The last nail in the Holbeach coffin was the removal of the market from High Street to Boston Road South car park.

This was done by South Holland District Council without consultation or reference to Holbeach Parish Council, of which I was a member.

I found this outrageous decision unbelievable and also baffling especially as Holbeach appeared to accept the decision without protest.

How could an elected parish council be completely ignored, trampled into the ground, the town destroyed, by such a disastrous decision with no redress whatever?

Footfall was already low but is now virtually non-existent and very few shops have the stamina or resources to continue trading in such negative conditions.

It must be hoped that the district council is dissolved as soon as possible before they inflict further damage on those they are supposed to represent.

Your article on the regeneration of Holbeach High Street (Spalding Guardian, March 9) is interesting.

I’ve been pushing for years to get 106 funds to be used to directly benefit the town, rather than to subsidise Spalding and Lincoln.

People and traders in Holbeach have heard promises of funding before but other than Peppermint junction, which took many years to materialise, and some tinkering with the Market Hill traffic lights, little happens other than ever more homes being built, often in inappropriate locations and with infrastructure falling round our ears.

I wonder when we will get to hear from South Holland District Council about the large local petition regarding the Boston Road car park and market – that’s gone very quiet. Let’s hope the proposals come to something.

I also attended the Civic Society meeting and offered to assist if I could. Money would without doubt help, but it’s effectiveness rather depends on how it’s spent and on that I reserve judgement.

The High Street is a mess, worse than anyone remembers, with multiple closed and crumbling shops and footfall declining daily, especially since the new town sub-centre opened at the Co-op.

That project looks great, the volunteers do an excellent job and I’m pleased we have retained even a reduced library after four-odd years of speculation over its future. Shame that the withdrawing of library funding was not mentioned before the last county election – it was certainly being considered and I suspect these new proposals owe as much to the new May elections as anything else.

Personally I’ll be continuing to agitate for a better deal for Holbeach, sometimes pressure pays off, at the same time as quietly doing whatever I can directly to improve our town. It can be turned round but we need everyone to co-operate, local politicians, residents, schools, shop landlords and traders.

There is no magic wand, cash alone can’t buy a solution and no council or other public body can change things on their own.

Cooking was a pizza cake for nursery pupils at Monkshouse Primary School in Spalding.

Fifty three and four-year-olds had the thrill of designing chef hats and creating their own pizzas at Frankie and Benny’s, who provided a choice of delicious toppings so the youngsters could make their own tasty creations.

Nursery teacher Nicky Clarke said the children visited the restaurant at the town’s Springfields centre on two consecutive days as part of their topic on food, which includes learning about different foods and where they come from.

Nicky said: “We want to thank all of the staff at Frankie and Benny’s for making our visits so enjoyable.

“The children found it all exciting.

“It was exciting for the children to go out together on the coaches and to be able to make pizzas which they could sit down and eat together.

“One or two of the children managed to eat a whole pizza, which is quite amazing at half past ten in the morning.”

The trips were made possible by Frankie and Benny’s outreach programme and all of the food was provided free of charge.

The nursery pupils have been learning about a variety of foods through popular story characters such as The Gruffalo and Goldilocks but it was even more fun to learn about the source of pizza ingredients and toppings as they designed their own tasty treats.

• For more pictures see Thursday’s Spalding Guardian.

Red noses and clothes were donned and money was raised in the area’s schools, clubs and playgroups on Friday as south Lincolnshire did its bit for Red Nose Day.

Clubbers swapped their neon attire for red in aid of Comic Relief in Holbeach and raised £147 for the cause.

Fitness instructor Nicky Healey, who runs a Clubbercise class in Holbeach and two in Bourne, asked members to dress in red and turn their glow sticks the same colour in return for donations at Holbeach Hub. Clubbers also enjoyed a Comic Relief fun track and a raffle.

Pinchbeck Penguins playgroup youngsters dressed up in red, drew red nose pictures and sold red nose cakes for charity. Although there were several absences on the day they still managed to raise £36.

Members of Spalding and District U3A entertained shoppers in Spalding Market Place with around 15 members of the Fun Disco Dance Group and the Rocking Chairs Band singing and dancing for a couple of hours.

Some £300 was raised and the group thanked Nigel at the Red Lion who provided power for the speakers and somewhere to change.

It was a double celebration at Holbeach Primary Academy, where youngsters wore red clothes and noses and also invited their mum’s in for an early Mother’s Day tea.

At Spalding Academy there was lots going on, with cake sales and games including balloon popping, timed hoop-la, keepy-uppies and ball in a bucket.

And at the Peele Community College in Long Sutton there was a staff and pupils netball game, a penalty shoot-out, snack sales and a very popular game where pupils could pay to throw wet sponges at their teachers.

•Two pages of pictures in this Tuesday’s Lincolnshire Free Press.

Traders are outraged after council bosses appeared to wave the white flag to Springfields over its expansion plans – and are calling for urgent action to save Spalding town centre.

Members of the Spalding Town Retailers Association (STRA) were dismayed to hear that a crucial rule introduced to protect the town is seemingly being completely ignored by South Holland District Council.

The council, however, says it is committed to ensuring the town centre is a vibrant retail location and that it remains the primary retail destination for Spalding.

Earlier this month it emerged that Springfields is set to grow by 20 per cent by 2021 – and by the same amount again in the following five years.

The Camelgate shopping centre is supposed to operate under a series of restrictions to avoid direct competition with the town centre, ensuring that trade isn’t drawn away from the heart of Spalding.

When Springfields was in the development stage, the council’s own planning documents warned that the outlet should not be permitted without restrictions ‘in view of the potentially adverse impact on the vitality and viability of Spalding and other town centres’.

Traders now feel let down by the lack of action to stand by this promise.

In recent years they have worked closely with senior council offers and MP John Hayes in a series of meetings. The agenda at these meetings was ‘How can we promote our town?’. Traders now want answers as to how the council’s actions fits with that agenda.

STRA chairman Darren Sutton said: “We need help to make Spalding a great town to visit – with a busy twice-weekly market, events all year round and clean, safe streets.

“We need to give a clear signal to investors that the town centre is open for business. Businesses are dismayed that South Holland District Council seems to be hoisting the white flag and simply surrendering to Springfields.

“What we need now is for South Holland District Council to clearly state its intent regarding the town centre’s future.”

Traders were also surprised to hear that the town centre is not deemed to have sufficient space for growth, unlike Springfields. This damning verdict looks set go into the South East Lincolnshire Local Plan and influence the future development of Spalding.

STRA members have, however, previously asked the council for its support to try to attract big names to the town centre, rather than stand by and watch them set up out of town.

Mr Sutton added: “We want South Holland District Council to be active participants in the success of our town centre, not seeking to close it down.”

In addition:

• STRA’s legal advisor is investigating the council’s decision not to enforce an important planning regulation;

• STRA wants to know when the decision was taken not to enforce the Springfields planning conditions;

Traders would like councillors to have a public debate on the matter at the earliest possible opportunity.

A spokesperson for SHDC said: “We are committed to ensuring Spalding town centre is a vibrant retail location, benefiting businesses and visitors alike. This remains the primary retail destination for Spalding.

“There are opportunities for additional retail space within the town centre, however these are complex and require a longer term partnership approach, which we are seeking to develop. In the meantime we will continue to support any suitable retail proposals that come forward in the town centre.

“Springfields plays a complimentary role and attracts over two and a half million visitors per year, many from outside of the district. It is an important visitor attraction for South Holland and the 
additional proposed allocations will enable it to continue to thrive.

“It will continue to operate under the existing restrictions designed to avoid competition with the town centre. If evidence emerges of breaches to these restrictions, the council will take appropriate measures.

“There is the opportunity to comment on the proposals for the district contained in the South East Lincolnshire Local Plan when it goes out to consultation between April 10 and May 22.”

• What do you think? Is the council doing enough to support town council traders? What more could be done to boost the town centre? Comment here or email your letters to jeremy.ransome@iliffepublishing.co.uk

Mums in Holbeach were definitely feeling the love from their little ones thanks to some special craft evenings.

Eighty-five Holbeach Primary Academy pupils took part in Mother’s Day crafts organised by the PTFA (Parent, Teachers’ and Friends’ Association), making personalised, colourful letter racks and cards for the big day on Sunday.

Leaves on pot-plant shaped cards definitely had a personal touch because they were created from drawings of each pupil’s hand.

On the pot, children completed the phrase “I love my Mum because ...” with their own words, which included “she gives me sweets and chocolate”, “she helps me” and, for one super mum, “she is awesome”.

Lucy Penney, from the PTFA and a learning mentor at the school, said: “We asked the children what they would like to make and they said they like to make things as personal as they can.”

Year 6 pupils were on hand to help the younger children at both sessions.

Lucy said: “They were helping the younger children with their cutting out skills and helping them maybe to think more creatively with their designs, painting and colouring.”

She said the sessions gave pupils of all ages an opportunity to make items for their mums, grandmothers or aunts.

The PTFA organises similar sessions for Father’s Day.

• See more pictures in Thursday’s Spalding Guardian.

A major community effort has put Holbeach Bank Football Club well on the way to providing a refurbished sports pavilion for the community’s use.

The club faced closure nearly three years ago after the pavilion, built in the 1950s, was repeatedly broken into over a similar period.

But donations from businesses across the Holbeach area, including £8,000 from Tesco’s Bags of Help community project scheme, has allowed the club to reroof the pavilion and create a new community room for the village.

Committee member Dave Dickinson said: “A lot has happened in the last two years and we have a new roof, larger changing room and new lights.

“With the help of parish councillor Rachel Flood and several other people, we’ve had a complete kitchen and shelf unit donated to us as well.

“The help and support we’ve had from people has been unbelievable and two years after nearly pulling out of Holbeach Bank, the community has come on board and brought new life into the place.

“Hopefully, within the next two months, we should be completely finished and have a place that’s not only for the football club’s use, but the community of Holbeack Bank and the surrounding area as well.”

Plans to refurbish the pavilion were revealed by our sister newspaper, the Spalding Guardian, in June 2014 when the cost of upgrading its three changing rooms, toilets and kitchen was put at a minimum of £90,000.

Coun Flood said: “The football club is doing the work because a lot of the players are tradesman and the pavilion has been stripped down, with the aim of turning in into a community building for everyone.

“The work is having an impact and there’s a very good feeling now in Holbeach Bank.”

A leading figure in the Government from Holbeach has relived the part he played as a terrorist attack took place in London.

Lord Taylor of Holbeach was with a parliamentary colleague when it emerged that Khalid Massod had fatally stabbed a police officer outside the House of Commons.

Four people died at the hands of Masood who was shot dead by armed police after he had killed PC Keith Palmer and drove a car at a crowd of people on the pavement of Westminster Bridge on Wednesday.

Lord Taylor, chief whip in the House of Lords where his main role is to look after the welfare of other members, said: “I was talking to a colleague in my office about something entirely different when I heard a general hubbub, pistol shots and police whistles outside.

“I didn’t think anything of it particularly until we were joined by all the people responsible for running the Houses of Parliament when we learned that most of the staff had been moved out of the building.

“When it became apparent that there had been a fatality and it had been a terrorist attack, we stayed at the Palace of Westminster to act as the point of contact for people who had been evacuated to Westminster Abbey.”

Lord Taylor and other parliamentary staff spent more than six hours keeping other members of both the House of Commons and Lords up to date as the tragic events unfolded.

He said: “Trying to keep ourselves informed about what was happened proved to be quite important because we were trying to feed this information back to the staff who had been evacuated.

“We were acting in a sort of liaison role and didn’t actually leave the House of Lords until 9.30pm when we were all tired and exhausted.

“Everybody had done their bit and what was really gratifying was that, on Thursday, we met at 11am and had a minute’s silence when the Archbishop of Canterbury joined us in expressing our distress at what had happened.”

Lord Taylor confirmed that security was being reviewed but he stressed that “the UK Parliament is kept open to everybody”.

He also described “the psychology difficulty” after Wednesday’s attack having been in Brighton when the Provisional IRA (Irish Republican Army) carried out its bombing at the 1984 Conservative Party Conference.

Lord Taylor said: “Myself and Lady Taylor were both obviously pleased to get home and sleep in our own beds as there’s nothing like being back at home in Holbeach after having been through something like this.

“But our thoughts are with all those people who were going about their business and whose lives will never be the same again as a result of what has happened.”

• The leader of South Holland District Council has expressed his sympathy for those killed and injured in the terrorist attack at Westminster.

Coun Gary Porter, who has been a peer (or member of the House of Lords) since November 2015, was in London for meetings as part of his role as chairman of the Local Government Association (LGA) when the attack took place.

He said: “I was supposed to be at the House of Lords when it all unfolded.

“But I had an unexpected issue to deal with at the LGA offices in north London which meant that I was running about 45 minutes late in leaving to get back to Westminster.

“It’s a tragedy to hear what’s happened and my heart goes out to those people who have died or been injured.

“But I know that what happened on Wednesday won’t change the way London operates or the way people who go there will enjoy what the city has to offer.”

Meanwhile, a message posted on social media by Boston and Skegness MP Matt Warman who represents Kirton, Sutterton and Swineshead, said: “I was one of hundreds of MPs locked in the chamber of the House of Commons for our own safety.

“My staff were similarly held in their office while police, knowing that a colleague had just been murdered, secured the building.

“The officers and staff who work around Westminster deserve the thanks not just of MPs, but of all our constituents too as they protect people, as much as democracy itself.

“Individually, we are all safe but a tiny number pay the ultimate price.”

• South Holland and the Deepings MP John Hayes has branded the man behind Wednesday’s terrorist attack as a “fanatical person”.

Mr Hayes, who was Security Minister in former Prime Minister David Cameron’s Government, was visiting a factory to Coventry where electric taxis are made when the attack happened.

He said: The threat level in this country is severe and that means an attack is very likely so you can’t say it was a surprise.

“But it was a dreadful shock that the place where I work happened to be the target of it.

“I was quite fortunate in that I wasn’t in and around Westminster, as I normally am, when it happened.

“But I think it really hits home hard when you see people who you know, colleagues and friends, have their normal lives disturbed by one fanatical person. What I conclude from it is that our lives and our normality are really quite fragile.”

Mr Hayes, now a Transport Minister in Prime Minister Theresa May’s Government, pledged that the security services were doing everything possible to prevent such attacks.

He said: “Obviously, I don’t want to comment too much on the details of the investigation because that would be inappropriate.

“But we have to understand that these people are enemies of democracy and it’s only through the efforts of the security services that many more people aren’t injured or killed.

“With my knowledge as a former Security Minister, they are working every day to stop these kinds of attacks from happening. But it only takes one person to reap untold damage.”

• Since the attacks in London last week, security measures have been tightened locally where events are held that involve people in military dress.

The Lincolnshire Free Press understands that events that include groups such as Air Cadets’ corps appearing in public cannot be advertised by a specific day, date, time or place in advance.

Police are again appealing for information from the public about a burglar from Spalding.

Thomas Parr (19) is wanted on a court warrant for failing to attend a sentencing hearing in relation to a commercial burglary in Spalding on October 15, 2016.

He also failed to attend police bail in relation to three burglaries at Spalding United Football Club.

Parr is believed to be in the South Holland area.

Anyone with information concerning Parr’s current whereabouts is asked to contact Spalding CID on 101.

A man murdered his estranged wife just hours after celebrating his birthday with friends, a jury at Lincoln Crown Court has been told.

Gytis Griskevicius is alleged to have visited his wife, Spalding factory worker Marina Erte (33) at her first floor flat in Boston and attacked her, leaving her with severe head injuries, before drowning her in the bath.

Griskevicius is then alleged to have set fire to the property in Elizabeth Road before walking out.

Later, following his arrest, the prosecution claim the defendant confessed to a cellmate while remanded in custody after being charged with murder

William Harbage QC told the jury: “Marina Erte’s body was found naked in the bath in her flat by firemen who had been called out by neighbours.

“Subsequent examination of her body revealed she had been severely beaten about the head, causing facial fractures and traumatic brain injury.

“She had then been placed in the bath and drowned by holding a shower attachment up against her face deliberately.

“There can be no doubt that whoever did this intended to kill her and did so. Whoever did it is undoubtedly guilty of murder.

“After Marina had been killed an attempt had been made by her killer to destroy her flat by setting fire to the carpet on the stairs.

“Although the fire burned slowly for quite a while and caused extensive smoke damage it didn’t catch on and destroy the whole flat. It merely smouldered and the scene was preserved, albeit covered in a layer of soot.”

The court was told that the couple married in 2010 but separated five years later.

Marina formed a relationship with another man – Aleksandr Kudriasov – and Mr Harbage told the jury: “There is evidence that the defendant was jealous of Marina’s relationship with her new boyfriend. There is even evidence that he was talking about revenge.”

Mr Harbage said that Griskevicius celebrated his birthday the day before the alleged murder with a barbecue with his housemates. That ended early as the others had to be up for work in the morning. Later Griskevicius visited Marina’s flat and the pair of them went to the Asda store where they bought a bottle of whisky and some crisps before returning to Elizabeth Road.

“We say he had a motive and as well as a motive we say the defendant had the opportunity,” said the prosecutor.

Mr Harbage said that following his arrest Griskevicius destroyed the shirt he was wearing and lied to police about his movements.

Griskevicius (32), of St Ann’s Lane, Boston, denies the murder of Marina Erte on May 20, 2016.

At the time of her death Marina Erte was working at the FESA fruit packing company in Spalding.

Former Olympic swimming star Sophie Allen was on a mission to inspire children to take up sport when she visited Weston St Mary Primary School.

Lincoln-born Sophie threw herself into her chosen sport at the age of 11 and now works as an Inspire+ ambassador and school sports officer,

She currently leads a Girls in Sport campaign and that was her main focus during an assembly at the Weston school, although head teacher Nick Newitt says: “She was really trying to inspire all children to take up physical activity, to take part in sport.”

Sophie led two workshops on team working, one on communication and a fourth on diet and nutrition.

Mr Newitt said: “Sophie was trying to get across the idea that when you eat snacks like crisps and chocolate bars that it takes a lot of physical activity to burn those calories off. I think children were intrigued by how much physical activity it takes just to burn off one Snickers bar.”

One estimate shows it takes 56 minutes of brisk walking to use up the calories in a Snickers.

Mr Newitt said: “The children found it really inspiring to meet with an Olympian and to ask her questions.”

Sophie represented Britain in the Commonwealth Games, European and World championships, and the London 2012 Olympics before retiring through injury in 2014.

• See more pictures in Thursday’s Spalding Guardian.

DOCTOR CALLING: By Dr Kevin Hill

It may not be the first thing that springs to mind whilst enjoying the upcoming Easter break but stocks of some types of blood group tend to dip during the bank holiday period, so South Lincolnshire Clinical Commissioning Group is urging people to come forwards to donate blood.

Around 6,000 units of blood are needed every day to help save the lives of sick and injured people across England and Wales, and for some people who have experienced severe blood loss, a blood transfusion can mean the difference between life and death.

Red blood cells only have a shelf life of 35 days and platelets have a shelf life of just five days.

This means that blood cannot be stockpiled, making it vital for existing and new blood donors to keep coming forwards, to ensure that supplies of blood are available when they are needed.

When your mind is focused on enjoying your holiday it is easy to overlook the crucial contribution you can make by donating blood.

It is easy sometimes to put off giving blood. We can all get caught up in enjoying our holidays and planning things to do, but it would be unbelievably helpful if more of us could take just a few minutes out of our schedule to give blood.

The universal blood group O Rh Negative is often in short supply as demand for it tends to be greater. In addition, we need to do all we can to guarantee supplies of rarer blood groups, including A Rh Negative, B Rh Negative and AB Rh Negative.

Generally speaking, provided you are fit and healthy, weigh over seven stone 12 pounds (50kg) and are aged between 17 and 66 (up to 70 if you have given blood before), you should be able to give blood. People aged over 70 need to have given blood in the last two years in order to continue donating.

• To find out more or book an appointment to donate visit www.blood.co.uk or call 0300 1232323.

Accessing information from South Holland District Council’s website has been made easier thanks to new upgrades.

General accessibility improvements have been made to the site, making it easier to use for residents who have difficulty reading website text or are blind.

Users can now have website text read out, change the colour, font and size of text, magnify sections of the page and alter the background colour.

To help everybody access the site, there is now the ability to have website pages translated into several different languages.

To start using these options, visit www.sholland.gov.uk and click on ‘Accessibility’ at the top of the page.

Coun Sally Slade, portfolio holder for digital and customer access, said: “We are keen to make the website as easy to use as possible, for all our residents and these developments will certainly help to make a positive difference.

“This is just one example of our pledge to provide digital services that are so good residents chose to use them.”

These latest improvements are the first of several planned website upgrades scheduled to take place throughout 2017, with news of another significant update to follow shortly.

For more information visit www.sholland.gov.uk

Residents in South Holland are being invited to have their say on the Publication Version of the South East Lincolnshire Local Plan.

The new Local Plan for South East Lincolnshire (the areas of Boston Borough Council and South Holland District Council) has been prepared to guide development and use of land in the area up until 2036.

It includes sites to be allocated for different types of development, such as housing and employment in order to meet the area’s needs, as well as identifying areas of land which must be protected from development.

It also covers a wide range of other planning-related matters in the form of policies, against which planning applications can be judged.

The Publication Version of the plan will be made available to residents as part of a six week consultation period starting on April 10 and running until May 22.

This is the final round of consultation that will take place before the Plan is submitted to the Secretary of State for independent examination in public.

Unlike previous consultations, comments made must now relate to whether the Local Plan is ‘sound’ and complies with legal and procedural requirements – a guidance note on how to make comments is available at www.southeastlincslocalplan.org
Coun Peter Bedford, chairman of the South East Lincolnshire Joint Strategic Planning Committee, said: “We have taken on board the comments you have made so far about how you would like to see Boston Borough and South Holland developed.

“A lot of work has gone into its production and it cannot be stressed enough how important this will be in influencing where we build up until 2036.

“You now have a final chance to comment on the plan, before it is submitted, to help shape the future for generations to come.”

All of the documents being published for consultation will be available to view from April 10 online at www.southeastlincslocalplan.org/consultation; in libraries and mobile libraries and at the council offices in Boston and Spalding, during normal office hours.

You can comment on the consultation documents in the following ways:

Online via the dedicated consultation portal at: www.southeastlincslocalplan.org/consultation

By emailing a completed comment form (available to download from South Holland Dsitrict Council’s website or can be collected at locations listed above) to: southeastlincslocalplan@sholland.gov.uk

By posting a completed comment form to: South Holland District Council Offices, Priory Road, Spalding, Lincolnshire, PE11 2XE.

Comments must be received by 5pm on May 22. If you have commented during previous consultations it is not necessary to repeat those comments this time around as they have already been considered in reaching this stage. All comments made in previous consultations will be submitted to the Secretary of State.

Carriageway and footway maintenance works are set to take place on Low Road Bridge in Spalding, starting on Monday, April 3.

Weather permitting, the work will be completed on Friday, April 14. For safety, the road will be closed for the duration of the works, with traffic diverted via Low Road, Queen’s Road, Holbeach Road, A151 and A16.

A highways spokesperson said: “The surface of the bridge has become uneven over time, so we are going in to replace it.

“We apologise for any inconvenience caused, and advise motorists to allow extra time for their journeys.”

Sixteen motorists in Lincolnshire were caught driving while using their mobile phone during a week-long police campaign.

The campaign saw officers from the East Midlands Operational Support Service (EMOpSS) targeting drivers using their mobiles between Wednesday, March 1 and Tuesday, March 7.

It was designed to highlight the introduction of tough new penalties for driving while using a mobile phone.

Drivers caught using a mobile will now receive six points on their driving licence and receive a £200 fine. These changes will have a significant impact on young drivers in particular as they risk having their driving licence revoked following a first offence. Motorists will no longer be offered the opportunity to go on a driver awareness course.

EMOpSS provides roads policing and collision investigation to the communities of Leicestershire, Lincolnshire, Northamptonshire and Nottinghamshire. It also provides armed policing response, firearms training and specialist search skills and dog support.

Chief Inspector Mark Garthwaite from EMOpSS said; “The numbers of people stopped are higher than an average week because we had specific operations and ‘Fatal4’ clinics running across the week.

“However, the changes to the legislation have been very well publicised and so there is no excuse for anyone to think it is acceptable to drive and use their mobile phone.

“Our officers will continue to stop motorists whose behaviour risks causing serious injury, or death, to themselves or others. As the Government’s THINK! campaign says, when you are driving make your glove compartment your phone compartment and remove the temptation to use or check your phone while driving.”

With emotions stirred all over the country following the terrorist attack at Westminster, a drawing by a former Spalding High School art teacher summed up feelings of unity.

The picture by Melissa Webb went viral on social media and featured on BBC News following the attack and read: “What divides human beings is small and mean, what unites human beings is huge and wonderful.”

The image showed people of different faiths standing together against a backdrop of London.

Melissa (26), who lives in Wygate Park, Spalding, and currently works as an artist said: “I was watching the news that had happened and went on Twitter and saw what people were saying.

“There were quite a few posts that were encouraging this sort of divisive, rhetoric racist feelings. I felt really upset about it. I am from London originally and what is wonderful about London is the diverseness. I was upset by this tone I was reading.

“I express myself through my art so did the drawing and shared it on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram, seeing that people carried my feelings.”

The image was also picked up and shared by BBC News. After requests for the print to be shared on her website mellowvisuals.com she has decided to donate all proceeds from purchases of the print to the London Air Ambulance which attended the scene of the attack.

She said: “London Air Ambulance were on the scene in London immediately on Wednesday, saving lives. They receive no public funds and rely entirely on donations.”

Firefighters released a casualty trapped in machinery at a property in Holbeach this afternoon (Tuesday).

The crews from Holbeach and Long Sutton attended the property in Fleet Street at 1pm and used hydraulic rescue equipment to release the person before handing them over to the ambulance service.

One casualty had to be cut from their car by firefighters after a two-car accident on the A17 at Moulton Marsh today.

Crews from Holbeach and Spalding used hydraulic cutting equipment to remove the roof of the vehicle and also made it safe.

This youth’s bicycle was stolen from outside the owner’s address in Lancaster Way, Market Deeping yesterday (Tuesday).

The theft happened between 10.30am and 11.30am and the bike was locked.

Anyone with information is asked to call police on the 101 number, quoting incident incident 289 of March 28.