‘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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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59 care home residents and staff vaccinated in 45 minutes

Fifty-nine residents and staff at a charity-run Harrogate care home have received covid inoculations in just 45 minutes.

Disability Action Yorkshire’s Claro Road home, which has 20 residents, were given the Oxford vaccine. Three staff declined it.

Jackie Snape, chief executive of Disability Action Yorkshire, said there was a ‘party atmosphere’ during the session, adding:

“This is the first stage in getting back to some form of normality and I’m happy to say the light at the end of the tunnel has just got a little bit brighter.

“Many of our customers have been isolating for almost a year and it’s not been easy for them, their family and friends.”

The home, which cares for younger adults with physical disabilities, has only allowed window visits since November.

The jabs took place 10 days ago and the window visiting policy remains in place.

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Ms Snape said:

“Despite the vaccinations, we won’t be taking any undue and unnecessary risks.

“We will continue to follow guidelines and only begin to relax when we are told we can do, and ultimately feel safe to do so.”

Amanda Bloor, accountable officer at North Yorkshire Clinical Commissioning Group, told a press briefing today that just one care home in North Yorkshire and York had not had residents vaccinated. This was due to an ongoing outbreak, she added.

 

Six covid deaths at Killinghall nursing home

A Killinghall nursing home has confirmed it suffered six covid-related deaths in the final fortnight of January.

Westfield House Nursing Home remained almost covid-free until the new fast-acting strain struck around Christmas.

The outbreak had a devastating impact on residents and staff, culminating in the recent spate of deaths.

Many other care homes have also been badly affected by covid in recent weeks.

Tracey Holroyd, chairman of Warmest Welcome, which owns Westfield House and eight other homes, including The Crest Care Home in Harrogate, said:

“We have had six deaths that appeared to be related to covid since January 17.

“We now have just one resident who has to finish the remainder of their isolation period, which ends tomorrow.

‘Currently we don’t have any residents who are ill — or more ill than one would expect given that they already require 24-hour nursing care.

“The staff are all now back to work with the exception of the last two, who will be returning to work on February 5.”

Ms Holroyd said all residents and staff at Westfield able to have covid inoculations had now done so.

But the recent outbreak of the virus has meant delaying jabs for some people.

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‘Snow by dawn’ – Met Office warns of travel disruption

After one of the coldest Januarys of recent years in the Harrogate district, February is set to usher in more snow.

A Met Office weather warning for snow and ice is in force from 10pm tonight until 23.59pm tomorrow.

Snow is due to start falling in the Harrogate district at about 4am and is expected to last until afternoon, when it turns to rain.

The Met Office says the conditions are likely to lead to ‘difficult travelling conditions’.

The Stray Ferret will keep readers up to date with the latest weather and travel news tomorrow.

The covid vaccination sites in Harrogate and Ripon have already postponed morning appointments in anticipation of difficult travel conditions.

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Some schools have also warned parents their plans to open on time may be affected.

The temperature did not rise into double figures at all in Harrogate during January.

Judging by the two-week forecast, that may not change for the first half of February at least.

Send us your weather updates and images tomorrow to contact@thestrayferret.co.uk.

Man charged with murder of 22-year-old Harrogate woman

A man has been charged with the murder of former Ashville College student Anna Reed.

Ms Reed, 22, was found strangled in her bed in a Swiss hotel in April 2019.

The Sunday Times reported last weekend that Marc Schatzle, a German traveller, has been accused of murder, fraud and theft.

It is believed Mr Schatzle met Ms Reed when she was travelling around the world as a 21st birthday present from her father, Clive, a Harrogate racehorse breeder.

They are thought to have been dating for several months.

A spokesman for the Swiss prosecutors office said:

“He is accused of intentional homicide, theft, fraud and drug offences.

“Covid permitting, he will go on trial later this year.”

A spokeswoman for the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office said:

“Our consular staff are assisting the family of a British woman following her death in Switzerland, and are in contact with the Swiss and UK police.”

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Harrogate cub scout leader jailed for stalking

A former scout leader and rugby player from Harrogate who stalked a woman and sent her bloodstained letters has been jailed for over three years.

Ian Binns, 46, followed his ex-partner in the street, drove past her home “shouting and screaming”, bombarded her with phone calls and text messages, and posted her “begging” letters smeared with his own blood, York Crown Court heard.

On one occasion, the former Harrogate Pythons and Harrogate RUFC player doused himself in fuel — thought to be petrol — and tried to set himself alight in front of the petrified woman, said prosecutor Michael Bosomworth.

In another incident, he threw a bloodstained letter at her in the street.

Binns, who was once a cub leader in the 3rd Harrogate Scout Group, was “obsessed” with the woman and couldn’t accept the end of their on-off, six-year relationship, added Mr Bosomworth.

The victim, who was named in court, ultimately ended the relationship just before going on holiday in September last year because she had “had enough” of his obsessiveness and aggression towards her. Mr Bosomworth said:

“When she returned from holiday, he was waiting for her in his car at the end of the road.

“He walked towards her; she told him to go away. There was a physical altercation.”

Bloodstained letters

Binns, of Woodfield Road, Harrogate, returned to the victim’s home in Harrogate the following day, on the pretext of collecting his belongings, and when she tried to close the door on him, he forced his way in, resulting in another “altercation”. Mr Bosomworth added:

“There then followed a series of (phone) calls and letters.”

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In the letters, Binns would “express his love” for the woman and wrote offensive things about another man with whom she had been in an on-off relationship, saying he “wanted him dead”.

In the stained letters, Binns told the victim, “I’m not worth anything. You know I can’t cope”.

Binns, a grandfather who worked as a self-employed electrical engineer, started bombarding her with Facebook messages and unanswered phone calls. He made 53 calls alone while she was on holiday. Mr Bosomworth said:

“When she (asked) him not to send her any more letters or contact her on Facebook…he took to putting notes through her letterbox.

“A number of (the letters) were bloodstained. The defendant was effectively threatening to kill himself.”

Followed in street

He said the rugby forward would follow the victim in the street — in some cases right up to her door.

In one incident, he cut his arm with a knife and grabbed her arm, trying to smear blood all over her. The victim cut her finger during the struggle. Mr Bosomworth said:

“He said, ‘My blood is on your hands.’

“In one incident in the street, (Binns) had a bottle of petrol or some kind of fuel.

“He drank some then poured it over his stomach and set it alight. She tried to put it out.

“He said, ‘What does it matter? It doesn’t matter anymore.’”

In a separate incident, Binns — whom the victim described as “reckless, irrational, dangerous and unstable” — walked up to her and pushed her to the ground. She suffered a scraped elbow.

She eventually reported Binns to police and he was duly arrested. He was charged with harassment, or stalking, which caused fear of violence.

He admitted the charge and appeared for sentence via video link on Thursday after being remanded in custody.

Hid in gardens

The court heard that the victim, who had ended the relationship once before, in 2017, only for it to be rekindled, had kept a typed diary of the harrowing events and the “self-pitying” letters sent to her. Mr Bosomworth said:

“He was threatening to harm himself or even to commit suicide and (was) making her feel she was responsible for that.

“The worrying feature is the repetitive nature of (the letters) and the number of times he is driving past her, following her and (he is) clearly, completely obsessed with her.”

The victim said she was still terrified and “hyper aware” when out in public despite Binns having been remanded in jail.

She said she used to “hide in people’s gardens so he couldn’t see me”, adding:

“He used to wait at the end of my street for me; he used to frighten me.

“He would get out of his van and shout at me. He was so angry.”

She said she was “very distressed” and had had “nightmares… about being chased, attacked, murdered”. She added:

“I’ve sadly come to terms with the fact that this is now my life; it will always be there.”

‘Outside normal behaviour’

Defence barrister Robert Mochrie said Binns had “certain” mental health issues and was taking tranquilizers at the time of the offences, but his stalking campaign was “so extreme that it is (outside) normal human behaviour”.

Recorder Alex Menary described Binns’ offending between September and December last year as “disturbing, inexplicable (and) extreme” for a man who had previously led a relatively blame-free life and volunteered for the Scouts.

He said the stalking campaign had had a “devastating” effect on the victim.

Binns was jailed for three years and four months and made subject to a lifetime restraining order, which bans him contacting the victim or going anywhere near her home.