Police appeal after A1 near Knaresborough closure

Police are appealing for information following an incident which closed the A1 southbound near Knaresborough.

North Yorkshire Police closed the road between junctions 47 and 48 earlier this morning.

Officers said the incident involved a single vehicle and have appealed for anyone who saw a Black VW estate car with hazard lights on which was on the southbound carriageway.

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A police statement said:

“The road closed shortly after 6.25am due to an incident involving a single vehicle.

“Officers are appealing for anyone who saw a  Black VW estate car with hazard lights on and was stationary, on the southbound carriageway between 5am and 6.30am, to come forward. 

“Officers also request that anyone with any dashcam footage from the area at that time gets in touch.

“Dial 101, press 2 and ask for Traffic Constable 174 David Minto. Alternatively you can email David.minto@northyorkshire.police.uk

“Please use reference number 12210091937 when passing on any information.”

The A1 southbound between junctions 47 and 48 has now been reopened.

A1 southbound near Knaresborough reopened after police incident

The A1 southbound near Knaresborough was closed due to a police incident this morning.

North Yorkshire Police said the road was closed between junctions 47 and 48.

Officers urged drivers to avoid the area and seek an alternative route this morning.

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The route remained closed while emergency services deal with the incident.

A post on the Highways England website said:

“Delays are likely on the approach to the closure, with additional journey times also expected on diversion routes. Please allow extra time for your journey if travelling in the area or consider alternative routes.”

Update 10.10am – Highways England have confirmed the road is now open.

‘Real scare’ for Ripon driver as timber smashes into car

A young driver had a “real scare” last night when a piece of timber reportedly fell off a van and smashed into her car’s windscreen.

The incident happened on Studley Road near the River Laver Holiday Park last night at around 9.45pm. The 22-year-old driver of the Fiat 500 suffered a minor head injury.

North Yorkshire Police is now looking for the driver of the van, who failed to stop after the crash and continued to drive towards Ripon city centre.

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Police have also described the vehicle they are looking for as a dropside van with a white cab and silver sides.

Officers found this timber the smash.

David Minto, the police officer who attended the incident, tweeted the following last night:

“A real scare for this driver tonight in Ripon. Her windscreen was struck by a piece of timber that wasn’t secured/loaded correctly by another driver.

“Unfortunately the offending vehicle didn’t stop after the RTC. Driver has sustained a minor head injury.”

Anyone with information has been urged to call 101 and quote reference 12210089276.

Twitter backlash against police social media changes

North Yorkshire Police has faced a Twitter backlash after it announced restrictions on officers’ social media accounts.

The move will see people encourage to follow centralised accounts rather than those of individual officers.

As part of the changes, Harrogate traffic sergeant Paul Cording and Harrogate traffic constable David Minto, who between them have more than 20,000 Twitter followers, expect to be asked to close their accounts and post on one of eight area accounts run by North Yorkshire Police.

The area accounts will post updates on appeals, safety information and court results rather than the current blend of personal and professional updates from life on the frontline.

A police question and answer session today about the changes under the hashtag #AskNYorksPolice saw criticism of the move.

Some said tweets from a corporate account would be less personal while others asked whether officers would require approval to share posts.

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One poster, Gary Silvester, said:

“I’m sorry I just don’t see how it can be as personal as individual accounts as that’s what I and many others enjoy. I’m a big supporter of the police. 

“Will individuals tweets have to be approved? This whole policy strikes me that you don’t trust the officers completely.”

Social media posts will not need to be approved, the accts will still be run by local teams. We absolutely trust our officers, this is about improving service & responsiveness to the public through social media & giving people a place to find content more easily #AskNYorksPolice https://t.co/veJTO3yFqX

— North Yorkshire Police (@NYorksPolice) March 31, 2021

Another person, Jacqui Stephenson tweeted:

“Given the amount of stations being closed, surely it’s better that individual officers build up the rapport with their local communities using social media. 

“A lot of your officers use social media responsibly and engage with the public.

“I’ve often learned a lot from reading the Twitter feed of individual officers. It gives a real insight as to what they are facing as well as showing that they are human beings as well. Using the bland corporate accounts takes that away.”

But police defended the decision and said officers would continue to build a rapport with the public.

The force added officers’ social media content would not require approval and that the move was about “improving the service and responsiveness” to the public.

Sergeant Cording shared two videos explaining his views on the change.

He said while personal accounts have not been asked to be deleted yet, they will be “sometime in the future”.

Morning everyone, on leave at the moment but just wanted to give you my take on the changes to the @NYorksPolice social media policy 1/2 pic.twitter.com/lFXPqinmb1

— Sgt Paul Cording BEM (@OscarRomeo1268) March 31, 2021

Sergeant Cording added that he understood the decision the police had made, but was “disappointed”.

The new measures have also been met with concern from candidates to be North Yorkshire’s next police, fire and crime commissioner.

James Barker, Liberal Democrat candidate for the role, said the police needed to “rethink” its decision. He said:

“Residents value the localised information that is made available via these social media channels and I really can’t understand the thinking that has led to these being scrapped.”

He also expressed concerns about North Yorkshire Police’s recent introduction of a service-level statement setting out how it responds to media requests.

The statement says it will not respond to media requests for information relating to incidents on which an article has been posted on its website.

Mr Barker said:

“The local media plays a crucial role in sharing trusted information of genuine interest to residents. They could be a real asset to the police in getting important information to local communities who already get their news through established print, online, radio and TV channels. It seems like an own goal by the police that could see them distance themselves from local communities.

“If elected, I will review the operation of the current ‘service-level statement’ and will start by engaging with the local media to explore how we can work together better for the benefit of our communities.”

Independent candidate Keith Tordoff said:

“The closure of individual police officers’ official social media accounts is, I believe, bad for public relations.

“The new accounts until we see how they operate at this point sound rather corporate. I also recognise that the officers’ accounts as they had operated could lead to security breaches, Officer safety and possible promotion of businesses which had needed addressing.

“The officers’ official accounts with directives and supervision of them would have continued to be great for police, public relations and community engagement. The accounts were clearly very popular with the public going by the people commenting against the closure of them.
“If elected, I would look to review the decision.”

The Stray Ferret has approached the Conservative and Labour candidates for comment.

North Yorkshire’s Police Fire and Crime Commissioner election will take place on May 6.

Harrogate police officers face social media restrictions

North Yorkshire Police is imposing restrictions on officers’ social media accounts that will prevent them posting directly to the public.

The move will have implications for the popular Twitter accounts of Harrogate traffic sergeant Paul Cording and Harrogate traffic constable David Minto, who between them have more than 20,000 followers.

Their tales of life on the road include live traffic updates from accident scenes and details of motoring offences.

But soon they will be unable to post directly to Twitter under their police names.

North Yorkshire Police is centralising its approach to social media by encouraging people to follow its official accounts, rather than those of individual officers.

Officers can still post under their names provided their messages go through official channels first.

Another spot by @NypAnpr and @TC174_NYP & my @NYorksRPG team stop this vehicle near #AllertonPark Driver tests positive for #Cocaine & is arrested. I assisted with bloods in custody & they will be sent to @RSSS_DianeFair for analysis #Fatal4 pic.twitter.com/4NxBO3hYGO

— Sgt Paul Cording BEM (@OscarRomeo1268) March 21, 2021

https://twitter.com/TC174_NYP/status/1372328691338985474

A North Yorkshire Police spokesperson told the Stray Ferret:

“We are reducing our accounts to make it easier for our communities to find the latest updates from North Yorkshire Police and what is happening in their area, as well as enabling us to respond to the issues that matter to those communities more quickly and effectively.

“The changes are not banning anyone from social media. The many officers and staff who already post and share fantastic social media content will move to posting that content across our force wide and district accounts. Some have already started doing this.

“If they wish to they will be able to give their name so the public still know who is the voice behind the post as we know how much their personalities are valued by our communities.”

Sgt Cording told the Stray Ferret he was aware changes are coming but at this stage it was inappropriate for him to comment.

In an interview with the Stray Ferret last year, he said there were “some issues” within the force when he started tweeting in 2011 but increasingly the police had recognised the value of officers engaging directly with the public and showing a bit of personality.

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Police appeal for help after Harrogate Co-op theft

North Yorkshire Police is appealing for help after a man stole alcohol and some Ariel detergent from a Harrogate Co-op.

The theft occurred on Friday at the Co-op service station on Ripon Road.

According to police, a number of bottles of alcohol and the detergent were taken.

Officers are appealing for information to identify the man in the CCTV images who they believe holds information that could help with their enquiries.

The police are asking anyone who recognises the man or has information on his whereabouts to get in touch.

You can call North Yorkshire Police on 101, select option two and ask for PC Ben Clarke.

Alternatively, email 000721@northyorkshire.pnn.police.uk. The crime reference number is 12210085638.

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Fire service investigates cause of Starbeck home blaze

The fire service has launched an investigation into the cause of a blaze which devastated a house in Starbeck last night.

North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue, North Yorkshire Police and Yorkshire Ambulance Service attended the fire on Avenue Grove at around 8pm.

When crews arrived they found that the fire started in a bedroom on the first floor but had quickly spread to much of the first floor. Nobody was in the house on arrival.

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It also caused smoke damage to the ground floor and neighbouring homes. Two people required treatment for smoke inhilation.

The homeowner told the Stray Ferret last night that the fire started in her son’s bedroom while she was downstairs celebrating her birthday. She said she did not know what caused the fire.

Crews used breathing apparatus, three hose reel jets, 45mm jet, delta lance, triple extension ladder, lighting and thermal imaging camera to put out the fire.

North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue attended last night.

They evacuated neighbouring properties, cordoned off the area and advised people to avoid the area while they were dealing with the incident.

Now North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue has confirmed that it is investigating the cause of the fire.

Neville Scott, red watch manager at Harrogate fire station, told the Stray Ferret last night that:

“It had the potential to be a very serious incident and spread to other properties because it was a terraced house.

“But the firefighters were able to prevent that.”

The home had a smoke alarm and the fire service said it was a reminder of how important it is to have a working fire alarm in all homes.

Homes evacuated in Starbeck due to fire

Homes have been evacuated in Starbeck as firefighters battle a blaze that broke out this evening.

Two people are being treated for smoke inhalation but there are no reports of any further injuries at this time.

The fire, in Avenue Grove, was reported to North Yorkshire Police at about 8.20pm tonight.

North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service and Yorkshire Ambulance Service are in attendance.

The area has been cordoned off.

A police statement said:

“Members of the public are advised to avoid the area while emergency services deal with the incident.”

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Mayfield Grove summit to be held on Tuesday

Residents on Mayfield Grove in Harrogate will meet police, councillors and politicians next week to discuss concerns about crime and anti-social behaviour.

North Yorkshire Police and Harrogate Borough Council issued a closure order for a house on the street this week after a man died.

The two organisations said they had carried a joint investigation following concerns about activity at a multi-occupancy address.

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Harrogate and Knaresborough MP Andrew Jones, who is expected to attend Tuesday’s meeting, said:

“These are incredibly difficult and deep-seated issues.

“Many of those involved have long-standing homelessness, mental health and addiction problems and both the government and the council have dedicated a lot of cash and resource to these issues.”

Harrogate neighbourhood policing inspector Nicola Colbourne said:

“We’re continuing to work closely with residents, Harrogate Borough Council’s community safety partnership, elected representatives and others to ensure any concerns of Harrogate residents are listened to and the community remains a very safe place to live and work.”

A council spokesman said it was a private meeting.

Appeal to find dead Harrogate man’s next of kin

The North Yorkshire coroner’s office is appealing for help to locate the next of kin of 53-year-old Craig Fryer from Harrogate.

Mr Fryer died at his home in Woodfield Road, Bilton on March 15 and officers have been unable to trace his next of kin.

It is believed he has two daughters, one in Australia and one in the south of England. However, it is unknown exactly where.

North Yorkshire Police said in a statement today:

“If you are Craig’s daughter or have information that could help find them, please contact our coroner’s office via email to coroner@northyorkshire.police.uk.”

Police said there were no suspicious circumstances surrounding Mr Fryer’s death.

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