Police release images after man knocked out in HarrogatePolice appeal for information on man caught on CCTV after Harrogate assaultPolish shop in Harrogate moves to bigger premises as demand grows

A Polish deli in Harrogate will relaunch in new town centre premises at the weekend. 

Cracovia, which used to occupy a small shop on King’s Road, will reopen on Saturday in a larger unit on Bower Street. 

Owner Maciek Bujakowski told the Stray Ferret: 

“Our little shop on King’s Road had become slightly too small, so we’re moving to a bigger shop where we’ll have more space. The uniqueness of our home-made products, such as pâtés, meatloaves and sausages, gives us a strength over other shops, so we’ve become quite popular. 

“If you come along on Saturday between 9am and 6pm, you’ll be able to taste different kinds of Polish food and drink, and everybody’s welcome.” 

Illustration of how Harrogate's new Cracovia shop on Bower Street will look with its new signage.

The new shop on Bower Street in Harrogate.

Maciek and wife Kasia not only own the Harrogate shop, but also a restaurant in Chapel Allerton and shops in Armley in Leeds, Acomb in York and Hessle in Hull. In total, they employ 15 people, including four in the new Bower Street shop. 

Originally from Krakow in southern Poland, Maciek began his career with a four-year catering degree and represented his country in international food competitions. 

Photo of Maciek and Kasia Bujakowski, owners of Cracovia Polish deli in Harrogate.

Kasia and Maciek Bujakowski.

He came to England in 2004, moving around the country for various chef positions, culminating in being made executive chef of the Kimberley Hotel in Harrogate. He opened his first shop, Magic Meat – a wordplay on his first name – on King’s Road in 2015 to cater to the town’s then-growing Polish community. 

He said: 

“When we opened our first shop eight years ago, about 80% of our customers were Eastern European and only 20% English, but now the balance is about 50/50.  

“With Polish food it’s exactly the same as with other kinds of foreign food. People come here from other places, local people try our food and like it, and it becomes more popular. I wouldn’t be surprised if in 30 years’ time, you would see Polish restaurants like you see Indian and Chinese restaurants now. It’s just the evolution of knowledge of food, and it’s changing all the time.”

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Harrogate man given suspended sentence for threatening to kill policeman

A Harrogate homeless man has been given an 18-week suspended prison sentence for threatening to kill a policeman.

Ryan Hopper, 20, admitted the offence when he appeared before magistrates in Harrogate on Thursday.

Hopper, of Harrogate Homeless Project on Bower Street, threatened the officer on Rudbeck Drive in Harrogate on May 14 this year.

He also pleaded guilty to assaulting the same officer on the same day on Dalby Avenue.

Court documents said he was given a custodial sentence because of his previous record and the fact the offences were committed while he was subject to a community order. He was also fined £240.

However, the prison sentence was suspended for 18 months because there was a “realistic prospect of rehabilitation”, the documents added.

Hopper received a community order on January 5 this year for affray, possessing class B drugs, possessing an offensive weapon and threatening violence on Bower Street.

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Drug dealer has 16 months added to sentence given for stabbing in Harrogate

A violent drug dealer has been jailed for dealing cannabis – just two months after receiving a long prison term for stabbing a man in Harrogate with a knife.

William Boam, 23, from Harrogate, was driving a Citroen C3 which was stopped by police in Tadcaster in September 2021, York Crown Court heard.

They found six large plastic bags in the glove box containing over 27g of cannabis, along with two mobile phones and cash.

Boam was arrested and bailed, but in March 2022 the fire service was called out to his then home in Knaresborough after neighbours reported smoke coming from the property, said prosecutor Brooke Morrison.

She added:

“When [firefighters] attended they found no fire but found the defendant in his living room with large quantities of cannabis, so they called police.”

Officers arrived and found Boam in the living room surrounded by drug packaging and sheets of “branded stickers”, some of which he had placed on dealer bags. Ms Morrison said:

“Police found a further quantity of cannabis in tubs in the kitchen.”

They found a total 256g of cannabis in the property, worth an estimated £785 if sold on the street. The total amount of drugs seized from both the property and Boam’s vehicle was worth just under £1,000.

Boam was arrested again and, despite the amount of cannabis found at his home, told officers the drugs were for his own personal use.

Ms Morrison said that Boam appeared to be operating a one-man drug enterprise in which he packaged, distributed and sold the drugs on the street.

Boam had 13 previous convictions for 17 offences including drug supply in 2016, producing cannabis in 2017, arson and serious violence.

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In March this year he was jailed for two years and seven months for wounding causing grievous bodily harm, assault, carrying a knife and breaching a suspended prison sentence.

That incident, which can now be reported, occurred in October 2022, when Boam was still at large following his arrest for the drug matters and subject to a two-month suspended sentence for assaulting an emergency worker.

The victim was at his friend’s flat in Harrogate when Boam rang the doorbell asking to be let in. They refused but Boam threatened to kick the door, so they let him in.

He started shouting at the named victim who threw him out of the flat. About 20 minutes later, the two friends went to get some beer from a supermarket and, on their return, they bumped into Boam outside a homeless hostel in Bower Street where he was living at the time.

Boam punched and headbutted the victim’s friend and demanded his beer, then put his hand in his pocket “as if to indicate he was carrying a weapon”.

He then pulled a knife out and the victim’s friend ran away, chased by Boam. The victim came to his friend’s aid but as he tried to intervene, Boam “lunged” at him and thrust the knife into his stomach. He then “swung” the knife at him again and caught the victim on the arm, before running off.

The victim was taken to hospital where he had staples to close the stab wound to his stomach wall and three stitches to the wound on his upper arm.

Defence barrister Natalie Banks said that Boam had a “very difficult” upbringing and mental health problems.

Recorder Dapinder Singh KC jailed Boam for a further 16 months for the drug offences – a reduced sentence for reasons of “totality” because he was already serving a sentence of nearly three years for serious violence.

Harrogate dominatrix who ran international sex trafficking racket to be deported

A Portuguese dominatrix who ran an international sex-trafficking and prostitution racket is to be deported from the UK.

Fabiana De Souza, 43, and her English husband Gareth Derby, 55, were jailed for a combined 10 years in February last year after they were caught running a sex den in Harrogate, where many of the sex workers were based after being flown in from abroad.

Today they appeared at Leeds Crown Court for a financial-confiscation hearing under the Proceeds of Crime Act. These proceedings will determine how much the former couple has to pay back for their mega-money trafficking scheme, which involved sex workers from Portugal and Brazil.

Defence barrister Michael Fullerton said full analysis of the defendants’ assets and finances had not yet been completed and De Souza had yet to provide her own statements.

He said the defence would be contesting the undisclosed sum being sought by the prosecution.

Mr Fullerton asked for an adjournment in the proceedings to allow time for De Souza to serve the statement but asked for a postponed date no later than August 21 when she would be deported from the country.

He said Derby’s defence team also needed more time to ascertain the value of a car belonging to him which appeared to have ended up in Portugal.

He claimed some of De Souza’s financial gains during the offending period were from her work as a beautician and in the fitness industry.

He said this money was “not…earned by her as a dominatrix with her own website during that period”.

Mr Fullerton claimed that De Souza’s involvement in trafficking six sex workers from abroad was for a “limited period” only.

He claimed Derby had transferred some of the money into De Souza’s account and she had received some legitimately from a family member.

‘Flying in’ sex workers

During their trial at the same court in December 2021, the jury heard that De Souza and Derby, from Norfolk, had been “flying in” sex workers from Europe and South America.

Prosecutor Nicholas Lumley KC said the couple treated the women like “commodities” as they made massive sums from their illicit trade.

De Souza, who provided dominatrix and discipline services to punters in Harrogate, was said to be the ringleader of the “large-scale commercial operation” in which she and Derby, a high-earning engineer and machine specialist, flew in sex workers from Brazil and Portugal, paid for their flights and met them at airports, before whisking them off to sex dens where men paid for “massages” and “full (sex) services”.

They had exploited the “vulnerable” women for “significant” financial gain by “controlling (their) finances (and) choice of clients”.

The sex workers were put at a “significant financial disadvantage” and forced to lie to police to avoid detection.

De Souza and Derby, who ran the lucrative business from their home in East Anglia, were arrested in August 2018 and charged with controlling prostitution for financial gain and human trafficking. They each denied the charges, but the jury found them guilty on both counts following a 10-day trial.

The charges related to six named women who worked at the Harrogate sex den and two properties in Norfolk between April 2017 and August 2018.

Bower Road brothel

Mr Lumley said De Souza rented a two-bed flat in Harrogate town centre through a letting agency “so it could be used for sex…which would be advertised on the internet by these two defendants”. He added:

“There was another (rented) flat in Norfolk put to similar use and when that became unavailable, even the home of these defendants was converted for use by sex workers.

“As soon as the (prostitutes) arrived here, they would be installed in the flat in Harrogate or elsewhere, always with the purpose of being available for sex.”

De Souza and Derby would pay for sex adverts within hours of picking the women up from airport around the country and “setting them up” at the flat on Bower Road in Harrogate. The adverts were placed on the classified escort websites Viva Street and Adult Work.

Bower Street

Bower Street in Harrogate

They took the bookings and “made the arrangements (with the clients)” who would pay various amounts – from £80 for half an hour to over £1,000 for an overnight stay.

The money usually ended up in De Souza’s Halifax, Bank of Scotland and NatWest bank accounts, but on occasions “cash simply changed hands, handed by the sex workers to one of these two”.

Between May 2017 and August 2018, some £38,000 cash was deposited into De Souza’s bank accounts at branches in Harrogate and Norfolk. About £9,000 of bank transfers were then made to accounts in Brazil and Portugal using a money-services bureau.

Mr Lumley said one woman was flown in on an EasyJet flight from Amsterdam and was picked up by the couple who had driven from Norfolk in a 4×4 pick-up. Derby also drove a Mercedes.

They would arrange for a train ticket to be available at the airport as they moved the women around the country “or put them on a bus and sent them up to Harrogate or somewhere else”.

Undercover officer

Following her arrest, De Souza, who is serving her sentence at a women’s prison in Peterborough, told police she had left her husband in September 2017 with the intention of divorcing him and moved to Harrogate “where no-one knew me”.

She had rented the Bower Road flat for over £700 a month and let rooms out to “others”, some of whom were “friends from Portugal”.

Derby said only that he had an “inkling that Fabia worked at the Harrogate flat as a dominatrix”.

In a text sent to a friend in January 2018, he boasted of being a “smuggler of women”.

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Police trawled through the bank accounts of De Souza and her husband and found they had spent “thousands on air fares” and over £2,000 on Viva Street adverts alone.

An undercover officer posed as a client to make appointments for the sex den on Bower Road. De Souza would answer the calls in “broken English” and arrange the appointment.

The officer was offered a “range of services”. On his first visit, dressed in civilian clothes, he was met by a sex worker named ‘Lisa’ who buzzed him into the flats above shops.

He made “numerous” such visits to other women after responding to adverts including one for a “Hot Brazilian, full service”. She was about 57 years old but was advertised as 33.

De Souza and Derby, of Town Street, Upwell, in south-west Norfolk, were each jailed for five years in February 2022. They are still serving those sentences in different parts of the country and had to be transported to Leeds for the confiscation hearing.

Judge Mr Stubbs KC adjourned for a further hearing on June 27 when the case might be resolved but is likely to go to a contested, half-day hearing on July 28, when the prosecution and defence will set out their cases for a greater or lesser financial settlement based on the defendants’ assets and finances.

Harrogate crime hotspot gets £6,000 railings to prevent loitering

Railings have been installed on one of Harrogate’s worst streets for crime in a bid to prevent problems.

The railings, which cost £6,000, follow long-running concerns about anti-social behaviour on Bower Street.

Harrogate Borough Council and private owners of the properties affected each paid half of the sum.

North Yorkshire Police recently named Bower Street as one of Harrogate’s crime hotspots.

The street, on which Harrogate Homeless Project is based, often sees people loitering on the steps of the retail unit that was formerly occupied by donut shop Doe.

A Harrogate Borough Council press release this afternoon said “negotiations have taken longer than hoped” due to the land being privately owned.

Bower Street railings

The railings being installed today.

Councillor Richard Cooper, the Conservative leader of Harrogate Borough Council, said:

“All of us who live or work near this location know that it has been trouble for a long time. While the council has worked with the police on the issues, the land is privately owned and installing secure boundaries is the responsibility of the property owner.

“Nonetheless, the council and other partners recognise the impact that anti-social behaviour and criminal activity has on the quality of life of residents, businesses and the wider community.

“That is why we have agreed to help the property owners secure their boundaries and install these railings. I am grateful to the property owners for working with us on this and am pleased to say that said railings are now installed.

The council statement said it had been working with residents and partners to “tackle ongoing issues of anti-social behaviour in this area of Harrogate town centre”.

The measures regular police patrols and targeting individuals who cause harassment, alarm and distress, the release added. Now the railings have gone up.

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Cllr Cooper added:

“We know that securing this area will not immediately solve the anti-social and criminal behaviour problem at this location. Long-term dedicated support is the only way to do that. And we must recognise that the people who congregate in these areas often have complex physical and mental health needs.

“We need to continue to support agencies and schemes like Harrogate Homeless Project and Harrogate Street Aid that provide help to people in need.”

 

Man denies carrying knuckleduster on Harrogate’s Bower Street

A Harrogate man has denied carrying an offensive weapon on the town’s Bower Street.

Ben Hay, 36, was charged with being in possession of a knuckleduster without lawful authority at the back of Harrogate Homeless Project on December 14, 2022.

He was also charged with being in possession of cannabis on the same date.

Mr Hay, whose address was listed as the hostel on Bower Street, appeared before Harrogate Magistrates Court yesterday.

The 36-year-old spoke only to confirm his name and to enter a not guilty plea to both charges.

A trial will be held on February 24 at Harrogate Magistrates Court.

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Man denies wounding with intent on Harrogate’s Bower Street

A Harrogate man has denied wounding another man with intent to cause grievous bodily harm on the town’s Bower Street last month.

William Boam, 23, who lives on the street, appeared before York Crown Court yesterday and pleaded not guilty to the charge.

It follows an incident on Bower Street on the night of October 14.

Boam, who appeared via video link from HMP Hull, also denied a charge of common assault against another man on the same night.

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He pleaded guilty to a charge of possessing a knife on Bower Street.

A trial date was set at York Crown Court for April 11, 2023.

Recorder Tahir Kahn remanded Boam in custody until the date of the trial.

Man suffers serious head injuries on Harrogate’s Bower Street

A 32-year-old Harrogate man has been arrested following a reported assault on Bower Street.

Police were called by the ambulance service at 6.20pm on Saturday after the victim, a man in his fifties, was found with serious head injuries in the street.

The victim was taken to hospital where he remains in a serious condition.

The 32-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of wounding with intent. He has since been released on conditional police bail to allow for further enquiries to be carried out.

It was revealed last month that railings are to be installed on Bower Street in an attempt to reduce anti-social behaviour.

Bower Street

North Yorkshire Police is urging anyone who witnessed the incident but has not yet spoken to police to get in touch on 101. The incident number is 12220201215

If you wish to remain anonymous, you can pass information to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

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