WE said we would Go To Town this Christmas – and you all came, too.

Thousands of people flooded the streets of Grimsby last night to watch 11-year-old Jake Storr turn on the Christmas lights in the town centre, in the first of two days of festive fun.

And Jake, of Holton-le-Clay, made a new friend as celebrity Andy Moss – better known as Rhys from Hollyoaks – joined him on stage after being mobbed by screaming girls while walking around the town centre.

After Jake flicked the switch, he wished the crowd a Merry Christmas and they let off an enormous cheer for the brave lad, who underwent pioneering surgery in America to help him walk unaided following a £40,000 fundraising drive, backed by the Telegraph, earlier this year.

"This opportunity is a massive honour and achievement so thank you, and merry Christmas again," he added.

The switching on of the Christmas lights often marks the beginning of the Christmas season but this year, there were many more reasons to feel festive, because of the Go To Town This Christmas event, organised by the Grimsby Telegraph.

Stalls offering food and sweets from all around the world were lined up on Victoria Street, selling offerings for the night and to use with your festive feasts.

There was also the chance to pick up a few presents with an array of Freshney Place shops open late, a craft fair in St James' Square and street shops.

There was even a visit from Santa's sleigh – and Jake got to go for a ride in the magical vehicle.

He added: "I have been really looking forward to this – it's one of the most exciting things I've ever got to do.

"I want to thank the community for choosing me to represent them, and especially those who voted for me.

"A lot of people have been so nice to me that I wasn't even nervous – just really excited.

"I've enjoyed every minute and loved all the stalls, riding on Santa's sleigh and I've seen lots of people I know."

Jake's dad, Gavin, said: "He's been through a lot this year, so it is great for him to get the opportunity to do this.

"This is the first event like this, so we didn't know what to expect, but we've thoroughly enjoyed ourselves and so many people have turned out."

And, while this year's festivities are not yet over, there are already plans in hand to make next year's event even bigger – with organisers hoping that in three years time, it could be as big as Lincoln Christmas Market.

Caroline Whelpton, head of new business for the Grimsby Telegraph, said: "The crowds are huge, everyone has loved it and the Hollyoaks star got mobbed by girls – everything went to plan.

"It is a great base to build on and we now look forward to building it in the future."

JAMES McKeown wants Grimsby Town to "follow York's lead" when they kick-off their FA Trophy campaign tomorrow.

The Mariners goalkeeper was part of the team which made it to the quarter-finals of last year's competition.

Victories over Darlington, Hornchurch and Bath City saw Town through to the last eight before defeat to the Minstermen ended a run of ten wins in 11 matches in all competitions – and quashed Town's Wembley dream.

York went on to win the Trophy and clinch promotion back to the Football League via the play-offs.

And, ahead of Buxton's visit to Blundell Park in the first round of the Trophy tomorrow, McKeown wants the Mariners to use York's success last season as an example of what can be achieved.

He told the Telegraph: "If you had to choose between promotion or success in the FA Trophy then realistically it's got to be promotion.

"Luckily we don't have to choose, so it would be great to do both!

"There's no reason why we can't do well on both fronts, like York did last season. Look at the top teams in the country, they do it every year.

"We're all athletes and we're all fit, so we should be able to manage it."

The stopper, who has kept ten clean sheets so far this season behind Town's miserly defence, continued: "Last year we beat Darlington, Hornchurch and Bath.

"All of a sudden we were in a quarter-final and it dawned on us 'we're two games away from Wembley.'

"We went to Bath on a freezing Tuesday night and got through it, and we realised we had a chance to do something special.

"York obviously felt the same and went on to do something in the league and the cup.

"That game with York definitely affected us because we were on a really good run until then. That seemed to coincide with the end of the season where our campaign petered out a bit.

"It did knock us a bit – we lost 1-0 and it was game that could have gone either way.

"Hopefully the lads that were here can use that as a bit of motivation this time around."

The Trophy sees the country's top non-league clubs battle it out for a place in March's Wembley final and well over £100,000 in total prize money for the winners.

And while some may question the value of the competition, McKeown insists that the chance to play at perhaps the world's most famous stadium means it matters to the players.

"A few more wins and we could be heading to Wembley, which not many people get to do in their careers," the former Peterborough man added.

"It would be a great day out and gives us something else to look forward to.

"Wembley is just such a special place. I can't say for sure because I haven't done it but you must look back on it at the end of your career and think 'I've achieved something special there.'

"I can't imagine what walking out there would feel like to be honest. At the time you have to treat it like just another game of football but it's obviously much more than that.

"We would take a big following down there from Grimsby and it would be a great day I'm sure."

Martin McIntosh's Bucks currently occupy a mid-table position in the Northern Premier League table, but McKeown knows they will be no pushovers.

The 23-year-old said: "You see cup shocks all the time and if we don't apply ourselves then we could get turned over.

"It's a competition that you can do well in if you apply yourself, and at this moment in time we're the top team in the league so we're there to be shot at.

"It's a no-win situation in some ways because no one puts a lot of stock on the FA Trophy at this stage, and if we lose people will be asking questions.

"It will be tough because the Town fans will expect us to win 5-0 or 6-0. The bosses will expect us to go and dominate, and put another good performance in, and we will expect that of ourselves as well. We've got to be professional and do a job – if we do it right then I'm sure we'll win."

The Mariners head into the encounter aiming for a hat-trick of home victories, after last weekend's 3-0 win over Braintree followed their 5-1 thrashing of Woking.

The impact tomorrow's cup clash could have on Town's strong league form is a concern for McKeown.

"If we lose to Buxton we'll be going to Ebbsfleet the following Saturday on a real downer – you're only ever one game away from being rubbish," he said."

"We know what we can do within the camp, and know what we want to achieve this season, but it's about going out and proving it every week.

"You've got to maintain that high level of performance every game. There's no point winning 5-0 tomorrow and then losing at Ebbsfleet, and vice versa.

"It's about keeping that consistency – if we do that we'll have an excellent chance this season."

TWO Police Community Support Officers (PCSOs) from Grimsby have joined the Barton and District team.

Nicola Marsh has joined the Barton neighbourhood policing team, while Sarah Lister will cover the Ferry ward area.

The extra officers, based at Barton Police Station, are employed by Humberside Police but the posts have been funded by North Lincolnshire Council.

The council pledged £38,430 in its budget for the current financial year towards crime prevention initiatives.

Both of the new officers began their roles at the beginning of this month.

Ms Marsh, 41, has been a PCSO for four years and was previously based in Grimsby.

"My dad was a police officer and I have been brought up with that background, so it seemed like a natural thing to do," she said. "I like conversing with members of the public, I am a very easy-going person and I like a challenge."

Mrs Lister, 25, has been a PCSO for three years and also previously worked in Grimsby.

"I became a PCSO to help a lot of people who can't help themselves," she said. "You can spend time with them and solve problems for them.

"It has been different, going from a busy residential estate to a rural area but there are different challenges."

IMMINGHAM'S first-ever mixed community choir is already making a song and dance – despite being on the go for just two weeks.

The group of students, teachers and members of the public meets every Wednesday between 7pm and 8pm and is already rehearsing for a Christmas carol service which will take place on Sunday, December 16.

The choir is based at Oasis Academy Immingham in Pelham Road, Immingham, and is led by musical director Alex Green.

He said: "We are a very new choir that has only been going for two weeks but we have already received excellent support from the community.

"The Military Wives and The Fishermen amongst others have grabbed the attention of the public by demonstrating that all members of the community can have a go at singing.

"They have made choir singing groups the new trend and I have helped set this one up because there isn't one like it in the town.

"We already have 20 members, which is great, but we would like some more male voices to come forward.

"We sing a variety of classics and pop songs including California Dreamin' and Hallelujah.

"I want to thank the Academy and One Voice for their support as we start out which shows real community spirit when groups come together."

All ages and genders are welcome at the community choir and no previous experience is required.

Music teacher Wendy Pankhurst added: "I come into the school two days a week to teach singing, piano and keyboard.

"The best thing about this choir is that we have everyone mixing from students to staff and members of the community.

"When singing in a choir you work as a team and we are all looking forward to our first performance."

Student Caitlin Hickson, 14, from Killingholme said: " I like to take part in singing, whether it is at school or with the community choir.

"I get a lot of joy from it and more people should come along to this choir.

"I have tried to get boys involved because singing in a choir can be for everyone, not just girls."

See for yourself

The choir's first performance will take place at Oasis Academy Immingham and anyone interested in joining should be at least 14 years old.

Each session costs £3 for adults and £2 for concessions. For more information, call 01469 576599.

SO, you're at home on the sofa in front of your TV. You start channel-surfing and programme after programme you see celebrities slurping maggots and witchetty grubs, two people telling folks what not to wear and a group of desperate individuals convincing the nation that the only way is certainly NOT Essex.

There's no doubt that Reality TV has swept the world off its feet and onto their couches but the effect doesn't stop there. Take the 'ity' off reality and what we see is real.

However, when watching this 'Real TV' the content we see couldn't be further from it.

Although most adults with half a brain cell can establish this, unfortunately we can't say the same about the newest generation of Joey Essexes and Paris Hiltons.

Jersey Shore: a show where amusing Americans work hard (ish), play hard and party even harder. Don't get me wrong the language is somewhat unpleasant but on the whole it's kept reasonably 'PG15'.

Geordie Shore: a show where a group of arrogant Geordies spend a summer tanning, toning and tarting themselves. To sum it up the guys would go out wearing less clothes than most girls and the girls would go out wearing less clothing than a page three girl. That really is it!

Last and most definitely least…The Valleys: This is a show with wretched Welsh wannabes completely humiliating themselves for their five minutes of fame – inappropriate language, inappropriate clothing and absurdly inappropriate behaviour.

As you can see, the latest craze in Reality TV is making everything that little bit more extreme. Therefore, the latest craze in shops, glossy mags, schools and colleges is, ironically enough, more extreme!

So at what point do we draw the line? And at what point do we cross the line? Or have we already done both?

In my opinion, the lines of civilisation, normality and just plain manners were crossed a long time ago. At what point did it become 'reality' to walk down the street looking more orange than a cheesy wotsit and how often do you find yourself at a party with the heir to the Mcvities' fortune and the granddaughter of the inventor of Quality Street? I don't know about you, but I think I can answer those for the vast majority and say never.

This though, is where the biggest issue seems to lie. Young people nowadays are so easily influenced by the media industry. Consequently, industry professionals should be extremely careful about the type of content that's being aired.

However, if anything, this is having a reverse effect. It's a classic case of 'the chicken or the egg'. Do we see more of this unrealistic reality TV because that's what the public demands or is the public watching more because masses are being produced so it's forced upon them?

Which one came first and why? Either way, the fact is that the quantity that is being produced certainly wouldn't be an issue if it weren't a success. Therefore we're all to blame aren't we?

I'm as guilty as the next guy for secretly wanting to find out whether Arg will ever get over Lydia and if Helen Flanagan is actually going to 'try her best' in tonight's bush-tucker trial.

But it won't make me get up tomorrow morning and raid the shops for some camouflage or backcomb my hair until a bird could nest in it.

Finding the not-so-fine line between reality and 'reality' TV is what a lot of young people appear to be struggling with. We're seeing much more of this extreme behaviour portrayed on our television screens purely for entertainment value, in everyday life.

This is due to the effect these reckless role models have on their naïve viewers. Unfortunately, their priorities with their behaviour lie with thinking up new ways to be more extreme, extravagant and 'entertaining' as opposed to considering the young people they might be influencing.

It might just be that at 19 I'm old before my time. But the way these reality TV 'stars' behave in order to get their face on TV, in my opinion, really is despicable.

By all means watch it; just don't imitate it.

YESTERDAY was Takeover Day, a national event that gives thousands of young people the opportunity to work with adults and get involved in decision making.

The day was originally formed to raise awareness and promote young people's involvement in decision making. North East Lincolnshire Takeover Day has been running for three years supported by the Young People Support Service.

As such, we – Kelly Ballard and Olivia Scott – spent the day at the Grimsby Telegraph.

The event aims to break down barriers between young people and adults as well as giving the young people an active role in the community.

Last year's event resulted in the creation of the Telegraph's Young Reporters scheme, which allows a group of young people to write columns for the Grimsby Telegraph about what's important to their generation. The group has been a great success; so far 16 young people in North East Lincolnshire have taken part, with the outcomes being nominations for local, regional and national awards, recognition from other areas that have set up their own similar scheme and young reporters going into journalism.

Others involved in Takeover Day activities yesterday include YPSS Career service interview room being reviewed and blogs being written, the member of youth parliament taking part in a debate in the House of Commons and the deputy member of Youth Parliament working with the deputy leader of the council.

Jess, 15, a participant in the Takeover Day blog writing, said "We have been designing an interview room, cutting things out on magazines and looking at the Lincs2 website. It's really fun."

Amy Wilson, from YPSS, told us: "As we are a service for young people it's important to inform them and let them make decisions."

A SCARTHO businessman is counting the cost of a raid on his cycle store which was left like a "bomb site".

Thieves smashed their way in using a sledgehammer and stole five cycles – worth a total of £6,500 – from Cycle Mode in Louth Road, Scartho.

Andy Jones, the manager of the store – which only opened six months ago – said he was left disappointed after the theft.

It took the hooded raiders less than six minutes to batter their way through the back door – causing damage that will cost an estimated £1,000 to repair.

However, their arrival and departure from the store at around 7.45pm on Wednesday, November 7 was captured on CCTV. An alarm activated and the manager was at the scene within ten minutes.

Andy said: "It looked like a bomb had gone off in the back. There were cycles knocked over and the back door in bits."

The five top-of-the-range bikes stolen were:

A black and lime green carbon fibre Felt road bike.

A Cannon Dale SL4 trails bike which is black, white and lime green.

A Cannon Dale Quick model CX2 in white.

A Lapierre X-Control 110 bike in black, white and yellow.

A Cube in black.

Andy said: "I am feeling disappointed, as we are trying to provide a service for the local community and there are a few that want to spoil that and make it harder.

"You have to move on from these incidents, but it hurts when you work so many hours and make a business and these little setbacks we can do without. We are all about providing customer service and we get people popping in for a coffee and a chat while they are out on rides. We help people whenever we can."

The store also provides cycling accessories including safety wear and lights and scooters and is now open on Thursdays for late night shopping.

Witness appeal:

Anyone with information about the raid, or anyone who has seen or heard anyone talking about the stolen bikes, was urged to contact Humberside Police quoting incident number AD/1940593/12 of November 7.

ARE you hooked on seafood?

If so, don't miss the second Young's Seafood extravaganza – being held in partnership with the Grimsby Institute to raise funds for the local Fishermen's Mission and St Andrew's Hospice.

The event on Wednesday will also provide a showcase for the best of the industry, with guests being treated to a buffet and drinks served up by the college's hospitality students from 6.15pm.

Young's head chef Serge Nolan and head filleter Duncan Lucas will then entertain audiences with live cooking displays which will then be auctioned off.

Mr Lucas said: "It's about time the industry recognised the need to start giving something back, not only for our heritage, but also support going forward for the Fishermen's Mission.

"This charity is under supported by the process and manufacturing sector and, after all, it's all seafood. Grimsby Fishermen's Mission actually has over 800 registered ex-fishermen on its books and offer support at all levels.

"It's a pleasure to organise and deliver the Seafood Extravaganza as Young's Seafood in conjunction with the Grimsby Institute."

Tickets are available from Laura Mummery, priced at £20 per person.

E-mail Laura.Mummery@youngsseafood.co.uk to book.

NOMINATIONS for a scheme to spruce up Cleethorpes are flooding in – but we want to see more of you stepping up to help.

As reported, Improving Cleethorpes Together, a scheme organised by action group Cleethorpes South Forward, has been launched to encourage people to do their bit for the resort.

The whole town can get involved – from green-fingered individuals to environment loving businesses – all you have to do is cut out the form printed on this page and send it into us.

Each nominee will go to a panel of judges and site visits will be organised before presenting the winner with a funky window sticker to be put on display to show the rest of the resort you have done your bit.

Organiser and member of Cleethorpes South Forward Environmental Sub-Group, Beryl Rees-Smith, is thrilled with how the project is going so far.

She said: "It is an excellent start to the project and we are hoping it will continue to run and run. A lot of hard work went into organising this, but we know it will be the right thing for Cleethorpes. It is what is needed."

As well as nomination forms printed in the Grimsby Telegraph's recently-launched Cleethorpes and Villages daily newspaper, they are also available by e-mailing kbrown1417@gmail.com or beryl.reessmith@btinternet.com, cleesouthforward@groups.facebook.com, from Cleethorpes Library and St Aidan's Church office.

Send your completed forms to Faye Preston, 80 Telegraph House, Cleethorpes Road, Grimsby, NE Lincs, DN31 3EH, or to the e-mail addresses above.

THE first lorry-load of presents destined for poverty-stricken children has set off with what was an emotional departure from Grimsby.

More than 8,000 shoe boxes, filled with generous gifts and packed onto a lorry, have set off on the 3,500-mile journey to Liberia – just a week after the annual launch of Operation Christmas Child.

As reported, 140 volunteers have been busy packing the boxes at the charity's headquarters at Holme Hill School, in Wellington Street, Grimsby, since November 14.

Each box will then be given to a child in Romania or Liberia as a Christmas present which, in most cases, is the only one they will ever receive.

Organiser Pam Hodge has been overwhelmed with the support so far and is confident they should match last year's staggering 25,000 boxes by the end of November.

She said: "It feels fantastic to see the shoe boxes off and to think of how happy it will make children at the other end. The public have, once again, been so generous and it is going really well so far.

"It is always good to see that first load go and we can't wait until the next – the warehouse is snowed under with shoeboxes – to the point we are running out of space!"

The next load will be sent off when they reach 10,000 shoe boxes – this time to Romania.

Volunteer Denise Johnson, of Tetney, holds emotional memories of her trip to the eastern European country of Belarus with Operation Christmas Child in 2008.

She said: "It was an amazing experience to see all the needy children in orphanages, nurseries, churches and kindergartens. It is quite emotional to see the first load. Just knowing how the children will react and how these boxes mean everything to them makes it all worthwhile."

Firefighter and volunteer Carl Hunt packs the shoeboxes and often checks the school at night to make sure everything is secure.

He said: "I am just thrilled to be able to help."

Alice Chapman and Cath Bennett, from Habrough, are among a group who knit clothing for the shoe box dolls all year round – and they have just finished their 1,000th outfit.

Alice said: "We get such joy out of thinking of these little tots opening their first present, when they have never received a gift in their lives."

Operation Christmas Child paid special thanks to Annette Taylor and Nellie Cooke, Mary, Brian and Andrew Clarke, Jean and Albert Hughs, from Sutton-on-Sea, and Liz Scott, from Alvingham, for their generous contributions to the appeal.

The drop-off points for shoe boxes will remain open until the end of November and include: The Cricketers, Littlefield Lane, Grimsby, The Post Office, Holton-le-Clay, Morrisons, Laceby, Asda, Holles Street, Grimsby, Tesco, at Hewitts Circus, Cleethorpes, and Victoria Street, Grimsby, Family Eye Clinic, Scartho, Raffles Hairdressers, Waltham, The Care Shop, Alexandra Road, Cleethorpes, Mustard Seed, Alexandra Road, Cleethorpes, Shoe Zone, both Grimsby and Cleethorpes stores, Humber Merchants Ltd, Immingham and Immingham Library.

ARE you a young hairdresser looking to become a cut above the rest?

Then make sure you don't miss your chance to snap up one of two work experience places at a top Cleethorpes salon – where you can develop your hairdressing skills and learn all there is to know about the beauty industry, too.

Julie Pelling, the owner of Top Tips By Julie, in Grimsby Road, said there was also the chance one of the placements could lead to a permanent post, as she plans to take on an apprentice after Christmas.

She is offering the placements as part of the Grimsby Telegraph's Your Life: Your Future campaign, which once again aims to help tackle unemployment and secure jobs for local people. Backed by Prime Minister David Cameron, the aim of the latest drive is to secure a week of work experience for 200 people from our area in an attempt to get people in or back to work.

Julie, who has worked in the industry since 2002 and opened her own salon almost three years ago, said she was looking forward to passing on her skills and experience.

She added that she and senior stylist Jess Crosby would train the successful candidate in all aspects of the business, so that they would eventually become a fully-fledged member of the small, but highly-skilled team.

She said: "We are looking for someone who can already do hairdressing to level 2 or above, but wants to progress into beauty, too.

"We do all aspects of hairdressing here, including hair extensions – which they may not have learned how to do at college – and, on the beauty side, we do acrylic nail extensions, waxing, facials and spray tanning – all of which we will teach them how to do."

"The ideal candidate will be someone who started doing hair previously, so they know the basics.

"As far as beauty goes, I am happy to support them through learning it from scratch.

"I have often met people working in hairdressing who have an interest in beauty, but never got into it because, when you're studying, you get lost in what you're doing and other things get forgotten.

"By coming to us they are going to be able to keep their hand in with hairdressing – and learn new techniques – but learn new beauty skills too."

Find out more

If you are interested, call Julie on 01472 353937 and arrange to drop in your CV.

Anyone able to offer a work experience placement can call Dan Russell on 01472 372236 or e-mail dan.russell@gsmg.co.uk.

Matthew Grove officially began his new job as Humberside's first police and crime commissioner this week. As he embarked on a tour of Grimsby's East Marsh, reporter SIMON FAULKNER asked him about the challenges ahead.

QHow do you feel about taking on the role of Humberside police and crime commissioner?

A I am delighted and honoured that I was selected by the people of northern Lincolnshire and East Yorkshire, but I know I have got a huge job ahead of me and I am totally accountable. I haven't picked an easy occupation.

QGiven the low turnout in the election, how confident are you that people actually know who you are?

A Of all the police and crime commissioners, I think I am probably the most widely known, partly through the excellent local media coverage of the Humberside election, but mainly because of who my main opponent was. I recognise that the turnout was low and although the media did an excellent job in explaining the process, I think the national media seemed to run a campaign to encourage a boycott. My job is to do my best to protect the people of the area and if I do a good job the turnout in three and a half years time will probably be much better. If I do a bad job, it almost certainly will be.

QHow accessible will you be to the people of North East Lincolnshire?

A Very accessible. I have Facebook, Twitter, telephone and e-mail and I will also hold street surgeries on Saturday mornings so people can walk past and tell me what their concerns are. I intend to be the most accessible police and crime commissioner in the country, and as accessible as any politician can ever be.

QHow will you ensure that the south bank does not become a second priority?

A I have publicly said I will be moving out of the Humberside Police Authority building in Hull to an office as close to the Humber Bridge as possible. I'm quite happy for that to be in Barton or Hessle. It will be an office that is modest and shared with another partner organisation, which will be in a location where I can best serve the people of northern Lincolnshire and East Yorkshire.

QWhat were the main issues raised by people on the south bank during your campaign?

A You can't simply talk about south bank and north bank. There are distinct communities that have different priorities and issues within both areas. The priorities in urban Grimsby are very different to the priorities in the small rural villages of northern Lincolnshire. It would be wrong to oversimplify. I think there are huge similarities between the north and south banks. We have a tension between urban and rural priorities and my challenge is to make sure we police the whole of East Yorkshire and northern Lincolnshire and that we don't give the impression we are concentrating our resources in any one location.

QWhat are your impressions of the policing and crime prevention work you have seen in North East Lincolnshire?

A I think North East Lincolnshire has the best community safety partnership that I have seen. It is based at The Elms, which is not exactly a glamorous location, but you have got the right people working together to wage that war against criminals and crime. They have a clear purpose, and although they are from different public sector organisations, it feels like they are working for the same organisation and the people of this area are the winners. I have been extremely impressed by the work the neighbourhood policing team is doing. It is a beacon of how we need to work and which others can look to and learn from.

QHave you started looking for Tim Hollis's replacement as chief constable and what qualities will you be looking for in that candidate?

A We have an incredibly hard act to follow. Tim Hollis has been a truly outstanding chief constable who has brought Humberside Police service from a very different place to where it is today. The most important decision that I will make over the next three-and-a-half years will be to appoint his replacement and, quite simply, I will be looking to find the best available candidate and that is why on Monday, even before I took up the post, I requested that the vacancy be advertised as soon as possible. There are around a dozen police services which will be recruiting a new chief constable and I want us to be first. This is not a time to dilly dally.

See Monday's Grimsby Telegraph for a full interview with Alan Hardwick, the new police and crime commissioner for Lincolnshire Police.

A CHARITY has snapped up £81,000 for vital new lifesaving equipment.

The Big Red Heart Appeal has raised just over half the money it needs for a £160,000 gamma camera that will be used by staff at Grimsby's Diana, Princess Of Wales Hospital to scan patients' hearts for blood flow abnormalities.

As reported, the Grimsby Telegraph-backed campaign is also hoping to raise a total of £500,000 for equipment to be installed in a new heart unit at the Scartho Road hospital.

Among the items on the campaigners' wish list are a new tilt table room and at least 11 bedside monitors.

Founder of the Big Red Heart Appeal, Ron Kitching, from the Grimsby and District Healthcare Charity, said: "We have presented the heart unit with a cheque for £81,000.

"I was hoping to have had enough to buy the camera in full by now but there are so many other charities competing for the same money, it is really tough.

"However, we are remaining positive and are happy to be halfway there.

"Our heart department is one of the best in the area and we want to make it even better.

"If we can get the funding for the new lab, it will make a tremendous improvement to our services.

"We are very grateful to everyone that has supported us but we need more.

"We need half a million pounds before next September to help pay for all the new equipment required.

"The new lab would allow us to fit more advanced pace makers and carry out technical treatments.

"We are also desperate to get more people involved in the fundraising committee.

"We need new fresh ideas because we have to have the money as soon as possible, otherwise we cannot get the equipment."

Trust chief executive Karen Jackson said: "I would like to say a very big thank you to the Big Red Heart Appeal and all of the people who have supported it, for the £81,000 donation the trust has recently received.

"The money will be used to buy new cardiology equipment for the proposed new cardiology day case unit at Grimsby Hospital."

Can you help?

To find out more about how you can get involved, call 01472 352959 or 01472 320633.

TRADERS and community leaders have praised the success of the Grimsby Telegraph-organised Go To Town This Christmas market.

Thousands of visitors attended the two-day event in the town centre, including watching 11-year-old Jake Storr, who has cerebral palsy, officially switch on the lights.

And Freshney Place has reported a 30 per cent increase in sales, compared to last year, with scores of shoppers snapping up presents on the first night of late-night shopping.

The event, organised by the Grimsby Telegraph in association with North East Lincolnshire Council and Freshney Place, was hailed a resounding success by traders who held stalls along Victoria Street.

They had the opportunity to promote their products and services at the two-day market, which came to a close yesterday.

Trudy Hewitt, of Scartho-based Houlton Wines, said: "It has gone pretty well. There has been a steady flow over the two days.

"Our gift range of Christian Audiger bottles has been popular. They are ideal gifts for Christmas. The lantern gift set with a miniature bottle has also gone very well."

The Grimsby Minster also hosted the Fabulous Fair, where craftswoman Roz Williams, of The Old Smithy, in Barton, said: "We are all pleased because it has been supported so well and nice to see so much interest in crafts."

The Mayor of North East Lincolnshire Councillor Mike Burton praised the event and its organisation.

Freshney Place's centre director Amanda Austin said: "The shopping centre has seen a busy start to the Christmas trading season, with shoppers hitting the stores from as early as November 1.

"Aided by the town's Christmas Market and this week's build-up to the festivities, shoppers have been getting very much into the Christmas spirit.

"Many of the stores have reported an increase in sales, some of as much as 30 per cent on last year.

"Late night shopping saw many of the shops busy until 9pm. This has definitely been one of the best launches of late-night shopping in terms of both visitor numbers and spend."

This year, Santa has his very own seat in the shopping centre, near BHS, with a huge illuminated Christmas cracker above and other interactive decorations.

He will be in the centre every Thursday, Saturday and Sunday and is free to visit.

And there will be a chance for children to have their photos taken with Santa by professional photographers from the Grimsby Telegraph on Thursday between 5pm and 6.30pm and Sundays from noon to 2pm.

A NEW political row has erupted on North East Lincolnshire Council following claims that the previous administration "mortgaged the authority to the hilt".

In an outburst at a full council meeting, Labour council leader Chris Shaw said the "financial incompetence" of the Liberal Democrat-Conservative coalition had unnecessarily saddled the authority with loans that will take 65 years to pay back.

But his comments have been dismissed as "nonsense" by the leaders of the two parties, who were in charge between 2003 and 2009.

Responding to criticism from the public and opposition councillors over Labour's decision to close Scartho Baths, Councillor Shaw told the meeting: "We would love to be able to build a 50m swimming pool with diving board. But somebody has mortgaged this authority to the hilt by borrowing £40 million for a capital programme that never happened and very wisely invested it in foreign banks."

He then added: "We can only do what we can afford to do, thanks to the financial incompetence of the two parties opposite."

Speaking after the meeting, Lib Dem group leader Andrew De Freitas suggested that Councillor Shaw must be having "flashbacks" to when the last Labour administration left the council "almost bankrupt" in 2003.

And Conservative group leader Keith Brookes said Councillor Shaw "should not throw stones", adding: "When he took control of the council he inherited good sound financial balances."

The leader's outburst also surprised senior officers at the council, who have issued a brief statement confirming only that the borrowing levels quoted by Councillor Shaw were correct.

After the meeting, Councillor Shaw said that internal auditing by the ruling Labour administration had revealed that between 2007 and 2009 the council had borrowed £40 million to deliver its capital programme – but spent only half of it and invested the remainder in foreign banks, including the Icelandic institutions that collapsed in 2008.

Although the council is expected to recoup most of the £7 million it invested, it will lose out on any interest it would have accrued.

Councillor Shaw added that the loans were taken out at an interest rate of five per cent over a period of 65 years.

He said: "We are having to set a really small capital programme that can be delivered without borrowing money.

"We cannot go borrowing anymore because we are still paying back the money that they've borrowed."

However, Councillor De Freitas, who was leader of the council during that period, said: "The council did not mortgage itself to the hilt. That is a load of nonsense."

He explained that the council had borrowed the £40 million because when the coalition took over the authority it had no money in reserves.

He accepted that there had been "slippage" in the delivery of the capital programme, but said that between 2005 and 2009, the council had earned £10.6 million on its investments.

A council spokesman confirmed details of the borrowing figures, and said: "The authority remains vigilant in its financial dealings in line with our treasury management strategy and strong financial stewardship."

A NEW Phonics Taskforce is to be set up after nearly half of all five and six-year-olds in North East Lincolnshire failed to reach expected levels in new reading tests.

As reported, figures from the Department For Education revealed that following the first test in June, only 50.84 per cent of Year 1 pupils mastered the mechanics of reading for their age.

The statistics show North East Lincolnshire to be the lowest-performing authority in the Yorkshire and Humber region and fifth lowest in the country – seven per cent below the national average of 58 per cent.

The assessment of phonic decoding consists of a list of 40 words, half real words and half non-words, which children read to a teacher.

To pass, the children had to "decode" 32.

The check is designed to confirm whether individual pupils have learnt phonic decoding to an appropriate standard and have grasped the essential skills that underpin good reading.

At a meeting of North East Lincolnshire Council's children and young people's scrutiny panel, Darren Holmes, director of learning for Serco, the council's education partner, revealed what was being done to tackle the issue.

He said: "This is not a situation that is acceptable to us and not a situation we are complacent about.

"We need to improve our children's phonics skills, not to move up the league tables, but because we want our children to be better."

Among the measures that will be imposed include:

Forming a phonics taskforce of teachers from schools where children bucked the trend, and other experts, to help analyse what can be done in schools where the results were poor.

Working with individual schools to see where improvements can be made and helping to put new measures in place.

However, he was keen to point out that phonics tests did not necessarily give an indication of the reading level of any individual child – and should not be looked at in isolation.

Explaining to the committee that national guidelines also prevented him from revealing the results for individual schools, Mr Holmes said: "There is a weak correlation between school performance and socio-economic disadvantage and those children receiving a free school meal tended to perform below their peers.

"However, there were some who bucked the trend. Our best performing school was one of our most disadvantaged schools.

"Anecdotally, we have also noticed that there are some schools in more advantaged communities where children don't do as well as we would have expected.

"When presented with a nonsense word, they refused to read them as they thought that was the right answer, but they were penalised for that."

A FUNDRAISING drive to pay for a memorial in memory of the brave men who lost their lives while trying to save others stranded at sea has been launched.

The Humber Branch of the Air and Sea Marine Craft Section is on a mission to raise more than £2,000 to pay for a memorial stone and place it outside Ross Castle, in Cleethorpes.

But with just six members left in the club – who are all in their latter years – they are struggling to raise the funds and fear the sacrifice of their fellow comrades may be forgotten forever without the memorial stone by which to remember them.

Youngest member of the club, Trevor Smith, 78, of Seaford Road, Cleethorpes, served in the Royal Air Force's Air Sea Rescue Service in 1952.

He said: "It would mean such a great deal to all members and their families if we raised enough money to get the stone.

"A lot of the members are getting older. I am very much on my own in doing this because I am the youngest, they are all getting on. We have lost a tremendous amount of members in recent years."

During the Second World War the RAF ASR – whose motto was "the sea shall not have them" – saved thousands of highly-trained aircrew from the waters around the British Isles when returning from overseas war zones.

The stone will remember the men of 22 ASR Grimsby and 1110 Marine Craft Unit at Immingham, who were instrumental in rescuing bombers struck by the treacherous North Sea.

Most RAF sorties – or deployments – at Grimsby took place at night in response to distress signals from bombers returning from raids on Germany and the occupied countries and they usually necessitated long trips to the central north sea between the Humber and the Dutch or German coasts.

Mr Smith looks back at his time in the Air Sea Rescue with great fondness, but his memories are marred with sadness of losing his friends during rescues.

He continued: "We didn't feel brave at the time, we were just doing our job and that was it. We were a bit like the RNLI in that respect. We would go out to all sorts of jobs."

But while Mr Smith remains modest, his wife of 51 years, Ruth, 72, wants everyone to know what her husband and so many other men did for their country.

She said: "They were incredibly brave men and it would be nice for everyone to have this stone as a memorial to them. We go to the RAFA Club in Cleethorpes but that is all there is in their memory.

"There are less and less people who served in the ASR because they are all so old and it bothers us that what they did could be lost forever.

"We are not looking for a lot of money, we are just looking for a way to say thank you to these men."

If you would like to donate money, you can send it to Trevor Smith, 89 Seaford Road, Cleethorpes or contact him on 01472 504778.

IT may have been an event to raise money for the future, but the recent evening with Lawrie McMenemy was rooted firmly in Grimsby Town's past.

'Big Mac' himself said that, after 40 years, he and his league winning side of 1972 could be forgiven for allowing themselves to indulge in some reminiscence.

The Mariners Trust gave them the opportunity to do just that by bringing them back to Blundell Park for a night that few will forget.

From the moment that the players gathered in the boardroom before the fundraiser, it was clear that this was going to be a very special event.

The ex-players greeted one another – some for the first time in nearly 40 years – and were instantly team-mates once again, with the same dressing room banter being thrown around, just as it had all those years ago.

Then, the door opened, and in walked the imposing figure of Mr McMenemy – "it's the boss," cheered one of his former charges and they all rushed to greet him – this was a night as enjoyable for the players as it was for the fans.

One by one, each of the former players were warmly welcomed into the bar with the man of the hour receiving a standing ovation as he walked into the suite named after him. It was a poignant moment and one that clearly struck a chord with the former boss.

Chris Parker, chairman of the Mariners Trust gave a rousing speech that would have convinced even the most ardent of sceptics to think about joining the Trust's growing membership.

The event further underlined the credibility and professionalism of the Trust and, I'm told, encouraged a number of fans to sign up, something which can only be a good thing for the club, and its fan-base, going forward.

The real treat for fans came when, on the weekend that saw the current crop of Town players climb to the top of their league, they were regaled with stories of how the boys of '72, under McMenemy's tenure, stormed the Fourth Division.

It had been an evening of highlights, but there was one moment that struck me in particular – and it came from an unexpected source.

Mike Osman, a comedian and good friend of McMenemy who had traveled up with him from the south coast, ended his entertaining set with a tribute to the Mariners fans in attendance.

He admitted he was taken back by the welcome they had given to their former manager and players, saying that they and the club had shown how things 'should be done'. He was right.

Grimsby fans are often criticised for dwelling too much on past successes, but for me, the measure of a club is how well it respects and values its heroes, achievements and history.

The event was not only a testament to the organisers, but also to the fans who dug deep to buy a ticket and support it.

There were many in the audience that night who would have been far too young to remember the heady successes of 1972.

That they still came out in force says much about the value this club places on its proud history and those who played a part in building it – and rightly so.

With the current Town side performing so well, let's hope, that in 40 years' time, we're still talking about the class of 2013 in the same way that fans worship the players of 1972.