A TV, computer games console and about 20 games have been stolen from a house in Spalding after a burglary at the weekend.

It happened in Rowan Avenue, Spalding, where a person was asleep while an intruder or gang broke into a house and stole a 32” Hitachi TV, white Nintendo Wii, games, controllers and other accessories.

An anonymous post on social media from the victim said: “If anyone saw anything suspicious around Rowan Avenue, please contact the police.

“Likewise, if anyone sees these items for sale, please contact 101 incident number 48 of June 23 as soon as possible please.

“Still not sure (if) anything else (was taken), but fingerprints are being taken and the dirty, thieving scum will be caught.”

Meanwhile, a house in Bridge Road, Sutton Bridge, was burgled at about 12.15am yesterday morning.

Police believe the person responsible came from the centre of the village, then smashed the front door with a brick and got inside.

A Lincolnshire Police spokesman said: “It does not appear that anything was taken and the man walked away towards Long Sutton.

The man is described as wearing a dark-coloured hoodie, possibly with a motorbike motif on the back, jeans and trainers.

Anyone with information should call PC Ben Harrington on 101.

Most of us will have, at one time or another, thrown a coin into a fountain for good luck.

I happily tossed a few lire into the Trevi fountain in Rome in the 1970s to ensure I would return one day. I did return about ten years ago and threw a Euro into the water as the city is certainly worth at least a third visit.

In Iceland I stood on the fault line where the tectonic plates of North America and Europe are slowly pulling apart. My guidebook advised that the fissures of clear water in the rocks have become an oracle. Ask a question as your coin falls and if you can see it land, the answer is ‘yes’. I remember giving my son, Rory, a handful of low value Krona to throw merrily off the bridge into the fissure. He asked a succession of questions relating to Newcastle United’s chances in the following season. None of the coins were ever visible again.

I’ve now discovered some people don’t just throw their money into fountains and wells, they also ram them into old tree trunks. On our recent trip to Wales we were exploring the woodland walks in the Italian-style village of Portmeirion, when we came across a tree trunk jam-packed with coins which had been squeezed into cracks in the wood. The patterns created by these mostly copper coins were surprisingly beautiful; they looked like pieces of contemporary sculpture.

We found other similarly decorated trunks and decided to add our own coin to the collection. It wasn’t as easy as you’d think, so I’m assuming that previous adornments had been hammered in there with the aid of a rock.

It was only yesterday that I looked into this strange phenomenon and it seems to have puzzled the people of Portmeirion just as much as me. What would seem to be a new fad may, in fact, be a very old tradition.

Wishing trees have existed for centuries, with people making offerings to divine spirits thought to live in them. The idea of placing coins in the bark is unusual but not confined to Portmeirion. There are other decorated tree trunks elsewhere in Britain and there is an old tree in Scotland which sports a florin in its trunk.

The Portmeirion estate manager’s research indicates that people place the coins in the tree if they are ill and seeking a cure. If someone removes a coin, however, legend has it that person will then become sick.

A fallen tree in a wood does look rather wonderful with its coat of copper but I think we should resist hammering coins into trees on a whim. We’ve seen how the new trend for attaching love-locks onto city bridges has caused much concern, with the authorities in Paris removing nearly one million of them from the collapsing rails of the Pont des Arts. Maybe we should stick 
to decorating trees at Christmas.

For more tales of my travels in Wales, go to www.mumsgoneto.co.uk

Firefighters are at the scene of two stack fires in Gipsey Bridge.

Crews from Boston were called to Canister Lane and Castledyke Bank just after midnight.

Lincolnshire Fire and Rescue has tweeted they are “currently still in attendance”.

A man who had a drink after doing some gardening was found to be more than twice the drink-drive limit when he was stopped by police.

Mark Seth, 50, pleaded guilty to drink-driving when he appeared in court in King’s Lynn yesterday.

However, he will return to court for a trial after pleading not guilty to a charge of possessing a bladed article in public without lawful authority in the same incident.

The court heard Seth had been observed driving slowly along Edward Benefer Way, King’s Lynn on the afternoon of July 9.

He was stopped after turning into Bergen Way, where he gave a positive breath test.

Further analysis showed he had 73 micrograms of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath. The legal limit is 35.

Mitigating solicitor Roger Glazebrook said that, after drinking the previous evening, he had further alcohol after doing some gardening at his partner’s house. However, he believed he was under the alcohol limit.

Seth, of Hallgate, Spalding, was banned from driving for 20 months, though magistrates offered him the chance to reduce the length of his ban by completing a rehabilitation course.

Magistrates also imposed a £250 fine, plus £85 costs and a £30 victim surcharge.

He was bailed to return to court for his trial on September 1.

Most of the UK’s car buyers care more about how their new purchase looks than how well it is rated for safety, according to new research.

A survey of buyers’ priorities by Co-op Insurance revealed that the safety performance of a vehicle only just scraped into the top ten considerations, behind other factors such as value, brand and even colour.

In fact, only 4 per cent rated safety as their number one priority when looking for a new vehicle. Almost 80 per cent (79 per cent) said that car safety was very important to them but almost three quarters (71 per cent) still didn’t include it in their top five considerations.

In order of priority, the top ten considerations for car buyers were:

Price

Value for money

Brand

Mileage

Colour

Appearance

Performance

Fuel economy

Size

Safety

In addition, more than half (54 per cent) of drivers didn’t ask any questions about safety features when buying a new or used car.

The Co-op suggests that an ever-growing list of technical jargon and acronyms is confusing buyers and 77 per cent of people survey by the insurer said they would welcome a more proactive approach to highlighting safety features from retailers.

Features such as electronic brake distribution (EBD), electronic stability control (ESC), automatic emergency braking (AEB) are increasingly offered as standard on modern cars but many buyers say there is not enough high-quality information explaining the features and how they work. Sixty-three per cent of those questioned said they wanted to see clear safety information included in all car documentation at the point of purchase.

James Hillon, director of products at Co-op Insurance said: “The impact that road incidents can have on communities can be devastating. Car safety is so important, not only for drivers but for all road users.

“Our research has found that price dominates buying decision and safety just isn’t front of mind when consumers shop for a used car.

“At the Co-op we are keen to help educate people not only about car safety, but about what they should be thinking about before they even set foot on a car forecourt. By knowing more about the safety options that are available, we hope that this will lead to more informed buying decisions and, hopefully, safer choices leading to safer roads.”

As part of its research, the Co-op teamed up with the UK’s official crash test centre - Thatcham Research - to come up with a list of the UK’s safest affordable used family cars. All the cars have a five-star Euro NCAP rating and cost less than £15,000 second hand. Volvo’s V40 hatchback came out top, with VW’s Golf and Nissan’s Qashqai making up the top three.

It turned out to be a difficult weekend for draperRACING riders Aaron Clarke and Tommy Philp - as neither rider was able to bring points back to the team from Thruxton.

Kirton’s Clarke was struggling with the hot weather and lack of grip with his tyres.

He began the Superstock 600 race from the eighth row and got away to a fantastic start.

But as he went into turn three a rider ahead fell, taking another rider with him who, in turn, clipped Aaron and also took him down, an unfortunate early end to a race that held promise for the Lincolnshire rider.

He said: “I got a mega start and was heading towards a strong points finish but it was all over at turn three when I was taken down.

“I have hurt my ankle again and have a few bruises but otherwise I am ok.

“The bike has suffered only cosmetic damage which is a relief.

“I am so annoyed as once again it was not my fault.

“But that’s racing and we have to take the rough with the smooth.”

Philp was riding in the sixth round of the British Supersport championship but couldn’t quite find a good set up for the tricky conditions on the fast and bumpy Hampshire circuit.

He qualified the Yamaha for a seventh-row start to the short sprint race on Saturday, but the hot weather conditions coupled with the difficult track surface made short work of the tyres and he completed the race in 21st position.

He started Sunday’s feature race from the ninth row, near to the back of the grid.

But he got his head down and, once his tyres had some warmth in them, he began to reel in the riders ahead.

A late surge saw him clock fast lap times as he finished in 21st spot again.

In a twist of fate two riders who finished ahead were disqualified after a post-race check on their bikes, so Philp was elevated to 19th place.

The next round is at Brands Hatch from August 5-7.

Kevin Van Leuven was unable to join the team on track at Thruxton this weekend, which left Tom Fisher and new team rider Luke Hedger to fly the flag for Wyberton-based G&S Racing Kawasaki in the latest round of the British Superstock 1,000.

Both riders suffered from lack of grip at the Hampshire circuit, but both brought their bikes home safely, although not in a point scoring position.

Hedger (pictured - photo: Dave Yeomans) joined the team during the week and - having never seen the bike, let alone raced a 1,000cc machine - it was a big ask for him to jump on the bike and produce a top result.

Nonetheless, the 20-year-old rider approached the task in a very professional manner and soon got to grips with it, completing his qualifying in a very creditable 18th place to start his race from the sixth row.

He completed the first lap in 21st place and, as he grew in confidence, began to move forward to 18th by lap four.

But as the race wore on the tyres began to wear and he dropped back to complete the 13-lap affair in 25th position.

He said: “It was a steep learning curve for me to step up to the big bike this weekend. But we managed to find a good set up for the race and I really enjoyed it out there.

“It was a hard race and of course like everyone else tyre degradation was a problem towards the end.”

Fisher was struggling with set up throughout the weekend, but he qualified for a ninth row start and made up four places on the first lap.

He continued to move forward throughout the 13 laps to cross the finish line in 20th position.

Team manager Mark Fisher said: “Tom couldn’t find a good set up during practice and qualifying but we made a few changes for the race and he went much better.

“As is the norm here at Thruxton, we struggled to make the tyre last but both riders brought the bikes back safely and - although they didn’t make it up into the points this time - I am pleased with the way both riders approached the weekend.”

The next round is at Brands Hatch over the weekend of August 5-7.

There Dutchman Van Leuven will again be present as G&S see three riders in action on the circuit.

Disappointed Ben Stafford had to settle for 14th and 18th-place finishes as the Dickies British Supersport championship held its sixth round at Thruxton.

The Silicone engineering team were in action on the fastest circuit in the series, deep in the Hampshire countryside.

The previous weekend at Snetterton saw Stafford’s bike destroyed in a crash and it had to be rebuilt from a new chassis.

With two days to complete the task, the bike arrived at the circuit late on Thursday evening and both the Saracen’s Head rider and mechanic worked late in to the night to complete the task ready for Friday’s sessions of free practice.

Stafford had been suffering handling issues for two meetings but when FP1 came it was apparent that the rebuild had eradicated the issue and the team set about getting a set-up for the weekend.

Steady progress through both sessions would leave the team ready for qualifying on the next day in a reasonable position.

Qualifying went almost to plan and Stafford sat in 11th place for the majority of the session, only slipping to 13th in the last minutes of the frenzy.

The afternoon’s sprint race was a battle from 13th on the grid and Stafford settled into the 2.4-mile laps and never looked like moving forward and would eventually cross the line in 14th place.

Sunday’s feature race was fast and furious and, although Stafford made some progress in the middle stages, he would suffer the consequences and eventually cross the line in 18th place.

He was bitterly disappointed with the results this weekend.

O2 customer data including phone numbers, emails, passwords and dates of birth, is being sold by criminals on the dark net.

The data was almost certainly obtained by using usernames and passwords first stolen from gaming website XSplit three years ago to log onto O2 accounts, the BBC’s Victoria Derbyshire programme has learned.

When the login details matched, the hackers could access O2 customer data in a process known as “credential stuffing”.

O2 says it has reported the case to police, and is helping the inquiry.

It is highly likely that this technique will have been used to log onto other companies’ accounts too.

All the O2 account holders whose details the BBC has seen have been informed, with many saying they had used the same login for other online accounts.

O2 said in a statement: “We have not suffered a data breach. Credential stuffing is a challenge for businesses and can result in many company’s customer data being sold on the dark net.

“We have reported all the details passed to us about the seller to law enforcement and we continue to help with their investigations.”

Marc Jones, Lincolnshire’s Police and Crime Commissioner, has today (Tuesday) given his backing for emergency services in Lincolnshire to work more closely together.

In a bid to improve frontline services and strengthen partnerships, Lincolnshire Police, Lincolnshire Fire and Rescue, East Midlands Ambulance Service (EMAS), the Police and Crime Commissioner and Lincolnshire County Council will all work together to deliver the Blue Light Collaboration project.

The project includes: a blue light tri-service campus - Police, Fire and Ambulance - at South Park in Lincoln; a joint Police and Fire HQ and a co-located command and control centre at Nettleham; a wider estates review sharing stations across Lincolnshire; a review into how services can work more closely together.

The project will be funded by a £7.5m investment from the Government’s Police Innovation Fund and match funding from local services.

Mr Jones said: “After many months of hard work and negotiations on both sides, I am delighted that this project can now start to become a reality.

“Through true partnership working, our emergency services will now work closely together to deliver a first-class blue light campus and a joint fire and police headquarters to meet the future need of the county.

“By sharing headquarters with the fire and rescue service, both organisations can adapt more easily to change and improve their ways of working, including making best use of technological advancements that are so important to efficiency. The new tri-service campus will allow us to create an operational and integrated base fit for the next generation.

“At the same time, we will be able to work more closely together – a significant advantage in many emergency situations as well as being of benefit to the taxpayers of Lincolnshire.”

Coun Nick Worth, executive councillor for Lincolnshire Fire and Rescue at Lincolnshire County Council, said: “This positive project will see the emergency services in Lincolnshire using their buildings and estates in a more effective manner. It will allow financial efficiencies in the longer term, better opportunities for closer working and will undoubtedly improve services for the public.” Lincolnshire Police Chief Constable Neil Rhodes said: “This project will allow the three emergency services to work more closely together to deliver a better service to the local community and reviewing our buildings and estates made perfect sense.

“Creating a joint HQ at Nettleham with the fire brigade and a new tri-service hub at South Park provides a unique shared working environment that develops stronger partnership working as well as an environment that is fit for modern policing.”

Nick Borrill, Acting Chief Fire Officer at Lincolnshire Fire and Rescue, said: “Working in collaboration with our colleagues from other agencies is a fundamental part of how we work, for example with our home safety check service as well as our co-responder scheme and Joint Ambulance Conveyance Project.

“By working side by side at sites throughout the county, we can achieve greater value for money and long term savings, as well as allowing us to strengthen our relationships and deliver the best service possible for the community.”

Richard Henderson, EMAS’ Acting Chief Executive EMAS said: “This is a really innovative collaboration project and we are looking forward to playing our part.”

As the project progresses, local communities will be kept informed and staff associations will be consulted. Information will also be available on www.lincolnshire.gov.uk and will be kept updated as the project progresses.

Two, and possibly four, semi-mature trees will have to be cut down after their bark was damaged.

In the two most severe cases, at Lighton Avenue, Kirton, and Woodville Road play area in Boston, the bark was removed all the way round, which has been described by Boston Borough Council as a ‘death sentence for a tree’.

The tree at Kirton was ‘skinned’ from the ground up to its first branch – about as far as someone could reach – all the way round its trunk. The bark appeared to have been cut off and was left, shredded, on the ground.

The stripping followed an earlier incident in which a branch had been broken off.

The damage was noticed by a dog walker and it is believed the damage on The Triangle at Kirton occurred sometime after 8pm on Saturday and before about 9.30am Sunday.

Coun Claire Rylott, Boston Borough Council’s portfolio holder for grounds and open spaces, said: “This is such a shame after so many years of growing. Whichever way you look at it, it is vandalism, but I wonder whether whoever did it realised that by stripping the bark off all the way round they have effectively killed these beautiful semi-mature specimens. They would have continued to grow for many years to come and given so much pleasure.

“If anyone has any information about who has done this, could they please pass it on to the police, and please report any such activity as soon as it is seen.”

If a tree is damaged around 100 percent of the tree, this is called girdling and the tree will most likely die.

If you have any information about the damage contact police on the non-emergency 101 number.

There are only two weeks left for people living and working in South Holland to have their say on plans for a new Greater Lincolnshire mayor

Ten council, including South Holland District Council, have joined together to ask for certain powers, responsibilities and funding from central government to be passed down to a new Greater Lincolnshire authority.

It would see services which include transport and housing, run from a regional, rather than a national level.

Under the deal, an additional £450 million would be provided over the next 30 years for investment in housing and infrastructure.

A South Holland District Council spokesman said: “If all ten councils in Greater Lincolnshire sign up to this, a mayoral combined authority would be established.

“This would be made up of elected members from the ten councils and a representative from the Greater Lincolnshire Local Enterprise Partnership, to be chaired by a directly-elected mayor chosen by residents.

“The combined authority would not replace existing councils or affect the services they already provide as it would only be responsible for the new powers and funding devolved from central government, including transport, housing and flood risk management.

“However, it could help to develop a better approach to criminal justice services in the area.”

People would then be asked whether a mayor-led combined authority should be combined with the role of Police and Crime Commissioner.

To give your views, visit www.sholland.gov.uk/article/4617/Mayoral-Combined-Authority-Consultation before 5pm on Monday, August 8.

Gedney Hill Golf Club held it’s joint Captains’ Day, raising £1,617 for charity CALM (Campaign Against Living Miserably).

Club owner Charles Britton, Captain Colin Rust and Lady Captain Lynn Exley are seen presenting the cheque to Colin’s granddaughter Tylia.

Tylia has already raised more than £600 for the charity by doing a parachute jump.

The charity is very close to the family’s heart, with the total now more than £2,000.

Welland Yacht Club members competed in the final two races of the commodore’s points series on Sunday afternoon.

Going into the final stages, Gail Follington (laser radial) was in top spot, closely followed by Phil Robinson (laser) and - still with an outside chance - Paul Burton (phantom).

Race one, with a total of seven boats (including six different classes) took to the water, where it was imperative for the three in contention for the title to capitalise on points available.

This saw them break away early and try to build up enough of a lead over each other so their positions held once boat handicaps had been applied.

Paul and Phil managed the gap to keep their positions on the water with first and second respectively.

However, Gail didn’t quite have the time advantage, slipping to fourth behind Lucy Burton.

This became third once the handicaps were applied.

With the wind having picked up, race two again saw the three title contenders pull away to maximise their comparative times.

With three of the midfield boats capsizing, the conditions started to favour the more experienced.

Paul Burton finished first, with Phil Robinson second, Gail Follington third and Paul Wilson in fourth.

With the best four results out of the series of six counting, things were close after a double check of results.

But the overall series went to Phil, ahead of Gail by half a point.

Paul Burton twas third overall, two points further back.

There was no morning race on Sunday as the club held one of their Go-Sailing sessions.

There Will Cook, one of the senior instrcutors, gave welcome advice and tuition on members sailing techniques.

Climbing trees, building a den, hunting for bugs and going stargazing are among the ‘bucket list’ items that children should be ticking off - before they get to the age of 12.

The National Trust has listed 50 things for children to do before they’re 11 ¾. Among the other suggestions are finding frogspawn, going swimming in the sea and cooking on a campfire.

Some of the items hark back to the childhoods of the parents of today’s pre-teens, such as playing pooh sticks, while ‘rolling down a really big hill’ may be a preferred option for cash-pressed parents than ‘Learn to ride a horse’

And playing conkers, ‘hold a scary beast’ and ‘canoe down a river’ are suggestions which, in today’s more health and safety-conscious climate, may require some adult supervision.

The survey also found that nine in 10 parents would prefer their children to spend more time connecting with nature. Today’s youngsters spend around four hours a week playing outside - half the amount of time outdoors that their parents did. However, 83 per cent of mothers and fathers did believe that it was important that their offspring learned to use technology.

National Trust ranger Ed Anderson said: “This summer, we want to inspire kids and families all over the country to get outdoors, grab their perfect stick and kick start their story with nature.

“With the natural environment under pressure, we hope that instilling a love for nature in our children now will help us encourage them to continue to protect the beauty of the great outdoors for years and generations to come.”

50 things to do before you’re 11 3/4

1. Climb a tree

2.Roll down a really big hill

3.Camp out in the wild

4.Build a den

5.Skim a stone

6.Run around in the rain

7.Fly a kite

8.Catch a fish with a net

9.Eat an apple straight from a tree

10.Play conkers

11.Go on a really long bike ride

12.Make a trail with sticks

13.Make a mud pie

14.Dam a stream

15.Play in the snow

16.Make a daisy chain

17.Set up a snail race

18.Create some wild art

19.Play pooh sticks

20.Jump over waves

21.Pick blackberries growing in the wild

22.Explore inside a tree

23.Visit a farm

24.Go on a walk barefoot

25.Make a grass trumpet

26.Hunt for fossils and bones

27.Go star gazing

28.Climb a huge hill

29.Explore a cave

30.Hold a scary beast

31.Hunt for bugs

32.Find some frogspawn

33.Catch a falling leaf

34.Track wild animals

35.Discover what’s in a pond

36.Make a home for a wild animal

37.Check out the crazy creatures in a rock pool

38.Bring up a butterfly

39.Catch a crab

40.Go on a nature walk at night

41.Plant it, grow it, eat it

42.Go swimming in the sea

43.Build a raft

44.Go bird watching

45.Find your way with a map and compass

46.Try rock climbing

47.Cook on a campfire

48.Learn to ride a horse

49.Find a geocache

50.Canoe down a river

More at www.50things.org.uk

Dave Frecklington has swooped to bring Lincoln City due Andy Wright and Jenk Acar to the Sir Halley Stewart Playing field.

The teenage duo are both attack-minded players with an eye for goal, and their ability to find the back of the net may be an added bonus for the Tulips as they prepare for their Evo Stik Northern Premier League Division One South campaign.

Midfielder Wright and 18-year-old striker Acar have both arrived from Sincil Bank on three-month loan deals.

Wright is a graduate of the Red Imps’ scholarship programme, and was handed his first professional contract ahead of last season after impressing with 25 goals in the youth ranks.

Acar is also a youth team product who scored the extra-time winner as Lincoln’s under 18 came from behind to defeat Boston United in the FA Youth Cup last term.

“They are two players I’ve kept tabs on for a year or so now,” Frecklington told The Guardian.

“Andy was with me at Lincoln United on a month’s loan, and we extended that.

“He did well there and he’s now a year on in his development.

“Physically, he’s strong and works hard in the gym, he’s reaping thr rewards for that.

“Jenk trained with us as a first-year scholar, and he’s been doing really well in pre-season with the pros in Lincoln’s first team.”

While his two new signings may be still finding their footing in the senior game, Frecklington is confident they will both bring value to his United squad.

“They’re really hungry young players with aspirations of going far in the game,” he added.

“We’re hoping we can play a part in that by having them here and letting them show us how well they can play.

“They’re here on three-month deals, which is important as we can plan from now until November.

“After that, we’ll take it from there.

“The most important thing is that we get the right players in, first and foremost.

“But they both have the ability to score goals and if they can bring that to the team then it’s absolutely a good thing.”

Spalding host Boston Town tonight in a pre-season friendly.

Filling stations across the UK have been hit by more than 25,000 incidents of fuel thefts in the last year, new figures have revealed.

The number of motorists filling up without paying for their fuel was revealed by police forces around the country following a freedom of information request by insurance website Confused.com.

In total, 25,560 fuel thefts were committed in 2015 and the West Midlands was the worst-hit region, with more than 4,000 cases of drivers filling and running - a practice known as “bilking”.

A related poll of 2,000 people, conducted by Confused.com, revealed that almost one in 10 drivers admitted to having driven off without paying for fuel.

Of those who have filled and fled more than one in 10 decided to hightail it as they had no means of paying for their fuel.

However, not all fuel thefts are intentional, it seems. Three-quarters of people who have driven off without paying appear to have done it accidentally. Almost a fifth said they simply forgot to pay.

But admitting they’d done it and making reparations are two different things, with just over half returning immediately to settle their bill.

Of those people who have driven off without paying for their fuel, a fifth were contacted by the police to ensure their bill was paid while 16 per cent were fined for committing the offence.

Although fuel prices are still lower than at this time last year they have been creeping up since the start of 2016, with motorist paying an average 9p per litre more now than in January.

The research shows motorists now pay £119 a month on average to fill up their car while 7 per cent spend as much as £200 a month to keep their cars running.

And in light of this nearly 10 per cent of those polled said they could understand why some people fuelled and ran as they think fuel is too expensive.

Amanda Stretton, motoring editor at Confused.com, says: “It’s quite worrying to find out how many people across the UK have filled up their vehicle and driven off without paying for their fuel.

“And it’s even more shocking to see that some motorists intentionally commit petrol theft.

“With petrol prices having risen in the last three months, it may be understandable why many may begrudge paying these prices.

“Yet despite these rising costs, petrol theft is a criminal offence and there are severe repercussions including being arrested and charged for theft.”

A group of The Peele Community College’s high achieving students joined one of the country’s leading archaeologists on a dig recently.

After the success of a Higher Education Field Academy (HEFA) trip in October, eight of the Long Sutton college’s high achieving Year 9 students got the opportunity to take part in a three-day HEFA field trip in conjunction with Cambridge University and the University of Lincoln.

The programme is designed for Key Stage 4 and 5 students who hope to attend university in future.

The students – Ruby Hamilton, Louise Cumber, Emma Linnett, Holly Taylor-Hart, Kirsty Wattam, Scott Early, Aiden Estell and Jannaya Wade – joined a dig led by Professor Carenza Lewis, who spent 12 years helping to present the Channel 4 series Time Team.

They also spent a day at the University of Lincoln where they were given a tour of the campus, which staff member Tim Perkins says is “extremely well resourced with lots of innovation and high quality educational opportunities.”

Holbeach United suffered an injury blow to Jamie Stevens during Tuesday night’s 2-1 home friendly victory against Netherton.

The experienced defender picked up a rib injury during the contest, and boss Tom Roberts is now hoping his man will return to full fitness as soon as possible.

Stevens is suspended for the first two games of the season, but with fellow defenders Stacey Cartwright and Adam Jackson currently sidelined, his presence will be welcomed in the back line.

Stuart Eason put the hosts ahead early in the second half of this warm-up contest.

However, Netherton were no pushovers and levelled through Deno Giglio.

But the Tigers did have the final say as Josh Ford linked up well with the impressive Andrew Tidswell to conclude the scoring on the night.

A regular column by Spalding Folk Club’s Martin Browne.

As I write this we are getting the caravan ready for our second folk festival weekend of the summer.

Two weeks ago we volunteered as stewards at Ely Folk Festival and what a great time we had. Other than our ten or so hours on duty there was plenty of time to take in the acts, sample the real ales, sing a few songs of our own or just chill out and catch up with friends.

It is our old favourite Warwick Folk Festival that we are preparing for at the moment and, like Ely, it has a self-contained campus with everything the festivalgoer might need including a vast array of food stalls, instrument shops, clothing stalls and of course the obligatory beer tent.

The town itself also gets very much involved with the festivities and the streets are alive with music and dancing.

We have Moira Furnace and Shrewsbury festivals to come during August to round off the season.

Spalding Folk Club’s guest on Wednesday, August 3 is Joe Topping.

He has appeared here before with fiddle player Joe Wright and with the late John Wright’s band. This time he appears solo.

Joe has a superb voice and is a very accomplished guitarist and mandolin player as well as being an excellent songwriter. Come along for a great summer’s evening.

Other folk events in the area for the next fortnight start tonight with the Last Thursday

Acoustic Club at Arts Coritani, Granary Lane, High Street, Swineshead (8pm). Guests are local band Crossing the Tracks plus floor spots.

Next Sunday, August 31 there is Lincoln Folk Festival at the Drill Hall, Free School Lane, Lincoln (2-10pm).

Guests include Lindisfarne, Julie Felix, and Gilmore & Roberts.

Tickets from the box office or contact 01472 349222.

The Masons Folk and Acoustic Club holds a singaround at the Mason’s Arms, South Street, Bourne on Tuesday, August 2 (8pm), and Friday, August 5 is First Fridays Singaround at the Wishing Well, Dyke, Bourne (8pm).

Sunday, August 7 is the Lincolnshire Day of Folk at the George, Leadenham. It is a free, all-day celebration of folk music and dance featuring many Lincolnshire dancers and musicians.

Finally on Monday, August 8 at the Eagle, West Street, Boston, there is a summer singaround at Boston Folk Club.