Prime Minister Boris Johnson today called a Harrogate mum backing her campaign to get the world to ring a bell on Christmas Eve.

Mary Beggs-Reid came up with the idea last month and nearly 500,000 people have already signed up to take part.

Today she received a phone call from Mr Johnson, who told her that he will be taking part at 10 Downing Street with his fiancé Carrie Symonds and their young son Wilfred.

Mary planned to travel to London to meet the Prime Minister but the new tier four restrictions in the capital meant a phone call was more suitable.

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The Christmas Eve doorstep jingle asks people to ring a bell or bang a pan at 6pm for two minutes to “spread festive spirit and help Santa’s sleigh fly”.

With her now famous bell in hand, which will soon become a family heirloom, Mary told the Stray Ferret:

“It’s wonderful, I can’t believe we’ve got the Prime Minister involved. Lots of people from Lapland joined last week, it’s going to reach everywhere.

“There will be a wave of bells on Christmas Eve. We will see it coming from New Zealand and that will build up the excitement even more.

“We will just have two minutes for the children when something amazing and magical will happen, I can’t wait.”

Mary’s inspiration for the event came from the film Elf, where residents of New York sing together to power Santa’s sleigh with their Christmas spirit.

With news that the Christmas relaxation of rules has been reduced to just one day, she thinks that there will be a lot of interest on Thursday.

The coronavirus vaccine centre has opened in Harrogate for the first time.

Harrogate’s Great Yorkshire Showground is housing the local coronavirus vaccination site, which was a hive of activity this morning.

Those over 80, care home residents and care home staff are first in line for the vaccine.

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GP practices in Harrogate and the surrounding area will oversee the rollout and appealed for volunteers to help marshal the car park and signpost patients.

The vaccination programme is expected to last several months. Vaccines will be carried out seven days a week from 8am to 8pm.

It has been a long road to this point and news of the vaccine centre opening locally has been welcomed by those in line to receive it.

Plans have been submitted to change the use of Windsor House in Harrogate from offices to flats.

Under the plans, the seven-storey building would accommodate 94 flats consisting of 14 one-bedroom and 80 two-bedroom properties.

Windsor House, which is located in the Duchy estate area, is one of the most distinctive landmarks in Harrogate.

Built in 1900 overlooking Valley Gardens, it was originally the Grand Hotel until it became offices in the 1980s.

Now agents Savills, acting on behalf of Boultbee Brooks (Harrogate), the limited liability partnership that owns the 3.5 acre site, has applied to Harrogate Borough Council to change its use again.

The site, off Cornwall Road, falls within Harrogate Conservation Area and many of the trees in its boundary are protected by this or by tree preservation orders.

The site contains car park spaces for 288 vehicles.

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Most of nearby Windsor Court has been converted from offices to flats in recent years.

A letter by Savills accompanying the planning application says:

“The location of the site is extremely sustainable, being within walking distance of all public transport options
and all of Harrogate’s main services and amenities.”

A Harrogate man who was “smiling” while he exposed himself to a woman in February 2019 has been placed on the sex offenders register for 10 years.

James Bryant, from Sunnybank Shaw Mills, parked at a Harrogate filling station and waited until all the cars had left before entering the shop and performed the lewd act to the female cashier.

During his trial in November, heard at York Crown Court, Bryant avoided jail and was given a suspended sentence.

The case returned to virtual court today because the judge didn’t make an order for Bryant to be put on the register during the trial.

Judge, Sean Morris, placed Bryant on the sex offenders register for 10 years. This sentence comes with notification requirements this means any changes such as new addresses must be updated.

Bryant didn’t appear in court today due to a technical glitch with his video link.

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During his initial sentencing the court was told the incident lasted half a minute with CCTV showing Bryant “briefly smiling” at the victim before walking out and driving away.

He was arrested two weeks later and was found to be keeping a machete, hunting knife and a lock knife in the boot of his car.

Bryant had a previous conviction for flashing in 2016 when he was convicted of indecent exposure at Bournemouth Crown Court.

The court was told Bryant had mental health problems, his defence Aisha Wadoodi said his problems were largely “of his own making” due to his “heavy use” of cannabis.

The Harrogate district has recorded a further 31 coronavirus cases today, according to Public Health England figures.

It brings the total cases in the district so far up to 3,998. That is around 2.5% of the local population but only reflects the number of people who have been tested which increased considerably around September.

Harrogate District Hospital has not recorded any further coronavirus deaths in more than a week and remains at 106 deaths.

There are currently 14 coronavirus patients at the hospital, down from 21 last week.

In the local coronavirus press briefing today there were real concerns around the new coronavirus variant, which spreads faster but is not more deadly.

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Richard Webb, the corporate director of health and adult services at North Yorkshire County Council, said:

“We do not have any confirmed cases of the new coronavirus variant yet but I imagine at the rate at which it spreads it will be heading north at some speed.

“So therefore we have to brace ourselves for the fact that the new strain will reach North Yorkshire very soon.

“We will then have to deal with the consequences of that.”

Local health leaders also highlighted rising coronavirus cases in Scarborough at the press briefing this morning.

The seaside town’s seven-day average rate of infection shot up to 254 per 100,000 people from about 150 a week ago.

It also has the highest positive rates in the north east of England.

With all of those factors coming into play it could mean that the whole of North Yorkshire may either need to move up into tier three or split into different tiers.

There are fears the Harrogate district could be dragged into a higher tier of coronavirus restrictions amid rising infections elsewhere in the county.

Scarborough is a particular concern as the seven-day average rate of infection has shot up to 254 per 100,000 people from about 150 a week ago.

The area also has the highest positive rates in the whole of the north east of England.

The Harrogate district has 86 infections per 100,000 people. It has remained at about the 90 mark for a few weeks now.

North Yorkshire is currently in tier two. But the possibility of dividing the county into different tiers was raised at a coronavirus press briefing this morning.

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Richard Webb, the corporate director of health and adult services at North Yorkshire County Council, said:

“There has been a dramatic increase of cases in Scarborough. Particularly scary as the increases are among children and those in their 30s.

“People are mixing indoors there. They put themselves and the whole area at risk.”

Asked about the next tier review on December 30, Mr Webb said “up until now” local health leaders had not expected any change to the county’s tier two status.

But he added cases were rising in parts of the county and the door remained open to splitting North Yorkshire into different tiers.

The government highlighted Scarborough as “the most concerning area” in North Yorkshire when it reviewed the tiers last week. Case rates have almost doubled since then.

Back then the government review concluded the “trajectory [did] not warrant tier three” but last weekend’s events highlighted how quickly things can change.

Local health leaders told the forum no confirmed cases of the new coronavirus strain had been recorded in the county but nevertheless they acknowledged it could already be here.

Police are appealing for information after vandals damaged Richard Taylor Church of England Primary School in Bilton yesterday.

A classroom window was smashed and the roof of a wooden pavilion damaged.

North Yorkshire Police is appealing for anyone who may have seen people on the school premises since it closed last week to come forward.

The force said in a statement:

“The school has recently suffered a number of incidents of anti-social behaviour, all of which has caused alarm to the school community.”

A member of staff at the school told the Stray Ferret it had found empty vodka bottles on the premises.

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Anyone with information can contact North Yorkshire Police on 101, select option 2, and ask for Geeta Maharjan. You can also email geeta.maharjan2@northyorkshire.pnn.police.uk

Alternatively, contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

Quote reference number 12200241866.

The dreaded Skipton Road gas works will return next month bringing more misery for motorists in Harrogate.

Northern Gas Networks started work in July to replace just under a kilometre of decades old metal gas pipes with plastic.

Many months on with no end in sight North Yorkshire County Council told the gas distributor to pause the works in October.

However, the works will restart on January 4 and are due to finish on March 5. It will cover the stretch of road from the fire station to the junction with Regent Avenue.

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A diversion will be in place but previously there has been a lot of traffic in the area with a four-way traffic system.

That four-way system will be replaced by a two-way system when it returns next month.

Most of the work will be done in the street and engineers will follow safe distance working rules of at least two metres where possible.

Russ Kaye, the business operations lead for Northern Gas Networks, said:

“We would like to apologise in advance for any inconvenience caused during these essential works.

“It is vital we now complete this postponed project as soon as possible in order to continue to maintain a safe and reliable gas supply.

“We want to assure residents and road users that we will be working hard to complete this scheme as safely and as quickly as possible.”

It was painful for drivers in the area who had been forced to sit in traffic but it was worse for Bilton Working Men’s Club.

The club even filed a claim against Northern Gas Networks for loss of earnings caused by the long-running roadworks.

A pub landlord in Harrogate says the council should speed up paying a £1,000 grant to pubs that don’t serve food, calling the application process an “absolute farce”.

On December 1 prime minister Boris Johnson announced a £1,000 grant for “wet-led” pubs that do not serve substantial meals and have closed due to lockdown restrictions.

But almost three weeks later, pubs in Harrogate are still waiting for Harrogate Borough Council to accept applications for the fund.

Marik Scatchard, landlord of Christies Bar on King’s Road, told the Stray Ferret that despite being a relatively small amount the grant is “really needed at the moment”.

According to HBC’s website, applications for the grant will open “by the end of this month”, which Mr Scatchard says is not good enough:

“It’s an absolute farce that HBC is treating businesses like this, even with the grant being so little it’s still needed. Other councils have paid out or are paying out.”

Jack Woodruff runs the Disappearing Chin on Beulah Street with his wife Hannah. He said the council “really needs to speed up” the payment.

“We’ll be OK for a bit longer but there will be businesses that are desperate for the grant.”

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After being forced to close for over a month, Christies Bar is now open every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday and is selling pie and peas as a substantial meal. The Disappearing Chin has decided to remain closed until restrictions are eased.

A spokesperson for Harrogate Borough Council said:

“We anticipate applications will open before the end of December. We know that this is a difficult time for many businesses in the district and we are working hard to pay grants to eligible businesses as soon as possible.”