There are fears the Harrogate district could be dragged into a higher tier of coronavirus restrictions amid rising infections elsewhere in the county.

Scarborough is a particular concern as the seven-day average rate of infection has shot up to 254 per 100,000 people from about 150 a week ago.

The area also has the highest positive rates in the whole of the north east of England.

The Harrogate district has 86 infections per 100,000 people. It has remained at about the 90 mark for a few weeks now.

North Yorkshire is currently in tier two. But the possibility of dividing the county into different tiers was raised at a coronavirus press briefing this morning.

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Richard Webb, the corporate director of health and adult services at North Yorkshire County Council, said:

“There has been a dramatic increase of cases in Scarborough. Particularly scary as the increases are among children and those in their 30s.

“People are mixing indoors there. They put themselves and the whole area at risk.”

Asked about the next tier review on December 30, Mr Webb said “up until now” local health leaders had not expected any change to the county’s tier two status.

But he added cases were rising in parts of the county and the door remained open to splitting North Yorkshire into different tiers.

The government highlighted Scarborough as “the most concerning area” in North Yorkshire when it reviewed the tiers last week. Case rates have almost doubled since then.

Back then the government review concluded the “trajectory [did] not warrant tier three” but last weekend’s events highlighted how quickly things can change.

Local health leaders told the forum no confirmed cases of the new coronavirus strain had been recorded in the county but nevertheless they acknowledged it could already be here.

A man suffered a punctured lung following a suspected stabbing – but the attacker was spared prison.

Daryl Hart, 46, from Harrogate, was drunk and high on cocaine when he attacked the man with an unidentified weapon.

The named victim suffered several puncture wounds to his back and two to the front, prosecutor Angus Macdonald told York Crown Court.

One of the wounds caused a punctured lung. The others were described as “superficial” but still required hospital treatment.

Hart, of Albany Avenue, had travelled to Scarborough on one of his regular visits to see family in the area and ended up at the West Riding pub on Castle Road, where he had “too much to drink” and started causing bother.

Fight breaks out

He and a named female left the pub to go looking for drugs and were followed by the victim to a flat in the town. The victim forced his way into the flat and attacked Hart, whereby a fight ensued.

Hart used “some sort of weapon” on the victim who suffered multiple wounds, said Mr Macdonald.

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He was arrested and charged with wounding with intent. He denied the allegation but admitted an alternative charge of assault occasioning actual bodily harm.

This plea was accepted by the prosecution, which offered no evidence on the wounding charge. Hart appeared for sentence on Friday.

Bit man’s ear

The court heard that prior to the offence in August last year, Hart had racked up a litany of violent offences.

In 1996, he attacked a man with a stick, breaking his arm. In another incident, he bit a man’s ear, severing it, after throwing him down some stairs.

In a separate incident in 2002, Hart and another male dragged a man out of his flat at knifepoint. The victim was stabbed with a kitchen knife, resulting in yet another jail sentence.

Defence barrister Taryn Turner said that Hart, who had serious health problems due to drink and drugs, had stayed out of trouble for a long time both before and since the incident in Scarborough.

Recorder Paul Reid criticised Hart for his shocking record and his drink and drug-fuelled attack on the man in Scarborough.

Weapon used

He said although the victim was “the first to use any sort of violence”, Hart then used “some sort of weapon” to cause the puncture wounds.

He told Hart: “It is entirely unclear what (that weapon was) and you have never said what it was.

“Normally, an offence like this, where a weapon is used to cause serious harm, would result in immediate prison, but you were not the initial aggressor and pleaded guilty.”

Mr Reid said he had also noted Hart’s “appalling” health, his remorse and the fact that he had otherwise stayed out of trouble and had been trying to lead a “quiet life”.

For these reasons, Mr Reid said he could suspend the inevitable jail sentence.
The 14-month sentence was suspended for 18 months and Hart was ordered to complete a 30-day rehabilitation programme.

A not-guilty verdict was recorded on the wounding with intent charge.