FRESHNEY Place shopping centre has apologised to a great grandmother who complained of discrimination after being asked to stop using an electronic cigarette.

Bosses have admitted their policy may need updating after the "embarrassing" experience of retired dental nurse Anita Kelly, pictured right.

She was approached by security guards and told that it was against the rules for her to be using the smoking device.

Although Mrs Kelly explained that using an electronic cigarette in a public place was not illegal, the guards maintained that if she wanted to use it, she would have to leave.

The 62-year-old, of Winchcombe Avenue, Grimsby, said: "I was sitting on a bench and got out my nicotine vaporizer.

"After a short time, a security guard told me I had to stop. I explained that it doesn't release anything harmful and using it isn't illegal. I have been in other places using it without a problem, even in House of Fraser's cafe, which is inside Freshney Place. There are no signs saying that using it is not allowed and as it is not illegal.

"I would never dream of lighting a cigarette up in a public place.

"I feel discriminated against because I am using something to try and improve my health."

Mrs Kelly has smoked since she was 15 and used to light up about 25 a day.

Now she uses an electronic cigarette, and has cut down to smoking about three cigarettes a day.

She added: "I would like Freshney Place to be more forward-thinking and understanding.

"I am saddened by the shopping centre's ignorance and if going there causes me grief, I will stay away."

Shopping centre director Amanda Austin said: "The decision was made not to allow people to use electronic cigarettes within Freshney Place as they often appear very similar to real cigarettes and other shoppers may think that people are smoking in the centre.

"Anyone smoking or using an electronic cigarette within the centre will be politely asked to stop or move outside away from entrances. We are sorry if it caused Mrs Kelly any upset or embarrassment.

"We regularly review all our policies and how they are implemented. In light of Mrs Kelly's comments, we will review this particular policy again as Freshney Place supports anyone trying or stop or cut down smoking."

WOULD you be able to spot barbed wire stretched dangerously across a busy road at night?

This is the question being posed by alarmed motorists who have seen youths tying wire across the Peaks Parkway – and watching as cars plough into it.

Today the police have condemned the act, branding the culprits as "highly irresponsible" and potentially putting people's lives at risk.

Concerned Grimsby resident Mellissa Findlay told how about 15 youths watched on as two others held barbed wire taut across the junction at Welholme Road, waiting for vehicles.

She said: "I don't know what they are trying to do, but it's really dangerous.

"They are risking their lives and putting drivers at risk.

"My husband managed to stop just in time.

"There was a car parked in the road just ahead of us and two lads kneeling next to the car pulling wire out from under wheels.

"They had been standing on either side of the road holding the wire for cars to hit it, and about 15 more were watching and laughing.

"It must have been a big shock to the woman in the car, who was by herself.

"She just stayed in her car. I know I wouldn't have got out and said anything, what with so many of them around.

"If we had come down the road a few minutes earlier that would have been us.

"Who knows what damage it would have caused?

"I don't know if they were trying to cause a crash – it's strange what people do for fun."

Mrs Findlay said motorists need to be aware of the dangerous actions of the youths.

She continued: "If a motorbike or cyclist had hit the wire, they would have been completely wiped out.

"Also, I dread to think what would happen if a car come along and took the lads holding the wire with them.

"I just want to warn other drivers. It's scary to think what could happen."

It is understood that this has occurred several times in area of Welholme Road, Patrick Street and Weelsby Street.

Motorist Carl Wicks told the Grimsby Telegraph he found a small stockpile of barbed wire and rope after his car ran into one of the traps.

"Youths have been tying rope across the road from lamppost to lamppost," he said.

"I hit it at 30mph. Luckily my roof bar cut straight through it, but it jolted the car.

"I stopped and untied it, and the police attended. My kids were in the car and I don't want it to happen to anyone else, so keep your eyes peeled."

Humberside Police's casualty reduction officer PC Barry Gardner said: "They are being highly irresponsible – I can't understand how they could even contemplate such actions.

"The consequences of a car or vulnerable road users, such as a motorbike or cyclist, hitting something obstructing the road would be inconceivable. Why would anyone want to do it?

"Placing something across the carriageway is a criminal offence and could cause a lot of problems.

"Humberside Police take these criminal offences very seriously and will be investigating further."

No offenders have yet been caught. If you have been affected, contact the Grimsby Telegraph newsroom on 01472 372236.

Crime news for Grimsby and North East Lincolnshire

RESIDENTS whose phone lines and internet connections have been cut off for more than a month have described their ordeal as "mental cruelty".

Helen Fenwick, of Carver Road, Immingham, has burst into tears because of the stress of "unresolved promises" from BT, and over forking out for mobile phone top-ups.

So far, she has used £80 worth of credit, as well as changing to a contract phone, since November 29, when contractors arrived to upgrade the cables.

Since then, she and six other residents have been without a service. Helen, who has been a BT customer for 42 years, fears most for her vulnerable neighbours, one of whom is disabled, because they wouldn't be able to call 999 if there was an emergency.

She said: "I'm lucky because I'm fit and well.

"But my neighbour experienced a bad situation, so I rushed round to help and tried to call 999 on their phone, and then remembered the line was down, so I had to run and get my mobile.

"My heart just sank and it makes you realise how dangerous it can be when lines are dead and they have no money left on their mobile.

"This is causing me so much stress. BT keeps promising me dates when it will be resolved, but nothing happens.

"It is like mental cruelty – getting our hopes up for a completion date and then nothing happening.

"I'm a valued customer and even have extra channels through BT Vision, but I can't watch them."

Carver Road resident Bob Sharp, who has also been cut off, said: "I can't Skype my son, who lives in Manchester.

"I also use the internet for banking, and I have bought my daughter a new laptop, but she can't go on the internet.

" I am paying bills for Sky and also Netflix, where you download films.

"It is so frustrating."

THESE Tough Mudders raised more than £5,000 for a cancer charity after the disease killed a close friend last year – and they won't stop there.

Jake Lamming and Tom Nicholson lost friend Adam Drinkell, of Laceby, in August after he died following a two-year battle with cancer, aged 24.

After his death, they organised a battle of their own and put a team together for Tough Mudder, a 12-mile endurance test through thick mud and rivers in the freezing cold with 25 military obstacles.

Twenty people took on the challenge, mostly members of Oasis Health Club where Jake is a personal trainer, including one member of staff who fractured her leg on the first obstacle but carried on and completed the event.

Now all the sponsorship is in, it was all worthwhile, having raised a total of £5,487 for the Teenage Cancer Trust.

Jake, 24, of Barnoldby-le-Beck, said: "We set ourselves this huge target, but never really thought we would get there – we're really pleased with it.

"It was a tough day and the hardest thing was the cold, but we all got through it and helped each other out a lot.

"Setting up this challenge took all our minds off things when Adam died, but it has kept him in our thoughts too."

Adam spent a lot of the two years he was battling cancer in ward 194 of Leeds Hospital, which is specially tailored to treat young people and teenagers.

Time in the ward made him and his friends – who visited regularly – realise just how much effort and money goes into the treatment it provides.

Tom, 24, of St Nicholas Drive, Grimsby, said: "You don't realise how awful something like cancer is until it happens to someone close to you.

"We would visit and the ward was a different world. It had all the facilities anyone could want, the nurses were really fun and friends could visit whenever we wanted.

"It's not hard to work out that everything they had in that ward costs money and Adam wanted to help, even though he was dying from cancer – that is just the sort of person he was."

The group organised a football tournament before Adam's death which raised £11,000 for the Teenage Cancer Charity in the summer of 2011.

Now the pair are already planning another Tough Mudder event, the Great North Run and the Rat Race – a 20-mile challenge with 200 obstacles.

Jake said: "We might even have to have two teams. It keeps us fit and raises money for a good cause so we'll keep fundraising."

Donate online by visiting www.justgiving.com/grimsbytoughmudder

BEREAVED parents have donated life-saving equipment to Grimsby hospital's children's wards in memory of their nine-year-old daughter.

Trace and Roy McPhee set up the Laura McPhee Memorial Fund to honour Laura, who died following an asthma attack at home in Humberston in December 2010.

Since then, the couple, their son Lewis and scores of volunteers have raised more than £50,000 to better the lives of children in hospital and buy important medical equipment.

They have most recently donated more life-saving equipment to the Rainforest Ward and Pediatric Assessment and Observation Unit at the Diana, Princess Of Wales Hospital.

Nurses received three bedside and two hand-held pulsometers, which monitor the levels of oxygen in the blood, and an optiflow, which provides heated, humidified air for patients with breathing difficulties.

Trace said: "I've been told that the equipment we have bought previously has already saved three lives and Roy and I always said it would be worth all the hard work if we could just stop one family going through what we have been through."

Evonne Zingraf, advanced pediatric nurse practitioner, said: "The optiflow is particularly helpful as it can often provide a remedy for children so that they don't need heavier, more evasive treatments.

"Babies often find it more comfortable than having tubes up their nose and are more likely to tolerate it."

The hand-held pulsometers will also allow nurses to transfer patients from the observation unit downstairs to the Rainforest Unit upstairs more easily.

The charity has also given one of the hand-held pulsometers, which cost just under £400, to the family of a young cerebral palsy sufferer named Daniel, from Grimsby.

Mum Linda, 38, said: "He has been getting pneumonia about once a month for about two years so we need to monitor his oxygen levels so we can get him to hospital if need be.

"The old unit we had was the size of two house bricks, had little battery life and couldn't get wet, so it limited the things we could do as a family."

Support the fund

To help the Laura McPhee Memorial Fund, visit www.lauramcphee memorial.webs.com

CLEVER canines and their owners can take part in a range of new classes now a dog trainer has moved to new premises.

Dog trainer Mel Ely's business, Klever K9s, has a new home in Ladysmith Road, Grimsby, and owners were invited to a special open day.

Dogs packed into the new building, which means Mel can train more than 300 clients a week – more than the sessions when they were in Healing.

There are four sessions each evening in agility, barrel racing and flyball, Kennel Club Good Citizen's Awards, and for the first time in Grimsby, doggy birthday parties.

Mel said: "The parties will be loads of fun – they can invite all of their doggy mates along.

"I'm so excited about this new place – it means we can hold loads more classes, which will be easier for people in Grimsby.

"People often form friendships with people they meet at classes, so I'm hoping this becomes a centre for the dog-loving community."

One person who is thankful for the skills she has learnt is Lyn Hardy, 50, of Killingholme, who appeared on Britain's Got Talent in 2007 with her dog Jerry Lee, along with a team of nine others.

Their dancing dog act, which was in the final, famously reduced Simon Cowell to tears during auditions.

Jerry Lee died five months ago and now Lynne is trying to train her new rescue dog Ben.

"Jerry Lee was a real star and it makes me tearful to talk about it, but I'm glad I have Ben now, he's a lovely dog," said Lynne.

"We're trying to teach him to dance, but he's a bit of a ragamuffin."

Five-year-old Jasmyne has also learnt a lot from Mel, and owner April Alford, 45, of Laceby, is glad of it.

"We've been teaching Jasmyne to dance and she has learnt a lot but she's quite young – there is still much more to teach her," said April.

"This place is great because it is purpose-built for the dogs and we won't have to put everything away afterwards like we did in Healing."

If you are interested in dog training sessions of any kind, call Mel on 07763 182550 or visit www.melskleverk9s.com.

Mel continues to hold sessions in Humberston and Habrough, as well as in her new home in Grimsby.

And to see just how clever these dogs are, visit www.thisisgrimsby.co.uk to watch a few of their party tricks on video.

A FIGHT in a nightclub turned nasty when an innocent bystander was suddenly smashed on the head by a bottle being brandished by a furious teenager just seconds earlier.

She was "in the wrong place at the wrong time" and had the bad luck to be walking by when the bottle cracked her on the head, Grimsby magistrates heard.

George Lee, 18, of Connaught Avenue, Grimsby, admitted assaulting Abbie Allen and using threatening, abusive or insulting words or behaviour on November 18.

Brendan Woodward, prosecuting, said Miss Allen was an innocent bystander and was "in the wrong place at the wrong time" when she got caught up in a fight between Lee and another man in an upstairs bar at the Gypsy Tears nightclub, Cleethorpes, in the early hours.

She had been on the dance floor minutes earlier and was just walking past.

Lee swung a bottle and hit the other man in the face with it during a confrontation.

He swung the bottle at the man a second time but the bottle slipped out of his hand and hit Miss Allen on the head before bouncing off. It did not smash. Lee continued punching the other man. Miss Lee, a student, suffered a one-inch cut to her head, which needed to be glued in hospital, and needed two days off college because of headaches.

Nick Furman, mitigating, said Lee had not been looking for any trouble and claimed that the other man had repeatedly provoked him, both that night and on another occasion.

Lee tried to hit him as a pre-emptive strike. He had been drinking from the bottle and had no intention of using it as a weapon.

"The bottle slipped out of his hand, hit the young lady on the head and bounced off," said Mr Furman. "There was no malice directed to her at all."

Lee was given an 18-month conditional discharge and was ordered to pay £200 compensation, £85 costs and a Government-imposed £15 victims' surcharge.

LOCAL MPs Austin Mitchell and Martin Vickers will today make a fresh plea for the council to reconsider its decision to close Scartho Baths.

They are due to speak in an adjournment debate on the subject in Westminster Hall this afternoon, which will be attended by sports minister Hugh Robertson.

They will be making the case for refurbishing the existing Scartho Road facility and also asking if Olympic Legacy funding can be made available to support such a scheme.

Both MPs backed the campaign to save the 50-year-old swimming pool after North East Lincolnshire Council announced it would be replaced by a brand new pool and leisure centre on the Cromwell Road site.

Even after the council confirmed the closure last month, Mr Mitchell encouraged protesters to fight on, while Mr Vickers urged the council to put the brakes on the project so it could bid for Olympic Legacy cash.

The council has always maintained that it will consider adding a diving facility to the new pool if government funding is forthcoming.

However, Mr Vickers said that by "rushing ahead" with the scheme, the council was effectively shutting the door to that possibility.

Speaking yesterday, Mr Vickers, who called the debate, said: "Although the minister has no actual responsibility for the decision he can give the government perspective on the importance of sports facilities locally.

"It's really an opportunity for us to urge the council yet again to stop, reconsider and look at the other options that are available. Bearing in mind that it would seem public opinion is against what is proposed and that the council is quite reasonably saying to the government that it has got a bad financial settlement, is it really advisable to be spending £8 million on a facility when the majority of the electorate think it would be far better to spend £2 or £3 million upgrading the existing facility?"

Mr Vickers said there would also be opportunity to ask the minister if Olympic Legacy funding would be available, adding: "I have already discussed that with the sports minister and I do know contact has been made between the council and the government."

Great Grimsby MP Mr Mitchell, pictured, said: "We are going to relay the argument that the council should try to see if we can do the whole thing more effectively and more cheaply. I'm not convinced yet that it is impossible to keep Scartho Baths.

"There is an Olympic Legacy fund and we want to try to tap into that to ease the pressure on the local authority and the minister will be able to tell us what help government can provide."

A FIRE burnt brightly on the Cleethorpes Coast last night, as masses of plants went up in flames following an aggressive removal scheme on the saltmarsh – despite the heavy snowfall.

North East Lincolnshire Council hired Creative Nature UK Ltd to remove a 500m stretch of sea buckthorn, 3m to 20m wide, between the sewage treatment works and the end of the Cleethorpes Coast Light Railway line.

Yesterday, the company removed the final patch at about mid-day and burned the masses of sea buckthorn in a huge fire at about 8pm, while winds were blowing offshore, after the Environment Agency granted special permission – despite the weather.

Managing director Ben Burgess said: "We had a big mass of it and while the snow fell on the top, it stayed dry underneath so we were fine for the fire to go ahead."

Mr Burgess notified the police and fire service before setting the fire, which he said is the most cost effective and environmentally friendly way to dispose of the plants.

"Usually we would try and convert plants to biomass to fuel things like power stations but to transport, dry, shred, and treat all this waste would take so much diesel that it would negate any advantages to the environment," he said.

The removal forms part of the Cleethorpes Habitat Management Plan – which responds to public concerns over the effect that a growing saltmarsh could have on the resort – adopted in January 2011, following agreement with Natural England.

Jason Longhurst, head of development services at NELC, said: "This year we have the opportunity to remove more of the sea buckthorn than originally planned, using a controlled and contained burn to dispose of what is removed."

The saltmarsh is a Natural England Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) and contains many rare species of birds, animals, insects and plants because of the high levels of salt.

The Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust has already contracted Creative Nature UK Ltd to remove large stretches of the sea buckweed from nearby coastlines and has even employed inventive methods, such as grazing sheep and cattle on the shores to control the plant.

Sea Buckthorn provides a nesting area for birds in the spring. However, it smothers other plant life, taking over large areas and threatening the biodiversity of the area. Recently, it was discovered that the sea buckthorn bushes were not dense enough to provide adequate shelter for other animals to live there, because smaller plants, such as grasses, had ceased to grow there.

Creative Nature UK Ltd has now removed the plants but left the roots in, which will allow it to grow back – at a rate of up to 4ft a year – but other plants will grow amongst it, providing a better habitat for wildlife.

Mr Burgess added: "A lot of people think that the best way to handle a wildlife reserve is to just leave it alone, but this is not the case.

"If left unchecked, sea buckthorn can totally take over so it is good news that the council is taking positive action."

Councillor Mick Burnett, NELC's portfolio holder for tourism and culture, said: "The buckthorn has long blocked the view of the estuary for those who come to the area for recreation and enjoyment, so this work will bring a real and noticeable difference."

In the first of a new series, Graham Precious from the Mariners Trust relives some of Grimsby Town's most memorable matches. Here, he recalls the night Paul Wilkinson silenced the home faithful at Goodison Park.

IT was a wet and rainy night to remember just over 28 years ago.

Everton had been top of Division One (the Premier League in today's money) for a month.

In fact, they had won their last ten matches and were unbeaten at Goodison Park all season!

Town were in Division Two (today's Championship) – our fifth season after promotion and were sitting in seventh place after losing 4-2 at home to Fulham just three days before.

We were destined to finish the season in tenth position.

Everton had beaten Stoke City 4-0 the same day and had beaten Bratislava 3-0 in the European Cup Winners Cup a fortnight before.

They had also beaten Manchester United twice in the previous month – 5-0 at home in the league and 1-0 away in the previous round of the League Cup, or Milk Cup as it was at the time.

Town, managed by Dave Booth, had defeated Barnsley twice in Round Two and Rotherham 6-1 over two legs in Round Three – after a 0-0 away leg.

Everton's side included Welsh international keeper Neville Southall, Pat Van Den Hauwe, Kevin Ratcliffe, Derek Mountfield, Peter Reid, Adrian Heath, Graeme Sharp, Paul Bracewell and Kevin Sheedy, and they brought on Andy Gray as sub.

Town's team included local household names, such as Nigel Batch in goal, Chris Seagraves, Steve Foley, the famous Chris Nicholl in the heart of the defence, with Dean Crombie and Kevin Moore.

Tony Ford, Paul Wilkinson (destined to become the night's hero) Phil Bonnyman, Gary Lund and Paul Emson made up the midfield and strike force. Forward Kevin Drinkell came on as sub, replacing Foley.

The game was a real David v Goliath encounter with virtually all 11 players in defence amid wave after wave of Everton pressure.

Southall was only brought into action in the eighth minute of the clash to save a long shot from Foley.

Everton forced 19 corners – Town none! There were three goal line clearances by Nicholl, Moore and Seagraves with Batch beaten. But Town stood firm and soaked it all up – the Mariners defended like their lives depended on it.

Then, in the 89th minute with the chance of bringing Everton back to Blundell Park, Town won a free-kick just outside the box when Reid brought down Lund.

Town were in no rush to take the free kick. Crombie and Ford stood over the ball and Wilkinson shouted to Bonnyman "just chip it in Phil" – luckily, Phil did just that. And Wilkinson rose above the Everton defence and headed the ball over Southall into the net.

The ground was packed with a gate of 26,298 and the Goodison faithful were stunned into silence.

There were nearly 6,000 travelling Mariners fans, who had made the trip across the M62, in delirium behind the goal and a replay wasn't necessary.

Howard Kendall, the Everton manager, responded by buying Paul Wilkinson for £250,000 from Town before the end of the season.

The Mariners Trust needs 750 members before it can take a seat on the Grimsby Town board. Have you say on the club's future by joining up. Visit www. marinerstrust.co.uk for more information.

EVERTON 0 GRIMSBY TOWN 1

Tuesday, November 20 1984

League Cup Fourth Round

HAVE you seen a Lincolnshire big cat?

Fisherman Phil Beach, 34, came face to face with what he thought was a lynx picking up fish from the sea wall at Stallingborough last month.

Since then, a number of readers have come forward with sightings, including amateur wildlife watcher James Elliott, 36, of Wybers Wood, who saw a huge black cat while walking in a field in Brigsley.

In the following month, he found eight carcasses – six sheep and two deer – in the surrounding area near Barnoldby-le-Beck, and some large cat-like footprints, in the summer of 2011.

Mr Elliott said: "I know my wildlife and the cat we saw walking across the middle of the field was big and had a very long tail – there was no way it was a domestic cat or a dog.

"I walk in that area quite regularly and started finding these carcasses, stripped to the bone while there was still wool and fur on the ground.

"One day, I found entrails in the middle of a field and the carcass in a ditch, as though it had been dragged somewhere sheltered – which is something a big cat might do."

The black cat that Mr Elliott described must be a different one to the sandy-coloured animal spotted by Mr Beach.

However, Mr Elliott, who runs a Facebook page for local otter watchers, said big cats living in Lincolnshire is more likely than some might think.

He added: "There is a chance that the carcasses could have been killed by a very large fox or a number of escaped dogs but it is unlikely that they killed so many animals in such a short time.

"People might think it is crazy but seeing a big cat is not like saying you saw a unicorn – many of them were kept as pets and released when it became illegal in the 70s and could have bred and survived, plus people still import them today."

Another member of the public, who did not want to be named, said he saw a big cat while driving near Welton-le-Wold, just outside of Louth around the same period as Mr Elliott, in August 2011.

He said: "I was driving along and this huge, sandy- -coloured cat, the size of an Alsatian jumped out in front of the car into the road – I almost hit it.

"There was a combine harvester working in the field nearby so I think it must have disturbed the cat.

"It was really big and quite muscular so you could see it was no ordinary household cat."

Have you seen a big cat in the area?

If so, visit www.thisisgrimsby.co.uk and leave a comment on the story or email james.dunn@gsmg.co.uk

To talk to Mr Elliott about local wildlife, search "otter watch" on Facebook and join the group.