CHECKS have been carried out on a number of licensed premises to ensure they are not selling alcohol and cigarette to underage teenagers.

Fifteen and 16-year-old volunteers were used to ensure shops were sticking to the law.

A couple of premises in Spalding failed the test, resulting in staff being issued with £80 fixed penalties.

Advisory letters inviting the licence holders to a meeting to discuss the matter to prevent further illegal sales were also sent and the premises will then be retested.

If there is a further breach police will apply for a review, which could see them lose their licences.

The premises that failed were B&M Stores in Winsover Road, which sold alcohol to one of the youngsters, and Delicja in Westlode Street, which sold alcohol and cigarettes.

The tobacco offence will be dealt with by Lincolnshire Trading Standards.

In Bourne, Sam’s Newsagent refused to sell alcohol but will be contacted by Trading Standards with advice about age verification best practice.

Cross Bros Spar in Knight Street, Pinchbeck, Jhay Store, of High Street, Kirton and Dobsons, in High Street, Billingborough all refused to sell alcohol and will not be retested unless new intelligence is received.

SERVICE users and carers from across Lincolnshire are being asked to nominate the NHS mental health professional, team or volunteer who has gone the extra mile in providing their mental health care.

The annual Going for Gold staff excellence awards are run by Lincolnshire Partnership NHS Foundation Trust to recognise those NHS staff members who provide exceptional kindness, professional expertise, or expert care.

The deadline for nominations is Friday, September 21 and winners will be announced in November. To make your nomination go to www.lpft.nhs.uk or call 01529 222 270 for a freepost nomination form.

A man has died after a two-car collision on the A17 near Sutterton yesterday (Sunday).

It happened when a silver Vauxhall Meriva collided with a beige Vauxhall Zafira at Wigtoft at about 4.30pm.

The driver of the Meriva, a 78-year-old man from Hemsworth, was taken to Pilgrim Hospital in Boston but later died.

A 21-year-old man from Spalding, who was driving the Zafira and not thought to be injured, was arrested on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving.

The road was closed for about five and a half hours while investigations took place and the vehicles were recovered.

Anyone who saw the collision or has any other information should call Lincolnshire Police on 101, quoting incident number 315 of September 9.

SPALDING won’t lose a square metre of open green space to development without replacing it with something better, South Holland Council leader Gary Porter has pledged.

He refuted claims by Spalding Civic Society that in the wake of the Olympics the town, already 46 per cent under-provided with informal sports space, is in danger of losing still more and that “councillors and school governors seem intent on reducing it even further”.

Civic Society chairman Robert West, a former South Holland councillor, said: “We’re being told the plans for Holland Park which include the Sir Halley Stewart Field won’t be made public until a formal application is made – by then it will be too late.

“We should be discussing it now as part of a bigger picture of all the green space we still have in Spalding.

“Our open spaces are being looked at as a cash cow and not for their value to the community.”

He said the Society wrote to the Lincolnshire Free Press claiming the Sir Halley Stewart Field, the Castle Field, Chiltern Drive Playing Field and Spalding Grammar School’s West Field were all under threat in order to start a public debate about all of Spalding’s green space.

Coun Porter said this week: “The council Robert West was a member of before 1999 failed to secure the minimum requirement of public open space from developers so the town has half what it should have.

“We inherited that serious under-provision and we’ve tried to fix it by securing at least 14 percent of green space on every development.

“There are no plans to build on Castle Field and only an informal proposal on the Halley Stewart field. If that goes, we’ll ensure there is much larger, better, open provision close to Spalding and some replacement within the town centre too.

“Perhaps part of the package might be the development of better sports or athletics facilities at the Castle Field, where the old athletics track is now unuseable.

“I won’t impose a blanket ban on developing green space in Spalding to play into the headlines.

“But I can say that any loss of green space will be mitigated by a greater gain. Every change should be positive.”

Holbeach Olympian Geoff Capes, who is bringing his throwing athletics academy back to his home town from the Princess Royal Arena in Boston, is against any net loss of green space, but says provision must be controlled and monitored.

He said: “I’m all for open spaces as long as they’re properly managed. Open access can damage facilities.”.

A MAN has died after a two-car collision on the A17 on Sunday.

The accident, which happened at Wigtoft at about 4.30pm, involved a silver Vauxhall Meriva and a beige Vauxhall Zafira.

The driver of the Meriva, a 78-year-old man from Hemsworth, was taken to Boston’s Pilgrim Hospital but later died.

A 21-year-old man from Spalding, who was driving the Zafira, was arrested on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving.

The road was closed for about five hours while investigations took place and the vehicles were recovered.

Witnesses or anyone with information should call Lincolnshire Police on 101, quoting incident number 315 of September 9.

EIGHT-year-old McKenzie Amess-Williams is starting the new term at Weston St Mary Primary School with a splash.

He’ll get all his school swimming lessons until Christmas free of charge at Castle Swimming Pool, Spalding.

The pool chose McKenzie from all the pupils of the 31 schools which swim there to receive this term’s school swimming scholarship because of the excellent progress he’d made in the summer term.

Richard Johnson, Contract Manager of Castle Swimming Pool said: “We are really proud of all of the Swim School children. We’ve been impressed by McKenzie as he has shown real determination and he always puts 100 per cent effort into his swimming.”

A HANDBAG, wallet and sunglasses were stolen in a burglary of a home in Spalding’s Cradge Bank.

Theives sneaked in through an unlocked door on Friday.

The same evening a neighbour reported he had disturbed someone stealing a sat nav from a car on his driveway.

Anyone with information should call Lincolnshire Police on 101.

BURGLARS forced a window to gain entry to a house in Aintree Way, Bourne, and steal a flat-screen Samsung television, a laptop, two white iPads and an X-box between 10am on Saturday and 12.30pm on Sunday.

A 22-YEAR-OLD motorcyclist has been seriously injured after his bike crashed into the metal railings of Spalding’s St John’s Primary School.

The rider of a blue Suzuki 750 motorbike, from Surfleet, was taken to Boston’s Pilgrim Hospital with “life-changing injuries” and later transfered to Queen’s Medical Centre in Nottingham.

The accident in Hawthorn Bank happened at about 2.35am on Monday morning,

Anyone who witnessed it should call the Collision Witness Hotline on 01522 558855.

THE number of people sent to prison for serious waste crime has almost trebled in the last three years, according to a new report.

The Environment Agency’s annual waste report highlights cases such as that of Spalding man, Carl Steele, who dumped over one million tyres across England.

Steele, dubbed Million Tyre Man, was a con man, who put others’ health at risk because piles of tyres can catch fire.

He undercut legitimate and responsible recycling businesses and damaged their livelihood – making money and leaving others to clean up the mess.

He was one of 16 people jailed for a range of waste-dumping related crimes. in 2011

He is being used as an example by the Environment Agency to warn others who may be involved in large scale waste dumping that they will be caught.

Environment Secretary Caroline Spelman said: “Illegal waste sites are a blight on our communities which I am determined to root out.

“The new Illegal Waste Site Taskforce, funded by Defra, means these criminals have nowhere to hide and we will be relentless in tracking them down.

“These criminals should know we are coming for them and they will feel the full force of the law.”

And the Head of the Environment Agency’s National Environmental Crime Team Andrew Higham said: “Waste crime can cause pollution, pose risks to people’s health and undercut legitimate businesses.

“We’ve stepped up the fight and we are increasingly seeing waste offenders being made to pay for their crimes.”

As well as those sent to jail. more than 330 individuals and companies were also successfully prosecuted, as part of the agency’s crackdown.

There was also a rise in the number and size of financial penalties handed out to waste criminals.

Last year, courts issued £1.7million in fines – almost £8,000 more than the previous year – and confiscated a total of £2.2million of assets from criminals who made money through illegal waste activity.

AN 80-YEAR-OLD motorist is to face trial at crown court in connection with the death of veteran Crowland cyclist Kenneth Usher.

Walter Coupland, of Winsover Road, Spalding, appeared before town magistrates last Thursday but entered no plea to a charge of causing Mr Usher’s death by careless or inconsiderate driving.

Magistrates decided the case was too serious for them to deal with after hearing details of how Mr Usher (77) was fatally injured while riding his tricycle along Parson’s Lane, Whaplode Drove, on February 3.

Coupland was driving his Suzuki Wagon and turning into the road when it collided with a tricycle being ridden by Mr Usher.

A request by Coupland’s solicitor for more time to consider a collision investigation report was denied by magistrates and he is due to appear again for a committal hearing on November 1.

A 36-YEAR-OLD man suffered serious facial injuries in an alleged assault in Holbeach.

Police were called to the man’s flat in High Street at about 7.25pm on Saturday and he was taken to Pilgrim Hospital, Boston.

A Lincolnshire Police spokeswoman confirmed that a 21-year-old man from Whaplode had been arrested in connection with the incident and that enquiries are continuing.

The spokeswoman said: “Police attended a flat in High Street, Holbeach, at approximately 7.25pm on Saturday where a 36-year-old man had received serious facial injuries.

“A 21-year-old man from Whaplode was arrested on suspicion of grievous bodily harm and has been released on police bail until November 18.”

Businesses in Spalding can learn the secrets of developing websites at a free seminar tomorrow.

The eBIz byte seminar, called Effective Website Development, takes place at Springfields Event Centre, Camelgate, from 8.30am to 11.30am and is run by Lincolnshire Chamber of Commerce.

Business owners can pick up tips on creating a successful website, including the basics of web design, copywriting, imaging and content management.

Charlotte Baxter from Lincolnshire Chamber of Commerce said: “This eBiz byte seminar is aimed at any owner or manager of a small to medium-sized business wanting to develop a website.

“We want to help businesses understand how the internet can work for them and no technical knowledge is required.”

To book a place, email Charlotte.Baxter@lincs-chamber.co.uk or call 01522 846293.

A BLACK Ford Ranger Wildtrak truck was stolen in Gosberton overnight on Tuesday.

Burglars entered the property to steal the vehicle’s keys.

Witnesses are being asked to call police on 101, quoting incident 83 of September 5.

GCSE English students forced to play catch-up after a teacher failed to set vital assignments have achieved good results.

About 30 pupils at the Peele Community College in Long Sutton discovered in April that their teacher had falsified some grades on their controlled assessments after failing to set the work – leading to fears they would not pass their exams this summer.

The problems only came to light after the resignation of the teacher.

But acting headteacher of the school Simon Gilman said the hard work and determination by students and staff had paid off, with a number of youngsters achieving a C grade – as they had been predicted.

He said: “At the time it was reported that we were bringing in external help to ensure the work was all done, but we did it purely internally using the Peele’s own English department.

“The problems with the controlled assessments were rectified within a couple of weeks of returning to school after Easter.

“There was a positive outcome for those students affected as they all achieved the grades predicted.”

Mr Gilman said the school’s English GCSE results were as expected – a 48 per cent A-C pass rate had been predicted and 47.2 per cent achieved.

But he said the school was going to get a handful of students’ exams re-marked in light of the national dispute over GCSE English grades.

Across the country headteachers have claimed that grade boundaries had been changed between exams in January and the summer, resulting in thousands of students not achieving their expected grade in the exam.

Mr Gilman said: “We have not been hugely affected by this at the Peele but we have identified four students who are one mark off achieving a C grade, a further four who were two marks off and another couple who were just three away.

“We are in the process of looking at whether by getting their papers re-marked those students could possibly achieve a C.

“Fortunately it hasn’t been as big an issue here as in some schools where I have heard some headteachers quoting a figure of 15 per cent of students being affected.”

FOOD producers in the district can attend a digital conference, called Eat, Drink & Be Social, to learn how to use social media to boost their business.

The conference, sponsored by the Select and Tastes of Lincolnshire Partnership, is being organised by LincUpLive on Friday (9am to 5pm) at the Doubletree by Hilton in Lincoln.

Celia Lacy, from LincUpLive, said: “Social media is a vital tool for helping businesses create a presence, especially for those in remote locations or working in niche markets such as the food and hospitality industries.

“Every business has a story to tell, particularly those that possess a production process, for example from field to fork. The story behind how you create produce may feel ‘everyday’ to you, but for your customers, this story is interesting.

“Lincolnshire producers have the potential to share their story via short updates, imagery, video and audio that can build strong relationships with other growers, local business people and industry colleagues. All lies within the power of social media.”

Tickets are available fromlincuplive.co.uk/conference or email celia@lincuplive.co.uk

THE sale of five medals won by a Spalding war hero has exceeded expectations by fetching £2,900 at auction.

A Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC), Air Force Cross (AFC) and three other medals won by former bomber pilot Ben Garner went under the hammer for charity at a sale in London last Thursday.

The collection was snapped up by a mystery bidder for at least £700 more than auctioneers were expecting after they estimated that the medals would sell for between £1,800 and £2,200.

All proceeds from the sale at Spink Auctioneers will go towards a new £9.5million Battle of Britain museum being created in north London.

Oliver Pepys of Spink Auctioneers said: “The atmosphere in the room where the auction was held was encouraging and the audience were both good-humoured and excited about the lot that was at auction.

“There are often war medals that sell for slightly in excess of the top estimate, but this lot was well over the top estimate and we were grateful for having the opportunity to sell it.

“The fact that the proceeds were going towards the museum was definitely on people’s minds and I think it did encourage them to bid that little bit extra.

“We certainly wouldn’t rule out doing something similar again.”

Mr Garner, who was born in Spalding in 1918, joined the RAF after attending Moulton Grammar School and serving as a police officer in London.

He was awarded the DCF in 1945 for displaying “a high standard of skill and resolution” in destroying two German aircraft before getting the AFC in 1951 for his work as an instructor at RAF Cottesmore in Rutland.

WORK to remodel a Spalding junction is still on schedule – despite some hiccups along the way.

Roadworks, temporary traffic lights and lane restrictions have been in place at West Elloe Avenue’s junction with Pinchbeck Road since the beginning of July as improvements are made.

Since then contractors have been hit by problems including a defective gas main and burst water pipe – but say they are still on track to finish by the end of September, weather permitting.

Debra Greeves, principal highways officer, said: “These problems could have added up to two weeks to the project if it had not been for flexibility and hard work of our partners May Gurney, who have managed to work around them.”

The changes to the junction include widening footpaths and cycle paths, a better crossing point for pedestrians and cyclists in West Elloe Avenue and two new crossings in Pinchbeck Road.

There will also be new traffic signals and street lighting and wider and longer approach lanes to the junction to improve traffic flow.

This will include a second left hand turn lane on Pinchbeck Road on the approach to Spalding to allow HGVs to turn more easily.

Pinchbeck Road drainage problems will also be addressed.

A 33-YEAR-OLD man is to face trial on charges of assaulting a woman and police officer.

Robert Tillin (33), of Surfleet Road, Pinchbeck, pleaded not guilty to beating Sarah Palmer and assaulting PC Andrew Bednall in Boston on August 8 at a hearing before Spalding magistrates on Thursday.

Tillin did plead guilty to damaging a custody cell wall at Boston Police Station on August 9, but another charge of violent behaviour at the station on the same date was withdrawn.

The trial is to be held at Spalding Magistrates Court on November 13.

TUESDAY 9.30am: TWO farms were hit overnight in suspected arson attacks and many tonnes of baled straw were destroyed.

One farm was targeted at around 10.40pm last night in Spalding Road, Sutterton, when 200 one-tonne hay bales were alight. Firefighters from Kirton attended and allowed the bales to burn out under supervision.

A second farm in Coupledyke Lane, Frampton, was attacked shortly before 1am today when 60 tonnes of baled straw were on fire. Firefighters used hose reels and drags to tackle the blaze.