Flowers and tributes to Lincoln murder victim Sam Davies

A Cleethorpes mum has praised firefighters and a quick-thinking neighbour after her daughter’s car was engulfed by flames in front of her home.

Andrea Barker, who lives on Queen Mary Avenue, had been watching television on the evening of Tuesday, December 7, unaware of the developing blaze, when her neighbour knocked on the door.

Once alerted to the fire, and while awaiting the arrival of emergency services, Andrea’s living room window was soon aglow with frightening eight-foot flames.

“I was really surprised as the car hadn’t moved all day,” Andrea told The Lincolnite.

“I checked CCTV and nothing untoward had happened so firemen said was an electrical fault.”

Unfortunately, her daughter’s car could not be saved. It’s believed the blaze was caused by an electrical fault. | Photo: Andrea Barker

Sadly, Andrea’s 19-year-old daughter’s car was a write-off, and the bay windows of the house suffered heat damage. However, the family are counting themselves lucky.

Andrea shared a message to the fire service and her neighbour.

“I’d like to thank them for there speedy arrival and the reassurance given. Great men.

“Next door, Andy, was great. He alerted me and has been very helpful afterwards with regards to insurance.”

British Cycling has announced its calendar of events for the 2022 National Road Series, including the popular Lincoln Grand Prix.

The Lincoln Grand Prix will be opening the season on Sunday, May 8 for both the women’s and men’s National Road Race categories, after being the last leg of the 2021 season this October.

It is a welcome relief to see the Lincoln Grand Prix taking place once again, after the event was sent into disarray by the coronavirus pandemic, prompting the 2020 race to be cancelled.

In the 2021 Lincoln race, Ben Swift retained his national title in the mens event and Pfeiffer Georgi won the elite women’s race. See the weekend in pictures here.

Ben Swift (centre) won the men’s elite race with Fred Wright (left) and Ethan Hayter (right) finishing second and third respectively. | Photo: Steve Smailes for The Lincolnite

The 2022 season will be contested over eight rounds for the women and seven for the men, including a first national series event for women at the Isle of Man.

Equal prize money will be on offer in both the men’s and women’s series, as has been the case since 2017. More details on the 2022 championships will be published in due course.

| Photo: Steve Smailes for The Lincolnite

British Cycling Head of Sport and Major Events, Jonathan Day, said: “I’m really pleased to publish the 2022 road and circuit calendars today, and want to express our deepest thanks to the event organisers for their ongoing support through what has been a really challenging period for the sport.

“It’s brilliant news that we’re able to welcome back a number of races which haven’t been able to take place in the past two seasons, including some mainstays of the calendar, and we’re determined to give our teams and riders the best possible platform to develop and grow from.”

The coronavirus pandemic has made people more appreciative of Christmas traditions, but also more weary of leaving the house for festivities, a study has found.

Research by Save the Children found that of 2,000 adults that took part, 53% believe the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic has made them value Christmas traditions more than they realised.

Among the top traditions were, of course, watching festive films, giving and receiving presents and putting decorations up, but the standout leader was, naturally, eating Christmas dinner.

However, traditions such as going to a pantomime, shopping in-store and going out for drinks on Christmas Eve made Brits feel more uncomfortable than pre-pandemic times, according to this study.

It was also discovered that 41% of people believe the traditions they follow each year have changed over time, while 35% have adapted to be less materialistic, and 32% have altered for the sake of their children.

The study was commissioned to celebrate the tenth annual Christmas Jumper Day, taking place on Friday, December 10, which encourages everyone to wear a festive jumper and donate money to Save the Children and help disadvantaged kids across the globe.

To sign up for Christmas Jumper Day and register for an online fundraising pack, visit the Save the Children website.

Francesca Savage, Head of Christmas at Save The Children, said: “For many of us, the traditions we take part in at Christmas are what make the festive period something we look forward to.  

“However, COVID-19 has meant that we’ve had to adapt and in doing so, people have swapped materialistic traditions for ones that bring joy to their children. 

“Whatever happens this year, we hope that the nation will join us in one of their top twenty beloved traditions of wearing a Christmas Jumper Day this Friday.  

“The  bolder and  brighter,  the better, to raise vital funds to help support Save the Children’s work in the UK and across the world.”

The British public’s favourite Christmas traditions, according to the Save the Children study, are:

1. Christmas dinner
2. Giving and receiving presents
3. Putting the Christmas tree up
4. Eating with the family on Christmas Day
5. Putting up decorations
6. Watching traditional festive films
7. Eating turkey
8. Listening to Christmas songs on the radio
9. Sending Christmas cards
10. Getting an advent calendar