Six people injured in serious A59 crash

Six people including a six-year-old boy have been injured in a serious crash on the A59 near Hopperton.

North Yorkshire Police is appealing for witnesses to the crash which happened shortly before 8pm on Saturday, April 16.

Officers said the incident involved a blue Vauxhall Zafira and a silver Seat Leon.

The six-year-old boy, who was in the Seat, was taken to hospital with serious injuries and his condition is described as stable.

Three other occupants of the car, all from Lancashire and aged between 16 and 25 years old, were also taken to hospital with minor injuries and were later discharged.

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The occupants of the Vauxhall Zafira, a man and woman in their thirties from the York area, were treated for minor injuries in hospital and later released.

A police statement added:

“The stretch of road was closed for around six hours while officers investigated the scene and to allow the vehicles to be recovered.

“We are appealing for witnesses to the collision or anyone who recalls seeing the vehicles prior to the collision, to get in touch as soon as possible to assist the investigation.

“In particular, we are appealing for dash camera or CCTV footage of road users on the A59 between 7.40pm and 7.50pm.”

Anyone with information should call North Yorkshire Police on 101, select option 2, and ask for PC Jack Dodsworth. Alternatively, email Jack.Dodsworth@northyorkshire.police.uk.

Police confirm 39-year-old man arrested after West Park attempted robberies

Police have confirmed that a 39-year-old man has been arrested following two attempted robberies on Harrogate’s West Park.

The Stray Ferret reported yesterday that officers were called to the area near the parade of shops, close to the junction with Tower Street, where witnesses said a man had attempted to mug several people.

Officers said two woman reported a man had tried to take their mobile phones.

A local resident called police after hearing one of the victims screaming for help on West Park.

Two police cars, two vans and an ambulance were at the scene shortly after 7pm.

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Officers added there were also reports that an object had been thrown at a woman on Oxford Road.

North Yorkshire Police confirmed this afternoon that a 39-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of two attempted robberies, assault and a public order offence.

A police statement said:

“The man currently remains in custody and enquiries into the incident are ongoing.

“Members of the public are asked to contact officers if they have any information that could assist the investigation. Please call North Yorkshire Police on 101 and quote reference number 12220066183 when providing any information.”

Police on West Park after attempted muggings in Harrogate

Police have been dealing with an incident in Harrogate this evening after a number of people were reported to have been attacked.

Officers were called to the area near the parade of shops on West Park, close to the junction with Tower Street, where witnesses said a man had attempted to mug several people.

A local resident called police after hearing one of the victims screaming for help on West Park.

Two police cars, two vans and an ambulance were at the scene shortly after 7pm.

The Stray Ferret understands a man has been arrested. We will update this story when more information is available.

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Jewellery stolen in Harrogate house burglary

Jewellery has been stolen from a house in Harrogate.

Police in Harrogate are appealing for witnesses to the incident, which happened on Green Lane sometime between 3pm and 6pm last Saturday.

A North Yorkshire Police statement today said:

“During the incident a quantity of jewellery with great sentimental value was stolen.

“As part of ongoing enquiries, we need to hear from anyone who may have been in the area around the time of the incident and possibly noticed suspicious individuals or vehicles.

“In particular, anyone who was walking down the path between Green Lane and Rossett Drive.”

Anyone with information can email ruby.rutter@northyorkshire.police.uk or call 101, select option 2, and ask for Ruby Rutter.

If you wish to remain anonymous, you can pass information to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

Quote the North Yorkshire Police reference number 12220060386.

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Burglars steal air rifles and pistol from Ripon shop

North Yorkshire Police is appealing for information about the theft of rifles and a pistol from a vintage shop in Ripon.

Thieves broke through one of the front door panels at All Kinds of Everything on Kirkgate and stole second hand items including two air rifles and one vintage pistol.

The incident occurred between 4pm on  January 13 and 9am on January 14.

North Yorkshire Police said in a statement today:

“We are requesting the public’s assistance to help gain any further information surrounding the full circumstances of the incident.

“In particular we are appealing for information about the vintage weapons seen in the pictures, one particularly distinctive rifle with the wording WALKER across the centre.”

Anyone with information can contact North Yorkshire Police on 101, select option 2, and ask to speak to Deborah Utley. You can also email deborah.utley@northyorkshire.police.uk

If you wish to remain anonymous, you can pass information to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

Quote the North Yorkshire Police reference number 12220007164.

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Driver stopped on A1(M) after failing to pay at three petrol stations

Police arrested a driver on the A1(M) near Allerton Park after they filled up at a petrol station without paying multiple times.

The motorist was stopped after they failed to pay at Exelby Services on the A19.

Once stopped, police discovered that the driver had also not paid at two other petrol stations at Wetherby and Scotch Corner in the last month.

Officers from North Yorkshire Police also discover that the driver was wanted by Police Scotland for dangerous driving.

[1 of 2] This driver filled with ⛽️ at @ExelbyServices #A19 & left without paying. We stopped him at #AllertonPark #A1M/#A59 It turns out he has also done this twice previously at #Wetherby @bp_UK & #ScotchCorner @ShellStationsUK in the last month Arrested x 3 #Bilking #MOWP … pic.twitter.com/7NS8fek0rV

— David Minto (@TC174_NYP) April 12, 2022

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Missing Harrogate woman arrested

Police in Harrogate have arrested a woman who was wanted on recall to prison.

The 21-year-old, of no fixed address, was released from prison on licence this month.

According to police, she was released early from a 16-week sentence after committing multiple offences, including assault and shoplifting.

After failing to comply with her licence conditions, police said on Tuesday she was wanted for recall to prison and appealed to anyone who knew where she was to get on touch.

However, in an update today, North Yorkshire Police said:

“This afternoon she was arrested and remains in custody.”

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Man comes forward after CCTV appeal over Harrogate sexual assault

A man has come forward after police issued an appeal following a serious sexual assault in Harrogate.

The incident took place on Oxford Street in Harrogate between 2.30am and 3am on Thursday, November 25 last year.

North Yorkshire Police issued a CCTV image yesterday of a man they wanted to speak to in connection with the incident.

The force confirmed today that a man has come forward following the appeal.

 

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Police warning after Land Rover thefts in Harrogate

Police have issued a warning to car owners after criminals have been targeting Land Rovers in Harrogate.

North Yorkshire Police has reported that 14 Land Rover Defenders have been stolen in the county in the last two weeks.

Officers said since the start of the year Harrogate, Richmondshire and Hambleton have seen a high number of thefts.

Seven of the stolen vehicles were taken from driveways of residential properties. Six of the thefts occurred overnight.

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Police have urged drivers to put in place extra security on their Land Rovers, such as tracking devices.

A North Yorkshire Police statement added:

“We know the loss of a Land Rover can have a major impact on daily life – on farms and other rural businesses in particular – so it’s important to put in place extra security measures to protect them.

“Trackers are invaluable, and can make all the difference in recovering your stolen vehicle and identifying suspects.

“Meanwhile, our officers will be proactively stopping and checking Land Rovers, and using ANPR technology to identify suspicious vehicles, to make life as difficult as possible for thieves.”

Police took child protection report ‘personally’, says deputy chief constable

North Yorkshire Police’s deputy chief constable has said officers took personally a critical report into the force’s investigation of child protection cases.

Last week, a report by Her Majesty’s Inspector of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services found that the force does not prioritise safeguarding and child protection highly enough.

It said standards of investigation in relation to child protection were poor and arrangements were not “consistently providing either the quality of service or a good enough response”.

Mabs Hussain, deputy chief constable of the force, told a Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner public accountability meeting today that police fully accepted the findings and were keen to improve.

When asked by commissioner Zoe Metcalfe how the criticism in the report impacted on officers, Mr Hussain said:

“Firstly, there was a clear disappointment across the organisation when we received the report. Not because HMIC said what they said about us as a force, but because they have highlighted areas for improvement and flagged areas of concern.

“Nobody who comes to work for North Yorkshire Police comes to work to do a bad job. We have got loads of great people in the organisation.

“We take it personally the fact that we may be letting children down. It’s always quite emotional to our staff and I think it is fair to say when the report first landed there was a huge amount of disappointment that we let children down.”

Mr Hussain added that senior leaders and frontline officers “wanted to know what they could do to make things better”.

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Meanwhile, Ms Metcalfe said she had been assured that issues identified in the report are being addressed.

She told the meeting:

“It is important to note that the report does say that there is evidence that improvements were underway in November 2021 when the inspection took place and I have been assured by the chief constable that these are being continued at pace and that many of the issues identified are being addressed.”

Lisa Winward, chief constable at the police, reiterated her apology to those that felt let down by the findings in the report.

Critical report

The report said in some cases “highly vulnerable” children went missing from children’s homes, but officers would record those incidents as “cause for concern” rather than missing — which meant officers did not look for them.

Inspectors, who conducted the assessment from November 1 to 12 last year, examined 73 cases where children had been at risk. The report said:

“We assessed the force’s child protection practice as good in 13 cases, requiring improvement in 34 cases, and as inadequate in 26 cases. This shows the force needs to do more to give a consistently good service for all children.”

HMIC made a number of recommendations to the force, which included: