Work begins at 20 new affordable homes in North Hykeham

One of the major events in Lincolnshire’s agricultural calendar has been cancelled for the second year running due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Lincolnshire Farming Conference was set to return to the Lincolnshire Showground on Thursday, February 10, but ongoing concerns surrounding the Omicron variant of coronavirus have meant the event will be shelved once again.

It has been dealt the same fate as last year, when the event was forced into cancellation as the country was in the midst of going through the roadmap steps out of lockdown at the beginning of 2021.

The theme for this year’s conference was due to be ‘healthy soil, healthy minds’, with a series of expert regional and national speakers planned to offer case studies and one to one sessions on the topic, which will roll over to next year.

The new date for the 2023 event is February 9, again held at Lincolnshire Showground, COVID-permitting. Anyone who booked a place to attend this year’s scheduled event will be given a full refund via Eventbrite.

Greater Lincolnshire’s COVID-19 infection rates have more than halved in all authorities according to the most recent figures.

The government’s dashboard for the most recent seven day period to January 19 shows a 61.8% reduction in the region’s average rate from 1,520.3 per 100,000 population to 940.3.

The latest numbers appear to back the Prime Minister’s statement to the House of Commons on Wednesday when he said the Omicron wave looked to have peaked.

Boris Johnson used the falling rates to announce that several plan B measures would be scrapped, including face coverings, the requirement for COVID-passes and the Work from Home guidance.

His announcement was followed by a statement in the evening by Health Secretary Sajid Javid who said: “This is a moment that we can all be proud of.

“The culmination of a brilliant national mission  that’s helped us to withstand the Omicron wave and restore more freedom to this country.

“It’s a reminder of what this country can accomplish when we all work together.”

He also indicated that self-isolation rules could soon change.

Greater Lincolnshire’s latest infection rates up to January 19. | Data: gov.uk

The latest figures show however that, as has often been the case during the pandemic, Lincolnshire continues to be behind other areas on the wave.

Despite rates falling by as much as 78.9% in Boston, 75% in South Holland and 64.4% in North Kesteven, the majority of areas have moved up in the national rankings.

This shows the county is not coming down as fast as other areas in the country with Boston moving 201 places up the board even with it’s massive drop in rates.

Just two authorities have dropped down the rankings, top spot sitters North Lincolnshire which has fallen from 89th highest to 97th, and North East Lincolnshire which has gone from 76th to 100th. Both areas have seen a just over 50% fall in cases.

Four authorities sit above the England National average of 986.2, but overall Greater Lincolnshire sits below the line.

A police officer based in Grimsby said he was ‘going to rape’ a junior PC at Humberside Police, in one of two sex attacks on female colleagues, a misconduct hearing has heard.

Christopher Lings, who was responsible for mentoring junior officers, was alleged to have pushed each woman onto a bed on separate occasions, telling one he was going to rape her.

A misconduct panel heard the 35-year-old, who served for 16 years until his resignation in March 2021, behaved in a “sexualised way” to two female junior officers he was supposed to be mentoring, according to the BBC. Lings did not attend this week’s misconduct hearing in Goole.

The hearing was told how Lings became drunk at a party on March 16, 2020 when he allegedly touched and kissed one of the women after pushing her onto a bed and lying on top of her. Olivia Checa-Dover, the force’s legal representative, said he also tried to move his hand up her leg towards her crotch.

The panel chairman Callum Cox said the woman’s housemate heard Lings whisper to the woman that he was “going to rape her” that night. He reportedly repeatedly asked her whether she was a virgin, leaving her visibly shaking and upset. He is also said to have sent her a message containing explicit sexual language in the previous month, the hearing heard.

The incident came three months after Lings allegedly pushed another woman onto a hotel bed in Lincoln and lay on top of her after a Christmas party on December 19, 2019. He was previously given a final written warning in May 2015 after he was said to have behaved “inappropriately” towards three females while he was drunk.

The panel said he would have been sacked had he not resigned, but it is not known whether the alleged assault was the reason for him leaving the force.

His behaviour against both junior officers amounted to serious gross misconduct and a breach of professional standards. Lings was barred from serving for five years.

Humberside Police said it pursued criminal charges against Lings, but the Crown Prosecution Service did not prosecute him, according to the BBC.