Local Democracy Reporting Service

People in Lincolnshire are being warned by health bosses to avoid being tempted to go indoors with members of other households over the Easter weekend after Covid restrictions were slightly eased.

Image source, PA Media

Professor Derek Ward, director of public health at Lincolnshire County Council, says he's not overly worried about the bank holiday weekend "as long as people stick to the rules".

He says: "My key worry is people going round to somebody else’s house and who are in the garden keeping their social distance. Then, it being England and a bank holiday, the heavens open and everybody runs indoors and stays indoors.

"That is not allowed. That is a very high risk thing to do and that is something I would advise very strongly the people of Lincolnshire not to do."

Professor Ward urges people if that happens to run to their car, wait for it to stop raining and if it doesn’t, “I’m afraid you’ll just have to literally take a rain check on that.

“Avoid the temptation to go indoors with other people who aren’t in your family group because that’s where the risk shoots up.”

“As long as you stick by the rules, the risk of catching Covid is very low."

BBC Weather

A patchy and cloudy start to Thursday but that won't stop some sunny spells later.

It will be much cooler than yesterday though with high temperatures reaching about 9-10°C (48-50°F).

It should be dry overnight and into tomorrow, with overnight temperatures as low as 1°C (33°F).

Jan Hansen says the 7ft (2.1m) tall creation was "a bigger challenge than I thought".

A motorcycle rider from North Lincolnshire has died following a collision with a van, police have confirmed.

Image source, goo

The crash, involving a white Triumph motorcycle and a Mercedes Sprinter van, happened at about 11:35 on Tuesday morning on the B1225 at Ludford in East Lindsey.

The biker, a man in his 50s, who was from the Scunthorpe area, was pronounced dead at the scene.

The road was closed for some time while emergency crews worked at the scene.

Anyone who saw what happened, or who has dash camera footage of the collision, is being asked to contact Lincolnshire Police.

Cannabis plants worth about £173,000 have been found by police at a property in North Lincolnshire.

About 215 plants were discovered over two floors at the property on High Street in Scunthorpe at about 16:30 on Monday.

A 21-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of the production of cannabis and remains in custody, according to Humberside Police.

Anyone with information about drug dealing or cultivation is being asked to get in touch with the Humberside force.

Local Democracy Reporting Service

People in Lincolnshire should not get “carried away” as Covid lockdown restrictions are lifted, the county's health bosses have said.

Image source, Reuters/Jason Cairnduff

Andy Fox, Lincolnshire County Council’s assistant director for public health, says people need to remember “we are still in a global pandemic”.

This week, lockdown restrictions have been slightly relaxed , including allowing people to meet others outdoors in groups of six or two households, as well as take part in outdoor sports.

Mr Fox says it's too early to see the impact of the move, but that it's a positive that people have a chance to go out in the good weather.

However, he adds: "My area of concern is how behaviour changes as a result of that. We really want to appeal to people to remember we’ve only had the rule of six in use outdoors and with outdoor sport allowed it doesn’t mean we should be mixing indoors.

"That’s absolutely a bad idea at this point. There’s too much Covid circulating right now to really lift the brakes off and see a big increase, because it will spread fast."

He adds there is always a risk of a third wave, as is the case currently in Europe - but says things such as border controls and vaccinations are helping to prevent that in the UK where the numbers are “going the other direction”.

“So, get active, do have some fun, but stick to the guidance we have in place and keep working hard to save lives,” he adds.

BBC Weather

Another very mild day with plenty of sunshine though there will be some patches of cloud at times this morning, maybe giving the odd shower and the sunshine turning hazy in places this afternoon.

Gentle southwest winds and a maximum temperature of 22 deg C (72 deg F).

BBC Weather

This evening and through the night, skies will remain quite clear.

Some cloud may drift in from the west towards dawn in places.

Feeling a little chilly under clear skies.

Some patchy mist may develop:

BBC Business News

The government has restated it is considering "all options" to keep Liberty Steel's UK plants afloat - including its sites in South Yorkshire and North Lincolnshire.

On Sunday, the government rejected a request for £170m in financial support for the firm, which has plants in Stocksbridge (pictured), Rotherham and Scunthorpe.

But that is due to concerns about the "very opaque" structure of its owner GFG, a minister said.

Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng said the government could not put money into a "black box".

Mr Kwarteng told the BBC's Today programme that Liberty Steel was "an important national asset" but that the structure of its owner - Gupta Family Group (GFG) - was "very opaque" and "not helpful".

"We are custodians of taxpayer's money...and we feel that if we gave the (£170m) money, there was no guarantee the money would stay in the UK, and would protect British jobs," he said.

Liberty Steel's founder, Sanjeev Gupta, is trying to refinance GFG after its key financial backer Greensill Capital filed for insolvency earlier this month.

Mr Kwarteng said he wanted to see Mr Gupta's plans "work through" before the government took any further action.

There are 5,000 staff employed at Liberty's 12 UK sites. Mr Gupta's empire employs 35,000 people worldwide.

Mr Kwarteng said "all options are on the table" to keep Liberty Steel jobs and plants going, including nationalisation.

"We think that the steel industry has a future in the UK," he said.

People in East Yorkshire and northern Lincolnshire are being warned by a leading police officer not to become "complacent" as coronavirus restrictions are eased.

Image source, Reuters/Andrew Couldridge

From Monday, people have been allowed to meet in a public place or garden under the government's "rule of six" restrictions, or as two households.

Meanwhile, outdoor sports facilities have also reopened, formally organised outdoor sports are restarting and weddings can take place with up to six people in attendance.

Humberside Police's Deputy Chief Constable Paul Andersaon says the past year has been "a challenging time for many, a year unlike no other".

However, as restrictions are eased, he says: "This is not a time to become complacent or to forget all of the hard work that has gone into the last few months.

"Adhering to the guidelines and preventing the spread of the virus must remain as a top priority for everyone.

"Where possible, we are asking for people to stay at home and the advice of staying local remains."

He adds that Humberside Police officers will be patrolling "hot spot areas" and "will not hesitate to use enforcement where we need to and where there are blatant breaches of restrictions".

BBC Weather

A dry start with patches of cloud especially towards the Pennines and Dales but this will drift away northwards through the morning.

It will be a fine and exceptionally warm day. Temperatures will climb with prolonged sunshine, not as breezy as yesterday.

Campaigners say lack of physical contact with parents has damaged children's mental health.

BBC Weather

After a fine evening with some late sunshine, tonight will remain dry.

It will become cool under mainly clear skies.

One or two patches of fog or low cloud are possible by dawn with gentle winds.

People in Lincolnshire are being warned to stick to social distancing rules for "as long as possible" as Covid-19 restrictions begin to be eased from today.

Image source, Reuters/Jason Cairnduff

Two households or groups of up to six people are now able to meet outside as the "stay at home" Covid order comes to an end.

Outdoor sport facilities in England, including tennis courts and golf courses, are reopening and organised outdoor sports can now resume.

Weddings attended by up to six people are also allowed.

But professor Derek Ward, director of public health for Lincolnshire, has warned: "Unless you are living in a household or bubbled up with somebody you must keep to your 2m-plus social distance all the time."

He added: "I would suggest people keep that going for as long as possible as we come out of lockdown, because that's how we'll minimise the risk of passing it on to each other."

The suspended Bishop of Lincoln has returned to his role after the conclusion of a 20-month safeguarding inquiry.

Image source, UK Parliament/Crown Copyright

Bishop Christopher Lowson, who was suspended in 2019, faced allegations he "failed to respond appropriately to safeguarding disclosures".

The Church of England said he had accepted a misconduct penalty over his handling of a disclosure about a member of the clergy in 2019.

After returning to his post, Bishop Lowson told BBC Radio Lincolnshire: "It was an error and I've apologised for that.

"I don't want to start pointing fingers at other people, that would not be a graceful thing to do.

"I hope one of the good things resulting from my experience is that no one in the future will have to experience the things which we experienced."

BBC Weather

Cloudy and dull this morning with low cloud and hill fog, and some patches of drizzle in places.

Widely dry this afternoon with winds easing and temperatures rising to the high teens as cloud starts to break up.

Cloud will gradually clear this evening, leaving the night dry and clear:

Breaking news, sport, weather and travel updates from across North, West, East and South Yorkshire and Lincolnshire.

Grimsby miss the chance to make up more ground at the bottom of League Two as they are held to a 1-1 draw by Walsall.

The outbreak is at a West Lindsey care home where residents had been vaccinated, health bosses say.

Dozens of shipping containers with garden furniture destined for Lincolnshire are being held up by a stranded mega-container ship in Egypt's Suez Canal.

Image source, Reuters

The Ever Given, operated by the Taiwanese company Evergreen Marine, is the length of four football pitches and one of the world's biggest container vessels.

The blockage it's causing means huge tailbacks of other ships trying to pass through the Suez Canal.

Image source, Reuters

Boyd Douglas Davies, who runs Lincolnshire-based British Garden Centres, says: "We sell a lot of garden furniture which predominantly comes from the Far East.

"We know there are certainly 30 of our containers stuck in that canal and we actually use Evergreen as one of our shipping firms."

Despite efforts to free the ship, it could take weeks to remove experts say.