RON Sharp – better known as Razor – knows he should have won the ship-building contest hands down with his four feet long model of HMS Unicorn.

Typically, the details were all there, down to the cannon loaded with a realistic-looking pencil lead, but the prize for the best ship made out of trash went to a child.

To be fair, the competition – one of the entertainments aboard ship that Ron and his wife Sue enjoyed on a Caribbean cruise – was not exactly a challenge to the man who doesn’t throw anything out in case he can put it to good use in his hobby of making bottles in ships.

Old coins, scent bottles, little light bulbs and even an old house sign have been incorporated into Ron’s many models on display at his home in Helmsley Way, Spalding.

He has also used medicine bottles and they act as a reminder of the reason he started building the ships in the first place – as therapy after being diagnosed with Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, or cancer of the lymphoid tissue, in 2002.

“When you are having treatment it is surprising how it affects you,” admits Ron. “I got aggressive and tended to lose my temper. The slightest thing would trigger it and the therapy was very good. You have to calm yourself down and slow your breathing to stop your hand shaking when you are working on intricate details.”

The HMS Unicorn made for the holiday contest wasn’t the first time Ron has tackled that particular subject as it was the first ship he built, and that was selected as the subject because of Ron’s great interest in the history of the ships he models.

Ron says: “All together there have been six ships called Unicorn and the one I have got is modelled from the world’s most original wooden war ship. She is a completely wooden 32-gun frigate. It had a very good history. She was built in 1794 and during the war of 1812 she was involved in blockading the American coast.

“I like researching the history of whatever I build, but I don’t class myself as a perfectionist. There are many modellers much better than me, although I do like things to be as accurate as I can get the details.”

Wood, calico for sails, thread for rigging and a plastic farm horse adapted to make a unicorn were all used on Ron’s first ship. The figures aboard the ship are made out of wood and polyfiller and Ron once took HMS Unicorn to a scout evening and asked the children to count how many men there were.

He says: “There are men in the rigging, on the crow’s nest and all over the deck. Every scout gave a different answer so I still don’t know how many there are.”

What Ron particularly likes is to put a ship in an unusually shaped bottle, such as the cidar bottle used for his Master Shipbuilder scene in a realistic-looking working environment complete with sawdust. The bottle is 20cm long and 5cm high and if the shipbuilder was standing he would be about 18cm high, but he is sitting at his bench. Ron explains that the figure’s body parts are joined by wire and hinged so he is inserted into the bottle in diving position, with his arms above his head, before being unhinged and tweaked into position, the technique used for getting ships into bottles.

He now has plenty of time for his hobbies now, having retired a couple of years ago after almost 40 years in retail management – some people may remember Ron from his days at the former Brown Brothers & Taylors, once in Hall Place in town.

What Ron would like to know is whether a club exists for ship modellers in the district.

Contact him on 01775 714822.

TWO OF these images of Philip Milton sum up a life dedicated to service to his country and to commemorating and supporting those who have given their lives or been injured in war.

One picture shows 24-year-old Philip in the uniform of the Herts Yeomanry serving in World War Two.

Philip, of Northons Lane, Holbeach, lost comrades during that war and in his later life has paid his respects to them with annual pilgrimages to the old battlefields.

He also helped to raise funds for Harold Payne’s The Anglia Motel Cafe Pilgrimage Fund, to help Normandy veterans from the district make the journey to France, and later collected money for Help for Heroes.

The other picture shows 92-year-old Philip having raised a magnificent £10,000 for the two causes with the help of his wife Marjorie and fellow veteran Eric Toynton.

Next month, Philip hopes to make his final trip to Normandy with The Anglia Motel Veterans, and admits: “It’s important to me and once I get over there I get very emotional.”

He was 19 and working in a hardware shop in Hertfordshire when Philip heard that ‘reservists and territorials’ had to report to their units – Philip was in the Territorial Army.

He says: “I went off with two weeks’ holiday money and got back in 1945 when my ‘holiday’ finished.”

During the war, Philip drove a Sherman tank carrying the officer who instructed the guns and so it was primarily a communication tank, a crucial role in war-time for co-ordinating artillery attacks.

The tank contained a normal crew of five and was fitted with three machine guns and Philip says the piece sticking out the front that looked like a gun was “just a piece of sheet metal”.

However, Philip says the work was also “dodgy” because, “our tanks had an adverse habit of bursting into flames when they were hit by the Germans’ anti-tank guns”.

A lot of tanks did get “knocked out” and in fact Philip’s tank took a hit during the Battle of the Bulge, or the major German offensive through the densely forested Ardennes mountain region.

Philip recalls: “After the Germans had been driven back from the Ardennes we were having a rest and a refit. We went back into action and put in an attack at some part of the Germans’ defences and our tank got hit by an anti-tank gun. I could see where it was firing from so I knew we would get it. It hit the side but didn’t penetrate, but split half the side open with the impact. I tried to put a slight angle on so if it hit us it would slide off, and it did.”

Philip pulled the tank into a farmyard – and a land mine blew up the tank, putting it right out of action.

“We were very, very lucky that nobody was injured,” he says. “There was a lot of relief and I sweated and swore afterwards, I expect. We had to get out of the tank and made a run for it because they were still mortaring us.”

In a twist worthy of inclusion in any of the great war films, the men headed for shelter in the farm’s stables, where they discovered seven or eight Germans who had luckily left their weapons in another room. On opening up the shirt of one of them Philip discovered he was “festooned with hand grenades” and he imagined a booby trap, whereas the German had in fact been hit in the back and the bullets had gone right through him – remarkably, he was still alive when he was taken away.

Philip finished the war without any further narrow escapes, and afterwards helped in the job of organising the Russians and other displaced personnel in German labour camps.

He returned to the UK later in 1945 and, after a couple of weeks’ leave, returned to the hardware shop where he discovered his boss had employed females, something he said he would never do. However, it worked out well for Philip because one of them was Marjorie, and they have been married 59 years and have two sons, four grandchildren as well as greatgrandchildren.

The couple moved to Holbeach about 20 years ago, struck by the friendly people they had encountered in the town, and Philip eventually joined the Holbeach branch of the Royal British Legion. In 2004, he joined the Boston branch of the Normandy Veterans’ Association and the same year went to Normandy with his regiment and received his Normandy Veteran’s badge. He has returned almost every year since.

SIXTEEN South Holland district councillors clubbed together to give a £1,000-plus boost so the last of The Lincolns can live to see a memorial built to the county’s regiment.

Coun Angela Newton, who organised the mass donation, presented the money to The Royal Lincolnshire Regimental Association Spalding branch on Monday.

The £20,000 memorial will go on the site of The Lincolns’ old barracks, Sobraon Park in Lincoln, and Spalding veterans – some in their eighties and nineties – are still busy fundraising.

They will collect at Morrisons in Pinchbeck on Saturday, June 16, Sainsbury’s in Spalding on Friday, July 6 and Morrisons in Wisbech on Thursday and Friday, May 24 and 25

The memorial will record the regiment’s ten heroes decorated with the Victoria Cross, battle honours and famous march past lyrics from The Lincolnshire Poacher.

Formed in 1685 in the time of Charles II as the Tenth Regiment of Foot, what later became The Royal Lincolnshire Regiment fought on four continents in four centuries.

Lincolnshire author David Nalson said: “The Lincolns earned ‘imperishable renown’ at the Battle of Sobraon in 1846 during the Sikh Wars. Another famous honour – gained in Egypt in 1801 for service under Wellington – is reflected in the Sphinx badge which veterans still wear.”

The county regiment amalgamated with another in 1961 so there have been no true Lincolns since that time, although its proud history lives on in the honorary title “The Poachers” given to the 2nd Battalion Royal Anglian Regiment.

Ken Willows, chairman of regimental association Spalding branch, said: “We would like to thank all of the councillors who gave. The memorial is something we would like to leave behind for future generations to see.”

The cash came from councillors’ designated budgets.

Coun Newton said they were honoured to help and the proud history of The Lincolns is something that must not be forgotten.

She has pledged to fund a bus when the Spalding members go to see the memorial.

COUNCILLORS in Surfleet considered upping their insurance on gates and railings around St Laurence Church in case metal thieves strike.

But members voted to leave the £1,000-plus premium as it is after Coun Allen Dobney said the gates and fence had stood untouched for a century.

He said: “How many times has it been stolen in the last 100 years? It’s a bit unlikely.”

Chairman Coun Glynn Waltham said he didn’t want the bill to fall to parishioners.

He said: “When they take the lead off the church roofs I am sure they can take our gates if they have a mind to.”

And Coun Roy Sell told Tuesday’s meeting: “You should assess what it’s going to cost to replace it. It’s common sense.”

A house in Spalding’s Stonegate is one of the latest properties targeted by metal thieves.

Burglars stripped copper piping and left the home flooded on Friday.

Metal thieves are costing the country £750million a year and Lincolnshire alone suffered 4,600 crimes last year, including 160 attacks on churches.

Independent charity Crimestoppers is urging people to fight back and “scrap the metal thieves” by reporting them anonymously on 0800 555111.

A spokesman said: “We don’t want to know who you are – we only want to know what you know.”

Police locally are routinely stopping vehicles carrying scrap metal and are visiting scrapyards, but at least one local scrap business has put in its own security measures to stop thieves touting stolen metal there.

MOTORISTS who drive into South Holland could be heading straight to casualty, according to shock NHS statistics.

The district has been named as the fourth least safe place to drive in the country.

Three other Lincolnshire districts are included in the top five – with North Kesteven in first place, Boston second and West Lindsey fifth.

Figures on serious road casualty rates have been compiled by the NHS’s health observatories and published in the annual Injury Profiles report.

The casualty map for the period covering April 2010 and March 2011 shows more than 100 people in every 100,000 were admitted to hospital compared with a national average of 51.9.

Weston motorist Michael Davies said he has been driving for 50 years and was shocked Lincolnshire’s roads were so dangerous.

He said: “I feel safe on the roads because I am an experienced, careful driver, but four Lincolnshire districts in the top five is shocking.

“I would like to ask those responsible for safety on our roads why this is happening.”

John Siddle, communications manager of Lincolnshire Road Safety Partnership (LRSP), said it would not be worth arguing the statistics because in reality they were still bad. However, he said: “The NHS figures include accidents that happen outside Lincolnshire, but where the nearest hospital is in the county, and injuries such as trapping your finger in the boot.”

National statistics used by the LRSP put South Holland as the 37th most dangerous region and South Kesteven 119th out of 379 districts.

Mr Siddle said: “They are bad, but not as severe as the NHS figures would have you believe.

“Over the past 15 years there has been a massive improvement, but you will never get to zero accidents here. In rural areas most trips involve using a car, with people travelling at high speed and hazards like ditches, dykes and trees.

“In 1994 there was 104 fatalities and last year it had dropped to 46.

“There is significant work being done to improve things, such as courses for mature drivers and campaigns involving young drivers and motorcyclists.

“Motorists can also help by leaving enough time for their journeys.”

PEOPLE in South Holland are being urged to create their own milestone as the Queen reaches 60 years on the throne – by renewing their commitment to giving blood or donating for the first time.

It is especially important to give blood around Bank Holidays when donations dip as routines get disrupted.

The latest push is part of an ongoing campaign to boost blood stocks to 30 per cent above usual levels before the Olympics.

You can donate blood at a session at Spalding’s Springfields Events Centre on Monday, from 1.30pm-4pm and 5pm-8pm. Call 0300 1232323.

RESIDENTS who live near Spalding Grammar School can enjoy more “quiet Sunday morning lie-ins” now plans for extra car boot sales have been refused.

The school wants to hold car boot sales on its west field in St Thomas Road on Sundays and bank holidays in the summer, for a maximum of 20 days.

It re-submitted a plan to South Holland District Council, following a refusal last year to hold 28 car boot sales a year.

Car boot sales have been operating from this site using a permit allowing 14 events a year without the need for planning permission.

Coun Roger Gambba-Jones said: “The thought of people being disturbed at 6am on Sundays and bank holidays horrifies me.

“People only have one day a week to have a lie-in.

“There is also the problem of lunatic parking – people just abandon cars.”

Objections had been received from five residents in St Thomas’s Road and Regent Street. One resident had written letters of complaint on four occasions.

Listed in the complaints were disturbance to residents from 6am, noise from generators and smells from catering vehicles. Lack of a buffer zone, with traders operating right up to the boundaries with residential properties, was also listed.

Coun Anthony Casson said if anyone wanted to see a well-organised boot sale they should go to Weston.

He said: “It’s very successful and starts at 10am and clears up at 2pm.”

Coun David Wilkinson suggested moving the start time to 8am could improve things for residents.

However, Coun Gambba-Jones said even if the start time was changed, it could only be imposed on the additional dates. He said: “We don’t have control on the other dates. But the fact remains the early start time is simply not acceptable to residents.”

UPDATE: Monday, 11.15am – Lincolnshire Police have today confirmed that they have launched an investigation into Paul Reid, the absent headteacher of Spalding’s St John The Baptist Primary School.

More to follow on this update.

Friday, 4pm: A headteacher has suddenly gone absent from a Spalding primary school.

Many parents at St John The Baptist Primary School were collecting their children on Friday afternoon unaware of the development concerning Paul Reid.

A mum who contacted the Lincolnshire Free Press said she found a letter in her son’s backpack.

The letter, from chairman of the governors the Rev Peter Garland, omitted to explain the circumstances of Mr Reid’s absence.

It stated: “As chairman of the governors, I wish to inform you from Friday, May 18, deputy head Helen Stray will be acting headteacher with support of the local authority, to ensure leadership and that pupils’ education will not be affected.

“I will notify you when Mr Reid returns.”

Debbie Barnes, Lincolnshire County Council director of Children’s Services, said: “We can confirm that Paul Reid, headteacher at St John the Baptist School, Spalding, is not currently in school.

“Helen Stray will be acting deputy headteacher along with support from the local authority to ensure leadership and pupil education will not be affected.

“We are unable to comment further as this is a confidential employment matter.”

Mr Reid is the second headteacher to have gone absent from a school in South Holland in recent weeks.

Ian Charles, head of the Peele Community College in Long Sutton, was suspended pending an investigation by the board of governors into “disappointing” performance reports for the school.

• Parents: Let us know your views on this latest development. Are you assured by Mr Garland and the county council that “leadership and pupils’ education will not be affected”?

SPALDING’S Alder Veterinary Practice is now treating sick and injured hedgehogs using the £500 given by district councillor Rodney Grocock.

News of the planned donation from his £4,000 designated budget sparked criticism last year with Moulton parish councillors calling for it to go to something more appropriate.

But Coun Grocock did his own public survey and pressed ahead after receiving 16 comments for and nine against the plan.

Vet Wayne Smith said the Bourne Road practice is spending the money on drugs, cages, heat lamps and nebulisers.

He said: “We are very grateful to Coun Grocock for his donation.”

The practice treated only three or four hedgehogs after receiving the cash last year because it came shortly before the creatures went into hibernation.

But three hedgehogs have been treated in the last 10 days and the practice expects more.

Mr Smith said: “Mainly they have respiratory problems. They have gone into hibernation weak and come out weak and we give them supportive care.

“We don’t charge anything for our time, obviously. Our time is always free.”

BOOMING sales at charity shops in the Spalding area could get an extra boost following a national appeal for stock.

Local volunteers are backing Choose Charity Shops week in a bid to get more people to donate directly to them and meet rising demand.

A spokesman for the Charity Retail Association said: “Shops thrive on donations, but their number one concern at the moment is not having enough second-hand items to sell.”

Sue Alexander, manager of Spalding’s Butterfly Hospice Trust shop in Sheepmarket, said: “More people are coming to us from all walks of life, but you are only as good as the things you sell.”

Next door, Oxfam has been helped by Marks and Spencer’s “shwopping” campaign.

Volunteer Carol Simmonds said: “If people can’t get to stores, they can bring used and unwanted M&S clothes directly to us and we will give them a £5 voucher.”

Liz Robson, assistant manager of Holbeach’s Sue Ryder Care shop in High Street, said donations had dropped this year.

She said: “People are holding on to things to sell at car boot sales and on eBay. They are still being very generous, though.”

The Salvation Army shop in West Street, Bourne, is totally reliant on direct donations. Manager Beth Grief said: “We are lucky to get designer brands. They fly out.”

Even brides are looking to save money.

Manager of the Break shop in High Street, Holbeach, said: “That shows how the economy is. Just keep giving!”

JEWELLERY worth thousands of pounds was stolen in raids on four South Holland homes on Friday.

Police said the burglaries had distinctive features with windows broken by rocks or garden ornaments and the stolen tems loaded into pillowcases.

A police spokesman said: “None of these properties is overlooked and are in remote, open locations but with easy access to the A17.”

Burglars targeted two homes at Rabbit Hill Farm, Gosberton, as well as individual homes in Seagate Road, Long Sutton, and Lowgate, Fleet.

The break-ins happened between 11am and 1pm.

Anyone with information is asked to contact DC Nicola Stafford by dialling police on 101. Information can also be given anonymously to Crimestoppers on 0800 555111.

MONDAY 3.30pm: THREE people arrested in connection with a street attack on a man in Spalding have been bailed by police to July 19.

Friday 4pm: Three people remain in custody being interviewed by police following an alleged assault in Spalding early today.

Part of London Road was sealed off but it reopened at 11am and police lifted their “scene guard” by 12.30pm.

Friday 10am: Police say the man injured in this morning’s suspected street attack has now been discharged from hospital.

Friday 9am: Police were called to Spalding’s London Road early this morning after a 24-year-old man sustained a head injury in a suspected street attack.

The 24-year-old injured man was taken to Boston’s Pilgrim Hospital.

Police say his injury is not at this time considered life-threatening or life-changing.

Part of the road currently remains closed with police at the scene and traffic diversions in place.

Police say there was an an altercation outside a house and officers were alerted at about 2.25am.

A woman aged 24 and two men, aged 25 and 30, were arrested on suspicion of assault and are being questioned at Boston Police Station.

Police are appealing for witnesses to contact them on 101 or give information anonymously to Crimestoppers on 0800 555111.

A DONINGTON man came close to a jail term after police stopped him in a Mitsubishi Galant when he was only a matter of weeks into serving a three-year driving ban.

Christopher Bond (29), of Orchard Close, was pulled up in Green Lane, Moulton Seas End, on May 1 when his vehicle had a faulty brake light.

Jim Clare, prosecuting, told Spalding magistrates that Bond was banned from driving at the end of February for his second drink-drive offence within ten years.

Presiding magistrate John Reynolds warned Bond he had “crossed the custody threshold”, but after listening to mitigation the bench reduced that to a year-long community order with a requirement to do 200 hours’ unpaid work.

Penalty points were added to Bond’s licence, giving him a further six month ban.

Bond pleaded guilty to driving while disqualified and without insurance at Thursday’s hearing. Magistrates imposed no separate penalty for the insurance offence.

Solicitor Sacha Waxman, mitigating, said Bond had “a volatile argument with his partner and wanted to remove himself from the premises”.

She said the driving ban meant he had lost the ability to work, but his partner wanted to know when he was going to get a job.

Miss Waxman said he drove three miles to enquire about work, but now accepts he could have walked to that meeting.

She said: “It was a situation in which he felt desperate and he acted without thinking properly in relation to the consquences.”

TWO free courses on suicide awareness are being held in Spalding.

Jeff Jeffery, who is trained in suicide intervention, wants to avert familiy tragedies by creating what he calls “a suicide safe community”.

The first session runs from noon-4pm at Spalding Services Club on Tuesday, May 29 and is designed to help people spot suicidal tendencies in others.

The second two-day course runs at Johnson Community Hospital on Monday, July 23 and Tuesday, July 24 – from 9.15am-4.30pm each day – and will give people suicide intervention skills training.

Jeff volunteers his expertise for the Lincolnshire Partnership NHS Foundation Trust.

l Anyone who wants to know more about the courses – or book a place – should contact Sue Broadbent on 01529 416250 or email sue.broadbent@lpft.nhs.uk

The courses are free to Lincolnshire residents.

A NEW internet cafe in Sutton Bridge is being planned as part of the town’s community centre thanks to telecomms provider TalkTalk which is helping to fund the technology and furniture needed for the cafe.

Officially opened in December last year, the Curlew Centre boasts facilities for the area including a packed diary of events, room hire opportunities, a library and a police room where the neighbouring policing team can hold community engagement events. The internet cafe is part of the further development plans in the area being funded by the Sutton Bridge development fund.

Peter Clery, chairman of the Community Centre Fund, said: “We think an internet cafe is a vital component of the Curlew Centre being developed in Sutton Bridge and are delighted with the donation from TalkTalk.

“The money will be a big help in kitting out the centre which lots of people in the community will benefit from.”

Tristia Clarke, commercial director at TalkTalk said: “Investing in the local area allows us to bring our great value offers to even more families in Sutton Bridge and we are proud to be supporting the fantastic work being done at the Curlew Centre in Sutton Bridge. A new internet cafe will allow local people to get online whenever they want.”

A DEVOTED 78-year-old wife stabbed her Alzheimer’s suffering husband 17 times after cracking under the strain of caring for him.

Florence Thomson grabbed a carving knife and repeatedly plunged it into the chest of her husband Keith (79), leaving him on their bedroom floor covered in blood.

Lincoln Crown Court today heard that the frail, grey haired pensioner flipped because of the stress of caring for her husband of 40 years.

She then turned the knife on herself and when armed police went to the couple’s bungalow in Long Sutton, officers believed she posed such a threat they Tasered her twice.

Mr Thomson was rushed to hospital with ten stab wounds to his chest as well as wounds to his shoulder, hands and right thigh.

Mrs Thomson told police at the hospital: “I love my husband. I love him to bits. I lost it. I just flipped my lid.

“You always hurt the one you love and I hurt my husband. It was because of the stress. The pressure of moving house got to me. Please, please, I’m sorry for what I’ve done. I’m not an evil person.”

The incident happened just days after they moved into their new bungalow.

Mrs Thomson, now 79, of Sturton Way, admitted wounding Mr Thomson with intent to cause him grievous bodily harm on November 11. She was given a two year community order with supervision by probation officers.

Judge Michael Heath also imposed an indefinite restraining order which she can only visit her husband under supervision.

Mrs Thomson had spent five months on remand in prison. She was so frail that at court appearances she used a zimmer frame to walk from the prison van to the court cells.

Judge Heath said “This is a highly unusual and extremely sad case.

“There are very exceptional cases where justice should be tempered with mercy. This is one of them.”

A DRIVER escaped injury when his car ploughed through a fence and hit a council-owned house in Royce Road, Spalding, on Friday teatime.

The garden fence was demolished and a small chunk of masonry was knocked out of the front wall.

The resident, who does not wish to be named, said: “I was at the shop when my two daughters came chasing after me and said a car had landed in our front garden.”

He understands the car driver had swerved to avoid an oncoming car.

The householder said he had only just put up a brand new fence to replace an old one and, luckily, moved his car trailer to one side of the small front garden.

Police say the accident happened at 5.05pm and the car involved – a blue Peugeot – was driven by a local man in his 40s.

A South Holland District Council spokesman said the council was thankful no one was hurt but was still treating it as “a critical incident given the potential for it to have been more serious”.

THE pond at Mill Lane in Donington is now crystal clear and sparkling after receiving a makeover thanks to the generosity of Donington Conservation Group.

Work including replacing worn-out fencing and seating has given the site a facelift and made it safer for the local community to enjoy.

There is also a rubbish bin in the guise of a penguin, which is proving very popular with younger visitors.

Liz Walker, who organised the refurbishment, said: “People who walk by the pond every day think it looks marvellous now.

“It’s a good thing for the community and something to be proud of, it has been brought back to how it used to be.”

TRADERS have drawn up a “shopping list” of improvements they would like to see made to Spalding town centre to counteract the negative impact an extension of Holland Market could have.

Spalding and District Area Chamber of Commerce fears as yet unrevealed plans to expand the edge-of-town retail area could result in less shoppers venturing into the town centre and put added pressure on already-stretched parking provision on key trading days.

There are also concerns the new shops could lead to an increase in crime as more people travel from further afield to do their shopping and that town centre traders could be hit hard by competition from new shops.

Members have now drawn up a wish-list of projects which they would like Section 106 money – which would be given to South Holland District Council by developers if their plans for Holland Market were approved – to be spent on.

The top priority would be to improve the access between Holland Market and the town centre via the Pied Calf Yard or Kwik-Fit by the removal of buildings and the addition of an attractive walkway, which the chamber hopes would improve the flow of shoppers between the two areas.

Their other “wishes” focus on making the town centre more attractive to shoppers, with a five-day covered market – perhaps for arts and crafts – at the top of the list, as well as a dedicated town centre manager to organise events and market the town and new high-level wrought iron street signs identifying niche shopping areas such as The Crescent and Red Lion Street.

If the chamber gets its way Spalding’s one-day Food Festival would also be made into a much bigger event to attract visitors and new street rangers would be employed to guide visitors as well as provide security and tackle anti-social behaviour.

New directional signs between Holland Market and the town centre, flowers and shrubs in planters all year round and regular clean-ups of grot-spots are also highlighted as important, as are improvements to the riverbank area and better use of the Welland and Coronation Channel.

• What do you think of the traders’ wishes? What else would you like to see included? Email spaldingeditor@jpress.co.uk

ONE of three men accused of growing 150 cannabis plants worth an estimated £70,000 appeared at Spalding Magistrates’ Court on Thursday.

Kris Stimsom (30), of Greenham, Peterborough, is accused of producing cannabis on April 25 at a flat in Pinchbeck Road, Spalding.

The case was adjourned on Thursday to an interim date at Grantham Magistrates’ Court on June 8 when a date will be decided for a committal hearing for the matter to be heard at Lincoln Crown Court.

Stimsom has not indicated a plea.