Crime

A man who arranged for a 14-year-old girl to be taken from a South Lincolnshire children’s home to London for sex has been jailed for 12 years. Billal Amin sent a taxi to Lincolnshire to collect the teenager and her 15-year-old friend and take her to a Travelodge in East London. Martin Hurst, prosecuting at Lincoln Crown Court, said the two ...

Customers are expected to be able to return to Donington’s Co-op store early in the New Year, with work due to get under way to repair ram-raid damage on Monday (November 28). A John Deere teleporter was driven into the front of the Market Place store at the end of September, leaving the pavement area in front of it and ...

A Lancashire man has received a three-month suspended prison sentence for possession, distribution and concealment of illicit cigarettes in Spalding. Saman Ahmad Mahmood (36), of Lowndes Street, Bolton, was convicted of 13 charges relating to Nasza Biendronka off-licence in Sheep Market. The sentence came as Lincolnshire Trading Standards launched a campaign to encourage residents to share information about the sale ...

Cash-strapped Lincolnshire Police has been inundated with applications after launching a recruitment campaign, saying it is determined to keep police officer numbers up. The force, which wants applicants to live in Lincolnshire or have strong links to the county – a policy that some say could be viewed as discriminatory, received 500 applications in the first 24 hours. Chief Constable ...

The 20-year minimum terms handed to the teenagers responsible for the murders of Liz and Katie Edwards have been referred to the Attorney General for being “unduly lenient”. There is now a 28-day period for a decision on whether the sentences should be referred on to the Court of Appeal. A spokesman for the Attorney General’s office said: “The threshold ...

Do you recognise these people?   Lincolnshire police has just released the images in a bid to trace the individuals in connection with an enquiry into shoplifting at B&M, in Winsover Road, Spalding.     The incident happened at around 3.50pm on 31st October.   If you are the people in the images, or you know their identity, please contact ...

Staff at late night convenience stores have been urged to be vigilant after a member of staff at Pinchbeck’s Spar store was sprayed in the face in a raid by four masked men.   At around 9.40pm last night, four men went into the shop, in Knight Street, and sprayed an unknown liquid in a member of staff’s face before ...

The detective who led the investigation into Britain’s youngest double murderers has praised the Spalding community for their support. Det Ch Insp Martin Holvey said at first he found it hard to believe that two 14-year-olds had carried out the murders of school dinner lady Liz Edwards (49) and her 13-year-old daughter Katie. The boy and girl, now 15, were each ...

Two 15-year-olds who murdered Spalding dinner lady Liz Edwards and her youngest daughter Katie have been given life sentences and serve at least 20 years. The boy and girl were 14 when they carried out the murders at Mrs Edwards’ home in Dawson Avenue in April. Passing sentence at Nottingham Crown Court on Thursday (Nov 10), Mr Justice Haddon-Cave described the case ...

The judge in the Spalding double murders case has paid tribute to police officers and staff for the way they carried out the investigation and to reporters for their “difficult task”. The defendants, who were 14 at the time and are now 15, murdered school dinner lady Liz Edwards (49) and her daughter Katie (13) in their beds at their home in ...

Police are investigating after two teenage boys were injured in an incident outside The Chequers pub in High Street, Holbeach. A mum, who did not want to be named, told The Voice her 13-year-old daughter was threatened with a knife during the incident at around 8.30pm on Friday when youngsters were confronted by adults. A police spokesman said officers were ...

A pensioner who threatened to falsely accuse a vulnerable man to police for a rape he never committed has been jailed for 18 months. Melvyn Papper demanded that his 46-year-old victim repay a £6,000 loan to another person telling him he would go to police and report the victim as having raped a woman. Papper had previously been acting as ...

by Andy Hall at Survanabumi Airport It was indeed a welcome development that the Supreme Court of Thailand issued its judgment on November 3 at Prakanong Court, dismissing, after almost four years at a final stage of appeal, a criminal defamation case against me. In this case I was prosecuted as a researcher and migrant activist for criminal defamation by Thailand’s ...

A computer technician who downloaded videos of young children being abused has been jailed for ten months. Gene Lee Swallow was arrested after police raided his home in Spalding and discovered that he had used a flash drive connected to his television to access the illegal films. Lincoln Crown Court heard that one of the films showed the abuse of ...

The vicar of Spalding Parish Church is using this month of remembrance to spread a message of reflection and hope for the future after two years which have seen six violent deaths in the town. The inquest into the shootings deaths of Lance, Claire and Charlotte Hart in July was held last week. And two 15-year-olds will be sentenced on ...

A Spalding newsagent has described how his family has lost gold jewellery worth a “significant amount” in a distraction burglary involving a gang of six people. The three men and three women targeted Ball’s News in Hawthorn Bank, with one of the group gaining access to the living quarters at the rear of the shop. She spent up to 15 ...

Harrowing details of the moment when suicidal dad-of-three Lance Hart shot dead his wife and daughter at Spalding’s swimming pool car park have been heard at an inquest into the three deaths today (Thursday). A witness told of seeing Lance’s daughter Charlotte (19) walking towards him with her hands held up and her palms facing him moments before he shot her ...

The two sons of Lance and Claire Hart have issued a statement following the inquest into the deaths of their parents and sister Charlotte.  Luke and Ryan Hart said: “Charlotte and our mum were our inspiration and our purpose in life; they were the two most virtuous and beautiful people we have ever encountered. “It is not possible to describe ...

Police are urging trailer owners to review their security arrangements following a spate of thefts. Since October 6, nine trailers of various types have been stolen from in and around Long Sutton. Police said: “Owners should ensure that they have a good quality hitch lock and that the trailer is further secured by wheel clamp, or it is securely tethered to ...

The post of Lincolnshire Police chief constable is to be readvertised on Monday (Oct 24) after the first attempt failed to find a suitable candidate. Two applications were considered by the appointments panel on Tuesday (Oct 18). One UK-based application had “considerable merit but provided insufficient evidence against the sifting criteria for appointment”. The panel recommended that it should not ...