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)

Iris Winston is a ‘good time girl’ and in 1950s London, there’s plenty of fun to be found in the clubs and bars of the city’s seedy but exciting East End.

Raised in a dismal flat in shabby Kilburn, Iris is an innocent abroad in a world where ‘toff voices’ sound like a foreign language, champagne is a standard tipple and holidays are taken in France, Switzerland and even far-off America.

But when you are a ‘diamond in the rough,’ an unpolished jewel just waiting for Mr Right to take a shine to you, the refreshing sparkle of innocence can attract the most dangerous men.

Jean Marsh, actress and co-creator of Upstairs, Downstairs and The House of Eliott, finds fertile new territory in the violent underworld of London in the 1950s and early 60s in this dark-centred novel which combines gentle romance with grim social realities.

Marsh is a perceptive writer and her powerful and dramatic story encompasses the full gamut of a young woman’s personal and sexual awakening in a society notorious for its gang violence and seedy manipulation.

In the post-war years, Iris, a look-alike for ‘it’ girl Audrey Hepburn, is struggling to find regular work so mixing with the fast set in London’s gambling clubs and private dining rooms is becoming an easy way to make money and friends.

For the corrupt politicians and criminals who run Mayfair as well as the East End, life has never been so good and Iris, with her innocent charms and good looks, is something of a novelty.

She isn’t quite a call girl but she doesn’t mind accepting a fiver to pay for the cab fare back to her family home, or little gifts, or champagne in heady and glamorous restaurants.

Iris is not without a certain street savvy and is slowly but surely becoming aware that she is living very dangerously. How long can she go on trading in ignorance and beauty?

When she meets Steve Brown, wheeler-dealing ‘businessman’ and fresh out of Wormwood Scrubs, Iris is on a slippery slope and soon finds herself plunged into a world of brutal gangsters, well known for their terrifying brand of violence.

And innocence and ignorance suddenly become outdated luxuries...

Rich in period detail and full of her usual vivid characterisation, Marsh’s compelling coming-of-age story cleverly recreates the life and times of 1950s London, as well as delivering a tender love story.

(Pan, paperback, £7.99)

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

Extensive grounds, with barns and outbuildings ripe for conversion, are the setting for this substantial four-bedroom home, on the market at £699,950.

The property, at 41 Snowdon Lane, Troway, Sheffield S21, is set in open countryside between Dronfield and Eckington, with panoramic views across the area.

Despite its rural setting, it is just two miles from Dronfield, with easy access to Sheffield city centre and the motorway network.

The front door opens into a large reception hall with natural wood flooring and store cupboard.

The spacious sitting room features an Adam-style fireplace with open grate fire.

Twin doors lead to a separate dining room. There is also a well-proportioned family room.

A breakfast kitchen is fitted with solid oak-fronted base and wall units and a quarry tiled floor. Integrated appliances include a four-ring Zanussi gas hob with illuminated extractor canopy, a double electric oven with grill, a fridge and dishwasher.

Stairs rise to a landing, off which are three bedrooms, all fitted with built-in wardrobes.

A luxurious bathroom has been recently fitted with a Whirlpool bath, low-flush wc, corner shower and multi-jet steam cabin, and built-in speakers. Leading off it is a pine sauna.

There is also a large shower room with steam cabin, basin and wc.

More stairs rise to a second floor which is given over to a large en-suite guest bedroom and eaves storage.

Outside, a driveway provides ample parking for numerous vehicles and access to an attached garage. This houses the boiler and has plumbing for an automatic washing machine.

The back garden has a patio, lawns, raised herbaceous beds and a potential paddock area.

A stone barn with adjacent store and wash house had planning consent (now lapsed) for conversion to a one-bedroomed holiday cottage or self-contained annexe.

A separate large building also has lapsed planning consent for a two-bedroom dwelling.

Details: Saxton Mee, Dronfield office (01246) 290992

Panoramic views

4 double bedrooms

3 bathrooms & sauna

Outbuildings

Set in approx 1 acre

Details:

Saxton Mee, Dronfield office (01246) 290992

THIEVES stole a child’s Osprey stunt scooter in green and blue from outside the Tesco store in Morton Lane, Beverley.

The scooter was secured with a bicycle lock to the cycle rack between 1.30pm and 3pm on Friday January 4 when the theft occurred.

The scooter has the initials L H on the handlebars and L HART written on the bottom.

Anyone who saw anything suspicious or knows the whereabouts of the stolen scooter is asked to contact Humberside Police on the non emergency number 101 referring to crime number 1950910 or call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

THE SPIRIT of Christmas generosity abounded in Driffield this year as the town’s rotary club collected over £2000 for charity.

The Santa Claus sleigh ride beat its target of £2000 with the sum of £2,220.67. A further donation of £10 capped off the fund-raiser.

The money will be shared between the rotary’s charities - in particular in setting up another educational trust fund. It will also go towards paying for a young person to attend the Rotary Young Leaders Award Course.

The Rotarians thanked Driffield residents and volunteers who helped with the collection.

Lancashire children’s author Steve Hartley has been voted ‘Coolest Dude of the Year’ for five years running, so it’s always best to expect the unexpected when you open one of his amazing books.

The madcap mastermind behind the astronomically popular Danny Baker Record Breaker series is on a mission... to get boys reading. And Oliver Tibbs (better known as Oliver Fibbs) could be just the anti-hero to make those reluctant young males turn over a new leaf.

Oliver is not brilliant at anything except telling fibs (and that’s no lie!) and his hair-raising adventures, played out in hilarious comic strip style, are full of that all-important touch of anarchy that will appeal to mischievous boys.

Attack of the Alien Brain is the launch pad for the first series and is aimed at the seven to nine age group in which reading alone is becoming an important step.

Steve Hartley is heading to various Lancashire schools, including Ormskirk’s West End Primary and CE Primary School on Thursday January 17, to spread a few home truths about his fabulous, funny and fibbing new creation.

And Oliver Fibbs really is a boy that many youngsters can identify with. Everyone in his family seems to be super-brilliant at something, whether that’s chess, ballet, brain surgery or architecture, but he’s not brilliant at anything.

Show and Tell (or as he calls it, Pain and Torture Time) is his worst nightmare. He hasn’t got a black belt at karate or made a mega-powerful electro-magnet. All he’s good at is reading comics and eating pizza, and he’s fed up with being Dull and Boring, so he’s hatched a plan.

He’s been telling the class about his adventures as a Defender of Planet Earth, battling against the evil Alien Brain Drain who wants to take over the world. Everyone loved it, except Miss Wilkins who gave him a detention for telling fibs. And now his parents think he’s ‘going bad’ even though he keeps telling them they’re not fibs, they’re just stories!

With its easily accessible text design and its key comedy content, Hartley’s exciting and inventive new series is the perfect way to get boys interested in reading... and to keep them glued to the story well beyond the first page.

(Macmillan, paperback, £5.99)

The only way was Slimming World for reality star Mark Wright when he met Katie Trever at the weight-loss organisation’s annual awards ceremony to celebrate its most successful slimmers.

Katie, who manages Slimming World groups in Beverley, was thrilled to get the chance to pose for a photo with Mark at the event in Birmingham.

Mark, who shot to fame on The Only Way is Essex before taking to the jungle as a contestant in I’m a Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here, now fronts ITV2 show Take Me Out The Gossip. He joined Slimming World’s founder Margaret Miles-Bramwell OBE to host the ceremony.

Katie said meeting Mark was the perfect ending to a great year for Slimming World. The club now helps more than a million people every year to lose weight and lead healthier, happier lives at one of its 9,500 weekly sessions.

“But there’s still a lot of work to be done,” adeds Katie. “With one of the highest levels of obesity in Europe right here in the UK, we want to help even more people to slim down and improve their health starting this January. At this time of year lots of people will be making New Year’s resolutions and pledging to lose weight, and we’d love anyone who wants to make a change to come along and join us.

“Even if they’ve struggled to stick to resolutions in the past, there’s no need to be put off. Slimming World’s Food Optimising plan isn’t a diet, it’s an easy, healthy way of eating that the whole family can enjoy. By making small easy changes to the way you shop, cook and eat, members see a big difference on the scales. Better yet, because our members can enjoy unlimited amounts of hundreds of everyday foods from fruit and veg to pasta and rice, lean meat to eggs and fat free dairy, they never have to go hungry. When you combine all this with the support members need to overcome the motivational challenges they face, and the encouragement to become more active, that’s a powerful weight loss package that’s hard to beat – all year round.”

A CONVICTED sex offender blasted a 20-bore shotgun through the living-room window of a house of those he blamed for spreading news that he was a paedophile.

Two-days after Adrian Thorsby, 49, was convicted of a sexual offence against a girl, he drove from his home in Rudston Walk, Burton Agnes, 25 miles to Kilnsea Grove, Hull, with a shotgun.

Thorsby pulled out the lethal firearm and shot a hole through glass in the downstairs font window of the p[roperty around 9am - with four children inside.

The family had no connection with the original victim, Hull Crown Court heard.

The occupants of the house, Lisa Thompson and Andrew Steen, would normally have been downstairs watching TV.

By chance, they were all upstairs and escaped injury - but were left terrified Thorsby would return. The shotgun has never been recovered.

Thorsby, who later denied ever leaving home, then made off towards Preston and drove north to Burton Agnes.

He was caught after police, who linked him to gunpowder residue, used satellite cellphone technology to trace the movements of Thorsby’s mobile phone down the A165 before and after the attack.

At the time of the offence on November 20 2011, Thorsby had been released on bail awaiting sentence for the original sexual offence.

Thorsby, who has fled from Burton Agnes, and now lives in Walsall, appeared at Hull Crown Court on Monday January 7 for a trial. With witnesses waiting to give evidence, he pleaded guilty to possession of a firearm with intent to cause fear of violence.

Defence barrister Rodney Ferm asked for the judge not to sentence until Thorsby had seen a probation officer from Bridlington who would prepare a report on his background.

“Mr Thorsby knows the inevitable nature of the sentence.”

Crown barrister David Hall said he wanted strict conditions that Thorsby would not return to the area and he should abide by a curfew from 9pm to 8am at his home in Walsall.

Recorder Richard Woolfall ordered Thorsby to stand as he told him: “The reality is you could be facing a custodial sentence. You must prepare yourself for that.”

Speaking outside court, Andrew Steen said: “He could have killed us. There were four children in the house – one of whom has cycstic fibrosis. We heard the blast but luckly we were upstairs and just happened to be arguing. Normally we would have been down stairs setting up the Wii for the children. One of the children is still having nightmares.”

Thorsby will be sentenced at Hull Crown Court on February 8. He faces up to five years in prison.

A new community theatre is underway at St Nicholas Community Centre, Holmechurch Lane, Beverley, and a new musical theatre group will be using it as their home.

Beverley Youth Theatre @ St Nicks meet on Sunday afternoons at the Centre. Although predominantly for young people starting from the age of 4 the group will welcome older “young at heart” members.

“We were originally Off Shoots Musical Theatre Company,” said Jane Walker, leader of the group, “but that name was when we were part of another society in the area. We have spent several months refurbishing the stage area at St Nicks using funding we received from Beverley Town Council”.

“In light of this funding and the association with St Nicholas Church, it was felt that a more appropriate name would be beneficial and we will be known as ByTe @ St Nicks.

As well as performing mainly musical productions the group will now offer education in theatre which can lead to exams through LAMDA (London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art) as well as Musical Theatre exams with Trinity College of Music.

The new community theatre space will be available for other groups to hire shortly.

New members to ByTe @ St Nicks are very welcome and the sessions start on Sunday 13 January 13 – 3-4pm for 4-6 year olds and all other ages from 4pm until 6pm.

“This group is not run as a business, it is purely run by volunteers. I have over 40 years experience in professional musical theatre and professional singing and want to pass on what I have learned so that everyone can enjoy theatre” said Jane. “Our fees are £3 per hour and we are hoping to be able to offer bursaries to assist children whose families are on low incomes or benefits to be able to enjoy theatre”.

For further information contact Jane on 07582 931158.

The December meeting of Beverley First Probus Club was doubly special: first, because we were able to enjoy a superb pre-Christmas lunch, and, secondly, because we were to be enthralled by a very moving account from one of our own members of a memorable wartime incident in which he was closely involved.

The speaker was Don Mitchell, and, coincidentally, the day of his talk was also his 88th birthday, but 69 years ago he was celebrating his 19th birthday in far less congenial circumstances, as a Leading Radio Mechanic aboard the fleet destroyer “ Matchless”, taking part in protection duties with convoys sailing between Scapa Floe and thee Kala Inlet in Northern Russia.

In the summer of 1941, when Hitler attacked Russia, Stalin appealed to Churchill or help. Despite objections from the Admiralty, Churchill insisted that supplies should be sent. As a result, we provided almost all the warships needed for protection. There were no problems till the Germans realised what was happening, and put out many warships. Weather conditions were atrocious: waves 30 feet high, whipped up by strong gales, and ice up to 6” thick, so that bare hands would stick to guard rails and take off the skin. The Germans came out only in short spells, but inflicted considerable damage: HMS Edinburgh was sunk with 26 tons of gold aboard. (This has recently been salvaged).

But there two things that the Germans did not have: an efficient radar system, and Ultra (the Bletchley Park system that broke the German Enigma code) As a result of these, we knew exactly what the German fleet’s movements were, and take appropriate action.

In December 1942, the German warships came out to attack a convoy being shadowed by 5 destroyers. Smoke screens put the enemy off, and they turned tail, much to Hitler’s annoyance. He had heard the news via the BBC! In anger he ordered his fleet to disperse and head for the Baltic, but Admiral Doenitz persuaded him to change his mind, and the battleships Tirpitz and Scharnhorst remained .

In December 1943 the Germans decided to attack convoy JW 55 B, but Ultra had revealed that Scharnhorst and 5 destroyers had come out on the 25th. Contact was made on the 26th, but only 3 shells hit the battleship. However, one of these destroyed its radar. It turned north, but its 5 destroyer lost contact because of foul weather. When our ships made contact 800 shells were fired. The destroyer HMS Duke of York picked it up and fired 3 salvoes, but 14” shells were ineffective against the thick steel of the Scharnhorst. However, its speed had been considerably reduced because one salvo had hit the forecastle. 35 torpedoes were then fired and 11 hit. At 19.45 on 26th December 1943, the Scharnhorst sank, with the loss of over 1900 lives. Don’s ship, with others, was helping to rescue survivors, but had to abandon this task when news came that U- boats were coming. They had to plough through debris and survivors to seek safety themselves. A very harsh decision, but in some ways an act of mercy. Only 36 of the Scharnhorst’s crew survived

The news broadcasts by the BBC about the incident gave most of the credit to HMS Duke of York, ignoring the part played by the other 3 cruisers and 4 destroyers that had played such a vital part in twice “turning” the Scharnhorst. The crew of Matchless, and of the other ships, were, as Don put it, “most dischuffed”.

Their Christmas celebrations were, understandably, delayed till 2nd January, when their Christmas dinner consisted of one slice of bully beef (known as “corned dog”, not unreasonably!) and 4 “hard tack” biscuits.

This abridged account of Don Mitchell’s amazing and thrilling story cannot give adequate recognition to the full glory and heroism it revealed. It was a most heart-warming, humbling and memorable talk.

Any retired professional or businessman who would like to consider joining the Club is invited to contact the Secretary, Mike Welch (tel: 01430 872797). We meet for lunch at Tickton Grange on the 3rd Wednesday of each month, and with our ladies for coffee there on the first Wednesday.