A Knaresborough teenager has been ordered to do 300 hours of community work after pleading guilty to having a knife in Harrogate bar Mojo.

Arterus Moisejevas, 19, was accused of having a flick knife in the venue on Parliament Street on April 10.

Moisejevas, of Colebrooke Meadows, admitted the charge at Harrogate Magistrates Court on Thursday.

He was also ordered to pay a £95 surcharge to fund victim services and £85 costs to the Crown Prosecution Service.

His case is one of a spate of recent knife crime offences heard in court in Harrogate recently.

Harrogate Pubwatch revealed on Thursday that it had imposed a life ban on someone found carrying a knife in a town centre venue.

The organisation represents about 40 licensed venues in town. Members share information on troublemakers and jointly impose sanctions.

Sadly we have had to impose a lifetime ban on someone found to be carrying a knife in one of our town centre venues a couple of weekends ago. The possession of weapons in Harrogate's pubs, clubs and bars simply won't be tolerated #Harrogate

— Harrogate Pubwatch (@hgpubwatch) April 27, 2022

Police: knives produce ‘false sense of security’

Asked whether knife crime in the Harrogate district was increasing and, if so, what action it was taking, a North Yorkshire Police spokesperson said:

“Carrying a knife is a completely false sense of security. Producing a knife does not de-escalate a confrontation, it makes a bad situation worse and drastically increases the chance of you yourself being injured by that blade.

“As part of our efforts to tackle knife crime, we support Operation Sceptre, which is a twice-yearly national coordinated week of activity where police forces across the country help keep knives off the streets and deter people from carrying them, and through information and intelligence, proactively target knife-related offences.

“In July last year, changes to the Offensive Weapons Act 2019 were introduced which mean it is an offence to possess certain items such as knuckledusters, throwing stars and zombie knives, even in private.

“To anyone who is concerned for a friend or family member who they think maybe carrying a knife, please speak to them and explain the dangers. Tell them the safer and smarter thing to do is to put the knife down or come and surrender it at one of our police stations. You could be saving a life.

“Anyone with information on knife crime in their local community can always contact police on 101 or can pass information to Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111. In an emergency, always dial 999.”

Police are appealing for witnesses after 64 sheep were stolen from a field near Boroughbridge.

Forty-eight ewes in lamb and 16 hoggs were taken from land off the A168 at Marton-cum-Grafton.

It happened between 5pm on April 27 and 7am the following day.

A statement by North Yorkshire Police today said the sheep were worth a total value of tens of thousands of pounds. It added:

“They were stolen from a field on Legram Lane. It is believed a wagon would have been used to take the sheep.

“Officers are requesting the public’s assistance to help establish the full circumstances surrounding the incident.

“In particular, they are appealing for information about any wagons in the vicinity in the early hours of 28 April, or anything else that may assist with the investigation.”

Of the 48 ewes, 39 are Beltex and 9 are Bleu du Maine. The 16 hoggs were all young Beltex sheep aged 9-18 months.

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Anyone with information can contact North Yorkshire Police on 101, select option 2, and ask for PC Chloe Kinnear. You can also email chloe.kinnear@northyorkshire.police.uk

If you wish to remain anonymous, you can pass information to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

Quote the North Yorkshire Police reference number 12220071650.

West Yorkshire Police has said it has serious concerns for the welfare of a missing Leeds man who may have travelled to Harrogate.

Bede Chapman, 32, from Armley in Leeds, is described as being slim and 6 ft tall. He was wearing a chequered jacket, blue jeans and black boots.

It’s possible he may have made or is currently making his way to Harrogate in a black Renault Twingo with a registration plate beginning LG58.

Anyone who can assist is asked to contact police in Leeds on 101 or by using the LiveChat facility on the West Yorkshire Police website.

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Two Harrogate brothers who failed to turn up in court are wanted by North Yorkshire Police.

Robbie Nelson, 23, failed to appear in court after being charged with animal cruelty.

His older brother Charlie Nelson, 27, failed to appear in court for sentencing after being convicted of animal cruelty.

Warrants have been issued for their arrests by York Magistrates’ Court.

Police said in a statement today that they believed the men are in the Harrogate area and “enquiries have been ongoing to locate them”.

They added that if you have seen either of them or have any info about where they could be, call 101, quoting reference number 12210262539

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A man has been given a £324 fine for headbutting a police officer as he tried to arrest him.

Paul Stephen Turner, 47, of Albany Road, Harrogate, had pleaded guilty in February to the charge.

Acting for him in court today, Sonia Bhalla, of Watson Woodhouse solicitors, said Mr Turner had suffered a head injury when he was assaulted by three men with a baseball bat several years before, which still affected his actions and judgement.

Turner had been watching a documentary about fake police officers on August 18 last year when police officers knocked at his door and attempted to arrest him in relation to a separate allegation against him.

During the arrest, Turner headbutted one of the officers, PC Ryan Rudd, causing pain to one of his teeth. Turner later said he had not done so deliberately, but the process of the arrest had caused severe pain in his feet, where he had a pre-existing injury.

Read more:

• Man sentenced for carrying a baseball bat down Parliament Street
• Police issue CCTV pics of 6 people after Harrogate assault

A carer for his disabled father, the court heard Turner had 26 previous convictions for 52 offences, but none of a similar nature to the charge of assaulting a police officer. Ms Bhalla added:

“At 47 years of age, he has not been in trouble with the courts for a very, very long time. His last conviction was in 2011.”

Magistrates said they did not impose the maximum sentence for assaulting a police officer because the injuries appeared to be minimal, with no follow-up treatment required.

As well as the fine, magistrates ordered Turner to pay a victim surcharge of £34 and costs of £200.

Police have been dealing with an incident in Harrogate this evening after a number of people were reported to have been attacked.

Officers were called to the area near the parade of shops on West Park, close to the junction with Tower Street, where witnesses said a man had attempted to mug several people.

A local resident called police after hearing one of the victims screaming for help on West Park.

Two police cars, two vans and an ambulance were at the scene shortly after 7pm.

The Stray Ferret understands a man has been arrested. We will update this story when more information is available.

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Jewellery has been stolen from a house in Harrogate.

Police in Harrogate are appealing for witnesses to the incident, which happened on Green Lane sometime between 3pm and 6pm last Saturday.

A North Yorkshire Police statement today said:

“During the incident a quantity of jewellery with great sentimental value was stolen.

“As part of ongoing enquiries, we need to hear from anyone who may have been in the area around the time of the incident and possibly noticed suspicious individuals or vehicles.

“In particular, anyone who was walking down the path between Green Lane and Rossett Drive.”

Anyone with information can email ruby.rutter@northyorkshire.police.uk or call 101, select option 2, and ask for Ruby Rutter.

If you wish to remain anonymous, you can pass information to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

Quote the North Yorkshire Police reference number 12220060386.

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North Yorkshire Police is appealing for information about the theft of rifles and a pistol from a vintage shop in Ripon.

Thieves broke through one of the front door panels at All Kinds of Everything on Kirkgate and stole second hand items including two air rifles and one vintage pistol.

The incident occurred between 4pm on  January 13 and 9am on January 14.

North Yorkshire Police said in a statement today:

“We are requesting the public’s assistance to help gain any further information surrounding the full circumstances of the incident.

“In particular we are appealing for information about the vintage weapons seen in the pictures, one particularly distinctive rifle with the wording WALKER across the centre.”

Anyone with information can contact North Yorkshire Police on 101, select option 2, and ask to speak to Deborah Utley. You can also email deborah.utley@northyorkshire.police.uk

If you wish to remain anonymous, you can pass information to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

Quote the North Yorkshire Police reference number 12220007164.

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A Harrogate hairdresser wants to raise awareness of a scam after two men claiming to be window cleaners stole her mobile phone.

Linzi Underwood had been working at Harrogate Hair Studio on St Mark’s Avenue for just two weeks when the incident occurred on Monday.

She was with a client just before midday when two men entered and waved around paperwork. She said one of them “came within half a metre of my face” and, unable to speak much English,  just kept shouting “window cleaning, window cleaning”.

Within 30 seconds the pair had distracted Ms Underwood and her client enough to steal her phone and run away.

She described the experience as “intimidating”. She said her client just froze in the chair and with a man shouting in her face Ms Underwood felt powerless to do anything.

She said:

“I’m guessing they watched and waited for my colleague to leave because within two minutes they were in the shop.”

Ms Underwood’s phone contains all her bookings and client details so she is struggling to make new appointments.

She added:

“It would be great to have my phone back but I know that’s unlikely. Now I want to raise awareness. After posting on social media so many people commented saying a similar scam had happened near them.”

Ms Underwood reported the incident to police as soon as it happened and officers visited today to collect CCTV footage.

She said it is clear on CCTV the men make hand gestures in the mirror to indicate they had stolen something.

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Under investigation

North Yorkshire Police has said the “investigation is ongoing”. It said it was aware another Harrogate business was targeted by the scammers on the same day.

A spokesperson said:

“Both incidents are under investigation. If anyone else believes they have also been targeted by the two men, please report it to North Yorkshire Police.

“We urge businesses to be alert to the tactic that uses distraction and intimidation to distract staff while the suspects steal their property.”

To report a crime head to www.northyorkshire.police.uk or call 101, if you are threatened, always call 999.

The reference number for this case is 12220061129.

The three Conservative MPs whose constituencies include the Harrogate district have remained silent so far on whether Boris Johnson should resign.

Number 10 said today that the Prime Minister and his wife Carrie, plus Chancellor Rishi Sunak, had been notified by the Metropolitan Police that they would be given fixed penalty notices.

The Met, which is investigating alleged covid law-breaking at 12 Whitehall and Downing Street gatherings, has issued more than 50 fines.

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer today led calls for Mr Johnson and Mr Sunak to resign.

Harrogate district MPs (from left) Nigel Adams, Andrew Jones and Julian Smith.

The Stray Ferret reported in January that Andrew Jones, who represents Harrogate and Knaresborough, had said in a letter to a constituent:

“I followed coronavirus restrictions. I take the maxim ‘lawmakers can’t be lawbreakers’ seriously.”

Mr Jones added:

“In respect of the investigation announced by the Prime Minister in December, if this finds wrongdoing, and the police find that these actions were criminal, then consequences must flow from that.”

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The Stray Ferret contacted Mr Jones today asking for his views on today’s fixed penalty notice and whether he felt Mr Johnson should resign.

We also contacted Julian Smith, MP for Skipton and Ripon, and Nigel Adams, MP for Selby and Ainsty, to ask whether they felt Mr Johnson should resign.

At the time of publication, none had replied.