PART of Driffield town centre will become a traffic no go area for THREE DAYS next summer as residents take to the streets for a massive party.

The town council is proposing to apply for a road closure order at Market Place from 12 noon on Friday July 5 to Sunday July 7.

Plans are moving ahead swiftly for a special event on the Saturday of that weekend, featuring a variety of music and entertainment for all the family.

The road closure is designed to ensure the safety of party-goers and those setting up and dismantling equipment and staging.

Coun Matt Rogers, chair of the events and entertainment committee, told a meeting of the full council that he was currently awaiting prices tor staging and lighting equipment which would be used in the Market Place.

Entertainment would start at 11am on a central stage and continue probably for 12 hours or so, ending at a time which has yet to be agreed between the police, the committee and licensing officials.

Driffield town council has previously agreed to bankroll the event to the tune of £15,000, with another £10,000 if needed.

A budget for entertainment will be considered once staging and equipment costs are known.

Coun Rogers said that once branding and publicity material had been put together, members of the events and entertainment committee would visit pub licensees in Driffield, encouraging them to stage events throughout the week.

The committee would pledge to publicise any events.

Local organisations will also be approached and asked to stage events of all kinds - from coffee mornings and tea dances to displays and exhibitions.

The committee is to meet informally over the Christmas period to discuss co-ordinating the events.

THREE Driffield lads are enjoying their superb experience spending winter in Australia playing cricket.

All three are members of Driffield Cricket Club and Sam Drury, Ben Kohler-Cadmore and Ollie Ezard have this last week said how much they are enjoying it, for various reasons.

All three played their part in this last season’s success of Driffield cricket Club’s first team and are continuing that form 10,000 miles away, while enjoying Christmas together and seeing in the New Year together in Sydney!

Kohler-Cadmore, who is based in Albury three hours from Melbourne, said: “I am really enjoying my time. The weather is constantly above 30 degrees and apparently it’s only going to get hotter until the end of February.”

But he joked, “however living with Sam I am sure we’ll be sick of the sight of each other by the time the season for Driffield rolls round.”

They are playing a mixture of two-day games and one-day games. The two dayers are a maximum of 80 overs per side and the one dayers are only 40 overs per side.

Playing club cricket for New City Phoenix in the Cricket Albury Wodonga competition, Kohler-Cadmore and Drury’s side are top of the league having only lost one game.

They are also playing rep cricket for the CAW side and are in the quarter finals of the Sydney Cricket Ground Cup, with the final played at the famous ground. They have also got to finals day for the T20 competition which is called the Konica Minolta Cup. They will be playing that at the Manuka Oval in Canberra this month.

So far Kohler-Cadmore has scored over 300 runs, averaging over 50. He added: “The club train twice a week, which is good because we’re able to practice on anything that we think needs looking at during the week properly before every match.

“So by the time the start of our season back home we should have ironed out any problem areas for us, and we should be seeing it well. And we will be looking forward to getting back in the Driffield changing room.”

Although the Ezard is not with his Driffield team mates, they do meet up and all spent Christmas together in Melbourne with Ezard and his team mates.

Sam Drury said: “I am really enjoying my time, despite living with Cadders.

“The weather’s been spot on so far but the two days it has rained have been Saturdays so we’ve had two washed out days of cricket.

“The kind of cricket I’m playing at club level is a lot different to back home (one day and two-day games.

“Our home ground’s wicket (New City Phoenix) is pretty much as flat as they come, but at some away grounds we’ve played at tend to be slow turners.”

Like Kohler-Cadmore, Drury is also going well with the bat, scoring three 50s, with a top score of 85 and averaging over 40. Sam said: “I really want to get above 50 by the end of the season, while I have also taken seven wickets at about 15 a piece.

“I’m working hard on my bowling with the coach to improve my action and become more accurate.” But Sam admitted it can be difficult batting in warmer climbs. “Yes, it can be difficult whilst batting. I’ve been trying to bat without a helmet as much as possible, and had a couple of problems with sweat going in my eyes and also the flies out here can be pretty off putting. I’ve started to bat with insect repellant on, so although the pitches are roads, and the ball doesn’t swing about half as much as at home, there’s other problems to contend with.”

Sam said of playing with the representative team, “It includes some of the best players I’ve ever played with. I’ve played quite a few games for them and we’ve had success so far reaching the finals day of the T20.

“I’ve been up and down the batting order in the T20s but have bowled pretty well when I’ve been thrown the ball.

“And hopefully come April 1, I will be a better all round player and I’m already looking forward to playing for Driffield again and defending our cup title.”

Driffield bowler, Ezard, is playing for Royal Park Brunswick in the Victorian Turf Association.

He said: “I am really enjoying playing out here, despite it being more batsman friendly.

“The pitches are a lot slower than I expected. I thought Driffield’s was slow but these are a different kind of slow deck. The balls out here are Kookaburras and they are four-piece balls which means the seams are pretty non-existent, so all in all it’s hard graft being a seam bowler.

“The conditions are very hot and humid with strong breezes, as Melbourne is on the south east of Australia.

“We play majority of the season as two-day games with day one being played on the first Saturday (maximum 80 overs) followed by day two the following Saturday, again with a maximum of 80 overs.

“If you bat first you can obviously declare before the 80 overs, and if you bowl you can bowl a team out on day one and have a bat that same day. So basically you play the full 80 overs each week so could both end up batting twice depending on how well you bat.

“I have had a bit of success, with nine wickets so far. I am nearing full fitness after coming out here with a knee and shin injury. Thankfully my personal trainer out here is getting me into good shape and with the help of Steve Reid (Victoria seam bowler) I have been making little tweaks to my bowling action so I should add a yard or two of pace ready for next season.

“I have also been working hard with coach Graham Kinchington (former Denmark national coach and of Hampshire) on my batting. It’s been great to get in the nets and work on my batting as I just didn’t have chance last season due to work.

“But it’s good fun, I am living with four other English lads and Graham is also here too so it’s a pretty good gig I have.

“The club have been great and looked after me really well and the lads at the club are a good bunch, so it’s been easy to adjust.

“I have just had a game washed out which means I have missed more games of cricket in Australia than in England!

“But hopefully by the time I get back to England on April I will be better off for the experience playing out here, fit and raring to go again for Driffield for what is a huge season for us all.”

AS hundreds of revellers gathered in Driffield’s Market Place to joyfully usher in the New Year, the milestone marked challenging times ahead for property owner in the region who have been affected by flooding.

Communities and businesses around the town have been devastated by the legacy of heavy rain which has fallen over the past few weeks.

As the Driffield Times and Post went to press, much of Burton Fleming remained under water - a situation unlikely to change for some time.

Officials at Driffield Rugby Club are also waiting for the water to subside so that they can assess the damage to an all weather pitch which currently remains submerged following the deluge.

Floods also forced the cancellation of two rugby fixtures, including the annual Steve Knowles memorial game, amid health and safety concerns over car parking and drainage.

The annual New Year ball at the rugby club was able to go ahead but there remains some doubt as to whether the fourth team game will take place this weekend. The first, second and third teams are all playing away.

* See also pages 3 and 4

Lancashire’s rich social, cultural and industrial history has made the hunt for our ancestors an increasingly popular and addictive pastime.

But family history novices often don’t know where to start, particularly with the bewildering array of records and archives now available, so finding a trusty guide is an invaluable first step.

Sue Wilkes, an established expert on industrial heritage and a well-known family historian, has put together this invaluable handbook packed with practical advice and information as well as an excellent background to Lancashire’s history for those tracking down ancestors who lived or worked in the county.

As well as helping you to trace when and where your ancestors were born, married and died, it gives an insight into the world they knew and a chance to explore their lives at work and at home.

In the first part of the book, Wilkes describes the origins of Lancashire’s major industries – the cotton, coal, transport, engineering, shipbuilding and other trades which helped to forge Britain’s great empire.

She looks at the stories of important Lancashire families such as the Stanleys, Peels and Egertons, and famous entrepreneurs such as Richard Arkwright, the Preston barber who developed the water-frame, in order to illustrate aspects of Lancashire life and to show how the many sources available for family and local history research can be used.

But the ancestors of ordinary Lancashire folk also played their part in the county’s history whether they fought for Britain, spun cotton, hewed coal, tended a steam engine, tilled the fields or waved a Chartist or suffragette banner in pursuit of electoral reform.

The second part of the book is a directory of the most important ‘tools’ for tracing family history. Relevant documents, specialist archives, libraries, background reading and other sources are recommended, as well as databases of family history societies, useful genealogy websites and places to visit which bring Lancashire’s past to life.

Even those seeking family history before 1837, the advent of civil registration, can break through this ‘barrier’ through the use of records from medieval courts, government, church, trade and industries.

No stone is left unturned in this fascinating and essential companion for anyone seeking out their Lancashire roots.

(Pen & Sword, paperback, £12.99)

PARISH councillors have lodged “very strong objections” against plans for an electricity producing anaerobic digester at Leven.

FD Bird and Sons have applied for planning permission to build on land north of Yarrows Aggregates Ltd.

The scheme would involved the creation of a building containing a combined heat and power unit, drying floor and control room, an anaerobic digester, a feed hopper, a silage clamp, a bio-gas store, a digestate store and a sub surface slurry tank to produce electricity in the form of renewable energy.

The application will be considered today by the East Riding of Yorkshire Council planning committee and officers have recommended approval subject to conditions.

The digester would recycle agricultural waste, maize, poultry manure and bio-ethanol stillages generated mostly from the local agricultural area.

The plant would occupy an unused section of 0.97ha of Yarrows Aggregates Ltd’s Little Catwick Quarry.

The electricity generated would be used to power the quarry operations, with surplus exported to the national grid.

Leven Parish Council very strongly object to the scheme because they believe it is an industrial and chemical process which should be treated as such.

They argue that the process can be temperamental, especially if the Ph or temperature is wrong, then the whole process grinds to a halt.

Councillors also argue that there is no indication as to whether the applicant has carried out a hazard analysis assessment. They also claim the application is lacking a great deal of other important information.

A funeral service was held at the East Riding Crematorium on Friday, December 21 for Mr Maurice Dandy of Wansford Road, Driffield who died peacefully at home on December 10. He was 79.

The service was conducted by the Rev James Anderson & the organist was Mr Peter Maw.

Maurice was born in Lowthorpe, the 4th of 5 boys. He attended Harpham school. He worked on various farms in the area lastly for Mr Bruce Temple.He then had a few seasons on grounds maintenance with the East Riding of Yorkshire Council.

He married Doreen at Kilham in 1956 and they went to live at Wold Farm in Driffield. They went on to have two sons Paul and Andrew. They moved to live in High Street in Nafferton in 1964 and lived there until 2009 when they moved to Wansford Road, Driffield.

Maurice was a keen sportsman playing football and cricket for Lowthorpe and Kilham in his younger days. He continued his love of sport as a supporter of local teams as well as national teams, often getting up early to listen to cricket on the radio He bred and showed budgies and rabbits and he enjoyed gardening. He had a great love of the countryside and country traditions.

He will be greatly missed.

Family mourners: Doreen Dandy (wife(), Paul Dandy & Jayne Palliser (son & partner), Andrew 7 Lucy Dandy (son & wife), Liam Dandy & Kemba Lucas-Lyon (grandson & partner), Matthew Dandy, Darrell Dandy, Rachel Dandy & Jordan Dandy (grandchildren), Malcolm & Edna Dandy (brother & sister in law), Margaret Dandy (sister in law), Jennifer & Ashley Welbourn (niece & husband), Julie & Andrew Hartley (niece & husband), Neil & Julie Dandy (nephew & wife).

Others present: Molly & Richard Palliser, Colin & Margaret Buckton, John Kettlewell, Sheila Cowton & Michael Duggleby rep Angela, Vera Tordoff, Christine Wildridge, Simon Wildridge rep Helen & Gordon & Ann Tyler, Wendy Simpson rep Frank, Dorothy & Ian Hill rep Kate & Penny, Dulcie Wright rep Karen & Julie, Peter Gibbons rep Celia, Valerie Peacock, Mr L Rawdon, Dennis Nelson, Keith Nelson, Mrs Dorothy Smith, Barbara & Brian Harrison rep Margaret Trees & Marilyn Jordan, Bruce & Jill Temple, Paul Temple rep Ted Atkinson, Steve Burdass, Mrs D Coleman, Mr D Plowman, Joyce & Joe Tuplin, Jane & Steve Sharp rep Brian & Sue Mellonby, Edna & Dennis Sharp (sister in law & husband), Stuart Sharp rep Paula, Megan, Kelly & Ben, Rob Coutts & Susie Long, Jill Booth rep William Booth, Harvey Booth & Adrian Hanrahan, Helen Lawrence, Jean & Tom Coutts, Peter & Sheila Croft, Linda & Gordon Calvert, Sharon Coutts, James Robins, Rob Coutts, James Coutts, Susan Beachell, Jeanette Neal, Sophie & Charlotte Neal, Mrs I Rispin rep Mark, Philip Walker, Keith Rounding, James & Sue Coutts rep Mike, Lynsey, Owen & Scarlett, Sarah Coutts rep Michelle & Amy, Adrian Croft, Tom Rispin, Andrew Carr rep the family Liz Easterby.

A funeral service was held at the East Riding Crematorium on Wednesday, December 19 for Mrs Doris Mary McGillivray, of the Beaumont Nursing Home, Stamford Bridge, (formerly of Nafferton) who died suddenly in the Beaumont Nursing Home on December 8. She was 88.

The service was conducted by the Rev Robert Amos and the organist was Mr Steven Westaway.

Doris was born in Kilham in 1924 and grew up there. She attended school in Kilham. She had one brother, George Tate who was ten years younger than her. She joined the forces at the age of 17 and became a NAFFI girl. During the war years she met, and when the war ended married her late husband Alexander McGillivray at KilhamChurch. They then moved to St Andrews in Scotland to start their married life together. They had one daughter Isabel. A few years later the family moved back to Kilham and then to Nafferton. Always returning to Scotland for holidays enjoying time with family and friends.

Doris started to work for the East Riding Council at Nafferton schools, where she worked until she retired in 1984 after 35 years service. She became Cook in Charge at the school canteen and she was affectionately known by all the school children as ‘Mrs Mac’

Doris and Alec had a long and happy marriage, celebrating their Golden Wedding.

She was a member of the Nafferton Women’s Institute for 50 years, enjoying the monthly get together with friends. On retirement she joined the Nafferton Bowls Club where with Alec, spent a good number of years playing bowls together.

Family Mourners: Isabel & Mike Rogerson (daughter & son in law), Andrew & Clare Rogerson (grandson & wife) also rep Adam Rogerson (great grandson) & Joanne, James, Jessica, Jennifer & Jonathan (granddaughter & great grandchildren), Chris & Sue Tate (nephew & wife) also rep Sarah & Emily (great nieces).

Others present: Mrs Grace Sanderson rep Julie Spence, Rita Riggs, Nancy Grace, Dorothy Hyde, Janet Woodcock, Edna Thompson, Tony & Eileen Thompson, Fiona Gavigan, Gillian Calvert, Ruth Murray, Roy Dowson rep Nancy, Cicely & Helen (cousins), Brenda & Philip Davison rep Les Cockerill & Madge Crawley , Nick Woodhead, Peter Gibbons rep Celia, Sue Johnston, Ann Gordon, Sue & John Stubbs, Christine Shaw rep David Robinson, Julie Daubney & Paul Shaw, Jill & Peter Errington, John & Maureen Johnston, Mrs Sheila Sykes, Carolyn & Martin Pevleve, Peter Hodgson, Lee O’Shea, Alan & June Bielby, George Kellett, Nigel & Shirley Brass, Pamela & Brian Kirby, Brian & Sue Mellonby rep Margaret Johnson, John & Jill Seaton rep Joan Shawcross, Paul & Cathy James.

A funeral service was held at All Saints’ Church, Driffield on Thursday, December 20 for Mrs Alwyn Simpson (formerly of Pockthorpe), who died peacefully in Scarborough Hospital on December 9. She was 88.

The service was conducted by the Rev Malcolm Exley and the organist was Mr Martin Salter.

Alwyn was born in Whitby in 1924. She attended Cliff Street School and then the County School in Whitby. Her father was a jet manufacturer. After leaving school she trained as a State Registered Nurse at Scarboorough Hospital.

She married George who was a farmer in 1948 and they lived at Pockthorpe until they retired and moved to Driffield.

She was a member of the Women’s Institute for many years, firstly at Kilham and then Driffield. She was a volunteer with the WRVS helping with the hospital trolley service and she was also a member of the Driffield Ladies Luncheon Club. She enjoyed playing bridge, gardening and music.

Family Mourners: Elizabeth & Paul Stephenson, Janet & John Rennison, Caroline & Stewart Elliott (daughters & sons in law), Margaret Walker (sister), Jayne Priestman (rep great grandson Christopher) & Michael Moss, Sarah & James Halligan, Helen & Ian Woodruff, Richard Stephenson, James Stephenson & Lucinda Cawood, Thomas Elliott & Eleanor Proudfoot-Sackur, Mark Elliott, Philip Elliott (grandchildren), David Smith, Stephen & Linda Smith, Fiona Hughes (nephews & niece).

Others present: Mr & Mrs P Sawyer, Mrs D Cracknell, Mr & Mrs B Stephenson, Mrs H Good, Mrs Sue Dennis, Mrs Margaret White, Sue Dillon, Richard & Jane Headlam rep Peter & Mary Naylor, Marjorie Cooper rep Sally Beswick, Sharon Dean, Eileen Rowbottom, Freda Watt, Mr John Watt rep Mr D Searby, Mr P Owen, Malcolm Copeland rep Billingshill, Mrs Margaret Botterill, Mr & Mrs C Robinson, Susan Hyde rep Riverhead Hall, Mrs E Bell rep Driffield Ladies Luncheon, Basil Thompson, Mr & Mrs B Howland rep Mr & Mrs M Minns, Mr & Mrs Mike Foreman, David Watt rep Yvonne Watt, Betty Taylor, Mrs A Byas, Di Watson rep the family, Mr & Mrs Maurice Riley, Mrs D Duggleby, Jill Ellis rep Driffield WI, Ann Dunnington rep Driffield WI, Jan Parr rep Mrs Scruton & Mr Geoff Parr, Val Wilson, Rev David Everatt, Mrs P Butterworth rep Mrs A Pollard, Mr & Mrs John Williamson, Mrs William Wright rep Mr Wright, John Jefferson rep Jean Beachell, Mrs Daphne Padwick, Mrs S Franklin, Mr & Mrs I Rogerson, Mr & Mrs F Ullyott rep Jennifer, Mark & David, Margaret Smith rep Janette & Simon, Simon Minns rep James Mortimer Ltd.

A funeral service was held at All Saints’ Church, Driffield for Mrs Muriel Harrison, of The White House, Driffield, who died peacefully in The White House on December 8. She was 87.

The service was conducted by the Rev Andrew Ison and the organist was Mr Martin Salter.

Muriel was born in Watton and attended Beswick School. During the war she was in the Land Army. She met Tom and they married in 1947. After their marriage they lived in Kilnwick where they stayed for 57 years. She helped on Cawkeld Farm potato picking and enjoyed many happy days working with the other women. She taught her daughters how to bake and knit, she enjoyed her garden, growing vegetables and keeping pigs just after the war years.

They later moved into Driffield and Muriel and Tom enjoyed going on bus trips. She was very family orientated and loved spending time with her family.

Sadly, shortly after Tom died Muriel had to go into care but she still enjoyed going into town in her wheelchair and the trips out with the White House.

She will be greatly missed.

Chief mourners: Cynthia & John Dawson, Joan & Malcolm Bentley (daughters & sons in law), Mike Ibbertson (son in law), Sonya & Sean Bendelow (granddaughter & husband) rep Charlotte Grace (great granddaughter), Aimee Dawson & Rupert Clemmit (granddaughter & partner), Sarah & Neil Hastings (granddaughter & husband) rep Robert & Katie (great grandchildren), Michael Ibbertson (grandson), John & Daphne Elliott (brother & sister in law), Steve & Brenda Pettinger (cousin & wife), Kathleen & Brian Swaby (cousin & wife unable to attend), Trevor Harrison rep June Harrison, Tina & Warwick Ivel & family & Jackie & Ian Sinton & family, Brian & Barbara Harrison rep Angela Goodwin, Keith Harrison rep Sue Harrison, Caroline Elliott rep David Elliott & Carole & Adrian Croft (nephews & nieces), Darren Harrison (great nephew).

Others present: Brent & Jill Flint, Jenny Shaw, William & Jill Lamb, Joan Hardy rep John Robson, Heather Young rep Maurice Young, Audrey & Ernie Weightman, Jennifer Mullinger, Jessie Cooper rep David, Ruth Rawson, Mr & Mrs John Hill, Ann Knaggs rep Friends of Guiding, Sheila Hara rep Mike Hara, Judy English,Joan Savage, Louise Dawson rep Paul Savage, Mr & Mrs H W Thompson, Jennifer Newlove, Mrs Wendy Wilson, Christine Clark, Pauline Caley rep Tom Caley, Mrs J Hughes, , Sharon Simcox rep The White House, Gill & Cedric Calvert rep Linda Elvidge, Pam & Val rep The White House, Gillian Farmery rep the family, Mrs Joan Warkup rep Keith Warkup, Andrew Warkup, Ann & Ray Berriman rep Mr & Mrs K Pickering & Mrs J Pickering, Liza Noble, Mark Flint rep Mr & Mrs B Flint, Ann Johnson, Mr & Mrs P Hara, June Taylor.

Young people from across the East Riding have been invited by East Riding of Yorkshire Council to debate issues that could shape their future.

On December 6, young people from 10 East Riding secondary schools will come to County Hall in Beverley to take part in the Big Deb8, which has been organised for the third year by East Riding of Yorkshire Council’s youth support service.

For the first part of the day, young people will take part in a budget conference which will focus on providing them with information on the issues that the council faces in these challenging times of public sector funding cuts.

They will also take part in a workshop based on real budget issues and priorities with councillors and senior council officers and their responses will be considered as part of the budget process for the next financial year.

In the afternoon, they will head to the council chamber to debate job opportunities for young people and the benefits broadband will bring to the East Riding.

The debates will be chaired by East Riding of Yorkshire chairman, Councillor Chad Chadwick.

Councillor Chadwick said: “It is always interesting to listen to young people debating current affairs and to hear their views.”

Councillor Julie Abraham, portfolio holder for children, young people and local authority schools, said: “Hearing the opinions of our young people on budget priorities and service delivery is invaluable to us.

“They bring a refreshing view on how they would like to see council services develop and invariably they see the crux of an issue with unfettered but caring clarity.”

Jayne Clarke, participation officer with East Riding of Yorkshire Council’s youth support service, said: “This event is a unique opportunity for young people to experience formal debates, discuss a range of issues that affect them, learn about budgets, community service priority setting, research techniques and general communication skills.

“With councillors and senior council officers looking on, this is a chance for young people to have a chance to put their points across in a positive way.”

A motorist has been given three penalty points on his driving licence and fined £80 after using a mobile phone while behind the wheel of a car.

James Melrose Frith, 36, of Church Road, Molescroft used a mobile phone while driving a black Land Rover Defender on the A164 at Hutton Cranswick on the afternoon of May 17.

Frith pleaded guilty to a charge of using a handheld mobile phone while driving a motor vehicle on a road when the case was brought before magistrates in Bridlington last Wednesday. Frith was not present for the court hearing but submitted his plea in writing.

The court heard that at 12.16pm on May 17 a police officer in an unmarked vehicle was travelling along the A164 in the direction of Beverley when he saw a black Land Rover Defender towing an agricultural vehicle being driven by a man who was talking on a mobile phone.

The court heard that Frith had a full clean driving licence and worked at Slip Stream Fashion, in Beverley.

Frith was also ordered to pay court costs of £40 and a £15 victim surcharge.

The East Riding of Yorkshire Council is issuing suggestions for drivers and pedestrians on managing during the frost and snow that forecasters are warning we face over the next few weeks.

We are providing several ways of getting that information, starting with the guide in our newsletter, Your East Riding, which recently came through your letterbox.

You can use the council’s website, www.eastriding.gov.uk or, for up to the minute information for those Christmas journeys and sales shopping trips around the East Riding, follow https://twitter.com/ER_roads.

This is a busy time of year for this council which has one of the largest areas to cover of just about any authority in the UK.

We will be working 24\7 on the highways, gritting the major roads to keep the East Riding open and on the move. Our advice is to keep to the salted network which can be downloaded from.eastriding.gov.uk/winter

This major network covers about 13,000 kilometres of roads or about 800 miles in old money. It is safer to stick to these roads where you can, even if it means a short detour from icy back roads.

For households one of the main suggestions is to clear snow from your paths soon after it has fallen and before it has time to harden, which makes it more difficult to clear.

Better still, salt or sand the paths before any frost. If you do not have enough salt, try table salt or dishwater salt but keep it away from grass and plants as it can be poisonous to them.

The worst thing you can do is to throw buckets of water over the paths as it can refreeze creating black ice, that invisible cause of far too many accidents.

One final suggestion is to be a good neighbour and check on any elderly or disabled neighbours to make sure they are alright.

Greg Knight, MP for East Yorkshire is warning parents to take extra care following tests revealing some children’s paints, including Tarton Collection Kits which are imported from China, contain significant levels of lead which can damage the nervous system.

UK regulations say lead levels in face paint should be around 20 parts per million but analysts have found some face paints contain up to 16,900 parts per million of lead.

One company responsible for importing the paints has been fined £14,000 for breaching product safety laws but unfortunately only 300 of the 7,200 kits sold to retail shops in the UK have been recovered.

Mr Knight said: “This is a very worrying situation. Parents should be extra vigilant because lead toxicity can damage body organs and is especially dangerous to young children, even at low levels.

Mr Knight said anyone with a child’s face paint set who has concerns should contact the East Riding Trading Standards office on 08454 04 05 06.

East Riding residents are being warned not to be taken in by people offering council tax rebates over the telephone, following recent complaints.

Trading Standards at East Riding of Yorkshire Council have had several reports of individuals claiming to be from the local authority, telling residents they are in the wrong council tax band and a substantial refund is promised.

The caller then asks for an upfront fee, typically between £87 to £175, which they say is to cover solicitors and legal fees, and they ask for the householder’s bank details in order to process the refund.

If residents rightly refuse to give their bank details over the telephone, the fraudsters have even offered to go round to the house to get them.

If a householder does genuinely believe they are in the wrong band, then all they have to do is contact the Valuation Office Agency and explain why they think it’s incorrect. The office will then complete a full assessment for which there is NO charge.

Anyone who requires further advice or wishes to report anything similar within the East Riding is urged to contact Citizens Advice consumer service on 08454040506.

To contact the Valuation Office Agency for the Hull and East Riding of Yorkshire area call 03000 503462 or e-mail ctnorth@voa.gsi.gov.uk or write to the Valuation Office Agency, King William House, Market Place, Hull HU1 1RT.

Just over 200 years ago, as the long-running Napoleonic Wars raged across Europe, the British Army under the great Duke of Wellington suffered one of the most disastrous periods in its history.

The catastrophic failure of the siege of Burgos in northern Spain in 1812 has been overshadowed in the history books by the series of victories that eventually drove Napoleon and his French army from the Iberian Peninsula two years later.

In the early years of the 1808-1814 Peninsular War, the British and their allies had suffered a series of defeats and retreats, including the infamous near disintegration of Sir John Moore’s army on the road to Corunna in 1809, but none of these setbacks was as grave or ignominious as the events at Burgos which the Duke of Wellington himself described as his ‘worst scrape.’

And it is this complex, gripping, but less than glorious, phase of the peninsular campaign that is brought back to life in Carole Divall’s latest study of the British Army of the Napoleonic Wars.

An English teacher with a special interest in military history, particularly that of the British Army during the Napoleonic Wars, Divall has become an expert on regimental history, the workings of Wellington’s army and aspects of the key campaigns.

In Wellington’s Worst Scrape, she reconstructs the series of extraordinary events in close detail and brings together many primary sources, creating a vivid and enthralling account of what happened and why.

The year 1812 had begun well for Wellington... he had conquered of the border fortresses of Ciudad Rodrigo and Badajoz and won a crushing victory in the Battle of Salamanca at the beginning of August.

But just three months later, his army had dragged themselves back through torrential rain and ankle-deep mud to the Portuguese border where their campaign had started eleven months earlier.

Between the August triumph and what in November looked like defeat lay the fortress of Burgos, the only one that had successfully resisted Wellington’s attempt to take it.

Both the failed siege and the retreat that followed involved stories of endeavour which embrace all that is best and worst in human nature.

Deeds of great courage and humanity were juxtaposed with cruelty, despair and the terrible excesses of indiscipline. And for the nations involved – Britain, France, Spain and Portugal – there was a great deal to admire... and much to deplore.

Wellington was all too well aware of the mistakes and miscalculations that led to the potentially catastrophic situation in which he placed his men, openly referring to it as his ‘worst scrape’ and yet most of the letters, journals and memoirs that have survived from the time only praise the skill with which he saved Britain’s army from disaster.

Divall weaves together Wellington’s despatches with the eyewitness testimonies of British and Portuguese officers and men, civilians and the French.

The result is a fascinating, multi-layered impression of the siege of Burgos itself and the sequence of manoeuvres that preceded it.

Using authentic detail, she describes the tense decision-making, the allied misjudgements and the headlong retreat that followed as the British fled from two French armies which threatened to trap and destroy them.

Wellington’s Worst Scrape provides an illuminating and exciting in-depth study of a pivotal and neglected episode in the tough Peninsular War as well an immaculately researched insight into the character of the fighting at every level, and into the strengths and weaknesses of Wellington’s command.

A welcome and erudite addition to the forgotten pages of British military history.

(Pen & Sword, hardback, £25)

AN ADVERTISING campaign to target bullying and anti-social behaviour has been launched by the Council.

The East Riding of Yorkshire Council’s Buswise campaign, supported by local schools and East Yorkshire Motor Services, began on Monday with a giant poster ‘wrapped’ around a double-decker bus.

Buswise is the point of contact for all concerns surrounding school bus services in the East Riding and it is hoped the campaign will raise awareness to children and parents of the discreet system in place for them to register their concerns.

Councillor Symon Fraser, cabinet portfolio holder for environment, housing and planning, said: “In a rural area like the East Riding, home-to-school transport provides an important service for many families. Drivers and passengers should be able to go about their day-to-day lives without incident. Buswise allows incidents or concerns to be reported discreetly and gives schools and bus operators the opportunity to investigate and take appropriate action.”

Councillor Jackie Cracknell, cabinet portfolio holder for community partnerships at East Riding of Yorkshire Council, said: “Anti-social behaviour on buses will not be tolerated. Officers from the council’s anti-social behaviour team will be working with those responsible and their parents to try and address their behaviour and any underlying reasons behind it.”

Isabella of Castile, wife of Ferdinand of Aragon, warrior queen, architect of a united Spain, educational reformer, the visionary who sent Columbus to discover a New World... and a religious fanatic who unleashed the deadly Inquisition.

So who was the real Isabella? Was she, as many still claim, a near-saint who brought peace to a fractured Spain after centuries of discord? Or was she a merciless Catholic zealot whose horrific excesses led to the persecution and execution of thousands?

US author C.W.Gortner, himself half-Spanish by birth, takes up the known threads of the turbulent early life of this complex and compelling 15th century queen and weaves a gripping novel about the forging of a nation, and a determined woman who overcame all the odds to rule in a man’s world.

The Queen’s Vow is his third foray into historical fiction and another captivating reimagining of one of Europe’s most notorious, controversial – and maybe misunderstood – queens.

Using an authentic 15th century framework, Gortner allows Isabella’s extraordinary life story to unfold in all its dangerous reality, creating a powerful and unforgettable portrait of a tenacious young woman who overcame prejudice and treachery to achieve her destiny.

Young Isabella’s father, King Juan II of Castile, died when she was only three and she is barely a teenager when she and her brother Alfonso are taken from their mother’s home to live under the watchful eye of their half-brother, King Enrique, and his sultry, conniving queen Juana.

It is at Enrique’s court that she first meets her cousin, the brash, young Prince Ferdinand of Aragon, who vows that one day he will make her his wife and queen, and by so doing will bind together their kingdoms and help to restore peace.

But he also warns her that she must never let her emotions show. ‘You must learn to dissemble if you are to survive,’ he tells her.

And only a few years later, Isabella is thrust into danger when she becomes an unwitting pawn in a plot to dethrone Enrique. Suspected of treason and held captive, she treads a perilous path of divided loyalties until, at the age of seventeen, she suddenly finds herself heiress of Castile.

Plunged into a deadly conflict to secure her crown, she is determined to wed Ferdinand, the one man she loves yet who is forbidden to her. And when they defy King Enrique and marry, Isabella and Ferdinand unite their two realms under ‘one crown, one country, one faith.’

But they face an impoverished Spain beset by enemies and under pressure from the Church to present a strong, united Catholic front. When the Moors of the southern domain of Granada finally declare war, a violent, treacherous battle against an ancient adversary erupts, one that will test all of Isabella’s resolve and courage...

Gortner’s sweeping, sumptuous novel takes his readers from the glorious palaces of Segovia to the battlefields of Granada and the intrigue-laden gardens of Seville as well as creating the very human story of a woman pitted against the might and machinations of Spain’s most powerful men.

The Queen’s Vow might take a few liberties with the facts but this is historical fiction written with the heart as well as the head, and allows us to view the remarkable Isabella as very much a product of, and exception to, her times.

(Hodder, paperback, £7.99)

A dramatic car fire in Driffield saw fire crews rush to a town centre car park to tackle the blaze earlier today.

The fire at Cross Hill car park occurred in the early afternoon, when flames engulfed a silver Vauxhall Zafira.

According to the car’s owner, Andy Stabler, smoke first began coming from the car’s dashboard as be began to drive away from the car park.

Mr Stabler pulled over, attempting to open the bonnet, before flames began pouring from the vehicle.

Mr Stabler said: “The car just started smouldering and then burst into flames.

“I feel quite lucky that I wasn’t driving down a motorway or somewhere where I might not have been able to stop.”

Rawtenstall, a small town nestling in Lancashire’s Rossendale Valley, was first mentioned in the archives way back in 1326 when it was rather quaintly described as the ‘row tunstall,’ or long, narrow farmstead.

Today it is known for two very different and distinctive features... its dry ski-slope, now recognised as one of the best in England, and as the home of the country’s last remaining Temperance Bar.

The rolling hills and dales around Rawtenstall offer some spectacular views and this fascinating new book records many older corners and buildings, some forgotten, some still fondly remembered, and more than a few still standing.

Using contrasting old and new photographs, Kathy Fishwick takes us on a voyage of discovery spanning over a hundred years of history, industrial development and growth.

In the early part of the 14th century, Rawtenstall and its surrounding countryside was part of the Royal Forest of Rossendale but, like much of this area of Lancashire, it rapidly expanded with the advent of the Industrial Revolution when mills producing textiles and footwear took over the landscape.

Water-powered mills carded woollen fleeces and spun thread while handloom weavers made cloth in their scattered farmhouses and then took it to market in Rochdale or Halifax using strong shoulders or the back of a packhorse.

In 1789 a turnpike road was built by John Metcalfe, known as Blind Jack of Knaresborough. Going west to east, the road went literally uphill and down dale creating a tough route for the trundling carts needed to carry increasing loads of goods.

Before long Rawtenstall had become a crossroads for trade routes and steadily grew into a thriving town. By the 1830s the main thoroughfare, now called Bank Street, was attracting prestigious buildings in keeping with a town aspiring to a promising future.

It achieved borough status in 1891, taking in many of the much older hillside villages around, although they managed to retain their individual pride and character.

Rawtenstall itself had grand aspirations, and although these failed to develop, many of the fine buildings of the Victorian and Edwardian periods remain as reminders of its important role in the 19th century.

Much was swept away in the 1960s, in preparation for a motorway to Burnley that never arrived. Farmland and industrial scenes have been replaced by housing estates and superstores, and village corners have been lost for road widening.

New trees and grassed areas cover the scars of vanished buildings but, as Fishwick’s powerfully nostalgic book reveals, here and there amid the traffic and tarmac, an isolated group of cottages or a view down a street can still recall the town that used to be.

(Amberley, paperback, £14.99)

TWO homebuyers are settling into their new home at Harron Homes’ Oak Dene Mount development as the first residents of a new community being created by the 700-acre Waverley regeneration scheme near Rotherham.

Michaela Collins and Johannes van den Berg, who work for a major airline, were welcomed to their new four-bedroom detached home by Harron Homes Sales Advisor Ann Jones, and Duncan Armstrong-Payne, Waverley Development Manager for landowners Harworth Estates. They are working in partnership with developers to transform the disused industrial brownfield site into almost 4,000 modern homes, shops, restaurants, schools, leisure facilities, health centres and parks.

Duncan said: “Harworth Estates is bringing back to sustainable, economic life the entire Waverley site. To see the first family move in is so gratifying, as we are building an entire community here, with excellent places to work, wonderful homes and many acres of recreational land in a lakeside setting.”

Ann said: “With 18 properties on the opening phase already sold, we have a long queue of purchasers eager to follow Michaela and Johannes into Oak Dene Mount. Harron Homes are delighted that our contribution to the Waverley regeneration is already attracting a huge level of interest from local homebuyers.”

Johannes said: “I’ve owned new homes before and when I saw the standard of the workmanship and all-round finishing touches I knew that Harron Homes were a cut above most.

“They invest better quality in features like doors and kitchen units, and they incorporate various extra fittings that you wouldn’t see in most new homes.”

Michaela said: “Harron Homes’ service is very professional and they were very flexible in tailoring the interior of the house according to our needs. They moved heaven and earth to make sure that we could settle into the new home in time to celebrate Christmas here with my children.”

Oak Dene Mount features a selection of four and five-bedroom detached homes and four-bedroom townhouses priced from £199,995. Further information is available from the sales centre and showhomes on 07730 532 613 or online at www.harronhomes.com