Action Fraud is warning the public to spot the signs of romance fraud.

This comes as reports made to Action Fraud reveal that a staggering £50,766,602 was lost to romance fraud in 2018 – an average of £11,145 per victim and a 27% increase on the previous year.

One case study reveals how she lost nearly £10,000 to a romance fraudster who claimed to be in the British Army.

What is romance fraud?

Romance fraud happens when a person thinks they have met the perfect partner through an online dating website, app, or through social media, but in fact a fraudster is using a fake profile to form a relationship with them. They will gain the person’s trust and ask for money or enough personal information to steal the victim’s identity.

New statistics released today reveal that many people across the UK continue to fall victim to this type of fraud, often with devastating consequences. In 2018, 4,555 reports of romance fraud were made to Action Fraud, with victims reporting to have lost over £50 million.

Not only are victims losing vast amounts of money, the emotional impact this may have can be even more difficult to come to terms with. In a report produced by Action Fraud, 42% of victims described falling victim to romance fraud as having a significant impact on their health or financial well-being.

The report also showed that the average age of a romance fraud victim is 50 and that 63% of dating fraud victims are female who lose twice as much on average than males.

Action Fraud believes that these numbers do not accurately represent the true scale of the problem. Some people may feel embarrassed to have fallen victim which may discourage them from coming forward to report their experience.

Action Fraud is working with the Date Safe to raise awareness of the risks of romance fraud in the UK. The group’s members include Action Fraud and the City of London Police, Get Safe Online, the Metropolitan Police, Age UK, Victim Support, Scamalytics and the Online Dating Association (ODA).

Date Safe tips on how to avoid a #fauxmance

• Don’t rush into an online relationship – get to know the person, not the profile and ask plenty of questions.
• Analyse their profile and check the person is genuine by putting their name, profile pictures or any repeatedly used phrases and the term ‘dating scam’ into your search engine.
• Talk to your friends and family about your dating choices. Be wary of anyone who tells you not to tell others about them.
• Evade scammers by never sending money to, or sharing your bank details with, someone you’ve met online, no matter what reason they give or how long you’ve been speaking to them.
• Stay on the dating site messenger service until you’re confident the person is who they say they are. If you do decide to meet in person, make sure the first meeting is in a public place and let someone else know where you’re going to be.

Angela Lambert, crime prevention and partnerships for Lincolnshire police, said: “The cost to victims, both emotionally and financially increases each year, as does romance fraud.

“The emotional damage of falling victim to romance fraud can often be far more difficult to come to terms with.

“Heartless fraudsters are cruelly targeting vulnerable victims and exploiting those looking for love online.

“Together with our partners, we are urging people to spot the signs of romance fraud and to follow the ‘Date Safe’ advice this Valentine’s Day and in the future.”

CEO of the Online Dating Association, George Kidd, said:“ Dating services are part of our social fabric, accounting for about a third of all new relationships. They are enjoyed by millions and we want everyone to have a great and safe experience.

“We ask users to stay alert online just as they would in any other walk of life: use the in-built messaging services and be wary of people who want to get you away from this. Be wary of those who shower you with loving messages instantly, but may not want to meet. And, no one you meet online should ever ask you for money.”

Chief Officer at independent charity Victim Support, Diana Fawcett, said:“Romance fraud affects victims both emotionally and financially and for many the impact can be long-term.

“These scams can be extremely sophisticated and victims should not feel ashamed or embarrassed and shouldn’t blame themselves in any way.”

There are still a few places available on ASIST training in Lincoln this March!

18 & 19 March 2019

 9am – 4.30pm

Greetwell Place, 2 Lime Kiln Way, Lincoln, LN2 4US

Learn how to recognise those thinking about suicide and work with individuals to keep them safe and supported. 

ASIST is the world’s most widely taught, evidence based and evaluated training in suicide intervention skills – The 2 day course is suitable for all adults in all situations.

We charge just £175 per place. You can show the training on your CV, and will receive a certificate of attendance.

Apply for places via Eventbrite or contact direct:

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/mary-anne-crook-intervention-skills-training-working-with-marion-willers-9014459579

For further information, email Mary Anne Crook at maryanne@interventionskills.co.uk or tel 07795 388330

 or see the Livingworks website www.livingworks.net

Don’t worry if Lincoln is not convenient for you,

 we can train anywhere in the UK!

If you would like to know more about booking a half-day suicide alertness training (safeTALK) or the 2 day ASIST training for your organisation or locality, please just ask for details. This can bring the per capita cost for ASIST down to less than £105 per person. Our clients include Local Authorities, NHS, MIND branches, Universities, Training companies and private businesses. Those selling on our skills can income generate from our very reasonable charges.

St Barnabas Hospice’s brand new Forget Me Not Appeal will bring hundreds of iron Forget Me Nots to Lincoln Castle

Lincoln, 15^th February 2019 – St Barnabas Hospice has announced a brand new appeal that involves offering supporters the chance to remember a loved one with a hand-crafted, iron Forget Me Not flower for a suggested donation of £30.

The flowers will be part of a display at Lincoln Castle running from 6^th – 21^st April. Clusters of the flowers will be placed in the Castle Grounds, displayed similarly to how real Forget Me Nots grow naturally.

On April 21^st, the final day of the display, supporters are invited to come and collect their pre-ordered flowers from the castle to display them in their own homes and gardens. There will also be a variety of entertainment and fun for all the family on the day.

Sam Waterer, Individual Giving Fundraiser for St Barnabas Hospice said: “The fact that these Forget Me Nots are handmade and bespoke to St Barnabas really adds to their character and meaning. I can’t wait to see the display at Lincoln Castle knowing that each flower represents treasured memories.

“A Forget Me Not flower can be dedicated to absolutely anyone, they don’t need to have used St Barnabas services or accessed any hospice care.”

To dedicate your flower today, please visit: StBarnabasHospice.co.uk/fmn and fill in the donation form.

To ensure your flower is a part of the display, your dedication must be made by March 29^th.

Supporters who dedicate their Forget Me Not after this date, or who are unable to collect from the Castle on April 21^st, will be able to pick up their flower from a number of pick up points from April 29^th.

The flowers themselves are handcrafted by a local artist in Lincolnshire. They are made by Stefanos, a traditional blacksmith at The Old Smithy in North Ferriby where each petal is cut and shaped individually, making no two Forget Me Not flowers the same.

Jenny Peake, Individual Giving and Data Manager for St Barnabas Hospice said: “We want to say a huge thank you to Lincoln Castle and to our sponsors Tanglewood Care Homes and Waterside Shopping Centre for all of their help and support in making this happen. I’d also like to thank Stefanos and Roz at The Old Smithy for designing and making our Forget Me Nots non-stop since January!

“We hope that everyone loves the Forget Me Nots as much as we do. It’s a beautiful way to remember a loved one and also raises vital funds for the Hospice. These funds will allow us to continue providing high quality care for patients and their families and carers across Lincolnshire.”

For more information about the Forget Me Not appeal, please visit the St Barnabas Hospice website at StBarnabasHospice.co.uk/fmn or contact Sam Waterer, Individual Giving Fundraiser on 01522 540 300.

Lincolnshire police have received a number of reports of criminal damage in the Grantham Town West area over the past couple of days.

Residents should report any suspicious activity to the police on 101, or 999 in an emergency.

The corrugated roof was removed from Belton’s boathouse, on the banks of the Witham, on Saturday.

Pop along during half term to see the craftsmen prepare to reinstate the signed fish-scale slates.

The last chance to sponsor a slate and leave a mark on Belton’s boathouse is next Sun, 24 Feb:

The Lincolnshire Heart Centre is not only helping to save lives in the county, but also on the other side of the world.

The team, which is based in the specialist centre adjoining Lincoln County Hospital, was one of the first in the country to use injectable devices to record heart rhythms and has been helping to set up similar services in countries as far away as Australia and New Zealand.

The heart loop recorders are implanted just under the skin of the chest and monitor the electrical activity of the heart. The results are then downloaded via a ‘hub’ in the patient’s own home that sends the information electronically to the heart centre for review.

Previously, similar devices required surgical implanting in a theatre type environment, but the new devices are 87% smaller and are implanted in a day case environment. This means less pain and discomfort for the patient and a lower risk of infection.

The centre, has fitted more than 1,000 of these injectable devices since 2013. The majority of which have been done by advanced clinical practitioners (ACPs), specialist nurses who have undergone extensive additional training.

The team has published its excellent results in various journals and shared at conferences around the world, including the British Journal of Cardiology, the European Society of Cardiology Congress and Heart Rhythm UK Congress.

After publishing its results, the centre was approached by hospitals throughout the UK and beyond asking for help in establishing similar services.

Alun Roebuck Consultant Nurse said: “After our article on fitting loop recorders out of the cath lab by non-doctors was published, we were approached by nurses and physiologists from both the UK and afar.  

“Unfortunately, it was too far for our colleagues in New Zealand to visit so we shared all of our information and our experience electronically and gave them some moral support. Fantastically, New Zealand now has their own service up and running.”

The Lincolnshire Heart Centre has now joined forces with the North Shore Hospital in New Zealand so the teams can continue to share best practice and benchmark their results against each other.

Team members are also advising the National Centre for Health and Clinical Excellent (NICE), this is the Government’s health watchdog on the development of national guidelines. The team at Lincoln are sharing their experience on how this new technology could and should also be used in the care and management of patients who have suffered a stroke.

Grantham children and young people are set for a week of fun and games at Grantham Christian Ministries Trust’s annual holiday club! Pyramids, pharaohs, camels and crocodiles will all be found at Grantham’s Church of the Ascension as this year’s theme is ancient Egypt.

The holiday club takes place over three days. Each session will be full of creative teaching, games, craft, songs, prayers and Bible readings as children learn about how wide and long and high and deep God’s love is. The holiday club runs from 10–12 noon from 19^th -21st February and is open to all children aged 5 to 11.

The holiday club is being led by School’s Worker Jennie Fytche. She is a familiar face to Grantham’s primary school children from her regular visits to local schools as part of her work with Grantham Christian Ministries Trust.  

Jennie is delighted to be running the event. ‘I’m really looking forward to this year’s holiday club. It will be great fun, we’ll learn a lot and it will be fantastic to have lots of children coming along.’

Grantham Church Ministries Trust is registered charity that works with schools throughout Grantham. As well as leading collective worship in schools and running after school and lunchtime clubs they also offer pastoral support to teachers and staff.

So far, 40 children have signed up, so a great time is promised

As the days start to get longer you’ll no doubt be planning ways to enjoy your garden through spring and into summer.

SKDC’s garden waste collection service can help with that. They will be starting fortnightly collections for the 2019/20 scheme from Monday 1 April, so it is almost time to renew your service.

It’s an easy way to save time, money and hassle, with no need for trips to the tip or to mess up your car with bags of garden waste.

SKDC’s Cabinet Member for Environment, Cllr Dr Peter Moseley, said: “This is a popular and useful service that is easy to join.

“All of the green waste collected across the district is taken to a local composting facility where it is turned into compost that is suitable for agricultural use.

“We’ve frozen the cost to match last year’s price. You can pay just one annual fee and there is no limit to the number of garden waste bins you can buy.”

Existing customers will shortly be invited to re-join the scheme. You will be able to renew or register from Tuesday, March 5, using direct debit by visiting www.southkesteven.gov.uk/greenbin

Customers will receive their bin sticker and/or bin in time for the start of the new collection year which begins on 1 April, so remember to put your sticker on your bin as soon as you receive it.

Don’t worry if you don’t receive it by 1 April, as they will still collect your bin if you have paid to join or re-join the scheme.

Grantham-based professional choreographer and contemporary dance artist  Rae Piper, a director Chantry School of Contemporary & Balletic Arts, was thrilled to be invited to work in Italy. It followed the success of one of her private students who won both the Classical and Contemporary sections at the International Winter Festival of Lake Garda.  Rae has been coaching five elite student dancers at Art Studio Danza in contemporary technique and competition work, and created five different  contemporary and neo-classical solos for the students to compete with.  Rae had a lovely week and was honoured to work with Antonella Mandanici and Art Studio Danza.

Every year, history is made in the historic setting of Belton House, near Grantham and one of this year’s top events is coming soon (29-31 March)!

County News is offering up to 1,000 readers the chance to save 30% on online Saturday and Sunday tickets purchases. The offer is available using the discount code CN30 at www.bede-events.co.uk

Belton Horse Trials, which attracts thousands of visitors, is by kind permission of the National Trust. Over the years, it has established a well-earned reputation, not only for the quality of its sport and international reach, but as an event which appeals to everyone, from town and country.

Throughout the last weekend in March, BEDE Events is hosting a wide range of festival attractions to make this an unrivalled day out. And this year is set to be the best yet, with exceptional eventing and arena action.

There will also be mouth-watering food, with trucks, bars and picnic areas to keep you going throughout the day, offering everything from beer-battered fish and chips to succulent burgers, gin dens and festival Pimms!

For the latest food and retail offerings at this year’s Belton Horse Trials, please check their website and social media pages.

Sue McQuinn, who recently got nearly 2,000 people signing an online petition to scrap the new Parking Eye scheme at Grantham Hospital, held talks with health bosses yesterday. This is the result.

I, accompanied by Frank, had with ULHT Estates & Facilities Director, Paul Boocock, E & F Mgr Ian Hayden & Katy, ULHT Communications.

Parking Eye is here to stay – the obsolete barrier system won’t be returning. This may be disappointing to some but can’t really be a surprise.

However, ULHT acknowledge the issues that the new system has brought and that they were more than could be attributed to ‘teething problems.’

ParkingEye has been held accountable for the technical issues that caused so many PCNs (Parking Charge Notifications – ‘fines’ to you and me). I was assured these have been put right. Time will tell.

We then went on to discuss what ULHT is doing to make this system more user friendly. It’s in their interest for it to be successful as much as for those who use it.

I tried to bring to their attention all the issues/questions I’ve been made aware of, apologies if I’ve missed anything.

• Where does the revenue from tickets go? 100% of revenue from the Pay Stations goes to ULHT & is used to pay for the day to day running of the car parks, maintenance & security. Anything in excess of that goes into Hospital Funds.

Revenue from PCNs goes to Parking Eye. A good reason for them to issue spurious charges? Could be, however, ULHT has the ultimate veto on all PCNs & can cancel/refund any of them.

• PCNs & the circumstances under which they were issued was discussed. The flaws in the system that lead to most of the erroneous ones should have now been rectified. I identified some cases where PCNs had been issued when a vehicle had dropped someone off, without parking, left the car park and then come back within a short time to collect them – in neither instance exceeding the 20min free drop off/collection period.

This will be investigated to see if there is a glitch in the system.

• Contact with ParkingEye when making an appeal. Having nowhere to phone to speak to a human being is industry standard, apparently. The rationale is that putting everything is writing covers both sides against misinterpretation. I pointed out that once an appeal has started contact, even by email, seems impossible. They will look at that.

• Blue Badge Holders have been caused an inordinate amount of problems by the new system. ULHT is very aware of this and are working to make the system easier. They hope to introduce a pre-registration system for BB holders – Up to 3 cars will be able to be ‘registered’ on the system, by taking the Photo BB to a reception area in the first instance. Once that has been done on future visits the pay machine will recognise those registration nos. as being a BB user & will charge accordingly. I’ve also asked that they look at making pre-registration by email possible. The problem of people being told they couldn’t have a BB voucher because they weren’t the person with the appointment has now been addressed. All staff should now be aware that any BB holder visiting the hospital whether they have an appointment or not is entitled to a voucher.

• Kiosks – ULHT will put a pay station inside the building once H&S issues have been sorted out. Site maps are being updated and it was agreed adding the location of pay stations would be helpful.

• Wheelchair users have found the pay stations difficult to use in some cases. ULHT were assured the machines were DDA compliant. Documentation on this has been requested & they have also had independent people in to look at and report on them.

• ParkingEye were asked to upgrade their software and modify the user interface to make it easier to use. Hopefully, these changes have improved the user experience.

• Multiple visits in one day. The system in place is difficult to understand & use. I’ve asked them to look at a ‘daily rate’ option on the pay stations.

• Concessions. I’ve asked that all the concessions available be reviewed. I suggested a concession for overrunning clinics be considered. I also asked for awareness of concessions be raised wherever possible and suggested it could be included in appointment letters where appropriate.

• Collection / Drop off. 20 minutes is allowed in all areas, on all sites. I pointed out that some misinformation was being given out about this, so this will be addressed.

• Good2go – the prepayment app is working on an option to include Blue Badge Holders. That would be a great step forward.

• Payment Bands. ULHT are reviewing their payment bands. I made the point that most people are going to be at the hospital for over one hour and suggested the first payment band should be 0-2 hours instead of 0-1 hours. This would help to get over the problems of people going ‘just over the hour.’ Queues at kiosks should lessen as people become more familiar with the system & all the ‘glitches’ are ironed out.

• Staff Parking. I made my point that I don’t think staff should pay at all but that change isn’t going to happen any time soon! Staff members have been badly hit by the new system in many ways including receiving a lot of PCNs that weren’t warranted. Many thousands of staff vehicles were registered before the system went into operation. Due to human error some were entered incorrectly, in some cases incorrect reg nos. were submitted in the first place and staff changed vehicles without updating the information held on the system. This led to PCNs being issued. Facilities are working to review all those who think they’ve received a PCN in error.

• Feedback. I made the suggestion that a questionnaire- hardcopy in clinics etc and online might help ULHT gain some insight into how people were thinking & the problems they were and are facing. Although this wasn’t dismissed, now wasn’t thought to be the right time, it would be more use once the systems has had time to settle down. They did agree that a Q & A section on the website would be useful.

I hope I’ve covered everything that was discussed. We’ve agreed to have another meeting in a month or so to see how things are progressing. In the meantime, I’ll be keeping an eye on ongoing issues raised here and elsewhere.

Thank you everyone who signed my petition – all those at the meeting were aware of it and had been on it to look at the comments. So it was a useful exercise!

Two crews from Grantham fire station attended a fire on Valley Road, at about 10.30pm last night.

About 8m of conifer hedging was destroyed together with damage to a wooden shed. E

It was extinguished using two hose reel jets.

Mike Cockfield: How will Brexit affect eCommerce?

Belton House is hosting a charity fashion show on 15 March, to help raise funds for its boathouse restoration. It’s a chance to buy all the latest fashions, for all ages, sizes an occasions.

As part of a year-long campaign to save Belton’s historic boathouse, the National Trust has teamed up with SOS Fashion Shows to stage a fundraising fashion show and will be selling popular high streets labels such as Marks and Spencer, Next and Monsoon at specially discounted rates.

“We held a fashion show last year, and it was so successful, we are having another one this year.” said Emma Lockwood, Boathouse Project Manager “It was great fun and all the ladies not only enjoyed it but managed to treat themselves to many bargains”.

Belton’s boathouse has stood on the banks of the River Witham for over 175 years and is one of only two in existence in the UK. The National Trust started to restore it last summer, as part of the project, we’ll be returning punting to the River Witham for visitors to enjoy this year.

We need to raise £100k to complete the work and are undertaking a number of fundraising activities to achieve that.

The fashion show will take place on Friday 15 March with the doors and bar opening at 6.30pm and the show starting at 7pm. Following the show, there’ll be a chance to rummage through the racks and bag a bargain, all while enjoying a glass of fizz.

Tickets are priced at just £7.50 and available on Belton’s website or by calling 0344 249 1895. Please visit www.nationaltrust.org.uk/belton-house/whats-on for more information.

County council reduces gender pay gap

County councillors’ allowances set to increase

The green light for a new £1.5 million Lincolnshire Co-op store in Grantham has been giving the all clear by South Kesteven planners.

The convenience store will be built on the corner of Springfield Road and Hanbury Avenue, next to Apple Tree nursing home, and is expected to create 15 new jobs.

Work is expected to start at the site this summer and the company plans to open the store in early 2020.

Lincolnshire Co-operative said the idea is to provide a “top-up” shop for local people.

The store will be open from 7am until 10pm seven days a week and include 20 parking spaces.

Matt Wilkinson, Lincolnshire Co-op store development manager, said: “We’re excited to have planning permission to build a food store in the centre of Grantham.

“It’s our first food outlet in the town and will join our busy Grantham Travel branch and Barrowby Gate Pharmacy.

“It will provide lots of valued services from food to go and groceries to chilled beers, wines and meal solutions, along with goods sourced from producers in our Love Local range including Grantham Gingerbread.”

Huntingtower Mini Police spent Valentine’s Day in the best way yesterday – at Newton House Care Home.

They made Valentine’s Day cards for the residents, played dominoes, had a singalong and even listened to a 104 year old resident play the harmonica!

Free Half term children’s activities being held at Grantham Museum

On Thursday 21st February Grantham Museum is holding free half term children’s activities to keep the little ones busy in conjunction with the Travel & Tourism students from Grantham College. Activities such asFlight School – making paper aeroplanes and throwing them through a target to earn points Sir Isaac Newton paper plates – children can create an image of Sir Isaac Newton to be hung on an apple tree. Thaumatrope – a Victorian toy which the children will be able to make.We will also have dressing up and our Victorian educational boxes out on display. There will be two sessions 11am-12:30pm and 2pm – 3:30pm. The sessions are free and parental supervision is required.