Lincoln Castle has taken second place in the Best Heritage Project category.

The annual awards aim to find the UK’s favourite Lottery-funded projects, celebrating the difference they have made to people, places and communities across the UK.

The castle, which received £12m funding, was competing against six other projects.

The Military Museum has reached another milestone with more than 100,000 visitors since it opened four years ago.

In the past year The Queen’s Royal Lancers and Notts Yeomanry Museum attracted over 34,000 visitors, bringing the total number of visitors to the museum to 121,000.

Constantly updated displays, including a time line for WWI and extra activities for children, have helped make the museum a major attraction within the Thoresby Courtyard.

William Hurrell, vice chairman of the museum, said: “The organisers believe the museum should be a living display.

“They are always making continual improvements to it by updating the information available and providing additional features based around an anniversary.

“All this is aimed at improving the visitors’ experience and the educational value on offer.”

As well as celebrating military history, the museum provides a fascinating insight into how the Yeomanry was raised in Notts with the help of the great families in the county, such as the Pierreponts, who lived at Thoresby Hall.

Childhood friends of a terminally-ill Worksop man joined together to help raise funds for him at a football tournament.

The event at North Notts Arena, on Friday, August 28, was organised by former East Midlands United (EMU) junior football team manager Malcolm Reynolds in aid of Liam Buckley, 23, who has terminal bowel cancer.

Former players of EMU laced up their boots for the Liam Buckley Cup to raise more than £200. The funds generated will go towards ‘Liam’s Dream Fund’ - a fundraising page set-up by a family friend to help make the Manchester United fan’s last wish of a visit to the seaside come true.

Liam presented the trophy and medals to the winning team of Timo Rodgers, Arron Muir, Tom Dolby and Craig Gladwin.

The new school year has barely begun but already the clock is ticking for Worksop pupils.

Energy giant E.ON is reminding all secondary schools pupils that there’s not much time left to enter its nationwide competition, aimed at inspiring young people to take up science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) subjects.

Pupils aged 11-16 years from schools across Worksop are being invited to write, produce, record and submit a 60-second radio commercial all about STEM subjects.

The goal of the advert is to encourage other youngsters to become more interested in these areas, and pupils are being challenged to create an ad with standout appeal that is fun, creative and engaging.

The winning team’s entry will have its commercial professionally produced by major broadcasting company UTV Media.

The advert will then feature on E.ON’s social media channels, including YouTube and Facebook.

“As the new school term begins we’d like to remind pupils from secondary schools across Worksop to help us spread the word about how important STEM subjects are and create their 60-second radio ad,” said Billie-Jean Poole, senior community relations executive at E.ON.

“We’re keen for any creative local pupils to get recording and can’t wait to hear their entries.

“Many of the workshops that we run in secondary schools are aimed at enthusing pupils about STEM subjects.

“We hope that by running this competition, we’ll engage pupils in a fun way and they’ll help inspire others to get involved in these subjects and enjoy the possibilities they can bring, both at school and within their future careers.”

E.ON has teamed up with ucreate to run the competition and to provide youngsters with a work-related introduction to the tools of the media.

“We’re excited to be teaming up with E.ON to promote STEM in an innovative and creative way,” commented Adam Stebbing, community partnership operations manager at ucreate.

“We look forward to receiving all the entries and wish the schools good luck.”

The competition is open for applications until 5pm on Friday, September 25 and interested teachers should visit ucreateproject.com or call 01925 251876 for more information and for full terms and conditions.

To register their school, teachers should visit ucreateproject.com/sign-up-to-ucreate/.

Pupils will need to record their commercial using any of the following methods: USB Microphone (PC/laptop/Mac), mobile phone, iPad/iPod/tablet or school radio studio

The competition forms part of E.ON’s broader activities aimed at inspiring young people to get involved in STEM and to consider STEM subjects as possible career options.

A Gainsborough man has been fined after he assaulted a police constable while he was on duty.

Adrian Szyba, 22, of Asquith Street, Gainsborough, has been ordered to pay a £175 fine, £20 victim surcharge, £85 costs and £150 criminal court charges.

Szyba pleaded guilty at Lincoln Magistrates Court and his plea was taken into account.

Five men have been jailed for a total of more than 15 years for cannabis offences.

In June 2013, police launched an investigation into suspected large-scale production and suply of of cannabis in the East Midlands.

In February 2014, warrants were executed at premises in Derbyshire and Lincolnshire and six suspects were arrested.

Lee Winterburn, 36, of Fulmar Close, Mickleover, Philip Spence, 53, of Edmunds Square, Mickleover, Christian Andrews, 43, of Mill Street, Ilkeston, Joseph Cook, 63, of Randall Bank, Moulton Chapel, James McAra, 71, of Windmill Avenue, Kilburn, and Ross Strickland, 20, of Tiree Close, Sinfin, were later charged with offences connected with the production and supply of cannabis.

The police investigation identified two locations where cannabis had been grown. Both premises were capable of producing cannabis on a commercial scale.

One of the premises was the home of Cook and his family in Moulton Chapel; the other was a unit rented by Winterburn at a farm in Hollington.

Police enquiries proved that the defendants travelled from Derbyshire to Lincolnshire between June 2013 and February 2014, during which at least three cannabis crops had been produced.

In November 2013, Winterburn, Spence, Philips and Strickland all travelled from Derbyshire to Moulton Chapel. Later that day they travelled back to the Travellers Rest pub in Derby where Winterburn supplied McAra with three kilogrammes of cannabis.

This cannabis was later described by a drugs expert as being fresh and having come direct from the producer. During a search of McAra’s home, several thousands of pounds were also recovered.

At a unit at the farm near Hollington a lorry container containing a cannabis grow and an isolated ‘mother plant’ were discovered. This grow consisted of more than 60 plants which could have produced cannabis worth up to £52,920.

A sophisticated grow was discovered in Lincolnshire comprising a separate nursery area, a growing room and a preparation area. This grow consisted of 349 plants, capable of producing cannabis worth up to £293,160.

Warrants were also executed at the homes of Winterburn, Andrews and Spence. Various items were also recovered that further evidenced their involvement in the supply of cannabis.

Detective Inspector Andy Jones, from the East Midlands Special Operations Unit, said: “This was a large-scale criminal enterprise run by an organised crime group to produce and supply cannabis throughout the East Midlands.”

All the defendants pleaded guilty and five were sentenced at Derby Crown Court yesterday.

Winterburn was sentenced to three years and four months for conspiracy to produce cannabis and conspiracy to supply cannabis

Andrews was jailed for two years and eight months for conspiracy to produce cannabis and conspiracy to supply cannabis.

Spence was sentenced to four years and eight months for conspiracy to produce cannabis and conspiracy to supply cannabis.

McAra was jailed for four years for conspiracy to supply cannabis.

Strickland was sentenced to one year and ten months for conspiracy to supply cannabis.

Cook is due to be sentenced at a later date for conspiracy to produce cannabis.

MOTORING

John Harrison, 49, of High Street, Saxilby. Driving without insurance. Fined £280, £28 victim surcharge, £85 costs and licence endorsed with six points.

Danielle Michelle Moran, 28, of Elizabeth Road, Newark on Trent. Driving without insurance. Fined £600, £60 victim surcharge, £85 costs and licence endorsed with six points.

Thomas John Brent, 29, of Reynolds Drive, Lincoln. Driving without insurance. Fined £600, £60 victim surcharge, £85 costs and licence endorsed with six points.

Laura Jane Comins, 28, of Arras Close, Lincoln. Driving without insurance. Fined £600, £60 victim surcharge, £85 costs and licence endorsed with six points.

John Sims, 52, of Garden Court, Lincoln. Speeding. Fined £100, £20 victim surcharge, £85 costs and licence endorsed with three points.

Marek Husar, 23, of Abbot Street, Lincoln. Speeding. Fined £200, £20 victim surcharge, £85 costs and 12 month ban.

ALCOHOL

James Andrezj Ogden, 41, of Rutland Way, Lincoln. Driving under the influence of alcohol. Community order made, £60 victim surcharge, £45 costs, £150 criminal court charges and disqualified for 25 months.

Alexander Steven Plume, 22, of Larne Road, Lincoln. Driving under the influence of alcohol. Fined £250, £25 victim surcharge, £85 costs, £150 criminal court charges and disqualified for 12 months.

THEFT

Leanne Hall, 31, of Woodfield Road, Gainsborough. Theft. Ordered to pay £34.96 compensation.

OTHER

George Brunt, 71, of Beckett Avenue, Gainsborough. No television licence. Fined £200, £20 victim surcharge and £120 costs.

Thousands of council staff could face disciplinary action if they fail to stick to new proposed smoking rules, according to national reports.

Under the new plans at Notts County Council, its 9,000 employees will be banned from lighting up during work time, including e-cigarettes.

The authority has said that it has a ‘duty of care’ to protect the health of its workers.

The possible ban, which could come into force early next year, will include all council buildings, land and vehicles.

The council’s deputy director of public health, John Tomlinson, told the Press Association: “We are trying to be a supportive employer and have a duty of care to protect the health of our employees as part of a wider remit to take a leading role in promoting better health in Nottinghamshire.

“If you asked 100 smokers if they wanted to give up, 70 of them would want to.

“With this in mind we want to encourage staff to attend smoking cessation services.”

“If they don’t want to give up smoking they will get withdrawal symptoms at work because of their nicotine addiction.”

Notts County Council staff get a short break in the morning and afternoon, but if the ban comes into place, smoking will no longer be allowed.

Brian Fitzpatrick, Unison services conditions officer, also told the Press Association: “We’re supportive of public health and we haven’t got a stance on this, but we are balloting members asking whether they would be for or against.”

“I don’t see yet how they could enforce it.

“Say you work in highways, if you want to smoke, you need to take all your uniform off and go as far away from site as possible and have a cigarette and then come back.

“You’re not going to be able to smoke in your uniform, or if you’re standing outside your council workplace or are wearing a council badge or lanyard.

“If you’re in the parks department, you won’t be able to - even when you’re outside.

“If anybody goes out on council business and drives their own car, they won’t be able to smoke.”

Two computer aces are the first to complete an IT apprenticeship at Northern Lincolnshire and Goole NHS Foundation Trust’s IT department.

Chad Guilliatt, 22, from Kirton-in-Lindsey and George Turner, 18, from Scunthorpe, and have successfully gained two level three diplomas each in IT Systems and Principles and IT Professional Competence through QA Apprenticeships.

Chad said: “When I heard about the opportunity to do an IT apprenticeship at the Trust I could not turn it down. It is a privilege to be one of the first to complete this course and I am very grateful to the Trust for giving me the opportunity.”

A Freedom of Information (FOI) request has revealed four times as many men were caught using a mobile phone illegally while driving than women in Nottinghamshire.

Figures in the FOI made to Nottinghamshire Police in July show nearly 14,000 men and almost 4,000 women were given fixed penalty notices between 2010-14.

The FOI revealed 3,667 men and 1,029 women were pulled over for using their mobile phone while driving in 2014.

The total has risen steadily in the county since 2010.

A total of 1,771 people were taken to court for using their mobile between 2010-14 and 467 were taken to court in 2014.

A Gainsborough man has been given a nine month custodial sentence which has been suspended for 12 months.

Paul Bedford, 35, of High Street, Gainsborough, stole a large quantity of DVDs on a number of occasions.

Bedford was also ordered to pay a total of £165 compensation and £180 criminal court charges.

Ten local authorities in Lincolnshire have announced plans to work together to drive future growth within the county.

The organisations have met to discuss plans to work together on issues currently managed on a national level, such as transport links, managing flood risk and health care.

Leader of West Lindsey District Council, Coun Jeff Summers, said: “I am pleased we’ve agreed this as a collective ambition and that all organisations involved have an equal role.

“We are also delighted to be working together with our local partners such as Lincolnshire Police and health.

“Our ambition is to provide improved facilities and services for the whole county, targeting the delivery of our resource locally.

“This will improve lives for communities as it seeks more funding and powers from central government.”

Manjeet Gill, West Lindsey District Council’s chief executive, said: “All chief executives have been working intensively on the expression of interest over the past two months.

“Initially this is an expression of interest and a lot more time and energy will be required to produce a bid and business case that is acceptable for government to consider.

“I would like to commend the collaborative spirit and enthusiasm my colleagues have displayed while working towards this expression for Greater Lincolnshire.”

West Lindsey District Coun Owen Bierley, chair of the prosperous communities committee, said: “By combining the whole of Lincolnshire’s Local Authority support, which includes other surrounding authorities, alongside the resources of other agencies such as police, health and EA, we will be able to achieve greater levels of success in providing the social and economic growth our county deserves. This submission reflects our long history and will be beneficial to West Lindsey.”

A Creswell woman who attempted to snatch bottles of expensive perfume from Debenhams in a joint theft operation with her boyfriend has walked free from court.

Donna Wilson, 42, of Model Village, Creswell appeared at Mansfield Magistrates’ Court on Friday September 4 charged with theft from a shop.

The court heard how a Debenhams staff member had been checking CCTV at the store on Sunday August 16 when he spotted Wilson with her boyfriend acting suspiciously.

The staff member later told police that Wilson took three bottles of perfume off a shelf before giving them to her boyfriend who concealed them under an item of clothing that he had picked up from the menswear section.

Wilson’s boyfriend then entered the changing rooms and when he emerged the bottles of perfume had vanished. When the couple were confronted at the store exit, Wilson’s boyfriend produced the perfume from his jacket.

After arrest, Wilson addmitted that she ‘knew what was going on all along.’

Her defence solicitor, Mrs Wragg, said: “Wilson has taken heroin and amphetmaine in the past. She says she got into drugs because of a previous traumatic relationship but has since entered a drug rehabilitation programme.”

Magistrates imposed a six month conditional discharge. Wilson was also ordered to pay a criminal courts charge of £150 and a victim surcharge of £25.

The co-accused, Richard Hannah, 36, of Station Street, Mansfield Woodhouse, received the same sentence.

A woman who put her two children’s lives in jeopardy when she crashed her car into a ditch while over the limit has been disqualified from driving for 22 months.

Mansfield Magistrates’ Court heard how Charleen Betts, 27, of Hollywell Crescent, Braithwell, was also driving the car without a licence or insurance.

She was returning home from a BBQ in Worksop with her two small children, having consumed five glasses of wine, when she lost control of the car on Rotherham Baulk, Carlton-in-Lindrick.

After imposing the ban, magistrates ordered Betts pay a victim surcharge of £25, and a criminal courts charge of £150. She was also fined £110.

Fire crews from Retford were called to a car fire this morning (Saturday, September 5).

One applicance attended the scene in Manvers Road, Retford at around 3.05am.

The fire had caused severe damage to the car and also damaged a nearby property.

Fire crews were called out to battle a stubble fire in Worksop last night, Sunday, September 6.

The fire had been started on land behind Glebe Close at around 9pm and spread to an area measuring 250m x 100m.

The firefighters used beaters, back packs and thermal imaging cameras to bring it under control by 9.40pm.

The following filling stations will be the cheapest places to fill your car in Worksop this week.

Morrisons, on Kilton Road; Tesco, on Gateford Road and Sainsbury’s, on High Ground Road, will all be selling unleaded at 109.9p

The three supermarkets are also the cheapest places for diesel, at 107.9p.

Figures have revealed that fly tipping cost West Lindsey District Council more than £55,000 over the last 12 months.

In 2014/15 the council dealt with 1,042 fly tipping incidents which cost a total of £55,125.75 and results in one prosecution.

These figures are up from the year before with 674 incidents in 2013/14 and a cost of £35,654.60.

But the prosecutions were higher with four.

West Lindsey District Councillor and chair of the prosperous communities committee, Coun Owen Bierley, said: “Fly tipping is a particularly harmful crime, affecting the environment, residents’ lives and businesses’ reputations in West Lindsey.

“We are committed to clearing such instances as and when they happen but would urge anyone who is experiencing difficulties getting rid of waste to get in touch to see what we can do before taking illegal action and blighting the countryside, towns and villages in the area.

“People love living and working in the district and we want to keep it that way, we’d also recommend that people report instances of tipping as soon as they see them as the sooner we know about it, the sooner we can arrange for it to be cleared.

“Our teams work incredibly hard and have received excellent feedback from residents and businesses that we’ve engaged with on the issue.”

And a Freedom of Information request revealed that £607,849.27 was spent on street cleansing which includes litter, fly tipping and dog fouling collected and this equalled 882.25 tonnage throughout the whole of West Lindsey.

Over the last five years costs have actually reduced but the tonnage has increased.

In 2013/14 the cost was £716,518.56 with 727.49 tonnage collected.

There was a large jumpof tonnage collected from 286.60 in 2011/12 to 852.60 in 2012/13.

But the cost in 2011/12 was £699,348.20.

The council said this was mainly due to the introduction of a more accurate way of recording actual tonnages tipped.

Last year West Lindsey District Council won a Silver Award and were recognised as providing a Five Star Service at the Clean Britain Awards.

Speed cameras will be at the following locations across Notts until Sunday:

A60 Carlton in Lindrick/Costhorpe

B6040 Retford Rd, Worksop 40 limit section

A60 Nottingham Rd, Mansfield

New Mill Lane/ Sandlands Way, Mansfield Woodhouse

B6030 Sherwood Hall Rd/Clipstone Rd, Mansfield

B6018 Sutton Rd, Kirkby in Ashfield

A6191 Southwell Rd West, Mansfield

A612 Main Road, Upton

A17 Sleaford Road, Coddington

A60, Spion Kop, Notts

A52 (T) Clifton Boulevard, Nottingham (40mph area)

A610 Alfreton Rd, Nottingham

A6008 Canal Street, Nottingham

A6200/A52 Derby Rd, Nottingham

Beechdale Rd/Hollington Rd/Wigman Rd, Nottingham

B6004 Strelley Rd/Broxtowe Lane/ Stockhill Lane

B600 Nottingham Rd / Kimberley Rd, Nuthall

B686 Carlton Hill, Carlton

A612 Burton Joyce, Notts

Clifton Road, Ruddington

A 22-year-old model has swapped the catwalk for politics, becoming the youngest councillor ever to join her parish.

Charlotte Chapman-Hart has modelled at the London Couture Fashion Week, but now she has taken up a role at Cuckney and Norton Parish Council.

The world of fashion shoots and glamorous dresses will seem a million miles away, but it is a challenge she is relishing.

“When I say I’m a parish councillor most people don’t believe me,” Charlotte said. Many think it’s just older people that become councillors, which I think needs to change.”

The role of a parish councillor is probably more accustomed to someone more senior, but Charlotte says she is on a mission to make a difference in her community.

Now an ambassador for the recently relaunched Bassetlaw Youth Council, she hopes her quirky route into local politics will inspire fellow young people to follow in her footsteps.

“Young people have the opportunity to really make a difference and speak up for themselves,” Charlotte said. The youth council is the perfect platform to do that.”

The Bassetlaw Youth Council is currently seeking new members with their first meeting at Worksop Town Hall on Tuesday, October 15 at 6:30pm.

For more information contact youth.council@bassetlaw.gov.uk.

Alternatively, visit Bassetlaw Youth Council on Facebook at www.facebook.com/Bassetlawyouthcouncil.