A hotel boss and Tory constituency president has been found not guilty of causing the death of a grandmother by careless driving.

Nicholas Ayrton Bannister, 64, president of Skipton and Ripon Conservatives, was driving his Range Rover in his hotel and spa complex when it collided with 66-year-old Judith Wadsworth who was crossing a pedestrian walkway.

Mrs Wadsworth, who was a guest at the hotel and was there to see her daughter get married, is believed to have died at the scene of the accident at the Coniston Hotel Country Estate & Spa in Skipton.

Mr Bannister, the hotel’s managing director, was charged with causing death by careless driving but denied the allegation and, following a trial at Bradford Crown Court which lasted over a week, the prosecution today decided to offer no further evidence.

Judge Jonathan Gibson directed the jury to return a formal not-guilty verdict and Mr Bannister was allowed to walk free from court. 

Prosecuting barrister Michael Smith said that the “evidential test” had not been met and that there was no longer a “realistic prospect of conviction”.

He said the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) would therefore be offering no further evidence against Mr Bannister.

He added: 

“In light of all the evidence this jury have heard…the CPS take the view there is no longer a realistic prospect of conviction in this case.”

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Defence barrister Lisa Judge said there had been “flagrant failings” by the CPS in its prosecution of the case, both evidentially and in terms of disclosure. 

She said the defence would be seeking costs for Mr Bannister following the prosecution’s decision to drop the case and the not-guilty verdict. 

Judge Mr Gibson said he thought the prosecution’s decision to drop the case was “entirely appropriate”.   

During the trial, the jury heard that Mr Bannister had turned right out of a junction near the hotel reception and didn’t see Mrs Wadsworth.

The prosecution said that Mrs Wadsworth, who was walking from the car park back to the reception after collecting items from her vehicle, fell under the vehicle but it was not until Mr Bannister got out of his vehicle 20 metres down the road that he realised he had struck someone.

Mrs Wadsworth, who was staying at the country hotel in Coniston Cold to see her daughter Rebecca Blacka get married, suffered fatal injuries. 

Ms Blacka was in the hotel reception at the time of the fatal collision at about 5.20pm on Feb 7, 2020.

Mr Bannister, of Mark House Lane, Bell Busk, near Skipton, had driven the vehicle around a turning circle outside reception and turned right when the Range Rover ran over Mrs Wadsworth on the walkway between the car park and reception area. 

A family statement following Mrs Wadsworth’s death described her as “a devoted wife, mother and grandmother”.

“Judith was a beautiful, selfless person and no words can express our sense of loss and devastation right now,” the statement said.

High demand for flu and covid vaccinations led to traffic tailbacks and long queues in Ripon at the weekend.

The Park Street GP practice of Dr Ingram and Partners and Ripon Spa Surgery, which are across the road from each other, both held clinics on Saturday.

In an area of the city with only limited parking, people arriving by car experienced difficulty finding a space to park, leading to tailbacks from Park Street to Westgate and Blossomgate.

Cars outside Ripon Spa Surgery on Saturday.

There were also hold-ups for people who managed to find a parking space, or who arrived on foot, as the queue for the Park Street surgery stretched back to the Westgate and Blossomgate junction.

The number of people making appointments for vaccination may have increased following a Facebook post on Thursday (September 14) by Ripon and Masham Primary Care Network, which covers the two Park Street practices, along with the North House Surgery in North Street and Dr Akester & Partners in Masham and Kirkby Malzeard.

It said:

“At short notice we have secured some covid vaccine to co-administer alongside flu jabs at our GP practice flu clinics.”

“If you are eligible for covid vaccination, subject to supplies, this will be offered to you at your GP flu appointment at your surgery.

“We strongly encourage patients to consider having both on the same day, in order to help us to deliver this protection to as many patients as possible,

“If you wish to have your covid vaccine at your appointment you do not need to let us know in advance.”

The Stray Ferret  approached both Park Street practices regarding Saturday’s traffic issues and to ask if further flu and covid clinics are planned.

There had been no response at the time of publication from Ripon Spa Surgery, but a member of staff at Dr Ingram & Partners said a further clinic is scheduled for Saturday.

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A section of one of the main roads in Ripon closed this afternoon due to a crash.

Bondgate Green was blocked between Farmison & Co and the Ripon bypass after a black Toyota car collided with a tree.

No other vehicles were involved.

North Yorkshire Police said the incident happened at about 11.50am.

A spokesperson added:

“A black Toyota Yaris car ended up crashing into a tree. The driver was taken to hospital by ambulance for treatment. Her dog was also checked over by a vet.

“The driver reported a small dark car, possibly a Fiat, had caused her to take evasive action. The driver did not stop as they headed to Ripon city centre. They are urged to contact the police as soon as possible to assist the investigation.

“There was only limited traffic disruption while the ambulance was in attendance. The car was recovered at 1.10pm.

“If you are the driver of the small dark car, you possibly witnessed the incident or have dash-cam footage, please email Adam.Deacon2@northyorkshire.police.uk quoting reference number 12230175042.”

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Could a park and ride scheme be the answer to Ripon’s parking problems as it bids to attract more visitors?

That was one of the suggestions made at Monday’s full city council meeting, where Councillor Jackie Crozier called for a feasibility study focused on Ripon’s parking issues to be carried out.

She said:

“With more new housing coming on stream and an increase in visitors, we need to start to move forward by looking at all options that are open to us.”

“On a recent market day, some people who came to the city found it impossible to find a parking space and Ripon lost out because of this as they headed elsewhere.”

Councillor Andrew Williams, said:

“One of the things that we need to look at is how we could link Ripon’s new bus service into a park and ride scheme so that tourists and other visitors can park on the outskirts of the city and be brought in by bus.

“At the same time, to ease the pressure on parking spaces, we should encourage more residents to leave their cars at home and come into the city by public transport.”

As a first step in looking to find a solution to the city’s parking problems, it was agreed that North Yorkshire Council officers be invited to meet with Ripon City Council’s transport group and for preliminary discussions to be held.

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A Harrogate fire crew rescued a child after it became accidentally locked inside a vehicle today.

The incident took place on Starbeck High Street just before 4pm today, according to North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service’s incident report.

The incident log added:

“The crew used small tools and the child was recovered without injury.”

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No further details were revealed.

It follows a similar incident last week in which a baby was rescued from a locked vehicle outside M&S in Ripon.

A new Trespass store looks set to open in the former Barclays bank in Ripon.

The bank closed its doors on Market Place in August last year.

Barclays made decision despite the number of counter transactions at the branch increasing in the two years to March 2020.

Now, Jacob and Turner Ltd, which trades under the name Trespass, has applied to North Yorkshire Council for advertising consent at the site.

It would see two signs implemented at the former bank site.

North Yorkshire Council will make a decision on the plan at a later date.

The Stray Ferret approached Trespass to ask why it had chosen the site in Ripon and if it had further details on an opening date, but did not receive a response by the time of publication.

The outdoor clothing specialist currently has a store on Harrogate’s James Street.

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The McColl’s convenience store in Bondgate in Ripon, will close at midday today (Wednesday) and reopen on September 22 as a Morrisons Daily.

The Post Office counter within the shop closed yesterday and will also reopen on September 22.

The closure will enable changes to the internal layout of the shop and rebranding to take place as part of a national rolling programme of conversion works, following Morrisons’ acquisition of the retailer last year. 

McColl’s had 1,164 shops when it was bought out of administration in May 2022. Of these, Morrisons said it would sell off 132 which were loss-making, while profitable outlets would be retained and rebranded as Morrisons Daily stores.

In a second-quarter trading update issued in June, Morrisons said the 400 stores it has converted so far had seen increased sales.

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Fundraising for 15-year-old Liza Bartienieva, who was orphaned following a tragic accident that claimed the lives of her mother, brother and half sister, received a £4,000 boost at Ripon’s Black Swan over the weekend.

Regulars of the Westgate pub and members of the wider community dug deep to support the teenager, whose father also died earlier this year.

But there was disappointment when it was discovered that an anonymous donation of £10,000 to the GoFundMe page set up for her will not be added to the fund.

Donna Chilcott who set up the page, which has received more than 1,300 donations, told the Stray Ferret:

“I have been contacted by GoFundMe and told that the person who donated the £10,000 has retracted their donation.

“This is disappointing, but we have still raised more than £31,000, which is an incredible amount in less than a week and when you consider that the initial target set was £3,000.”

Saturday’s fundraiser at the Black Swan raised £4,000.

She added:

“Working alongside Sara and Kelly Hirst who run the Black Swan, we achieved this through the generosity of the Ripon community, businesses and regular pub customers and we cannot thank them enough for their kindness.”

Freddie Cleary

The money raised at the pub’s fundraiser will be added to the GoFundMe page which stood at £27,331 this morning.

Kelly Hirst, added:

“The situation that Liza faces has captured the hearts of the people of Ripon and everyone that we approached wanted to help by either donating prizes for the raffle that we held or by putting money in the donations bucket that we had on the bar.”

Live music was part of Saturday’s event and among the performers was Ripon singer-songwriter Freddie Cleary, who donated more than £600 to the GoFundMe page raised while busking in the city.

Liza has been looked after by a Ripon family since the accident occurred on Sunday September 3.

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Specialist paramedics and other emergency workers came to the rescue of a person on a boat on Ripon Canal last night.

Firefighters from Ripon were summoned to Boroughbridge Road, which runs alongside the canal basin, at 12.23am.

They were responding to a request from paramedics to help move a patient from a boat, according to North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service.

Its incident report said:

“Crews assisted to move the casualty into a seated position to allow paramedics to carry out an assessment.”

The report added firefighters then liaised with paramedics and staff from Yorkshire Ambulance Service’s hazardous area response team, which provides emergency treatment in precarious rescue operations.

The report said:

“Crews then assisted the casualty from the boat to the pontoon and left them in the care of ambulance crews.”

No further details have been released.

The canal held an open day yesterday to celebrate its 250th anniversary.

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