Zeppelin weapons rained down on Lincolnshire during First World War German air raids were finding themselves in museums 100 years ago this week.

The Lincolnshire, Boston and Spalding Free Press reported on September 19, 1916 that “some interesting souvenirs” had been added to exhibits in the Lincoln City and County Museum.

Among them were a parachute bomb case, a high explosive bomb, a German hand grenade and three German shell caps.

The parachute bomb was dropped from a German Zeppelin airship and designed to burst at a given height, separating the lethal weapon from the case.

• In other news, many in Spalding were mourning the loss of one of the town’s “promising sons”. Pte Frank Brown (24), of Pennygate, had been an articled clerk at the Holland Insurance Committee, of Red Lion Street for nine years before enlisting.

He was also a prominent and sought-after vocalist, organist and pianist and had taken part in several Spalding Operatic Society performances. Pte Brown (pictured far right), who was also an assistant scoutmaster with Spalding Boy Scouts, had been killed in action on August 26 during the “big push on the Somme”.

The only son of Spalding Urban Council vice chairman Coun JT Brown, he had been serving in the Lewis Gun section of the Middlesex Regiment and had been injured and suffered shell shock when he had heroically stayed by his injured officer while under hours of tornado fire, later dying.

• News was also received of Pte Arthur Slaughter, of Park Road, Spalding, who had been wonded in action in France while serving with the Queen Victoria’s Rifles regiment. Pte Slaughter had landed in England and was en route to a military hospital in Glasgow.

The Chief Constable of Lincolnshire Police has spoken out about concerns over ambulance cover in the county after his officers had to ferry patients to hospital overnight.

Chief Constable Neil Rhodes put out an exasperated message on his Twitter feed at 12.15am this morning (Sunday): “Officers from both Lincoln and Boston ended up working as ambulances last night. EMAS needs to be properly resourced.”

Pete Ripley Associate Director of Operations at East Midlands Ambulance Service said: “We work closely with our colleagues in the police to ensure that patients they encounter are properly assessed by our control team to determine what response they need. We are in contact with Lincolnshire Police to understand which incidents they are referring to.”

It was believed there had been two incidents last night where police officers had attended and then felt the need to transport the patient to hospital themselves. It was stressed they had not be sent out instead of an ambulance.

A campaign group on Twitter called Fighting 4 Grantham Hospital, battling to reverse the overnight closure of its A and E department, weighed into the debate, drawing attention to an account from a Grantham Police officer from last night.

He is quoted as saying: “As a cop I had to deal with someone semi-conscious with significant injuries who really needed medical help. I called for an ambulance, told no ambulances available. Waited almost an hour, still no ambulance available despite pleading again and again for assistance.

“Previously we’d have just taken the person ourselves the short distance to A&E to avoid delay, but now we can’t because we can’t justify the 90 minute, 70 mile round trip every time to Lincoln Hospital. Because we have no A&E at night we now have to rely more on ambulance for assistance which sadly we just don’t get.

“On this particular occasion the person had to be carried to a taxi and taken to Lincoln Hospital and this I’m afraid will soon become the norm.

“As a cop who joined the police to help people I’m so sorry it has come to this.”

* The Standard has contacted the Chief Constable and Lincolnshire Police to comment further on this matter but is awaiting a response at this time.

CABINET CALL: By South Holland Councillor Anthony Casson

It’s been a wonderfully warm end to the summer and the last few weeks have seen two exceptional events benefit from the sunshine.

I took great delight in attending the 1940’s Weekend at Ayscoughfee last month.

Yet again this popular nostalgic event managed to draw in the crowds with more than 7,000 people visiting over the two days.

Seeing visitors dressed up in wartime attire and dancing around Ayscoughfee Gardens was a great sight!

There was something for young and old alike to enjoy and the remembrance parade was poignantly observed.

So I’d like to say a big well done to organisers from the council and the Spalding Memorial Parade for such a brilliant occasion.

Over in my neck of the woods, the Moulton Park Country Show was also highly enjoyable.

Although this wasn’t a council organised initiative, it is vitally important that we support such events which help to bring businesses and visitors to our district.

On the subject of big events, you may have seen that a date has been set for the annual Spalding Pumpkin Festival.

It takes place on Friday, October 7 and very shortly we’ll be publicising the full event line-up, so watch this space!

Meanwhile, my own cabinet responsibilities are also changing, with my portfolio now including Public Protection matters.

This means I will be overseeing the council’s Licensing, Environmental Health and Health and Safety departments.

I’ll also have responsibility for our Dog Warden, which as many of you will know is a much-valued service.

So as you can see I’m going to be taking a bit more work on, but I’m looking forward to the challenges ahead.

A householder needed treatment after a cooker fire at a property in Spalding yesterday afternoon (Saturday).

Spalding fire crews were called to the incident on Woolram Wygate at about 2.41pm but the fire was said to be out on arrival.

Crews ensured all was safe and administered oxygen to the occupier who was suffering from smoke inhalation.

A fire service spokesman said the fire was caused by cooking being left unattended.

Excited crowds gathered in Ayscoughfee Gardens in Spalding in 2004 for a performance of Alice in Wonderland.

The live theatre production by Charter House Theatre Group, organised by South Holland District Council, was watched by more than 250 people who also enjoyed a picnic before the evening performance.

Leisure and tourism facilities manager Chris Cook said it was the first full family event of its kind organised by the council in the historic setting of the house and garden.

The recent TV programme ‘Eat Well For Less’ talked a lot of nonsense about flavour being one reason why organic vegetables cost a lot more than their farm-grown equivalent.

I have been an allotment holder for 35 years and can’t remember any complaints about the flavour of vegetables I take home – just the opposite in fact.

I do use small amounts of some insecticides, but probably not such a concentrated dose as large farms use.

If I didn’t use sprays, my vegetables would get a lot of pest damage. Black and white fly, carrot fly, potato blight and slugs can decimate crops if you don’t use spray protection.

Organic farmers do have their own methods of control but don’t use insecticides to control pests. I’m sure that is why their vegetables cost so much.

They, in my opinion, are throwing away half their crop because of pest damage. It would be interesting to see if local farmers agree.

A Long Sutton cat rescue charity has now revealed five cats have died of poisoning in Gedney Drove End so far this year.

The number was confirmed by a volunteer with Long Sutton’s P J Cat Rescue, who said the poisonous substance involved in the cases is unknown..

The volunteer told us: “This figure is abnormally high.”

The revelation followed news of a cat in the charity’s long term care dying from antifreeze or rat poisoning.

• A Long Sutton cat rescue charity says antifreeze or rat poisoning was to blame for the death of a cat in its long-term care.

The cat had been with a foster carer for 18 months when it became ill and died.

A volunteer with P J Cat Rescue said a vet blamed the death on antifreeze or rat poison.

The volunteer, who asked not to be named, has since heard of two other cats becoming seriously ill, as a result of suspected poisoning, and is asking residents to take care with substances that are known to be deadly to cats.

“We think someone has been a bit careless by leaving an open container of antifreeze in their garden,” he said. “Or it could be that someone has put rat poison in the wrong type of dispenser. In the past, people used the pipe and funnel dispenser filled up with poison grain to put outside, but now you are only allowed to use an enclosed trap box.”

The volunteer also warned cat owners to take their pets to the vet as soon as possible if they suspect poisoning.

According to the RSPCA, signs of antifreeze poisoning in cats can include: vomiting, the pet appearing depressed, sleepy and/or drunk and uncoordinated.

Fits (seizures) and difficulty in breathing are also symptoms.

Pet MD say signs of rat poisoning can include loss of appetite, impaired movement, paralysis of hind limbs, slight muscle tremors, generalised seizures and depression of the central nervous system.

• If you suspect your pet has been poisoned, please call Lynne Harrison in our newsroom on 01775 765413.

Deepings kept the momentum going from their home derby win against Stamford College Old Boys with cup tie success at Skegness.

After a slow start, Deepings took control with a forward-inspired display which saw coach Nobby Coupland make his first appearance of the season at loose-head prop.

There was also a strong display from full back Aram Jones who shook off a quadriceps injury from the Old Boys game to star for the Green Machine.

However, the tries came from winger Luke Whitby, lock James Hayward and captain Lance Charity against the Midlands Four East (North) side on their Pavilion ground.

Deepings vice captain Phil Trotman said: “We started a bit slowly and could have been a bit better in the first half.

“But we did what we needed to do in the second half and came away with the win.

“We did really well in the forwards’ division against a side that wanted to play down the centre a lot, Nobby did well at prop and Aram had a good game as well.

“We were looking to win and go through as it was a cup game and it puts us in good stead to go into the Thorney game on Saturday.”

DEEPINGS: Coupland, Peacock, Silverwood, Hayward, Clark, Harrison, Cannell, Trotman, Charity, Young, Squires, Edwards, Harwood, Whitby, Jones. Subs: Hughes, Peacock, Elliott, Morton, Towers.

To make my position crystal clear, I am not in favour of a retail outlet for Holbeach near the A17, despite any impression given by reports in Tuesday’s Lincolnshire Free Press.

I fail to see why my photo should have been used to accompany the story in question.

Maybe a picture of Ken Smith – the man behind the idea – would have been more appropriate?

It makes you wonder if the editor ever reads the story.

While it makes a good news story and I am sure it encourages a lot of comment, it will not be something that I will be supporting.

It was a genuine idea put forward by Mr Smith, a member of the public, at last month’s parish council meeting and it is encouraging to get members of the public coming forward with new ideas that can be debated in the local press.

I have spent many years trying to find a way of making a proper centre for the town in the Chequers Yard area, one that would encourage shoppers from Tesco directly into the town centre.

We have to make more of the huge number of shoppers that go to Tesco and draw them in to benefit the many independent traders in the town.

South Holland District Council supports local retailers with small business rate relief of up to 50 per cent if their rateable value is less than £12,000.

Unfortunately, we have no control of property owners, many of whom continue to charge exorbitant rents, making many businesses unviable.

Cutting off your nose to spite your face comes to mind.

The district council has recently introduced the Towns of South Holland mobile app, which proves what a wonderful range of independent shops we have in Holbeach. We hope this will encourage more shoppers to visit the town.

Holbeach is a great town, greatly enhanced by the massive floral contributions from the Holbeach in Bloom team of volunteers who this year finally got their coveted gold medal.

A truly fantastic effort and congratulations to them all – their hard work over many years finally paid off.


Editor’s note: The story made it clear that, although Mr Worth thinks the idea of a retail outlet for Holbeach is a good one, he is not in favour of an outlet near the A17. We used his picture because he is a prominent figure who was quoted in the story and, quite simply, we did not have a photograph of Ken Smith.


Police are warning Land Rover owners in Lincolnshire to be vigilant following the theft of “several” of the vehicles in Humberside this month.

Owners are advised to report any suspicious activity to the police.

This weekend’s scores...

Taylors Garages Premier Division: Billinghay Ath 0 Skegness Town Res 6, Coningsby 1 Benington 2, Pointon 2 Spilsby Town 5, Ruskington Rovers 2 Boston College 1, Swineshead Institute 3 Old Leake 0, Wyberton 1 Leverton SFC 1.

Taylors Peugeot Division One: AFC Tetford 3 Swineshead Res 4, Freiston 4 Fosdyke 2, Friskney 2 Railway Ath 4.

Taylors Ford Division Two: Boston International 4 FC Wrangle 1, East Coast 5 Coningsby Res 2, FC Hammers 1 Billinghay Res 1, Fishtoft Res 4 Swineshead A 1, Sibsey 3 Pointon Res 0, Spilsby Town Res 6 Kirton Town Res 0.

Taylors Vauxhall Division Three: Boston Ath 2 Wyberton A 4, Boston College Res 4 Old Doningtonians Res 4, Fosdyke Res 0 Splading Harriers 6, Mareham Utd 4 Leverton SFC Res 1.

Sharman Burgess Sports Cup, round one: Boston Titans 3 Northgate Olympic 2, Holbeach Bank 2 Fulbeck Utd 5, Kirton Town 3 Fishtoft 2, Old Doningtonians 2 Park Utd 1, Woodhall Spa Utd v FC Kirton - postponed (Kirton unable to raise a team).

Pictured is the reception class at Gedney Church End Primary School. (SG220916-128TW)

To buy a picture call 03301230203 or visit www.spaldingtoday.co.uk and click on ‘Buy A Photo’ at the bottom of the page.

Our photographer Tim Wilson has been taking picture of the new reception intake at local schools – we are publishing them in the Free Press and Spalding Guardian throughout September and October.

Pictured is the reception class at Weston Hills Church of England Primary School. (SG210916-113TW)

• To buy a picture call 03301230203 or visit www.spaldingtoday.co.uk and click on ‘Buy A Photo’ at the bottom of the page.

Using mobile phones while driving rates as the worst habit among fellow motorists, according to a new report.

Other drivers using mobiles without a hands-free kit were noted by 70 per cent of those surveyed by Privilege Car Insurance.

65 per cent spotted other drivers driving too fast - although only 20 per cent of those questioned admitted to speeding themselves.

More than half saw drivers skipping lanes to get ahead or pulling out in front of other motorists.

Other irritations included drivers who took up too much space on the road and unnecessarily sounding their horns, while three per cent mentioned splashing pedestrians with puddles - although this was a habit that 16 per cent of Londoners confessed to.

Drivers from Bristol were most likely to own up to their own poor road manners, with 61 per cent admitting to bad driving habits.

Women over 55 were considered rated the worst in several areas including taking position in the wrong lane and driving too slowly. Male drivers were more likely to undertake, and cut corners.

Charlotte Fielding, head of Privilege Car Insurance, said: “Inconsiderate or careless driving are two of the main causes of accidents on our roads.

“Hopefully, the findings of this report will help remind people their actions on the road do have an impact on other drivers – it’s better to get there safely than risk injuring yourself or someone else. So take a deep breath, leave a safe distance between your vehicle and the car in front and drive at a safe speed.”

The worst-behaved drivers across the UK were rated in order:

1 Bristol

2 Liverpool

3 Norwich

4 Newcastle

5 Manchester

6 Southampton

7 Birmingham

8 Glasgow

9 Leeds

10 London

Bourne’s unbeaten start to the season continued with a routine win against Midlands Four East (North) side Ollerton at Milking Nook Drove.

The tie was effectively over at half-time after the home side scored five tries through scrum half Sam Thornburn (two), player-coach Dave Maudsley, John Hume and Jack Berry who also kicked six out of eight conversions and two penalties.

Three more tries came in the second half from Sam Harby and two from Tom Dixon who said: “The scoreline shows that all 15 players wanted to to get their names of the scoresheet.

“But that was our downfall in the second half when we let Ollerton score a try.”

Newly promoted Ollerton, who ran away with last season’s Midlands Five East (North) title by posting a 100 per cent record, never looked like living up to their home town’s location near Nottinghamshire’s Sherwood Forest and staging a Robin Hood-like raid on Bourne.

But Maudlsey said: “The gloss was taken off the win because we were bad in the second half and the fact that Ollerton were worthy of a try reflects how poor we were.

“We were good in the first half because we did the basics right, rather than being hot-headed and thinking we could do thing on our own.

“When you have 15 to 20 guys playing well both individually and collectively, things click and we play well.”

One of the Bourne players who is especially catching the eye is full back Berry who said: “It’s my first season back after having a year out from rugby.

“There’s just a good buzz around the club and all the guys are playing to their potential.”

In contrast, consistency is the key for Sam Thornburn who Club Player of the Seaon-form from 2015-16 shows no signs of stopping or slowing up.

Thornburn said: “I didn’t have to do a lot for my tries and it was nice to be able to run from the back, knowing we had stable ball from the forwards.

“There’s an energy at the club and we’ve got a lot of momentum which has got everybody excited.

“But we’ve got to keep that going to show that we’re a changed team.”

A pensioner is campaigning for action to stop traffic speeding on the road leading to Spalding High School before someone is killed.

Bert Collins (76) says he saw a driver do a dangerous, high speed overtake on a bend in Stonegate a couple of months ago and reported the incident to police.

The silver car was “just a blur” and travelling too fast for him to work out the vehicle model or read its number plate.

The 30mph road is used by students going to the high school and the South Holland Post 16 Centre on Matmore Gate.

Mr Collins says he realises police resources are stretched but claims nothing happened after he reported the incident, apart from a visit by two women officers who assured him the road “is not dangerous”.

He said: “In essence, all I am asking for is that the police and the local council take this more seriously before someone gets killed because, believe me, it will happen. I am not wishing it to happen but it will happen.”

Mr Collins says he is an experienced motorist and “not a bad judge of speed” and witnessed a blue car travelling along Stonegate at a dangerously high speed – 60mph-plus – at about 10am on Thursday. The car was once more going too fast for him to note down its registration.

Mr Collins said: “As someone who is concerned about people’s safety, this is a disaster waiting to happen. It needs some sort of system that restricts the speed of cars along that road.

“There was an accident a couple of years ago where two cars collided down there but, obviously, people didn’t learn a lesson from it.”

Mr Collins says he’s a Londoner and no stranger to people breaking traffic laws but believes people should realise cars are lethal weapons, especially when driven at high speed.

“It’s like putting a loaded gun in people’s hands,” he said. “It is in fact more dangerous than that.”

A police spokesman said: “In our experience, people’s perception of the speed cars travel isn’t always an accurate reflection of what’s really going on and when the Road Safety Partnership puts in monitoring equipment, the reality is very different.

“Local NPTs (Neighbourhood Policing Teams) will frequently use hand-held radar to monitor hot-spots but if a member of the public really feels there is a serious problem in their area then they can raise it with the local council with a view to getting temporary monitoring equipment installed. I can’t see any reported incidents for this area within the last few months so it doesn’t appear to have been flagged up as a particular problem.”

• What do you think? Call Lynne Harrison in our newsroom on 01775 765413.

Thomas the Tank Engine author Christopher Awdry visited children in Spalding for a storytime workshop in 2004.

The author entertained 29 youngsters aged between ten months and ten years at South Holland Centre.

He read to them and talked about writing a story, and the children had a drawing session and were visited by a giant Thomas the Tank Engine.

Darrin Barrass, landlord of the New Inn, Holbeach St Marks, in 2004, was pictured in the stocks at a fun day getting a soaking from Chantel Kingswood and Sophie Giddings.

The day, with stalls, bouncy castle, music, a barbecue and refreshments, raised around £500 for the Lincolnshire and Nottinghamshire Air Ambulance.

There are rules about copying other people’s material that you find on the internet.

It’s very easy to make copies of materials on the internet. But remember that images, text and audio or video clips belong to someone. There are rules about copying other people’s material. These are called copyright laws.

If you copy other people’s material from the internet without permission, you’re breaking the law. This is called copyright infringement. You could be taken to court, fined and sent to prison for breaking copyright laws.

You’re allowed to download for free music that the owner has given permission for anyone to use. This music is not protected by copyright laws.

There are special websites that contain this music. Or you could visit the website of the artist or band whose music you want to download and check what’s available for free. Some websites contain a mixture of free music and music that you have to pay for. Other websites just include music you must pay for. Make sure you read the conditions before you sign up to one of these websites.

You may be allowed to store on your computer or download to your digital audio player music that you’ve already bought as a legal music download. This will depend on the conditions of sale. You are not allowed to store music that you bought on a CD onto your computer, or copy it to your digital audio player.

It’s against the law to download music which you haven’t bought or don’t have permission to use.

It is also against the law to ‘fileshare’ (upload music to share with others using the internet) if you don’t have permission from the copyright holder. If you illegally download or fileshare, you can be traced through your IP address. You may receive a warning letter from your Internet Service Provider (ISP). At present, they have no legal powers to disconnect you for illegal downloading or filesharing. However, they may ask you to pay compensation. You should get advice if this is the case.

Holbeach United have been handed an away game in the Buildbase FA Vase first round proper on October 22.

The Tigers had exemption for the qualifying rounds so they came into this afternoon’s draw at Wembley.

They will face a trip to Coventry Copsewood who have already lost six out of eight games in the Midland League Division One.

At the weekend, though, they made history by reaching the first round proper with a 2-1 home win over Atherstone Town.

The Tigers are looking to extend their unbeaten start as they head to Harrowby United on Tuesday night in the ChromaSport & Trophies United Counties League Premier Division.

Holbeach led for an hour but had to settle for a 1-1 draw at second-placed Newport Pagnell Town on Saturday.