29th October 2020

Norwich man admits having pistol with intent to cause fear of violence. Timothy Dempsey, 68, of Forester Close, admitted to having an air weapon in Norwich with intent of causing another to believe that unlawful violence would be used against them.

• The charge, which was put at Norwich Crown Court, states that Dempsey had a Crossman air pistol .22 calibre weapon on November 4, last year. Michael Clare, for Dempsey, asked for pre-sentence reports as well as a psychiatric assessment of Dempsey.
• He told the court: “This man is 68 years old and has not been in trouble for 29 years.”He said that Dempsey was happy to co-operate with any psychiatric assessment. Judge Anthony Bate adjourned sentence until December 10. He ordered a pre-sentence report along with an assessment but warned Dempsey that all options would be open to the court.

Renewed calls for action on flooding have been made after several days of heavy rain left water levels in the Dereham area “too close for comfort”. Toftwood resident Jan Smith had her garage completely flooded in 2016 and she said she was worried history would repeat itself in the recent rains.

• The water was ready to come over the bank.” said Ms Smith. “The stream desperately needs cleaning - they’ve done a bit, but they don’t maintain it. That’s half the battle.
• At a town council meeting last week, councillor Chris Bunting asked Mark Ogden, a Norfolk County Council flood team representative, why Breckland still did not have a Surface Water Management Plan - despite almost every other district having one.
• Mr Ogden said the absence of a plan was “a bit of an anomaly”, explaining that when his team devised the SWMP scheme in 2011, they “didn’t get the buy-in” they needed from Breckland District Council. “I was not happy with that answer,” said Mr Bunting, “as I am sure residents of Dereham wouldn’t be either.

Norwich has been revealed as one of the first seven places across the country to be given a £25m slice of a £3.6b funding pot aimed at getting homes built and kickstarting business.

• The city was picked to be one of the first recipients of the government’s Towns Fund, which the government describes as being an attempt to “level up” local economies by investing in transport, infrastructure and skills.
• In Norwich, the funding will help grow the 2040 vision for the city, creating a place which is “creative, liveable, fair, connected and dynamic”. The deal will see millions invested to help create a Digital Hub and Digi-Tech Factory, which hope to give local people and businesses the chance to access state-of-the-art technology to boost skills and improve their services.

A Mid-Norfolk pub gave away 65 free meals to children who need them yesterday - more than double what they had expected.

• The Railway Tavern in Dereham committed to providing free school meals after parliament voted against Labour’s amendment to extend the meal provision into the holidays by 322 votes to 261.
• I just think there shouldn’t be any children in this country going without food. I’m struggling to get my head round it, because it’s not rocket science. If they need free meals at school, they’re going to need those meals at half term as well.”
• More than 50,000 people have seen the Railway Tavern’s Facebook post announcing that they would be stepping in to provide meals, a figure Mr Sandford called “unbelievable.”

A fundraiser to send a brave six-year-old girl and her family for a dream zoo trip has raised almost four times the target in just a week. Donations have poured in to send Sofia Honey Adcock, to Port Lympne safari, near Folkstone. The youngster was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia in February.

• The aim was to raise £500, but the target is now on its way to £2,000 which will cover an upgrade to the Tiger Lodge at the safari park and a second day trip for the family.
• To say thank you, fundraiser Kristina Hall will walk an additional 26 miles this Friday. If the total reaches £2,000 before Friday, she will be joined by Emma Waller. . Miss Hall said: “The Tiger Lodge is amazing but to have two potential day trips is something nice for Sofia Honey and her sisters to look forward to.

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