A footballer from Holbeach had to be flown to hospital after an accidental collision with another player during a game on Saturday.

The injured man was playing in goal for Holbeach Bank Football Club against Sibsey when he collided with an outfield player from the visiting team about 20 minutes into the game.

Both players were treated on the pitch which led the referee to abandon the game after 30 minutes.

But when the goalkeeper was initially found to be unconscious, paramedics called for an air ambulance which flew him to Queen’s Medical Centre, Nottingham, where he was discharged from on Sunday.

Trevor Dawson, chairman of Holbeach Bank FC, said: “The goalkeeper came out to collect a ball which the centre forward from Sibsey was chasing after.

“They both collided and the goalkeeper was knocked out for a while, so the referee stopped the game before the goalkeeper regained consciousness.

“The ambulance came after 20 minutes and paramedics checked the goalkeeper out before putting him on a stretcher which was when they said that he should be taken away to hospital by air ambulance.

“I called him on Sunday lunchtime when he was at home but still sore from a trapped nerve in his neck.

“He’ll have further checks but we’re glad it wasn’t worse.”

Daring shop assistant Cassie McNamara is willing to have her hair dyed any colour at all – and it looks like it might end up all the colours of the rainbow.

Cassie (25) has placed collecting tins around Holbeach, including the shop where she works, so customers can pay 50p a go to name the colour she must dye her hair at the end of this month.

Lots of garish colours are there for the choosing but Cassie says “rainbow is the hands down winner” so far.

All the cash donated will go to Epilepsy Action as Cassie joins forces with Holbeach Hurn schoolgirl Lara Quinn, who was featured in last week’s Free Press, in raising money for the charity – and raising awareness of epilepsy.

Cassie, who lives in Holbeach and works at Martins Newsagents in High Street, said: “I have known Lara since she was about a week old.

“She’s a lovely little girl – she’s always got a smile on her face even when she’s not well.”

Cassie set herself a fundraising challenge to boost Lara’s efforts as Lara holds her purple coffee morning this Saturday.

She describes her current hair colour as “mousey” and is quite happy to have a really big, head-turning change.

Cassie’s partner Amy King will do the honours with the dye on March 31 once all of the votes have been cast.

“I am going to keep the colour until it either washes out or gets cut out,” said Cassie. “I love the idea. It’s the kind of person I am – I am outgoing, I am outrageous, I am a bubbly person. It kind of suits my personality.”

Anyone who wants to support Cassie can find her collecting tins at Martins, Shanghai Garden in West End and LGYM estate agents in Church Street.

Epilepsy affects sufferers in many ways and last week Lara’s mum, Nicky Crowley, said epileptic seizures are still not widely known and her daughter had been bullied at a former school because the children didn’t understand her condition.

• Everything from purple hair to purple cakes will be the order of the day at Lara’s purple coffee morning, which starts at 11am at 1 Marsh Road, Holbeach Hurn. Anyone can support the nine-year-old’s fundraising by visiting www.justgiving.com/fundraising/LaraPurpleCoffeeMorning

I’ve got mucky hands and I work on cars, was Richard Ayre’s first reaction to the idea of joining a choir.

The parts manager with West Pinchbeck Lotus specialist garage Kelvedon Motors assumed that singing in a choir wasn’t for the likes of him.

However, less than three years later he’s glad he overcame that first instinct because he says: “It’s helped my confidence in life.”

Now he is encouraging other men who think that singing with a choir isn’t their style to unite in song – for a particularly worthy cause.

Peterborough Male Voice Choir is performing at Broadway Theatre on Saturday, June 25 (7.30pm) in Men United In Song to raise money for Prostate Cancer UK.

Leading up to the concert there is a 12-week project allowing men with no singing experience to learn to sing from scratch under professional direction and support.

There are introduction sessions at the Broadway Theatre on Friday, April 1 (7-9pm) and on Saturday, April 2 (10am-1pm) so that budding singers can find out more.

And Richard is hoping that his experience might encourage other men to overcome their doubts.

The former cart and motorbike racer says: “It’s for people from all walks of life and a bit like Military Wives in that it’s ordinary people brought together to make a choir.

“People think it’s going to be highbrow, but it’s a bunch of people having a great social evening.”

The choir is performing everything from classic pieces right through to Fields of Gold and Elvis numbers.

Though people can simply join for the 12-week Men United project, Richard says there are opportunities if they do decide to carry on, such as taking part in competitions and performing with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, which is what the choir did in September.

He says: “I was a typical English person that puts themselves down first, and I think it is very easy to think you are not up to something. People should give it a go. When we did the concert we did the Chorus of the Hebrew Slaves and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra put their instruments down and applauded us.”

Call 01733 425194 for more information.

Richard Ayre knows only too well what a bunch of amateur singers can achieve in a relatively short time.

He joined Peterborough Male Voice Choir having only ever sung in the bath or garden and never considered singing in public.

His girlfriend saw a poster appealing for new members to join a Sing for Heroes men’s choir, and the rest is history.

Richard, of Alexandra Road, Spalding, said then: “I think people would describe me as a man’s man – I ride motorbikes and have been involved in motorsport for years, but it is fantastic when I have had a hard day at work to sing my heart out.”

Tickets for the Men United in Song concert in support of Prostate Cancer UK are priced from £11.70 up to £20 are available from 01733 822225.

A man who assaulted his step-son with a metal pole in Peterborough has been jailed for four months.

Mikel Szewoczuk (34) of Rosa Lane, Pinchbeck, was sentenced at Peterborough Crown Court yesterday (Monday) after pleading guilty to one count of assault occasioning actual bodily harm.

The court was told Szewoczuk had been called by his partner on January 26 this year. His partner had said her son had stolen jewellery from her, and sold it to pawn shops to raise money to buy class A drugs.

Szewoczuk had gone to see his step-son, who was at flats in Peterborough.

Charles Faulk, defending, said: “He knew his step-son was with people from the drug community, so took a friend and a pole with him.

“He asked his step-son to come with him, and he agreed - but then changed his mind. He hit him with the pole to make him come with him.”

The court heard Szewoczuk’s victim was left with red marks following the assault - which was witnessed by a member of the public, who called police.

Mr Faulk told the court Szewoczuk and his partner had tried to buy back the jewellery, but were told only the person who had sold it could buy it back.

Mr Faulk asked Judge Sean Enright to pass a sentence which would not send his client to prison. He said Szewoczuk had no previous convictions, and had already served the equivalent of a two month sentence in prison on remand waiting for yesterday’s hearing.

Mr Faulk said: “This is a thoroughly decent, hard working man of good character. This is a very unusual and highly exceptional case.”

But Judge Enright said he had no option but to impose a custodial sentence, because the defendant had used a weapon in the attack.

A man was killed last night (Monday, March 21) after a car hit him on the A15 between Northorpe and the Elsea Park roundabout in Bourne.

Police were called along with other emergency services to a collision on the A15 Bourne Road, Thurlby at just after 8pm after reports that a gold Ford Mondeo had collided with a pedestrian.

The local woman, aged 39, who was driving the car was taken to hospital with shock but she was not physically injured.

The male pedestrian, who has not yet been identified, was given first aid at the scene but he was pronounced dead a short time later.

Police are attempting to contact relatives but he is believed to be Spanish and this could take some time.

A spokesman said: “We are asking for anyone who was in the area of Bourne Road, Thurlby, last evening around 8pm and saw the gold Ford Mondeo before it collided with the pedestrian or who saw the collision itself to contact us on the witness hotline on 01522 558855 or 101.”

The road was closed until about 9.15pm to allow the investigation to take place.

This brings the number of people killed on Lincolnshire’s roads to 15 compared with five at the same time last year.

Spalding High School hosted a successful Modern Foreign Language Cultural Evening as part of the collaboration between the secondary schools of Spalding.

Year 11 students looking to study a language in Sixth Form worked alongside Year 12 and Year 13 students currently studying French, German or Spanish at the High School or Grammar School.

The enjoyable evening comprised students from both schools playing games in foreign languages and conversing in French, German or Spanish. It was very beneficial for students to use conversational language outside of the classroom.

Students were full of praise for the evening, with Year 12 student Abigail saying it felt ‘like a massive community’. Fellow Year 12 student Abbie commented on the ‘intellectual yet pleasurable evening’ and Stephanie (Year 12) concluded by saying it was ‘nice to see how popular languages are’.

Sainsbury’s Spalding have, once again, donated 101 boxed Easter eggs to Tydd St Mary Primary School.

Now, each child will receive one following their Easter Egg Hunt on Thursday, the last day of term.

Most of us know of the wonderful work that the Macmillan nurses do for cancer sufferers.

Many have first-hand experience of the support they give, be it emotionally, medically or physically.

Spalding manNick Perkins (29) has decided that, on Sunday, it’s his turn to show Macmillan how grateful we all are for the important job that they do.

That’s why the self-employed courier will be taking the challenge of a 24 hour stay-awake and gaming marathon as part of Macmillan’s ‘Game Changers’ fundraiser.

As an avid gamer, Nick thinks it’s time for the on-screen tests and trials to become more than just a personal challenge – that’s why he’s raising funds via JustGiving for Macmillan Cancer Support.

The former Spalding Grammar and High School student said: “I dare say most of us have been affected by cancer at some point in our lives.

“I’ve been thinking about doing something like this for a while, to make a difference.

“For me, it’s the effect the illness has had on my family, my grandparents, and my friend, Co, who passed away in her twenties. I’m doing this for them.”

He’ll be using a variery of games on his PlayStation 4, 
including top titles such as Destiny and The Division, as well as some lesser-known arcade games and is also asking for suggestions on his Facebook page.

To show your support, join in or pledge a donation, visit www.facebook.com/NicksGameChangers.

For more information on the amazing work that Macmillan Cancer Support does, go to http://www.macmillan.org.uk/

A Ladies Night held in Holbeach has raised £2,676 to be split between two good causes in the town.

Holbeach and East Elloe Hospital Trust and the Tigers Social Club and Bar will be benefiting from the money, which was raised at the event organised by Kathy Rooke, Emma Putterill and Kat Wakefield.

Over 100 women from South Holland rocked up at the Tigers Social Club and Bar on Friday, March 11 to enjoy the show put on by drag Queen Penny Change and the two male strippers.

Drinks and nibbles were provided on the night by handsome waiters John Smith, Matthew Warfield and Aaron Eyett from Holbeach United and Definitions Health and Fitness Gym

Kathy Rooke, one of the organisers, said: “A couple of years ago we organised the night out as we fancied doing something a little bit different but didn’t want to travel to Peterborough or Boston – which is where the closest ladies nights were held.

“We ended up organising our own which was a sold out event that raised a lot of money for the hospital.

“A lot of ladies had been asking us to plan another event – so we did!”

Raffle tickets were sold at the event, with over 30 
prizes (including food hampers, vouchers from restaurants in the town and plants) all generously donated by local businesses.

Kathy said: “We were overwhelmed by how many fabulous raffle prizes were donated and by how much money was raised by the raffle alone.

“Some of the prizes were worth well over £100 – which was astounding.”

A spokesperson for Holbeach and East Elloe Hospital Trust said: “It’s absolutely fantastic to hear that so much money was raised for two local causes.

“Our share of the money will be going towards a new wing for patients which will have eight extra beds in it which will be great. We are very pleased.”

Sarah McKay from the committee of the Tigers Social Club and Bar said: “We are thrilled to accept this money to use towards the regeneration and refurbishment of the club for the benefit of the local community.

“The work will begin 
later this year using the 
money which is now in a trust fund looked after by the Parish Council.”

Kathy, Emma and Kat hope to organise more events like this to raise money for good causes in South Holland which will benefit the local community.

Kathy said: “We would like to thank every single business who donated to the night, our drag Queen, male strippers, and waiters and, of course, the ladies who came along for a good local night out!”

Nineteen teams from seven schools took part in the Volleyball School Games, hosted by Spalding High School, whose students umpired the matches.

The tournament was won by Pinchbeck East A, who will now represent the area in the Lincolnshire finals on April 21. Second was Weston Hills A and third Langtoft A.

Pupils from Gosberton Clough and Risegate Primary School were celebrating after being presented with arts awards from London’s Trinity College at a special assembley.

They achieved their ‘Explore’ arts awards as part of their participation in the Rhythmic Routes project, that they took part in over the last 12 months.

Pictured with teacher Liz Lenten are Sophia Gent (Year 6), Amber Godfrey (Y5), Gwenllian Humphries (Y6), Geordie Potter (Y4), Fionn Rooney (Y4) and Ellie Burton (Y5.

The MEP for the East Midlands has condemned the terrorist attacks that have struck Brussels this morning, as she and her staff await news from inside the European Parliament building.

The latest from local media sources is that at least 30 people have died and 198 wounded in the two explosions at Brussels Airport, which took place at around 8am local time, and another blast at Maelbeek Metro station.

In a statement Emma McClarkin, Conservative MEP for the East Midlands, said: “I have been shocked and stunned by the events here in Brussels this morning. I completely condemn these cowardly acts of terrorism. My thoughts are with those who have been caught up in these attacks, and with the families of those who have been killed.

“We cannot allow terrorism to win, and the security forces must redouble their efforts to prevent attacks and keep innocent people safe from those who want to remove our freedom and destroy our way of life.

“Stay vigilant. Stay safe.”

* Anyone affected or concerned about family and friends can contact the @foreignoffice helpline on +44 207 008 0000

Homes and businesses in some of the most remote and hard to reach areas of Lincolnshire can now get a discounted satellite broadband connection if they are currently unable to obtain an affordable broadband service of at least 2 Mbps.

The scheme forms part of the Government’s commitment to make sure every home and business in the UK can access speeds of at least 2 Mbps and an estimated 300,000 properties across the UK are able to make use of the offer.

The current rollout of superfast broadband is on track to deliver coverage to 95 per cent of the UK by 2017, and has already reached an extra 150,000 homes and businesses in Lincolnshire.

However the Government has said it was determined to help those with the slowest connections by providing an immediate boost to their available speeds ahead of any future improvements planned.

Digital Economy Minister Ed Vaizey said: “Around nine out of ten homes and businesses in the UK can now access superfast speeds. We are making great progress rolling out new infrastructure, but it’s a massive engineering project and won’t happen overnight.

“The satellite scheme offers immediate assistance to those homes and businesses in Lincolnshire with the slowest speeds, all part of our plan to make the UK one of the most digitally connected place in the world.”

Those benefitting from the scheme are able to choose the features of the satellite broadband service they require, dependent on their broadband needs.

Councillor Richard Davies, Executive Member for IT at Lincolnshire County Council, said: “Good broadband isn’t a luxury – it’s fast becoming essential for modern life.

“Thanks to major investment from local councils, BT and the Government, we’ve already dramatically improved speeds across the county. And this extra work will ensure that even those really hard-to-reach rural areas don’t miss out.”

Find out more information on the national scheme online at http://basicbroadbandchecker.culture.gov.uk/

A pet dog found in Holbeach Hurn has been returned to its family – 200 miles away and over five years since it went missing.

The dog’s owners, who live in Tyne and Wear, were stunned to hear their Bedlington Cross Whippet, Fern, had been found recently.

The amazing story has highlighted the importance of getting dogs microchipped, which is about to become compulsory by law.

Dog warden Rachel Thompson said: “In all my time as a dog warden I’ve never known a case like it.

“It’s not unusual to find to dogs registered to owners in other parts of the country, but I’ve never had one that’s been missing for so long.

“When I rang the owners they were completely shocked and had long since given up hope of seeing Fern again, but now they’re delighted to have her home.

“We’re not sure what happened during the intervening five years as Fern originally disappeared. She may have been homeless or had multiple owners.”

Fern was microchipped and still registered to the original owner, making it easy to reunite them, demonstrating the benefit of microchipping and keeping details up to date.

From April 6 all dogs over eight weeks old must be chipped and the owner’s details registered by law.

Most vets can chip your dog for between £8 and £10, but also look out for events run by the dog warden, with the following taking place over the next few weeks:

• Thursday, March 31: Holbeach Football Club, Boston Road, Holbeach, 9.30am to noon;

• Monday, April 4: Rookes Pet Store, High Street, Spalding, 9.30am to noon.

A veterinary nurse will be in attendance at both events to offer advice, free nail clipping and free health checks.

Rachel will also be offering a free chip check on dogs already chipped to provide the chip number to owners that need to change ownership details with the chip provider.

Level crossing problems which affected drivers in Spalding were caused by “an ongoing problem” with points on the track, according to rail officials.

Reports of level crossing barriers staying down in London Road, Park Road and Woolram Wygate first surfaced just after 10.20am this morning, with one anonymous caller to Spalding Today that they had been stuck near Hawthorn Bank level crossing for two and a half hours.

A spokesman for Network Rail apologised for the disruption and added: “This has been caused by an ongoing problem with a set of points on the track.

“When a fault is detected the level crossing barriers ‘fail safe’, meaning the barriers are dropped to protect the public.

“Engineers remain on site and are working to fix the problem and we plan to have the crossings working as normal as soon as possible.”

TUESDAY 1.40PM: Level crossing failures hit Spalding again

Drivers across Spalding are facing delays to the journeys after a spate of level crossing failures in the town today.

Faults have been reported at London Road, Park Road and Woolram Wygate level crossings and engineers from Network Rail are trying to identify the cause of the problems.

However, it is not known at this stage whether the problems are the same as those which plagued the town last summer.

More news as soon as we get it.

HAYES IN THE HOUSE: By MP John Hayes

The influential economist John Maynard Keynes once declared that ‘in the long run we are all dead.’ Keynes believed that the objective of economic policy was to improve the immediate 
future. The long-term, he contended, could look after itself.

It comes as little surprise to learn that Keynes himself had no children. This may account for his disregard for what happens after his death. I, in contrast have two young sons and, like all parents, care about the future in which my children will live out their adult lives. My colleague, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne, also a father of young children, delivered a budget last week that puts the next generation first.

An important long-term issue our country faces is finding ways of helping more Britons save for their future. Young people in particular often face the invidious choice between saving towards a deposit for their first home or saving for their pension. For under 40s, many of whom haven’t had such a good deal from pensions, the Chancellor announced a completely new Lifetime ISA. Young people won’t be forced to choose between owning their own home or having a personal pension – the government will give them money to do both. For every £4 saved, the Exchequer will add £1 until the age of 50. A strong society depends on generational cohesion. It is only fair that young people can aspire to a home of their own and a comfortable retirement. As we pass the baton to the next generation it is our duty to ensure we have given them a head start.

People can only prepare for the future if they keep more of the money they earn. That why, from April 2017 the tax free personal allowance will rise to £11,500, a tax cut for 31 million people that means a typical basic rate taxpayer will be paying over £1,000 less income tax than they were five years ago.

The British economy is stronger today precisely because we have spent the years since the turn of the decade confronting our country’s problems and taking difficult, but necessary, decisions. We have paid down the budget deficit so that the next generation doesn’t have to pay this generation’s debts. To maintain a society that works then ‘the have it now pay later’ carelessness about the future must be replaced by such an intergenerational sense of responsibility.

Now we have taken another step forward by helping the next generation save more for all our futures.

A man was assaulted as two men tried to force their way into his home.

Police are appealing for witnesses after the men attempted to force their way into a house on Aquila Way, Langtoft at around 10:15pm on Sunday March 20.

A 39-year male occupant of the property was assaulted during the incident. He sustained a cut to his lip.

Police are unsure as to what may have motivated their actions.

The suspects are described as white men with English accents both wearing dark clothing and dark woollen hats. They were 40-45 years of age with one of the men being described as stocky build, 5’ 10” tall and the other shorter and of medium build.

Anybody with information should contact Constable Andrew Donaldson of Stamford Police Station via the 101 non-emergency number. Alternatively call crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111 quoting incident number 375 of the 20/03/16.

Green Party supporters in South Lincolnshire have pledged to campaign for a vote in favour of the UK’s continued membership of the European Union in the referendum on June 23.

The South Lincolnshire campaign was launched at Stamford Arts Centre.

The meeting was attended by Kat Boettge (fifth from right), recently selected as Green Party lead candidate for the East Midlands in the next Euro elections.

She told members:”I‘m voting to stay in the EU because we need international solutions to many of the most important challenges we face, including climate change, refugees fleeing war, reducing poverty and multinational corporations avoiding taxes.

“The EU might not be perfect, but as long as we remain a part of the EU we can fight for reform to make it more democratic, open and accountable to its people.”

Kat stressed that the combined European Green Parties make up the fifth largest party in the European Parliament. The Parliament, in consultation with member states, has already brought many positive improvements to the UK, including workers’ rights and the environment.

Membership of the EU has also given us the freedom to live, study, work and retire across an entire continent, she said. Some two million UK nationals live and work in the EU with access to other countries’ welfare benefits and public services.

The Green Party supports working together with other political parties to ensure an informed debate.

The South Lincolnshire Green Party will be arranging public events in forthcoming weeks as part of the local EU referendum campaign.

A new survey has suggested that men in Spalding are the grumpiest in the UK...but can it really be true?

The study looked at anonymous data from 250,000 of the men registered with website elitesingles.co.uk to see how strongly they agreed with the statement ‘I laugh often.’

These scores were then averaged out by area and as laughter is a sign of happiness, the towns with lowest scores determined where the grumpiest men in the UK live.

The results revealed that men in Spalding need cheering up the most!

But can our chaps really be the grumpiest in the UK when there are so many great things about our town?

* We live in Lincolnshire with miles of countryside and big skies

* We have Lincolnshire sausage!

* We have the stunning River Welland and the River Taxi

* We’ve got a great range of independent shops.

* And of course the lovely Spalding Ladies

The UK’s top 10 grumpiest men according to the study were in:

1. Spalding

2. Greenford

3. Southall

4. Barking

5. Bridgwater

6. Horsham

7. Corby

8. Edgware

9. Rugby

10. Feltham