Friday 21st May 2010 Fire in Lincolnshire forest
Five fire crews were called to tackle a large fire in a Lincolnshire
forest this week. The crews fought the fire on Wednesday and then
returned to deal with some small pockets that had reignited and to
damp down the woodland. Laughton Forest, near Blyton, is the second
woodland in the area to catch fire in recent weeks. The fire was
difficult to deal with as it had penetrated the underlying peat.

Andrew Powers, of the Forest Commission, said: "Thankfully fires are
rarer than they used to be, thanks to education of those who might
start them through carelessness or deliberately. Depending on how much
woodland is affected, we can clear it mechanically and replant it or
otherwise let it re-grow naturally and manage that." Lincolnshire

Monday 26th April 2010 Typhoon jets get noise tests at Lincolnshire base
A number of the RAF's jets will be tested in the skies above
Lincolnshire. The Typhoons will be flying above RAF Scampton, near
Lincoln, in an operation to test their noise levels. The aircraft were
using the base, normally home to the Red Arrows, while they are away
training in Cyprus.

Ministry of defence officials said low-level flying would be limited
and no flights would take place at night or at weekends. However, they
have warned that the tests will run for as long as three weeks
depending on weather conditions. The Typhoons are normally based at
RAF Coningsby, also in Lincolnshire, and were briefly grounded by the
Icelandic volcanic cloud last week after ash was found in some
engines. Lincolnshire

Monday 29th March 2010 Rhino horn cup sold for £80,000 - after 25 years in the attic
An auctioneer in Brigg, North Lincolnshire, has expressed his surprise
and delight at the £80,000 sale price a 17th century Chinese libation
cup fetched at a recent auction. Possibly even more surprised is the
former owner who had kept the article in the attic for over 25 years.

Auctioneer Mr Bewick said that the cup was lacking something that
would make it even more valuable - a maker's mark.“Sadly the craftsman
will almost certainly remain anonymous forever, simply because he did
not mark his work. That's really infuriating. The pre-sale estimate is
£20,000-£30,000 but had there been a craftsman's mark we would almost
certainly have been looking at a valuation of in excess of £100,000." Lincolnshire

Friday 19th February 2010 Lottery cash for church repairs
Cash from English Heritage and the Heritage Lottery Fund totalling
£750,000 has been granted to Nine churches in Lincolnshire for urgent
repair work. Twenty churches and places of worship deemed to be of
historical significance across the East Midlands will get the funds to
help repair roofs and masonry.

Dr Simon Thurley, Chief Executive of English Heritage, said: "We are
delighted with the continued success of this important national scheme
which has helped to restore and preserve some of the country's most
historic places of worship. They give us beautiful public spaces where
people can find peace or companionship, enjoy exhibitions and concerts
or benefit from practical services such as post offices, shops,
nurseries." Lincolnshire

Monday 15th February 2010 Slum clearance for Grimsby
Humberside fishing port Grimsby is to bid good riddance to a street
described by one local as “little Beirut”. Guildford Street in Grimsby
faces demolition in an attempt to clear away the crime and depravation
that has dogged the area for several years. The street of about 100
houses, originally built for fishermen, has become synonymous with
drug dealing and illegal activity.

Guildford Street ranks in the top 3% of the most deprived areas in
Britain and on average its residents live seven years less than those
from elsewhere in Grimsby. Cllr Beasant of North East Lincolnshire
Council said the council were determined to improve the area: "We're
all committed to making a difference to people's lifestyles, we want
to see it as an area where people want to live again," he said. Lincolnshire

Thursday 6th August 2009 Lincolnshire landowners set to cash in on bird protection
Attempts to reverse the alarming decline in numbers of British woodland birds will mean a cash bonus for some of Lincolnshire’s landowners. 16 bird species in sharp decline have been identified by The Forestry Commission as part of a project to provide more habitat for Britain’s woodland birds.

Lincolnshire has a very low proportion of its land as woodland, only 3.3%. This is mainly as a result of years of intensive farming which has also seen the destruction of the hedgerows, another vital wildlife habitat. Lincolnshire’s landowners will benefit from the scheme which will make cash grants to landowners who provide and properly manage sites suitable for endangered birds such as the lesser spotted woodpecker. Lincolnshire

Wednesday 5th August 2009 Lincoln battles booze with beer goggles
The sleepy Lincolnshire county seat, Lincoln, is not as quiet as it may at first seem. In fact the ancient cathedral city has somewhat of a reputation for boozing. The city is rated as the sixth worse in the country for alcohol related harm and violent crime.

Now, the City of Lincoln alcohol intervention officer, Sam Barstow, is going to meet trouble where it starts, out on the streets. He’s employing a secret weapon in his fight, a pair of “drunk and dangerous” goggles designed to simulate the experience of being very drunk. The hope is to encourage people to drink responsibly and have fun, rather than just go all out to get very drunk on a night out. Lincolnshire

Friday 31st July 2009 Thong blacks out Lincolnshire village
Some residents of the sleepy Lincolnshire village Leadenham were without electricity after an item of underwear got caught in overhead power lines. Heavy rain had soaked the thong making it conductive. The thong, which was tied to a helium balloon, became entangled in power lines and short circuited them. It is believed the flying thong may have been launched during the annual ball at the nearby Leadenham Polo club.

A spokesperson for Central Networks who were called to rectify the fault said, “Flying objects do occasionally cause us problems but in this case it was more a case of risque than risky.” Lincolnshire

Wednesday 15th July 2009 Alcoholic tea a Lincoln local favourite
A young businesswoman has received a grant to step up production of her best selling alcoholic teas. Claire Hall has been hand brewing and bottling around three hundred bottles a day of her alcoholic iced tea after setting up production two years ago. Her firm Drink It Up Limited produces the tea at The University of Lincoln’s National Centre for Food Manufacture at Holbeach, near Spalding in Lincolnshire.

The tea is part of the Percy’s range and the firm has now been awarded a grant to help her meet growing demand. The Innovation Support Grant will enable her to automate the production process and help her get the output up to 3,000 bottles a day. Lincolnshire

Tuesday 23rd June 2009 It’s not all bad news Britain
It’s easy to read our newspapers and think that everything is bad and that there’s no good news anymore. An engineering company in Lincoln, Lincolnshire will tell you differently. They’ve just enjoyed a great year that’s seen them increase their workforce from 39 to 44 after watching turnover double in two years.

The company, Industrial and Marine Power Services Ltd, service and recondition diesel engines for shipping firms, factories and power stations around the world. While other companies have gone onto short working weeks and taken extended holidays, the Lincoln engineering outfit is working flat out seven days a week trying to keep up with demand. Lincolnshire