Stranger to Richmond? There’s an app for that……

What’s in store

Richmond’s tourists are being offered a new app to help explore the town, reports RichmondOnline.
The visitor site for the town explains:

The free app includes a map, and features images of each of the main visitor venues with key information about them, as well as a range of interesting features visitors will find in the town during their stay.

Click here to read the story in full.

Link to the app on iTunes:
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/richmond-town-tour/id1018273958?ls=1&mt=8

Link to the app on Google Play:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=uk.co.atsheritage.richmond

Did you see this accident in Colburn?

Police are appealing for witnesses following a serious collision involving a car and a motorcycle on Catterick Road, Colburn in a slow moving queue of traffic at about 3.30pm on Friday 11 September 2015.

A black Ford Focus was turning right from the queue into the entrance of Colburn Fire Station. A white Honda trails motorcycle, travelling in the same direction and overtaking the slow-moving traffic, impacted with the Focus.

The rider of the motorcycle, a local man in his forties, suffered serious injurie and is still in hospital.

Anyone who witnessed the collision, or either of the vehicles involved, is asked to contact TC Tony Leonard, of the Roads Policing Group. Call 101, select option 2, and ask for Tony Leonard or the Roads Policing Group – or email tony.leonard@northyorkshire.pnn.police.uk. Police ask that you quote reference number 12150160404.

Finkle Street fire: £25k appeal set up to help those affected

Firefighters at work

An online donation page has been set up to help people affected by the fire in Finkle Street over the weekend.

The GoFundMe page was set up by Monica Smallman who says:

Many people and businesses have been affected by the terrible Richmond fire that was started in the early hours of the 6th June 2015. Livlihoods of business owners, suppliers, workers and small businesses associated with those involved in the fire have lost vital income. The rebuild of the properties and businesses will take many months to be re-established. In the meantime, businesses will sustain huge loss of earnings. We are setting up this page to show our support or the local businesses and show solidarity as a community. Please donate as little or as much as you can. We are eternally grateful for your generosity.

Click here to go direct to the donation page.

* Please note, we have requested some more information about this appeal and will update this page with more detail when we hear back.

Newborn found dead in wheelie bin

Here’s a story we never thought we’d be reporting in Richmond. The tragic discovery of a baby’s adandoned body.

Here’s what the police have to say about it this evening:

New born baby found dead in Richmond – urgent appeal to trace mother
North Yorkshire Police have issued an urgent appeal to locate the mother of a new born baby girl who was found dead in Richmond.

Officers were called at around 2.40pm on Monday 1 December 2014, after a member of the public discovered the baby’s body in a wheelie bin in a communal waste area on Whitcliffe Grange.

Paramedics attended the scene but sadly the baby girl could not be revived and was pronounced dead.

Inspector Mark Gee, of Richmond Safer Neighbourhood Team, said: “Enquiries are at a very early stage and our primary concern is to locate the mother of the new born baby girl to ensure that she receives urgent medical care.

“It is highly likely that the mother is in a very distressed state and needs professional support.

“We urge her to contact the police or medical staff as a matter of urgency as her health and wellbeing is the priority.”

Anyone who has any information that could help to identify the mother or has any other information that could assist the enquiry, please contact North Yorkshire Police on 101, select option 1, and pass the information to the Force Control Room. Please quote incident number NYP-01122014-0234.

Journalist’s online campaign for help to solve family mystery

The couple on their wedding day

The discovery of an remarkable journey by a couple in the 1950s has prompted a Richmond-based journalist to appeal for help to investigate a family mystery.

Sarah Hartley (who also started this website) first heard about the so-called ‘phut-phut flyers’ from her mother-in-law and, curiosity piqued, she started trying to find out more.

Cuttings from local and national newspapers are helping her start to piece together the story of Bryan and Joyce Hartley who set off to fly across the world back to their Cheshire home in 1957 in a plane they restored back to life themselves.

“It sounded such an incredible story – imagine undertaking such a huge journey in a tiny aircraft. I wanted to hear more. They sound like a remarkably interesting couple with links into the celebrity scene of the era (Cilla Black was once a neighbour) and even an appearance on BBC Tomorrow’s World.”

But the story has an abrupt and mysterious end at the moment – after arriving back the couple then vanished without trace some years later and now Hartley is looking for support to investigate what happened to them.

Using an American-based website called BeaconReader.com, she’s looking to raise a small amount of money to cover the costs involved in the project and plans to write regular pieces about the search as well as provide regular updates on Twitter @foodiesarah using the hashtag #phutphutflyers.

“Although they don’t have a connection to Richmond, I thought it might be worth mentioning it on the Noticeboard just in case there’s anyone who might have come across their story or is simply interested in joining me to find out more about a couple’s unusual piece of aviation history. They seem to be the sort of people who made connections across the country and even the world. Making contact with anyone who knew them could be invaluable and might just end up being the vital piece in the jigsaw of discovering what happened – after all, you just never know who might be read this.”

To support her investigation, visit https://www.beaconreader.com/projects/how-did-these-1950s-jetsetters-vanish or to get in touch email foodiesarahATme.com with #phutphutflyers in the subject line.

Do you recognise this car?

If you own or recognise this car, the police would like to hear from you.

Detectives have issued the picture of a car they need to trace as part of their investigations into incidents of indecent exposure in Bedale and Catterick

The VW Polo, or similar type of vehicle, was caught on camera in Catterick village around the time of the incident, which occurred at 12.25pm on Sunday on Mowbray Road.

The same car is also believed to been used by a man who performed a lewd act at around 3.30pm on Saturday 28 June 2014, on Benkhill Road, Bedale.

In both cases the driver of the car is described as being aged in his late forties or fifties, having dark hair which is greying and tanned complexion.

Detective Inspector Shaun Page, of Northallerton CID who leading the enquiry, said: “If you can link a man matching the description to the vehicle caught on CCTV, I urge you to come forward and contact the police straight away.

“I am also asking the driver to contact me if there has been any confusion and he is not linked to these incidents.”

Contact details here.