STUFF IN THE BOATYARD

Or; Kyla II Freedom of Scotland

Daylight is lengthening and many people will be crossing the river to the Plank and Leggit and lunch offers at the marina. They will stop in their tracks at the sight of the yacht sitting there. Kyla II. It’s an impressive thing for more reasons than simple good looks. It is a complete one-off finished in 1973 at cost no object on Clydeside by a company called McGruer. They built wooden boats for more than two hundred years. A boat in the water needs a certain amount of depth called draught, around here there is never more than about four feet, this boat needs six feet. So what’s it doing here? Well it’s here for a lot of work during a complete (cost no object again) refit as it’s a Heritage boat maintained and preserved just the way a Listed building is, original as possible. It has Mahogany planking over naturally shaped Oak frames. And with a revolutionary (in it’s day) fin keel, the only one seen on a wooden yacht, common enough now on moulded boats but a brave idea then. All done, they say, by hand, involving no machinery. Altogether this yacht is unique so take a long look, from here she goes back to the Clyde for more work then on a tour of European boat shows and into the Mediterranean, Monaco, Malta, Greece. No strain at all since she’s done the Caribbean a few times. Make sure you get a selfie while she’s here.

Leopold Street

IMAGE RELEASED AFTER PURSE THEFT

Police have released Images of a man they want to speak to about the theft of a purse from Long Eaton. The theft took place sometime between 9am and 1pm on Thursday, January 12th, a woman left her bag in a consulting room at Long Eaton Health Centre, in Midland Street. She later discovered that her purse was missing from the bag and several transactions had been made by someone using her bank card at shops in Sandiacre, Borrowash and Nottingham. Witnesses or anyone with information should call PC Mark Karim on 101, quoting reference 17000016213.Alternatively, send him a message online by visiting the Contact Us section of our website.

here. You can also call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

 

JEWELLERY AND CAR STOLEN

On Monday, February 6th between 8.45am and 2.55pm a house on Derby Road, Sandiacre was broken into. A large amount of gold jewellery and spare car keys were stolen. Sometime between February 10th and February 11th the owners blue Citroen C1 was stolen. Anyone with information is asked to contact PC Julie Proctor on 101 quoting reference number 17000053172. Alternatively, send her a message online by visiting the Contact Us section of our website www.derbyshire.police.uk/Contact-UsYou can also call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

BODY ON WEST PARK

Officers are trying to trace a dog walker who found a man’s body in West Park, Long Eaton, in December. The man found the body at around 8am on Wednesday, December 21st and approached a woman who was walking by, asking her to call an ambulance. Police  have the woman’s details but the man had left the scene when emergency services arrived. An attempt is now being made to identify him on behalf of the coroner. The circumstances of the death are not suspicious. Witnesses or anyone with information should call PC Rob Stapleton on 101, quoting reference 16000425638.
Alternatively, send him a message online by visiting the Contact Us section on the Derbyshire Constabulary website www.derbyshire.police.uk/Contact-Us.  You can also call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

SLUG PELLETS FOUND

After Tony Jones had fed his guinea pigs fresh greens at his home in Sandiacre he was surprised that days later they had not eaten them. After a closer inspection he found they were laced with blue slug pellets. He bought the greens from Tesco in Long Eaton on February 4th while doing the weekly shop. After returning the greens to the store and complaining he was given a £10 gift voucher. A Tesco spokesman said: "We are investigating what may have happened and will keep Mr Jones updated."

AIR AMBULANCE RUN

Long Eaton man Adam White, 36, is raising money for the air ambulance after one of his friends, Jamie Broom, was airlifted to the Queen's Medical Centre from Skegness. Adam said: “The air ambulance played  a massive part in saving Jamie's life on that day so I wanted to do something to support the Lincs & Notts Air Ambulance.”
Adam is taking part in a 300 miles Coast to Coast Run from St David's in the West, to Skegness in the East over a two-week period to raise as much money as he can for the Lincs & Notts Air Ambulance. He will leave St David's on March 5th, arriving in Skegness two weeks later, staying in guest houses and B&Bs along the way. He has set himself a target of raising £5,000. To donate, click here.

CHARITY BOX STOLEN

Thieves broke into the Marmalade and Tea café on Derby Road, Borrowash, and stole a charity box. The break in occurred between 4.30pm on Wednesday February 8th and Thursday morning. Money was being raised for disabled nine-year-old Kareena Hayes who lives in Long Eaton and attends Longmoor Primary School. Kareena, was diagnosed with cerebral palsy when she was a one-year-old and needs to raise £10,000 for private treatment at the Queen's Medical Centre. The family say if they cannot raise the money it is likely Kareena, will never walk unaided again. A police spokesman said they were linking the break in to another on Derby Road the same night were a charity box was also targeted. Anybody who has information for any of the incidents should call police on 101. Nobody has been arrested for either offence. If you want to raise money for Kareena please visit www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/kareena.

NIGHT TIME BURGLARY

Police are appealing for witnesses after a burglar broke into a house in Long Eaton while the owner was asleep, before stealing cash and running off. The offence happened at a house in South Street, between about 10pm on February 3rd and 7am the next morning. After breaking in, the offender searched around and took a purse, bank and store cards, cash, an umbrella and a red satchel bag.

Police would like to hear from anyone who saw suspicious activity in the area between those times, or might know who is responsible for the offence. Anyone who can help should call DC Bali Chahal on 101, quoting reference 17000049751. Alternatively, send her a message online by visiting the Contact Us section of our website www.derbyshire.police.uk/Contact-Us. You can also call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111

RARE ‘DEATH PENNIES’ DONATED

Erewash Museum Service Manager Helen Martinez and local historian Keith Oseman pictured with the ‘Death Pennies’ in the museum’s War Gallery.

A chance find in Canada has led to Erewash Museum being given two extremely rare First World War memorial plaques – commonly known as ‘Death Pennies’.

The two artefacts commemorate an Ockbrook brother and sister who died during the war and feature the wording they ‘died for freedom and honour’. They were originally presented after the war to the parents of Nurse Margaret Helen Hassé and her younger brother Edwin Ridgley Hassé. Margaret was a Red Cross nurse who died of influenza at a Southampton military hospital in October 1918, just weeks before the Armistice. Her brother, who had emigrated to Canada in 1913, served with the Canadian Infantry and died in July 1916. The family home was in the Moravian settlement in Ockbrook and Margaret was buried with full military honours in the Moravian Burial Ground in the village, while Edwin was buried at the Railway Dugouts Burial Ground near Ypres in Belgium.

Very few Death Pennies were issued for female war casualties, which makes the donation to Erewash Museum even more valuable and the brother-and-sister plaques are likely to make the museum an important destination for war historians and researchers.

The donation has been made by the Royal British Columbia Museum which found the two plaques in its vaults and got in touch. It is thought the two historic items were donated to the Canadian museum by another brother who had emigrated, Frank Reginald Hassé, who died in the early 1970s. Councillor Mike Wallis, Erewash Borough Council’s Lead Member for Culture and Leisure, says:

“We are absolutely honoured to have these rare plaques in our collection now and extremely grateful to the Royal British Columbia Museum for their generosity in transferring these two important historic artefacts to our museum. It feels absolutely right that they have ‘come home’ to Erewash Museum – we are the museum that serves the family’s home village of Ockbrook.”
The donation was made possible thanks to research carried out by local historians Keith Oseman and Peter Ball for the ongoing Heritage Lottery funded ‘Unexamined Lives’ history project, which provides an insight into the 20th Century lives of the residents in Ockbrook’s neighbouring village Borrowash. Project director and writer of the individual lives, Helen Clark, extended it to incorporate the stories of the First World War victims whose names appear on various local war memorials. 

By chance, the Canadian museum staff discovered the two uncatalogued Death Pennies and it was through the ‘Unexamined Lives’ website that they were able to identify the Hassé brother and sister’s home village. The two plaques can currently be seen in Erewash Museum’s War Gallery.

Erewash Museum is in Ilkeston town centre, a short walk from the Market Place. Opening hours are Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday from 10am-4pm, and Monday to Saturday during school holidays. Admission is free. Contact 0115 907 1141, email

museum@erewash.gov.uk or visit the Facebook page /erewashmuseum

BURGLAR TARGETS LONG EATON HOME

A burglar stole jewellery from a house in Long Eaton before driving away in a BMW. Police were called to Longmoor Road at 7.10pm Wednesday evening, January 25th to a report that a man had been seen running away from a house and getting into a green BMW, the registration of which began BGZ. The homeowner discovered the man had got in by smashing a patio door and he had taken a rose gold necklace and a silver necklace featuring a blue heart. He is described as black, slim and about 5ft 6ins tall. Witnesses or anyone with information should call PC Jennifer Casey on 101, quoting reference 17000035980. You can also call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.