Man arrested after Lincoln ‘stabbing’

A Lincoln school is among the several across the country to have been sent a hoax email by anti vaxxers with fake coronavirus consent letters.

Some headteachers were reportedly sent letters with a fake NHS logo that include a “consent checklist” for vaccination. They were then asked to share this with students, and this misinformation has been sent to a number of schools across England, according to Sky News.

Sir Robert Pattinson Academy in Lincoln was among the schools sent the hoax email. Headteacher Dale Hardy has since sent out another email to parents/carers apologising and telling them to ignore the original email.

This comes as around three million 12 to 15-year-olds in the UK are now eligible for their first jab after the vaccine roll-out was extended earlier this month.

An email from the Lincoln school was sent to parents/carers saying: “We sent you a vaccine checklist in good faith as it was purported to be from the NHS. This was an appalling hoax.

“The first message we sent to you was genuine and included a link to the consent form for COVID vaccinations for 12 to 15-year-olds.

“This was a reprehensible anti-vax attack on schools already under pressure at this difficult time. Please accept our apologies for any inconvenience caused.”

Dr Jonathan Leach, NHS England medical director for COVID immunisation replied to a tweet from a concerned parent in Merseyside, who had received a similar email from her son’s school. Dr Leach said: “Just to confirm that this is not a legitimate NHS form.”

The Lincolnite contacted Sir Robert Pattinson Academy and headteacher Dale Hardy said: “The school received a genuine communication from the NHS followed by, what appeared to be, a follow up letter.

“It seemed to be genuine and we had no reason to doubt it so it was forwarded in good faith to parents.

“Very quickly it became clear the letter was a hoax and we informed parents immediately through several channels.

“It is worrying that hoax emails can be so convincing but I am confident the situation has been remedied swiftly and parents have been kept fully informed.”

Bin collections across the North East Lincolnshire will be unaffected by the panic buying of petrol, the council said.

Local authorities in other part of the country have been forced to cancel some waste collections due to the demand for fuel.

Petrol forecourts across Grimsby and Cleethorpes have seen long queues this week despite calls for calm.

However, North East Lincolnshire Council has confirmed that all bin collections will be made as normal.

Residents should continue to put bins out on the usual days.

The crisis is continuing into its fifth day with more petrol stations running dry.

There have been calls to prioritise fuel for care workers to ensure that emergency and healthcare services are able to continue doing their job.

The government has temporarily suspended the competition laws to allow the industry to share information on which areas are running low.

The panic was sparked by a leak from BP which revealed that there was a shortage of lorry drivers to deliver petrol.

The Petrol Retailers Association warned that as many as two thirds of its membership of nearly 5,500 independent outlets were out of fuel on Sunday, with the rest of them “partly dry and running out soon”.

Shell, ExxonMobile and other industry bodies have reassured motorists that there is no national shortage of fuel, and that pressures were linked to “temporary spikes in customer demand”.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson is understood to be considering whether to bring in the army as an emergency measure to deliver fuel.

Dr Chaand Nagpaul, chair of council at the BMA, said: “Emergency and essential workers rely on fuel both to travel to work and for their work itself – whether this is to get to hospitals, practices and other healthcare settings, or for ambulances to reach people in urgent need of care and GPs to visit very ill patients at home.

“Everyone will have their own reasons for needing to fill up, but as pumps run dry there is a real risk that NHS staff won’t be able to do their jobs and provide vital services and care to people who urgently need it.”

A Grimsby food bank has seen more families needing food parcels over recent weeks.

The Rock Foundation are monitoring the rise in people who need assistance to put food on the table.

It isn’t clear yet what is driving it, but it comes as vital lifelines like the furlough scheme and the Universal Credit Boost are set to come to an end.

Pam Hodge, the founder of the Rock Foundation, said: “We originally saw a large rise in people coming to us at the very beginning of the pandemic. There was a big increase which levelled out as the months went on.

“Recently, there has started to be another slight rise.

“We don’t know why it is happening yet, but we are keeping a close eye on it.”

The food bank distributes bags of enough food to last a person or family in crisis for around three days.

Pam urged anyone who is struggling for food to make contact with the food bank.

“Come down to our site on Heneage Road,” she said.

“We carry out Universal Credit checks, as we have a responsibility to ensure people are eligible. We can assure people these are discreet and not embarrassing.”

The furlough scheme is being wound up on September 30, despite 1.6 million people still claiming it.

The £20 a week Universal Credit boost, which was introduced at the outset of the pandemic, is also set to expire next month.

The uplift is worth around £1,000 per year for each recipient, and charities have warned this will hit people who are already struggling to dealing with bills.

East Marsh councillor Nicola Aisthorpe warned that the impending cut will drive more working people to food banks.

“Many families will have to choose between keeping warm and putting food on the table,” the Liberal Democrat councillor said.

“This will push children even further into poverty despite their parents’ best efforts.

“It was understood that the increase was temporary, but the cost of living has only increased. Food and fuel are both more expensive.

“There is no doubt that more people will have to turn to food banks. It is a horrible and heartbreaking situation.”