Six prom-goers almost didn’t go to the ball after their “coach” was a no-show.

Friends Emer Skully, Tasha Gilbert, Lauren Bright, Sarah Cooke, Alice Ketteringham and Victoria Peacock had spent hours preparing for the joint Spalding secondary schools prom – and were looking forward to arriving in style in a limo booked by one of their parents.

But when the limo was 20 minutes late they started to worry and an attempt was made to contact A&J Limos in Sutton Bridge.

After several unanswered calls, they received a text asking if everything was OK, and when they replied to say the limo had failed to turn up they were told it was on its way and would be with them by 7.30pm.

The girls decided to wait for their ride, but when it still failed to show up, their parents stepped in to give them a ride to the venue at Springfields.

Luckily, they found a limo outside the venue whose driver was willing to take them to the door for a photo opportunity, but by the time they arrived the party had started and the girls had missed the arrival of their fellow prom-goers.

Mum Sally Bright said: “They were quite upset and worried they were not going to get there.

“They were really looking forward to the ride in the limo so they were a bit disappointed, especially as they missed all the fun of seeing their other friends arrive.

“The prom is a once in a lifetime opportunity and we had spent so much time and money preparing it was just a shame we were let down like this.”

The girls’ parents are now warning others to make sure they use firms that come recommended by others – although they are counting their lucky stars that they had not handed over any money for the limo in advance.

Mrs Bright said: “People should probably use companies recommended by friends.”

The Lincolnshire Free Press tried to contact A&J Limos, but our calls were unanswered.

Parents of a 16-year-old girl said seeing her set off for her prom was a day they thought they would never see.

Zoe and Stephen Tucker had been told they wouldn’t be able to have any children and after years of trying and months of fertility drugs they had given up hope.

But then the couple proved the medical professionals wrong when Zoe fell pregnant.

That was more than 16 years ago – and on Wednesday night Zoe and Stephen, of Pennygate, were perhaps the proudest parents of all when their daughter Katie set off with her boyfriend Stuart Fuller to the joint Spalding secondary schools end of year prom.

The teenager was all glammed up in a pretty pale pink Bo Peep-style prom dress and as a special surprise her grandparents had laid on a vintage Rolls Royce to take the young couple to the ball.

Zoe said: “Katie looked so beautiful and we were so proud of her.

“This is honestly a day we thought we would never see.

“As well as being told we couldn’t have children Katie was born two months early, weighing just 3lb 11oz.

“She spent the first few weeks of her life in the special care baby unit and she had quite a few health problems in that first year.

“But now she is fit and healthy and it was really nice to see her go off to her prom.

“We had been winding her up that her transport for the night was a portable loo on the back of trailer and I think she was even beginning to wonder if it was true, so the Rolls Royce was a lovely surprise for her.

“She had a lovely night.”

A 17-year-old man from Spalding was taken to hospital after a two-car collision in Spalding over the weekend.

The accident happened in Hawthorn Bank where a Peugeot 106 and Audi A6 collided shortly after 12.30am on Sunday.

Firemen from Spalding and Holbeach helped to move the teenager, who was a back seat passenger in the Peugeot, into an ambulance before being taken to Pilgrim Hospital, Boston, with minor injuries.

He was discharged shortly afterwards while firemen made one of the cars safe.

Meanwhile, three vehicles were damaged when a Ford Transit van caught fire on Dowsdale Bank, near Crowland, on Sunday at about 2pm.

Firemen from Crowland and Holbeach used hose reel jets to put out the blaze which badly damaged the van, while two other vehicles suffered heat damage.

There was another car fire in Crowland where a Ford Fiesta was severely damaged in Kemp Street on Friday just after 2.15am.

A fire crew from Crowland used hose reel jets to tackle the blaze but there were no reports of any injuries.

Making a difference while still having fun is a vision that is hoped to raise the profile of a club in South Holland.

Bruce Alexander has taken over as president of the Rotary Club of South Holland and has already been leading a team in planning the events diary and promoting development and progress.

He said: “The Rotary club assists many local charitable organisations, both with funding and with the services of our members.

“We have been the main fund raisers in the Spalding Flower Parade since its inception and our Santa Christmas Sleigh is eagerly awaited by children and adults alike in every part of Spalding.”

Bruce intends to continue working closely with other Rotary clubs, as well as organisations such as the Lions and Round Table.

Believing more can be achieved as a group, he said: “Our motto is ‘Service Above Self’, but while serving we don’t lose sight of the fact that we should enjoy ourselves as well.

“My vision is that I can make a difference while still having fun.”

Bruce’s presidency follows one shared by the ‘Two Peters’ - Peter Start and Peter Kite - after an unexpected vacancy arose for the post.

Peter Start did a remarkably thorough stint at short notice for the first half of the year, helping to ensure the club was in good health at the handover.

Peter Kite said he enjoyed his reprise as president over the past six months. He said he had every confidence in handing over the presidency to Bruce and for the role of president elect to be passed on to Pat Luckett, who will be the first lady president.

As well as interesting speakers, members have been on a number of visits, kept up the club’s good work for charities and continued to be of service to the community. The club’s current good health is underlined by two new members, with two more waiting in the wings to join.

A former Spalding man launched an unprovoked attack on the dance floor at Loaded by biting another man’s eyebrow.

James Chinn (34) continued biting Jamie Gilbertson for 
30 seconds to a minute as bystanders punched Chinn’s face to try to get him to release his grip, Spalding magistrates heard.

The bite resulted in “a chunk of skin” being removed from the victim’s eyebrow.

Rebecca Ritson, prosecuting, said the assault happened in the early hours of Sunday, June 9.

Mr Gilbertson was at the Spalding nightclub with his girlfriend and friends.

Miss Ritson said CCTV footage confirmed the attack was unprovoked.

Chinn came out of nowhere and bit Mr Gilbertson’s eyebrow and latched on to his face for some time.

Mr Gilbertson said the incident lasted for about a minute while other witnesses said it was half that time.

Miss Ritson said Mr Gilbertson tried to push Chinn off and, because that didn’t work, others intervened and punched Chinn to the face to try to release his bite.

Bouncers arrived and ejected everyone.

Miss Ritson said: “Mr Chinn had a lot of blood coming from his mouth, although Mr Chinn was not injured the bouncers assumed he had been assaulted.”

She said Chinn admitted the assault when interviewed by police, but said he didn’t know why he had bitten Mr Gilbertson.

Chinn, formerly of Livingstone Drive, Spalding, now lives in Hatcham Road, Kingstanding, Birmingham.

He pleaded guilty to assaulting Mr Gilbertson, causing actual bodily, and sentence was adjourned to August 1.

Solicitor Stuart Wild, for Chinn, asked for the case to be adjourned for a pre-sentence report and to give him time to obtain a medical report from Chinn’s GP.

A man who sent sexual messages to a 13 year old girl has been jailed for 18 months at Lincoln Crown Court.

Benjamin Flatters, who last month received a 14 day sentence after posting a “grossly offensive” anti-Muslim message on Facebook following the murder of soldier Lee Rigby in Woolwich, had contact with the girl over a number of weeks.

Stephen Lowne, prosecuting, said Flatters was aware of the girl’s age but sent her a number of sexually suggestive messages which included him telling her he would love to have sex with her

He told the court “There were a number of messages that caused concern.”

Flatters (22), of no fixed address, but formerly of Drayton Road, Swineshead, admitted inciting a girl to engage in sexual activity by sending her sexual messages between November 2011 and January 2012.

Judge Michael Heath told him “That girl was 13 and no blame can be attached to her. The law is there to protect her.”

John McNally, defending, said much of the content of messages between the pair was “nonsense”.

“They never sought to meet but he accepts he made suggestions.”

He said Flatters had a difficult time at school and had been diagnosed as having ADHD.

Mr McNally added “He knows that sometimes he does things without thinking.”

Drivers faced rush-hour problems in Gosberton Clough as engineers carried out emergency repairs on low-lying cables in the village.

Large vehicles were diverted away from Beck Bank after it was closed between the Clough Road and Parson Drive junction when a worried resident reported that overhead power cables were dangerously low, providing a potential traffic hazard.

Engineers from Western Power spent at least an hour on Thursday repairing lines but there was no disruption to residents’ power supply.

A Western Power spokeswoman said: “We received a call on Thursday that overhead power lines were hanging low in a certain area of Gosberton Clough and our engineers went out to get them back up to the right height.

“But there was no power cut in the area and none of our customers had their electricity turned off.”

A refurbished shop in Sutton Bridge is staging a free family fun day on Saturday.

Formerly known as Bridge Super Store, the newly re-branded Nisa Local will transform its Bridge Road forecourt into a play area from 11am-2pm.

Shop owner Veena Odedre is hoping for a big turnout of families with children so they can enjoy a bouncy castle, face-painting, storytelling and refreshments.

Veena and her husband, Jay, took over the store in 2009 and have been regular supporters of good causes in the parish.

At the end of last year, the couple donated £1,200 to The Curlew Community Centre.

Now they are running a raffle to coincide with the shop’s revamp – which has given it a bright new look – and money raised will go to Westmere Primary School and Sutton Bridge in Bloom.

Veena said: “It’s about making a difference to the local community.”

The store has been with Nisa for a number of years, but now carries its branding.

The couple have two children of their own, Shreeya (11) and Veer (6), and are eagerly awaiting the big day on Saturday so they can welcome children from the village.

Veena said: “We would love families to come to our fun day.”

Filling a gap in the market and giving customers the best of both worlds is a Long Sutton shop combining home and lifestyle with hair and beauty.

Time Out in the High Street was opened by husband and wife team Shaun and Jenny Cross eight years ago, and it still continues to go from strength to strength.

The downstairs interiors section has grown to supplying a wide range of furniture and soft furnishings, while the pampering haven upstairs remains the ideal place to help you look and feel great.

In the last year, the home-side of the business has added picture framing to its list of services and manager Shaun has also invested in a new range of bespoke furniture.

Made with chunky, rustic wood and painted in a choice of luxury Farrow & Ball colours, all pieces are made locally to order.

Dining chairs, tables, dressers, console tables, sidetables and more can be made to measure, with the shop stocking a few examples to show customers the quality and colours available.

Alongside the furniture is an ever-growing choice of soft furnishings, pictures, lamps and gifts.

Upstairs, Time Out offers a relaxing retreat, with Jenny, Janet, Lucy and Nadia on hand to advise on hair and beauty needs from hair extensions and colours to facials, waxing and tanning.

The air-conditioned salon uses top-quality brands including Wella, St Tropez, Cinderella hair extensions, Guinot and Gellac, and is now pleased to introduce Dermalogica too.

Shaun and Jenny said: “The past eight years has been amazing. Thanks go to all our customers and everyone who has supported us.”

An ambulance crew called police while attending to a drink-driver who crashed his BMW into a telegraph pole.

Arturas Racrauskas crashed on the street where he lived – Cradge Bank in Spalding – when he swerved to miss an oncoming car that was being driven on his side of the road.

Rebecca Ritson, prosecuting, said police were called to the single vehicle crash at 6.10am on June 16.

A member of the public pointed out Racrauskas, who seemed to be making off from the scene.

Police went after him and arrested him on Hawthorn Bank.

Miss Ritson said Racrauskas failed the roadside breath test before being taken to Boston’s Pilgrim Hospital, where he refused all treatment.

The evidential breath test was taken around three-and-a-half hours later at 9.42am and Racrauskas had 59 microgrammes of alcohol in breath – 24mcgs above the legal limit.

Miss Ritson said Racrauskas admitted drinking and driving when interviewed by police.

At Thursday’s court hearing, Racrauskas pleaded guilty to driving with excess alcohol and was banned from driving for 16 months.

He can cut four months off the ban if he completes a rehabilitation course.

Magistrates also imposed a £280 fine and ordered him to pay £85 costs and a £28 victim surcharge.

Solicitor Rachel Stevens, mitigating, said it was a miscalculation on Racrauskas’s part.

She said: “He didn’t think he had had that much to drink before he got into the car to drive.

“He completely accepts that it is his error, he is entirely culpable and he’s extremely remorseful. He has asked me to tell the court how sorry he is to be in this position.

“The accident happened because a car came around the corner on the wrong side of the road and he swerved to avoid it.”

Police on a drugs raid found a naked man frantically trying to flush the toilet.

Luke French (24) was at an address in Main Road, Quadring, when police arrived with a search warrant on the morning of January 5.

Rebecca Ritson, prosecuting, said officers tried to use an enforcer to break in, but could not get in because it was a good quality door.

The door was opened by a woman carrying a young child and police officers then found French naked in the bathroom with blood running down his face while frantically trying to flush the toilet.

Miss Ritson said officers found a number of items in various parts of the house which had traces of cocaine on them, cutting agent and drug related equipment, bags and scales.

She said the amount of cocaine found was very small and French was being charged solely with simple possession of the drug.

“There was nothing else evidentially that could take the matter any further,” Miss Ritson told magistrates on Thursday.

Solicitor Stuart Wild said French had been a recreational user of cocaine for some time.

Mr Wild said police attended the address because they had arrested someone in Sleaford and French was a contact on that person’s phone.

He said French does not have a drug addiction and at the time of the offence he was weaning himself off the drug.

“It’s fair to say he hasn’t used it since,” said Mr Wild.

He told the court French had been out of trouble since 2005.

Mr Wild said French works as a carpet fitter and floor layer, but due to problems unrelated to the court case he had lost his employment.

French, of Gainsborough Drive, Winthorpe, near Newark, was fined £110 when he pleaded guilty to possessing heroin, a class A drug.

He was also ordered to pay £85 costs and a £20 victim surcharge.

Magistrates ordered destruction of the cocaine seized.

A drink-driver nearly three times the limit was followed by two motorists after he almost crashed into one of them.

Adam Stepien (58), of Crocus Walk, Spalding, almost hit another motorist at the mini roundabout on Rose Lane and Spalding Road, Pinchbeck, on November 11 last year.

Rebecca Ritson, prosecuting, told Spalding magistrates that the driver of a 4x4 and the man whose car was almost hit turned and followed Stepien to an address and police were called.

Stepien denied driving with 103 microgrammes of alcohol in breath, but the case was found proved at a trial in June.

Miss Ritson said Stepien told police he hadn’t drunk more alcohol since the time of the accident, but that was not the line he pursued at trial.

At Thursday’s resumed hearing, Stepien was banned from driving for two years, given a six-month community order with 120 hours unpaid work and ordered to pay a £60 victim surcharge. He can cut six months off the ban if he completes a course.

Solicitor Rachel Stevens, mitigating, said Stepien lost his job as a lorry driver as a result of an interim ban and is looking for work.

Lincolnshire has been awarded more than £110million to stimulate economic growth and jobs.

Business secretary Vince Cable has today revealed the area’s share of the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and the European Social Fund (ESF) for 2014 to 2020.

The money will be used to provide training schemes, particularly for the unemployed, to fund support for local businesses and to enable economic development projects, such as the creation of much-needed business premises and other infrastructure.

Lincolnshire County Council and Greater Lincolnshire LEP will now draw up a strategy for how to use the money.

It is anticipated that eligible local projects will be able to bid for a share of the funding from spring 2014.

Coun Colin Davie, executive member for economic development, said: “An investment of this size is going to have a significant impact on the county economy, and is a substantial increase from the £28million we were awarded last time.

“This money is going to mean that a lot of worthwhile projects will go ahead.”

An intrepid bunch of walkers are trekking from Iona in Scotland to London on A Pilgrimage for Peace and Economic Justice, and on Tuesday they passed through Market Deeping, on their way from Bourne to Peterborough.

They say the primary aim of the Pilgrimage is to focus attention on the Government’s intention to spend up to £100 billion renewing the UK’s Trident nuclear weapons system, while continuing to slash NHS, education and social welfare budgets.

These walkers were met by supporters in The Deepings as they passed through, and they all enjoyed a picnic on the Riverside Park opposite the Deepings Library.

The Pilgrims also showed support for the Campaign to Save Deepings Library.

There is a major problem for the horticultural industry right now.

The industry is waiting for ministers at the Home Office and Defra to make a decision on the future of SAWS (Seasonal Agricultural Workers Scheme), which finishes this summer.

This is the scheme that, under permits issued by the Home Office, allows students from non-EU countries to work for up to six months in horticulture then return to their own countries to continue their studies.

The industry is very reliant on having these people available to harvest crops in the fresh produce sector. The whole supply chain will be impacted and the ability to get crops harvested will be at risk. The industry has tried to work with UK people and it has failed due to lack of response or them not being prepared to do the work, which one accepts is seasonal and hard.

We were told the decision would be taken by the end of June. It has also been acknowledged by all parties that the scheme has worked well.

As I write, summer is finally here after the awful cold spring: again, the cost to growers is enormous in lost sales and the peaks and troughs of supply as crops catch up too quickly. Fingers crossed for a good run of weather to make up for the last four months. Up to the end of June we recorded 212mm of rain (8.48 inches) so the irrigation teams are flat out: funny old world after last year’s horrendously wet weather!

MISS Sarah Steward-Brown and Mr Jason Fisher were married at the Stuart House Hotel, King’s Lynn.

The bride, who lived in Hallgate, Holbeach until recently, is the only daughter of Shaun and Karen Steward-Brown, of King’s Lynn.

The bridegroom is the fourth Son of Keith and Diane Fisher, of Tilney st Lawrence.

Bridesmaids were Charlotte Capindale (chief), Ruby Fisher and Ella–Rose Roper.

Best man was Matthew Fisher.

A reception was held at the Stuart House Hotel after which the couple spent their honeymoon in Ibiza.

The bride and bridegroom are both senior operatives at Quorn Foods.

(Photo: Adam and Rachel Rostron)

Miss Chantal Rushby, only daughter of Diane Parkinson, of Chatteris, and Mr Andrew Dickinson, only son of Janice and Roy Dickinson, of Arnhem Drive, Spalding, were married at Stamford Register Office.

Bridesmaids were Donna Munton (maid of honour) and Annemarie Whitmore.

Best man was Adam Curzon.

A reception was held at the Angel Hotel, Bourne.

The couple spent their honeymoon at Disneyland Paris.

The bride is a staff nurse at John van Geest, Stamford and the bridegroom is a store man at Greencore, Spalding.

Farm managers of the future are having their skills honed by an organisation that has been working in this area for 36 years.

Holbeach Marsh Training Group, which specialises in organising all land based training courses for agricultural businesses and associated industries, has recently put eight young farmers through soil examination and cultivation and tyres and traction courses.

Lynne Richardson, group training organiser for the organisation, said: “Business members of the group are very fortunate in this area that on several of the farms they currently have several younger members of staff joining the industry.

“Holbeach Marsh Training Group has decided to support these young people by offering a training programme to develop and enhance their managerial skills. These young people are potentially farm managers of the future.

“Several of the young farmers have already received formal training in agriculture at college or university and some are still attending university courses.”

The soil course looked at the importance of maintaining and improving soil structure through cultivations and planned tyre/wheel selection.

The tyres and traction course provided them with an improved appreciation of soil management and the effect of vehicles working on the land, specifically tyres, loads and pressures for best traction.

A widower died after suffering more than 50 per cent burns when he got into a hot bath at his Pinchbeck home, an inquest has found.

Retired factory worker Neville Walkley (76) died in hospital four days after he was found badly scalded at his home in Fennell Road by a carer who was due to take him shopping.

At an inquest in Boston on Friday, South Lincolnshire coroner Professor Robert Forrest recorded a verdict of accidental death on Mr Walkley who died at Nottingham City Hospital on January 15 after suffering multi-organ failure due to severe burns.

His carer, Mark Wood of Quadring, told the inquest that he had found Mr Walkley lying across a settee and wearing only boxer shorts, with blood on the carpet, kitchen and lounge floors.

Mr Wood said: “I saw that his legs were bright red and I knew something wasn’t right.

“The more I looked at Mr Walkley, the more I could see the injuries on his back and I just grabbed the phone and rang for an ambulance.”

Mr Walkley’s son, Philip, told the inquest that his father had been “profoundly deaf” since childhood and was diagnosed with vascular dementia in May 2012.

He added: “My mum Glenys died three years previously and since then, my dad had become increasingly confused to the extent that around about the spring before he died, he was found wandering about in his garden by a neighbour.”

After the inquest, Mr Walkley said: “We’re happy with the verdict, it’s the one we expected and it’s been a thorough examination of what took place.”

Holbeach students walked the red carpet to a glittering prom evening that marked the end of an era for many.

Year 11s at the University Academy of Holbeach who recently left school returned as “young adults” dressed to impress.

About 140 students and their partners attended the eighth annual prom at the academy on Friday night.

The girls wore stunning ball gowns and the boys were suited - with every detail designed to be a head turner, right down to the transport.

Assistant headteacher Lesley Smilley said: “The transport has become a bit of a competition - we had classic cars, tractors, steam engines, a horse and cart and old-fashioned scooters from the mods and rockers era. Amazingly, though, there were no stretch limos.”

Until September the academy was a split campus, but following a merger the Holbeach students were joined by those from Crowland.

Mrs Smillie said: “They all looked amazing - they left us as children a few weeks ago and came back as young adults. The transformation was amazing - it was quite an emotional night.”

Not only were the students greeted on a red carpet, the hall had been transformed into a marquee where there was a buffet, disco and karaoke.

For some it was a night to say farewell. Mrs Smillie said: “Not all of them return for sixth form so we like to make it a night to remember.

”Some sat out on the patio - it was a really lovely evening.”