Lincolnshire Police has launched a #OnePunchCanKill campaign to raise awareness of the devastating impact one punch can have after three assaults last year saw two men sadly die and another left with brain damage.
Luke Templeman struck Danny Maguire, 34, in the face in a pub beer garden in Grantham on February 28 last year with such force that the victim fell hitting his head on the ground.
Maguire was standing with his arms by his side and posing no threat to Templeman when he was struck, never regained consciousness and later passed away in hospital on March 6. Templeman was sentenced to four years and eight months in jail after admitting to the manslaughter of Mr Maguire.
Danny Maguire, 34, died following an incident on February 28. Photo: JustGiving
Danny’s sister Melanie Spate, who is from Nottinghamshire, has bravely chosen to support police’s new campaign and said: “What can start out as a fun night drinking with friends can easily turn into a nightmare that can ruin so many lives. Please, if you ever face confrontation be the better person and walk away.”
Gediminas Vaitkus died after a one punch assault in Red Lion Street in Boston on July 28, 2020. Hikmet Maez, 19, pleaded guilty to the charge of manslaughter and was sentenced to three years in prison.
Mark Hatcher, 47, was rushed to hospital after an assault in the street near the Black Bull in Donington on January 4 last year. He was left with brain damage and in a coma. Paul Hayes, 47, of Donington, was jailed for three years.
These men were all jailed for one punch assaults in Lincolnshire. Left to right – Luke Templeman, Hikmet Maez, and Paul Hayes. | Photo: Lincolnshire Police
As part of the force’s ongoing work to reduce violent crime, Lincolnshire Police is working with registered charity OnePunchUK to raise awareness of the devastation that a one punch assault can have on the victim and their families.
OnePunchUK was founded by Maxine Thompson-Curl whose son Kristian was tragically killed following a one punch attack while on a night in Consett, County Durham. Kristian, aged 19, was in a coma for more than a week and survived for 10 months but died in 2011.
One punch could shatter your world. | Photo: Lincolnshire Police
Melanie Spate statement in full
“My brother, Danny Maguire went out after work for a drink on Friday 28th February 2020. He had a heated discussion with a man in a pub beer garden later on that evening.
“The man walked away and then turned around and decided to punch my brother in the face. My brother fell back, hit his head and was knocked unconscious. He never woke up again. A week later he died in hospital from his injuries.
“My family and I spent every day at the hospital with him hoping and praying he would survive. It has absolutely broken us as a family.
“Our parents could not cope with being there whilst his machines, that were keeping him alive, were turned off.
“I sat and held my brother’s hand while his life support was turned off and he took his last breaths. I do not wish that on anyone. My husband came with me and witnessed me walk out the room and collapse on the floor whilst screaming like an animal in pain. I wish he hadn’t had to see that.
“I am so proud of my brother as he was an organ donor. His death meant he was able to help three men by donating both his kidneys and his heart.
“My brother has a nine-year-old son who now has to live his life without his Daddy. I have a six-year-old son who absolutely adored his Uncle and struggled to comprehend why he could no longer see him. I have laid in bed at night with my son while he has been sobbing asking if his Uncle can come back from heaven. He is scared that his Mummy or Daddy might die and leave him.
“My parents are broken. They cannot bear to talk about anything that has happened. My Mum is heartbroken. I witness her on a regular basis falling apart because she has lost her boy. My grief has been bubbling under the surface since it happened.
“I have had to stay strong for my son, my nephew and my parents. Now, over a year later it is hitting me again. I genuinely do not know how my family, or I will ever be the same again. I have experienced loss in my life, but nothing prepares you for losing a love one in this way. A senseless act that has left a young boy without his Daddy and for what? I urge people to think about how their actions can change people’s lives in seconds.
“What can start out as a fun night drinking with friends can easily turn into a nightmare that can ruin so many lives. Please, if you ever face confrontation be the better person and walk away.”
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People were in happy festive spirits on the second day of the Lincoln Christmas Market and told The Lincolnite they were delighted to see the event back after a year off.
Lincoln Christmas Market was postponed in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic, but it returned this year on Thursday, December 2 and will run until Sunday, December 5.
The 38th Lincoln Christmas Market festive has over 150 stalls and fun for all the family, including a fun fair and big wheel offering spectacular views of Lincoln – see the full list of stalls here.
The Edwards family travel from Leicestershire every year to attend the Lincoln Christmas Market. | Photo: Joseph Verney for The Lincolnite
The Lincolnite went to speak to locals and visitors who attended the second day of this year’s Lincoln Christmas Market, including the Canners, the Higgins, the Hawes, and Hewes families who have been at the event several times before, while the Cussans family were visiting for the first time.
It was also great to see such a variety of stalls and the welcome return of iconic Lincoln Christmas Market treats, such as Bratwurst and Mulled Wine.
Ben Smith and Courtney Gregory from German Swing Grill, which sells the iconic Christmas Market treat Bratwurst. | Photo: Joseph Verney for The Lincolnite
Neil Martin and John Giles from Steep Hill Wines are selling mulled wine and spiced cider at the Lincoln Christmas Market. | Photo: Joseph Verney for The Lincolnite
PCs Kirkwood and Dady patrolling the Christmas Market to ensure everyone remains safe. | Photo: Joseph Verney for The Lincolnite
Scunthorpe-born television heart-throb Jake Quickenden believes the next few weeks could be “make or break” for many smaller venues due to the impact the coronavirus pandemic has had on the industry.
Panto was unable to go ahead in 2020 due to the pandemic, so it will be a welcome return when The Beauty & The Beast takes centre stage at the New Theatre Royal Lincoln between December 7, 2021 and January, 9, 2022.
Jake plays the part of baddie Flash Hugo and he joins the largest ever cast for Lincoln’s longest running traditional pantomime. Zoe Hanna May from ITV’s The Voice will play the lead role of Belle.
Jake told BBC Look North: “Everything means a lot to them, every show they need to sell so they can keep it open. Just look around, it’s beautiful, you just would not want it to shut down and anything happen to it so it is make or break.”
He added: “I’ve done alright for myself, I’ve come through it and I perform now which I’m so grateful for, but if I hadn’t taken that step into the arts I don’t know what I would be doing, I’d probably still be working at the steelworks as a brickie like I was before.
“We’ve got to think about the younger generation they’re the ones that need levelling up because there the ones that are going to be growing up in Scunthorpe and hopefully having these opportunities.”
Natalie Hayes-Cowley (left), the theatre’s Artistic Director and the show’s producer with three leading cast members – James de Lauch Hay, Jake Quickenden and Zoe Hanna May. | Photo: Steve Smailes for The Lincolnite
Natalie Hayes-Cowley, the theatre’s Artistic Director, said: “We just navigate it the best we can, even now all we can do is follow government guidelines and just hope that throughout the pantomime run things keep going in the right direction and not backwards, because that would be detrimental for us definitely.”
In upcoming Beauty & The Beast panto, CBBC’s ‘Yonko’ Chris Johnson will play Belle’s father Professor Ivar Brainstorm, while Britain’s Got Talent finalist Christian Lee will play Marcel Allumette, the quirky candelabra.
Strengthening the cast further are Lincoln’s own Chris Hayes, Paul Aitchison, and Georgia Hayes-Cowley, who will star as Humphrey Battenburg, Mary Muffintop and Mindy Singit respectively.
Camilia O’Grady, Vanessa Dumatey and Laura Wenton will be making their New Theatre Royal Lincoln debuts starring as Serenity Rose/Gigi Vavaoo, Cindy Singit and Lindy Singit respectively. The role of Carrie Cupcake will be shared by Ruby Grayson and Kyla Hurdley.
The death of a Red Arrows engineer who lost his life after a jet burst into flames could have been avoided, according to the coroner investigating the incident.
Corporal Jonathan Bayliss, 41, from Ingham in Lincolnshire, lost his life on March 21, 2018, when a Hawk T1 aircraft he was in the rear seat of crashed on the runway at RAF Valley in Anglesey.
A coroner’s inquest into Bayliss’ death found that he died from smoke inhalation and a low grade head injury, as the pilot on board, Flight Lieutenant David Stark, survived after ejecting moments before the plane hit the ground.
Coroner Katie Sutherland rejected calls from Bayliss’ family for a conclusion of unlawful killing, and instead said she would send a report to the Ministry of Defence to draw up steps to be taken in order for future deaths to be prevented.
Flight Lieutenant David Stark joined the Red Arrows in 2017. Photo: Steve Smailes for The Lincolnite
A Defence Safety Authority Service inquiry has resulted in 25 recommendations being made for future incidents, highlighting shortcomings in training for ejection procedures at the time.
In a report published by the DSAS, the Service Inquiry Panel said that the jet departed from the RAF Valley with the intention of simulating an engine failure in a training exercise.
It was then supposed to fly to RAF Scampton in Lincolnshire, but during the training manoeuvre, the plane stalled and crashed near the runway, as it was flying too low to recover.
The wreckage lay covered in what looked like red tarpaulin was surrounded by firefighters that afternoon. Photo: David Robert Jones
Ms Sutherland stated that the evidence suggested the crash could have been avoided, and the MoD breached its duty, but not enough to reach a conclusion of corporate manslaughter.
As well as this, it was discovered that surviving pilot David Stark did not breach his duty of care during the incident, and he was carrying out a practised engine failure on take off at the time.
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