A new fleet of electric mopeds that can be rented at an ‘affordable’ price have been rolled out across North Lincolnshire to make commuting to work easier for residents.
North Lincolnshire Council has bought the 18 new green mopeds to add to its current fleet of ten, alongside five petrol mopeds that were already part of a Wheels 2 Work scheme launched in 2012.
The current scooters have clocked up almost 16,000 miles, allowing residents easier access to the workplace or college at an ‘affordable’ price.
They can be rented for as little as £60 a month, a payment that also includes full tax and servicing, compulsory training, comprehensive insurance and breakdown cover, a security lock, helmet, gloves and a high-vis vest.
The scheme covers the whole of North Lincolnshire, currently helping people in places such as Thealby, Barton and Barnetby among others.
An unveiling of the new scooters saw the MPs for Scunthorpe and Brigg & Goole, Holly Mumby-Croft and Andrew Percy, attend along with a number of North Lincolnshire councillors.
Scunthorpe MP Holly-Mumby Croft said: “It was brilliant to go along with my neighbouring MP Andrew Percy and have a look at the new mopeds that North Lincs Council are rolling out. The clean, green and affordable mopeds can be rented by eligible North Lincs residents to help them get to work or college.
“This is a really great scheme. Being unable to get about can be one of the biggest barriers, especially for younger people. Don’t worry I didn’t ride off without a helmet!”
Councillor Rob Waltham, Leader of North Lincolnshire Council, said: “Many people are passionate about the environment and the new electric mopeds will allow them to get to the places they need and at the same time reduce their carbon footprint.
“This is a fantastic scheme which is helping lots of people get into work, to earn some money of their own, and start a meaningful and fruitful career.”
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Nominations are open for schools and education settings to be recognised in the 2022 Lincolnshire Education Excellence Awards.
The event is organised by Stonebow Media, publishers of The Lincolnite, to celebrate the best school and teachers in Greater Lincolnshire.
The headline sponsors making the awards possible are Lincoln College Group.
Twelve categories are now open for nominations. The deadline for nominations is June 3, with a judging lunch scheduled for June 7.
Nominations are open from parents, carers, friends, families or education settings themselves, so if you know someone who deserving of winning now is the time to vote!
The awards ceremony will be held at the Engine Shed on July 7.
It’s been a week since the controversial statue of Margaret Thatcher was installed in Grantham’s St Peter’s Hill.
The £300,000 bronze monument immediately caused a stir and debate from both supporters and opponents of the first female Prime Minister of the UK.
Within hours of its 7am installation last Sunday, it had already been egged by a man later revealed to be 59-year-old Jeremy Webster, a deputy director at the Attenborough Arts Centre at the University of Leicester.
Mr Webster’s mother-in-law recently described his actions as “childish”.
Quoted in the MailOnline she said: “Margaret Thatcher lasted a long time in power. She was a trailblazer as the first woman prime minister and she had such energy, even though I know she slept very little.
“I’m very surprised to hear about all of this [egg throwing]. I’m going to have to call my daughter. I wouldn’t have thought Jeremy would be the sort of person to do this. It seems very childish to me – he has a responsible job.”
There have been reports of other antisocial behaviour taking place including people urinating up the statue, but investigations into these are yet to be confirmed by officials.
Away from the statue itself, others took to social media to react to the new monument.
Twitterer @BolsoverBeast thought Mr Webster’s actions should be expanded as a way to… get more people involved?
I think it would be a good idea to put Thatcher’s statue on a low loader and tow it slowly around the country so that we all have a chance to throw something at it. pic.twitter.com/uftMqr0LgR
— Chloe Schlosberg (@ChloeSchlosberg) May 19, 2022
Some called back to the fate of other statues
@Irritatedllama called back to the fate of slave trader Edward Colston who was thrown into the Bristol Harby in June 2020.
It's absolutely disgraceful that people are throwing eggs at the Margaret Thatcher statue in Grantham! We need to deploy a taskforce to give it jolly good wash!#Granthampic.twitter.com/RKftKUls4u
It wasn’t long before a parody account of the statue was set up on Twitter – nor before “she” was interacting with other parody accounts.
It was awful. I could see almost all of Grantham
— That Statue of Thatcher (@thatcher_statue) May 18, 2022
A… positive view?
There were supporters of the statue, however, Darren Grimes from GBNews was one of the few popular posts calling on people not to “give in to threats of petty vandalism”. He later posted the statue should be in parliament – where it was previously rejected from.
I honestly think Margaret Thatcher would have found this first round of petty vandalism of her statue to be utterly hilarious.
The statue looks absolutely glorious.
Almost a decade on from her passing, she’s still winding them up!
Some, like @Jonnyhibberd were more measured in their response.
I don't see a problem with a Thatcher statue and I also don't see a problem with people throwing eggs at it. Thatcher is an important part of our history, and so is what a lot of people thought about her.
— Jonathan Hibberd 🇺🇦 (@Jonnyhibberd) May 18, 2022