Seb Mitchell murder trial: Harrogate boy found guilty

A boy has been found guilty of the murder of Harrogate schoolboy Seb Mitchell.

Seb, 17, was stabbed to death after a row over a broken mirror, a trial at Leeds Crown Court heard.

The jury today returned a majority verdict of 10 to 2 of murder after deliberating for almost 15 hours.

The boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was 16 at the time of committing the crime.

He stabbed Harrogate Grammar School pupil Seb in the chest with a kitchen knife which led to a fatal loss of blood and cardiac arrest.

The teenager pleaded not guilty – he accepted he knifed Seb but said he did not intend to kill him.

The defendant will not be sentenced today. However, the court will reconvene this afternoon in order to decide whether he can be named publicly.

The Recorder of Leeds, Judge Guy Kearl KC, said his age would be taken into consideration, as would the severity of the crime. He told the court:

“This is not a case in which he took the knife to the scene, but nevertheless a case in which it was picked up and then used, not with a great deal of force. But as we know in these courts, you don’t have to use a great deal of force in order to inflict a great deal of injury.”

Seb was taken to Harrogate District Hospital by ambulance, but his condition was so critical he was transferred to Leeds General Infirmary where he underwent emergency surgery and was placed in a medically induced coma.

He died two days after the incident.

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Firefighters rescue electric vehicle driver

Firefighters were called to help the driver of an electric vehicle that crashed near Knaresborough yesterday.

The single vehicle collision occurred on the B6164 at Little Ribston at about 5.30pm yesterday, according to North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service’s incident report.

Fire crews from Harrogate and Wetherby responded to the incident.

The report said:

“Crews released the male from the vehicle who was mechanically trapped.

“He was then transported to hospital via road ambulance. Crews then made the vehicle safe.”

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BT reveals plans to remove two rural phone boxes

BT Group has revealed plans to remove two payphones from rural locations near Ripon.

The company has applied to North Yorkshire Council for planning permission to take away phone boxes in Grantley and Winksley.

According to planning documents submitted in support of the application, the Winksley phone box has not been used for any calls in the last 12 months, while the one in Grantley has been used five times.

People have 90 days to object to the plans.

Planning documents say communities can also apply to adopt phone boxes and transform their use. They add:

“Thousands of boxes have been reinvented as cafes, mini-libraries and defibrillator sites. Communities can adopt most red boxes for just £1.”

The deadline for making representations to BT is November 20.

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Missing pelican from Blackpool Zoo found in Knaresborough

A pelican missing from Blackpool Zoo for almost three weeks was found in Knaresborough yesterday.

The Eastern white pelican was scared by gulls and blown away by a gust of wind on August 4.

Zookeepers set up a 24-hour hotline and eventually captured it at Hay-a-Park gravel pits this afternoon — 65 miles from home. It was retuned to the zoo evening.

But the zoo said in a statement the rescue wouldn’t have been successful without the help of a local family:

“Particular thanks goes to a wonderful family in Knaresborough who saw keepers trying to reach the pelican in the lake on Wednesday and brought a kayak for them to use — without their kind gesture and support, the rescue would not have been possible.”

The statement added:

“It was extremely important for us to rescue this pelican and return it to its flock as they are very social birds and, as a non-native species, it needed to be back with its own kind.

“Confirmed sightings have come from as near to home as Lytham and Fleetwood, to as far away as Harrogate and, where it was eventually rescued, in Knaresborough.

“The pelican is now in our animal hospital, where it has been given a full health check, had its wings clipped and will be quarantined before being returned to the flock in the near future.”

The statement described pelicans are docile creatures and said “there was never any threat to the public”.

Let us know if you were the family that helped with the rescue. Email us at contact@thestrayferret.co.uk

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Council concedes it should have held public inquiry into Harrogate Station Gateway

North Yorkshire Council has conceded it should have held a public inquiry into the £11.2 million Harrogate Station Gateway.

The council halted the scheme last week immediately after lawyers acting on behalf of local property firm Hornbeam Park Developments launched a judicial review.

Lawyers claimed there were six grounds for challenging the council’s decision.

Among them was the council’s failure to hold a public inquiry before issuing traffic regulation orders for measures such as partly pedestrianising James Street and reducing traffic on a 300-metre stretch of Station Parade to single lane.

A decision notice published on the council website this week confirmed it had “quashed” its May decision to proceed with the gateway. It said:

“The possibility of fully defending the legal challenge was considered and to have this mattered determined by the courts.

“However, due to the necessity of having a public inquiry before confirming the relevant traffic regulation order, it was considered prudent to accept this ground of challenge.”

It added the decision would “avoid any further exposure to costs and time delays”.

‘Dead scheme’

A report setting out what happens next is due to go to the conservative-controlled council’s ruling executive on September 19. However, Andrew Jones, the Conservative MP for Harrogate and Knaresborough, has called the gateway a “dead scheme”.

The legal challenge by planning lawyers Walton & Co also claims the council did not disclose a climate change appraisal that said said drivers would be forced to take longer alternative routes as a result of the road changes and overall “user emissions are anticipated to increase as a result of the scheme”.

A spokesperson for Walton & Co said:

“The claimant’s case put forward multiple grounds for challenge. One such ground included the fact that the climate change appraisal had not been made available.

“The claimant maintains that this still amounts to an error in law, and has reserved the right to take issue both with the alleged defective consultation and also other grounds set out in the claim, should a further decision be taken in the absence of such alleged error(s) being rectified.”

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Ripon nursery Busy Bees rated ‘good’ by Ofsted

Ripon nursery Busy Bees has retained its ‘good’ rating by Ofsted.

The government inspector said in a report published this week the nursery on Kearsley Road provided a “safe and nurturing environment” where “children are happy, motivated and keen to learn”.

The report said leaders “create an ambitious curriculum that staff follow and implement well” and staff “have high expectations for children’s behaviour”.

It added:

“Children behave well and are kind and considerate to their friends. Staff provide good support to help them understand how to manage their own behaviour.

“For example, they teach children who struggle with their emotions to use deep breathing strategies to help them feel calm.

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However, Ofsted said the nursery’s ample outdoor resources were “not as stimulating as indoors for children to extend their learning through play” and “occasionally, not all parents and carers are fully involved in their children’s learning”.

The inspection, which took place on July 17, was the first since 2019, which also rated the nursery as ‘good’.

Busy Bees is the UK’s largest nursery group, with almost 400 nurseries.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s visited the company’s Harrogate nursery this week.

New bar and restaurant to open in Knaresborough today

A new bar and restaurant is due to officially open today in the centre of Knaresborough.

1858 is situated in the former NatWest bank, which closed in 2017, on the High Street. Councillors granted an alcohol licence to applicant Jaime Wilkinson last month.

The venue, which will launch at 5pm, provides lunch and evening meals and Sunday roasts as well as drinks.

It derives its name from the year in which the building was constructed.

The High Street site was formerly occupied by NatWest.

Kim Lancaster, who was manager of the town’s So Bar and Eats before working with Mr Wilkinson at the Drakes fish and chip shops that he owns, will run the venue.

Ms Lancaster told councillors the venue would feature “elegant fine dining” rather than be a “Wetherspoons quick in-and-out” type experience.

She added:

“We want people coming in not just for alcohol but for coffee and lunch. We’re trying to bring back something to Knaresborough that people can’t wait for. People are going to Harrogate [instead]. We’ve spent a lot of money and want to do it right with the right clientele.”

1858 is permitted to sell alcohol from 10am until midnight seven days a week.

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Visual of Harrogate’s first mosque released as £50,000 appeal launched

Harrogate Islamic Association has launched a £50,000 fundraising appeal for the next phase of its scheme to create the district’s first mosque.

It has also published a visual showing how the building on the corner of Tower Street and Belford Road will look once the makeover is completed.

The association bought the dilapidated former Home Guard building in April last year.

It has already undergone extensive repairs to fix the roof and remove asbestos.

The next phase of the project, which is underway, will ensure the building is structurally sound and will focus on stripping the interior and undertaking structural works.

How the building looks now.

In a crowdfunding appeal post, the association said:

“It’s difficult to convey how deteriorated the building interior is, but we’re determined to make it right.”

“This phase will see a removal and replacement of both the ground and first floors, each of which have suffered extensive rot and degradation.

“The floors will be replaced with steel framing and timber infrastructure to match the existing levels. The steel infrastructure will also help brace the existing masonry walls.”

https://twitter.com/HarrogateIA/status/1694010495445897311?s=20

 

The crowdfunding appeal post said further funds will need to be raised for a final phase, which will involve installing electricity, heating, security and plumbing systems, along with interior walls, doors, and amenities.

The post said the association was minimising disruption by not erecting scaffolding or conducting exterior work during the current phase so traffic and businesses on Tower Street and Belford Road will not be disrupted.

It added:

“Our intent is for this process to be a model that other communities can follow in terms of outreach, management, safety, and engagement with the wider community.”

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Zahed Amanullah, outreach coordinator at the association, said the mosque was likely to open early next year. He added:

“It’s a very old building with a lot of issues so we are moving carefully and methodically. We are not rushing.”

The association published these images showing the state of the building inside.

 

 

Burglars break into home in Burn Bridge

Burglars made off with a number of expensive items after breaking into a home in Burn Bridge.

Police in Harrogate today appealed for information about the crime, which took place at a house on Westminster Crescent.

A North Yorkshire Police statement said:

“Between 9:30am on Thursday 17 August and 3pm on Sunday 20 August somebody entered the property and stole a number of high-value items.”

The statement urged anyone who saw anything suspicious or has information about the incident to email Jonathan.Cleary@northyorkshire.police.uk or dial 101, select option 2, and ask for PC Jonathan Cleary.

If you wish to remain anonymous, you can pass information to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

Quote the North Yorkshire Police reference number 12230156838.

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Harrogate plant hire company founder David Kitching dies

David Kitching, who founded the Harrogate firm Kitching Plant Hire, has died at the age of 80.

Mr Kitching, who was born in Bridlington and brought up in Pateley Bridge, founded the firm as D&S Kitching with wife Shirley in 1967.

The company began operating out of a small yard and workshop in Darley, where Mr Kiching lived.

It moved to Hookstone Park in Harrogate in the early 1990s but outgrew the premises and moved to its present location, the former Harrogate bus depot on Camwal Road in Starbeck, in the early 2000s.

The firm now employs about 20 staff and has more than 400 machines for hire, including  diggers, rollers and cement mixers

The Camwal Road site in Starbeck.

Mr Kitching stepped back from day-to-day involvement with the company a few years ago.

A message on the firm’s Facebook page, posted by Shirley and sons Jason and Matthew, who are both directors of the firm, said:

“A void in our family has been formed which can never be ratified and we will miss him greatly.”.

Mr Kitching’s funeral will be held on September 1 at St James’ Church in Birstwith, It will be followed by a celebration of his life at the Wellington Inn in Darley.

Guests are requested to wear a hint of yellow as a nod to the yellow machinery that contributed so much to Mr Kitching’s life.

As a mark of respect, the business will close on the day of the funeral and reopen on September 4.

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