A Gedney Drove End teenager is trying to keep a clear mind for her driving test today after her motorbike was stolen, torched and dumped.

Emily Penver (17) was devastated after thieves took her yellow Suzuki GZ Marauder 125 bike from outside her grandparents’ home, set it alight and left it near a school playing field.

She said: “I came back from a training course in Peterborough to my grandparents’ home in the city at about 10.20pm last Monday.

“I locked my bike up and left it secured in the garden, so everything was fine when I went inside.

“But when I woke up the next morning, I noticed a car parked in the space where my bike was.

“That sent alarm bells ringing in my mind, so I phoned by nan to ask her where my bike was in case she’d moved it.”

Emily rang the police when her grandmother confirmed the bike was missing and it was eventually found on land near Ormiston Bushfield Academy in Peterborough.

Sandra Penver, Emily’s mum, said: “Her grandad had an idea to look on the field near the school because many years ago, I had my bike stolen and it was dumped there.

“The bike was Emily’s livelhood so for someone to take it and burn it just for fun is just absolutely disgusting.

“Hopefully this will make someone think twice before they take someone’s bike.”

Leaders of a Spalding church built 140 years ago are confident that work to make it into a 21st century community asset will start this autumn.

Fundraising is well under way at St John the Baptist Church, Hawthorn Bank, to raise money for a major redevelopment of the building to make it suitable for its members and other groups to use.

It is hoped that work on the £90,000 project will start in November and provide the church with a new beech floor, wooden chairs to replace the existing pews, new heating, lighting and sound, a choir room and better access for the disabled.

Most of the money is coming from an undisclosed legacy from former church member Peter Langford who died in 2010, but the church is also keen for the community to get involved by making a donation towards new seating.

The Rev Peter Garland, vicar of St John’s, said: “Planning for the redevelopment is a lot further forward than it was six months ago and we’ve had detailed meetings with the architect, surveyor and sound engineer who have all been doing a lot of good work.

“We’re getting to the stage of applying to the Diocese of Lincoln for planning permission to do work on the outside of the church and we’ve already had agreement in principle from them for what we’re doing.

“Our focus is to try and reach a point where we get all the consent we need and a detailed specification so that redevelopment can start in November.”

A tradition lasting almost 20 years where World War II veterans remember those who fell on the Normandy beaches has been given a special touch.

Veterans of the 1944 D-Day Landings from South Holland were presented with medals and diplomas awarded by the Utah Museum in Normandy for keeping alive the memories of US soldiers who fought alongside them in the war.

The group make an annual pilgrimage to beaches in Normandy, France, named after the US states of Omaha and Utah, to commemorate US soldiers who died to free Western Europe from Nazi occupation.

A presentation event was held at the Anglia Motel, Fleet, and owner Harold Payne said: “The diplomas are from the Utah Museum in Normandy where our boys remember those who fell on D Day.

“On D-Day, some of the boys went from the beaches of Normandy to the Battle of the Bulge to join the Americans in fighting the German army.

“Every year, our veterans go back to Normandy and lay a wreath and the diplomas are the Americans’ way of saying thank you.”

n15 per cent of the profits from this feature will go towards Armed Forces charities.

Firemen from Bourne were called to a blaze that tractor tyres located in an area near the town.

The blaze broke out at North Drove, Twenty, at about midnight on Wednesday and firemen used a hose reel to put out the flames.

Four large tractor tyres were damaged by the fire thought to have been caused by sparks from a grinder.

Meanwhile, a fire crew from Spalding used a hose reel to deal with a blaze involving a pile of paper in a Spalding Common bus shelter.

The fire was reported at about 10pm on Tuesday.

Following on from my previous Word on the Ground when I was looking for the positives in farming and vegetable producing I am still on a positive note.

After looking round the cropping in our area, I can report they are looking well.

Of course, we have the legacy of last year’s wet weather showing up in some crops, but in the main they are looking good.

In the last two weeks we have had 2in of rain, which has permeated to the roots. All we want now is some warmth.

Around the Boston area the protective covers – polythene or freeze covers – are off the early crops, and they are well into cutting broccoli (calabrese), cauliflower and early Savoy cabbage, with good quality and good yields.

In addition, the subsequent crops are growing well, and look to have a good potential if we can keep the pigeons off.

This leads on to my nature section: in general, although it has been a late spring, nature is catching up.

Most birds have managed to nest quite well and I have seen good hatches of blackbirds and sparrows.

Our perennial mistle thrush raised four young and they all fledged this morning.

I have seen a French partridge with ten chicks only about a day old. I wonder how many will survive? On an optimistic note, it will be all of them.

Have a good summer.

The only company in the UK to build the Field Factory continual harvesting system has manufactured its first rubber track machine.

Vegetable Harvesting Systems (VHS) at Quadring has engineered a 35-tonne Field Factory for harvesting celery for Gorehall Produce Ltd in Lancashire.

VHS managing director Mel Burrell said 12 operators would work within the header. The produce is pulled out of the ground, trimmed, placed on the conveyor which takes it though a saw, a washer and dryer before it is put in labelled plastic sleeves. It then goes into supermarket trays and is delivered straight to the store.

Mel said: “That machine is the first rubber track we have built and the ground pressure of the machine is nearly zero. It’s looking after the ground.”

VHS – whose parent company is MBE Fabrications Ltd – has been building farming equipment since 1985 and employs about 50 people on its four-acre site, including apprentices.

The company manufactures two or three units a year, historically using JCB running gear.

It has another machine ready to go out to customer G’s Growers Ltd at Ely, a wheeled Field Factory for harvesting Chinese leaf, equipment that has become more sophisticated over the years.

Mel said: “It’s a team effort and they are cracking bits of kit. We are the only people to build these Field Factories.”

A group of local growers is working voluntarily to maintain Lincolnshire’s position as the premier county for agriculture and food production.

The Lincolnshire Forum for Agriculture and Horticulture is chaired by Mark Tinsley, of P C Tinsley Ltd of Holbeach Hurn.

Mark recently spoke to Lincolnshire County Council’s economic scrutiny committee about the way the Forum and authority could work together to support the farming and food sector.

Mark said: “We are genuinely the premier agricultural county and I don’t think anybody challenges that. It’s incredibly important to Lincolnshire employment and particularly Spalding where you have 50 per cent of the working population employed in agriculture and food. What we are looking at in the Forum are ways in which, by liaising with the county, we can create an economic environment in which the industries can be maintained and enhanced and to prioritise ways in which the county can help.”

A man accused of a causing an explosion at the office of Stamford and Bourne MP Nick Boles was today (Wednesday) remanded in custody again at Lincoln Crown Court.

Paul Leversedge (24), of Marquess Court, Bourne, is accused of criminal damage with intent to endanger life following an incident at Mr Boles’ constituency office in North Street, Bourne, on June 10.

No plea was taken at today’s hearing and Leverseidge, who appeared via video link, was remanded in custody to appear back before the court in September.

The Campaign to Protect Rural England has stepped into the food debate in the wake of the horse meat scandal.

It has warned that Britain’s biggest supermarket could and should take greater action to offer a fair deal to farmers – and reduce the risk of the repeat of the scandal in which horse meat was discovered in products labelled as beef.

The organisation wants supermarkets to take into account the fluctuating costs of production, such as for fertiliser, diesel and animal feed when paying farmers for their produce.

The CPRE also wants stores to stock and promote more ‘countryside friendly’ food sourced from a 30 mile area.

Environment minister Owen Paterson has urged the UK to lead a European farming revolution and become a global leader on GM crops.

The minister said genetically modified crops would reduce fertiliser and chemical inputs and improve efficiency.

Anti-GM groups criticised his support for the crops, saying there was no evidence they would deliver for farmers or offer food security.

The NFU, which organised a meeting with disgruntled beet growers to discuss next year’s price regime, has said it now has a clear mandate from more than 550 farmers to continue negotiating on price with British Sugar for the 2014/15 crop.

Growers said they were “sick” of being at the bottom of the European price table for the crop and called on British Sugar to review its offer. However, British Sugar agriculture director Colm McKay said the price on offer was fair and represented a “significant movement” from the previous year.

Police stopped 100 cyclists riding on pavements in a special operation in Spalding this morning.

Operation Oatmeal got under way at 5am, as many factory employees finished night shifts and cycled home. Four hot spots around the town were targeted and of the 100 cyclists who were stopped, 59 received £60 fixed penalty tickets.

* Full story in tomorrow’s Spalding Guardian.

Holbeach in Bloom members are making an all-out effort to become one of the best kept towns in the East Midlands.

Hanging baskets, litter picks and new plants around the town, with help from other community groups in Holbeach, are all part of a plan to strike gold in this year’s East Midlands in Bloom competition.

Residents can also get involved in a wider campaign to improve the town’s appearance by entering the group’s Best Front Garden competition to be judged in July and August.

Graham Rudkin, chairman of Holbeach in Bloom, said: “We’re trying to get the whole community of Holbeach involved in the competition which has been running for some weeks now.

“It’s open to any garden in Holbeach and we’ll be giving out vouchers to be used in local shops as prizes to try and support businesses in the town.”

The community effort has been backed by Holbeach Community Action Group, formed shortly after the Trannsported arts project was launched in the town last month.

Dave Hudson from the action group said: “We intend to work with other organisations that are active in Holbeach and, as such, the group has been assisting Holbeach in Bloom in the run-up to judging for East Midlands in Bloom.

“Holbeach in Bloom has put in a huge amount of time and work and they are an inspiration to us all.”

A couple selling their home in Crowland hope a fire damaged former school will not sink plans to move to the seaside.

The “For Sale” sign outside Jon and Marilyn Jackson’s house on the main route into the town in Postland Road went up before the weekend – in the same week as the Free Press published details of a £75,000 plan to boost tourism at the abbey.

But opposite is the ruins of a primary school, destroyed by fire in 2006 and left boarded up and shielded by polythene covered scaffolding ever since.

Jon (67) and Marilyn (66) have lived at their house for 21 years and were at home when the school caught fire.

The teenage sweethearts both went to the school and were devastated to see it burn. Marilyn said: “We both went to that school and it was lovely. I sobbed when I saw it burning. My son’s a fireman and I was making them tea.

“But we’ve had to look at it in this state since then and now it’s time something was done. It doesn’t give a very good impression of the town.”

Since retiring, Jon and Marilyn have been looking at homes in the Skegness area. Jon said: “I hope the state of the school doesn’t put buyers off. When you look out of the bedroom window it’s like war-torn Beirut.”

Kevin Kendall, chief property officer at Lincolnshire County Council, said: “We are now reaching a stage when we hope to be making repairs to the former, fire-damaged, schoolhouse in the coming weeks.

“It is always more difficult to arrange repairs at a listed building, which, combined with the significant damage sustained, is why this process has taken this length of time. As the building is brought back to life, we’ll be making a decision on its future.”

Customers and staff at Holmlea Bakery in Pinchbeck have dug deep yet again to raise about £650 for a hospital unit caring for seriously ill babies.


Bakery owners Julie and Conrad Taylor were joined by son Ryan in presenting a new neo-natal respiration monitor to nurses at Pilgrim Hospital’s special care unit.
Julie said: “We’ve been raising money for the unit for eight years and we’re very happy with the amount raised this year, considering the financial climate we’re in.”
Pictured are staff nurse Dawn Harman, Julie, Ryan and Conrad Taylor, ward manager Sharon Herbert and junior sister Hazel Featherstone. Photo: MBSP- 170613017.

An airfield in Holbeach St Johns proved a magnet for classic car enthusiasts on Sunday as almost 1,000 people visited its second annual vintage show.

About 120 vintage vehicles and planes filled Fenland Airfield as part of the 40th anniversary celebrations for Fenland Aero Club.

The event was also a chance for people to raise about £270 for Lincolnshire and Nottinghamshire Air Ambulance as well as wander around various craft stalls, watch a display by Crowland Gliders and enjoy a barbecue.

Katie Booth from the airfield said: “This is only the second year we’ve done it, but the day was a success one of the people who brought a vintage car here said it was a very enjoyable day.

“The idea of the event is to get classic cars and aeroplanes together for the owner of the airfield who is heavily involved in classic cars as a hobby.

“Unfortunately, we only had four planes that flew due to the high winds but there were about 120 vintage vehicles on show and plans are already being made for next year’s show.”

Pictured is Bradley Gagg taking a close-up view of a classic BSA motorcycle. Photo: SG230613-116TW.

Spanish teaching assistant at the Sir John Gleed School Alberto J de Diego has had time to travel and to experience the differences between Spain and the UK in terms of the weather, the food and the people.

He says: “I immediately felt at home in Spalding. The people I have met are very friendly and helpful, and the town has offered enough for me to do to enjoy my free time. The experience at the school has been fabulous. ”

Deputy headteacher Mandy North says: “Partly as a result of the interest Alberto has instigated, we are introducing Spanish as a second modern foreign language (after French) for Year 7 this September.

“We hope to set up a link with a school close to where he lives, where his sister teaches. This will take the form of E-twinning and video conferencing and will support our Year 7 Spanish classes, as well as enabling other students throughout the school to work on joint curriculum projects.”

We go there in droves to lap up the sun and enjoy the beaches.

But when it comes to learning the language, us Brits are not so enthusiastic about studying Spanish.

At least that’s the finding of a Spanish Comenius assistant at the Sir John Gleed School in Spalding.

Comenius assistants are future teachers from across Europe who are given work in schools so they can improve the cultural dimension across the curriculum and offer classes in their native language.

Alberto J de Diego, who is 27 and a Spanish history teacher from Madrid, has been in Spalding for almost six months and is due to return home shortly.

He spent the majority of his time within the language support department.

He says: “It was a rewarding experience to see the students who were new arrivals to the country, with limited English skills, progress and make a big effort to acquire a level of English so they could attend mainstream lessons.

“I taught a variety of Spanish lessons and it was really enjoyable to introduce students to my native language. This has generated enthusiasm and interest in the language and hopefully lead to a continued interest.

“The downside is I have very few native English students in my Spanish lessons. I found this unusual as a number of students have been to Spain at least once on holiday but were not particularly interested in learning the language.”

Alberto’s visit coincided with a difficult time for the school, which has merged its separate girls’ and boys’ schools, become an Academy and been put under special measures following a poor Ofsted inspection.

Alberto says: “Although it sounds strange, I really appreciate the experience of being at the school at this crucial time. To see what is involved in the merging of two different schools has been very enriching for me. I have seen the difficulties, the enormous changes and the effort that everybody has to undertake to achieve this objective.

“Now I am returning to Spain and my aim is to get a job as a teacher. Currently in Spain it is very important to be able to teach your own subject in English because the government wants to implement a bilingual education system. Teaching here in English has been the best practice I could ever imagine to prepare me for the future.”

Retailers in Spalding are queuing up to be part of a national campaign to put the soul back into shopping in town centres.

More that 50 businesses have signed up to be involved in Independents’ Day on Thursday, July 4 – so many that the promotion has been extended for a further two days.

Nikki Austin, who owns an interiors business in The Crescent, is one of the co-ordinators of the local event and says the response so far could lead to the formation of a new Spalding Retailers’ Forum.

She said: “The response has been overwhelming. We want to encourage each and every independent to consider participating as it demonstrates the diversity of businesses in the town and the commitment to the town of the independents.

“It is too easy for the larger multiples like Burtons to shut their doors and quit the town when times are challenging, but the independents are owned by people in the town, providing employment for the town, paying their taxes and fully contributing to the local economy.

“The country would be a poorer place and the High Street much worse without independents. A town of only bookmakers, charity shops and pay day loan businesses may prevent vacant units, but does nothing to make the High Street interesting and vibrant.

“We’re hoping this campaign will bring the feel-good factor back into Spalding. It’s going to be fun and upbeat and hopefully have shoppers wanting to come back to us.”

Already committed to the campaign are Hills Department Store and many of The Crescent traders. It is hoped also some of the Saturday market traders will get involved and an invitation has been extended to the Eastern European stores to showcase their wares, too.

Theo Paphitis, star of the BBC TV’s Dragons’ Den, is backing the national campaign. He said: “I am supporting this year’s Independents’ Day campaign as I believe that independent businesses have a vital role to play in our economy.

“Through the campaign, support is available to these small businesses to help them be the best they can be. I would urge independent retailers to take advantage of the support that is on offer to them through the National Skills Academy for Retail.”

Organisers of the Spalding event have been visiting as many independent shops as they can to encourage them to take part. Nikki said: “We haven’t been able to get around everyone, but there is still time for them to get involved.”

Phil Scarlett, president of the Spalding Chamber of Trade and Commerce, is delighted so many local businesses have come on board to support the event.

He said: “Spalding has a very strong selection of independent stores.

“It is critical during these challenging trading times that shoppers support their independent retailers.

To take part in Independents’ Day, contact Hills at office@hillsdepartmentstore.co.uk or Crescent Traders atcta@austinjohninteriors.co.uk

A full list of participants should be available in next week’s Spalding Guardian, together with details of specials offers, tastings and activities taking place across the town.

From farmers and fishermen to beer brewers and bath-lovers, everyone has different reasons to love water – and the Environment Agency wants to hear from them all for a consultation on water quality in the East of England.

Last week, the organisation launched its ‘Challenges and Choices’ consultation to help them to identify issues facing rivers and lakes in the area between now and 2021.

The results will influence the Environment Agency’s policies for the area’s waterways, which are known as the Anglian River Basin District (which is home to 7.1 million people as well as countless animals and plants).

To mark the start of the consultation, the Environment Agency travelled around the area interviewing people from all kinds of backgrounds about why they value water.

The resulting video is a whistle-stop tour of the East of England that shows how many people are affected by the Environment Agency’s consultation.

Toby Willison, the organisation’s regional director, said: “There are challenges in protecting and improving the water environment, and choices to be made.

“We want to make sure everyone has the chance to contribute to improving water quality as we can’t do

it alone.

“By working together we can develop and put into practice the best solutions for the water environment.”

The consultation launched on June 22 and closes on December 22.

To have your say visit: http://www.environment-agency.gov.uk/research/planning/33252.aspx

To view the video visit: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hYK7cI4IV88