Woman “held at gun point” during village shop robbery

Lincoln could be in discussions over tier 2 (high) restrictions by the weekend, health bosses have said.

Lincolnshire County Council’s public health officials are advising that the city — at least — could be put into a higher tier as numbers continue to rise across the county.

Lincoln’s rate of infection per 100,000 of the population alone rose from 154.1 on October 16 to 213.5 on October 23, just above the England average of 212.5.

The city has had 1,063 cases since the pandemic began, with the number on Monday increasing by 59.

How cases have increased in the city of Lincoln up to October 26.

On Monday, 346 new COVID-19 cases were confirmed in Greater Lincolnshire, pushing October’s total to more than 5,000.

The county’s Outbreak Management Board, which includes representatives from councils, health and other response bodies, will meet on Wednesday to discuss the next steps.

Neighbours Nottinghamshire on Monday confirmed that Nottingham city along with the districts of Rushcliffe, Gedling and Broxtowe face tier 3 lockdown from midnight on Thursday — though Newark on the Lincolnshire border will stay in tier 2 for now.

Lincolnshire’s neighbours in Nottinghamshire and South Yorkshire have much higher COVID-19 infection rates. | Data: GOV UK

Lincolnshire County Council’s assistant director of public health Tony McGinty said Lincolnshire was “fairly close” to having similar conversations.

“If you look at the numbers in some of our districts we probably are going to be wanting to talk about taking additional measures over the coming week or two,” he said.

“Some of those numbers […] are looking quite difficult.”

He added: “Lincoln is having some particularly challenging times at the moment with its numbers […] for me at the moment, the district I’m spending most of my time talking to colleagues about and talking to City of Lincoln Council colleagues about is Lincoln.”

He said local and national leaders may want to have that conversation “over the coming days or weeks”.

The restrictions for tier 2 – high – lockdown.

Lincolnshire is tier 1 – medium – lockdown.

Lincolnshire is currently still on the medium (tier 1) level for the the new three-tier lockdown system of COVID-19 risk, which means it has no extra restrictions on top of the nation-wide ones.

If that decision is made to move up a tier, the next steps will include discussions over what the additional measures will mean and what extra funding will be made available.

A newly qualified teenage driver caused a fatal crash in which three of her friends were killed after she lost control of her car on a straight stretch of road, a jury was told on Tuesday.

Kasey Boulton, 19, who had only passed her test a few weeks earlier, spun out of control as she drove along Heath Lane just outside the village of Welton near Lincoln, resulting in her Vauxhall Astra colliding with a tree.

Ian Way, prosecuting, told the jury at Lincoln Crown Court that three passengers Ricky Sharp,17, Aiden Sawyer, 17, and Joby John Scrimshaw, 14, were killed. Boulton and her two other passengers were seriously injured.

None of the three were wearing a seat belt at the time. No other vehicle was involved.

Mr Way said that the car was only designed to hold four passengers but Boulton had five with Ricky Sharp sitting in the footwell behind the front passenger.

The prosecutor told the jury that the overloading of the car caused the vehicle to be unbalanced which contributed to Boulton losing control.

Boulton had recently passed her test at the time and had only had the Astra for three weeks before the collision occurred.

Flowers laid at the scene in tribute to the Welton Cliff crash victims. | Photo: Connor Creaghan for The Lincolnite

Mr Way said: “Miss Boulton had just gone through a right hand bend before coming onto a straight stretch of road.

“About 160 metres along that section of road she veered to the right, crossed over the centre line and into the opposite carriageway. The car spun clockwise and struck a tree. The vehicle received what can only be described as catastrophic damage.”

The jury was told that passing motorists stopped to give assistance and the emergency services were called. Ricky Sharp and Joby John Scrimshaw were both pronounced dead at the scene and Aiden Sawyer died two days later in hospital.

The incident happened as Boulton was driving towards Lincoln having picked up a house key from her home at Welton just minutes earlier.

Mr Way said: “PC Mark Brown, the police collision investigator, was of the opinion that the overloading of the vehicle was likely to have caused an imbalance in the car’s handling and stability.

“He concluded that the loss of control had to be due to the actions or inactions of Miss Boulton as an inexperienced driver.

“The issue for determination in this trial is the standard of Miss Boulton’s driving at the material time.

“The prosecution say her driving was dangerous because she took the conscious decision to drive an overloaded car in which one of her passengers could not be afforded the use of a seat belt.

“PC Brown was of the opinion that the overloading was a critical factor in the loss of control.”

Kasey Boulton, 19, of Heath Close, Welton, denies three charges of causing death by dangerous driving as a result of the incident on March 25, 2019.

The jury was told that after the collision she produced negative results when tested for drugs and alcohol.

When she was interviewed by police she said she was driving at between 50 and 55mph on the 60 limit road.

“I don’t know why I didn’t swerve back. I don’t know why I didn’t brake,” she said.

The trial continues.

The Aldi store in uphill Lincoln will be one of 13 UK stores used as part of the latest trials for a click and collect service by the budget supermarket chain.

From Tuesday, October 27, customers will be able to order from a full range of groceries online via the Aldi website. The service is charged at £3.99 per order.

You can then collect them in pre-booked one hour slots from the Wragby Road store. The last slot is 8-9pm.

Upon arrival at new dedicated click and collect car park areas, shopping will be brought to cars by Aldi colleagues contact-free, in line with COVID-19 measures.

This follows the introduction of Deliveroo at the Wragby Road Aldi in June, allowing for home deliveries from the supermarket within 30 minutes.

If the click and collect trial is successful, it is expected to be rolled out nationwide across other stores.

Giles Hurley, CEO of Aldi UK and Ireland, said: “Aldi’s quality products and unbeatable prices have never been so in demand.

“Extending this trial is about providing thousands more of our existing customers with another convenient way to shop with us, while also making Aldi accessible for many others who may not have shopped with us before.”

A luxury dog bed company near Market Rasen has been hounded with orders, thanks to a month on month surge in sales and new jobs created despite the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

Holly Bryant founded Designed for Dogs in Osgodby in April 2017. The company hand makes a range of dog bedding, blankets, bandanas and toys, treats and chews and face coverings, as well as a bespoke service for durable and practicable beds for mucky pups.

The products are sold online here and via the firm’s own page on Etsy.

Holly Bryant is the owner of Designed for Dogs.

Holly has seen a surge in sales since the beginning of lockdown, prompting her to take on three local new staff members in October at a time when unemployment is at its highest for three years.

The new staff will help hand make the products, provide admin support and grow the business.

Belle the Dachshund.

Belle is feeling festive.

Holly lives with her husband Joe and their two dogs Rocky and Buster, as well as three horses called Harvey, Shai and Shadow.

She said: “We started to put plans in place at the start of COVID-19 to try to safeguard the business, stay positive and look at innovative ways to bring in revenue due to the cancellation of events we exhibit at.

“We were worried that with so many events cancelled this year it would have a detrimental effect on the business.

“Thankfully we have built up a loyal customer base over the past three years and having to have a new focus on online sales, it’s generated new business where I have often worked late into the night to ensure all our orders get out on time.

“I am really excited to welcome the new team to Designed for Dogs HQ and excited about our future.

“It takes a lot of hard work, determination and self-belief to get through turbulent and unpredictable times like these. Building a strong team around you who believe in your brand and the quality of your offering helps you get through anything.”

Fern the Dalmatian.

Fraser is owned by Hannah Jackson aka The Red Shepherdess.

Work has already started on Designed For Dogs future plans. This includes building a bigger studio and storage facility.

There will be a shop at the front where customers can buy ready made products and get their dogs measured for bespoke beds, which Holly hopes will be ready within 12 to 18 months.

Remi the Working Cocker Spaniel.