A man who set a deliberate fire in Lincoln County Hospital’s A&E causing almost £2 million of damage has been jailed for six years and nine months. John Gillon Watson, 57, was also given the maximum extended licence period of five years on his release from jail for the charge of arson with recklessness as to whether life is endangered. Lincoln Crown Court heard how Watson, of Vicarage Court, Sleaford, had entered the hospital as a patient before setting the fire in a room just off the main A&E department in the early hours of the morning on 29 March 2022. During the investigation, CCTV footage showed a man wearing a distinctive black jacket with Elvis on the back – who was later identified as Watson – in an area which was being engulfed with smoke before he was moved by fire fighters. There were no other people captured on CCTV in the area at the time of the fire starting. Watson was arrested around 11am that day following a swift response from detectives in Lincolnshire Police’s Criminal Investigation Department (CID). He has remained in custody since his arrest and charge. The investigation also involved arson investigators from Lincolnshire Fire and Rescue, forensic investigators, and the hospital’s estates and facilities team. The fire led to the emergency evacuation of the busy A&E department – including sick and injured patients – and carried a huge risk of igniting medical oxygen piping running throughout the hospital. If that had ignited, large parts of the hospital would have been badly damaged. It also led to the instantaneous loss of a CT scanner at the hospital, a machine which can be vital for someone with a serious injury, meaning the potential to treat significant traumas at the hospital was severely impacted. The Trust declared a major incident as a result of the fire, with patients diverted to other departments at Lincoln County Hospital, as well as other hospitals. In total, the A&E department was closed down for 48 hours, damage to diagnostic equipment meant that more than 3,300 patient appointments for diagnostic tests were delayed. Six crews from Lincolnshire Fire and Rescue were required to tackle the fire. Once extinguished, it was found to have caused extensive damage to the imaging room housing the CT scanner and MRI machine, a mobile ultrasound machine, a computer, bandages, and other equipment, as well as soot and smoke damage to entire department and neighbouring areas. Detective Sergeant Dave Patten from Lincoln CID led the investigation. He said: “This was one of the most serious and reckless cases of arson we have ever dealt with; the potential for harm should that fire have escalated is unthinkable. “The impact on the community and the hospital teams has been profound, with patients having to be diverted to other treatment centres, and clean up and repair work impacting the use of a busy emergency department. “This would have been very frightening for staff and patients, and I hope that today’s sentencing goes some way to providing some comfort that justice has been served against the individual responsible.” Watson admitted the arson on 20 January.

A man who helped to plan the killing of a Boston resident before disposing of his body into a waterway has been jailed for 13 years and 11 months. Kamil Zydek had fled the UK once a murder investigation was launched in January 2020. It followed the discovery of a body in the pumping station, Chainbridge Road, which prompted a huge response involving numerous forensic teams, specialists and detectives. It was one of the largest murder investigations in Lincolnshire for several years, spanning 16 months. The victim, 41-year-old Marcin Stolarek, is believed to have been assaulted and tied up at a house in Boston before being thrown in the waterway, in November 2019. Two men had already been convicted for murder, following earlier court hearings in 2021. The motive for the killings has never been fully established. Zydek never disputed that he was with Ferenc and Kaminski on the night of the murder, but denied his involvement in the killing. He was stopped by police in the Netherlands in March last year before being extradited. He was then arrested in the UK on suspicion of murder and perverting the course of justice, in May. He had originally denied both charges. Zydek, 34, of no fixed address, was originally charged with murder but later accepted a guilty plea to manslaughter. He had been found guilty by a unanimous jury in trial last year of perverting the course of justice – after pleading not guilty. Detective Superintendent Karl Whiffen led the investigation. He said: “Two men had already been held accountable for the murder of Marcin Stolarek, but we knew that there was an outstanding suspect: Kamil Zydek. “While intelligence told us that he had fled to Europe, we never gave up the search to find him, and more than two years after Marcin’s tragic death, Zydek was apprehended by our Dutch colleagues. “He was involved the planning, organising, and disposal of the body. He also remained in contact with Ferenc who had previously been jailed for murder. “He will now spend considerable time in prison. “This has been an incredibly complex and difficult case to investigate from the start. Our goal throughout was to bring Marcin’s killers to justice and to provide answers for his family.” In a victim impact statement read at court during the first trial, Marcin’s father said: “The murder of my son caused my heart to break in to a thousand pieces, which will never mend again.” Another victim impact statement, from Marcin’s mother, read: “I do not know how to put into words my heart-breaking pain…It was he who was supposed to bury me, not I him, although I actually died with him.”

A new renewable energy park, which could provide power to more than 190,000 homes is being planned for North Kesteven. The proposed Beacon Fen Energy Park will be made up of solar and energy storage and is proposed for land east of Sleaford, between the villages of Heckington and Helpringham. Renewable Energy Company Low Carbon said, if given permission, Beacon Fen Energy Park would generate an estimated 600MW of electricity a year while also avoiding 120,000 tonnes of CO2e emissions annually. James Hartley-Bond, director at Low Carbon, said: “We are looking forward to speaking directly with local communities about our plans to hear their views first-hand. “We are currently planning an early engagement consultation so we can ensure residents’ feedback links into the proposals, before holding a statutory consultation which is planned for later this year. “The UK Government has made clear its plans for the country to reach Net Zero by 2050. Its aim is to increase the nation’s solar capacity fivefold by 2035. If given permission, Beacon Fen Energy Park will be a significant step forward towards reaching this vital goal and securing sustainable energy for the country.” The project includes building the infrastructure needed to export the electricity the energy park would generate onto the national grid. It is planned this would be via an existing connection point at nearby Bicker Fen. Mr Hartley-Bond said: “For more than a decade, Low Carbon has been at the centre of the UK’s journey to Net Zero. Through working with local communities, we deliver renewables projects which bring about real change to ensure a cleaner and greener energy industry for all. “The amount of electricity Beacon Fen Energy Park could generate exceeds 50MW and is therefore classified as a Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project (NSIP). This requires us to submit an application for a Development Consent Order (DCO) to the Planning Inspectorate. “We anticipate the development process for the project through to DCO submission and then examination will take between two and three years. Subject to achieving consent, construction would start no earlier than 2026.” He added: “We look forward to speaking to residents within the coming weeks and introducing them to our proposals.”

West Lindsey District Council has put measures in place to take necessary legal action against the Home Office as it remains committed to protecting, preserving and enhancing RAF Scampton, for the long-term sustainable benefit of its communities. Following today’s announcement from the Home Office, Sally Grindrod-Smith, Director of Planning, Regeneration and Communities at West Lindsey District Council, said:“We are extremely disappointed with today’s announcement, but we have been preparing for all eventualities. We are in constant dialogue with the Home Office to seek to demonstrate to them that RAF Scampton would not be an appropriate site for asylum accommodation. Any move to use the site for asylum seekers would likely curtail the nationally significant plans, which the Council has been working on since 2018. Simultaneously we are considering all legal options, including urgent judicial review proceedings.” The move by the Council, comes after weeks of speculation and ‘not knowing’ which way the Home Office will go on this matter, putting its ground-breaking deal with Scampton Holdings Ltd for a £300 million investment, in jeopardy after years of planning. Sally added:“The Council is working with public service authorities across Lincolnshire and has highlighted in writing to the Home Office what it considers to be a significant number of barriers for mobilising the site for asylum use. The Home Office has committed to chairing a Lincolnshire multi-agency forum prior to any work starting on site. The Council has a responsibility to get the best deal for its residents and will continue to do everything to support the community and that also means working with the Home Office and partners in Lincolnshire to fully understand and support those who live and work in and around Scampton.”

A series of anti-social incidents has resulted in a tenant facing eviction from one council property, a second having their tenancy impacted by a partial closure order and the third property having a full closure order. The court ruling was made following partnership work between South Kesteven District Council’s Housing Services and the police regarding tenancies at Eastwell Place, Grantham. A dossier of “significant issues”, video footage and police statements were presented to Lincoln magistrates recently. Evidence included records of antisocial behaviour, CCTV footage, street violence, neighbour complaints and witness statements from council staff. The eviction was secured at an earlier hearing when the Council was granted possession of the flat. A spokesperson for the Council said: “This robust and successful partnership action with the police means that our tenants and their neighbours are once again able to live their lives without the regular disruption caused by these tenants and their visitors. “We take instances of anti-social behaviour very seriously and as a responsible landlord have a duty to all our tenants to deal with that. “It is very important for the other residents of Eastwell Place to know they are supported by their landlord and that incidents of this nature are taken very seriously. “The situation there was unacceptable and with support from the courts, we will take action where necessary to allow people to feel safe at home and in their neighbourhood.” The Full Closure order means the tenant cannot live at the flat for six weeks ahead of potential eviction. The Partial Closure at the second flat prevents named visitors at the property, which if breached could ultimately result in the tenant’s eviction. A copy of the closure order is displayed outside each property and anyone breaching the order could be arrested and, if found guilty, face a punishment of up to 51 weeks in prison and/or an unlimited fine.