Wave of 2,500 Santas to fill streets of Lincoln as annual fun run returns

A Lincoln woman says she feels ‘sick to her stomach’ after her Facebook profile was stolen by a brazen scammer.

Not only did the alleged hacker tell her they would return her profile if she sent them money, but they instantly set about attempting to con others online using her identity and fake stories about losing a son to cancer.

Gemma Wowk, a 30-year-old cleaner who lives in the city centre, wants to warn others after she was kicked out of her account on the social media site.

Setting up a new profile to message the old one on August 8, she was surprised to find they quickly replied.

“Do you want your account back?”, they asked her. “Pay £30.”

“What are you going to do?”, Gemma asked. “Count 1-10 and I will block you,” they replied, followed by a sinister comment: “Ask your sister.”

She wants to warn others of the impersonator

Gemma told The Lincolnite she reported the hacker to Facebook and told the imposter she would be contacting authorities, a threat to which the scam artist retorted: “LOL, I fear nobody.”

Facebook has not yet responded to Gemma’s complaints, and she is yet to hear back from Lincolnshire Police after making a report to them.

Now, she wants to share her story to warn others of the ‘fake’ account and others like it.

“They are now scamming people by telling them they are selling a PlayStation5.”

One post falsely claims Gemma had lost a son to cancer:

Fake posts began to appear about a PS5

Gemma and her sister are attempting to warn others of fake posts they see online by posting comments, but she has been blocked by the account.

“I feel sick to my stomach and so upset that someone would do this”, she told reporters.

Gemma’s old account, which has been taken over by a scammer

“They messaged one of my friends selling some product and I had no idea. They are selling a ps5 in the selling sites too.

“The thing is I’m such a caring person and I wouldn’t do anything like this. The thought of someone scamming people in my name… I don’t sleep properly anymore.”

If you have information about this, or would like to speak to a reporter about your story, you can email [email protected] or [email protected]

Market Rasen’s drains need to be upgraded, a councillor has said as an investigation gets underway into the unprecedented flooding.

The devastating storm on Tuesday flooded houses and businesses, and left cars marooned in waist-high water.

A review will be held into the cause of the flooding to see if it can be prevented in the future.

Lincolnshire Couny Councillor Stephen Bunney said that the town’s infrastructure needed to be upgraded accommodate the bigger population.

“On Tuesday night, it was quite clear that the main drains through the town were not able to cope with the quantity of water that fell. There was an incredible amount of surface run off,” he said.

“It ran off into Oxford Street and other side roads, and that’s where the water started to build up.

A look at the extent of the flooding damage to the inside of Peter Rhodes electrical store. | Photo: Ellis Karran for The Lincolnite

“The gutters down the side of the road were also not able to cope. They had recently been cleared, but sand and debris quickly gathered from the road.

“The drains will empty into the river in an emergency, but clearly they were blocked or not opening as well as they could have.

“The drains were built in the Victorian era, and from what we’ve seen, they’re not suitable for a town this size any more.

“The problem wasn’t helped by the fact the land was so dry and water was running off. It’s hard to predict how the rainwater will act.

“At Tesco, there is also a lot more tarmac than there used to be, which created more run-off there.

“It was the worst storm I have ever seen – we had three hours of very heavy rainfall. Even half that time would have been a problem.”

Flooding was extremely sudden and unpredictable in Market Rasen. | Photo: Adam Teskey

He said that residents were slowly recovering from the unexpected flooding, and thanked everyone who had provided help.

“The town is pulling together. People are obviously still upset and in shock. It will take some weeks to get back to normal,” he said.

“Fortunately, we don’t have any buildings falling down and we didn’t lose power – but that won’t be much comfort to people who have been flooded three or four times in five years.”

Section 19 reviews are always carried out in the aftermath of flooding to see what the cause was and how they can be prevented in future.

Anyone affected by the flooding who needs help can contact Councillor Bunney on 07506 188570 or [email protected]

Food banks are open at the New Life Church and Salvation Army, and other support is available at the festival hall.

Multiple homes and businesses placed sandbags outside their doors, supplied by local building merchants as emergency support. | Photo: Ellis Karran for The Lincolnite

Lincolnshire County Councillor Richard Davies, executive member for highways said: “We have seen our highways resilience kick in with emergency crews working extremely hard to be most effective where best needed.

“Because we have seen such a lot of rain in a very short period of time, and especially after a prolonged stretch of dry hot weather, the nature of what we were faced with was very unpredictable.