Police appeal after serious robbery at Harrogate park

North Yorkshire Police has appealed for information and witnesses after a serious robbery at a park in Harrogate.

The robbery happened in Panhandle Park close to the Hookstone Chase entrance at around 6.20pm on Thursday, January 6.

A woman in her 50s reported to the police that she was walking through the park when a person approached her and attempted to steal her rucksack.

The suspect reportedly ran off towards the Dalby estate before the woman checked her bag. She noticed that money and medication was missing.

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The police have made no arrests and have offered up no description of the suspect.

However, officers investigating are keen to trace a man in his early 30s who was walking a dog in the park at the time and offered assistance to the woman after the incident.

North Yorkshire Police has asked for anyone with information on the break-in to get in touch by calling 101. Alternatively call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111.

Quote reference number 12220003059 when providing details.

Woman dies in Harrogate house fire

A woman in her 50s was found dead this morning after firefighters were called to a fire at a house in Harrogate.

North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue sent crews from Harrogate and Knaresborough to reports of a fire on Craven Street, just off King’s Road, at 6.20am.

On arrival firefighters made their way into the property and found the woman. They took her out of the house to paramedics, who tried to save her life with CPR.

However, the ambulance crew pronounced her dead at the scene.

Firefighters then carried another search of the property but found no evidence of other people.

North Yorkshire Police and North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue have launched a joint investigation to determine the cause of the blaze.

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A resident on the street, who didn’t want to be named, said:

“There was a lot going on here this morning with lots of police, ambulance and fire engines.

“From what we can tell there was a fire at the back of the house. But we didn’t see any flames or smoke.

“Someone was stretchered away and they were trying to resuscitate them.”

The fire happened on Craven Street.

A spokesperson for North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue said:

“Firefighters wearing breathing apparatus were deployed to carry out a search of the property. One casualty was located.

“They were brought out of the property and CPR was given. However, they were pronounced dead at the scene by ambulance crews.”

A spokesperson for North Yorkshire Police added:

“North Yorkshire Police was called Craven Street in Harrogate at around 6.20am on Friday, January 7 following a report of a house fire at the location.

“On arrival a woman in her 50s, the sole occupant of the property, had sadly been pronounced dead by ambulance crews.”

Overnight break-in at Harrogate jewellery shop

Police are investigating after thieves smashed their way into a jewellery shop in Harrogate overnight.

Browns Family Jewellers on Beulah Street has been a hive of police activity today with officers carrying out investigations. The jewellers was broken into at 2.30am this morning.

This afternoon passers-by could still see the crime scene investigation team gathering evidence while staff tried to clean up smashed glass.

At this time it is unclear how much jewellery, if anything, the suspects managed to take from the shop.

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A North Yorkshire Police spokesperson said:

“I can confirm that the intruder and fire alarms, due to a smashed window and the presence of smoke in the property, activated at 2.28am today.

“It appears that the suspects entered the building but it is not yet clear if anything was taken.

“CCTV and forensic examinations are ongoing along with neighbourhood enquiries.”

North Yorkshire Police has asked for anyone with information on the break-in to get in touch by calling 101. Alternatively call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111.

Quote reference number 12220003179 when providing details.

Car crashes into house on Rigton Hill causing ‘significant damage’

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.

Harrogate police officer pleads not guilty to alleged sexual assault

A Harrogate police officer has pleaded not guilty after being charged with sexually assaulting a woman while on duty.

Christopher Ryan Hudson, 31, appeared before Leeds Crown Court for a preliminary hearing today where he entered his plea.

The alleged offence is said to have taken place at Stonefall Cemetery on Wetherby Road, Harrogate, on February 8.

He is accused of sexually touching the woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, while he was on duty.

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Mr Hudson, of Hollin Terrace, Huddersfield, spoke to confirm his name and that he understood his bail conditions, which include no contact with the alleged victim.

Judge Simon Batiste imposed the new conditions before adjourning the case for a trial on February 20, 2023. He blamed the delay on a “considerable backlog in the courts”.

North Yorkshire Police said in a statement that Mr Hudson was based in Harrogate at the time of the allegation and was currently suspended.

Inquest opens into death of Harrogate suspected murder victim

A suspected Harrogate murder victim died from head and torso injuries, according to the coroner who opened an inquest into his death today.

Gracijus Balciauskas, 41, died just before Christmas on the night of Monday, December 20 at a flat on Mayfield Grove.

Jon Heath, senior coroner for York and North Yorkshire, said at the hearing in Northallerton today:

“Mr Balciauskas resided in Harrogate on Mayfield Grove. He was found deceased at the property the following morning.

“The provisional cause of death is by head and torso injuries. This inquest was formally opened on January 6 and adjourned pending further investigation by the police.”

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Vitalijus Koreiva, 36, of Mayfield Grove, and Jaroslaw Rutowicz, 38, of no fixed abode, appeared at York Magistrates Court last month charged with murder.

They did not enter pleas and the case was adjourned until February 4.

Suspected Harrogate murder victim named ahead of inquest

A suspected Harrogate murder victim has been named ahead of the opening of an inquest into his death tomorrow.

George Balciauskas, 41, died just before Christmas on the night of Monday, December 20 at a flat on Mayfield Grove.

A coroner will open an inquest into the circumstances surrounding Mr Balciauskas’ death tomorrow in Northallerton. The case is likely to be adjourned pending the outcome of the murder trial.

Vitalijus Koreiva, 36, of Mayfield Grove, and Jaroslaw Rutowicz, 38, of no fixed abode, appeared at York Magistrates Court last month charged with murder.

They did not enter pleas and the case was adjourned until February 4.

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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.

Tree blocks road in Ripon as strong winds hit Harrogate district

A main road in Ripon has been blocked this afternoon due to a fallen tree.

Strong winds have caused minor disruption across the Harrogate district this afternoon.

But Ripon appears to have born the brunt, with trees down on Kirkby Road and also Lark Lane, according to North Yorkshire Police.

Police are urging drivers to take extra care.

Strong winds were forecast today but the Met Office did not issue any weather warnings for the district.

https://twitter.com/NYorksPolice/status/1476224341591351299

 

 

No. 7: The bedsit murder at Harrogate’s ‘house from hell’

On a Friday night in March, Daniel Ainsley went to Asda in Harrogate, bought a set of kitchen knives, then dumped all but one in a bin outside the store.

He walked to 38 Mayfield Grove, where his friend Mark Wolsey had been letting him stay in his bedsit, and stabbed him 15 times.

Eight months later Ainsley, 24, was sentenced to 22 years in prison for murder.

The incident sparked revulsion for Ainsley and sympathy for Mr Wolsey, 48 — but it also triggered anger in a neighbourhood with long-standing crime concerns.

Daniel Ainsley (left) and Mark Wolsey

38 Mayfield Grove had been dubbed the house from hell as far back as 2005 when a court granted a three-month closure order after a crossbow was held at a resident’s head.

A Stray Ferret investigation this year revealed that between April 2008 and July 2021, North Yorkshire Police received 255 reports about 38 Mayfield Grove from the public.

People wanted to know why the police and Harrogate Borough Council had not done more to tackle activities at the house.

Homeless payments

They were particularly incensed that the council had transferred £2,112 in 2017 and £5,424 in 2018 to John Willis Properties Ltd, the company that owns the house.

The council said the payments were “to help customers assessed as homeless or threatened with homelessness to access private rented accommodation”. There is no suggestion of illegal activity by either party.

Locals said it beggared belief that the council had paid for homeless people to stay in a house that had been divided into six bedsits and where many tenants had multiple issues, such as drug and alcohol addictions and mental health problems, as well as backgrounds of homelessness and crime.

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They said it was difficult to think of a more dangerous scenario than housing people with multiple needs together in a terraced home on a busy street, and this problem should have been identified and tackled.

Daniel Neill, who until recently lived on Nydd Vale Terrace, a street parallel to Mayfield Grove, said:

“The entire set-up is a recipe for trouble. It doesn’t take a genius to work it out. The worst thing you can do with addicts is put them alongside other addicts.”

38 Mayfield Grove closure notice

The closure notice at 38 Mayfield Grove

Three houses closed

After the murder, the police and the council applied for a court order to close 38 Mayfield Grove, which meant tenants had to find alternative accommodation.

On June 28, magistrates granted partial closure orders against two other properties let as bedsits by John Willis, at 19 and 31 Avenue Grove, Starbeck, due to crime concerns.

Mr Willis later told the Stray Ferret he let 10 properties in Harrogate and was passionate about helping disadvantaged people, unlike many other housing providers, and did everything he reasonably could to protect them. He said:

“Other landlords cherry pick the best tenants and sadly that leaves a disadvantaged group. Homeless hostels are full. I try to help them.”

He said he’d taken many tenants from the council and partner agencies, such as Harrogate Homeless Project on Bower Street, close to Mayfield Grove, during his 31 years as a landlord.

Besides the closure orders, the police and council organised a residents’ summit and a community engagement drop-in session to discuss 38 Mayfield Grove and to reassure people that ‘the Harrogate district remains a safe place to live and any anti-social behaviour is taken very seriously’.

Mayfield Grove community engagement drop-in session June 2021

Police and council staff at the community engagement drop-in session.

But residents said the flurry of activity since the murder contrasted sharply with years of inertia that allowed crime to scar the neighbourhood and blight residents’ lives and called for action to prevent a repeat.

The police and council issued a joint statement after Ainslie’s conviction saying they had responded to and dealt with issues at Mayfield Grove “quickly and effectively”, and adding that criminals “will be held to account for their actions”.

Residents, however, continue to be concerned, particularly after a flurry of police activity on the street near the end of the year.