Surgery saves pesky puppy who ate owner’s sewing kit

A clay pigeon shooter from Lincolnshire is taking to the Olympic stage in Japan today, hoping to fire his way to a medal.

Aaron Heading, from Sutton Bridge, has begun the first of two days of qualifiers in the men’s trap shooting.

The Lincolnshire coastguard volunteer faces the first three rounds today, with the last two tomorrow, before finding out if he has made the final.

So far, Aaron has had a tough time and it is looking unlikely that he will qualify – unless lots of results go in his favour tomorrow.

Aaron was selected as one of the first four shooters to represent Team GB at the rescheduled Tokyo 2020/1 Olympic Games.

He is no stranger to competitive international shooting competitions, but this is his first Olympic Games.

Aaron is a four-time World Cup medallist and four-time Commonwealth Games medallist, including Gold in Delhi in 2010. In 2018, he achieved the World number one spot in Olympic Trap.

The following year he won a bronze medal at the European Games in Minsk in 2019.

It is a particularly great story for Aaron who had considered retiring after being involved in a serious crash.

Just weeks after winning Commonwealth silver at Glasgow 2014, Aaron crashed his motorbike and nearly lost his leg. He was in hospital for nearly two-and-a-half weeks and in a wheelchair for two months.

He initially looked at retiring and later became a volunteer with the Sutton Bridge Coastguard, where he still works, covering the marshes and seaways of South Lincolnshire.

Friends, family and staff from The Crown & Arrows pub in Lincoln will embark on a charity walk in memory of its popular manager who sadly died last summer.

Jeff Davis, 26, was the general manager at the The Crown & Arrows on Moorland Avenue and had been working at the Hungry Horse pub since 2017.

Tributes poured in for Jeff, who died in the pub just before 4pm on August 16 last year and police said at the time that his death was not suspicious.

Mental health charity mind was close to Jeff’s heart and he also loved to walk to Lincoln Cathedral, so a fundraising event has been set up in his memory. Sponsor forms can be collected from the pub or donations can be made online here.

A group of around 40 friends, family and colleagues, including the pub’s assistant manager Danielle Martin, will walk between The Crown & Arrows at Lincoln Cathedral, from 1pm on August 22.

RIP Jeff Davis.

Danielle, who organised the fundraising event, told The Lincolnite: “It is coming up to the one year anniversary of his death and we wanted to something special in his memory. There are currently around 40 of us doing it – staff, friends and family. Jeff’s dog Buddy is also taking part.

“We will walk from the pub to the High Street and Cathedral, and back again, with collection buckets on the day to raise money for Mind, a charity Jeff was fond of.

“He was always cracking jokes, he was the life of the party and a happy chappy. He was very popular and had a lot of friends.”

A close friend paid tribute to Jeff on The Lincolnite’s Facebook page shortly after his death, calling him a “true legend” that will be “greatly missed”.

Donate to the fundraiser here

The government has backed plans to draw up a possible electric road system, or e-highway, near Scunthorpe, capable of powering electric lorries.

Some £2 million has been released to design the scheme, which, if approved and funded, would see electric cables installed above a 20km stretch of the M180 near Scunthorpe.

If designs are accepted, the electric trucks could be on the road by 2024, the Department for Transport announced on Tuesday.

It is part of a £20 million series of studies to accelerate the rollout of zero-emission road freight. The trials are funded by the Department for Transport and delivered by Innovate UK.

The ‘Electric Road System’ feasibility study, led by Costain Ltd with a consortium including Scania and Siemens Mobility, proposes to supply battery-electric trucks with electricity from overhead catenaries via a pantograph (similar to those used by trains and trams), enabling HGVs to charge dynamically.

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said: “Through our bold and ambitious transport decarbonisation plan, we’re leading the way in the transition to zero emission vehicles by becoming the first country in the world to commit to ending the sale of all new fossil-fuelled road vehicles by 2040, subject to consultation.

“From Doncaster to Scotland, by working in partnership with industry, this funding will allow us to better  understand the role of zero emission HGVs while levelling up the industry  and boosting regional economies.”

Plans to reduce carbon emissions to net zero in Britain by 2050 will see new diesel and petrol lorries banned by 2040, a pledge that has put pressure on lorry companies to tackle the difficult challenge of decarbonising road freight.

Other studies successful in their funding bids, and competing with the Scunthorpe proposal for final government funding, include hydrogen fuel call trucks and battery electric lorries.