An egg shortage during the height of the coronavirus lockdown has now lead to a surge in demand for re-homing hens in Lincolnshire.

The Boston branch of a national charity says it was inundated with requests for chickens at the start of the pandemic because of a shortage of eggs on supermarket shelves.

Fresh Start for Hens is a non-profit voluntary organisation which re-homes ex-commercial hens after they are past their peak laying period.

Wendy Williams (pictured), who runs the charity's Boston collection point, says: "People normally go on the website and say which collection site they want, because we've got them all over the country.

"But it went so berserk, we had to take that down and put a waiting list because we just didn't have the hens."

The decision to end council funding for an arts centre in Lincoln is "heartbreaking", according to the venue's trustees.

Image source, Google

Lincoln City councillors voted unanimously to end the £187,000 yearly grant to Lincoln Drill Hall from April.

More than 5,000 people had signed a petition urging them to continue supporting the centre which stages theatre, music concerts, comedy shows, community workshops and classes.

However, the council said it was not financially viable in the long-term.

Phil Hamlyn Williams, chair of trustees at Lincoln Drill Hall, said he understood the council was in a difficult financial position.

"I just feel desperately, desperately sad, it's heartbreaking, it's an institution that has done so much good for the city."

He said his main priority would be to speak to the centre's 18 staff.

The council's executive were told by officers the Drill Hall's current business model was unsustainable before the coronavirus pandemic.

It also remained unclear what the effect of the pandemic would have and for it continue to operate on its current business model significant additional funding would be needed.

This would impact on the council's ability to balance its own budget, as annual savings of between £1m and £1.5m would be needed in future years.

Ric Metcalfe, the council's leader, said it had been a very "difficult decision" to make.

Councillors say the decision was a difficult one, but the Drill Hall's business model was unsustainable.

Lincolnshire MP and Home Office Minister Victoria Atkins has defended the government's decision to change its advice about face coverings in schools in England.

Image source, Conservative Party

From September, in areas affected by local coronavirus lockdowns, pupils will have to wear face coverings in communal areas of schools such as corridors and stairwells.

Labour has accused the government of a lack of clarity and the NASUWT teachers' union said the government was putting politics before education.

But Mrs Atkins, the MP for Louth and Horncastle, has defended her department.

She says: "The World Health Organisation changed their advice a couple of days ago and the government looked at that advice and we have adjusted our advice acting on that advice.

"I think people understand this is a completely new virus and we are very much still learning as we go along."

Lincolnshire hospital staff have been given special rainbow design scrubs which have been made by volunteers.

They're made out of fabric donated by former BBC Radio 2 presenter Chris Evans' son Noah, who camped out to raise money during the coronavirus lockdown.

Since the pandemic began, the Lincoln group has delivered over 9,200 sets of scrubs to local NHS and front-line care staff.

Pearl Constance, one of the coordinators of the Lincoln group, says: "All of the groups are working together. We share resources where we can, we share fabric, patterns and we have a fantastic delivery network."

Almost 5,000 people have signed a petition to keep City of Lincoln Council funding the Drill Hall Theatre in Lincoln.

Image source, Lincoln Drill Hall

The authority will review its contribution to the arts venue later today.

It looks unlikely it'll continue because of doubts over the viability of the business and pressures on council finances.

Alice Kinloch, who works at the theatre, says: "I really do feel it's the end, because I can't see how the council are going to come back from this.

"After Covid-19, when all this is over, and it will be over one day, where are the people of Lincoln going to be able to go and celebrate and be together and have shared experience?

"There is not going to be anywhere that is going to be able to cater for the community like the Drill Hall does."

The coronavirus pandemic and lockdown has led to an increase in people giving up their pet birds, according to staff at Lincolnshire Wildlife Park.

Image source, Lincolnshire Wildlife Park

They say a large number of people have wanted to hand over their birds, with on average about seven birds being taken in over recent weeks - up from only one or two before lockdown.

Image source, Lincolnshire Wildlife Park

Steve Nichols, the park's chief executive, believes the lockdown restrictions have made people think differently about keeping caged birds.

Owners have had time to think about whether their parrots have enough space to move around in and whether they are seeing enough natural sunlight, he says.

A seal called Vision has been released back into the wild after being nursed back to health in Skegness.

Image source, Skegness Seal Sanctuary

Vision first arrived at Skegness Seal Sanctuary - underweight, dehydrated and with a head injury - in December.

Image source, Skegness Seal Sanctuary

He soon started to recover, but after being placed in the rearing pool he then suffered with a bloated stomach and became very quiet, according to staff at the sanctuary.

They said they were very worried he wouldn't make it. However, he was moved back into the hospital where he made a full recovery.

Image source, Skegness Seal Sanctuary

As you can see above, he's now set off back out to sea off the Lincolnshire coast.

A Lincolnshire bus firm has asked all pupils to wear face coverings on their school transport due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Image source, Grayscroft Coaches

Grayscroft Coaches in Mablethorpe says its drivers can't ban pupils, but will notify head teachers if they repeatedly refuse to wear a face covering.

The firm's transport manager, Steve Mackay, says: "We can't insist on it on children under 11, but we are asking them to wear them if possible.

"It's basically to protect everyone. I think it's a bit unfair if 20 kids on a bus have to wear them and one gets on without it. So we are asking everyone to do the same."

It comes after a government U-turn, meaning secondary pupils will have to wear face coverings in school corridors in areas of England affected by local lockdowns.

Head teachers in any secondary school will also have the "flexibility" to introduce masks in their schools.

Police are appealing for witnesses after a man pointed a BB-type gun at members of the public in Boston earlier this month.

Nobody was injured in the incident which happened outside Boston Library on Market Place at about 20:00 on Sunday 9 August.

The man was wearing a black hat, black jacket and a red bandana over his face, according to police.

A 42-year-old man has since been arrested in connection with the incident and released under investigation, according to Lincolnshire Police.

Anyone who saw what happened, or has any information about the incident, is being asked to contact police.

A Lincoln resident has been hailed a hero after rescuing an elderly neighbour from a fire.

The fire broke out in a house on Broadway in Uphill Lincoln just before 13:00.

Resident Amanda East said when she saw the smoke, her first thought was for her neighbour.

"I was cutting my Mum's hair, minding my own business, when we saw smoke, thick black smoke," she said.

Ms East told the BBC: "She had been cooking her tea in the kitchen, but then it was on fire. I managed to get her out. I'm still in shock, I think. I don't think it's hit me."

The woman was taken to the safety of a neighbour's house.

The blaze has caused severe damage to the contents and structure of a garage and two semi-detached homes.

A Bulgarian man who stabbed another man in the stomach in Boston has been jailed for eight years.

Image source, Lincolnshire police

Police were called to the disturbance involving up to 10 men in Tunnard Street shortly after midnight on Sunday 17 November last year.

Lincoln Crown Court heard officers found a 24-year-old man with a serious stab wound to his stomach.

The victim spent six days in hospital and underwent an operation to remove his appendix and part of his small bowel.

As well as the wound to his stomach, the man was found to have stab injuries to his right shoulder, left upper thigh, right cheek and left hand.

Gurdial Singh, prosecuting, said several witnesses saw the fight and Eduard Atanansov (pictured), 27, was seen "slashing" out with a knife.

Mr Singh told the court Atanansov was visiting a friend and became involved in a dispute with a Lithuanian household.

The court heard Atanansov only armed himself with a knife after he was struck over the head with either a pipe or piece of wood, and thought his attackers were also armed with a knife.

Atanansov, of Tunnard Street, Boston, pleaded guilty to wounding with intent and possession of a bladed article.

Passing sentence, Judge John Pini QC told him it could have easily ended in a fatal stabbing.

He said: "You armed yourself with a potentially lethal weapon and used it deliberately."

A member of the famous Lincolnshire-based Red Arrows RAF aerobatic team had to make an emergency landing in Edinburgh last night after his aircraft was struck by a bird.

Image source, BBC/Thane Bruckland

The RAF-Scampton based team is now back to its full complement after Red Six, Flt Lt Jon Bond, had to land at an airport in the Scottish capital following a glancing blow on the cockpit canopy.

Standard procedure is to carry out some airborne checks to make sure no further damage and then land at the nearest suitable airfield as a precaution, in this case Edinburgh, where it can be inspected properly.

In a statement, the Red Arrows said: "No one hurt and the pilots train for such events."

A Grantham man has been given an eight-month suspended sentence for biting an off-duty police officer.

PC Graham Oakes was driving along Southgate, Sleaford, on 8 March this year when he saw a distraught woman involved in an argument with a man, Lincoln Crown Court was told.

The officer got out of his car and followed the couple, only for the man to shout abuse at him.

Charlie Phelps, 26, of Station Road, Heckington, then tried to hit PC Oakes and bit him twice on his left arm.

The officer managed to get on top of Phelps and restrain him, only for Phelps to grab the officer's throat and then thrust his thumb into PC Oakes' right eye.

Phelps went on to bite the officer's chest twice before an on-duty officer arrived at the scene.

At Lincoln Crown Court, Phelps admitted charges of assault occasioning actual bodily harm and assaulting an emergency worker.

He was given an eight-month jail sentence, suspended for 18 months, with 150 hours of unpaid work and 10 rehabilitation activity requirement days.

He was also ordered to pay £120 compensation to PC Oakes for damage to his glasses and t-shirt.

A spate of bike thefts in Lincoln is thought to be linked to a shortage of supply caused by the coronavirus pandemic

A total of 18 bikes have been stolen from Lincoln city centre since the start of August, according to Lincolnshire Police.

A shortage caused by delays in manufacturing bicycles due to the pandemic has driven up prices in second-hand bikes, officers say.

But CCTV images have been used to identify suspects and make arrests, according to police.

However, officers have so far only managed to recover two of the bikes which were taken.

Letters are being sent to about 400 private landlords in East Lindsey in a bid to ensure their properties are being kept up to standard.

The council's housing team is reviewing all private rented properties to identify any with low levels of energy efficiency, including poor heating, lack of insulation, draughts, or single-glazed windows.

A total of 70 notices to landlords have been issued since April, external, with 330 more due to be sent out in the coming weeks, the authority says.

Administrators put two power plants into a "dormant state of managed preservation".

Work is due to begin tonight to improve safety, external on a notoriously dangerous stretch of a Lincolnshire road.

Image source, Google

It'll take around three months to replace the worn out carriageway on the A631 between Market Rasen and North Willingham.

As part of the works, overnight closures of the A631 will be in place from 19:30 to 06:00, Monday to Friday.

The money's coming from the government's Safer Roads Fund, external in a bid to improve accident hot spots.

Lincoln City sign Scotland under-21 winger Theo Archibald following his departure from Macclesfield Town in May.

Lincolnshire racing driver Jack Harvey has finished ninth in one of the world's most famous motor races.

Image source, Reuters/Brian Spurlock/USA Today

Harvey, from Bassingham, near Lincoln, started 20th in America's Indy 500, but managed to drive his way into the top 10.

His parents were not allowed to attend because of coronavirus restrictions, so they spent a nervous night watching it on the TV back home in Lincolnshire.

His dad, Paul, says "On a normal season we've managed to get to every race. It's way more difficult watching it on the TV.

"You feel way more divorced from what is going on, not that there is anything you can do when you are there."