Threats of a ban on imports of pot plants to keep a destructive flatworm out of the UK hold no fears for Market Deeping nurseryman Colin Ward.

Colin, who runs Swines Meadow Farm Nursery with his wife Karan, says there have been other concerns associated with imported plants, as well as the current one over the New Guinea flatworm brought in with plants from abroad.

He said: “I don’t often get stuff in from anywhere else literally because of these type of things.

“Most of the plants we tend to do on the nursery now are either grown by ourselves or by growers we know.”

He added that the “ridiculous” situation exists where some plants that have been banned for import from their native country could still be purchased from countries such as Holland and brought into the UK.

He said: “People have got to buy from reputable nurseries if they have a conscience, but unfortunately sometimes pocket dictates and they go to these fly-by-night merchants that haven’t a clue and get them through unscrupulous methods.”

Swines Meadow Farm Nursery at Market Deeping is holding a plant fair on Easter Sunday, April 20 (10am to 2.30pm).

It is being held on behalf of the Fenland branch of the Hardy Plant Society and entry is £1.50.

Brown & Co is taking entries for its second Online Timed Auction, which begins on April 25.

The auctions give farmers the opportunity to sell surplus farm machinery and equipment.

Land agent at Brown & Co Elizabeth Allen says the auction offers an efficient method of selling machinery without having to transport items to the point of sale.

More than 300 buyers bid about £375,000 in the first online sale held by Brown & Co, with 60 per cent of the 200 lots selling in excess of reserve.

Farmers have been warned not to fall foul of a telephone scam that could cost them thousands of pounds.

Farmers are among the victims that have already been targeted in a scam that has cheated £500,000 so far.

Scammers have been contacting people by telephone to warn them their bank accounts have been “compromised”.

The victims are then advised to contact their bank to transfer money from their accounts.

Having advised the victim to call their bank using the number published on the back of their debit card to confirm it is genuine, the fraudsters intercept the call and listen in to the security details and are then able to transfer the money to their own accounts.

Students at University Academy Holbeach will soon be taught about money and personal finance after being chosen to become a Centre of Excellence in financial education.

The announcement is the result of a ground-breaking partnership between the UK’s leading financial education charity pfeg (Personal Finance Education Group) and Santander.

It means that the academy, in Park Road, Holbeach, will work with pfeg’s educational specialists to integrate the teaching of personal finance into the school curriculum.

The school, one of 40 across the country set to benefit from the programme, will also share its new expertise with other schools in the local area.

Steve Baragwanath, principal of University Academy Holbeach, said: “We are proud to offer our students a broad education that includes preparing them with the life skills they will need to achieve their aspirations. Managing money and making decisions about your personal finance are skills that we all need every day – and that’s why we are delighted to be taking part in this programme.”

Pupils at Ayscoughfee Hall School had a ‘baa-rilliant’ day when two Spring lambs came to visit them.

Sooty and Sweep travelled from a farm in Holbeach Hurn.
Three classes had fun stroking them. The visit supports the Kindergarten’s topic on sheep and they gave Mrs Thompson, who owns the lambs, their paintings of the animals.
Mrs Strickson, Kindergarten teacher, said: “I was just nice for them to see hands on real life lambs rather than only in pictures.”

The High Life with Spalding High School

After the success of last year’s competition, another Spalding High School student, Emma Howell, reached the national finals of Poetry by Heart; a poetry recital competition for 16 to 18 year olds headed by the former Poet Laureate Sir Andrew Motion.

The array of young talent on display at the finals – which took place at The National Portrait Gallery in London – was even more diverse and remarkable than at the birth of the competition a year ago.

The audience were treated to a glimpse of the powers of poetry throughout the ages; from the linguistic splendours of Middle English to a rich showcase of poetry from the First World War, as well as fresh, contemporary poems with the poets themselves occasionally in attendance to watch their works being brought to life.

Emma gallantly took up the challenge of learning (by heart, not rote) three poems, two of which she performed at the national finals weekend.

Having already fought off stiff competition at the school and county rounds, Emma wowed the audience of her regional heat with two poems of equally powerful resonance.

Emma provided the judges with a sharp contrast of poems: the intensely moving ‘Slavery’ by Hannah More, alongside the bitingly witty ‘God: a Poem’ by James Fenton which was highly commended on the Poetry by Heart twitter page as being performed “with great humour and aplomb”.

Despite not progressing through to the final rounds, Emma was still able to enjoy a weekend of dazzling poetry performances, as well as her accommodation in Covent Garden, an open top bus tour around London, a visit to Westminster Abbey and a meal at the famous Planet Hollywood.

A huge congratulations must go to Emma for holding back her nerves to perform with such composure and allowing us to experience the thriving heart of poetry.

* Last Tuesday, the Year 9 pupils had the chance to develop their creativity through a range of mediums.

They chose between a day exploring art, music or drama and set about their creative challenges.

The drama bunch were split into small groups to do stage make up before spending the afternoon in pairs where they had to tell a story using dance, facial expressions and a chair.

Other activities during the session included sculpting, developing performance skills and delving deeper into their chosen area of interest. Overall the day was a great opportunity for all students to express their personalities.

Shoppers in Sainsbury’s, Spalding, had a surprise when staff broke into a flash mob dancing to the well known Superman song.

Staff also took part in tag rugby, cycling and, for the less energetic, flower wrapping.

A car outside the store was filled with balloons and customers were invited to guess how many were inside.

They raised more than £3,000.

Holbeach St Marks primary school and Gedney Drove End primary school got together for a ‘smiley mile’ walk.

They were joined by King’s Lynn Town footballers, Cameron Field, Adrian Hill and Nicky Green, for an afternoon of sports activities.

It turned out to be one of their best fund raising efforts totalling £790 for Sport Relief.

Superheros and a sponsored mile were both present at Ayscoughfee Hall School too.

Pupils paid to turn up dressed as their favourite sporting superhero while friends and family joined in with a mile walk to raise £177.

Dressed to get their heart rate pumping pupils and staff at Monkshouse Primary School spent the day in sportswear.

They took part in a sponsored walk concluded with a drink and a biscuit for each pupil, while key stage two students took part in a speed stack competition.

Year 3/4 Centaur team took on a team of teachers. The pupils were victorious but Jackie Jeffries, PE coordinator, said it was a very close tournament.

Seven hundred pounds has been handed out in prize money for outstanding recycling efforts.

South Holland District Council rewarded seven households with £100 in the first round of its Green Bag Lottery.

Every month ten homes are randomly chosen and residents who recycle correctly for at least three of the four weeks take the prize money.

In the first round of the lottery seven out of the ten households met the expected efforts.

Now they will be added to another draw against all the winners in the first three months of the scheme for a chance to win £1,000.

Winners from this round include Pat Mason and Susan Dean from Spalding, Anita Freeman from Weston, Paul Walmsley of Saracen’s Head and Celia Willmot from Gedney Drove End.

Celia, who lives with her three teenaged children on Main Road, said: “We are very surprised and excited to hear about the win.

“For us to be chosen out of all the households was a lovely surprise.”

“As a family we recycle regularly and realise how important it is to reduce the impact on the environment.”

Recycling correctly means putting the right items out for collection on the right day and ensuring they have been cleaned. You should not put polystyrene, crisp packets and pet food pouches in recycling. Anyone who does this is in with a chance of winning.

Samantha Gibbons, South Holland District Council waste and recycling officer, said: “It is appreciated that some households do not fill a green sack every week, but residents do have the option to put their recycling out in smaller carrier bags.”

As part of the scheme the council is also offering free talks to local groups and schools about recycling and waste minimisation.

Samantha said: “It was tremendous that there were seven out of a possible ten winners at the first attempt. It’s fantastic that so many residents are regular recyclers.”

Besides the scheme the council has also launched a textile collection trial allowing residents to recycle unwanted textiles and clothing, to be left next to the normal recycling for collection.

Following bags being ripped open and searched in Counterdrain Drove, Tongue End and Tollgate, Spalding, police are reminding residents to report such behaviour by calling 101, or 999 in an emergency.

Green Bag Lottery is a government-funded scheme and will run for at least a year.

All the details about the competition and what can be recycled can be found online at www.greenbaglottery.co.uk

Blogger Trish Burgess writes for the Free Press

“Please don’t say anything this time, dad.”

“What do you mean?”

“You always say something. You just can’t help yourself.”

This little exchange took place a few minutes before we were due to see the comedian Russell Kane at the South Holland Centre.

Rory had good reason to warn his father, knowing how often we have slid down our chairs in embarrassment as dad shouts out from the audience in response to throwaway lines from the entertainer on stage.

It began many years ago when we saw comedian Lee Hurst at the same venue. He asked: “Is there a doctor in the house?” and Dougie shouted “yes!” It then became rather awkward when Hurst, struggling with Dougie’s accent, thought he was a doctor in Malta rather than Moulton.

You would think he would have learned his lesson but no, he also responded to Hardeep Singh’s request for anyone Scottish to make themselves known and when Chris Ramsey threw a big furry dice into the audience we knew it would land in Dougie’s lap.

He’s such a quiet chap normally, not one for small talk, so it used to puzzle me why he should want to bring attention to himself.

Eventually he diagnosed himself with that little known condition of Comedy Tourettes:

the inability to keep quiet during a stand-up gig.

It’s not just in Spalding that my husband suffers from this affliction. At the King’s Lynn Corn Exchange we were being entertained by Ross Noble, unaware that my mum, who is friends with the comedian’s mother in Newcastle, had told Ross her grandson was in the theatre that night.

“Is there a Rory Burgess in the audience?”

“Yes, here!” my husband bellowed from the depths of the stalls.

“Blimey, you’ve got a deep voice for a 13-year-old!”

Cue more embarrassed looks from our teenager.

However, the most memorable episode occurred at The Cresset in Peterborough whilst watching Rhod Gilbert. The Welshman was explaining how injuries to the brain can cause personality changes. He told the story of an American working on the railways in the 19th century who was affected following an accident where a large iron rod had been driven through his head.

“Does anyone know the name of this man?” Gilbert asked the audience.

Silence descended and just as the comedian was about to continue the tale, my husband shouted out: “Phineas Gage!”

Phineas Gage? Where on earth did that come from? Rory and I, the rest of the audience and, I suspect, Rhod Gilbert himself, were very impressed. Dougie drove home that night feeling very chipper.

You’ll be pleased to know there were no sudden outbursts from the seat beside me during the Russell Kane gig which was just as well considering the risqué material that evening.

We enjoyed a great night of comedy in the South Holland Centre which, as Russell Kane said himself, is an excellent room for stand­-up. Hope to see you there at the next gig. But don’t sit next to us just in case it’s contagious.

Hundreds of South Holland children missed school yesterday as teachers went on strike over pay and pensions.

Gosberton Primary was one of only two schools in Lincolnshire forced to close, but some were only partially open.

Thomas Cowley High School at Donington asked 221 of its students to stay away because of insufficient teacher cover, University Academy Holbeach opened only for Years 11, 12 and 13, and The Priory School, Spalding, gave 56 Key Stage 4 pupils the day off.

Among other schools hit were Westmere Primary, at Sutton Bridge, which closed to three of its classes, and Gedney Drove End Primary, which was only partially open.

Market Deeping Primary was initially listed as a school due to close, but it opened normally after informing parents of the mistake.

Thomas Cowley head Martyn Taylor said two of the school’s teachers were on strike, but there were also staff absences and non-striking members of staff who supported the striking teachers “by not wishing to cover for their absent colleagues”.

He said the teachers on strike would have taught a number of classes during the day, which is why so many pupils were affected.

“What I didn’t want to do was close the school for everybody, which I have had to do in the past,” Mr Taylor said.

The NUT, the biggest teaching union, is opposed to Government reforms including higher pension contributions and the introduction of performance related pay that will see salaries rise for teachers who boost pupils’ results and impose high levels of discipline.

The action wasn’t joined by the second biggest teaching union, the NASUWT, which supported the NUT in one-day strikes last term.

Grandad Les Brown, who was looking after his Gosberton Primary pupil granddaughter yesterday, said: “You can’t have a strike without inconveniencing somebody. I don’t object to it. I don’t think that striking is the right way forward for the teachers, but I certainly don’t think they are doing anything wrong.”

Mould-stained cutting boards and other filthy conditions where children’s meals were prepared have landed a firm supplying schools in South Holland a court bill of £18,230.

Food 4 Thought GB Ltd has admitted 12 different food hygiene charges involving raw meat being stored next to cooked ready-to-eat ham, dirty cups being supplied to a school, dirty plastic bowls and colanders, dirty and mould-stained cutting boards, dirty floors, flaking paint and dirty walls, dirty cleaning cloths and inadequate labelling of food.

The firm displays a Lincolnshire Small and Medium Business of the Year award on the wall of its new offices in Broad Street, Spalding. At Boston Magistrates’ Court on Monday it was fined £13,800 and ordered to pay £4,300 costs at. A victim surcharge of £130 was also made.

Concerns about the cleanliness of equipment supplied to a school in the district were raised by South Holland District Council in October and environmental health officers at Boston Borough Council were alerted.

Food 4 Thought GB Ltd has admitted 12 different food hygiene charges involving raw meat being stored next to cooked ready-to-eat ham, dirty cups being supplied to a school, dirty plastic bowls and colanders, dirty and mould-stained cutting boards, dirty floors, flaking paint and dirty walls, dirty cleaning cloths and inadequate labelling of food.

The firm displays a Lincolnshire Small and Medium Business of the Year award on the wall of its new offices in Broad Street, Spalding. At Boston Magistrates’ Court on Monday it was fined £13,800 and ordered to pay £4,300 costs at. A victim surcharge of £130 was also made.

Concerns about the cleanliness of equipment supplied to a school in the district were raised by South Holland District Council in October and environmental health officers at Boston Borough Council were alerted.

A visit by environmental health officers to the firm’s unit at Boston Trade Park found poor standards of hygiene, controls and management.

Following the re-inspection, the environmental health officer noted that although a deep clean had been carried out there were still outstanding detailed cleaning issues to be addressed before the premises could be considered to be of an acceptable standard.

Magistrates expressed surprise that someone with even a basic knowledge of food hygiene had not identified issues before the visit.

The business had operated as a school meal supplier from the same site since 2006, with other locations across the county including Bourne and Stamford.

Because Food 4 Thought was involved in preparing, cooking and distributing meals to primary schools throughout south Lincolnshire it had been necessary for Boston Borough Council to approve the premises under the European Food Safety Legislation and it was expected to maintain high food safety standards at all times.

After the hearing, Coun Malcolm Chandler, South Holland District Council’s portfolio holder for environmental health, said: “Officers from our food, health and safety team take seriously their responsibilities in protecting the public and ensuring good standards of food hygiene are maintained.

“We work very closely with businesses to raise and maintain standards. We work in partnership with neighbouring authorities and agencies to ensure that geographical boundaries are not an obstacle.

“The business in question supplies a number of school meals within South Holland District Council’s area and I believe the public, and in particular parents, will be assured by the action taken.”

Food 4 Thought’s Caroline Clark said: “We remain committed to food hygiene in our operation, as our case mentioned we admitted that at the time standards did fall below those which we and the local authority endeavour to keep to only the highest levels.

“We would like to reassure our customers that the findings are not of recent visits to the site, but a single one-off historic visit. Upon receiving the report, for which this prosecution started from, some six months ago, we immediately re-recruited our management team and gave further training to the area manager.

“We are confident that following our senior management actions, the site immediately reverted to the highest of standards, as evidenced in our last official star rating of 5/5.

“However, we have also requested another visit from the district, as soon as possible, so that following the court hearing, we can again evidence our commitment to food hygiene.”

A mother of two pupils of Weston Hills Primary School says she is not prepared to give the firm another chance.

She told the Spalding Guardian: “You send your children to school and pay for the meals and expect food hygiene to be top priority and to be floating food hygiene regulations in this way I am disgusted. I am stopping school meals.”

The Spalding Guardian understands that Food 4 thought wishes to challenge the council over information released about the matter. However, the council says it stands by the information as published.

Anyone wanting to report an issue in South Holland for investigation should contact the district council’s food, health and safety team on 01775 761161.

Have you spotted the London Olympics mosaics in five towns and villages across South Holland?

The artwork commemorates the torch passing through the district in the run-up to the 2012 Games, when South Holland District Council commissioned local artist Fiona Gurney to work with University Academy Holbeach to design and make the five mosaics. Spalding’s mosaic in Sheepmarket depicts tulips, Moulton’s windmill is on the artwork in front of the community centre in Broad Lane (pictured above), Whaplode’s is by St Mary’s Church entrance and has representations of the village’s sculptures, ploughed fields are on the Holbeach mosaic in Church Street and Long Sutton’s version – at the junction of Wisbech Road and Bridge Road – features the church’s famous spire

Spalding and District Gymnastic Club is the town’s first business to get cash from South Holland District Council’s new Grants 4 Growth programme.

The £3,800 award will help towards the cost of installing thermal boarding on the club building’s external walls, which should slash heating bills by £500 a month.

Gym club coach Alec Harding said the club had been thinking about the insulation project for about 18 months and began searching for grants, which is when they learned about Grants 4 Growth.

He said: “We applied, and the entire process took less than a month to complete, from filling out the initial application to a final decision.

“In fact, it’s been the quickest, easiest grant we’ve ever applied for.”

Grants 4 Growth is funded by the European Regional Development Fund and is offering investment ready small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) across Lincolnshire the opportunity to access cash totalling £1million.

Coun Howard Johnson, the district council portfolio holder for economic development, said: “We’re thrilled to have awarded Spalding and District Gymnastic Club nearly £4,000 in grant money, making them one of the first businesses in the region to take advantage of the funds available.”

There’s a time for tears, and Louise Ketteringham knows that time is not now.

“We are making memories at the moment,” says the 38-year-old mum of four who lives in Bourne.

She and husband Colin are making memories because they know they don’t have long together.

Colin (52) has been diagnosed with Multiple System Atrophy (MSA), an incurable neurological disease, and in 2012 he was told he had three years to live.

Louise, who acts as Colin’s carer, says: “It’s a good job I am a strong person otherwise everyone would fall apart, but in my eyes there’s a time for tears and it’s not now.

“When he’s in hospital we worry, but when he is here we live day to day for the sake of the children.”

Colin, who also has two children from a previous marriage, says he was working as an international lorry driver when he first had symptoms. It took four years to have a diagnosis because there is no specific test for it – every other possible cause is eliminated first.

He says: “My brain stems are dying and shutting down my insides. It affects everything. Currently I am having trouble with my heart and lungs and blood oxygen levels.”

One of the therapists helping Colin to adjust to his mobility problems asked if he had ever worked for the Forces, which puzzled Colin at the time. He had – seven years with the Royal Corps of Transport – and so she suggested he approach the Royal British Legion for help.

Colin says: “I thought the RBL was there to help Second World War veterans so it came as a surprise to me.”

In fact the RBL helps all Service people, past and present.

They gave Colin an electric powered scooter and suitable storage facility in 2011, with help from other funds. That was followed by a family holiday, funding for the deposit for a vehicle through the Motability Scheme, and a larger electric powered scooter.

The most recent application was for a family holiday for this year, these breaks making a huge difference to children George (10), twins Jack and Chloe (9) and three-year-old Harry.

Colin said: “It was the last thought on my mind to go to the British Legion, but they have been absolutely fantastic. When you see people selling poppies you wonder where the money goes, but people should buy poppies because they do help the local community.”

Support the Legion at justgiving.com/Colin-Ketteringham

The Legion’s new area manager for the East Midlands Linda Flecknell said: “As the nation’s leading Armed Forces charity, The Royal British Legion has been helping Service people past and present for over 90 years.

We provide £1.6million every week in direct welfare support – that’s over £83million each year – and we respond to over 170,000 calls annually for practical help, advice and support.

“The local team is dedicated to providing a wide range of flexible support services.

“Last year we assisted nearly 3,000 members of the Armed Forces Community in the East Midlands and dealt with over 1,200 cases of support in Lincolnshire alone, a figure which is likely to increase as the demand for our services continues to rise.

Contact www.britishlegion.org.uk for information, assistance and webchat. Alternatively, call the Contact Centre on 0808 802 8080 where trained advisers are available seven days a week from 8am to 8pm.

Lorry drivers are making life hell for bosses by blocking deliveries to their businesses and using the street as a toilet.

Wardentree Park – an industrial estate road of about 100 yards at Pinchbeck – has had as many as 22 HGVs parked on it and is blighted by damage to paving, lampposts and street signs as well as mountains of litter and scores of plastic carrier bags containing human excrement.

Alan Burdall, boss of Everest Tyres, and Pete Semmence, boss of SVR Industrial Boilers and Valve Engineers, have had deliveries blocked by lorries and cars left by drivers who are using the street as an unofficial lorry park.

They have seen drivers openly urinate in the street and found bags of excrement on their premises.

A recent clean-up by offenders on Community Payback resulted in 70 black bags filled with rubbish – but Mr Burdall said they didn’t have time to clean the whole area and didn’t remove excrement that wasn’t bagged.

Mr Semmence said: “The worst problem is the parking down here. A couple of weeks ago, there were two lorries parked down one side and someone had parked a BMW opposite.

“We had got lorries bringing us some stuff and we had to unload it on the road.”

In September, two of his daughters were clipping the hedge at his business but downed tools after finding two bags of human excrement and a bottle of urine stuffed in the greenery.

Lorries have sheared a lamppost, knocked over street signs and cracked paving.

Mr Burdall said: “I have been knocked down on the footpath by a lorry reversing into me.

“A week last Saturday, I couldn’t get to the unit. You could get a car through, but I wanted a lorry to the unit. The police wouldn’t do anything about it because there are no double yellow lines yet the road was blocked.”

Lorries also park on the path, but Mr Burdall said police describe that spot as a lay-by while the county council say it’s an access point to a field.

Business leaders meet on April 2 to see what they can do to make the authorities take action.

Police say the problem of lorries parking on Wardentree Park has only recently been brought to their attention and there is a wider issue of the area needing a proper lorry park.

Insp Jim Tyner said: “We have been concentrating on similar issues on Enterprise Way and have now extended our operation to include Wardentree Park.”

Glen Chapman, district council senior environmental services officer, said: “We’ve taken steps to try and improve the situation, including installing a litter bin there in recent months, and our street scene team will continue to monitor the situation in non-private areas around there.”

A top judge has ruled in South Holland District Council’s favour over the amount of compensation offered regarding a controversial housing development in Fleet Hargate.

Following a damning report by a Local Government Ombudsman, South Holland District Council was told to pay more than £250,000 in compensation to Nestwood Homes Developments for “maladministration”, but instead offered only £50,000.

However, Mr Justice Sales ruled at London’s High Court that the council had “acted within the law” when making its compensation offer.

The ombudsman had found the council guilty of maladministration in respect of a development in Old Main Road, Fleet Hargate.

Nestwood Homes Developments – which had initially sought to recover alleged losses of £1.2million – had asked the judge to order the council to reconsider its £50,000 offer.

But, dismissing the company’s challenge, the judge said: “I have approached the decision in this case with concern, because of the serious findings of maladministration, injustice and loss made by the LGO and the substantial contrast between the compensation recommended by the LGO and that eventually decided by the council.

“Against this background, I have subjected the council’s decision and decision-making process to careful scrutiny. However, I consider that the council has acted within the law and so Nestwood’s challenge to the council’s decision regarding the payment to be made to it in respect of the council’s maladministration is dismissed.”

In his written decision, the judge said: “The LGO recommended that the council pay substantial compensation to Nestwood and its director, Mr Shephard, in the sum of about £250,000. The council, however, did not accept that recommendation and resolved to pay only £50,000 plus interest.”

Nestwood purchased the land with planning permission for residential development in June 2005. Later that year, the council granted further planning permission and, in January 2006, a council officer confirmed that conditions attached to the planning permission had been satisfied, on the basis of plans which clearly showed raised site levels for the development.

The judge said that, in early 2006, Nestwood commenced building works on the land but, shortly afterwards, neighbours complained about the raised site levels.

In response to these complaints, the council informed Nestwood that it did not have planning permission for the raised site levels. Nestwood contested this but, in late 2006, prospective purchasers of the land pulled out of the purchase on grounds of delay and difficulties with the planning permission.

The planning committee decided to take enforcement action in 2007, requiring four houses, garage buildings, boundary walls to be demolished and for the site levels to be restored.

In August 2008, the council paid sums amounting to £92,625 to neighbours due to the raised site levels, but Nestwood applied to the LGO for compensation of £1.2million.

Council members considered paying £50,000 would strike an appropriate balance between injustice suffered and affordability.

South Holland District Council declined to comment.

Friday: A teenager is fighting for his life after being seriously injured in a car crash.

The 19-year-old, from Kirton, was taken to Boston’s Pilgrim Hospital with serious injuries, including a fractured pelvis and severe blood loss, and was later transferred to Queen’s Medical Centre, Nottingham, for emergency surgery.

Police say he remains in a critical but stable condition.

The accident happened at 11pm yesterday at Donington Road, Swineshead, when a black Renault Clio left the road and hit a telegraph pole.

Lincolnshire Fire and Rescue cut the young man free from the wreckage.

The road was closed until nearly 5.30am today.

Police are appealing for witnesses – or anyone who saw the Clio before the crash – to call the Collision Witness Hotline on 01522 558855.

A commemorative community wood is to be created in Arnie Broughton Walk, Sutton Bridge, in tribute to members of the armed services who served their country.

Shirley Giles, from the Friends of Sutton Bridge Playing Fields and Open Spaces, said they want to install three picnic benches – one each dedicated to The Royal Navy, The Army and The Royal Air Force.

The Friends are now applying for grant aid to complete the project, but need letters of support from villagers.

Mrs Giles said: “If anybody has a relative who served in any of the wars – not necessarily World War One or World War Two, but any of the conflicts – we need a letter from them to say they support our aims.”

For more information on the project, or to offer support, please contact Mrs Giles on 01406 351562.

• The Friends have previously raised money for 15 benches, three picnic tables and adult fitness equipment for Memorial Park.