John Plummer, Author at The Stray Ferret

Dogs saved after falling down hole near Pateley Bridge

Two dogs had to be rescued when they fell down a hole while their owner was walking them near Pateley Bridge.

Mountain rescuers from Upper Wharfedale Fell Rescue Association were called when the owner, who has not been named, was unable to help the dogs escape.

The incident happened at Guise Cliff, near Glasshouses in Nidderdale, shortly after 2pm on Wednesday. Seven rescuers were in attendance for more than two hours.

The association’s incident log said:

“Once there, the team set up a rope system allowing them to abseil down and rescue little Terrier Pippet, and fox red Labrador Pidge.

“Apart from being a little dirty the dogs were unharmed and were able to carry on with their walk home with a very grateful owner.”

Upper Wharfedale Fell Rescue Association dog rescue

Rescuers head down the hole.

Pidge is brought to the surface.

Is Harrogate council leader using misleading statistics to justify £47m spend?

Harrogate Borough Council leader Richard Cooper has been accused of using a misleading statistic to support a £47 million redevelopment of the town’s convention centre.

Cllr Cooper has claimed 88% of conference delegates to the centre return to the area for leisure. However, the Stray Ferret has not been able to find the statistic he refers to -— only one that says, when asked, delegates said they were likely to return.

The statistics matter because the soon-to-be-abolished council wants to fast-track the start of what would be one of the biggest public spending commitments in its 48-year history.

It says Harrogate Convention Centre needs the investment to continue attracting visitors — and to boost the economic impact on the entire Harrogate district.

What is Cllr Cooper claiming?

Cllr Cooper, the Conservative council leader and chair of the convention centre board, told a council meeting this month:

“The purpose and vision of the convention centre is to deliver high quality conferences, exhibitions and events that bring maximum economic impact and prosperity to the district.

“It is important to emphasise that this is for the district and this is not a noose around the district’s neck.

“And I can demonstrate that by saying almost nine out of 10 people — 88% — an astonishing statistic — who come to Harrogate Convention Centre for business return to the district for leisure. This is streets ahead of other venues.”

Kirk Hammerton resident Alex Smith has submitted a freedom of information request asking where this information was from. Neither he nor the Stray Ferret has been able to find it.

Mr Smith told the Stray Ferret he was not a member of any political party but was interested in transparency and standards.

The Visit Britain Statistics

His FoI suggests Cllr Cooper may have been referring to 2018 research by Visit Britain on how much delegates to business events spend.

This research said 88% of delegates to Harrogate Convention Centre, from a sample of 98, said they were ‘likely or very likely’ to return to the area. Of those, 62% said they were ‘very likely’ to return.

But it does not say how many actually do and neither Mr Smith nor the Stray Ferret is aware of any research that does so.

Mr Smith’s FoI request says:

“Residents are used to Cllr Cooper’s robust approach to political point-scoring.

“But, as chairman of the Harrogate Convention Centre, he is obliged to give out accurate information; and as a councillor, he is bound by a code of conduct not to mislead the Mayor and council.

“He is not free to invent ‘astonishing’ statistics to suit his argument.”

The FoI then asks for Cllr Cooper’s source, adding:

“If there is no other source than the one I’ve quoted I’d be grateful if you could inform me when and how Cllr Cooper will correct his wilful misinformation.”

The Stray Ferret asked Cllr Cooper last week where the statistic he quoted was from but has not received a response.

Previous claim

In July 2020, Cllr Cooper told a council meeting that 75% of Harrogate Convention Centre delegates returned. He said:

“75% of 150,000 is 112,500 visitors that come to our district because of the convention centre who we would never see here otherwise.”

Again, it is not clear where this information is from — or why the figure appears to have grown to 88%.

Harrogate Borough Council will be abolished next year as part of a shake-up of local government that will see a new North Yorkshire Council formed.

Cllr Cooper has said he does not intend to seek re-election in May’s local elections for the new council.

Two people cut from vehicles in Knaresborough this morning

Two people had to be cut from their vehicles in Knaresborough this morning following separate crashes.

Firefighters from Harrogate and Knaresborough were initially called to a two-vehicle collision at the junction of the B6164 and A658 at 8.34am.

On arrival, all occupants from one vehicle were out of their car but a woman was unable to leave the other vehicle because of neck injuries.

Firefighters used hydraulic cutting gear to free the woman, who was taken to hospital.

Another image from the incident on Thistle Hill. Photograph: @NorthYorkshireFire, Twitter

Harrogate and Knaresborough crews were called out again at 9.44am when a single vehicle collided with a bollard on Thistle Hill.

The elderly male driver suffered neck, back and knee injuries and was unable to get out of the vehicle.

Firefighters again cut the roof of the vehicle to release the man, who was taken to hospital.

Neither person taken to hospital is believed to have suffered serious injuries.

Parking meters installed in Ripley car park

Parking meters have been installed in Ripley Castle Car Park.

The large car park, situated on the edge of the village, has been free until now but is set to start charging at around Easter time.

The meters remain covered at the moment so it is unclear how much the charge will be.

The meters have not been activated yet.

The car park is part of the estate owned by Ripley Castle owner Sir Thomas Ingilby and his wife Lady Emma.

Mike Gosling, the estate’s business manager, said in an email he was currently overseas on annual leave and would provide full details later. He said:

“There has been dialogue with relevant businesses, the school PTA, the church, the Friends of Ripley and the local council. I have made myself available to answer all of their questions.

“On my return, I will be confirming prices etc and a date for charges to start (approximately Easter).”

Arsonists attempt to set fire to Ripon Cathedral

Arsonists attempted to set fire to Ripon Cathedral this morning.

North Yorkshire Police, which was alerted to the incident at 10.40am, is appealing for information.

Nobody was injured and no damage was caused. No further details have been released.

A spokeswoman for North Yorkshire Police said:

“We were alerted to a suspected attempted arson incident at Ripon Cathedral at around 10.40am today. Thankfully there were no injuries and no damage caused.

“An investigation is ongoing to establish the full circumstances surrounding the incident.”

The cathedral, which is celebrating its 1,350th anniversary this year, was open as normal this afternoon.

A spokesperson confirmed firefighters were called this morning after smoke was smelt inside the building. The spokesperson added:

“We have been asked not to give any more details while investigations are ongoing.”

Inside the cathedral, pictured this afternoon.

Police asked anyone with information to email sarah.hargreaves@northyorkshire.police.uk or call North Yorkshire Police on 101.

Alternatively, they can contact Crimestoppers anonymously via its website or by calling 0800 555 111.

Quote reference number 12220031515.

New Tesco in Killinghall to open on Friday

The new Tesco Express in Killinghall will open on Friday.

The shop is located on the site of the former Three Horseshoes pub on Ripon Road in the heart of the village.

Tesco confirmed the news today, saying the new store will provide 15 jobs and be “an exciting new addition for the community”.

It will open for the first time at 8am on Friday and then be open from 7am to 11pm every day.

The Three Horseshoes in Killinghall before it was destroyed.

Store manager Matthew Gilbert said:

“We are extremely excited to be opening our Killinghall Express store and helping to serve the local community at this difficult time.

“The safety of our customers and colleagues is our number one priority and we have been working hard to introduce the social distancing measures designed to keep everyone safe, whilst still offering the local community brilliant service, a broad range of products including fresh food and food to go, and we look forward to welcoming our first customers.

“We have new colleagues joining the team at the store who are from the local area and that local knowledge and experience will be so important as we look to build connections and play our part in the community.”

A statement by Tesco said the shop will give community grants and contribute to local food banks.

Any local groups that would like to apply for grants can do so here.

Tesco has submitted a planning application to open a large store a mile away on the site of the former gas works at New Park.

Couple jailed after Bower Road brothel reveals modern slavery in Harrogate

A married couple were jailed today for sexually exploiting seven vulnerable women in what amounted to modern day slavery in Harrogate.

Fabiani Alvez De Souza, 42, and Gareth Derby, 53, were both sentenced to five years’ imprisonment at Leeds Crown Court, having been found guilty following a two-week trial in December.

De Souza was charged with eight offences contrary to the Sexual Offences Act 2003 of controlling prostitution for gain, along with seven offences contrary to the Modern Slavery Act 2015 for arranging or facilitating travel of another person with a view to exploitation.

Derby faced two charges in relation to controlling prostitution for gain and arranging or facilitating travel of another person with a view to exploitation.

Both these offences involved the same woman who was the first to work as a sex worker in the rented flat in Harrogate.

They were handed slavery and trafficking orders that will last for 10 years following their release from prison.

The seven victims involved in the case are from Brazil, Portugal and Spain and aged between 26 and 60.

The convictions followed a four-year investigation by North Yorkshire Police’s Organised Crime Unit.

Harrogate sex workers

In January 2017, North Yorkshire Police launched Operation Oasis, which involved police officers conducting harm reduction visits to identify and support vulnerable sex workers in North Yorkshire.

Between October 2017 and May 2018, officers attended the same location on Bower Road, Harrogate, on six separate occasions during which they spoke to five women who were sex workers.

After the third visit in December 2017, it became clear that a brothel was being operated from the flat and that another woman was facilitating the travel of the women working at the premise to the UK and that she was also involved in the management of their activities.

These concerns were passed to Detective Inspector Fionna McEwan in North Yorkshire Police’s Organised Crime Unit. Her team began an in-depth investigation led by the officer in the case, Detective Constable Leah Kitchen.

It was established that De Souza was the person who was renting the flat on Bower Road in Harrogate and that she had created, posted and paid for the adverts on an adult website under “Escorts and Massages” in Yorkshire and the Humber with a partial Harrogate post code.

At the same time, she also paid for similar adverts in the South Wooton/PE30 area which related to another rented address on Nelson Street in Kings Lynn.

Rented flats in Harrogate and Norfolk

The investigators were able to establish a pattern of activity of De Souza or Derby paying for flights from locations such as Lisbon, Amsterdam and Brussels to Manchester and Stansted airports, as well as train and road travel within the UK including from these airports to the rented flats in Harrogate and Kings Lynn.

The first time this occurred, on 27 September 2017, is a perfect illustration of how the pair, from Upwell in Norfolk, operated their illegal enterprise.

Evidence showed that De Souza and Derby had travelled from their home address to Manchester Airport that evening in Derby’s work van.

They collected a woman who had flown in from Amsterdam and they drove her to the flat in Harrogate.

At 6.28am the next day, financial enquiries confirmed that an advert was uploaded to an adult website paid for by De Souza.

Evidence again confirmed that De Souza and Derby left Harrogate to return to Kings Lynn shortly after the advert went live.

Cash deposits

Between 30 September and 13 October 2017, three cash deposits were made in Harrogate to De Souza’s bank account of £163, £600 and £1,045.

During this period neither De Souza nor Derby were in Harrogate.

When the first harm reduction visit at the flat was carried out by North Yorkshire Police on 8 October 2017, officers were able to establish that it was the same woman who had been collected from Manchester Airport by De Souza and Derby.

De Souza and Derby clearing the flat out in Harrogate.

The investigation showed that De Souza was controlling this woman’s activities. Between 25 and 30 October, two further cash deposits were made into De Souza’s bank account in Harrogate of £500 and £600 respectively, again during this period De Souza and Derby were in Norfolk.

Financial records showed that De Souza then paid £70.98 for an EasyJet flight for the same woman who flew from London Stansted to Amsterdam on 29 October.

On 8 August 2018, North Yorkshire Police and Norfolk Constabulary attended the couple’s then home address at Walpole St Andrew. Upon entering the property officers found one woman who had previously been encountered at the Harrogate flat.

Officers then had to force their way into the garage which had been converted into a small flat where they found another woman who was involved in prostitution.

De Souza was arrested and taken into custody for questioning. Derby was working out of the country at that time but was arrested on his return.

A detailed financial examination showed that the couple had spent several thousands of pounds setting up the business, including paying for the adult website adverts and travel and accommodation for the woman who worked as prostitutes.

However, cash deposits totalling more than £40,000 were found to have been paid into their bank accounts during this six-month period.

‘Controlling prostitution for gain’

Detective Constable Leah Kitchen, of the Organised Crime Unit, said:

“De Souza claimed throughout the investigation that she was just helping friends of hers who were working as prostitutes, while Derby repeatedly told the police that he was unaware of what was going on.

“The truth of the matter is that they, together, were operating an illegal business involving human trafficking and controlling prostitution for gain.

“Among the considerable evidence we were able to recover were WhatsApp messages in which De Souza refers to herself as ‘the boss’.

“Tellingly, WhatsApp messages from De Souza to Derby in June 2017 included the following:

‘Let me tell you something…the first month was an experience, but there are still a lot of adjustments to make so we can actually make money.

‘At this point we have more than 10 women interested in working for us, but we need to have other conditions for our business to work. Try to find another apartment…or we’ll both try to find to make our business more profitable.’

“It is clear from these messages alone that they were determined to expand their business. They had invested thousands of pounds, but they had profited by more than £40,000 during this six-month period.

“This considerable sum of cash was gained through the exploitation of seven vulnerable women in what amounted to modern day slavery.

“I’m very proud that North Yorkshire Police, with assistance from Norfolk Constabulary, have rooted out this activity and brought the offenders to justice.”

DC Kitchen added:

“This is an important case as it is a victimless prosecution for a human trafficking and controlling prostitution investigation, which is unusual and more difficult to progress to court.

“It has also shown the importance of a safeguarding approach to policing, because if it wasn’t for the sex worker harm reduction visits carried out in Harrogate under Operation Oasis, this fledgling international sex trafficking business may have grown significantly without coming to the attention of the police.”

Delivery van gets stuck on Harrogate’s Stray after attempting shortcut

A delivery van got stuck in the mud on The Stray in Harrogate when it attempted to take a shortcut over the grass last weekend.

A Harrogate woman captured the images of the beached vehicle during Saturday afternoon’s snowfall.

Tyre tracks indicate the van attempted to bypass the recent road closure on Beech Grove by mounting the Stray. But the ruse backfired when the vehicle sunk in the mud shortly before it was able to rejoin the highway.

Beech Grove closed to through traffic a year ago on an 18-month trial basis.

https://twitter.com/HellyR1/status/1495077805964595201

Helen, who declined to reveal her surname, captured the incident while walking. She said other vehicles had performed the same cross-country detour, adding:

“I live locally, I think the road closure is great but it saddens me when the minority feel they have the right to ignore it and drive over the Stray.

“One lady brought her car inches from my legs when I stopped her and suggested she went back.”

She has notified North Yorkshire County Council, the highways authority, about the incident as well as the parks department at Harrogate Borough Council and sent photos of previous damage.

“It was only a matter of time before someone got stuck and sadly it was this DPD driver. The damage is awful. Others have done it — future people will also get stuck as the Stray is so waterlogged.

“I’ve suggested to North Yorkshire County Council and Harrogate Borough Council that large logs could be put between trees — we’ve plenty around after the storms. This would stop cars.”

Urgent investigation

A DPD spokesman said:

“We are aware of the incident and are investigating what happened and what needs to be done as a result, as a matter of urgency.

“Until that work has been done, we can’t really say a great deal more, but I will follow up with the operation and update you as soon as possible.”

Other photos of the incident, sent separately, reveal the tyre tracks of multiple vehicles that have attempted a similar manoeuvre, cutting across a public footpath in the process.

DPD van stuck on Stray

Pedestrian hit by van on busy Harrogate road

A man was injured as he crossed a busy Harrogate street this morning.

The man was crossing Bower Road when he was struck by the vehicle, which had just turned left from Franklin Road.

The pedestrian was on the ground for several minutes, causing traffic to be diverted, but remained conscious. It is not known how serious his injuries are.

Several police cars attended the scene but North Yorkshire Police has not responded to requests for information.

Eyewitnesses described the man, whose name is not known, as elderly and said a large crowd gathered to offer help.

Retail staff on Commercial Street opposite also came to the man’s aid before paramedics arrived.

The incident happened at about 10.40am this morning.

Plea for better drains after Pateley Bridge floods again

Businesses and residents are calling for the drains to be improved in Pateley Bridge after the town flooded again yesterday.

Pateley has flooded frequently in recent years and the bottom of High Street was under water again in the early hours of Sunday.

Fortunately the water subsided quickly after Lee Chandler, co-owner of the Spar shop on High Street, went out in the dark with rods to unblock the drains.

Many people blame the state of the drains for not the problem. They say the drains are not cleaned often enough and therefore don’t remove water that comes down the hill fast enough, leaving shops at the bottom of High Street vulnerable.

Firefighters help out yesterday.

The increased regularity of floods has led to calls for action.

Andrew Weatherhead, owner of butchers H Weatherhead and Sons, plans to install flood doors at the front and back of his shop after water got into the premises for the second time in a year. The shop closed yesterday but has reopened today.

He said:

“The problem is not the river flooding — it’s the state of the drains. The water comes down the High Street and it brings a load of muck down. There’s a couple of drains on either side of the road and they get blocked by the mud.

“We could do with bigger drains or the drains being cleaned more frequently.”

Elizabeth Chandler, co-owner of the Spar shop, said her husband Lee often unblocked the drains and the problem was compounded yesterday by a lack of sandbags distributed.

Unblocking the drains yesterday.

Mr Chandler began tackling the flooding at 5am. It had cleared by about 7.30am and then he and his wife helped the clean-up operation on Greenwood Road, which had also flooded. They finally got home at 8pm only to notice the roof of their home was leaking.

Ms Chandler agreed to the state of the drains needed addressing — a sentiment echoed by many residents on Facebook groups in the area.

Stanley Lumley, a Conservative councillor who represents Pateley Bridge on both Harrogate Borough Council and North Yorkshire County Council, told the Stray Ferret that there was a problem with the drains in the town, which along with snow meltwater and torrential rain caused a “perfect storm”.

Cllr Lumley, who took part in yesterday’s emergency response, added:

“North Yorkshire County Council has brought highways management back in-house so I hope we will be able to manage our resources better than in the past.

“The council relied on outsourced contractors in the past and they haven’t been as proactive as they should have been.

“In future, rather than do blanket cleans of gulleys that don’t always need it we will be able to undertake more targeted cleaning.”

Cllr Lumley praised the town’s emergency response, adding:

“We’ve got fantastic community spirit in Pateley Bridge.”

‘Flooding due to volume of water’

Melisa Burnham, the council’s highways manager for the Harrogate area, said the amount of rainfall was the key issue. She said:

“We had up to 80mm of rain forecast on already saturated ground in the Pateley Bridge area and there will be a point where this quantity of water is beyond the capacity of highways drainage systems; it is likely that flooding in Pateley was therefore due to this volume of water rather than the state of the drains.

“Nevertheless, once the flooding has been dealt with, particularly any immediate risk or risk to properties, any problem areas will be investigated and action taken as required in due course.”

Read more:

What is Cllr Cooper claiming?

The Visit Britain Statistics

Previous claim

Read more:

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Harrogate sex workers

Rented flats in Harrogate and Norfolk

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Cash deposits

‘Controlling prostitution for gain’

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Urgent investigation

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‘Flooding due to volume of water’