Two Knaresborough men are on day five of an epic 70-day John O’Groats to Lands End challenge.

This is no ordinary challenge because one of the men, Lucas Schofield, aims to complete the route in his wheelchair — which will add miles to the usual 874-mile distance.

Lucas has Friedreich’s Ataxia, a genetic, progressive, neurodegenerative movement disorder, but insists it won’t slow him down.

His best friend, Dan Stott, will carry most of the pair’s luggage on his back.

The pair, who aim to complete about 15 miles a day, are no strangers to insane challenges. The pair have been planning this for two years and have found a route suitable for them both.

Lucas will be pushing himself most of the way but when he does need a helping hand Daniel will be there to push him.

The usual challenges of uneven terrain and weather are compounded by the wheelchair, which has meant adjusting the route to avoid the A9 in Scotland and therefore extending the journey to over 900 miles.

Lucas Schofield on route on day three.

Lucas said:

“Our spirits are still high. People are honking their horns and giving us money.

“I was looking for some huge physical feat and this looked like just it. You’ve got to be a bit crazy to do something like this.”

Read more:

• Nidderdale Charity Walk and Run set to return next month
• Harrogate children’s street sale raises £650 for Saint Michael’s hospice

The pair have set themselves an ambitious fundraising target of £2 million. The money will go to Ataxia UK, Butterfly Thyroid Cancer Trust and CALM (Campaign against Living Miserably).

They are currently on £5,000 and with over 60 days to go are optimistic of achieving it. You can donate here.

The pair have been offered free hot drinks and asked for pictures on route. After being featured on BBC Look North they’ve even been asked for autographs.

The two men have no plans to slow down — they are already thinking of an even tougher challenge after this one.

Harrogate Borough Council is exploring ways to prevent travellers from using Hay-a-Park as a professional clean up operation gets underway.

Volunteers from Knaresborough Wombles had planned to help out. But police deemed it a health hazard due to human excrement and warned the group to stay away this morning.

So Harrogate Borough Council has stepped in and sent in staff to survey the site and clear it in a safe manner. It’s unclear at this stage how long the process will take.

The council had served the travellers with an eviction notice on August 3 but the group only left yesterday.

We sent a reporter down to Hay-a-Park today who found piles of rubbish across the area, a trashed outbuilding and a strong smell of faeces.

Read more:

• Knaresborough travellers site deemed health hazard due to human excrement
• Court action begins to remove travellers in Knaresborough

Once the council workers restore the park, officers will look into ways to prevent illegal encampments in the future.

Cllr Andy Bell, who serves the Scriven ward on Knaresborough Town Council and set up Knaresborough Wombles, told the Stray Ferret:

“In terms of what happens in the next few days we will need professionals with proper equipment to come and sanitise the site.

“Then we will have to look at ways to secure that site and maybe try to find a specific area for the travellers to stay.

“Next year we are looking at how we can handle the situation in a different way.”

A Harrogate Borough Council spokesman said:

“Now that the travellers have moved on we are in the process of clearing the site. We are also exploring other options to prevent further illegal encampments in the future.”

A police spokesman said:

“This is a council matter. We attended to tape off the area to protect the public prior to the council attending to deal with it.”

More pictures:

A field in Knaresborough has been sealed off by police and deemed to be a health hazard due to the amount of human excrement left by travellers.

Knaresborough Wombles, a voluntary group that keeps Knaresborough tidy, planned to lead a mass tidy up of Hay-a-Park rugby field today.

But some volunteers were met by police this morning and asked to stay away because of the threat to human health.

Harrogate Borough Council, which owns the land, had served an eviction notice on the travellers for what it described as an illegal encampment.

Travellers left yesterday and many locals, shocked by the state of the field, had offered to help with the clean-up.

Some of the rubbish left in the field.

Andy Bell, who lives near the site and set up Knaresborough Wombles, told the Stray Ferret he and others had planned to return today to sort out the mess.

But he added:

“The police have advised us to refrain from cleaning the area because it is a health hazard.”

A police spokesman said:

“This is a council matter. We attended to tape off the area to protect the public prior to the council attending to deal with it.”

The Stray Ferret has asked Harrogate Borough Council for an update on the situation.

Read more:

• Court action begins to remove travellers in Knaresborough
• Views wanted on future of Starbeck and Knaresborough outdoor gyms

Harrogate Borough Council has launched a consultation on the future of free outdoor gyms in Knaresborough and Starbeck.

The authority recently removed equipment at Knaresborough House and Belmont Park, which it installed in 2011 at a cost of £9,000.

It said the equipment, which included a cross country skier, push up/dip station, seated chest press and leg press, had reached the end of its life and was “in danger of causing injury”.

Council officials want to replace the kit with similar equipment.

A public consultation has been launched online and will close on Sunday, September 26.

Read more:

• What will one super council for North Yorkshire look like?
• Council to award business case contract for £47m redevelopment of Harrogate Convention Centre

A post on the council’s Parks and Environmental Service Facebook page said:

“This consultation will gather opinions from local residents to help us create the most suitable design for the fitness area.

“The public consultation report will be used to create a wish list for the design brief, which will influence the final decision.”

You can give your views on the future of the outdoor gym areas in Starbeck and Knaresborough here.

Walk-in covid vaccines are being offered at the former Lidl site in Knaresborough all week from 8am to 5pm.

First and second doses of the Pfizer and AstraZeneca jabs will be available at the site on York Road from today until Saturday without a booking. Moderna is not being offered.

Latest government figures show that in the Harrogate district, 86% of adults have had their first jab and 76% have had both.

The district is below the UK average for first doses, which is 89%. Across the country, 75% of people have had both doses.

Elsewhere in the district, walk-in vaccinations for Pfizer and AstraZeneca will be offered on Saturday at Memorial Hall in Pateley Bridge.

Earlier this week, Homecare Pharmacy, which runs the site in Knaresborough, reassured patients it was still offering covid jabs after a technical glitch sent messages cancelling appointments.

Read more:

• Knaresborough vaccine site reassures patients after jabs cancelled
• Pateley Bridge says thank you to vaccine volunteers

The organisers of the Knaresborough Christmas Market have expressed concern over whether this year’s event will be able to go ahead following a dispute with Harrogate Borough Council.

It comes just weeks after the council refused to grant a licence for Harrogate Christmas Market because it said the organisers’ event management plan did not take into account risks such as overcrowding and terrorism.

The Knaresborough market, which is organised separately to the Harrogate market by a committee of volunteers, is due to be held on the first weekend of December.

The council has given its event management plan the rubber stamp of approval for the past few years. But it has not yet done so this year.

Event management plans set out details of events and are key documents for emergency services and insurers.

Hazel Haas, who organises Knaresborough Christmas market, told the Stray Ferret an issue had arisen this year over ownership of the land where the event takes place and this had prevented its event management plan being ratified.

The market is due to take place in its usual location on Market Place but Ms Haas said she had been informed the council may not be able to approve the plan this year because it does not own the land.

Read more:

• Deadlock on Harrogate Christmas Market talks
• Harrogate Christmas Market organisers call for urgent talks to save event

Ms Haas, who is preparing to meet with various community groups to find a way forward, told the Stray Ferret that if its event management plan was not signed off, its insurance premiums would go up and “the event is a risk of not going ahead”.

She added:

“At this stage in the year we would normally have the go ahead and have stalls booked in for the event. But we have had to hold off with the stall holders.

“If we could not hold Knaresborough Christmas Market it would be devastating for the town. We rely on tourism and the number of people the market attracts.”

A council spokesman told the Stray Ferret it did not approve plans for the event because it did not own the land.

When we asked why this appeared to be different from previous years, the spokesman said:

“We are at the very early stages in this process, but we can confirm we will work with Knaresborough Christmas Market organisers to assist them in delivering another safe and successful event.”

Harrogate Borough Council said today it is to begin court action to evict travellers from land in Knaresborough.

The council served a 24-hour eviction notice to the travellers five days ago after a large number of caravans arrived on Hay-A-Park Lane.

But the caravans remained on site today. In a statement, Harrogate Borough Council said:

“We will now take action through the courts to regain possession of the land owned by Harrogate Borough Council.”

It is not known how long the court action could take.

Some people have speculated on social media that the travellers will move on for Appleby Horse Fair, which takes place last week.

One local resident told the Stray Ferret some of the travellers appeared to have left and that the remaining caravans were now pitched in the middle of the field.

Read more:

• Knaresborough Museum has applied for more funding in hopes of opening next year
• Bid to build 170 homes in Knaresborough refused again

Two event organisers in the Harrogate district have welcomed news of a government backed insurance scheme to protect them in case coronavirus restrictions return.

Both the chief executive at Harrogate Theatre and the organiser of Knaresborough Christmas Market saw the move as a step in the right direction.

Insurance has been a barrier for many planning to hold events as many insurers do not cover coronavirus related problems.

The organisers behind the annual bonfire and firework display on the Stray previously told the Stray Ferret that this year’s event would be a “huge gamble” without any coronavirus insurance.

Rishi Sunak, Chancellor of the Exchequer, announced the insurance scheme and said he hoped that it would help organisers plan events with confidence through to next year.

The £750 million scheme, which the government has partnered with Lloyds to set up, will cover events between September 2021 and September 2022.

Read more:

• Coronation Street actor’s pride at inspecting Harrogate’s graduating soldiers
• Leeds cocktail bar Roland’s set to open late night Harrogate venue
• Insurance problems make Stray bonfire event a ‘huge gamble’

It will see taxpayers cover 95 per cent of costs incurred in the event of cancellation due to the event being legally unable to happen due to government covid restrictions.

David Bown, the chief executive at Harrogate Theatre, told the Stray Ferret:

“As we were moving forward we still had that threat of cancellation hanging above our heads.

“Insurance has been a concern for us at the theatre for a while. The insurance just don’t have a coronavirus clause in their policies. So this is very welcome.”

Hazel Haas, organiser of the Knaresborough Christmas Market, also told the Stray Ferret:

“This new government backed scheme sounds to be a very good idea for the events industry.

“I have not looked at the fine details of it just yet but this is certainly positive news.”

The Knaresborough Museum is taking shape as the team creating it has applied for an extra £60,000 in grant funding.

The Knaresborough Museum Association (KMA) already raised £43,000 earlier this year to get plans underway but it is now going for more funding to make them a reality.

It plans to open the first Knaresborough Town Museum in the former Castle Girls’ School in Castle Yard.

The plans for the building include a reception and shop, permanent and temporary display areas, an education space, toilets and wheelchair access.

The KMA had previously hoped to have the museum open for the end of the year but covid has delayed negotiations with Harrogate Borough Council.

The KMA said it is anticipating signing the lease for the building “soon” and opening in 2022.

Association chair Kathy Allday said:

“It is all happening on the Museum front! Knaresborough Museum Association are now working with geology, archaeology and social history museums around the country to bring artefacts back to Knaresborough.”

Plans unveiled for the Knaresborough Town Museum

Work is currently underway to bring its prehistory and geology display together. The plan is to display fossils of the now extinct animals that roamed the town 300 million years ago.

A programme of archaeological surveys have also started in the Abbey Road and Spitalcroft areas. The KMA volunteers are working with  academics from Leeds, York and America.

All the surveys are to create a medieval exhibit which will display a model of the Trinitarian priory and artefacts from the 13th century.

Read more:

• Sneak peek behind famous Knaresborough pub after eight month refurbishment
• Knaresborough vaccine site reassures patients after jabs cancelled

Other exhibits will see the reconstruction of Marigold’s Boat so visitors can sit and learn about the town rom the Victorian era to the 1960s.

Local children are also getting involved in a film to tell the story of wartime in Knaresborough and the history of the Olde Chemiste Shoppe.

Local residents have the chance to ask questions about the museum and its plans at its Pop Up Museum event for the FEVA festival. Volunteers will be based at St Mary’s Church Hall on August 14 and 15.

A breakdown of covid deaths for each care home in North Yorkshire has revealed five of the 10 worst affected are in the Harrogate district.

The new figures released by the Care Quality Commission, which regulates care homes, revealed 18 care homes in the county reported a total of 515 resident deaths during the course of the pandemic.

Health officials said the results “bring into stark relief the ravages” of the virus.

Five of the 10 care homes worst affected during the pandemic were in the Harrogate district. These included three in Harrogate, one in Knaresborough and another in Scotton.

Top 10 worst affected care homes in North Yorkshire:

• Craven Nursing Home Limited, Skipton – 24 deaths
• Southlands Care Home, Harrogate – 22 deaths
• Leeming Bar Grange Care Home, Leeming Bar – 22 deaths
• Belmont House Care Home, Harrogate – 22 deaths
• Beechwood Care Home, Northallerton – 21 deaths
• Bilton Hall Nursing Home, Knaresborough – 17 deaths
• Maple Lodge Care Home, Scotton – 17 deaths
• The Terrace, Richmond – 16 deaths
• Scorton Care Village, Scorton – 16 deaths
• Vida Grange, Harrogate – 15 deaths

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

“Every death from covid during the course of this terrible pandemic has been one death too many.”

“The death toll in care homes over the last 20 months, published by the Care Quality Commission, brings into stark relief the ravages of covid and the price we have paid as a society and that we continue to pay.

“All the families and friends who have lost loved ones to the virus are very much in our hearts and in our thoughts.”

Read more:

• Eight patients currently in Harrogate Hospital for covid
• Pateley Bridge and Bewerley recognise the community response to covid

Care home managers must inform the CQC when one of their residents dies. From April last year they also had to say whether covid was believed to be a factor in the person’s death.

The newly published data is based on these notifications.

No link between care standards and deaths

The CQC said in its report that it has not found a link between standards of care and the number of deaths – something local health officials have also stressed.

The social care watchdog said contributing factors included the levels of covid in the local community and the age and health of the residents.

The struggle for PPE and hospital patients being discharged into homes without getting tested were also thought to contributors to the virus spreading quickly.

And although it is now widely available, testing was said to be a “critical” issue at the start of the outbreak with some test kits taking up to 20 days to be delivered to North Yorkshire care homes.

Mr Webb praised social care staff for their “heroic efforts” during the pandemic:

“Staff have worked heroically to contain the virus as best they could. We are grateful to staff in care homes as well as our own authorities who showed courage and bravery in doing all they could to protect our residents, working tirelessly during such a difficult period.

“We will never know, if we had not taken swift action supported by colleagues in the care sector in those early days, how many more would have died.”