Pinchbeck man Liam Dawson (21) denied having an offensive weapon, a metal barbell pole, in a public place in Spalding on May 5.

Magistrates at Boston on Thursday adjourned the hearing for a trial at the court on November 10.

Dawson, of Church Street, appeared in court on summons.

A man of 21 from Swineshead has been accused of a common assault on a child.

Lee Dowding, of South Street, had his case adjourned by Boston magistrates on Thursday to August 13. No plea has been entered. Dowding appeared on summons.

Cabinet Call by Councillor Gary Taylor

I want to start, if I may, with a tip. A guaranteed conversation killer when out with friends in the pub or for a meal is any mention of ‘target setting, performance monitoring and finding efficiencies’.

I thought I should make that clear because, on top of my work as ward councillor for Spalding Castle, I am responsible for improving the performance and efficiency of all the local services South Holland provides.

Okay, so the subject is never going to set the world on fire (is it?) but I know local taxpayers want us to keep the cost of services as low as possible while making sure we get the best quality possible; that is where I, with great support from council staff, come in.

Your bin gets emptied week in and week out, and your street cleaned, and your local takeaway checked for food safety, because we, that is my councillor colleagues and I, are clear about the quality of services residents and businesses require, and because we track performance to make sure that quality is what you get.

So the next time you are in the pub and you hear someone mention performance or efficiencies, remember that person may be me!

From time to time I do hear people talking about their council as just a building in the centre of Spalding. For me, and I hope you, South Holland District Council is much more than that and is about what we do for residents every day out there across communities.

By providing people with homes, collecting and recycling their waste, or through working in partnership with key organisations such as the Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB) and community volunteers, every day we are working hard to make a difference for residents where they live.

Now I am the first to say that things do go wrong from time to time, and when we do get things wrong we try hard to put them right.

I cannot promise to avoid every mistake, but we are your council, spending your money on the services you want, working to be on your side, and not on your back.

I firmly believe that through working together we can make South Holland an even better place to live and work in, to retire to, enjoy the wonderful surroundings, and do great business in.

Crowland woman Trina Crane (31) has denied stealing a handbag belonging to Julie Jones on February 22 this year.

Crane, of South Street, had her case adjourned to July 30 by Boston magistrates on Thursday.

A man of 51 accused of assaulting Robert Smalley in Spalding on June 16 had his case adjourned by Boston magistrates on Thursday to August 13.

Terry Townsend, of Grove Street, Great Hale, near Sleaford, has not entered a plea.

Police stopped a vehicle at 5am in Boston Road, Kirton, because they were concerned about its speed – but then they smelled cannabis inside the car.

Paul Wood, prosecuting, officers found a small amount of cannabis inside a tobacco pouch belonging Francesio Williams.

Williams told police the cannabis was for his own use and he had bought it for £25.

Rachel Stevens, mitigating, said Williams’ girlfriend disapproved of him using the drug, which is why he had his personal supply in the car.

Williams (27), of Fenside Road, Boston, was conditonally discharged for a year and ordered to pay £85 costs and a £15 victim surcharge by magistrates sitting at Boston on Thursday.

Shop owners and managers in Spalding have the chance of changing their town for the better through a new retailers association.

Jewellers, booksellers, department stores and coffee shops are all represented in the Spalding Town Retailers Association which is now inviting other businesses in the town to join them.

Sue Stubley, of Occasions Jewellers in Bridge Street, said: “I was extremely pleased when the association was formed because the last few years have been pretty horrendous for traders here in Spalding due to the recession.

“Other developments on the outskirts of Spalding have also had a detrimental effect on us so it’s good to see all the traders get together as a forum to speak for themselves.

“We now have a Facebook page where traders will be able to publicise their events and we hope the worked will get out about the association which is good for the town.”

Members of the association are keen to work alongside Spalding and District Chamber of Commerce and South Holland District Council to improve the town centre ahead of the appointment of a new town centre manager.

Gavin Allmand, chairman of the retailers association, said: “We want all traders to feel that they have someone with a shared interest representing them and who will keep them informed of what’s happening or is proposed for the town.”

For more details, email occasionsjewellers@timetalk.co.uk

By Simon Temple, Lincolnshire Community Health Services’ Head of Clinical Services for South East Lincolnshire

Incontinence can be an embarrassing problem and is not a subject we tend to talk about with our friends!

Incontinence is the inability to control your bladder or bowel. It is not just a problem in the elderly; it can affect young women after childbirth, men with prostate problems and people who suffer with MS or who have had a stroke.

Incontinence can make the individual feel isolated, they often do not want to go out as they have to plan where the nearest toilets are or are worried they may have an ‘accident’ when they are out.

Stress incontinence can be a problem, especially following childbirth or in overweight people. The pelvic floor muscles become weaker, causing urine to leak. This often occurs when coughing, sneezing or exercising.

Some people feel like they spend all day on the toilet, they go too often and it feels very urgent. This can be a sign of an overactive bladder.

As men get older prostate problems can occur. The prostate can become enlarged and men can experience dribbling of urine, visiting the toilet too often or inability to pass urine. Men should make sure they attend well man clinics when requested and if they are experiencing any urine problems they should make an appointment with their GP to be checked.

Within Lincolnshire Community Health Services there is a team of specialist continence nurses who run clinics in various locations across Lincolnshire.

Their role is to assess patients and provide information and treatments to help resolve their incontinence. The team also works alongside other professionals and will make referrals if required to GPs or urologists. The nurses also provide training and advice on continence promotion and care to community nursing teams, residential homes and community hospitals.

The nurses can see you in clinic and during assessment will gain information from you to assist with a diagnosis to provide the relevant plan.

Some people develop bad habits through their life; they go to the toilet ‘just in case’ before they go out. This is bad for the bladder as it trains it to not hold enough urine, making the person want to go to the toilet more often than required. Our nurses can help with advice on bladder training or even prescribe medication where necessary.

Incontinence is an embarrassing problem, however, there are ways to ease symptoms and make the problem less unpleasant.

Do not suffer alone, we are here to help.

Please contact Johnson Community Hospital on 01775 652000 to request a clinic appointment or to request a nurse to contact you.

Police are warning drivers to be extra careful on slippery roads following showers after an accident in Spalding.

The driver of this car lost control in Holbeach Road, near McDonalds, on Thursday evening and ended up in a dyke.

She was uninjured and arranged her own recovery of the Peugeot.

Motorists may face delays when two roads in Spalding are closed for resurfacing work later this month.

Broad Street and Herring Lane are getting new road surfaces on Sunday, July 27.

During the works both roads will be closed with local diversions in place.

The diversion routes are:

* New Road, Swan Street, Station Approach, Winsover Road, St Thomas Road, Welland Road, Double Street and vice versa.

* New Road, Pinchbeck Road, Kings Road, Station Approach, Winsover Road, St Thomas Road, Welland Road and Double Street.

South Holland District Council’s Herring Lane car park will also be closed during the works. Residents will be able to access their properties at all times.

Debra Greeves, principal highways officer at Lincolnshire County Council, said: “These improvements are long overdue and will not only improve safety, but also extend the life of the road.

“Whilst every effort will be made to reduce the inconvenience, we thank you in advance for your co-operation and understanding.”

Do you know who is responsible for the racist graffiti that appeared near a pub in Swineshead?

Police are appealing for information about who is responsible because of offensive nature of the wording and drawings in the passageway alongside the Pig and Whistle pub and also near the chip shop.

Arrangements are being made for the graffiti to be removed.

Anyone with information is asked to call Lincolnshire Police on 101, quoting the incident number 142 of July 11.

I attended the fete at Spalding Primary School on Woolram Wygate last weekend and was appalled to witness a police car parked on the zig zag lines outside the school.

I witnessed the police officers attending the fete meeting with local colleagues (police community support officers) who had attended the fete and parked their car in the correct place, the school car park. This is simply incredulous and what truly frustrates me about this is without any reasonable doubt by parking there they’re committing a road traffic offence of which any member of the public committing such an offence would receive a fixed penalty notice.

I found this information on the .gov website:

The officer who parked this vehicle in my opinion should be subject to a £60 fine and dealt in the same way any member of the public would be.

Mark West

via email

On The Beat with Inspector Jim Tyner

It was a crisp cold evening on December 20 last year, but as it was the last Friday before Christmas most people ignored the cold in the early evening festivities.

An off-duty police officer was enjoying an evening out with friends and they were visiting an Indian restaurant in Spalding.

Now, ‘Oh, you’re never off duty’ is a phrase most cops will hear a thousand times. It is usually said in accusation, as though while off duty you will sneak about with a speed gun to trap unwary motorists near where you live, or trick someone into making a confession in casual conversation at a party.

What it really means, though, is that from the day you are sworn in as a constable you can never again cross over to the safe side of the street. On duty or off-duty, you are the one that runs towards the sound of trouble when everyone else runs away.

It was still early evening, just before 7pm, when the off-duty officer became aware of an argument in the street outside.

He walked to the door of the restaurant and saw a man lying on the nearby pavement. The man lying on the ground was being kicked in the head by another man.

He was kicked five or six times, although the victim was able to use his arms to shield his head from the worst of the attack. The off-duty cop later described it as ‘like taking penalty kicks’.

Without any hesitation, leaving his curry to go cold, the off-duty cop ran up and pulled the attacker off the injured man. Whilst keeping hold of the attacker, he managed to call 999 to request assistance.

The first officer on the scene was a volunteer Special Constable. This was the weekend before Christmas and, when they could have been out with friends, this volunteer had chosen to come on duty to support their colleagues in what is usually one of the busiest weekends of the year.

The attacker was arrested and taken to Boston Police Station. Thankfully, despite the ferocity of the attack, the victim had only received a cut below their right eye. An ambulance crew treated this with steri-strips. Then the evidence-gathering began, with statements and photographs of injuries.

The following day uniformed investigators from Spalding CID took over the investigation. Both the offender and the victim were in their thirties. Amazingly, they were normally good friends but both suffered alcohol addiction.

This wasn’t a stranger attack but a falling-out between drunks who had pooled their coins to buy some booze and then been refused a sale in an off-licence. The un-festive fracas came about when one then went off with all the money.

Both the attacker and the victim could reasonably be described as anti-police. When he was interviewed the attacker replied ‘no comment’ to every question put to him.

The victim had very little recollection of the event. Despite the challenges in gathering evidence, the investigator persevered and the attacker was charged with assault occasioning actual bodily harm, what we usually refer to as ABH.

Less than three weeks later, on January 9, the attacker appeared before Lincoln Crown Court where he was convicted of assault and sentenced to nine months’ imprisonment.

Were it not for the bravery and dedication of an off-duty police officer, the commitment and professionalism of a volunteer special constable and the relentless determination of a uniformed investigator this may have gone unpunished.

Now I could end this story here, but I think it prompts questions about violent crime in Spalding.

Unfortunately, this is just one of many violent crimes that take place in our lovely town. A recent weekend saw several conflicts and confrontations over a Friday and Saturday night.

As there are still current enquiries, I can’t comment on them (that’s why I’ve written about a case that has concluded). All I can say is that the investigations are on-going and will be investigated with the same thoroughness as this case. One similarity with the incident above is that alcohol appears to be a factor in so many of our violent crimes.

In many ways, this is nothing new: the adverse results of excessive alcohol have featured in many of my columns, from drink-drivers to domestic violence across 25 years of policing.

I meet regularly with members of the Licensing Authority and we are continually looking at ways to reduce the impact of alcohol on our community.

Although there is no doubt in my mind that cheap alcohol is more easily available than ever before, this is due to the current legislation and not the fault of the Licensing Authority.

Some people may think that we have too many off-licences. Unfortunately, the Licensing Act does not allow the authority to limit the number of off-licences in Spalding. So, if a new business applies for a licence in, for example, The Sheepmarket, the fact that there are several off-licences already in the area is no longer grounds to refuse the application.

However, irrespective of the actual number of off-licences in the town, it remains my commitment, and those of my partners at South Holland District Council and Lincolnshire County Council’s Trading Standards, to ensure that those premises are well-managed and the licensees are responsible retailers.

After all, we all want the same thing, which is a safer Spalding.

Theatregoers in South Holland can expect to see more high quality productions on stage in Spalding – thanks to an annual £207,194 grant.

South Holland District Council, who own and run the South Holland Centre, has secured the Arts Council England funding for the next three years.

The application to the National Portfolio Organisation Programme (NPO) was made by the core Lincolnshire One Venues (LOV) consortium on behalf of five key performing arts centres in the county – the South Holland Centre in Spalding, Louth Playgoers Riverhead Theatre, Stamford Arts Centre, Guildhall Arts Centre Grantham, and Lincoln Drill Halln.

The award of £207,194 per year between April 2015 and March 2018 will be used to support the development of high quality arts programmes in all five venues venue, such as National Theatre Live productions, provide commissioning funds to develop new work, and enhance the delivery of a countywide Young People’s Programme.

Over the past three years of NPO funding (2012 – 2015) this group has successfully brought new funding into the county’s venues to support young people as artists, audiences and arts programmers, as well as created 13 new paid internships and apprenticeships. One of them is Thomas Bellamy (17), who is a box office marketing apprentice at the South Holland Centre.

Coun Nick Worth, deputy leader of SHDC, said: “I am particularly pleased that the partnership approach taken in Lincolnshire, which has resulted in so many beneficial new activities, has been recognised and rewarded”.

Sally Harrison, manager of the South Holland Centre said: “The confirmation of support from Arts Council England is fantastic news. Securing this key funding will ensure that we continue to develop our high quality and varied programme of arts events and activities. It is a real show of confidence in the role multi-purpose arts centres play.”

St John the Baptist Church in Spalding is having a massive, £700,000 revamp thanks to a generous legacy that made much of the work possible.

New meeting rooms, a new floor and new lighting, heating and sound will all help make the church more welcoming for 21st century churchgoers.

There will also be a new chapel for small services and quiet prayer, which will include a window celebrating our national saint, St George, and St John’s link with Spalding Parachute Regimental Association.

Vicar Peter Garland said: “A generous legacy from Peter Langford, one of our former worshippers, has meant that we can fund most of the work.

“St John’s has welcomed worshippers in Spalding since 1875. But times have changed.

“We want to reach out to the many newcomers in our large parish, which covers half of Spalding.

“We are doing work to make the church comfortable and suitable for many types of occasions.”

Mr Garland says “the heart of the sacred space” – the choir and sanctuary – will be retained.

Building work started in April and the pews and the old floor have gone.

Mr Garland said the pews are called “20 minute seats” because they become hard after that time, and they will be replaced by comfortable, high quality wooden chairs.

Some 150 chairs have been ordered from Treske and there will be more for big services like weddings, funerals or school celebrations.

Mr Garland said most activities at the Hawthorn Bank church are going ahead as normal, even though builders have taken over.

He said: “Our church school next door uses the church every week for assemblies. Thanks to the school, we are able to hold our 10.45am communion service on Sundays in their hall. Other services are taking place in our church lounge, behind the church, or at our sister church in Deeping St Nicholas.”

Work is expected to finish in mid-October.

The new Bishop in the Diocese of Lincoln, David Court, will attend a celebration on January 18.

Mr Garland said: “It is only six months away and we are excited already about showing everyone what we have to offer.”

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.

Boston Magistrates’ Court

June 30

Brian Lee (51), of Sheppersons Avenue, Gosberton Risegate. Speeding (Stainby). £255 fine, £25 victim surcharge, £85 costs, 6pts.

Sarah Scicluna-Davies (42), of Millers Rest, Whaplode. Speeding (Swineshead Bridge). ££37 fine, £20 v/s, £85 costs, 3pts.

Dean Strickland (18), of Stricklands Drive, Crowland. No MOT (Crowland). £37 fine, £20 v/s, £85 costs.

Ferdinandas Truksnys (49), of Leverington Road, Wisbech. No insurance (Spalding). £600 fine, £60 v/s, £85 costs, 6pts.

Luis Belmonte (35), of Trinity Street, Boston. Speeding (Spalding). £105 fine, £20 v/s, £85 costs, 4pts.

Alvina Matickaite (23), of Red Lion Street, Spalding. Failing to give driver ID (Nettleham). £600 fine, £60 v/s, £85 costs, disqualified from driving for six months.

Raimondas Juozaitis (43), of Cherry Road, Wisbech. No insurance (Fosdyke). £600 fine, £60 v/s, £85 costs, 6pts.

July 2

Robert Caine (29), of Griffins Brooks Lane, Bourneville, Birmingham. Stolen Nintendo DS worth £80 belonging to Treasure Island Store (Spalding). £73 fine, £20 v/s, £25 costs,

Petras Dirgela (46), of London Road, Spalding. Drink driving (Spalding). £330 fine, £33 v/s, £85 costs, disqualified from driving for 28 months.

Philip Newton (37), of Baulkins Drove, Sutton St James. Drink driving (Sutton St James). £330 fine, £33 v/s, £85 costs, disqualified from driving for 26 months.

Adam Beeson (22), of Moons Green, Moulton. Criminal damage (Spalding). 12 months conditional discharge, £90 compensation, £15 v/s.

Diane Fitzgerald (57), of Eagle Way, Hampton Centre, Peterborough. Making use of public electronic communications network for purpose of causing annoyance, inconvenience or needless anxiety (Spalding). 12 months conditional discharge, restraining order, £15 v/s, £25 costs.

Egidijus Stasiulaitis (35), of Crocus Walk, Spalding. Drink driving (Spalding) and failing to stop after an accident. Community order with 150 hours unpaid work, £195 compensation, £60 v/s, £85 costs, disqualified from driving for 28 months. No separate penalty for no insurance.

July 7

Kelvin Evans (65), of Malt Drive, Wisbech. Assault (Holbeach Hurn). 12 months conditional discharge, £45 compensation, £130 costs.

David Hodson (51), of Park Avenue, Sleaford. Speeding (Swineshead Bridge). £250 fine, £25 v/s, £85 costs, 6pts.

Skegness Magistrates’ Court

July 1

Michael Bulmer (23), of Chapelgate, Sutterton. Failing to notify transfer of vehicle (Sutterton). £110 fine, £20 v/s, £90 costs.

Edward Cawdron (41), of Raphael Drive, Watford. Unlicensed vehicle (Wyberton). £200 fine, £29.17 back duty, £90 costs.

Gary Clarke (28), of Thistle Gardens, Spalding. Failing to notify transfer of vehicle (Spalding). £160 fine, £20 v/s, £90 costs.

Daniel Fudge (28), of Broadgate, Sutton St Edmund. Failing to notify transfer of vehicle (Spalding). £200 fine, £20 v/s, £90 costs.

Gary Gowler (40), of West Street, Long Sutton. Failing to notify transfer of vehicle (Long Sutton). £200 fine, £20 v/s, £90 costs.

Kirsty Hewitt (21), of La Milesse Way, Swineshead. Failing to notify transfer of vehicle (Swineshead). £200 fine, £20 v/s, £90 costs.

Tony Lee, of Drain Bank, Spalding. Failing to notify transfer of vehicle (Spalding). £200 fine, £20 v/s, £90 costs.

Tinashe Maposa (39), of Churchill Court, Long Sutton. Failing to notify transfer of vehicle (Spalding). £200 fine, £20 v/s, £90 costs.

David Mason (36), of Belgrave Road, Spalding. Failing to notify transfer of vehicle (Spalding). £200 fine, £20 v/s, £90 costs.

Jacqueline Nedzivhani (51), of Cowley Close, Swineshead. Failing to notify transfer of vehicle (Swineshead). £200 fine, £20 v/s, £90 costs.

Sandra PLoskaityte, of Priory Road, Spalding. Failing to notify transfer of vehicle (Spalding). £200 fine, £20 v/s, £90 costs.

Simon Ward (42), of Tolls Lane, Holbeach. No insurance (Spalding). £40 fine, £20 v/s.

Michelle Watson (43), of Lowgate Avenue, Bicker. No insurance (Boston). £200 fine, £20 v/s, £140 costs.

In response to Mr Darley’s letter to the Guardian, headlined “ The Tories are the party for Europe”, I fully agree.

That’s exactly what they are.

There may be a few Eurosceptics amongst them but Mr Cameron and most of his party are fully set on remaining part of the EU. They have no

intention of leaving, ever, under any circumstances, just like Labour and the LibDems. UKIP have never claimed we can just leave, clearly a controlled and prepared withdrawal will be necessary, followed by new trade agreements. Tory attempts to re-negotiate are just a cynical

scam intended only to help them retain power. No meaningful changes are possible, the EU have said so very clearly.

If Cameron thinks he can win a referendum, after obtaining a few minor and token concessions, it’s just possible we will get one but I doubt it.

The EU and it’s hugely damaging open door and uncontrolled immigration policy is only one aspect of the embryonic United States of Europe that we object to and there is far more to UKIP than even loss of sovereignty to Brussels. I expect our electoral system, local democracy, education, housing, defence, law and order, foreign policy, trade, employment and much more will be covered in the first edition of our 2015 manifesto, to be published later this year.

Lincolnshire, at Westminster, County and District has been governed by the Tories for a long time. They have become set in their ways, unable to think laterally and hidebound by their inbuilt sense of self

entitlement to rule. A strong Tory majority at any level is the last thing we need right now. Without a viable and active opposition, based on support from ordinary people, from outside the world of the

Westminster bubble and its local apologists, things will just continue to stagnate. For the first time in a generation, change is possible.

Only UKIP can provide it and in due course form a genuine people’s government.

Paul Foyster

Chairman. UKIP South

Holland and the Deepings

The article about the gasifier protest at Sutton Bridge highlights the important issue of the extremely poor fire safety record of biomass plants.

The planners at South Holland District Council failed to consider evidence supplied on this issue at the planning committee meeting that approved the EPSB gasifier in April 2013.

One councillor dismissed the evidence given as “anecdotal”, demonstrating she had not read the background papers.

Thank goodness for the tenacity of Shirley Giles who took the council to court and got the planning approval quashed.

Anyone who attended the committee and witnessed the poor quality of the debate will not wonder that the court found it to be flawed. The question remains: Why did SHDC waste nearly £10,500 on legal costs trying to defend an unlawful planning permission?

Lest they claim again that fires at biomass plants are based on anecdotal evidence I bring the following facts to your readers’ attention.

A number of biomass plants have had more than one fire within a short time. Crow Edge in Yorkshire in February and June of this year. Ironbridge in Shropshire had fires in October 2013 and February 2014.

Port Tyne and Wear in October 2011 and October 2013. Other blazes at Biomass facilities include Hexham Egger in June 2013 and Tilbury in February 2012.

These fires are described in the media as “infernos” with belching smoke and often require fire services from several counties to battle for days to get them under control.

The smoke and the smell from the latest Crow Edge fire is reported to have been visible up to 17 miles away. Local residents were warned to keep their doors and windows closed.

Residents of Sutton Bridge oppose the madness of building a 48MW biomass electricity producing incinerator burning 420,000 tonnes of wood a year next to a gas fired power station and close to the site of a proposed even larger one.

The members of the planning committee at South Holland District Council may chose to bury their heads in the sand and ignore inconvenient facts. We the residents will not.

I call on all local people to join the protest on Saturday, July 26.

Brian Collins-McDougall

Sutton Bridge

Cowbit villagers spoke at a planning inquiry in Spalding on Tuesday in a bid to save Ye Olde Dun Cow site from being used for a housing development.

County councillor Richard Fairman, who has lived in the village for 40 years, said: “It’s one of those amenities a village should have to be complete.”

The fire-wrecked pub was demolished earlier this year when developer Market Homes applied for planning consent, saying the building was unsafe.

An earlier application for demolition, coupled with a bid to put nine homes on the site, was rejected last year after the site was placed on the community assets register, meaning it was to be preserved as a pub site.

The company has appealed against planning refusal and has now submitted a fresh planning application for homes on the site.

Coun Fairman says the loss of the pub has had an impact on the value of houses in Cowbit because people looking to buy want to have a pub within a short walking distance of their homes.

He said: “A walk with the dog is the shortest distance between two pints.”

Coun Fairman’s home in Stonegate was once a pub, called The Railway Hotel, and he says the village once supported seven pubs.

He said his gut feeling was that the inquiry “went in our favour”.

Mum-of-three Jane Wilkinson thought she’d be laughed out of town when she suggested starting a Women’s Institute with her friends to reinvigorate their flagging social lives.

But nine months later the Bridge Buns and Roses have around 50 members who enjoy all the traditional WI values, while making their activities and entertainments more relevant to younger generations.

Group president Jane says they haven’t completely ditched the old ‘jam and Jerusalem’ image but are striving to appeal to modern women with activities including crafts, fashion shows, burlesque dancing and hair and beauty demonstrations.

“I just thought people would laugh when I suggested it,” she said. “But it’s really nice it’s taken off. Everyone’s getting to know each other and we’re having a great time.

“We have a young age group ranging from around 20 to 60 so there’s a modern appeal - but we’re still learning things and making new friends, it’s just a lot more light-hearted.”

The idea came about after Jane (32), of Sutton Bridge, and her peers struggled to hold regular get togethers without their children or incurring huge expense.

“We had a bit of knowledge about the WI, mainly from our grandmothers and watching Calendar Girls, and thought the basic idea was great.”

The national WI organisation was launched in Anglesey in 1915 to revitalise rural communities and encourage women to become more involved in producing food during World War One.

Since then its aims have broadened and it’s become the largest women’s voluntary organisation in the world. Not only does the WI provide women with educational opportunities and the chance to build new skills, members also get to take part in a variety of activities and campaign on issues that matter to them.

Since launching last October the new self-funded group has gone from strength to strength, with more members joining every month. If interest continues Jane says a waiting list will be started and a second group may be launched.

It’s been a whirlwind few months, which have seen members start their own pre-loved book and magazine stall to raise funds for their group. They also support the Agape Food Bank, are taking part in national WI campaigns to support local high streets and have forged links with local businesses, many of who offer them exclusive discounts.

“We’ve got lots of great things to look forward to this year,” added Jane.

“Our meetings are a chance for everyone to have a chat, but there’s also a demonstration or talk, which we might not otherwise get a chance to try.”

nThe Bridge Buns and Roses meet every third Wednesday at the Curlew Centre, Sutton Bridge, from 7.30pm. Annual membership is £34.70, to cover the cost of speakers and entertainment. Women aged 18 and over are welcome. For more information call Jane Wilkinson on 07506 440906 or visit the group’s Facebook page www.facebook.com/suttonbridgewomensinstitute