A Long Sutton woman joined in a street brawl when a care home deputy manager was on the ground and “began punching her on the floor”.

Jackie Moore waded in but only afterwards discovered the woman she had punched – Cassie McMahon – was a friend of her mother’s, magistrates heard.

Nick Todd, prosecuting, said Moore had three previous convictions for common assault.

The incident happened after Mrs McMahon, her partner and another couple were leaving The Granary at Long Sutton in the early hours of April 27.

A third party became involved in an incident with Mrs McMahon, but then Moore appeared from the pub and began punching Mrs McMahon while she was on the ground.

Mr Todd said Mrs McMahon was injured that night, “but there are no obvious facial injuries which can be laid at Miss Moore’s door”.

In her interview with police, Moore said she came out of the pub – saw that a fight was going on – and went to the assistance of a friend.

Mr Todd said it emerged after the incident that Mrs McMahon and Moore knew each other.

He said: “It would seem Miss Moore and Mrs McMahon had met before in a job interview situation.”

Solicitor Daven Naghen, mitigating, said: “She wades in, she agrees she ends up assaulting Mrs McMahon and she agrees that her behaviour went beyond what was reasonable.

“She is throwing punches and scuffling on the floor as opposed to trying to pull people away.

“At this point drink has been a factor, a lack of consequential thinking has been a factor and a lack of ability to control her anger have all played a part.”

Mr Naghen said Moore accepted with hindsight she could have said “what’s going on here?” and tried to separate people.

He said Moore, a care assistant, regretted the incident.

“Only afterwards in interview she realises this lady (Mrs McMahon) is a friend of her mother’s, which only adds to her regret,” said Mr Naghen.

Moore (23), of Seagate Terrace, Long Sutton, pleaded guilty to assault by beating.

She was given a 12-month community order, with supervision by the probation service, and must do 40 hours’ unpaid work.

Moore was also ordered to pay £50 compensation to Mrs McMahon, £85 costs and a £60 victim surcharge.

I should like to know how many people find it difficult to book an appointment to see a doctor.

If you are lucky enough to get the phone answered early in the morning, around 8.10am, the receptionist always says the doctor is fully booked 
up.

As they don’t open until 8am, how can they get that many calls in those ten minutes. You are not able to book the day before, so what’s going on?

Mrs D Rains

Holbeach

A planning application has been put forward to make use of the former tax office in Spalding.

Holland House, on Holland Road and High Street, has been empty for several years.

Plans describe how the building would be converted into five apartments, while an additional new build would include six further apartments.

There are also plans to build five 3-bed, three-storey town houses, two 2-bed semi-detached town houses and three 2-bed terraced houses.

The plans mean that some of the ex-government buildings would also be demolished.

Concerns have been raised regarding the strain news homes would put on schools in the area, as well as an increase in traffic and problems with parking around the town.

Lincolnshire County Council has asked that the developer pays over £50,000 towards any strains that local resources would come under.

The plans will be going before the South Holland District Council tomorrow (Wednesday).

Bourne and District Neighbourhood Watch Association is meeting tonight (Tuesday) at Bourne Fire Station, South Street, at 7.30pm.

A guest speaker from Safe Local Trades will be talking about ways to prevent distraction burglaries.

A 56-year-old woman had to be cut free from her car after it left the road and crashed in Holbeach.

The crash happened in Foxes Low Road where a Vauxhall Corsa driven by the woman from Holbeach ran off the road at about 7.10pm yesterday.

Firefighters used hydraulic cutting equipment to release the woman who was then taken to Pilgrim Hospital, Boston, with a fractured breastbone.

Meanwhile, a 36-year-old man from Pinchbeck was hurt after a Nissan X-Trail he was driving crashed into a telegraph pole in Small Drove Lane, West Pinchbeck.

The man had to be cut free from the vehicle by firefighters from Spalding after the crash just after 5.30pm yesterday.

There was also a crash on the A17 in Long Sutton where a lorry and Skoda Fabia car collided at about 12.15pm.

Drivers using the B1359 Main Road and Fleet Road faced delays while both vehicles were recovered, but no one was hurt.

Finally, two people were injured after a blue Ford Focus and silver Subaru Forester collided on the A15 Bourne Road in Thurlby.

It happened at about 5.10pm last Tuesday when a 57-year-woman from Peterborough who was driving the Focus had to be freed by firefighters using hydraulic cutting gear.

The woman and a 44-year-old man who was a passenger in the car, also from Peterborough, were both taken to hospital with minor injuries, while the driver of the Subaru was not thought to have been injured.

Police closed the A15 between Northorpe and Bourne roundabout for about 90 minutes to allow for both vehicles to be recovered.

Learn about the work of a farmer when a Gedney Dyke grower opens his gates to the public for Open Farm Sunday.

Redhouse Farm at Gedney Dyke will be open on Sunday, June 8 (10am to 2pm, entry free) so that visitors can discover more about its key crop, kale, and find out about the work that is done to protect the wildlife that lives on and near the farm.

There will also be a host of activities for the whole family during the day.

Redhouse Farm is planning tractor and trailer rides and a display of the amazing machinery used to plant and harvest kale. There will be some visiting farm animals and a chance to make your own scarecrow.

At the end of the day, take home your own kale plant to have a go at growing it.

• Open Farm Sunday is an annual nationwide event organised by LEAF (Linking Environment and Farming).

Weston village hall has raised £2000 in order to purchase a defibrillator, which will be used solely in the village.

The defibrillator will be placed in a security box outside the village hall in Weston, and will be avaiable to be used on anyone who suffers a cardiac arrest in the village.

Helpers must call 999 in order to gain access to a security code in order to use the machine, which will allow 24 hour emergency access in Weston.

Linda Cleary, chair at Weston village hall, said: “We held two quizzes and recieved various donations, including one from Weston Consolidated Charities and raised the money in the space of eight months.

“LIVES are going to give us a talk on how easy it will be to use the machine, and we hope to offer free life daving training later in the year.”

The defibrillator will be launched on Monday at 6:30pm, alongside a presentation from LIVES (Lincolnshire Integrated Voluntary Emergency Service) on the benefits of using the machine.

A lifelong dream will be realised when the name William Jarvis Bush is added to the list of First World War heroes on a Spalding war memorial.

Mavis Wilson’s uncle, William Jarvis Bush, died at Arras in 1917, aged 26. She has no picture of him but he is remembered on the war memorial at Pinchbeck.

When the Free Press told her its sister newspaper, the Spalding Guardian, had printed his name as one of 24 discovered during research into soldiers who gave their lives during the 1914-18 war but were not included on the memorial in Ayscoughfee Gardens she was overwhelmed.

She said: “These boys should be remembered – this means so much. William’s mum lived in Third Avenue, Pennygate, and there is no known grave, so it is right his name should be there.”

As a tribute to the sacrifice of many of her neighbouring families in Fulney Avenue, Mavis has been creating flower cross displays in their memory each flower festival at St Paul’s Church for more than 20 years.

Mavis, a member of the Western Front Association, said: “I hope when people gather at the memorial this year it will make them set aside their differences, whatever nationality, and that we can live and let live. This is what I pray for.”

The Western Front Association, which is conducting research into the town’s fallen heroes, has launched an appeal for relatives of the soldiers to be added to come forward and for funds towards the cost of adding the names. It is backed by MP John Hayes and the Spalding branch of the Royal British Legion.

Full names of the 24 are Hardy Andrew, James Albert Bowman, William Jarvis Bush, George Henry Gee, William Henry Houlden, Herbert John Howe, John Thomas Ellis Hunter, Arthur Jackson, Robert Knott, William Markham, Robert Frederick Meats, Robert Henry Potts, Robert Fulston Rawlings, William Picker, Harry Pooley, Frederick Bonner Perkins, John Samuel Reynolds, Charles Henry Stancer, Percival Howard Stark, Albert Edward Waltham, William Wells, John William Wilkinson and Jim Wilson.

Relatives who would like to call the WFA can email jhonchst@btinternet.com.

A 38-year-old needed hospital treatment for a fractured eye socket after an attack in Spalding over the weekend.

It happened near Tesco Express in Matmore Gate at about 5am on Sunday and the injured man was taken to Pilgrim Hospital, Boston, where he was kept in overnight until yesterday

Detectives are trying to tace a couple who may have vital information about what happened.

The couple are a white man, aged 20 to 25, about 6ft tall with short dark brown hair, and a female in her early twenties, large build, with blond hair tied back and wearing a red shirt over black trousers and light trainers.

Anyone with information should call DC Zoe Arnold at Spalding CID on 101, stating incident number 89 of May 25.

You can also call Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111.

Police in Lincolnshire are dialling up to the mobile age in the latest campaign to stop motorists drinking and driving on the region’s roads.

People in South Holland, Bourne and the Deepings will now be able to “shop” suspected drink drivers and motorists taking to the road under the influence of drugs by using a new SMS (short message service) text number 80800.

Anyone can text the word DRINK with details of the vehicle, where the suspected driver will be drinking and police officers will then use the information to stop, arrest aand prosecute the driver through the courts.

However, the new scheme is only to be used for non-emergency cases but its launch this week is aimed at people who may be tempted to drink heavily or take drugs while watching the 2014 football World Cup taking place in Brazil.

Inspector Simon Heads of Lincolnshire Road Safety Partnership (LRSP) said: “We will be carrying out roadside checks at all times of the day, including morning peak times, to test drivers for the effects of drugs and drink during this campaign.

“We also have a text number and this is thought to be the first time this has been tried in Lincolnshire where we are targeting our resources to the intelligence to try and catch individuals who are suspected of drink or drug driving.

“Our main criteria is to reduce the number of people killed or seriously injured on our roads in Lincolnshire and for the minority who seem bent on drinking and driving, we will do our best to catch them and put them before the courts.”

Figures from the LRSP show that there were almost 1,040 arrests for drink driving offences in Lincolnshire between June 2013 and May 2014, slightly less that for the same period in 2012-13.

More than 3,500 breath tests were carried between June and August 2013, with about eight per cent of drivers either failing a test or refusing to provide a sample.

Matt Clark from the Spalding Night-Time Economy Forum said: “I fully support the campaign and have always endorsed the police in clamping down on anyone drinking and driving.

“I don’t know of any reason to drink and drive when there are plenty of opportunities to park in Spalding and there are taxi ranks in the town.”

A supermarket checkout operator stole £850 from her Spalding employers, Sainsbury’s, by repeatedly crediting a gift card.

As a result of the theft, Laura Crowson (24) lost her boyfriend and left her family feeling “disgusted with her”, magistrates heard.

Prosecutor Nick Todd told the court: “Miss Crowson has no convictions or cautions recorded against her but the police would not consider a caution in this case because this is a breach of trust.”

He said between December 21 and February 11, Crowson paid credits onto a store card – a gift card – initially in amounts of £10, but then started paying larger sums onto the card.

The store carried out an investigation, brought in police and Crowson was arrested.

Mr Todd said: “To her credit she made a full and frank admission.”

He said Sainsbury’s were making their own arrangements to recover the money.

Solicitor Daven Naghen, mitigating, said Crowson’s first reaction when he saw her that day was to burst into tears.

He said: “She is a young lady who has never been before the police or the courts before.

“She is a young lady who has made a mistake.

“She’s been prescribed drugs for anxiety and depression. She struggles to leave the house. As a result of this matter, she has lost her boyfriend and her family are disgusted with her.”

He said Crowson had lost her job and is repaying more than she stole because Sainsbury’s are charging her the costs of their investigation.

Mr Naghen described Crowson as “somebody who has learned her lesson” and asked the court to consider a conditional discharge as she was a first-time offender who had made admissions both to the police and her employer.

Crowson, of Spalding Common, Spalding, pleaded guilty to theft and was conditionally discharged for two years with an order to pay £85 costs and a £15 victim surcharge.

A car ran off the road and plunged into the River Welland in Spalding during the night.

Emergency services were called to London Road at about 8:50pm yesterday after reports that a blue Vauxhall Corsa had left the road and gone into the river.

A 35-year-old woman from Spalding had driven along Haverfield Road before going right across London Road and into the River Welland.

Passers-by helped the woman out of the car before she was checked over by paramedics, but she was uninjured.

No one else was involved in the accident and there was no other damage or injuries.

June is the time when most growers can relax a little while watching their crops grow and hope that the weather gods will be kind. Many farmers try to grab a well-earned break before the onslaught of harvest, writes Jim West.

While offering sacrifices to the weather gods, I also hope that the bolting gods will look favourably on onion growers. To non-farming readers: I do not have a fear of bolting farm gates or ferrets bolting rabbits from their holes; rather I worry our onion growers will see what appear to be allium flowers appearing in their crops, ie bolting!

Wikipedia describes bolting as, ‘when crops prematurely produce a flowering stem resulting in a poor quality harvest’. There are several theories as to what triggers it, but a generally accepted view is that low temperatures at a particular stage of a plant’s life can initiate this problem. We can try to minimise the bolting risk by later planting dates, varietal choice and heat treatment of sets, but luck with the weather plays a massive part.

It is too early to say what severity of bolting we will see this season but I have begun to spot the odd ones in autumn sown set crops.

I am hopeful that percentage levels will be low but Wikipedia also says that, ‘plants under stress may respond to bolting and ultimately die’. So as you see these wonderful allium flowers appearing, please consider the growers ‘bolting’ down a beer or two to drown their sorrows at a reduced harvest.

Locally grown unusual fruit and vegetables has developed from being a hobby he was passionate about into a full-time job for Jonathan Pearson.

And Jonathan has discovered an added benefit to turning his few acres at Quadring Fen into the day job: he gets to see far more of the family.

Fen Berry Fruit is now six years old and Jonathan says since leaving his old job about a year ago he has been able to expand a little in terms of acreage, but also the crops that he grows.

Experimentation has always been the driving force for Jonathan, who has grown unusual squashes as well as less familiar fruits since establishing the business.

He says: “We are growing quite a lot of Jerusalem artichokes now. We finished planting about three-and-a-half acres a few weeks ago and they are harvested in late October.

“They are very similar to growing potatoes in terms of what you need to do, except they don’t suffer blight so you don’t need to spray them and they get to six to eight feet tall .”

Jonathan has also tried to push the boundaries in terms of how early he can produce potatoes in polytunnels, without artificial heat or light.

“The new potatoes is something that is doing well this year because it’s been so mild,” he says. “It’s something we have been doing for a few years and every year they come a bit earlier, without adding extra heat.

“We do it earlier every year, but just through tweaks to the growing technique.”

Jonathan hopes the business will develop to being able to employ someone in time.

He says: “I have no regrets about going full-time. I was working an hour’s drive away and now I drive the kids to school and they are involved in what we do so it’s a better family solution.”

The new date for the NFU Holland County Branch meeting to discuss CAP Reform is Tuesday, July 1.

The meeting is to be held at the Patio Room, Springfields, Spalding, with a hot drink and snack available from 8am for a 8.30am start.

Speakers will be NFU’s head of Policy Services Andrew Clarke and Holland (Lincs) NFU county adviser Simon Fisher.

The meeting will give growers an awareness of the key CAP policy decisions and explain how Greening affects them and the options available.

A £20,000 cash boost is coming from the county council to help launch South Holland’s new CCTV cameras this summer.

Around 17 cameras covering Spalding and Holbeach are expected to go live in July or August.

For the first time both towns will have 24/7 monitoring from a professional team based in Boston.

County councillors agreed on Tuesday to plough in extra cash using money collected from second homes council tax income.

Coun Nick Worth, who is steering the project, said: “I am delighted that Lincolnshire County Council are putting money into the scheme in year one to help kick-start the new CCTV and get it up and running.”

Capital costs of the scheme are a little over £100,000, but that money has already been found including grants from the Lincolnshire Police and Crime Commissioner and the county council.

Two young South Holland horticulturists have taken inspiration from a meeting with RHS Chelsea Flower Show Gold medal-winning garden designer Adam Frost.

Advanced Apprentices from Spalding Horticultural Training Group Charlie Gaunt and Sam Handley, accompanied by Lorna Howitt, who runs the training group and apprenticeship programme, were invited to a special career event at she show, along with other budding horticulturists and secondary school students.

The RHS hosted the event as part of the industry-wide Horticulture Matters campaign, which aims to raise the profile of careers in horticulture.

Charlie, who works for Wyeplants Limited, and Sam, who is employed by Nursery Fresh Plants Limited, also got to look around the show gardens and exhibitions in the Great Pavilion.

Lorna said: “Adam Frost is very committed to working with young people and helping them develop careers in horticulture.

Staff in the advertising department at the Spalding Guardian are bringing a new energy to the office – by supporting a new initiative to get us all running.

They are taking part in the ‘Couch to 5k’ programme – a nine-week running plan aimed at getting complete beginners off the sofa and into the great outdoors.

Designed by Josh Clark, a personal trainer who wanted to help his 50-something-year-old mum running to improve her fitness, it has now become popular among all ages.

Couch to 5k groups are being set up all over the country, mixing walking and running intervals (at your own speed) and increasing the distance over nine weeks.

You can run as a group to help keep you motivated or download a Couch to 5k app and fit it into your daily routine.

The Fitness Company, in partnership with South Holland District Council and Lincolnshire Sports Partnership, will be running group sessions starting on Tuesday from 6pm to 6.40pm at Monks House Playing Field in Pennygate, Spalding.

Week one registration fee is £5 then only £2 per week. Contact The Fitness Company on 01775 766775 for more information.

The Spalding Guardian will publish the programme for readers who can’t make the sessions from next week.

Spalding Guardian staff are pictured with Tracey Vowels from The Fitness Company in Spalding.

Andy Blair of Redhouse Farm at Gedney Dyke was showing Open Farm Sunday visitors the work involved in producing 9m bags of kale each year and explaining how they look after the soil and wildlife on the farm.

The farm put on a host of attractions to attract farm visitors.

More than 500 leading suppliers will be keeping around 26,000 visitors up to date with the latest products, advice and information at Cereals 2014.

The event, tomorrow and Thursday at Chrishall Grange, near Duxford, Cambridgeshire, is the leading technical event for the UK arable industry.

It contains over 64ha of stands and live demonstrations, including crop plots, working demonstrations, the Spray & Sprayers arena, and renewables, an area specially dedicated to renewable energy, biofuels and non-food crops. The Arable Conference at Cereals will open a series of debates on CAP.

Tickets cost £23 per adult and £19 per students and can be booked online at cerealsevent.co.uk/tickets