Crimestoppers has been alerted to a small number of calls where scammers have been impersonating their call handlers and asking for people’s personal information, including their bank details.

The charity has been warned about a group of scammers who have ‘hijacked’ the 0800 555 111 number. The scammers are calling people, saying they are “Crimestoppers at the Home Office” and directing them to the website to clarify the number. They are then asking for personal details.

Crimestoppers has never, and will never, make cold calls to members of the public asking for any personal details, so if anyone does receive a call from someone asking for personal information and claiming to be from Crimestoppers, please report it to Action Fraud on 0300 123 2040.

Roger Critchell, Director of Operations for Crimestoppers, said: “We are currently talking to our phone service provider to attempt to resolve the situation over our number being hijacked and hope this can be rectified as quickly as possible.

“I would emphasise that it is business as normal for the charity and people can still contact us on 0800 555 111 to pass on anonymous information about crime, but we wanted to make sure people were aware that we will never, ever contact them asking for personal details, so please do not hand any over if you are contacted by someone claiming to be Crimestoppers.”

Well, the dust has settled and the General Election seems a distant memory, we can get back to a more normal property market, or that is what the London based ‘Fleet Street’ journalists would lead  you to believe.

You see I have been talking to many fellow property professionals in Grantham (solicitors, conveyancers and one the best sources of info – the chap who puts all the estate agent and letting boards up in Grantham, and all of them, every last one of them told me they didn’t see any change over April in business, compared to any other month on the lead up to the Election itself.

I am now of the opinion that maybe in the upmarket areas of Mayfair and Chelsea, the market went into spasm with the prospect of a Labour/SNP pact with their Mansion Tax for properties over £2,000,000, but in little old Grantham and the surrounding villages, there haven’t been any properties sold above £2,000,000 mark in the last 7 years , and only three above the £1,000,000 mark.

In a nutshell, the General Election in Grantham didn’t really have any impact on people’s confidence to buy property.  As I write this article, of 380 properties that have come on to the market in Grantham  since the 2^nd of April, 141 of them have a buyer and are sold subject to contract, that’s over one in three (37.11% to be precise).

I think that things are starting to change in the way people in Grantham (in fact the whole of the country as I talk to other agents around the UK) buy and sell property.  Back in the 1970’s, 80’s and 90’s, the norm was to buy a terraced house as soon as you left home and do it up.

Meanwhile, property prices had gone up, so you traded up to a 2 bed semi, then a 3 bed semi and repeated the process, until you found yourself in  large 4 bed detached house with a large mortgage.

Looking into this a little deeper like I have said in previous articles Grantham people’s attitude to homeownership itself has changed over the last ten years.  The pressure for youngsters to buy when young has gone as renting, not buying, is considered the norm for 20 something’s.

This isn’t just a Grantham thing, but, a national thing, as I have noticed that people buy property by trading up (or down) because they need to, not because ‘it’s what people do’.

This does means there are a lot less properties on the market compared to the last decade.

A by-product of less people moving is less people selling their property. My research shows there are a lot fewer properties each month selling in Grantham compared to the last decade.  For example, in February 2015, only 55 properties were sold in Grantham. Compare this to February 2002, and 88 properties sold and the same month in 2003, 83 properties.

I repeated the exercise on different sets of years, (comparing the same month to allow for seasonal variations) and the results were identical if not greater.  So what does this all mean?  Demand for Grantham property isn’t flying away, but with fewer properties for sale, it means property prices are proving reasonably stable too.

Stable, consistent and steady growth of property values in Grantham, year on year, without the massive peaks and troughs we saw in the late 1980s and mid/late2000s might just be the thing that the Grantham property market needs in the long term.

For more thoughts on the Grantham Property Market .. visit the Grantham Property Market Blog  www.granthampropertyblog.blogspot.co.uk/

If you visited Belton 100 years ago at this time of year, you may well have found the grounds full of bunting, music, and people enjoying a piece of cake or a go on the coconut shy.

In the depths of the First World War, the Brownlows of Belton played their part in raising morale among the local community by hosting garden fetes on their estate.

To commemorate their efforts and recapture the spirit of those jolly events, Belton is hosting a garden fete again, on the weekend of 27 and 28 June.

Visitors can tuck in to a piece of cake, a cream tea, or something even sweeter with a stick of candyfloss.

To drink, choose between a visit to the temperance tent for a refreshing cup of tea or head over to the Oldershaw Brewery beer tent for something a little stronger.

There’ll be live music throughout the weekend, with authentic wartime songs performed by the fantastic Miss Marina Mae.

The team at Belton have been hard at work putting together a coconut shy, shove ha’penny games, splat the rat, and arranging tug of war events and races. All these firm favourites 100 years ago are just as much fun today! Visitors can also stroll into the formal gardens and have a go at sketching or painting the garden, all materials are supplied.

Last but certainly not least, the living history group History Revisited will recreate a training camp in the grounds of Belton of the First Aid Nursing Yeomanry and Scottish Horse Troopers. Visitors are invited to explore the camp with the 110 year old ambulance, medical and officers’ tents, meet the horses, mascots, medical dog and fully costumed people that are always happy to chat.

Not to be missed are the twice daily arena displays, as the team demonstrate horse riding drills and mounted firing exercises.

Marketing and Events Officer Sam Gee said ‘‘It’s particularly special putting together an event that’s been directly inspired by a bit of Belton history. We know that the Earl and Countess Brownlow held fetes like this, and we have archive material to help us piece together what sort of activities would have been on offer.

“Just like the fetes of a century ago, the garden fete is all about welcoming visitors into Belton to enjoy some traditional, feel-good games, food, drink and community spirit!”

Belton’s Summer Garden Fete is happening on Saturday 27 and Sunday 28 June, 9.30am – 5pm, and you’re warmly invited to join the festivities. The brand new outdoor adventure playground will also be open, as will the mansion, gardens, shops and restaurant. National Trust members enjoy free entry as usual, normal admission charges apply to non-members.

SKDC is asking residents not to place sharp objects, including medical needles, into silver recycling bins and clear bags at home.

The council has seen an increase recently in cases where its Streectare operatives and employees at local recycling plants have been put at risk by syringes and other medical paraphernalia being placed in recyclable facilities.

This is both a danger to collectors and when being sorted at the recycling plant.

Equally, syringes should not be disposed of through residual black bins or pink bags as this endangers operatives collecting or dealing with the waste at the disposal site.

Instead residents should contact the council on 01476 40 60 80 to arrange a specific collection for such materials.

For safety, they simply need to be contained within their yellow sharps containers, available from pharmacists or GPs.

Other sharp objects such as broken glass should be securely wrapped in newspaper and placed in a black bin or pink bag.

Darren Wall‎ says…

Friday madness yet again, Asda roundabout !!

Lorry stuck under Barrowby Road bridge

Combine Harvester on vehicle damaged. Now reopened.

THE latest shop in Grantham town centre to get a facelift is drinks specialists The Tricking Tap.

The Marklet Place shop front has been improved under the English Heritage Scheme through Buckminster Trust Estates.