20 cars on Harrogate street scratched with key

About 20 cars parked on a street in Harrogate have been scratched by what appears to have been a key.

Marketing professional Charley Christopher noticed the paintwork damaged on vehicles on Dragon Parade when she was walking to Harrogate train station yesterday morning.

She said:

“It looks like someone keyed a huge number of cars.

“It was as if someone just walked along the whole street with something sharp.”

Dragon Parade

 

Ms Christopher, who lives nearby, suggested people check dash cam and CCTV footage to see if they could identify the culprit or culprits.

She noticed the incident at about 8.30am on Saturday. The Stray Ferret walked along the road at about midday on the same day and noticed several cars were marked.

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Harrogate man: ‘My whole life has been consumed by drugs’

Two weeks ago, Chris Hollowed left jail after serving six months for dealing heroin and crack cocaine on the streets of Harrogate.

Since then, he has left his family in Harrogate to start a new life in Rotherham, away from old friends and haunts and, hopefully, old habits.

Drugs have scarred his life and after he was sentenced in March his daughter Mel Bowman got in touch to say her dad had never denied his guilt but she felt he had been let down by a lack of support.

She also wanted to convey that her dad was more than a ‘junkie’: he’s worked as a builder, decorator, plasterer and mechanic and has been a great support to many others.

Mr Hollowed agreed to talk frankly to the Stray Ferret about his experiences to give people an insight into how life can spiral out of control.

Harrogate council estate

He traces his problems back to growing up on the St Andrew’s council estate in Harrogate. His parents divorced at the age of six. He says:

“I’m the eldest of four children so I was allowed out a bit later and sent to the shops so I ended up knocking around with older boys. There was always a criminal element on the estate where I lived and I just fitted in.

“I started smoking cannabis when I was 12 or 13. At 16 I was sent to Borstal for stealing cars.

“When I went to Borstal I thought it was cool because there were older boys. I didn’t understand the lifestyle consequences.”

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Drugs have continued to scar Mr Hollowed, who has had several relationships and been homeless. He says it was a “natural progression” from cannabis to harder drugs.

“It doesn’t happen to everybody but when you smoke cannabis you can go from one drug to the next and they become more and more expensive. I’ve done everything you’d expect from an addict. Heroin is a completely different drug. It doesn’t just affect you mentally, it affects you physically.”

Clean from heroin

Mr Hollowed was jailed for a third time in March when he admitted two counts of supplying class A drugs last year. The court heard he had 105 offences on his record. His lawyer said he had an “entrenched” drug addiction dating back over 20 years, which had taken a heavy toll on his health. He was jailed in March and released on September 13.

He says he’s been clean from heroin for six months but was prescribed methadone in prison.

“I’m now on no drugs and no medication. Nothing.”

He’s living in a hostel in Rotherham with two other men. He says:

“I’ve had to leave my home town and family. If I go to Harrogate I will fail. I’m not saying I won’t fail here but I have a chance.

“I’m an older man now and can just walk my dog. I don’t need to be part of a clique anymore. My whole life has been consumed by drugs.

“I’m changing everything. I’m hoping to work for the local drug agency. I’m waiting to do exams. I’m 56. I’ve got 15 years of work I can give back. The lesson is it all starts with cannabis. But I need training.”

He makes no great promises about the future.

“I’ve talked to my daughter and ex-girlfriend and I have tried to get myself clean many times. In five years time I might be a success. Right now I’m not a success.”

He hopes to help others and that his story will help others view him and others with drug addictions in a more nuanced way.

Lack of support and compassion

His daughter, Mel Bowman, also wants people to know her dad’s situation is more complex than many people think and urges them to show compassion.

“He’s a great guy, he made bad choices and spent his life trying to make up for it.

“People will always overlook him as a person as just a junkie, it’s a lack of compassion and understanding that draws people to that conclusion.

“It’s easy to write people off under a stereotype, not so easy to offer help and support but he would be the first person to offer it if the shoe was on the other foot.”

Ms Bowman adds her dad got little response from employers when he was honest enough to admit he was a recovering addict.

“He eventually went and sought comfort from his past after getting no where with his future. Obviously drug users can’t be babysat and they don’t want that, they need to be reinstated into society with support and shown respect as you would give any other human.

“Also they can’t get the implant of the blocker anymore, which is key to supporting users through those first few months of recovery. You can get a tablet but that means you’re relying on willpower alone, which isn’t easy.

“It’s these types of things that would really help. On paper the support is there but in reality it’s not there quick enough and not easily accessible.”

Animals rights group urges Harrogate and Knaresborough MP Andrew Jones to ‘wake up’

Animal rights charity Peta has criticised Harrogate and Knaresborough MP Andrew Jones for lobbying on behalf of an animal testing company.

Mr Jones this week asked to meet science minister George Freeman to discuss ways of helping Labcorp Drug Development expand over the next five years.

The American-owned company, which has a site on Otley Road in Harrogate and was previously called Covance, frequently attracts demonstrators waving placards such as ‘puppy killers work here’.

A vigil for the animals tested on at Labcorp will be held in Harrogate town centre on Sunday afternoon.

Labcorp’s activities have also been criticised by comedian Ricky Gervais and actor Peter Egan.

Dr Julia Baines, Peta’s science policy manager, said Labcorp’s “monstrous laboratory causes immense suffering and has shown that it is out of touch with state-of-the-art replacements for the caging and use of animals”.

Ms Baines added:

“Peta is rushing a copy of our research modernisation deal to Mr Jones to encourage him to wake up to the advent of progressive, non-animal research. Good science and sound ethics can propel us towards the shared goal of better health.”

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Gervais and Egan spoke out after a film by campaign group Free the MBR Beagles showed beagles being loaded into vans from a breeding site in Cambridgeshire and transported to Labcorp in Harrogate for testing.

Gervais said it was “heartbreaking to hear these puppies crying out for mercy” and called for “an immediate ban on this shocking animal cruelty”.

‘New drugs must be tested in animals’

Mr Jones did not respond to the Stray Ferret’s request for a response to the claims.

The Conservative MP said in the Commons this week that Labcorp was “at the heart of new medicine development both in the UK and across Europe and has played a role in the life science industry response to covid”.

A spokesman for Labcorp said:

“Labcorp Drug Development takes very seriously our ethical and regulatory responsibilities to treat research animals with the greatest care and respect. In addition to being the right thing to do, the proper care of research animals is fundamental to sound scientific research and the ability to develop life-saving and life-enhancing new medicines for cancer, deadly infections, heart disease, leukaemia, diabetes, Alzheimer’s, multiple sclerosis, cystic fibrosis, and many other disabling diseases.

“New drugs must be tested in animals before human clinical trials to ensure the safety of patients and volunteers and there are clear links between excellent animal welfare and medical breakthroughs.

“Labcorp Drug Development, formerly known as Covance adheres to, or exceeds, all national and international standards of animal welfare, including the European Council Directive 2010/63/EU, the U.S. Animal Welfare Act and the requirements set forth by the United States Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Public Health Service Policy on the Humane Care and Use of Laboratory Animals. We are also among the more than 70 original signers of the United Kingdom’s Concordat on Openness on Animal Research.

“Additionally, Labcorp Drug Development participates in the voluntary accreditation programme of AAALAC International, formerly known as Association for Assessment and Accreditation of Laboratory Animal Care, which includes on-site visits to ensure that we are meeting or exceeding prescribed standards for policies, animal housing and management, veterinary care and facilities. AAALAC International is a private, nonprofit organisation that promotes the humane treatment of animals in science through voluntary accreditation and assessment programmes.”

 

Andrew Jones MP bids to help Harrogate animal testing firm expand

Harrogate and Knaresborough MP Andrew Jones is to meet the science minister to help a controversial Harrogate animal testing firm expand.

Labcorp Drug Development, which is on Otley Road and was previously called Covance, has been subject to regular demonstrations by animal activists.

A group held banners with slogans such as “puppy killers work here” during a demonstration last month.

Speaking in the House of Commons yesterday, Mr Jones said Labcorp was “one of the largest employers in my constituency”.

The Conservative MP added the firm planned to expand and asked whether George Freeman, who was appointed science minister in this month’s government reshuffle, would meet to discuss it. Mr Jones said:

“One of the largest employers in my constituency is Labcorp, a business that is at the heart of new medicine development both in the UK and across Europe and has played a role in the life science industry response to covid.

“It is considering UK expansion over the next five years at a number of sites across the UK.

“Will my honourable friend meet me to discuss that opportunity, and also some of the obstacles that may get in the way of it, with a view to securing expansion in the UK as a whole but in Harrogate in particular?

Mr Freeman replied:

“I should be delighted to meet my honourable friend soon to discuss that.

“Labcorp is a major global corporation whose investment in the new clinical pharmacology site is vital. It is in such companies that we need to be investing to drive private investment in research and development.”

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The Stray Ferret contacted Labcorp but did not receive a response by time of publication.

It previously told us it “takes very seriously our ethical and regulatory responsibilities to treat research animals with the greatest care and respect”.

It added:

“In addition to being the right thing to do, the proper care of research animals is fundamental to sound scientific research and the ability to develop life-saving and life-enhancing new medicines.

“New drugs must be tested in animals before human clinical trials to ensure the safety of patients and volunteers and there are clear links between excellent animal welfare and medical breakthroughs.”

Call for police action against Harrogate Asda car park ‘boy racers’

A Harrogate resident has called for police action against ‘boy racers’ who regularly descend on the town’s Asda car park.

The resident, who lives on Mayfield Grove within earshot of the car park, told the Stray Ferret he would organise a demonstration if nothing was done.

He said people on streets near the store were tired of the noise and had safety concerns about vehicles speeding.

According to the resident, who asked not to be named, about four to six cars belonging mainly to young men congregate nightly in the car park and rev their engines and pop their exhausts.

The resident said they had raised the matter with Philip Allott, the police commissioner for North Yorkshire, and a police community support officer had agreed to visit the supermarket this week to discuss the matter,

They said they would now wait to see what ensued before deciding whether to mobilise support for a demonstration.

“Every night for years these idiots gather in the rear part of Asda car park where they rev their engines then race out of the car park and round Harrogate.

“I have video and pics that I gave to Philip Allott of a Mercedes that is there most nights and which nearly wiped out a couple of customers.

“If the police don’t do anything about it, we are going to arrange a demo at Asda.”

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A spokesman for North Yorkshire Police said:

“We are aware of anti-social-behaviour problems around the Mayfield Grove area of Harrogate, in particular issues with speeding vehicles.

“We will be actively deploying specialist resource to the area which will include roads policing officers who will be robustly dealing with any offences.

“Officers will also be linking in other local organisations and utilising local CCTV to help us build intelligence.”

The spokesman said these measures were in addition to North Yorkshire Police’s ongoing Operation Crome initiative to tackle anti-social and illegal driving.

An Asda spokesman said:

‘’We thank the vast majority who use our car parks responsibly and we will work with the authorities to ensure that the spaces around our stores remain safe for our customers.’’

Police release teenager after knife incident in Harrogate

Police said today they are taking no further action against a teenager arrested following reports of a man brandishing a knife outside the Odeon in Harrogate.

Pub chef Chloe Horner told the Stray Ferret she saw a man holding a “huge” knife outside the cinema after she got home from work at about midnight on Saturday night.

She said the man walked off in the direction of Asda after another man, who walked by and was threatened, called the police.

A North Yorkshire Police spokesman said today:

“I can confirm a 19-year-old man was arrested in relation to this incident on Saturday night. The man has since been released from police custody and faces no further action.

“We have nothing further to add at this time.”

According to Ms Horner, armed officers attended the scene. She said:

“It’s crazy. You don’t expect to see that in Harrogate”.

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Swastikas sprayed as Knaresborough monuments desecrated

Some of Knaresborough’s most famous monuments were vandalised in a shocking rampage last night.

Nazi swastikas and naked genitals were graffitied on to the wall of the town’s 12th century castle.

Whoever did it climbed up the side of the castle into the castle’s King’s Chambers, which is in full sight of Knaresborough police station.

Town centre statues of Blind Jack and Mother Shipton were also covered in spray paint overnight. Several signs and information boards were covered in paint.

The Stray Ferret spoke to shocked locals at the castle and in the Market Place today, where the bronze statues of road builder John Metcalf, better known as Blind Jack, and prophetess Mother Shipton, had been desecrated.

Knaresborough castle

Knaresborough castle

One local resident, who asked not to be named, told the Stray Ferret:

“I’m shocked and disgusted that this has taken place. It’s absolutely vile.”

Another person visiting the town said:

“Who in their right mind does this kind of thing?”

The Stray Ferret has chosen not to show the graffiti on the castle wall, which contains a hateful anti-semitic message as well as swastikas and crude sexual imagery.

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Harrogate district covid rate remains above national average

The Harrogate district weekly covid rate has remained above the England average after today’s figures revealed another 66 infections.

A recent downward trend had seen the district’s rate fall from 424 cases per 100,000 people last Sunday to 274 yesterday.

However, today’s data from Public Health England means the rate has risen to 285. The rates for England and North Yorkshire both stand at 259.

The area in the district with the most infections in the last seven days is Harrogate East, with 45.

Menwith, Beckwithshaw and Denton Moor has recorded the fewest, with just eight.

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Report of man wielding knife outside Harrogate Odeon

A woman has described seeing a man brandishing a “huge” knife outside the Odeon in Harrogate last night.

Pub chef Chloe Horner had just got home from work when her partner alerted her to a man with a blade several inches long outside the cinema at about midnight.

Ms Horner said she saw the incident clearly from her kitchen window and observed the man standing motionless holding the knife.

She said another man, who walked by and was threatened, called the police.

By the time the police arrived, the person with the knife had walked off in the direction of Asda, she added.

“It was scary. You don’t expect to see that outside your own window. I feel for anyone else who might have walked by him. The knife was huge.”

Ms Horner said police, including armed officers and officers with dogs, were at the scene for about an hour but she does not know if any arrests were made.

By the time they arrived the man, who she said was wearing a dirty brown hoodie and joggers, had walked off.

“It’s crazy. You don’t expect to see that in Harrogate”.

The Stray Ferret has approached North Yorkshire Police for details.

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£10.9m Harrogate Station Gateway ‘must focus’ on cycling and walking

The £10.9m secured for the Harrogate Station Gateway scheme must be spent on promoting cycling and walking, one of the councillors leading the initiative has said.

Yesterday a survey revealed most Harrogate businesses rejected the key proposals of reducing Station Parade to single lane traffic and pedestrianising James Street.

Councillor Don Mackenzie, executive member for access at North Yorkshire County Council, said the project had been funded by the UK government’s Transforming Cities Fund, which was set up specifically to encourage sustainable travel.

Therefore, he added, cycling and walking “must be the focus of this scheme”.

He added:

“It would not be possible, for example, to focus solely on public realm improvements or parking.”

Polarised opinion

An online survey run by the councils supporting the scheme revealed 45% of 1,101 respondents were in favour of the full pedestrianisation of James Street and 49% favoured making Station Parade one lane.

It would therefore seem the scheme enjoys wider support among the general public than it does among businesses but the issue continues to polarise opinion as a second round of consultation looms.

Cllr Mackenzie said:

“I would like to reassure the businesses that a principal reason for our current gateway schemes in Harrogate, Selby and Skipton is to make town centres more attractive places to visit and to boost the local economy in each town.

“With our partners, we undertook an extensive public consultation earlier this year on the initial proposals, in which all residents and businesses were able to give their views. This included events specifically designed to enable business groups, including Harrogate Business Improvement District, to give their feedback.

“The BID expressed the views now presented in its survey at that time, and these were taken into account as we prepared the revised proposals, as was the wider feedback we received from the community.

“A further planned consultation will be launched next month, in which all residents and businesses will be able to comment on the revised proposals. Again, there will be specific opportunities for businesses to comment.

“This will enable us to have a proper dialogue and help us to understand the issues behind the headline figures of the BID’s survey.

“In the meantime, we will continue to engage with the BID.”

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