Road closures scheduled for Waddington Airshow

Almost 20,000 fines and penalty points will be cancelled due to an error with temporary speed restrictions during roadworks on the A1 at Grantham.

The Lincolnite can reveal 19,089 offences between February 16, 2021 and July 10, 2021 will be scrubbed off the record due to a fault with the speed camera system and temporary 50mph limit.

Lincolnshire Police said the £100 speeding fines (totalling almost £2 million) are in the process of being refunded, and/or penalty points cancelled.

The force is working with National Highways to identify and directly contact motorists who have been affected.

National Highways blamed the issue on “a discrepancy relating to the temporary traffic order” during Lincolnshire County Council’s project to build a new junction at Grantham.

They did not respond to questions over how the error came about by the time of publishing.

It relates to two static speed cameras, one northbound and one southbound on the A1 at Grantham.

While Lincolnshire Police could not provide a total number of fines issued during the period of error, the force said of those whose Notice of Intended Prosecutions are in the process of being cancelled, 18,387 were between 50 and 70mph and 702 were above 70mph.

One driver contacted The Lincolnite when they received a letter from Lincolnshire Police.

They said: “As much as I am relieved to avoid the likely three-point fixed penalty and £100 fine, I think it’s a matter of public interest that other motorists have likely been prosecuted and/or fined for something with no legal basis.”

National Highways head of service delivery, Adrian Oulds said: “Safety is a top priority for National Highways. A temporary speed limit is in place on the carriageway to keep the A1 safe – for both drivers and the construction team – while work takes place.

“There was a discrepancy relating to the temporary traffic order, which means some of the enforcement was invalid and we are working with Lincolnshire Police to resolve this issue.

“However, we encourage all drivers to observe temporary speed limits through roadworks for their own safety.”

Lincolnshire Police Chief Superintendent Paul Timmins said: “We have been made aware by National Highways of a discrepancy relating to a temporary traffic order on the A1 which has meant that some enforcement was invalid regarding the temporary speed restriction.

“National Highways are the lead agency on this matter and are working through the details relating to the exact circumstances.

“We are working with National Highways and other partners to identify and directly contact motorists who might have been affected and will take action accordingly.

“This includes the possibility of refunding fines and/or cancelling penalty points that were awarded during the material time of February 16 and July 10 this year.

“The situation has been rectified and the temporary speed limit is enforceable and so I would urge all drivers to be aware and drive within the speed limit for your safety and that of other road users and the construction workers.”

There have been 464 cases of coronavirus confirmed on Thursday in Lincolnshire, as the NHS begins delivering COVID booster jabs to the most vulnerable people.

Those who are eligible include:

• those living in residential care homes for older adults
• all adults aged 50 years or over
• frontline health and social care workers
• all those aged 16 to 49 years with underlying health conditions that put them at higher risk of severe COVID-19 (as set out in the green book), and adult carers
• adult household contacts of immunosuppressed individuals

Meanwhile, there have been 464 cases of coronavirus confirmed in Greater Lincolnshire on Thursday.

Government figures on Thursday showed 296 new cases in Lincolnshire, 75 in North East Lincolnshire and 93 in North Lincolnshire.

Lincolnshire’s coronavirus cases up to September 16. | Image: GOV.uk

Three further deaths of Lincolnshire residents were also confirmed in the government figures,

NHS data showed no further deaths in Greater Lincolnshire’s hospitals on Thursday.

Nationally, cases increased by 26,911 to 7,339,009 while deaths rose by 158 to 134,805.

Vaccination data released on Thursday revealed that 1,108,065 doses of the jab had now been handed out in Lincolnshire.

There were 7,225 doses given out in the past week, 3,782 fewer doses than the previous week.

Of those, 532,625 were second jabs – a total of 84% of the total 634,453 population of Lincolnshire.

A total of 562,809 people over the aged of 18, and 12,631 under 18s have received their first dose, while 530,265 over 18s and 2,360 under 18s were double-dosed.

In North East Lincolnshire a total of 213,647 doses of the vaccine have been administered, with 101,960 (79%) being second doses.

In North Lincolnshire, 239,650 doses have been handed out, with 115,174 (82%) being double-jabbed.

Coronavirus data for Greater Lincolnshire on Thursday, September 16

106,415 cases (up 464)

• 69,906 in Lincolnshire (up 296)
• 16,618 in North Lincolnshire (up 93)
• 19,891 in North East Lincolnshire (up 75)

2,3111 deaths (up three)

• 1,691 from Lincolnshire (up three)
• 316 from North Lincolnshire (no change)
• 304 from North East Lincolnshire (no change)

of which 1,386 hospital deaths (no change)

• 849 at United Lincolnshire Hospitals Trust (no change)
• 44 at Lincolnshire Community Health Service hospitals (no change)
• 1 at Lincolnshire Partnership Foundation Trust (no change)
• 492 in Northern Lincolnshire (NLAG) (no change)

7,312,683 UK cases, 134,647 deaths

DATA SOURCE — FIGURES CORRECT AT THE TIME OF THE LATEST UPDATE. POSTCODE DATA INCLUDES DEATHS NOT IN HEALTHCARE FACILITIES OR IN HOSPITALS OUTSIDE AUTHORITY BOUNDARIES.

Over £500 was raised by Lincolnshire firefighters aiming for two world records during a charity challenge at the weekend.

Firefighters from Billingborough and the surrounding villages attempted the challenge, which consisted of running out lengths of 70mm hose (25 metres long) and rolling it up again.

The charity challenge took place at Billingborough Fire Station on Saturday, September 11. It marked the 20-year anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attack, bringing injured firefighters to the forefront of people’s minds again.

Harvey Chessum rolling out his hose.

Emma Schofield running the hose during the charity challenge.

Firefighters Michael Foster and John Overton during the charity challenge.

By the time of publication over £500 has been raised in online and offline donations – donations to the fundraiser can still be made here.

Since the event, the firefighters have submitted footage to Guinness World Records and face a wait of at least 12 weeks to find out if they have been successful.

The two records include a speed challenge of how many lengths of hose can be rolled out and back up in an hour. This would be a new record attempt, but a benchmark was set of 35 by Guinness, which was beaten by firefighter Peter Vince with a total of 41.

Peter Vince set a new world record for how many lengths of hose can be rolled out and back up in an hour (subject to verification).

Emma Schofield with her dog Oakley, Peter Vince, Dan Moss, Harvey Chessum with his daughter Amelia, John Overton and Michael Foster.

John Overton looking proud during the charity challenge.

Dan Moss, Harvey Chessum and Peter Vince rolling out lengths off hose and then back again for charity.

Dan Moss and Harvey Chessum in action during the challenge.

The challenge consisted of running out lengths of 70mm hose (25 metres long) and rolling it up again.

The other record relates to rolling out hose lengths to the height of Mount Everest, which if completed would be a new record depending on verification from Guinness World Records. The team of seven completed it in a time of two hours and 18 minutes for a total of 371 lengths.

Billingborough is an on-call retained fire station, so all its firefighters have other full-time jobs, including Peter Vince who is a registered care manager in Lincoln.

Peter was among those taking part and he told The Lincolnite: “Unbelievable amount of money raised as we didn’t think we’d get close to that and the total is still rising.

“I couldn’t have done it without my crew and we are very grateful for the village who turned up to support us on the day. We are hopeful we’ve got both world records and can’t wait to find out the result.”

Harvey Chessum, John Overton and Peter Vince working hard together to raise money for charity.

Michael Foster standing while fellow firefighter Peter Vince stops for water, and Emma Schofield and Dan Moss running hose.

Among those taking part in the challenge with Peter are Harvey Chessum, John Overton, Emma Schofield, Michael Foster, Danny Hill, as well as Dan Moss who is principal officer at Lincolnshire Fire & Rescue and a former retained firefighter at Billingborough.

All proceeds will be split evenly between The Fire Fighters Charity and LIVES.

The Firefighters Charity offer specialist, lifelong support for members of the UK fire services community. LIVES has a dedicated team of volunteers trained in life saving skills to respond to calls in their community.

Donate to the firefighters’ fundraiser here

Three men involved in the largest cannabis growing operation found in Lincolnshire were jailed at Lincoln Crown Court on Thursday.

The cannabis farm, capable of producing drugs worth millions of pounds, was discovered after police raided an industrial unit on Freiston Road in Boston earlier this year.

A total of 2,985 cannabis plants were found growing in four rooms within the 50,000 sq ft unit.

The electricity supply had been bypassed and a hydroponics system was installed along with ventilation ducts. Part of the building was set aside as living quarters for men involved with growing the plants.

The operation had a street value of multiple millions of pounds. | Photo: Lincolnshire Police

At the time the cannabis farm was discovered, Lincolnshire Police said: “The sheer scale of this grow, housed within a 50,000 square foot unit, has required the tireless efforts of a large number of staff. This is, by far, the largest scale cannabis grow the county has ever seen.”

Kaja Reiff-Musgrove, prosecuting, said: “This was an industrial scale cannabis grow. The estimated yield is between 79 kilos and 239 kilos.

“The street sale value of the cannabis at the lower estimated yield would have been £800,000. The higher estimated yield would have produced a value in the millions of pounds.”

The three men also lived in the unit where the cannabis was growing. | Photo: Lincolnshire Police

Police arrested Xhemal Derdi after entering the building and then found a second man, Alfred Alla, hiding in the ventilation ducts. Later officers returned to the unit and detained Ismail Elezi who was found inside.

Miss Reiff-Musgrove said: “The defendants are Albanian nationals. They all said that they had entered the country illegally.”

Xhemal Derdi, 24, Alfred Alla, 21, and Ismail Elezi, 26, who were all living within the unit, each admitted production of cannabis on March 25 this year.

They were each jailed for 39 months and will face deportation when they are released from their sentences.

It was held in four rooms within a 50,000 sq ft unit in Boston. | Photo: Lincolnshire Police

Judge Catarina Sjolin Knight told them: “The cannabis grow discovered by the police that day was industrial in scale.

“It was a professional enterprise. The electricity was bypassed, there were hydroponics and ventilation fitted. Balsamic vinegar was being used to mask the small.

“You were obviously aware and knew of the scale of the operation. You were working for financial gain.

“At the higher yield the wholesale value of the cannabis would be over £1 million. The street value would generate £2.4 million.”

“You were working as a team to run the production side of an industrial scale operation.”

Sunil Khanna, for Derdi, said his client had been working in the construction industry in Italy and Germany but employment opportunities dried up as a result of covid. He was then offered the chance to come to the UK and agreed but was left with a debt for being transported here.

As a result, he said, Derdi agreed to work for three months for those who brought him to the UK to clear his debt.

Neil Sands, for Alla, said he was involved in tending to the plants and there was no evidence he was involved to a greater extent.

“He came here to find work in order to send money back to his family. He accepts he came here illegally. At such point as he is released, he will be deported back to his own country. He came looking for a better life but has found only custody.”

Jason Cross, for Elezi, said: “The evidence against him is consistent with him having a lesser role. There is no suggestion he was responsible for setting up or maintaining the equipment.

“He came here on the understanding that he would be given the opportunity to engage in legitimate work. He feels he was lied to and exploited.”

Mr Cross said that since being remanded in custody Elezi has developed health problems and is currently being investigated for potential issues with both kidneys.