Lincoln woman left with chipped tooth after New Year’s Eve assault

Scunthorpe-born television heart-throb Jake Quickenden believes the next few weeks could be “make or break” for many smaller venues due to the impact the coronavirus pandemic has had on the industry.

Panto was unable to go ahead in 2020 due to the pandemic, so it will be a welcome return when The Beauty & The Beast takes centre stage at the New Theatre Royal Lincoln between December 7, 2021 and January, 9, 2022.

Jake plays the part of baddie Flash Hugo and he joins the largest ever cast for Lincoln’s longest running traditional pantomime. Zoe Hanna May from ITV’s The Voice will play the lead role of Belle.

Jake told BBC Look North: “Everything means a lot to them, every show they need to sell so they can keep it open. Just look around, it’s beautiful, you just would not want it to shut down and anything happen to it so it is make or break.”

He added: “I’ve done alright for myself, I’ve come through it and I perform now which I’m so grateful for, but if I hadn’t taken that step into the arts I don’t know what I would be doing, I’d probably still be working at the steelworks as a brickie like I was before.

“We’ve got to think about the younger generation they’re the ones that need levelling up because there the ones that are going to be growing up in Scunthorpe and hopefully having these opportunities.”

Natalie Hayes-Cowley, the theatre’s Artistic Director, said: “We just navigate it the best we can, even now all we can do is follow government guidelines and just hope that throughout the pantomime run things keep going in the right direction and not backwards, because that would be detrimental for us definitely.”

In upcoming Beauty & The Beast panto, CBBC’s ‘Yonko’ Chris Johnson will play Belle’s father Professor Ivar Brainstorm, while Britain’s Got Talent finalist Christian Lee will play Marcel Allumette, the quirky candelabra.

Strengthening the cast further are Lincoln’s own Chris Hayes, Paul Aitchison, and Georgia Hayes-Cowley, who will star as Humphrey Battenburg, Mary Muffintop and Mindy Singit respectively.

Camilia O’Grady, Vanessa Dumatey and Laura Wenton will be making their New Theatre Royal Lincoln debuts starring as Serenity Rose/Gigi Vavaoo, Cindy Singit and Lindy Singit respectively. The role of Carrie Cupcake will be shared by Ruby Grayson and Kyla Hurdley.

The death of a Red Arrows engineer who lost his life after a jet burst into flames could have been avoided, according to the coroner investigating the incident.

Corporal Jonathan Bayliss, 41, from Ingham in Lincolnshire, lost his life on March 21, 2018, when a Hawk T1 aircraft he was in the rear seat of crashed on the runway at RAF Valley in Anglesey.

A coroner’s inquest into Bayliss’ death found that he died from smoke inhalation and a low grade head injury, as the pilot on board, Flight Lieutenant David Stark, survived after ejecting moments before the plane hit the ground.

Coroner Katie Sutherland rejected calls from Bayliss’ family for a conclusion of unlawful killing, and instead said she would send a report to the Ministry of Defence to draw up steps to be taken in order for future deaths to be prevented.

A Defence Safety Authority Service inquiry has resulted in 25 recommendations being made for future incidents, highlighting shortcomings in training for ejection procedures at the time.

In a report published by the DSAS, the Service Inquiry Panel said that the jet departed from the RAF Valley with the intention of simulating an engine failure in a training exercise.

It was then supposed to fly to RAF Scampton in Lincolnshire, but during the training manoeuvre, the plane stalled and crashed near the runway, as it was flying too low to recover.

Ms Sutherland stated that the evidence suggested the crash could have been avoided, and the MoD breached its duty, but not enough to reach a conclusion of corporate manslaughter.

As well as this, it was discovered that surviving pilot David Stark did not breach his duty of care during the incident, and he was carrying out a practised engine failure on take off at the time.

Scientists estimate the new Omicron variant could be twice as likely to re-infect people as coronavirus cases in Greater Lincolnshire jumped 20% in November and 50% week-on-week.

The first real world data from the scientists in South Africa showed a surge in the number of people catching Covid multiple times. The initial research shows Omicron may evade some immunity.

Figures from earlier this week show that there were 19,687 cases in November, while 92 deaths were recorded, of which 42 were in hospital.

According to the Government figures, between September 30 and October 31 there were 16,447 cases, an increase of nearly 20%.

Since Wednesday, the latest COVID stats for Lincolnshire have been:

• 2,329 new cases of coronavirus with 1,621 in Lincolnshire, 395 in North East Lincolnshire and 313 in North Lincolnshire.
• 15 further deaths were recorded in the government figures, including 13 Lincolnshire residents, one North East Lincolnshire resident and one North Lincolnshire resident
• One further hospital death at Lincolnshire Community Health Service

The figures leave the weekly totals at 3,501 cases, 19 deaths and 20 hospital deaths. Between November 21 and 26 there were 2,360 cases, a near 50% rise.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s spokesman has confirmed there are currently no plans to make vaccinations mandatory, according to Sky News.

They also denied separate lockdown measures for the unvaccinated in future.

“Our priority is to continue to promote vaccinations and promote boosters now that we are rolling out more and more boosters to more and more people.

“That is our priority, that’s our focus, and that’s what we’re asking people to come forward and take,” they said.

NHS vaccination data released on Thursday revealed 1,383,648 doses COVID jabs had now been handed out in Lincolnshire.

Of those, 553,946 were second jabs – around 87.31% of the total 634,453 population of Lincolnshire.

The data added 37,330 new doses to the statistics. It included to 34,945 booster jabs being included bringing the total to 230,170.

The remaining 2,385 doses was nearly 58% fewer than the previous week’s 5,628 – however, the Lincolnshire Showground did close during several days last week.

Some 569,654 people over the age of 18, and 29,237 under 18s had received their first dose. Figures also showed that 17,781 first doses had been given to 12 to 15-year-olds in Lincolnshire – 53.8% of the eligible population.

A total of 551,003 over 18s and 2,943 under 18s have been double-dosed.

In North East Lincolnshire a total of 265,204 doses of the vaccine have been administered, with 106,792 second doses and 41,981 booster jabs. 39.6% of 12 to 15-year-olds have been given at least one dose.

In North Lincolnshire, 302,142 doses have been handed out, with 119,010 being double-jabbed and 53,26 having a booster shot. 48.4% of the eligible 12 to 15-year-old population have been administered at least one shot.

A new study published in the Lancet has also shown that COVID booster shots dramatically strengthen immune defences dependent on which vaccine was given.

The UK-based Cov-Boost trial found those boosted with Pfizer after two doses of AstraZeneca had antibody levels nearly 25 times higher after a month.

Pfizer recipients saw antibody levels rose more than eightfold.

The biggest increase though was from the Moderna vaccine, which raised antibody levels 32-fold in the AstraZeneca group and 11-fold in the Pfizer group. When Moderna is used in the UK booster programme, it is given at a half-dose.

However, the scientists said that people started with different antibody levels and so also urged caution when comparing performance.

Elsewhere in the UK, the latest data from the Office for National Statistics said one-in-60 people in England were estimated to have had Covid in the week up to November 27. The figure was up from one in 65 the previous week.

England’s R Number, however, is estimated to be between 0.9 and 1.1 – down slightly from between 1 and 1.1 last week.

“We’re all tired but we’ve just got to keep going,” is the message from Lincolnshire’s health bosses as mask wearing appears to be in decline and COVID-19 fatigue further sets in.

It comes as there has been a noticeable decline in the number of people wearing face coverings, to protect both themselves and others by limiting transmission of the virus.

Many are sceptical of the government’s promise that Christmas will not be affected by the virus after last minute restrictions at the end of 2020.

Elsewhere, COVID-19 booster vaccinations are to be extended to people aged 18-39, and Lincolnshire’s NHS sector is gearing up to roll out to the next cohort.

NHS Lincolnshire Clinical Commissioning Group has announced it will be preparing to offer booster jabs to people between the ages of 18 and 39, but has asked for patience due to the large volume of requests it will get.

As well as the extended cohort for the booster vaccinations, the government has also announced a reduction from six months to three for the interval between second doses and boosters, eligibility for a second dose for 12 to 15-year-olds, and a fourth dose for immunosuppressed people if recommended by their clinical team.