Lincolnshire Fire & Rescue

A couple on a boating trip in Lincoln helped to rescue a struggling and freezing cold dog from Brayford Pool at the weekend.

A crew from Saxilby and a water rescue team from Gainsborough Fire Station attended reports of a dog, believed to be a Terrier, in the water on Saturday, May 15.

Esli Richards and his fiancée Victoria Hayes were visiting Lincoln from Northampton for the weekend, staying in one of the Sealine yachts at Burton Waters Boat Sales.

The couple decided to hire ‘The Imp’ boat on Saturday, which was named by The Lincolnite readers in March, and they decided to stop for lunch at the The Pyewipe Inn.

They were going to turn around and go back, but decided to venture on and are glad they did. As they got close to Wagamama at around 2pm they noticed something in the middle of the water that was moving and soon realised it was a dog.

Lincolnshire Fire & Rescue, police and a water rescue team were on the bank so Esli and Victoria offered to take them across on the boat.

A man from Lincolnshire Fire & Rescue went on the boat with them and managed to hook the boat onto the nearby shrubs before jumping across. He untangled the dog, whose lead was caught in the shrubs and debris in the water.

The dog was taken back ashore and the emergency services/rescue team took her away to be checked over and to try and trace the owners.

Esli told The Lincolnite: “We feel really happy as we’ve got dogs ourselves and wanted to help. After stopping at the pub, we then got into Lincoln and were going to turn around, but we kept going and are glad we did.

“It was our first visit to Lincoln and we’ll definitely come back again. The people are lovely and Burton Waters (Boat Sales) are fabulous.”

This wasn’t the only animal rescue in Lincoln over the weekend as a horse and deer were also saved, while Lincolnshire Fire & Rescue and the RSPCA also helped a pigeon in Boston.

A horse, a dog and a deer were rescued from the water during a busy weekend for Lincolnshire Fire & Rescue, who also saved a stuck pigeon.

A crew from Saxilby and water rescue team from Gainsborough Fire Station attended Brayford Pool on Saturday, May 15 to reports of a dog in the water. A passing boat took the crew out to the island, who rescued the dog that fortunately was uninjured.

On the same day a horse, named Luna, was found stuck in the river at Rivermead in North Hykeham. She was rescued using lines and stropes.

The horse was checked over by a vet and was uninjured. The other horses are now safely back in the field.

Luna’s owner Tegan Harteveld told The Lincolnite that someone had trespassed in the nearby field and opened the gate, meaning over 10 horses got out with her beloved animal ending up in the river.

The vet was called immediately, who sedated Luna and Tegan believes the next couple of days will be crucial due to the adrenaline wearing off.

She said: “You hear stories of horses ending up in ditches and rivers, but you never expect the phone call to be about your own animal.

“The next thing most owners think, myself included, is how they got out. When I found out it was by a person/people, I was angry and very upset.

“This could have been avoided at all costs. They had no right to be in that field, it’s private land. Now my horse and myself are paying the price for someone’s stupidity and ignorance.

“I’m just relieved that the amazing fire brigade managed to pull her out and she was the only one in. If there had been multiple horses, I doubt the outcome would have been a success.”

On the same day, crews help a deer stuck in the Fossdyke Canal. The deer was rescued from the water by crews and released back into the wild.

Lincolnshire Fire & Rescue also helped the RSPCA rescue a poor pigeon in Boston on Sunday, May 16.

https://twitter.com/LincsFireRescue/status/1393830853701156865

The pigeon had some string around its feet and had got caught on a derelict building. The bird was untangled and happily flew on his way.

Update: The fire investigation is now complete and at this time the cause is thought to be an electrical fault inside the building.

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A fire investigation has been launched after five crews tackled a blaze at a bingo hall in Spalding.

Lincolnshire Fire & Rescue were called to a fire at Regent Bingo Hall on Westlode Street at 3.21am on May 14 and appliances were still at the scene after midday. However, the cause of the fire is not yet known.

A spokesperson for Lincolnshire Fire & Rescue said there was significant damage to the inside of the building. They added that a fire investigation is ongoing in liaison with the management of the building.

The damage is extensive enough that Regent Bingo Hall will not be able to reopen as planned on May 17.

Crews from Spalding, Bourne and Donington used breathing apparatus and hose reels to extinguish the fire, while local residents were advised to keep doors and windows closed.

Initially five appliances attended, but that was later scaled down to two – one from Spalding and one from Bourne who were damping down.

A spokesperson for Lincolnshire Police said: “At 2.51am today (Friday) we received a report of a fire at a hall in Westlode Street, Spalding. We do not believe anyone has been injured and Fire and Rescue remain at the scene.”

Lincolnshire County Council’s highways team had closed the road at around 5am after a request from emergency services and set up a local diversion route. The road has since reopened.

The Lincolnite tried to contact Regent Bingo Hall, but it was continuously engaged.