A student at Harrogate College is aiming for wheelchair fencing gold on the back of her debut for Great Britain at the International Wheelchair and Amputee Sport Federation‘s World Cup in Italy.

Emily Holder, 17, is already competing at the top tier in the UK having won a medal at the national championships. She balances her fencing with studies for a BTEC in business at Harrogate College, which she will finish this year.

Emily regularly travels to Milton Keynes for training sessions, so juggling her two workloads has been far from easy. She said:

“This course has been a good choice for me and in terms of the college being flexible to let me continue my fencing and training, it’s been really great.

“The staff have been very helpful and understanding. Although we haven’t been going to too many things, because of covid, when it has come to me having to take time to attend training and fencing competitions, they’ve been really good.”

Emily has cerebral palsy and her mobility varies depending on her chronic pain, spasticity (muscle tightness) and dystonic (involuntary muscle contraction) levels. She uses a crutch or an electric wheelchair but on good days can manage without.

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With little to no funding available, Emily’s family has supported her in buying the necessary equipment to compete, including £4,000 on a specialist wheelchair. Meanwhile, Emily also remains dedicated to her studies, and is looking to study business management or human resources at university next year.

Harrogate College business student Emily Holder

Tutors have praised her as a “fantastic role model”, while course leader David Gaunt said she was “very conscientious and always prioritises her grades”.

Emily, who lives in North Rigton, began fencing in 2013 after attending a disability sports festival before joining Harrogate Fencing Club. She now trains across the UK, from Milton Keynes to York to Durham.

To support or sponsor Emily, please email emilyholder43@yahoo.com.

For more information about wheelchair fencing click here.

Emergency services were called to North Rigton this morning after a car crashed into a house.

Images show a silver Ford Fiesta car struck the corner of a cottage on Rigton Hill, just north from the Square and Compass pub.

Police and fire crews responded to the incident at around 8am and were able to manage traffic while ensuring the scene was safe.

North Yorkshire Police said the incident caused “significant damage to the front of the property and the vehicle”. It added:

“Thankfully, no one was injured and the homeowner was not inside when it occurred.”

Police and fire crews said this was a damage-only collision and there were no reports of any injuries.

North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service said:

“This was a single vehicle road traffic collision involving a car impacting a building. All the persons were out of the vehicle on the arrival of the fire crews, who worked to make the scene and vehicle safe.”

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A recovery vehicle arrived to remove the car just after 9.30am.

Police are investigating the collision and any witnesses are asked to call North Yorkshire Police on 101, select option 1, and speak to the Force Control Room. The reference number is NYP-07012022-0047.

A playpark in North Rigton near Harrogate has completed a full revamp after a two-year fundraising project.

The formerly dilapidated park has been remodelled to make it safer and more inclusive for disabled and older children.

Almscliffe Villages Community Association set up a fundraiser two years ago for the project and received major boosts from local organisations to hit its target.

The community garden playpark now has safer flooring, a tyre activity trail and Sculpan activity cube.

Chairman John Hopkins said;

“We didn’t have the money in the bank to simply get on with the job, but the fantastic response to our fundraising campaign from both the local community and our donors has enabled us to create something that we know will be extremely popular with generations of village children.”

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The completion was aided by a £4,200 donation from The Banks Group, a local property developing company that has its own fund to aid community projects.

A grant was also given by The Liz and Terry Bramall Foundation, a charity which aids a wide variety of community causes.

The playpark is now open for North Rigton families to enjoy with children of all ages.

Fire crews were called out to tackle a house fire in North Rigton this morning.

Firefighters were called to the property on Church Hill just before 7am. Two crews from Harrogate and Knaresborough tackled the blaze.

Tony Peel, station manager at North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue, said crews found the ground floor of the house on fire.

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He said:

“Two crews were mobilised from Harrogate and Knaresborough.

“On arrival they found the ground floor of a semi-detached property well alight. Everybody was out of the property at the time.

“Crews deployed into the property have extinguished the fire.”

An investigation into the fire is ongoing.

Firefighters rescued a climber who got stuck up Almscliffe Crag on Saturday.

Crews from Knaresborough attended the incident on Crag Lane, North Rigton in the afternoon.

They used a ladder to help the Parka-wearing climber back to safety.

Almscliffe Crag, which is made of Millstone Grit, is a popular landmark for climbers and walkers.

A spokesperson for Knaresborough Fire Station said the person was not injured but had “a little bit of hurt pride”.

One comment on the fire station’s Facebook post accused the unnamed climber of “irresponsible behaviour” during a lockdown.

North Yorkshire Police has frequently warned people not to travel for exercise during lockdown.

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But Paul Metheringham, Knaresborough watch station manager for North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue, told the Stray Ferret:

“The young man was local to the area so he was not breaking any coronavirus restrictions.

“He thought he would climb up with his friend and realised that he had got himself stuck at about five metres up.

“Luckily no injuries, just a little bit of hurt pride and hopefully a lesson learned.”

Four Harrogate district fire crews battled a blaze in an outbuilding in North Rigton this morning.

North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service firefighters were at the scene for three hours after being summoned at 6.26am.

Two crews from Harrogate, one from Knaresborough, one from Ripon fought the fire with the aid of a Boroughbridge water bowser, which is a large water tank on wheels.

North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service told the Stray Ferret at 12.40pm that a fire investigation officer remained at the scene to identify the cause of the blaze.

The 10 metre x five metre outbuilding is next to a property on High Moor Road, driving towards Beckwithshaw.

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Residents in North Rigton say they will continue to fight council plans to build more homes on their street.

The battle started in 2006 when Harrogate Borough Council planned to demolish all of the garages in Brackenwell Lane for more homes.

Harvey Alexander, chairman of the North Righton Community Association, said they managed to get the council to partially back down then.

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They argued that the space in front of the garages is the only turning point and the grass there is also where kids play.

Years later Harvey says the council has broken its promise to leave the area alone. He fears that, if the development went ahead, it would also create a “nightmare parking” situation.

“You can see how crowded the street is at 6.30pm and it gets worse later on. It’s going to be a parking nightmare. The council are going against the promise they made back in 2006, it is frustrating. This would cause chaos, there are plenty of other places to build homes. We don’t have the amenities.”

Six garages could be demolished for development.

The council has proposed to demolish the six-car garage to erect two dwellings on Brackenwell Lane, losing ten car parking spaces in total.

Currently, there is no date for the council to make its decision on the development. The Stray Ferret approached Harrogate Borough Council for a comment but did not receive a reply.