A request came through the main Trans Pennine Trail Office, from one of the local Police's Safer Nieghbourhood Teams (SNT) to help with a anti-motorcycle operation that was being conducted in the Barnsley area, on part of the Trans Pennine Trail (TPT).
Two volunteer rangers met at the SNT's base, where they received a briefing along with other members of the SNT. They were split in to teams and shown the local hotspots and the area they were to cover. There were two police vehicles on the ground along with two officers on mountain bike. There were also five Police Officers on foot in uniform and in plain clothes. Mid morning they were joined by another volunteer ranger and his dog.
Members of the public were engaged bethe police and rangers to ascertain if they had seen any motorcycles in the area. One member of the public informed the police that a small fire had been started next to the TPT. The police officer and two rangers went to investigate and they found a smouldering fire, thankfully the slight rain shower they had just had, had helped dampen the fire, so all that was left to do was make the area safe. As they returned to the TPT a motorcyclist shot past carrying a passenger, unfortuneately the were too late to stop it, but a discription and direction of travel was passed over the radio to the other officers on the ground.
After a short lunch break, everyone was back on the ground. The afternoon was pretty quiet and just as the SNT decided to call it a day, the youths from earlier came round the corner and once they had spotted the police turned round and went in the other direction. Unfortuneately the police was unable to give chase as they were dealing with another incident.
Everyone met up at the base for a de-brief and even though it had been relatively quiet on the TPT, the police still issued a quad biker with a warning and £30 fine. Those officers staying on duty decided to go back out and try and stop the youths who thus far hadn't been stopped.
Other anti-motorcycle operations are being planned for the near future, but the police require the public to report any illeagal usage of the TPT, so that they can build up a clearer picture and plan operations accordingly.
Tuesday, 9 August 2011
Volunteer Workday - 25th July 2011
We had reports that a number of signs in the Aldham Junction area of Barnsley had been vandilised with graffitti. So it was decided to paint the large cast iron arches, that were in and around Aldham Junction.
I had a meeting with Sarah Ford our LA Contact Officer from BMBC, who kindly offered to supply the equipment we needed, Sarah also organised for two of the BMBC Countryside Rangers to join us, this was also due to the H&S factor when painting the top of the arches.
We were due to meet at 1030hrs, but I got there at 1000hrs to survey what was actually required to be done, I was surprised to see the countryside rangers already waiting for me.
1030hrs came and went and with no other Volunteer Rangers insight we decided to start. As we were painting we engaged the general public.
The day went well, we managed to paint both arches until play was stopped due to rain. So it was decided to pack up and go our seperate ways, me home and the countryside rangers back to work.
As you can see from the final photos the arches look alot better with there fresh coat of paint. I would also like to thank Kym and Steve from the BMBC Countryside Rangers team for all their help and Sarah for suppling everything we needed.
Sunday, 31 July 2011
The Mall, Alhambra Shopping Centre, Barnsley - 15th July 2011
We set up our stall outside of TK Maxx, the mall kindly supplied us with one of their pods which we used to place all the leaflets on. The day started slowly and continued along the same theme.
We roughly had about 15 customers throughout the whole day, some just picked up leaflets, others stopped and chatted with myself and Cliff Grimshaw, giving us their thoughts of the TPT.
We were also able to offer advice about which sections were useful for wheelchair and mobility scooter users and which sections had cafes’ as well.
Overall the day was a success, but I feel that the location was wrong and we discuss the possibility of using a market stall instead, which would mean we would be able to sit down instead of standing all-day!!!
Rabbit Ings - 23rd April 2011
prepare for the planting of 36,000 trees and shrubs. Around 8.6 km (over 5 miles) of footpaths and cycleways have been constructed and new grasslands, ponds and wetland habitats have been created. The £7.5m project has been delivered by Yorkshire Forward in partnership with Wakefield Council with funding provided from the National Coalfields Programme and by the Homes and Communities Agency.
The event took place on the 23rd April 2011 and was attended by myself Scott Hurley, Cliff Grimshaw and John Sheriff.
The information stall set up.
The calm before the storm, Cliff Grimshaw eagerly awaits the first
customers.
The day started well with temperatures reaching 16⁰C by 1000hrs and increased as the day went on. Overall the day was a huge success and we had plenty to hand out, which Mandy Loach (TPT Officer) had supplied us with. Unfortunately we never received any items from the Events Team from Sustrans’ as requested. We also had a lot of interest in the maps, Walking Guides and Cycling Guides plus we had Frisbees, teddies and pencils to give away. We got a lot of positive feedback from the public and some negative which all was sent to Mandy. The day finished with a rumble of thunder and threat of rain. We had just finished packing the stall away when the first few spots of rain started to fall and the remaining stall holder in a mad rush to pack theirs away.
For more information on Rabbit Ings please look at Groundwork Dearne Valley and Wakefield Council web pages.
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