SportsDirect to move into a bigger store at Springfields Outlet Shopping, Spalding, from Wednesday, March 8.

SportsDirect is to move from its current premises at Springfields to a 5,250 sq ft space at the same complex.

The bigger store opens to shoppers on Wednesday and a spokesman said: “This store is part of our commitment to developing elevated sports and lifestyle retail space, catering for greater integration of key brands like Nike, Adidas, Puma and many more.”

Spalding is one of more than 400 stores SportsDirect nationwide and the spokesman said: “We offer something for everybody and we are very proud to open a great location like Spalding.”

A spokesman for Springfields Outlet Shopping said: “SportsDirect is going to move location to a bigger, better store and the shop fitting is going on now.

“It is quite exciting for us as the store will be doubling in size, with a new range of stock, and there will be some exciting offers.”

A South Holland artist will give new meaning to the phrase “hidden treasure” when his first masterpiece goes on display later today.

Edward Morris, who works under the name “Metal Detector Man”, has proudly entered a stool made out of nails in this year’s South Holland Open Arts Exhibition which runs until Thursday, March 9.

Nailed It, one of three pieces made by Edward within the past year, set the artist on a potentially more lucrative journey to find the treasure reputedly lost by King John in The Wash 800 years ago.

Edward said: “I’d been metal detecting around Lincolnshire for six years but all I found were nails, rather than treasure.

“But instead of getting down and feeling sorry for myself, I turned the nails and other things I found into my own treasure.

“Eventually, I found an object which inspired me to keep on following my dreams.

“It turned out to be a metallic object which I traced back to King Henry I and then to his great-grandson King John.”

Nailed It may have been the only piece by Edward to make it into the exhibition, but two other items made by “Metal Detector Man” celebrate his quest to find King John’s Lost Treasure, possibly in South Holland.

Edward said: “Horsesome was made out of wood given to me by developers who are renovating old pubs in South Holland.

“They were going to be thrown onto a bonfire but I’ve made something out of them.

“Horsesome is supposed to commemorate the 800th anniversary of the 2,000 lives lost when King John’s baggage train went down in the Wash.”

The other piece is The Wash Bowl, made out of an old tree log and with a medallion at the centre of it which Edward claimed to have traced back to King John’s great-grandfather, King Edward I.

“I was excited to get Nailed It into the exhibition, but also disappointed because I wanted The Wash Bowl in as well.”

Help is at hand for people living with dementia and their carers.

The ‘Keep Healthy, Keep Active’ sessions, offered by Lincolnshire Community and Voluntary Service (LCVS), may include activities such as quizzes, cooking, gardening, laughter yoga and seated exercise.

There will be opportunities to chat and socialise.

Sessions are due to take place from 1.30pm to 3.30pm on Fridays, up to and including March 31, at the community centre, 3-5 Broad Lane, Moulton PE12 6PN. The courses have been funded by Lincolnshire’s Dementia Support Fund. Places are limited and booking is essential.

• To find out more please call LCVS on 01205 510888, ext 3 for Spalding office, or email enquiry@lincolnshirecvs.org.uk

Whaplode Parish Council wants the public’s help to find the owners of up to 12 unique sculptures in the village and Saracen’s Head.

The Whapplehog, a 700lb pot-bellied pig unveiled in 1997, and 11 other pieces of artwork made from steel, stone, wood, brick and cast iron, led to Whaplode being signposted as “A Village With Sculptures.”

But parish councillors are now trying to establish who is responsible for their upkeep, insurance and any repairs that are needed.

A parish council spokesman said: “The sculptures created an awful lot of interest when they were put in place originally.

“But there is an issue regarding current ownership, who is going to keep them in a good state and who is going to be responsible when they are damaged.

“There are also issues of whether they are to be insured, the cost of insuring them and who is going to pay for it.”

Some of the sculptures were originally the idea of retired pig farmer and ex-parish councillor Stan Hoyes (79) who saw them as a way of giving something back to the village where he has lived all his life.

Speaking to our sister newspaper, the Lincolnshire Free Press in 2002, Mr Hoyes said: “These sculptures were something I did for the community when I could have quite easily kept them in my own garden.

“Even though some were commissioned, they have still cost me thousands of pounds, both in money and time.

“Some of the sculptures took as long as five months to complete, but I was trying to do something for the area.”

Other sculptures apart from the Whapplehog include the steel How Does Your Garden Grow and Golden Harvest, both near St Mary’s Church, Whaplode, and Village and Visitors, outside Saracen’s Head Village Hall.

The spokesman said: “We never really clarified whether Mr Hoyes wanted the parish council to take the sculptures over or not.

“The council doesn’t have responsibility for all of them, by any means, and the problem will occur when one of them is damaged.

“Things usually come back to the parish council so we have decided to start clarifying who is responsible for them, who is going to arrange for any repairs to be carried out and who is going to pay.”

Children at William Hildyard Primary School in Market Deeping took to the stage for their musical production of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory in 1998.

More than 80 children aged from four to 11 brought Roald Dahl’s now classic children’s tale to life, giving up their free time to rehearse after reading the book over the Christmas term.

Music director Jenny Spicer said: “The story is not usually performed on stage but one of our teachers, Pauline Yardy, adapted the book for the performance.”

Drivers caught twice using handheld mobile phones risk automatic driving bans as a new law came into force yesterday (Wednesday).

Newly qualified drivers risk being taken off the road if caught making a single call.


Penalties doubled to £200 fines and six points but drivers can’t duck the points by taking a course.


Twelve points on a licence can trigger an automatic ban.

Since December 2003 it has been illegal to use a mobile phone while driving or while stopped with the engine on, but a growing number of drivers admit they are flouting the law.


Alice Husband, from Tydd St Mary, lost her son Seth Dixon (7) in a road tragedy in December 2014 when the driver was talking hands free on a mobile and wants like the law changed to ban all calls while driving.

The mum points to research that shows “talking is the distraction”.

• Motoring organisation The RAC surveyed 1,714 motorists and 31 per cent admitted using a handheld mobile behind the wheel compared to eight per cent in 2014. Police say drivers are not just making calls they are also texting and using the Internet.

Calling all tractor drivers ... organisers of Moulton Tractor Road Run are looking for participants in this year’s event to help raise money for Moulton Mill.

The event takes place on Sunday, April 23 and it costs £5 to enter. More details are available on 07825 609575.

The event is centred on a field in Broad Lane.

Lincolnshire Police has received an overall ‘Good’ rating for its effectiveness from the Government’s police inspectorate in a report published today.

This latest assessment means the force has now received an overall ‘Good’ grading for three of the four pillars of PEEL – efficiency, effectiveness and legitimacy.

It still needs improvement in protecting vulnerable people and supporting victims.

Assistant Chief Constable Paul Gibson said the report is good news for the people of Lincolnshire and the force and a testament to the continuing dedication and application to task of every member of the organisation.

“As a force we are proud to deliver services that have been independently assessed by Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabularies (HMIC)as ‘Good’ across the board,” he said.

“This report follows the good news in November which again graded Lincolnshire as ‘Good’ in the areas of efficiency and legitimacy. We now have an overall ‘Good’ grading for HMIC’s three pillars of inspection.”

The HMIC report is an improvement on the 2015 report which said the force ‘required improvement’.

“It is very satisfying to see our long-standing plans coming to fruition to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of our services for the benefit of Lincolnshire,” added Asst Ch Con Gibson.

The report says: “Lincolnshire is good at keeping people safe and reducing crime.”

It says in the five years from June 2011 crime reduced by 19.7 per cent in the county compared with 0.5 per cent nationally. In the last year there was an increase of 1.3 per centcompared with a national increase of 7.8 per cent.

“In this latest report, four out of five areas of inspection are graded as Good,” added Asst Ch Con Gibson.

“It says we are ‘Good’ at preventing crime, tackling anti-social behaviour and keeping people safe; we are ‘Good’ at investigating crime and managing offenders and we are ‘Good’ at tackling serious and organised crime and there are good leadership arrangements to oversee the force’s preparedness to respond to all the threats identified in the strategic policing requirement.”

The area which HMIC found that Lincolnshire Police still needed improvement was in protecting vulnerable people and supporting victims.

Asst Ch Con Gibson added: “I am confident of improvement in this area since the inspection.

“The well publicised work we carried out last year to adjust our resources and divert more to emerging issues such as cybercrime and on-line grooming and boost our investigative capabilities in the areas of child sexual exploitation, missing persons and domestic abuse are already addressing the areas mentioned.”

Police and Crime Commissioner Marc Jones also welcomed the HMIC report, saying it demonstrated a significant step forward for the force and showed the great strides being made to provide the best service for the people of Lincolnshire.

Mr Jones said he had already identified the support of victims and protecting the vulnerable as key priorities for the coming year and both were identified in his recently released Community Safety, Policing and Criminal Justice plan.

“I am delighted the inspectors have recognized the fantastic strides forward the force has made in the past year and all the staff at Lincolnshire Police deserve great credit for the improvements,” said Mr Jones.

“There is still work to do but I am confident that work already started by my office, alongside the force, will provide even better services for victims and to help protect the vulnerable.

“I am certain that working in partnership with the force and other agencies in the county we can make our communities even safer and deliver services our residents can be proud of.”

Pygott & Crone is selling a house in High Road, Moulton, for £400,000.

Pygott & Crone is selling this farmhouse-style house in High Road, Moulton.

It is a substantial, detached, five-bedroom property spread over three floors.

The house is set in grounds extending to two acres, with paddocks and a stable block.

The agents say it offers both spacious and versatile accommodation.

Stand-out features include an Aga for cooking, galleried landings and much decorative woodwork throughout.

The property downstairs consists of a lounge, dining room, kitchen, sun room, and utility.

Off the first-floor landing there are four bedrooms and a family bathroom.

The second floor features the master bedroom and en suite shower room.

Outside, a driveway provides good parking.

There are gardens, paddocks and purpose-built stable block.

Moulton itself is an attractive village with shops, a primary school, churches and the famous Moulton Mill, which is a tourist attraction.

The village is a short drive from Spalding, Holbeach and other towns.

Munton & Russell is selling the property in Heron Way, Spalding, for £184,950.

This modern, detached three-bedroomed house is for sale in Heron Way, Spalding.

It has an entrance hall, cloakroom, kitchen/diner, lounge and conservatory.

Upstairs there is a galleried landing leading to three bedrooms and the family bathroom.

The property is approached over a block paved driveway providing off-road parking and giving access to a single garage.

A gate leads around the side of the property to the side and rear garden, where there is a large patio and barbecue area.

Spalding has good schools, shops and other amenities and offers easy access to Peterborough.

Munton & Russell is selling the property in Crown Drive, Spalding, for £159,950.

This detached bungalow with two bedrooms is for sale in Crown Drive, Spalding.

Accommodation comprises an entrance hall, with access to the loft space, and a lounge with uPVC double glazed patio doors leading to a conservatory, also of uPVC double glazed construction, with a dwarf brick base.

The kitchen faces the front of the property, as does bedroom one. The second bedroom and shower room are to the rear.

Outside there is a garage. The front of the bungalow is mainly laid to lawn with a driveway leading to the garage, with flower and shrub borders. The rear garden is mainly enclosed by fencing and mostly laid to lawn with borders.

Police appealed last week on our website for public assistance after a number of thefts in February at supermarkets in Bourne, Market Deeping and Stamford.

After releasing images of a number of men, officers believe that one man has been identified. The images have therefore been edited to remove this man.

There are still a number of men that officers would like to speak to in relation to the offences which are being treated as a series.

Large amounts of meat and alcohol have been stolen with the total value amounting to over £2000.

If you have any information that could assist with this enquiry, please call 101.

LOOKING BACK: By Long Sutton Civic Society

None of us are getting any younger and what is true for people is also true for our properties. Buildings, like us , go through life stages with eventual decrepitude, and demise. This is not so much to do with the condition of the bricks and mortar, but usually because they become obsolete because of changing public tastes, costs of running them, or their inability to accommodate change.

A relatively young building can become obsolete quite quickly. Just think of all those concrete monstrosities put up in the 1960s and 70s that were intended to last for a century or more but saw an early demise thanks to changing public tastes, technological change or dodgy construction techniques leaving them too expensive to maintain.

Some buildings, though, last for centuries. Their design lends itself to regular refurbishment to keep up with changing tastes and uses and their appearance remains relevant to the ever-changing streetscene. They become points of reference for communities, A constant in an ever-changing world, repositories of memories for generations of townsfolk.

Eventually though even these icons run out of time. Hundreds of churches across the UK, for example, have become redundant in the last half century in the move away from Christianity and either found other uses or fallen into decay.Historic coaching inns, such as the Bridge Hotel in Sutton Bridge and the Bull Hotel in Long Sutton, cornerstone buildings in these towns, have been long empty and awaiting redevelopment, victims of changed public tastes and the transport revolution.

There has been a lot of discussion and anguish amongst local people about the decay of these two buildings. Both are now derelict, have suffered recent fires and are in urgent need of attention. Both blots on the landscape.

A new design for the replacement of the Bridge Hotel proposes new apartments. The rebuilt elevations will have a superficial resemblance to the old place but the memories of the building in its heyday, with receptions, parties and events, at the heart of the community, will be lost forever, with only a few old photographs to remind us how it used to be. What will become of the Bull remains to be seen.

Should we be maudlin about this? Places change constantly to keep up with population, work, transport and shopping requirements. What we need to make sure is that whatever replaces our High Street icons are buildings of the highest possible quality and appearance. Buildings our successors will cherish as much as we have cherished those that were built by our forefathers.

• What are your memories of the two hotels? Email your thought and/or pictures to jeremy.ransome@iliffepublishing.co.uk

A new branch of the European Movement has been formed in Lincolnshire.

The European Movement is a grassroots, independent pro-European organisation that works to give a voice to those who believe Britain’s future lies side by side with its European partners.

The Movement has been in existence since 1947 and counts Winston Churchill among its founding members. Active in more than 40 countries, it has led the campaign for a dynamic, popular, integrated and efficient Europe that has delivered jobs, security, prosperity and justice for nearly 70 years.

The Lincolnshire branch was inaugurated in Spalding earlier this month when members met for the first time and set about the formalities of electing a chair and other constitutional matters.

The objectives are to promote the EU, disseminate a positive image of the EU and Britain’s role in Europe, campaign for the UK to remain a member of the EU and undertake other activities to further the aims and objectives of the European Movement.

Since the referendum in June 2016, the European Movement has continued to campaign to ensure Britain’s role in Europe is beneficial to the country.

• For information on how to join the Lincolnshire branch of the European Movement email Lincolnshire@
euromove.org.uk

People in the Deepings and Bourne have until next Friday to sign up for South Kesteven District Council’s garden waste collection service.

Existing customers should have already received an email or letter inviting them to rejoin the service and ensure that it continues in line with their current direct debit arrangements.

After Friday, March 10, any existing customers who have been contacted to confirm or update their direct debit arrangements but not done so will need to register their details again online.

Meanwhile, new customers can buy bins and stickers for the service, starting on April 1, by clicking on the button by visiting www.southkesteven.gov.uk

Voters in Bourne and the Deepings are being encouraged to register in time for the county elections on May 4.

South Kesteven Distric Council is encouraging anyone not yet registered to vote to go online and do so if they want to have their say in the elections for Lincolnshire County Council.

You have until Thursday, April 13, to register and Beverly Agass, electoral registration officer for South Kesteven District Council, said: “If you have not yet registered or you have moved house and not given us the new information, you should register as soon as possible to be able to vote in the May election.”

To register, visit www.gov.uk/register-to-vote

South Holland District Council is expected to join thousands of people across the globe in raising the flag for Commonwealth Day 2017.

Flags will be raised throughout the United Kingdom at 10am on Monday after a personal message from the Secretary-General of the Commonwealth and a specially written Commonwealth Affirmation will be read out.

Bruno Peek, founder of “Fly a Flag for the Commonwealth”, said: “I am amazed how quickly this event has caught the public;s imagination in the UK and around the Commonwealth.

“It is a positive and uplifting way for people to link with, and assist, fellow citizens of the Commonwealth in a family that spans across oceans and continents.”

Already confirmed is South Kesteven District Council’s “Fly a Flag for the Commonwealth” event will be held outside the council’s offices in Grantham, led by council chairman, Coun Judy Smith.

A combination of sound preparation and a sparkling home display by fly half Sam Evison booked Bourne’s ticket to the NLD Shield final on April 29.

That’s according to Bourne player-coach Dave Maudsley who admitted the 13-5 win over Stamford College Old Boys was a much-needed confidence booster.

Maudlsey said: “We’ve had it in our game to beat teams all years and done it on occasions,

“Against Old Boys, we attacked incredibly well and played the conditions better than them.

“We’d worked a bit on our contact play and it paid dividends when we had the ball.

“Sometimes it’s about convincing ourselves that we’ve got that in us, but we’ve been guilty of being a little bit arrogant sometimes.”

As well as Evison, Maudsley singled out Bourne vice captain Adam Binns and the forwards, including locks Bradley Hiscocks and Tim Douglas for special praise.

Maudsley said: “They all did bits well and we needed a win to build some momentum in the season.

“Sam Evison is a big recruit who has come over from Oakham and played two or three games for us.

“He brings with him a real control, his passing is spot on and he’s a real athlete.”

Evison himself said: “I thought it was a really good game of rugby where we told ourselves to grind out the first half.

“When we were 5-0 down at half-time, we were really happy with where we were as we didn’t want to be playing catch-up in the second half.

“The late try in the first half by Old Boys gave us the kick we needed as maybe some of the lads started to thing we were really going to dominate in the second half.

Evison blamed his penalty miss early in the second half on nerves, adding: “I though I had to redeem myself after the first penalty and the next two came after one of their players held on to the ball when we had won the turnover.

“I really enjoy playing at Bourne and I feel like I’ve fitted in quite well.

“The NLD Shield final will be massive and hopefully it will give everyone the motivation to train and play well.”

Meanwhile, Stamford College Old Boys chairman Jon Duncan said: “You have good days and bad days in the rugby office but that wasn’t us out there against Bourne.

“The wind didn’t help is and it never made for good, flowing rugby.

“But onwards and upwards in the league where we’re doing alright and we’ve got to play Bourne again next month.

“We’ve got players coming back from injury so, hopefully, things will improve for us a bit.

“But fair play to Bourne and good luck to them in the final.”

Linchfield Road is still a fortress for Deepings after keeping their unbeaten home record with a 46-15 destruction of Thorney in the semi-final.

Two tries each for winger James McCaskie and scrum half Alex Millar were added to with another four, one each for Dan Young, Chris Owen, Guy Cunningham and man of the match Phil Trotman.

Deepings will now wait to see which Peterborough-based side, Borough or Lions, will be their opponents in the Hunts and Peterborough Cup final will be their opponents next month.

Coach Nobby Coupland said: “The first 20 minutes was the best 20 minutes we’ve played all season, with the tempo, pace and the wind up our backs.

“But playing the last 20 minutes against the win, we weren’t quite as good in playing our rugby.

“It was good to move on from the hoodoo Thorney had over us and show them how much we’ve improved.

“But is also helps to have your best players doing well, with our captain Kance Charity back to his best.”

Coupland felt his side had a point to prove after a hard-fought loss at Bedford Swifts in the league earlier this month.

The Green Machine managed to put the loss behind them two weeks later with a win at Brackley which set them up nicely for the demolition of Thorney who beat them in the same competition in December 2014.

Coupland said: “We messed up at Bedford Swifts where we put out a makeshift side.

“But we managed to hold on at Brackley which, for us, is a scalp.

“We trained well for the Thorney game and it was good to have Dan Hainsworth back after missing most of last year with a back injury.

“There’s real pace with James McCaskie and Kelvin Squires, while Aram Jones looks comfortable at full back, knowing there’s pace around him.

“Alex Millar played well at number 13 and Gareth Silverwood went out there and played 80 minutes, despite him being and old guy like myself.

“We’ve got a good balance in the team, a lot of our forwards have scored a lot of tries this year and everyone is enjoying the season.

“But we’ve been in the final several times before and lost, so let’s have something to shout about at the annual dinner.”

Captain Lance Charity said: “It was a great win and a great team performance by us, with everyone hungry for success in the final.”

Deepings prop Gareth Silverwood said: “It was a very strong performance from the lads and it’s now onto the final.”

DEEPINGS: Green, Peacock, Silverwood, Hayward, Bower, Hainsworth, Cannell, Trotman; Charity, Cunningham, McCaskie, Owen, Young, Kempson, Jones. Replacements: Millar, Rippon, Tanner.

Bourne have a golden chance to end the season with silverware after a heroic win over Stamford College Old Boys in their NLD Shield semi-final at Milking Nook Drove.

Not even try against them, in the dying moments of the first half, were going to deny the home side what was their first win in 2017.

The odds were stacked against player-coach Dave Maudsley and his side, despite lying above Old Boys in the Midlands Four East (South) table.

Injuries to Ben Keast and Sam Thornburn, with a torn ankle ligament and broken jaw respectively, were added to by the unwanted absences of Harley Giullari and Ed Hounsell.

But there were no signs of a weakened Bourne when the game kicked off, with strong winds, occasional rain and a muddy picture making ball-handling a lottery.

Old Boys almost forced their way over for a try after a rolling maul, but the Bourne defence held firm as they would do for almost the entire game.

But in first half stoppage time, Old Boys’ Dan Thompson gathered a hand-off from a scrum and swerved inside Bourne full back Jack Berry to go over the try line.

The fact that Carl Brierley failed to land the conversion, leaving Bourne 5-0 down at the break, didn’t soften the blow of the home side not being able to stop the visitors from scoring in the first half.

But instead of letting their heads drop, Bourne roared back with a combination of defensive domination and determined discipline which rattled their opponents.

Up stepped Bourne fly half Sam Evison, playing only his second game in the blue and yellow, who put an early second half penalty miss behind him to land two more difficult kicks after Old Boys were penalised for not releasing.

The second penalty, which hit the crossbar and went over, was the cue for the winning converted try for Bourne winger Donald Sweeting who was released into a one-on-one situation by Maudsley to speed into the end zone.

Evison’s conversion gave Bourne a crucial eight-point cushion which they never looked like surrendering - and didn’t as the kicker took his side to the NLD Shield final in Derbyshire at the end of April.

BOURNE: Wheeler, Thornburn, Gill, Hiscocks, Douglas, Dixon, Binns, Brown; Maudsley, Evison, Sweeting, Harby, Charlton, Bentley, Berry. Replacements: Appleby, Lindley, Lynch, Mamby, Rushton.

STAMFORD COB: Pickerill, Hickman, Walker, Patterson, Thompson. A, Smith, Twose, Barringer; John, Young, Strydom, Jenkins, Brierley-Lewis, Greenslade, Thompson. D. Replacements: Pressell, Durrant, Jones, Gamble, Flanders.

Tries: Sweeting (Bourne), Thompson (Stamford COB).

Penalties: Evison x 2 (Bourne).

Conversion: Evison.