A meeting to discuss the future of a Doncaster library takes place this week.

Bentley library is one of many which Doncaster Council is proposing to make community-managed.

This will be the second and final consultation event and takes place at the Chapel Hill building on Wednesday, from 2pm until 3.30pm.

Nick Stopforth, council head of libraries and culture, will be there to explain the authority’s proposals for its future.

Anyone wishing to attend should phone 01302 873456 or email bentley.library@doncaster.gov.uk

Carol Baldwin, director of Growing A Greater Bentley, said: “The consultation closes on Friday, so there’s still time to make your views known.”

Consultation forms are available on-line at {http://bit.ly/doncasterlibrariesconsultation} or can be picked up from the library.

What do you think about childcare in the county?

North Lincolnshire Council is asking Isle residents to share their views to help the local authority gain a better understanding of the needs of parents.

Two surveys have been created; one for parents who currently use childcare and another for parents who don’t use childcare.

This is to identify if there are any gaps in the service provided or if there is something preventing some parents using childcare for example, the opening times don’t suit their needs.

Those who complete the survey before February 28 will be entered into a free prize draw to win a family annual pass for Normanby Hall Country Park.

By completing the surveys the council will be able to find out residents’ views on the flexibility, quality and affordability of the childcare uses.

Where gaps are identified, the council will work with child carers to encourage new developments to meet the needs of parents.

Share your views by completing the childcare sufficiency surveys: ‘Share your views on childcare’ or ‘Do you not use childcare? Tell us why not’ on the council’s website www.northlincs.gov.uk/your-council/have-your-say/consultations-and-petitions/consultations/current-consultations/.

Ihe results from the surveys will help determine council priorities for creating childcare places and supporting existing childcare settings with their quality.

Councillor Rob Waltham, cabinet member for people, said: “We want to ensure that the childcare services provided in North Lincolnshire are the best they can be. Therefore we are asking parents for their views on the provision currently provided to see if any improvements need to be made. It’s important that parents’ needs are met.

“The results from the surveys will help us shape the future of childcare services on offer, so it is essential that you have your say.”

A Doncaster Rovers fan was left with serious facial injuries after he was stabbed in the face with a bottle during a running battle on a railway station platform, a court heard.

Ashley Allen, aged 20, was one of 15 defendants to appear before a judge at Nottingham Crown Court in connection with the brawl.

The violence broke out last April when Doncaster Rovers won the League One championship in a dramatic finale against Brentford in London.

Allen admitted a public order offence but his injuries helped persuade the judge to give him an 18-month conditional discharge, rather than send him to jail.

The men all pleaded guilty to affray and public order offences at Newark Northgate station following a Nottingham Forest away fixture at Millwall and Rovers’ title-winning game at Brentford.

The court heard Nottingham Forest supporter Jamie Johnson became involved in a verbal altercation with a Doncaster fan on a train before it left Kings Cross station.

After being threatened on the train he phoned a friend in Newark, claiming he was in fear for his safety.

Six Forest supporters turned up on the platform at Newark to meet the train and as it pulled into the station they began banging on the window.

The court heard Forest fans on the train merged with the men on the platform and there were verbal exchanges with the Rovers fans, before fighting broke out on the train.

It spilled onto the platform causing passengers and rail staff to fear for their safety.

Punches, kicks and glass bottles were thrown while both groups exchanged abusive threats.

Allen, of Pagnell Avenue, Thurnscoe, Barnsley, put his head through an open train window and was stabbed in the face with a broken glass bottle.

A rail worker was also assaulted and threatened with being pushed under the train.

British Transport Police Detective Inspector Glen Alderson said: “This was a terrifying ordeal for the passengers and staff who were at the station and on the train at the time of the incident. 
“They were left fearing for their safety and understandably shaken and traumatised by the incident.

“We simply do not tolerate this type of violent and barbaric behaviour. 
“I hope that being banned from the club, along with the sentences handed down serves as a stark reminder that football related disorder on the rail network is utterly unacceptable and will seek the maximum penalties for anyone involved.”

Jordan Whitnall, aged 19, of Queen Street, Thorne; Graham Howarth, 43, of Springcroft Drive, Scawthorpe; and Nigel Barnes, 42, of Clevedon Crescent, Scawthorpe, were each given four months jail, suspended for 18 months, 140 hours of unpaid community work and told to pay £400 costs.

Andrew Toyne, aged 23, of Ashton Drive, Kirk Sandall; Mark Redfearn, 42, of Elm Place, Armthorpe; and Gary Flately, 45, of Westmorland Street, Balby, were each sentenced to 140 hours of unpaid work and ordered to pay costs of £200.

Forest fans, Steven Marsden, 54, Jamie Johnson, 31, Christopher Cox, 48, and Danny Smalley, 25, all of Newark, were given 12 month jail terms and six-year football banning orders.

Doncaster has seen a dramatic increase in the number of people signing on - despite national figures falling.

The borough saw a seven per cent rise of 584 to 8,641 in those claiming Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA) between December and January this year, the biggest month on month increase since December 2012.

And Doncaster Central MP Rosie Winterton claims that Government policies are not helping people to find work.

She said: “Nationally there has been a fall in the number of people claiming out-of-work benefits, but that is not the case here in Doncaster – where hundreds more people have been forced to sign on.

“The figures show that the Government’s policies are not helping people in our borough find work – in fact the figure is now higher than it was in December 2010.

“They must do more to ensure continued investment in Doncaster’s economy to help create jobs and growth.”

Conservative MP Nigel Adams said: “In the five years Ed Miliband was a Doncaster MP under the last Labour government, the number of people claiming jobseekers allowance in Doncaster doubled. Under this Conservative led government, it has fallen by nearly 20 per cent.

“Under the Conservatives there are now 1.3 million more people in work. Labour left nearly half a million more people without a job and let Doncaster down.

“Labour’s short-term gimmicks are the biggest threat to the recovery and future security of hardworking people and their families.”

Three people have gone on trial today accused of the ‘brutal murder’ of a man who was left to die in a shallow grave in a remote farmland ditch.

Angela Dowling, 48, of Windmill Avenue, Conisbrough, Matthew Duffy, 23, of Sussex Street, Balby, and Mark Bingham, 50, of Fishponds Road West, Sheffield, have gone on trial at Nottingham Crown Court accused of murdering Alan Jones Easton.

The jury was told that Mr Eaton was beaten, stabbed and buried in a ditch in farmland in Everton near Bawtry, possibly while he was still alive.

Opening the case for the prosecution, Ian Unsworth QC said: “To put it bluntly he was executed in the dead of the night.”

Stephen Schofield, 31, also of Windmill Avenue, Conisbrough, has admitted murdering Mr Easton, 50, from Dumbartonshire.

The trial continues.

A Gainsborough man has been fined after assaulting a police constable.

Victor Trafford, 63, of Lea Road, Gainsborough, appeared at Lincoln Magistrates Court on Tuesday 18th February charged with assaulting the police constable on Monday 27th January.

He was fined £85, ordered to pay £50 compensation, a £20 victim surcharge and £85 costs.

A disabled Doncaster man who enjoyed eating raw jelly died when he choked while chewing on a block of the sweet.

Since suffering brain injuries in a suicide bid more than 20 years ago, former miner Patrick Finley was treated to a block of jelly once a month, said his widow and carer Janet.

But when she left the room for less than five minutes at their Stainforth home on January 31 she returned to find the 58-year- old choking.

Paramedics could not revive him and he died shortly afterwards in Doncaster Royal Infirmary.

An inquest in Doncaster was told Mr Finley suffered catastrophic brain injuries from carbon monoxide poisoning when he was 37 after he piped exhaust fumes into his car.

Mrs Finley said she never knew why he tried to take his own life.

The poisoning left him with a severe brain injury, needing 24-hour care, and unable to wash and dress himself.

It also brought on epilepsy and he would have seizures once or twice a week, in which he was ‘in a trance’ for eight to 12 hours at a time.

His eating was affected, said Mrs Finley, aged 49, of Oldfield Crescent, and his food had to be cut up small and eaten slowly.

“He would eat fast and shovel his food into his mouth and on occasions he would choke on his food,” she said.

She said there were episodes in 2012 and 2013 of him choking on steak and a sandwich, but they had managed to dislodge the obstruction.

On the evening he died Mr Finley, who spent 22 years at Hatfield Colliery, was given a pack of raw jelly which was ‘something he enjoyed eating, once a month’, his wife said.

Mrs Finley said she reminded him to eat it slowly but she left the room for about five minutes and when she came back his lips were turning blue. “I knew there was something seriously wrong,” she said.

Recording a verdict of accidental death, Deputy Coroner Fred Curtis said there ‘must have been very obvious problems and difficulties in looking after Mr Finley in this lengthy period’.

“The raw jelly was something he enjoyed, which he had had on a significant number of occasions without incident, in the cube form taken out of a packet.

“It must have been very distressing for Mrs Finley to find him. She had looked after him successfully for such a long period of time,” said Mr Curtis.

Protesters opposed to the controversial extraction process known as fracking have staged a demonstration at a site earmaked for work.

Demonstrators gathered at Daneshill Energy Forest at Sutton-cum-Lound on Saturday to protest at proposals put forward by Dart Energy - even though the firm is not considering fracking, which involves fracturing rock to release energy resources.

Pete Kennedy, spokesman for Frack Free South Yorkshire said: “We attended the demonstration against Dart Energy to send a strong message that risky unconventional techniques of gas extraction are not welcome.

“While this site is over into Nottinghamshire, the potential damage and pollution will not stop at the border. South Yorkshire could well be impacted by the adverse effects from the site.”

Dart have been granted a Petroleum Exploration and Development Licence (PEDL) to extract coal-based methane from the ground.

According to campaigners, Dart are proposing to drain water from the coal seam at Daneshill by removing fluid and releasing trapped methane to be captured and used to generate energy.

Added Mr Kennedy: “There are a number of concerns. The methane can escape through natural cracks and faults in the ground - leaking gas and water contaminated with naturally occurring radioactive substances into the surrounding countryside. This puts humans, farm animals and wildlife at risk. The drilling operation will involve industrialising the countryside and increase heavy lorry traffic movements in the area.

“We must leave these dirty fossil fuels in the ground, not risk our countryside and future to make quick profits.”

Earlier this year a Dart spokeman said: “A vertical coal bed methane well may be drilled with the objective of extracting a core from the coals to enable lab testing of methane content.”

“There are no current plans to drill a shale exploration well on the licence.”

Fracking, short for hydraulic fracturing, was first used in the USA in 1947 and has since spread across the globe but has met with fierce crictism.

Opponents point to environmental risks, including contamination of ground water, depletion of fresh water, air and noise pollution, the migration of gases and hydraulic fracturing chemicals to the surface and even earthquakes.

More than 100 children from Doncaster schools have shown their support to tackle racism in sport and everyday life.

Organised by anti-racist educational charity Show Racism the Red Card and hosted for a sixth time by Doncaster Rovers, the event at the Keepmoat Stadium was one of a number held up and down the country.

Pupils from Woodfield, Kingfisher, St Francis Xavier and Bentley High Street primary schools were able to grill Newcastle United player Oliver Bernard and current Rovers players about racism.

And there were workshops from Doncaster Pride and South Yorkshire Police.

Councillor Glyn Jones, Deputy Mayor and Cabinet Member for Equalities and Cohesion, said: “I am passionate about making Doncaster a great place that offers a bright future, full of opportunities and potential for all.

“Only by acting together – and very importantly, listening to and working with our young people – will we create a Doncaster that enables future generations to thrive.”

Former Doncaster Rovers’ goalkeeper Jan Budtz, who now works as a community officer at the club said: “Show Racism the Red Card is a great charity and you can’t do enough to raise awareness.”

Children also tour the stadium and met their favourite players.

A Sprotbrough student has been crowned the winner of the Sky Poker UK Poker Championships main event, taking home the top prize of £125,000.

Alex Spencer, 20, won first prize at the four-day championship at the Dusk till Dawn poker club in Nottingham yesterday (February 23).

Accountancy and Finance student at the University of York, Alex, saw off competition from 620 other players to take the title.

Buy the Free Press on Thursday (February 27) for more on this story.

A multi-million pound upgrade to a sewage works has been welcomed by residents who are angry about foul odours from the site.

Members of the public have complained for several years about smells coming from Yorkshire Water’s two waste water treatment plants close to the River Don in Mexborough and Denaby.

But Yorkshire Water bosses said this week that a £5.5 million scheme to improve processes at the Mexborough Waste Water Treatment Works is right on track.

Resident Frank Knapton , 77, of Morton Road, Mexborough, said he hoped the work would go someway towards providing a permanent solution to the on-going smell problem.

He told the Times: “The smell has persisted for years and is worst in the summer. But they seem to be tackling the issue, and let’s hope that will put an end to it.”

The upgrade will result in better water quality in the River Don, along with odour reduction, and it is set for completion this summer. Staff have also been increasing checks to tackle an odour problem at the nearby Denaby site.

In addition, Yorkshire Water has limited the rise in the average household customer bill for 2014/15 to £6. There had been a planned rise of £12 because industry regulator Ofwat had scheduled a 1.6 per cent rise in addition to inflation. But the company said they had listened to customers’ concerns and agreed to reduce the increase.

Richard Flint, the company’s chief executive, said: “We need to continue to deliver a great service while keeping bills as low as possible.”

An elderly couple were affected by smoke when fire broke out in their Wheatley, Doncaster, home last night.

A defective dehumidifier in the kitchen of the semi-detached house in Norwich Road is thought to have started the fire around 8pm.

It ignited some nearby clothing but the husband, in his 70s, smelled smoke and got himself and his wife out of the house before Doncaster fire crews arrived.

The couple were checked over by paramedics for smoke inhalation and advised to attend hospital.

The house suffered smoke damage throughout but the flames were contained to the kitchen.

Dozens of Doncaster care workers will walk out on strike on Thursday as they start seven days of action over proposed pay cuts.

More than 100 Care UK employees who look after adults with learning disabilities are involved in the industrial action, but company chiefs say services will continue to operate as normal as ‘robust contingency plans’ have been put in place.

A spokesman said: “Less than half the workforce are in the union and, with help from managers and colleagues from nearby services, the provider is confident all essential shifts will be covered and service users will be kept safe and able to continue to enjoy activities.”

But Unison representative Jim Bell said: “It is going to be very disruptive for the clients because they are used to people, some have very challenging behaviour and they won’t know these people.

“It will have an adverse effect on their daily living.

“It seems there’s no shortage of money to bring in people from around the country and putting them up in hotels. The money should have been used to prevent the strike.”

He added: “We’re acting responsibly by not picketing the individuals homes of people as we want to disrupt their lives as little as possible.”

Director of Care UK’s learning disability service, Chris Hindle, said: “We have done our best to meet the unions more than half way. We have not made anyone redundant, our proposal does not touch people’s basic pay and we have already protected future annual pay increments and secured NHS future final salary pension rights for everyone transferring to Care UK in this service.”

The strike starts at 7am on Thursday, until 7am on Thursday, March 6, and will be followed by industrial action short of strike.

Pupils at a Doncaster school enjoyed a surprise visitor as part of an English lesson.

Students at Danum Academy were challenged to write a letter to a person that inspires them, with the aim of persuading them to reply with a ‘good luck’ card for the pupils’ upcoming exams.

Among those who received a letter was Doncaster Rovers goalkeeper Ross Turnbull – who asked to visit the school to personally deliver his card to Jake Hoyle in Year 11.

A spokesman said: “Ross arrived at Jake’s lesson, much to Jake’s complete surprise, and delivered his card alongside some goalkeeper gloves.

“Thank you to Ross for helping to encourage our pupils during such a crucial final few weeks.”

There will be some disruption to motorists as road resurfacing work takes place across the Isle during the month of March.

The following roads will be affected:

* Haxey Level Crossing, Station Road, Graizelound - March 10 and 11. The road will be closed 24 hours.

* Access Road to Elwiss Farm, Low Burnham - March 16 to 20. The road will be closed 7am to 7pm.

* A161 Belton netween Crowle Gyratory and M180 junction outside Golf Club - March 10 to 14. Traffic signals in operation 9.30am to 3.30pm.

* West Street, West Butterwick - March 3 to 6. Traffic signals in operation 24 hours.

* Market Place, Epworth - March 29. The road will be closed 6am to 4.30pm.

A man was ‘executed’ in a country lane near Doncaster less than a week after he moved in with his new girlfriend, who thought he was a wealthy man, a murder trial heard yesterday.

Alan Easton is believed to have been beaten, stabbed and buried alive under a heap of soil in a ditch near the village of Everton after being duped into thinking he was going out for a meal with Angela Dowling, who had been widowed only a few weeks earlier.

Dowling, aged 48, of Windmill Avenue, Conisbrough, and two men have gone on trial at Nottingham Crown Court accused of murdering Mr Easton, who was 50, and who lived previously in Dumbartonshire, Scotland.

Mathew Duffy, 23, of Sussex Street, Balby, is a friend of Dowling’s son, and Mark Andrew Bingham, 50, of Fishponds Road West,Woodthorpe, Sheffield, is said to be a ‘close friend’ of Dowling. All deny murder.


Woodthorpe, Sheffield, is said to be a ‘close friend’ of Dowling.

All deny murder.

Ian Unsworth, QC, prosecuting, told the jury Mr Easton was taken to a remote country lane at Everton ‘in the dead of night’ and was beaten, stabbed and buried alive.

“Those responsible simply left him to die,” he said. “The ditch became his grave.”

Each of the three defendants had different and significant roles, said Mr Unsworth.

A third man, Stephen Schofield – a lodger said to have also had a sexual relationship with Dowling – has already pleaded guilty to murder and is in custody.

Mr Easton went with them in Dowling’s car because he thought he was being taken out for a meal on February 1 last year.

Bingham remained at Dowling’s house but was in phone contact with her as she waited in the car, while Schofield and Duffy walked Mr Easton up Middle Cross Lane to the spot where he was attacked and buried.

Mr Unsworth said Dowling had lost her husband to leukaemia just after Christmas 2012, but by the middle of January she was seeing Mr Easton and he came to live with her on the 27th of that month, with the intention of settling in Conisbrough.

On the day he was killed he went to Mexborough Jobcentre to sign on for benefits, giving her address as his.

That night, said Mr Unsworth, ‘four people left that house and only three of them returned’.

“Alan Easton was lying dead or dying in a ditch,” he said. “They disposed of Mr Easton’s belongings and sought to cover their tracks. Plainly they were all in it together.”

The prosecution offered three possible motives for murder.

The first was that Mr Easton was not as wealthy as Dowling thought, because he had spent all of an inheritance. He could also have been killed because he was in possession of child pornography, and there was an allegation he had sexually interfered with Dowling’s teenage daughter.

“Whatever the motive, the prosecution say the defendants wanted rid of Mr Easton. To put it bluntly, he was executed in the middle of the night.”

Police uncovered evidence at the scene, including disposable gloves dropped near the grave, which the prosecution claim the four defendants bought at the Co-op in Edlington on the afternoon of the death.

The trial continues today and is expected to last four weeks.

Unemployed council tenants are being given a helping hand to find work with a new college course.

Organised by St Leger Homes and delivered by Doncaster College, the Ready for Work course is a two-week programme that includes guidance on CVs, job searching and confidence building.

At an award ceremony held at the College’s Waterfront restaurant, successful candidates received a certificate from the Mayor of Doncaster, Ros Jones.

The Ready for Work courses are part of St Leger Homes’ World of Work Academy.

Mayor of Doncaster Ros Jones said: “I am delighted to see help being given by St Leger Homes to assist residents who are seeking to get back into employment. This scheme offers a boost both to communities in Doncaster and our local economy.”

The scheme is open to council tenants and members of their household who are struggling to find work.

A single mum who used one week’s benefits to set up a successful florists is celebrating her second year in business.

Isiasha John, aged 27, owner of Floral Favourites in Carr Hill, Balby, has seen her business continue to grow from strength to strength and has now branched out selling arts and crafts items alongside her floral creations.

Isiasha juggles the demands of being a mum to nine-year-old Morgan-Rose alongside running her business.

She said: “I went to college to train as a florist and worked at Tom Wood’s for a bit then I decided I wanted to open my own business.

“It has been hard being a single mum and setting it up, but I think it’s easy for some people to make excuses and come up with reasons why they can’t do something.

“I was really determined to do it so I used one week’s benefits – about £60 – to buy stock, and the shop has just grown from there.”

And two years on Isiasha is still coming up smelling of roses.

She said: “Things are going really well and I’m helping other local businesses out too by selling craft items.”

The Big Power Switch has recorded more registrations in Doncaster than anywhere else in the country, which could mean cheaper gas and electricity prices for more than 1,000 local households.

The energy switching scheme is being run by Doncaster Council as part of the Mayor’s commitment to help reduce the cost of living for local people.

Doncaster has joined a wider national collective energy buying scheme, being managed by ichoosr on behalf of local authorities across the country, and in just four weeks the borough has shot to the top of the chart.

Doncaster has had the most registrations with 1,441 people getting involved, 600 more than the second best.

Mayor Ros Jones, Mayor of Doncaster, said: “The fantastic response to The Big Switch shows just how important gas and electricity bills are to local people.

“Bringing down the cost of living is a top priority for me. I’m particularly pleased that so many registrations have come from the types of households hardest hit by these tough economic times, such as the over 60s and those on low incomes. I hope this will make a real difference by lowering their bills, but it is only the first of a programme of measures we will take to support local residents.”

A man has appeared at Doncaster Magistrate’s Court charged with rape, two counts of sexual assault and two counts of common assault.

Nathan Bradder, 23, of Springwell Lane, Balby, appeared in court on Monday after being arrested and charged following reports of three incidents against four women and a man.

Reports were made to police of three separate incidents that are alleged to have occurred in Doncaster, between 1.30am and 3am, on Sunday, 23 February, against four women and a man.

Bradder has been remanded into custody until his next court appearance at Sheffield Crown Court on Monday, March 10.