A picket line operated at Harrogate Rail Station this morning as the latest wave of strikes by the RMT union draws to a close.

Union members are expected to picket the station again tomorrow before trains begin to run a limited service on Sunday.

No further strikes are currently planned and normal service is due to resume on the Harrogate and Knaresborough line on Monday for the first time in more than three weeks due to strikes, an overtime ban and bank holidays.

Pickets told the Stray Ferret the main reasons they were striking were concerns over passenger safety and working conditions, rather than pay.

An RMT member at Harrogate station today.

They said ticket offices faced closure and safety would be compromised by cuts to staff unless they took action.

Transport Secretary Mark Harper has said “it’s time for the unions to get off the picket line and back round the table” and claimed he has “delivered new, improved pay and reform offers”.

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The decision to close three Nidderdale surgeries on the day of the group practice manager’s funeral this week has generated controversy.

Pat Berriman was close to retirement after 21 years’ service at Nidderdale Group Practice when she died suddenly. Hundreds of people attended her funeral at Stonefall Crematorium in Harrogate at 12.30pm on Tuesday.

All three surgeries in the practice — Feastfield Medical Centre in Pateley Bridge, The Grange Medical Centre at Dacre Banks and Spring Gables Surgery at Birstwith Grange — closed for the day to allow staff to attend.

One patient told the Stray Ferret she was “astonished” to hear a recorded message when she tried to book an appointment on the day of the funeral saying the practice was closed. The woman, who asked not to be named, said:

“I am known to be an empathetic and reasonable person, having spent 20 years myself working in an inner city stressful front-line public service.

“But am I being unreasonable when I say I am dumbfounded, astonished and, the more I think about it, incensed with the decision made to close all three medical centres across the whole of Nidderdale, all day?”

She added:

“Yes, the practice manager was, I have heard, a long-standing, dedicated and much respected member of staff who died suddenly. And I understand that staff would want to attend her funeral. But all staff, all day?

“There being no NHS primary care provision from the three medical centres in person or on the telephone, on the first day after a long bank holiday weekend, in the current NHS crisis is ludicrous.”

Feastfield Medical Centre

The patient said the surgery was extra busy on Wednesday due to the backlog and she saw one elderly man leave without his prescription because it wasn’t ready due to the surgery being closed since Friday.

The woman said:

“The service provided… by the Nidderdale Group Practice fell far short of what is expected by a front line service.”

‘A most unsatisfactory situation’

Tom Watson, a Liberal Democrat who represents Nidd Valley on Harrogate Borough Council, said it was a “most unsatisfactory situation”. He added:

“I am in agreement that adequate medical cover should have been provided by the group practice, particularly after the extended period of closure and/or reduced service provided as a result of the Christmas/New Year period.”

Cllr Watson said it was a matter for NHS North Yorkshire Clinical Commissioning Group rather than the council and he would bring up the subject when he next attended a North Yorkshire health scrutiny committee meeting.

‘Sometimes even the NHS needs to pause’

The Stray Ferret asked the medical group to respond to the concerns.

It said in a statement:

“We the team at Nidderdale Group Practice sadly and unexpectedly lost our wonderful practice manager, Pat Berriman, on December 5.

“Pat, well respected by colleagues and patients alike, was about to retire after 21 years of dedicated service at the practice. The majority of Pat’s working life was spent doing all she could for patients and staff, during some incredibly challenging times for the NHS.

“The loss came as a huge blow to us as her ‘work-family’. Her funeral was held at 12.30pm on January 3 at Harrogate crematorium, several hundred family, staff and former colleagues — many of whom live more than an hour away — attended to pay their final respects and celebrate the life of this kind, professional, selfless lady. Many of us are still coming to terms with our loss.

“Closing the surgery to pause and come together like this was not done lightly. Closure of the surgery for such a pivotal staff member as a practice manager or GP partner is NHS England’s recommended policy, to allow staff to grieve together.

“The closure was supported by the Integrated Care Board, with whom the practice collaborated closely to ensure adequate GP cover was in place. Likewise temporary closure in these circumstances is actively encouraged by the Royal College of General Practitioners.

“Three GPs were engaged to take urgent calls for the day of Pat’s funeral and our answerphone message clearly signposted patients to call 111 to speak with one of the doctors should their matter be medically urgent.

“We’re sorry that a patient has felt moved to complain about our temporary closure but we can assure them that adequate medical cover was in place and, sometimes, even the NHS needs to pause.”

Firefighters rescued a horse trapped in floodwater today in the Harrogate district.

North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service’s incident log said it was alerted to the danger at 8am this morning. It occurred off the A59 York Road at Kirk Hammerton.

The incident log said:

“Crews from Acomb and Tadcaster attended an incident where a horse had become trapped in floodwater.

“Crews attached a general purpose line and dragged the horse to safety.

“The horse was then covered with a blanket to keep warm.”

The Environment Agency issued a flood alert today for the Lower River Ure in the Harrogate district.

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Brimham Rocks and Fountains Abbey will feature in an episode of Take a Hike on BBC Two tonight.

In the series, five hikers go head-to-head to find Britain’s best walks. Taking it in turns to lead, they are judged on their route, picnic, views and fun.

Tonight’s programme shows 73-year-old retired psychiatric nurse Edwin lead the other walkers on a nine kilometre hike between the two National Trust properties in the Harrogate district.

Brimham Rocks, near Pateley Bridge, combines heather moorland and unusually shaped giant rock formations created by an immense river 100 million years.

Brimham Rocks

Fountains Abbey, near Ripon, is one of the largest and best preserved Cistercian monasteries in England.

A trust spokeswoman said:

“There were certainly lots of giggles while filming the episode as the group were surprised with an activity for the brave to start their time at Brimham – you’ll have to tune in to see what they got up to.

“It really is a lovely programme and as always, will be a great opportunity to show off the beauty and fun on offer at both properties in the wonderful Harrogate district.”

The programme will be broadcast at 6.30pm and will be available to watch afterwards here.

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The owner of Ripon celebrity cat Badger has said she has been overwhelmed by support from people after shocking cruelty towards her pet.

Badger was regularly seen in Ripon and even has a Facebook page with 1,000 followers dedicated to him and his brother Bodger.

But Badger has rarely ventured out since the incident in which he is believed to have been kicked and hung by his collar by children.

The attack has sparked a huge response, with numerous posts on social media and local people putting up £2,000 for information leading to the conviction of whoever was responsible.

Naomi Walker, who owns Badger and Bodger, said she has been amazed by the response but at the same time doesn’t want to encourage vigilantes, particularly towards children. She told the Stray Ferret:

“If anything comes out of this, I would like it to be for people to talk to their kids about animal cruelty. You don’t have to like cats to not hurt them.

“But I can’t thank everyone enough for all they’ve done. I’m overwhelmed and grateful for all the support.”

Ms Walker said she didn’t go public about the incident for several weeks because she didn’t want to generate too much fuss, particularly because Badger is now nearly 12, but she felt people deserved to know what had happened. She said:

“It’s endearing that people care so much about him. He does have a large fan base and has become a local celebrity.”

Badger was seen regularly around Sainsbury’s and the cathedral until Ms Walker moved elsewhere in the city. The gregarious moggy then started frequenting Lead Lane, and took a particular fondness to a local fish and chip shop.

Bodger has always been less adventurous and rarely strays far from home.

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A festive fundraiser ending this weekend is set to raise around £1,500 for a group of Scouts near Harrogate.

1st Pannal Scout Group will be collecting Christmas trees from households on Saturday for the fourth time.

This year, the service has expanded – and the team also added in tree sales int he run-up to Christmas to further boost its fundraising.

Deputy group Scout leader Andy Bielby said they sold 34 trees in one day, and it was such a success they hope to turn it into more of an event next Christmas. He said:

“It was great to meet our customers, some of whom told us they were former Cubs and Scouts from Pannal.”

Now, the volunteers will be out collecting trees from pre-booked households on Saturday as the final stage of what is expected to be the biggest fundraiser of the year by some margin.

Proceeds from the project will be put towards ensuring young Squirrels, Beavers, Cubs and Scouts at 1st Pannal, along with the partner Explorer unit, have valuable experiences in the coming year.

The children, all aged between four and 18, have already been able to go on camping trips thanks to the money raised by previous tree collections.

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This year, there are two gold and one bronze Duke of Edinburgh award scheme expeditions planned, as well as a group summer camp, and an autumn Scout and Explorer camp with more than 1,000 young Scouts taking part.

1st Pannal members will also be learning vital life skills in their weekly sessions and working towards the Chief Scout awards.

Mr Bielby said demand for places was as high as ever and the group was always keen to hear from anyone who could volunteer to ensure as many young people as possible could benefit from the experiences of Scouting.

He added:

“The experience of camping and becoming more independent has never been more important than for the young people impacted by the lockdowns of the last couple of years.

“We have seen the changes that they have gone through, with many having their first opportunity to be away from home much later than they would usually have had if it wasn’t for the pandemic.

“In our Scouting, we aim to provide access to events and opportunities they might otherwise not have such as trips to the fire station, talks with local services like the police and activities like scuba diving and even gliding.”

A flood alert has been issued for the Lower River Ure in the Harrogate district.

In an update at 7.14am this morning, the Environment Agency said “flooding is possible” in low-lying land, including agricultural land, and local roads in the areas around Masham, Boroughbridge, Aldborough and Bishop Monkton.

The alert said:

“Avoid using low lying footpaths or entering areas prone to flooding. Start acting on your flood plan if you have one.”

There are currently 25 flood warnings, where flooding is expected, and 64 flood alerts, where flooding is possible, active in England.

Another band of rain is expected across the district at about 7pm this evening but should clear up overnight and give way to a dry day tomorrow.

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A Ripon man appeared in court today charged with attempted murder.

Kyle Harpin, 33, of Priest Lane, was charged with attempting to murder Ben Mintcher on North Street on October 16 last year.

He pleaded not guilty at Leeds Crown Court, where the case was adjourned.

Harpin today pleaded guilty to six other charges, including possessing a knife on North Street in Ripon, two charges of threatening a person with a blade or sharply pointed article in public, two charges of assaulting a police constable at Harrogate District Hospital, and racially aggravated harassment of another police officer at Harrogate Police Station.

He will be sentenced for these crimes on February 21.

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Harrogate College has backed Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s bid to ensure all students study maths until the age of 18.

A government press release has said Mr Sunak will this afternoon “commit to starting the work of introducing maths to 18 in this Parliament and finishing it in the next”.

In his first speech of 2023, he is expected to say studying maths to 18 will equip young people with skills needed for jobs and increase their financial confidence later in life when dealing with issues such as mortgages and savings rates.

Mr Sunak will say:

“One of the biggest changes in mindset we need in education today is to reimagine our approach to numeracy.

“Right now, just half of all 16–19-year-olds study any maths at all. Yet in a world where data is everywhere and statistics underpin every job, our children’s jobs will require more analytical skills than ever before.”

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Harrogate College principal Danny Wild said Mr Sunak’s goal was admirable -— but needed to be supported by significant funding. Mr Wild said:

“Numeracy is increasingly important for all of us, and especially for young people entering a competitive and ever-evolving job market.

“So we do support the Prime Minister’s aim of ensuring that as many students as possible continue studying maths until the age of 18.

“Colleges and other further education providers will play a crucial role in delivering this goal – but it will only be achievable if we are given proper funding to recruit and retain the maths teachers we need.”

The college, a further education provider on Hornbeam Park, provides a wide range of courses including apprenticeships, T-levels and higher education for students in the Harrogate district.

A man has been jailed for embarking on a two-month fraud spree at hotels in Harrogate and York at the end of last year.

Parmpareet Singh-Pooni, of no fixed address, admitted two offences at the Crowne Plaza on King’s Road in Harrogate when he appeared before magistrates in York on Monday.

He pleaded guilty to dishonestly obtaining accommodation, food and drinks by claiming he was called Nikko Singh and not paying for them between November 3 and 6.

Singh-Pooni also admitted trying the same ruse at the Crowne Plaza on either November 23 and 24.

He pleaded guilty to stealing £140 cash from behind the reception at the Dean Court hotel in York on December 17 and defrauding Malmaison in York by giving another false name and not paying for food and drink between December 27 and 31.

He was jailed for 10 weeks, with court documents saying he was jailed because of the number of offences, his record and due to the fact he was on recall.

Singh-Pooni was also ordered to pay compensation totalling £1,083 to the Crowne Plaza, £140 to the Dean Court Hotel and £452 to Malmaison.

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