A former Harrogate headteacher repeatedly denied in court making more than 3,000 indecent images of children.

Matthew Shillito, 42, pleaded not guilty to making 20 Category B images and 3,829 Category C images between December 3, 2012 and December 31, 2015.

Mr Shillito was appointed headteacher of Western Primary School in 2019.

He was previously headteacher across the Goldsborough Sicklinghall Federation of schools.

None of the alleged offences related to his employment.

During the case, “making” was defined as knowingly accessing a site that contained an indecent image.

The court was told that there was no evidence that Mr Shillito downloaded the alleged material onto his laptop.

The prosecution opened proceedings at Harrogate Magistrates Court yesterday and said the alleged indecent images were found on the cache in Mr Shillito’s computer, which could have only have got there had he accessed sites with those images.

Philip Morris, prosecuting, said there were “indicative” terms found on Mr Shillito’s laptop which showed intent to access the alleged images.

Searches were ‘legitimate’

However, Kevin Blount, defence, told the court that while the terms found on the computers may have been indicative, they were “not conclusive” as they could also bring up legitimate results.

Mr Blount said that a Russian image website named in court, which was accessed on Mr Shillito’s Dell laptop, contained legitimate images, such as travel pictures, as well as illegal ones.

He added that cached images could have been stored on the laptop from parts of a web page which Mr Shillito did not look at.

Addressing the search terms found on the laptop, Mr Blount said that the terms could bring up “legitimate images”.

He pointed to terms such as “Nabokov Lolita”, which he said could have been a legitimate search for the 1955 novel by Vladimir Nabokov.

He said:

“All of those search terms are capable of bringing back legitimate material.”

Cross examination

During cross examination of Mr Shillito, Mr Blount asked him whether he had visited the named Russian site.

Mr Shillito said:

“I visited it a lot. It was just that it was a website full of photographs.

“It was a moderated site. It was a site that had rules.”

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Mr Shillito told the court that he used the site to look for images he was interested in, such as travel after visiting Croatia in 2011. He said he had also used it for teaching material.

He told the court that while the website was Russian, it was loaded in English and was recommended by technology companies such as Apple as a site to use.

When asked by District Judge Lower if he had seen any indecent images of children, Mr Shillito replied “no”.

He repeatedly denied under cross examination that he had made the alleged indecent images of children.

Summaries of four police interviews with Mr Shillito were also read out in court where he denied the allegations.

iPad disposed

Prosecutor Morris asked Mr Shillito about an iPad mini, which was not recovered by police but a backup was found on a silver MacBook Pro.

Mr Shillito confirmed that he had disposed of the iPad because it was “not updating” and had a crack down the screen. He added that he threw it out during a clear out of his address.

Mr Morris put it to Mr Shillito that he had thrown the iPad out two days before police arrived to arrest him because “he was rumbled”. He denied this and said he was he was not aware that police were coming to his address.

When asked about the number of times he visited pages which were “indicative” of the alleged indecent images, Mr Shillito said he “could not imagine” visiting some of them.

Mr Morris told the court that it was “not just one” occasion that the defendant visited the site.

He said:

“In some cases, you have visited not just once or twice but 30 times.”

The trial was adjourned until August 10.

Motorists face six weeks of delays on Harrogate’s Grove Road from Monday due to gas works.

Work is being carried out by Northern Gas Networks to replace ageing pipework with plastic pipes.

Temporary three-way traffic lights will be in place at the junction of Grove Road and Skipton Road from July 25 for two weeks.

These will then become two-way lights for four weeks as work progresses.

Parking will also be restricted along Grove Road while work is carried out.

Northern Gas Networks said in a statement that although most work will be carried out on the road, engineers will need access to customer properties to complete the project and ensure the continued safe and reliable supply of gas.

Russ Kaye, business operations lead for Northern Gas Networks, said: 

“We would like to apologise in advance for any inconvenience caused during these essential works. However, it is vital we complete them in order to continue to maintain a safe and reliable gas supply to the residents of Harrogate.

“We want to assure residents and road users that we will be working hard to complete this essential scheme as safely and as quickly as possible.”

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The Red Arrows have postponed their Harrogate district fly over until tomorrow.

The RAF aerobatic team was due to fly from their base at RAF Scampton in Lincolnshire to Prestwick today.

According to a military airshow website, the Red Arrows were due to fly over north west of the district this afternoon at 3.36pm and also pass York and Morecambe Bay as part of the fly over.

The times and route were weather dependant and the site later said the fly over had been postponed by 24 hours.

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A former Harrogate headteacher repeatedly visited a website which was “indicative” of alleged indecent images of children, a court heard today.

Matthew Shillito, 42, denies making 20 Category B images and 3,829 Category C images between December 3, 2012 and December 31, 2015.

Mr Shillito, of Gordon Avenue, Harrogate, was appointed headteacher of Western Primary School in 2019.

He was previously headteacher across the Goldsborough Sicklinghall Federation of schools.

None of the alleged offences related to his employment.

Mr Shillito appeared for trial at Harrogate Magistrates Court today.

Philip Morris, prosecuting, told the court that the indecent images were found on the cache in Mr Shillito’s computer, which could have only have got there had he accessed sites with those images.

He said:

“It is the prosecution’s case that those images found as they were on the computer cache were present as a result of the user of the computer accessing indicative content on the internet.”

Police seize computers

Police arrested Mr Shillito and seized two computers at his address on January 4, 2020.

Officers recovered a Dell laptop and a MacBook Pro, which contained a back up from an iPad mini which was not found.

Giving evidence to the court, Zoe Warboys, a digital forensic investigation officer at North Yorkshire Police, said that while the defendant may not have been aware of the cache, he could have only got them by accessing the material.

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A Russian website named in court was frequently accessed on the Dell laptop, which Ms Warboys told the court was a site which contained indecent images of children.

The site is public and allows users to upload albums of images which others can view.

The court heard how the site was frequently visited on February 26, 2011.

Mr Morris told the court that Shillito visited some of the pages which were “indicative” of possibly including indecent images 30 times.

Meanwhile the defendant’s MacBook contained a backup from an iPad mini, which the court heard was not recovered by police during the raid.

Mr Morris said the backup included search terms which were “indicative” of indecent images of children.

A number of Google search terms were also presented to the court, which the prosecution argued demonstrated an intent from the defendant to access the alleged images.

Denies allegations

There was no evidence that Mr Shillito downloaded the alleged images onto his desktop, the court heard.

Mr Shillito repeatedly denied to the court that he had knowingly accessed indecent images of children.

Kevin Blount, defence, said that while the terms found on the computers may have been indicative, they were “not conclusive” as they could also bring up legitimate results.

The court heard how Mr Shillito had also repeatedly denied accessing the alleged images during police interview.

The trial continues.

Traffic is moving as normal in the Harrogate district this morning.

However, some roadworks remain in place in areas.

Here is your Stray Ferret traffic update.

Roads

Drivers should expect the usual traffic on Wetherby Road and Skipton Road this morning during the rush hour.

Temporary lights on Ripon’s Clotherholme Road are now in place as Northern Gas Networks carries out replacement work to gas pipes in the area.

The lights will remain in place for seven weeks.

Meanwhile, long term roadworks are in place on Station Road in Goldsborough. The road will be closed until September 19, 2022, as Stonebridge Homes installs a foul water and surface water pipes to connect to the sewer system.

A diversion route is in place in the village.

Trains and buses

Northern services between Harrogate and Knaresborough going to York and Leeds are scheduled to run as normal this morning.

Meanwhile, the Harrogate Bus Company is reporting cancellations on the 1, 1A, 1B, 1C and the 1D this morning.

You can find out more information on the disruption here.

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Council officials have said a contractor to build the second phase of the Otley Road cycle route in Harrogate is expected to be appointed in the autumn.

But it is still unclear when work on the project will start.

The first phase of the route, which runs from Harlow Moor Road to Cold Bath Road, was completed in January.

However, residents raised concerns over its design and the length of time it took to complete the project.

As a result, county council officials delayed progress on the second phase to review its designs.

The Stray Ferret asked North Yorkshire County Council when the next phase of the route will be built and whether a contractor had been procured.

Melissa Burnham, highway area manager at the county council, said:

“Final detailed designs for phase two of the Otley Road cycle route are due to be approved within the next few weeks, with the contract expected to go out to tender during August.

“It is expected the contract will be awarded to the successful provider during the autumn.”

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However, she did not respond to another question enquiring when construction is expected to start.

Council officials had previously set that procurement for a contractor would begin in June.

The second phase of the cycle lane will run from Arthurs Avenue to Beech Grove.

Costs have yet to be revealed for the next section of the route, but Hull-based PBS Construction was awarded a contract worth £827,000 for the first phase.

The third and final phase of the scheme, which will run from Harlow Moor Road to Cardale Park, is expected to be funded via contributions from housing developers.

EnviroVent has extended its stadium sponsorship of Harrogate Town for another two seasons.

The deal will see the company sponsor the Wetherby Road ground until 2023/24.

It will also see EnviroVent work with the Harrogate Town Community Foundation to teach children about climate change as part of the club’s environment programme.

Iain Service, head of foundation for Harrogate Town AFC Community Foundation: 

“We are absolutely thrilled that EnviroVent will be helping the community foundation to deliver our new environmental sustainability projects.

“Activities, workshops and campaigns will highlight the importance of climate change, recycling and other ways in which we can do our bit to safeguard our planet for future generations.”

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The Harrogate-based company manufactures ventilations for house builders and employs more than 250 people at its manufacturing plant, training suite and head office on Hornbeam Park.

EnviroVent is due to move to a new state of the art headquarters on PennyPot Lane.

It has sponsored Harrogate Town for the last nine seasons.

Andy Makin EnviroVent MD, with past winners and runners up (from 2021/22) of the Enviro Way Awards, an internal award voted for by staff members.

Andy Makin, managing director at EnviroVent, said: 

“As a local business with shared ideals, EnviroVent is delighted to announce a further two-year commitment in our partnership with Harrogate Town AFC.   

“We were excited to become stadium sponsor when the club was promoted to the National League and now, two years on, we are very happy at the prospect of building further on our relationship. This will allow closer links with the club on the pitch and its great work, off the pitch, in our local community.”

Joanne Towler, commercial director at Harrogate Town AFC, said:

“We are delighted EnviroVent is continuing its partnership with the Club as Stadium Sponsors, our like-minded values create an enjoyable and rewarding working relationship.

“We are very fortunate and thankful to have EnviroVent behind us, the company’s commitment to the club is invaluable.”

Harrogate District Hospital recorded an increase in heat-related illnesses during this week’s record-breaking temperatures as it also warned of extra pressures from a further rise in covid patients.

The hospital saw a 10% increase in visitors with conditions such as heat exhaustion or heat stroke, while covid patient numbers have tripled to 33 since the end of June.

Dr Matt Shepherd, deputy chief operating officer at Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust, said demand on services was “higher than we would typically expect” for summer and that there is “no doubt” much of this was due to the pandemic.

He added: 

“Extreme weather, such as heatwaves, also adds additional pressure on hospital services.

“We need to ensure that the people in our care and our staff are not unduly affected by increasing temperatures and we have severe weather plans in place to address any issues.

“Waiting times to be seen during these times can also be longer than usual due to demand.”

Temperatures are easing today after approaching 40 degrees in the district yesterday when North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service declared a ‘major incident’ on the hottest day ever recorded in the county. It said today it had ‘stood down’ this status.

Gosh it was a hot one yesterday! ☀️ As you know we, like most other fire services around the country, declared a major incident due to the level of demand. The good news is we have now stood down this status and have returned to expected levels of demand.

— North Yorkshire Fire & Rescue Service (@NorthYorksFire) July 20, 2022

As well as causing a surge in demand for emergency services, the heatwave also led to cancellations for train services and forced some schools to shut.

The forecast for today is still warm, but cooler on Thursday and Friday with highs of 19C in Harrogate.

Covid pressures

Covid infections and hospital admissions have been creeping up since the end of spring and after the emergence of the BA.4 and BA.5 sub-variants of Omicron.

Dr Shepherd said while most patients are not falling seriously ill with the virus, it was still causing pressure for the hospital which is battling long backlogs.

He said: 

“Since we emerged from lockdown, our priority has been to reduce the backlog for operations and treatment.

“The increased number of planned operations being performed has added to the pressures, but it has meant we have been able to reduce our waiting lists and no longer have any patients who have been waiting over two years for treatment.”

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The Harrogate district’s weekly infection rate has been climbing steadily over the last few months and currently stands at 288 cases per 100,000 people.

The latest figure is up from 52 in May, but well below the previous peak of 1,007 in March.

The increase comes as the government has announced that everyone aged 50 and over will be offered a booster vaccine this autumn to top up their immunity.

Younger people at high risk from covid, as well as health and social care staff, will also get the booster.

Dr Shepherd added: 

“Covid vaccinations have been extremely successful in reducing the severity of the virus, however, the highly infectious nature of the new variants is having an impact at our hospital.

“Thankfully, most patients who have tested positive are here for other medical issues or surgical procedures rather than having acute covid symptoms.

“However, in most cases it does mean that their treatment cannot be progressed until they test negative, which increases the time they need to stay in hospital and reduces the number of beds we have available.

“Whilst we are much better prepared at treating covid than we were two years ago, this virus has not gone away and it still has a significant impact on the hospital and is still a threat to people’s health – particularly vulnerable or unvaccinated patients.”

A care provider has pledged that none of its residents will be forced to move when it ends leases at three council-owned buildings in Harrogate.

Anchor Hanover has decided to give notice on buildings on Kings Road, York Place and Brunswick Drive which are owned by Harrogate Borough Council and used as retirement homes.

Joanne Hanson, regional head of housing at the care company, said it made the decision as the buildings require “extensive works…. to suit the needs of older residents”.

She added no one will be required to move out, while the council has confirmed it will take on the properties as affordable housing.

Ms Hanson said: 

“We have a long history of working closely with Harrogate Borough Council to provide good quality retirement housing, providing valued services to residents and the local community.

“We regularly review all of our locations looking at financial viability, the investment required and the needs of current and potential customers, both now and in the future.

“After carrying out a review of this nature here, we have identified that extensive works are required to modernise these properties to suit the needs of older residents.

“Our priority is the welfare of our residents and we will be working closely with the council to effect a smooth transition.”

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The leases have been in place since the 1980s and are worth £6,000 per year for all three buildings.

The retirement homes range from nine to six bedrooms which are rented out by people over the age of 55 who receive different levels of care.

The extreme heat over the past two days is still effecting some Harrogate district train services this morning.

Here is your Stray Ferret traffic update

Roads

Drivers should expect the usual traffic on Wetherby Road and Skipton Road this morning during the rush hour.

Works are due to take place today at the junction with Leadhall Lane and Hookstone Road in Harrogate to replace junction markings, according to North Yorkshire County Council’s roadworks map.

The work is scheduled to finish tomorrow.

Meanwhile, long term roadworks are in place on Station Road in Goldsborough. The road will be closed until September 19, 2022, as Stonebridge Homes installs a foul water and surface water pipes to connect to the sewer system.

A diversion route is in place in the village.

Trains and buses

Following the heatwave, Northern services between Harrogate and Knaresborough going to York and Leeds are scheduled to run as normal this morning.

Meanwhile, LNER is urging passengers not to travel to London Kings Cross due to damage to the rail line near Peterborough which was caused during the hot weather.

This has led to the direct service from Harrogate to London Kings Cross at 9.36am being cancelled as repairs are carried out.

The Harrogate Bus Company is reporting cancellations on the 1C and the 7 this morning.

You can find out more information on the disruption here.

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