Gas and electricity boxes have been vandalised in Monks Walk, Spalding, but police are unsure when the damage actually took place.

It was reported to police on April 8 but the vandalism may have occurred any time between March 15 and the date it was reported.

Meanwhile, diesel has been stolen from a business premises in Cradge Bank, Spalding.

It happened overnight on April 8 when thieves forced open metal fencing with wood from a nearby yard.

Anyone with information should call 101.

A drunken man twice groped a woman’s breasts in a Holbeach pub while her partner was in the same bar.

The victim sobbed audibly as she gave evidence from behind a screen put in the court room so she didn’t have to face the man who carried out the sexual assault.

The mum, who cannot be named for legal reasons, told District Judge John Stobart: “It makes you feel dirty when someone has done this.”

Raymond Forbes (59), of The Hollies, Holbeach, denied sexual assault at the pub on October 24, but was convicted at Thursday’s trial at Boston Magistrates’ Court.

Sentence was adjourned to May 29 for a probation report.

The woman’s partner didn’t see the incident, as he was sitting some distance away from the jukebox where it happened, but later told her to report it to the police.

The victim, a mum, told the court: “I had put some songs on and I was still picking some. He (Forbes) leaned across from my right side and put his hand on my left breast, at which point I pushed his arm away and said that’s enough. He said ‘I didn’t mean to’ and at that point he brushed his hand down my left breast and onto my stomach.”

After she shoved him off, Forbes was trying to persuade her to dance with him and claimed to have been “a professional dancer”.

The mum said: “He grabbed me from behind and tried to dance with me.”

She returned to her seat beside her partner and said she wanted to go home, but he wanted to finish his pint.

Forbes came over and said to her “you are really pretty” and asked if she and her partner were married.

CCTV images didn’t show the sexual touching at the jukebox, but Mr Stobart pointed out it showed Forbes “inserting himself” between the couple and, while keeping his back to the male partner, touching the victim’s arm and her hand.

The partner, now the victim’s ex, described what happened when she returned to her seat.

He said: “She was as white as a ghost. I asked her what was up and she wouldn’t tell me.”

When she told him later, he said he could “sort it out”.

Mr Stobart asked: “By sort it out, do you mean go back to the pub and sort him out?”

The partner replied: “Yes.”

Forbes told the court he had given £1 to the woman to play a Tom Jones record for him.

Asked if he had touched her, Forbes replied: “No I didn’t. I never have touched her. I don’t know why it’s got this far. It’s rubbish.”

He told the court he had only seen the woman “three times in my whole life”.

In court, Forbes accepted he had put his hands “around her waist” but also continued to insist he hadn’t touched her at all and denied touching her breasts.

Forbes said: “There’s one thing I don’t do is touch women. I have got four daughters myself.”

A woman was injured in the face when she stepped between a landlord and a man ejected from his pub.

Amy Mitchell was hurt when Phillip Walker pushed her out of the way and again as he punched a door and glass “exploded everywhere”.

Boston magistrates saw CCTV pictures of Walker being pushed out of the pub and headbutted by landlord Pete Williams on January 17.

Marie Stace, prosecuting, said Ms Mitchell tried to resolve things by stepping in the middle.

Miss Stace said Ms Mitchell thought she had been punched by Walker, but it was clear from CCTV that he pushed her.

Walker punched the door, smashing the window, and Ms Mitchell was hit by glass.

Miss Stace said Ms Mitchell went to hospital. There was a build-up of fluid on her jaw, changes to her peripheral vision, two small scars to the left side of her nose and four of her teeth were loose.

In a victim personal statement, Ms Mitchell said she changed addresses on social media so Walker couldn’t find out where she lived and never goes anywhere on her own.

She also said: “I only use the pub where the assault took place because I am aware he won’t be going back in there.”

Ms Mitchell said she wears more make-up to cover scars on her face “so I don’t have to see them”.

Solicitor Daven Naghen, mitigating, said Walker was pushed and headbutted by Mr Williams. Walker had tried to get Ms Mitchell “out of the way so he could see what was happening” and was surprised when he punched the door that the glass exploded everywhere.

Mr Naghen said: “On this occasion, he has been the victim of assault, but in the circumstances reacted quite badly.”

Walker was fined £660 for assault and must pay £250 compensation to Ms Mitchell with £85 costs and a £66 victim surcharge.

Magistrates ordered a 12-month exclusion from the Punchbowl, but Walker said: “I have no intention of going.”

There was no separate penalty for damage to the glass and no award for compensation.

Walker (39), of Double Street, Spalding, pleaded guilty to assault by beating and criminal damage.

A weekly column by MP John Hayes

Each year as pink and white blossom emerges on the budding fruit trees here in my Moulton garden, I reflect on the rebirth that is Spring.

Yet the joy of a new season is tinged by sadness at the loss of what’s been, as another year’s progress marks the passage of time; with each season, as we age, our past becomes longer, but our mortal future shorter. Perhaps with this in mind, given his preoccupying themes of time and change, TS Elliot observed ‘April is the cruellest month’.

Another poet Philip Larkin wrote of ‘the trees coming into leaf/ like something almost said/ the recent buds relax and spread/ their greenness is a kind of grief.’

Larkin’s lines emphasise a vital tension between loss and joy. Easter – the essential Christian festival – defines the relationship of sacrifice and new hope. The delights we have enjoyed, from hot cross buns to chocolate confections, are not just seasonal treats, but symbols of sacrifice and rebirth. Easter eggs, of course, represent the resurrection; the chick hatching from its shell resembling Jesus rising from the tomb.

Christ’s crucifixion and resurrection is the true message of Spring – his love brings the prospect of rebirth for us all; a fresh chance to rejoice in all he was and all he is.

All born here – and those that have come – should know the Easter message, for we are a Christian country with an established church at the heart of national life. Christianity has shaped our island nation and must continue to do so.

In this spirit, the Prime Minister has spoken of Easter as a time ‘to reflect on what Christianity brings to Britain’ and of the ‘countless acts of kindness’ carried out by Christians every day.

Having relaxed with family and friends at Easter, it is fitting to focus on sacrifice. For through the gift of our commitment to others the purest happiness is to be found, as in every act of kindness or goodness joy is reborn.

Thirty double-sized plots will go close to the road in a new burial ground so undertakers don’t have far to carry overweight people who have died.

Vicky Hills, who is steering the burial project for Sutton Bridge Parish Council, said the oversized plots were requested by funeral directors.

She said: “I think in today’s climate obesity is becoming more of a problem. They will cost more money because we are going to have double plots. It’s the result of people not being responsible for their weight, basically.

“It was requested by the funeral directors that they should not be too far from the road so they don’t have too far to carry them.”

The parkland burial ground will go on three-acres at Fields Farm North, in Bridge Road, if South Holland District Council gives planning consent.

Drawings of the burial ground were unveiled at the parish meeting – a year after alarm bells were sounded about the village running out of graves in the cemetery at St Matthew’s Church and fears that villagers might have to be buried in other towns.

Coun Hills said there are spaces left in the cemetery – and those who reserved places will still be buried there – but once it is formally closed all burials will take place at the new site, expected to open early next year.

The burial ground will last for 100 years and includes general graves, children’s graves, an area for interment of ashes, a multi-use disabled toilet and a general storage area. There’s provision for the site to be extended at the end of its life.

The site is about a mile from the church and has a bus stop outside as well as car access.

During the Second World War, the British railways were the lifeline of the nation.

Nearly 400 heroic railwaymen and women were killed at their posts and another 2,400 were injured in the line of duty.

But the trains played just as important a role, transporting troops, munitions and food, evacuating children and sheltering people on underground platforms at night.

In 1943, Churchill praised “the unwavering courage and constant resourcefulness of railwaymen of all ranks in contributing so largely towards the final victory’.

In fact without the railways, there would have been no Dunkirk evacuation and no D-Day.

Finally, their story is told in a new book written by specialist writer on railways and media lecturer Michael Williams.

The Sunday Express called the book “as gripping as a fictional thriller”, while the BBC History Magazine described it as “an elegant evocation of the wartime railways”.

Steaming to Victory provides a fascinating and entertaining insight into a much neglected aspect of World War II.

Shed and garage owners in Holbeach are being warned to be vigilant after tools were stolen from outside a house in Washway Road in the town.

A Lincoln electric compact welder, Stihl petrol disc cutter and a gas bottle were stolen from a garage overnight on April 14 and 15.

Police want anyone who saw unusual vehicles in the area of Boston Road North and Battlefields Lane between April 14 and 16 to contact them.

Sgt Gareth Boxhall of the Holbeach and Suttons Neighbourhood Policing Team said: “I take this opportunity to encourage local residents to be vigilant and if you see a vehicle or people you think are suspicious, especially at night, don’t be afraid to report it to police on 101.

“Wherever you live, spring is a good time to look at your own sheds and garages and consider how secure they are.”

Anyone with information about the Holbeach case should call PC Sarah Draper on 101, stating incident 268 of April 15.

Two inspirational South Holland woman are feeling a little light-headed this week after having their hair cut off for charity.

Gosberton Risgate mum Marz Doades and Cristina Pitkin, of Holbeach, both decided to lose their locks so they could be made into wigs for children with cancer.

Marz used to wear her hair in a plait down to the top of her thigh, but is now sporting a shoulder-length style after raising £630 for the Alzheimer’s Society. She said: “I’m still getting used to it but I have no regrets. My mum was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s in 2008 and I saw an active outgoing woman completely change. She lives in South Africa but if a breakthrough is made it will help people everywhere.”

Marz had her hair cut at Hedonism Hairdressers and was watched by friends and family.

Later the same afternoon, Cristina Pitkin was having a complete headshave at Well Groomed Barbering in Holbeach.

She raised about £700 for Great Ormond Street Hospital, much of it donated by friends and colleagues at DRM Growers in Holbeach where she works, and Twigglets Day Nursery, where her three-year-old son, Spike, attends.

Cristina, whose hair reached the middle of her back before it was cut, said: “I chose the charity because I know a lot of children with cancer are treated there. Ever since I became a mum that is my fear.”

She’s had a lot of compliments about her new look but says: “From my heart I never gave how I would look a thought.”

Both Marz and Cristina have donated their hair to the Little Princess Trust to be made into wigs for children with cancer. Donations are still being accepted by Mark at www.justgiving.co.uk/marz-doades.

Villagers in Sutton Bridge have said they never knew Lincolnshire police had so many officers the day they swooped on the location.

The exact details of how the incident became a full-scale police operation have not been revealed.

But there was always going to be concern for officers’ and the public safety following an incident in Sutton St James in 2012, where a policeman was shot.

After ten hours at the scene police said the incident had been resolved and officers and staff had left the scene in Withington Street.

A spokesman said: “We were initially called to a domestic incident where threats of serious violence had allegedly been made against people who had earlier been in a house on the street.

“Our enquires so far have established that the situation was not as first reported and this has resulted in the downgrading of our resources in the area.

“Further enquiries into all the circumstances will continue.”

Witnesses had claimed seeing a “half-naked girl in a field who was taken away by police”.

Our reporter at the scene, Adele Norris, said at one point a group of people gathered by the edge of a field nearby, waving a bed sheet calling for the police to ‘Free Mr Saint!’.

They were also dispersed by police within five minutes of starting the protest.

Mrs Jones, of Stanley Drive, said: “I walk my dogs down here every morning.

“All I saw was the police cars at the top of the street.

Denise Mouliding lives in Granville Terrace which runs adjacent to Withington Street.

She said: “I didn’t see or hear anything until I came down here today.

“It’s a bit scary really.”

Doreen Grimwood, wife of parish council chairman John, lives at the other end of Withington Street.

She said: “Someone in the Co-op said they never knew there were so many police in Lincolnshire. I was told it was an armed siege. It’s a bit close to your doorstep.”

Police wish to thank residents of the for their patience during the incident.

A spokesman said: “From the information we received in the first instance it was appropriate that we treated the incident very seriously.

“Our main aim was to ensure the safety of those involved and that of the wider public.”

A tearful goodbye from staff who were loved is just one endorsement that has earned a Spalding care home a top rating across the East Midlands.

Ashwood Nursing Home on Spalding Common has been named in the top 20 care homes in the region.

The home, which has 47 residents, came fifth out of 1, 588 homes, receiving an award from online directory carehome.co.uk, which helps in the search for the right care home. There are over 25,000 recommendations on the website.

Relative Sharon Harris gave a rating of 9.7 and said: “My mother sadly passed away at the beginning of February after living here since May 2013. The kindness, care and love my mum received knew no bounds.

“All residents are treated as a big family. No-one is ignored. All staff know each individual person. The care my mum received at the end of her life was wonderful.

“All staff on duty came to say goodbye to her with love and tears. She loved them and they loved her. I am so content that my mum spent her last few months there, I could not have wished for a better place.”

Director of carehome.co.uk Davina Ludlow said: “We felt the best people to rate a care home were the people who really know its ins and outs, its residents and their families.

“It’s a brilliant achievement to be recognised for your hard work but particularly from the people who you work hard for.

“The care home will be recognised on our website as a top rated home and will receive a certificate.”

Daniella Phillips, manager of Ashwood, said: “My team and I are humble and very appreciative of the recent achievement.

“This is in recognition of the care, compassion and dedication from all of us towards our residents and their families.

“It is a daunting prospect for anyone coming into a care home and we pride ourselves in being a homely environment and not an institution.

“We have a patient and dedicated staff who will go the extra mile to make residents comfortable.”

Displays are being set up in churches across South Holland today in preparation for the launch of the annual flower festivals.

Reporter Kat Wakefield went along to All Saints Church in Moulton to see how preparations are coming along.

For full details of all the flower festivals, including a map and starting dates, grab a copy of yesterday’s Spalding Guardian.

A metal barrel has been stolen from the back garden of a house in Alexandra Terrace, Bourne.

Police think it may have happened at about 3.45pm but this hasn’t been confirmed yet.

Also, thieves drilled a hole in the petrol tank of two vehicles in Bourne before stealing fuel during the week.

The first theft was overnight last Saturday and Sunday, with thieves striking again pvernight between Wednesday and yesterday.

Anyone with information should call 101.

The Potato Council division of the Agriculture andHorticulture Development Board has marked the 50th anniversary of its theopening of its Sutton Bridge crop storage research facility.

The leading post-harvest applied research centre for agricultural storage in the UK was opened on April 15, April 1964 by Baroness Mary Soames, daughter of Winston Churchill.

The facility works to improve the quality of produce, especially potatoes, through a better understanding of storage. A major focus is to ensure technology transfer from its latest research and development findings and so develop the way businesses store their crops.

The potato industry has experienced many changes since that opening day in 1964. The total planted area in Great Britain has shrunk by 45 per cent (from 270,000ha to 120,000 ha), while the average area per grower has risen from 4ha to 53ha.

Increased efficiency has seen the average potato yield jump from 24 to 45 t/ha. Total potato production stood at 5.5m tonnes in 2013 but was 6.5m in 1964.

Friends, colleagues and levy payers, past and present, will be invited to Sutton Bridge on Thursday, July 3 to celebrate 50 years of storage research.

This special day will showcase storage development, knowledge exchange and best practice. A“Summer Potato Feast” will be held the night before, in King’s Lynn. Further details will be made available soon.

Word on the Ground by Stafford Proctor

Nature is bursting into life and the countryside is full of growth. Although spring planted crops are struggling in cold, dry seed beds with little prospect of April showers, the wheat is flourishing and oilseeds are in vivid yellow flower.

This year we should savour these joys of spring after a long, wet winter with storms and flooding.

The December 5 storm surge was nearly catastrophic in the Fens. The sea overtopped the defences at Boston, inundating houses, businesses and Boston Stump, as well as a breeching part of the wash frontage at Friskney.

Town flood defences held successfully at Spalding, Wisbech and King’s Lynn, and the wash frontage and tidal river embankments proved to be adequate – but only just. If wind direction and strength had been optimal for the surge, another metre of water would have produced a different outcome.

Next time we may not be so fortunate. Climate change is leading to slowly rising sea levels and more volatile weather events.

It’s our wake up call. We need to improve our defences along the Wash frontage and tidal river embankments. We have much to protect: people, communities, towns, industry, agriculture, nature, electricity generation and infrastructure.

Partnership funding needs developing, combining national, regional and local sources of finance.

Local communities, businesses and farmers need to push for these improvements. Our predecessors have improved defences for centuries, now it is our turn to ensure that future generations can experience the joy of a Fenland spring.

The full line-up of candidates for the forthcoming European elections has been revealed - with the ousted former Lincolnshire leader heading the list of candidates for a new anti-EU party.

Nine parties will vie for votes for the East Midlands seats in the European Parliament on May 22 including ‘An independence from Europe’ - a new party set up by West Midlands MEP Mike Nattrass, UKIP’s former deputy leader.

That party is putting forward five candidates for the May ballot, including Chris Pain, his mother Val Pain and Boston eurosceptic Carl Mason.

Coun Pain was kicked out of UKIP by party bosses in a move that split the party locally after its success in last May’s county council elections and cost it its position as official opposition at County Hall.

He told The Standard that the party’s candidates are people who are dissatisfied with Nigel Farage’s leadership and feels that UKIP could be heading for a pact with the Conservatives.

He did not comment on whether he thinks the appearance of his party on the ballot paper will anger UKIP, but said he feel his new party offers a clear choice to get out of the EU as well as a host of other policies.

Locally he is lobbying for extra cash to fix the county’s roads and wants to see the M11 extended through Lincolnshire, taking it from Cambridge to the Humber.

He said: “We are looking for two seats. I think the Liberal vote is going to go away.

“We have got a full programme in 26 policy areas.”

He was a long standing member of UKIP while his mum Val has also been standing in elections since 2005.

He added: “People can call me but I have always called a spade a spade and never told anybody anything different to what I believe to get votes.”

UKIP is widely predicted to do well in May, with party leader Nigel Farage predicting a ‘political’ earthquake predicting a political ‘earthquake’ when he spoke in Wyberton last year. The party took the headlines when it scooped five of Boston’s seven seats at last year’s county council elections but it remains to be seen if An Independence From Europe or the eurosceptic ‘Harmony Party’ will split their vote in this regional ballot.

The region has five seats in the European Parliament, currently held by Bill Newton-Dunn (Lib Dem), Emma McClarkin (Con), Roger Helmer (UKIP), Derek Clark (UKIP) and Glenis Willmott (Lab). Derek Clark is standing down at this election.

The ballot works with each party putting forward a list of candidates in order, with seats given to parties out in proportion to the votes they won, starting from the top of the list. Eg 20 per cent of the vote earns one seat, handed to the person at the top of that party’s list.

The parliament is the directly elected part of the European Union, working with the European Commission – one appointed ‘commissioner’ from each country headed by Jose Manuel Barroso – and the European Council, which is the heads of state/Government for each country led by President Herman Van Rompuy and foreign minister Catherine Ashton.

The candidate list in full and in order:

*An Independence From Europe: 1- Chris Pain, 2- Val Pain, 3- Alan Jesson, 4- John Beaver, 5- Carl Mason

*British National Party: 1- Catherine Duffy, 2- Robert West, 3- Bob Brindley, 4- Geoffrey Dickens, 5- Paul Hilliard

*Conservative Party: 1- Emma McClarkin, 2- Andrew Lewer, 3- Rupert Matthews, 4- Stephen Castens, 5- Brendan Clarke-Smith

*English Democrats: 1- Kevin Sills, 2- David Wickham, 3- John Dowie, 4- Oliver Healey, 5- Terry Spencer

*Green Party: 1- Kat Boettge, 2- Sue Mallender, 3- Richard Mallender, 4- Peter Allen, 5- Simon Hales

*Harmony Party: 1- Steve Ward

*Labour Party: 1- Glenis Willmott, 2- Rory Palmer, 3- Linda Woodings, 4- Khalid Hadadi, 5- Nick Brooks

*Liberal Democrats: 1- Bill Newton-Dunn, 2- Issan Ul-Haque Ghazni, 3- Phil Knowles, 4- George Smid, 5- Deborah Newton-Cook

*UK Independence Party (UKIP): 1- Roger Helmer, 2- Margot Parker, 3-Jonathan Bullock, 4- Nigel Wickens, 5- Barry Mahoney.

Prime Minister David Cameron has acknowledged a petition opposing the closure of libraries in Lincolnshire - but now campaigners say it is time for action.

The delegation from Save Lincolnshire Libraries, including six children, travelled to London by coach earlier in the month.

Six campaigners took a walk from Parliament to 10 Downing Street, where they presented the book of 900 comments, called The Tip of the Iceberg, along with a letter to the Prime Minister asking him to stop the cuts.

Campaigner Julie Harrison has now received a letter from the Prime Minister’s office and said: “While I welcome the interest of the Prime Minister it is now time for action.

“It is pleasing to know that he has taken notice of our campaign and the issues have been passed forward, alongside our submission to the new Secretary of State for Culture Media and Sport.

“However, we need the ongoing support of the general public. It is not too late for a change of mind – and if Lincolnshire County Council won’t change its mind the Secretary of State should use the powers he has under the public libraries act to intervene.”

A granny has praised police for their handling of a reported domestic incident that saw 20 officers – some armed with rifles – sealing off her street for ten hours.

The resident of Withington Street, Sutton Bridge, opened her curtains at 7.30am on Wednesday and saw a police dog van outside.

She said: “I didn’t know what was going on until I saw a lot of policemen outside – they sealed off the road at the top end and the bottom end.”

The granny, who asked not to be named, said officers were escorting mums and children safely out of the street as they walked to school.

She was allowed to leave for work alone, but police escorted her back to her home at 1pm.

“I felt really scared to go back to my street because I didn’t know what was going to happen down there,” she said. “I haven’t seen anything like this before and I was praying for no one to get hurt. You expect this in London but not in Sutton Bridge.”

While she was at work, the granny followed the drama on this newspaper’s website – www.spaldingtoday.co.uk – and then heard it had ended peacefully when there was a knock on her door at around 2pm.

She said: “The police knocked all our doors to check we were all right.

“I am very proud of them and I think they handled it all very well.”

• The incident ended without any arrests.

The owner of a Spalding restaurant is appealing for help because his computer is being held for ransom.

Ivan Pastore, of Amici in Vine Street, has only until 10pm tomorrow night to pay 500 euros and save his files after the computer was infected with the Cryptolocker virus.

Mr Pastore says computer experts have told him he may as well throw his computer away, but he is hoping someone out there might have a solution.

He said: “The computer contains all of my files connected to the business – staff files, accounts everything.

“I’m hoping someone can still help, but I want to warn people to watch out for spam emails and what attachments they open.”

If anyone can help, call Amici at 01775 767696.

On THe Beat with Inspector Jim Tyner

It was 2pm on a Monday. I had just finished dealing with a collision on the A16 at Market Deeping and had parked up on the traffic island at the Deeping roundabout to write up my notes.

Suddenly, the police radio squawked with an observations message for a green Renault Clio that had been stolen from the swimming pool car park at Spalding in the past few minutes. I decided to pay attention to the traffic rather than my notes and looked to my right, towards the southbound stretch of the Deeping by-pass.

There was only one vehicle travelling towards me. It was small enough to be a hatchback; my stomach knotted slightly. As it approached the colour changed from the indistinct grey that all cars appear in the distance to…..green, yes definitely, green. My palms started to sweat. I could now make out the shape: yes, a Clio…but was it the right registration number?

Just as I was reading the number plate the car started to brake hard with much screeching of tyres and burning of rubber on the tarmac. Smoke and dust billowed from behind. I could see that the car was indeed the one reported stolen from Spalding and there were three men in it. I was fully expecting the car to make off at great speed and my mouth went dry with a mixture of excitement and anticipation.

Then the strangest thing happened. The driver had obviously decided to take a chance that the car hadn’t been reported stolen yet. He drove very sedately around the roundabout, going past me, with all three on board staring straight ahead and avoiding eye contact with me.

I drove off the traffic island and tucked in behind the Clio as it took the exit for the A15 towards Peterborough. I used the handset of the car’s police radio to alert the control room that I was behind the stolen car, travelling south out of Deeping towards the Cambridgeshire border. I then went to place the handset back in its cradle but missed and accidentally activated the two-tone sirens and blue lights.

This was not good. I had intended to follow the car until other officers could get closer. The last thing I wanted to do was provoke a pursuit, and activating the ‘blues and twos’ very often does exactly that.

However, yet again the driver didn’t react how I expected him to. He indicated left and pulled over to the side of the road. I had to fight every instinct to jump out of the police car and run up to the stolen car. I called up on my police radio to say the vehicle had stopped but I was in a radio blackspot. This was in the days before the modern police Airwaves radios, so I knew that once I stepped out of my police car I would have no communication with the control room or colleagues.

I stepped out of my car and walked slowly up to the Renault Clio. I knew it was stolen, they knew it was stolen, but did they know that I knew it was stolen? They had decided to bluff it out. The driver wound down his window slightly so that I could talk to him. “What seems to be the problem, officer?” he asked innocently, in a broad East London accent.

The man’s hand was hovering over the ignition area. I glanced surreptitiously and couldn’t see whether the car had been hot-wired or whether there was a key in the ignition. I had to think fast. “I wanted to speak to you about your driving at that last roundabout. You braked far too hard.”

As I said this the driver visibly relaxed, no doubt thinking to himself that his bluff was going to work. As he relaxed, so his hovering hand fell away from the ignition area. There was a key in the ignition. Quick as a flash I reached in, plucked out the key and threw it across the road so that they couldn’t drive off. As I did, I promptly told all three that they were under arrest.

I handcuffed the driver to the steering wheel. It was a two door car, so the rear-seat passenger couldn’t get out. My only potential problem was the front seat passenger who was frantically trying to undo his seat belt. I got out my CS spray and gave the man a warning, but the last thing I wanted to do was start fighting when the odds weren’t in my favour.

Thankfully the man in the rear passenger tapped the other passenger on the shoulder. “Don’t be an idiot, Frank,” he said. “It’s nothing but fields round here. Where are you going to run to?”

There was now a strange stalemate. I had the upper hand for now, but that could change in an instant. I needed reinforcements. In the meantime, we chatted: they were all from Stratford in East London; we talked about the weather; we talked about football; anything to keep their minds off the fact that there was only one of me and three of them.

After an interminable age, I was suddenly joined by a detective in an unmarked police car. He had been interviewing a suspect in Peterborough and was on his way back to Sleaford but thankfully stopped to ask if I needed help. He was able to alert the control room and help arrived very quickly after that.

The incident log showed it was 22 minutes from my last transmission until the detective called up. That’s a very long time when you’re waiting for help, but my experience is not unique and all officers across South Holland will have similar experiences. Our radios have improved and our safety equipment has improved, but our geography remains the same. Every day, when I review incidents involving my officers in remote corners of South Holland, I am grateful for their bravery and dedication.

A group of public figures said PM David Cameron risked causing “alienation” in society by describing Britain as a “Christian country”.

The prime minister found himself under fire as the number of people prepared to describe themselves as Christian is falling according to data in the census.

Figures for 2011 census show the percentage slipped by 13 to just 59 – when it was 72 a decade earlier.

Britain is a land of many faiths and none – and, according to the House of Commons Library, non-believers are growing by 750,000 a year and will overtake Christians by 2030.

Christina Brill (66) moved to Spalding from South Africa 14 years ago and says: “I hope he (David Cameron) is right. I am a Christian. My faith means everything. I trust in God. He guards me.”

Agnostic Jean Rush, a journalist from Spalding, said: “I think this country is a Christian country. The Queen is head of the Church of England and she’s head of the country. People a few years ago would be ashamed to say they hadn’t got a religion. I am agnostic anyway but I still put C of E.”

Student and Christian Marija Liuzinait (17) moved from Lithuania to Spalding.

She believes David Cameron is right “because the majority of people I know are Christians”.

Sarah Rudd, from Spalding, said: “Personally I don’t believe in anything in particular in that respect. I am not fond of David Cameron anyway. I think he’s got much more important issues he could be dealing with other than that.”

Daniel Burton (28), from Pinchbeck, believes the PM is wrong to describe Britain as a Christian country “because everyone has got their own free right” to follow their own faith.

He said: “I have been baptised but I never go to church. I wouldn’t class myself as a Christian. I don’t believe in it, I don’t really believe in anything.”

Kat Wakefield (20), of Moulton, is on the PM’s side. She said: “There are different faiths here but, culturally, we are Christians. We celebrate Christmas and Easter, which are Christian religions .”

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“I was brought up as a Christian – my mum is a Christian – but I just don’t actually believe in it. I feel like there’s something connecting us all together spiritually but I am not entirely sure if it’s God.”