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The Red Arrows’ 57th season ended in style last week, and it was one that will be remembered for years to come as the Royal Air Force Aerobatic Team once again proved why they are the crown jewel of the nation.

The final display of the season was staged above the HMS Prince of Wales aircraft carrier in Portsmouth on Wednesday, October 20, coinciding with the Prince hosting the Pacific Future Forum, a major defence, security, trade and technology summit.

It has been a season which has seen the Reds host a flypast of Wembley Stadium during the final of the European Championships, when England narrowly missed out on footballing glory against Italy in the summer.

The team flew over Silverstone for the Formula 1 British Grand Prix, they have flown to Dubai for the Expo 2020, representing the United Kingdom in the wider event, as well as hosting other high profile displays such as the G7 summit.

The team coped with challenging times during the coronavirus pandemic, and paid tribute to the NHS and key workers with an all-blue smoke trail in the slalom move after an extended break from live displays due to lockdowns.

In total, the Reds managed 37 public displays and 22 major flypasts during the 2021 season, and were notably flanked by the RAF’s new submarine-hunter aircraft, Poseidon MRA1 for the first time, for a flypast of RAF Lossiemouth in Scotland in July.

The Reds will now have a brief end-of-season break in November before returning to training ahead of next year’s events, where they are sure to dazzle once again. Read more of The Lincolnite‘s stories about the brilliant 2021 season on the Red Arrows section of our website.

The ending of the 2021 season also signals the end for two of the Red Arrows’ famous pilots, as they call time on their careers as display pilots for the famous RAF team.

Squadron Leaders Jon Bond and Steve Morris have notched up eleven years of pilot service for the Red Arrows between them, flying in Reds 6 and 9 respectively.

They have now flown their final sorties with the team, and bid an emotional farewell to the world famous Red Arrows.

Sqn Ldr Morris, originally from Sheffield, has clocked up over 400 public displays, and he said: “My seven years with the Red Arrows have been the most enjoyable years of my life.

“It’s been a busy, intense job but incredible to represent the Royal Air Force and the United Kingdom.

“To be able to be part of such a special team has been a great privilege, both in terms of the flying and also the opportunity to hopefully inspire individuals of all ages and backgrounds.”

Sqn Ldr Bond joined the RAF in 2006 and started flying the Typhoon aircraft, which he will be returning to after leaving the Red Arrows display team.

He said: “Clearly, flying at 100ft pointing at another aircraft is something I am incredibly privileged to have done during my Service career and have thoroughly enjoyed it.

“However, living and breathing the whole team ethos, in striving to achieve the goal of delivering a display season to a standard of excellence on a daily basis, is what I have enjoyed the most.

“I have been incredibly proud to wear the red suit for four years and, I certainly believe, the glow surrounding the team has grown ever brighter, even in that short period of time.

“It has been a total honour to be part of Red Arrows history in some small way and to work with such driven and capable colleagues and I wish the team the very best for the future.”

New pilots to replace Bond and Morris have already been selected, and will be announced once training for the new season gets underway, following a break in November.

Lincoln Ladies continued their unbeaten start to the season in the Women’s NC 2 Midlands (North East) with a 13-0 home victory against title rivals Peterborough.

A try-saving tackle by Lincoln’s Jo Parkes stopped Peterborough from scoring in a tight first half.

Emelia Twesigye slotted over a penalty on the stroke of half-time to give Lincoln a narrow 3-0 lead.

Twesigye successfully kicked a second penalty in the second half to extend Lincoln’s lead before being involved in the game’s only try.

She broke through to within five metres of the line after a short ball from Abi Lee.

After a few phases, Lincoln then worked the ball out wide soon after to set up Jenna Bierton, who stepped inside the centre and went over for a try.

Twesigye slotted over the conversion to complete the scoring on what was a fine afternoon for Lincoln.

Grant Cowe scored two tries as Lincoln’s men’s 1st XV suffered frustration on the road with a 33-20 defeat at league leaders Newark in Midlands Two East (North).

Lincoln opened the scoring via Louie Cooke’s penalty before Newark hit back with tries from Rhys Overland, James Archdale and Will Britten.

Alex O’Dell converted two of the tries to give Newark a 19-3 lead going in at the break.

Lincoln reduced the deficit when Cowe powered his way over for a try, but Newark responded with tries from O’Dell and Ashe.

Josh White handed off a Newark player before going over for a try before Cowe scored his second of the match, but it was too little too late for Lincoln.

Other Results

In the Midlands Premier, a late conversion by Tom Alldridge helped Scunthorpe to a 21-19 victory at Oundle.

Captain Tom Foster, Josh Lugsden and Joey Mowbray scored the tries for the visitors, which were all converted by Alldridge.

In Midlands Two East (North), a try from captain George Grant and Spencer Holvey’s penalty could not prevent Market Rasen & Louth from suffering a 45-8 defeat at Southwell.

Stamford lost their first league match of the season in Midlands Two East (South) after a 38-7 home defeat against Northampton Old Scouts.

John Hickman scored Stamford’s only try of the game, which was converted by Jack Martin.

In Midlands Three East (North), Gavin Purvis, James Cowley, James Goodrich and Justin Dingley all scored tries as Kesteven won 26-7 at Sileby Town.

Matt Grinney converted three out of the four tries on what was a great afternoon for the visitors.

Grimsby three-match winning run was ended after a 23-8 defeat at Mansfield.

Mike Vankampen scored Grimsby’s try and Jess Matthews kicked a penalty.

Boston lost 29-5 away against Nottingham Casuals, with the Lincolnshire side’s try scored by James Griffin.

In Midlands Three East (South), Miguel Da Silva, Tom Parker and George Brown crossed for the tries in Spalding’s narrow 30-22 home defeat against Melton Mowbray.

Conall Mason added two conversions and a penalty.

Bourne made it back-to-back victories with a 42-20 home win against Huntington & District.

Scrum-half JJ Roberts scored two of Bourne’s tries and Sam Evison was on form as he kicked multiple conversions and penalties to add to the hosts’ tally.

Kieron Smythe grabbed two tries as leaders Gainsborough claimed a 38-27 victory at Sleaford in Midlands Four East (North).

Jordan Beresford, Billy Nicholson, Ben Watson, and Brad Beresford scored a try apiece for the visitors, with the latter also kicking four conversions.

Aidan Smith crossed for two of Sleaford’s tries and Jack Osbourne and Will Barnes each scored one.

Sleaford captain Dan Mackie kicked two conversions and a penalty.

Second-placed Cleethorpes also had a great afternoon with a 47-12 victory at winless Worksop.

North Hykeham’s first team were not in action, but their 2nd XV had a weekend to remember with an emphatic 77-0 win away against Spalding.

Jack Thomas crossed for hat-trick of tries and Jamie Robson and Dan Greener each grabbed two.

Sam Cooke, Rob Booth, Adam Bird and Ross O’Loughlin each scored one try for North Hykeham. Greener added six conversions and Booth kicked five.

In Midlands Four East (South), Zach Sismore scored two tries as Deepings recorded a 30-14 victory at Thorney.

Luke Warren, Chris Jones and Lewis Cannell also scored tries for the visitors, with Luke Whitby adding a conversion and a penalty.

Stamford College Old Boys saw their home match against Kempston called off as the Bedford-based side have withdrawn from the league.

Women’s Rugby

In the Women’s NC 2 Midlands (North East), captain Hannah Booth, Lycia Elston, Catherine Neville, Charlotte Daubney, Max Heeley, and Tash Champion all scored tries as Boston Ladies beat Kesteven 34-5.

Aimee Goument scored a try for a Kesteven Ladies side that refused to give up and battled hard throughout the match.

Kelly King and Katy Craddock scored two tries apiece as Sleaford Ladies won 39-10 away against Deeping Devils Ladies.

Anna Chick, Rachel Cozens and Chloe Weston also scored tries for the visitors, while Craddock kicked two conversions.

Jo Burke and Amy Charity scored the tries for Deeping Devils.

Cassie Milestone crossed for four tries and kicked five conversions as Scunthorpe Ladies won 69-0 in a friendly against a Gainsborough side who were playing in their first ever home match.

Ewa Jasek grabbed a hat-trick of tries, while Jorja Lyons and Steph Ellis each scored two. Mel Wright-Mahoney and Jasek both kicked one conversion.

To ensure the game went ahead Scunthorpe helped with numbers and leant four players to the opposition – Bethany Parsons, Jacqui Warrington, Kirsty Grey and Harriet Burniston.

Gainsborough Ladies’ head coach Martin Roberts said his side did well in their first ever home match and their heads never went down, with stand-out performances from Hailey Street and Amber Roberts.

Lincolnshire Police received eight reports of drink spiking in Lincoln so far in October, but none involved spiking by injection, a terrifying new trend across the country.

Meanwhile, the force arrested a 35-year-old man on Friday, after he was suspected to posses spiking chemicals. However, the substances he had were not illegal, so with no crime committed, he was released.

As a number of historical drink spiking reports have been brought up in recent campaigns to tackle women’s safety, police said this is likely due to more media coverage encouraging women to come forward.

Here is the full statement from Lincolnshire Police:

Operation Vicinity coordinates our response and investigations into the recent reports of drink spiking in Lincoln.

Chief Insp Phil Baker said, “We are investigating eight reports so far this month of drink spiking, none of which involve spiking by injection. Whilst these are numbers are relatively low, we know that some incidents may go unreported and we urge anyone who suspects they may have been spiked to call us. One incident of this abhorrent crime is one incident too many and we would like to be clear that it carries a prison sentence of up to ten years.

“You should not have to ‘be vigilant’ when you are out but there are steps you can take; look out for each other, don’t leave your drinks, don’t accept drinks offered by people you don’t know or trust.

“If you suspect a friend has been spiked, stay with them and get medical attention for them if needed. Tell a member of staff and report it to us. The signs of someone having been spiked are lowered inhibitions, loss of balance, visual problems, confusion, nausea, vomiting and unconsciousness. Trust your instincts and if something doesn’t seem right, let us know. We are here to keep you safe and we will treat such allegations with the seriousness they deserve.

“We work closely with our bars, clubs and partners in Lincolnshire to make the venues as safe as possible and many of them operate the ‘Ask for Angela’ scheme. If you feel intimidated, uneasy, harassed or uncomfortable because of someone in their venue, you can ask at the bar for Angela and they have protocols in place to address the situation and keep you safe. If you have concerns or suspicions about individuals or activity in any Lincolnshire venue, call us on 101 or 999 if it’s an emergency.”

Operation Vicinity includes work with partners, such as further education, the City of Lincoln Council, Pub Watch, Lincoln Big and the night time economy. Under this Operation we are supporting Officers in ensuring the response is swift and effective including getting early samples if needed to ascertain what substances have been used. As part of the response we are also increasing patrols and conducting additional liaison with venues. We are encouraging searches on entry, education of staff, CCTV monitoring and first aid support on site within our pubs and clubs. We support the work of some venues in offering foil drink toppers to prevent spiking and having facilities to test your drink if you think it’s been tampered with.

A 35-year-old man was arrested in the early hours of yesterday morning. This arrest was on suspicion of possession of controlled substance and attempt to apply or administer a stupefying or overpowering drug, matter or thing with intent thereby to enable him to commit an indictable offence. Our investigation has concluded that no offences had taken place so this man has been released with no further action. Substances in his possession were not illegal and would not have an incapacitating effect. Whilst there were no offences in this case, it does demonstrates we are working effectively in partnership with night time economy and CCTV, to act swiftly in relation to information received.

The issue of spiking has seen an increase as we have come out of lockdown. We believe we may be getting more reports following our highlighting of the issue along with the media coverage. We welcome increased reporting and we want anyone who suspects they may have been a victim to come forward.

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