THE Marine Management Organisation has launched England's first draft marine plans for the seas from Flamborough Head in the north to Felixstowe in the south.

The public consultation was announced yesterday to Parliament by Natural Environment Minister Richard Benyon.

The views of all those with an interest in the East marine areas are vital to the plan making process.

As well as offering an online consultation tool, nine drop-in sessions will be held along the East coast to ensure as many people as possible know about the draft plans and have their say.

One of these will be held between 10am and 8pm on Wednesday, August 7, at Grimsby Town Hall.

The consultation is now underway and will run for 12 weeks, until October 8.

The UK marine economy is currently worth more than £47 billion annually, and has the potential to increase significantly.

Marine plans will inform and guide marine users and regulators, managing the sustainable development of marine industries taking account of local communities and the need to protect leisure users and the environment.

It is hoped that the reduced costs and increased certainty provided by marine planning will create greater development opportunities, leading to increased economic and employment benefits for coastal communities. Mr Benyon said: "We are doing more than ever to protect our marine environment.

"Effective marine planning is a crucial part of this, and provides benefits for people, industry and wildlife. I would encourage everyone with an interest to take part in the consultation."

THERE were no surprises for the Trust in yesterday's report into the Keogh Review.

Health chiefs at the Trust that runs Grimsby's hospital attempted to reassure residents that it was "committed to putting our patients, their safety and wellbeing at the very heart of everything we do".

There is no suggestion in the report that any of the 254 excess deaths across the Northern Lincolnshire and Goole Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust in the 12 months up to February this year could necessarily have been prevented, but failings in patient care and procedure were heavily criticised.

The latest figure, unveiled as part of the report, has been calculated using a new method adopted by the Trust, which maintains that the figures that led to the probe in the first place were always six to 12 months out of date because of the way they were calculated.

Trust medical director, Dr Liz Scott said: "We very much welcome this report and value the Keogh team's support and advice. The Keogh team have been fair in highlighting examples of good practice as well as improvements that need to be made.

"There is still more work to do but we are confident we will continue to bring our mortality ratios down further."

Trust chief executive Karen Jackson added: "There are no surprises in the final report. It reinforces what we already know and are working on, and reassures us that we are addressing the right issues. The majority of the recommended actions are already being implemented. However, we need to make more progress, faster.

"Patient safety and quality of care is always our top priority. People can be reassured that we are committed to putting our patients, their safety and wellbeing at the very heart of everything we do."

Dr Peter Melton, accountable officer for North East Lincolnshire Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) , said: "The people of Northern Lincolnshire should have high quality health services that compare with the very best in the country and following the CCG's previous report into mortality rates in Northern Lincolnshire a lot of work has been done by everyone concerned to improve the quality of care. As CCGs it is our job to continue to drive these improvements in care."

The report highlights that patient voice comments, received directly via the Keogh review website, praised the intensive care unit at Grimsby's Diana, Princess Of Wales Hospital, but the following criticisms were received:

Patients put on a "Do Not Resuscitate" programme/Liverpool Care Pathway without consulting the family

Unsatisfactory response from PALS/the Trust

Lack of basic care and neglect by staff in Grimsby, including a lack of hydration, assistance with eating and inappropriate food

Inadequate staffing

Misdiagnosis

MOTORISTS have been warned not to risk being caught drink-driving if they are tempted to drink more alcohol because of the very hot weather.

A warning that this was a "dangerous time of year" was sounded at Grimsby Magistrates' Court as a driver was banned from the roads even though he was only just over the limit.

District Judge Daniel Curtis spoke out over his fears that motorists could be tempted to drive with more alcohol in their system because of the hot weather.

He said there was a danger that drivers might not realise that they were risking their licences by drinking a bit extra because of the baking weather – and it could prove to be a very costly mistake.

He told the court: "It's a dangerous time of year for people to be having a couple of drinks."

He urged people not to fall in to the trap of having a couple of drinks because the weather was hot – and then being caught drink-driving.

Mr Curtis said he wanted to warn drivers to take extra care, especially because it was likely that there would be a lot of good weather in the next month or so.

His warning came as motorist Derek Nuttall was banned from driving for a year despite being only just over the limit.

Nuttall, 64, of Hawthorne Avenue, New Waltham, admitted drink-driving on May 31.

He was stopped in Cross Street, Waltham, at about 9.42pm and he smelled strongly of alcohol.

A blood test revealed he had 84mg of alcohol in 100ml of blood. The legal limit is 80mg.

Nuttall, who is working, told the court: "I was guilty of doing it. I'm sorry about it. It will never happen again.

"I had been out for tea. I thought I would be fine."

He had no previous convictions.

Nuttall was fined £300 and was ordered to pay £85 costs and a Government-imposed £30 victims' surcharge.

Mr Curtis told Nuttall that, even though he was only just over the drink-drive limit, there was a minimum road ban of a year for the offence.

The next day, another drink-driver was banned from the roads by magistrates.

Mark Roddis, 43, of Melrose Way, Grimsby, admitted drink-driving and speeding on June 30.

He drove at 50mph in a 30mph limit in Grimsby Road, Cleethorpes, in the early hours and a breath test revealed he had 97mcg of alcohol in 100ml of breath. The legal limit is 35mcg.

Ghaff Khan, mitigating, said Roddis had been to a wedding and stopped drinking in the evening but made a "silly mistake" by taking a chance over driving.

Roddis, who is working, was fined £490, banned from driving for two years and ordered to pay £85 costs and a Government-imposed £40 victims' surcharge.

USERS of a Cleethorpes holiday park are to get a cash windfall after an irregularity with the way electricity was being charged was discovered.

North East Lincolnshire Council was alerted to the issue by a user of the Fitties and following a review, the current leaseholders are to receive a refund of either £25, £50 or £75, depending on the length of time of their individual use.

The settlement is expected to cost the council about £24,000.

Leader Councillor Chris Shaw, the portfolio holder for assets, said the refund, which has the approval of the authority's external auditors, reflected a fair offer to resolve the matter amicably.

"In such cases, councils are expected to try to sort these things out as soon as is practical, which is why we've made this offer to the users,'' he explained.

"We undertook the review after one of the chalet users raised issues over our compliance with the regulations in this area.

"We discovered we can't demonstrate full compliance over a period of time.

"While we believe the actual amounts aren't particularly big, we're also aware this potential surplus may have built up over a number of years.

"We believe in treating the people fairly and on a case-by-case basis and we think dealing with it in this way will avoid any such issues with electricity accounts arising again in future.''

Although the electricity rate available to the 320 users of the Fitties is below the standard domestic rate, it has been available via tokens because the council has previously negotiated favourable terms with the supplier.

The discrepancy was over the possible difference between what people were being charged and the amount of units covered by tokens.

The council is now putting in place a series of steps, including stricter meter reading and monitoring of token purchases, to avoid a repeat.

Letters to individual leaseholders were being sent out yesterday, with users of over three years being offered £75, two to three years £50 and one to two years £25.

"While this doesn't alter our position on other issues at the Fitties, we hope users will accept the refund in good faith and we're always happy to hear if they have any proposals on the supply of electricity that we can take forward,'' added Councillor Shaw.

POLICE sealed off a stretch of Grimsby Road in Cleethorpes after a man was brutally assaulted by three others.

Eyewitnesses saw the victim on the ground being kicked in the head before the three men ran off towards Cleethorpes.

The attack at 6.45pm yesterday happened near the junction with Barcroft Street.

Horrified onlookers gave details of the men as police arrived at the scene and other officers in patrol cars went hunting for them.

Paramedics from East Midlands Ambulance Service treated the 23-year-old victim, who was covered in blood.

Security guard at the Tesco store in Grimsby Road, Lewis Volley, said: "I saw the traffic start to slow down. I saw the three men stomping on his head and kicking him and then they ran off.

Another passerby, who did not wish to be named, said: "When I first saw the man on the ground I thought he had been hit hard by a car.

"There were three men who set upon this guy. They were punching him and kicking him in the head.

"There were women screaming as it was going on."

He added: "It was incredible how quickly people went in to give him first aid. His face was totally covered in blood."

Another witness said: "It was good to see the emergency services on the scene so quickly. There were a lot who came to the man's assistance and got details from witnesses. Then there were several police vehicles heading up the road to find them."

Officers sealed off the area outside a row of shops as a number of people who saw the attack were comforted by paramedics.

Police later arrested two men near the junction of Blundell Avenue, Cleethorpes.

A resident said he saw the two men laid on the ground handcuffed. He said: "One of them went quietly with the officers but the other was shouting and wrestling."

Welcome to the first of the Mariners Trust's regular columns – where the organisation will keep fans up-to-date with its activities and provide the latest news on Supporters Trusts...

IN this first article, we will provide a general update on everything happening at the Trust before focusing on specific topics and issues next time around.

Board position: As previously reported, the position on the Grimsby Town board for a Trust representative has been agreed and documents signed.

The next stage is for the representative to be selected and this will happen at the next club meeting which is the end of the month. We will announce the outcome as soon as possible after the meeting.

Ticket prices: Although the formal board position has not gone live yet, the club has fully involved us in the budgeting process and consequently the setting of ticket prices.

It is fair to say that we won some and lost some in this debate.

And, although we did not fully agree with the final outcome, our message is still the same in that we need the fans to really get behind the club and push on from last season's great base.

We will continue to challenge on the aspects we don't agree with, such as student prices.

Ex-Players Association: At the recent George Kerr Evening we took the opportunity to recruit the players to an Ex-Players Association which we are forming.

That will enable us to build up a bank of ex-players who are prepared to come along on match-days and other events to meet and chat with fans.

We are delighted that everyone on the night enrolled and we are now in the process of recruiting others so we will be able to announce a schedule of events shortly.

Help: We can always do with more help. If anyone would like to get involved with the Trust by helping with admin, events, and so on, please get in touch by email to enquiries@marinerstrust.co.uk

Also, if you fancy a more committed involvement we have spare places on the board and it would be great to have as broader range of ideas, skills and opinions on the board as possible.

Join Us: Not a member yet? It's easy to join and not expensive.

Costs are – adults (19-64) £15 per year, or £12 per year if paid by standing order; age 65+ and 18 and below, just £5 per year; lifetime membership, £100 or £50 for age 65+.

Forms available around the ground or by emailing enquiries@marinerstrust .co.uk

Forms can be left at the club office or posted to: 9 Rymer Place, Cleethorpes, DN35 0EW. Cheques payable to Grimsby Town Supporters.

You can also join using Paypal on our website www.marinerstrust.co.uk

Next week... Trust chairman Chris Parker reflects on the recent annual Supporters Summit held at St George's Park at which he spoke about the Mariners Trust to the delegates.

A TRAVELLER threatened Telegraph staff with violence when they took photos and spoke to them at their latest site in Laceby, yesterday.

A group of seven vehicles has set up shop off Butt's Lane, after reportedly leaving the area at the weekend.

After readers told the Telegraph they had arrived, a reporter and photographer drove to the field, took a picture of the site, and went onto the field to talk to the group.

They were met by two bare-chested men, one of whom asked: "did you get a good photo?"

The traveller then said: "Why are you taking pictures of us every day? We don't like it."

After the reporter explained it was because they were on the land illegally, the man got more heated.

He then said: "I'll smash that f***ing camera over your head if you come here again."

Luckily, by chance, Humberside Police arrived at the very moment the threat was made.

The traveller asked the police to tell The Telegraph not to take photos, but the officer refused, explaining that they were on the land illegally.

The man then repeated the threat to the two officers, adding, "if they come here again, I'll put a fu**ing brick through the window."

One officer replied: "Well if you do that, you'll get locked up."

The traveller said: "I don't care about that."

Some of the people in the group were among the first to come to the area when they broke their way onto the former Lindsey School field off Taylor's Avenue, Cleethorpes.

Another caravan – and a van – has settled on farmland next to Morrisons, owned by M F Strawson Ltd.

Staff were sent to the field on Monday to make sure the gate was secure and yesterday morning, a large boulder had been placed in front of the gate.

The other Laceby site has no gate and it is believed to be owned by the church.

North East Lincolnshire Council has spent weeks evicting travellers from land through the courts, but is not involved in the current situation as the land is privately owned

WE DON'T like to sugar-coat the news for you here at the Grimsby Telegraph – but Krispy Kreme Doughnuts have now come to the area.

There was a time when only those who made the trip across the Atlantic had tasted the pleasure of the sugar-glazed treats from the famous American franchise.

But now, the doughnuts are available from Tesco stores in Grimsby and Cleethorpes, arriving at 7am, fresh from Leeds where they are baked every morning.

Gurdeep Singh, who handles the brand in the north, said: "We decided to come to the area after loads of requests from Facebook and Twitter users.

"They are going to fly out the cabinets – people go absolutely mad for them wherever we open.

"One customer once told me that eating them is like biting into a cloud – they just crumble in your mouth."

Two people have also been taken on to keep the cabinets restocked after the company worked with the Jobcentre to find the candidates.

Mr Singh added: "Working with the community is a big part of our ethos as a company, so we were glad that we could create jobs."

Tesco Grimsby store manager John Carberry said: "I was really pleased to hear we were getting the doughnuts because they are so popular – but not as pleased as my six-year-old son.

"I'm over the moon to have anything that will drive sales in the store and I'm delighted that it has created two jobs for the local area – every little helps."

Krispy Kreme Doughnuts were started in the USA in 1937 and are now available in almost every mall and freeway in the country.

They first came to England ten years ago, opening a small shop in Harrod's, run by a UK master franchise with total control over their operations in this country.

Now, there are more than 300 outlets in UK and it has a deal to sell the popular sweets at Tesco supermarkets.

The company is expanding further still, with Grimsby, Cleethorpes and Pontefract being the latest stores to start selling them yesterday.

They are baked at a main store in Leeds, where you can also get a tour of the factory.

Mr Singh said: "We started in the south and we are moving into The North now – and people can't get enough of them.

"When we opened our first Scotland store in Edinburgh, it was so popular that it caused three-hour tailbacks on the motorway."

It's famous for the Original Glaze recipe, which fly off the shelves by the dozen – and are available in threes and singularly, too.

There is also an Assorted Dozen, which includes varieties such as the strawberry gloss, chocolate custard, glaze raspberry, chocolate dream cake and apple pie.

But you can also buy all of them individually and make your own dozens, choosing your favourites.

Mr Singh added: "You can just choose whatever suits you."

LOCAL Tory group leader Keith Brookes has been suspended from the Conservative Party in the wake of allegations that he committed a sex act in his garden.

A spokesman for the Conservative Party yesterday confirmed that Councillor Brookes had been suspended with immediate effect in line with party rules, as reported on www.grimsbytelegraph.co.uk

Deputy group leader and fellow Haverstoe ward councillor Margaret Cracknell will assume the role of acting group leader.

Councillor Brookes will, however, be able to continue serving in his capacity as a councillor.

Councillor Brookes, 67, of Bolingbroke Road, appeared at Grimsby Magistrates' Court on Monday accused of outraging public decency, by allegedly committing a sex act in his garden.

No formal plea was taken but Councillor Brookes's solicitor Nick Furman said his client would be "vigorously denying the matter".

Councillor Brookes was released on conditional bail.

In a brief statement, a spokesman for the Conservative Party said: "In line with party rules Councillor Keith Brookes has been suspended from the party with immediate effect."

A spokesman for North East Lincolnshire Council confirmed that Councillor Brookes was still a serving councillor on the authority.

Under the Local Government Act 1972 someone can only be disqualified from serving as a councillor if they:

Already work for the Local Authority concerned.

Are the subject of a bankruptcy restrictions order or interim order.

Have a criminal conviction involving a prison sentence of three months or more (including a suspended sentence) in the last five years.

Are otherwise specifically disqualified from holding office by order of the court.

The spokesman added: "This is a personal matter and as such it would not be appropriate for the authority to make any comment on the issue."

It is not clear whether or not Councillor Brookes intends to carry on serving as a councillor while the court proceedings are ongoing.

He was yesterday unavailable for comment.

It is also unclear whether or not he will attempt to regain the leadership, which he has held since 1991, if he is cleared.

In February last year he announced that he would be stepping down from the role in 2014, with a potential successor

due to be chosen as a "leader elect" sometime this year.

At the time he said he intended to continue serving as a ward councillor after handing over the leadership. He is due to defend his seat in 2015.

Married with two grown-up daughters, Keith and his wife currently reside in a semi-detached property off Bolingbroke Road.

Born in the Haverstoe ward, he worked for Lincolnshire Ambulance service for almost 40 years, becoming Grimsby-area superintendent, before his retirement in 2002.

He was elected to Cleethorpes Borough Council in 1987, and served as mayor of the resort in 1992-93.

He took over as Conservative group leader in 1991, and has served as leader of both Cleethorpes Borough and North East Lincolnshire Councils.

"WE want to apologise."

They were the words of the chief executive of the Trust that runs Grimsby's hospital – one of 11 across the country that was yesterday placed in special measures as a result of the Keogh Review.

GRIMSBY Town joint boss Rob Scott has revealed that Saturday's Lincolnshire Senior Cup tie will be a chance for trialist Paul Bignot to stake his claim for a deal at Blundell Park.

The 27-year-old defender has been training with the Mariners for the past week following his release from Blackpool.

GRIMSBY Town may not have run riot against their lower-league neighbours once again – but last night's 3-0 win was another useful pre-season run-out for the Mariners.

A brace from Ross Hannah, and a late third from Liam Hearn saw Town make it three from three in their preparations for the coming season.

Following a serious accident on the M180, kick-off at The Hawthorns had to be put back nearly an hour to allow visiting fans – and players – to make it through the heavy traffic.

Town lined up in an orthodox 4-4-2 formation, with trialists Chris Doig and Jake Turner – as well as second year Youth-teamer Paul Walker – all named among the starting XI.

After a minute's silence was observed following the passing of Mark Burman, a former Brigg coach and season ticket holder at Blundell Park, the game got underway.

Barely five minutes had passed when Andy Cook nodded just wide from Paddy McLaughlin's free-kick but it wasn't long before the deadlock was broken.

A long through ball set Hannah racing through and, with keeper Rob Zand off his line, the former Bradford man cleverly lifted the ball out of his reach to open the scoring.

Despite going behind, the hosts had acquitted themselves well in the opening exchanges.

And skipper Paul Grimes soon gave Turner an early touch, but only with a tame effort from the edge of the visitors' penalty area.

On the stroke of the half hour, Town looked to have doubled their advantage when Hannah nodded home from Alex Rodman's clipped cross.

However, the assistant had her flag raised for offside.

With the half entering its final five minutes, Hannah thought he had a second and it would have been a carbon-copy of his first.

Zand raced off his line to cut out Thanoj's long ball but once again, the striker got there first.

This time, he could only poke wide – but the Yorkshireman wasn't to be denied for long.

Minutes later, tricky play from Rodman on the left saw him glide past one defender near the touchline before being sent tumbling in the box.

The referee pointed to the spot and Hannah duly converted from 12 yards to send Town in 2-0 ahead at the break.

Rob Scott and Paul Hurst threw on Lenell John-Lewis for Cook at half-time and the powerful front man was soon in the thick of the action.

When the Zebras were caught over-playing on the edge of their own box, Scott Neilson nipped in and found John-Lewis, who thundered a fine effort from the edge that Zand did well to palm over.

On the hour mark, Town's joint bosses rang the changes with no less than six new faces emerging from the bench.

Unaffected by that re-shuffle, the Zebras continued to give a good account of themselves and Grimes stabbed wide from a low, powerful cross with just under 20 minutes to go, while John-Lewis spurned two chances at the other end.

Town did grab their third when Colbeck and Hearn both raced through unopposed before the winger's pull-back gifted Hearn the simplest of tap-ins to cap a useful evening for the Mariners – even if it didn't feature as many goals as some had expected.

TICKETS for Grimsby Town's friendly against Bradford City have gone on sale.

The League One side will visit Blundell Park on Tuesday next week for the Mariners' first home match of their pre-season schedule.

Prices for Town's clash with the Bantams are £10 for adults and £5 for concessions.

Supporters can purchase their tickets for the game from the ticket office, online at grimsby-townfc.co.uk, or by phone.

The club will be making a 50p per ticket surcharge to cover administration costs on telephone and online bookings.

All proceeds from the levy will be donated to the Youth Development Association.

Elsewhere, the Mariners' friendly against Hull City's development squad on Friday, July 26 will be a pay on the gate game (Main Stand only).

Admission prices for this match are £7 for adults and £3 for concessions.

A £25 annual charge will be introduced in East Lindsey for the collection of green waste from April next year.
East Lindsey District Council members voted to have a  year-round green waste collection service, but it will cost £25 for each household.

Green Waste collections are currently only available between Easter and November. 

The service will be an 'opt-in' so that only people using the scheme will be required to pay.  

The changes to green waste collections along with other changes to recycling services agreed with Boston Borough Council will save £1.25million per year from the council's budget as it tries to save £2million for 2014/15 due to cuts in Central Government support to councils.

At tonight's council meeting in Manby portfolio holder for the environment, Councillor Steve Newton, said: "We expect a good level of take up for the service and there will be plenty of time for people to decide whether they want to opt-in."
Residents can go online or register over the telephone once officials have the new system in place.
Those who do not want to pay the £25 can compost their green waste or take it to the tip.