Drugs on the Stray: Police find ‘awful lot’ of gas canisters

North Yorkshire Police has issued a drugs warning after an officer found “an awful lot of” laughing gas canisters on the Stray.

It comes after hundreds gathered on the Stray yesterday in what some described as a festival atmosphere.

Inspector Paul Cording was out on the Stray at 4.30am when he found, among the beer bottles and takeaway boxes, gas canisters.

That discovery has led to a warning from the police directly to young people and their parents.

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Speaking about the dangers of inhaling the gas, Sergeant Heidi Lewis, children & young people engagement officer, said:

“People may believe that because this gas is widely available and easily purchased, that it is harmless. However, inhaling this gas can lead to unconsciousness and ultimately suffocation, as the body is essentially starved of oxygen. So when you know the risks irresponsible use of this gas poses, it’s not so much of a laugh is it?”

The ‘Talk to Frank’ website has more information about the risks of inhaling gas canisters. Find it by clicking or tapping here.

The Stray in disarray: ‘Biggest mess for six years’

Hundreds of young people gathered on the Stray in the sunshine yesterday evening in what some described as a festival atmosphere.

A volunteer who has cleaned the Stray for the last six years described the aftermath this morning as the worst he ever has seen.

His comments came as council workers and volunteers cleaned up the majority of the mess – something which they have been forced to do more regularly in recent weeks.

In amongst the bin bags are empty beer bottles, takeaway boxes, and laughing gas canisters. The grass is also scorched in some areas and there were reports of people using the Stray as a public lavatory.

Beer bottles and empty takeaway boxes.

The Stray Ferret found remnants of waste this morning and spoke to disgruntled locals.

Mike Lewis said that last night’s events have put him off going for his evening strolls on the Stray. He said this morning:

“It’s just vile to see. I don’t have a problem with these young people enjoying themselves but when they leave all of this it is poor. I have been cleaning up the Stray for six years but this is the worst I have ever seen. This is outrageous.”

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He described it as a losing battle and called for tougher punishments for offenders. Those calls are something the Stray Defence Association (SDA) is backing.

There are still remnants from the night before.

Judy d’Arcy Thompson, who is chair of the SDA, told The Stray Ferret:

“Several public spirited people have helped by collecting litter. Sadly, those efforts are swamped by the avalanche of rubbish others leave. It is disgraceful. We are doing our very best to get those in authority to deal with it.”

Roger Hattam was on the Stray last night and took pictures of large groups. He told The Stray Ferret:

“I understand that these are young people trying to have a good time. We just need the council and the police to monitor the situation and talk to them. We need to make sure they aren’t spreading coronavirus to any elderly relatives.”

What are the authorities doing about it?

Harrogate Borough Council has issued a robust response to the litter this morning and labelled those responsible as selfish.

“Unfortunately these people don’t even bother to use any of the many bins provided and just leave rubbish where they were sitting. We are doing what we can with the resources available and have increased our collections to try and manage the problem.”

The council also said that it already spends hundreds of thousands of taxpayers’ money every year to pick up litter.

Early morning rant alert. Part 2 of 2. #Litter #Drugs #TalkToFrank #BrokenWindowTheory #Respect #TakeYourLitterHome #RantOver pic.twitter.com/PaCDuK6ana

— Sgt Paul Cording BEM (@OscarRomeo1268) June 25, 2020

North Yorkshire Police inspector Paul Cording was out on the Stray at 4.30am today. He posted a video on Twitter where he described it as “the morning after the night before”.

“It is absolutely strewn with litter. There’s even some clear plastic zip bags and an awful lot of laughing gas canisters. The other thing I would describe is broken window theory. If one person thinks it’s okay to drop litter then everyone else will as well.”

Harrogate parish councillor defends ‘White Lives Matter’ comments

A Harrogate district parish councillor has defended his comments online where he called for a “White Lives Matter” protest.

Cllr Ernest Butler also suggested that people moving to the UK are “taking over” on his Facebook page.

The councillor said people migrating to the country are deleting its history, telling people how to live, what jobs they take and what religions to preach.

His comments sparked much controversy with anti-racism campaigners who took them to his employers.

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Harrogate Borough Council has received several complaints but said that its code of conduct does not apply when councillors use social media in a personal capacity.

But the council’s code of conduct seems to directly contradict that stance:

“When a person has been elected as a Councillor they are never a member of the general public in relation to any matter before the Council. Although this means they lose certain privileges available to the general public that is the consequence of holding public office.”

Darley Parish Council’s clerk said he had no remit to deal with complaints but added that he was aware of the comments.

When The Stray Ferret approached Cllr Ernest Butler he was not apologetic about his comments and said he had not done anything wrong.

“I am not a racist person. What I said online is true, there are just people out there that disagree with me and want to bring me down. I just stick my head above the parapet and say what other people can’t. It’s not racist to say people from European countries are taking jobs here and driving down the wages.”

He added that he has been suspended from his job at Nidd Hall and that he is now facing an employment tribunal over his comments.

Harrogate retailer threatens to rip up pavement widening cones

A Harrogate retailer has threatened to rip up pavement widening cones that cut off parking on West Park.

North Yorkshire County Council put up the cones this morning to encourage social distancing on West Park and Royale Parade in Harrogate.

It has not gone down well with the majority of business owners on the street. Many told The Stray Ferret that the road is wide enough already.

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Georgie Roberts owns women’s clothing store Georgie’s and was one of many businesses that found the cones this morning. She said:

“I am sick of the council. I will move the cones myself. I don’t care. It would be very nice to get a letter from the council to explain the plans. I am absolutely furious. We have got very wide pavements on West Park.”

Lisa Hawksworth is the manager of 27 West Park Antiques added:

“I can understand we’re trying to protect people but we are moving down to one metre. So the priority should be getting people back into the town to use the parking that is already there. It shocked me.”

The parking has been cut off on West Park.

It is not clear how long the cones will be up for. On other streets in Harrogate, they will be there until September.

When Brian Marshall, the owner of the Luxe Company, saw the cones he immediately sent a complaint to the council.

“This is farcical. The pavement is wide enough out there. We do not need this, why are they doing it now they are relaxing the social distancing rules? It’s ridiculous.”

Sally Monkman owns Boho Chic and echoed complaints about the council’s communication with businesses. She said:

“I had no idea that this was happening. They are killing the shops with this. It’s very difficult because they are not providing a different parking solution.”

The issue of pedestrianisation seems to divide the hospitality sector and the retail sector.

Andrew Jones, Conservative MP for Harrogate, said in the House of Commons yesterday afternoon that he supported using outdoor space for hospitality and added that jobs in the district “depended on it.”

James Street, which has already seen its pavements widened, has been earmarked for pedestrianisation.

Mike Jarvis, the manager of COOK Harrogate, was more welcoming of the measures. He told The Stray Ferret that there is enough parking around the area.

“I am not particuarly worried about it. I presume it’s a short term measure, it’s not the end of the world.”

Siobhan Dodds, the assistant manager at Arlo & Jacob, said:

“I think all of the parking at the front can actually put people off because it can look quite hectic. We are just finding the new normal, it could be a positive thing.”

Police investigate racism reports after Knaresborough parking dispute

North Yorkshire Police is investigating reports of an older couple in Knaresborough making racist comments towards a Polish family.

The incident reportedly happened in Conyngham Hall car park at around midday on Sunday, June 21.

It came after a dispute in the car park over a parking space. Later that day the Polish family found their car damaged.

Police say the Polish family was in a black BMW 5 series estate and the older couple was in a silver BMW 3 series.

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They have described the male suspect as a white man, 177cm tall, of thin build and grey hair. He was wearing a blue polo shirt and grey shorts.

While the female suspect is a white woman, shorter and stocky, wearing a pink, blue and white vest top with a large flower motif on the front.

Anyone with information on the incident should call 101 or pass on information anonymously through Crimestoppers.

No coronavirus deaths in Harrogate hospital for another day

Harrogate District Hospital has not reported any coronavirus deaths for a third day running.

The last death at the hospital happened last Thursday, but any which occurred more recently could still be updated in the coming days.

It means that the total number of deaths at the hospital in Harrogate remains at 80, and it has also discharged 125 patients.

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Hospitals across England have recorded 46 deaths in today’s NHS figures, bringing the total deaths up to 28,384.

Patients were aged between 51 and 97 years old. Two of the patients, who were aged 84 and 87, had no known underlying health conditions.

Harrogate care home coronavirus deaths reach 90

Care homes in Harrogate have reported another seven coronavirus deaths in a week, taking the total number to 90.

The care home data is from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) and only accounts for deaths up until June 12.

As well as care homes, the data also revealed that seven Harrogate people have died in their homes, at a hospice, or in other communal establishments.

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It means that Harrogate District Hospital, which has confirmed 80 deaths as of yesterday, has reported fewer deaths than care homes even with the 10 day lag.

As of last Thursday, Harrogate District Hospital had also discharged 125 patients after treating them for coronavirus.

It follows the news yesterday that there had been 15 coronavirus deaths in the UK in all settings on one day, the lowest since lockdown started.

Harrogate courts reopen to backlog in cases

Harrogate Justice Centre has reopened today for the first time since lockdown to deal with a backlog in cases.

The centre, which encompasses both the Magistrates and County courts, is opening with social distancing guidelines in place.

From Monday to Wednesday this week it will solely deal with family law matters before it moves onto criminal matters on Thursday.

Ministry of Justice (MOJ) officials have assessed Harrogate Justice Centre and approved it to hold socially-distanced hearings.

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The Harrogate Justice Centre has put out stickers to mark where people can queue at a safe distance and blocked off the waiting area outside.

Around 159 courts and tribunals service locations have remained open throughout the pandemic and close to 100 more have reopened since the start of April.

Stickers for socially distanced queues outside the court.

There is a major backlog in cases which has been made worse by the lockdown. There were 483,678 cases waiting in Magistrates courts and 40,526 cases waiting in Crown courts in May according to the Criminal Bar Association (CBA).

But Caroline Goodwin QC, who is chair of the CBA, said that the courts estate is “on its knees” and has been for a long time.

“It is pretty low really to suggest that the backlog which we know is a pre COVID-19 issue and practically has nothing to do with COVID-19 is in fact due to COVID-19. What we are facing is a culmination of mismanagement and years of starving the system of investment. We are not blind.”

The MOJ has also started to identify suitable venues to house so-called ‘Nightingale’ courts.

These would use public spaces, such as civic centres or university moot courts, to allow traditional court buildings to manage more work while maintaining social distancing.

Currently, Harrogate Justice Centre is not aware of any ‘Nightingale’ courts planned in its area.

No coronavirus deaths in Harrogate with lowest UK toll since lockdown

Harrogate District Hospital has not reported any coronavirus deaths today as the UK records the lowest daily toll.

The hospital in Harrogate remains at 80 deaths in total and has also discharged 125 patients.

New statistics from the Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC) show that there have been 15 coronavirus deaths in the UK. It means that the UK has now recorded 42,647 deaths.

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It will be welcome news for many but there is usually a lag in reporting after weekends.

That is across all settings including care homes and anywhere in the community, not just hospitals.

Separate NHS figures out today revealed that England’s hospitals reported 20 deaths – the fact that these hospital deaths are lower than deaths in all settings may seem confusing.

Our understanding is that the DHSC figures are for all settings reported on the previous day whereas the NHS hospital figures could be from days or even weeks ago.

‘Well done lads’: Harrogate men win praise for cleaning the Stray

A group of four young men has won lots of praise for cleaning up rubbish on the Stray this weekend.

Dan and Tom Locke as well as Jack Wignall and James Wilson have been using the area to play football and frisbee during the lockdown.

In recent days they have noticed people leaving more and more rubbish on the Stray so decided to take action on Saturday evening.

The group managed to fill around five bin bags with rubbish by riding their bikes around for about three hours.

Hannah Lee Skinner came across the group on Saturday. She posted a picture of them online, where hundreds commented to call them heroes.

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Tom Locke, who is 22-years-old and works at Newnham Street Garage, told The Stray Ferret:

“We just want people to consider the others and the environment more. I have been starting to notice that small changes can make a big difference. Hopefully people will follow our lead or at least pick up their own rubbish. It wasn’t too difficult to do, we had a laugh.”

He added that people were very appreciative on the Stray but when he asked them to help out they would say that it wasn’t their rubbish.

This really MUST stop. Why do people, sadly especially the young ones, leave their garbage behind them?
Please , please use the bins and also take your litter home. pic.twitter.com/S1EDcAGOtl

— Stray Defence (@StrayDefence) June 18, 2020

The Stray Defence Association (SDA) recently called for people to take their litter home after finding empty beer bottles, sweet wrappers and leftover takeaway food.

Litter has been an increasing problem in recent days with pleasant weather and the lockdown leading to more people meeting up on the Stray.

Harrogate Borough Council has welcomed more people using the district’s parks but added that people should dispose of their rubbish correctly.