Second sex attack in a month on Harrogate’s King’s Road

Police are investigating a second sexual assault of a teenage girl on Harrogate’s King’s Road in less than a month.

North Yorkshire Police said today a 17-year-old was approached from behind by the man, who touched her bum and chest on the corner of King’s Road and Coppice Drive.

The incident happened at about 3.50pm on Monday.

The 17-year-old victim told police the man then walked back in the direction he had come from, towards the A61 junction.

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Police described the suspect as white, aged in his 20s, of thin build and with a long, clean shaven face. They also said he has long, light brown and slightly curly hair that was tied back.

Police believe he was wearing a red and grey backpack.

The victim and her family are being supported by police while enquiries continue.

Second attack in a month

An 11-year-old girl was sexually assaulted on the corner of Chatsworth Grove and King’s Road on May 25.

The young girl was walking home from school at around 3.15pm when the attack happened.

Harrogate High School and Willow Tree Community Primary School subsequently revealed they had alerted police to men harassing pupils.

Witnesses or anyone with information that could assist the latest investigation are urged to call North Yorkshire Police on 101, select option 1, and speak to the Force Control Room.

Quote reference number 12210139452 when providing details.

Dramatic pictures show firefighters tackling Follifoot blaze

These dramatic pictures show six crews from North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue battling a blaze near Follifoot yesterday.

Firefighters were called to the former property of a well-known fundraiser for Yorkshire Air Ambulance, Ken Horner, on Haggs Road at 2.15pm.

When the crews arrived they found a skip and a large outbuilding on fire.

Firefighters from stations in Harrogate, Knaresborough, Wetherby, Ripon, Tadcaster and Acomb attended.

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Russell Jenkinson, crew manager at Knaresborough Fire Station, told the Stray Ferret:

“We are still carrying out investigations but we believe it started with some controlled burning in some old oil drums.

“It was confined and safe but obviously something happened to cause the fire to spread, that it was we are still trying to determine.”

A spokesperson for North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue said yesterday:

“Crews from Harrogate, Knaresborough Ripon, Acomb, Wetherby, Moortown and the water bowser from Tadcaster responded to a report of an outbuilding on fire, which had spread to a rubbish pile and a garden shed.

“Fire involving an out building and a large pile of rubbish is now extinguished. Will be revisited this evening by Harrogate crews.”

Picture: Russell Jenkinson

Firefighters battle outbuildings blaze near Follifoot

Firefighters battled a blaze at a group of outbuildings near Follifoot this afternoon.

Six crews were called out for the fire on Haggs Road at 2.15pm and had managed to put it out by around 6pm today.

The firefighters were from stations in Harrogate, Knaresborough, Wetherby, Ripon, Tadcaster and Acomb.

Fire investigators are still on scene trying to put the picture together of how the blaze took hold.

The crews found that a skip filled with cylinders had caught fire, which then spread to nearby buildings.

The Stray Ferret has asked North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue for more information, but we have received no reply by the time of writing.

It’s currently unclear what caused the fire or if anybody was injured.

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North Yorkshire Police stop 60 motorists without seatbelt

North Yorkshire Police said today it had stopped more than 60 drivers and passengers during a seatbelt action week.

Three children were among those found to be not wearing a seatbelt, something officers described as “deeply concerning”.

It has been a legal requirement in the UK for people to wear seatbelts in cars for decades.

Failure to wear a seatbelt can lead to a £100 fine, which can rise to £500 if convicted in court.

Research shows drivers and passengers aged 17 to 34 are least likely to wear a seatbelt, but most likely to have a crash.

Their chances of dying are two times higher than if they’d worn one.

Sergeant Tim Wilson, who led the campaign, said:

“We enforce the law on seatbelt use every day of the year. But this week-long campaign lets us highlight the issue to people across the county and educate road users alongside the usual enforcement.

“It’s also been an excellent opportunity to work closely with parents and schools across the county.”

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Helipad plan for Grantley Hall set for second refusal

A five-star luxury hotel and wedding venue near Ripon looks set to be refused permission to use a helicopter landing pad at the site.

Grantley Hall – an 18th century mansion which opened as a hotel after a £70m refurbishment in 2019 – wants to use an existing helipad to attract top events including luxury car launches and yachting clubs.

But its application has been recommended for refusal at a Harrogate Borough Council meeting on Tuesday.

After a previous application was rejected in March last year, the hotel said it had restricted flights to no more than three a month to address concerns about noise to nearby residents and animals.

It also said it could lose £650,000 in income if the helipad was not made available to the type of clients that it wants to attract.

However, a council planning officer has questioned how the helipad could fetch that much money and said the restricted number of flights would still have too great an impact on the area. The officer said in a report:

“Whilst there are economic benefits to be considered with relation to the local economy, it is not considered that these are sufficient to outweigh the harm created by the proposal.

“Concerns are raised that the content of the business plan does not directly appear to correlate with the small number of flights proposed and it is difficult to assess if the numbers proposed.

“Nor is it considered that the visitors arriving by this manner are likely to be direct spending with other attractions in the area, rather they will fly in and fly out.”

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Nidderdale AONB (Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty), Grantley and Sawley Parish Council and residents have also objected to the plans, with one local warning the noise from flights would disturb daily lives and nature. Robert Ash said in a letter:

“Grantley is a peaceful village, much-loved for its tranquillity both by residents and visitors. In these days of mindfulness it is very therapeutic to be able to listen to the countryside rather than intrusive helicopters.

“This is a totally unnecessary, self-fulfilling application which should once and for all be rejected.”

Michelin star

As part of its application, Grantley Hall commissioned its own noise impact report, which concluded restricted flight times and paths would mean access to the helipad would be carried out in the “quietest manner”.

However, the reasons for recommending refusal are the impact on the Nidderdale AONB and Studley Royal Park, which is classed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, as well the impact on ecology and biodiversity.

The planning officer’s report added:

“A temporary permission for 12 months would allow for a more robust assessment of the impacts of the proposal and the viability of the proposed number of flights and hours of operation, however, it is considered that without the ability to adequately control the routes of the helicopters that these impacts would be significantly adverse.”

Grantley Hall has 47 rooms and four restaurants, including one with a Michelin star, as well as 30 acres of wooded parkland and grounds.

It was used by West Riding County Council between 1947 and 1974 as an adult education residential college, as well as a training and conference centre by North Yorkshire County Council.

Roadmap delay pushes back return of Harrogate district Parkruns

The delayed ending of coronavirus restrictions has forced organisers of Parkrun in the Harrogate district to push back its return by a month.

It has been a difficult few months for the organisers, who have tentatively scheduled the return of the free, weekly 5 km runs time and time again, only to then have to disappoint runners.

Outdoor events are permitted under the current government rules. However, many of the landowners that host the runs have granted permission for them to take place on the condition that all lockdown restrictions are lifted.

Now the government has delayed the roadmap easing until July 19, Parkrun is looking to return on July 24.

There are three Parkruns in the Harrogate district: on the Stray in Harrogate, Conyngham Hall in Knaresborough and Fountains Abbey, near Ripon.

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A spokesperson for Parkrun said today:

“A huge amount of work has been done in recent weeks to ensure we have permission to return from the large majority of landowners.

“While this delay is disappointing, we respect the fact that a significant number of these permissions were contingent on the country moving into Step 4.

“We will therefore target a new reopening date of July 24.”

Harrogate’s top crime-writing prize down to shortlist

Readers have whittled the potential winners of the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year award down to six authors.

Organised by Harrogate International Festivals, the award is widely regarded as the most prestigious in crime fiction.

The shortlist is designed to celebrate the best of crime writing and transports readers around the world from Calcutta to California.

Author Chris Whitaker hopes to claim the trophy on his first ever nomination with We Begin at The End, which is a story of crime, punishment, love and redemption in California.

Sunday Times bestselling author Rosamund Lupton’s Three Hours tells the story of gunmen opening fire on a school in Somerset and explores white supremacy and radicalisation.

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Elly Griffiths is hoping that her seventh prize nomination, The Lantern Men, lead to the title. The story sees Ruth Galloway return to the fens to hunt down a serial killer.

Trevor Wood’s meteoric rise continues with his novel The Man on the Street, which provides insight into the story of a homeless Falklands veteran with severe PTSD turned criminal investigator.

Scottish-Bengali author Abir Mukherjee’s Death in the East is a mesmerising portrait of India, Assam and East End London, which could be a case of third nomination lucky.

The final title on this year’s shortlist is Northern Irish author Brian McGilloway’s The Last Crossing, which looks at The Troubles from the perspective of a view of former operatives.

People can vote for the winner here.

Simon Theakston, executive director of T&R Theakston, said:

“This is it: the crème de la crème of crime. This shortlist really does showcase the breadth and depth of the genre.

“It’s going to be a fiercely fought prize this year so make sure you vote for your favourite.”

The winner receives £3,000 and a handmade, engraved beer barrel from Theakston Old Peculier.

The full shortlist for the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year 2021 is:

Sculpture trail heads to Harrogate’s RHS Harlow Carr

A new sculpture trail inspired by the seasons is heading to RHS Harlow Carr next month.

The Four Seasons will open in the Harrogate gardens on July 7 and run until summer 2022, so there’s opportunity to experience the trail at all times of year.

Each sculpture is a four and a half metre tall fibreglass head inspired by Renaissance paintings by Italian artist Giuseppe Arcimboldo.

Artist and filmmaker Philip Haas’s heads depict spring, summer, autumn and winter in human form. They are adorned with seasonal fruit and vegetables, flowers and crops.

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As well as the trail, RHS Harlow Carr will also hold a series of floristry workshops. The first event, where people can create bouquets and wreaths, will be on July 1.

Paul Cook, RHS Garden Harlow Carr curator, said:

“The locations of the Four Seasons have been carefully chosen. Summer is surrounded by meadow flowers, whilst Winter echoes the mature trees around the sculpture.

“Autumn will be a talking point as the fruit and vegetables in our Kitchen Garden mature and Spring will see new foliage emerge.

“With the exhibition taking place at Harlow Carr over multiple seasons, another transformation will occur to alter and enrich the viewer’s perspective – the passage of time, the play of light and weather on the sculptures.”

Harrogate district’s race to vaccinate as coronavirus rates rise

The Harrogate district’s covid infection rate has returned to levels not seen since March.

The news comes ahead of tonight’s expected government announcement that the planned June 21 unlocking will be delayed by four weeks.

The Delta variant first identified in India was confirmed to have arrived in North Yorkshire last month and Harrogate’s weekly infection rate has since more than tripled.

However, there were no covid patients in Harrogate District Hospital as of last Wednesday and it has been two months since it recorded a death.

Public Health England figures show the latest infection rate for the Harrogate district is 52 cases per 100,000 people – up from 16 this time last month.

The latest figure is also above the North Yorkshire average of 41, but below the England average of 70.

Meanwhile, more than 111,000 people in the district have now received their first covid jab and over 92,000 their second.

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Under the roadmap out of lockdown, England was due to move to stage four on June 21 when events and venues, including nightclubs, would be allowed to operate without capacity limits, and the cap on guests at weddings would also be lifted.

But many scientists have called for a delay to enable more people to be vaccinated and allow more time for work on whether vaccines are breaking or weakening the link between infections and hospitalisations.

Speaking at a meeting on Thursday, councillor Carl Les, leader of North Yorkshire County Council, said with hopes of lockdown restrictions lifting now fading, “the race is on” to vaccinate as many people as possible as the spread of infections gathers pace.

“The light is still there but the increase in Delta variant transmissions is worrying. The trend is going upwards, hospitalisations are increasing and it also seems to be spreading into younger people who until recently seemed to be relatively immune.

“The race is on to vaccinate all of us as soon as possible. This is not over yet and we just have to be careful still.”

Harrogate residents divided on June 21 reopening

Harrogate residents are divided on whether the government will release all lockdown restrictions on June 21.

With just over a week to go, speculation is growing about the final step of the coronavirus road map in the UK.

So we went out to ask the people of Harrogate what they think will happen on June 21.

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