A father was mistakenly mailed hundreds of addresses of parents with young children by North Lincolnshire Council.
The man received more than 200 letters intended for families with three-year-old children.
Instead of being sent separately to the correct addresses, all 208 letters were sent to his home.
They were all for parents with three-year-old children informing them they were eligible for funding, and had the intended addresses printed on them.
The North Lincolnshire dad is worried the details of so many people with young children could have accidentally ended up in the wrong hands.
He said: “I couldn’t believe that little kids’ information was sent out by mistake like this.
“I have two young girls, and I would hate to know that their information had been sent to someone else.
“The envelope was a huge package with my address on, so I assumed it was from work.
“I couldn’t believe when I opened it up and saw the identical letters with over 200 addresses on them.
“As soon as I realised what it was, I considered shredding it. In the end, I contacted North Lincolnshire Council to report it.
“How could a mistake like this happen? I dread to think if it has happened before.”
Letters with addresses of over 200 parents with three-year-old children were mistakenly sent to one home Credit: Submitted Approved for use by all partners
He has arranged to hand the letters back to North Lincolnshire Council to ensure that they are disposed of properly.
A spokesperson has promised that the way letters are posted has been changed to ensure it can’t happen again.
They said: “We take data protection very seriously and successfully send hundreds of thousands of letters each year.
“Changes have been made to the post system to ensure no such technical issues happen again and all the correspondence was eventually returned.”
The discussion was almost scuppered by a complaint, however progressed only to be deferred as members wished to visit the site.
Recommending approval, officers said the plans, which will include a mix of houses as well as bungalows for over 55s along with 12 homes classed as affordable, would provide “effective” use of the land and not create “unacceptable harm”.
The site is allocated for housing in the Central Lincolnshire Local Plan.
Mark Foster, land and planning director at Lindum Homes told the previous meeting the quality of houses was “vitally important” and the layout of the development was “extremely low density – incorporating more open space than required by planning policy”.
How the site could be laid out.
Objectors to the plans, however, said they presented a risk of overdevelopment and would have a long-term risk to the village infrastructure as well as biodiversity, residential amenity, the character of the village and highway safety.
Resident Nigel Heward, said existing infrastructure was “not fit for purpose” and that a lack of footpath provision at the proposed entry was “an accident waiting to happen”.
Lincolnshire County Council, as statutory consultees on highways, had not lodged any objections, but councillors wanted to see the situation for themselves.
As part of the plans the developers will be asked to make a £30,992.50 contribution to Welton Surgery so it can reconfigure its existing layout to create a larger clinical space and more flexibility to manage the projected patient increase.
A man accused of murdering Sam Davies in Lincoln has denied any involvement in the fatal stabbing, a trial heard on Friday.
The prosecution case is that Eimantas Gochman, who was 19 at the time of the attack on May 27 last year, was hired to carry out the hit on Mr Davies. Gochman is one of seven defendants on trial for murder.
The 23-year-old victim was stabbed twice in a park between Coleridge Gardens and Browning Drive at about 10.45pm and died hours later in hospital.
In police interviews read out to the jury at Nottingham Crown Court on Friday, January 28, detectives put to Gochman that there was a lot of contact between a mobile number associated with him and co-defendant Joe Jameson’s mobile in the minutes after the stabbing.
Earlier that day, Jameson had demanded to know from Mr Davies’ partner where he was because he wanted to kill him.
A detective said to Gochman: “We’re saying that after the stabbing, you’ve contacted Joe Jameson.”
Gochman, who denied the number was his, said: “Yeah, but you believe I killed someone, which is not true.”
In a later interview on May 31, Gochman is told that Mr Davies’ mobile phone had been found a few feet away from a knife they believe was used in the attack.
“Is it likely your DNA will be on that phone?” the suspect is asked. Gochman replied: “There’s no way.”
It was put to him that co-defendant Eric Kesel told detectives that he’d heard Gochman dumped the knife.
Gochman said: “I’m just labelled as this ****ing killer and it’s completely not me. It’s just not nice, it’s not nice.”
A message with a bunch of flowers left at the scene reads “Too young to be gone. RIP”. | Photo: The Lincolnite
Gochman said he had been at The Lincoln Imp pub with friends until about 9pm, then went home to get changed and on to co-defendant Charlie Wakefield’s.
He’d then spent the whole night there before having to contact his mum in the morning to get him to work in Newark.
He said he was late to work, felt rough and got his mum to pick him up before lunchtime.
Police interviews with Wakefield were also read out to the court on Friday. He told detectives that he was on a curfew tag so had to be at home between 7pm and 7am.
He said Gochman had called him from the pub at about 8.45pm on the day of the stabbing to ask if could come round for a spliff. Wakefield had said that was fine.
Wakefield said Gochman called again about ten minutes later to say he was leaving the pub at that point and was going home first to get changed.
Gochman called one further time to check it was still ok, about a minute before he arrived at Wakefield’s home in Broxholme Gardens.
According to Wakefield, neither of them left the house again before Gochman’s mum picked up her son at about 8am the following morning to take him to work.
Wakefield said in the interviews that a 17-year-old co-defendant, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, also spent the night with them and was sent out in a taxi to buy weed from a friend of Wakefield’s.
Flowers left in tribute of Lincoln stabbing victim Sam Davies. | Photo: The Lincolnite
Wakefield said co-defendant Eric Kesel told him on May 28 there was “armed police, CID, forensics, everything” on Browning Drive.
The detectives were told by Wakefield he went for a look and was told by a police officer at a cordon that there had been a stabbing. Kesel had arrived there moments later, jokingly calling him “PC Wakefield” and the police officer made a comment about the surname.
Then, later in the day, when Wakefield found out Kesel had been arrested, he said he started “panicking” that he would be “dragged into it”. He admitted making a quick internet search about being an accessory to a crime.
Wakefield said Gochman had been “calm” when he arrived and they had drunk beer, smoked and played Fifa.
He said: “I’m not being funny but if he came round my yard and said ‘Oh, I’ve just done this murder’, I’ll go in the next room and I’ll ring the ****ing police myself. **** that.”
All seven defendants face one count of murder, which they all deny. They are Billy Gill, 21, of Hatcliffe Gardens; Daniel Heydari, 25, of Chestnut Street; Joe Jameson, 24, of Whitehall Terrace; Eimantas Gochman, 20, of Sturton Close; Eric Kesel, 19, of Browning Drive; and Charlie Wakefield, 21, of Broxholme Gardens. A 17-year-old boy cannot be legally identified due to his age. Jameson is also accused of making a threat to kill, which he denies.
Several Greater Lincolnshire MPs who voted in favour of a National Insurance hike, designed to help the health and social care sector recover from the pandemic, appear to now be backing calls from within the Conservative backbench to delay the move by a year, as cost of living soars.
The Health and Social Care Levy was passed through parliament during an MP vote last September, seeking to introduce an extra tax that would go towards helping the NHS recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as funding social care provision.
Part of the plans would see a 1.25% rise in National Insurance from April 2022, with employees paying on wages, employers paying extra for staff, and the self-employed contributing via their profits.
People earning less than £9,564 a year will not be affected by the new levy and will not have to pay National Insurance, but employees on £20,000 a year will have to pay an extra £130 in tax, while those earning £50,000 will pay £505 more.
Ten of the 11 MPs covering Greater Lincolnshire voted in favour of the tax hike, towing the line for their Conservative Party as it passed the vote by a margin of 318 to 248, with Brigg & Goole’s Andrew Percy not recording a vote.
However, with concerns the British public may struggle through the year as a result of the rising cost of living, there are now fresh doubts within government as to whether this increase should be brought in.
Some Tory backbenchers, including Newark MP Robert Jenrick, are asking the government to consider delaying the National Insurance hike for a year, as it could end up contributing to inflation at a time when household finances are already tight.
It is the latest sense of unrest within the government, following the controversy surrounding Sue Gray’s delayed report into Downing Street lockdown parties, and the subsequent Metropolitan Police investigation.
Despite this, both Downing Street and the Prime Minister himself have said there are no plans to delay or scrap the rise, with Boris Johnson saying we “have to fund the COVID backlog”.
The Lincolnite asked all 11 Greater Lincolnshire MPs about the recent concerns raised, and whether they would back the calls for a delay in introducing this extra tax.
Martin Vickers is the Conservative MP for Cleethorpes.
Martin Vickers, MP for Cleethorpes, said delaying the tax hike could be “the best way” to offset the financial impact of the rising cost of living for his constituents.
“This highlights the dilemma facing all governments and the backlash was always likely to happen. Just about every poll and survey that has been carried out in recent years shows that the public wouldn’t mind paying increased taxes if the money went into the NHS, but when the time comes it’s very different.
“It’s particularly unfortunate that the increase comes when we are experiencing this massive increase in world energy costs. Ministers are looking at the best way to offset some of the impact on household budgets and one option is to delay the increase.
“That may be the best way. I’ve made clear to ministers that we have to do something to help my constituents.”
Lincoln’s Member of Parliament, Karl McCartney. | Photo: Steve Smailes for The Lincolnite
Lincoln MP Karl McCartney said he is “willing to consider” both sides of the argument, and assured people the tax increase was not taken lightly.
“As a Conservative MP, I naturally have concerns and hesitancy in any tax increase – but given the ever-increasing cost of living that we are currently experiencing, this increase in taxation is not a decision that has been taken lightly.
“I was glad to see the government’s decision to follow the recommendations of the independent Low Pay Commission and increase the National Living Wage by 6.6% from £8.91 to £9.50. This increase will be effective from April 2022 and covers 23 and 24-year-olds, having been extended to this age group in April 2021.
“I also welcome the decision announced at the Autumn Budget to reduce the Universal Credit taper rate from 63% to 55%, as well as increasing work allowances in Universal Credit by £500 a year. These changes to UC represent an effective tax cut for low income working households in receipt of UC worth £2.2 billion in 2022-23.
“Broad changes to the tax system will benefit 31 million workers, and mean that the first £12,500 any person earns will be completely tax-free.
“Please be reassured that I will be working with my Parliamentary colleagues in the House to ensure the Government continues to help ordinary households up and down the country, and in Lincoln – and I remain willing to consider arguments both for and against any increase in NI.”
Boston & Skegness MP Matt Warman and Brigg & Goole MP Andrew Percy were both unavailable for comment at the time of reporting, while the following MPs did not respond to our request:
A woman from Skegness with a phobia of needles is determined to get herself vaccinated against COVID – but she was almost sick when trying to book an appointment to get her jab.
Jenny Smith has had a phobia of injections since back in her school days and the thought of getting close to a needle makes her faint.
She has had three months of therapy for her phobia and for her homework she is forcing herself to look at images of needles and building up from there.
Jenny told BBC Look North: “I do really really want it [COVID vaccination], I’m not an anti-vaxxer at all. A lot of people will not understand it, they’ll just say ‘turn away, don’t look, it’s a few seconds’, those people don’t understand.
“When my other half actually went for his first jab, I literally sat out in the car park in the car and I really felt faint because I knew what he was going to do. Why am I reacting like that? It’s not even my injection, it’s not my vaccine.”
When asked how she felt when her partner and parents went for their injections, she added: “I kind of started feeling jealous. I was really happy for them but I’m just secretly thinking why is that not me? Why can I just not be as brave as them and just do it?”
Meanwhile, having given booster vaccinations to more than 472,000 people, the equivalent to 83.9% of those eligible aged 18 and over, the NHS in Lincolnshire is said to be on track to offer and administer a jab to everyone who wants one.
NHS Lincolnshire CCG is now urging unpaid/informal carers to get boosted as there are still many who have yet to come forward for their booster vaccination.
The following needle-phobic, pregnancy, and other walk-in coronavirus vaccination sessions are available:
Needle-phobic walk-in sessions
Lincolnshire Showground
Tuesday, February 1 – 9am-1pm
Thursday, February 3 – 9am-1pm
PRSA, Boston
Monday, January 31 – 9am-1pm
Thursday, February 3 – 9am-1pm
Pregnancy walk-in sessions
Lincolnshire Showground
Wednesday, February 2 – 9am-1pm
Thursday, February 3 – 9am-1pm
PRSA, Boston
Tuesday, February 1 – 9am-1pm
Wednesday, February 2 – 9am-1pm
Other coronavirus walk-in sessions from this weekend:
Saturday, January 29 – Boston Local Community Centre, Mitre Lane (10am-6pm)
Saturday, January 29 – Lincoln City’s LNER Stadium (in the Fan Village between 12pm-3pm)
Sunday, January 30 – Lincoln City’s LNER Stadium (Stacey West car park between 10pm-4pm)
Sunday, January 30 – Boston Local Community Centre, Mitre Lane (10pm-4pm)
Monday, January 31 – Fenside Community Centre, Taverner Road, Boston (1pm-7pm)
Tuesday, February 1 – Boston Local Community Centre, Mitre Lane (2.30pm-6pm)
Tuesday February 1 – Moorland Community Centre, Moorland Avenue in Lincoln (10am-7pm)
Wednesday, February 2 – Kirton Town Hall, Station Road, Kirton (10am-7pm)
Thursday, February 3 – Holbeach United Services Club, Church Street, Holbeach (10am-7pm)
Friday, February 4 – XChurch, Ashcroft Road, Gainsborough (10am-6pm)
Saturday, February 5 – Fenside Community Centre, Taverner Road, Boston (12pm-7pm)
Saturday, February 5 – Bridge Church, Portland Street, Lincoln (10am-4pm)
Sunday, February 6 – Boston Local Community Centre, Mitre Lane (10am-4pm)
These sessions include first and second doses for anyone eligible, including 12-15 year-olds provided a parent/guardian is present to consent, and boosters.
A prisoner has pleaded guilty to being in possession with the intent to supply more than £100,000 of spice-laced paper in HMP Lincoln.
Mark Cutler was today (Friday 28 January 2022) sentenced to 15 months imprisonment after more than 300 pieces of paper laced with ‘Spice’ were found stored between his mattress, during a search in March last year.
When put through a scanner, a synthetic cannabinoid was found laced into the paper, which had been disguised as legal paperwork.
The 32-year-old, of HMP Lincoln, admitted to prison staff that the paper was his.
He had since been released from prison but will now return, after being sentenced at Lincoln Crown Court earlier today.
Detective Inspector Dan Evans from the East Midlands Special Operations Unit’s Prison Intelligence team said: “The supply of this quantity of Class B drugs into HMP Lincoln with a prison value of over £100,000 would have had a significant impact on the safety of prisoners and the good order and discipline of the prison.
“It is only right that this prisoner has been convicted for this offence.
“Debt and violence are sometimes unrecognised consequences of the illicit drug market in prison and the police must continue to work together with the prison service to disrupt such offenders.”
