She’s 48 feet long and has a recommended top speed of seven miles per hour.

This is South Holland’s marvellous new tourist attraction: a narrowboat named All Well and Good.

On Friday, when Spalding Water Taxi sets afloat its four craft for the new season, it will also be launching its smart new green narrowboat.

Word has got out and the craft – six feet ten inches wide, six-berth and fully equipped for life on the gentle waves of the Welland – has already been booked for its maiden voyage.

Spalding Water Taxi manager Simon Clarke says the narrowboat is available for self-drive day hire for a maximum of ten people (at a cost of £180); overnight for up to six people costs £280, £350 for three days and £700 for a week.

When the boat is handed over on the outskirts of Spalding tuition is given – although all nine water taxi drivers have been trained to pilot the boat, so it is possible to have your own captain aboard.

Sailors can then either head into Spalding, mooring up near Ayscoughfee Hall in order to explore the town, or sail south along the quieter stretches of the Welland.

There are 16 miles of navigation in that direction, all the way to Peakirk, where the water becomes too shallow to sail.

That’s the direction to see wildlife, from kingfishers to otters, as well as horses and cattle that are kept on the riverbanks.

Simon says there are moorings along the way, at Crowland and the Bridge Inn pub, but he says the joy of the narrowboat is that it’s possible to stop anywhere en route, simply banging stakes into the ground for mooring along the left-hand riverbank heading to Crowland.

He says: “Having a young family myself I think it will be marvellous to spend a night on the boat, so I can see families and groups wanting to hire it.”

The boat has everything you might need for life aboard: from a well-equipped galley to a shower and even an airing cupboard to dry wet clothes.

There are four bunk beds and the seating and table in the lounge/dining area transforms into a double.

There is central heating, a fridge and gas cooker, cutlery, crockery, pots, pans – even wine glasses.

Spalding Water Taxi bought the diesel-powered boat as a shell and fitted it out in the workshops.

The team has already built and privately sold five narrowboats – one is on the Brayford Pool at Lincoln.

Simon says: “We saw it as an opportunity for bringing people into Spalding and staying locally.

“People were asking if we had other boats for hire, even long term, and we decided on the narrowboat to help make the water taxi sustainable .

“It’s not been launched, but word has got out and a group of three couples is coming over to hire it for three days. It’s going to attract all kinds of people, from those wanting a mini break to children who want to sleep overnight on a boat.”

The boat will contain a folder full of tourist information for visitors who are not familiar with the area

The maximum speed limit on the River Welland is 7mph, so the journey to Crowland would be a soothing two to two-and-a-half hours.

The peaceful journey would be accompanied by the sound of the bow cutting through the water and the occasional noise of ducks or other wildfowl.

Unlike the water taxis, the narrowboat is open all year round, although it is weather dependent.

Novice sailors do not need to worry about the self-drive aspect of hiring the narrowboat. Tuition is given at handover and there will always be someone available to guide the boat in and help tie up – or a qualified pilot can be supplied.

To find out about hiring the narrowboat, the main contact is 07970 832131 or phone 01406 380532.

A shop thief served 13 days in custody after headbutting a Spalding store assistant manager because it was wrongly believed he was about to be deported.

The victim, Simon Alderson, received cuts inside his top and bottom lips in the incident on March 21 and his assailant, Nerijus Vaikasas, appeared at Lincoln Magistrates’ Court the next day and was remanded in custody to April 3.

His solicitor, John Storer, told Boston magistrates on Thursday: “He has now served the equivalent of a 26-day prison sentence, this being his 13th day in custody.”

Mr Storer said Vaikasas had his bail refused because it was believed then he had been served notice by UK Immigration that he would be deported.

The solicitor described it as a “serious misunderstanding” because UK Immigration had given Vaikasas notice on March 20 that he was in breach of his treaty obligations and they were “giving him a month to find work or leave the country”.

Mr Storer told Thursday’s hearing: “I would ask you to sentence him in a way that would allow his release today because, inadvertently, he has already lost 13 days anyway in his search for work to allow him to stay here anyway.”

Vaikasas (38), of Holland Road, Spalding, was sentenced to pay £100 compensation to Mr Alderson and given no separate penalty for theft of chocolate worth £8.44 from Aldi.

Vaikasas, who was freed after Thursday’s hearing, admitted assault by beating and theft when he appeared at the Lincoln court.

Shelley Wilson, prosecuting, said Vaikasas went into Aldi in Winsover Road at 2.45pm on March 21, placed chocolate items in his rucksack, but went to the till to pay only for a bottle of Coke that was in his hand.

Mrs Wilson said Vaikasas realised he was being watched by the manager and assistant manager.

She said he shouted at the manager and both men then restrained him.

She said: “It’s then said that he deliberately headbutted Mr Alderson in the face.”

Mrs Wilson handed in photographs of Mr Alderson’s injuries.

The court heard Vaikasas had two previous convictions from February and March.

Presiding magistrate David Milner-Scudder described the attack on Mr Alderson as “unnecessary” and said it was the more serious of the two offences.

He told Vaskevicius: “Go with the officer and you will be released in due course.”

Moulin Rouge and Hairspray were the themes for a hair show recently presented by hairdressing students at the South Holland Post 16 Centre in Spalding.

Each student created a style for both sections of the show, which forms part of the Level 3 NVQ and VRQ qualification in which students have to plan and organise a hair event.

Fellow students acted as models for the day and the Performing Arts students performed dance routines as part of the show.

Overall winner was Charn Hicks.

Head of Sixth Form Nikki Saines said: “The students’ efforts and talents never fail to impress.

They go out of their way to help each other achieve great things.”

Pictured are (from left) Karen Baillie, Kasey Browett, stylist Charn Hicks and Melanie Hunt.

Police are appealing for information following a shed burglary in Moulton.

The incident happened overnight on Thursday at a property in Hallgate. Bolt cutters were used to gain access to the shed and thieves stole a yellow Dewalt band saw and a red MTD 703 ride-on mower.

Call police on 101 quoting incident number 66 of April 4.

Most countries in the world are undemocratic: many have economies fuelled by corruption with political systems which are sustained through fear.

Britain stands proud; our economic order is underpinned by the rule of law, our freedoms guaranteed by statute and a freely elected Parliament.

Britons can think what they like, read what they want, vote for whom they choose and, within sensible limits, say what they feel. Our island nation shaped these guiding principles of good governance through history and our armed forces have defended freedom whenever called upon to do so.

We stand for freedom. But to confuse a love of liberty with libertarianism is a confusion derived from a defensive acceptance of socially destructive contemporary assumptions.

Too much of our popular culture celebrates the kind of individual excess characterised by everything from computer games like ‘Grand Theft Auto’ to crass reality television programs and websites dedicated to so-called celebrities.

A dangerous sensationalist fiction has become fact in some parts of Britain, where too many young people, robbed of the security of a loving home, are lost to feckless selfishness.

It isn’t freedom of choice that they lack, but a sense of the meaningful social obligation essential to the maintenance of stable communities.

It is through compliance with the lessons of history, the expectations of others and our hopes for those born later that we discover the perspective necessary for our sense of worth and pride. Freedom without purpose is the seed corn of social decay.

It is only in the context of moral reflection that true freedom can be found. I come from a working-class family.

My parents were hard-working, generous and, most of all, secure in their views and values: free from guilt about their patriotism and certain about right and wrong. Perhaps because of my background, I am sure that society has a higher claim than individual preoccupations.

Each of us is composed of society’s organic matter – of manners and memories passed on through families and neighbourhoods.

We need a politics that is noble and ambitious, rooted in hope and confident about Britain. It is time to reward people for doing the right thing: forging commitment through marriage; raising a family; working hard for a living; and giving time to neighbours.

As Pope John Paul II said: “Only the freedom which submits to the truth leads the human person to his true good’.

Norman and Marjorie Hotchkin may be the oldest couple in Lincolnshire – and are certainly one of the oldest in Britain.

The couple, who live at Deeping St James, have a combined age of 197 years and have been married for 69 of them.

In June, Norman will reach the grand age of 100, a milestone that will be celebrated with a service of thanksgiving – Methodism has been an important part of both their lives – followed by a lunch party for family. That includes daughter Ruth Scholfield and her husband John, their son Mark and his wife Janet, plus five grandsons and seven great grandchildren.

Old age has not diminished their enjoyment of life.

Marjorie (98) says: “I would say I am happier in my really old age than I have ever been in my life, and I really mean it. I am surrounded by so much love and care. I have never known a time quite like it.”

Norman too says he has never been happier and adds: “I am very well looked after by my wife, my daughter and daughter-in-law.”

However, Norman probably wouldn’t disagree with Marjorie: he says they have had their arguments in life, but adds: “It always ended up with me saying I am sorry!”

Marjorie says: “You don’t argue much with Norman though because he just doesn’t say anything. Ever so frustrating he is. You keep trying to make him angry and he just sits there.”

That suggests Marjorie is the livelier of the two and that is borne out when she admits to having “lots of boyfriends” before she met Norman at a concert given by young members of the Methodist church. Norman, a farmer in Whaplode, went to his village chapel, and Marjorie, a war-time nurse working at Holbeach Hospital, went to the chapel in Holbeach, so it wasn’t until the concerts that the different groups met.

They courted for 18 months and married in 1945 – Marjorie opting for a wedding dress in lace, something not “on coupons” in the post-war austerity years. Unfortunately the precious material was accidently left on the train on the return journey from Nottingham. Marjorie was also late for her wedding because her taxi driver took the long route, and it snowed, so things didn’t auger well for their marriage.

Luckily for them, their life together has turned out well, possibly because they both share a deep faith. Norman was very involved in the Methodist chapel, where both his father and grandfather worshipped. He was chapel steward from the age of 28, something he didn’t give up until a few years before he and Marjorie moved to Deeping St James in 2003. Norman was also a Sunday School teacher. He’s the oldest old boy of Moulton Grammar School, a former school governor at Whaplode and was on the NFU executive for the Spalding area. As well as playing tennis, he played hockey for Holbeach and Long Sutton and was one of the founder members of the Spalding club.

It was important to both of them to be part of the community of Whaplode. Marjorie was a local preacher for about 60 years, taught at Sunday School and played the organ as well as running the Women’s Fellowship. However, they didn’t socialise much, never smoked or drank alcohol, although Marjorie admits: “I have a little sherry sometimes but Dad looks a little disapproving.”

They are both now members of the Methodist chapel at Deeping St James, where Marjorie still plays the organ occasionally on Sundays and goes to Fellowship meetings.

Marjorie says: “We have had a quiet life really but we have been happy.”

Norman, naturally, doesn’t disagree. He says: “They have been happy years. I couldn’t have had a better wife.”

A crash involving two cars in Weston over the weekend left a woman slightly injured.

It happened in High Road where a Toyota Avensis and Rover 25 collided at about 11.40pm.

A 28-year-old woman from Holbeach, who was driving the Rover, and two people from Wisbech in the Toyota were involved in the crash.

Firefighters from Spalding used hydraulic cutting equipment to free a 23-year-old woman from the Rover and paramedics treated a woman with a cut knee, but it is not known whether this was the same woman.

There are no details as to the condition of a 73-year-old man who was also in the Toyota.

Meanwhile, firefighters were called to a blaze involving five tonnes of building and garden waste alight in Childersgate Lane, Sutton St James, on Sunday.

A fire crew from Long Sutton used two water hose reels to put out the blaze which broke out just after 7pm.

Firefighters from Crowland have dealt with three incidents in recent days, including a vehicle fire in the town.

It happened in Low Road where a fire crew wearing breathing apparatus used two water hose reels to put out the blaze.

Previously, fire crews from Crowland and Spalding tackled a kitchen fire at a house in Pinchbeck Road, Spalding, which caused damage to a cooker and smoke damage to the kitchen.

An electrical fault in the cooker’s extractor fan was the cause of the blaze which happened at about 4.35pm on Thursday.

Finally, firefighters dealt with a garden fire in Backgate, Cowbit, which broke out at about 2.50pm on Saturday, causing damage to a wooden fence and two trees.

Thieves used bolt cutters to break in and steal a ride-on mower and saw from a shed in Moulton.

Police are looking for a red MTD 703 ride-on mower and yellow Dewalt band saw stolen from the shed in Hallgate overnight between Thursday and Friday.

Also on Thursday, a large amount of diesel was stolen from a lorry parked outside Lafarge Ready Mixed Concerete, Cradge Bank, Spalding, where thieves got in by ripping out a fence in Aintree Drive.

Finally, police are looking for thieves who stole a hanging basket from a premises in Chestnut Way, Market Deeping, on March 30.

Anyone with information should call 101.

A day out at Spalding Flower Parade became the trigger for Essex couple Michael and Diane Osmond to settle in the town 16 years ago.

Diane (79) said: “It does have a lovely feeling when everybody comes together like that.”

First a friend of theirs was won over and settled here and Diane and Michael (82) visited her a few times before moving.

The Osmonds were showered with flowers as they celebrated their diamond wedding anniversary in their adopted town.

They have a son and daughter, Christopher and Trudy, and two grandchildren. Diane was a shorthand typist and then switched to nursing.

Michael worked with Westminster Press as a machine operator and then a manager in the printing works.

Diane says the secret of 60 years of happy marriage is “to be honest with each other and think of the other person before yourself”.

The following decisions have been made by magistrates at court hearings. In all drink-drive cases the legal limit is 35 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath, 80 milligrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of blood or 107 milligrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of urine. Addresses of defendants published here are taken from the legal records held by the magistrates’ courts.

Grantham Magistrates’ Court

March 7

Rinalds Koncus (27), of Wybal Road, Wisbech. Driving without due care and attention (Gedney Dyke). £250 fine, £25 victim surcharge, £175 costs, disqualified from driving for 21 days.

Dominic Eggleton (29), of Retreat Estate, Downham Market. Speeding (Spalding). £75 fine, £20 v/s, £85 costs, 3pts.

Paula Fuller (40), of Wheatfield, Langtoft. No insurance (Corby glen). £335 fine, £34 v/s, £85 costs, 6pts.

Amy Barker (29), of Wygate Road, Spalding. No insurance (Spalding). £600 fine, £60 v/s, 385 costs, 6pts.

Noel Bannister (42), of High Street, Fillingham. Speeding (Swineshead). £200 fine, 3pts.

March 10

Danny Hedges (23), of Grosvenor Avenue, Bourne. Consuming alcohol in public place when subject to anti social behaviour order (Bourne). Community order, £60 v/s. No separate penalty for drunk and disorderly behaviour.

Juris Pocs (32), of Medlock Crescent, Spalding. Drink driving (Spalding). £260 fine, £26 v/s, £85 costs, disqualified from driving for 20 months. No separate penalty for driving otherwise than accordance with a licence and no insurance.

Ian Cook (28), of Willoughby Road, Bourne. Drink driving (Bourne). £420 fine, £42 v/s, £85 costs, disqualified from driving for 3 years. No separate penalty for driving without due care and attention and failing to stop after an accident.

Michael Pullum (29), of Donington Road, Horbling. Drink driving (Dunsby). £300 fine, £30 v/s, £85 costs, disqualified from driving for 20 months.

Darren Sheridan (35), of Black Prince Avenue, Market Deeping. Stole meat worth £43.52 belonging to Co-operative Society (Market Deeping). £75 fine, £43.52 compensation, £40 costs.

March 11

Jason Guy (38), of Barge Close, Spalding. Assault (Spalding). Community order 60 hours unpaid work and requirement to participate in building better relationships programme, £60 v/s, £85 costs.

Eugen Lungu (32), of Elmwood Court, Pershore Road, Edgbaston. Stole shredded brass and shredded copper worth £1200 belonging to B W Riddle scrap metal dealer (Bourne). Community order with 150 hours unpaid work, £60 v/s, £125 costs.

March 12

Sarah Bateman (29), of Earls Road, Walsall. Speeding (Whaplode). £200 fine, £20 v/s, £85 costs, 3pts.

Leslie Holder (77), of Earlsfield, Moulton Seas End. Failing to give driving ID (Nettleham). £600 fine, £60 v/s, £85 costs, 6pts.

With spring feeling like it has sprung and the new tax year upon us, our minds flit to ways of legally avoiding the tax man.

Individual Savings Accounts (ISA’s) have become a tax efficient core holding for many people and the recent budget has given us some good news:

From July 1 2014 ISA’s will be reformed into a simpler product, the ‘New ISA’ (NISA) and all existing ISA’s will become NISA.

Also from July 1st the overall annual subscription limit for these accounts will be increased to £15,000 for the 14/15 tax year.

ISA savers will also be able to subscribe this full amount to a cash account (currently only 50% of the overall ISA limit can be saved in cash). Under the NISA, investors will have new rights to transfer their investments from a stocks and shares to a cash account.

There will be consequential changes to the rules on the investments that can be held in a NISA, so a wider range of securities (including certain retail bonds with less than five years before maturity) can be invested.

In addition, Core Capital Deferred Shares issued by building societies will become eligible to be held in a NISA, Junior ISA or Child Trust Fund (CTF). The amount that can be subscribed to a child’s Junior ISA or CTF in 14/15 will be increased to £4,000.

These measures will increase the choice and flexibility available to savers and open up a generous annual allowance each year for households.

Remember stocks and shares ISA’s will go up and down in value, they should be approached sensibly. A full and proper ‘attitude to risk’ assessment should be undertaken.

With a myriad of funds available, it is vital that, whilst being tax efficient, the investment should also not give you any nasty surprises along the way.

Residents of Sutton Bridge concerned about flood defences can question experts at the parish meeting on Tuesday.

The Environment Agency (EA) says raising The Nene’s riverbanks cannot be justified, but residents remain concerned about their safety following December’s 10ft tidal surge.

Representatives of the EA and The Lincolnshire Emergency Planning Team will attend the meeting at The Constitutional Club, in New Road, at 7pm.

Two members of The Rotary Club of Holbeach have travelled to India and Nepal to help provide a better life for children who live there.

Their first destination was to India to spread the word about National Polio Immunisation Day .

The club’s president Colin Scott and Rotarian David Dye visited a village near Badaum, with a 7,000 population and just 500 homes, to help a team vaccinate hundreds of children.

David said: “We were treated with the utmost amazing friendliness.”

The following day the team visited homes to check children had been immunised, marking the doors of those who had and offering the vaccination there and then if they hadn’t.

Polio remains endemic in three countries – Afghanistan, Nigeria and Pakistan. With the ease of travel today immunisation is essential in order to eradicate Polio completely.

Then David and Colin had another visit to make, in Bharatpur, a six-hour drive from Khatmandu, Nepal, to the Shree School.

The Rotary Club of Holbeach and eight others in our area hope to improve the lives of hearing and speech impaired students.

David said: “The school is a very poor unit with 140 hearing pupils and 14 deaf pupils.

“The dedicated headmistress, Mrs Dallakoti, wants to make the school a beacon of excellence for educating the deaf in the whole of Nepal.

“If you are a deaf child you are deemed useless and have no future, other than to be exploited and labour on the land.”

The 14 teachers want to extend the school’s accommodation so pupils can move to Bharatur for this education.

David said: “Once they are taught sign language it empowers them and improves their future.”

The Rotary Club of Holbeach is leading the project with the other clubs to raise a total of £10,000, enough to apply for a Rotary global grant of £35,000.

The only money the school gets from their Government is teachers’ salaries.

This funding will help their vision to improve sanitation, repair the school and purchase equipment.

David and Colin completely self-funded their visit to establish the cost of the work.

Before committing, they are waiting for the plans and figures to come back.

They met engineers, staff, Bharatpur Rotary Club and representatives of the Nepal Trust, who could manage the 
project.

David said: “It is a new project for us and we hope to get it off the ground.”

A man went out with a large kitchen knife in each hand to hunt for three men who assaulted him and left him with a bloody face.

An ambulance paramedic persuaded Tomas Vaskevicius (24) to put down the knives – and walk away from them – after seeing him in Little London, Spalding, at 5.30am on Sunday, March 9.

Vaskevicius, of London Road, Spalding, pleaded guilty at Boston Magistrates’ Court on Thursday to two counts of possessing an offensive weapon, but will be sentenced at Lincoln Crown Court on a date to be fixed because magistrates decided their powers of punishment were insufficient to deal with the case.

Shelley Wilson, prosecuting, told magistrates the paramedic was at a petrol station, filling up an ambulance with fuel, when approached by a man who said: “You had best look at this guy.”

The paramedic saw Vaskevicius, who had blood on his face, no shoes on his feet, a large kitchen knife in either hand and was “shouting to himself”.

Mrs Wilson said the paramedic challenged Vaskevicius about the knives, asked him to put them down – which he did – and asked him to walk away from them, which he did.

The paramedic’s colleague phoned police.

She said police believed Vaskevicius to be under the influence of drink or drugs at the time, as his speech was slurred and he was swaying about.

Mrs Wilson said three men had invited Vaskevicius back to their house for a drink, but after a short while he wanted to go to sleep.

The men didn’t take kindly to that and he was kicked.

Mrs Wilson said the three men left and Vaskevicius then picked up the knives.

“He’s gone out, he says, to check they are not there,” she said. “It would appear, from what he’s told the police, he had gone out looking for them.”

Liz Harte, for Vaskevicius, said he was being treated by paramedics for facial injuries when police arrived having been fiercely beaten within the previous few minutes.

Weather – at the moment it seems to be the focus of many conversations, decisions and, at the moment while listening to the rain on the window, inspiration for me

When we were younger Sunday lunch was always planned around the Countryfile weather for the week, with teatime planned around the ITV version to check they both agreed. At the time as children we could never see the point in it, but with age it all now makes complete sense. Just a pity weather forecasts and the physical weather don’t always agree, but it all helps to make the job varied!

Currently things are a bit on the dry side, but generally crops look relatively well. I think they are secretly pleased to have dry roots for once.

The cereals are starting to run and look a healthy colour, and by the time you read this the sugar beet will be hopefully emerging.

Daffodils are about finished, a couple of weeks earlier than last year. What a difference a year makes.

The summer flowers though are much further ahead than usual for the time of year. Looking at the delphiniums you would think it’s May and not early April. Let’s hope this is the year when the ‘March fog, May frost’ saying doesn’t keep to its usual strict pattern.

It seems to be the British thing to complain about the weather, but when you look around the world we should probably just be grateful with what we get.

Two young farmers from south Lincolnshire were part of a study tour to the Netherlands.

Lauren Hladun and Harry Lombardi were in a group of 30 young farmers who went on the trip to broaden their knowledge of agricultural techniques and methods in different countries.

Lauren grew up on an arable farm at Frampton Fen and is studying for a degree in agriculture at The University of Nottingham. She is currently on work placement, gaining an insight into the pork supply chain.

While Lauren belongs to North Holland YFC, Harry, a local shepherd and sheep shearer, is a member of the Spalding club.

The study tour, supported by Defra and organised by the National Federation of Young Farmers’ Clubs, included visits to Nutreco’s swine and ruminant feed research facilities in Boxmeer, a robotic dairy farm in the south of the country and Agrocare’s tomato production site in Rilland. The itinerary also allowed time for sightseeing in Amsterdam.

Lauren said: “As a young entrant in the industry, it was a fantastic opportunity to gain an insight into agricultural production in a different country. The highlight for me was visiting the swine research centre.”

Harry said: “It was great to meet other young farmers and learn about sectors of the industry I wasn’t familiar with. YFC really does provide some brilliant opportunities for young people like myself, and I would really encourage anyone with similar interests to find their local club.”

This is the historic moment a 22-year-old private from Gedney showed the world our troops in Afghanistan are finally coming home.

Hannah Roberts was photographed removing a sign from the barbed wire fence at Camp Bastion on the day Task Force Helmand – the mission to bring stability to the south of the country – ended, with US Marines assuming responsibility for the province.

A pupil of the George Farmer School, Hannah joined the Royal Signals four years ago and flew out to her attachment with the 7th Armoured Brigade – The Desert Rats – in the Helmand province on her birthday, September 20, last year.

On Wednesday, her Brigadier James Woodham, commander of UK forces, shook hands with US Brigadier General Daniel Yoo, who said British sacrifices in both blood and treasure “have given the Afghans a chance”.

Speaking from Afghanistan Hannah, who has a week left before beginning the journey home, told the Free Press: “I was so surprised to hear my picture had been used on the front of the Telegraph.

“I’ve walked past that sign every day for the last six months going to work and it represents the time the Desert Rats have been based there for the past eight years.

“On Facebook friends have been asking me if I was stealing it. I wasn’t stealing it, but it would have looked really nice on my bedroom wall.”

Mags Roberts, Hannah’s mum, said she was overwhelmed with pride when she was told about the picture.

She said: “I’m getting emotional just talking about it. It’s hard when they send your youngest daughter away, even though she reassures us she is fine.

“We are really proud of her and looking forward to her coming home.”

Although Hannah’s work in communications was everything she had been trained for, it had not prepared her for her landing in Afghanistan.

Hannah said: “We arrived in the cover of darkness and all the lights went out in the plane. We were told to put out body armour on and that was the moment we realised we were landing in a war zone.”

However, she said she has always felt safe – right down to her “ballistic knickers”. She said: “If we were not carrying a loaded weapon we were escorted.”

Describing the past six months, she said: “I am proud to be a soldier in the British Army and to have had the opportunity to do a tour of Afghanistan and play my part.

“It’s been hard being away, but I think harder for everyone at home.”

After helping with the clear-up operation for the next few days, Hannah still has a little way to go before arriving back in Gedney.

She will spend two days “decompression” in Cyprus – which her mum says involves relaxing on the beach and the first taste of alcohol in weeks – followed by a week at a base in Germany for “dekit and debrief”.

Hannah won’t exactly be putting her feet up during her time off. Already she’s planned mountain climbing in Turkey with the army and a trip to Las Vegas with friends.

But she said most of all she is looking forward to seeing her police officer mum and father, Daren, a prison officer. She said: “I definitely won’t miss the sand, it gets everywhere.”

Two south Lincolnshire businesses put their specialisms together to come up with table decorations for the NFU’s conference gala dinner.

NFU East Midlands volunteered to organise the table decorations for the event.

Lincolnshire Herbs at Bourne was approached and agreed to supply herbs for the arrangements .

Andy Coaten, managing director of the Butters Group at Spalding, then offered to help and his product manager Helen Dash put together designs for the regional NFU office to look at.

The plans were agreed and Butters provided baskets, labels and stakes, ribbon bows and aquapads to keep the pot-grown herbs watered.

After the dinner, the arrangements were sold in aid of the charities helping farmers in Somerset affected by the winter floods and about £800 was donated.

An NFU spokesman said: “Without the generosity of the two Lincolnshire horticultural businesses, it wouldn’t have been possible. Our thanks go to both of them.”