There were over 400 fewer people unemployed in South Holland last month that a year ago. The jobless figure for the district in November showed another 1.4 per cent drop on the previous month – a fall of 2.2 per cent on November 2013. It means 58 people found a job, or stopped claiming unemployment benefits, in November. Latest figures ...

More than 85 per cent of primary aged children in Lincolnshire and over 75 per cent of secondary children attend a good or outstanding school. The figures have been revealed in the annual report by Ofsted, which has carried out almost 6,500 inspections at more than 21,000 schools across England and Wales in 2013/14. Nationally, 82 per cent of primary ...

Bakkavor’s Spalding staff shop committee presented three winning school choirs with prizes of £500, £250 and £100 as part of their support for the town’s Christmas Light Switch On celebrations. Following the success of the previous year, nine schools from the area took part in this year’s singing competition bringing a great festive atmosphere to the beginning of the Christmas ...

The latest weapon in the fight to clean up the district has been hitting the streets of South Holland. A new street sweeping machine has joined the district council’s ranks as part of the Pride in South Holland campaign. The sweeper has been hired for 17 weeks and along with the council’s two permanent vehicles will make sure that as ...

Lincolnshire is to receive an extra £9million from central government to improve roads and tackle potholes. The funding is part of a £6billion national package announced last week which is to be given out over the next six years to maintain the country’s road network. Of this funding, £4.7billion will be allocated according to a needs-based formula, with £580million to ...

Christmas presents, cash and a mobile phone were stolen during a burglary in Donington.  The burglary in Cowley Road is believed to have occurred between 10am and 6:15pm on Sunday, December 21. Community Policing Inspector Jim Tyner said ‘There were two burglaries in Donington in November.  Detectives are pursuing active lines of enquiry but at this time we don’t believe the ...

Police in Spalding  investigating the theft of a customer’s phone from a shop in Market Place have issued a CCTV image. The theft happened on Thursday, December 4, in Peacocks’ store. The owner of the phone put it on a clothes rail while shopping at around 10am. She walked away, forgetting to pick it up and when she returned a short ...

Police in Spalding continue to tackle crime and anti-social behaviour in Spalding town centre in the run-up to Christmas. Operation Washer was launched on December 1 and, between then and December 11, a number of offences have been dealt with: 10 street drinkers dealt with. 5 shoplifters arrested. 1 person arrested for breaching dispersal notice. 2 dispersal notices issued. 4 ...

A young boy  was seriously injured in a collision on Friday (December 5). Police were called just before 4.15pm after the accident on Station Road in Tydd Gote, which involved the boy and a green Ford Mondeo, from the Wisbeach area. A number of emergency services attended the scene of the incident and the seven-year-old boy, who was seriously injured, was taken to ...

A newly-announced £15.2billion package to improve the country’s roads must be a “catalyst” for improvements in South Holland, MP John Hayes has said. Following the announcement of the Government’s new Road Investment Strategy Mr Hayes, who is Transport Minister, said he wanted to do more to improve roads in Lincolnshire. His comments follow a meeting in Downing Street of representatives ...

Lincolnshire police are asking for people’s help to crack down on drink and drug driving this Christmas. The force launched its annual festive campaign on Monday by encouraging people to text information to them which will help them arrest people who get behind the wheel while they are unfit to do so. Members of the public will be able to ...

Thousands of pounds of the best equipment and the best in personal support and training have come together under one roof at Spalding’s newest gym. The work of friends Vernon Gay and Scott Miller, Heroes Gym opened last weekend and already people serious about getting fit are coming from miles around to make use of the state-of-the-art facilities. Scott has ...

A Spalding GP surgery has said it will work with a standards watchdog after it was placed in the band of surgeries requiring earliest inspections. Munro Medical Centre was placed in Band 1 in a report by the Care Quality Commission (CQC), as reported in a story in the Spalding and South Holland Voice last week. Munro Medical Centre has ...

Dog walkers in Surfleet have a new poo bin for their pets thanks to people power. Local resident Bernice Issitt asked Coun Sally Slade about the possibility of a new bin in the area after one was successfully installed last year. Coun Slade used her designated budget to buy the bins which are positioned at either end of a footpath ...

Two Duke of Edinburgh gold award winners were among those honoured at a presentation night. Lauren Bates, a student at Spalding Grammar School, and Rachel Goodacre, from Spalding High School were presented with the awards by Adam Turner, who undertook his gold award between 2009 and 2011. He gave an inspiring presentation of his recent mountaineering adventures, including Kilimanjaro in ...

East Midlands Trains will provide thousands of extra seats to help passengers enjoy Lincoln’s ancient and world famous Christmas Market this weekend. The market takes place between Thursday (Dec 4) and Sunday (Dec 7), and attracts thousands of visitors to the medieval square and city centre. In addition to the extra seats and services throughout the weekend, East Midlands Trains ...

Fewer firefighters may attend 999 calls and more crews could become medical co-responders as budget cuts continue to bite. Lincolnshire Fire and Rescue has launched a 12-week public consultation on its latest Integrated Risk Management Planning document, which looks at six proposed changes to the way it operates in 2015/16. A series of public presentations will be held across the ...

More youngsters will have a chance to dance in South Holland after a dance troupe was given a big financial boost. Dance Factor Lincolnshire, which is supported by South Holland District Council, has been awarded the runners-up prize from ITV’s The People’s Millions fund. Thanks to public votes the project will receive £48,500 to take dance into local communities across ...

Lincolnshire police has been told it needs to improve the way it investigates crimes. The force has been rated as “good” in a report by the police inspectorate, but concerns have been raised about its ability to investigate crime, saying it is being hampered by the way it manages investigations. The new report by Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary said ...

Artists are invited to enter a competition designed to showcase the best work created by professionals and amateurs across the region. Entries are now open for the 15th South Holland Open Arts Exhibition which will take place at the South Holland Centre in Spalding from March 5 to 12. Artists can submit their work and an independent panel of judges ...