A PARTIALLY-sighted man was hit by a bus at one of Grimsby's busiest junctions.

He was crossing Cleethorpe Road, near the junction with Riby Square, Grimsby, at around 2.40pm yesterday.

The incident happened outside the Little People clothing store.

Eyewitnesses told the Telegraph that the man, holding a white stick and believed to be in his 40s, was crossing the road when he was in collision with the single-decker Stagecoach bus in the eastbound carriageway.

The man suffered non-life threatening injuries and was last night in a stable condition at the Diana, Princess Of Wales, Hospital.

Traffic was backed up along Cleethorpe Road over the flyover following the incident.

The westbound carriageway remained open but the eastbound carriageway was closed from Lock Hill, before being reopened at around 3.40pm.

Steve Pratten, community response manager for East Midlands Ambulance Service, said crews were immediately called to the scene.

A First Responder car arrived within three minutes, swiftly followed by paramedics.

Police arrived shortly afterwards; a LIVES paramedic also attended.

Dave Skepper, commercial director at Stagecoach East Midlands, said: "Our immediate thoughts are for the welfare of the pedestrian and we are assisting the police with their investigation into the circumstances surrounding the incident".

A police statement read: "Police were called at 2.37pm following a road traffic collision in Riby Square, Grimsby. The pedestrian was taken to hospital with injuries described as non-life threatening."

Anyone with any information is asked to call Humberside Police on the non-emergency number 101 quoting log number 341 of Wednesday.

OLYMPIANS and TV sports commentators Sharron Davies and Colin Jackson will inspire youngsters with their stories of how they became two of the UK's greatest athletes when they appear as guest speakers in the area next week.

The silver medallists will attend annual presentation evenings for students at Cleethorpes Academy and Tollbar Academy respectively.

Olympic swimmer Sharron Davies MBE won silver at the 1980 Moscow Olympics in the 400m individual medley, and two gold medals at the Commonwealth Games in 1978. She is now a TV sports commentator, who visited Tollbar Academy last year and declared its new gymnasium one of the best she had ever seen. Sharron will visit Cleethorpes Academy to officially open its new sports block and fitness suite on Tuesday, November 26, at 4.30pm.

She will then speak to students and parents before handing out trophies at the academy's presentation evening at Grimsby Auditorium, from 7pm.

Olympic 110m hurdler Colin Jackson, who became World Champion three times during his career, will visit Tollbar Academy on Friday, November 29, at 4.30pm for a tour of its sports facilities and a PE demonstration.

He will then make a speech to students before handing out trophies at the Tollbar Academy presentation evening at Grimsby Auditorium, from 7pm.

Colin, whose last major medals came at the Commonwealth Games in 2002 when he won European Indoor and Outdoor Gold and a Commonwealth silver medal, is now a BBC athletics commentator and director of a multi-media production company. He also took part in Strictly Come Dancing in 2005, taking second place with his dance partner Erin Boag.

He later won the Strictly Christmas Special.

Tollbar Family Of Academies chief executive David Hampson said: "Both of these superb athletes began their careers at a young age and overcame a number of obstacles before achieving Olympic success, making them well-placed to inspire young people to strive for achievement in life.

"We are very pleased that they have agreed to attend our awards evenings and share their experiences with our students."

The presentation evenings are a celebration of students' achievements in the previous year in every area of academy life, and are an opportunity for parents and family members to see their children's hard work rewarded.

THE daughter of an ex-fisherman who died after swimming off Cleethorpes beach has thanked the lifeboat crew who attempted to save his life.

Angela Christy, 42, told an inquest at Cleethorpes Town Hall that she was "so grateful" for everything the rescue team did to try to resuscitate her dad, Walter "Wally" Dobson.

Mr Dobson, 62, of Tom Hammond Way, Grimsby, had been drinking with two friends on the Central Promenade when he decided to take a dip in the Humber at about 11am on June 30.

Friend James Rawlins, who was with him at the time and had accompanied him to a shop on Sea View Street to buy alcohol, told the inquest: "He decided he wanted to go for a paddle.

"He was a stubborn person and he went out to the buoys about 100 yards out.

"He was doing breast stroke up and down so I went and sat on a bench."

Mr Rawlins lost sight of his friend and then noticed he was floating face down.

Mr Rawlins added: "If we had gone in after him all three of us would have died."

Instead, he alerted a gardener who was working nearby and he contacted Cleethorpes' lifeboat station.

Volunteer helmsman Ian Sanderson said the lifeboat was out on a training exercise at the time and was stationed near the end of the pier.

He said: "When you are called to reports of a swimmer who is struggling you expect them to be waving and shouting to you, but Mr Dobson was face down."

The crew, who had been practising casualty recovery, rescued Mr Dobson from the 6ft of water in less than 60 seconds.

They began CPR, which was continued by ambulance staff and medics at Grimsby's Diana, Princess Of Wales Hospital, but he was later pronounced dead.

Mr Sanderson, who has volunteered on the lifeboats for 12 years, told Mr Dobson's daughter: "I can assure you myself and the crew did everything possible to give him a chance of survival and he was treated with dignity at all times."

Speaking after the inquest, Angela, from Grimsby, told the Telegraph: "I am so grateful for what they did for him. It's hard to put into words how much I appreciate it.

"Dad always lived life to the full."

A post mortem examination revealed Mr Dobson was relatively healthy for his age but had alcohol measuring four-and-a-half times the legal drink-drive limit in his system.

North East Lincolnshire coroner Paul Kelly recorded a verdict of death as a result of an accident.

He said: "The best view is that by the time the lifeboat crew was able to get Mr Dobson into the boat he was already dead, although attempts were made by the crew of the boat, the ambulance staff and at hospital to resuscitate him."

A JUDGE has told a former Grimsby man he will "lock him up" if they cross paths again, after the burglar narrowly evaded a prison sentence.

Zavan Johnson, 31, formerly of Albion Street, appeared at Grimsby Crown Court charged with burglary, failing to surrender to custody, fraud, two counts of possessing cannabis and two counts of handling stolen goods.

Johnson was arrested in February this year after he broke into a house in Albion Street and stole a television, mobile phone and handbag, before selling the phone to a second-hand shop for just £10.

Police arrested him and discovered a stolen laptop and cannabis and subsequent analysis of Johnson's phone showed him to be dealing in drugs.

Johnson, who has previous convictions for criminal damage in the 1990s and a driving offence in 2004, had also failed to turn up for court after being charged with shoplifting in June this year.

Defending, Andrew Bailey, told the court Johnson had "turned over a new leaf" having moved to Nottinghamshire.

Judge David Tremberg said it was a "curious case" that Johnson, now of Sutton, in Ashfield, was in court after he had demonstrated a capacity to stay out of trouble for much of his adult life.

He described Johnson as a "low level dealer" but told him the cannabis charge could have been serious enough to land him with a prison sentence.

Offering Johnson an order of unpaid work, Judge Tremberg said: "If you don't agree it is not a problem, I will lock you up today.

"If we meet again I will have no problem in locking you up, no excuses."

The judge handed down an order of 200 hours of unpaid work, with no penalty for failing to surrender after having spent a month in custody prior to the sentencing.

"I am hoping the experience of having to do the work will get you back into the routine of living an organised life," the judge said.

A GROUP of Grimsby Town supporters felt like they were "in a communist country" after allegedly being hauled off their minibus and sent back home whilst travelling to Tuesday's FA Cup match at Scunthorpe United.

The group of 16 hired a minibus, but despite having tickets, were pulled over on the M180 before being arrested, sent back to Grimsby and promptly being "dearrested".

Humberside Police said the group were sent back "to prevent a breach of the peace".

One of the minibus passengers was 16-year-old Tom Whotton, a student at Grimsby Institute.

He said: "I think it's wrong. I feel like they are making an example of us because the policing was criticised at the first game.

"I feel robbed of seeing a great match, we were all upset and disappointed because we were made to feel like criminals in a communist country.

"We had organised the minibus as a group of friends, none of us are troublemakers and we were only intent on enjoying the game.

"The police said they had written to people with banning orders advising them not to travel and none of us received anything, as we have no such banning orders."

Paul Hardy, 25, was also on the minibus, and said he was "seething" after missing the game.

"They seemed to stop us for absolutely no reason because we are a group of young lads," he said.

"I don't know everyone who was on the bus but we are decent lads who just wanted to see the game.

"I would love to have seen what was one of Town's biggest wins in years but through no fault of our own we missed it."

Many Mariners supporters have also slammed a decision by Scunthorpe United not to delay kick-off after a serious crash near Glanford Park left hundreds of supporters queuing on the M181.

The game, set for a 7.45pm kick-off, actually kicked off 90 seconds early. Many caught in the tailbacks missed the opening 15 minutes which included a Grimsby goal.

Mariners fan Chris Morton said: "We all know fans being delayed to a big game immediately causes tension so we looked to the police to keep everyone relaxed – the easiest way of doing this was a simple short delay to the kick-off time.

"We had a situation with maybe 200 fans walking on a motorway.

"As the motorway reopened, and traffic flowed, there were still people walking on the motorway hard shoulder.

"I hoped that policing of major events had moved on and procedures were in place to react to problems at short notice."

A 23-YEAR-OLD musician clung onto a friend for dear life after a current surge in a German river knocked them both off their feet – but she was unable to keep him afloat.

North East Lincolnshire Coroner, Paul Kelly, praised Jade Lovely for attempting to save Christian Fagg, of Hart Street, Cleethorpes, when the bank of the River Rhine, collapsed and the current surged.

Christian was a weak swimmer but had been messing about in the water with Jade and another friend during a trip to Cologne for a music festival on August 5.

In a statement read to the inquest at Cleethorpes Town Hall, Jade said: "It was such a beautiful setting; the sun was beginning to set behind the shore."

She explained how she had asked a friend on the bank to take a photo of the three of them in the water.

"I remember we only had eight photos left on our camera and we agreed to make every one count," she said.

"That one certainly did."

The friends had been racing one another in the water when Jade was forced to stop because of cramp.

"I went to step onto the sand but I felt it give way," she said.

Jade saw her two friends being dragged into the water and, being a strong swimmer, made the "split-second" decision to go in after them.

"Christian had his arms around my neck and shoulders and was using me as his sole means of staying afloat," she said.

She tried to find the bottom of the river to propel them back up to the surface but Christian was panicking and unable to help her.

"It got to the point where I couldn't breathe anymore and I had to release his grip on me," said Jade.

She managed to scramble onto some nearby rocks where she began resuscitating their other friend, who had been rescued from the water by a passerby.

The same man dived back in to find Christian, but was unable to locate him.

Emergency services arrived soon afterwards and commenced a wider search.

Jade said: "It's all a haze of firefighters and flashing lights and the sound of sobbing drowning everything out.

"The search was called off about four hours later when it got too dark and I realised the chances of finding him were miniscule."

Thomas Drury, who had remained on the bank while his friends swum, told the inquest that Christian's family were too upset to attend the proceedings.

He said: "I remember hearing Jade shouting, which we thought was general fooling about, but then she kept it up and we started hearing cries for help."

Christian's body was eventually found two days later, more than six kilometres from the campsite, and he was identified from his dental records.

A post mortem examination indicated he had died as a result of drowning, but an exact cause could not be found.

Coroner Paul Kelly recorded a verdict that Christian died as the result of an accident.

A BRAVE daughter who always thought of everybody else – despite enduring gruelling treatment for two brain tumours – has passed away in her mother's arms.

Casey McGovern, from Cleethorpes, underwent intensive chemotherapy and countless operations to try to remove the two tumours that developed on her brain, but they were unsuccessful.

And knowing she had just weeks to live, Casey – who was diagnosed with a brain tumour four years ago – wrapped Christmas presents for her family and friends and planned to celebrate this weekend.

But, sadly, there will be no celebration, instead, her family and friends will today be attending the 23-year-old's funeral.

She passed away at her home in Thornton Crescent, Cleethorpes, last Thursday in the arms of her mum, Donna Martinez, and with her dad, sister and grandmother by her side.

Donna said: "Casey never once moaned about her condition but her biggest fear was losing control of her body, which is what happened in the end.

"Up until a few weeks ago she was still the life and soul of the party.

"She refused to let being ill get her down and loved going out with her friends."

Born in Grimsby, Casey attended St Joseph's and Lindsey schools and was the resort's last ever Miss Victoria Rose carnival queen.

Aged 12, she moved to Spain with her family where she trained as a hairdresser with Toni & Guy and also completed qualifications in beauty therapy. She hoped to work on cruise ships as soon as she turned 21. She returned to Cleethorpes four years ago, aged 19, when she began suffering from painful headaches.

Donna, 42, said: "She'd banged her head while she was messing around with her friends and then she started getting these awful headaches.

"She was in so much pain but doctors couldn't find any reason for it.

"It wasn't until her sister took her to A&E one night when she was screaming and writhing around in pain that they discovered she had a bleed on the brain."

Casey was transferred to Hull Royal Infirmary where scans revealed she had a tumour at the rear of her brain.

Having been told there was nothing more doctors could do to help her, Casey attended a seminar on brain tumours and stood up and confronted medics who said sufferers would only live four years.

"She told them she'd already had two tumours for two years and was only meant to have lived for one," added Donna.

"One of the professors took her under his wing and arranged for her to be treated at a hospital in Birmingham.

"He told her she actually had a few weeks to live and began operating to take the tumours away.

"Casey was so funny because she treated having brain surgery like an appointment at the dentist, but then she booked herself in to have a tattoo after each milestone and was absolutely terrified of that!"

Donna, who describes the pain of losing her daughter as "raw", says Casey loved all things girly and would spend hours perfecting her hair and make-up.

She added: "Through all of the treatment she was always thinking about other people.

"She even found me a boyfriend and made sure I had a birthday party, even though it was the last thing on my mind.

"She'd wrapped presents for everybody ready for our Christmas on Saturday, but I can't bear to go into her room at the moment.

"We'll open them on Christmas Day now but it won't be the same without her here."

A funeral will take place at Grimsby Crematorium today at 2.20pm. This will be followed by a celebration of Casey's life at No 1 Pub, in Cleethorpes.

HAVE you seen scary-looking characters walking around Grimsby lately?

If you have, there's a good chance they could be clowns, after several rumours of sightings around the town.

In recent months there have been several reports up and down the country of clowns being spotted in the street.

The craze, which started in Northampton a few weeks ago, seems to have spread to Lincolnshire, with several photographs being uploaded to social media websites.

The sinister characters have been spotted in Lincoln, Scunthorpe and Market Rasen in the past few days, and now it seems they have arrived in Grimsby.

Reports suggested that clowns had been spotted in the Freshney Place shopping centre, as well as Weelsby Woods.

Neither of these sightings could be confirmed – so perhaps the clowns have since moved on and are still on the loose.

A Facebook page has now been created, called 'Grimsby's Clown 2013', with two pictures in unconfirmed locations – although the first appears to be the same photograph as the clown was reportedly spotted in Market Rasen on Monday.

James Newall, spokesman for Lincolnshire Police, said: "At this stage, if these incidents are happening nobody is reporting them.

"If someone feels threatened or intimidated they should call police, otherwise it's just a bit of fun."

The strange phenomenon became an internet sensation when it started in Northampton a few weeks ago, when an anonymous character set up a Facebook page entitled "Spot Northampton's Clown".

Fans of the page would often be teased with where the clown would appear next, along with clues and riddles.

The page, which collected nearly 200,000 likes, had several photos of the mystery clown dotted around the Northampton area.

The man under the costume was eventually unmasked by national newspapers who picked up on the craze and hunted him down.

It was eventually revealed that Alex Powell, a Northampton University student, was the man behind the mask.

Mr Powell, who had his friends join him in the prank, was apparently inspired by Stephen King's character Pennywise from the movie It.

But now, clownmania appears to have spread to Lincolnshire.

It started when a character dressed like Ronald McDonald was spotted in Retford, Nottinghamshire, before another menacing-looking clown was spotted roaming the streets of Lincoln.

A clown with balloons has also been pictured on Scunthorpe High Street and in a bus shelter in the town.

And now they seem to be getting closer and closer to Grimsby.

Is it just a bit of harmless fun? Or do you not see the funny side?

You get these people who think they see Jesus' face in things like toast, and other examples of apparently seeing things that aren't actually there, because something is planted in their mind.

As humans we are naturally programmed to think in this way. There seems to be pictures of these clowns though so it's a bizarre phenomenon.

I'd say it's just a bit of harmless fun, but it's an interesting time for this to be happening in Lincolnshire as it's probably a few weeks late coming after Halloween.

Social media plays a massive part in things like this. Years ago these kind of stories would just be local gossip and wouldn't make it out of the towns or villages. But now with Facebook and Twitter you can instantly share a photograph and get people involved.

Even though it's just a bit of fun, for those with anxiety disorders or a genuine fear of clowns, this actually might affect them.

Hopefully most people see it in a humorous light but for children who can't distinguish between fact and reality, it's definitely more likely to worry them more than adults.

Grimsby Town midfielder Scott Kerr describes the feeling in the Mariners' camp following Tuesday's FA Cup derby victory at Scunthorpe:

On beating the Iron...

" It was incredible – when the second goal went in it was an unbelievable feeling. The one thing I was disappointed about with the home game was that I didn't hear the roar of the crowd when we scored – I wanted us to score, just to hear that eruption, so it was nice to put that right. To get the winner, at the end where our fans were, was really special. To see the reaction of everyone, was fantastic. We showed great character to stay in the game and after we got that goal I thought we controlled the game."

On his assist...

" I must admit, I was feeling a bit of pressure as I was stood over the free-kick with all those eyes watching me – there was a fair bit of pressure to put a decent ball in. Thankfully I put it in the right area and Clayton got his head to it. To see the net bulge was fantastic. The set pieces are becoming a bit of a weapon. Since the gaffer put me on them, I think I've done alright with them. No disrespect to the balls that we play with in the league, but the ones that we've used in the FA Cup are proper balls so I get on with them better – they're definitely helping! It shows that if we can good deliveries in there, then we can be a real threat and score goals. We got a well-worked one at Tamworth and then again at Scunthorpe so it's becoming a useful weapon to have."

On team spirit...

" At the moment, training is brilliant and everyone is bubbly. Everything about the place is buzzing. The morale among the team is high and we're winning games – that's the main thing. I keep saying it but winning becomes a habit and it's about keeping that going for as long as possible. The side is more together now than it was at the start of the season and that's showing. Naming the same 11 for three games on the trot definitely helps because you get that continuity and you work hard for each other. The lads that have been coming on have also been doing well because they know they need to work hard and raise their games to get in the team, which always helps."

On the league...

" Looking at the league position, we're sat nicely with a game in hand so it's looking good. We've now got a couple of good games coming up which can push us away from that group behind us. It's all about getting promotion – it's nice to get a cup run but that's our bread and butter. Saying that, if you keep winning games, in whatever competition, then you turn up to places and just start winning without even thinking about it. We've got to keep our feet on the floor and keep a few of the lads' heads switched on because we've got a massive game at home on Saturday against Barnet, who are a really good side. Confidence is a massive part of it and the Scunny result will give us a huge boost of belief going into that game."

On his superb form...

" I had a slow start to the season after not having the best pre-season through niggling injuries. But ever since the Dartford game, I felt I've got better and better as the games have gone on. I'm enjoying my football again – both in training and in the games and that's been a big thing for me. I feel like I've still got more to give, even though I'm getting there, and I'll be doing all I can to try and get us that promotion."

On the second round...

" We've now got Northampton in the cup and no disrespect to them but they're struggling a bit in their league while we're flying in ours so they're not going to be looking forward to coming to Blundell Park. If we can play like we did against Scunny over the two games then hopefully we can get into the Third Round and pull out one of the big boys."

On the fans...

" They were magnificent at Glanford Park, as they were in the first game at our place. At Tamworth we had a great travelling support and it makes a big difference. Hopefully we can get a few more in for Barnet on Saturday and get the noise levels raised even more!"

TWO people have been arrested after a police raid at a house in Grimsby yielded a "significant amount" of drugs.

Officers swooped on the property in Crosby Road, Nunsthorpe, shortly before 9am on Wednesday, when they unearthed the illicit haul of what is believed to be class-B drug amphetamine.

An officer at the scene said the find was one of the biggest at a house in the area in recent months.

Police smashed down the front door of the house and arrested the two people inside, a 33-year-old man and a 28-year-old woman.

It is also understood that stolen goods were found inside the property.

The force said the warrant sent a message out to criminals, insisting that "we know who they are".

Shoreline, which manages the house targeted by the raid, said any tenants convicted would have action taken against them.

Shoreline housing crime prevention manager Sarah Freeman said: "Tenants must not use their home, any shared area or the locality for any illegal, criminal, immoral or improper purposes.

"Tenants convicted of illegal activity will have enforcement action taken against them.

"We will do everything in our power to continue to tackle antisocial behaviour and illegal activity in partnership with Humberside Police and other agencies across North East Lincolnshire."

Councillor Norma Lincoln, North East Lincolnshire member for the South Ward, which covers the Nunsthorpe estate, said: "We all want to make the area a safer place to live and we know what goes on, but this is a good example to set.

"If, in this case, somebody has tipped off the police then maybe that will act as an example for other people to do the same."

A spokesperson for Humberside Police said: "Police executed a warrant at an address in Grimsby on the morning of Wednesday, November 20.

"A quantity of drugs were recovered from the address on Crosby Road and a 28-year-old woman and a 33-year-old man were arrested at the address and are currently in custody at Grimsby Police Station.

"This warrant sends out a message to those people who are involved in criminal activity that we know who you are.

"Police will continue to target those individuals in an attempt to help in the fight against crime in North East Lincolnshire.

"Anyone who may wish to report criminal activity can call Humberside Police on 101 or call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111."

"I WANTED to jump in the crowd with the fans but I couldn't because I was already on a yellow card!"

Clayton McDonald will never forget his first goal for Grimsby Town – and neither will most Mariners fans.

The 6ft 6in centre-half was the hero as Town's local rivals Scunthorpe United were dumped out of the FA Cup on home turf on Tuesday.

After netting the 57th minute winner and setting up a second round tie against Northampton Town, the former Manchester City trainee couldn't hide his emotions.

"I was delighted that we beat our local rivals – it meant a lot – and it was a nice way to open my account for Grimsby by scoring the winner," he told the Telegraph.

"Scott Kerr whipped a great ball in and all I had to do was get my head to it.

"It went absolutely crazy behind the goal and I wanted to jump in the crowd with the fans but I couldn't because I was already on a yellow card!"

Having drawn the first clash between the sides 0-0 at Blundell Park, the Mariners were roared on to a famous victory by almost 2,000 Town fans at Glanford Park.

The Iron scored within 30 seconds of the second half restart to cancel out Lenell John-Lewis' opener before McDonald took centre stage.

"We always knew we were going to be under pressure because we were the away team," added the 24-year-old.

"We put them under so much pressure at our gaff, so we knew they were going to try and do the same – which they did.

"But we stood up to it and got the goal at a good time after they had equalised."

He continued: "We've shown that we can more than compete with the league sides. We've got a lot of lads who have played in the league and that experience is starting to show – everyone knows what it's about.

"The FA Cup side of things is over for now though, and we've got to concentrate on the league to keep up our decent run and get back into League Two.

"I'm not looking as far ahead as Northampton in the second round – my only focus is Barnet on Saturday and that goes for the rest of the lads as well.

"We've got to make sure we take the performances in the cup and transfer them to the league.

"We had a good laugh on the coach home after the Scunny game and had a day off yesterday, but it's back to work today to be ready for the game on Saturday."