Lincolnshire Police are appealing for witnesses or anyone with dashcam footage following a two-vehicle collision in which a 12-year-old boy sadly died.
Following a call to police at 9.48am today (16 January), officers attended the B1190 at Bardney.
The collision involved two vehicles: a silver Mercedes-Benz A220 and a silver Ford Galaxy.
The 12-year-old boy, a passenger in the Galaxy, was sadly pronounced dead at the scene.
The driver of the Mercedes, a man, has been taken to hospital. The status of his injuries is currently unknown.
Update, 6pm: All road closures have now been lifted. No one else involved in the collision is believed to have sustained any life-threatening nor life-altering injuries.
If you saw the collision, or have information, you can contact police in one of the following ways:
Call 101, quoting Incident 141 of 16 January.
Email [email protected] putting “Incident 141 of 16 January” in the subject line.
North East Lincolnshire’s MPs have stood by the Prime Minister after he apologised for breaking rules by attending a lockdown party.
Grimsby MP Lia Nici dismissed calls for him to resign, saying ‘nobody is perfect’, and Cleethorpes MP Martin Vickers said it was the wrong time to call a leadership contest.
Boris Johnson admitted this week he went to a ‘bring your own booze’ party in the first Covid lockdown.
He has apologised for the decision, saying he believed it was work related but regretted it in hindsight.
Although opposition MPs have called for him to resign, Lia Nici, Martin Vickers and other Tories have stood by him for now.
However, the Cleethorpes MP said the party was ‘irresponsible and reckless’.
“He was certainly right to apologise, and the party in question shouldn’t have taken place,” Mr Vickers said.
“I share the anger and frustration of my constituents at these events and it does appear that lockdown rules were broken. That is irresponsible, reckless and unacceptable and disciplinary action, and possibly prosecutions should follow.
“It begs the question of how it got to the stage of the events taking place. Senior figures should have realised that this was wrong and the event should never have got off the ground.”
Grimsby MP Lia Nici (Conservative)
Grimsby MP Lia Nici also welcomed his apology for breaking the rules.
“I think it’s a positive thing that he has apologised for being outside in that garden on that day in 2020,” she said.
“He clearly wanted to thank staff who have been working hard under under Covid rules. Was it advisable to thank them that way though?
“It certainly would have been safer than inside, but the email from the civil servant telling employees to ‘Bring Your Own Booze’ is concerning.
“People are quite rightly upset about it. Everyone should have been following rules that the public were abiding by.”
A probe into the parties is now being carried out by civil servant Sue Gray.
Neither MP joined the Labour party in calling for Mr Johnson to quit – but said the report should come out quickly.
Cleethorpes MP Martin Vickers (Conservative) | Photo: Steve Smailes for Lincolnshire Reporter
Mr Vickers said: “My colleagues and I need to consider what’s in the best interest of the country. A leadership contest would paralyse the country while we’re managing the pandemic and a volatile international situation.
“The last thing we want is a complete vacuum of power at the centre of government for six weeks.
“We should wait for Sue Gray’s report into the parties that is being prepared.”
Mrs Nici said: “Nobody is perfect. The Prime Minister is a good man who wants to do the right thing for the UK and Grimsby.
“We need to focus on where we’re going – not having the national media fixated on today.
“However, as a manager and a leader myself, I can say we need to see the report sooner rather than later. If people have intentionally been breaking the rules then there should be disciplinary action.”
If the report finds that Johnson broke rules, it could convince Conservative backbenchers to trigger a leadership contest overthrow him.
Mr Johnson said he hadn’t realised he was at a party and “bitterly regrets” that way that it was handled.
Labour leader Sir Kier Starmer said that Mr Johnson’s denials were “so ridiculous it’s actually offensive” to the public at a heated Prime Minister’s Questions.
New CCTV cameras will be installed north of Lincoln city centre after Lincolnshire’s Police and Crime Commissioner secured an additional £50,000 of funding.
The original £400,000 scheme came after a successful bid by Lincolnshire’s PCC Marc Jones. This involved broadening the CCTV coverage to include the main walking routes out of Lincoln city centre and in three areas.
The funding will extend the new Safer Streets CCTV and will allow for the creation of 360 coverage out of the city centre. It will now allow the cameras to monitor walking routes to and from Bishop Grosseteste University.
The money for the plan – developed in partnership with the City of Lincoln Council – comes from the government’s Safer Streets Fund.
The scheme also includes funding to develop teaching materials which promote women’s rights and challenge attitudes; a Night Safety Charter pledging to design public spaces to make them safe at night; and training for bar, hotel and restaurant staff regarding vulnerability and tackling predators.
All elements of the plan will be co-developed with women and girls and experts in the field.
Lincolnshire Police and Crime Commissioner Marc Jones. | Photo: Daniel Jaines
The Lincoln-based bid is the third successful Safer Streets bid for Lincolnshire. So far the PCC has brought £500.000 in additional funding to the county for projects in the north and east coast.
“I am delighted to be able to secure additional funding to extend the CCTV cameras even further,” said Mr Jones.
“The project was already going to make a significant difference in helping residents feel and be safe and the extra money will ensure that security is extended to even more people.
“It is excellent news and another step forward in protecting our communities.”
It’s been a disastrous few weeks for the Tories. The party has lost a safe by-election, slumped in the polls, and the Prime Minister was forced to make a humiliating apology over rule-breaking lockdown parties last year.
Labour will certainly be hoping to ride the wave to victory nationally – but is the same possible in North East Lincolnshire?
The historically left-leaning borough has swung between the Labour party and a variety of coalitions for the first 24 years of its existence.
Then in 2019 the Conservatives captured outright control in an unprecedented victory.
Since then, local elections have delivered more joy and they now have a commanding control of 31 of the 42 seats.
Labour has been reduced to seven, the Liberal Democrats to three and Ukip has been wiped out. One seat is also vacant.
With some of their traditional strongholds and veteran councillors gone, the Labour party now only has seats in Grimsby’s West Marsh, South, Sidney Sussex and Heneage wards.
But if the country’s mood changes, would the local party be able to capitalise on that and start to win back voters?
Labour party leader Councillor Matthew Patrick hasn’t responded to requests to speak about this, but it isn’t unthinkable.
One of the defining issues of the 2019 local elections in which the Conservatives took power was the Toll Bar roundabout fiasco, which Labour was determined to replace with traffic lights.
Despite opposition from motorists, local residents and Toll Bar Academy, the party was committed to forcing it through.
The Tories made the most of the unpopular plans, and quickly put the brakes on them once they came to power.
Nearly three years on, has the issue faded from voters’ minds?
Then there’s the question of whether Grimsby will actually be levelled up.
Although the Town Deal was signed on Labour’s watch, Conservative party have prided themselves on bringing government cash to North East Lincolnshire.
It’s hard to keep track of all the different grants, from Future High Street funds, Levelling Up money and Town Deal cash.
But will voters wait to see the difference or get impatient?
Grimsby MP Lia Nici, who was elected around the same time as the current administration, told a party conference last year that voters were “expecting to see something now happen”.
“If I don’t see physical changes in my town before the next election I am highly likely not to keep my seat,” she said.
“My concern is national government and local government move incredibly slowly.
“The message now is we need to get on with the job. We really now need to see some positive change.”
It’s also worth remembering how long ago 2019 was.
The top political issue by miles was Brexit, which Boris Johnson used to great effect in his landslide victory.
But today it’s completely been replaced by coronavirus, and the restrictions and recovery which go along with it.
If voters become unhappy with how the government’s handling it and if Johnson is replaced – which is far from certain – Labour might find the political terrain shifting in their favour.
Of course, local politics is also about individual personalities, fly-tipping in alleys, housing developments and bus services.
A lot of hard work has to go into finding good candidates, winning trust and building a successful party, and Labour certainly has a mountain to climb after its losing streak in recent elections.
When voters head to the polls in May for local elections, they will be asking who can deliver the best results for them.
Even if Sir Kier Starmer ends up as the UK’s Prime Minister, it is far from certain Labour will make a comeback in North East Lincolnshire.
Update, 16 January: Demmi has been found safe and well.
Thank you to everyone who shared our appeal.
Have you seen Demmi? The 16-year-old is missing from the Spalding area.
She is described as about 5ft 6ins tall, of pale complexion, and likely to be wearing makeup. Demmi is also thought to be wearing a black hoodie, black leggings, white trainers and carrying a handbag.
She also has a nose and tongue piercing.
If you have seen Demmi, or have information that could help our search, please call 101 quoting Incident 100 of 13 January.
