Heroin dealer in Harrogate jailed for five years

A man has been jailed for more than five years for dealing drugs on the streets of Harrogate.

Andrew Paul Christian Brown, 46, was arrested in the Montpellier Hill area of the town on 17 September last year by officers from North Yorkshire Police’s Operation Expedite team.

He was charged with supplying heroin on dates in 2019 and 2020, as well as possessing criminal property – namely more than £700 found in his underwear following a search by officers.

Brown, whose address was listed as HMP Hull, pleaded guilty and at York Crown Court on Friday was jailed for five years and seven months.

In addition, the court ordered that £716 be confiscated from him, and he must also pay a victim surcharge.

Read more:

DC Tom Barker, of North Yorkshire Police, said:

“Brown’s conviction and prison sentence should send a very clear message to anyone who is involved in county lines drug dealing in our area: North Yorkshire Police will target you and make it extremely difficult for you carry out your criminal activity.

“Harrogate is one of the safest places in the country, and officers here are working hard to keep it that way.”

North Yorkshire Police’s Expedite team specialises in county lines drugs offences.

Anyone with information about drug dealing in their area can contact North Yorkshire Police on 101. If you prefer not to speak to the police and remain anonymous, you can pass information to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 or online at www.crimestoppers-uk.org.

Welcome to Yorkshire posts losses of £200,000

The troubled tourism organisation Welcome to Yorkshire lost about £200,000 in two years, according to its latest accounts published this week.

The organisation, which is a limited company, was bailed out last year by Harrogate Borough Council and North Yorkshire County Council, plus other local authorities.

Its accounts for the six months to March 31 2020 and the 18 months to September 30 2019, which were both released on the same day this week, lay bare the organisation’s financial struggles in the aftermath of the resignation of its former chief executive, Sir Gary Verity in March 2019.

The organisation has undergone significant changes since the accounts were published.

The accounts reveal the organisation spent £151,568 on staff termination costs in 2018/19, which covers the period Sir Gary left. A Welcome to Yorkshire spokeswoman told the Stray Ferret the costs referred to one member of staff.

The organisation spent another £71,133 in termination costs in the 2019/20 period.

It also spent £323,000 on legal and professional fees over the combined two-year period.

Asked why the fees were so high, the spokeswoman said the figure included the cost of two independent reports by accountants BDO and solicitors Clarion, recruiting a new chief executive and other one-off costs.

It lost £127,140 in 2019/20 and £71,857 in 2018/19.

Read More: 

The spokeswoman acknowledged it had been a “difficult time” but added the organisation had undergone “significant operational, staffing, cultural and strategic changes” since the periods covered by the two sets of accounts.

In the last 16 months it has appointed Peter Box as chairman, James Mason as chief executive, introduced an audit committee and governance panel and reduced the workforce by more than half to 24, she added.

The spokeswoman said:

“The accounts were filed after an extended period as a result of issues relating to the coronavirus crisis, including subsequent uncertainty of funding which had previously been assigned from the North and West Yorkshire Business Rates Committee.

“The organisation is focusing on the future, moving forward and supporting the economic recovery of the tourism sector in Yorkshire through the coronavirus crisis and post-pandemic to reopen, recover and rebuild as part of Welcome to Yorkshire’s tourism recovery plan, working closely with the county’s businesses and local authorities.”

Harrogate Borough Council gave Welcome to Yorkshire £31,000 last year to help keep it afloat. North Yorkshire County Council awarded it £290,000.

Marshal at Harrogate UCI World Championships jailed for cocaine dealing

A traffic marshal at the 2019 UCI Road World Championships in Harrogate has been jailed after she was caught selling cocaine and ketamine on the side.

Ripon woman Monique Shiels, 25, was marshalling at the world championships when police responded to a tip-off and caught her red-handed.

When confronted by officers, Shiels said: “Who was it who dobbed me in?”

Prosecutor Matthew Collins told York Crown Court:

“Information had been received by police…that this defendant was dealing drugs whilst working as a traffic marshal for (the) UCI Cycling World Championships in Harrogate.

“Police (turned up at) the location where she was reported to be and found her standing near her vehicle. Her first response to officers was, ‘Who was it who dobbed me in?’”.

Officers found £333 cash on Shiels, as well as a “quantity of orange tablets and some powdered substance” in a black bag she was carrying.

They searched her car – which she used for traffic marshalling during the event – and found digital weighing scales and a mobile phone with text messages sent between Shiels and her customers discussing deals and amounts.

The drugs stash found inside the vehicle included about 8g of cocaine and 10g of ketamine, but Mr Collins said this was just a snapshot of Shiels’s drug-dealing activities, which text messages proved had been going on “for some length of time”.

Selling drugs as crowds gathered

The court heard that Shiels had been selling drugs as crowds gathered for the 92nd UCI World Championships, whose elite competitors vying for the champion’s jersey included Denmark’s Mads Pedersen, time-trial world champion Rohan Dennis and Holland’s Annemiek van Vleuten.

Shiels was arrested on the fourth day of the week-long event.

Mr Collins said Shiels had only been charged in relation to the drugs found on her at the time, which judge Sean Morris, the Recorder of York, described as “bad prosecuting by the CPS”.

Shiels, of Water Skellgate, Ripon, was taken in for questioning following her arrest on September 25, 2019, but refused to answer police questions.She was charged with possessing cocaine, a Class A drug, and Class B ketamine, with intent to supply. She admitted both charges and appeared for sentence on Thursday.

Read more:

The court heard that Shiels had nine previous convictions for offences including violence, breaching court orders and possessing MDMA, an Ecstasy-type drug.
During conversations with the Probation Service following her arrest for the drug-supply offences in Harrogate, Shiels said she didn’t see anything wrong with dealing drugs.

Self-confessed drug user

Andrew Petterson, mitigating, said that Shiels, who worked as a sales adviser for a TV dealership, was a self-confessed drug user.

“Clearly, she is one of the misguided individuals in society that doesn’t see (drug-dealing) as a problem,” he added.

Judge Mr Morris told Shiels: “These courts hear stories of (drug-related) robberies and muggings and fights, burglaries, all to pay people like you…and that’s why you are going to prison.”

He said her offences were so serious and her previous breaches of community orders so many that anything other than an immediate prison sentence was out of the question.

Shiels was jailed for two years – a much-reduced sentence due to the delay in the case reaching the courts and the current covid pandemic that had affected living conditions in prisons.

The judge also ordered the confiscation of Shiels’s vehicle and made her pay a statutory surcharge.

Police posters warn of covid fines in beauty spots

Police have put up posters at Harrogate district beauty spots telling people they could be fined if they don’t have a reasonable excuse for being there.

A new batch of North Yorkshire Police posters appeared this week during school half-term at various locations, including the one pictured on Nidderdale Greenway in Ripley.

The posters say covid patrols are taking place in the area and officers will engage with people to ensure they are complying with the rules. They add:

“However, you could get a fixed penalty notice if you are away from home without a reasonable excuse, or are deliberately flouting the rules.”

Nidderdale Greenway, along with other beauty spots, is popular with dog walkers and people exercising. Many people drive there with their dogs.

There has been widespread confusion about how far people can travel to exercise during lockdown.

A Harrogate Borough Council newsletter last month warned people they “run the risk of a fine” if they drove to into the Nidderdale Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, which includes Fewston and Swinsty reservoirs.

But some people commented that the law does not state how far you can travel to exercise.

Read more:

A North Yorkshire Police spokesman told the Stray Ferret the posters had been placed in popular walking sports as part of the effort to limit the spread of the virus. He added:

“Residents in the district can drive to such locations to take exercise, which is an exemption under the health protection regulations.

“The posters and the patrols are there to protect local people from those who travel considerable distances from outside their own area.”

Ripon hospital patients moved after covid outbreak

Patients at Ripon Community Hospital have been transferred to Harrogate District Hospital after an outbreak of covid.

The Ripon hospital, which is part of Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust, has one 16-bed ward, called Trinity Ward.

A Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust spokesperson said:

“We can confirm that following positive covid tests for some patients on the ward at Ripon Community Hospital, the ward has been closed for cleaning and covid-positive patients moved to Harrogate District Hospital to continue receiving care on dedicated covid wards.

“As we always do, appropriate actions have been taken and we are carrying out an investigation into the root cause.”

Harrogate District Hospital has also suffered from an increase in covid transmissions acquired in the hospital since Christmas.

Read more:

The trust has instigated extra measures, including more regular testing and ensuring windows are open for 10 minutes every hour, in response to the increase.

Harrogate hospital covid levels remain stubbornly high: North Yorkshire Local Resilience Forum, which represents the agencies leading the fight against the pandemic, revealed at a press briefing yesterday it currently has 65 patients with the virus.

This is as high as at any point during the pandemic, even though the average rate of infection in the Harrogate district has been falling since January 8.

‘We were told the vaccine was the way out’

A Harrogate man has spoken of his despair at being one of 1.7 million people told to shield again for another five weeks.

Scott Lambert, 35, has a rare autoimmune disease called behçets syndrome and is classed as clinically extremely vulnerable.

He received an email from the government yesterday advising him to extend shielding from February 21 to March 31.

Mr Lambert told the Stray Ferret he was vaccinated three weeks ago at Harrogate’s Great Yorkshire Showground and, after spending much of last year shielding and all of this year, thought the end was in sight.

So to receive the news out of the blue yesterday was “beyond unfair”, he said, adding:

“We were told the vaccine was the way out of this. Yet a week before the review date we have been told it’s a further five weeks minimum.

Read more:

He said shielders were “the forgotten people in the pandemic” and he wanted to highlight their situation. He added:

“We have been locked away far more than many people over the coronavirus pandemic. It’s taking a huge strain on each and every one of us.

“Being a shielder isn’t lockdown. It’s next level lockdown. You’re constantly thinking of how transmission could occur and make you seriously ill. Yet an email is all the government felt was enough to put us through this for a further five weeks.

“We thought the vaccine was the way out. The government achieved the target of vaccinating all of the clinically extremely vulnerable and we thought we would be able to rejoin society in the new normal.”

Mr Lambert, who lives in Jennyfields, said the showground vaccination programme was well run. He added a Facebook group called Shielders Support had been extremely helpful to local shielders. But yesterday’s news came as a “shock to all”.

The email urged him to “stay at home as much as possible”, adding:

“Whilst the national lockdown has been effective and cases of covid are now falling, the levels of infection in the community remain high and the virus continues to pose a high risk to people across the country.

“The risk remains particularly high for those considered clinically extremely vulnerable. Therefore, the government strongly advises you to continue to follow the shielding measures that were introduced in January to help you protect yourself.”

School with only six pupils set to close in August

Formal moves have begun to close a primary school in the Harrogate district that has just six pupils.

Kell Bank Church of England Primary School, Healey, near Masham, can accommodate up to 50 pupils aged four to 11.

The number of pupils fell to 15 in September 2019 and is now six, five of whom are girls.

North Yorkshire County Council has now given the go-ahead for publication of a closure notice with a view to the school closing on August 31.

Stuart Carlton, director of children’s services at the council, said the proposal was being done with a “heavy heart”. He added:

“We know the value of village schools but such low numbers cannot financially sustain a school and can have a negative impact on the social and educational interests of children remaining.”

A council consultation on the closure proposal runs until March 5.

Read more:

Mr Carlton said responses so far “appear to indicate an acceptance of the situation here given only six pupils remain on roll”.

He added the council welcomed any further views before a final decision is made.

The remaining six pupils will have to transfer to other schools.

According to the council, seven other primary schools within reasonable travelling distance have places available.

Anyone who wishes to view the closure proposals or make a representation can visit the council’s consultations page here.

Penny Pot Lane near Harrogate reopens after serious collision

Penny Pot Lane near Harrogate has reopened after a serious traffic accident this afternoon.

A woman in her 60s who was driving a car was taken to Leeds General Infirmary with serious injuries, although they are not thought to be life-threatening.

Emergency services were called to the scene near New Acre Farm shortly after 1pm.

Fire, ambulance and police vehicles were all in attendance.

North Yorkshire Police urged drivers to avoid the road in a tweet at 2.17pm this afternoon.

Harrogate traffic sergeant Paul Cording also used his Twitter account to alert people to the situation.

Penny Pot Lane in #Harrogate remains closed whilst we deal with a serious RTC. Please avoid the area whilst emergency services deal #JESIP pic.twitter.com/F6DhuMQV4I

— Sgt Paul Cording BEM (@OscarRomeo1268) February 16, 2021

Sgt Cording later alerted the Stray Ferret to the road reopening at about 3pm.

Penny Pot Lane is a popular route for people in Harrogate travelling to Fewston and Swinsty reservoirs.

It is also the location of the West Harrogate Household Waste Recycling Centre run by North Yorkshire County Council, and traffic queueing to enter the site frequently backs up.

Witnesses can contact North Yorkshire Police by dialling 101, pressing 1 and speaking to the force control room. Quote reference number 0148 of 16 February.

Read more:

 

Harrogate district covid rate below 100 for first time since Christmas

The covid rate of infection in the Harrogate district has fallen below 100 people per 100,000 for the first time since before Christmas.

Public Health England confirmed another 22 cases today, reducing the seven-day average rate of infection to 98.

It has not been this low since December 21.

Rates shot up after Christmas, peaking at 498 on January 7.

The current overall average for North Yorkshire is 101 and the England figure is 148.

Killinghalll and Hampsthwaite is still the sub-district with the most cases, having recorded 22 in the last seven days.

Starbeck is second with 17.

Read more:

Two sub-districts — Harrogate West and Pannal and Dishthorpe, Baldersby and Markington — have not had any infections in the last seven days.

No further covid deaths at Harrogate District Hospital were reported today.

Harrogate district emerges from the deep freeze

The Harrogate district is finally emerging from weeks of sub-zero conditions, as temperatures begin to rise.

The Met Office forecasts 11 degrees centigrade tomorrow, which will feel balmy after the recent freeze.

Temperatures failed to reach double figures throughout January, and February has seen little improvement with Met Office weather warnings for snow and ice almost constantly in place.

Professional photographer Lissa Peakman captured these amazing images of ice forming on land and fences near Ross Bridge, on Darley Road in Birstwith on Friday.

Any lingering snow and ice is likely to vanish soon as warmer air moves in.

Temperatures could be as high as 14 degrees next weekend as winter begins to give way for spring.

Read more: