A former Netherfield man been sentenced to 18 years for raping a child.
Bryan Austin Fairweather, 56, formerly of Meadow Road, Netherfield, was found guilty of two counts of rape and one count of sexual touching on May 21, 2018 at Nottingham Crown Court.
During the trial, the jury heard how he had first raped the victim in 2008 when she was four-years-old.
The attacks happened multiple times over a two year period and the court also heard how Fairweather would threaten to kill her and her family if she ever told anyone.
Fairweather was first arrested in October 2017 and denied all of the allegations when questioned by officers.
Fairweather was sentenced at Nottingham Crown Court today (29 June 2018). He was also given a Sexual Harm Prevention Order.
Detective Constable Dan Akehurst said: “The victim has shown immense courage and bravery in coming forward and reporting this to us. I’m really pleased with the result today and I hope it can act as some form of closure for the victim and her family.
“Nottinghamshire Police is committed to bringing people who commit sexual offences to justice. No matter how much time has passed, we will always investigate any reports of sexual abuse fully and be there to support you throughout the investigation.”
Plans for a new pet cremation service run by Gedling Borough Council have been approved.
It means those who lose their beloved pets will now be able to have them cremated in the local area.
Rather than at a human crematorium, where a service is held, the new council-run service will instead collect pets from people’s houses and take them away, before bringing back the ashes.
Council bosses said market research has shown that pet ownership is particularly high in the East Midlands.
They said 31 percent of households own a dog (with an average of 1.5 dogs per dog-owning household), and 20 percent of households own a cat (with an average of 1.8 cats per cat-owning household).
The new scheme, which was formally approved at a meeting yesterday (June 28), is believed to be the first such service run by a local authority in the East Midlands.
The leader of the Labour-run council, Councillor John Clarke, says the service will be “dignified and respectful”.
He also called the project “innovative”, saying the council was finding new ways to generate income and protect front-line services.
The scheme also had the support of the Conservative representative at yesterday’s cabinet meeting, Councillor Kevin Doyle, who represents the Trent Valley ward.
Initially, the cremations will be run just for people in Gedling, but if it is a success, the council hopes to expand to other areas.
A total of £89,000 is being spent setting the scheme up, but the council has predicted it will generate £88,000 in its first full financial year.
The crematorium itself will be run from the Jubilee Road council depot, and the council is in the process of applying for the special licenses needed.
It will also buy refrigerated vehicles in which to carry the dead animals.
They aim to start the scheme on or before April 1, 2019.
A Rainbow Girl Guide group in Gedling are in desperate need for new volunteers.
Work commitments mean that one of the leaders at 1st Gedling Rainbows has to leave at the end of the summer term, so the group are hoping that a new volunteer can be found to help run the unit from September onwards.
Currently with nine members, all aged between 5 and 7 – and with a waiting list – the Rainbows meet at Gedling’s Scout & Guide HQ on Willow Lane each term-time Tuesday from 5.00pm to 6.00pm.
Their recent adventures have included running a bake sale to raise funds for Nottingham Children’s Hospital, doing brass rubbings at their local church and joining in a day of outdoor activities at Girlguiding Nottinghamshire’s Elton campsite.
Guider Ann Douglas said: ‘We’ve an exciting programme starting in September and already have lots of new projects planned, but to make it all happen we need another adult volunteer who is prepared to get involved. If you’d like to come along to meet the team, or just have a chat about the role, then please do get in touch.”
Anyone interested in helping to run 1st Gedling Rainbows is invited to contact Helen Norton, Girlguiding Nottinghamshire’s Commissioner for Porchester District, via porchesterDistrictGuides@outlook.com or call Girlguiding Nottinghamshire’s county office on 0115 987 7220.
Elsewhere in the county, enquiries about volunteering with Girlguiding in Nottinghamshire at all levels are always welcome.
County Commissioner Jackie Brocklehurst said: ‘To put it bluntly, more adult supporters are vital if units are to continue offering such a breadth of activities to so many youngsters.
“As well as enjoying the company of like-minded adults and helping young people get the most out of life, our volunteers benefit from training, mentoring and invaluable experience – all of which come in very useful in other contexts.”
People in Gedling borough are being asked to take part in a consultation on whether the NHS should stop offering gluten-free foods on prescription.
Health commissioners from the four Greater Nottingham Clinical Commissioning Groups state that £176,488 is spent on prescribed gluten-free foods each year across the areas they serve.
The six-week consultation will run until Thursday, July 26 and commissioners are asking people to complete a short survey to help them to understand what they think about the different options.
Some gluten-free foods like bread and flour are currently available on prescription for people who have coeliac disease – a common digestive condition triggered by the protein gluten, which is found in wheat, barley and rye.
Prescriptions for gluten free foods have been available on the NHS for more than 30 years. Over the past few years, the availability of gluten-free foods has increased dramatically and at much more competitive prices compared to 30 years ago when choice was limited.
A spokesman for Demand for NHS services continues to increase. Therefore we need to look at everything we do to ensure the NHS locally uses its funding appropriately and fairly. To make sure that we are making the best use of NHS money, we are reviewing some of the services we provide. This means sometimes we need to make difficult decisions about what services can be funded.
Dr Hugh Porter, GP and clinical lead for NHS Nottingham City CCG said: “Gluten is not essential to people’s diets and many basic foods such as vegetables, potatoes, meat and rice are naturally free from gluten. Many gluten free alternatives are also now widely available to buy in supermarkets and health food shops.
“Given the ever-growing pressures on NHS services and budget, we must ensure we get the best value for taxpayers’ money. We do understand the proposals to limit, or withdraw, gluten free foods on prescription may have an impact on some patients with coeliac disease and that’s why we are keen to hear as many views as possible to help inform our decision.”
Patients registered with a GP in areas served by Nottingham City, Nottingham North and East CCG, Rushcliffe CCG and Nottingham West CCG are being asked to give their views about the options being proposed by health commissioners, which are:
1) Limit prescribing for all patients in Greater Nottingham to four units of long life bread and/or flour per month. This will mean that the same prescribing model is in place across the south of the county, including the city. It is the closest model to the national guidance and provides savings for the CCGs while still enabling gluten-free food to be available on prescription.
2) All Greater Nottingham CCGs to stop all gluten-free prescribing, with the exception of for children, who will be able to receive up to four units of long life bread and/or flour per month. This would provide a more significant saving for the CCGs while still allowing gluten-free prescribing for children.
3) All Greater Nottingham CCGs to stop all gluten-free prescribing. This would mean the same restrictions will be in place across Nottinghamshire (except Bassetlaw). It provides the greatest financial saving for the CCGs.
People can have their say online at www.surveymonkey.com/r/GN-gluten-free or by calling 0115 883 1709 for a printed copy or to complete over the phone
A council leader in Nottinghamshire has called for a debate over proposals revealed last week which would see Gedling Borough Council and other local district and borough authorities scrapped
The Conservative leader of Rushcliffe Borough Council, Simon Robinson, has said there has not been any debate or discussions about a plan to scrap district and borough councils.
Mr Robinson said he is not opposed to the idea in principle, but the districts need to be better informed about the proposals.
He said he had met the minister for local government, James Brokenshire, last week, who had stressed that a consensus would be needed between district councils and the county council for any plan to be taken forward.
It is believed Councillor Robinson is the first Nottinghamshire council boss to speak to the newly-appointed minister about the plans. The minister is understood to be ‘considering’ a letter from the county council requesting a meeting.
Councillor Robinson also said ‘there has not been any dialogue’ between districts and the county about the plans.
He was speaking after the Conservative leader of Nottinghamshire County Council, Kay Cutts, said she wanted to ‘get on with’ plans to dissolve the smaller district councils and create one, larger council – known as a unitary authority.
She said it was needed to remove duplication, save taxpayers’ money, and plug the financial demand caused by ever-increasing social care bills.
Speaking about meeting the Government minister, Mr Robinson said: “He would need an agreed solution between districts and the county, because there just isn’t the time or appetite to deal with a feud between districts and the county.
FIGHT: Gedling Borough Council leader John Clarke is against plans to scrap borough and district councils
“The other big issue is that any unitary solution would require parliamentary time, and with Brexit that is in very short supply.”
Mr Robinson said he favours looking again at how local government is set up.
He added: “My view is that local Government does need re-organisation, but there needs to be planning and debate.
“I’m not saying that what would come out of that wouldn’t be some sort of unitary system, but you don’t start with the solution and work backwards, and I think that is what Kay Cutts is doing.
“My starting point is always going to be what is in the best interests for the 120,000 people who live in Rushcliffe.
“There are significant challenges both at district and at the county, and there needs to be much closer working between councils.
“That could be unitary or the metro strategy which the city and Gedling are talking about.”
Another scheme which has been put forward by Nottinghamshire leader Kay Cutts is for four East Midlands counties and three East Midlands cities to work closer together in a ‘strategic alliance’.
Speaking about this plan, Mr Robinson, who represents the Edwalton Ward for the Conservatives, said: “I’m absolutely in favour of the whole area getting together. I think it’s key for the investment in the big ticket items, and for infrastructure, and I absolutely support that.”
A spokesman for the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government said: “We welcome authorities working together to boost the economy and improve services for people.
“We will consider all proposals once they have been submitted by local authorities.”
A community has been left without access to a popular play area and park in Carlton -thanks to mindless vandals.
Gedling Borough Council has today announced that they have been forced to temporarily close Carnarvon Grove Play Area and Cavendish Road Recreation Ground until the damage to safety flooring is repaired.
The parks will remain closed until repairs can be carried out.
A spokesman for Gedling Borough Council said: “Unfortunately, due to over £20k worth of vandalism to safety flooring at Carnarvon Grove Play Area and Cavendish Road Recreation Ground we’ve had to close the two parks temporarily.
“We are very sorry to have to do this but we had no choice due to the damage caused.”
If anyone has any information about who did this, please contact the Police on 101 or contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
A teenager has been sentenced after pleading guilty to robbing three youths at knifepoint in Mapperley.
He was also sentenced for carrying a knife following a shooting in St Ann’s.
The boy, who can’t be named for legal reasons, and another offender followed three boys as they left a restaurant in Woodborough Road, Mapperley, on December 27, 2017.
They approached the boys, one of whom was asked what they had to give to them.
The offenders walked off empty-handed but a short time later they approached the same group of teenagers in Robinson Road and asked them ‘what have you got for us?’
After one of the group replied ‘nothing’ the defendant produced a machete from a bag and waved it towards them.
They searched the three victims who were told to empty their pockets. The offenders took a small quantity of cash from them before running off.
The defendant was arrested at home on February 22, 2018 after being identified from CCTV.
Nottingham Youth Court heard that the same defendant also pleaded guilty to possessing a knife in a public place and possessing cannabis after being detained by armed officers in St Ann’s on 4 June 2018.
The officers, who had attended a shooting in St Anns Well Road, saw the boy running away from the scene as they searched the area. He was also seen hiding behind a wall.
After he was detained the boy told the officers that his friend had called him, saying he’d been shot, so he armed himself with a knife from home and went to the area to help his friend.
Officers found a knife, which the boy had discarded, in a sheath on the floor next to the wall.
When the boy was searched by officers they found four small bags of cannabis and he was further arrested.
He was sentenced to 12 months in a young offenders’ institute when he appeared in court yesterday (Wednesday 27 June 2018). He was also ordered to pay £250 compensation.
Speaking after his sentencing City Chief Inspector Donna Lawton, the Force’s knife crime lead, said: “We will always do all we can to ensure perpetrators of violent offences are placed before the courts and we always strive to ensure the best possible outcomes are reached.
“As a community we are stronger when we work together. We want to work together with parents, community groups, schools, health services, local councils and other agencies to make it clear that carrying a knife should never be seen as acceptable and our lives are better without them.
“There is no need to carry a knife in Nottinghamshire. Those who do choose to carry a knife will be at much greater risk of coming to harm, and may have the very knife that they were carrying used against them.
“Knives destroy more than just a life. The real impact of carrying a knife is felt by entire families and ultimately our communities.
“We constantly review how we can do the best we can to make Nottinghamshire even safer for you – and we know education plays a big part in that. For that reason we are reintroducing Schools and Early Intervention Officers into schools across Nottinghamshire to help educate youngsters about positive life choices, including steering clear of weapon-enabled violence.
“We also have a dedicated Knife Crime Team – the only dedicated Knife Crime Team outside of the Metropolitan Police – which is continuing to make Nottinghamshire safer by taking weapons off the streets of Nottingham.
“We all have a part to play in tackling and reducing knife crime. To be our most effective we also rely on public support.
“We would urge people to keep talking to us and give us any information they have about crimes that impact on them. The more information we have the better equipped we are to put the resources where they are most needed.”
Half a plastic bags’ worth of Scottish peat made the list of weird gifts offered to police officers in Notts by members of the public, which was published today.
An umbrella, a scarf, Champagne and a coffee machine all make the list of gifts and offers of hospitality received by the police since 2014.
A police dog was offered a dog chew and a bone by a member of the public – this offer was accepted.
Alcohol is one of the most common gifts for officers, including a bottle of Bacardi rum and several bottles of whisky – however all offers of alcohol have been declined, in keeping with the official force guidelines.
Victims of crime, foreign governments and local mosques, synagogues and churches have all made offers of gifts to police constables and senior officers.
A skincare gift set and a coffee machine were accepted by one constable, while chocolates, costume jewellery, a purse, candle holders and foot cream were accepted by another, from the family of a victim of crime.
A spokesman for the police said all gifts are recorded whether accepted or refused.
He said: “During the course of their work, police officers or police staff may receive offers of gifts and hospitality.
“The most fundamental element of the gifts and hospitality policy is that staff and officers are in positions where they serve the public and therefore the public have a right to expect them to do so: selflessly; with integrity and objectivity; are accountable, open, honest and lead by example.
“All offers of gifts and hospitality, whether accepted or rejected, must be recorded in the gifts and hospitality register.
“On most occasions it would be inappropriate to accept them, although there may be specific circumstances where it would be appropriate.
“Therefore, offers of gifts and hospitality should typically be declined, except where there is a valid reason to believe that refusing the offer may cause offence or damage working relationships.
“The register provides a mechanism for recording offers of gifts and hospitality, action taken (i.e. acceptance or rejection) and the rationale for the chosen action. It enables individuals to conduct operational relationships without fear of subsequent allegations of impropriety.”
1. An officer received a bundle of gifts in 2015 from the parent of a missing person. These including biscuits, chocolate, chocolate liqueurs and some ‘stockings’. Only the biscuits were accepted.
2. A half-filled carrier bag of Scottish peat was accepted by a constable from the father of a victim in January 2017.
3. A New South Wales police hat from Australia was accepted back in June 2017 by a police delegation during an overseas visit.
4. £10 was offered to a detective constable by the mother of an RTC victim. However, this offer was declined. One officer registered an offer of £2 from a member of the public, but also declined the gift.
5. Two officers registered scrap wood as a gift – one from builders who were due to put the wood in a skip, and another from building work at Oxclose Lane Station.
6. A painting by a victim of crime was presented to a constable back in May 2016. This was accepted.
7. A small pair of binoculars was given by a Dutch Police delegation in April last year. They came complete with a belt pouch, and were accepted. The delegation also gave top cops at the force some embossed battery packs, a pack of dutch biscuits and some key rings.
8. The partner of a person involved in a fatal road traffic collision gave a detective constable a scarf, coaster and vase.
9. A pumpkin was offered and accepted to raise money for a charity.
10. The mother of a victim of crime gave a constable a low GI dieting cookbook. This was accepted.
11. Home-made jam was also registered twice – both from the family of crime victims.
Work has now begun on a major new development near Netherfield which will create 830 new homes over the coming years.
Persimmon Homes Nottingham has started works on its first phase of 199 homes, off Teal Close, which is located near Victoria Retail Park.
The Rivendell development, as it will become known, is a landmark 135-acre site which was formerly owned by Severn Trent plc and Gedling Borough Council.
Neil Follows, managing director at Persimmon Homes said: “This major new development forms an integral part of our construction and growth programme within Nottinghamshire.
“Rivendell is just two miles from Gedling, which provided the inspiration for JRR Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings trilogy. With being so close we wanted to choose a name in the memory of this classic novel.”
“The developments first phase will feature a collection of two, three, four and five-bedroom homes to suit a range of budgets and lifestyles.”
“Initial ground works have begun with construction works commencing over the coming months. We are working towards welcoming our first customers in December.
He added: “This site is more than just about building new homes, we are creating a new community. As part of our planning obligations, contributions will be made towards education, healthcare and public transport as well as further provisions for new recreation areas, allotments, a community building and new primary school in the future.”
Customers interested in properties at Rivendell are asked to register their interest by visiting www.persimmonhomes.com.
