Harrogate army sergeant’s desperate bid to help Afghan family leave Kabul

A former British army sergeant major from Harrogate has spoken of his fears for the future of an Afghan family he has been trying to help leave Kabul.

Rob Smith taught locals boxing during a six-month tour of duty at Camp Souter military base in Kabul in 2010. Mr Smith is now head coach at H Hour Amateur Boxing Gym on Harrogate’s Skipton Road.

One Afghan man he coached called Omar died in a car accident last year, leaving a young wife and daughter, two sisters and parents.

Mr Smith says the family are at risk from the Taliban and he has been trying to get then out of Kabul. He said:

“I am very worried for them. I don’t know what to do now or tell the family, as there are no flights out of Kabul.”

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Mr Smith has written letters of recommendation to Prime Minister Boris Johnson, Home Secretary Priti Patel, former veterans minister Johnny Mercer and his successor Leo Docherty, and Andrew Jones, the Conservative MP for Harrogate and Knaresborough.

He said only Mr Mercer and Mr Jones had replied expressing interest to help.

But with the paperwork incomplete before the British and American departure from Kabul, the situation is now desperate.

Boxing coach Rob Smith in Afghanistan

Mr Smith coaching in Afghanistan.

Mr Smith said:

“I realise the top tier are under immense pressure to deliver many things. Johnny Mercer and Andrew Jones MPs responded, but my request for help went in too late for assistance.

“No one thought the Taliban would be able to seize control of Afghanistan in such a short period of time, I’m sure evacuation plans for at risk people were in place but in slow time to ensure vetting and other checks took place.

“What many people forget is the percentage of Afghans that can’t read or write Dari/Pashtun, let alone read English and be expected to fill out forms.

“I am just gutted that my friends are not safe, I hope measures are being planned to assist the people at risk left in the country.”

2022 Tour de Yorkshire cancelled

The 2022 Tour de Yorkshire bike race has been cancelled today.

Race organisers Welcome to Yorkshire and French company Amaury Sport Organisation issued a statement at 7pm tonight blaming covid and “escalating financial challenges and uncertainties” for making the event “unviable”.

The 2022 route was not due to include the Harrogate district but had financial implications for local people because North Yorkshire County Council agreed last month to give £200,000 of council taxpayers’ money to support the event.

It is not clear yet what will happen to that funding.

The Tour de Yorkshire was held annually from 2015 to 2019 following the success of the 2014 Tour de France’s Grand Départ, which ended in Harrogate. Covid scuppered it last year and this year.

Despite today’s decision, Welcome to Yorkshire said in tonight’s statement its “ambition to continue hosting international events is as strong as ever and this is the beginning of a whole new positive plan to showcase Yorkshire globally through dedicating time to varied and exciting opportunities”.

But there was no mention of the Tour de Yorkshire being resurrected in 2023, raising doubts about it happening again.

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James Mason, chief executive of Welcome to Yorkshire, which is a marketing organisation for Yorkshire, said:

“We had every intention for the race to go ahead but unfortunately some of the circumstances were out of our control and sometimes you have to make big calls for the right reasons.

“People from Yorkshire are proud and we only want the best for the county. We still have ambitions for large events going forward to put Yorkshire on the world stage and we will continue to work with our partners to plan for those.”

Brian Facer, chief executive of British Cycling, said:

“Clearly this is very disappointing news for everyone who recognises the value the Tour de Yorkshire brings to the county and to cycling in Britain.

“This is not just about the economic boost that top level bike racing has brought to Yorkshire, but also in the huge numbers of people who have been inspired to cycle themselves.

“The local authorities in Yorkshire have done a fantastic job over recent years and deserve credit for trying to find a way forward.”

 

Wembley hero Jack Diamond rejoins Harrogate Town

Wembley hero Jack Diamond has returned to Harrogate Town on loan until the end of the 2021/22 season in a transfer deadline day deal.

Diamond, 21, scored at Wembley in the 3-1 National League play-off final defeat of Notts County last year — a result that secured Town’s promotion to the English Football League for the first time in its history.

The winger first joined the club in September 2019 on a loan deal that was eventually extended until the end of the 2019/20 season due to his impressive performances.

The Sunderland loanee accumulated 35 appearances in a season cut short by covid, scoring five goals and providing eight assists in Town’s promotion campaign.

He said:

“The move presented a good challenge for me, I’ve already done a lot here and finished off on a high when I left so the challenge now is to replicate what I have done.”

“I grew a lot as a player in my last spell and was able to find consistency, all the lads helped me so much with advice.

“There’s no time in football to stay still, you have got to keep improving yourself so coming here on loan was a great option for me.”

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Harrogate Film Society’s 66th season set to begin

Harrogate Film Society will begin its 66th season on Monday next week with a showing of the South Korean film Parasite at the town’s Odeon cinema.

It will be the first of 15 critically acclaimed and diverse films from around the world, many of which are rarely shown on big screens in the UK.

The society, which stages films every fortnight at the Odeon, also organises social evenings and discussions after selected films.

Next week’s season opening film is followed by His Name Is Green Flake, The Great Beauty, Just Mercy, Saint Maud and Pain and Glory, plus more.

Committee member Jan Garvey said:

“After a difficult year due to covid, we are so happy to be putting on a full programme of 15 films.

“We believe that good films are best enjoyed in a cinema, on a big screen, with a good sound system and in the company of others.”

Annual membership, which costs £45 and is available to anyone aged 16, provides entry to all 15 films. Guests are also welcome at £5 per viewing.

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Ripon groups urged to bid for £20,000 grants to tackle crime

Organisations concerned about crime in Ripon are being urged to apply for grants of up to £20,000.

Ripon has been blighted by anti-social behaviour in recent months. In one of the latest incidents, a teenage boy was robbed at knifepoint in Bondgate a fortnight ago.

The North Yorkshire Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner‘s office operates a Community Fund specifically for local organisations, groups or individuals who need money to help fund a new community safety project or scheme.

The fund, which awards sums between £500 and £20,000, is only available for new projects and is aimed particularly at areas in the county suffering high crime.

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Philip Allott, who was elected North Yorkshire Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner this year, told the Stray Ferret he encouraged funding applications from groups and individuals in Ripon.

‘Funding can be used for setting up community activities like a youth club, theatre group, sports club, car maintenance, gardening group etc. The most important aspect is that the activity is designed for young people aged 11 – 17.
“I would particularly welcome enquiries from those looking to offer activities in Ripon as it will provide diversionary activities to stop young people getting sucked into low level criminal activities.”
Mr Allott is due to give Ripon councillors a briefing on Wednesday about disorder in Ripon.

 

£7.7m upgrade of junction 47 on A1(M) delayed by two months

A £7.7 million project to upgrade junction 47 on the A1(M) at Flaxby has been delayed and is now scheduled to end in December.

Work began at the start of September last year to widen slip roads and install traffic lights to prevent vehicles queueing.

The project, carried out by contractors Farrans Construction on behalf of North Yorkshire County Council, also involves upgrading the road network just off the junction.

It was due to end shortly but the completion date has been pushed back two months due to “unforeseen ground conditions”.

Barrie Mason, assistant director highways and transportation at North Yorkshire County Council, said:

“Work to upgrade junction 47 on the A1(M) is progressing well and when complete will address congestion, improve road safety and support sustainable development in Harrogate and Knaresborough, as well as supporting the county council’s objective of improving east-west connections across North Yorkshire.

“Unforeseen ground conditions have required extra work on the southbound on-slip carriageway and this has delayed the scheme.

“The original planned completion date of late September or early October has been revised to December this year.”

The project is being funded by the county council with £2.47m from the government’s Local Growth Fund along with contributions from Highways England and developer Forward Investment LLP.

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Blaze in Harrogate district barns with 150 tonnes of straw bales

Two barns containing 150 tonnes of straw bales in Green Hammerton went up in flames just after 10pm last night.

Firefighters from Acomb, Knaresborough, York, Harrogate and Boroughbridge rushed to the scene and some are still on site this morning.

They used large jets to bring the fire under control and then focused on letting the fire burn out safely, according to a spokesman for North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service.

The spokesman told the Stray Ferret the firefighters were expected to remain on site for several hours today until the fire was completely extinguished. He added:

“We are still at the stage of controlling it and monitoring it. The investigation into the cause will start when that is done.”

There are typically about 40 bales of straw in a tonne, which indicates the scale of last night’s fire. Nobody is believed to have been hurt..

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Harrogate GP surgery postpones non-urgent blood tests as supply crisis deepens

A Harrogate GP surgery has warned it will have to postpone non-urgent blood tests as the national blood supply crisis affects the district.

The Spa Surgery has said it will contact patients to rearrange routine blood tests but said urgent blood tests will continue as normal. Other local GP practices are also believed to be affected.

The surgery, which is based at Mowbray Square Medical Centre, said on Facebook:

“As you may have seen on the national news, there is a global shortage of the sample tubes we use when we do blood tests.

“This means if you have a routine (non urgent) blood test booked with us in the coming few weeks, we may be getting in touch with you to rearrange it. We will still be doing urgent blood tests and these will be processed as normal.

“We have also removed the online booking option on our practice website to ensure we can strictly control our stocks of sample tubes.”

Supply chain problems, exacerbated by Brexit, have caused numerous problems lately, with supermarkets among those affected.

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The British Medical Association, a professional body for doctors in the UK, said in a statement yesterday the shortage of blood tubes across hospitals and GP surgeries was now severe and if the NHS did not reduce the amount being used in the coming days, even the most clinically important blood tests may be at risk.

The statement added doctors had “made plain their concerns about the implications for patients and their anger that this shortage has been allowed to happen” and the situation was now urgent.

Dr David Wrigley, BMA council deputy chair, said:

“This crisis has put doctors and their patients in a terrible, unenviable position. No doctor knowingly undertakes unnecessary blood tests and to now have to ration all those we are doing, as well as cancel hundreds more, goes against everything we stand for as clinicians.

“However, if we don’t try to follow the NHS guidance, it’s clear we will get to the point where even the most clinically urgent of blood tests may not be able to be done as we simply won’t have the tubes for the blood to go into.

“We are at a very perilous point and it’s surprising that NHS England hasn’t declared a critical incident given the very strong possibility that NHS organisations may temporarily lose the ability to provide lifesaving diagnostic testing.

“Many GP practices – like mine – will now have to spend hours assessing which already scheduled tests can or cannot be cancelled and this takes time away from frontline patient care when it is most needed. Cancelling tests makes patients anxious and can mean a missed diagnosis.”

Have you been affected by the blood shortage? Email us at contact@thestrayferret.co.uk.

Harrogate Town appoints Sarah Barry as chief executive

Harrogate Town has appointed Sarah Barry to the newly created position of chief executive.

The club, which has won its first three matches in League Two this season, announced the appointment today.

Chairman Irving Weaver said Ms Barry, who was managing director of former local radio station Stray FM, had a “wealth of experience and business acumen in leading a team”.

He added:

“It is an exciting time as fans return to football and with Harrogate Town’s first full season with fans in League Two and I am delighted that Sarah is going to join us in a new role as chief executive officer.”

Harrogate-born Ms Barry began her career in advertising sales after leaving university and joined Stray FM in 1994.

She said:

“I have always known there was something very special about this club, its people and spirit. From the start, I felt aligned with what it represents so this move feels very natural for me.

“I’m passionate about my hometown and nothing can bring people together like football can, which I also love, so I am incredibly excited to be joining.

Ms Barry will take up her role on September 13.

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Future of Bewerley Park to be decided in the autumn

North Yorkshire County Council has said the review of its outdoor learning centre at Bewerley Park in Pateley Bridge generated a big response.

There was widespread opposition to an announcement in February this year that the future of the two council-run centres — Bewerley Park and East Barnby near Whitby — were under threat. Both centres experienced a dramatic loss of income due to covid.

As a result, senior county councillors voted to review the outdoor learning service.

The review collected feedback from hundreds of adults, children, stakeholders and organisations and looked at the range of facilities and activities the service offers to schools, children and young people.

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It has also looked at the number of people who use the service and the cost of operating it.

Questionnaires were also sent to members of the public, staff and schools in North Yorkshire.

East Barnaby outdoor learning centre

A report containing a recommendation for the future of the outdoor learning service will now go before the council’s executive in autumn.

Cllr Patrick Mulligan said:

“We have had a very high response to questionnaires and engagement exercises and would like to thank everyone who took the time to give their feedback.

“That information is now being used along with extensive data from both residential sites to come up with the most suitable recommendation for the future of outdoor learning services in North Yorkshire.

“The ultimate goal is to ensure we are making the best use of facilities and opportunities for young people in the county and to ensure this is a sustainable service fit for the future.”

Schools have used the facilities at Bewerley Park and East Barnby this summer for day activities.

While the review continues, both sites will be open to schools for residential visits in the forthcoming academic year.