14/1652/CWC - Gordon Cakebread - Confirmation of compliance with Condition 1 (material start of development) of S10/068, land at The Drift.

Little Bytham

S14/1602/AG - Mr A. Turner - Proposed livestock building, The Grange, Grange Lane.

Ropsley and Humby

S14/1508/HSH - Mr and Mrs Graham - Single storey side extension, Red House Farm, Little Humby.

Westborough and Dry Doddington

S14/1573/OVH - Emma Stevenson, Western Power Distribution - Erect one H pole with a switch box and one H pole with four stays to existing 33,000 volt overhead line, Copley Farm, Doddington Lane, Claypole.

To view the forms and plans of any planning application click on the following link: www.southkesteven.gov.uk/planningsearch/

A fire at an address in Grantham this afternoon is believed to have been caused after a cooker was accidentally switched on.

Fire crews from Grantham attended the blaze at Welland Court at 3.45pm. They extinguised the fire which damaged an electric cooker hob and a hand towel.

Grantham saloon car racer Ollie Allen did not enjoyed mixed fortunes at Silverstone last weekend.

He went into the latest round of the Blue Oval Saloon Series for classic Fords as championship leader in his 230hp Fiesta.

In race one, Ollie qualified fastest and was the only car with a Motors TV in-car camera on board.

He dropped a place on the rolling start and then to his disgust he was taken off the track on the second lap by an Escort Cosworth, bending his back axle and damaging a rear arch.

Ollie said: “He actually drove into me.”

Ollie was able to carry out some temporary repairs in the pits and was back on track for race two.

He had to start the second race in 40th place on the grid in a standing start, but by the end of the first lap he had amazingly overtaken 27 cars ahead of him. He eventually finished fifth overall and first in class.

Ollie said: “I pulled it back in the second race. Another couple of laps and I would have finished third.

“It needs another back axle. It was touch and go whether the car was going to handle. It was a mental race.”

He said the 42-car grid was one of the largest in which he had ever raced.

Ollie will be in action again next month when he is in more local territory for the Ford Classic Festival at Cadwell Park.

Grantham Ji-shin Wado Karate Club instructor Angie Emms took her students to the Summer Course, Way to Excellence and Dan Grading at Alfreton last weekend.

The Saturday warm-up was taken by guest instructor Nukina sensei 6th dan, which was followed by four hours of intense training. Sunday followed a similar format with training run by world master Sakagami sensei 8th dan, Peter May 7th dan, Keith Walker 6th dan, and Nukina.

Following another four hour training session, students taking the dan grade exam undertook both written and physical testing.

Standards were set high and saw only a quarter of the students pass, Grantham’s Duncan Virtue being one of them.

Duncan has trained with Angie for the last six years and performed very well on the contact parts of the exam, partner works and kumite (fighting).

Angie said: “I’m absolutely thrilled for him, it’s so deserved.

“He has attended many courses on the way to gaining his black belt, and put years of hard training in.

“I went on the course to and helped with all the attacking techniques. Also as his instructor, I went to support and be there for the result,which thankfully and due to great efforts was a good one.”

Sensei Sakagami congratulated 5th dan instructor Angie on her student’s performance, and also on the fact that the club is run solely by a female.

Angie said: “I’m sure there was a compliment there!”

She and her daughter Rosie will also be running a three-week ladies only self-protection course.

Anyone wishing to train can find Angie on Facebook or email emzfit@yahoo.co.uk

Pictured from left are – Peter May, Angie Emms, Sakagami sensei, Duncan Virtue and Nukina sensei.

Charles Read Academy welcomes Princess Beatrice of York to Corby Glen today.

The visit has been arranged to celebrate the academy’s achievements since it joined the David Ross Education Trust in September last year.

Acting Principal, Robert Sloan, said that this is a proud day for Charles Read. He said: “This is an academy that is really on the up. Growing student numbers, significantly improved GCSE performance and some outstanding enrichment opportunities are really putting this school on the map.

“During her visit the Princess will be able to see some of the amazing sporting, musical and artistic talents of our students. This really is a day that I hope will live long in the memory of everyone at Charles Read Academy.”

Sir William Robertson Academy Year 9 pupil, Harry Parsons, who only turned 14 on April 16, went solo two days after his birthday at the Royal Air Force Cranwell Gliding Club.

Flying an ASK 21 glider, Harry, who lives in Cranwell, flew a perfect launch to 1,600 feet and completed a well-planned circuit, finally using the aircraft’s airbrakes to precisely land and stop from where he took off. As gliders have no engines you have to get it right first time, every time.

Prior to this, Harry had to learn an enormous amount about flying an aeroplane such as pre-flight take off checks, how to get out and use a parachute in an emergency, and using all the controls and instruments, stalling and spinning the aircraft, together with its recovery from unusual altitudes. He also had to learn how to read the weather signs and use thermals to stay airbourne in preparation for future cross country flights. On a good day glider pilots from Cranwell will complete flights of hundreds of miles.

Mr Statham, Harry’s head of house, said: “This is a fantastic achievement and the school is very proud of Harry.”