THE Chief Constable of Lincolnshire Police has announced his intention to retire.

Richard Crompton says he has made his decision for both personal and professional reasons, but believes it is now the right time to step aside and allow another to take up the reins.

A statement released on Tuesday said: “In April, the force commences a new contract with the strategic partner and the Chief Constable believes it is right that fresh leadership has the opportunity to shape and develop that crucial relationship.”

This week, Mr Crompton was revealed to be among those named on the Queen’s New Year’s honours list.

He was awarded the Queen’s Police Medal for his service to the force.

Mr Crompton joined Lincolnshire Police in August 2004 as Deputy Chief Constable, having previously carried out service with Cumbria and Devon and Cornwall Constabularies.

THE grieving parents of a baby who was “born sleeping” have been “completely blown away” at raising more than £2,770 for charity in a week.

Ricky and Lucy Twelves, of Spalding, asked for donations to be made to Sands following the stillbirth of their daughter Darcey on December 27.

The couple set up a fundraising page through Just Giving and since then, donations have been pouring in.

Giving her story on the website, Lucy said: “I started this page thinking we could raise about £100 if we were lucky and would have been amazed if we achieved that, but to see it four days later at over £1,500 has completely blown us away. There are some truly generous and kind people out there.

“It has been a devastating Christmas and end to what wasn’t a bad year.”

Sands is a charity which supports anyone affected by the death of a baby and works in partnership with health professionals to ensure that bereaved parents and families receive the best possible care.

The charity also funds research which could help to reduce the number of babies dying and families devastated by such a tragedy.

Lucy and Rick were put in touch with Sands following Darcey’s death.

They said: “Sands provide memory boxes. In this box we received a shawl, disposable camera, a bag to keep a lock of hair, hand and foot prints, two teddy bears – one to keep with Darcey and one for us to keep – not to mention the gorgeous box we get to keep cards and scan photos in.

“I hope the money we raise can go towards making more of these amazing boxes.”

Lucy used social networking site Twitter to spread the message of her fundraising campaign.

She said her baby girl had been “born sleeping” over Christmas and urged her followers to retweet the link to the Just Giving site.

Her message has since been retweeted by a number of high-profile users including television presenters Lorraine Kelly and Katy Hill and actress Natalie Cassidy.

Her message was also supported by Doncaster Rovers striker Billy Sharp, whose son Luey Jacob was born on October 27 but died two days later.

At the time of going to press, the fundraising total in memory of Darcey had reached £2,778.

l Anyone who would like to make a donation to Sands can do so through the Just Giving website at www.justgiving.com/darceytwelves

TODAY sees the end of an era in Holbeach with Graham Johnson hanging up his scissors after working as a barber for 50 years.

Graham (65), of Vicarage Gardens, Holbeach, left school aged 16 with no career in mind.

He didn’t want to work on the land – his father also told him there was no future in it – but a single hair cut changed his life.

Barber John Turner chatted to Graham about his future and offered him an apprenticeship.

Tuesday marked two major milestones – it was the 50th anniversary of Graham’s first day at work and the 41st anniversary of him having his own barber shop in High Street.

Graham also founded a ladies’ hairdressers next door, which he sold in 2010, and tomorrow his barber shop will be in new hands as Simon Gouldring takes over.

While negotiations on the sale have continued, Graham has kept quiet about the plans and says his retirement will come as quite a surprise for his many customers.

He said: “They are not customers so much any more now, they are friends, and I want to thank them for their loyal support over many years.

“A lot of them have been with me since I worked for Mr Turner. He retired from the hairdressing business in 1970 and allowed me to carry on in his premises and then, in 1971 I moved into number 4 High Street, which was just up the road.”

Graham went to George Farmer School but says he gained an even better education by being in the shop and listening to customers.

He is married to Carole and they have two sons, Myles (36) and Warrick (35), and two grandchildren, William (8) and Katie (6).

Graham says he will spend more time with his family.

He said: “I will probably play more golf, probably do a bit of fishing, get more exercise, walking and cycling, and spend more time in the outside world.”

PLANNING permission for the second phase of the new Spalding western relief road could be sought as early as spring this year.

The road forms the second link in a long term aspiration to provide a complete route around the west side of the town.

Lincolnshire County Council’s Highways, Transport and Technology Scrutiny committee will be considering the latest report on Monday and recommendations are to approve and protect the route of the road and approve taking the scheme to a planning application in late spring or early summer.

The first phase, the southern section, starts at the B1172 Littleworth Drove, and includes a new bridge over the railway, extending to the boundary of Holland Park. This will be provided by the developer for Holland Park.

Phase two will continue the route northwards, linking the Holland Park development to A151 Bourne Road, with a new roundabout constructed at Bourne Road.

Phase three is a longer term aspiration and would link Bourne Road to the B1356 Spalding Road, in the vicinity of Enterprise Way.

The latest cost estimate for the scheme is £11.8m including design, land and compensation.

Two route options were presented to the public during a consultation exercise in July and August last year, with the more western route being favoured.

HOLBEACH United Ladies’ Football Club are on the lookout for new players after a change of management at the club.

Open to all ages and abilities, the Tigers would like to hear from women who’d be as proud as they are to represent their local team.

Training takes place from 7pm-8.30pm on Thursday evenings at Holbeach Community Centre, with any potential players free to come along and try out with the current crop.

For more information contact Kay Piccaver on 01406 371668 or 07935 155058.

• GOT a ladies’ football story? Email andrew.clucas@jpress.co.uk and let us know about it.

SPALDING United have been hit by the departure of defender JP Duncliffe to Soham Town Rangers.

The talented right back, who was part of Deeping Rangers’ UCL Premier Division title-winning team in 2007, has been a regular for the Tulips the season.

But Spalding’s caretaker management team of Bob Don-Duncan and Danny Hussey have made a move for Boston United winger Liam Ogden.

The left sider featured for Don-Duncan when he was boss of Boston Town, but moved on to the Pilgrims’ reserve side after his departure in 2010.

Hussey said: “JP was great in the dressing room and is a big character, we’re sad to lose him.

“But a few of his close friends play for Soham and that has clearly turned his head.

“He left with a handshake and we’ll keep his registration if the move doesn’t work out for him.

“We’ve got seven days in for Ogden and are also targeting a few other players that I can’t mention at the moment.”

Although player/coach Hussey and caretaker manager Don-Duncan are preparing for Saturday’s trip to Yaxley (3pm), it remains unclear if they will stay at the helm long-term.

Hussey admits that there are still plenty of rumours doing the rounds regarding the role, but is fully focused on getting three points at Leading Drove.

The Spalding Guardian understands that available duo Pat Rayment and Martyn Lakin are interested in the role, while Lincoln Moorlands Railway boss Danny George and Blackstones supremo Darren Jarvis are also believed to be potential candidates.

The Tulips hope to welcome back Troy Farden to their midfield after he missed Tuesday’s 0-0 draw at Sleaford.

• Former Tulip Jammal Shahin has signed for UCL Premier Division side Boston Town.

Spalding RFC v Market Rasen & Louth (Saturday, 2.15pm): TOWN’S first fixture of 2012 couldn’t really be much bigger.

A heated rivalry has built up between Spalding and Rasen over the past three seasons, with little love lost between the Lincolnshire duo.

But Harry Sharman’s side come into the Memorial Field clash in the bottom two of Midlands One East and have more than bragging rights on their mind.

The Town skipper admits that he and his players are in a relegation dogfight – and feels it’s time for a fresh approach.

Sharman said: “We’ve had some very poor results and some of it hasn’t been good enough.

“But the break may do us good. I’ve had a chat to the coaches and we’ve come up with a few new gameplans.

“Rasen are one of our main rivals and in recent years we’ve probably had the better of it. That was until this season, our showing at their place was an embarrassment.

“Hopefully we can get the right result at the weekend and crack on from there, we need a good run under our belts.”

Town’s chances will be boosted by the return to full fitness of Tom Duerden. The imposing Josh McNally is also back in the squad, but Harry Brown misses out with an injured hamstring.

Seventh-placed Rasen go into the game 11 points clear of Spalding.

A HOLBEACH pensioner claims her car was illegally clamped at a town hotel and is battling to win back the £50 she had to pay to get it released.

Rose Ayling (68) parked at The Chequers Hotel on November 29 and nipped to QD Stores for a couple of bits of shopping before returning to the hotel intending to pick up its Christmas menu for a possible Age UK lunch there.

Mrs Ayling said her car was only at the premises for 15 minutes but it was clamped and she had to go into the hotel and pay £50 on a card terminal to get it released.

She said: “I told the landlord my colleague had asked me to get the menu and he kind of said ‘I don’t believe you’.”

A colleague contacted the hotel to confirm Mrs Ayling had been there on Age UK business.

Mrs Ayling said: “They were most rude to her. Of course we didn’t have lunch there.”

The pensioner took her case to Trading Standards, which referred her to the Security Industry Authority – the licensing authority for wheel-clampers – and it has been reported to Crimestoppers.

Mrs Ayling says she’s been told that the hotel does not have a wheel clamping licence and she believes that means her car was clamped illegally and she’s entitled to her money back.

She has written to the hotel asking for a refund but had no reply.

A spokesman for the Security Industry Authority said: “By law, anyone involved in the clamping chain and operating on private land must hold and display a valid SIA licence including the person who collects the fee.

“If we identify offences under the Private Security Industry Act 2001, we will pursue them through the enforcement channels available to us.”

Landlord Mark Andrews declined to comment to the Spalding Guardian.

l The hotel faces a licensing panel review this month following police concerns about fights and violence on the premises.

A PROGRAMME to encourage healthy eating and active lifestyles for children starts in Spalding on Monday.

Fit Kids is a free 12-week weight management course for children aged eight to 11 and aims to help them lead healthier lives, get fitter and lose weight.

Sarah Ferneyhough, Physical Activity Manager at Lincolnshire Sports Partnership, said: “Leading a healthy lifestyle is a difficult thing to do; especially when life is already so busy. These courses help families to get the right balance; fitting in regular physical activity and eating a healthy diet.

“The changes we see over 12 weeks are incredible; children gain confidence, get fitter and the whole family is encouraged to lead a healthier lifestyle.”

The Fit Kids programme starts on Monday at The Fitness Company.

For information, contact Tracey Vowels on 01775 766775. Booking essential.

A DRIVER has died and another has been injured following a crash at Langtoft this morning.

The driver, believed to be a woman from Bourne, was travelling in a silver Rover 214 which collided with a silver Vauxhall Corsa at about 7.40am.

The fatal crash was in King Street.

Police say the woman died at the scene, while the driver of the Corsa, whose details have not yet been released, was taken to Peterborough City Hospital and treated for minor injuries.

Officers are appealing for anyone who witnessed the accident to get in touch with them as soon as possible.

Anyone with information should dial 101.

UPDATE Friday, 11am: Last night’s house blaze in Spalding was started deliberately.

Fire officers have confirmed that the fire at a detached house in Chaucer’s Way is being treated as arson.

Police are investigating.

The incident was the third house fire on Thursday.

Police made two arrests after arson attacks in Landsdowne Court, Spalding, and Albert Walk, Holbeach.

A 13-year-old girl has been charged in connection with the Spalding incident and is due to appear at Spalding Youth Court on February 1.

It’s understood police are still waiting to onterview a 20-year-old man about the Holbeach blaze.

Friday, 8.15am: THE cause of a blaze which left a Spalding home with “severe” fire damage is under investigation.

Emergency services were called out to the detached house on Chaucer’s Way just after 7.05pm last night.

A spokesman for Lincolnshire Fire and Rescue said the fire caused severe damage to the kitchen and dining room, and the rest of the property was smoke damaged.

The fire was extinguished by two crews from Spalding and a pump from Holbeach using two hose reel jets and four sets of breathing apparatus.

NHS bosses are keeping quiet about names of bidders for the former Welland Hospital site in Roman Bank, Spalding.

The hospital was finally demolished a few weeks ago after the building was wrecked by vandals and arsonists.

United Lincolnshire NHS Trust spokesman Rebecca Derbyshire said: “I have been told the site has been cleared and the security fence has been installed around it, but unfortunately we can’t comment on the marketing of the site so I can’t tell you about any bidders.”

A PILOT killed in a helicopter crash in Cambridgeshire is believed to have been flying to a South Holland airfield.

The accident happened at about 11.30am this morning in fields near Lancaster Way Business Park at Witchford, near Ely.

The ambulance service said the man, whose age is not known, was declared dead at the scene having suffered multiple injuries.

Eyewitnesses said they heard a bang and saw a black helicopter crash to the ground and land upside down.

The helicopter, thought to be a Robinson R22 two-seater, is believed to have been flying from Manston Airport in Kent to Fenland Airfield at Holbeach St Johns, however no-one at the airfield was available to confirm this.

An ambulance service hazardous area response team attended the incident, as well as an air ambulance.

Cambridgeshire Police have set up a cordon around the crash site but no roads have been closed.

Crash investigators will begin a probe into the cause of the incident.

POLICE fear a man operating a rent card scam in Wales could be doing it across the UK with the help of others.

Officers in Lincolnshire have issued a warning on behalf of Gwent Police, where the man has conned various shops and got away with £2,200 over just five days in November.

They say the man goes into a shop and asks for his rent card to be topped up with an amount of cash, which in the Gwent cases has often been for £440.

The card is a fraud, has been cloned and is linked to a pre-pay Mastercard.

Once the operator has topped up the fraudulent rent card at a PayPoint terminal the man goes to pay for the top up on his bank card but it’s declined.

He tells the cashier he will go to a cashpoint to get the cash but never returns. The offender is then able to withdraw the cash that has been paid onto the Mastercard.

Police say he has been described as speaking with an Eastern European accent.

Anyone with information on the scam is asked to call Gwent Police on 01633 838111 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555111.

MICHAEL Ward (24) denied taking a vehicle from Sutton Bridge without the owner’s consent on October 28.

Spalding magistrates on Thursday adjourned the hearing for a trial on February 21 and extended Ward’s conditional bail.

Ward – also known by the surname Carter – lives in Salts Road, West Walton, Wisbech.

SCHOOLS, voluntary groups and clubs are being called upon to pitch in to help kick-start a fundraising week in the hope of raising thousands of pounds for local charities.

The Rotary Club of Spalding is hoping South Holland’s residents can put aside their fondness for tulips and back Two Lips instead.

In conjunction with the Spalding Guardian, the club is hosting Two Lips – a charity week from May 14-21 – with the aim of raising more than £10,000.

The money will go to four special organisations – Spalding’s Phab, the League of Friends of the Spalding Hospitals, Scouts and Guides and the Lincolnshire and Nottinghamshire Air Ambulance.

A proportion will also go to Rotary International in aid of their nationally selected charities.

Rotary Club of Spalding president Alan Porter was inspired by the activities people were carrying out for Red Nose Day when he came up with the idea.

“We are hoping this will be an annual event,” he said. “What we want is to make sure the money raised goes to charities that help Spalding and the surrounding district.

“Everyone will benefit from this.”

Getting involved is easy. Anyone interested in taking part needs to come up with an idea for an event.

This could be anything from a dress down day, cake stalls, talent show, or completing a sporting challenge.

The organisers are also looking for volunteers and businesses to sell special Two Lips whistles for the week for donations of 50p or above.

Once you have your idea, pick up and complete a registration form from any Rotary Club of Spalding member or from the Lincolnshire Free Press and Spalding Guardian offices in The Crescent, Spalding.

Any further details can be obtained by calling John Barnes on 01775 725514.

Mr Porter added: “This is the community’s chance to help local charities.

“We want you to grab your family, your sports teams and friends from the pub and come up with an event where you get to have fun and raise money for good causes at the same time.”

In the run up to May 14-21, the Spalding Guardian will be featuring the fundraisers who have volunteered to take part.

Volunteers who save the lives of hundreds of people across Lincolnshire have responded to their 100,000th emergency call-out.

The Lives First Responder scheme reached the milestone just before Christmas.

It marks a huge victory for the hundreds of volunteers who give up their time to administer life-saving first aid to sick and injured people in their community.

The charity estimates that this means at least a thousand lives have been saved.

Steve Hyde, a first responder and fundraising, marketing and recruitment manager for the charity, said: “Attending 100,000 call-outs is a big thing for us.

“It really pushes home how important Lives is as a charity for a county as rural as Lincolnshire and it means that we’ve gone out and treated 100,000 people.

“The first responders are the ultimate volunteers for their community. We always say to them after the training that someone at some point in their community will be extremely grateful they went through the training.”

Lives first responders are trained and equipped to provide emergency care to patients suffering breathing difficulty and choking, collapse, chest pain and cardiac arrest.

They also attend road accidents and other 999 call-outs.

Lives was formed in 1975 by two Lincolnshire GPs, with membership limited to volunteer doctors.

In 1999 the First Responder service was launched and membership was extended to include paramedics, nurses and members of the public trained to give basic life support and defibrillation.

One of Lives’ key goals is to reach and treat cardiac arrest patients within six minutes of an emergency call.

Charity organisers are now appealing for more people to join up as well as extra funding.

THE Backstage Academy of Performing Arts, Kings Lynn is proud to present their latest non-profitable musical ‘Dreamcatcher’ being performed at the Kings Lynn Corn Exchange on Friday, January 20 at 7pm.

The cast of 50 students aged from 7 – 16 years from Long Sutton, Tydd St Mary and surrounding areas will be taking the audience on a magical journey where two children’s worlds collide and explode into a frenzy of dance fusion, electrifying vocals and captivating acting.

Call the box office on 01553 764864 for tickets.

A NEW crematorium for Surfleet will be on the agenda next week when parish councillors discuss their response to plans.

Members have the chance to put forward any concerns they may have to South Holland District Council before it decides whether or not to grant planning permission for the development on land at Gosberton Road.

But parish council chairman Mary Hurst said she does not feel there is a “big upswell” of public feeling against the crematorium.

A special meeting was held in the village at the end of last year at which the developers outlined their hopes for the site and gave councillors and the public the chance to ask questions.

Mrs Hurst said concerns were raised about emissions and the effect on nearby properties, including a farm which packs produce for the food industry.

She said: “Obviously people have concerns but our questions seemed to be answered honestly by the developers.

“I think one of the big questions was why have they chosen Surfleet, but they explained they needed somewhere peaceful and quiet.

“I do not know whether people accepted the answers 100 per cent, but since then I have only received feedback from one person who is against it, so I haven’t come across any big upswell of feeling.

“At that meeting most council members were not against it, but since then people have had a chance to think about it, so we will be discussing it at our meeting on Tuesday.”

SOUTH Holland District Council leader Gary Porter had two meetings at 10 Downing Street to talk about powers being transferred away from the “centre” and back to local authorities.

He spoke to Prime Minister David Cameron and to Greg Clark MP, the minister of state for communities and local government, who is in charge of the move towards decentralisation.

Coun Porter is deputy chairman of the influential Local Government Association group executive and his voice is being increasingly listened to by top politicians.

The councillor has been to Number 10 several times and says: “It’s a fantastic Georgian building. Inside it’s like the Tardis – it’s absolutely huge compared with your first impressions of the outside.

“I have been there a few times but I still get a buzz when I walk up and down that staircase with all the pictures of the old prime ministers.”

He is impressed with the present prime minister and describes him as “such a clever politician”.

Coun Porter said: “I have met him a couple of times and he remembers me, which is always a big ask for someone who meets lots and lots of people.

“He comes over as really genuine in that way, which is not a bad skill to acquire for a politician.”