Lincolnshire Police are urging residents to lock their front and back doors after a spate of burglaries.

The warning comes after three offences over the last few nights where offenders have got into homes through doors that are left unlocked all night.

The thieves then went on to steal handbags and purses. The offences took place on Lisburn Close, Hungate and Larne Road.

Anyone with any information on burglaries or someone handling stolen goods can call Lincolnshire Police on 101 or anonymously to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

Lincoln’s 807th Mayor was sworn in at the Guildhall on May 14, taking over from Councillor Karen Lee.

Councillor Pat Vaughan, previously the Deputy Mayor, took up the 2012/13 role after taking an oath in the historic building.

He chaired his first Full Council meeting, then was also married to the city, by being presented with a 16th century gold ring.

The Mayoress will be Lorna Stow, while Patricia Carter becomes Sheriff, Yvonne Bodger as Deputy Mayor, and Gerald Gladwell as Deputy Mayor’s Consort.

Councillor Ric Metcalfe said: “He loves this city with a passion, takes huge pride in the place and has a strong sense of history and tradition so will be really well suited to taking on this historic role.

“Patrick wants to be a genuine ‘People’s Mayor’ and is full of ideas about how he can use his time in mayoral office, not for his own good but for the well being of the city.

“Most of all, he is a thoroughly nice man – kind, generous spirited and always looking out for the needs of other people.”

Each mayor always chooses a charity to support during their term in office, and Vaughan has chosen the Lincolnshire branch of the Motor Neurone Disease Association.

Councillor Vaughan also hopes to help the Civic party propose more employment opportunities and support local businesses.

Pat Vaughan said: “I will do my best to uphold the dignity and importance of this office. It’s an honour and a privilege to be the 807th mayor of this city.

“I’m intending this year for the civic party to propose a lot of opportunities to attract employment to Lincoln and demonstrate support for the many excellent businesses we have here.

“I love this city, home for most of my life. I intend to serve it well over the next year.”

Lincoln has one of the longest histories of mayorships in the country, and the outgoing mayor Lee was only the 12th female in the role since its beginnings in 1206.

A Lincoln mayor chairs meetings of the Full Council, welcomes visitors to the city and attends a variety of civic and charity events.

A Internet celebrity female skunk based in Lincoln celebrated her third birthday over the weekend.

Phoebe the skunk has been based at Pets Cabin on Newark Road for two years with owner Alyss Dickinson, where her visits prove popular with customers and fans.

Alyss acquired Phoebe after her previous owner passed away, leaving behind a number of animals.

“We went over to Nottingham to collect all the animals,” Alyss said. “Phoebe was meant to be sold in a shop, but she wouldn’t settle in the enclosures. I said that I’d bring her home, and she ended up staying.”

Since her rescue, Alyss set the skunk up with her own Facebook page, which led to a massive following across the globe.

She’s got over 2,500 people following her on the page and a “boyfriend skunk” in America called Endo, who sends her love letters. People also send her birthday and Christmas cards, presents, and letters.

From her Facebook, a number of people also come and visit the shop in the hopes of meeting the skunk, with one fan coming from Scotland to see her.

Lots of people like seeing Phoebe as she enjoys a cuddle, which can brighten people’s days. One woman claims Phoebe’s Facebook updates helped save her from depression.

Facebook isn’t the only place Phoebe got her name out to the world — she made a few headlines in 2011 after making a great escape.

“She’s been on BBC Radio 1, TV, newspapers and magazines because she escaped. She got out of may garden and went missing for four days. Obviously it’s a bit weird to have a skunk go missing.

“We put posters out around Branston (where we live) then at about midnight a man called saying he’d just seen a skunk walking around. We went straight out, and it took us an hour to find her again.”

It’s not always plain sailing for the skunk though, as she has needed regualr emergency trips to the vets. Fortunately, her Facebook fans come in to help regularly.

“Sadly she had a womb infection which spread to her scent glands so she had to have everything removed [it is illegal to removed a skunk's scent glands except for medical reasons].

“Since then, she had to go to the vets because of fits, and she now has liver disease now. She goes to the vets every six months now. She is getting better though which is good.”

Due to being an exotic pet, vets bills can amass hundreds or thousands of pounds, but Phoebe fans in the past have raised £900 of a £1,000 vet bill.

In a way of thanks, Phoebe does a number of fundraising events around the city to help raise cash for local brain tumour charity, Claudia’s Cause.

“She goes to events for Claudia’s Cause, and she went to the little girl’s birthday party last year. A few of our other animals, like the meerkats, went along too.

“We do open days in the pet shop, and we do animal encounter parties called Phoebe’s Close Encounters, it’s Phoebe’s own business! We can be hired out for events or to visit birthday parities.”

She added: “We also take her shopping on her harness, and to pub gardens where she’s quite well known!”

Phoebe can be visited most days except Monday in Pets Cabin, or invited along to charity or pet events. Find out more about Phoebe on her Facebook.

Lincoln teenager Jake Reynolds has won an award in an international green poetry competition.

The first SWITCH green poetry competition was held in east London on Monday, where Jake collected his award from Lord de Mauley, Resource Management Minister at the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra).

The SWITCH green poetry challenge was launched earlier this year by Cape Farewell, the international climate change art programme, to inspire young people to explore climate change issues through poetry.

The winners were chosen by Karen McCarthy Woolf from entries from all over the world, including New York and Bangkok.

Jake, 18, from Bracebridge Heath, won for his poem ‘FAO’, which uses the structure of a formal address to focus on items contained in a box to represent humanity.

He is currently studying for his A2 exams and hopes to go on to study English Literature and Creative Writing.

In January 2013 he released a collection of poems, entitled ‘Editing Earth’, after setting himself the challenge of writing an entire collection in one year.

Jake said: “It was an honour to be chosen as one of the winners of the competition, even moreso because the subject matter of the challenges was so tricky to express through poetry.

“The fact that I found the writing process so challenging makes the outcome all the more rewarding. It was a wonderful night and I was glad to be a part of it,” he added.

Judge Karen McCarthy Woolf said: “These young poets have achieved that elusive equilibrium with work that combines talent, technique and integrity to bring a fresh perspective to this pressing issue.”

FAO

— by Jake Reynolds

Taken from the fridge, a child’s drawing
of a family holding hands
straw-haired, stick-armed, happy-faced
this is what we looked like

An old man’s collection of apple stickers
or faded ID labels
the Granny Smiths and Pink Ladies
this is what we were called

A sack of rusty copper coins
engraved with scripture
and the holy heads of our goddesses
this is what we treasured

The first tooth of a little girl
wrapped in tissue paper
enamel sharp as arrow-heads
this is what we fought with

An empty perfume bottle
fragrant, overbearing lilies
sweeter than cordial
this is what we drank

A blood-stained handkerchief,
our plea for resurrection
mistaken for a heartfelt token
this is how we loved

To whom it may concern,
the contents of this box
taken from one family,
should adequately express
who we were as humans

Successors of our world,
paint us as myths and legends
spilling love on our battlefields

Create a new history for us,
for the one we lived
was one we’d like to forget.

A Lincoln resident has breached time and space by having her shed modelled after a popular science fiction prop.

Marion Horsecroft decided that she needed a new shed, and had it modelled after the TARDIS (Time and Relative Dimension in Space).

The Tardis is the popular time machine from BBC science fiction TV show, Doctor Who.

The reason it resembles a police phone box is a due to a “technical malfunction” which caused the shape changing device to permanently resemble that form.

The Tardis was originally scripted to be a see-through giant bubble, but that idea was scrapped.

“I needed a new shed and I wanted something different,” Marion said. “I think sheds can be a bit boring, so I decided I wanted a Tardis.”

However, Marion, who lives in uphill Lincoln, didn’t need to bend time and space to find one.

“I found a chap in Manchester who makes custom sheds and got him to make it for me,” Marion said.

The show wasn’t entirely the inspiration for the custom shed though, which can be seen from the walls of Lincoln Castle.

She added: “I’m not particularly a fan; I used to be when I was a bit younger.”

In the TV show, the Tardis was always bigger on the inside. Marion said in real life, this wasn’t the case.

“Unfortunately, unlike the real Tardis, it isn’t bigger inside. It is quite small actually!”

Marion had her new shed for just over two months and found people had a lot of interest in it.

“I’ve had people peeping over the side of my wall to take photos of it, and people have wanted pictures of it.”

Next time you’re in uphill Lincoln, see if you can work out where the Tardis is and catch a peek.

Momentum is a short documentary about Lincoln-based abstract artist Andrew Bailie, originally from Newtownards, Ireland who now lives in the city with his wife Charlie and friend of the filmmaker Jonny Orme.

Jonny, who studied media at Lincoln College before attending the University of Gloucestershire to study digital film production, met Andrew when he first visited Charlie back in 2002 and they have been close friends ever since.

Jonny was looking to make something different to his usual work, and decided to try his hand at documentary filmmaking. Andrew was happy to be the subject.

Campaigners from four anti-war organisations will band together to protest against the use of drones, some of which are controlled from RAF Waddington.

From 12.30pm on April 27, the campaigners plan a walking march from Lincoln South Park to the gates at RAF Waddington.

The protestors come from organisations such as CND, the Drone Campaign Network, Stop the War, and War on Want, and hundreds are expected to attend.

Their reasoning for the protest centres around the use of armed drones (unmanned aerial vehicles) being used within wars, and stopping the government controlling them from a domestic base.

Presently, armed Reaper drones are operated by RAF personnel from a US base in Nevada. However, last year some of the drones were moved to RAF Waddington.

The 13 Reaper Squadron has been officially ‘stood up’ last October with three control terminals at the base near Lincoln.

The squadron has some 100 personnel, including pilots, mission commanders, engineers, systems operators, admin and logistics staff.

The Ministry of Defence (MoD) has long-term plans for the 39 Squadron to relocate to Lincolnshire as well.

According to the groups, the move of the weapon to the UK marks an expansion in its drones programme, and would see the amount of UK drones rise from five to 10.

Chris Nineham, vice-chair of the Stop the War Coalition, said: “Drones are being used to continue the deeply unpopular War on Terror, with no public scrutiny.

“They’re using them to fight wars behind our backs. These remote-controlled killing machines should be banned.”

Rafeef Ziadah, Senior Campaigns Officer at War on Want, added: “Drones, controlled far away from conflict zones, ease politicians’ decisions to launch military strikes and order extrajudicial assassinations, without democratic oversight or accountability to the public.”

MoD figures show that since 2006 they have provided over 100,000 hours of persistent intelligence, but also fired around 300 missiles and bombs.

The MoD said the same strict rules on the use of weapons on manned aircraft are followed for unmanned drones.

Ahead of the local demonstration, there will be a special public meeting on April 24 from 7pm to discuss the use of drones.

The meeting will be held at Revival Lincoln on Norman Street, and feature talks from Jim Brann of Stop the War Coalition and Rafif Zadieh from War on Want.

Since the announcement that unmanned drones will be controlled from RAF Waddington, two peaceful protests have been staged outside the base last year.

Protest police presence

Lincolnshire Police have been in discussion with the organisers of the protest and with the local community so that the participants can exercise their right to peaceful protest with minimal disruption to residents and businesses.

The march will begin after 12.30pm that afternoon and the route will take the protestors from the assembly point at South Common up Cross O’ Cliff hill and along the A15 to the peace camp site opposite RAF Waddington, where the rally is expected to start at approx 2.30pm.

Sections of the A15 from the High Street/St Catherines roundabout up to the peace camp area will be subject to a three-phase road closure. This will ensure the safety of the marchers but limit inconvenience to motorists.

Community Policing Inspector for Lincoln, Mark Garthwaite, said: “Our aim is to ensure that visitors to the area can participate in peaceful protest but that disruption to motorists and local residents is kept to a minimum.

“Different sections of the road will be closed at varying times as the marchers move along the route and we will be keeping the public up to date throughout the afternoon via direct and media channels. Every preparation has been made to make sure that all those involved can enjoy a safe and peaceful afternoon.”

People in Grantham have commemorated Baroness Thatcher, their town’s most famous daughter, on the day of her funeral in London on Wednesday.

Also see photos from the funeral in London from BBC News.

A local musician is asking Lincoln residents to tell him what they love most about the city’s Brayford Pool for a new composition.

Composer Jamie Crofts is putting together a piece called My Five Diurnes, which is meant to symbolise the Brayford Pool by day.

Jamie has written a number of pieces in the past, including songs inspired by Brayford Pool’s tide at night.

He said: “I’m doing a series of compositions based on the waterways of Lincoln. I’ve already done a piece about the five Nocturnes, my next piece of work is going to be about the Brayford pool by day.”

Jamie explained why he needs people in Lincoln to help him with his latest work:

“The piece will include music that I have already written and spoken words. When I finish the piece it will include a booklet with all the words written down.

“It will include facts, figures and history of the pool, but right now I’m doing a consultation in which I am asking people what they like most about Brayford Pool.

“It can be anything people are passionate about around the Brayford. It could be a restaurant you like, the wildlife, the reflections of light. It can be literally anything.”

For the spoken word segment of the piece, Jamie is still looking for a voice — and hopes a Lincolnite can take the role.

“I’m still quite new to the Lincoln area so I haven’t gotten anyone in mind yet,” he added. “But if anyone would like to do it, they are more then welcome to talk to me about it.”

To get in touch with Jamie about his work, check his website, Sound Kiosk, or follow him on Twitter and tweet using the hashtag #5Diurnes.

The victim of a hit and run incident in South Hykeham in Lincoln last week has written to The Lincolnite to thank emergency services and the public for helping him.

The thirty-seven-year-old man, whose name we are not publishing for legal reasons, was involved in a hit and run incident at Gateway Park in South Hykeham on Friday just before 5pm.

Lincolnshire Police later arrested a 41-year-old man from Waltham near Grimsby in relation to the incident.

The man has since been released on police bail to return to Lincoln Police Station at a later date when police enquiries have been concluded.

The hit and run victim said: “Although for legal reasons I can not give any information regarding the event, I would like to say from the bottom of my heart a massive thank you to all the people who stopped their cars to check I was OK.

“I would also like to say a huge thank you to the staff at the McDonald’s restaurant, especially the first aider who applied that bandage to my head prior to the ambulance arriving. Their assistance was very heart warming and very welcoming.

“I was taken to Lincoln County Hospital by ambulance, and staff were very professional and kept me calm throughout the 20 minutes drive.

“When I arrived at the hospital I was treated by friendly and professional staff where I underwent several tests that took a good few hours.

“The hospital staff couldn’t have done more to make my time there any better under the circumstances.

“I arrived on what I was later told would be a busy Friday night in the A&E, but never the less the care I received was fabulous from arrival to leaving.

“A big thank you also goes out the the Lincolnshire Police; in my opinion there’s always a story trying to portrait the police in a bad light, but I would like to say that the care and professionalism I received from the boys in blue was fantastic.”

Lincolnshire Police Detective Sergeant Mark Booth and Detective Constable Nick Hakes are investigating the incident. They are keen to speak to anyone who witnessed what happened.

They can be contacted by calling Lincolnshire Police on the non-emergency 101 number and quoting incident number 291 of 12th April 2013.

Almost 1,900 residents in Lincoln and North Hykeham were left without power after a power cut in the south of the city on Wednesday afternoon.

The power cut started at approximately 4.10pm on April 10 and affected around 1,900 residents the Newark Road area.

Power for around 1,000 of the households was restored within a few minutes.

Traffic lights were reported to be out on the Cross O’Cliff Hill and St Catherine’s junction due to the power cut.

For over 800 households, the power cut lasted up until 5pm, while others had fluctuating power.

Western Power Distribution engineers addressed the problem by 5.15pm, but the cause is presently unknown.

A City of Lincoln Council employee who worked for the local authority for 50 years will retire at the end of the week.

Lincoln-born Housing Estate Officer Graham Fotheringham started at the council as an apprentice joiner on April 15, 1963, but moved into a career supporting tenants.

Initially, he used to push steel-rimmed handcarts for transporting tools and materials across the city, before getting a ‘butcher’s bike’.

He said: “My first manager Mr Cyril Hill was an inspiration because he always took an interest in everyone and always spoke to you on a personal basis.

“I’ve always tried to talk to tenants and colleagues at any level and earn mutual respect and I’ve been lucky to have had great people around me.”

Graham Fotheringham has seen all kinds of interesting sights during his time at the City Council — from being chased by dogs on a cycle home to a rescued parrot being told off by its owner for being a “naughty boy”.

He started his current role as an estate officer 12 years ago.

He said: “I have met so many people and had so many laughs through my work and the tenants have been the heart and soul of my time here.

“I saw real poverty and shared people’s struggles by talking to them and they made me more interested in people and taught me a lot about life and myself.”

In his last week, Graham has been meeting some of the tenants he has helped, plus tanking his colleagues for their support.

It was while working in his role he met his wife, Gill, who asked the council to fix her door while she was a tenant.

The council’s Chief Executive Andrew Taylor said: “Graham’s achievement is quite exceptional. It is not uncommon for people to spend their entire career in local government but it is very rare that people get to 50 years.

“Graham has been liked and respected by thousands of tenants over the years and, as much as we will miss him, it is they who will miss him most.”

Graham is now looking forward to sharing time with Gill and their three children and three grandchildren before enjoying a well earned holiday.

Tributes from politicians across Lincolnshire marked Baroness Margaret Thatcher’s life and time as Prime Minister.

The Lincolnshire-born politician from Grantham served as a member of the Conservative Party since 1951, earning a seat as an MP in 1959.

She became PM in 1979, and became the first female and longest serving Prime Minsiter in the 20th Century, standing down in 1990.

Baroness Thatcher died on April 8 of a stroke at the age of 87 in her home.

Lincoln’s Conservative MP Karl McCartney said: “Lady Thatcher was a truly inspirational political figure who will be remembered for many generations to come, especially fondly in the county of her upbringing.

“This country has lost one of its greatest leaders of the 20th century and my thoughts and prayers are with her family and friends during this difficult time.”

Martin Hill, the Conservative Leader of Lincolnshire County Council, said: “I was very sorry to hear of Lady Thatcher’s passing even though she obviously been poorly for some time.

“She was the dominant political figure of the late 20th century and her courage, fortitude and determination enabled her government to deliver necessary but at the time, painful reforms which were successful in bringing about economic prosperity and international respect.

“To become our first female prime minister and for over 11 years was a huge achievement which was only possible by her ability to connect and relate to millions of ordinary working people.

“To have been born and raised in Lincolnshire was something she was proud of and we can appreciate.”

Ric Metcalfe, leader of the City of Lincoln Council, said: “Mrs Thatcher’s ideas remain highly influential in the current Government, who are pursing them even more vigorously than she did herself.”

Stephen Philips, MP for North Hykeham said: “There is no denying that Margaret Thatcher was one of the great post-war British Prime Ministers, and there will be many like me who are saddened by the news of her death.

“She became Prime Minister at a time of enormous difficulty for the country and left office more than a decade later having restored Britain’s fortunes and ensured her place in history as our first female Prime Minister.”

North Kesteven District Council Leader, Councillor Marion Brighton OBE, said: “It is with great regret I learned of Baroness Thatcher’s passing this morning. Baroness Thatcher was a formidable and decisive leader – something which this country was in desperate need of at the time she came to power.

“Baroness Thatcher did not have an easy time as Prime Minister, but was determined to put her ideas forward and have those ideas acted upon. She wanted results.

“She was not a waffler – she knew she had to make hard decisions. She really wanted results and I admire her for that.”

Gainsborough’s Conservative MP Edward Leigh said: “Mrs Thatcher was hugely admired for her political conviction. Her achievements, from a domestic and an international perspective, are extraordinary.

“I was very sad to learn of her death today and send my condolences to her family and all those who were close to her. We will never fully appreciate how much Mrs Thatcher transformed this country, in my opinion very much for the better.”

“Mrs Thatcher’s opening words, borrowed from St. Francis Assisi, on the steps of Downing Street are still as poignant and visionary today as they were then:

“‘Where there is discord, may we bring harmony. Where there is error, may we bring truth. Where there is doubt, may we bring faith. And where there is despair, may we bring hope.’”

“I did support, and continue to support, all of her policies.”

The Lincolnite celebrated Lincolnshire’s successful and talented young people, ahead of a special feature highlighting some of the best the county has to offer.

At our black tie event at The Showroom on Tritton Road in Lincoln last week, the guests enjoyed cocktails and canapés, while the hair and makeup team prepared them for our glossy photo shoot.

Here, we give you a glimpse into how the evening unfolded and at just some of the people who are on our list.

30 under 30 Lincolnshire will be available in early May as online feature, a printed book, as well as an iBook.

Lincolnshire Police are appealing for information after a 14-year-old girl was grabbed by a stranger in Skellingthorpe.

The incident took place at around 4pm on the footpath running behind the village’s community centre.

The young girl was walking her dog when the man approached her and grabbed her around the waist.

The victim managed to break free though, and the stranger ran away. She was not hurt in the incident.

The offender is described as white, wearing a dark beanie hat, a green coat, blue jeans and burgundy trainers.

The isolated incident happened in a low crime area, but police are asking residents to be vigilant and are appealing for any information about the suspect.

Anyone with information can call 101 as soon as possible, quoting incident number 219 of March 26, 2013.

The Crown Prosecution Service is set to review the death of Red Arrows pilot Flt Lt Sean Cunningham, who died on the ground in Lincolnshire in 2011 after he ejected from his cockpit.

Lincolnshire Police submitted the file concerning the pilot’s death to the CPS, who will now be reviewing the case and are expected to decide by the end of the month if any criminal charges should be brought in relation to the incident.

Flt Lt Cunningham, 35, was injured after being ejected from his Hawk T1 aircraft at RAF Scampton in November 2011. His parachute and ejection seat did not deploy, and he later died in hospital from the injuries.

Following this incident, all non-essential flights fitted with a Mk10 Martin Baker-built ejector were grounded as a precaution, and flights resumed later in December 2011, after the RAF said it had “no remaining safety concerns”.

A Lincolnshire Police spokesperson said: “A file has been submitted for consideration by the CPS and as soon as we’re in a position to update on that, we will. We are not speculating on the matter of any possible offences.”

The MoD said in a statement: “We are aware that a referral has been made to the CPS in relation to the civil police investigation into this incident.

“It is not appropriate for the MoD to comment on such matters, any questions should be directed to the civil police and/or CPS. Our thoughts remain with the family and friends of Flt Lt Sean Cunningham.”

The Red Arrows lost two pilots in 2011. Flt Lt Cunningham died in November in the ejector seat incident, while Flt Lt Jon Egging, 33, died performing at an air show near Bournemouth in August, after he suffered almost loss of consciousness due to G-force, an inquest heard.

Plenty of businesses, schools and individuals in Lincoln donned their red noses and best red-themed outfits in aid of Red Nose Day on Friday.

Red Nose Day is a charity event by Comic Relief for those in need across the UK and Africa. As well as wearing a themed red nose, participants are encouraged to do “something funny for money”.

In Lincoln, key figures had a big bake off, while the Drill Hall hosted a variety of music and poetry for the afternoon.

Old Station Nursery put on a host of activities for the children to enjoy, while schools in the city organised their events too.

We captured some of the highlights:

Argentinian Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio was elected to the Catholic Church’s papacy, taking the name of Pope Francis. He is the first Latin American and the first Jesuit to be pontiff.

Aged 76, Francis I replaced Benedict XVI, who resigned last month at the age of 85, saying he was not strong enough to lead the Catholic Church.

Pope Francis’ started his first address light-hearted: “You all know that the duty of the Conclave was to give a bishop to Rome. It seems that my brother cardinals have come almost to the ends of the earth to get him… but here we are. I thank you for the welcome that has come from the diocesan community of Rome.”

Rt Revd Christopher Lowson, the Bishop of Lincoln, welcomed the new Catholic leader: “This newly elected Pope brings to the 1.2 billion Roman Catholics worldwide a renewed sense of hope and purpose as they are led into the future.

“Jorge Mario Bergoglio, now Pope Francis, is known to live very simply and to have a committed approach to poverty. While the world is dealing with its financial crisis, such an appointment has to be greatly welcomed.

“The Diocese of Lincoln will continue to hold the new Pope and our Roman Catholic brothers and sisters in prayers,” Rt Revd Lowson added.

The first tweet from the @Pontifex:

HABEMUS PAPAM FRANCISCUM

— Pontifex (@Pontifex) March 13, 2013

Further reading: Pope Francis profile on BBC News

Students from a Lincoln academy have been selected to take part in the second year of a national project set up in memory of Red Arrows pilot Jon Egging.

The Blue Skies programme, established by the Jon Egging Trust, took off in Lincolnshire last year with pupils from The Priory Witham Academy leading the way.

Now Dr Emma Egging, the wife of Flight-Lieutenant Egging, is expanding the Blue Skies scheme for schools in other areas of the country as well as a second-tier qualification.

Seven of the Witham students who completed last year’s teamwork syllabus are now stepping up to complete the first-ever level 2 leadership qualification.

They will take part in sessions at RAF Waddington, RAF Coningsby and RAF Cranwell before they join their level 1 counterparts for a “graduation” ceremony at the academy in June.

The Level 2 youngsters will also be offered the chance of a flying trip from Coningsby in the summer.

A further 12 Witham pupils, aged between 12 and 14, are signed up for the 2013 level 1 programme and have already experienced a behind-the-scenes day with the Red Arrows at their temporary Cranwell home.

As part of their Teamwork qualification, they will also take part in sessions at Cranwell, Waddington and Coningsby, working with airbase personnel and meeting crew from the Typhoon and Battle of Britain Memorial Flight.

Emma Egging said: “The programme connects young people with inspirational individuals and environments connected to aviation. Through this partnership they gain a unique opportunity to build confidence, self-esteem and achieve accredited training in work and life skills.”

“With fund-raising support and based on the success of the Lincoln model, we can continue to expand and we aim to create a nationwide network of Blue Skies that reaches as many young people as possible.”

Academy Assistant Head John Wiles said: “The impact of Blue Skies has been huge. The staff have seen a real, tangible improvement in behaviour and motivation to succeed which has borne fruit in the students’ overall academic outcomes.

The success of the pilot project at Witham has led to more schools being involved this year – the Glenmoor & Winton Federated Trust in Bournemouth and Downham Market High School in Norfolk.

The Years 8 and 9 Witham students who met Arrows pilots at Cranwell also watched a low-level aerobatics display, tried out flying gear for size and toured the Reds’ hangar, meeting the backroom teams who help put the famous planes on display every summer.

Student Cait Thornhill said: “This has been a fantastic experience. I’ve been collecting autographs from everyone I meet and they’ve all been really kind. It’s been so interesting to see all the people involved behind the scenes. I’m really looking forward to all our other visits, too.”

A Lincoln man is taking part in a continuous running challenge in order to raise awareness for a skin condition.

Shane Nicholl (23) spends every weekend taking part in a marathon or half marathon, as part of his 1,000 kilometres challenge.

Any money raised goes to the National Eczema Society.

He said: “My partner suffers from severe eczema and there’s a little I can do to help her on a daily basis.

“So I run to help raise awareness of the condition and collect funds. I’m going to extreme lengths to get noticed so people will be aware of the condition.”

Shane explained that running was already something he did, but wanted to get more out of it.

“I’ve being running since I was 18 and I gradually ran further distances. I always wanted to challenge myself physically and this was something I was already naturally doing.

“I didn’t want it to be a big stretch, but I didn’t want it to be something which wasn’t completely impossible.”

Each weekend, Shane tries to enter a race and run a certain a distance.

“I try to enter a race every weekend and run at least 20km in each. That’s 52 races to reach my goal. It’s 10km kilometres every weekend but with all the training I do in the week, it more than that.”

He added: “My girlfriend has been lucky with the support she has around her. I aim to raise this money to help those who probably don’t have that support.”

So far, Shane ran over 360km for his challenge. To leave a donation or words of support, visit his Just Giving page. He keeps updates on his website, and his partner also blogs about her condition.