Four teenagers from Harrogate are attempting to lift 700,000 kg in January to raise money for a charity that helps men struggling with mental health.

Francis Brennan, 19, had the idea for the Lift for Life campaign after undergoing his own battle with depression last year.

He and friends Olly Broadhead, 19, Jack Pierce, 19 and Will Hart, 18, have been hitting the gym daily this month and recording their exploits on Instagram and TikTok to raise money and awareness.

The group had already been regular gym attendees and decided the challenge would help their own physical and mental wellbeing as well as the well being of others by promoting fitness. Every time they perform a repetition in the gym, the amount lifted goes towards the target.

They have already smashed their £1,000 for The Baddy Foundation , which was set up by British UFC fighter Paddy ‘the Baddy’ Pimblett and aims to combat the stigma around mental health.

The four young men are continuing with the challenge throughout the month with the goal of raising as much money as possible.

They have been using a variety of gyms in the Harrogate area, including PureGym, Coach, David Lloyd and Energise.

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Francis said:

“It is a chance to show how mental illness can affect anyone regardless of their personal situations. Additionally it is a good message to put out in to the world about fitness and the positive impact it has not just on physical health but on so much more.”

Francis’ mum, Louise is one of his biggest supporters.

She said:

“I was so impressed that they had come together to organise the video and to work to raise money for a cause they all feel strongly about. I am really proud that they are going to the gym every day and lifting massive weights.”

You can donate to the groups charity for men’s mental health here.

Dozens of cars were damaged today and several had to be towed away after a large pothole opened up on one of the main roads into Harrogate.

Drivers travelling towards Harrogate on the A658 at Huby felt the brunt of the impact at rush.

The hole was eventually coned off and traffic lights installed but not before numerous vehicles had been damaged.

David Barker, who lives in Huby, said:

“At the peak of the morning rush hour, 12 cars had stopped at Huby Banks and I’m told three more stopped at the T junction and a couple more before the village.

“The AA have been to at least three cars and the Harrogate local recovery company have taken another three away.

“As the traffic built up in the rush hour cars could not see the hole or avoid it. They were all coming from Pool towards Harrogate.”

Mr Barker tried to report the incident but was batted back and forth between North Yorkshire County Council, which is the highways authority, and the police non-emergency number.

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He said several drivers changed wheels before continuing their journeys.

He added:

“The road has in the past ‘blown up’ in this area due to a drainage problem and water is often seen running down the road.

“Much of the problem is many modern cars do not have a spare wheel so if the tyre has come off the rim due to rapid deflation the blow-up repair kit does not work.”

The Stray Ferret has approached the county council for comment.

A major Harrogate district employer has posted a pre-tax loss of £4.1 million after one of its most difficult years ever.

Boroughbridge-based Reed Boardall, which employs 800 staff, grew turnover by 6.2% In the year to March 2022 from £69.8m to £74.1m. But the temperature-controlled food storage and distribution business sustained a £4.1m loss compared with £705,000 profit in the previous year.

The company faced a raft of industry challenges, including rising fuel and energy costs, covid and driver shortages. But it also had to contend with other issues, including a cyber-attack.

Chief executive Marcus Boardall said:

“Our financial performance was adversely affected by Reed Boardall being the victim of a criminal cyber-attack, resulting in our IT systems being out of operation for six days.

“The costs associated with the interruption, loss of revenue and subsequent recovery, were substantial. The situation was exacerbated by bad debt as one of our largest transport customers was placed into administration, although the contract has been taken over by a major retailer.”

Mr Boardall added:

“There’s no question that it has again been a very difficult year for the industry. We have seen the challenges of rising employment costs and inflation forcing up prices for most operators, while coping with continued disruption as a result of reduced staff levels due to covid, along with the problem of driver shortages.

“Looking to the future, the pandemic disruption appears to be settling, and we are starting to bear the fruits of the proactive initiatives we have undertaken to establish our own in-house team of drivers – for example, over the last year, we have trained over 20 new recruits from scratch at our own academy, enabling them to become qualified drivers.”

Mr Boardall said he was “confident that better times are ahead”, adding:

“We have established a strong position in the marketplace and we will continue to prove the success of our single site strategy where we are able to serve all our customers’ needs efficiently.

“I would like to thank our 800-strong team and loyal customers for their continued support as we continue on our growth journey.”

‘Resilient performance’

Based on a 55-acre site just outside Boroughbridge, Reed Boardall has grown to become one of the largest temperature-controlled food distribution businesses in the UK.

With a fleet of 200 vehicles operating 24 hours a day, year-round, it delivers 12,000 pallets of frozen food daily from manufacturers across Britain, Europe and further afield to all the UK’s best-known supermarkets. It also provides blast freezing, picking and packaging services.

Finance director Sarah Roberts said:

“Given the myriad of pressures on the business over the last 12 months, we have once again put in a resilient performance and are pleased to say that we are now on a much more even keel.

“Having completed the multi-million pound expansion of one of our cold stores in spring 2021, we have the largest and most modern facility of its kind in the UK. With a capacity of 168,000 pallets, we have continued to see volumes rise since the year end.

“We have also secured additional business in the new financial year and our ability to adapt to an ever-changing industry is enabling us to attract new customers with very specific requirements while still ensuring their integration into our operations complements our existing customer base.”

A business plan is to be drawn up for introducing a road train in Knaresborough.

The steep slope between the town centre and the river can deter people from visiting both locations. Some visitors who walk along Waterside are not even aware of the town centre, and vice versa.

A road train and cliff lift have both been suggested as solutions.

Now Knaresborough Chamber of Trade and Commerce and Knaresborough Town Council have agreed to work together to build a business case for a road train.

The train would probably run from Conyngham Hall car park to York Place car park, which would also ease pressure on town centre parking.

Peter Lacey, an executive member of the chamber, said:

“It’s a serious proposition. We will do a robust assessment of the business case then conduct an appraisal on how to deliver it.

“We could have a trial and perhaps even hire one for a week over summer.”

Mr Lacey said the service could be provided by a private company, the town council or by a not-for-profit local company set up specifically for the purpose.

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He added he regarded a road train as complementary to a cliff lift rather than an alternative.

A cliff lift, he said, would be an “iconic piece of architecture and major project that took a long time to deliver” whereas a train would be more functional and deliverable quickly.

Mr Lacey said a second-hand road train similar to the Candy Cane Express that carried Christmas visitors around Harrogate would cost about £150,000.

But he said there was also the possibility of exploring a more expensive electric train similar to a large golf buggy and both ideas are would be investigated.

The Harrogate district could be set for its first significant snowfall of the winter.

According to the BBC’s weather forecast, which is provided by MeteoGroup, light snow will fall on Monday followed by heavy snow showers on Tuesday. Further snow is possible later in the week.

But the Met Office forecast for next week does not include any snow for the district.

Both sites, however, agree there will be a return to icy conditions with some areas struggling to get above sub-zero temperatures until Thursday.

Despite today’s drier weather, some roads remain flooded.

Group manager Bob Hoskins, who works for North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service, tweeted about three cars getting stuck at Cattal.

Further flood related incidents today.
3 cars stuck in flood water at Cattal, who had followed each other into the water.

Can I remind people the Fire Service DO NOT recover people’s cars

Whilst at the scene 3 further cars drove past appliance and into the water??????? pic.twitter.com/vXoFfX43ku

— Group Manager Bob Hoskins (@Golf_One4) January 12, 2023

Environment Agency flood alerts remain in place for the Lower River Nidd catchment area and the Lower River Ure, which burst its banks yesterday.

However, the flood warning for the caravan park at Roecliffe, near Boroughbridge, has been removed.

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North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service has this afternoon urged motorists to heed road closure signs after receiving reports of stranded vehicles.

The amount of water on roads is causing problems throughout the county. But some drivers are ignoring signs telling them to turn back due to flooding.

It has prompted the fire service to tweet:

“We have received reports of stranded cars due to standing water following heavy rain – even when signs are in place.

“Please remember the signs are there for a reason. Information about driving in these conditions can be found on our website.”

Three Environment Agency flood alerts are currently in place in the Harrogate district.

The government department says flooding is ‘possible’ in the Lower River Nidd catchment area and around the Lower River Ure and is ‘expected’ at the caravan park alongside the Ure at Roecliffe, near Boroughbridge.

Details of the alerts can be found here.

The River Ure has burst its banks around Ripon, which prompted one concerned passer-by to dial 999 when he mistakenly thought a statue of a horse was an animal in distress.

A flood alert for the Upper River Nidd catchment area, issued yesterday, has been removed.

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Striking ambulance workers are operating a picket line in Harrogate today.

Members of the GMB union began their 24-hour action at Harrogate Ambulance Station, which is on Lancaster Park Road close to the hospital, at midnight.

They were joined by members of Unison at noon.

It is the second time staff at Yorkshire Ambulance Service have gone on strike in the last month, although they continue to respond to the most serious category one calls.

GMB rep and paramedic Neil Summers told the Stray Ferret the state of the NHS was the main reason for the industrial action. He said:

“We are literally sitting outside hospitals with patients in our ambulances for hours and hours because they have nowhere to go.

“The hospitals are full and it means we are not able to do our jobs. We hear calls for cardiac arrests and can’t do anything.”

Todays picket line

Mr Summers said York Hospital was particularly bad but paramedics could still be waiting at Harrogate District Hospital for “up to three or four hours”.

He said there needed to be greater investment in the NHS as well as social care to ease problems caused by bed-blocking.

He said pay was also a concern, as many staff had not had an increase in wages for years.

“My pay isn’t terrible but some people’s is appalling.”

Picket line Jan 2023

The pickets have been joined today by local campaigner Lindis Percy, a former nurse, midwife and health visitor. She said:

“What’s going on in the the health service is shocking and this government has caused it.”

Health Secretary Steve Barclay said this morning the NHS is under “very severe pressure”.

He added the government has announced further investment for emergency departments, as well as looking into ways of targeting how to get patients who are fit to leave into social care.

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Firefighters called to rescue a horse trapped in floodwater discovered it was a metal sculpture in a field near Ripon.

Group manager Bob Hoskins, who works for North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service, tweeted about the incident today.

He said:

“An officer trotted off to check out the situation and discovered a statue of a horse in the middle of the field.

“There was ‘neigh’ further assistance required on this occasion.”

The silhouette sculpture is situated in a field close to the River Ure, which has burst it banks after heavy rain yesterday.

It has been there since 2018.

The ‘horse’ appears trapped in the distance. Pic: Bob Hoskins

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Police are appealing for help after vandals damaged a Mercedes in Harrogate.

The incident happened on Alderson Road, off Leeds Road, shortly before 6.30am on Monday this week.

A North Yorkshire Police statement said two men in dark clothing approached the vehicle on foot from the Leeds Road junction. It added:

“One appears to have kept a look-out while the other damaged the windows of an unattended black Mercedes.

“North Yorkshire Police are requesting the public’s assistance to establish the full circumstances surrounding the incident.

“In particular, officers are asking a female jogger to get in touch. She was wearing a high-vis harness, and may have run past the offenders on Leeds Road immediately prior to the junction of Alderson Road.”

Police also want to contact the driver of a white pick-up truck — possibly a milk delivery vehicle — that pulled into Alderson Road as the damage was taking place.

Anyone else with information or dash cam footage is also asked to email peter.henderson@northyorkshire.police.uk or call on 101, select option 2, and ask for PC 1668 Henderson.

If you wish to remain anonymous, you can pass information to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111. Quote the North Yorkshire Police reference number 12230004592.

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