Homeless Lincoln man jailed after ignoring sex offenders order

Drivers in Lincolnshire have been scrambling to fill up their vehicles with fuel after supply issues sparked panic buying and long queues at petrol stations across the country.

It comes as a handful of BP and Esso-owned stations were forced to close on Thursday due to having a lack of readily available delivery drivers.

Gaps in the HGV driver industry have been heightened by the coronavirus pandemic and Brexit, and it has resulted in around 1% of the UK’s 8,380 petrol stations being closed due to a lack of supplies.

In response to the frenzy, transport secretary Grant Shapps has encouraged people to continue buying fuel as normal despite the noted supply issues.

Large queues have been reported at filling stations across Lincolnshire on Thursday as people try to get petrol or diesel for their car, with some being accused of panic buying.

ASDA and Sainsbury’s petrol forecourts in Grantham both had big congestion as people were waiting to fill up on Thursday afternoon, as well as multiple sites in Lincoln, too.

BP announced on Twitter that they will be minimising closures and prioritising fuel supply for motorway service ares and main roads, after some of their smaller garages were seen to be closed.

Lincoln City have signed Scottish under-21 goalkeeper Archie Mair on loan from Premier League side Norwich City.

The 20-year-old keeper had agreed a deal to come to the Imps before the summer transfer deadline, but an announcement was delayed due to an injury he picked up beforehand.

He is now recovering from that injury and will join up with his new teammates, with a view to Archie being available for games as of October 9, when Lincoln face Wigan Athletic in League One.

Mair is very highly rated at Norwich City, having signed a new long-term contract with the Canaries in the summer and spending last season out on loan with King’s Lynn Town in the National League.

The move also paves the way for Imps youngster Sam Long to be sent out on loan and gain some valuable first team experience, though his destination is as yet unknown.

Lincoln City Director of Football Jez George said: “This is a move which suits all parties as, following his loan in the National League, Archie has the opportunity to experience a first team environment in League One, he provides
us with cover for Josh Griffiths and allows Sam Long to go out and play games on loan.

“We were discussing a loan for Archie with Norwich prior to his injury so we are pleased that we have managed to still find a way to have made it happen.

“We held off on announcing this deal because we wanted to be fair to Archie and with our injury list, signing a player with an injury may have looked like we had taken leave of our senses!

“However, there is good logic to the arrangement and Archie is an excellent solution to what we need in supporting Josh Griffiths and Sam Long.

“We are very grateful to Norwich for their help throughout the process and for them facilitating the loan.”

There have been 3,250 cases of coronavirus confirmed so far this week in Greater Lincolnshire, as booster jabs expand across the county.

Government figures on Friday showed 415 new cases in Lincolnshire, 106 in North East Lincolnshire and 176 in North Lincolnshire. The total weekly figure so far is 3.5% higher than last week’s 3,141.

One further death of a Greater Lincolnshire residents was confirmed in the government figures, leaving the weekly total at 16, three fewer than the 19 for last week.

NHS data, meanwhile, confirmed four further deaths across both Lincolnshire and North Lincolnshire hospitals. The weekly total of 14 is two more than last week’s 12.

Nationally, the rolling cases total increased by 35,623 to 7,601,487, while deaths rose by 180 to 135,983.

Lincolnshire’s health bosses have said they are encouraged that people continue to come forward for vaccinations, despite a slowing in numbers.

Between September 2 and September 23, the proportion of people double-jabbed in Lincolnshire has only increased by 2% according to the latest data – from 82% to 84%.

The government’s COVID-19 dashboard shows the national average is 82%. The ideal figure would be somewhere between 90-95%.

Rebecca Neno, Director of COVID and Influenza Vaccination Programmes at NHS Lincolnshire CCG, said: “We’re pleased with the response from the Lincolnshire public to the COVID vaccination programme to-date

“Of course we would like everyone to get vaccinated and we continue to offer the vaccination via our sites across the country, walk-ins, and pop-up events, to make it as easy as possible for people to get vaccinated.

“There has been a slowdown in take-up generally as we moved down through the cohorts/ages, but we are encouraged that people of all ages continue to come forward.”

She said initial targets had been achieved, but that it was important that people return for their second jab.

It comes as booster jabs for the most vulnerable are launched across Lincolnshire, launching first in Grantham on Wednesday and then in Boston and Lincoln on Friday.

“This really is another major milestone for us in Lincolnshire, and something we have been working extremely hard to prepare for in recent weeks and months.

“It is great to know we’re in a position to move forward at pace and administer booster vaccinations to everyone who’s eligible,” said Rebecca.

Meanwhile, health bosses are preparing to begin vaccinating healthy 12-15-year-olds from next week, with the hope to complete it by October half-term.

Government health experts earlier this week said children aged 12-17 were among the highest transmission group for coronavirus and will “inevitably” get it.

Andy Fox, assistant director of public health at Lincolnshire County Council, explained: “Like the rest of the country, we have seen a rise in cases among school-aged children, but this was expected with the return of schools.

“On a more positive note, case numbers remain much lower among older age groups. I’d like to reassure parents that the risk to children’s health from COVID is low.

“However, families should be vigilant and not send their child to school if they have symptoms, but should instead get them to self-isolate and arrange a PCR test.”

Nationally, England’s R Number has fallen to between 0.8 and 1.0, compared to between 0.9 and 1.1 last week.

The R number indicates the average number of people each COVID-positive person goes on to infect.

The latest ONS data has estimated that around one in 90 people in private households in England had COVID in the week ending 18 September, down from one in 80 the previous week.

It’s estimated that just over 820,000 people in the UK would have tested positive for coronavirus in that week.

According to the ONS data, school-age children saw the highest rates, the most being those of secondary school-age (years 7 to 11) – 2.8% of people in this group were estimated to test positive.

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Coronavirus data for Greater Lincolnshire on Friday, September 24

111,069 cases (up 697)

• 72,821 in Lincolnshire (up 415)
• 17,727 in North Lincolnshire (up 176)
• 20,521 in North East Lincolnshire (up 106)

2,332 deaths (up one)

• 1,708 from Lincolnshire (up one)
• 316 from North Lincolnshire (no change)
• 308 from North East Lincolnshire (up one)

of which 1,404 hospital deaths (up four)

• 861 at United Lincolnshire Hospitals Trust (up four)
• 44 at Lincolnshire Community Health Service hospitals (no change)
• 1 at Lincolnshire Partnership Foundation Trust (no change)
• 498 in Northern Lincolnshire (NLAG) (no change)

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.

Lincoln Drill Hall launched its ever-popular pantomime on Friday, with a former Lincoln College student turned Hollywood actor playing a starring role.

The production chosen for this year is Aladdin, and it was scheduled to take place back in 2020 but was cancelled due to the coronavirus lockdown.

The launch of the Christmas pantomime took place at Lincoln College’s Knights Building on Monks Road, while £1.3 million refurbishment works take place at Lincoln Drill Hall, which the college bought out earlier this year.

In attendance were school children from Monks Abbey Primary School and Lincoln Minster, who were all in great voice to join with the classic production.

The pantomime itself will be performed at the Drill Hall this Christmas, running from December 6 to January 2. Tickets can be bought here, starting from just £16.

The cast includes Rory Dulku as Aladdin, Georgia Gallagher as Princess Jasmine and Craig Garner, who has appeared in Harry Potter and Star Wars films, as Abanazer.

The Lincolnite spoke to Craig about his “full circle” journey from being a student at Lincoln College to a Hollywood actor and then back to his roots in the county.

“First and foremost it was just great to be back on stage performing for an audience again”, he said. “The kids were great and seemed to really enjoy it, that’s what it’s all about.

“I’m really excited to be working with Jamie Marcus Productions again, I’m back where it all began for me all those years ago which has made it that bit more special.”

Jamie Marcus, managing director at Jamie Marcus Productions, promised a “dynamic” show with his Aladdin production, and the launch event boasted TikTok routines, singalongs and pantomime classics.

He said that despite fears that the coronavirus pandemic would not be slowing down any time soon, he never lost faith in the art of theatre production.

“The last 18 months have been complete hell, but we always knew that creative arts were never going away.

“Aladdin has been in the pipeline since November 2019, so for us to finally be able to showcase the hard work has been hugely exciting.

“During lockdown I forgot how impactful the arts can be, and how much it could raise spirits and make people smile. For us now it is all about encouraging people to come back to theatre and enjoying shows again.”