Model trains wrecked
by drunk schoolboys
By Lizzie Roberts
and Tony Diver
A GANG of drunk school-
boys who were due to take
their GCSEs destroyed a
model railway exhibition af-
ter breaking in to a school
sports hall to play football in
the middle of the night, a
court has heard.
The youths, who had been
drinking vodka, caused
damage valued at £30,
and smashed up hand-built
locomotives and displays –
including one that had taken
36 years to construct.
Members of Market Deep-
ing Model Railway Club,
who were holding the exhi-
bition, were left in tears.
Following the vandalism,
well-wishers raised more
than £100,000 through
crowdfunding for the club –
including a donation of
£10,000 from Sir Rod Stew-
art, the singer and model
train enthusiast.
Four youths aged 15 and 16
were arrested after rampag-
ing through the sports hall at
Stamford Welland Academy
during the early hours of
Saturday May 18.
All four, all now aged 16,
pleaded guilty yesterday to a
charge of criminal damage
during a hearing at Lincoln
Youth Court.
Three of the youths were
given a 12-month referral or-
der. They were also ordered
to pay £500 compensation
each to Market Deeping
Model Railway Club, plus
£85 prosecution costs and a
£20 victim surcharge.
The financial penalties
were ordered to be paid by
their parents as none of the
boys has any income.
Sentencing of the fourth
youth was adjourned until
Sept 2.Wife pays tribute
to her ‘superman’
as man is charged
with his murder
By Charles Hymas
Home AffAirs editor
THE wife of the newly-wed police
officer who died as he attended reports
of a burglary has described him as
“the kindest, loveliest, most selfless”
person in a heartbreaking tribute.
Pc Andrew Harper’s wife Lissie, 28,
last night released an open letter to him
in which she wrote: “My darling boy, I
do not know how I will be able to
survive without you.”
The couple were due to honeymoon
next week, four weeks after they
married. It came as a man was charged
with the police officer’s murder.
Pc Harper’s widow wrote that her
late husband was her “pillar of
strength”, adding: “I feel so lucky that it
was me you chose to share your amaz-
ing life with. Our superman, our body-
guard, our light in the dark. My god we
will miss you,” Mrs Harper wrote.
The Crown Prosecution Service said
last night that 20-year-old Jed Foster
from Reading had been charged with
Pc Harper’s murder and theft of a
quad bike. He will appear at Reading
Magistrates Court tomorrow.
Pc Harper was responding to reports
of a burglary last Thursday night when
he was hit and dragged under a vehicle
in Sulhamstead, West Berkshire. He
died of multiple injuries.
Thames Valley Police were yesterday
granted permission to further detain
the nine other males in relation to the
officer’s death. The men were released
on bail last night.
Jaswant Narwal, chief crown
prosecutor, said: “We will offer to meet
with Pc Harper’s family to explain the
basis of the decision we have made
following a lengthy review of the
evidence available.”
The murder charges were revealed
just hours after colleagues paid an
emotional tribute to the officer at the
scene where he was killed.
Officers consoled each other at the
kerbside, with some weeping.
Dozens of floral tributes and
messages from well-wishers have
been placed at the junction where Pc
Harper died.
One message read: “Harps, I am truly
gutted. A great cop, a great man, a great
friend. There will always be a part of
my heart missing now.”
Pc Gareth Phillips, who suffered
“life-changing injuries” when he was
News
run over by a suspected car thief in
Birmingham, sent his condolences to
the family of Pc Harper yesterday.
Pc Phillips, 42, who has undergone
surgery, could be in hospital for several
months with a shattered pelvis.
A 29-year-old man has been charged
with his attempted murder.
Meanwhile, a police chief has urged
the public to “lend a hand” to officers in
confrontational situations.
Shaun Sawyer, chief constable of
Devon and Cornwall Police, said the
public should intervene rather than
videoing officers when “they’re getting
a kicking”.
His comments follow a number of
cases in which crowds used phones to
video officers under attack.
He told BBC Devon people should
not film incidents but instead “consider
using the phone to call someone”.‘My darling
boy, I do notknow how I
will be ableto survive
without you’Campers injured as
car ploughs into tents
By Lizzie Roberts
A WOMAN is critically ill in
hospital after a car ploughed
into her tent in the middle of
the night at a Welsh camp-
site.
Two men have been ar-
rested on suspicion of dan-
gerous driving and driving
with excess alcohol, they re-
main in custody.
North Wales Police said
two women and two men
were injured when a car
drove into a tent at about
2am yesterday.
One woman was taken to
Ysbyty Gwynedd Hospital,
near Bangor, with serious in-
juries.
The incident occurred at
Rhyd y Galen campsite, near
Caernarfon, north Wales, on
the edge of Snowdonia Na-
tional Park.
Last night well-wishers
posted support for the in-
jured campers.
Andy Manser wrote on the
Rhyd y Galen Facebook
page: “All our thoughts are
with the family and friends
of the people injured this
morning. God bless.”
Detective Chief Inspector
Sion Williams said: “This
was a terrifying event for
people who should have felt
safe in their tents.
“North Wales Police are
supporting those involved
and our thoughts are with
the family of the woman who
has been seriously injured.
“I would like to thank
those members of the public
who have helped us, but if
anyone has not been spoken
to yet and has any informa-
tion that could assist, then
please contact us. Our roads
policing unit is working with
detectives to establish ex-
actly what happened.”
North Wales Fire and Res-
cue Service said two fire en-
gines were sent to the
incident.
One casualty was trapped
and had to be freed by po-
lice.Pc Andrew Harper with his wife Lissie, who wrote an open letter to him yesterday. Right, a police officer is overcome with emotion as he views the tributes at the murder sceneYUI MOK/PAThe Daily Telegraph Tuesday 20 August 2019 ** 5
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