A bonfire got out of control and spread to bushes in Driffield on Bank Holiday Monday.
A call was received by the emergency services at 10.11pm and the fire officers from Driffield Fire Station were on the scene, in Bridge Street, by 10.15pm.
One hose reel was used to extinguish the flames from the bonfire.
There was no damage to property as a result of the fire.
Traditional May Day festivities were kept alive this year at North Frodingham’s annual springtime celebration.
The school’s 64 pupils turned out to enjoy the sunshine and May pole dancing on Wednesday 1 May.
Laura Merrison, 11, received the May Queen crown as the oldest girl in the school. Callum Watson, the eldest boy at the school, placed the May Queen crown on Laura’s head in the time honoured fashion.
She was escorted by her grandfather, William Hill, and pupils danced around the May pole in her honour.
Tansy Donaldson, class teacher at the school, said: “It was spectacular, it was one of our best ever events.
“It is a tradition upheld in North Frodingham for at least the past 100-years. We are one of the few schools which has a proper outdoor pole and we do it every year.”
Staff across the school help organise the May Day celebration, with dance rehearsals beginning three weeks before the big day.
Fund raising also took place with a bake sale, fair trade stall and raffle, with proceeds to be invested in the school.
The following planning applications which relate to the Driffield area have been submitted to the East Riding of Yorkshire Council:
Erection of farm shop and cafe with associated parking and highway improvements, following demolition of exisitng farm shop and cafe, Manor Farm Shop, Beverley Road, Hutton Cranswick.
Construction of junction and access to land to north of Station Road, Hutton Cranswick, 17 Station Road, Hutton Cranswick.
Display of externally illuminated fascia sign and externally illuminated hanging sign, 52B Middle Street South, Driffield,
Installation of two air conditioning units and extractor grille to rear, 52B Middle Street South, Driffield.
Demolition of existing stable building and timber store, Red House Farm, Nethergate, Nafferton.
Retention of office building and continued use of yard and office as an LGV driving school, Land South West Of The Elms, Starcarr Lane, Brandesburton.
Erection of a single storey extension to front, two storey extension to side and single storey extension to rear , 43 Pomona Way, Driffield.
Erection of garage to front following conversion of existing garage to additional accommodation, Longcroft, Scarborough Road, Driffield.
Crown reduce Pear tree (T1) to side of canopy by 3m towards conductors and reduction of height sufficient to avoid conductors, Willowdene, Main Street, Foston On The Wolds.
Erection of a replacement garage, Beteric Cottage, Main Street, Garton On The Wolds.
Conversion of existing barn to dwelling and erection of two storey extension to rear following demolition of existing stable building and timber store, Red House Farm, Nethergate, Nafferton.
Fell Black Pine (T1) at high risk of falling due to lifting root plate, Little Green, North End, Bishop Burton.
Fell three dead trees raising safety concerns to properties due to falling branches, 48 St Johns Road, Driffield.
Erection of agricultural storage building, Carnaby House, 15 Main Street Carnaby.
A talk will take place about the importance of Border Collies at the Robert Fuller Gallery in Thixendale.
Staff, including Nap the dog, from the York based Border Collie Rescue, will attend the meeting which will also raise funds for the centre.
At 7.30pm on Sunday 12 May the evening’s event will take place, and tickets are £9.50. For more information visit www.robertefuller.com
Selby RUFC were given a heroes welcome after returning home from Twickenham with a trophy win.
Over 1,000 Selebians travelled down to the capital for the crucial clash with Drybrook and they were not disappointed as Richard Nicholson’s side ran in 29-25 winners.
24 hours after their famous win, the Swans then returned to base to be greeted by huge applause and an old-fashioned knees-up.
Wives, girlfriends and children all joined together with the returning staff at the club’s Sandhill Lane ground for a celebratory bash.
For a full match report, pictures and extensive reaction see this week’s Selby Times (Out Wednesday May 8).
Having suffered two defeats across the Bank Holiday weekend, Driffield 1st XI will be hoping to return to winning ways on Saturday.
However, things do not get any easier for David Brent’s side as they are faced with a trip to face Yorkshire Academy, who could include Alex Lees and Will Rhodes.
Lees and Rhodes had both been on the fringes of the Yorkshire first XI in the early part of the season, with Rhodes making his debut in last Sunday’s YB40 defeat against the Welsh Dragons.
Brent’s side will be boosted by the expected return of Sam Drury, who has missed the last three games with a knee injury. Drury replaces Ricky Woodmansey in Saturday’s side with the rest of the team remaining unchanged.
The 2nd XI play host to Harrogate 2nds and they will be pleased with the return of Woodmansey, who should bolster the top-order. Woodmansey comes into the side for Jonathan Anderson who is unavailable, thus leaving Andrew Chapman’s side a little bit short in the bowling department.
After chasing leather at Duncombe Park last weekend, the 3rds will be hoping to get their season back on track with a victory against Carlton Towers at Kings Mill Road.
James Richardson makes just one change to the side that travelled to Helmsley, with the returning Kelvin Walker coming straight back in for John Driskell, who is unavailable.
Matthew Cole’s 4th XI make the trip to face Skirlaugh where they will be looking for their first victory of the season.
Cole has made two changes to the team that earned a losing draw against Beverley 4ths. The unavailable Matthew Besford and 5th team captain Nick English make way for Josh Hopper and Neil Woodcock, who returns to the Driffield set-up after an enforced spell on the sidelines.
English leads the 5ths into battle at Dalton Holme, where they will no doubt be in high spirits after their impressive victory against Newport on Monday.
Rob Norman, Isaac Wilkes, Sam Pallant, Jack Gibson and Matthew Hopper are all added to the side in place of players who have 4th team duties.
Team News
1st XI v Yorkshire Academy. Away meet 9am: D Brent, D Broumpton, B Kohler-Cadmore, M Clarkson, A Ali, O Ezard, J Hopper, G Drury, N Hardgrave, S Drury , M Goddard
2nd XI v Harrogate 2nds.Home meet 11.50am: A Chapman, N Johnson, R Woodmansey, A Mutch, G Halder, R Grice, O Goldsworthy, M Addinall, J Greveson, M Drury, W Norman.
3rd XI v Carlton Towers. Home meet 12.30pm: J Richardson, J Woolley, D Woodcock, J Robinson, C Suggittt, S Morris, R Woodcock, K Walker, D Jenkinson, J Addy, B Lawrence.
4th XI v Skirlaugh. Away meet 11.45am: M Cole, N Woodcock, J Hopper, K Woodcock, J Foster, M Briggs, R Kelly, J Singh, A Rogers, M Nicholson, D Warcup.
5th XI v Dalton Holme. Away meet 1pm: N English, R Norman, M Hopper, W Brigham, J Beston, T McDougall, L Raines, J Barron, I Wilkes, S Pallant, J Gibson.
A World War Two veteran who served in the 466 Squadron of the RAF based in Driffield has written about his memories of his time in service.
Ronald Last, 91, served in the squadron from October 1943 until he was shot down on an operation to bomb Berlin on January 28 1944.
After leaving the air base in Driffield the Halifax HX345 was attacked by a German Night Fighter over Berlin. Only four men survived of a crew of seven.
Mr Last has shared his experiences of baling out of the aircraft over a burning Berlin:
“On the order to ‘bale out’ I attached my parachute pack to my harness and went to the escape hatch, but on leaving the aircraft I got caught on the side of the hatch and I yelled ‘push me’ and someone did. The next thing I remembered is floating down and seeing all the fires directly below me.
“On nearing the ground I noticed what appeared to be tram wires in a roadway so I deflected my chute and dropped to the ground.
I was picked up immediately by a German soldier with a rifle and fixed bayonet and when I attempted to press my chute release button, he pushed the bayonet extremely close to me. So I put my hands up.
“Apparently, as a prisoner, I was of some value to him. I was taken first to a civilian hospital but was refused attention.
“I was taken to a military post, searched and questioned. Name, number and rank.
Mr Last was treated in hospital and was later taken to a prisoner of war camp called Stalagluft 3 at Zagan, Poland at the beginning of March 1944. This was the camp of the famous Great Escape on March 24 1944.
This year on ANZAC Day, Mr Last visited Driffield from his home in Bournemouth, to pay his respects to the fallen.
Driffield clinched the Hull Men’s Sunday Veterans Division Three title on the final day of the season.
Playing Hull-based side Spartans on Sunday, they only needed a point to secure top spot, but defeat would have seen Spartans leave as champions.
But it was the Driffield side, in front of a large crowd, who wanted it more and on the day domintaed the ame, created most chances and deservedly ran out 5-0 winners.
Driffield’s goals came from Neil Woodock (2), Pieter Hamminga, Guy Deverson and Stuart Hudson.
Thanks to the Spread Eagle for the after match refreshments.
For over 300 years, Bluff House has loomed large over Whiskey Beach, facing the cold, turbulent Atlantic as if it was a challenge.
Within its stony walls, generations of the Landon family have lived and died, celebrated and mourned, schemed, thrived, triumphed and languished, so where else would Eli Landon flee for sanctuary from a life that has all but been destroyed?
Nora Roberts, the extraordinarily successful author of over 200 novels and one of the world’s most popular writers, is in territory she knows best in this beautifully-paced suspense mystery which has both a murder and a romance jostling at its heart.
True to form, she crafts an intriguing and beguiling story, this time featuring a young lawyer who became prime suspect wife when his wife was murdered and has never cleared his name despite the case being dropped.
His journey through suspicion, despair and hope is complex and absorbing and as we travel with him, we become acquainted with emotive human themes like friendship, trust, love and loyalty.
Boston criminal attorney Eli Landon seemed to have the perfect life. He had a beautiful wife Lindsay, a wonderful home and a dazzling legal career but when Lindsay was brutally murdered after confessing to an affair with another man, Eli was named prime suspect – without a shred of evidence.
After a year-long ordeal, the case against him has finally been dropped but Eli’s world is in tatters. Abandoned by his friends, still hounded by the media and a police detective with a grudge, Eli retreats to the small-town sanctuary of Whiskey Beach and Bluff House, his beloved grandmother Hester’s home by the sea.
Bluff House has belonged to the Landons for generations and is the perfect place for Eli to regain his strength and rediscover his first love – writing. He is helped in his recovery by Abra Walsh who is looking after Hester’s home while the old lady recovers from a fall.
The beautiful, energising Abra is nurturing, courageous and herself a survivor of a broken marriage and as Eli heals both mentally and physically, he begins to open his heart to her.
For the first time, Eli dares to dream of a new future but as Abra and Eli take their first steps towards each other, a dangerous enemy is watching from the shadows, an enemy determined to make sure that Eli Landon will never have that new life... whatever the cost.
Roberts weaves a warm, sexy and character-driven story but threads it through with a frisson of hidden danger which adds an air of compelling mystery and keeps the pages turning.
A traditional and stylish thriller with a soft, seductive centre...
(Piatkus, hardback, £16.99)
With its long history dating back to a permanent Roman settlement, an imposing hilltop castle and a rich variety of architectural gems, Lancaster has much to be proud of.
Award-winning photographer Jon Sparks from Garstang takes us on a nostalgic journey in his new book Lancaster Through Time which features a fascinating selection of photographs showing how Lancaster has changed and developed over the last century.
By juxtaposing photographs of the city as it was with how it looks today, Sparks offers us a stark reminder of the wholesale destruction of much of the city’s housing and employment during the 1960s and 1970s.
The huge riverside development, Lune Mills, which specialised in coated fabrics and linoleum and represented the heart of the Williamson industrial empire, once employed a quarter of the city’s workforce but now lies derelict.
Large swathes of housing were pulled down and the old Market Hall, which disappeared in a catastrophic blaze in 1984, was sadly never rebuilt and so missed out on the recent revival for artisan foods and crafts.
However, there is still much to celebrate including architectural gems like the elegant quayside Customs House, the distinctive Ashton Memorial and the majestic 15th century Priory Church.
And there are fine examples of change, like the sympathetic redevelopment of the White Cross Mill site, which manages to marry the best of the old with the best of the new, and historic St George’s Quay probably looks better than at any time in its history.
And more improvements are planned for the freshly cleared site just west of Carlisle Bridge.
Most promising of all for the city is the closure of the castle prison which has opened the door, and maybe even the magnificent John O’Gaunt Gateway, to a new and exciting future as a tourist mecca.
In the meantime, Lancaster Through Time offers us a nostalgic remembrance of how the city looked long before time and development took its toll.
(Amberley, paperback, £14.99)
Celebrations were held at Tuesday night’s East Riding Chairman’s Awards for the winners, including one from Driffield
David Pinder, who manages Driffield Junior Football Club, took an award for individual service to the community at the awards ceremony at The Spa Bridlington.
He said he was very pleased to receive the award, which he said is also for all the people who help with junior football.
“It is absolutely lovely – it is nice to get an award for something you really enjoy doing,” David said.
During his time managing the club, which began as a one-year stretch and has now lasted over six years, he has not only acted as a team manager but has qualified as a FA coach.
Dave works with 20 nine and 10 year old boys attending training once a week. Over the last three years he has built a very successful football team in the Driffield Jaguars, and the new team the Tigers is establishing itself well.
The awards ceremony was one of the last official events to be hosted by Councillor Chad Chadwick in his capacity as Chairman.
Other individuals, companies and community groups were recognised for being the best in the East Riding across a range of categories.
Coun Chadwick said: “It became very apparent from reading the many nominations received that there are many individuals, groups, businesses and organisations that create opportunities.
“They are not people ‘simply doing their jobs’ they are people with vision who go the extra mile and apply their sense of creativity and commitment to make a difference.”
A fund raiser for Christian Aid will be held at St Nicholas’ Church Gardens.
On Saturday 11 May, from 10.30am until 4pm, the tea and coffee event will take place at the gardens in Holme Church Lane, Beverley.
There will be homemade cakes, plants and jewellery on sale and all are welcome.
As part of his campaign to improve the Emergency Ambulance Response Times in Beverley and Holderness, Graham Stuart MP will be hosting a drop-in event at Withernsea’s Meridian Centre this Saturday.
Named ‘Influence, Educate and Have a Go’, the event is open from 10am to 1pm for anybody to call in and find out how they can help in an emergency situation by having a go a Hands Only CPR and using a defibrillator.
Mr Stuart said: “This will be an exciting and interactive session where people can learn how to help in an emergency situation. St. John Ambulance will show you how to apply bandages, the Pre Hospital Care Programme will teach you how to put somebody in the recovery position and The British Heart Foundation will show you how you can improve somebody’s chance of survival if they have suffered a cardiac arrest.
“The event is open to people of all ages so please drop-in at any time during the morning to hear from the Yorkshire Ambulance Service about the work of our Community First Responder Teams and how you can support or join your local team.
“Cardiac arrest is something that can affect any of us at any time and we are all capable of making a difference to somebody’s chance of survival.”
After glorious weather blessed Beverley Racecourse’s family fun day on Bank Holiday Monday, racing returns to the Westwood next week.
The seven-race programme on Tuesday is set to start at 2.10pm. and includes this year’s renewal of The Annie Oxtoby Memorial Handicap Stakes – a contest for sprinters over five furlongs - supported by the Oxtoby family of Garton and Century Developments Ltd.
The afternoon’s feature race is The John Jackson Handicap Stakes over the extended mile.
The first of the seven races comprising The Beverley Middle-Distance Handicap Series takes place on Tuesday – a contest for three-year-olds.
Runners will accumulate points during this series of races over a-mile-and-a-half according to places obtained. The series culminates at Beverley on Sunday, August 25, with the owner of then overall winner receiving a bonus of £1,000.
This is the third year of the Series. Last year’s winner was the locally-owned Tribal Myth, trained at Hambleton near Thirsk by Kevin Ryan.
The giant screen will assist race-goers to follow all of the action on the track.
Police recorded a man driving at speeds of 80 miles an hour along the A166, magistrates heard.
Ashley George Nicholas Beasley, 24, of Eastgate South, Driffield admitted before Bridlington magistrates to driving a goods vehicle above the legal speed limit. He also admitted to driving in a public place without due care and attention.
Both offences took place on the A166 between Wetwang and Driffield on Sunday 24 February.
Prosecuting in court on Wednesday 1 May, Chris Rafferty said: “At about half past four in the afternoon he was travelling from the direction of Bainton, the speed limit on that road being 30 miles per hour. The police followed this van for a short period of time. They noticed the speed of the vehicle driven by the defendant was 50mph.”
He said police continued to follow Beasley through a village where the speed limit was again 30mph, and he was found to be driving at 55 to 60mph. He continued to say while pursuing Beasley police had noticed their speedometer was recording speeds of over 80mph.
“The vehicle overtook some vehicles and the police also did to keep up with the van. The van then slowed to 70mph,” said Mr Rafferty.
Beasley, in mitigation for himself, said: “I am very sorry. It was a silly thing to do. I did not realised what speed I was going as I was rushing.
“I have learned by my mistakes and I am very, very sorry. I have been driving for about eight years, and I have three points on my licence for speeding matters.”
Presiding magistrate Mr Scott imposed six penalty points for the offence of speeding and a fine of £160.
Beasley had his licence endorsed as punishment for driving without due care and attention, along with a fine of £50.
He was also ordered to pay £85 in court costs and a victim surcharge of £20.
Anyone who says love and politics don’t mix should pick up a copy of Midnight in St Petersburg, Vanora Bennett’s classy new novel.
In an action and passion-packed story set during the revolutionary fervour of Russia’s imperial capital city, those two uncomfortable bedfellows form a marriage made in historical thriller heaven.
Bennett found inspiration in her own great uncle, Horace Wallick, who lived through the Russian Revolution in St Petersburg for this exciting, vivid and sumptuously romantic epic featuring a young Jewish woman fighting for survival in a country torn apart by violence and anarchy.
Harnessing her experiences of living and working in Russia and through hours of meticulous research, Bennett takes us to the dangerous heart of a country in turmoil and into the homes and salons of some of the revolution’s leading players.
From the charismatic Siberian peasant Father Grigory Rasputin, whose influence on the Tsar’s family would help precipitate revolution, and the wealthy nobleman Felix Youssoupoff who hatched a notorious murder plot, to ordinary Russians struggling to survive momentous upheaval, this is a story of passion and politics to thrill and enchant.
After witnessing the murder of Russian Prime Minister Pyotr Stolypin in a Kiev theatre and fearing another pogrom against the Jewish population, orphan Inna Feldman flees to St Petersburg to take refuge with distant relative Yasha Kagar.
On the train south she is befriended by fellow traveller, Father Grigory, who pledges his help if she should ever need it and later introduces her to Felix Youssoupoff and the archetypal Englishman Horace Wallick, an artist for illustrious royal jewellers Fabergé.
What she doesn’t yet know is that hot-headed, handsome, half-cousin Yasha is a fledgling revolutionary whose spare time is spent distributing inflammatory leaflets which could put them both in mortal danger.
Yasha works for the flamboyant Leman family and musician Inna is apprenticed into their violin-making workshop. With her exotic looks and talents, she feels instantly at home in their bohemian circle of friends.
As Inna becomes infatuated with the brooding, perilously attractive Yasha and as steady, dependable, loyal Horace finds Inna increasingly desirable, war breaks out and society begins to fracture.
With the revolution fast descending into chaos and blood-letting, a commission to repair a priceless Stradivarius violin offers Inna a means of escape. But which man will she take with her? Can she choose between her heart and her head? And is it already too late to get out of St Petersburg?
Lush, romantic and brimming with suspense, Midnight in St Petersburg explores the social, cultural and political extremes of early 20th century Russia as well as delivering an intelligent and beautifully written love story.
A fascinating and enjoyable historical novel...
(Century, paperback, £12.99)
A parish council are set to take over the running of a well-loved recreation centre.
At the annual parish meeting of Nafferton Parish Council, on Wednesday 1 May, a crowd of around 50 people gathered and heard the plan for the council to manage the Rec Club.
The club, in Eastlands, Nafferton, is currently operated as a charity which was established in 1962. The parish council would take over the running as a trustee of the charity.
Councillor Mike Jackson, deputy chair of Nafferton Parish Council, chaired the meeting.
He said: “We put aside £10,000. We are not expecting to spend £10,000 on this project it is just to have it there if we need it.
“It is a fantastic facility and the quality of what is on offer is very good.
“We will be looking for volunteers to help run the Rec Club.”
An officer from East Riding of Yorkshire Council attended the meeting, to voice support of the club’s revival.
She said: “I am very positive about the development of the recreation club.
“I think there is real potential there.
“You have got one of the best facilities that I have seen so it would be a real shame if it just sat there.”
Beverley Minster welcomes two special guests this Sunday to commemorate a truly remarkable man.
The Bishop of Beverley and the Dean of York will be preaching at services to celebrate the life of the 8th century saint who founded the church, the oldest state school in the country and the town itself.
Sunday May 12 is when the church will formally commemorate the death of its founder, St John of Beverley.
To mark the occasion the newly-ordained Bishop of Beverley, the Right Reverend Glyn Webster, will be preaching at the 10.30 am Communion service.
The Bishop of Beverley is the Provincial Episcopal Visitor, or ‘flying bishop’, for the north of England and ministers to parishes that do not accept the ordination of women.
Despite his title the Bishop of Beverley has no formal role at Beverley Minster. At the 5.30pm service attended by Civic leaders from the East Riding the preacher will be the new Dean of York, the Very Rev Vivienne Faull, one of the leading female clergy in the country.
Vicar of the Minster, the Revd Jeremy Fletcher said “I am delighted that Glyn and Viv have accepted an invitation to preach this Sunday.”
Driffield Town Council has agreed to ringfence up to £15,000 to help bankroll a series of projects aimed at injecting new life into the town centre.
The authority earmarked £10,000 for town centre projects in the financial year 2012/13. And a further £5,000 has been set aside for this financial year.
The East Riding of Yorkshire Council previously commissioned a consultancy firm to produce recommendations as to how the town centre could be revitalised and, from that, a Town Centre Group started to put together proposals for the funding.
The town centre group comprises the members of the Renaissance Partnership, the town council, business people and traders and a report from them to the town council on Tuesday said that due to time constraints, promotion would begin with a small summer time events programme.
During July, August and September on the third Saturday of the month, it is proposed to hold a market on Cross Hill. Local food producers, crafts people and traditional market traders would stand and initial investigation shows that there is likely to be considerable interest.
From 3pm in Market Place, the town centre group would like to see musicians playing to encourage people to stay in the town during the late afternoon and early evening.
On the first Saturday of each month, Driffield hosts a Farmers’ Market at the showground and the town centre group would like to hire an open topped shuttle bus to bring people from the showground into the town centre.
According to the report to the town council, a similar exercise was carried out recently in Market Weighton when the Kiplingcotes Derby took place and proved very successful.
On the evenings of Driffield Show and the Steam Rally parade, the town centre group hope to encourage town centre pubs and restaurants to provide special menus or events to make the most of the fact that the town is full and so enhance the evening economy.
During the Thursday street markets which are held in the summer holidays, the town centre group propose to include children’s entertainment.
The report included loose costings totalling £9,600 which included £500 on the shuttle bus, £600 to stage the Saturday market, £1500 to pay for Saturday live music and £1000 for Thursday children’s entertainment.
Branding, banners, publicity, leaflets, posters and promotion would cost around £6,000.
The town council was told that although this was the largest cost, it would only have to be produced once.
Although the market would incur costs it was envisaged that the pitch rent would counter balance that to some extent.
Mr Nigel Robinson, a graphic designer, has been asked to give some indication of cost for branding, banners, posters and leaflets in order to promotion the season and the events.
The town centre group hope to forge links with Northern Rail in order to promote the town and its events farther afield.
Mr Matt Lewer, who had previously contacted the town council with regard to social media, is setting up Facebook and Twitter accounts to promote the events on a voluntary basis.
The town council agreed a recommendation to approve the plans, with expenses coming from the already earmarked town centre projects fund. Invoices will be presented to town councillors on a regular basis so that councillors are continually aware where and how the money was being spent.
As part of a tour around the neighbourhood policing teams of Humberside, police and crime commissioner, Matthew Grove paid a visit to Driffield.
In an interview with the Times & Post Mr Grove stressed the need to crack down on rural crime, and in particular, poaching of animals.
See next week’s Times & Post, out on Thursday May 16, for a full report.