GROWERS: By Edward Gent

I hope everyone had a good Christmas and a happy New Year.

At this time of year when many people have a well earned break some people have to work to provide essential services, notably the emergency services who we all rely on.

Obviously people need feeding every day and in this country we are lucky that we have a good environment and the wealth to sustain our agricultural and food industry to supply the needs of the public.

The food industry is a very big part of the country’s economy and supplies a vast array of commodities that the consumer can take for granted.

Just think of all the food on the supermarket shelves and look at the queues of people at the checkouts at this time of year.

The supply of food and related products takes a vast amount of work all through the year. We shouldn’t take for granted the food that is so abundant in this country.

Spare a few minutes to think of all the work that goes into providing this plentiful supply, from seeds being developed and sown, animals being born, crops and stock grown and tended through to commodities being processed and packaged into the products we recognise. Many hours of work is then needed to deliver the products to the consumer.

The agricultural industry is a big employer with many options and opportunities.

Thousands of people are involved daily and every job is important to get final qualityproduct.

We need many more young people to get involved.

To bring their enthusiasm and skills that are needed to push the industry forward, to keep up the pace of the new developments and ideas.

A group of nine people, including teenagers and children, have been arrested in Spalding on suspicion of entering the UK illegally.

The arrests were made after a police search of the town centre and railway station when they received reports of a group running from the back of a lorry parked in Clay Lake at about 12.50pm on Friday.

Of the nine people arrested, originally from Albania and Iran, most were teenagers aged between 15 and 17-years-old.

But police also arrested a family of four, including two children, who were hiding in the lorry which came from Spain.

Insp Jim Tyner, community policing inspector for South Holland, said: “We are satisfied that everyone who was seen to have run from the lorry were arrested and they have all been handed over to the care of Home Office Immigration Enforcement officials.”

Two people from Spalding, both aged in their 80s, have died after separate road crashes on roads in Lincolnshire before the start of 2015.

An 83-year-old man was killed after a silver Peugeot 206 he was driving collided with a white Ford Fiesta on the B1397 Spalding Road, Sutterton, at about 1.40pm on New Year’s Eve last Wednesday.

The man, who hasn’t yet been named, was airlifted to Queen’s Medical Centre, Nottingham, suffering from multiple injuries but died in hospital on Friday.

No other serious injuries were reported, according to PC Andy Donnelly of Lincolnshire Police who is investigating the circumstances surrounding the crash.

Meanwhile, an 87-year-old woman died after the Renault Clio she was a passenger in came off the A17 in Fulbeck, between Sleaford and Newark-on-Trent, at about 12.25pm on Saturday, December 27.

The woman was also taken to Queen’s Medical Centre, Nottingham, where her condition worsened and she died on Friday morning.

A Lincolnshire Police spokesman said the woman’s 84-year-old husband, who was driving the Renault, suffered “less serious injuries” and was discharged from hospital.

The woman’s name won’t be released until her family has been informed.

Both accidents came after a 59-year-old man from Long Sutton was critically injured when the electric wheelchair he was in collided with a car in London Road, Long Sutton, just after 10.30am on Christmas Eve.

Just like the other two casualties, the man was taken to Queen’s Medical Centre, Nottingham where he remains in a critical but stable condition while medical staff have him under sedation.

Figures from Lincolnshire Road Safety Partnership (LRSP) have revealed that 42 people have died in accidents on roads in Lincolnshire during 2014, compared to 36 in 2013 which was the lowest on record.

Of people aged 65 and over, there were 14 deaths last year, compared to 11 in 2013.

In contrast up to November 30, 2014, 313 people had been seriously injured on Lincolnshire’s road, compared to 355 for the same period in 2013.

During 2014, LRSP’s priorities for road safety services centred on young drivers aged 17 to 24, car drivers in general, pedestrians, motorcyclists and bicycle riders.

A Lincolnshire Joint Strategic Needs Assessment report, published in May 2014 by Lincolnshire County Council and Lincolnshire Community Health Services NHS Trust to assess the health and wellbeing of people in the county, claimed the state of Lincolnshire’s roads was a factor in the number of recorded accidents.

An extract from the report stated: “The condition of the highway network is both a local and national issue.

“The risk of road traffic collisions can increase on poor road surfaces and Lincolnshire’s carriageways are currently showing signs of significant distress.

“LRSP’s Forward Strategy for road safety continues to commit the partnership to be intelligence-led and to focus on the four ‘Es’ of evaluation,

education, engineering and

enforcement.

“These will include educational and driver training programmes, a countywide programme of local engineering safety schemes and supporting police enforcement.”

Hospital chiefs deny turning patients away from Pilgrim and Lincoln County hospitals – and diverting them to Grimsby – due to a bed shortage over Christmas.

But a source told the Free Press: “Both Lincoln and Boston ran out of beds. The hospitals at some time were diverting ambulances away – they were going to Grimsby.

“Boston at one point had 15 ambulances waiting outside.”

The source, who asked not to be named, said bed-blocking was partly to blame and one patient had waited several hours for medication to be dispensed by the hospital’s pharmacy before being allowed home.

A spokesman for United Lincolnshire Health Trust (ULHT) said she didn’t think there would have been 15 ambulances waiting at one time at Pilgrim.

She said: “No patients were diverted elsewhere. We were busy and we had enough room for everybody and my understanding is neighbouring hospitals were very busy as well.”

Christmas saw a 30 per cent surge in the number of people going to accident and emergency (A&E) departments at Lincolnshire’s hospitals, making it the busiest year yet in our area.

ULHT director for operations Michelle Rhodes said: “Winter is traditionally a busy time for the NHS but due to the four-day Christmas weekend, cold weather and short-term staff sickness, all our hospitals are experiencing high demand for all urgent care services.

“All staff at our hospitals are coping really well and working hard. Thanks to all the fantastic staff and all health and social care agencies working together providing best care, we were able to open more beds and are now discharging more patients home or to other services.

“I want everyone to think twice before they go to A&E – if it’s not serious or life threatening, you shouldn’t be there. Some people are visiting A&E with minor ailments such as ear aches, coughs and colds. This adds to the pressure on this valuable service during the winter months. Only attend A&E or call 999 with a real emergency such as serious trauma, suspected stroke or heart attack. Leave A&E for those who really need it.”

Johnson Community Hospital in Spalding saw 208 patients at its minor injuries unit (MIU) between December 20-29 – up by two on the previous year.

Ginny Blackoe, from Lincolnshire Community Health Services Trust, said: “This year has been the busiest yet in our area. We would urge anyone in the Spalding area who has an injury that is not an emergency to attend the MIU.”

The man in charge of the East Midlands Ambulance Service (EMAS) for Lincolnshire has admitted patients are sometimes diverted to other hospitals.

EMAS says diverts over Christmas were between Lincoln County and Boston rather than to Grimsby.

But the ambulance service hasn’t answered our question on whether 15 ambulances queued at accident and emergency (A&E) at Pilgrim over Christmas.

Andy Hill, EMAS paramedic and general manager for Lincolnshire, said: “When demand on the hospitals has been significantly high we have been asked to divert so our patient can receive care at another hospital facility.

“The divert request only applies to patients who are not already en route to the facility experiencing high demand.

“We have experienced delays in A&E colleagues being able to accept clinical handover from our ambulance crews.

“Inevitably this delay means our crews are not able to get back to their vehicle as quickly as we’d like to check and clean it and ‘book clear’ and respond to the next 999 call.

“We are helping the hospitals manage this situation by providing a HALO (hospital ambulance liaison officer) at the relevant emergency department when extra pressure is being experienced.”

United Lincolnshire’s A&E departments and EMAS have been handling a massive increase in the number of patients during December and over Christmas.

In December, EMAS received 15,530 calls in Lincolnshire alone from people needing emergency or urgent help.

Of those calls, 13,727 received “a face-to-face ambulance response” – and 58 per cent of those that received the response went to hospital.

The remaining 42 per cent were assessed or treated at the scene, but some were deemed “inappropriate and shouldn’t have come through the 999 system”.

Mr Hill said: “The increase in calls has put incredible pressure on the whole health system and inevitably that has meant that unfortunately some patients have experienced delays, particularly when their condition is not life-threatening or serious.”

He asked residents “to use the NHS wisely” and to find out about local health services on www.nhs.uk.

The trust which runs Boston’s Pilgrim Hospital has said it is on ‘black alert’ - but has not declared a ‘major incident’ over the pressures on A&E departments.

United Lincolnshire Hospitals Trust has said it has reached the highest of four levels that reflect how busy they are - and asked people only to attend A&E if absolutely necessary.

It had been incorrectly reported that they had followed several other hospitals in the country by declaring a ‘major incident’ over the current strain on resources.

The Standard has been told that this status, normally reserved for the aftermath of a one-off serious incident, has not been declared.

A spokesman said Lincolnshire hospitals are busier than usual – even for winter which is traditionally the busiest time of the year.

They said this is for a number of reasons although felt it was mainly down to the aftermath of the long Christmas weekend, cold weather, and worsening of people’s chronic conditions.

Dr Suneil Kapadia, medical director for ULHT, said: “Lincolnshire’s health services are under pressure in the winter but this is especially true of our A&E departments. I want all patients who go to A&E with serious illnesses or injuries to be seen and treated as quickly as possible. Patient safety is never compromised and patients who are very sick are always prioritised. Those who attend with minor conditions will still be treated, but potentially will have long waits when the department is busy.

“A&E doctors and GPs receive very different training so hospital doctors aren’t always best to help treat minor, chronic or long-term conditions - GPs are. I urge everyone to think twice before they go to A&E – if it’s not serious or life threatening, you shouldn’t be there”.

People are asked to call the 111 number in the first instance.

More information on non-emergency healthcare services is available at www.choosebetterlincs.co.uk or see www.nhs.uk for list of pharmacies.

Controversial plans to massively extend the glasshouse growing area at Lucksbridge Nurseries in Moulton Chapel are expected to get the go-ahead tomorrow (Wednesday).

Existing glasshouses and polytunnels on the Broadgate Drove site cover 2.04ha, but these are set to be replaced by glasshouses covering 3.6ha.

Two biomnass plant rooms are also proposed to serve the nursery.

South Holland District Council has previously refused a similar plan, but planning officers are recommending approval of the latest application following the removal of a 9.6 metre wide bay from the northern boundary and provision of additional trees.

Weston Parish Council has described the plan as a “massive overdevelopment of the site” and residents have raised a string of objections, which include comments that the development would harm the rural character of the area, it’s too close to homes and there will be increased disturbance from the site and traffic.

The company says it switched its customer base away from wholesale to supplying major retailers – and that has brought increased demand for bedding plants and culinary herb production.

Thieves have got away with about 300 litres of diesel after targeting the fuel tanks of two lorries parked near Long Sutton.

It happened in Sutton Crosses between 7pm on Sunday and 6am on Monday.

Anyone with information should call 101, quoting incident number 37 of January 05, or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

Parking spaces in Spalding’s Lime Court are likely to be boosted from 16 to 52.

South Holland District Council’s planning application for 36 additional spaces is recommended for approval by the authority’s planning committee, which meets tomorrow (Wednesday).

The council is also seeking consent for an additional seven bays in Ash Court, Spalding.

That plan is also recommended for approval at tomorrow’s meeting.

Spalding police are seeking witnesses after a parked car had its front nearside passenger window smashed – and items from the car were found on the pavement.

The silver Nissan Micra was parked in a bay in High Street, Spalding, opposite Holland Road, when it was damaged.

Police say the damage was found just after 11am yesterday (Monday) and the vehicle was intact on Sunday lunchtime.

Witnesses are asked to call police on 101, quoting incident number 126 of January 5.

Farming company G H Hoyles Ltd is seeking planning permission to build a reservoir for irrigating crops on land at Monmouth Lane, Lutton.

In an application to South Holland District Council, the company says: “Water is required to improve crop quality and a reservoir is the only method to gain sufficient water to use in the summer.”

The reservoir will cover 31,796 sq m if planning consent is granted.

Anyone who misses out on Sounds Force 5’s sell-out 50th anniversary gig in Spalding next month will get a second bite at the cherry.

For the Sixties Spalding

legends, who play at the South Holland Centre on February 20 with The Swinging Blue Jeans, are in Peterborough the week before.

Sounds Force 5 were very popular in the city in the heyday of pop music and will play at The Cresset on February 19.

On this occasion the band will be sharing the stage with The Move, who were one of the bill toppers in Spalding at the now legendary Barbecue 67 event.

The Move were famous for being the first band to appear on BBC Radio One and still include founder members Trevor Burton and drummer Bev Bevan, who was also in ELO.

Sounds Force 5 drummer Colin Ward, said: “What a thrill it will be to meet The Move again.

“It was in May 1967 that we appeared with them at the now demolished Bulb Auction Halls. Also joining us will be The Fortunes and The Dakotas, so it’s quite a bill.

“We are so thrilled that the local 60s fans are turning out in their hundreds to join our anniversary celebrations.”

Colin added: “Likewise, we cannot believe that our original guitarist Rob Munton will be flying over all the way from Australia for the concerts.”

At least 14 suspected criminals were taken off the streets of Spalding town centre in the lead-up to Christmas, according to Lincolnshire Police.

The success of Operation Washer, a bid to make the centre of Spalding crime-free for the duration of the festive shopping season. was also illustrated by figures which showed that almost 30 street drinkers were dealt with and 30 cyclists were warned for various offences.

Operation Washer ran between December 1 and 24 when police officers spent more than 320 hours of foot and bicycle patrol around the town centre, including “anti-social behaviour hotspots” such as the riverbank alongside Albion Street and the Green Lane footbridge area.

South Holland community policing inspector Jim Tyner said: “The main aim of Operation Washer was to deter offenders from committing acts of street drinking, cycling offences, thefts from shops and youth-related anti-social behaviour in Spalding town centre in the run-up to Christmas.

“It was also to provide reassurance to our community living in and visiting the town centre by increasing the number of patrols on our town centre beat.

“There were high-visibility foot and cycle patrols daily in the town centre and at nearby recognised anti-social behaviour hotspots, including the Albion Street riverbank and the Green Lane footbridge area. The use of dispersal notices was also considered as and when high levels of anti-social behaviour occured in the designated patrol areas.”

In total, about 100 people were dealt with by way of arrests, fines, warnings and stop/searches over the Operation Washer period.

This included eight arrests of people suspeced of shoplifting, one arrest of a person believed to have breached a dispersal notice, 28 street drinkers having their alcohol seized, 15 stop/searches and four on-the-spot fines, including one for shoplifting.

Inspector Tyner said: “Throughout the duration of the operation, we received really positive feedback from local businesses, traders and shoppers.

“My officers will continue to patrol the town centre area but, as the focus will be scaled back, it is important that the public calls us on 101 to report issues so I can ensure that patrols are directed to the right areas.

“Whilst there may be uncertainty about what the future holds in terms of policing resources in Lincolnshire, I welcome 2015 with a determination that Spalding town centre should continue to be a safe place to live, work, shop and meet, both during the day and at night.”

The number of police officers in Lincolnshire could fall below 1,100 after a £3million cut in the county’s policing budget.

Despite letters from Chief Constable Neil Rhodes and Alan Hardwick, Police and Crime Commissioner for Lincolnshire, urging the Government to make police funding fairer, the county faces a two and a half per cent cut in spending.

A Lincolnshire Police spokesman said: “The Home Secretary accepts that we have been at the forefront of change and also recognises that we face particular financial pressures.

“However, this settlement will only further increase pressure on our already stretched budgets and will make it increasingly difficult to maintain current levels of service in the future beyond this year.

“Funding has been taken away from local communities and, specifically, what the grant settlement means for Lincolnshire is a reduction in cash terms of over £3 million.

“We continue to urge the Government to urgently review the funding formula.”

A 17-year-old moped rider was seriously injured in a crash in Holbeach yesterday (Tuesday) evening.

The teenager from Holbeach St Marks suffered serious leg fractures and was taken first to Boston’s Pilgrim Hospital before being transferred to Queen’s Medical Centre, Nottingham.

His moped was involved in a collision with a Mitsubishi Colt in High Street at about 6.30pm.

Police are appealing for witnesses to contact them on the Collision Witness Hotline 01522 558855.

Police say a man injured in a road crash at Gosberton last night (Tuesday) is “in a very serious condition” at Queen’s Medical Centre, Nottingham.

Police believe the pedestrian, a Peterborough man, was in the road when he was struck by a Nissan Micra on the A152 shortly after 11pm.

He was taken first to Boston’s Pilgrim Hospital but then transferred to Nottingham.

Police are appealing for anyone who saw the pedestrian prior to the incident to contact the Collision Witness Hotline on 01522 558855.

After a childhood spent moving around the world with his RAF officer father, Lee Brook chose a nomadic lifestyle for himself.

After a childhood spent moving around the world with his RAF officer father, Lee Brook chose a nomadic lifestyle for himself.

As well as serving in the British Army, with tours of Berlin in Germany and active duty in Northern Ireland, Lee emigrated to Australia where he worked in the business press publishing industry. He has also lived in India.

Lee says part of his motivation for producing his first book, Reflections, is to show young people feeling disillusioned with their life opportunities that anything is possible.

He points as an example to his father Eric Brook and his fellow co-founders of Bourne Salads who began with a blank sheet of paper and ended up creating a company employing hundreds of people.

In the same way Lee has drawn on his life experiences to write Reflections – and he has more literary plans in the pipeline.

A second volume of poetry titled Avalanche is due to be published shortly and Lee is also working on his first novel, The Wolf of Berlin, a work of fiction set in 1940-1945 Europe.

He’s been a global traveller most of his life, but South Holland has always been ‘home’ for Lee Brook.

This area is where his parents lived for more than 30 years and so it’s the place that has been a constant throughout his life.

His parents Doreen and Eric Brook made an enormous impact on this district, his father one of three men who founded Bourne Salads in 1987.

Lee says they hatched the concept together in his parents’ house in Knight Street in Pinchbeck. The business was sold to Geest about six years later and is now part of Bakkavor.

Eric was also instrumental in introducing bar code technology to the first store in the country – Key Markets at Pinchbeck, or what is now Morrisons.

Until that time shop assistants were pressing buttons on tills, but Eric rolled out the new bar code scanning technology across the stores – and Doreen was a trainer in the new way of working.

Eric died in 2008, but Doreen, now 83, is living in Georgian Court in Spalding where Lee visits regularly.

Lee, whose childhood was spent in the Far East and Africa, says: “While my parents put down roots here my late twin brother and I absorbed this global tramping, but we always gravitated to Lincolnshire. I have been going into the Pied Calf for 30 years. Spalding is a lovely little market town and it’s unique in that it grows food for the whole country. I have always gravitated to this town, not just to visit my parents but because it’s home.”

Strangely enough, after a life spent travelling with the Army and then working in Australia, Lee has come to live in the UK and is manager for a large retirement home in Margate – the same retirement home provider that owns Georgian Court and Swallows Court in Spalding.

He has a daughter living in Canada, a sister in America, but Lee finally seems to be putting his own roots down in the UK.

Along with that urge to settle somewhere permanently has come a time to look back at the people and events that have been instrumental in his life.

Reflections, Lee’s first published work, sums that up in a book of poems.

Lee says: “It’s about my own reflections of myself and how I fit into the world and how people behave and situations that have occurred throughout my life.

“They are an observation of how I see the world and there is comedy, love and adventure and some are a bit deep, so the poems are diverse and varied.”

Lee is offering the book for free at the moment – simply email him at leebrook79@gmail.com

The only thing he asks in return is that people send feedback if they like it.

Estate agents Pygott and Crone have submitted a planning application to open a new office at 12 High Street, Holbeach, known as The Card Gallery.

Holbeach is currently served by the Spalding office of Pygott and Crone, based in Bridge Street.

Pygott and Crone director Andrew Bland said it was too early to talk about the company’s plans.

The Alder Veterinary Surgery in Bourne Road, Spalding, is seeking planning consent for a revamp.

The work will involve redecoration and enhancement of the shop front, with repainting, installation of canopies and a new illuminated light box sign.

An application for consent has been submitted to South Holland District Council.