Over 500 new parking spaces opened in Lincoln

Changes to the government’s travel list will see fully-vaccinated passengers from France no longer having to isolate.

The new rules, which come in from 4am on Sunday, August 8, will see Austria, Germany, Latvia, Norway, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia move to green list on the government’s traffic light system.

Meanwhile, Bahrain, India, Qatar and UAE will move to the amber list from the red list. And Georgia, Mayotte, Mexico and Reunion will move to the red list.

The move aligns France with the rest of the amber list, now that the proportion of beta variant cases has fallen in the country.

Arrivals from popular holiday destination Spain, and all of its islands, don’t need to quarantine either, but are now advised to use a PCR test as their pre-departure test wherever possible.

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said: “We are committed to opening up international travel safely, taking advantage of the gains we’ve made through our successful vaccination programme, helping connect families, friends and businesses around the world.

“While we must continue to be cautious, today’s changes reopen a range of different holiday destinations across the globe, which is good news for both the sector and travelling public.”

The changes mean the total number of green list places will rise from 29 to 36.

Health and Social Care Secretary Sajid Javid said: “As we learn to live with this virus, we are continuing to take steps to safely reopen international travel based on the latest data and expert public health advice.

“The vaccines have already prevented around 60,000 deaths and 22 million infections in England and, with over 7 in 10 adults in the UK now double-jabbed, we are building a wall of defence against the disease.

“As well as moving more countries to the green list, today’s announcement also demonstrates the need for continued caution. Further countries have been added to the red list to help protect the success of our vaccine rollout from the threat of new variants.”

A litter picking group has said they are horrified by rubbish being dumped on a Lincoln roadside, which they described as “the street that the council forgot”.

Scattered litter and rubbish bags, a trolley, fly tipped whitegoods and a dumped office chair were a sorry sight on Portland Street on Wednesday, August 4.

The problem was first reported to Lincolnshire County Council under the fly-tipping option on the FixMyStreet website back in April, they said.

It was flagged up again by the group to the city council on Wednesday. A spokesperson for the group said the city council has responded saying it will be passed on to the relevant team.

The rubbish was found on Portland Street in Lincoln on August 4, 2021. | Photo: Wombles of Lincoln

Even a discarded shopping trolly was found among the rubbish. | Photo: Wombles of Lincoln

A spokesperson for the Wombles of Lincoln told The Lincolnite: “We are horrified by the state of the street in our city centre. It is like the street that the council forgot.

“Visitors to our beautiful city will be enjoying these following sites. This is shameful that in a county that is deemed first world people are living next to this. I just find it so heartbreakingly frustrating.

“Some of it was fly-tipping, much of it was general detritus from split bags and dropped litter. It needs a preventative solution and a lot more action to tackle it.”

The problem has been ongoing since at least April 2021. | Photo: Wombles of Lincoln

An old chair was found discarded amongst the other shocking rubbish down Portland Street in Lincoln. | Photo: Wombles of Lincoln

The group says more action is needed to tackle to tackle the problem. | Photo: Wombles of Lincoln

The litter problem has been described as “heartbreakingly frustrating”, | Photo: Wombles of Lincoln

The group, which now has around 800 members, used social media to come together and tackle the littering problem in the area.

It was set up at the beginning of March 2021, inspired by the 1960s fictional characters The Wombles who taught children how to recycle properly. The group was created by Rebecca Dunn, Alice Kinloch and Rebecca Sinclair, in an aim to clean up the streets, parks and roadsides of Lincoln.

City of Lincoln Council were contacted for a statement of response, but there was no reply by the time of publication.

The Boeing E-3D Sentry has returned to its home base at RAF Waddington after its final mission on Operation Shader, bringing to a close 30 years of operational service. 

The Sentry aircraft flew its final operational sortie on July 30 over Iraq as part of the counter-Daesh Op Shader and returned to RAF Waddington in Lincolnshire on Wednesday, August 4.

The aircraft from No.8 Squadron had been deployed to RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus and was the latest and last deployment since 2015. 

The E-3D Sentry will be retired later this year and will be replaced in 2023 by a fleet of three Boeing E-7 Wedgetails that will operate from RAF Lossiemouth in Scotland.

During the period between retirement and the Wedgetail becoming operational, the ISTAR requirements will be covered by a combination of other aircraft and E-3s from NATO partners.

Air Officer Commanding Number 1 Group, Air Vice -Marshall Al Marshall, speaking to the crew of ZH101 after they returned safely from Op SHADER. | Photo: SAC Shauna Martin RAF / MOD

Air Officer Commanding Number 1 Group, Air Vice -Marshall Al Marshall, holding a toast to the crew of ZH101 after their return flight from Op SHADER. | Photo: SAC Shauna Martin RAF / MOD

Describing the aircraft’s lengthy service, the Commander of the Intelligence, Surveillance, Targeting and Reconnaissance (ISTAR) Force, Air Commodore Nicholas Hay said: “Whilst this moment is undoubtedly the time for all those who enabled Numbers 8, 23 54 and 56 Squadrons’ endeavours in the air to look back with immense pride and satisfaction.

“We have continued to learn much that will ensure other ISTAR platforms, including the new Wedgetail Airborne Early Warning aircraft, are able to maintain a significant operational edge going forwards.”

NATO Commander, Officer Commanding 8 Squadron, Station Commander, Air Officer Commanding 1 Group, Deputy ISTAR Force Commander, Deputy NATO AEW&C Force Commander and ZH101’s crew. | Photo: SAC Amelia Turnbull RAF

The E-3D Sentry, entered RAF service in 1991 as part of the RAF’s ISTAR fleet and was immediately deployed to support Air Operations during the first Gulf War. 

Since then the Sentry aircraft have been involved in UK operations ever since including Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya, the broader Middle East and the Caribbean, together with a NATO role. 

The Sentry is also known as the Airborne Warning and Control System or AWACS.

This recent deployment has seen operational sorties being flown on Op Shader, and also sorties to support Operation Fortis, the deployment of HMS Queen Elizabeth and the Carrier Strike Group.

A member of the Royal Air Force greeting his children under the wing of the aircraft for the first time since deployment. | Photo: SAC Amelia Turnbull / MOD

Describing its most recent missions, the Officer Commanding 8 Sqn, Wing Commander Victoria Williams said: “The deployment of the Sentry fleet to RAF Akrotiri in support of the maiden operational deployment of the Queen Elizabeth Aircraft Carrier and operations in the Middle-East has been a resounding success.

“This was the first operational detachment of the fleet since 2016 and involved a Whole Force of RAF, Reservists and contractors to deliver 30 missions in 9 weeks. 

“The Sentry was able to provide the recognised air and surface picture to the Carrier Strike Group to facilitate its safe transit from the Straits of Gibraltar to the Suez. 

“The skills and experience of Sentry crews, particularly those developed through working closely with naval assets during this deployment, will now be re-invested. The E-7 Wedgetail programme will enter service in 2023, replacing Sentry as the RAF’s Airborne Early Warning and Airborne Command & Control platform.”

The RAF families waving as their family comes off the aircraft and a banner held by two little girls. | Photo: SAC Amelia Turnbull / MOD

An officer holding his children for the first time since deployment.| Photo: SAC Amelia Turnbull / MOD

Deployed personnel reuniying with their children for the first time. | Photo: SAC Amelia Turnbull / MOD

A family holding a banner made to greet their family as they land back from deployment. | Photo: SAC Amelia Turnbull / MOD

An officer greeting his child for the first time since deployment and two children in the background running towards their family member out of frame. | Photo: SAC Amelia Turnbull / MOD

A deployed member of the Royal Air Force greeting his family. | Photo: SAC Amelia Turnbull / MOD

Reflecting on the return of the E-3D Sentry to RAF Waddington Group Captain Robert O’Dell, the Deputy Head Capability at the ISTAR Force HQ said: “I am exceptionally proud to have been associated with Sentry in a variety of operational aircrew, training, test and support roles since it entered service in 1991. Sentry has defined my career and it is inevitably with mixed feelings I now find myself involved with its retirement.  

“However, all E-3D aircrew, groundcrew and supporting civilians should feel justifiably proud of the enormous contribution it has made to NATO and UK Air Policing, combat and humanitarian operations in the Balkans, Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria and Libya, as well as countering drug-smuggling in the Caribbean.”

The crew passing down luggage down the stairs from the aircarft. | Photo: SAC Amelia Turnbull / MOD

E-3D, ZH101, on the 8 Squadron pan after landing at RAF Waddington. | Photo: SAC James Skerrett RAF / MOD

The last Royal Air Force E3-D Sentry Aircraft landing back at is home base at RAF Waddington in Lincolnshire after its final Operational Tour. | Photo: Sgt Nik Howe / MOD