The medical director for the trust which runs Lincolnshire's hospitals says changes to services in Grantham aren't a "downgrading".

United Lincolnshire Hospitals Trust (ULHT) confirmed earlier today that Grantham Hospital's A&E department is to be converted into an Urgent Care Centre which will open 24 hours a day.

Doctor Neil Hepburn, Medical Director of ULHT, says the move is "not a downgrading, it's a clarity of what healthcare is available".

According to the NHS website, an A&E department deals with genuine life-threatening emergencies such as loss of consciousness, external, acute confused state and fits that are not stopping, chest pain, external, breathing difficulties and severe bleeding that cannot be stopped, external.

The website says an Urgent Treatment Centre offers medical treatment which is urgent, but not life-threatening, such as sprains, strains and suspected broken bones, minor head injuries, cuts, grazes and stings and minor scalds and burns.

The trust says it's launching a "listening exercise" to gather people's opinions, but says it's not a public consultation so it is not obliged to follow the public's advice.

The owner of an Italian restaurant in Skegness says "everybody started screaming" when Australian pop star Peter Andre walked into his restaurant at the weekend.

Alex Buchi says he thought something bad had happened when the screaming started - but realised it was "screams of happiness" when he saw the Mysterious Girl star (pictured) in the restaurant.

Andre had been performing a show at Butlin's in Ingoldmells when he walked in flanked by bodyguards.

A woman from Bourne has admitted defrauding her mother-in-law out of thousands of pounds after misusing her bank accounts.

Sharon Johnson, 47, of Station Street, Rippingale, near Bourne, pleaded guilty to a single charge of fraud when she appeared at Lincoln Crown Court today.

She entered a guilty plea, admitting a fraud of £12,790 but prosecutors said the figure was closer to £50,000.

The judge has adjourned the case for a trial of issue, to determine the exact amount of fraud.

Grantham Hospital's Accident and Emergency Unit is to be downgraded, the NHS has confirmed at an event outlining details of the future of health provision in Lincolnshire.

United Lincolnshire Hospitals Trust wants to replace Grantham A&E with an urgent treatment centre which will be open 24 hours a day.

At the event in Sleaford today, the trust promised greater investment in elective surgery and community care at the Grantham site.

Bosses also announced a potential blueprint outlining how services could change across the county.

One proposal is centralising stroke and breast cancer care in Lincoln.

A new World War Two memorial in Spalding will receive the royal treatment next week, with a visit from the Queen's cousin.

Image source, GOV

The Duke of Kent will visit Ascoughee Hall Museum and Gardens on 13 March.

117 names of men and women of Spalding who were killed in action during the conflict will feature on the memorial.

The kiosk in the Cornhill part of Lincoln is set to be demolished, if plans are approved.

Image source, Google

The kiosk and tree are planned to be removed in a bid to create a new "public space" in the Cornhill.

The new space facing the High Street will be used for events, according to City of Lincoln Council.

Councillors in Lincoln and North Kesteven have approved plans to increase their shares of council tax.

The move sees the rate for an average Band D property in Lincoln go up from just over £267 in the city to almost £275.

While in North Kesteven, the increase for a similar sized property's going up by £4.95.

Brothers Danny and Nicky Cowley are used to working alongside each other as Lincoln City's management team.

However, they now plan to take each other on in a special head-to-head quiz...

Cowley vs Cowley will see the two brothers compete in a series of challenges this April.

The event, which will be broadcast by BBC Radio Lincolnshire, is being held at Lincoln's Engine Shed.

Last year's event saw Danny Cowley win, but will his brother take this year's crown?

Landmark cobbles in the centre of Stamford could be replaced with asphalt if plans go-ahead.

Image source, Google

Last year the majority of the town council voted in favour of covering Red Lion Square with a more hard-wearing material like asphalt.

Stamford Civic Society say it would harm the historic beauty of the town.

A campaign's been launched to rid Lincoln's pavements of chewing gum.

The city's Business Improvement Group, which works on behalf of businesses to make the city attractive, and the city council have clubbed together to buy a machine to rid the streets of discarded gum.

Members of the group say it was inspired by a trip to Rugby, which they said had immaculate streets.

A prisoner has been jailed for a year after punching a guard at Lincoln Jail, leaving him with serious facial injuries.

Image source, Google

Lincoln Crown Court heard 23-year-old Jason Johnson was hiding on a different wing of the prison when officers were trying to get inmates back in their cells for a lock up.

When ordered into his own cell, he punched one of three officers who approached him.

The punch caused his victim to collapse.

The attack happened while Johnson, who is currently being held at Peterborough Prison, was serving a 50-week sentence for burglary.

He admitted a charge of inflicting grievous bodily harm in the incident last May.

BBC Weather

Dry and fine through most of today with sunshine.

However, the sunshine is expected to turn hazy through the afternoon, with thicker cloud likely towards the end of the day.

Breezy.

The owner of a nightclub in Boston has blamed an increase in violent crime and loss of employment for the closure of his business, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

Image source, Google

Matt Clark, director of the Activ Group of Companies, which owns the Grade II listed Assembly Rooms, told Local Democracy Reporter Daniel Jaines he hoped the closure would not be a permanent one.

Mr Clark, who bought the historic building for £465,000 from Boston Borough Council in November 2012, said that the loss of jobs from big employers in the town and public perception over violent crime had affected footfall.

He says the business was successful until 2016, but suffered after that because of a decline in night time economy.

The only other club in the market town, which opened in late 2015, remains open.

The Local Government Association said councils had "little choice" in order to protect services.

Convictions for driving while using a phone have dropped from about 162,000 to 53,000.

Her detractors dislike the woman known by some as the "milk snatcher", her supporters have much praise for Britain's first female Prime Minister.

We can only be talking about one woman: Margaret Thatcher, or Baroness Thatcher as she was later known.

Last month, plans for a 10ft-high statue of her in her home town of Grantham were approved despite vandalism concerns.

South Kesteven District Council planners voted in favour of the £300,000 statue to be erected on St Peter's Hill in the town.

The move followed a report stating the sculpture could become "a target for politically-motivated vandals".

So, should the statue be erected in Grantham? We get two people in a room to discuss the issue:

The BBC's Crossing Divides is a season of stories about bringing people together in a fragmented world.

A man has been charged with stealing from cars in Lincoln city centre.

Darren Boulton, 46, of Kilburn Crescent, Lincoln, has been charged with three counts of stealing from vehicles in the area.

He was charged with two thefts from vehicles in the Grove area in Lincoln on 1 March and one from the St Marks Retail Park area in Lincoln on 3 March.

He was arrested yesterday after two iPhones were stolen from a vehicle in St Marks Retail Park in the city. The phones were later located and recovered.

Mr Boulton has been remanded to appear at Lincoln Magistrates' Court on Tuesday.

Three lambs bought for a school to be pets for the children are found dead near a farm.

A Lincolnshire pig farmer has hit back at animal rights campaigners who claim piglets died during a protest because of "systematic animal cruelty".

Image source, MEAT THE VICTIMS

About 200 animal rights activists staged a protest at Sandilands Farm in Laughterton, near Lincoln, at the weekend, with 100 protesting outside the complex and 100 breaking into the pig sheds.

Campaigners say two piglets had died because of the conditions in the pig sheds.

But Sylvia Hook, the owner of the farm, says the noise of the protesters and the police's arrival on site caused sows to jump up and down, which caused the death of two piglets.

She added that she was "intimidated and very scared" by the protesters, who she says were "picking up the piglets and putting them back in the wrong pens".

A Porsche driver has been stopped by police after he was seen driving at more than double the national speed limit in North Lincolnshire.

The male driver was seen at the weekend driving at 156mph in a Porsche on the M180 near Brigg: