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Ten people from the Boston area have been issued with fixed penalty notices for breaching Covid-19 regulations over the weekend.

Officers attended three separate reports of dangerous driving in the car parks of Lidl and Tesco in Wyberton Fen and also on Marsh Lane Industrial Estate in Boston.

These incidents were reported to us between 5pm and 6pm on Sunday 24^th January.

Inspector Fran Harrod said: “We would like to thank the public for bringing these incidents of dangerous driving to our attention. The dangerous driving involved the drivers carrying out ‘donut’ manoeuvres and racing in these car parks in the snow.

“This is not only extremely dangerous to those taking part but to others in these areas. While we continue to engage and explain with the public, this was a blatant breach of the restrictions which will not be tolerated.

“As well as issuing 10 Covid fines, one person also received a Covid warning, and two cars were seized as uninsured, with drivers reported. 

“A traffic offence report was also submitted for one driver being dangerously out of control.  This is not the first time we have had reports of such behaviour in lockdown, and we are making it an area priority to tackle not just the Covid breaches, but also the associated antisocial behaviour and danger caused to those participating and members of the public.”

All 10 people were issue with £200 fines for breaking lockdown guidelines. All were first time offenders and received a £200 fine, but it will be reduced to £100 if the fine is paid within 14 days.

All Fixed Penalty Notices are issued subject to review.

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Police are investigating the unexplained death of an 11-year old boy which was reported at 10:05pm Friday night (22 January) in Lincoln.

A man in his 30s has been arrested in relation to this incident.

More details will follow when available.

Reference: Incident 472 of 22nd January

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On Thursday at 3.15pm, officers carried out a warrant at a property in Riverside Close, Sleaford, following information that drugs were at the address.

Heroin, cocaine and cash were found and officers believe this could be linked to county lines.

Two men aged 18 and 42 were arrested and remain in custody.

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The Grosvenor House Hotel, North Parade, Skegness has had their Alcohol Premises Licence Revoked 

The Alcohol Licensing Team from Lincolnshire Police submitted paperwork for a Licence Review Hearing following a visit to the premises on 19^th November 2020, where officers seized CCTV footage. Once this footage had been examined The Grosvenor Hotel was found to be open and trading on Friday 13^th November 2020 and Saturday 14^th November 2020. The business was open with customers inside consuming alcohol in contravention of the government closure order which started at midnight on 4^th November 2020.

On Tuesday 19^th January 2021 a digital hearing was held in front of Skegness District Council Licensing Sub-Committee. After hearing all the evidence they agreed with the police that this licenced premises had opened in breach of the regulations when other businesses were subject to closure. 

The Sub-Committee were of the view that the breaches were so serious in a time when coronavirus was particularly prevalent in the area and when the Government had declared a national lockdown for the country that it was appropriate for the promotion of all four of the licensing objectives to revoke the licence.

There is a 21 day appeal process; if no appeal is submitted then the suspension comes into force.

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Lincolnshire Police initially received a photograph from a Facebook account which appeared to show a group of males sat in a large group drinking pints and posing for photos.

Sergeant Kim Enderby, Alcohol Licensing Manager for Lincolnshire Police, said: “Following that initial Facebook image being sent to my team we carried out a thorough investigation. We quickly attended at the hotel and carried out a review of the CCTV hard drive. I thought after 29 years in the police there wasn’t a lot left to shock me but the way in which this venue was operating was awful. Nearly two weeks after the November lockdown had started we found footage of over fifteen people in the bar area. They were being served pint after pint by the owner of the premises Mr Sparks. Obviously this hotel bar should have been closed; people should not have been allowed inside to drink alcohol. But of equal concern was the total lack of social distancing measures in place. At one point over ten men were crammed round a small table drinking and posing for what we think were the Facebook posts. There were no face masks being worn by customers or staff, nothing had been put in place to try and prevent the spread of the virus.

“We also discovered footage of three males smoking in the bar area, despite the fact that it has been illegal to smoke on licensed premises in England since 1^st July 2007- over thirteen years. The males were seen to be drinking and smoking whilst children sat and ate at a table behind them.  Mr Sparks claimed it was an error of judgement on his part to open the bar but that is a poor excuse. The blatant disregard for both the closure order and social distancing measures demonstrates a lack of management and control over these premises.

“We are not yet out of this pandemic, whilst the vaccine rollout is well under way, we still need everyone to be sensible and follow the regulations. Anyone responsible for running licensed premises is expected to do so responsibly and within the law.

“The decision of East Lindsey District Council to revoke this licence sends a really strong deterrent message to anyone owning or running licensed premises. They need to follow the guidance, operate lawfully and responsibly. We will not hesitate to take action against any licensed premises whose operation presents a risk to the public, where there is criminality and where the licensing objectives are undermined.”

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Police have launched a murder investigation following the death of a 26-year-old man following an incident in Skegness, last night (22^nd December).

Officers received a call at 7.26pm and attended a property in Glentworth Crescent, Skegness, where they found a man who had sustained serious injuries.

He was taken to hospital but died in the early hours of this morning (23^rd December). He has not yet been formally identified.

Two men, aged 28 and 30, have been arrested on suspicion of murder in connection with this incident. They remain in custody.

Police would like to hear from anyone who was in the area at the time as they may hold important information for the investigation.

Anyone with information can contact in one of the following ways:

• Submit information through our dedicated public portal  https://mipp.police.uk/operation/33EM20C71-PO1

• Call 101, quoting Incident 374 of 22^nd December
• Email force.control@lincs.pnn.police.uk putting “Incident 374 of 22^nd December” in the Subject line
• Contact Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555111.

A man has been jailed for a one punch assault which led to the death of a much-loved dad.

Gediminas Vaitkus, aged 43, of Tunnard Street, Boston, was attacked by Hikmet Maez, aged 19, in Red Lion Street in the town at around 6.15pm on July 28th.

Mr Vaitkus visited International Food and Drink at around 5.50pm on July 28 where he attempted to buy a bottle of alcohol. Maez, who was serving behind the counter, refused to sell the alcohol to Mr Vaitkus.
Mr Vaitkus then left the shop and went to a nearby shop, International Food and Drink.

Mr Vaitkus made a purchase in the premises and as walked out he was prodded by Maez, who had followed him into the shop. Maez then pushed Mr Vaitkus in the back.

Maez then picked up a glass bottle and threw it at his victim. Mr Vaitkus managed to block this and continued walking along the street. Maez continued to follow him a short distance before kicking him in the leg and punching him in the face. The punch to the face caused Mr Vaitkus to fall to the ground and bang his head causing a fatal head injury.

Mr Vaitkus was taken to QMC where he never recovered from his injuries and sadly died on August 3rd.

Maez fled the scene in his car but was tracked down and arrested by officers around two hours later.

Maez, of Spilsby Road, Boston, pleaded guilty to the charge of manslaughter when he appeared at Lincoln Crown Court on September 24. He was sentenced to three years in prison when he appeared at Lincoln Crown Court today, Monday 21st December.

Detective Chief Inspector Richard Myszczyszyn, of East Midlands Special Operations Unit, said: “We welcome the sentence given to Hikmet Maez.

“Maez’s mindless act of violence on the night of July 28th resulted in the tragic death of Gediminas Vaitkus.

“I hope today’s sentence raises awareness of the serious consequences of any act of violence.
“Mr Vaitkus’ tragic death will forever have a devastating effect on his family’s lives.

“Maez’s appalling actions should make people think twice about their actions. We hope today’s result provides some form of comfort to Mr Vaitkus’ family, knowing that the person responsible for this tragedy is behind bars.”

Family Tribute:
Paying tribute to Gediminas, his 19-year-old daughter, who wishes not to be named, said: “Not a day goes by that we do not think about our dear dad. We are truly and deeply devastated.

“My seven-year-old brother is finding it so difficult to deal with dad’s passing and is constantly asking mum when he will get to see his dad. It breaks our heart having to tell him that dad will never be returning.

“Our dear dad was a devoted family man and loved us all, including his mum and siblings who are also finding it extremely hard to cope with, especially him being the youngest of 4. It has been the worst thing we have ever had to go through and we truly hope that no one ever has to suffer the pain that we have been through due to a careless act that happened whilst he was simply walking home.

“Our dad loved life and his freedom, who worked hard to make sure me and my brother were both happy at all times.
“We, as a family, are still struggling to come to terms with not being able to see our loved one again, it’s hard to believe that that is the reality we are going to have to live with. We have been torn into pieces and we miss our dad more and more everyday.”

The family has asked for media to respect their privacy at this very difficult time.

OnePunchUK

Lincolnshire Police is working with OnePunchUK to raise awareness of the devastating effects one punch assaults can have.

OnePunchUK was founded by Maxine Thompson-Curl whose son Kristian was tragically killed following a one punch attack while on a night in Consett, County Durham.

Kristian, aged 19, was in a coma for more than a week and survived for 10 months but died in 2011.

Following his death, Maxine has been raising awareness about the dangers of one punch attacks through her campaign Punched Out Cold Campaign working alongside the police.

Maxine said: “What worries me is that people are going to get drunk and lose control. This does not have to be in a pub or club setting, but can be at home or in the street.

“It is all about knowing your limits and to walk away.”

Maxine set up One Punch North East as a campaigning group in 2014 which has now become a registered charity and has spoken to thousands of schoolchildren across the region about what happened to Kristian.

She also works with survivors of attacks and victim’s families as well as working in prevention.

Maxine, of South Shields, said: “I work with survivors and victim’s families and it’s amazing how strong these people are.

“It’s really inspiring meeting all these people. I didn’t really know what was going to happen with Kristian. I always think about how his life would have been if he had survived.

“If I can help one other person from going through what we’ve gone through then that’s all that matters.

“It’s about raising awareness and preventing this from happening.”

For more information visit onepunch.org.uk/PunchedOutCold or search for @OnePunchNE on Facebook and Twitter

Victim Gediminas Vaitkus

The Collection and Usher Gallery are looking for a local artist to help create ‘Make Kits’ that can be distributed through local charities and foodbanks for families to make things together at home.

The creative care packages will be delivered on a monthly basis and will contain all the materials and resources needed to make something creative, engaging and unique.

The gallery is looking for a local artist to help design and put together 12 different kits to go out throughout 2021.

Jenny Gleadell, exhibitions officer at The Collection in Lincoln, said: “This small but impactful project grows on the previous ‘Make Kits’ we developed with artist Nadya Monfrinoli earlier this year. We gave out over 200 kits which included creating carnival masks, lanterns and festive decorations and made a huge impact for many vulnerable families across Lincolnshire during a particularly tough year.

“The inspiration for the new series of packages can come from anywhere; we are particularly interested in applications that consider carefully the needs of the participants and the resources available at The Collection and Usher Gallery.”

£100 is available to buy resources for each of the kits, and the artist will be paid £250 for each kit designed, meaning a full fee of £3,000 for all 12.

If you are interested in applying for this opportunity, please send a CV and cover letter explaining why you are interested in this opportunity to thecollection@lincolnshire.gov.uk.

The deadline for applications is Monday 4 January 2021 at 5pm.

Find full details of this opportunity – and of upcoming events at The Collection – online at www.thecollectionmuseum.com.

The Lincolnshire Music Service has not one but two amazing virtual performances by their students to share in the run up to Christmas! The first went live on Monday 14 December.

Although traditional concerts can’t take place this year, members of the Music Service’s Music Centres throughout Lincolnshire have come together to create the Lincolnshire Music Service Virtual Concert December 2020.

The concert features 10 pieces of music, from Hosanna by the Boston Youth Jazz Orchestra, to Funky Town by the Senior Wind Band.

More than 150 students have taken part, from over 40 schools across Lincolnshire, in groups including a junior string band, big band, strings, guitar ensemble, and choir.

The entire concert went live on YouTube at 6pm Monday 14 December, here: https://youtu.be/PWoWfyokacw  so get comfy with a mince pie and suitable festive drink, and enjoy the musical treat!

The second performance is by members of Lincolnshire Youth Virtual Orchestra and is the thrilling culmination of a collaboration with Manchester Video Gaming Orchestra, (MVGO), to perform Skyrim. It will go live on YouTube at 5pm on Wednesday 16 December https://youtu.be/—3ta9FLGY

The MVGO aims to introduce new audiences to the world of video game music through live orchestral performance. This term, musicians from the orchestra have been taking part in online workshops with young music service members, to explore the world of video gaming music, and to rehearse the special performance of Skyrim.

Around 110 young musicians took part, rehearsing and recording their sections online, which have been edited seamlessly into the virtual performance. 

Jennifer McKie, senior music adviser said, “We’re so proud of what our students have achieved this term. Although they haven’t been able to get together to rehearse and perform, they’ve managed to get together virtually and record some fantastic music, which we’re delighted to share online.

“They’ve made the most of opportunities to learn from professional musicians, though our partnership with Chineke! Orchestra, and with the Manchester Video Gaming Orchestra.

“We hope people enjoy these special performances when they go online from 14 December.”