Year 3 children from Ayscoughfee Hall School in Spalding enhanced their historical knowledge with a Roman Day which provided a fantastic opportunity to experience life in that time.

They dressed for the occasion and learnt about the lives of soldiers and gladiators and the weapons used in ancient Rome.

They designed and created their own shields and even went into battle against ferocious Celts. 

n Pictured with adult Romans are James Laud and Alfie Robinson and the single Roman soldier is Joshua Delaney.

A Sutton St James resident is worried elderly people might be tricked by scammers claiming their computers have a virus.

Karon Hagon said she received two telephone calls on Tuesday from someone called Eric claiming he needed to access her computer before malware shut it down.

She said: “I was told they held the licence and there had been a warning from my IP address.

“I got cross the first time and put the phone down, but half an hour later it rang again so this time I went along with it.

“I was told I would be passed over to the senior supervisor who would be with me every step of the way.

“She got quite aggressive and screamed at me ‘we hold the licence and we need to sort this out’.

“But when I asked for a name and telephone number, so I could get it verified by the police, they quickly put the phone down.

“I just worry for people living on their own or the elderly who might be tricked by this.”

Anyone receiving bogus calls should report it to the police by calling 101.

Holbeach United Football Club joint manager Graham Drury and his son have been convicted of a number of 
offences after carrying out a violent attack on a married couple at their home in Grantham.

Just before 1am on August 17 ast year Drury (43) and his 21-year-old son Jordan Drury, visited a property in Belton.

The occupants were known to the pair and Jordan Drury had in place an existing restraining order that ordered him not to contact or visit the address of one of the individuals living at the house.

Graham Drury, who drove to the property, was over the drink drive limit at the time.

In an unprovoked attack, Graham and Jordan kicked and punched the door of the house, causing damage to it.

Jordan then assaulted the couple – a 47-year-old woman and a 51-year-old man – at the address while trying to force his way in.

Police were called and they fled in their car. The couple were not seriously injured but were left extremely distressed, along with other members of their family.

Following a day-long 
trial at Grantham Magistrates’ Court, in which the pair pleaded not guilty, they were convicted of the following::

Jordan Drury, of Hever Close in Grantham, was convicted at Lincoln Crown Court due to the seriousness of his offences. He was found guilty of: criminal damage, two counts of battery, and breach of restraining order.

He was ordered to carry out 120 hours’ community service, ordered to pay compensation for the damage and to the victims of the assault, and was also given a Protection from Harassment Order (restraining order) to protect the victim, which runs for five years.

Graham Drury, also of Hever Close, was found guilty of driving a vehicle with excess alcohol, criminal damage and section four public order. He was disqualified from driving, fined £385, also ordered to pay compensation, and also given a restraining order.

DC Adam Battersby, who investigated the incident, said: “This was an incredibly upsetting experience for the victims who should have been protected by the restraining order 
already put in place in respect of Jordan Drury.

“By ignoring the terms of that order he not only physically hurt those involved but has also caused them to suffer emotionally.

“The behaviour of these two men that night was completely inappropriate and 
absolutely unprovoked.”

A fourth candidate standing in the parliamentary elections for South Holland will appear at the Spalding Guardian Election 2015 hustings.

Liberal Democrat George Smid is the latest to confirm he will attend the event at the South Holland Centre on St George’s Day, April 23.

The Green Party has also been in touch to say it is in the very final stages of selecting its candidate for South Holland and the Deepings and has asked that we reserve a seat for the line-up. That will bring the total of candidates who will be in the spotlight to answer your questions to five. Also in the line-up is the current MP, Tory John Hayes, UKIP’s David Parsons and Labour’s Matthew Mahabadi.

There has already been an overwhelming response to tickets for the free event, and with 232 seats booked in the first few days there is just gallery space left now.

Residents unable to attend the event need not worry – the Lincolnshire Free Press and Spalding Guardian will be accepting questions for candidates that can be emailed in to be asked on the night.

Tickets, limited to four per person, can be acquired from the South Holland Centre booking office by calling 01775 764777. Doors will open at 6.30pm for a 7pm start.

A 26-year-old man is in the hands of immigration officials after police arrested him on the A16 in Crowland on suspicion of entering the UK illegally.

The man from Iran was arrested at about 6pm on Saturday and he has been detained while Home Office Immigration Enforcement officers deal with his case.

A Home Office spokesman said: “We work closely with the police to tackle illegal immigration and continue to strengthen the security of our borders to stop those who have no right to enter the UK.

“If people have a genuine need of protection they should claim asylum in the first safe country they reach.

“But If they are just seeking to evade immigration control they need to know that they are risking their lives and will get caught.

“The new Immigration Act makes it harder for people to live in the UK illegally and for them to abuse our benefits and public services.

“However, it makes it easier for us to remove them by reducing the number of appeals and anyone found to have no legal right to remain in the UK faces removal.”

Police are looking for a burglar who broke in and stole goods from a house in Spalding during the week.

The burglar snapped the lock on a back door of a house in Greenrigg Gardens then ransacked the house and took a number of items. Police believe the burglary happened Sunday and Wednesday lunchtime.

Anyone with information should call 101, quoting incident 142 of February 3.

This newspaper received a first-hand account of war from an injured soldier.

Cpl H H Brown of Spalding had spent 13 years in the British Army but had been shot twice in the leg during fierce fighting at the front and so was recuperating at home.

The corporal, who was also a maxim gun instructor and led a maxim gun team, was the son of Mr and Mrs E Brown, the Spalding cemetery keeper.

Since joining the army in 1902 he had served in Gibraltar, Africa and Bermuda.

When the First World War broke out his regiment went out to Mons where “he went into action for the first time in his life” the day after arriving.

The corporal reported that his nerves were at “the highest tension” as he waited to go into action for the first time. He said it was not fear, but “a sort of excitement as to what was going to happen”.

However, there was little time for thought once the shells and bullets began to fall “dealing death and wounds all round you”.

The men were soon down to the “grim business of war”.

He said: “One’s chums fell all round you dead and wounded, but even this left you practically unmoved, your one concern being how many of the enemy you could account for. There was no thought of the fact that you were taking human life. It was simply that it was your duty to do it.”

The men in his regiment had walked into a death trap, attacked on three sides, with bullets falling like rain.

Cpl Brown fell with two bullets in his right leg but managed to roll to the ditch at the side of the road, which probably saved his life as all his comrades were riddled with bullets as they lay wounded on the ground. He lay like that for four hours until picked up by ambulance.

W H Brand can claim to have been serving the motorist since 1925.

It’s the day 90 years ago the business was first opened in Whaplode Drove by William Horace Brand, known as Bill, who began selling petrol and repairing cycles and motorcycles very close to the current garage.

That day in 1925 was also memorable for another reason: it was the day that Bill’s son, Fred, was born.

Fred, who went on to take over the business, celebrated his 90th birthday on Tuesday, surrounded by family and friends.

Fred’s family includes his wife Alfreda, their son Martyn and his wife Eileen, their son Adam, who is sales manager, and his sister Sarah, who has two children.

Adam charts the company’s history for us, starting with William moving to the village as an orphan in the early years of the 20th century following his parents’ death from TB.

In 1925, Bill opened his first premises selling petrol and bicycles, as well as things such as tyres, inner tubes and charging accumulators. Soon afterwards, motorcycles were also sold. The sign for the premises was being made when Bill’s wife Edith gave birth to Fred.

By 1936 Bill had established himself as a good mechanic and salesman and bought his own house and three acres of land to build a garage.

By 1948 Fred was involved in the business. To raise enough money to build new premises he competed in Speedway, becoming the all time top scorer and captain for Yarmouth. Chosen to ride for Great Britain, Fred was transferred to Norwich in 1953 and qualified for the Speedway World Final in 1954.

By 1956 Fred was able to build a new garage and his father saw the sign W H Brand & Son go up on the new premises shortly before he died in a motoring accident.

In the 1960s W H Brand was a BMC agent and when BMC became British Leyland the garage sold brands such as Austin, Morris, Rover and Triumph.

In 1986 British Leyland was linked with Honda and became Rover Group, eventually MG Rover Group.

By this time Fred’s son Martyn was in the driving seat at W H Brand & Son. He had also followed his father’s footsteps into racing, and raced stock cars from 1970. His most successful years were 1987 winning the World Championship for the first time and retaining that title the following year, as well as gaining the European, British, English and National Championship titles.

By this time Martyn’s son Adam had joined the business, firstly as a mechanic and helping out with car sales, but moving permanently into car sales from 2002.

After the demise of MG Rover, W H Brand & Son took on the Chevrolet franchise from 2006.

A year earlier, the showroom and workshops were extended to cope with the ever expanding business.

Adam says: “The size of the buildings hadn’t really changed a great amount since it was initially built in 1956, but the increasing number of customers and staff required more space.”

At the end of 2013 W H Brand took on the new MG franchise. Within a year W H Brand became the top selling dealer for the MG3, resulting in being awarded Top Selling MG Dealer Overall for 2014.

Martyn said: “We’re well known for the family-friendly nature of our business and we have a very loyal customer base.

“People ask us how we sell cars in the middle of nowhere and we say we’re in the middle of everywhere.”

Fred still goes into reception regularly to chat to customers and make them feel welcome.

Fred said: “The business gives me a lot of pleasure. There have been a lot of changes over 90 years and I’m proud to be able to see the business continue to succeed after all this time.”

New jobs, industries and homes will be generated in Holbeach with millions of pounds heading for the town.

As revealed in The Spalding Guardian on Thursday, Greater Lincolnshire Enterprise Partnership (LEP) has secured £2.4million in Government Growth Deals for each of two massive projects:

l A new roundabout at Peppermint Junction, where the A151 link road meets the A17;

l A new Agri-Food Centre of Excellence at The National Centre for Food Manufacturing, the Holbeach campus of the University of Lincoln.

The Growth Deals millions are the tip of the iceberg as Lincolnshire County Council, which heads the roundabout project, will seek outline planning consent for industrial units along one side of the link road, the same side as the travellers’ camp, and housing on the other side. Work on the roundabout is due to start post April 2016.

The Agri-Food Centre, to be built on the university site on Park Road, will cost about £7million and is expected to create 100 jobs over a ten-year period.

Professor Val Braybrooks, Dean at The National Centre for Food Manufacturing, said building work is likely to start in 2017 and the centre could be ready by autumn 2018.

The centre will strengthen the food industry in South Holland and Lincolnshire and help it stay competitive.

“It is going to be about increasing our capacity to support research and innovation as well as high level skills,” said Professor Braybrooks. “Basically we are building up a really strong platform.”

South Holland didn’t get a single penny from the last round of funding won by LEP.

County councillor Nick Worth said this time “oven ready” South Holland projects were put forward and others, including the Spalding western bypass, are in the pipeline – although the £15million road may have to be built in phases.

Coun Worth said the county council will pave the way for others to develop industries and homes on either side of the A151 link road.

The roundabout will also provide an opportunity to keep lorries out of the town centre with a weight restriction on Spalding Road once drivers have safer access to the A17.

A drug user was arrested by police on a single track, unclassified road in the early hours of the morning when they were called out to a rave at Holbeach St Matthews.

Shelley Wilson, prosecuting, told magistrates that police met Joseph Khan’s VW Golf at 2.55am on August 31.

Officers stopped their car and Khan stopped his.

Mrs Wilson said police saw smoke coming out of the Golf – as the windows were down – and, as they approached, they identified the smell of cannabis.

Officers recovered a small wrap of MDMA, a class A drug also known as ecstasy or Molly, and a small bag of cannabis.

Mrs Wilson said Khan appeared intoxicated and later forensic analysis of a sample revealed Khan had traces of both drugs in his blood.

Khan (24), of Berners Street, Norwich, was banned from driving for a year and fined £125 when he pleaded guilty to driving while unfit through drugs.

He was also fined £50 for possession of MDMA and given no separate penalty for possession of cannabis, a class B drug.

Khan, who pleaded guilty to all three offences, must also pay £85 costs and a £20 victim surcharge.

Solicitor Andrew Nicholson, mitigating, told Boston magistrates: “He was in an area where an illegal rave was taking place. Had it not been for this rave, it’s unlikely police would have stopped him.

“He wasn’t driving erratically and although this is a public road it’s very much off the beaten track.”

Mr Nicholson said while “toxicants” were found in Khan’s blood, they were at very low levels.

He said: “There were no aggravating features in terms of the actual driving.”

A man charged with growing 276 cannabis plants at an address in Park Lane, Surfleet, has been sent by magistrates to appear at Lincoln Crown Court on February 18.

Daniel Bailey (41), of Marlborough Avenue, Spalding, entered no plea when he appeared at Boston Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday. He was given bail.

A retired postmistress is the first guest at a new care home offering residential and nursing support in Deeping St James.

Braeburn Lodge hosted a 90th birthday party for Joyce Haynes which included a pampering session in the home’s hairdressing salon.

The care home opened in January and has room for 60 residents, including those needing specialist dementia care in its Memory Lane Community to help them live more independently.

General manager Sue Scarlett said: “This is a very exciting time and I have been enjoying the task of getting to know the individuals moving in.

“We have a very friendly team and welcome anyone who would like to visit the home and find out more about the services we offer.”

Braeburn Lodge is run by Barchester Healthcare of London who also run Wood Grange Care Home in Bourne.

Senior regional operational director Liz Moran said: “There is a real need for quality care in the area and Braeburn Lodge will definitely meet this, potentially giving a boost to employment in neighbouring communities.”

Bourne and District Neighbourhood Watch Association is meeting at Bourne Fire Station, South Street, on Monday at 7.30pm.

Members of the Bourne and Billingborough Neighbourhood Police Team will be attending so that people can raise and discuss any issues relating to their community.

There will also be representatives from the Bourne and Billingborough Police panel attending the meeting.

Spalding and District Area Chamber of Commerce president Phil Scarlett will represent UKIP as a candidate in the district council elections in May.

Mr Scarlett revealed his intention to stand in an interview with the Spalding Guardian on Tuesday without saying he would be a UKIP candidate.

He told us then: “At parish and district level, it should be about the individual – you are not electing a party.”

UKIP local chairman Paul Foyster issued a press release today (Thursday) saying: “UKIP are pleased to announce that Mr Philip Scarlett, the president of Spalding Chamber of Commerce, has now joined our party.”

The statement said Mr Scarlett had been selected to stand for South Holland District Council and also revealed he “is assisting us and our parliamentary candidate, David Parsons, on commercial and other matters and he will be heading our Spalding Policy Unit”.

Mr Scarlett told us today he joined UKIP last year.

He said: “I will be standing for UKIP because I am a member of their party – but I will be standing because UKIP have no whip and no corralling of members. They select us but you are standing in your own right.”

Spalding’s historic court could have a new lease of life as headquarters for the town branch of The Royal British Legion (RBL), a possible learning resource for children and an attraction for tourists.

Senior officials from The RBL and the Ministry of Justice toured the Sessions House in Sheep Market on Thursday, but any move will have to be sanctioned by the branch and will be subject to the building being offered on suitable terms.

Spalding RBL branch chairman Colin Jackman said the building has “possibilities” but they would want to lease it rather than buy it – and they don’t want the burden of potentially high maintenance costs.

He said: “At the moment I can see possibilities – we are now waiting for the justice department to come back with what they want.”

Mr Jackman said if the RBL moves in, it’s likely the upstairs Court 1 will remain the same while the branch makes the most of the ground floor space.

He said: “One of the things I would like to do as one of the lead officers is to get the schools involved and show them how a court works.

“It would be role-play for them. We could do it because, in my view, that court room (Court 1) could not be changed. It would destroy what it’s all about.

“We had the town centre manager with us on Thursday and he said we could open part of it for tourists to come and have a look.”

The RBL is based in a house on Spring Gardens, Spalding, but the space there is cramped and tiny.

Spalding branch of The Lincolns have already moved out of the Spring Gardens house and had their first meeting at The Lighthouse Church – the former drill hall – in January.

Chairman Ken Willows said: “It’s a bit tight in there. We have 38 or 39 members and we were almost sitting on one another’s knees.”

Community champions who volunteer their time to help others in south Lincolnshire have been rewarded in a special ceremony.

The event was organised by Lincolnshire Community and Voluntary Service (LCVS) to acknowledge the vast work done by the charities, organisations and individuals it works to support.

Nominations for the awards came from LCVS teams in the four boroughs and districts where they are based.

Among the winners in South Holland were volunteers from Sir John Gleed School in Spalding, for their Christmas party for the elderly.

Shortlisted were Bakkavor, Spalding, for its Christmas food and toy appeal; and Dementia Support South Lincs, South Kesteven.

There were also nominations for Carol Precey, for her involvement with Deepings Youth Centre, Deepings Parish Council and Deepings United Charities; Geoff Taylor whose involvements include Chain Bridge Forge, Spalding; Spalding People’s Parade; Bourne 2 Play; and QV Foods, Holbeach Hurn.

Nominees and guests attended the awards event at Blackfriars Theatre and Arts Centre, in Spain Lane, Boston, on Friday afternoon.

The venue kindly allowed LCVS to use its facilities free-of-charge and additional costs were covered with the help of sponsorship from Duncan and Toplis chartered accountants and business advisers.

Awards were given in nine categories including small charity, big achiever; trustee of the year and bringing communities together.

David Fannin, LCVS chief executive, said: “Choosing the winners was a very difficult process because everyone who was nominated had contributed, often in a huge way, to their communities.

“We hope that all the nominees and, of course the very worthy winners, went away feeling that contribution had been recognised.

“What was particularly wonderful to see was the spread of people nominated for awards.

“Teenagers, pensioners, different nationalities, those with disabilities, they were all represented among the nominees, which is what the word ‘community’ is really all about.”

Local successes were:

Employer supported volunteering, most outstanding team – awarded to a team that has delivered a social action project with huge positive benefits to their local community (Business award).

Winner:

Sir John Gleed School, Spalding:

The school decided to hold a tea party for Age UK users, raised money to fund the event and then laid it on.

It was such a success the school went on to fundraise for and organise a Christmas party for users too and is continuing its link with Age UK.

In addition the school embraced a Woodland Trust initiative to clear a part of the school grounds and create a woodland area.

Shortlisted:

Bakkavor, Spalding.

Also nominated:

QV Foods, Holbeach Hurn.

Small charity, big achiever – awarded to a small organisation that has made a big impact with an innovative project or projects (Bert Shaw Award).

Shortlisted:

Dementia Support South Lincs, South Kesteven.

Supporting people living with dementia and their families in The Deepings, Stamford, Bourne and surrounding villages.

Also nominated:

Spalding People’s Parade; Bourne 2 Play.

Trustee of the year – awarded to an individual for outstanding service and commitment to the governing body of a charity.

Nominated:

Lorraine Lenton, whose involvements include The Butterfly Hospice, Home-Start South Holland and the Samaritans.

Carol Precey whose involvements include Deepings Youth Centre, Deepings Parish Council and Deepings United Charities.

Geoff Taylor whose involvements include Chain Bridge Forge, Spalding.

Council tax bills will be seven pence a week higher from April to fund Lincolnshire Police, it has been confirmed today.

A 1.95 per cent precept increase to pay for policing in the county was agreed at a meeting of the Lincolnshire Police and Crime Panel this morning.

The rise will add between £2.52 and £7.56 onto council tax bills in 2015/16, meaning householders will in total pay £3.78 more on average next year based on a Band D property.

Lincolnshire Police is facing a 3.5 per cent budget cut, or £3.2 million in the coming financial year which has led Chief Constable Neil Rhodes and Police and Crime Commissioner Alan Hardwick to call for a “fair funding settlement” for the county.

Speaking to the Free Press in August, Police and Crime Panel chairman Norman Norris said: “We share the concerns of the Chief Constable and Police and Crime Commissioner to call for a fairer approach to funding for policing the county.

“We fundamentally believe that the funding formula is wrong as it penalises forces, such as Lincolnshire, by not fully considering the size of the area the force covers or the rural issues it faces.

“Further cuts in funding would affect the Force’s ability to effectively police Lincolnshire which already has one of the smallest numbers of police officers in the country (1,100), despite being one of the largest geographic policing areas.”

For the full story, read Tuesday’s Lincolnshire Free Press.

A specialist animal rescue team freed a horse that was trapped between a fence and plough in Long Sutton.

The team from Lincolnshire Fire and Rescue, based in Long Sutton and Spalding, used a spade and bolt cutters to remove a fence wire and concrete post to rescue the horse.

The rescue took place in Browns Gate just before 5pm on Wednesday.

Government cash to join up Spalding’s cycleways could be heading our way on the back of the major event planned for the town in May.

Spalding Velo Prix, to be held over the May Bank Holiday weekend, is set to attract hundreds of new cyclists to the area – and add weight to a campaign run by local action group Pedals to get our cycleways joined up.

Last week MP John Hayes, in his role as Transport Minister, announced the Government’s first nationwide strategy to promote cycling and make it safer.

Mr Hayes told the Guardian, which is backing Spalding Velo Prix: “Safer cycling is something people have argued for locally for some time and the strategy I announced in the House will create a great catalyst to see what we can do to improve cycling in our area.

“An event like the one to be held in Spalding in May will go a long way to highlighting the need for improvements here.”

In the past, residents have been angered by the rising number of cyclists in Spalding using pavements.

Police in Spalding have been out as early as 5am for dawn raids on cyclists riding on pavements going to and from work.

Insp Jim Tyner said: “I would be pleased with anything that improves the facilities for cyclists in Spalding.”

Two weeks ago, Pedals met with Lincolnshire County Council over a number of issues, including more provision of cycleways. Member Roger Smith said: “Clearly with funding as it is their emphasis has to be on repairs and maintenance rather than improvements.

“If John Hayes can get specific funding to improve cycling here that has got to be a good thing.

“Mr Hayes saw how many organisations are involved in promoting cycling locally at a forum we held last year, and he has agreed to chair a second one this year at the South Holland Centre on June 12. We can only hope – and carry on.”