These men were among the criminals jailed in November 2020.
A pensioner who repeatedly assaulted a young girl and a man who raped and battered a woman were among the criminals jailed in Lincolnshire in November.
In addition, Levi Mitchell, 36, and Charley Oakley, 28, were both caught and charged this month after absconding from HMP North Sea Camp near Boston.
The Lincolnite‘s court reporters cover all the biggest cases heard in courts in our region every day.
Here’s a round up of signifiant cases resulting in prison sentences in and near the county:
Ralph Stevenson
Ralph Stevenson will serve 22 years in prison. | Photo: Nottinghamshire Police
Ralph Stevenson, 76, was jailed for 22 years after being found guilty of rape and indecent assault on a young girl in the 1970s and 80s.
The court heard that Nathan Booth, 30, was “dangerous”. | Photo: Lincolnshire Police
A man convicted of raping a woman after repeatedly punching her during a sustained attack was jailed for 10 years. Nathan Booth, 30, of Swift Gardens in Lincoln was found guilty by a jury following a trial.
Matthew Thomas was jailed for eight years. | Photo: Nottinghamshire Police
A driver high on drugs was jailed for causing the death of his friend and passenger on the Nottinghamshire border with Lincolnshire. Matthew Thomas, 21, was sentenced to eight years in prison after the death of 28-year-old James Jennings.
Koji Takeuchi, a Buddhist meditation master based near Newark, was jailed for eight years after admitting to sexually abusing a three-year-old girl, four decades ago, at her home in Brighton over six years.
James Sneddon, 52, was jailed for seven and a half years. | Photo: Lincolnshire Police
James Sneddon was jailed for seven and a half years after a vicious attack in which he repeatedly kicked his victim in the head, leaving him with severe facial injuries.
*No photo available from police as the mum cannot be named for legal reasons
A desperate mother who tried to kill her two-year-old son during lockdown, and attempted suicide herself, was jailed for four years.
Over 1,000 people signed a petition aimed to help free the Lincolnshire mum from jail, but another person created a counter petition saying that she should remain in jail.
Chris Ferguson and Josh Cooling. | Photo: Humberside Police
Two men from Scunthorpe were jailed after throwing bottles at police during a high-speed chase across the Humber Bridge.
Chris Ferguson, 19, was jailed for four years and six months after admitting drug and driving offences. Josh Cooling was jailed for two years for drug offences.
Stephen Keating, 52, was jailed for three years and four months. | Photo: Lincolnshire Police
Stephen Keating, who had lost his job due to COVID-19, targeted and raided homes in a Lincolnshire retirement village and was jailed for three years and four months.
Stewart Headley was jailed for 17 months. | Photo: Lincolnshire Police
A couple who were saved from homelessness by the owners of a seaside hotel repaid their hosts’ kindness by stealing almost every item from the property. Stewart Headley was jailed for 17 months and Vicky Headley was given a 12-month jail sentence suspended for a year and 100 hours of unpaid work.
Carl Potter was jailed for 16 months. | Photo: Lincolnshire Police
Carl Potter, 33, was jailed for over a year for offences including sexual communication with a child. He was jailed for 12 months for sexual communications with a child, and four months consecutive for a breach of a suspended sentence for an offence of stalking in 2019.
The blue Honda rammed into a marked police vehicle. | Photo: Phil Vickers
A banned driver who drove straight into a police car in his bid to dodge a red light was jailed. Patrick Hoyland, 19, was sentenced to 11 months in prison and banned from driving for two years and five and a half months.
*No photograph of the defendant available from police
John Doak was jailed for three years after admitting the manslaughter of his son who he shook as a baby, causing severe, irreversible brain injury that contributed to the child’s death as a teenager.
*No photograph of the defendant available from police
David Eldridge, 69, was jailed for six months for crashing into and causing the death of Geoffrey Saville, who got out his car to tend to an injured deer on a country road.
*No photograph of the defendant available from police
A Walter Mitty character with no legal qualifications – Tyrone Wright – was jailed for six months after representing a woman in a child custody court hearing claiming to be a trainee barrister.
*No photograph of the defendant available from police
A convicted sex offender who lied to police about where he was living was jailed for four months. Christopher Clarke also saw the time he is on the sex offenders’ register increased to seven years.
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The other five from the list, Mark Gibbins, Stephen Pickering, Abdul Bakhtar, Marius Dumitru and Kyle O’Conner, are still on the run from officers.
They have been joined by five new cases, for charges including knife possession, domestic assault and a sexual offence.
Andy Cox, detective chief superintendent of Lincolnshire Police, told The Lincolnite: “We maintain our relentless day and night 24/7 approach to locate our most wanted suspects.
“We recognise that every day these people remain at large is a day which leaves them able to commit more crime and impact on victims and more broadly the community.
“We ask the public who have information which may assist our efforts to share this information with us.
“We also encourage anybody who features on our most wanted list to immediately hand themselves in.”
The outstanding suspects are:
Mark Gibbins, 53
Mark Gibbins is wanted by police. | Photo: Lincolnshire Police
Mark Gibbins is still wanted by police in connection with a sexual offences inquiry in the Boston area in July.
Officers think he may be using different names and using homeless hostels to stay hidden.
Incident reference: 20000002978
Stephen Pickering, 45
Have you seen Stephen Pickering? | Photo: Lincolnshire Police
Also known as Stephen Drury, Pickering is wanted for failing to appear in court in relation to drugs possession and traffic offences.
It is believed that Stephen could be in the Spalding area, but police have been unable to track him down for almost six months.
Incident reference: 20000391592
Abdul Bakhtar, 38
Abdul Bakhtar, 38, is wanted by police after an assault on Lincoln High Street. | Photo: Lincolnshire Police
Bakhtar is wanted in connection with an assault on Lincoln High Street, in which a man suffered serious injuries, on November 27.
Incident reference: 20000629395
Marius Dumitru, 23
Marius Dumitru, 23, is wanted for breaching bail. | Photo: Lincolnshire Police
The 23-year-old is still on the run from officers and is wanted in connection with breaching bail offences.
Incident reference: 18000548488
Sebastian Joaoa (Lucas), 34
Sebastian Joaoa is wanted in Skegness. | Photo: Lincolnshire Police
Sebastian is wanted in connection with an assault in Skegness in December.
Incident reference: 20000635835
Dominykas Vaisvilla, 33
Dominykas Vaisvilla is wanted in Boston. | Photo: Lincolnshire Police
The 33-year-old is wanted in connection with a sexual offence in the Boston area.
Incident reference: 2000364720
Idris Williams, 43
Have you seen Idris Williams, 43, in Gainsborough? | Photo: Lincolnshire Police
Williams is wanted by officers after a domestic assault and criminal damage in Gainsborough.
Incident reference: 2000423885
Cameron Hoyle, 37
Cameron Hoyle is wanted for knife possession in Lincoln. | Photo: Lincolnshire Police
Police are on the lookout for Cameron Hoyle in connection with possession of a knife in Lincoln.
Incident reference: 21000032698
Hamza El Haddad (Milo), 24
Have you seen Hamza El Haddad? | Photo: Lincolnshire Police
Wanted for breaching bail conditions which relate to possession of Class B drugs.
Incident reference: 20000686888
Kyle O’Conner, 28
Kyle O’Connor, 28, wanted in Grantham. | Photo: Lincolnshire Police
Kyle, the fifth person to reappear on the list, is wanted in connection with a theft offence from December.
Incident reference: 20000687536
If you know the whereabouts of any of these men, officers are urging you to contact them by calling 101 or emailing [email protected], quoting the relevant incident number.
With literally hundreds of restaurants offering takeaway in Lincoln, it can always be difficult to find the ideal place for a tasty meal delivered to your door during lockdown.
Pizza or burger? Chinese or Indian? McDonalds or KFC? These are the questions we all so often ask when pondering what to eat during an evening.
The Lincolnite has done the research for you, looking at food delivery services in the area to find out where customers enjoy ordering from the most in the city, based on reviews and ratings across Deliveroo, Uber Eats, Just Eat and Facebook.
Here are some of the top rated restaurants in Lincoln, in no particular order.
Cafe Shanti
One of Cafe Shanti’s many great options on the menu. | Photo: Cafe Shanti
Lincoln’s only vegan restaurant is in a league of its own on Uber Eats, as it is the only business in the city to have a maximum 5/5 rating from customers.
76 people have left a review on the Nepalese restaurant’s Uber Eats page, with perfect scores all round, and it also scored 4.5/5 from 321 Trip Advisor reviews.
As for hygiene, Cafe Shanti was last inspected on January 14, 2020, and scored a perfect five out of five for the third consecutive inspection.
Wagamama
Wagamama’s Chicken Katsu Curry.
Undeniably one of Lincoln’s most beloved eateries, Wagamama has proven to be a hit both for eat-in and takeaway since it arrived on Brayford Wharf North.
The restaurant, known for delicious Asian cuisine, has ranked as the co-leader for Deliveroo ratings, scoring 4.5/5 from over 500 customer reviews and their Katsu Chicken has been one of the most ordered items in the city.
As well as this, it has a solid 4/5 rating from 583 reviews on Trip Advisor, and three consecutive five star hygiene ratings.
Spielburger
Spielburger has seen great success since it launched. | Photo: Everyman Cinema Lincoln
Joining Wagamama on a near perfect Deliveroo score is Spielburger, from Everyman Cinema on Lincoln’s Cornhill Quarter.
Spielburger has a total score of 4.5 from over 500 Deliveroo reviews thanks to its American style cuisine, even if the price is a bit steeper than other competitors.
It also has another 4.5 rating, this time from 50 Restaurant Near Me reviews, plus a five star hygiene rating from its debut inspection in October 2020.
Burton Road Chippy
World famous fish and chips in Lincoln. | Photo: Burton Road Chippy
A much hailed and respected fish and chip shop, Burton Road Chippy is widely recognised as one of the best chip shops in the whole country.
It was forced to close due to coronavirus in 2020 but reopened with a click and collect service at a new location on Burton Road, though it hasn’t affected their rating much – scoring 4.5/5 from almost 450 Trip Advisor reviews.
As well as this, it has another 4.5/5 on Deliveroo, this time from over 500 customer ratings, and a maximum 5/5 for hygiene from a November 2020 inspection.
Tatiana’s Cake
The options are plentiful at Tatiana’s Cake.
Labelling itself as a brunch restaurant, Tatiana’s Cake on Carholme Road offers a variety of breakfast and lunch meals at a great price.
Not only does it have a huge 5.5/6 rating on JustEat from 472 reviews, it also has 4.5/5 on Deliveroo from over 500 customer scores.
Despite trading under previous names for the last three hygiene inspections, one thing has remained constant, a maximum five star score.
Bistro Polonia
Tasty European cuisine at Bistro Polonia.
Eastern European restaurant Bistro Polonia has the best of both worlds, with fast food options complimenting special gourmet recipes on their menu.
On Just Eat, it has a 5.5/6 rating from a total of 369 reviews, and it scored 4.5/5 on Trip Advisor as well, clearly striking a chord with the majority of customers.
A hygiene inspection from July 2018 shows Bistro Polonia to score five stars, an increase from three stars from 2017.
Wildwood
One of Wildwood’s famously delicious pizzas. | Photo: Wildwood Lincoln
The Italian restaurant that tells you to “look no further”, Wildwood has received rave reviews ever since it opened in Lincoln back in 2016.
It has an impressive 5.5/6 on Just Eat from 45 reviews, as well as a 4.4/5 on Deliveroo from over 500 ratings,
Wildwood has a perfect record in hygiene inspections, scoring five out of five both times it has been examined by health inspectors.
Ocean Palace Restaurant / China Garden
A tantalising seafood platter. | Photo: Ocean Palace Restaurant
The place that appears to be Lincoln’s favourite Chinese restaurant, Ocean Palace on the High Street has stellar reviews across the board.
It recovered from a poor hygiene rating in January 2018 when called Man-Ho House, and has since scored five stars in November 2018.
Ocean Palace Restaurant also has 5/6 from 118 Just Eat reviews and 4.5/5 from 305 Deliveroo reviews.
Three times as many Lincolnshire businesses fear future COVID lockdown measures more than the impact of Brexit, according to new research by a local law firm.
Lincoln-based Langleys Solicitors conducted the research of 250 UK business owners and directors for its ‘Back to Business’ report that will be published this month.
With the nation currently in lockdown due to coronavirus, survey participants were asked to score a variety of business challenges from one to 10 (lowest to highest concern).
Business in Lincolnshire scored the future threat of pandemic measures at 7.2 out of 10 compared to 6.9 for Brexit.
Concern for future pandemic restrictions was scored 10 by twice as many business owners and directors than Brexit – 18.2% compared to 9.1% – despite support measures such as the extended furlough scheme.
Senior leaders felt that the coronavirus crisis presented a bigger task in the next five years of business than increased regulation (6.6), the challenge of exporting (5.9) and increased competition (6.2).
Some 64% of respondents in Lincolnshire said that a prolonged second and third wave, and subsequent lockdown, is a larger risk to their businesses than Brexit in the next 12 months.
Some 41% of the survey respondents in the area are considering redundancies, while 27% now have fewer staff than pre-lockdown.
The research also found that 55% of businesses in the area have experienced decreased customer demand due to coronavirus and lockdown restrictions.
It is therefore unsurprisingly to see that 68% of businesses in the county have had to change their business model as a result of the pandemic and lockdown restrictions. This is higher than the national average of 58%.
Nationally, 20% of businesses reported future pandemic measures as their biggest challenge rather than 7% who said Brexit.
Tim Cross, managing partner at Langleys Solicitors said: “Brexit and coronavirus made 2020 a very difficult year for businesses and their owners and, as lockdowns continue to tighten, businesses under tier 3 and 4 regulations could be facing their worst fears once again.
“Business owners and leaders in Lincolnshire have reported disproportional troubles, with more businesses in the area facing decreased customer demands and business models changes than the national average.
“Sadly, 41% of our survey respondents in the area are considering redundancies and the news of a new virus strain and the introduction of stricter tiered measures are likely to turn these considerations into difficult decisions for business owners.”
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