Vandals smash shop and car windows and bus shelter in Starbeck

Vandals have smashed shop and car windows and a local bus shelter in Starbeck overnight.

Two windows at Pets Corner near the level crossing were shattered.

Windows were also destroyed on a bus shelter next to the shop and on several cars on nearby residential streets, including The Avenue and further down the High Street.

One employee at Pets Corner said that staff arrived at work this morning to find their workplace had been vandalised.

They added they were still in a state of disbelief that somebody had done it apparently for fun.

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North Yorkshire Police said in a statement:

“We’re investigating a spate of incidents of criminal damage in the Starbeck area overnight.

“Officers have received reports that five cars have had their windows smashed, and damage has been caused to the windows of two shops on High Street, overnight between 16 and 17 March 2022.

“Enquiries are ongoing today. Anyone with information about the incidents, or who might have relevant CCTV, is asked to contact North Yorkshire Police on 101, quoting reference number 12220045092.”

Last week vandals pulled up 20 trees on Belmont Field.

The trees had previously been damaged so many times at the other end of the field that Starbeck in Bloom, the community group that aims to make Starbeck more attractive, decided to move them.

Val Young, a local resident, described it as “disgusting” and “absolutely diabolical”.

Three teens on Harrogate Theatre roof plead guilty to causing £800 damage

Three teenagers have pleaded guilty to causing £800 worth of damage after climbing on to the roof of Harrogate Theatre.

Police arrested the youths on January 25 after being called to reports of young people on the roof at the 122-year-old theatre on Cheltenham Parade.

The three males, who are aged 14, 15 and 17 and can’t be named for legal reasons, were sentenced at Harrogate Magistrates Court on Friday. They all live in Harrogate.

They all admitted damaging scaffolding to the value of £300 and causing £500 damage to a Ford transit van belonging to nearby Scandinavian cafe Baltzersen’s.

The 15-year-old was referred to North Yorkshire youth offender panel for 12 months and ordered to pay £200 compensation.

The 17-year-old was referred to North Yorkshire youth offender panel for six months and ordered to pay £200 compensation.

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He also breached a 12-month conditional discharge order received in October for driving without insurance or due care and attention. No action was taken on this breach.

The 14-year-old received a six-month conditional discharge order and ordered to pay £200.

Harrogate firefighters and police attended the 4am incident on January 25.

The theatre is undergoing a £1 million refurbishment that is due to be completed this month. Scaffolding remains in place.

Police appeal after ducks stolen in Hampsthwaite

Police have appealed for information after five call ducks were stolen in Hampsthwaite.

Officers said the theft happened on Swincliffe Lane in the village when a secure pen which was keeping the ducks was accessed.

North Yorkshire Police said the ducks were stolen during the evening between March 2 and 3, 2022.

A police statement added:

“Police are appealing for anyone who may have any information or had noticed any suspicious activity in that area at the alleged times of the thefts to make contact with ourselves.

“If you have any information we ask that you contact PC 46 Brendon Frith on 101 and select option 2 or alternatively by email: Brendon.Frith@northyorkshire.police.uk Please quote reference number 12220037836.”

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Knaresborough man charged with murder

A man from Knaresborough has been charged with murder following a fight on Friday evening at the Pier Hotel pub in Withernsea, East Yorkshire.

Police were called at around 11.30pm after reports of an altercation involving a group of people at the pub on Seaside Road.

The victim has been named as Darron Bower. He was pronounced dead at the scene by emergency services.

Darren Moverley, 44, of Withernsea, and Dean Kilkenny, 46, of Knaresborough, have both been charged with murder and they appeared at Hull Magistrates Court this morning.

Humberside Police believe that lots of people were in the area when the incident took place. It says anyone with information who has not already spoken to them should call 101 and quote log 594.

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Harrogate man admits throwing ‘brick or stone’ at Knaresborough Fire Station

A 32-year-old man from Harrogate received a conditional discharge today for throwing a “brick or stone-like object” at Knaresborough Fire Station.

Daniel Barnes, of Oakdale Glen, appeared before Harrogate magistrates charged with attempting criminal damage. It was his second appearance in court for the same offence in two weeks.

Barnes pleaded guilty to throwing an object at the door of the fire station on February 16.

Sean Wilson, defending, said his client had thrown a “brick or stone like object” in response to an earlier incident in which someone had driven past and said “I’m going to kill your mum”.

Mr Wilson added:

“Mr Barnes’ recent series of incidents are partly due to him possibly being evicted from his home. He was also diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia at 15 and suffers with ADHD, bipolar disorder and depression.

“His outburst was out of anger at someone in a car yelling ‘I’m going to kill your mum’.”

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Ms Campbell, chair of the magistrates, issued a six-month conditional discharge and ordered Barnes to pay fines amounting to £107, which will be taken out of his benefits allowance.

She said:

“You are not going to be punished today but I am instead putting you on a six-month conditional discharge. Should you do it again in the next six months you will face this charge plus the new charge. You need to keep out of trouble.

“I have taken into account that you pleaded guilty at the earliest opportunity and have reduced the condition from nine months to six.”

Harrogate man jailed for historic sexual abuse of young girl

Warning: This article contains details some readers may find distressing.

A child abuser has been jailed for nine years for the horrific sexual abuse of a young girl in the 1990s.

Kevin Chandler, 61, from Harrogate, preyed on the youngster after grooming her to satisfy his sexual desires, York Crown Court heard.

The victim, who cannot be named for legal reasons, didn’t go to police for 20 years after the abuse stopped and was so psychologically scarred she needed counselling.

Chandler, who was in his 30s when he abused the child, was charged with six counts of indecent assault and two of gross indecency with a child but denied all allegations. 

However, a jury found him guilty on all eight counts following a week-long trial in January. He appeared for sentence today.

Prosecutor Katherine Robinson said the abuse lasted almost six years, when the girl was very young.

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She said the victim, now an adult, would have made a complaint much earlier but she was “scared” of Chandler.

Groomed to think it was normal

He began the abuse by kissing and sexually touching her and then making her do the same to him. He went on to perform more serious sexual acts upon her and made her perform lewd acts on him.

Following the second assault on the youngster, she was so distraught she put a rope around her neck, said Ms Robinson.

In a separate incident, the victim was left “frightened, distressed and crying” after Chandler “kissed her like an adult” and forced her to touch him on an intimate part of his body.

Ms Robinson said the victim felt she was to blame and that, even at her tender age, she was made to feel “like it was an affair” or a “special relationship”.

She was described as “very vulnerable” and a “very troubled little girl” at the time due to an already-traumatic childhood. 

She had been “groomed” by Chandler to “sexualise” her and to make her “feel this was normal”. 

She was left “utterly distraught”, added Ms Robinson.

The victim, who told her husband years later but still didn’t feel able to go to the police, felt an inexplicable guilt and suffered panic attacks. 

Ms Robinson said the victim finally reported matters after “she managed to shake her fears, her shame…after all these years”.

Chandler, who is married with children, claimed the victim had “made up” the allegations.

“I have been robbed of years of peace and joy”

The victim appeared in court via video link to see her tormentor receive his comeuppance for years of abuse which had torn her life apart.

In a tearful and profoundly moving statement which she read out herself, she said the abuse had caused her “great stress, confusion and fear as I was psychologically abused by (Chandler)”.

She added:

“It has been 27 years now since (Chandler) started to sexually and psychologically abuse me.

“How do I find the words to describe 27 years of pain and fear and horror?”

The victim said she had received counselling and expected to continue receiving treatment “for years to come”.

She said the whole process of taking the case to court had been “excruciating for me” as it brought back all her “darkest memories and darkest thoughts”.

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The victim said that before Chandler started abusing her, she had been a “sweet and innocent” girl who was “full of potential for love and joy”.

She added:

“I was a kind and thoughtful girl, but he made me disgusting and horrible.

“What he did to me made me dirty and horrible and alone and unlovable. I’ve spent the rest of my life trying to undo that.”

The victim added: 

“When I see photos of myself from the time he was abusing me…I feel overwhelmed for the grief of what I should have been. 

“I should have been carefree and trusting and innocent. Instead, I was (pitched) into a dark and lonely and shameful place for years.”

The victim said she was left feeling “fundamentally worthless”.

She added:

“I have been robbed of years and years of peace and joy.”

Chandler “targeted and groomed” young girl

Nicholas Worsley, mitigating, said Chandler had led an otherwise blameless working life. He was a good husband and had been involved in voluntary work.

Judge Simon Hickey said it was “as clear as winter ice” that Chandler had targeted and groomed the young girl.

He added:

“In my judgement, you are a classic child abuser.”

Jailing Chandler for nine years, Mr Hickey told him he would have to serve two-thirds of that sentence behind bars before being released on prison licence.

In addition, the judge made a lifetime sexual-harm prevention order prohibiting Chandler from having any advertent contact with girls under 16 years of age without the express approval of their parents, guardians or police. 

Chandler, of Lupton Close, Glasshouses, was also placed on the sex-offenders’ register for life.

City council to make formal complaint about policing in Ripon

Ripon councillors have voted unanimously to make a formal complaint against the city’s police amid fears that the force has lost public confidence.

Concerns about the failure to tackle and eradicate the recurring problems of criminal activity in Ripon, combined with a perceived lack of urgency in their response to 101 calls made by the public, were voiced by Independent and Conservative councillors alike.

In a further blow for residents worried about the lack of police resources to deal with violent and anti-social behaviour, members at last night’s Ripon City Council meeting were told that the provision of a custody suite at the Stonebridgegate site that police share with the city’s firefighters will not materialise.

Photo of Ripon Police and Fire station

The promised custody suite will not be added at that site that Ripon Police share with firefighters.

Former North Yorkshire Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner Philip Allott, pledged to fund the project and provide two additional cctv cameras, in a two-pronged plan to support enhanced policing in the city.

But Independent council leader Andrew Williams, said:

“The promises he made were nothing more than pie in the sky, there was no way in a million years that he was going to be able to pay for these facilities out of his community budget. The custody suite alone would have cost up to £7 million.”

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Cllr Williams revealed that Zoe Metcalfe, who was elected commissioner in November following Mr Allott’s resignation – in the face of widespread condemnation of remarks he made in a radio interview about the Sarah Everard murder trial – had requested the council to submit a complaint to her about policing in Ripon.

He said:

“When I and three fellow councillors met with her last week, we had a frank discussion and after listening to our concerns, she asked the council to make a formal complaint, so that she can take the necessary official steps to address the matter.

“Resident are being asked to pay more for policing through their council tax and what they are receiving in Ripon at the moment is not fit for purpose.”

Cllr Mike Chambers, who is also cabinet member for housing and safer communities on Harrogate Borough Council, said:

“I have been pressing the commissioner for more warranted police officers on the beat in Ripon, because the PCSOs (police community support officers) have only limited powers to take action when an incident occurs.”

Cllr Pauline McHardy, an independent city and district councillor, added:

“I spoke with a market stallholder who had their cash box stolen early last Thursday morning. They reported it straight away but the police didn’t send anybody  to investigate the theft. This just isn’t good enough.”

Trial date for ex-Harrogate headteacher charged with making indecent images of children

A trial date has been set for a former Harrogate headteacher who is charged with two counts of making indecent images of children.

Matthew Shillito, 42, denies making 20 Category B images and 3,723 Category C images between December 3, 2012 and December 31, 2015.

He will appear before Harrogate Magistrates’ Court for trial on July 21, 2022.

A case management hearing at the magistrates’ court last Friday confirmed the date.

Shillito was remanded on conditional bail until the date of the trial.

He was appointed headteacher of Harrogate’s Western Primary School in 2019.

He was previously headteacher across the Goldsborough Sicklinghall Federation of schools.

North Yorkshire Police said in a statement in September 2021 that none of Shillito’s alleged offences related to his employment.

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CCTV appeal for four men following attempted theft at Harrogate iStore

Police have released CCTV images of four men they want to identify following an attempted theft at the Harrogate iStore.

According to a statement by North Yorkshire Police today, the four men tried to steal items from the Apple retailer on James Street but failed.

It added they ran along James Street towards Princess Street.

The incident took place in December. No precise date has been given.

If you recognise any of them men or have information to assist the investigation you can contact the police on 101, select option 2 and ask for Brendon Frith or contact the officer direct at Brendon.Frith@northyorkshire.police.uk.

To remain anonymous, call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

The reference number is 12210255167.

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Knaresborough man jailed for historic sexual abuse

*Warning — this article contains details some readers may find disturbing.

A 64-year-old man has been jailed for three years for the sexual abuse of a young girl in the 1970s and 80s.

David Weatherald, from Knaresborough, waged what amounted to a campaign of sexual abuse of the girl in Harrogate when he was in his 20s.

The victim, now middle-aged, was so traumatised by the abuse she tried to take her own life, York Crown Court heard.

Prosecutor Kitty Colley said that despite the offences happening so long ago, Weatherald’s previous conviction for possessing indecent images of children in 2019 showed that he had “harboured a (sexual) interest in young children” for many years. 

The victim of the sexual abuse, which occurred about 40 years ago, did not make disclosures to police until September 2019 after an article appeared in the press about Weatherald’s conviction for possessing indecent images.

Ms Colley said:

“She herself contacted police and reported (that) she had been sexually abused by him as a child.

“She said that having read about him in the paper, she (decided to) come forward.” 

The victim, who was just six years old when the abuse began in the 1970s, was sexually assaulted on “many” occasions.

Weatherald, who was 19 or 20 years’ old when it began, vehemently denied the allegations following his arrest and told police they were “all lies”.

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He was initially charged with seven counts of sexual offences but denied them and the case was listed for trial in December last year, but Weatherald ultimately admitted five of those charges, including four counts of indecent assault and one of indecency with a child under 14 years of age. He appeared for sentence on Thursday.

Torrid childhood

The court heard that the victim, who cannot be named for legal reasons, had endured a torrid childhood.

Ms Colley said:

“She said she felt ashamed about what (Weatherald) did to her.”

The victim said the abuse had affected her “very deeply” all her adult life.

She said that at the time of the abuse she had “minimal” understanding of what was happening to her and she was now “reliving the trauma through this case”.

She said the abuse made her “feel like I was not worth anything” and resulted in a suicide attempt. 

She added:

“The experiences I have gone through left me physically and mentally shattered.

“My life was stolen from me when I was six years of age and there is nothing that will get those years back.”

Ms Colley said that Weatherald’s previous conviction for possessing indecent images included 11 videos rated Category A – the worst kind – featuring “very young children, some aged seven”. The images included penetrative sexual activity with children.

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Weatherald, of Fossdale Close, was given a 10-month suspended prison sentence and made subject to a 10-year sexual-harm prevention order for those offences in 2019. 

Three-year sentence

Nick Cartmell, mitigating, said Weatherald was deeply remorseful and at the time of the sexual abuse he too was an “isolated, immature” young man who had his own difficulties.

Judge Sean Morris, the Recorder of York, told Weatherald: 

“This offending came to light as a result of you possessing, or looking at, the most dreadful illegal images of children. 

“It’s quite clear that this offending…shows that your interest in children harks back some considerable time.”

Weatherald will serve half of the three-year sentence behind bars before being released on prison licence. 

Mr Morris added a further prohibition to Weatherald’s sexual-harm prevention order which bans him having any advertent contact with children under 16 years of age.