A “NIGHTMARE” scenario could develop for drivers if possible changes are made to the way road closures are advertised.

The Department of Transport is carrying out a consultation on plans to remove the need for councils to inform residents where roadworks will affect traffic by placing public notices in local newspapers such as the Spalding Guardian.

It says the move will save highways authorities across the country in excess of £20million.

But South Holland councillors have expressed their concern, saying it is important that people are properly informed if roads are to be closed for any reason if confusion and frustration are to be avoided.

Coun Nick Worth said: “In my personal opinion if public notices did not appear in newspapers it would be a nightmare because they are vital in letting people know when there is a road closure so they can then plan accordingly.

“I could see people getting aggravated if they are out and about and just find a road they wanted to use is closed.”

And Coun Gary Taylor fears the local economy could be damaged if road closures are not advertised properly as deliveries to and from local factories could be affected.

He said: “I appreciate we need to cut costs where we can but we need a sensible solution. It needs to be thought about carefully.”

Lincolnshire County Council has said it plans to respond to the DoT consultation before the April 23 deadline.

Assistant director of highways and transportation Paul Coathup said: “The authority does need to save £125million from its budget over the next four years and it makes sense to look at measures that could help reduce costs.

“We will consider fully what this means for Lincolnshire and respond in due course.

“We do promote any key highways improvement and road closures as a matter of course through all the local media to help make residents aware, as well as make good use of our website.

“Whatever the outcome of the consultation, we will continue to use whatever means are possible to help keep people informed and moving on the county’s roads.”

A WOMAN found her husband dead in their garage on Monday night.

Martin Dawson (58), of New Road, Sutton Bridge, was found hanging by his wife at 8.15pm.

An inquest into his death is expected to be opened and adjourned tomorrow.

THE man at the centre of last week’s armed siege in Sutton St James has been accused of chasing someone down the street with a gun.

A Spalding Guardian reader claims he came face-to-face with an armed Barry Horspool while he was in a relationship involving his then teenage daughter.

The reader, who has asked not to be named, described Horspool as a “very angry man” after meeting him in the late 1990s.

He said: “I had been seeing Barry’s daughter Amanda for a number of weeks and her dad was not happy, mainly because she was 18 at the time and I was about ten years older.

“At the time I sped off in my car thinking that he wouldn’t use the gun, even though he pointed the firearm towards me but after what happened last week it made me realise how lucky I probably was.

“All I can remember about Barry is that he was a very angry man. He wasn’t the type of guy you could sit and have a conversation with.”

However, members of the Sutton St James community have painted a different picture of Horspool, describing him as a “gentleman who would talk about his family”.

They said he was a “rum” person who had lived in Sutton St James his entire life.

Horspool is understood to have taken his own life after an 11-hour stand-off with armed police at his home in Chapelgate last Tuesday.

During the incident, an officer was shot in the face when a bullet was fired at a marked patrol car.

We put a number of questions to Lincolnshire Police this week, which included whether there had been any previous incidents involving Horspool and firearms.

However, spokesman James Newall said the force was unable to provide further details due to ongoing investigations.

He said: “These are all valid questions and we understand the public’s desire to know the answers but the proper forum for this is the inquest.”

A BUSY road will be closed this Sunday while tree felling work is carried out.

Spalding’s Pinchbeck Road will be closed at the south side of its junction for half of the day and at the north side for the other half.

The traffic lights will be turned off at the junction between 7.30am and 5pm and a diversion will be in place via Park Road, Winsover Road, Station Approach, King’s Road and Pinchbeck Road.

The work will pave the way for junction improvements after the town’s flower parade in May.

ANIMAL rights protesters intend to have a peaceful demonstration on the opening night of the circus at Weston tomorrow.

Campaigners from Animal Defenders International (ADI) said they hope to “inform” visitors to Circus Mondao, which has set up at Baytree Nurseries Garden Centre, with leaflets about circus animals.

It’s the second successive year the circus has been targeted, after the Captive Animals’ Protection Society called for a boycott as it embarked on its 2011 tour.

ADI spokesman Phil Buckley said: “We ask our supporters to attend and make their feelings known. Animals have no place in the circus in this day and age.”

Mr Buckley says the campaigners would like to give circus-goers the opportunity to make up their own minds on the issue.

He said: “The circuses sometimes claim they are targeted and yes, they are, but peacefully. It’s all about education.”

Mr Buckley claims some circuses beat their animals to make them obey.

He added: “Even with the best will in the world, the circus can not provide the animals with the adequate diet and exercise the animals need.”

However, Circus Mondao ringmistress Petra Jackson has hit back at ADI, claiming the group ultimately wants to stop all human interaction with animals.

She said: “Their outlook in life is to stop people having pet dogs, stop horse racing and having guide dogs for the blind.

“We are just a very small minority that they are picking on.”

Circus Mondao keeps a selection of animals, including camels, llamas, zebras, reindeer, horses, ponies and pigeons.

Ms Jackson says they are all in “tip top” condition: “We are inspected much, much more than any local kennels or riding stables.

“Our animals and conditions are tip top and are the best they can be. We have had animal welfare officers say we could teach some places they visit a thing or two about animal husbandry. That’s a huge compliment to us.”

Circus Mondao will be at Weston until Sunday, February 19.

A GUITAR tutor who had a sexual relationship with a “vulnerable” 14-year-old girl has been jailed for 30 months.

Nicholas Watson continued to abuse Stacey Fernandes for about two years, despite being warned off by her suspicious stepfather.

Mrs Fernandes (now 30) waived her right to anonymity to speak out about the crime (see story online tomorrow) as Watson was sentenced at Lincoln Crown Court on Tuesday.

Watson (46), of Rowan Avenue, Spalding, admitted two charges of indecent assault on a girl under the age of 16 during 1996 and 1997. He was placed on the sex offenders’ register for life.

Grace Hale, prosecuting, said the relationship had been “entirely consensual” but Mrs Fernandes subsequently suffered a number of problems including self-harming.

Catarina Sjolin, defending, said Watson suffers from both Asperger’s Syndrome and depression. She said: “He does not shy away from the fact that this should never have happened. He is extremely ashamed of the relationship he was in.

“Despite the depression he was suffering at the time, he should have acted as the adult that he is and not engaged in this relationship. He knew it was wrong.”

Miss Sjolin said Watson has shown remorse and made early admissions to the offences when he was seen by police.

Giving the sentence, Judge Michael Heath told Watson: “This went on for a significant period of time. This is a very grave breach of trust. This was a very vulnerable girl. You knew what you were doing was wrong.”

FIRE crews from Long Sutton and Holbeach were called to a house fire on Monday evening.

The fire at Broadgate, Sutton St Edmunds, broke out at 5.35pm when a wood burner set fire to the mantlepiece.

Firefighters put out the blaze using a water back-pack and by moving the wood burner outside.

A SUTTON Bridge woman and her King’s Lynn partner were on Tuesday cleared of charges involving the abduction of and a sex attack on a teenage girl and perverting the course of justice.

Judge Peter Jacobs, sitting at Norwich Crown Court, directed that Liam Wells, who was accused of abducting the 15-year-old and subjecting her to an hour long sex ordeal involving assault by penetration, should be found not guilty on the basis of insufficient evidence.

He also directed that Wells’ partner, Victoria Dix, of Sutton Bridge, who was accused of doing acts tending or intending to pervert the course of justice, should also be acquitted for the same reasons.

During the hearing the girl had told the court how she was abducted off a street in Dersingham before being driven off and subjected to an hour-long sex ordeal.

She claimed she was pulled into a car by 26-year-old Wells, a kebab shop driver, of North End Yard, in Hunstanton Road, on January 27 last year and that he had put his hands down her jeans and molested her before dropping her off at the end of her road.

Later though Dix (22), of The Meadows, told police he had been with her at the time at their then home in Holyrood Drive, Dersingham.

It had been alleged she had given a false alibi.

DEVELOPERS have confirmed it is in “tough and determined” negotiations with the council over redevelopment of Holland Market.

Although there is not yet any firm plan on the table, South Holland District Council has vowed to ensure that if the development does go ahead it is in the best interests of Spalding and its residents.

And it has said the proposals, which it described as “very much a work in progress”, are an opportunity to “right some of the wrongs” regarding the Sir Halley Stewart Playing Field and Holland Market and “create something much more positive for the town”.

In the past there has been criticism that only Spalding United Football Club has use of the field which was bought for the recreational use of the people of Spalding using money bequeathed to the town by Sir Halley Stewart.

In a statement issued by the council, a spokesman said: “The developer at this stage is not ready to put in a formal application and the council is determined to ensure that the total package on offer is right for the people of South Holland.”

It is the first time the council has admitted it has spoken to Michael Moran, who represents the interests of Holland Market owners Corbo in the UK.

It is believed council leader Gary Porter and Mr Moran met earlier this week to discuss Corbo’s plans for a major overhaul of the Holland Market site, including the Sir Halley Stewart field, bus station and retail areas on both sides of Winfrey Avenue.

Mr Moran has also revealed he would like to build a community sports facility on the edge of Spalding, possibly on a site already acquired by Spalding United Football Club next to the A16, which would include a football stadium, all weather pitches and social club.

Mr Moran said: “I have made it clear to Coun Porter that there is a serious offer on the table but he is driving a hard bargain.

“We are now working together and are in discussions to put together a comprehensive plan and the council is negotiating in a tough and determined way because what we do has got to work long-term for the people of Spalding.”

HOLBEACH dad William Gaskin was re-sentenced for assault after Spalding magistrates heard he cannot complete an 80-hour work order because he is helping to care for his baby girl who has two holes in her heart.

Probation officer Chris Payne said Gaskin (35), of Rose View Drive, failed to attend on three occasions without reasonable excuse, but in September his wife gave birth to twins, a boy and a girl.

He said the boy is healthy but the girl has significant health problems.

Mr Payne said Gaskin had completed 36 and one quarter hours of the order and asked magistrates to revoke it and re-sentence for an assault which took place in December 2010 after Gaskin and another picked on a man in a Spalding pub car park and demanded a lift to Holbeach.

The driver refused several times but Gaskin and the other man climbed into his car.

After dropping off the second man, the driver told Gaskin he was going to drive straight to Spalding Police Station.

Mr Payne said the driver stopped at a garage and Gaskin punched him in the face.

Gaskin then dragged the driver out of the car and punched him again.

Magistrates on Tuesday re-sentenced Gaskin, revoking the community order with the unpaid work requirement and imposing a fine of £585 with a £15 victim surcharge.

Solicitor David Eager, mitigating, said Gaskin is in an untenable position because his little girl has two holes in her heart and problems with her soft palate. She has had operations and will need more surgery.

PEOPLE can keep up to date with conditions on the county’s roads and the activities of the winter highways team, thanks to a new Gritter Twitter service.

@LincsCC_Winter will keep the public in the know with when the gritters are going out, advice on what the current driving conditions are like, information on the work of the winter maintenance team and answers to frequently asked questions.

It will also provide members of the public with the opportunity to ask questions via social media siteTwitter.

A ROAD has reopened after a crash between two lorries this morning.

The accident happened at 7.51am between the Macdonald’s roundabout and the power station roundabout on the A16 at Spalding.

No-one was injured and one lorry was driven away. The second lorry has now been moved to a layby awaiting recovery and the road is cleared.

HUNDREDS of homes were left without water last night (Thursday) after a problem with a pump.

Residents in Spalding and Holbeach and surrounding villages turned on their taps to find low pressue or no water at all after a power supply problem to the pump at Weston just after 6.30pm.

A spokesman for Anglian Water apologised for the inconvenience, particularly on a night when temperatures are reported to have dropped to -7C, and said engineers set up a generator to get the pump back online as quickly as possible.

It is suspected the problem may have been caused by the cold weather.

Ciaran Nelson, a spokesman for Anglian Water, said: “In a large, flat area like South Holland these pumps are necessary to push the water around the network, so when they go the water pressure drops quite quickly.

“Fortunately the alternative generator was up and running by about 10.30pm and people would have seen their water come back on quite quickly after that, within half an hour or an hour.”

Mr Nelson said the company’s first priority is to restore water supply, but it will now turn its attention to investigating what went wrong and attempt to prevent a similar problem occurring again.

FOR a 14-year-old girl it was love, but 16 years on Stacey Fernandes is finally coming to terms with a relationship which left lasting damage.

Stacey (now 30) has chosen to waive her right to anonymity and share her story in a bid for closure after her former guitar teacher Nicholas Watson was jailed for 30 months for two counts of indecent assault on Tuesday.

Watson (46), of Rowan Avenue, Spalding, was also placed on the sex offenders’ register for life for the charges, which date back to 1996 and 1997.

Stacey finally reported her two-year relationship to the police 14 years later in 2010 after getting her life back on track.

Her story starts in 1996, when Watson, a former school friend of her stepfather, was asked to give Stacey guitar lessons to help boost her confidence. It resulted in a secret two-year sexual relationship.

She said: “I had always viewed it as a relationship despite the age gap. It was only on talking through everything with a counsellor when I had post-natal depression that it made me realise it was something else.

“At that point I disclosed everything to my family in detail. They only had suspicions before then.”

Stacey told how her family first became suspicious after following her from the school gates to Watson’s car.

The lessons were initially called off but started up again when Watson assured the family that his mother would act as a chaperone.

Stacey explained: “I was in love. It was going to be a lifelong relationship.”

Afterwards, she described herself as “a mess” who “drank herself into oblivion” until she met her husband, Karl.

“At school I was very academic because it was the only place I could be myself,” she said. “I excelled. I was good at putting on an act but I was drinking, self-harming and was bulimic for about two years.”

Stacey, who lives in Moulton, now has two young children and has set her sights on training for a role in the medical profession.

She admits coming forward to report her relationship was hard, but she has praised the “amazing and supportive” police officers who dealt with her case over the last 19 months.

She said: “It’s worth going through the pain and turmoil. At the end of the day, I have got closure from it and I have a result. I know that’s not the case for everyone but I try to take positives from a situation.

“The support is there from the police and counselling services. It’s not always easy but it’s there.”

Stacey was in court to hear Watson be sentenced and said it was a shock.

“When I went to the police it was never for revenge or to achieve this,” she said. “It was to be believed – to have it out there and for him to know what he had done and the damage that he caused. “I do not feel good about his position but then it was taken out of my hands. It was not for me to judge what he deserved.”

Friday 12.10pm: It’s materialised that the Lincolnshire and Nottinghamshire Air Ambulance was called in error this morning to an accident which happened last night.

Police say an ambucopter was asked to attend an incident in Gedney Hill.

A black Astra was partially submerged in water at around 7.15pm on Thursday.

It’s believed the mix-up may have been because the car involved was still in situ this morning and was reported to police at 8.36am.

It’s unclear as yet whether the helicopter actually made it to the scene or not.

There were no injuries reported from the accident.

Friday, 9.10am: THE air ambulance has been dispatched to the scene of a car crash in Gedney Hill.

A black Astra is believed to have left the B1166 in the village at 8.36am and ended up in a ditch.

Friday, 12.25pm: The driver of a car which overturned in Whaplode this morning has been taken to hospital.

The 28-year-old woman, from Peterborough, is thought to have suffered minor neck injuries as the Volkswagen Polo left the road near to FastTrack Flowers.

Friday, 9.15am: Firefighters are on the scene of a crash at Whaplode in which a driver is believed to be trapped in an overturned car.

The single-vehicle accident involving a Volkswagen Polo happened on the A151 just before 8.15am today.

CHILDREN at St Norbert’s Catholic Primary School in Spalding were treated to a rare insight into the life of a well-known writer of children’s books.

The school’s junior classes met Jack Trelawny, famous for his Kernowland series of books, when he visited on a nationwide tour.

He told them about his life and the inspiration for his books, and dedicated and signed a book to them. They enjoyed a workshop in which they made up stories about just a few of Jack’s animal creations, like apechicks and dogbears.

THE man at the centre of an armed siege in Sutton St James died from a gunshot wound to the head, an inquest has been told.

Barry Horspool (61) was found dead in his home in Chapelgate on January 31 following an 11-hour stand-off with armed police.

A Home Office pathologist gave the cause of death at the opening of his inquest.

Lincolnshire Police have confirmed no armed officers fired any shots during the incident.

The inquest was adjourned to allow a police report to be prepared into the death.

A full hearing will be held later this year.

A NEW mini gritter has gone on trial in the Spalding area during the recent cold snap.

The four-wheel drive is on loan for a week so bosses can assess its suitability.

Winter maintenance engineer David Davies said: “We are looking to replace some of our gritters in the next few years and what we like about this one is its flexibility.”

The vehicle can salt and plough, a snow blower can be attached, or it can converted to a grass-cutter in summer.

It’s smaller size also enables it to be used on narrow roads which can be off limits to bigger gritters.

Hundreds of snow-covered homes in Spalding feature in this fascinating aerial shot taken on Sunday.

The wintry scene was captured by Simon Vaitkevicius from his model glider.

Queens Road runs across the foreground of the picture and homes in Halmergate can be seen on the left of the picture.

Chatterton Water Tower can be seen in the top-right.