Multiple vehicle crash on A1 at Allerton Park

Emergency services were called out shortly after midnight last night to reports of a car crash on the A1 in the Harrogate district.

Two people needed treatment from ambulance crews at the scene following the incident, which happened on the northbound carriageway at junction 47.

North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service‘s incident log says firefighters from Knaresborough and Harrogate attended a “multi-vehicle road traffic collision”. It adds:

“On arrival crews found that no persons were trapped. Two walking wounded casualties with minor injuries were left in the care of police and ambulance crews.

“Crews made the scene safe and carried out a thorough search of the embankment for further casualties. Incident left in the hands of police.”

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Air ambulance called after three injured in Harrogate district car crash

An air ambulance was summoned to the Harrogate district today when three people were injured in a car crash.

The air ambulance was called to assist other emergency services at the scene of the collision on the B6165 between Nidd and Brearton.

The incident is believed to have happened at about 1pm this afternoon.

According to reports on social media, three fire engines and three ambulances were at the scene.

It is unknown how many vehicles were involved but Yorkshire Air Ambulance confirmed three people were injured.

A spokesperson said:

“Our paramedics provided on-scene medical support to three patients and those who needed further treatment were taken to hospital by land ambulance.”

The extent of injuries in unclear.

The Stray Ferret has asked North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service for details but has yet to receive a response.

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Drink-driver who crashed in Harrogate district was six times over limit

Police officers who arrested a man in a village near Ripon after a crash found that he was almost six times over the legal limit for alcohol.

North Yorkshire Police said today the man was so drunk he could barely speak and had to be physically held up.

Officers responded to reports of a two-car collision in Kirkby Malzeard at around 9.30pm on New Year’s Eve.

Nobody was injured but police said in a statement that one of the drivers was “clearly” under the influence of alcohol.

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When tested, the unnamed man’s breath sample contained 208 micrograms per 100 millilitres of breath. The legal limit is 35 micrograms so he was almost six times over.

A statement from the officer at the scene said:

“He appeared so intoxicated he could barely speak, never mind drive a vehicle, and had to be physically held up as he was unable to stand by himself.

“The man was arrested and upon arriving in police custody he provided a further positive evidential sample of breath before being charged for drink driving.

“Mercifully the collision was a minor one with no injuries but this has clearly been a very lucky escape for everyone involved.

“Despite the clear dangers of drink driving there are still individuals who continue to do so. Not only do they pose a danger to themselves, but they put the lives of many others at risk too. It is nothing short of stupidity.”

The man has been released on bail to appear at court later this month.

North Yorkshire Police has urged anyone who suspects someone of drink driving to call 999.

Specialist paramedics rescue woman who fell in Harrogate woods

Specialist paramedics rescued a woman who had fallen and injured herself in a Harrogate woodland.

Two Hazardous Area Response Teams (HART) and a regular ambulance team attended reports of a fall at 11am just off Oak Beck Road, close to the retail park.

On arrival the paramedics secured the area and managed to get the patient out of the woods and into the ambulance.

The paramedics then took her to Harrogate District Hospital for treatment. It is unclear at this time what level of injuries the woman sustained.

A spokesperson for the Yorkshire Ambulance Service said:

“We received an emergency call at 11.01am this morning to reports of a female who had fallen in the woods behind the retail park on Oak Beck Road in Harrogate.

“We dispatched an ambulance and the Hazardous Area Response Team to the scene and one patient was conveyed to Harrogate Hospital.”

The HART teams provide care to people in a hazardous environment that would otherwise be beyond the reach of NHS care.

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Kirkby Malzeard woman’s fight back after catastrophic injuries

In a first media interview since their youngest daughter Lucie suffered catastrophic injuries in a roadside accident, parents Sue and Rocky Maguire have told the Stray Ferret how they and all their family are focused on the future.

The accident on 27 January, saw the nursery school assistant lose her right leg, hip and pelvis.

Lucie, who had her 20th birthday last month, has undergone extensive surgery, with more operations to follow.

In a FaceTime call from her bed at Leeds General Infirmary (LGI) she said:

“I’d like to thank all the people who have helped me over the past nine months and also those who have sent such lovely messages of support.”

Back home in Kirkby Malzeard, regulars at the Queen’s Head, have a constant reminder of the ongoing effort, that will help her to rebuild her life when she gets out of hospital.

A pale ale called Our Girl Lucie, produced by Wensleydale Brewery, raises money with every pint that is pulled, while a GoFundMe page set up by close family friend Helen Walford, has already raised almost £40,000.

Photo of Sue and Rocky Maguire

Sue and Rocky Maguire at the bar in the Queen’s Head, where the Our Girl Lucie pale ale is on sale

Sue, who runs the village pub with her husband, has constantly been at their daughter’s side at both the LGI and St James’s Hospital, Leeds.

She said:

“Lucie is a remarkable person and her fighting spirit helped her to pull through when we were fearing the worst.

“She has undergone numerous operations and has more to follow and has shown incredible courage.”

After the accident, she was initially taken to the LGI before being transferred to St James’s and is now back at the LGI.

Rocky said:

“The care that she has received at both hospitals has been world-class and we thank everybody, not only for the way that they have looked after Lucie, but also the kindness they have shown to us.”

There has been daily contact via FaceTime, while he and eldest daughter Zanne have handled the day to day running of the pub and Sue has been in Leeds.

At a challenging time for the hospitality sector, with covid lockdowns and lost income, the Maguires have had other misfortune.

Rocky suffered a mini stroke in August and had to be rushed into hospital and before that, Sue was in pain for weeks on her visits to Lucie, after breaking her right foot in an accident while staying overnight at a Leeds hotel.

Both are now recovered, but Sue pointed out:

“We have all been under a lot of stress, but are staying positive.

“There’s no point in looking back, so we are planning for the future, thinking about fundraising activities that will enable us to provide a living space and facilities adapted for Lucie’s needs.”

Lucie is also looking ahead, with plans to write a book.

She said:

“I would like to share my experiences and hope it will help others on their way to recovery.”

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Yorkshire Air Ambulance issues hoax call warning

Yorkshire Air Ambulance has revealed it was the victim of 14 hoax calls in the last financial year — and the number looks set to rise this year.

The charity, which provides rapid emergency treatment to people in Yorkshire, responds to more than 1,300 incidents a year, an average of four a day.

But in the financial year to March 31 2021, it responded to 14 hoax calls. In the current calendar year, it had received 10 hoax calls by May 10.

Matt Syrat, clinical operations manager at Yorkshire Air Ambulance, said such calls can stop crews attending incidents with people in genuine danger leading to potentially “devastating consequences”.

He added:

“There is no way of knowing if a 999 call is a hoax when it comes in. We have to treat every call as if it is an emergency situation and respond rapidly.

“There is nothing more frustrating for our crews than landing at a scene and establishing that the call was in fact a hoax. Not only has it wasted our time and put ours and the public’s life at risk, but there will always be other emergency services involved too.

“Committing all these emergency services to one hoax call could risk us not reaching a real emergency fast enough and puts other lives at risk.”

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Of the 14 hoax calls in the last financial year, four were responded to by Yorkshire Air Ambulance’s rapid response vehicles whilst the other 10 involved air ambulances being dispatched.

Ten of the bogus call outs were from West Yorkshire. The other four were from South Yorkshire.

Nidd farming sisters save bull from drowning

When flooding struck last week, two farmers from Nidd leapt into action alongside the emergency services to rescue a young bull and herd of cows from drowning.

Sisters Fran Robinson and Hannah Blakey, who tend cattle and sheep on their 150-acre farm, were alerted to the plight of the stranded animals on social media.

Fran told the Stray Ferret:

“Hannah and I instinctively knew that we had to lend a hand. We couldn’t bear the thought of the cattle being stranded and at risk of drowning in the River Ure.”

The Blakey family has been farming in the Ripon area for 25 years and, with a call to their auntie Anne, they were able to find a telephone number for the farmer whose bull was in peril, having slipped into the river from a field near Ure Bank Top.

In safe hands — Splash the bull, after his river ordeal

The bull’s owner was in Halifax and at least 40 minutes away – so welcomed the offer of help from two women who are highly experienced in handling cattle.

Fran said:

“We got to the field at around 1.30pm and saw cattle in quite deep water.

“The emergency services arrived as we were shouting the animals, trying to encourage them to swim over to us, but the river was flowing pretty quickly.”

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The cows moved further down the flooded field onto a small section of banking at the bottom of Ure Bank Top.

Hannah, said:

“People who live in a house near the Ure joined in the rescue. They were absolutely brilliant and knew what to do.

“They guided the cows away from danger and put the frightened cattle into the safety of their stable.”

Although the cows were safe, the young Limousin bull’s life was still in jeopardy.

Fran said:

“We watched him struggling in the water and going under the bypass bridge and then raced with a blue light escort to the racecourse bridge at Bridge Hewick, hoping the current would sweep him this way and we could get a halter around his head and guide him to safety.”

The bull did re-emerge, bobbing upside down like a giant cork in the swollen water with legs flailing.

Hannah ran across to the other side of the bridge shouting to the bull, trying to get him to right himself and swim to the bank.

Fran pointed out:

“I did manage to touch him as he came towards me, but had no chance of being able to pull a tonne and a half bull to safety.

“He got swept away again and we felt awful. We thought that was it for the poor animal.”

But it wasn’t. Hannah said:

“I was elated when a farmer who farms near Newby Hall rang at 5pm to say that a bull had washed up on one of his fields.”

Fran added:

“We collected him and took him to our parents’ nearby farm where he stayed overnight in a nice dry shed, with hay to eat and fresh bedding to sleep on after his ordeal.

“Hannah and I decided to call him Splash and his owner collected his newly-named Limousin the following morning.

“We are delighted to report that he is doing well.”

Emergency services training vehicle stolen from Whixley

Burglars stole an emergency services training vehicle from Whixley in the early hours of Sunday.

After breaking into a home at 2.40am, they took two sets of keys for the marked Volvo, registration E4 RFT, along with a Brietling watch.

The vehicle was later discovered in Knaresborough. Police are appealing for information about the burglary.

A spokesman for North Yorkshire Police said:

“We are requesting the public’s assistance to help establish the full circumstances surrounding the incident and asking anyone who saw anything in the area at the time or saw he vehicle being driven in the early hours on Sunday, August 16 to get in touch. In particular, we are appealing for information about the stolen Brietling watch.”

Anyone with information should contact North Yorkshire Police on 101, select option 2, and ask for Elizabeth Estensen, or email elizabeth.estensen@northyorkshire.pnn.police.uk.

Alternatively, report information anonymously by calling Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111. Quote the North Yorkshire Police reference number 12200141951.

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Air ambulance called to medical emergency in Ripon

Emergency services including Yorkshire Air Ambulance were called to the White Horse pub in North Street, Ripon, on Monday night, after a 58-year-old guest was taken ill.

Sadly, the person, who received help at the scene from Yorkshire Ambulance Service personnel, had suffered a cardiac arrest and died.

Photograph of the White Horse pub, Ripon

The White Horse in North Street

The Yorkshire Air Ambulance landed on the former Ripon College site off Palace Road. An air ambulance spokesperson told the Stray Ferret:

“We were called to attend, but sadly, the person, who was 58, had already died having suffered a cardiac arrest.”

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