Grantham MP Nick Boles has slammed an NHS body after this morning’s decision to delay the possible restoration of a 24 hour A&E unit in the town.

United Lincolnshire Hospitals Trust decided it was in favour of restoring the 24 hour service at Grantham but has agreed to advice from NHS Improvement which wants a delay of a month to allow for a safety review.

Although it is not obliged to go along with the review, ULHT decided at today’s board meeting that the review should go ahead to make sure that all three A&E units under the trust are sufficiently staffed to make the service safe.

Mr Boles said: “I am very disappointed that NHS Improvement has intervened to stop ULHT announcing the reopening of Grantham A&E at nights. I believe their actions are legally dubious and morally indefensible. I will be raising the matter in the House of Commons at the earliest opportunity.”

ULHT said that it would not be safe to reopen Grantham A&E 24 hours a day until the trust had 21 middle grade doctors working across its three A&E sites. That figure is currently 22, although the trust says the situation is still ‘fragile’ because a number of those doctors are locum or agency staff and therefore not permanent.

ULHT decided to close Grantham A&E overnight in August 2016.

A headteacher has decided to keep some pupils at home because there is no heating in school.

Susan Dench, Executive Headteacher at the West Grantham Academies Trust, says she partially closed St Hugh’s and St John’s yesterday. The schools are being fitted with a new heating system and it is not yet working.

Mrs Dench said it was with regret she had to partially closed the schools yesterday. Today St Hugh’s is fully open but only Years 2, 5, and 6 are attending St John’s.

Mrs Dench said yesterday: “We managed to keep both schools open last week, encouraging students and staff to keep their coats. On Friday, I looked at the weather forecast and saw that the temperatures were due to fall significantly, so asked for an update from the contractors. We had people on site over the weekend, but unfortunately, the boilers were not ready for today, so I had to make a decision regarding closure. When I left for work this morning, I had to scrape ice off my windscreen, and there was a frost on the grass as I arrived at school. I could not ask you to send your children into a school knowing that I could not keep them all warm.

“There was some heating in St Hugh’s, so we were able to open the academy to Y10 and Y11: they were amazing, and responded to the difficult situation really well. We continued with our mock exam timetable for English and maths, and some even stayed for after school independent study.

“Tomorrow (Tuesday), we will be opening to all students at St Hugh’s and Y2, 5, 6 at St John’s. However, we do not have enough heated rooms to open the school to all students. We will continue to monitor this tomorrow and try to open more rooms where possible.

“Fortunately, the students at St Hugh’s are provided with an iPad and they have school work set on Showbie, Sam Learning, and PIXL apps. There is no reason for students to lose learning time even though they cannot be in school. All activity on these apps is monitored by the teachers, and if any student has any queries, they can message their teachers via Showbie, Seesaw or email.

“Students at St John’s have their reading books, as well as access to Mathletics and Bug Club if they have internet access. They also have their times-tables and year group spellings for practice within their planners. Further work will be placed on the website for each year group.

“I will continue to monitor the situation every day and seek a solution as quickly as possible from the contractors, but please know that this decision was taken in the best interests of the children that we serve.”

Campaigners say they are furious that Grantham will have to wait at least another month before the town’s A&E unit can be restored to a 24 hour service.

Today United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust decided it was in favour of restoring a 24 hour service to Grantham A&E, but this is subject to a safety review. The trust will make a decision in December at its next board meeting following that review.

Campaigners say ULHT should have made the decision to go ahead with reopening the A&E unit 24 hours a day immediately, but instead it has decided to defer to NHS Improvement which wants a safety review before the decision is made.

Although it is not obliged to go along with the review, ULHT decided at today’s board meeting that it should go ahead to make sure that all three A&E units under the trust are sufficiently staffed to make the service safe.

Melissa Darcey, of Fighting 4 Life Lincolnshire, said: “They have definietely passed the buck. This was predicted when they were put into special financial measures because that means that NHS England and NHS Improvement will come in and make decisions for them. I am angry and frustrated that they are stringing us along again for another month and now moving the goalposts to suit their desires in the future.”

Grantham MP Nick Boles slammed NHS Improvement for their intervention. He said: “I am very disappointed that NHS Improvement has intervened to stop ULHT announcing the reopening of Grantham A&E at nights. I believe their actions are legally dubious and morally indefensible. I will be raising the matter in the House of Commons at the earliest opportunity.”

Sarah Stock, of Fighting 4 Life Lincolnshire, added: “The contempt for the people of Lincolnshire continues. Public CONsultation is exactly that, a CON. The Walk-in Centre is a perfect example of this and 2018 will see Lincolnshire left unsafe. The CCG, ULHT and LCC are working together on this and are all being held on financial threats and removal of funding if they do not “toe the line” and carry out the cuts being implemented nationally. The conveniently timed CQC Special Measures assists them in pushing through the STP on grounds of “safety”. This is the same format seemingly being worked to across the country.”

Coun Charmaine Morgan, chair of SOS Grantham Hospital, said the public was not being given a true picture of situation. She said: “NHS Improvement was involved in analysis of the original impact assessment which ULHT had to produce when they closed the A&E with only seven days notice. That assessment was unfit for purpose. It stated that there would be no major impact on the population of Grantham if that A&E closed. It was completely misleading and now they are asking us to trust the same body. I have no faith in that process or that body.”

County Councillor for Grantham Barrowby Mark Whittington said NHS Improvement was now calling the shots. “All this is being driven by NHS Improvement so I am sure if we weren’t in special measures the board could have made that decision to reopen today.”

ULHT said that it would not be safe to reopen Grantham A&E 24 hours a day until the trust had 21 middle grade doctors working across its three A&E sites. That figure is currently 22, although the trust says the situation is still ‘fragile’ because a number of those doctors are locum or agency staff and therefore not permanent.

Grantham district and county councillor Ray Wootten said after the meeting: “Being in special measures the ULHT board were between a rock and a hard place. Therefore a decision on reopening Grantham’s A&E overnight closure cannot take place until an independent review of staffing levels satisfies NHSi. I hope a positive decision will be forthcoming at the December board meeting.”

District and county councillor Linda Wootten said: “It is disappointing but not unexpected. Here we go again, more hoops to jump through to satisfy outside bodies. It’s all very well looking at things holistically but, Grantham was a District Hospital and should be looked at as a concern in its own right. The overnight closure of our A&E service has caused great concern and hardship and I look forward to better news at the next meeting.”

ULHT decided to close Grantham A&E overnight in August last year. It is currently open between 8am and 6.30pm.

Jody Clark, of Fighting 4 Grantham Hospital said: “I am pleased the trust now has 22 middle grade doctors. Thank you to them for recruiting in such difficult times. I hope the NHSi review agrees with them that they have enough staff to safely run the three A&E departments and we get the reopening date in December’s board meeting.

“We think its really important to get the doors reopen overnight, especially for the community with no transport.

So we at Fighting 4 Grantham Hospital are pleased with this step in the right direction. We hope to update about community build at the end of the month and currently have a few schools creating beautiful art for the fence (outside the old hospital), so please contact us jodyclark@hotmail.co.uk or dizzynett@yahoo.com if you want to get involved.”

ULHT insists it is working hard to fully reopen Grantham A&E, but will not do so until it is safe.

ULHT medical director Dr Neill Hepburn told the Journal: “It’s important that we are able to safely staff and provide a good service across all the hospitals in Lincolnshire and as a result we think we have got there in terms of the minimum numbers although we are dependent on temporary staff. We have 15 substantive staff who are there all the time and seven locum staff who can be here today and they could leave next week. That means the service is very fragile. We are committed to reopen 24/7 but we do need to ensure we are making the right call and we are doing safely. So while we are being given the offer of help and offer of assuarance it would be unwise to turn it down. NHS Improvement have given us a lot of help to move us towards getting out of special measures.

“We could have made the decision to reopen but the problem is that if some of these locum doctors decide to walk next week, then we close it again and that in itself becomes dangerous because we are saying to people come to A&E, it’s open overnight, and then the next week we say it’s closed. We are not here to play games, we are here to get it right and to provide a safe service.

“We will have some more information in a month’s time. It’s a completely independent review. We might be in the same position but I would hope we will have a much clearer answer. Every month that goes by our staff numbers are improving. Perhaps it won’t be 22 and we will have 24 (middle grade doctors).

“We are absolutely doing our best to reopen A&E 24 hours a day. There are two strands of work. There is trying to reopen the service as it was and we are also doing a lot of work with the clinical commissioning groups as to what would be the best service to provide to meet the needs of people in Grantham. As the type of work done in A&E changes the actual model may look slightly different. There is no point in us trying to provide a 1970s service in 2017. We need to move on and provide the best service we can.”

A team of four runners from Grantham Running Club made the trip to Berry Hill Park in Mansfield to take part in the English Cross Country Relays on Saturday.

The annual event has teams participating from running clubs across the country and offers competitions for both genders across a variety of age groups. It also attracts the very best cross country runners in England, meaning a very strong field and a chance for local club runners to rub shoulders with the ‘elites’.

GRC’s team was taking part in the Senior Men’s Competition which consisted of four individual efforts on an undulating and slightly short 5km course (two laps). Whilst the weather was dry and sunny with very little wind, the rain prior to the event meant the conditions under foot were pretty heavy going. This was compounded by the Senior Men’s Competition being last on the schedule, meaning that the course had been significantly torn up by the runners beforehand.

Chris Limmer opened proceedings for GRC on leg A and probably had the toughest task of the four runners. This was due to the mass start and things being very crowded for the first kilometre or so until the field had spread out. Chris managed to fight his way through the crowd and finished in a very respectable 19min 32sec – the fastest time for GRC on the day.

Chris handed over to Paul Davis for leg B. Paul has been struggling with a knee injury of late and said afterwards that he felt he was lacking fitness. Nevertheless. he still managed to produce a very solid 22:42. He also managed to look as effortless as ever with his typically bouncy running style, despite the tough terrain and his recent injury problems.

Next up on leg C was Dan Towey – a recent addition to GRC. After showing much promise in his first few training sessions with the club, Dan did not disappoint, finishing in an impressive 20:53. There may be more to come as he commented afterwards: “I didn’t pace this very well. At the finish line, I felt that I still had plenty left in the tank.”

Finishing things off on leg D was Gav Meadows who just failed to break 21 minutes, finishing in 21:06. He said: “Beforehand, I was expecting to be around the 20 minute mark. However, this proved to be very optimistic.”

Team GRC finished in a very respectable total time of 1:24:14, placing 133rd in a field of 178 teams.

GRC’s overall performance was one to be very proud of. Perhaps it could be a realistic goal to make the top 100 in the next few years.

Grantham Tennis Club’s 14&U boys team recently played their last match in the autumn league.

The team of Stefan Huddart, Alex Harris, Jamie Wallace and Olly Thomas finished on a winning note, beating Rustons 12-0.

The victory saw the team finish with two wins out of five in the Lincolnshire League.

l If you are interested in playing tennis, Grantham Tennis Club is a thriving, friendly club, with a strong sense of community. The club is located on Gonerby Road in Grantham and has excellent facilities including four indoor courts, a gym, a café and bar, Exhale treatment rooms, and even an art gallery. For more information about Grantham Tennis Club, contact info@granthamtennisclub.co.uk or call 01476 591391.

Justin Robinson, a historian at The London Mint Office will be demonstrating his expertise on the subject of Sir Isaac Newton at Woolsthorpe Manor, near Grantham, next Saturday (November 11).

The special free event takes place in the Grade I listed National Trust property where the renowned scientist performed many of his most famous experiments.

Justin will be reading extracts from his book ‘Sir Isaac Newton: A Life in Colour’, which depicts the extraordinary life of the mathematician, astronomer, alchemist, bible scholar, author, professor, Member of Parliament, administrator, detective, prosecutor and Knight of the Realm – whose accomplishments were based on his theory that: “What we know is a drop. What we don’t know is an ocean.”

The illustrated 55-page paperback charts Newton’s life from his traumatic childhood to the discoveries that transformed science and mathematics. It also features Newton’s tireless work to improve the accuracy and quality of British coinage – a subject close to the heart of The London Mint Office historian.

Justin said: “Newton was the father of modern science with a colourful story to tell. His dedication to science led him to push a blunt needle into his eye socket to test a theory, he waited so long to publish his discoveries, and he tracked down and prosecuted the greatest counterfeiter in the land.

“I’m very much looking forward to sharing these and other stories with the people of Lincolnshire, and what better setting than his birth place and family home, Woolsthorpe Manor.”

Newton was born in this yeoman’s farmhouse on December 25, 1642, and would return there in 1666 when the Great Plague closed Cambridge University. He performed many of his most famous experiments there, most notably his work on light and optics and, according to legend, it was there his observation of an apple falling from a tree inspired the formulation of Newton’s law of universal gravitation. The Manor is now operated by the National Trust and open to the public all year round.

Jim Grevatte of the National Trust said: “We’re looking forward to welcoming Justin to Woolsthorpe. Newton and his time at Woolsthorpe is an endlessly fascinating topic and one which we are constantly learning more about as we use science to investigate this historic building. Justin’s new book I’m sure will help a whole new generation appreciate just what extraordinary events occurred here.”

The free event takes place at 12.15pm and 1.15pm on November 11 and must be booked in advance on 01476 862823.

Leadenham Hockey Club third team secured back to back wins for the first time and a hugely significant three points.

Long Sutton 3rd had only dropped points once this season, against Leadenham 2nd, but a stout team performance from the thirds brought a 2-1 victory against the former league leaders. Tom Cade shone in a typically resolute performance from the defence, while Neil Ireland was on hand to convert chances into goals.

This resulted provided the seconds with an opportunity to secure top spot in Division 6 (NWN). Spalding is a difficult place to pick up points, but the seconds produced some of the most fluid attacking hockey of the season to win 6-0.

Will Hill, Jack Cullen (2), Ant Chapman, and Matt Ortyl (2) were the goal scorers. This also marked the third clean sheet for Simon Chambers and the league’s best defence who have only conceded three across six matches.

The men’s firsts also made the trip to Spalding but struggled after allowing two early goals. A man-of-the-match performance from defender Ben Lane stemmed the tide, and captain Sam Macallister kept a cool head to net a penalty flick, but the match finished 2-1 to the hosts.

Finally, still unbeaten Leadenham Ladies retain their narrow advantage at the top of division 4 (NW) after a draw with Bourne Deeping 2’s. Prolific goal scorer Katie Ireland opened the scoring with a hit on her reverse, but Bourne scored either side of half time to take the lead. Sophie Gretton sealed a point late on however as her shot found the net despite a touch from Bourne’s ‘keeper.

The club offers it thanks to all the umpires and its sponsors Mountain Skip Hire.

Results: Division 3 NW – Spalding M3 2 LHC M1 1; Division 4 NWN – LHC L1 2 Bourne Deeping L2 2; Division 6 NWN – Spalding M6 0 LHC M2 0, LHC M3 2 Long Sutton M3 1.

A group of cyclists stopped off at Belton House on Sunday as part of their charity ride to launch a new national Charter to address the challenges facing trees and woods today in the UK.

The riders from Funds4Trees and the Woodland Trust were cycling from Lincoln to London but stopped at Belton House to plant a tree and present staff with a copy of the Tree Charter.

The cyclists set off from the Ankerwycke Yew at Runnymede, under whose boughs the Magna Carta was signed in 1215. The Charter of the Forest followed two years later to complement the Magna Carta from which it had evolved. As forests were vital to survival as a source of fuel, food and grazing, the 1217 Charter reinstated the rights of people to access woods which had been revoked by the Magna Carta.

The cycle ride comes as the nation’s trees face unprecedented pressures from development, diseases and climate change.

A driver was hurt when her car crashed at Asda petrol station in Grantham yesterday.

A Grantham fire crew attended the incident just after noon and firefighters administered first aid to the driver at the scene. The vehicle had crashed into a kiosk at the station and the driver was treated for a leg injury and was taken to hospital to be checked.

The crew used absorbent granules on a small amount of engine oil and coolant.

The petrol station was closed for some time after the accident.

A recycling company is due to be sentenced at crown court on Friday in relation to the death of an employee at its Barkston Heath site.

Mid UK Recycling has pleaded guilty to breaches of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 in relation to the incident in July 2013.

Mid-UK Recycling Ltd is accused of breaching Section 3 (1) and Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974.

Managing director Christopher Mountain and former operations director Alan Munson are accused of breaching Section 37 of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974.

A 55-year-old man died in the incident at the Mid UK Recycling site near Grantham. The Health and Safety Executive carried out an investigation as a result.

United Counties League

Division One

Harrowby United 3

Blackstones 1

Harrowby United welcomed Lincolnshire neighbours Blackstones FC from Stamford on an extremely wet Tuesday evening under the lights at Dickens Road.

Stones tried to get the ball down and play a passing game on a very difficult surface and it was their undoing in the seventh minute. Awarded a free kick out wide on the left, level with the penalty area, keeper Aaron Bellairs took the kick and elected to play short. Harrowby forcing a rushed clearance which was headed back towards the Stones goal by Joe Briers. It was latched on to by Sam Grouse who nodded the ball into the empty net with Bellairs still scrambling to get back.

The somewhat gifted opening goal raised the Arrows’ confidence and they had a chance to double their advantage just past the half hour mark. Good work advancing down the right flank by Jorrin John ended with him cutting the ball back to Jack Gurney who blasted his shot over the cross bar.

The second goal came three minutes later. Tawanda Bilson drove forward from right back, surged into the Stones penalty area was clipped by a defender, giving referee Mr Pywell no hesitation in awarding a penalty kick. Harrowby top scorer Grouse stepped up and confidently tucked the ball away.

Stones continued to pass the ball around but lacked any real punch in the final third, allowing Harrowby to counter attack at pace and with a couple of minutes of the half remaining, Jurelle Phillip raced down the left before passing the ball to Aboubacar Sylla who moved it ball inside to John who fizzed a powerful right foot effort inches over the cross bar.

Grouse completed a first hat trick with the pick of the three. He picked up a loose pass in midfield and, with one thought in mind, set off goalwards. Leaving one defender for pace and holding off another as he entered the penalty area, he spotted Bellairs coming off his line and slotted the ball low into the net with virtually the last kick of the half.

Blackstones came out all guns blazing at the start of the second period and two minutes in pulled a goal back. Ben Easson pushed further forward after the break, made a run down the right before crossing into the box. The unfortunate Jack Havron in attempting to block the cross sliced the ball up into the air and it dropped fortuitously into the net at the far post, giving Arrows keeper Sam Andrew no chance.

The goal gave Stones heart and just before the hour Liam Harold saw his shot dip just over. Bellairs made a save just after from a low Grouse shot. Gurney again tested Bellairs after 63 minutes, and three minutes later the Stones keeper kept out a header from Grouse.

Andrew was alert to a good effort from distance by Lee Clarke shortly before Harrowby had a guilt-edged chance to add a fourth goal. Sylla made great strides into the penalty area and with the opportunity to either shoot himself or pass square inside to an unmarked Grouse, delayed on both counts, allowing defenders to get back and crowd him out.

Stones to their credit kept pushing for goals as the game drew to a close, the closest being in the 87th minute when Harold shot wide from the edge of the six yard box.

Harrowby United: Andrew, Bilson, Currall (c), Havron, Phillip, Sylla, Hogg, Briers, John, Gurney, Grouse.Subs not used: Whyley, Smith, Matthews.

Grantham Table Tennis League Division One leaders are Chandlers A, having played and won five matches.

With unbeaten Mathew Leete and also Ben Rigby in their ranks, they look difficult to beat.

Newark Wanderers A, Links Taxis and Cranmer A all can do it but they have a lot to do to catch up already.

In Division Two, Cranmer B are running away with it, undefeated so far with Colin Parker and Marti Carnelly both unbeaten, and they too will take some catching.

Another comeback player, Peter Williams, played his first match for years in the Newark Wanderers C Team. He won all his matches against Ancaster C, helping Newark to a 6-4 victory.

Grantham fire service attended a road traffic collision on Lincoln Road, Belton, yesterday.

Firefighters used hydraulic cutting equipment to remove the roof and assisted paramedics to remove one casualty from the vehicle.

Police say a Grantham road is partially blocked following an accident involving two vehicles.

The accident happened at 1pm on Lodge Way.

The fire service is on the scene to help a driver out of their vehicle, as they are reported to have back and leg injuries.

Almost 200 shoeboxes filled with goodies have been delivered to the Rotary drop-off point this year.

The boxes will soon be transported all the way to Eastern European countries such as Belarus, Ukraine, Romania, Bulgaria and Moldova, where they will be handed to children, teenagers and the elderly, many of whom will receive no other gifts this Christmas.

The annual scheme is co-ordinated in the Grantham area by the Rotary Club of Grantham Kesteven.

It is supported every year by the Journal as we run an appeal asking readers to collect, fill and drop off a shoebox.

The collection point for the third year was Grantham Tennis Club (GTC).

Rotarian Chris Thurlow said: “The support we receive from members of GTC and the general public has resulted in nearly 200 boxes being donated at GTC this year. A great result, and the help of GTC is much appreciated.”

Pictured: Members of Grantham Tennis Club gather around some of the Rotary shoeboxes collected.

Pupils at the West Grantham Academy St John’s battled against wind and rain to take part in an outside activity day last week.

More than 300 children from reception to Year 6 in the Grantham primary school took part in a range of activities, including rock climbing, caving, archery and marching, last Tuesday, in an effort to build up their resilience.

Pupil premium co-ordinator Charley Walledge helped to organise the day.

She said: “Our school mantra is to ‘try, try again’, so we wanted a range of activities that would help the children to build up their resilience and encourage them not to give up too easily. We wanted to inspire them to do something outside of the classroom.”

They moved around each activity in groups and despite the wet weather, the children got stuck in with the nine activities, which also included camouflage, team challenges, shelter building, an assault course and first aid, where they were taught how to put someone in the recovery position.

Charley added: “Everyone gave the activities their best effort. The cave looked a bit daunting but all the children were happy to have a go at everything. Although it rained for the majority of the day, the children never once complained. Even some of their parents had a go at some of the activities. It was a truly great day.

“Everyone should be really proud of themselves.”

The day was such a success that Charley is hoping to organise it again next year.

She added: “We have had some great feedback from staff, children and parents and we have even received some thank you letters. There has definitely been a great buzz around the school ever since, with children stopping me in the corridors to talk about it. We are hoping that it will become an annual event.

“Thank you to our headteacher, Mr Woolerton, for allowing it to go ahead.”

A concert will be held at ChristChurch next week to raise funds for the latest phase of their church community project.

Since being set up in 2009, following the merge of the Central Methodist Church in Finkin Street and the United Reformed Church in Castlegate in 2008, The ChristChurch fundraising group has helped raised over £28,000 towards ongoing restoration work, including a brand new kitchen and easily accessible toilets, a resurfaced and well-lit passage-way from Finkin Street to the church halls and disabled access to the front of the Church building.

The next phase will include replacing the remaining windows on the west side of the church. Nearly £3,500 has been raised this year through events including an afternoon tea, brass band concert, online shopping and luncheons.

In June, Jean Breckenridge, who is part of the fundraising group raised £1,500 by embarking on an 85-mile walk in Spain.

Chairman of the fundraising group, Denhys Lambley said: “We couldn’t do it without the support of the congregation and everyone that attends the events that we organise. It is very much a joint effort from everyone involved.”

The concert starts at 7pm and tickets cost £10. They can be purchased from Graves Jewellers, Westgate or by calling Denhys on 01476 401185.

Denhys added: “We are very excited to have two great choirs performing on the same night under one roof.”

A brave 90-year-old has marked her milestone birthday with a hair-raising paragliding trip.

Thrill-seeking Connie Smith, from Grantham, ticked the paragliding off her bucket-list all in aid of her favourite pet charity, PDSA, which is celebrating its 100th birthday.

Connie took to the skies in southern Spain, where her son lives, enjoying the breath-taking coastline.

Connie said: “Everyone thought I was completely mad, but it was an absolutely fantastic experience, I enjoyed every second. I didn’t feel scared at all, I just took in the beautiful scenery around me. My son, Pete, and my daughter-in-law, Jane, came along with me and they said I was smiling like a Cheshire cat on my way down. I actually wanted to go wing walking but the age restriction was 75 so I wasn’t allowed!”

“I’m a big animal lover and have always supported PDSA”, says Connie. “I’ve been fund-raising for the charity since I was seven years old. I grew up in Nottingham and I remember dressing up as little red riding hood and going around with a collection box. I have a cat and know how important pets are, particularly as you get older. I’m pleased that I’m still able to raise money for such an amazing charity.”

Connie comes from a line of long-living families, whose mother and aunts lived well over 100. She’s hoping to make it to a ripe old age too, and so far, she’s showing no signs of slowing down.

Rosie Gibbons, fund-raiser at PDSA said: “Connie is a true inspiration – her bravery is truly remarkable. We’ll be marking our 100th anniversary with a year of celebrations and fund-raising, so we are incredibly grateful to Connie for going above and beyond to raise money for sick and injured pets.”

Connie is hoping to smash her £250 fund-raising target. To donate on her fund-raising page go to www.justgiving.com.

Harrowby United management duo Russ Cousins and Paul Rawden were awarded the Chromasport United Counties League Division One Manager of the Month award for October 2017.

The Arrows recorded five victories and a narrow extra time defeat against higher league opposition Rugby Town during the month.

They notched three league wins and also two league cup victories on the road that have set up a home quarter-final tie against high flying Premier Division Lincolnshire neighbours Holbeach United.

Russ (left) and Paul are pictured earlier this season with young midfielder Joel Carta who the club wish well and hope to see back in an Arrows shirt soon, as he awaits a knee operation.

Jack High

Bingham 50

Vacu-Lug 57

P Hornsby J Aspinall B Morris beat V Wendon M Allen M Eurich 18-14, V Wilkinson J Tyler I Cole beat M Carter A Stafford J Franklin 20-14, C Wilkinson P Greer D Kirk lost to R Barker I Richardson M Parker 12-29.

Bingham B 52

Wyndham Park 41

K Hackett T Peterson P Thornhill beat N Pantling P Burton R Giles 18-15, J Cullen B Davey K Handley lost to P Gallagher J Searle R Claxton 13-17, P Jaques A Brailsford K Brailsford beat D Slade P Edwards S Allcorn 21-9.

Lincolnshire Mixed League

Grantham 75

Lincoln B 109

J Logsden R Barrett L Smith G Smith lost to M Taylor J Scrafield D Skayman 16-21, K Germany J Hall R Baxter D Woods lost to K Stainers J McLachlan K Scott B Cross 12-18, J Asher J Burton P Robinson R Hibbert lost to J Ponwaye B Gurney S Simpson T Walker 8-35, L Appleyard P Burton M Appleyard H Whatley beat P Lyn J Bell J Thomas D Lyon 18-16, P Greer G Keasley G Hall T Asher beat M Scott J Payne P Smith J Withers 21-19.

Grantham 70

Melton Mowbray 44

J Baker Jo Baker G Stafford beat P Harris J Boulton E Radford 11-7, J Asher P Riches T Asher beat Y Poulton V James B James 15-5, L Smith D Mitchell G Smith beat R Wallbank M Marlon C Thompson 17-10, L Appleyard D Lester M Appleyard lost to F Thorpe C Stacey R Muddemer 11-17, J Hall P McGoldrick G Hall beat B Smith K Toon D Hudson 16-5.

Denny Plate

Grantham 89

Stamford 79

T Sumner I Cole J Kime Joe Lewis beat A Romaine J Holroyd A Warrington P Bailey 25-24, M LeHair D Bass J Meakins J Lewis beat S Harris M Humphrey P Edwards M Dolby 26-21, P Hainsworth B Smith C Dexter A Berridge drew R Hudson M Cullington D Want R Martin 20-20, V Wendon R Sowerby M Eurich T Berridge beat P Dalliday B Warners J Harford S Law 18-14.