Former Harrogate Town player Jack Diamond has been charged with rape.
Northumbria Police confirmed today Gateshead-born Mr Diamond had been charged with one count of rape and one count of sexual assault.
He joined Lincoln City on loan from parent club Sunderland after a second loan spell at Harrogate ended last year.
Lincoln City have terminated his contract and parent club Sunderland have suspended him pending the outcome of the judicial process.
A Northumbria Police spokesperson said:
“In May last year, we received a report that a woman had been sexually assaulted inside an address in the Washington area.
“An investigation was immediately launched and a man was subsequently arrested.
“Jack Diamond, 23, of Fatfield, Washington, has now been charged with one count of rape and one count of sexual assault and is due to appear at South Tyneside Magistrates’ Court in May.”
Mr Diamond played for Town on loan during their National League campaign in 2019-20, scoring one of the goals at Wembley that earned promotion to the English Football League for the first time ever.
He returned to the club on loan during the 2021-22 season in League Two of the English Football League.
In his two loan spells, he scored 16 goals in 66 appearances.
A Lincoln City statement said:
“Jack Diamond’s loan spell at City has been terminated with immediate effect.
“The club are unable to make any further statement at this time.”
Read more:
- Andrew Jones to stand for election again in Harrogate and Knaresborough
- Harrogate Town plans new terrace and merchandise kiosk
- Harrogate Town post £1.2 million loss
NHS places to be lost as Ripon dental practice closure announced
A dental practice offering NHS care in Ripon is set to close in three months’ time.
Bupa’s practice on Finkle Street will shut its doors on June 30, with the national company citing a lack of dentists to provide care.
The Finkle Street branch has provided NHS and private dental care. The Bupa Clock Tower practice in North Parade is unaffected, as are Harrogate’s Raglan Suite and Bupa Dental Care in East Parade – but none of these is accepting new adult NHS patients.
Finkle Street is one of 85 across the country to be closed, sold or merged over the coming months. As well as problems with recruiting, Bupa said rising costs influenced its decision.
Bupa Dental Care general manager Mark Allen said:
“As a leading dental provider in the UK, our priority must be to enable patients to receive the care they need.
“For the majority of affected practices, this decision will allow commissioners to procure local providers for the NHS contract, tailoring services and investment to the needs of the local community, thereby providing a better opportunity for patients to continue access to NHS dental services.”
Bupa said it will hand back its dental contract in Ripon to the NHS, allowing commissioners to find a new provider for NHS dental services.
Read more:
- ‘Shocking’ lack of NHS dentists in Harrogate and Knaresborough raised in Parliament
- ‘Radical reform’ needed for North Yorkshire NHS dentists, says councillor
However, the issue of NHS provision has already raised concerns in the Harrogate district.
It was raised in the House of Commons last month when Daisy Cooper, MP for for St Albans, said only half of children in North Yorkshire had seen an NHS dentist last year.
Last month, the chairman of North Yorkshire County Council’s health scrutiny committee, Cllr Andrew Lee, said he had raised the issue of NHS dental access in the county with the government.
The NHS website does not list any practices in the Harrogate district as accepting new adult patients for NHS treatment. Only two – Bupa’s Clock Tower in Ripon and Boroughbridge Dental Centre – are shown as taking new patients aged under 18 on the NHS.
Previously known as Oasis Dental Care, the Finkle Street practice had five surgeries and employed six dentists, a hygienist, seven dental nurses, a practice manager and two receptionists when the Care Quality Commission last inspected in 2016.
Bupa has not confirmed how many jobs will be lost as a result of the closure, but said it would redeploy staff “where possible”.
Mr Allen added:
Andrew Jones to stand for election again in Harrogate and Knaresborough“We fully understand the impact today’s decision has on our patients and our people within these practices. This decision has not been taken lightly and closure is a last resort.
“Despite our continued efforts, the dental industry is facing a number of significant and systemic challenges that are placing additional pressure on providing patient care, in particular recruiting dentists to deliver NHS dental care.
“This decision enables us to focus our efforts on high-quality, continued sustainable care for patients across our wider portfolio.”
Andrew Jones will stand to be MP for the Harrogate and Knaresborough constituency for a fifth time, the Conservative party has confirmed.
The announcement follows a meeting of the Harrogate and Knaresborough Conservative Association’s executive committee last night.
There, Mr Jones spoke to party activists and took questions, before a secret ballot selected him as the party’s candidate once again.
After the meeting, in a statement on his website, Community News, he said:
“It is a real privilege to represent the area where I have lived since the 1990s. I have never wanted to represent anywhere else and have never stood for any other parliamentary seat.
“My approach has always been to speak up for our area first, to be active for the community in which I live and to be positive in my campaigns.”
Mr Jones was first elected in 2010, beating the late Liberal Democrat Claire Kelley by just 1,039 votes, following the retirement of long-standing Lib Dem MP Phil Willis.
He increased his majority to more than 16,000 in 2015, and 18,000 two years later. At the last general election in late 2019, it fell to 9,675, though he still polled his second-highest number of votes, at more than 29,000.
Read more:
- Lib Dems confirm Harrogate and Knaresborough candidate for next election
- Green Party chooses man to fight Andrew Jones in Harrogate and Knaresborough
The next election will have to be held by January 28, 2025.
Mr Jones will face Tom Gordon of the Liberal Democrats, and Paul Ko Ferrigno for the Green Party. Labour has yet to declare a candidate in the race.
When asked in January whether Mr Jones would be standing again, a spokesperson for the Harrogate and Knaresborough Conservative Association said:
“I think I must have missed something… is there a general election? I am able to confirm that the MP for Harrogate and Knaresborough is Andrew Jones.”
This week, reflecting on his 13 years in politics on his website, Mr Jones said:
Inquest opens into death of 29-year-old man in Harrogate“I’m really not interested in US-style attack politics where people drag one another down all the time. Where we have differences we should challenge one another respectfully and constructively. It saddens me that too often in local and national politics this doesn’t happen.
“I will keep campaigning for the things people here tell me our area needs building on the successes of the past 13 years. We have more trains to and from London, more services to Leeds and York, the pacers have gone, we have a largely electric bus fleet, our public buildings are being de-carbonised, we have new leisure facilities being built, more electric vehicle charging points are on the way, there is sustained low unemployment and over 10,000 new trees have been planted in the constituency.
“This is only a flavour of our progress locally. There is more to do and none of these things happen because of any one person. They happen because residents, community groups, councillors and the Member of Parliament work together to make them happen. Residents can be assured that my ongoing commitment to those community partnerships is genuine because this is my community too.
“It is an honour to be given the chance to serve our community again.”
An inquest has opened into the death of a 29-year-old man in Harrogate.
Joseph Paul Aaron Morrison, of no fixed abode, died at Harrogate District Hospital on October 30, 2022.
Opening the inquest at Northallerton, Catherine Cundy, coroner for North Yorkshire, said Mr Morrison was “found unresponsive” at an address in Harrogate on the same date.
She said the provisional cause of death was drug related.
Mr Morrison was found with morphine and tramadol in his system.
Ms Cundy adjourned the inquest for a later date.
Read more:
- Inquest opens for Harrogate woman who went missing for two weeks
- Inquest opens into death of Seb Mitchell in Harrogate
Knaresborough to get new fish and chip shop
A new fish and chip shop is set to open in Knaresborough.
Fish-a-rama is expected to begin serving customers at around Easter on the site of a former Chinese takeaway on York Place.
Owner Aytach Sadik ran a fish and chip shop in London before moving to Harrogate 22 years ago.
Since then he was been involved with Chico’s and Bambino’s takeaways in Harrogate.
Mr Sadik said he had spent about £200,000 on the new family-run business, which he said will be a family business selling the best fish and chips around:
“We will only use fresh fish. The quality isn’t there with frozen fish. We will also serve grilled sea bass and bream on a barbecue.”
“Everything is brand new – from the electricity and gas to the fittings. We knocked it back to the bare walls.”
The family-run business is preparing to open.
Mr Sadik said the business intended to apply for planning permission to open an outdoor seating area with a retractable roof on the large forecourt outside.
In the meantime, customers will be able to take their orders and eat them at tables on the patio at the front.
Mr Sadik, who is 67, is coming out of retirement for the venture. He said:
“I did retire two years ago but it’s just not for me. How many days can you play golf?”
Read more:
Junior doctors set for 96-hour strike at Harrogate hospital
Harrogate District Hospital is braced for further disruption as junior doctors prepare for a 96-hour walk-out next month.
The British Medical Association announced members will strike from 7am on Tuesday, April 11, until 7am on Saturday, April 15.
Junior doctors are walking out in a dispute over pay and conditions.
Both the BMA and the Hospital Consultants and Specialists Association are calling for a 26% pay increase, which they claim will “reverse the steep decline in pay faced by junior doctors since 2008/9”.
Junior doctors at Harrogate hospital formed a large picket line on Wetherby Road as part of a 72-hour walkout on March 13.
Dr Vivek Trivedi and Dr Robert Laurenson, co-chairs of the BMA junior doctor committee, said:
“It is with disappointment and great frustration that we must announce this new industrial action.
“The government has dragged its feet at every opportunity. It has not presented any credible offer and is refusing to accept that there is any case for pay restoration, describing our central ask as ‘unrealistic’ and ‘unreasonable’.
“Even yesterday they continued to add new unacceptable preconditions to talks instead of getting on and trying to find a resolution.”
A statement from Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust said:
“We are working hard to ensure there is minimal disruption to patient care and that emergency services continue to operate as normal.
“We are currently developing our plans for the propose action and its impact on our services, patients or staff.
“Outpatients appointments and planned activity may be affected. Patients should continue to attend appointments as planned unless contacted to reschedule. We will be re-arranging any postponed appointments as a priority. We appreciate this situation is frustrating for patients affected and apologise for any inconvenience caused.
“Nobody should put off seeking urgent or emergency care during the strikes, and key services will continue to operate.”
You can read the full statement on the trust’s website here.
Read more:
- Junior doctors strike at Harrogate District Hospital
- Fears for vulnerable families after changes to Harrogate district children’s centres
Business Breakfast: Knaresborough pest control company appoints new chief
A Knaresborough pest control company has appointed a new chief executive.
Alex Ashmore has joined Pelsis Group, which is based on Grimbald Crag Close.
Mr Ashmore, who previously worked for Delphi Technologies, will be tasked with continuing the group’s development in the pest control industry.
Martin Schwab, managing partner at Pamplona, Pelsis’ parent company, said:
“I am very pleased to welcome Alex to Pelsis.
“His deep, hands-on experience within complex global businesses makes him the ideal choice to accelerate Pelsis’ growth and capture the significant opportunities ahead of us, as well as continue to drive consolidation within the industry following the acquisition of Brandenburg and Sanitrade last year.”
Mr Ashmore said:
“I am delighted to join the Pelsis team at this exciting time for the company.
“Pelsis is known for its leading role in driving quality and innovation in the pest control market, and I look forward to working with our customers, suppliers and colleagues to address the needs of the industry, and continue to drive sustained growth.”
Minister visits Harrogate plant nursery
A government minister has paid a visit to a Harrogate district plant nursery.
Johnsons of Whixley hosted Trudy Harrison MP, parliamentary under secretary of state in the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, along with Nigel Adams, the Conservative MP for Selby and Ainsty and Lee Lyons, a Defra civil servant.
(From left) Graham Richardson and Jonathan Whittemore from Johnsons of Whixley with Trudy Harrison MP and Nigel Adams MP.
Ms Harrison and Mr Adams were welcomed by group managing director, Graham Richardson to discuss issues including commercial importing and rising costs due to inflation.
Mr Richardson said:
“It was an honour to host the minister and other key individuals to discuss the key horticultural challenges facing our sector, the importance of our sector was acknowledged, and the challenges that the ‘retreat from peat’ brings in terms of a practical growing media alternative (in sufficient volume) and the associated timings are better understood.”
Read More:
- Business Breakfast: Ripon engineering firm announces new sales manager
- Business Breakfast: Harrogate hotel owners hire project manager ahead of refurbishment
- Business Breakfast: Harrogate Specsavers director retires after 30 years
Beckwithshaw attempted murder accused told boy ‘this needs to happen’
Warning: this article contains information some people may find upsetting.
A man accused of slitting a boy’s throat told the youngster “this needs to happen” before cutting his neck, a trial has heard.
The man from Beckwithshaw tried to do the same to a young girl who was “hysterical” and had blood on her shirt and cuts on her fingers, a jury at Leeds Crown Court heard.
The accused, who is in his 40s, is charged with two counts of attempted murder.
He appeared for the second day of his trial yesterday when jurors heard harrowing testimony from two workmen who found the children, one of whom had a gaping neck wound and the other bloodied fingers.
One of the workmen said the seriously injured boy’s neck wound was so wide “it was like a Cheshire- cat smile”.
His colleague said he initially thought it was a “Halloween prank” at first but he “quickly realised it wasn’t” when he saw the extent of the boy’s injury.
The witness said:
“His injuries were horrific, like a horror film.
“He had his throat cut open and I could see inside the cut. He had his hands across his throat. There was blood everywhere.
“He seemed in shock and really distraught. I couldn’t believe what was happening; it was struggling to register with me and I was also in shock.
“I was standing on the street. I was worried for my own safety.”
Read more:
- Harrogate woman jailed for 10 weeks
- Harrogate crime hotspot gets £6,000 railings to prevent loitering
- Albanian crime group ran huge cocaine racket in Harrogate, court hears
The workman called to his colleague to get something to stem the child’s bleeding and he wrapped a hoodie around the boy’s neck.
The witness called an ambulance and told them:
“I thought it needed police as well as it slowly started to sink in what had happened.
“I was really worried about the situation and wanted the emergency services to get there as quickly as possible.”
He said the young girl who was also bleeding was “very distraught and upset”.
Alleged victims ‘really distraught’
Police arrived, followed shortly afterwards by an ambulance crew. The children were put in the ambulance and taken to hospital.
The witness’ colleague, who was also named in court, said he heard “what seemed like a kid’s scream or shout”.
He said he saw the young boy holding his neck to stem the flow of blood.
He added:
“The wound looked really bad.
“It was like a Cheshire-cat smile and went wide across his neck and I could see inside the wound. I ran to get my hoodie. I put the hoodie on the boy’s cut and he held it there around his neck.
“He was a bit teary before I put the hoodie on his neck but that seemed to calm him down a bit.”
He said he saw a young girl “with blood on her…top”.
He added:
“She was crying her eyes out; she was really distraught.”
She told the witness that the man who had cut the boy’s throat had also “tried to get at her as well”.
He added:
“She was obviously really scared and she was hysterical.
“I reassured her that he wouldn’t hurt her as I was there to protect her. I put my arm around the girl…to reassure her that she was safe now.”
He added:
“I felt so annoyed and shocked.
“I couldn’t believe what was happening. The little girl was hysterical. I put my arm around her.”
He said the children seemed “petrified” and that the girl told him she heard the man say “this needs to happen” before launching the alleged attack.
He said that the street seemed eerily quiet at the time and that he and his colleague were the only ones who went to help.
‘Paranoia and drinking’
A female witness for the prosecution who knew the accused man said he had mental health problems including bouts of paranoia and that his drinking made this worse.
Prosecuting barrister Robert Stevenson alleged that the accused slit the boy’s throat with a 10-inch serrated knife during the incident in June last year.
Neither of the children can be named for legal reasons.
The trial continues.
Ex-soldier to walk 104km in a day for homelessness charityA former soldier has pledged to walk over 100km to raise funds for a local charity – without ever straying too far from home.
James Bryceson, who lives in Norwood in the Washburn Valley, intends to walk around Fewston and Swinsty reservoirs – which lie just a mile away – 10 times in a row, in an epic 104km trek that he hopes will take just 20 hours.
He is tackling the epic trek, which he has called The Reservoir Slog, to raise money for Harrogate Homeless Project, and has set £1,000 as his fundraising target.
James, who spent 13 years in the Army, 10 of them in the Military Police, said:
“I’d been out of the Army for a while and wanted to do something to get fit. I thought 100km in a day would be a good goal to set.
“There couldn’t be a better charity to support. This is a local walk, and I’m hoping it will benefit people locally.”
James, who now works as a recruitment consultant, has spent the last six months preparing for the walk by lifting weights and doing daily circuits of the reservoirs.
He plans to set off on the round walk at 8am on Sunday, June 25 and keep the water on his right – heading clockwise – for the duration. He will be accompanied at various stages by family and friends, but is urging wellwishers to join him for as much or as little of the challenge as they like. He said:
“You can come along for one lap, two laps or more. The night part will be hardest, as I’ll be quite tired by then. So if anyone can join me for that bit, that’d be great – they can keep me awake!”
He is also looking for sponsorship, and is asking interested local businesses to get in touch. People wanting to support James’s trek for Harrogate Homeless Project can make a donation online via JustGiving, at The Reservoir Slog.
Read more:
- Harrogate homeless charity re-homes its 100th resident
- 10K run set to be held in aid of Harrogate Homeless Project
- Swinsty and Fewston parking charges to include ‘season ticket’
Knaresborough forest campaign secures 61 acres from development
A Knaresborough voluntary group has bought four plots of farmland totalling 61 acres to turn into a community green space and nature reserve.
Renaissance Knaresborough launched a fundraising campaign in December to acquire privately-owned land between Knaresborough and Starbeck.
The land between Beryl Burton Cycle Way and the A59 Harrogate Road is not currently accessible to the public and there were fears it could one day be used for development.
The campaign aimed to prevent that by reinstating part of the ancient Knaresborough forest, with the land owned by individual shareholders and open to the public for recreation and conservation.
The campaign received £160,000 of pledges from individuals and organisations and a £410,000 donation from the George A Moore Foundation in Leeds. George Moore, a successful businessman who died in 2016, was born and raised in Knaresborough.
An interest-free philanthropic loan by We Have The Power, an organisation set up by impact investor Julia Davies to empower community groups to improve local biodiversity and tackle the climate crisis, enabled a bid to be submitted to the land agents.
However, the campaigners now need to raise about £300,000 to pay back the loan. They hope to raise the sum within six months.
Liz Baxandall, chair of Renaissance Knaresborough, said:
“The combination of the loan, substantial donations and community pledges have enabled Renaissance Knaresborough to realise its dream of protecting the greenbelt and delivering such a wonderful legacy project.
“Julia’s last-minute loan enabled us to secure all the land, a goal we had thought was unrealisable.
“We are so very grateful for all the amazing support we are receiving to protect over 60 acres of beautiful greenbelt countryside between our towns.”
Campaigners celebrate the land purchase
The campaign is similar to the successful Long Lands Common initiative that raised £375,000 to buy 30 acres of land near Nidderdale Greenway.
Fears over green belt
Ms Baxandall said there were major concerns about the amount of building going on and the protection of green belt land.
Knaresborough Forest Park, she said, would “involve all ages working together to create a really special haven for nature and humans”, adding:
“We will pay off the philanthropic loan with the money people are pledging so please keep those pledges coming in.
“Pledges to buy community shares send a very clear message that Knaresborough Forest Park is hugely important to people. Over 900 people have already pledged. We cannot thank you all enough.”
Read more:
- Campaign to create Knaresborough Forest Park issues urgent plea for support
- £405,000 campaign to restore public access to 41 acres of the old Knaresborough Forest
The fields were once the eastern end of the ancient Royal Forest of Knaresborough. The land adjoins Long Lands Common at one end and drops down towards the River Nidd at the other.
George Eglese, a director of Knaresborough Forest Park, said:
“The land is already home to many species of flora and fauna with magnificent old hedges, streams, wetlands, and grasslands.
“There are panoramic views, taking in the town, the castle and St. John’s, which provide a fantastic opportunity to tell tale of ancient Knaresborough and the forest.
“The community has come together and achieved something to be incredibly proud of, something that will be there for many generations to come.”