Police close A61 after serious collision south of Harrogate

The A61 south of Harrogate has been closed this afternoon as police deal with a serious collision.

The road is closed between Swindon Lane near Kirkby Overblow and the A659 Otley Road near Arthington, at the bottom of Harewood Bank by the bridge over the River Wharfe.

The collision reportedly happened in the early hours of this morning and the road has been closed all day.

Neither North Yorkshire Police or West Yorkshire Police have issued any details about the incident or the closure, which is near the boundary between the two counties.

The closure is affecting public transport, with the 36 bus between Harrogate and Leeds having to divert from its stops at Walton Head Road, Rigton Lane End, Kirkby Overblow Lane End, Dunkeswick Lane End and Harewood Bridge.

The Harrogate Bus Company has issued advice to passengers, saying:

“There are no alternative stops due to the length of diversion for this route.

“Customers wanting to get to and from these stops will need to find an alternative way of travel as the bus cannot get to these stops.”

Drivers are also being diverted away from the scene, via either Otley or Wetherby.

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New photo of missing Sophie as concerns grow for Harrogate woman

North Yorkshire Police has today issued a fresh photo of missing Harrogate woman Sophie Lambert, as concerns for her welfare grow.

Sophie, 22, was reported missing from her home in Starbeck at 10.10pm on Friday. She was last seen by her family at 7.20pm before she left the house.

Police issued an urgent appeal for help yesterday by asking anyone with information or possible sightings to get in touch. They said a search and rescue team was taking part in an extensive operation to find her in the Nidd Gorge area.

Police said today concerns were growing for Sophie’s welfare and issued a more recent photo and updated description.

Sophie Lambert

A statement said:

“Sophie is described as white, 5ft 3in, aged in her early 20s, slim build, with long dark brown hair that is possibly plaited or wavy.

“She has a distinctive scar on her forehead which is likely to be noticeable.

“It is unknown what clothing she has on, but her family said she tends to wear jogging bottoms and has dark green Adidas trainers with a white sole.

“If you have seen a woman matching Sophie’s description or photograph, please call North Yorkshire Police immediately on 999 quoting reference 12230110845.”

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Police issue urgent appeal to find missing Harrogate woman

North Yorkshire Police has issued an urgent appealing for help finding a missing woman from Harrogate.

Sophie Rebecca Lambert, 22, was reported missing from her home in Starbeck at 10.10pm last night.

Sophie was last seen by her family at 7.20pm before she left the house.

A police statement this afternoon said:

“Concerns are growing for her welfare and extensive police searches are currently taking place in the Nidd Gorge area with assistance from search and rescue.”

Sophie went missing last night.

Sophie is described as white, aged in her early 20s, with long dark brown hair that is possibly plaited or wavy.

She has a distinctive scar on her forehead which is likely to be noticeable.

It is unknown what clothing she has on, but her family said she tends to wear jogging bottoms.

Police urged anyone who has seen a woman matching Sophie’s description or photograph to call North Yorkshire Police immediately on 999 quoting reference 12230110845.

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Honour for Harrogate’s fundraising traffic officer

Sergeant Paul Cording is delighted yet slightly baffled to have been recognised in the King’s Birthday Honours list.

The roads policing officer, who is based in Harrogate, has received a British Empire Medal for services to policing.

He told the Stray Ferret:

“It’s a bit bonkers.

“I’m just doing my job and none of us in the emergency services do anything for recognition. We joined because we want to make a difference.”

He has known about the award for around a month, having received a letter “on His Majesty’s service”. Sgt Cording said:

“My wife was working at home and was on some sort of probably very important Teams call and I was just standing with this letter in my hand, shaking.”

After his wife ended the call, Sgt Cording said “it got a bit emotional” as he told her what the letter contained.

Until last night, she was the only person he had told about the award, for which he was nominated by the chief constable’s office.

Sgt Cording has been with North Yorkshire Police since the start of his career in 2001, moving into roads policing in 2010.

Leading a team of roads policing officers, he has become well-known for tweeting from the scene of collisions and sharing results from arrests.

He views that work as part of his role, saying:

“I do the easy bit and share results. I’m very lucky to have a lot of people following and supporting us on social media.

“It definitely humanises what we do and takes away that image of traffic cops hiding behind a bush with a speed camera.”

Sgt Cording and his team also feature regularly on Channel 5’s Traffic Cops, filmed across the region.

Agreeing to be on national TV was a step up from being on Twitter, but soon became second nature – and he believes has been another positive move in humanising the police. He said:

“I was a bit worried to start with, but it becomes normal. It’s a cliche, but you forget the cameras are there.

“There’s the odd person who will play up to the camera, but the majority of people, if they’ve done something wrong, the last thing they want to do is look an idiot on national telly. The majority behave as I would expect.”

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Sgt Cording’s BEM is not just for his professional service to North Yorkshire Police, however.

It also recognises his charity work: the many challenges he has taken on to raise money for road safety organisations and other good causes.

He has completed the Marathon des Sables, the Great North Run, and other half-marathons over the last 15 years.

Earlier this year, Sgt Cording decided to cover 325km in just a week reflecting the 325 people killed or seriously injured on the roads of North Yorkshire in 2021.

It is the most recent in a string of fundraisers for charities including RoadPeace, Brake and Road Safety Talks, run by Lauren Doherty, who was left paralysed after being hit by a car while walking home when she was just a teenager.

She now shares her story with school children, emphasising the need to be careful at all times and describing the impact of her decision to cross a road at the wrong moment – not just on her, but on everyone around her.

Motivation

Lauren helped to put together the nomination for Sgt Cording’s BEM, along with other people he has worked closely with over recent years.

He says supporting charities like Lauren’s is a continuation of the work he and his team do every day:

“I get my drive from doing my bit for families at their lowest ebb. In this role, I’m not always dealing with drunken idiots. I get to see people who need support because their world has just fallen apart.

“That dovetails nicely into the charity side of things. We deal with the front end of the collision. These people whose lives have just been shattered need support going forward too.”

There are personal reasons for some of his fundraising as well.

Over the last five years, four officers in North Yorkshire Police have taken their own lives, including Mick “Aky” Atkinson. Sgt Cording has been a regular participant in the Tour de Aky cycle ride in his memory

Sgt Cording recognises the challenges police officers can have in dealing with some of the harrowing scenes they face at work.

For him, as well as raising money, exercise is a way to maintain good mental health, getting out into nature and taking time away from his day job and his social media account.

There will be no getting away from the many messages he’ll be receiving today though, after the honours list was published last night.

On shift from 7am, he’s expecting to be providing the cakes for the team to mark the occasion. A date at Buckingham Palace awaits in the coming weeks.

Until then, it’s business as usual.

Knighthood among King’s honours for Harrogate district residents

A Harrogate man has been knighted in the King’s Birthday Honours List.

Dr Richard John Mantle, general director of Leeds-based Opera North, has been recognised for his services to opera.

He was made an OBE 10 years ago in the late Queen’s Birthday Honours, for services to music, and has served as a deputy lord lieutenant in West Yorkshire since 2012.

Dr Mantle sits on the board of the National Opera Studio, as well as being a member of the advisory council of the music department of York University, a fellow of Leeds College of Music and a fellow of the Royal College of Arts.

He announced last year that he intends to retire from his role with Opera North at the end of 2023, after being involved with it since 1994.

At the time, Dr Mantle – now Sir Richard Mantle – said:

“I have led Opera North for almost 30 years, and I feel incredibly fortunate to have held one of the best opera jobs in the UK and further afield, and to have worked with so many talented, valued and inspiring colleagues.

“It has been a hugely fulfilling experience.”

Opera North’s chair of trustees Paul Lee said:

“All of us who have worked with Richard over the years will feel a profound sense of gratitude for his immense service to the company’s staff and the countless guest artists whose careers Opera North has done so much to nurture and develop, and, above all, audiences and communities throughout the North and beyond.”

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Also on the first birthday honours list of King Charles III is Ripon man Dr Peter Liddle, who is made an OBE for services to heritage and public understanding of the world wars.

A military historian, Dr Liddle founded the University of Leeds’s Liddle Collection, an archive of first-hand accounts of people who lived through either of the world wars.

He is also patron of the Halifax Great War Heritage Society and life president of the Second World War Experience Centre.

Harrogate resident Susan Soroczan is also made an OBE for public service in her role as group director at the Department for Work and Pensions.

The leader of Northern Star Academies Trust, which includes Harrogate High School, has been made an OBE for services to education.

Jennifer Spencer-Plews is chief executive of the trust, which also includes Hookstone Chase, New Park, Starbeck and Willow Tree primary schools in Harrogate among its members.

Ripon Farm Services managing director Geoff Brown, pictured above, is made an MBE for services to the rural economy in the list, published this evening.

There is also one recipient of the British Empire Medal from the Harrogate district.

Sgt Paul Cording of North Yorkshire Police has been recognised for his service as a police officer as well as his charity work.

Speaking to the Stray Ferret, he described the recognition as “bonkers”, as well as “humbling”.

See the Stray Ferret tomorrow morning for a full interview with Sgt Cording.

Cyclist injured in crash with Mercedes at New Park roundabout

Police have appealed for witnesses to a collision involving a cyclist and a Mercedes at a busy roundabout in Harrogate this week.

The cyclist came off their bike at New Park roundabout just after 2pm on Monday.

According to North Yorkshire Police, the cyclist “took action to avoid the black Mercedes SUV, came off his cycle, and sustained minor injuries”.

The victim was travelling east on Skipton Road and the Mercedes entered the roundabout from Ripon Road in the Ripon direction.

A police statement said:

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

“If you can help, please contact North Yorkshire Police on 101, select option 2, and quote the North Yorkshire Police reference number NYP-12062023-0659.”

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Jail for drug dealers caught outside Harrogate’s Valley Gardens

Two drug dealers arrested outside Harrogate’s Valley Gardens have been jailed.

Plain clothed county lines drugs officers from North Yorkshire Police were on patrol in Valley Gardens in October 2020, when they came across Ishmaal Mahmood and Ifaaq Mahmood in a Volkswagen Jetta parked on Valley Drive.

According to police, Ishmaal Mahmood, 25, of Stonegate Chase, Harehills, Leeds, appeared to try and delete messages from the phone he was using as officers tried to speak with him.

He and Ifaaq Mahmood, 28, of Leeds at the time, were detained for a search under the Misuse of Drugs Act after what police described as “implausible and inconsistent reasons for being in Harrogate”.

Drugs recovered from the car 

Both pleaded guilty to possessing cocaine with intent to supply and possessing MDMA with intent to supply.

Ishmaal was jailed for three years and four months and Ifaaq was jailed for one year and eight months. In 2020, Ishmaal was previously sentenced to seven months in jail for possessing a knife linked to the same incident.

‘I’ve got a knife on me’

Ishmaal Mahmood said to one of the officers outside Valley Gardens “I’ve got a knife on me” and was found to be in possession of a curved hunting knife.

On searching the vehicle, a blue latex glove containing multiple snap bags containing white and brown powder, believed to be cocaine and MDMA, were recovered. Both were arrested on suspicion of possession with intent to supply class A drugs. Ishmaal was also arrested for possession of the knife.

Addresses linked to both were searched and at the address of Ishmaal officers found a small amount of cannabis, further weapons and a large amount of deal bags.

Drug analysis on the suspected class A drugs seized from the vehicle confirmed the drugs as 32 individual wraps including 28 cocaine and 4 MDMA. This has a street value of approximately £1,500.

Forensic analysis of the drugs and phone analysis ultimately linked both men to the supply of cocaine and MDMA in the Harrogate area. It also showed Ishmaal was occasionally acting as a recruiter and trying to set up his own drug line.

The seized hunting knife

The pair were sentenced for the drug offences at York Crown Court yesterday,

Investigating officer, PC Michael Haydock from the county lines Operation Expedite team in Harrogate, said:

“Ishmaal and Ifaaq Mahmood were working together for a county line with the sole objective of selling highly dangerous and addictive drugs on the streets of Harrogate.

“They have done this freely and for their own gain, without the slightest bit of thought or consideration for the wider implications of their actions.

“Furthermore, they were on our streets in possession of a knife which had the potential to cause devastating injuries or worse. There is no place for this and both have received all that they deserve. Hopefully the pair have now seen the error of their ways and similarly, anyone who believes they can commit drug crime in North Yorkshire can expect to face the consequences.”

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Child airlifted to hospital after collision outside school near Ripon

A six-year-old child has been airlifted to hospital after a collision outside a primary school near Ripon.

It happened near Fountains C of E Primary around 8.50am today and involved a light blue Hyundai i10 which was travelling towards Sawley.

The was taken by air ambulance to James Cook Hospital with serious leg injuries.

A spokesperson for North Yorkshire Police said:

“The driver of the Hyundai was spoken to at the scene and is assisting officers with their enquires. The stretch of road was closed for a time to allow officers to investigate the scene.

“Officers are appealing to anyone, including motorists with dashcam footage, or who witnessed the incident, to come forward.

“If you were driving in the area at the time, please check your dashcam footage in case you have captured the vehicle on camera prior to the crash but may be unaware.”

Anyone with information can call North Yorkshire Police on 101, select option two, and ask for Steve Wright, or email steve.wright1@northyorkshire.police.uk, quoting reference number 12230107761.

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Travellers leave Harrogate’s Ashville College

Travellers left Harrogate’s Ashville College last night, three days after they arrived.

The fee-paying school postponed home sports fixtures when caravans pitched up on the sports field off Yew Tree Lane on Friday night.

North Yorkshire Police said last night all vehicles had vacated the field by 7.15pm.

A police spokesperson said:

“The Harrogate neighbourhood policing team has worked closely with the college and community partners to resolve this issue.

“Our officers are continuing to liaise with all parties and are carrying out patrols in the area to address safety and security concerns.”

Ashville College

An Ashville spokesman said it served notice on the travellers to leave the school grounds yesterday morning. He added:

“The police successfully handled the departure and we are delighted to confirm that they all have left the site.

“Crucially, the order served today prohibits a return to our site within the next twelve months.

“We have secured the entrance they forced themselves through on Friday night.

Ashville head Rhiannon Wilkinson said in a letter to parents:

“It has been a challenging three days and I am enormously grateful to my colleagues in boarding who have done an exceptional job looking after the boarders this weekend in what have been difficult circumstances.”

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Appeal after golf clubs stolen from car parked at Harrogate guest house

Police have issued an appeal for witnesses after a car was broken into at a Harrogate guest house.

Officers say a golf equipment was stolen from a Volkswagen Polo which was parked at the Camberley Guest House on King’s Road between 5.30pm on Thursday, 8 June, and 7.30am on Friday, 9 June.

In a statement, North Yorkshire Police said some John Letters golf clubs and a Callaway driver were stolen.

Police said:

“We are requesting the public’s assistance to help establish the full circumstances surrounding the incident and anyone with information that could assist the investigation is asked to email Neel.Seth@northyorkshire.police.uk.

“You can also call North Yorkshire Police on 101, select option 2, and ask to speak to PC 1442 Seth.

“If you wish to remain anonymous, you can pass information to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111. Please quote the North Yorkshire Police reference number 12230104724.”

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