I HAVE been a mother for approximately 1,825 days (that’s five years, to save you the maths!) and I have spent at least half that number of days on the phone to the Child Support Agency.

I have reasoned with them, cried to them and, on some occasions, just hung up on them.

If you Google the Child Support Agency you will find page after page of CSA horror stories where people have spent year after year on the phone trying to get what they are entitled to – child support.

You can imagine my horror, and I suspect that of thousands of others, when I heard that they were thinking of charging single parents to use this “service”.

Secretary of Work and Pensions, Iain Duncan Smith, has defended proposals to charge single parents for using the Child Support Agency, stating: “We’re not asking for much.”

I feel like slapping the same statement back at him. Single parents are not asking for much when they ask for help to support their children.

I assume that this is a part of the whole “everyone should be a family” plan that Prime Minister David Cameron has for us in the UK, but he talks of it like it’s a choice.

Some, maybe even the majority of, parents that use the Child Support Agency have simply been walked out on through no fault of their own.

I think it’s great if two parents can come to an arrangement without the aid of outside help but sometimes it’s just not an option.

The Child Support Agency claim is divided into two parts – employed and self-employed.

If you’re lucky enough to have an ex-partner who is employed by a company then your claim is pretty straightforward and there’s not much wiggle room for lying and cheating on behalf of the “ex”.

For an employed parent “without care”, their information is collected from their employer.

But if you’re unlucky enough to have a self-employed parent “without care” then the reins of control loosen.

A self-employed parent without care can either send in their earnings to the CSA or their earnings can be calculated from information collected by HM Revenue and Customs.

Now I’m not knocking anyone who is self-employed but not every self-employed person puts down their exact earnings, which is the first bump in the road you can face.

The next bump is that the CSA cannot find your “parent without care” earnings through the HM Revenue and Customs. This has been the case for myself.

Apparently when the parent is self-employed and will not co-operate, the CSA has no power whatsoever.

So Mr Cameron thinks I’m going to pay £100 to be told that I’m never going to see a penny? I think not.

When the CSA can get no earnings information they set a default payment of wait for it... £5.

As most single parents know, that isn’t even going to buy you a tin of baby milk.

If they are going to start charging they should seriously consider how they are going to make this system a fair one.

BOURNE man Kelvin Ralph faces trial at Lincoln Crown Court for fraud charges where he is alleged to have opened Internet bank accounts in other names intending to take out loans totalling thousands of pounds.

Ralph (38), of Stephenson Way, was committed for trial on a total of seven charges by Spalding magistrates at a hearing on Tuesday, January 24.

He is accused of:

nopening an internet current account with the Halifax while representing himself to be Darren Robinson;

nrepresenting himself over the internet to be Darren Robinson intending to obtain an £8,500 loan from The Cooperative Bank;

nopening an internet current account with the Halifax while representing himself to be Paul Bourner;

nattempting to obtain a £9,750 loan on the internet while representing himself to be Darren Robinson;

nattempting to obtain a £9,500 loan from the Halifax while representing himself to be Darren Robinson;

nclaiming to be Paul Bourner over the internet and intending to make a gain for himself by obtaining a £12,000 loan from the Halifax;

nattempting to obtain a £9,000 loan from the Cooperative bank while representing himself to be Paul Bourner;

The charges relate to the period between December 2009 to April 2011.

SUTTON Bridge Parish Council chairman Christopher Brandon-King claims South Holland District Council “appears” to have acted beyond its legal authority by adding £150,000 of the Section 106 power station fund to the £250,000 already allocated for the marina.

The chairman wants to know “when, why and on whose authority” the two sums were “lumped together”.

At Tuesday’s parish council meeting, Coun Brandon-King gave details of meetings with council officials and claimed the district council drew more than £24,000 from the fund to pay for an economic development capital project post between 2007-2009, although he said it will be repaid.

A district council spokesman said: “These are serious allegations. They were raised with the council prior to the meeting and we have subsequently placed the matter in the hands of our solicitors.

“We are unable to comment further at this time.”

SELF-employed door fitter Victor Bull swore at an Asian taxi driver – telling him to go back where he came from – while a policewoman was trying to help him get a ride home.

Victor Bull (34), of Beech Avenue, Bourne, was drunk in Broad Street, Stamford, in the early hours of January 7.

Rebecca Ritson, prosecuting at Spalding Magistrates’ Court, said a woman police officer was near the taxi rank when she heard a door slam and Bull using foul language.

She warned Bull he would be arrested if he continued swearing.

Miss Ritson said the officer went to the lead cab on the rank and asked the driver why he had refused a fare.

The driver said he already had a booking and the officer then told him he needed to move off the rank.

Miss Ritson said at that point Bull shouted and swore at the driver.

Bull pleaded guilty to a racially aggravated public order offence and was fined £360. He must also pay £85 costs and a £15 victim surcharge.

Presiding magistrate Madge Marshall-Brown said the fine would ordinarily have been £240 but was increased to £360 because of the “racially aggravated element”.

Bull represented himself at Thursday’s hearing and said: “I do apologise for what happened that night. I had a lot to drink.”

RESIDENTS and motorists were left fuming as workmen appeared to down tools to have a bit of fun in the snow.

During Sunday the men who are currently working on the closed-off Woolram Wygate crossing in Spalding used their shovels and wheelbarrows to create an impressive snowman and his dog.

But their antics have been criticised by people inconvenienced by the crossing closure, which has seen Woolram Wygate closed again just two months after a 12-week closure for remodelling of its junction with Pinchbeck Road.

South Holland district councillor Gary Taylor said: “The snowman is a work of art. They obviously have a lot of experience of building snowman because some real craftsmanship has gone into it, but there doesn’t appear to be much work going on.”

And resident Mark Street, of Akita Close, said: “It is quite frustrating when this closure is causing so much chaos to see a man in an orange vest, who should be working, shovelling snow to build a snowman.

“It’s obviously not something they’ve knocked together in five minutes during a tea break. Some real work has gone into it.”

Network Rail defended workers against criticism that work is taking too long, saying they are ahead of schedule and the road should reopen early if commissioning of the new crossing is successful next weekend.

But spokesman Rachel Lowe said: “Contrary to public misconception the workmen obviously are working hard to be ahead of schedule, but we will remind them that they are being watched and things like building a snowman can give the wrong impression.”

l Are you angered by this or is it just an acceptable bit of fun? Email spaldingeditor@jpress.co.uk

ROCKETING values of household recycling waste will mean an extra £500,000 a year in council coffers for the next three years.

South Holland District Council has struck a new deal with an as yet unnamed firm to sell the plastics, glass and paper it gathers from the green bag weekly kerbside collections for £35 a tonne.

The contract comes into force in April, and it is hoped the half a million a year could rise further if council plans to encourage residents to recycle more are successful. At present, the council pays Mid UK Recycling to take away the collected green bags at a cost of more than £217,000.

Coun Roger Gambba-Jones, portfolio holder for waste management, green spaces and operational planning, was responsible for awarding the new contract and says it is good news for the district.

He said: “A couple of years ago we ran into problems with the recycling contractor because they went out of business so we needed to put something into place quickly.

“We made an arrangement with Mid UK Recycling which has worked very well for the disposal of recycling and we paid for that service.

“Since then there has been a massive change in the market. In the same way that metals have become quite a precious commodity, so have recyclable materials.

“Fortunately, the way we collect in South Holland, as in putting a variety of recyclables in one green bag, makes our recycling very attractive to the market so instead of us paying for someone to take it away, they are paying us for it.”

And Coun Gambba-Jones said the extra money the contract will bring in will help shore up vital services as the money is not “ring-fenced” for waste services and will go into the council’s general coffers.

He said: “This gives us the opportunity to do something with this money to maintain services given how much pressure there is on our budget.

“The next stage of the process is to look at ways of encouraging residents to recycle more to bring in even more money as every tonne we collect is worth £35 to us. It is really important and we now need to look at making an extra effort to get that message over.”

A MAN who went to pick a friend up from work after drinking three glasses of wine has been banned from driving for three years.

Spalding magistrates heard how Ludwig Ochurub (29) of Market Place, Long Sutton, had been at home with his wife when a friend called to ask for a lift because he was unable to get home.

In mitigation, Mike Alexander said Mr Ochurub hadn’t intended to drive and thought he would be OK with the amount he had drunk.

He was also fined £300 and ordered to pay £85 costs and £15 victim surcharge.

DEVELOPERS’ plans to build 35 new homes in Pinchbeck have caused concern among those living nearby.

A number of residents near to Larkfleet Homes’ Viscount Close estate have written to South Holland District Council objecting to the second phase after some problems with the first stage of the development.

Many of the objections relate to the removal of a mature hedge in Burma Avenue to allow for access to the site by large vehicles during the building work, which has not yet been replaced as promised.

But other concerns have been raised about the standard of the homes after the gable end section of two existing properties on phase one fell down during high winds in January, and about the conduct of those working on the building site.

In a letter to South Holland District Council planners, Richard Polling, of Burma Avenue, said: “I have been bitterly disappointed by the developers on the current site and their lack of common courtesy and utter disregard in dealing with the neighbourhood – a neighbourhood that once the development is complete they will wash their hands of and never return.”

He added that he had complained three or four times during the work on phase one of the development about the foul language being used on site within earshot of his garden and his young family, as well as construction noise and the reversing warning on site vehicles, which he claimed spoiled their enjoyment of the garden last summer.

At its meeting on Monday, Pinchbeck Parish Council considered the plans and agreed to not object in principle to the new development, but called for the hedge to be replaced and for the developer to provide children’s play equipment on a area of green space included in the plans.

Coun Andrew Bowser said: “The fact that the development includes affordable homes means there are likely to be quite a few families move in with young children and the developer should provide some play equipment for them to use.”

District council planners are likely to make a decision about the Bourne-based developer’s plans before the end of March.

SPECIALIST water rescue teams were called to reports of a dog on the ice at South Forty Foot Drain on Saturday.

Swift water rescue teams from Spalding and Bourne, along with a fire crew from Donington, attended the incident near Swineshead Bridge at 12.05pm.

They used inflatable air tracks to rescue the spaniel from the water.

A HOLBEACH man remains in critical condition after a road crash at Deeping St Nicholas on Tuesday.

The 21-year-old, who was driving a Volkswagen Corrado, suffered multiple fractures and spinal injuries in the crash on the A1175.

He is in a critical but stable condition in Nottingham’s Queen’s Medical Centre.

His passenger, an 18-year-old man from Whaplode, suffered two broken legs but has been released from hospital.

WE put a number of questions about last week’s armed siege to Lincolnshire Police, but officers say they are unable to answer them until the inquest into Barry Horspool’s death.

• What type of firearm did he have?

• How many officers were deployed – armed and unarmed?

• What time did officers last have verbal contact with Horspool?

• How did he die?

• Are there any previous incidents involving Horspool and firearms?

• How long had he held a gun licence? Can you confirm police were attending to revoke it?

• What is Lincolnshire Police’s policy on responding to firearms incidents? Was this procedure followed?

A MOTHER in court for failing to send her boys to school said she calls them “ASBO children” because they were allowed to roam free when they stayed with their late dad.

The 39-year-old Spalding area woman said her sons – aged 14 and 13 – are finding it hard to cope with the loss of their father, who died last year, and their grandfather is critically ill.

She said their father had “instilled in them that they didn’t have to have an education”.

The mum said her elder boy is the same height as she is and the same build.

She told magistrates: “When they lived in Kirton, they were allowed to roam free. They were what I call ASBO children.

“I do feel I am in a no win situation. I do my best to get them in. There is nothing I can really say.”

She pleaded guilty to two cases of being the parent of a child who failed to attend school regularly – one for each child – and was conditionally discharged for six months and ordered to pay £50 costs.

The mum told magistrates she had sought bereavement counselling for the boys, but there was a long waiting list.

Presiding magistrate Gillian Wild suggested she should approach St Barnabas Hospice as the charity offers bereavement counselling.

Mrs Wild said: “They have suffered a lot and they have got to get their heads around getting back into education.”

Anne Wheelan, a senior legal officer with Lincolnshire County Council, said the mother had received extensive warning letters going back to 2010 over the boys’ absences.

In recent times their unauthorised absence rates had run at 27.6 per cent.

A third mum was in court on the same day but the case was adjourned until March 28 as the boy is now attending school.

UNDER-FIRE Long Sutton councillor Julian Browse is pursuing two Freedom of Information Act requests to prise information out of his own council.

But his move has put the cat among the pigeons with fellow councillors rounding on him to toe the line.

At the last parish council meeting, Coun Bobbie Ashton successfully tabled a motion “to resolve the members abide by the democratic decisions of the council and not to seek to use outside authorities to undermine those decisions” – and that councillors should abide by their code of conduct.

The council has a long term plan to provide more burial space, possibly using allotment land it owns, and Coun Browse asked to be told the number of burials over the last ten years and to have a plan of the allotments so he can judge how many graves might be needed in the future.

When he couldn’t get the information at council meetings, he put in two Freedom of Information (FOI) requests. But answers were still not supplied by the parish council.

When the issue resurfaced at the latest meeting, clerk Karen Treacher revealed she had received advice from the ICO (Information Commissioner’s Office) on the council’s actions, but did not want to discuss the issue in open session.

Coun Pauline Dickinson reminded members: “It was resolved at the parish council that these matters would not be looked into because it would be too time consuming for the clerk.”

Coun Browse says he is awaiting the Freedom of Information office response to the council not supplying the details requested.

He said: “The whole thing is just a storm in a teacup.”

“As far as the burials are concerned, all you have got to do is pick up the burials’ ledger and count them up for each year and that is not going to take any more than 10-15 minutes. It’s crazy.”

Coun Browse said he is happy to abide by the councillors’ code of conduct, but his FOI inquiries were made as a member of the public and he is just as entitled as anyone else to make them.

THIRTEEN cannabis plants were found growing in the house of a 19-year-old who has smoked the drug since he was just 13.

The discovery of a number of 4ft plants and smaller ones waiting to be planted on was made by police who raided the house Joshua Lake shared with his mother.

Spalding magistrates heard how Lake, of Baulkins Drove, Sutton St James, had cultivated them from seed to produce the drug for his own use, as he was smoking cannabis almost every day.

He admitted a charge of being concerned in the production of a class B drug.

In mitigation, Charlotte Winchester said Mr Lake had cut down his cannabis use since the raid and was trying to get help.

Magistrates imposed a 12-month community order and a six-month drug rehabilitation order and ordered the forfeiture and destruction of the plants and growing equipment.

A TEENAGER who drank half a litre of vodka after a morning at college was three times the legal drink-drive limit when he crashed on his way home.

Alexander Morgan (19) decided not to return to college after consuming the alcohol but instead chose to head home to Cawthorpe, near Bourne.

When he reached Rippingale, his car left the road and ended up in a ditch.

Spalding magistrates heard that Mr Morgan immediately called his parents who went straight to the scene.

Prosecuting, Rebecca Ritson, said when police arrived Mr Morgan’s father was at the scene, but Mr Morgan had been driven away by his mother, who then returned with him when she saw an ambulance arrive.

Anita Toal, in mitigation, said it had never been Mr Morgan’s intention to leave the scene, his mother had simply been moving her car in which he was sitting to ensure it was in a safe place.

At that stage his parents did not appreciate he had been drinking, but officers smelled alcohol on him and a breath test gave a reading of 108 microgrammes in 100 millilitres of breath. The limit is 35.

Mrs Toal said Mr Morgan had been feeling depressed and anxious prior to the incident and had effectively been self medicating with alcohol but has since been prescribed medication and referred for counselling.

She said: “Although he knows his actions were inexcusable they have come as some kind of relief in a way as he has been able to confess to his family that things are wrong.”

Mr Morgan admitted drink driving and was banned for two years, which he could reduce by a quarter if he completes a drink driver rehabilitation course.

He was also ordered to complete 200 hours of unpaid work and pay £85 costs.

MOTORCYCLES, tyres, traffic cones, shopping trolleys and even a bed have helped fill four skips with rubbish cleared from the River Welland and Coronation Channel.

The rubbish is normally hidden from view below the water, but ongoing work to refurbish flood defence piles around Spalding mean it has been necessary to lower the water level.

Alec Ambridge-Richardson, Environment Agency operations delivery team leader, said: “Clearing submerged items is not routinely undertaken by the Environment Agency unless they are likely to increase flood risk. On this occasion, however, we decided to act early to prevent any potential for future issues.”

The piling work is due to be completed by March and navigation restrictions are in place.

THERE’S no excuse to be a party-pooper for the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee celebration this summer.

South Holland District Council has launched a special “toolkit” to give planners all the help they need to get their party started.

Street parties and fetes are expected to be held up and down the country from Saturday, June 2 until Tuesday, June 5 to toast the 60th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II’s accession to the throne.

Council chairman Mick Seymour said: “This is going to be a great celebration for the country and this toolkit is a great way of helping the people of South Holland get organised.

“We have seen nothing like this since the days of Queen Victoria. So let’s have a party and get the feelgood factor going.”

The toolkit includes information on planning, suggested activities, road closures, safety information, consultation, street signs and barriers and a section of frequently asked questions.

Organising small, private street parties and fetes is straightforward and does not normally require a licence. However, if you are thinking about a larger event, planning to have a pay-bar, charging admission, selling food, providing entertainment or want to close your street for an afternoon, there are licenses and legalities involved which you can get help with.

Grants are also available for street parties and community events from a number of organisations including South Holland District Council’s Designated Members’ Budget scheme.

The Street Party Toolkit is available to download on the district council’s website at www.sholland.gov.uk/leisure/TheQueensDiamondJubilee2012.htm

Further information is available from the Community Development team on 01775 761161 or community@sholland.gov.uk.

l Are you planning a Diamond Jubilee event? If so, we want to hear from you. Contact reporter Sharon Pell on 01775 765412 or email sharon.pell@jpress.co.uk.

A DISABLED Spalding man was handed a £680 court bill on top of the £20,883.35 he must repay to the Department for Work and Pensions for failing to tell them his condition had improved.

James Cropley (54), of Algers Walk, originally made a claim for the then ‘mobility allowance’ in 1990 when he could walk no more than 50 yards.

But he carried on claiming when doing “heavy manual work” for poultry company Bernard Matthews and while working as a lorry driver for transport company Gist, Spalding magistrates heard.

Solicitor Beris Brickles, prosecuting for the DWP, said there was no suggestion Cropley’s claim was fraudulent when it began.

But he failed to declare an improvement in his condition.

Mr Brickles read statements from managers at Bernard Matthews and Gist who revealed they had made no concessions or changes to the jobs because of his disability.

The manager for Bernard Matthews said Cropley was undertaking heavy manual work, wading through chickens, feeding them and carrying heavy loads.

Mr Brickles said it was estimated Cropley owed £20,883.35 going back to 2002 and he is repaying that to the DWP.

Cropley was walking with a heavily pronounced limp in court – holding on to the back of a chair when he stood for magistrates and holding on to the dock’s wooden surround as he arrived and left for the hearing.

He pleaded guilty at Wednesday’s hearing to failing to notify a change of circumstances.

Solicitor Daven Naghen, mitigating, said Cropley takes 18 painkillers a day.

When first awarded the allowance, he was told it would be for an indefinite period.

Mr Naghen said: “His doctors have always told him ‘you will never get better, you will only get worse, but you will get worse quicker if you sit and do nothing’.”

He said Cropley found his own ways to make each of his jobs easier to do and to avoid lifting where he could.

A SINGLE mum appeared in court over her problem son not going to school and told magistrates she had tried and failed to get him to attend.

The 45-year-old Spalding mother of four told magistrates: “Basically I have tried everything. He’s 16, he’s 6ft and I have got holes in my doors.”

She said her son has a sleeping problem and a drug problem.

The woman said: “He’s awake all night and sleeps all day.

“He always says ‘sorry’ and he will go the following morning.”

When asked if she wanted to plead guilty or not guilty to being the parent of a child who failed to attend school regularly, the mum replied: “Guilty for him not going, but it is not my choice – I have tried.”

The single mum said she was on anti-depressants and had been seeking counselling through work.

She told the court: “I have got four children and he’s the only one I have had problems with.”

The mum was conditionally discharged for six months and ordered to pay county council prosecution costs of £100.

Anne Wheelan, senior legal officer at the council, told the court the 16-year-old boy initially had an unauthorised absence rate of 75 per cent, but since November he had not attended at all.

The court heard the boy hopes to gain an apprenticeship.

Presiding magistrate Gillian Wild told the mum: “You are on a conditional discharge. Just ask him not to let you down and it will help him with the apprenticeship.

“He does need to address this situation with regard to the drugs. It is not easy for you we know.”

• We have not named the mum so the children concerned are not identified.

A HOMEOWNER claims his walls are suffering from heavy machinery being used by a firm which does not have planning permission.

Sutton Bridge Parish Council is objecting to Dodfrey Engineering’s retrospective planning application to change its use from a joinery workshop to a joinery/metal fabrication workshop.

Lime Street resident Nigel Fenton (76) – also known as David – told the parish council on Tuesday that his house is being shaken by vibration and noise from the firm, just 15ft from his boundary.

He told councillors there are hairline cracks in the plaster in every single room of his home.

Mr Fenton said the main problem comes from a guillotine used to cut metal.

Parish council chairman Christopher Brandon-King said: “Can we recommend to the planning authority that they actually stop the work that’s going on until this has been resolved because it’s not appropriate for them to have been doing the job without planning permission.

“If any of us started doing something without planning permission they would be down on us like a ton of bricks.”

Dodfrey Engineering has submitted a planning application for a change of use, which according to the firm began in March 2010.

Coun Jenny Rowe said the application should be refused because it involves a switch from light to heavy industry and the premises are too close to homes.

Dodfrey Engineering general manager Chris Thornton told the Lincolnshire Free Press said it is not accepted the hairline cracks at Mr Fenton’s home are caused by the company as there are other factors such as heavy goods vehicles passing by.

The company has worked with environmental health to minimise disruption to residents and had moved a heavy machine to the end of another workshop.