Vulnerable Lincoln woman found safe and well

A nursery in Scunthorpe has been ‘named and shamed’ by the government for failing to pay the minimum wage to nine workers.

Little Tots Nursery (Scunthorpe) Ltd on Oswald Road failed to pay £2,754.06 to nine workers, with the average arrears per worker at the nursery at £306.01.

The nursery is one of 191 businesses named for breaking minimum wage law. Following investigations by Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs, a total of £2.1 million was found to be owed to more than 34,000 workers. This is despite the National Minimum Wage and National Living Wage increasing in April this year.

There was no answer all morning when The Lincolnite tried to contact the nursery, as well as no response via email. The nursery’s Facebook page was online earlier in the morning, but appears to have since been taken down as it is no longer available.

The latest Ofsted inspection, in 2019, rated Little Tots Nursery as ‘good’.

The breaches of the 191 businesses took place between 2011 and 2018. The government said the named employers have since been made to pay back what they owed, and were fined an additional £3.2 million in total, to show it is never acceptable to underpay workers.

Employers who pay workers less than the minimum wage have to pay back arreas of wages to the worker at the current minimum wage rates.

The employers can also face hefty financial penalties of up to 200% of arrears – capped at £20,000 per worker – which are paid to the government.

It is stated in the report that ‘whilst not all minimum wage underpayments are intentional, it has always been the responsibly of all employers to abide by the law’.

The report said employers had underpaid workers in the following ways:

• 47% wrongly deducted pay from workers’ wages, including for uniform and expenses
• 30% failed to pay workers for all the time they had worked, such as when they worked overtime
• 19% paid the incorrect apprenticeship rate

Business Minister Paul Scully said: “Our minimum wage laws are there to ensure a fair day’s work gets a fair day’s pay – it is unacceptable for any company to come up short.

“All employers, including those on this list, need to pay workers properly.

“This government will continue to protect workers’ rights vigilantly, and employers that short-change workers won’t get off lightly.”

The full list of employers named and shamed by the government on Thursday can be found here.

The 20-year-old man who beheaded one of the sculptures on the Lincoln Imp Trail in an act of drunken foolery has apologised, and been ordered to pay more than £2,000 for the damages in court.

Bradley Pennell, 20, of Ogilvy Drive in Bottesford, Scunthorpe, was charged with criminal damage on July 21, when the Community Imp on Guildhall Street in Lincoln was found broken in two in the early hours of the morning.

He appeared remorseful at Lincoln Magistrates’ Court on Thursday morning as he entered a guilty plea.

The court heard how Pennell had penned hand-written letters to the nine-year-old schoolgirl who designed the imp, as well as the artist who painted it, apologising for his behaviour.

A 20-year-old suspect has now been arrested and charged with the damage.

He is an avid go-kart driver, winning British championships, and cited worries that the incident may affect sponsorships and his future career.

Bradley had been on a night out in Lincoln with his friends on Tuesday, July 20 when they were spotted on CCTV at Guildhall Street at around 3.40am on Wednesday morning.

The court heard Pennell’s friend took his phone out and began to film him as he jumped on the platform where the sculpture stands, before rocking it back and forth and shaking the imp until it came apart.

The Community Imp, designed by freelance artist Sian Bristow and a local primary school girl, had been made to celebrate key workers for their efforts during the coronavirus pandemic.

The imp can be seen split in half and has now been moved from its spot by organisers of the trail, Lincoln BIG.

Police tracked the movements of Pennell on CCTV back to his hotel room, where he was arrested by officers shortly after the incident.

The damage costs have been estimated at around £4,500, without considering the funds that could be raised for St Barnabas Hospice when the imp goes to auction on Lincolnshire Day, October 1, at the end of the imp trail.

Mark McNeil, in mitigation, described Bradley as a “responsible and sensible” person with no previous convictions, who acted out of character while “heavily under the influence” of alcohol.

“This incident has not been taken lightly, one drunken act shouldn’t reflect the character of this man”, Mr McNeil told the court.

Pennell was ordered to pay compensation of £2,250 for the damage to the imp, and was given a conditional discharge after an early guilty plea. There will be no surcharge or court costs as part of the sentencing.

Sarah Loftus, chief executive of Lincoln BIG, organisers of the imp trail, told The Lincolnite: “I am pleased this individual has been held to account and we look forward to getting the imp repaired and put back out on the trail for people to enjoy.”

A teenage boy has been accused of making hoax and abusive 999 calls to Lincolnshire Police.

Lincolnshire Police received a 999 call at 7.45pm on August 1 of someone making an allegation that an armed man was following them.

The call handler immediately checked CCTV of that location and saw nothing. When prompting for more information the caller laughed and the call taker was sworn at, police say.

In a second 999 call made at 4.35am on August 2, the caller did not make any request for help, and instead is accused of making abusive comments to the call taker.

Lincolnshire Police said: “A 13-year-old boy has been reported for improper use of public communications network. We would like to remind people that 999 is there to help people when they are most in need.

“Every call we get that is not a genuine emergency means that’s one less call we can handle which could save someone’s life, prevent a serious incident, or bring an offender to justice, to name a few examples.”

Lincoln Police posted on social media saying they will ‘always seek to take firm action against those who chose to abuse such an important system’.

Lincoln Police posted a statement about the incidents. | Photo: Lincoln Police