A teenage girl has been arrested for an alleged assault on a female member of staff at King James’s School in Knaresborough this afternoon.

The girl is also being questioned by officers about criminal damage following today’s incident.

North Yorkshire Police said in a statement:

“Police were called to King James’s School, King James Road, Knaresborough, at 3.10pm on Monday (20 March 2023) following reports of a disturbance involving a group of youths.

“Officers attended and arrested a teenage girl for an alleged assault on a female member of staff and criminal damage. She has been taken into custody for questioning.

“Two other teenage girls were arrested to prevent a breach of the peace.

“None of those arrested attend King James’s School.”

Carl Sugden, headteacher at the 1,575-pupil school, also told the Stray Ferret he could categorically say none of the pupils involved in the incident was from King James’ School.

In a letter to parents, Mr Sugden said:

A group of young people, who are not connected to King James’s School, came onto the school site with the clear intention of causing trouble.

“Our staff were on hand to stop them, they did not gain access to the building, but unfortunately we needed some police support to remove them.”

The police statement said “enquiries are ongoing to investigate the full circumstances surrounding the incident” and urged anyone with information to get in touch on the North Yorkshire Police website or by calling 101 and selecting option 1.

If you prefer to remain anonymous, you can contact Crimestoppers on 0800 555111. Quote reference 12230050161.

King James’ School, which has 1,575 pupils, is federated with Boroughbridge High School.

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The funeral of Harrogate teenager Seb Mitchell will take place this weekend.

Harrogate Grammar School tweeted today the service will be held at Christ Church in High Harrogate at midday on Saturday.

It added:

“We will never forget all that he contributed to the life of HGS.

“Seb’s family warmly welcome all of those who would like to join us in paying tribute to him on Saturday.”

Seb died at Leeds General Infirmary on February 21 — a week before his 18th birthday.

An inquest in Northallerton heard the provisional cause of death was a stab wound to the chest.

A 16-year-old boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons, denies murder.

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• ‘We will carry him in our hearts forever’ — family’s tribute to Harrogate teen Seb Mitchell

North Yorkshire Police has said an investigation into “inappropriate behaviour” at Turkish Baths Harrogate is ongoing.

Harrogate Borough Council banned nude bathing at the Victorian baths last week after it received a complaint.

Until the decision, clothing was optional at two single sex sessions for men and women. It is compulsory at mixed sessions.

But the council, which runs the venue, made swimwear compulsory for all sessions without consulting users following the complaint.

In a statement, it said the complaint was of a “serious nature”, adding:

“We have a duty of care to our customers and staff members, and in order for all single sex sessions to operate in a safe environment, it has been decided that swimwear must be worn until further notice.”

North Yorkshire Police confirmed today it was looking into the matter. A spokesperson said:

“Police received a report of an incident of inappropriate behaviour at the Turkish Baths earlier this month. Enquiries are at an early stage and are ongoing.”

The baths opened in 1897 and with its restored Moorish design is one of Harrogate’s premier attractions.

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A village primary school near Harrogate is taking on an epic challenge to raise £2,000 for improvements to its school playground.

Pupils, parents, teachers and governors from Hampsthwaite Church of England Primary School will be riding over 1,000 miles from Land’s End to John o’ Groats on March 29 and 30 — without leaving the school hall.

Just over 100 pupils from Years 1 to 6 will take turns on one of four stationary bikes in the school hall alongside teachers and members of the Hampsthwaite community to collectively achieve the mammoth distance in a cumulative 24 hours.

To add to the challenge, the bikes will use a ‘magic road’ setting on the Wahoo RGT fitness system, which will recreate the exact route including all of the hills, twists and turns.

Headteacher Amy Ross and the school PTA have made playground improvements a top priority for 2023.

Ms Ross said:

“Everyone at Hampsthwaite Primary School is counting down the days until we take on our virtual bike ride.

“It will be a great way to bring the local community together, whilst raising vital funds to make some long overdue improvements to our playground.

“All pupils will benefit from a playground refurbishment and it will make a significant difference to their time at school on a daily basis. I am grateful for the support and enthusiasm of the teachers, pupils and their family members, who have signed up to take part and sponsor us.”

Over £1,600 has already been pledged. You can support the school’s fundraising efforts here.

Read more:

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Harrogate-born Rachel Daly scored the goal that sent Aston Villa Women into their first FA Cup semi-final last night.

Daly’s extra time winner helped Villa overcome last year’s beaten finalists Manchester City Women 2-1

It was her 19th goal of a remarkable first season since her summer move back to the UK from Houston Dash.

Manchester City Women are third in the Women’s Super League — two places above the West Midlands team.

The match hung in the balance until Daly popped up at the far post in the sixth minute of extra time to score the decisive goal.

Villa are now one match from Wembley and will enter Tuesday’s semi-final draw alongside Manchester United Women, Brighton Women and table-topping Chelsea Women.

Daly, who started playing at Killinghall Nomads and now has 319,000 followers on Instagram, has been in fine form all season not only for Villa but also England.

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Two bogus police officers mounted a pavement in an unmarked car before seizing a boy’s electric scooter in Bilton yesterday.

North Yorkshire Police said in a statement this evening it was investigating the “disturbing incident”, which happened at 7.20pm last night as the teenager was pushing the scooter.

The statement added”

“It has caused a great deal of distress and anger both to him and his family.

“Despite extensive enquiries including a trawl of CCTV in the area, the suspects have yet to be tracked down.

“Checks are being carried out with neighbouring police forces in case the offenders have travelled into North Yorkshire.”

Both suspects are described as white, medium build, with tattooed arms, and wearing black police-style clothing including combat trousers.

The are believed to have been driving either a black Ford Mondeo or Ford Focus.

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Police said patrols in the area “have been stepped while the investigation continues”.

They appealed to anyone with information, dash-cam, doorbell or CCTV footage to report it urgently on the North Yorkshire Police website or by calling 101, option 1.

If you would prefer to remain anonymous, you can pass information to Cimestoppers on 0800 555111 or by making an online report.

Quote reference number 12230049556.

There is no shortage of concern about the state of the River Nidd, as a busy public meeting in Knaresborough demonstrated this week.

About 70 people turned up at Gracious Street Methodist Church on Tuesday to listen to academics, anglers, environmentalists and politicians and to find out how they could get involved in the attempt to achieve bathing water status.

Just two rivers in England — the Wharfe in Ilkley and Wolvercote Mill Stream in Oxfordshire — currently have bathing water status, which obliges the Environment Agency to put plans in place to monitor and protect the water.

Nidd Action Group has been set up to coordinate the initiative.

James McKay, a Knaresborough resident and manager of the Water-Wiser centre at the University of Leeds, told the Stray Ferret at last week’s meeting Nidd sampling had begun and the campaign had the funds and expertise to achieve its goal.

Mr McKay said the group needed to demonstrate enough people used the river recreationally for the campaign to be successful.

James McKay speaking at the meeting

He said the process of achieving bathing water status wasn’t easy but “it’s the only thing we can do to make a real difference to water companies”.

Mr McKay said water companies were obliged in 2023 to update their water resource management plans for the next five years and the goal was to achieve bathing water status by then. He added:

“If we succeed it won’t have an immediate effect. The first thing that would happen is Yorkshire Water would have to do its own sampling. But over the next couple of years it could start to make a big difference.”

Untreated sewage

Although Knaresborough Lido is the focus of the campaign, if bathing water status is achieved it would bring improvements to the upper reaches of the 56-mile Nidd, including around Pateley Bridge, which flow into the Lido.

Alan Paterson addressing the meeting 

Alan Paterson, of Nidd Action Group, told the meeting the three main causes of river pollution were sewage, agricultural contaminants and urban run-off. He said the first two were the main issues affecting the Nidd.

In 2021, Yorkshire Water pumped untreated sewage from 81 locations into the River Nidd 2,552 times – for 18,346 hours, or 764 days.

Mr Paterson said Yorkshire Water’s plans to clean-up the Nidd were “good but would take far too long” and bathing water status would oblige it to act sooner.

Andrew Jones, the Conservative MP for Harrogate and Knaresborough, has led on the campaign to achieve bathing water status and has been looking for volunteers to undertake surveys before he can submit an application. He has also raised the matter in Parliament.

Mr Jones wasn’t at the meeting but Stephen Culpin, a member of his office, was. Mr Culpin said afterwards the intention was to finalise and submit the application by the end of October.

Mr Jones (left) with Frank Maguire, the owner of Knareborough Lido.

The government’s record on sewage discharge has been fiercely debated. Mr Paterson said declining funding to key regulators such as the Environment Agency suggested ministers did not take the issue that seriously but he added that although the action group was “entirely apolitical”, Mr Jones deserved praise for his efforts.

“If he gets some brownie points then fair play to him because we need that bathing water status to improve the quality of water Yorkshire Water is discharging. I’d be deliriously happy if my MP, Julian Smith (the Conservative for Skipton and Ripon) got involved but he hasn’t.”

Mr Paterson added “rivers should be safe and clean to play and bathe in — it’s a right, not a privilege” and people attending the meeting were encouraged to volunteer by undertaking roles such as counting river users.

Wild swimming

Numerous groups attended the meeting but some river users, such as wild swimmers and kayakers, weren’t and some felt the campaign still needed joining-up more.

But the turnout and enthusiasm generated widespread optimism that people might soon be able to swim in the Nidd without a high risk of falling ill, as happened last summer.

Tuesday’s meeting at Gracious Street Methodist Church

Shan Oakes, a Knaresborough town councillor and member of Harrogate and District Green Party said:

“It was a hugely successful event and I feel confident that more like it will follow, bringing the community together to try to stop the pollution and bring back life to our lovely river.”

Yorkshire Water ‘keen to work in partnership’

Two days after the meeting, councillors on North Yorkshire County Council’s Harrogate and Knaresborough area constituency committee questioned a representative of Yorkshire Water as the issue of bathing water status was aired again.

Monika Slater, the Liberal Democrat councillor for Bilton Grange and New Park, told the meeting Leeds University researchers were now taking Nidd samples monthly and this would increase to fortnightly in May.

But she added the samples had so far discovered the harmful bacteria E. coli was at “concerningly high” levels.

Bilton Conservation Society is also sampling at Oak Beck, which empties in the Nidd at Bilton.

Sarah Robinson, from the corporate affairs team at Yorkshire Water, told the meeting:

“There are lots of influences on bathing water quality. It isn’t just about our assets — in some ways that would be easier because we could control that. “

The big issue for the Nidd, Ms Robinson added, was going to be agriculture, such as chemical run-off caused by farmers’ sprays. Dogs running in water also had “a massive impact”, she added. But she said the company was “very keen to work in partnership” to address problems.

The next six months will determine whether the good intentions, and the disparate interests, can be harnessed to achieve real change for the Nidd.

A Knaresborough man has been jailed for 12 weeks after admitting theft.

Frankie Gilmour, 33, of Nora Avenue, pleaded guilty to stealing a bag worth £99.99 from TK Maxx in Harrogate when he appeared at Harrogate Magistrates Court on Thursday.

The offence, on February 20, came while Gilmour was serving a suspended eight-week jail sentence issued two weeks earlier.

Magistrates imposed a four-week jail sentence as well as the eight weeks he was sentenced to previously.

Court documents said he was jailed because of his “flagrant disregard for court orders” and “because the offence was aggravated by the defendant’s record of previous offending”.

He was also fined £154.

Read more:

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It started with a few mates from Knaresborough riding a dozen tractors around Tan Hill in 2012.

It is now one of the biggest annual events in the Harrogate district, involving almost 400 vehicles and thousands of well wishers along a 25-mile route.

How did the Knaresborough tractor run become such a beast?

Ramsgill sheep farmer Steve Brown, chairman of the tractor run committee, ponders the question a week after the event’s latest success, which saw 374 vehicles convoy around Harrogate, Knaresborough and Pateley Bridge last Sunday to raise more than £23,000 for Yorkshire Air Ambulance. He says:

“I think it’s a lot to do with the cause. If you work in a rural setting you don’t know when you might need an air ambulance. It’s a cause close to the heart.”

Advertising the cause. Pic: Rachael Fawcett Photography

That might explain why farmers and other rural workers get involved, but why do so many people line the route all around Nidderdale? Steven says:

“Where else can you see 400 tractors in a line? I think it’s that simplicity. Plus it keeps the kids occupied for a couple of hours and it doesn’t cost anything.”

Whatever the reasons, the tractor run has become as much a part of local life as the Great Yorkshire Show, the Knaresborough Bed Race and Harrogate pantomime.

How it started

A family photo of Mike Spink

The fun nature of the event belies its sad foundations.

Mike Spink, a member of Knaresborough Young Famers who took part in the early tractor runs, died in a road accident in 2017 after moving to New Zealand six months earlier. Steven recalls:

“Mike was a dairy farmer and a very big believer in the air ambulance. When he died we got together and thought ‘why don’t we make it a bigger event and raise money in his memory?'”.

So what until then had been a bit of fun on tractors around Tan Hill and Whitby each year suddenly became a more serious affair.

Credit: Rachael Fawcett Photography

Eighty tractors took part in the first event in memory of Mike and next year 134 lined-up. Soon the tractor run had outgrown Knaresborough and the start had to be moved to the Great Yorkshire Showground in Harrogate to accommodate all the vehicles.

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This year’s total was 10 fewer than last year’s record 384 and Steven thinks the total has plateaued between 350 to 400. But the tractor run never fails to surprise.

Passing Knaresborough House. Credit: Rachael Fawcett Photography

Not all the surprises are pleasant. This year’s decision to introduce a free livestream, which enabled people to see where the first and last tractors were so they knew when the convoy would be passing, attracted scammers who cloned the tractor run website and urged people to give their bank details. One person lost £1,500 before the ruse was spotted.

There’s also the constant issue of safety, which has put such a big insurance risk on Knaresborough Young Farmers that the committee is increasingly running it as a standalone event. Steven says:

“I always think of the most idiotic thing that can happen and work back from that. We do the best we can —that’s all we can do. Fortunately we’ve never had a major incident but you can never be lackadaisical. Safety is paramount.”

The committee meets about 10 times a year to plan for the event, and its first get-together to discuss the 2024 gathering was due to take place yesterday.

Steven says a “colossal amount” of work goes into planning and trying to work out the best route. The template doesn’t change much but there are always minor improvements and things to consider. Last year the food ran out at lunchtime in Pateley Bridge.

These children brought their own tractor to watch the start at the showground.

But it all comes together gloriously each spring: excited children jump up and down and cheer and even gnarly old farmers get a tingle as they parade like rock stars down Pateley Bridge High Street or through Markington, tooting their horns to large crowds.

It’s seven hours of pure tractor power with a touch of theatre set against the glorious Nidderdale backdrop and there is nothing like it. Whether it’s the biggest tractor run is debatable but few would dispute it’s the best. Steven says:

“We are led to believe it’s the biggest tractor run in the country. Some have more tractors but they don’t do a run like ours, they just go a few miles down the road.”

You can still donate to the air ambulance on behalf of the tractor run here.

Passing through Hampsthwaite. Credit: Rachael Fawcett Photography

An insolvency firm has been appointed to handle the process of placing failed Harrogate firm Amvoc into administration.

Staff at the telemarketing firm were left shocked on Tuesday night when they received a late night email from chief executive Damian Brockway saying “all our offices are closed with effect from tonight”. It went on to blame “covid debts”.

Law firm Aticus Law has now been contacted by 145 former employees as it investigates the circumstances of the company’s collapse and concerns around how the redundancy process was managed, as well as whether ex-staff are eligible to claim for compensation.

Gareth Lewis, director of Leeds firm Lewis Business Recovery and Insolvency, said today it was handling the administration process.

He said:

“I can confirm that following the directors’ decision to make all employees redundant on Tuesday evening, this firm was engaged on Wednesday to assist with the process of placing the company into administration.

“It is anticipated that the company will be placed into administration in the coming days, and we are now collating all financial and employee information to enable us to perform our duties.

“We have contacted former employees through our agents IPERA, who will assist employees with the process of making their claims through the government’s Redundancy Payments Service”.

Founded in Dacre

Mr Brockway set up Amvoc, the trading name of A Marketing Vocation Ltd, from a small office in Dacre in 2010. It sold telemarketing services, initially in the legal sector, and grew rapidly, moving first to Pateley Bridge and then to large offices at New York Mills near Summerbridge. 

It opened a new head office on Cardale Park in Harrogate in 2015, a facility in Leeds in 2018 and an office in Manchester in 2022.  It also had plans to expand to London.

Amvoc’s clients included BP, Barclays, Virgin Media, Leeds Beckett University, and both the Conservative and Liberal Democrat parties. 

Its website said it employed 450 staff but the Stray Ferret believes the figure at the time the company collapsed was under 300.

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We again attempted to contact Mr Brockway today. An immediate emailed response said: