I SEE that Lincolnshire County Council and South Kesteven District Council want to invest millions and millions of pounds in the Station Road revamp.

I’ve heard this before when they wanted to transform the railway underpass tunnel from Station Road to Huntingtower Road - that never happened.

What do people who travel on the A52 and A607 think as they enter Grantham? They probably don’t know they have, due to the overgrown trees blocking out the sign Grantham.

I hope they enter the word Grantham town into their SatNav so they know they have arrived.

DAVID HOLMES

Earlesfield Lane, Grantham

I WOULD like to thank the A&E department and also AEU for the dedication they gave to me after I was taken into hospital.

What would we do without Grantham hospital, which is a life saver for the area it covers.

MR EDWIN CROW

Ropsley

MEMBERS of Grantham Shotokan Karate Club were celebrating last weekend after two more of the club’s students were awarded black belts.

Jason Johnson and Ian Potterton were successful in a grading held in Manchester under the auspices of the British Karate Association.

The grading was led by BKA chairman Sensei Brian Seabright (7th Dan) and a panel of senior instructors.

Jason and Ian had to demonstrate a range of basic techniques (kihon), form (kata) and sparring (kumite) against each other and existing black belts.

Exhausted after a physically demanding and intense grading, both said that they were delighted with their achievements and looked forward to further developing their karate.

This latest success comes hot on the heels of club chief instructor Geoff Dixon being awarded the status of English Kumite Judge B by the English Karate Federation which is the governing body for karate in England.

Geoff had to undertake two written exams and then be assessed over two days at the EKF National Championships held at Ponds Forge, Sheffield, in April.

Geoff was also awarded Provisional Kata Judge B which he hopes to get upgraded to full Judge B when he officiates at another EKF tournament planned for July.

l Grantham Shotokan trains at Allington Village hall and Bottesford VC Hall on Sundays and Tuesdays respectively.

For more details contact Geoff at geoff.esakarate@btinternet.com or visit www.grantham-shotokankarate.moonfruit.co.uk

Pictured from left are chief instructor Geoff Dixon, Ian Potterton, Jason Johnson, BKA chairman Brian Seabright and assistant chief instructor Dave Wilson.

HUNDREDS of fish have died in a stretch of Grantham canal, prompting emergency action by the Environment Agency (EA).

Fisheries officer Reuben Page led the rescue operation at the 200-metre stretch of water between Trent Road and Earlesfield Lane on Tuesday.

Amost 1,000 fish have died due to a rapid reduction in levels of dissolved oxygen in the water following the sudden hot weather. Normally, the temperature rises gradually and the fish would migrate.

Mr Page said: “Despite the fact that we have all enjoyed a beautiful, warm weekend, if you’re a fish with fins it’s not such a great place to be.

“We normally expect the water temperature to be about 16-18C at this time of year. It’s now between 22 and 24C.”

The EA was alerted to the incident on Tuesday morning after a member of the public reported floating fish in the water.

The sudden loss of oxygen in the water caused the fish to suffocate.

Clare Stimpson, 39, of Kestrel Court, saw several fish “gasping for air”.

She added: “It’s not a nice thing to see.

“We come out with bread when it’s gone stale to throw to the ducks, and enoy the wildlife. It’s horrible when this sort of thing happens.”

Only smaller fish, predominantly roach, have been killed, and it is hoped that the action being taken by the EA will keep those remaining alive.

Mr Page and his team are creating a chemical reaction in the water by pumping in hydrogen peroxide, which instantly produces dissolved oxygen.

He said: “This is not a major incident, but significant enough to get us out.

“No-one wants to see fish dying but in terms of the percentage of the population in this part of the water, about 5,000-6,000 fish in this stretch have been unaffected.

“Around the aeration device we’re using we’ve seen several hundreds of fish enjoying the benefit of dissolved oxygen being restored.”

In contrast, oxygen readings in the stretch of canal across Trent Road were normal this week.

Mr Page said investigations would take place to determine whether or not the affected section was due to high levels of silt and less plant life.

Also on scene on Tuesday was Jeff Mawhood, secretary of the Grantham Angling Association, which fishes the canal.

He said: “The fishing won’t be very good at all for the next few weeks while the oxygen levels look up.”

AN author from Grantham has written a new book aimed at getting families exploring the Lincolnshire countryside.

The book, Kiddiwalks in Lincolnshire, is a footpath guide that offers 20 walks which are specifically child and family orientated.

Four of them are in the Grantham area, covering areas such as the Hills and Hollows, Grantham Canal and Bellmount Tower.

Catherine said: “As a local I’m very keen to promote the beautiful countryside in this area. I’m even more keen to get children and families outdoors, exploring and using the countryside as nature’s playground.”

Each walk is made up of a circular route and comes with a small map that is easy to read. Instructions to follow each route are also given along with background information to the area.

To make the routes more family orientated, a list of things to see and do, as well as information about the wildlife on each walk, is also given to encourage children’s involvement.

Picnic areas and nearby places to stop for refreshments are also given for the families wanting to get the most out of their walk.

Catherine said: “I hope that you will all, like my family, enjoy the freedom and adventure Lincolnshire has to offer. Remember - it’s not a walk, it’s an adventure.”

l To buy a copy, visit www.countrysidebooks.co.uk

THE Sounds of The Supremes will bring such classic hits as ‘Stop! In the Name of Love’ and ‘You Can’t Hurry Love’ to the Skegness stage this week.

The tribute show will be performed in the Embassy Theatre on Wednesday, June 6 from 7.30pm.

A spokesperson said: “Since the late 1980s when lead singer Kaaren Ragland founded “The Sound Of The Supremes”, the group has acheived remarkable worldwide success.

“London’s What’s On described their incomparable energy packed show, featuring more than 20 hit songs, as “a non-stop bravura performance of immense vitality” recreating perfectly the frenetic style and sound of the original line-up.

“Joined by Kathy Merrick and Althea Burkhalter, these three American women possess a wealth of experience in recording, television, cabaret, theatre and musicals, and deliver a fantastic vocal blend on Motown classics, standards, contemporary songs blended with stylish choreography and unrivalled glamour.

“The sound of The Supremes’ music lives on today with ‘The Sounds Of The Supremes’, music which has shown itself to be one of the most definitive and enduring contributions to American pop music history,” they added.

Tickets cost £21.50 for adults, £20.50 for over 60s and £11 for children.

GRANTHAM Athletic Club members had a successful day in the second North of England Track and Field League match at Cleckheaton last Saturday, winning by 79 points in hot and windy conditions.

The ladies dominated in the sprints, hurdles and throwing events. Millie Cooper achieved a personal best of 15.6sec in the 100m hurdles, and Naomi Collier was just 0.06sec outside her PB for the 800m. Both results were club records.

Helen Gilbert took first place in the four throwing events, achieving a season’s best in all of her events.

The Grantham men had 14 first places, with 10 personal bests including Mark Atkin in shot and discus. Other PBS were Joe Madge (200m), Oliver Kiy (400m), Ben Thompson (400m), Kieran Bumby (800m), Jake Hornby (long jump), Josh Lord (triple jump), Sam Bainbridge (shot) and Chris Bainbridge (hammer).

The next league match will be hosted by Grantham AC on July 1.

Results: Female, 100m - 1A M. Cooper 13.3s, 1B S. Tucker 14.4s; 200m - 1A M. Cooper 27.0s, 1B N. Collier 28.0s; 400m - 1A N. Collier 61.0s, 2B S. Garner 85.0s; 800m - 1A N. Collier 2m 16.8s cr; 100m hurdles - 1A M. Cooper 15.6s pb cr, 1B J. Jagger 22.8s; long jump - 5A S. Tucker 3.64m, 2B J. Jagger 3.61m; triple jump - 3A J. Jagger 7.90m; shot - 1A H. Gilbert 9.65m, 1B S. Garner 6.32m; discus - 1A H. Gilbert 23.12m, 1B J. Jagger 21.07m; javelin - 1A H. Gilbert 31.24m, 1B S. Garner 16.23m; hammer - 1A H. Gilbert 43.21m, 1B S. Garner 23.60; 4x400m relay - 1 Grantham AC 4m 38.8s.

Male, 100m - 1A D. Elba-Porter 11.8s, 1B C. Priestley 12.1s; 200m - 1A J. Madge 23.3s pb, 1B D. Elba-Porter 24.1s; 400m - 1A O. Kiy 52.5s pb, 1B B. Thompton 56.8 pb; 800m - 3A B. Orridge 2m 8.6s, 2B K. Bumby 2m 16.9s pb; 1500m - 2A J. Lord 4m 37.9s, 2B J. Hornby 4m 46.5s; 5,000m - 1A A. Short 14m 8.0s, 3B P. Hall 22m 27.3s; 110m hurdles - 2A J. Broughton-Eley 21.8s, 2B M. Gray 23.2s; 400m hurdles - 4A S. Broughton-Eley 69.1s, 3B M. Gray 73.5s; 3,000m steeplechase - 3A M. Gray 13m 32.6s, 2B S. Bainbridge 14m 56.0s; high jump - 4A M. Gray 1.50m; long jump - 3A C. Priestley 5.13m, 4B J. Hornby 4.11m pb; triple jump - 4A S. Broughton-Eley 9.24m, 4 B J. Lord 8.64m pb; pole vault - 1A M. Gray 2.80m; shot - 2A M. Atkin 10.18m pb, 2B S. Bainbridge 9.15m pb; discus - 1A. M. Atkin 30.82m pb, 1B P. Garner 27.74m; javelin - 1A H. Richards 54.91m, 2B M. Atkin 27.62m; hammer - 1A P. Garner 33.88m, 1B C. Bainbridge 24.59m pb; 4x100m relay - 1 Grantham AC 47.5s.

GRANTHAM and District North Road Club’s Diamond Jubilee Berwick race was won by Watkin’s master baker Mark Tudor.

Eight members sent 96 birds and race sponsors were Dave and Phil Boxford.

Results: 1 M. Tudor 1824.7, 2 D. Fowler and son 1819.8, 3 A. Tudor 1805.5, 4 A. Tudor 1804.6, 5 A. Tudor 1803.1, 6 J. Norris 1794.8, 7 A. Tudor 1772.7, 8 A. Tudor 1761.7, 9 D. Fowler and son 1750.9, 10 J. Norris 1729.7.

* Grantham United Flying Club’s race from Wetherby was won by Mr and Mrs L. Gilbert.

Eight members sent 141 birds.

Results: 1 Mr and Mrs L. Gilbert 1292, 2 J. Ablitt 1282, 3 Mr and Mrs D. Dixon 1260, 4 D. Parker and son 1258, 5 Mr and Mrs L. Gilbert 1238, 6 D. Parker and son 1227, 7 Mr and Mrs L. Gilbert 1226, 8 D. Parker and son 1225, 9 Mr and Mrs P. Mann 1224, 10 G. Wilson 1212.

* Grantham Social Flying Club’s race from Wetherby was won by Mr and Mrs B. Taylor.

Six members sent 108 birds.

Results: 1 Mr and Mrs B. Taylor 1266, 2 E. Crawford 1254, 3 E. Crawford 1245, 4 Mr and Mrs B. Taylor 1237, 5 J. Ramm 1208, 6 E. Crawford 1206, 7 E. Crawford 1197, 8 Mr and Mrs B. Taylor 1193, 9 J. Ramm 1183, 10 J. Ramm 1181, 11 B. Charles 1148, 12 Mr and Mrs B. Taylor 1126, 13 K. Meadows 1068, 14 J. Rayson 932.

HUNDREDS of brave souls took part in a huge pie fight at the King’s School playing fields on Saturday to raise money for Macmillan Cancer Support.

The Journal was in the think of the action to bring you this video, which is not for the faint-hearted!

SEND YOU PIE FIGHT PICS TO: comment@granthamjournal.co.uk

DO we love Grantham? I think not.

On June 2, I drove out into the countyside, passng through many villages and seeing flags, bunting, street parties and generally, people having fun.

I was driving my father around and he loved it all.

On arriving back into Grantham, he said to me: “I think the party is over.”

However, thanks to Greyfriars for a great June 5!

ANTHONY KEMP

Grantham

A POPULAR spot for walkers became a pit of drugs needles and beer bottles after thousands descended on the area for an illegal rave at the weekend.

Police officers stood by as around 4,000 people turned idyllic Twyford Wood near Colsterworth into a party zone where revellers took drugs, abused nitrous oxide and defecated wherever they pleased.

The aftermath was witnessed by Douglas Landy, director at nearby Witham Specialist Vehicles.

He said: “The runway has been left with thousands of broken bottles, balloons, nitrous oxide canisters, general waste and even excrement.

“Our site was broken into on Sunday morning and our security deterred numerous people from gaining entry. Other Honeypot Lane residents and businesses were majorly disrupted over the weekend.

Turn to page five

from front page

“I have spoken to many local people who come to Twyford to walk their dogs and they will not now do so until the site is tidied.”

The rave began on Saturday night and ran on into Sunday evening.

A police spokesman confirmed the rave was illegal in nature but said officers were left with little choice other than to allow it to run its course.

Police spokesman James Newall said: “We monitored the situation until it petered out naturally. It was just too big in terms of resources to break up.

“It would not have been a good idea, tactically.”

Mr Newall added: “The police have powers to disperse in that situation but when dealing with that many people the team of police officers you would need would be immense.”

Officers decided the risk of a “violent confrontation” was too high to risk intervening.

Mr Newall said: “In situations like this we have a risk assessment and if it is safer to let it continue to go on, rather than risking a violent confrontation then that’s what we will do.

“We know there were complaints of noise in the area. We are working with the Forestry Commission to prevent it from happening again.”

Lincolnshire Police met with the Forestry Commission, the owners of the land, to discuss ways to prevent a repeat in the future.

Commission recreation ranger Cheryl Joyce said the cost of the clean-up will run into the thousands of pounds.

She added: “We had no idea it was going to happen and the first we heard of it was when we got the call from police but it was too late to do anything.

“We’ve now just got masses of rubbish bags to clear up and there’s a huge amount of broken glass.”

RESIDENTS are being urged to prepare for ‘significant disruption’ when the Olympic Torch visits Grantham.

The torch will pass through Grantham on the afternoon of Thursday, June 28, and many hundreds of people are expected to line the streets to get a glimpse of the famous flame.

Mike Nicholls, highways network manager, said: “Businesses, schools, transport and many other services across the county will be affected, so it’s important you find out what’s happening near you.”

Mr Nicholls admitted that some disruption is inevitable, and advised people to plan alternative travel routes.

South Kesteven District Council’s website is the place to go to find out details of road closures and local events before the day.

A LOOPHOLE dating back 60 years is to be used to allow quarrying across huge swathes of the countryside to the south-west of Grantham.

The Welby Estate plans to use two existing planning permissions - still valid from the 1950s - to quarry ironstone and Lincolnshire limestone for the production of aggregates and building stone.

A total of 2,000 acres is in the permission area on land south of Denton and Harlaxton and stretching along Gorse Lane, beyond Stroxton.

A report on the proposals - which describes the affected area as “land at Denton, Harlaxton, Wyville cum Hungerton, Great Ponton and Stroxton” - has been seen by the Journal and states that the purpose of the quarrying is to “exploit aggregates and, subject to suitability, as a source of building stone”.

The idea is to quarry building stone locally to be used for major Grantham developments such as the east/west bypass.

The report states: “Given that Grantham enjoys Growth Point status . . . material sourced from the Project Area will be well placed to meet that demand and will help minimise road haulage distances.”

The first area to be quarried - “Phase 1” - will be at the south-west tip of the permission area at the crossroads where Gorse Lane meets the Viking Way. It could be decades until all of the areas are quarried.

The scale of the work is shown in the report by the amount expected to be quarried per year - between 200,000 and 250,000 tonnes. Although the report states: “Higher production rates may however be achieved as markets develop and/or during periods of peak demand.”

The project has been delayed slightly as the Welby Estate is in disagreement with the county council about how the quarrying should proceed. The landowners wish to begin after carrying out an assessment on only “Phase 1” of the proposal while the county council wants assessments carried out for the entire 2,000 acres before any digging begins.

A decision will now be made by the Secretary of State.

A spokesman for Lincolnshire County Council said: “The Welby Estate is seeking the view of the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government on the issues that will need to be covered in an Environmental Statement that would accompany an application to re-activate a dormant ironstone site.

“If such an application is made to the county council in due course it will be subject to publicity and consultation.”

The planning permission has no restrictions on the method of extracting the stone - leaving the possibility of blasting open.

The report states: “Although the use of explosives could possibly occasionally prove expedient, the applicants are prepared to forego this option.”

The Welby Estate declined to comment when approached by the Journal.

GRANTHAM Town joint managers Jimmy Albans and Wayne Hallcro have signed what should be their final addition to the squad.

After adding Jimmy Lindley, Conor Higginson and Karl Demidh last week, the experienced Steve Towers has also agreed terms with the Gingerbreads.

Both Demidh and Towers have been targets of Hallcro and Albans for a while.

The managerial pair first looked at Demidh when he was at Bardon last season and tried to prize him away from Coalville before the end of the campaign.

Demidh said: “I stayed at Coalville as they were my third club last season and I wanted to show I was prepared to see something through.

“I knew Grantham were interested in me and I am looking forward to playing in a front three again.

“It is my preferred way of playing and I didn’t play as well as I can at Coalville as they never got the best out of me. I am confident in my own ability and confident that Grantham will bring the best out of me.”

Midfielder Towers has spent most of the last five seasons at Blue Square North Corby Town.

Towers said: “I have known Wayne since we were together at Stamford. I wasn’t enjoying my football at Corby as much as I had with everything that was going on there, so when Jimmy and Wayne got in touch, it took my interest.

“Grantham are a club on the up and looked very good when I played in the pre-season friendly. It struck me as the right club for me to get back to enjoying my football again.”

I WAS walking in the Hills and Hollows with my dad when we heard some motorbikes. They sounded very close. Then when we were walking we saw them. We carried on walking, but when we turned around, we saw that most were not wearing a helmet. Next time we looked we saw just one with a helmet.

They kept riding through the new trees and I think they ran over some of them. There were already quite a few knocked over that we could see.

I think that it is a shame that they are allowed to kill the newly-planted trees with their motorbikes. They just don’t care about nature.

GEORGINA STEWART (aged 9)

Grantham

South Notts League

Division A

Clifton Village 187 all out

Belvoir 141 all out

CLIFTON’S initial progress was slow against tight bowling from Fazackerley and Cliff.

Hart however took the fight to Belvoir with a 35-ball 33 including five powerful boundaries.

The advent of Danny Gibson (3-32) saw the end of Hart and the successful Gunn in consecutive overs.

By this stage, James Hollingsworth had stuttered to 10 and the score to 87-5 in 27 overs.

But then, something clicked and he plundered another 59 from his remaining 60 balls.

Although they only made minor contributions, David McDermott, Snook and Barnett all stuck around at the other end, helping to build a defendable total.

Cliff (4-40) and Fazackerley (3-58) bowled with heart but little luck. Indeed they were let down by some poor fielding. Notable exceptions to this were a fine wicket keeping display from Ryan Lewis, with three catches, and two sharp slip catches by James Fleming.

Belvoir started very steadily reaching 100-2 with Needle (45) playing four straight drives.

Circumstances militated against Belvoir’s further success.

The first was the disastrous run-out of captain James Clayfield who was using a runner at the time. The second was a string of five maidens of devilish spin bowled by Bernard Kirk.

Then Needle, who seemed set and confident, was trapped LBW by David McDermott. Sam Cliff briefly looked likely to steal the game but was well run out by Robinson.

Lewis started aggressively but as wickets fell at the other end, he tried to bat for the draw. However, Dominic Robinson (3-31) came back to take the last two wickets with three balls to spare.

Division F

Belvoir 2nd 276-5

Ransome & Marles 59 all out

THIS was a comprehensive win for Belvoir by 217 runs and another maximum 20 points to continue their march up the league table.

After winning the toss and deciding to bat, Belvoir’s innings featured a third wicket partnership of 138 between Jack Copley, who went on to amass 129, and Danny Ross with a well made 38.

Good contributions from Euan Coulthard (22no), Matt Harland (27) and skipper John Copley’s quick 36no ensured a large total to defend.

The highlight was undoubtedly the classy stroke play of Jack Copley who plundered 14 fours and five sixes off the depleted visitor’s attack, for whom only 15-year-old James Evans threatened.

Belvoir then bowled and fielded superbly to deny Ransome and Marles any hope of chasing victory. Opening the attack, Alex Forbes (1-14) and Paul Adams (1-12) restricted the visitors’ top order to only 27-3 after 17 overs.

They were replaced by Fraser Fentem (2-15), who had already run out the opener with an accurate throw, and George Tebbutt who bowled with great gusto to return figures of 5-17. He quickly finished off the Ransome and Marles innings, including the wicket of the talented Evans.

I LOVE Italian food so when my wife said she was taking me to Sorrento’s in Market Place for a birthday treat with our children, it was a mouthwatering prospect.

Sorrento’s has been a reputable eatery in the town for some years now and with a plentiful menu of pasta, pizza, meat and fish dishes I was going to have a difficult time making up my mind. I had thought I would settle on one of their 13-inch stone baked pizzas but was persuaded to try something a little different and so plumped for the Pesce Spada - swordfish in a pepper lemon butter.

Swordfish has a steak-like texture and covered in the tangy lemon butter it was delicious. The dish came with a choice of pasta, rice or potatoes and I chose the pasta to keep the Italian theme running.

But I am running slightly ahead of myself. We did choose a starter and the kids went for the garlic pizza, but because it is a very large portion they decided to share it with me. With three pieces each it was plenty to start the meal and the tangy tomato sauce on the pizza bread was incredibly tasty. My wife chose the Funghi di Sorrento, oven-baked flat mushrooms filled with garlic, herbs, cheese and tomato. It was such a hit with her that she is determined to make it at home. A promising start!

My daughter, a vegetarian, decided on the Margarita pizza for her main course which she said was delicious and I can testify to that as I tried to finish it off for her. I also tasted my son’s Spaghetti alla Bolognese which was great in a Napoli sauce with herbs. So far so good, but it was to get even better. My wife chose the Tagliatelli Marina, a dish of scampi tails, prawns and mussels tossed with tagliatelli in a Napoli and cream sauce. She said it was perfect.

Well, that could have ended a fabulous meal, but being the Newtons we could not refuse the sweets menu. The children chose profiteroles as they cannot resist chocolate. My wife chose the lemon cheesecake which she said she didn’t want to end...pretty good for someone who isn’t keen on puddings of any kind. I finished with the iced zabaglioni which I must admit I chose because I wasn’t sure what it was! It’s a kind of custard dessert made of egg yolks, sugar and wine and had a distinctive vanilla flavour. Delicious, but I felt it could have had something extra to compliment it like some fruit to give the taste some variation.

Overall this was a delicious meal which everybody in the family enjoyed.

HHHH1/2

Review by Graham Newton

WIDE Westgate is set to be closed for 13 weeks from Monday as part of major regeneration work in Grantham town centre.

Lincolnshire County Council and South Kesteven District Council are hopeful of keeping the road open for at least part of the 13 weeks but admit full closure of the road will be necessary for phases of the work.

The work follows on from the redesign of the Market Place, completed earlier this year.

Coun Eddy Poll, executive member for Economic Development at Lincolnshire County Council, said: “These improvements will continue the revitalisation of the town centre, hopefully attracting new shoppers, visitors and investors. This should mean a valuable boost for local businesses.

“We’ll be doing everything we can to minimise disruption and hope traders will understand the long-term benefits this refurbishment will bring.”

Project leader Les Outram said the final look will be similar to the Market Place, granite for kerbs, Yorkstone slabs for footways, Yorkstone setts for parking bays and asphalt for the road.

There will also be several raised platforms, including one for a new zebra crossing and others aimed at lowering the speed to “less than 20mph”.

During the road closure, traffic diversions will be in place via Dysart Road, Wharf Road, St Peter’s Hill, High Street and the Market Place.

Mr Outram said: “Pedestrians will still be able to use the area at all times, but we will need a road closure so the work can take place safely.

“We will still allow vehicle access, whenever possible though, and will do all we can to keep disruption to a minimum.”

Businesses will be kept up to date with progress with fortnightly meetings.

l What you think about it - page 8

GRANTHAM Foodbank is celebrating this week after helping their 1,000th client.

The charity was launched less than a year ago to help people in crisis by providing the bare essentials. The organisation provided a family of five with enough food for three days.

Grantham & Melton Association

Division Two

Rothley Park 173-4

Belton Park 174-5

BELTON won the toss and elected to bowl first and soon had chances at the openers but Mear was dropped by keeper Law (keeper), Whales and Cocks before the end of the sixth over.

Turner’s persistence paid off in the seventh over when Simon was caught behind for two.

The Belton bowlers persevered on an unresponsive track and kept the run rate low, with only R. Mear making any inroads against the Belton attack. Mear ended up on an impressive 113no with extras being the next highest contributor to the Rothley total with 31.

The Belton openers made differing starts, Cocks content to use the pace of the ball to keep the score board ticking over and Sharp striking cleanly at every opportunity.

The opening partnership was broken in the 20th over with the score on 82 when Cocks was stumped by Williams off the bowling of Karia for 19.

Abeysekera came to the wicket and made an able partner to Sharp who continued with his clean striking to reach his maiden senior 100 with the Belton score on 144. The very next ball he was well caught at long-on by the Rothley strike bowler Matthews.

This left the game very much in Belton’s favour with 30 required from just over 10 overs. Belton made hard work of this with Cocks and Abeysekera falling to the bowling of Barr and the score only 166. Matt Law and Harry Brewin (both 13) put on a vital stand to bring the scores level going into the last over.

Second ball in and Law was caught and bowled by Simpson. The batsmen crossed putting young Brewin on strike and the onus on him to score the winning runs.

The third ball bowled was a borderline wide, the umpire giving the Rothley bowler the benefit of the doubt.

The fourth was to Brewin’s liking as he struck the ball cleanly and got the winning runs on his senior debut.

Grantham 189-8

Harlaxton 164-8

GRANTHAM made a solid start after being inserted by the opposition, Stewart Mudie scoring a brisk 44 before falling to a sharp caught and bowled.

Assisted by Nichols (32) and Imber (23) they laid the platform for Bennett (24) and Ashley (32) to attack the bowlers. Parker (2-44) and Davidson (2-37) bowled particularly well.

In reply, Harlaxton lost an early wicket but looked set to win the game at 80-1. Contributions came from Chalk (18) and Gray (32).

However, wickets began to fall at regular intervals through Wing (2-38), Bennett (2-26) and Imber (2-18), resulting in a 25-run Grantham win.

Division One

Woolsthorpe 214-7

Barrowby 46 all out

WOOLSTHORPE outclassed their counterparts on a slow deck in Barrowby.

Batting first, the visitors scored quickly with S. Claricoats (26) and B. Dobson (41) taking advantage of any bad balls that came their way. J. Ward (52no) and J. Whatton (46) continued the heavy scoring through the middle overs, with the latter in particularly aggressive mood.

A. Barnes (4-58) and S. Jepson (1-30) produced respectable figures but could not stop the onslaught as Woolsthorpe amassed a daunting total.

Barrowby’s innings never left second gear as Woolsthorpe bowled with much consistency. A. Culpin (4-21) and D. Hughes (4-10) pushed the visitors to a crushing victory.

Division Three

Queniborough 163-7

Barkston 138 all out

QUENIBOROUGH’S innings started poorly before Lowe (30) and Rushby (13) steadied the ship.

Kruz (32) and Combellack (40) boosted them to 100-5 until Kruz was caught on the boundary.

In reply, Barkston easily kept up with the required rate, largely thanks to Dewey, who hit a superb 64. Barkston were helped by Modd (12), Ingram (14) and Copley (13).

With 10 overs remaining Barkston were 122-5, but after the wicket of Dewey, Queniborough managed to take constant wickets and ripped through Barkston’s tail.

South Lincs & Border League

Division Three

Grantham 2nd 87 all out

Burgh le Marsh 88-0

AFTER being put into bat on a lively wet wicket, a young Grantham side battled to 87 all out. Austen Imber reached 35 before being run out, and Joe McCarthy batted well for 28, with Will Leadenham showing further promise with 11.

In parts of Burgh le Marsh’s innings, Grantham’s bowlers contained the scoring to one per over, with particular accuracy from Harvey Stevens and Ryan Wilson-Law.

Charles Standen and Tom McCartan also beat the bat several times without success, as Burgh le Marsh reached their target without loss.