A Eurovision party to celebrate links between the Harrogate district and Ukraine raised more than £700 towards a final aid trip.

Union flags and Ukrainian colours were out in full force at the Majestic Hotel event, organised by Chain Lane Community Hub and Harrogate District of Sanctuary.

A raffle of prizes donated by local businesses proved popular with the 170 attendees, with proceeds going to guest of honour Bob Frendt.

He has take seven lorry-loads of medical aid and other supplies to Volodymyr in western Ukraine since the Russian invasion last February. His eighth and final trip will begin next week.

Speaking to the Stray Ferret today, Mr Frendt said:

“I can’t believe so many people were there supporting me and what I’m doing. It was overwhelming.

Maureen and I needed that night out, and Sue Vasey and the girls at Chain Lane Hub did a fabulous job organising it.

“They also raised £704 for my trip with the raffle and I can’t thank them enough.”

Bob and Maureen at the Eurovision party

As well as raising money, the event was a celebration of unity between Ukrainians who have arrived in the Harrogate district over the last year, and their many supporters in the area.

Attendees waved flags for both nations and danced together throughout the 26 performances.

The biggest cheers were reserved for performances by Ukraine’s Tvorchi and the UK’s Mae Muller, who came sixth and 25th respectively.

After building links between his home town of Knaresborough and Volodymyr, Bob successfully called for the two towns to formalise their links. Plans to officially twin have been approved by both and a twinning agreement is now being drawn up.

Bob and wife Maureen will set off for Volodymyr next Wednesday. The final trip will see them deliver laptops and other IT equipment to the school in Volodymyr, as well as further medical supplies for the hospital.

He is also hoping to take sweets to hand out when he arrives on June 1, when Ukraine marks Children’s Day. Anyone who would like to donate can call him on 07836 514952.

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A van driver was taken to hospital after a serious collision with a lorry on the A1(M) at Allerton Park last night.

The crash happened at junction 47 just before 6pm and led to three-mile tailbacks and lengthy delays.

Firefighters from Knaresborough, Harrogate, Ripon and Tadcaster were summoned to help.

According to North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service’s incident log, “a van had impacted the trailer of a HGV and the driver was trapped by the dashboard”.

It added:

“On arrival, crews used cutting equipment, spreaders, rams and a turfer to free the male driver of the van.

“The driver was transported to hospital by road ambulance with a suspected broken femur.”

North Yorkshire Police has not released any information about the incident.

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A lorry driver who lost control on the A59 at Blubberhouses on Tuesday was three times over the drink-drive limit.

Jacek Borowski, 51, from Poland lost control of his HGV heading down the hill.

His vehicle blocked the road completely for most of the day, causing significant disruption on the main route between Harrogate and Skipton.

Nobody else was involved or injured.

The lorry blocked the road for most of the day.

North Yorkshire Police said in a statement today Borowski had been banned within 24 hours of the incident. It added:

“Officers breathalysed the driver who blew 92 micrograms of alcohol in 100 milligrams of breath – almost three times the legal limit.

“He was remanded into custody immediately and put before York Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday 19 April where he pleaded guilty to driving over the prescribed limit and was disqualified from driving for 23 months.”

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The Stray Ferret Business Awards, sponsored by Prosperis, will be held on March 9 at the Pavilions of Harrogate. Early bird tickets are available until February 9. The event will celebrate success and business excellence across the Harrogate district. It’s a night not to be missed! There’ll be a fabulous prize draw for all attending and Richard Flinton, the incoming Chief Executive of North Yorkshire Council, is guest speaker. 

Global hair and beauty brand, Cloud Nine, has opened two new studios at its Harrogate headquarters, bringing all previously outsourced photo and video shoots in-house.

The beauty company says the aim of the new studio is to develop the creative, commercial and media skills of its team.

The hair and skin stylist area has mirrors and lights with different coloured walls to suit models with different skin tones. There’s also a Green Room designed for the models and guests to relax in before and after each shoot.

CEO Martin Rae, who launched the business with his brother, Gavin, in 2009, said:

“We have created our own studios for two very good reasons. The first is we have a fantastically talented team based within our Harrogate headquarters, who are eager to create their own campaigns, from inception through to execution”.

“And secondly, harnessing the artistic skills of our own people makes perfect business sense, and will benefit us commercially”.

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Knaresborough business group supports Ukraine

A lorry full of of medical equipment, blankets and warm clothing, supplied Knaresborough charity PhysioNet and the town’s Rotary Club, is due to arrive in Ukraine today.

The lorry left Knaresborough five days ago and has made its way to Zaporizhzhia in the South East of Ukraine.

Knaresborough Rotary President and Chairman of Physionet, David Kaye, said:

“This is the sixth PhysioNet consignment for Ukraine. The £6,000 transport costs have been paid for entirely by Rotary in Yorkshire”.

PhysioNet was founded in 2005 by Knaresborough Rotarian Peter Thompson.

It collects and refurbishes discarded mobility and physiotherapy equipment – including wheelchairs, Zimmer frames, crutches and walking sticks – and redistributes it for use by the disabled in developing countries.

PhysioNet and Rotary volunteers gave up their Saturday morning to load the lorry for Zaporizhzhia.

Fire fighters tackled a deliberate lorry fire on the A168 near Cowthorpe last night.

Crews from Knaresborough and Harrogate attended the blaze at 11.21pm.

North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service said the fire was inside the trailer of the lorry and the cause was believed to be deliberate.

Crews said the trailer was stationary.

The service added in an incident log:

“Crews extinguished the fire using two breathing apparatus, two hose reel jets, small tools and a thermal imaging camera.”

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Update 3pm – the road has now reopened

Allerton Park interchange near Knaresborough is currently closed after a lorry overturned.

North Yorkshire Police tweeted at 2.10pm this afternoon that it was dealing with the incident and there was no access from Allerton Park towards York via the A59 whilst the vehicle is recovered.

It urged motorists to avoid the area, which is at junction 47 of the A1(M).

https://twitter.com/NYorksPolice/status/1544309485828771844

It is not known if anyone was injured in the incident.

Harrogate Borough Council has tweeted the incident could cause delays to bin collections.

Due to delays on the A59 at Jct 47 of the A1(M), some household waste collections may be delayed today as we struggle to get to Allerton Waste Recovery Park. Apologies for any inconvenience this may cause.

— Harrogate Borough Council (@Harrogatebc) July 5, 2022

A broken down lorry is causing travel problems in Harrogate town centre.

The large Waitrose lorry is stuck on King’s Road, outside Harrogate Convention Centre.

By 2.40pm today, it had been there for about an hour awaiting recovery.

There are two lanes, so traffic is currently able to pass on the inside of it.

The broken down lorry on Harrogate’s Kings Road.

However, it is causing some problems by backing up traffic turning on to King’s Road from Parliament Street and Ripon Road.

Motorists will be hoping the vehicle is moved before the Friday night rush hour begins.

Send us your traffic updates at contact@thestrayferret.co.uk.

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A video has emerged of a lorry knocking over a traffic light on Skipton Road in Harrogate.

The footage appears to show a bus being towed at the junction with King’s Road, outside Bilton Working Men’s Club on Monday morning.

The trailer hits the barrier and the traffic light, which is knocked over.

The incident was one of many to cause disruption on Harrogate’s roads on Monday.

You can watch the clip below.

Barry Robertson, from Middlesbrough, uploaded the footage, which was recorded as he was driving through Harrogate.

He said drivers beeped their horns to alert the lorry driver when his vehicle got close to the barrier and traffic light.

He added that an elderly man in a car in the opposite lane where the traffic light crashed was left bemused by the incident.

“It was quite bad.

“There was an old man in the car. I don’t think he realised what happened.”

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Police later attended the scene and the light was moved, but traffic was left queueing for miles in both directions.

The situation was made worse when resurfacing work outside the Leon drive-thru on Wetherby Road caused traffic to queue back onto Skipton Road.