St Peter’s school children are staying hopeful for an England win this weekend.
Bogus wedding planner overshadows Harrogate couple’s dream day
A Harrogate couple who lost £2,300 after being scammed by a bogus wedding planner have said they’re pleased with the court’s sentencing.
Nicky and Jason Asquith-Thorpe didn’t get the day they imagined in July 2019 after a fake wedding planner, Dana Twidale, ran off with their money.
The pair had met and spoken to Ms Twidale on numerous occasions insisting “there were no warning signs”.
It was only when July 25 2019 arrived, two days before their wedding, that all communication stopped and the fake planner didn’t show up to help set up the venue.
Mrs Asquith-Thorpe still held out hope but after hours of waiting finally came to the conclusion that they’d been abandoned.
Mrs Asquith-Thorpe, who works in the Harrogate Hospital pharmacy, said:
“She showed me a huge album of all the weddings she’d been part of. I put all my faith in her and she said she could do everything.
“The last message she sent me was ‘on our way, running late’.”
Determined to give them the wedding day they’d dreamed of, a friend of the couple asked ex-local radio station Stray FM to put a call out for local businesses to help.
The bride-to-be said she was “overwhelmed” by the response and was ecstatic to go ahead with the wedding on July 27.
Moving the party to a function room at the back of the Christ Church, Harrogate, and getting help from a local caterer and DJ the wedding went ahead, albeit not exactly as planned.
She added:
“All the changes to the venue and food meant there was more to pay for. We didn’t want it hanging over our heads so we worked lots of overtime to try and pay all the kind businesses back.”
Ms Twidale, 44 and from Hull, was sentenced this week to five years after conning another 22 people out of a combined £15,000.
Hull Crown Court also heard Ms Twidale had defrauded a man she had met on Tinder out of £42,000 by lying about her mother’s death and saying she was a victim of domestic violence.
Mrs Asquith-Thorpe said she was “glad she got what she deserved” and hoped to draw a line under the whole ordeal.
Pateley Bridge demands action after hour-long waits for ambulances
Pateley Bridge Town Council is demanding action after reports of people waiting up to an hour for an ambulance to arrive.
Frustration is growing between Pateley Bridge locals as the number of incidents with slow response times increase.
The mayor of the town, Mike Holt, told the Stray Ferret there had been numerous cases of people having heart attacks or bad falls and having to wait for long periods for treatment despite there being an ambulance station in the town, as well as in nearby Ripon and Grassington.
Cllr Holt said it was an “ongoing issue” that wasn’t down to any one cause.
One local resident contacted the town council after she waited almost 30 minutes for an ambulance when her husband had a heart attack last month.
The woman, who asked to remain anonymous, said:
“It was just a normal evening and then he turned, I rang 999 immediately and was told it would be a 40-minute wait. The handler also hung up after saying they were really busy and couldn’t stay on the line. It’s frustrating and very worrying.
“Luckily one was deployed from Grassington but still the time it takes can make a real difference.”
The resident and Cllr Holt acknowledged ambulance response times was a national issue due to pressure on the NHS but both insisted more needed to be done.
Cllr Holt said the town council would submit a Freedom of Information request to Yorkshire Ambulance Service to discover details about wait time in the area. Once it received a response it would review what action it would take.
He said:
“There are many cases where they do amazing work but this is an ongoing issue that needs looking at. We’ve regularly had complaints of people waiting up to an hour.”
In the past week, Yorkshire Ambulance Service released a statement saying covid and the easing of lockdown restrictions meant calls for help were increasing and the demand on its services was similar to that experienced during winter flu season. It said:
“Overall demand for emergency ambulances is increasing year-on-year and this pressure is reflected in all NHS services across the whole country.
“We aim to reach all our patients as quickly as possible based on their clinical need, including rural areas of our region where sparsely dispersed populations present particular challenges for all emergency services.”
Rossett students win football scholarships in America
Two Rossett School leavers will head to America in September after being accepted on to football scholarships.
Vicky Naylor and Cameron Rushworth have been playing football for local clubs for over a decade but will now take the leap and play for colleges in Indiana and Illinois.
Vicky, who currently plays in goal for Harrogate Town Ladies, is heading to Goshen College, Indiana, on a four-year scholarship. Cameron who is a defender, will be spending two years at Parkland College, Illinois.
Vicky began playing football for Knaresborough Celtic at just five years old. She then progressed to play for Harrogate Town development team and Nidd under-18s.
She said:
“The facilities and level of play in America is of a much higher standard than in the UK, which means I’ll have more opportunities to improve my skills. I’m excited to gain independence by living so far away and I’m excited to try out a bunch of different classes too.”
Cameron played for Beckwithshaw Saints from five to 15 years old before moving to Harrogate Railway for two years. He was part of the Railway team that won the league twice and the cup once. Recently he’s played for Pontefract under-19s.
He said:
“I’m excited to begin a new journey in my life, being able to experience the US. Football is a way I express myself and the scholarship will enable me to play at a high level and learn new skills.”
Vicky and Cameron are following in the footsteps of Rossett students Rachel Daly, Chole Bellerby and Dan Nimmick who have achieved successful football careers in the US. Daly is an England international.
Rossett headteacher Helen Woodcock said:
“These scholarships are well deserved for Vicky and Cam, and we all wish them the best of luck and lots of fun representing Rossett in the USA.”
Masham call for volunteers to catch speeders
Masham Parish Council is calling for new recruits to join its Community Speed Watch programme.
An investigation by North Yorkshire Police in August 2020 found Thorpe Road would benefit from a group monitoring speeding drivers.
Cars were only caught driving slightly faster than the 30mph limit but the police still thought it necessary to set up the watch group.
It patrols the area along Thorpe Road near Ibbetson Close heading north into Masham.
The group is currently made up of five volunteers but needs a new speed watch coordinator.
The society received grants from an Aviva Community Fund scheme and Arts Council England totalling more than £80,000 during the pandemic.
The funding has enabled Ripon Operatic Hall to be renovated with improved accessibility, which will be further enhanced when a wheelchair lift is fitted in the coming months.
The actors are now eager to get back under the lights and the first performance back will be the youth group’s We Will Rock You from July 21.
The studio space during and after renovation work.
The society’s theatre on Allhallowgate has become a community asset, with a range of groups including baby ballet and zumba also using the space.
Committee member and performer Linda Aikman said:
“Lockdown affected us enormously because we’re performers and it’s what we love to do.
“The money means we have a safe space to put on our shows. It’s now a place for everyone, it was really important for the committee to make sure the theatre is somewhere everyone can enjoy.”
The society staged numerous shows before the pandemic.
Its performance of Oliver! has been rescheduled for the third time and will now be performed at Harrogate Theatre in April 2022.
Bogus roofers attempt to scam Harrogate’s elderly
Police today issued a warning about a spate of bogus roofers targeting elderly and vulnerable residents in Harrogate.
North Yorkshire Police said in a statement it was investigating whether three Harrogate incidents were linked to other suspected scams in Wetherby and Middlesbrough.
It said:
“Typically, in cases like these, a bogus tradesperson will cold call a victim by turning up on their doorstep unannounced and offering to clean their guttering for a small sum.
“However, the trickster will claim to the victim that they have found extensive damage to their roof requiring immediate attention.
They may even show the victim rotten wood and felt, convincing the victim that it has come from their roof. In reality, the rotten wood and felt will have been brought in by the roofer as part of the elaborate deceit designed to con the victim into agreeing expensive and unnecessary roofing work that they don’t need.”
Officers urged people not to accept work by cold callers or let themselves be pressured into agreeing to have work done.
They also asked people to to keep an eye on elderly or vulnerable family members, as fraudsters preyed on the most vulnerable.
If you want to report an incident involving a rogue tradespeople, use the Report It link or call North Yorkshire Police on 101 with reference number 12180015933.
Yorkshire Ambulance Service says some patients waiting ‘longer than we would like’
People are having to wait longer for ambulances due to “extremely high demand” caused by covid and the easing of lockdown measures.
Nick Smith, executive director of operations at the trust, said:
“We have been experiencing periods of extremely high demand, particularly during the last few weekends and this has had a significant impact on our operations.
“We have continued to respond to those in need as swiftly as possible, but acknowledge that some patients are having to wait longer than we would like them to.”
The trust receives around 2,800 emergency and routine calls per day and employs over 6,300 staff.
And the band played on…
Tewit Youth Band‘s first public performance for 18 months yesterday coincided with a huge thunderstorm in Harrogate’s Valley Gardens.
Because band members had to be spaced two metres apart die to covid, over half were outside the bandstand on the grass and fully exposed to the downpour.
Despite this, the band played on and completed the entire programme.
The local was joined by the world famous brass band Black Dyke Band, which filled in for some Tewit members who were isolating due to covid.
They were halfway through the programme when the heavens opened.
Colin Gibbs president of Tewit Youth Band, said:
“The band played on through it all and fully completed their program, which was exceedingly appreciated by the audience who bravely stayed on under cover of umbrellas and waterproofs.
“Their musical director, Martin Hall, and those band members out in the open were completely saturated but were delighted to have been able to play in a live concert for the first time in 18 months due to lockdown. A credit to the youth of today.”
After the youth band’s performance, Black Dyke Band took to the bandstand alone and due to its smaller size all of the musicians could fit under the shelter.
The concert was funded by Arts Council England‘s Culture Recovery Fund, which awarded Black Dyke Band a grant to play with a budding group of its choice.
The Tewit Band practises at the old Methodist Chapel in Huby. It has about 100 members and four groups ranging in ages.
Harrogate district records 71 new covid cases today
The Harrogate district has recorded a further 71 coronavirus cases today.
This is lower than yesterday’s number but means the total number of cases in the district since last March stands at 8,773, according to Public Health England.
However the district’s case rate is on the rise. Today’s seven day infection rate is now at 275.4 per 100,000, which is higher than the England rate of 235.3 per 100,000.
Across North Yorkshire the rate is 235.7 per 100,000.
