Plans to create a huge quarry and landfill tip in countryside to the south of Denton have been dealt a blow.

Lincolnshire County Council’s planning officers are recommending that councillors reject the proposals for a quarry and infill site on about 84.6 hectares of land at Gorse Lane, south of Denton, when they meet on Monday.

The plan has been submitted by construction industry supplier Mick George Ltd and are to be considered by the county’s planning and regulation committee on October 3 at a meeting at the Meres Leisure Centre, in Trent Road, Grantham.

The plan was submitted two years ago and has generated huge protests from residents in Denton, Harlaxton and Croxton Kerrial, who formed the Gorse Lane Action Group (GOLAG) to stop the quarry going ahead.

Campaigners fear that if the quarry is created the surrounding countryside will be harmed and the area will be plagued by heavy lorries, dust, and noise.

But in a report to the planning committee, officers say there is no need for the extra limestone that Mick George plans to extract from the quarry.

The report states: “Given the level of existing permitted limestone reserves there is therefore no proven or quantitative need to justify the release of additional reserves and so the development is contrary to the Lincolnshire Minerals and Waste Local Plan (2016).

It adds: “This proposal would result in the creation of a new landfill site which is not considered necessary to meet predicted capacity gaps for waste arisings within the county.

“There is a recognised surplus of landfill void space capacity available to meet future requirements and therefore this development would provide an unnecessary over supply of landfill capacity.”

Officers also say that the quarry would be contrary to the objectives of policies and plans that seek to protect heritage assets from harmful development.

GOLAG chairperson Gaile McMillan said: “The recommendation to refuse is most welcome.

“But there is still the meeting to go and there will not be any celebrations until we see this application finally dealt with.”

A whole host of demonstrations took place in the George Centre during the Gravity Fields Festival.

The Family Science fair included science demonstrations, table top activities and cool tech for visitors to get their hands on.

The University of Hull, the Royal Society of Chemistry, University of Lincoln, Iconic Engineering and University Technology Colleges were among those delivering the cool demos.

Video by Toby Roberts.

A fireworks display provided a fabulous finale to the Gravity Fields Festival on Saturday night.

The fireworks lit up the night sky behind the Guildhall following on from the procession along the High Street and a display by Cirque Bijou with their LED umbrellas.

Cases brought before magistrates sitting in Lincoln recently include:

Patrick Carter, 36, of Tamar Court, Grantham: denies having in his possession three offensive weapons – a sheathed machete, sheathed dagger and a combined lock knife knuckle duster – in Trent Road, Grantham, on June 10, and a quantity of cannabis in Dysart Road on the same date. Remanded on unconditional bail until November 3 for trial at Lincoln Magistrates’ Court.

Ashli Charnock, 22, of Heathfield Road, Grantham: admits damaging a doorframe in Victoria Street on May 29. Fined £266, to pay compensation of £50 and £85 costs.

Jordan Joshua Godfrey, 21, of Grantham: admits taking an Alfa Romeo without the owner’s consent, driving it in Winchester Road, Grantham, while disqualified from driving, with no insurance and while being over the drink-drive limit, all on July 30. He also admits failing to surrender to custody at Lincoln Magistrates’ Court on August 25. Committed to prison for 12 weeks, suspended for 24 months, £115 victim surcharge, £85 costs and disqualified from driving for 16 months.

Curtis James Plant, 19, of Harrowby Road, Grantham: admits assaulting a woman by beating and possessing a pair of scissors in Harrowby Road, Grantham, on May 30. Also admits committing an offence while subject to a conditional discharge order for previous charges of obstructing a police constable and three counts of theft. Fined £315, to pay compensation of £200, £32 victim surcharge and £200 costs.

Harold King, 94, of New Street, Grantham: accused of driving a Kia which was involved in a collision with a male on a bicycle in Brook Street, Grantham, failing to stop or contact the police, failing to stop at a red traffic light and driving without due care and attention, all on March 4. Adjourned until November 28.

Christopher Kevin Birch, 26, of Burrows Close, Grantham: denies causing harassment, alarm or distress by using threatening, abusive or insulting words or behaviour in Grantham on February 12. Remanded on bail until November 15 with conditions to report to Grantham Police Station between noon and 2pm on Mondays.

Lee Mark Caldwell, 29, of High Street, Grantham: admits damaging a door at Taboo gentlemans’ club in Grantham on May 16. Fined £180, £30 victim surcharge and £85 costs.

Charlie Scott, 19, of Queensway, Grantham: admits driving a Fiat vehicle in Harlaxton Road, Grantham, on August 7 while over the drink-drive limit. Fined £200, £30 victim surcharge, £85 costs and disqualified from driving for 12 months.

Lance Christopher Morgan, of no fixed abode: admits racially aggravated assault on a police community support officer and using racially aggravated threatening, abusive or insulting words or behaviour in St Peter’s Hill, Grantham, on September 6. Committed to prison for two weeks, suspended for 12 months, to pay £200 compensation, victim surcharge of £115 and £85 costs.

Scott Young, 44, of Ash Close, Fulbeck: admits assaulting a woman by beating in Watergate, Grantham, on June 12. Community order made, including 80 hours’ unpaid work within 12 months, £85 victim surcharge and £520 costs.

Stevie Leigh Szulczewski, 22, of Brittain Drive, Grantham: admits assault by beating in Turnor Crescent, Grantham, on June 29. Community order made, including 150 hours’ unpaid work within 12 months, £85 victim surcharge and £85 costs.

Dean Keith Mohammed, 26, of Springfield Road, Grantham: admits entering Witham Specialist Vehicles, Honey Pot Lane, Colsterworth, as a trespasser and stealing a storage container, shovel and metal case worth £200, on August 4, and failing to surrender to custody at Lincoln Magistrates’ Court on September 12. Fined £245, £30 victim surcharge and £85 costs.

Adrians Ceirulis, 18, of Dudley Road, Grantham: accused of sexually penetrating a girl under the age of 13 between February 12 and 15. Sent for trial at Lincoln Crown Court on October 13. Bail conditions include not to contact two individuals or have unsupervised contact with any child under the age of 16.

Robert William Derek Threlfall, 34, of Mallard Court, Grantham: admits driving an LDV vehicle on Somerby Hill, Grantham, on February 10 with no insurance. Fined £120, £20 victim surcharge, £85 costs and driving licence endorsed with six points.

Shaleena Hunt, 29, of Central Place, Grantham: accused of using threatening or abusive words or behaviour in Avenue Road, Grantham, on August 24. Remanded on unconditional bail until October 18.

Ian William Parker, 61, of Kingscliffe Road, Grantham: admits using violence to get into a property on June 5. Discharged conditionally for six months, 320 victim surcharge and £35 towards costs.

Graham Lee Slater, 35, of Brook Street, Grantham: admits stealing perfume worth £138.95 from Asda, action figures worth £79.96 from Argos, perfume worth £12 from Boots and two t-shirts worth £10 from Edinburgh Woollen Mill between June 21 and August 23, dishonestly receiving a stolen bicycle on June 17 and committing an offence while subject to a conditional discharge. Two-year criminal behaviour order made prohibiting him from carrying a syringe/needle in a public place, being drunk or consuming alcohol in a public place or approaching anyone to ask for money or alms
in Grantham town centre, and to pay compensation of £171.96.

Rail union RMT today, Monday, confirmed 24 hours of strike action on Virgin Trains East Coast over a threat to jobs, working conditions and safety.

The announcement comes after talks aimed at resolving a series of long-running issues at the heart of the dispute failed.

As a result, staff have been instructed not to book on for any shifts that commence between the hours of 0001 and 2359 hours on Monday October 3.

The strike will impact services from London King’s Cross to Peterborough and Grantham as well as further north.

RMT General Secretary Mick Cash said: “RMT will not sit back while nearly 200 members’ jobs are under threat and while conditions and safety are put at risk by a franchise which is clearly in financial trouble. We will also not tolerate the cavalier attitude to safety that is now on show as the company mobilises its scab army of managers.

“The union suspended an earlier programme of action when it looked like serious progress was being made in talks but that process has now failed to reach a satisfactory conclusion and we are back into industrial action as a result. We have been shocked at the way the company have led us up the garden path when we entered talks in good faith. Or representative are rightly angry at this cavalier approach.

“The company have chosen to treat the negotiations as a game up to now, merely going through the motions and playing for time. To behave like that is to treat the union and its members with pure contempt.

“Our members will not pay the price for a crisis cooked up in the Virgin/Stagecoach boardroom. The action is back on and the union remains available for serious talks .”

The Chief Constable for Lincolnshire has gone into detail about the reason for his controversial Twitter comment where he said police officers were having to ferry patients to A&E when ambulances were unavailable.

In his Tweet in the early hours of Sunday morning the county’s top police officer Neil Rhodes called for ambulance services in the county to be better resourced and his his on line blog has explained that police officers are becoming too regularly “the service of last resort”, taking casualties to hospital in incidents they have been called to.

Mr Rhodes relesased his explanation via his blog yesterday evening (Monday). In it he said: “About 24 hours ago, reading through the overnight incidents, I saw that officers from Lincoln and Boston had been required to take casualties to Accident & Emergency departments because ambulances weren’t available within a practical timeframe.

“I tweeted at that time, ‘Officers from both Lincoln and Boston ended up working as ambulances last night. EMAS needs to be properly resourced.’ I hadn’t realised at that time just how much interest my tweet would attract. A day later it’s been retweeted 117 times and liked 129 times, which is quite an unusual amount of attention for me.”

He went on: “I had clearly hit a raw nerve with many members of the public, judging from some of the responses that I got. Equally, one or two members of the ambulance service responded and felt that I was being personally critical of ambulance crews. I need to say - far from it – I am a real supporter of EMAS.

“On that evening, Saturday evening, I had been at a function in Lincoln where a person had been taken ill and collapsed. Within around 30 minutes an ambulance arrived and the care and compassion displayed by that ambulance crew was absolutely exemplary. I have also, in the past, been in the back of Lincoln A&E and seen four or five ambulance crews queueing, sometimes for a matter of hours, to hand over their patients and get back on the streets. I have some understanding of the demands they face.

“However, it just can’t be right that police officers are regularly being needed to take people from the scenes of accidents or road traffic collisions to hospital because the Ambulance Service just does not have the resources available to cope. One of the incidents I discussed on Saturday was where a person had been assaulted in the early hours and suffered significant head injuries. I both support and applaud the decision of the officers in that matter to take the man to Accident and Emergency, rather than wait a considerable period of time for an ambulance to attend.

“I also ask myself what would happen if someone died in a police car whilst being taken to hospital? The public deserve a better service and my officers cannot be asked to fill the gap that exists at times. We are, on many occasions, the service of last resort and when there is no-one else available to help, I always want it to be that a police officer is prepared to step into the breach. But, when what should be an exceptional occurrence is becoming a regular occurrence then it’s up to me to say and do something about it.”

He has since discussed the issue with Richard Henderson, the Chief Executive of the East Midlands Ambulance Service.

He said: “A picture readily emerges of a service that is under-resourced, in comparison with the demands placed upon it across the East Midlands, a problem that is exacerbated by the fact that ambulance crews can spend an inordinate amount of time queueing in busy hospitals waiting to hand over their patients.”

Over the next few weeks Mr Rhodes intends to monitor when police officers feel they have to take people to hospital because of issues with ambulance cover, and he will be sharing that information with East Midlands Ambulance Service.

Mr Rhodes re-iterated: “I have an enormous amount of time for the crews that operate alongside police officers on the roads of Lincolnshire, and would much prefer that my comments are seen as supportive rather than critical.”

EMAS says they have asked for details regarding the incidents referred to and confirmed Richard Henderson, EMAS Chief Executive had spoken to Mr Rhodes yesterday to discuss the matter.

In a statement on their website EMAS explained that, as with all UK ambulance services, EMAS always tries to provide prompt back-up when police colleagues request support, and meets with Lincolnshire Police on a monthly basis o review activity and services provided.

EMAS stated: “Both organisations are committed to providing the best possible service to the public and we will continue to work in partnership with police colleagues to reduce the number of times they feel it appropriate to provide transport.

“The Association of Ambulance Service Chief Executives has been working closely with the National Police Chief’s Council (and its predecessor organisation), to eliminate occasions where the police convey patients to hospital.”

The county ambulance service revealed on an average day in Lincolnshire it receives over 500 emergency and urgent 999 calls and has 45 ambulances and 14 fast response cars with skilled clinicians on board to respond. Of those 500 calls, just over half result in a patient needing to go to hospital.

The statement said: “In its latest report about EMAS (published May 2016), the Care Quality Commission said inspectors found that we are open and honest about the challenges we are facing and what we are doing to address them. Ambulance availability can be impacted by the number of

ambulance crews kept waiting at hospital.

“We have been funded £152.5 million to provide our 999 service across the six counties in the East Midlands during 2016/17. A key part of this year’s contract is the agreement to carry out an independent strategic demand, capacity and price review to look at the level of staff and vehicles needed, along with finance, to respond to demand on our services. We and our commissioners have committed to implement the outcomes of the review.”

EMAS has also stated that it has not been given any extra funding or resources to cope with the longer trips to AandE while the AndE department at Grantham Hospital is closed for three months at nights due to staffing pressures.

According to figures released by EMAS, between April 1 and August 31 2016, Lincolnshire Police asked EMAS for assistance on 1,583 occasions (during the same time period, EMAS asked Lincolnshire Police for support or attendance on scene 217 times).

From the 1,583 incidents there are 603 reports of the patient needing hospital assessment or treatment (38.09 per cent). All others calls were dealt with appropriately over the telephone and face-to-face responses.

EMAS states: “The 999 calls received from police colleagues are dealt with in the same way as all other 999 calls in that they are all categorised dependent on the clinical need of the patient.

“Police colleagues have access to our Clinical Assessment Team where they can receive additional triage support from paramedics and nurses working in our control centre. Our average response time for the 1,583 incidents was 20 minutes, and we remained on scene for an average of 36 minutes.

“During Saturday and Sunday September 24 and 25, 2016, EMAS ambulance crews experienced delays at hospitals in Lincoln, Boston, Scunthorpe and Grimsby meaning we lost over 80 hours of time.”

Oh dear, here we have another pavement-hogger. Vehicles were meant for roads, not pavements – they are pedestrian territory.

But because many motorists choose to ignorant that, the Journal’s ‘Dozy Parker’ campaign is still going strong.

This photo, taken in Barrowby Road, Grantham, on Tuesday, was sent in by a Grantham man who asked not to be named. He said: “It was blocking the full path. It’s not very considerate parking for pedestrians attempting to use the footpath.”

** Send your ‘Dozy Parker’ pictures to comment@granthamjournal.co.uk

Volunteers have been having to tidy up the mess left after yobs got in and ran amok in a village hall built in memory of local First World War dead.

Bourne and Billingborough Neighbourhood Policing Team have reported that some time this month up until September 22 intrudeerrs have got into Dowsby Village Hall via an insecure door and caused havoc.

PCSO Sandra Brommell says: “Nothing has been stolen however slight damage has been done, along with a large amount of children’s toys and toilet roll thrown all over. This would suggest the work of the younger generation running amok.”

She went on: “This village hall dates from 1920, the land and building being gifted in remembrance of local servicemen who lost their lives during the First World War.

“If you can assist police with finding the suspects please call 101 quoting incident 259 of 22/09/16.

“Also if you see anything or anyone acting suspiciously around the village hall as there is a play park at the rear, again please call police and report.”

Firefighters released a 30-year-old woman from her vehicle after an accident on the A607 near Croxton Kerrial yesterday (Monday, September 26).

Crews from Melton and Grantham attended the incident at about 6.10pm. The woman received treatment from the fire service and was assessed by a doctor after being released from her vehicle.

A Grantham woman has donned a wetsuit and braved the waters of the Serpentine in Hyde Park to raise money for the homeless.

Lesley Selby swam a mile in the lake of the London Park on Sunday in support of the Salvation Army’s homelessness project.

Lesley, 55, said: “It was certainly a challenge but I enjoyed every minute of it.”

Lesley, a nurse at Harlaxton College, completed the one mile swim in one hour, 21 minutes and 20 seconds.

So far, she has raised more than £570 on her JustGiving page.

Lesley said: “I have always enjoyed swimming and did quite a lot of open water swimming as a child, but, in recent years, this has been a more leisurely swim at my local Health and Fitness Club.  My cousin Beryl managed to convince me that participating in the Serpentine Swim was a jolly good idea and I initially agreed.  Reality was quick to settle in and before I knew it, my daughter and Aunt were helping me into a wetsuit which was an experience in itself.”

She added: “Not only is swimming around the Serpentine Lake a huge and wonderful personal achievement, I am also hoping that I will raise money for an excellent cause – The Salvation Army’s homelessness project.  Homelessness is an issue in every town and city across the United Kingdom and, as a daughter of Salvation Army ministers, I have witnessed how this church and charity can transform the lives of those who are far less fortunate than myself.

“My Salvation Army Church in Nottingham is currently participating in The Big Collection.  This is an annual initiative where members of the public are invited to make a contribution to The Salvation Army and its homelessness projects.  My church along with many other Salvation Army churches, provide hot meals, food parcels, clothing, bedding and a friendly ear to the homeless.  These projects would not exist if it was not for the kind donations from church members and members of the public. 

Thousands of swimmers took part in the first mass participation swim in the Serpentine for charity.

To make a donation to Lesley’s cause go to 
www.justgiving.com

New figures from 31 police forces across England and Wales show a fall in domestic violence actions with Lincolnshire Constabulary recording a two per cent drop.

The figures, obtained through Freedom of Information, show significant variations in levels of prosecutions across forces with more than half recording a fall in domestic violence prosecutions.

Overall, 2,820 fewer people were charged with domestic violence offences in the first half of 2016 compared with that same period in 2015 – reversing previous years’ trends.

Emma Pearmaine, Director of Family Services at Simpson Millar has actively campaigned on the issue of domestic violence since 2012. She is concerned that the fall in prosecutions might not be a positive sign but rather a symptom of a cash-strapped support system.

She said: “For several years we have seen a steady rise in domestic violence prosecutions which was largely attributed to an increase in public awareness and a change in the attitude within police forces to pro-actively tackle these cases. It is rather idealistic or hopeful to assume that we are witnessing a society-wide fall in instances of domestic violence, regardless of how much I wish that was true.”

Emma suggests that legal aid cuts are starting to filter through in terms of the number of people who have access to legal advice. She explains: “A cut in the legal aid budget has had a negative impact on the level of access people have to legal advice; this could now be having serious implications for abuse victims.

“My team of family lawyers and I always advise victims of domestic abuse to report it to the Police – even when it is a matter of coercive control and not yet physical violence. But in the past 12 months we have seen a marked fall in those cases which is reflected in the latest police statistics – with some regions showing a particularly significant drop in prosecutions.

“In some police authority areas, the number of prosecutions has fallen by over a third from one year to the next. We urgently need to understand why this might be to make sure victims are not suffering in silence.”

Emma, who is also Chair of domestic violence charity, Corporate Alliance, adds: “If there is a problem we need to resolve it and make sure the Police have the tools they need to bring perpetrators to justice and protect victims. It could be that some forces would benefit from additional awareness and training in how to spot the signs of domestic violence.”

Emma added: “Victims of domestic violence need to know that they can come forward and ask for help from either the Police, their lawyer or other support agencies for help. But I fear that fewer people now feel and understand that help is within reach.

“For women aged 15-44, domestic violence is the single greatest cause of injury and illness and we need to make sure that the law is being applied so that they can live without fear and harassment.”

A director of a Grantham taxi firm who ran an illegal money lending business was today (Tuesday) jailed for 12 months at Lincoln Crown Court.

Samuel Bromfield operated the unlicensed business for almost three years before being brought to justice.

Simon Mortimer, prosecuting, said that an investigation revealed that Bromfield loaned out £166,000 to a total of 105 customers between November 2011 and August 2014.

Mr Mortimer said: “It was a substantial business. The evidence demonstrated he was operating an oppressive regime of repayment and charges.

“The total amount loaned was just under £166,000. He received back in excess of £142,000. He gave out 943 loans to just over 100 individuals. The interest charged was usually 50 per cent of the capital advanced.”

Bromfield, who runs the Discount Cabs taxi firm in Grantham, later told police he loaned money to family, friends and colleagues.

Mr Mortimer told the court: “He said it was personal between them and him. He said he didn’t charge interest.”

The court was told that Bromfield was not licensed as a money lender and knew he would not be granted a licence because of past County Court judgements against him.

Bromfield, 60, of Ferry Lane, North Muskham, Nottinghamshire, admitted two charges of operating as an unauthorised money lender.

Judge Michael Heath, passing sentence, told him: “You were operating for two years and nine months as an illegal money lender in quite a big way.

“The whole purpose of regulating the lending of money is to ensure that stringent rules designed to protect vulnerable people from abuse are complied with.

“You knew very well that you needed a licence and you knew you wouldn’t get one because of your County Court judgements in the past.

“It is plain that this was a profitable, unlawful and illegal activity. The only sentences I can justify for these offences are immediate custodial sentences.”

Edward Cole, in mitigation, said that Bromfield’s taxi firm would be put risk if he received an immediate jail sentence.

Mr Cole said: “He was approached by people who wished to borrow money from him. Principally they were his employees. He thought he was helping people in need. Not every loan was advanced with interest.

“He doesn’t have a luxurious lifestyle. His primary motivation was to help people who came to him for help.”

After the hearing, Cath Williams of the England illegal money lending team, which brought the prosecution against Bromfield, said: “The authorisation regime exists to protect vulnerable people.

“This type of crime is massively under reported. Illegal money lenders can have a massive effect on people’s lives. We urge people to use our 24-hour hotline on 0300 555 2222 to report illegal money lenders so that we can investigate.”

A Grantham man has been jailed after he got drunk and took drugs while celebrating his birthday before committing a ferocious attack on a friend.

James Bavister started drinking at 9.30am and was so much under the influence of alcohol he had no memory of his attack on Jagraj Singh Sanghera, Lincoln Crown Court heard.

Bavister later told police that on a scale of one to 10 of drunkenness he was at a level of 14.

Phil Howes, prosecuting, said that Bavister arrived at Mr Sanghera’s flat in Heathfield Road, Grantham, in the early hours of the morning demanding to be let in and threatening to smash down the door.

Mr Howes said: “The door was opened. The defendant delivered a number of punches to the victim’s head. Several blows landed.

“This was a determined and premeditated attack on a person in his own home in the early hours.”

Mr Sanghera suffered facial injuries including cuts and swelling. He had a large lump on his head.

Mr Howes told the court: “In interview the defendant said he had been drinking and had been taking drugs. He said he had no recollection of his actions but he had no issues with the victim.”

Bavister, 41, of Kinoulton Court, Grantham, admitted charges of assault occasioning actual bodily harm and possession of an offensive weapon arising from the incident on August 6 this year. He was jailed for 14 months.

Stuart Lody, in mitigation, said: “He is ashamed of his behaviour. He knows he has behaved very badly indeed towards his friend and he is very sorry for that.

“It was his birthday. He organised a party and the complainant had been invited. Unfortunately he started his party too early that day. He started to consume alcohol and then added drugs to that until he reached a stage where he was out of it. He simply cannot remember what happened on that night.

“He has tried to turn his life around. He has come a long way already in rehabilitating himself into society.”

An RAF veteran who secretly filmed young girls was today jailed for 15 months at Lincoln Crown Court.

Malcolm Everard, who was in the RAF for almost 40 years firstly as a serviceman and later as a civilian, converted the footage into more than 100 illegal still photographs.

He was caught out after a computer disk containing the photographs was discovered by a man who called at Everard’s home in Cranwell to feed his cat while he was away on holiday.

Andrew Scott, prosecuting, said that police were contacted and officers carried out a raid on Everard’s home.

They found illegal photographs that Everard had taken himself as well as more than 500 child porn photographs he had downloaded onto a lap top computer.

Everard, who admitted to having an interest in naturism, denied in police interviews that he had any sexual interest in children.

Everard, 66, of Delhi Square, Cranwell, pleaded guilty to two charges of taking indecent images of children and a further three charges of making a total of 593 indecent images. The illegal images were created between November 2011 and April 2014.

Sunil Khanna, in mitigation, told the court that Everard had no previous convictions and added: “He accepts his interest in naturism and that lifestyle. He is desperately, desperately sorry for what he has done.

“He had 24 years of service in the RAF. He was a Sergeant on leaving. He then had 15 years of civilian service in the RAF as a driver.

“After that he became a neighbourhood handyman in the Cranwell area. He also worked for Age UK. This was a man who could be trusted to assist others.

“Since his arrest his neighbours have avoided him. He used to have an active social life but that has ended.

“He has gone from being a popular helpful member of the community to someone who is now quite isolated.”

Judge Michael Heath, passing sentence, told Everard: “You plainly have a sexual interest in children otherwise you wouldn’t have done what you did.

“You were downloading this material over a period of two and a half years.

“I note that you have been shunned by the community but that is not surprising given all of the circumstances.

“These offences are so serious that the only sentences that can be justified for them are custodial sentences.”

Following Everard’s conviction, an NSPCC spokesman said: “Everard has been rightly punished for his deeply disturbing crimes. The youngsters in these images are victims of sexual abuse and anyone viewing them is fuelling a disgusting industry.

“Children often endure unspeakable and horrific abuse for pictures like these to be created and shared. Just by looking at this content, demand is being increased for more children to be abused. We hope this case sends a message that abuse in any form will not be tolerated.

“Anyone who has any concerns about a child’s welfare can call the NSPCC helpline in confidence on 0808 800 5000.”

Nottingham Forest Supporters Club (Grantham branch):

Forest are away to Bristol City on Saturday, kick-off 3pm.

Bookings are being taken for away games at Blackburn Rovers on October 18, kick-off 7.45pm, and Reading on October 29, kick-off 3pm.

For details, contact Bob Taylor on 01476 550242.

Friendly

Kesteven 2nd 36

Melton Mowbray 3rd 5

Kesteven were delighted to get the second team out for the first time this season.

They were able to include three 17-year-olds in the side, with the mainstays being some very experienced players. They were, however, limited to a bare 15 players.

Kesteven had the benefit of the strong wind in the first half and were able to keep Melton pinned in their own half. They were keen to play open rugby to use the talent in the back division.

They opened the scoring after five minutes when Parker opened up a gap which Phil Jordan exploited to the full to score under the posts. Dingley added the conversion.

Melton were finding it difficult to get out of their own half and one clearing kick held up in the wind. Charles and Dingley exploited this to good effect, as Dingle broke up the touchline and sent a perfect inside pass to Charles to run rund behind the posts. Dingley again converted and already Ks had a healthy 14 point lead after 18 minutes.

Shortly after, the home pack won good scrum ball. Parker made a clean break and quick passing saw Ben Hall on a clear run to the line for a fine try. He added to his tally with a second try. Windsor was the provider but the try owed much to the wing’s determination and ability to break the tackle.

Melton had not had much of the play but finally they got into home territory and forced through for a try and a 24-5 half time scoreline.

The second half was indeed a different story. The wind kept Kesteven pinned in their own 22 but they defended their line well.

They were always eager to break out and against the run of play they added a further try. A long range run involving Charles and Windsor saw the latter pulled down with a great cover tackle, but he was able to get the ball away to Jordan who was up in support to score.

That hurt Melton who, although having much of the territory, were unable to score. Some of the tackling by the young players like Ward and Cox was exceptional.

It was fitting that Kesteven had the final word. The willingness to play running rugby was rewarded when Jordan put Dingley away for the final try which he converted to bring up the final score.

This was an encouraging performance by the side. Notable was a first outing for Will Pert in the front row – he acquitted himself well. The back row of Cox, Warden and Armstrong worked hard. In the backs, young Joe Brighten was very lively scrum half while the experience of Parker, Jordan and Windsor brought the best out of wings Ben Hall and Charles. Curtis Dingley was very sound at full back and was eager to exploit open spaces.

Kesteven: Dingley, Hall, Windsor, P. Jordan, Charles, Parker, Brighten, Ward, Sayle, Pert, Marvin, Hardy-Gillings, Cox, Armstrong, Warden.

Grantham’s third biennial Gravity Fields Festival has been heralded the ‘best yet’ and ‘phenomenal’, attracting tens of thousands of people to events in town and across the district.

South Kesteven District Council says new records have been set for ticket sales although it has not yet released any figures.

But it does say that the festival has injected about £1 million into the local economy.

Many of the arts and science events across the five day Sir Isaac Newton-inspired festival were a sell-out and on Saturday the town was jam-packed with people enjoying the attractions at St Wulfram’s Church, Market Place and Abbey Gardens as part of the “Ingenious Night Out”.

The climax came on St Peter’s Hill with the Helios flame machine, an LED umbrella show, a procession of over 500 schoolchildren and community participants, and a fantastic firework display.

Festival patron Professor Val Gibson, Head of High Energy Physics at the University of Cambridge, recalled growing up in Grantham when science was strictly confined to the classroom. She said: “Our Gravity Fields Festival is head and shoulders above any other arts and science festival in the UK, particularly because it involves so much of the community. It proves that learning can be fun and has the potential to start fantastic career paths.”

The festival, celebrating the 350th anniversary of Sir Isaac Newton’s incredible advances on gravitational forces and light, is organised by SKDC with curator Rosemary Richards and co-curator Dr Harry Cliff.

SKDC’s funding was boosted by Arts Council England and the Institute of Physics and supported by the National Trust, The Royal Society and local sponsors Viking Signs, Downtown, Listers, JMP Solicitors, Chatterton’s, Hood Parkes & Co and Khaos Control.

Leader of the Council, Coun Bob Adams, said the event had built a reputation for staging a quality programme. He said: “It was fantastic to see so many people booking tickets for a whole host of science and arts events. On top of that we expect the festival to inject more than a £1 million into the local economy. I can’t think of a better way to showcase our district as a great place to live and invest and it is very encouraging that we’re talking to investors who think that way too.

“We believe Grantham and the whole of South Kesteven has got a great future and festivals like Gravity Fields will play a big part in achieving that success.”

Ockham’s Razor wowed crowds following the civic launch on Wednesday with an emotional display of aerial theatre at St Wulfram’s Church.

Over 1,500 adults and children loved the outstanding Ministry of Science shows at Grantham Meres Leisure Centre on the first day of the festival as the educational and fun side of science met with some explosive results.

Meanwhile in Abbey Gardens the Anti-Grav Box (see the video) grabbed the imagination of the young and old with its fun optical illusion producing some funny and thought provoking scenes. Across the road at The Alive Church, IOU’s Speaking Tubes provided an experience like no other with supersonic vortex steel rings.

A must-see was Grantham’s own Chantry Dance who entertained a packed Guildhall Arts Centre with their ‘Ulysses Unbound’ and ‘The Stacked Deck’ performances.

Hundreds of people visited the beautiful solargraph exhibition in the Newton Room thanks to local artist Kelly Barfoot and at St John the Baptist Church in Colsterworth.

Cambridge’s world-famous Cavendish Laboratory re-created a legendary scientific dinner for guests at The Angel and Royal Hotel.

At Woolsthorpe Manor local schoolchildren loved plague day re-enactments and Sunday’s family day was packed, whilst talks from Professor Frank Close and Professor Andrei Zvelindovsky inspired audiences to discover insights on physics and mathematics.

Dallas Campbell, writer, TV presenter and Gravity Fields patron, hosted a popular chat show with Tom Adams (Apollo 11 Campervan), Simon Watt (Ugly Animal Roadshow), engineer Dr Hugh Hunt, Professor Gibson and Dr Cliff.

Splitting his time between Woolsthorpe and Grantham, he said: “I love coming to Gravity Fields Festival. It’s a phenomenal event and I cannot wait for the next one in 2018.”

Grantham and District Indoor Bowling Club’s season is well and truly getting into swing.

Grantham lost narrowly to Long Sutton in a Lincolnshire League match, and were also just defeated against a touring team from Northants.

Results:

Grantham 86

Long Sutton 90

B Smith R Payne J Meakins N Smith won 25-13, R Barker M Parker I Cole B Allen lost 9-21, R Lewis R Smith R Sowerby Joe Lewis won 23-21, P Hainsworth R Barrett J Kime Jay Lewis won 15-13, M Carter T Asher M Bailey T Berridge lost 14-22.

Grantham 107

Northants Touring Team 110

E Hoare C Tuckwood R Sowerby T Asher won 17-15, K Aldridge J Hall G Hall N Smith lost 18-22, K German M Goodchild L Smith G Smith won 21-18, J Asher J Tinkley J Morris I Cole won 20-15, J Morris H Whatley G Owen T Berridge won 17-16, A Wyles J Wyles P Richies Jay Lewis lost 14-24

The club has several friendly matches coming up, the next being against another touring club team, Thornaby.

The Trent Road-based club is now fully open for the winter season, with coaching available to new members who are always welcome. The first three bowls sessions are free to newcomers, with equipment available to borrow.

For more information contact 01476 578324.

Campaigners fighting to have full A&E services restored at Grantham Hospital will question one of the trust’s bosses at a meeting on Thursday.

Members of the public are invited to the meeting at St Wulfram’s Church at 12.30pm on Thursday. Dr Suneil Kapadia, medical director of United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust, will attend to answer questions.

Dr Kapadia made the decision to close Grantham A&E overnight for three months from August 17. He says he cannot guarantee that services will return to normal once that period is over.

The meeting will last about one and a half hours. Campaigners say they want to see as many members of the public there as possible.

Representatives of Fighting 4 Grantham Hospital and SOS Grantham Hospital will be there.

Under-16 NLD Shield

First round

Long Eaton 12

Kesteven 48

Kesteven bounced back from last week’s defeat at the hands of Lincoln to demolish a disorganised Long Eaton.

Playing into the wind in the first half, Kesteven made good use of set forward plays to drive their way up the park. Some slick handling from the backs meant that Green could cross over in the corner. With the wind pulling Whinney’s conversion attempt wide, Kesteven knew that a second try was imperative to having a comfortable lead.

Again great support from the forwards sent Stanton crashing over the line. Whinney converted and put the Black Army into a 12-point lead.

But Long Eaton came back after some smart play from their centre, chipping the ball through. The bounce favoured the Long Eaton man, wrong footing Whinney meant he could stroll in to narrow the deficit.

Once again some superb forward work allowed Simpson to snipe from the base of a ruck and touch down in the corner for an unconverted try.

Kesteven came back again, but this time, it was Parker and Eagle combining in an exquisite set move to beat the Long Eaton defence from the 22 metre line. Whinney converted.

But Long Eaton pulled one back as a result of their quick thinking from a penalty for offside to crash over for a 24-12 half time scoreline.

A re-energised Kesteven scored an unconverted try, again through Bailey as a result of great support play in the previous phase. Bailey smashed his way over from close range.

Long Eaton looked depleted and could not find any form of response, and with some excellent handling from Parker, Simpson, Whinney and Green, the latter dived over in the corner. Whinney did convert this time to make it 36-12 to Ks.

Another try from Simpson put Kesteven completely out of sight. Despite Parker slicing the conversion just wide, Kesteven came back through Cotton as more great handling from the backs allowed Cotton to charge under the posts. Eagle leathered it over to give Kesteven an emphatic first round win in the Shield.

The next game is at home against Peterborough on Sunday, kick-off 11am.

Kesteven: Stanton, S. Nel, M. Addlesee, Desmond, T. Addlesee, Norsworthy, Shelbourne, Bailey, Simpson, Parker, Thomas, Cotton, Eagle, Green, Whinney.