On the 30th March 2017, Fleet Hargate Post Office closed. Established for a hundred years opposite the Baptist Chapel, the post office then moved nearer the centre of the village before settling into a row of terraced cottages on the opposite side of Old Main Road.   This was convenient for elderly residents, especially those living in 32 sheltered bungalows ...

Police are appealing for witnesses following the death of a motorcyclist in Holbeach. It follows a road traffic collision on Friday between a motorbike and a tractor on the B1168 between Saturday Bridge and Hurdletree Bank. Police said on Saturday morning: “We are sad to report that a man has died following a collision on the B1168. “The rider of ...

A trusted worker at an electrical wholesale company who stole £42,000 worth of stock to fund his gambling addiction has been jailed.   Gavin Phillips set up an eBay account which he used to sell the firm’s stock and then falsified documentation to cover-up what he was doing.   Brian Outhwaite, prosecuting at Lincoln Crown Court on Friday (April 21), said ...

Lincolnshire authorities are getting smarter and more effective at fighting fraud. Having already identified more than £1m of incorrect or fraudulent payments, councils will be continuing to crack down on this crime. Lucy Pledge, audit and risk manager at Lincolnshire County Council said: “Lincolnshire councils are working together to tackle fraud by pooling resources and information, and taking a zero ...

Three of South Holland’s heritage attractions have been awarded £38,200 to explore ways to work more closely together. Chain Bridge Forge, in High Street, Spalding; Moulton Mill and Pinchbeck Pumping Museum have been awarded the grant from Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF). It will allow leaders of the sites to explore opportunities to cut costs, increase efficiently and for joint marketing. ...

Lutton teacher Bernice William had to be identified by DNA after her body was found hidden under a pile of underlay in the family’s junk room, an inquest has heard.   Police took two days to find the body of the mother-of-two after her husband Lawrence (49) was discovered hanged in a stable block at the couple’s farmhouse in Colley’s Gate. ...

A long-serving cat rescue charity shop reopened at the weekend, days after fears were aired that it was closed for good. Hendrik Engelbert is a new trustee with PJ Cat Rescue, in High Street, Long Sutton, and said he is keen to steer it forward and continue its work. He said: “The shop closed in early February after the death ...

A talented Spalding student with an eye on a theatrical career has earned a coveted place at Arts Educational Schools, London. Will Silver has featured in The Voice previously for his emerging talent during his teenage years, including landing a top role in a musical at The Embassy Centre in Skegness. Will is currently at ESPA (Eastern School of Performing ...

by Stuart Brown Cyber security expert Phishing emails are online scams that are reliant on you, the reader/end-user, being tricked into doing something without thinking about it. They can take many forms and the ingenuity these days knows no bounds as scammers are now researching their potential victims in far more detail than ever before. Phishing, vishing and smishing can ...

Conservative MP John Hayes admits he was as surprised as anyone by Prime Minister Theresa May wanting a snap General Election in seven weeks’ time, on Thursday, June 8. Mr Hayes, who will be seeking a fifth re-election in the South Holland and The Deepings constituency since first taking the seat in 1997, said: “I don’t think anyone was expecting ...

By Karen Johnson South Holland District Council community development officer It was great to see so many people come along to the Give it a Go! event at the Sir Halley Stewart Playing Field on April 2. More than 350 people came to meet South Holland’s sports clubs and try activities including football, golf, rugby, rowing and bowls. Playing sports ...

The first of two free sessions in Spalding for foreign national adults wanting to learn more English takes place this weekend. Led by Hawkfield Training –  Anne Hawkridge and Martin Whitfield – who are qualified and experienced in teaching adults,. the sessions are aimed as a taster for an “English as a second language” summer project based at The Vista ...

For the past few weeks as I’ve looked out of our back windows, I’ve seen a beautiful field of daffodils. Today they are dying, but with our flat, fenland landscape I can see for miles, and the contrasting fields that grow the food to feed us, so how disappointing, and disturbing, to learn that yet another site for building is proposed ...

In Spalding there is a Facebook page called “Spotted Spalding” – the principle behind the page is that people can make posts anonymously. This page has more than 19,000 “likes”. On Saturday afternoon a post was made that included a photograph of a lady by some flower containers with a comment accusing her of stealing the plants. This could not ...

I thank Coun Worth for his contribution (Mail, April 13) to the debate about who represents Holbeach at Lincoln, because that’s what his letter is about. Maybe a reply is in order and I’ll try to keep it brief, so as not to upset him too much. He is, in part, personally responsible for the withdrawal of library funding and ...

Recently my daughter was unfortunate to receive damage to the suspension of her car when travelling from Pinchbeck to Spalding. She notified Lincolnshire County Council as the damage was the result of a badly fitting drain cover on the road. A letter has now been received from the county council (unsigned) enclosing a SEVEN-page report form to complete. However, in ...

I have hit a wall in my family tree research. I am trying to find out information about any living relatives that we have lost touch with, over 60 years ago. My father was born in 1941 in Peterborough to Doris Minnie McCarthy (nee Vellam), born 1922 in Double Street, Spalding and Joseph McCarthy, from Lancashire. They lived in Winsover ...

A Spalding runner will be pounding the streets of London on Sunday to raise money for a charity close to her heart. Karen O’Rourke (46) has set herself the gruelling challenge of competing in the London Marathon, in aid of the charity Meningitis Research Foundation (MRF). Karen, of Osier Road, who works in the town’s Sainsbury’s, will be running for MRF ...

Spalding market traders will be fundraising again on Saturday in their bid to gather enough funds to kit out a Skegness lifeboat (about £1,500). A tombola will be held next to the watch stall in Hall Place and donation tins will on several stalls. The latest fundraiser follows an auction in Market Place on April 8, which raised £444 for ...

Customers have welcomed investment in two pubs, which reopened on Good Friday.(April 14) New landlords at The Bull’s Neck in Holbeach are Neil and Lyn Spiers, while in Long Sutton, Sean Portass and Dana Garkavaya have reopened The Ship. For Neil and Lyn, who previously ran a hotel on the north-west coast, their choice of new venture was a toss-up ...