On Saturday Driffield rufc 4th team played host to Hornsea 2nds on in the Merit League semi-final.

Playing on the first team pitch in front of a sizeable crowd seemed to spur Driffield on.

Hornsea were no mugs and had put out a decent team led by 60 odd year old Rog.

A tight start ensued with teams sizing each other out. Good defence from Hodgson and Harrison with cover from Ellerington at the back kept Hornsea out. A penalty against Hornsea enabled Stephenson to kick a 3-0 lead for Driffield. The first half ended that score.

Second half Hornsea attacked more but good work from Hara, Lazenby and Fry kept them out. A kick forward from Parker bounced favourably back and good follow up enabled him to score, too far out for the conversion.

Back came Hornsea again, but fortune favoured the home side with one or two decisions going their way. A kicked penalty brought the score back to 8-3 and game on.

Again the defence stood firm and a relieving kick took the home side upto the 22. Secured line out play gave the backs ball which was moved wide giving Ellerington a chance which he took to give Driff a 13-3 lead. This score remained till the final whistle giving Driff a hard-earned victory.

A good game in which Hornsea played their part. Driffield’s defence was the winner on the day. No man of the match, the whole 20 who played worked for each other and withstood all pressure put on them. Big thanks to those who didn’t make the team but still turned up to offer support.

Scarborough in the final on Sunday at Bridlington, ko 12noon. One more big effort to get the reward this team has earnt over the season. SB

DRIFFIELD Red Lion met Division Two opponents Driffield Junior FC at Allotment Lane for this semi-final clash .

Minutes before kick off time the heavens opened and flooded an already sodden pitch even more. Conditions were so bad the respect handshake was done in the dressing rooms, but referee Wilson agreed to give the game a chance and as the rain eased Lion made a strong start with both Smiffy and Nicko having chances.

It took to the 19th minute for them to finally find the back of the net when a pass from Kell found Pinder in space and he in turn passed to Smiffy who made no mistake to give Lion a well deserved lead.

FC hit back and it took a brilliant save by Jolly in Lion’s goal, tipping the powerful shot over the bar, to maintain their lead.

Lion then went further ahead after a goalmouth scramble from a Kell free kick, with Smiffy passing to Rivard to make it 2-0 on 23 minutes.

Nicko had hard luck from another free kick hitting the crossbar but then Kell took his second free kick of the game, Rivard latched onto it and netted his second and Lion’s third.

This was the halftime score and stand in manager Daz Lythe gave a good team talk hoping to inspire Lion even more for the second half.

It appeared to have worked as with only three minutes gone Iggy passed to Nicko who flicked the ball to Rivard who completed his hat-trick.

Just three minutes later Nicko once again crossed the ball to Kell who netted with ease to extend the lead to 5-0.

Lion piled on even more pressure now but a wonderful shot from almost halfway beat Jolly allowing FC to pull one back.

This only spurred Lion on even more and Nicko hit a powerful drive which the FC goalie could only parry away to sub Goldfinkle who calmly slotted the ball home.

Hoody was next with a scoring chance but he failed to convert and Nicko gathered the loose ball to score Lion’s seventh with just 27 minutes gone in the second period.

Manager Lythe then replaced Iggy with Proudlock, who with his first touch somehow managed to put the ball over the goal from point blank range to the disbelief of his team mates – something he will not live down in a hurry.

Lion extended their lead on 38 minutes when Nicko lobbed the goalie, and not to be outdone Rivard scored an even better goal lobbing the home from 35 yards to make it 9-1.

To be fair to FC they kept battling and were rewarded when Jolly went to gather a weak shot only to fumble the ball into his own net to make it 9-2.

Just to add to FC’s misery they then conceded their 10th goal when Kell put the ball in to the net from a Rivard corner.

FC were only too pleased to be put out of their misery by the final whistle and Lion celebrated a thoroughly deserved win.

Many thanks to referee John Wilson and linesmen Simon Leaning and Bob Ferguson. They awarded Pinder man of the match for a fine captain’s performance.

Lion then received their Division Two runners up medals from Norman Harris and still have the chance to end the season on a real high if they can overcome Stirling Wanderers in the final on Saturday night, something they are more than capable of doing if they play to the standard they are capable.

Thanks to sponsor Motif 8 Design and Red Lion for refreshments and post match headaches!

EMERGENCY services have been at the scene of a multi-vehicle crash on the A614 Driffield by-pass.

The main road has been closed for much of the afternoon (Friday April 27) following a collision involving what is believed to be three cars and a van.

The crash has resulted in one of the cars overturning on the by-pass and ending up on its roof.

Police and paramedics have been in attendance. For the full story see next Thursday’s Driffield Tiimes & Post.

‘Battles and wars are not won unless the infantry is standing on the land that once belonged to the enemy. They live under the hardest conditions and suffer the most danger. It is the pits, a place to stay out of...’

The combat-hardened words of US foot soldier Radford Carrol will ring true with warriors of every nation. Since time immemorial, the ‘poor bloody infantry’ has done the dirty front-line work of war.

They bear the brunt of fighting and often suffer disproportionately in comparison with the other arms of service, and yet the history of infantry tactics is too rarely studied and often misunderstood.

Curator of military history and archaeology for Lancashire Museums, Stephen Bull sets the record straight in this fascinating, in-depth account of the fighting methods of the infantry during the Second World War.

He focuses on the infantry theory and the combat experience of the three major players, the British, German and American armies, while his close analysis of the rules of engagement, the manuals, the training and equipment is balanced by vivid descriptions of the tactics as they were tested in action.

These operational examples show how infantry tactics on all sides developed as the war progressed and give a telling insight into the realities of infantry warfare.

So how did an infantryman function in combat when whole belts of ammunition and train loads of shells were meant not merely to kill him, but blow him to pieces?

The answer, says Bull, is by being taught to fight in very specific ways, not just to pull the trigger or control the desire to run. Chaotic as combat often is, the models for infantry actions are a complex choreography.

During the Second World War, infantry techniques changed over the six years between 1939 and 1945 with armies learning from each other and becoming more similar in their tactical outlook.

Whilst we tend to think of this war as a period of technological leaps – radar, atom bombs and submarines – the truth is that troops still had to advance, take ground and cities, kill and be killed.

As the British Operations manual of 1939 noted, it was infantry that confirmed success, compelled the withdrawal or surrender of the enemy, and held objectives.

But this meant the fighting foot soldiers inevitably absorbed most of the punishment. In Normandy alone, British infantry represented about 70 per cent of the army’s losses even though only one in four men was actually in the infantry.

Bull says that the outcomes of combat can never be predicted however many calculations are made because, in reality, men are not numbers and do not always act in accordance with theories.

He claims that very often individual soldiers cannot see, or perhaps do not understand, the bigger picture. Some do not know they are in range, ‘others can clearly see the gates of heaven, or a quick way home. Others are too tired or hungry to care.’

Bravery in battle, he says, is often depicted as ‘suicidal’ in histories and novels but mostly is a response to their training, battle ‘fever’ and traumas. What injuries soldiers most fear also has an impact on what they might do in combat, or are prepared to venture.

A major pitfall in the study of tactics, says Bull, is the idea that there are tactical absolutes, some perfect movements that, if only they could be discovered and applied, would always prove successful.

Every age is different, with important factors like economics and technology changing rapidly. New weapons and training can appear very quickly in times of war, weather can have a massive impact and, most importantly, people change too...

Bull’s excellent book focuses on the infantry’s role in the infamous blitzkrieg and on the growing significance of sections and squads. He emphasises the increasing importance of combat in urban areas – in buildings, sewers and rooftops – which evolved through the experience gained in bitter protracted urban battles like Stalingrad.

Accessible, well-researched and wide-ranging, Second World War Infantry Tactics is an enthralling introduction to the methods of the opposing ground forces as they confronted each other on the European battlefields of 70 years ago, and a tribute to the men who fought and died.

(Pen&Sword, hardback, £19.99)

Curtis, a pro-boxer and former pro-footballer who counts Sheffield United, Birmingham City and Hull City among his former clubs, will announce his backroom staff in due course.

He played for Sheffield towards the end of the 2009/10 season. See next week’s Driffield Times and Post for full story and interview

Climb into the passenger seat, sit back and join time traveller Ian Mortimer on a journey into some of the rotten truths about the much-heralded Elizabethan age...

You’ll find the usual high-profile faces loitering about London’s landmark streets and palaces – ‘Gloriana’ herself, Elizabeth I, maritime heroes Sir Walter Raleigh and Sir Francis Drake and literary greats Edmund Spenser and William Shakespeare – but there’s also the everyday folk who ground out a meagre living, paid their taxes and died on average in their early thirties.

Yes, the past really is a foreign country and the closest we usually get to learning about it is reading the glory story in school history books – so go to the top of the class, Mr Mortimer, for giving us a fascinating insight into the hidden, tarnished corners of a ‘Golden Age.’

Applying the groundbreaking approach he pioneered in his bestselling Time Traveller’s Guide to Medieval England, Mortimer’s highly original and very readable book allows the Elizabethan world to unfold with all its disease, religion, politics, inequality and, rather unexpectedly, its lingering fears and uncertainties.

As Mortimer so rightly points out, ‘Our view of history diminishes the reality of the past’ and our view of an event like victory over the Spanish Armada ‘restricts our understanding of contemporary doubts, hopes and reality.’

Here we discover what it was actually like to live in Elizabethan England, to walk the streets of London, to eat a typical 16th century meal, wear an ordinary set of clothes, smell the stinking privy shafts and sit alongside the thousands of vagrants who roamed the towns and villages.

England was undoubtedly the crucible of the modern world, making great discoveries and winning military victories, but it was still a troubled country where people starved to death and Catholics were persecuted for their faith.

The paradox is that while many aspects of life seem to us now both primitive and brutal, the nation produced some of the finest writing in the English language and the most magnificent architecture, and gave birth to those hardy pioneers who settled in America and circumnavigated the globe.

Indeed, contradiction was at the heart of Elizabeth’s world. Predictably, the gap between the wealthy and the poor was huge but all levels of society shared fears over the arrival of the plague and foreign invasion, and could expect to face torture and death for heresy or treason.

Mortimer covers all aspects of life for Elizabethans through themed chapters ranging from food and drink, hygiene, illness and medicine to religion, law and disorder, entertainment and travel.

He shows us what the landscape would have looked and smelled like in the countryside and in the towns, and what life would have been like for people living in the numerous and often confusing social hierarchies.

We witness the glories, raw truths and tragedies of 16th century England but, more importantly, we begin to understand how and why the Elizabethans saw the world they lived in and the reasoning behind their beliefs and actions.

To this end, he calls on Shakespeare, one of the first writers to get to grips with our ‘humanity,’ to help him give a first-hand account of Elizabethan England’s growing sense of self-awareness, their doubts, their fears and their humour.

‘Elizabethans,’ concludes Mortimer, ‘are not some distant, alien race, but our families – they are us, in a manner of speaking – and they show us what human beings are capable of enduring.’

Fully illustrated and packed with fascinating anecdotes that give life and vibrancy to the facts and figures, The Time Traveller’s Guide to Elizabethan England casts a fresh and invigorating light on the life of ordinary people in an extraordinary age.

(The Bodley Head, hardback, £20)

THE FOOTBALL community is mourning the death of a long-serving local league official.

John Burchett, who was secretary of the Driffield and District Football League, died in the early hours of last Thursday, after a long period of illness.

With the season drawing to a close, teams involved in league and cup matches last weekend, held a minute’s silence, or a minute’s applause, in Mr Burchett’s memory.

Tributes have been given by friends and colleagues, with many suggesting he kept the Driffield League going almost single-handedly at times in recent years.

League chairman Norman Harris, said: “I first met John when I took up refereeing in 1982 and we soon became very close friends.

“At this time, John was referees’ appointments secretary to the Driffield League and he went on to be cup secretary.

“Then, when Arthur Sanderson retired, John stepped in to take up the mantle of league secretary which he held until his untimely death last week.

“It was John who got me involved in the league committee as cup secretary in 1990.

“He loved his football and was involved with East Riding County FA from 1987, taking part on many different committees until he retired at the end of last season and was made a life vice-president of the county FA.

“It was an honour to take on John’s league role at the county FA and I only hope I can carry on where John left off.”

Mr Burchett was born in Brighton and posted to this area in the RAF and demobbed in 1968. He played football for Little Driffield, until he broke his leg and decided to quit playing and take up refereeing.

Away from football, he lived in Driffield and worked as a bus driver in the area for many years.

Mr Harris added: “The Driffield League has lost a lot of clubs, mainly from the villages, due to various reasons, but John was always determined to maintain the status of the league and always fought his corner at county FA meetings.

“If it had not been for John’s determination I think the league may have folded many years ago.

“What can I say about John? He was his own man, a stickler for rules and always had a rule book to hand.

“John was also a very keen Brighton fan and was pleased when they finally decided to build the new ground and complex in Brighton.

“Myself and John have been very close friends for about 30 years and he will be very much missed by myself and the local footballing community.

Forester Athletic secretary and Driffield League vice-president Andy Wheeler said: “Everyone at Forester Athletic sends sincere condolences to John’s family.

“He was a true gentleman and always went out of his way to make sure that teams got a game of football on Saturdays.”

Mr Burchett’s funeral service takes place tomorrow (Friday) at East Riding Crematorium at Octon at 11am.

Driffield’s 1st XI lost their first game of the season to a strong Scarborough side but did not go doen without a fight.

On a less than ideal day for cricket, Driffield batted first and scored a very competitive 273-8 from their allotted 55 overs.

Much of the credit for the score must go to overseas player Aamer Sajjad, who scored a magnificent 113 on his much-anticipated debut for the club, exciting the substantial crowd with 10 fours and four sixes.

Sajjad was ably supported by all-rounder Nick Hardgrave who batted patiently for his 82 runs, giving Sajjad the bulk of the strike.

The pick of the Scarborough bowlers were captain Andy Simpson, who led by example with 3-60, while Ashley Lyth chipped in with figures of 3-69.

Scarborough’s reply got off to a blistering start as their opening pair of Simpson (25) and Yorkshire and England Lions batsman Adam Lyth (45) set up a good platform for the incoming batsmen.

Former Driffield captain Mark Tennant arrived at the crease and scored a gritty 43, while Ashley Lyth (29) put forward his credentials for the man of the match award.

However, it was a magnificent innings from Darren Harland (79) that pushed the Seasiders towards the finishing line, as he cleverly manipulated the Driffield bowling to all parts of the ground.

Scarborough secured a thrilling victory with four balls to spare to take maximum points.

Driffield will be disappointed that they could not defend such a big score. However they will be encouraged that they pushed one of the league’s strongest sides all the way.

It was another frustrating week for Driffield’s 2nd and 3rd XIs, with their respective trips to Bolton Percy and Huby called off without them even travelling.

However, it was a different story for the 4th team whose home game against Beverley-based side Foxtons survived the weather.

Having won the toss and put the visitors in to bat, Driffield got off to a flying start and reduced their opponents to 69-6. Driffield all-rounder Rob Norman was involved in all six, picking up five wickets with the ball as well as a run out.

Foxtons did manage to stage a mini-revival and were eventually bowled out for a respectable 175. Mohammed Waseem top-scored with 48 as he and Barry Gregg (26) put on 55 for the seventh wicket.

Norman finished with impressive figures of 5-35, while spinner James Barron got 3-24.

A 97-run opening partnership between Josh Hopper and Damon Jenkinson set the tone for Driffield’s run chase, and they reached 100 after just 15 overs.

Although Hopper departed for 39, Jenkinson (89no) saw the job through with a mature innings. He was helped by a cameo from youngster Reuben Kelly (25), whose innings contained three sixes.

Driffield’s 5th XI were also left frustrated as their opening game against South Cave was another victim of the weather.

The Bishop of Hull, the Rt Revd Richard Frith, will dedicate a new RAF Chapel at St Catherine’s Church, Leconfield, on Sunday May 6.

The RAF Memorial in St Catherine’s Church, which was the church for RAF Leconfield from 1935 to 1977, was recently moved to the north side of the church to allow for a Chapel with more space and prominence.

Rt Revd Frith said: “St Catherine’s Church has been associated with the RAF for many decades.

“St Catherine’s was the church for the RAF Station, and although RAF Leconfield was closed in 1977 many people who live in the village still have close ties with the RAF.

“The creation of this RAF Chapel in St Catherine’s will honour the historical link with RAF Leconfield and all who served there.”

The Rector of St Catherine’s Church, the Rev Elizabeth Marshman, said: “The new chapel has been designed by our architect Peter Gaze Pace and displays the numbers of the squadrons that were based at RAF Leconfield.

“Within this chapel an altar has been commissioned in memory of Patricia Brown (1948 -2010) whose bequest enabled the work of re-establishing this RAF Memorial.

“Patricia served in the WRAF at RAF Leconfield and was married in this church.

Her widower Wing Commander John Brown OBE, RAF (Rtd), an ex Station Commander of Staxton Wold, has advised us on the project and will be present at the Dedication Service with family and friends.

“We acknowledge the generosity and commitment of Wing Commander John Brown to this project; the skill and dedication of John and Roy Fallowfield who made the altar and squadron battens; the determination and creativity of Mary Foster who has researched and compiled a history including memories of the squadrons and personnel who have served at RAF Leconfield.”

The chapel will be dedicated at a service at 3pm. Eighty six invited guests and local people will be present, including the High Sheriff of the East Riding, Wing Commander J M Brown OBE RAF (Rtd), the Chairman of RAFA Driffield and the Chaplain to DST & RAF Leconfield.

On Monday May 7, there will be an Open Day at the church from 10am to 4pm.

When RAF Leconfield was closed in 1977 the Station was transferred to the Army and became Normandy Barracks.

TWO people were rushed to hospital after a multi-vehicle smash on the Driffield Bypass.

A large section of the busy main road was closed for several hours as emergency services attended the scene of the crash on the A164 near Spellowgate.

According to Humberside Police the crash, which happened at around 1.30pm on Friday (April 27), involved five vehicles, one of which ended up on its roof.

The vehicles involved were a white Vauxhall Vivaro, blue Honda Civic, red Peugeot 206, silver Vauxhall Corsa, and a white Nissan Cabstar.

A spokesperson for the Yorkshire Ambulance Service said two people were taken to hospital, one with back injuries and the other suffering from shock.

Three ambulances, a rapid response vehcle and a basics doctor attended the scene.

The road was closed between Little Driffield roundabout and the York Road roundabout as the casualties were attended to and the road cleared. The scene was captured by Times and Post reader Roy Ireland.

AN UNEMPLOYED Driffield man made hoax calls to the emergency services in revenge against a neighbour for an alleged hate campaign waged against his mother, a court heard.

Nicky Peter Jobson, 21, of Star Hill Road was brought before Bridlington Magistrates Court yesterday when he pleaded guilty to three charges of sending communications conveying false information.

The court heard that on Christmas day last year Jobson called Humberside Fire and Rescue Service on 999 reporting there was a fire at the home of his neighbour, Andrew Hornsey. The fire brigade attended but found it was a hoax call.

On January 14 this year Yorkshire Ambulance service received a 999 call reporting that somebody had suffered head injuries after falling down some stairs at an address in Driffield. Paramedics attended but found it was a hoax.

Prosecutor Heather Levett told the court that the day before Mr Hornsey’s sister had been befriended by an unknown man, later identified as Jobson, on the social networking site Facebook who had warned her to be careful on her stairs and left her his mobile number.

Mr Hornsey struck up a text message conversation with Jobson after which he started getting prank phone calls and threatening text messages, Ms Levett said.

Jobson was arrested on February 18, when he admitted to police that he had sent threatening text messages but denied making the hoax 999 calls.

But on March 23 Jobson walked into Driffield Police Station and confessed to the calls.

In mitigation Ed Cunnah said Jobson’s mother had suffered numerous broken windows at her home, including a brick being thrown through her bedroom window narrowly missing her.

Mr Cunnah said Jobson was led to believe Mr Hornsey was responsible for the broken windows, something which had been implied by a relative of Mr Hornsey.

“Mr Jobson had no other evidence of that but because it was a relative of Mr Hornsey he believed that and the incident festered in his mind for a while and then regrettably he made the false phone call to 999 on Christmas morning,” Mr Cunnah said. Mr Cunnah also told the court that the police had turned up at Jobson’s house after they received an anonymous phone call reporting that he was a paedophile. Officers searched the property but found no evidence.

Again Jobson was told by the same relative that Mr Hornsey had made the anonymous call, the court heard.

Mr Cunnah said it was Mr Hornsey who started the threatening and abusive text conversation.

“But effectively each of them were reacting to what the other was saying which was abusive and threatening,” Mr Cunnah added.

Mr Cunnah said Jobson’s mother had been very upset about his behaviour, particularly the hoax 999 calls, and persuaded him to go to the police station.

“He apologises unreservedly to the emergency services and to Mr Hornsey,” Mr Cunnah added.

The court heard that Jobson had done a gardening course at college but had been unable to find work in that area, and had only ever worked on fairground rides.

Adjourning the case for pre-sentence reports to be prepared by the probation service presiding magistrate Mike Bowman said: “Even taking account of all the mitigating circumstances its too serious for us to deal with it today.”

Jobson will re-appear at Bridlington Magistrates Court for sentence on May 23. In the meantime he has unconditional bail.

A GARTON-on-the Wolds company has scooped a national award for its pies.

Rose Cottage Pies received the championship award for its beef and mushroom pie in the beef pie class at the annual British Pie awards at Melton Mowbray.

Company boss Rupert Clemmit said: “We put a lot of hard work into making the best pies possible and to be recognised at these highly prestifious awards among other excellent bakers is such an honour.

“We are very excited that we have received the prize and we hope this will encourage new customers to try our award winning products.”

Matthew O’Callaghan, chairman of the Melton Mowbray Pork Pie Association, said: “Pies are one of the nation’s favourite traditional foods.”

SKATERS and BMX riders in Driffield have been defying gravity thanks to a special event held at the town’s skatepark.

Pictured are some of those who attended an Airbag event at Skateopia, on Skerne Road which gave skateboarders, as well as micro-scooter and BMX riders the chance to try out their latest stunts without the fear of falling.

The Airbag is a freestyle sports facility which provides a huge pillow of air to cushion any fall.

And there was extra reason for users of the skatepark to be jumping for joy as it has just been awarded a community education grant of almost £4,500 by the East Riding of Yorkshire Council.

DRIFFIELD’S skatepark has received a much needed cash injection after being awarded a share of a £73,000 East Riding of Yorkshire Council Fund.

The community education grant of almost £4,500 has been awarded to Skateopia, on Skerne Road by the East Riding of Yorkshire Council out of a £73,000 fund.

And the announcement has been welcomed by East Riding Ward Councillor Felicity Temple who believes this extra funding will allow more youngsters to make use of the facility.

“It’s a place where children who are not normally considered sporty can compete on an individual basis. They don’t have to be good enough to be picked for a team but can enjoy exercise and understand the disciplines that make society work: being polite and taking turns, looking out for others, encouraging the beginners,” Coun Temple said.

“This grant will enable more young people to be involved, with quality safety equipment and supervised training. I’m glad the East Riding of Yorkshire Council has carefully managed its budget and can continue to support local arts and sports even in these difficult times and I know this money will unlock other pots of funding and really make a difference,” she added.

The news comes almost a year after the Skatepark committee issued a ‘use it or lose it plea’ after funds ran so low there was real concern they would not be able to meet the site’s £20,000 a year running costs.

Established in 2005 Skateopia is a non-profit making organisation relying on grants and fund-raising to meet its running costs, which includes employing six members of staff.

The skatepark committee, who are a dedicated team of volunteers, organise various events including car boot sales, tombola stalls, antiques fairs, skate jams and competitions to help cover a portion of the site’s costs.

East Riding Ward Councillor Barbara Hall added: “This significant chunk of funding is exactly what was asked for by the skatepark and I really welcome the grant.

“I also pay tribute to the amazing voluntary work carried out by the Skatepark Committee over a number of years, fund-raising for facilities like these is a relentless task requiring dogged tenacity and determination and in this instance the work has paid off for the committee.”

A MAN who stole a car in Driffield and sold it for scrap has been ordered by a court to pay out over £200.

Appearing before magistrates in Bridlington last Wednesday James Webster, 24, of Cherry Avenue, Malton was handed a £100 fine and ordered to pay £120 compensation to his victim.

The court heard that on November 5 last year Webster approached the house of Iris Walton on Northfield Avenue, in Driffield.

Webster asked Ms Walton if he could buy a blue Ford Escort parked on the drive for £120, a sum which Ms Walton agreed to.

The court heard that Webster gave Ms Walton a mobile phone number and said someone would be around soon with the money, before leaving with the car.

When no-one had appeared to pay Ms Walton, she tried the mobile number only to receive no response.

Webster admitted taking the car to a scrap yard and selling it for £100-£120, which he divided with two other men.

Mitigating on behalf of Webster, Nicholas Clay, said: “Mr Webster admits he took advantage of the situation, but insists the telephone number he gave Ms Walton was his.

“The car was not of a very high value and he is very sorry for what he has done.

“It was a bit of a mean thing to do and he regrets doing it.”

Webster, who works in the scrap metal business, was also ordered to pay a £15 victim surcharge and £85 court costs.

Easing yourself into a Trisha Ashley novel is rather like slipping into a comfortable – but very sparkly – pair of shoes.

So how apt that her new warm, wise and winsome winner dishes up everything a girl could want ... romance, chocolate and fashion shoes to die for!

Good old northern humour is the key to Lancashire-born Ashley’s cuddly and clever chick-lit, and there’s a shoe shop full of love and laughs in this cosy, heart-warming story of a modern day Cinderella.

Ashley fans will be over the moon that she returns here to the fictional Lancashire village of Sticklepond, the setting for an earlier novel, Chocolate Wishes. It’s a place where ordinary people find that life doesn’t always go to plan.

As always, she assembles a cast of rogues, romantics and eccentrics and lets them loose in a complex web of relationships, obstacles and disturbing discoveries.

And to make her story even more entertaining, Ashley simply can’t resist throwing into this magical mix some of Sticklepond’s favourite faces, a surfeit of the feelgood factor and a batch of her very own, exclusive and tasty cake recipes.

Starring role is the lovely Tansy Poole who takes over a rundown shoe shop tucked away in Sticklepond. Before long, Cinderella’s Slippers is born, a modern and ultra glitzy shop providing footwear to make any fairytale wedding come true.

The up-and-coming store has everything a bride would want to walk in as she heads off down the aisle in but, not content to rest on her laurels, Tansy expands her business to include shoe-themed wedding and bridesmaid gifts and even delicious chocolate footwear. It’s the dream destination for any shoe-lover.

If only everything in her personal life could be as heavenly. But with a fiancé trying to make her fit into a size 8 wedding dress, a prospective mother-in-law from hell, not to mention the recent discovery of disturbing family revelations, Tansy takes refuge in the shop’s success.

However, there’s one person who isn’t thrilled by the stream of customers hot-footing it to Cinderella’s Slippers. Actor Ivo Hawksley, who lives in the cottage next door to the shop, is troubled by a dark secret in his past and has come to Sticklepond to nurse a broken heart.

As Ivo realises that he and Tansy have a link in their past, they both find out how secrets shared can make a very strong bond indeed…

With best supporting roles going to Tansy’s delectable Aunt Nan, whose past informs Tansy’s future, and their lovely and lovable friend Bella, Chocolate Shoes and Wedding Blues is a real tasty treat full of strong characters, delicious plotlines and impish humour.

And if you would like to meet the creator of this northern gem, drop into Waterstone’s at Ormskirk this Saturday (May 19th) between 1pm and 3pm when Ashley will be signing copies of her book.

(Avon, paperback, £6.99)

The Troubles in Northern Ireland have rarely proved an attractive proposition for novelists, and Derry author and teacher Brian McGilloway’s ‘no frills’ crime thriller series set in the notoriously dangerous Borderlands is as dark as one would expect.

Dead babies, the terrible grief of families whose murdered loved ones became the Disappeared and the lasting legacy of the province’s violent divisions cast a brooding and sorrowful shadow over the latest outing for Inspector Ben Devlin in a taut, self-consciously social and political murder mystery.

But don’t be fooled into thinking that the shadows cast are too long and too overpowering ... McGilloway’s elegant, almost elegiac, writing and his humane, sensitive Garda detective raise The Nameless Dead from a gloomy reflection on Northern Ireland’s past to a poignant, perfectly-pitched crime story which counterbalances fictional drama with factual history.

This is our fifth case with Devlin, the family man copper whose private life is dominated by his children’s teenage angst rather than any stereotypical battle with the demon drink, a bad gambling habit or skeletons rattling around in his closet.

Respectable, compassionate and doggedly determined in the face of obstructive senior officers, the maverick Devlin always steers a moral course in his pursuit of fairness, justice and the truth.

His patch is on the southern side of the border between Northern Ireland and the Republic, and here we find him working alongside the north-based Independent Commission for the Location of Victims’ Remains, an organisation set up to try to find the bodies of the Disappeared, those people killed and secretly buried in the Borderlands during the early years of the Troubles.

The team is looking for the body of local man Declan Cleary who was reported missing by his pregnant girlfriend Mary Harte in 1976. There were rumours at the time that he had been targeted as an informer who gave information to the police about IRA activities.

Instead, the dig uncovers the skeleton of a disabled baby in what is believed to be a 19th century ‘cillin,’ an unconsecrated burial place once used for unbaptised infants, but it doesn’t look like this one died from natural causes.

The Commission’s remit does not allow criminal prosecutions from any evidence they uncover and there can only be limited forensic examination of any remains found. Their role is simply to recover the bodies and give families the opportunity to bury their dead.

Devlin is unconvinced that this applies to the body of the little girl and while he is reluctant to fan the flames of the area’s past, he cannot let a suspected murderer go unpunished and sets out to discover the truth.

But now the secret is out, more deaths follow. Devlin must trust his conscience, even when that puts those closest to him at terrible risk...

McGilloway’s uncompromising story is a subtle exploration of the notion of ‘limbo’ – babies abandoned in makeshift graves because the Catholic Church deemed them ‘unblessed,’ the edgy no-man’s-land between North and South and the despair of those who cannot find closure for their missing loved ones.

The Nameless Dead also forces those of us at a distance from the Troubles to re-evaluate our concept of ‘peace’ and to recognise that the people who lived through the hostilities cannot easily draw a line under events that have left so many psychological scars.

(Macmillan, paperback, £12.99)

A MAN who made hoax calls to the emergency services in revenge against his neighbour has been branded “foolish” and “childish” by a court before being slapped with a suspended prison sentence.

Nicky Peter Jobson, 21, of Star Hill Road was warned that his actions could have cost lives when he appeared at Bridlington Magistrates Court last Wednesday (May 23) for sentencing.

The court heard that at 12.15am on Christmas day last year Jobson called Humberside Fire and Rescue Service on 999 falsely reporting there was a fire at the home of his neighbour Andrew Hornsey. The fire brigade attended but found it to be a hoax call.

Then on January 13 Mr Hornsey’s sister was befriended by an unknown man, later identified as Jobson, on the social networking site Facebook, the court heard.

Prosecutor Brian Clark told the court that during an online conversation Jobson warned her to be careful she did not fall down the stairs and left his mobile phone number on his profile.

The next day the Yorkshire Ambulance Services received a 999 call reporting that somebody had sustained head injuries after falling down the stairs. Paramedics attended but found it had been a false call.

Mr Hornsey called the mobile number left on Facebook and found out it belonged to Jobson. Mr Hornsey called the police and their enquiries began.

Mr Clark said Mr Hornsey started getting prank phone calls where the call would end as soon as he picked it up, as well as a number of threatening and abusive text messages.

The court heard that Jobson was arrested on February 18, admitted that he had made the prank calls and sent the threatening text messages but denied making the hoax 999 calls.

But five days later Jobson walked into Driffield Police Station and confessed to the hoax calls.

At an earlier court hearing on May 2 Jobson pleaded guilty to three charges of sending communications conveying false information.

In mitigation Amelia Woollen asked the bench to give Jobson credit for handing himself into police and making a full confession.

“He was of the view that Mr Hornsey was responsible for damage to his mother’s home where he lives and has lived for the past 19 years,” she said.

As previously reported Jobson had been led to believe that Mr Hornsey was responsible for breaking windows at his mother’s house on several occasions, including one involving a brick being thrown through her bedroom window narrowly missing her.

But Ms Woollen said there was no evidence to suggest that Mr Hornsey had been responsible.

“He didn’t realise the consequences of calling people out for hoax purposes and the damage that is done to people who are in need,” Ms Woollen said.

“He’s extremely shocked and saddened by his behaviour and its far reaching consequences,” she added.

Before sentencing Jobson to three months in custody, suspended for 12 months, presiding magistrate Sue Ackrill said: “The court and most of normal civilised society take an extremely dim view of using the emergency services as a childish tool against somebody. This was childish and foolish.

“Somebody could have died as a result of your actions,” Mrs Ackrill added.

Jobson was also ordered to carry out 120 hours of unpaid work and to complete a nine day ‘a chance to change’ course. He was also ordered to pay court costs of £50.

A Beverley man is preparing to embark on a 146 mile cycle ride to raise money for Ben Hodgson, an 11-year-old Driffield boy who suffers from muscular dystrophy.

John Hearn, 58, will begin his charity ride, along the route of the official Yorkshire Wolds Cycle Route, at 4am on June 23 from The Hayride Pub in Beverley and finish back at the same location at 9pm the same day.

John said; “I’m really looking forward to it, I did the route over two days last year for a Malton charity helping adults with learning difficulties.

“I’m a keen cyclist and cycle to and from work every day and I’m hoping to complete this latest ride with about three stops, one every 50 miles or so.

“The aim of this ride is to raise awareness of Ben Hodgson’s condition and hopefully raise a bit of money along the way.”

To read more about Ben Hodgson, or John’s cycle ride visit www.thebenhodgsonfund.co.uk where you can also find out how to raise money for Ben.

You can always rely on Peirene Press to get the grey matter moving...

Their classy, culturally rich novellas bring us the best of contemporary European writing and prove that small really is beautiful.

Challenging and thought-provoking, Peirene’s output is almost defiantly original and they don’t come with more ‘attitude’ than Pia Juul’s genre-bending crime mystery, translated here with sensitivity and skill by Aitken Martin.

Short in length but big on ideas, The Murder of Halland is a masterclass in literary sleight of hand. It should be a detective novel but instead Juul, Denmark’s foremost literary author, reaches far beyond our expectations by asking not ‘whodunit ,’ but do we need to know who did it. Which is more important, she demands, cause or effect?

Halland, a middle-aged man, is shot in broad daylight near his home in a remote Danish town but the heart of the story is the unravelling of his widow Bess’s mind rather than the piecing together of his murder.

His death becomes the catalyst for Bess’s bleak, baffling and almost surreal mourning process which to outsiders appears insensitive, irrational and bizarre – stealing cash, making amorous advances to a neighbour, flirting with the caretaker, getting drunk and going to dances.

Instead of following the conventional rules of crime fiction, Juul show us sudden death in all its bewildering reality – when the bereaved struggles to feel overwhelming ‘sorrow’ and ‘grief’ but instead experiences the flow of life through the senses, something far more tangible than pure emotion.

Thus Bess, an author, notes the warm fragrance of wood, the sun glinting on the fjord and the sound of a blackbird greeting the day, rather than worrying about the identity of Halland’s killer. His death fills her with a fury that is unsettling for the reader: ‘I wanted to kill Halland myself... his death was preventing me from finishing my book.’

Indeed, Bess, self-absorbed and unpredictable, is our sole narrator and the characters, some of them suspects, make an appearance only through a prism of her recollection of events past and present and her increasing detachment from the police inquiry.

And to test our perceptions of Bess as coldly sane or insanely traumatised, those around her also fail to act within normal parameters. Her ex-husband turns up and declares that he wants her back, a neighbour unexpectedly disappears and the return of long-lost daughter Abby is not the ‘grand reconciliation’ we had expected.

In fact, Bess drifts through the days after Halland’s death in a dream-like state with mood swings that take her from anger, selfishness and frustration to hyperactivity, exhaustion and numbness.

Her disinterest in the police investigation is offset by nuggets of information, thrown into the story with an almost casual indifference but which the reader cannot fail to feast on – Halland’s secret laptop, a hidden relationship and a locked room.

The mystery over Halland’s killer hangs like a shadow behind Bess’s absurd dance of death, a tantalising enigma that we have been persuaded is of no importance in comparison to the human state ... until the very last page when Juul turns our thought processes upside down in one final provocative move.

The Murder of Halland is not the kind of Nordic crime fiction we have come to expect, but defying expectation is the name of Juul’s game. People, like stories, do not always conform to ‘norms’ and delighting in variety is the very best reason not to miss this subtle and intelligent Scandinavian classic.

(Peirene, paperback, £10)

Curiouser and curiouser, Alice in Wonderland would have remarked if she had wandered through the intriguing plotlines in Eliza Graham’s haunting new novel.

The History Room is a clever and compelling story, one that addresses social issues past and present, the fall-out from broken relationships, the devastation of war and yet grips like a vice with the disturbing mystery at its heart.

The addictive mixture of light and darkness, warmth and cold, joy and sadness make for an unforgettable rollercoaster ride which ends abruptly in a truly unexpected and unsettling last lap.

Strange happenings at a grand Cotswold private school would seem to be nothing more than cruel pranks but as Graham ratchets up the tension, we sense an evil that is uncomfortably at odds with the mellow warmth of the rural setting.

Letchford, a school noted for its high standards and happy ethos, is run by its founder Charles Statton who appears to his staff and pupils to be the archetypal English headmaster.

His youngest daughter Meredith Cordingley, whose marriage has been falling apart since her soldier husband Hugh was maimed by an explosive device in Afghanistan, has returned to teach at Letchford but is struggling to ‘outpace’ her heartache over Hugh and the recent sudden death of her mother.

The timeless setting provides Meredith with a tranquil refuge until one afternoon when a shocking discovery is made in the history room. The police are called, but all is not what it seems.

Unsettled by events, she finds ghosts are now ‘hanging all around the fringes and if I turned my head quickly enough I’d glimpse them.’

Meredith is determined to discover the culprit and becomes convinced that a manipulative member of staff is controlling the sinister goings-on at her beloved Letchford, and exerting a malign influence on a vulnerable and troubled young pupil.

Her journey to untangle the truth takes Meredith back to her father’s roots in communist Czechoslovakia, to ‘another person, a man with a hinterland unknown to us.’

But digging up the past risks her father’s reputation, as well as her own, and as the mystery unravels Meredith finds out that there is more than one person at Letchford who is hiding complicated secrets...

Graham’s story relies on three narrative voices, allowing readers an insight into the principal characters’ thoughts and motives without giving away too much information on essential strands of the plot.

Multi-themed, emotionally wise and perfectly paced, The History Room delivers an absorbing read with a twist in its tail that is guaranteed to darken dreams for days after the last page has turned.

(Pan, paperback, £7.99)