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All the latest from Stocksbridge, Stannington and East and West Ecclesfield

A major fundraising initia-tive is underway at Stanning-ton Library as the communi-ty-led group seek to expand the building.

Stannington and District Library Group (STAND) re-cently celebrated their first anniversary since taking over the running of the library from Sheffield City Council in Sep-tember last year, and now have plans to increase the size of the building to improve the long-term prospects of the site.

The plans submitted have passed through the initial ap-proval stage, but there is still a

lot of work to do – and money to be raised – before building can get underway.

STAND trustee Bob My-nors has been involved in the running of the library for the majority of the last year, and spoke of the ambition that the group has to expand their fa-cilities.

“It’s a three stage plan and the biggest will cost upwards of £300,000; clearly it’s not going to happen quickly,” he said. “There are lower levels we could go for if we have to.”

“Our logo is ‘STAND – more than a library’, and we have to

be that. If all we did was loan books we would close and de-servedly so; we have to offer different options.”

The library was one of 15 threatened with closure when Sheffield City Council an-nounced their plans for budget cuts in 2013, but the tight-knit Stannington community swift-ly formed a task force to ensure the facility would stay open.

“A group formed fairly quickly, and the approach was very professional from the out-set,” Bob said.

“Currently there are 45 vol-unteers who help out, with

the ‘front line’ (those manning the desk) working one shift a week.”

The number of people using libraries in the UK is falling by the year, but Bob and the STAND group remain positive about the library’s future.

“There’s more to a library than simply a loan of books; it is one of the few places left where if you want to you can come in out the cold and not do anything at all as long as you don’t upset anyone. So far, one year on, we’ve achieved quite a lot; but we have a lot still to achieve yet.”

STAND looking to expand

A Chapeltown charity shop are celebrating a successful first year after raising more than £100,000 for a local chil-dren’s hospice

The shop, located on Mar-ket Street, has been raising money for the Bluebell Wood Children’s Hospice through-out 2015, with all funds going towards children at the centre with life shortening illnesses.

The hospice supports around 250 families across South Yorkshire and beyond, with their ten charity shops - including the Chapeltown branch - playing key roles in keeping their facilities going.

The anniversary celebration event saw volunteers, custom-ers and staff come together to reflect on a successful opening year, whilst a huge cake called ‘A Little Bit of Heaven’ was do-nated by a local couple.

Stocksbridge is to welcome the return of its Stagefright Comedy Club this Saturday night with a fine selection of stand-up comics set to take to the stage at The Venue.

Mock the Week regular Gary Delaney – described by The Guardian as “the undisputed master of the one-liner” – will headline the evening with a preview of his forthcoming na-tionwide theatre tour, a great chance for fans to witness his new material.

Gary will be supported by three other comedians making waves in the world of stand-up; Channel 4 radio regular Rod Shepherd, Comedy Café winner Bilal Zafar and Shef-field-based funnyman Russ Cutts.

Tickets are priced at £10 and are available to buy at The Ven-ue, or via paypal through [email protected].

A family from Askew Road, Stocksbridge, have escaped serious harm after fleeing a house fire.

Firefighters from across the area were called to the address at 6am on the morning of No-vember 19, with the family safely outside by that point.

The fire service did have to enter the property to rescue the family’s dog, who was still inside upon their arrival. The dog was rushed to the vets for a check-up once it had been rescued.

Emergency services are now aiming to discover the cause of the fire, which at this stage is believed to have been acci-dental.

Charity shop celebrations

Venue Comedy Night Returns

Family of Six Escape Fire

A Stannington community group have been awarded a grant from Sheffield City Council as a reward for the positive work they have done in the area.

Action For Stannington have been handed £500 to help with the upkeep of their or-ganisation after council repre-sentatives were impressed with a day of action on October 3rd, when volunteers were joined by students from the Universi-ty of Sheffield to pick up litter and clean the facilities at Stan-nington Park.

The Chairman of the group, Danny Piermatti MBE, told Upper Don Daily about their aims and activities:

“We do a lot of donkey work and the majority of it is in the background, work that people don’t notice. Tomorrow there will be children and families using the park, and they can enjoy a cleaner park thanks to the work that we do.”

Action for Stannington was formed in 1999 as a response to growing social problems in the area, particularly around Stannington Park.

“We used to experience the teenagers smoking and drink-ing in the playground, upset-ting younger children with their families,” Danny said. “Today when there are people using the park, the atmosphere is beautiful; this wasn’t the case when we started.”

The group has been awarded grants before to renovate the park, which now attracts vis-itors of all ages thanks to the improved facilities.

“We have a playground for children, a mini tennis court and skate park along with a 5-a-side pitch for teenagers, a bowling green for older people and a pavilion to be used by anyone. We all share the same

ground, but we all have differ-ent interests, and we have rec-ognised that with what we have provided.”

Action for Stannington works closely with other local organisations and are influen-tial in events such as Stanning-ton Carnival which prove pop-ular with residents every year.

“As far as I am aware, we are quite unique – not just within Sheffield, but the whole UK,” Danny said. “Local councillors of all parties love the work that we do, and we are regularly used as an example for other neighbourhoods in the area.”

The group attracts volun-teers from a variety of ages and backgrounds, from youngsters completing voluntary work

for their Duke of Edinburgh award to European visitors in the area on exchange pro-grammes.

They have previously won the Queen’s Award for Volun-teering – the most prestigious reward that a voluntary organ-isation can receive – and in May were invited to Downing Street by Nick Clegg to cele-brate one member’s ten years of service.

For more information on how to get involved with the group, contact Danny Piermat-ti by e-mailing [email protected], and visit our website at upperdondaily.wordpress.com for a virtual tour around Stannington Park which showcases their work.

Action Man Dan receives council grant for group

Volunteers from Action for Stannington, including Danny Piermatti MBE (top right), at their recent ‘Day of Action’ alongside local students.

STAND trustee Bob Mynors

Visit our website: www.upperdondaily.wordpress.comFollow us on twitter: @UpperDonDaily

By Paul Martin

UPPER DON DAILY// upperdondaily.wordpress.comAll the latest from Stocksbridge, Stannington and East and West Ecclesfield

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Seething Smith slates Tories over steel inaction

Duo receive recognition Men in custody after armed robberies

The Labour MP for Penistone and Stocksbridge, Angela Smith, has spoken out about her growing anger regarding the Conservative govern-ment’s refusal to do more to save the steel industry.

Thousands of jobs have been lost at plants in Redcar and Scunthorpe in recent months, which has led to concerns that further cuts are on the way as the crisis within the industry deepens.

Business Secretary Sajid Javid has been scrutinised for not doing enough on the issue, and Smith – who has served the Penistone and Stocks-bridge constituency since 2010 – was critical of his role.

“It frustrates me enormous-ly when a Secretary of State is so ideologically driven that he can’t think more pragmat-ically and realise that it is not about ideology, it is about what works – and in this case inter-vention is necessary,” she said.

“This government is op-posed to intervention and they believe very firmly in the free market,” she continued. “I be-lieve in a market economy, but I also think that there is a role for intervention when it can be used to help secure the future of a major industry like steel.”

“Unions, politicians and steelworkers have agreed on a simple five-point plan which everyone has rallied around. I’m just stunned that the gov-ernment believe that an indus-try like steel can be left to the vagaries of the free market.”

Smith also expressed her disappointment that more pressure had not been applied on the Chinese government during Xi Jinping’s recent state visit to the UK.

“We can’t turn our back on the Chinese, that would be

stupid – but at the same time where there is unfair practice it needs challenging and I think the UK could have done far more and they could have used the Chinese visit to make the case more forcefully.”

The former Constituency MP of the Year was one of sev-eral Labour MPs at the ‘Save Our Steel’ rally which took place in Sheffield on Novem-ber 21. Numerous speakers from various trade unions made speeches in favour of nationalising the steel indus-try, but Smith made clear that

she did not believe this was the way forward.

“It would be a knee-jerk re-action to a very complex cri-sis,” she explained. “It is quite unhelpful because there has been a great working partner-ship between the steel unions, the employers and politicians.

If we see major figures jump-ing up and down and calling for nationalisation all that will happen is that an already frag-ile situation will become a lot more fragile because investors may be scared away, and if there is one thing the steel in-

dustry needs it is investment.”Despite the ongoing crisis,

Smith seemed confident that the majority of the 800 steel-workers at the Tata plant in Stocksbridge would be unaf-fected.

“As far as I know there are no cuts planned here. At the moment Tata want to continue their speciality products.”

For more from the exclusive interview with Angela Smith, including her verdict on the importance of steel to the town of Stocksbridge, visit upper-dondaily.wordpress.com.

The five-point plan to save the steel industry

• Finalising and delivering the compensation for ener-gy taxation

• Providing some relief for the very high business rates that the industry faces

• Working with the EU to de-velop effective measures to prevent Chinese dumping

• Ensuring government pro-jects use as much UK steel as possible, for example the upcoming HS2 rail link

• Putting in place an efficient long-term strategy to save the industry

Local Labour MP defies Corbyn twice in as many weeksA Sheffield-based Labour MP has told Upper Don Daily why she voted against the party leadership on air strikes in Syria and Trident renewal.

Angela Smith, who has served as an MP since 2005 – firstly for the now-defunct Sheffield Hillsborough and cur-rently for Penistone and Stocks-bridge – was one of 67 Labour MPs to go against the advice of their leader Jeremy Corbyn and vote in favour of the govern-ment’s proposal to launch air strikes in war-torn Syria, which was passed by 397 votes to 223.

“Myself and other Labour MPs are aligned with Hilary Benn’s view,” Smith explained. “This is a view which is broadly in favour of the government’s favoured decision to engage in Syria, and although there are one or two reservations – par-ticularly surrounding the num-ber of ground troops available – there are significant numbers in the PLP who support that, including myself.”

This is a view that could cause controversy amongst the party leadership and membership, but Smith insisted that there is a wider picture that must be taken into account.

“I think it is not just about the views of the party member-ship, this one,” she said. “Every MP has to balance the views of party members alongside the views of voters, because we are elected by voters and we have a duty to our electorate.”

“Over and above that there is the national interest. If it is in the national interest to engage militarily then there is a duty to take that seriously. Even if local public opinion is not necessar-ily in favour, it is important to put the national interest first.”

Her vote on Syria followed a decision to vote in favour of Trident renewal despite Corbyn instructing Labour MPs to ab-stain.

“It wasn’t a rebellion,” she insisted. “I voted in favour of party policy, which is still in favour of Trident. It was partly for me about the principle, but also about the importance of Trident to the northern econo-my and the jobs it creates and sustains – part of the BAE sup-ply chain reaches Sheffield, for example.”

To hear more extracts from Upper Don Daily’s interview with Angela Smith MP, visit our website at www.upperdondaily.wordpress.com.

Two men have been arrest-ed by police after a spate of armed robberies in areas in Sheffield including Stanning-ton and High Green.

Craig Robinson, 32, of Oxspring Bank, and Gareth Gratton, 29, of Piper Court, were arrested by detectives on Thursday, October 1 and charged with three counts of robbery each the following day.

The two men appeared at Sheffield Magistrates Court last week and await trial at Sheffield Crown Court. Both have been remanded in cus-tody.

The first robbery occurred at the Spar store on Stannington Road on September 27, and saw two men allegedly enter the shop carrying a knife. The intruders threatened staff and left with cash and a quantity of cigarettes.

Two days later, three men entered the One Stop Shop on Cottam Road, High Green, and left with a substantial amount of cash after staff were again threatened with a knife. A 34-

year old man has also been ar-rested in connection with this incident.

High Green has also been the target of a successful police drug raid.

Around £40,000 worth of cannabis plants and a handful of guns were seized by police in the area after raids across the locality last week.

The drugs were found in properties on School Road on the morning of September 24.

Police also claimed two BB guns and a shotgun from a single property on Miles Road. Three men have been arrested on suspicion of possession of a firearm and bailed pending further enquiries.

Members of the public with any information surrounding these incidents - or who be-lieve they may have witnessed them - are encouraged to con-tact the police on 101 or call Crimestoppers on 0800 555

Former Premier League foot-ball referee Uriah Rennie, who lives in Stannington, and Chapeltown-born cyclist Steve Peat have been hand-ed awards by Sheffield City Council.

Rennie (right) has been awarded for contributions to inclusive sport and many projects in Sheffield over the course of two decades.

After twelve years as a ref-eree in the top flight, Rennie retired in 2009 and a year lat-er became a club president at Hallam FC; the world’s second oldest club.

Peat has seen his name placed on a plaque outside Sheffield Town Hall (left).

The nine-time British cham-pion joins fellow steel city sports stars Michael Vaughan, Jessica Ennis-Hill and David Dooley on the list of ‘Sheffield legends’ which make up the city’s ‘Hall of Fame’.

The 41-year old rider still lives locally in the Chapeltown area having been born and brought up there.

Angela Smith (centre) at the Save Our Steel rally, which took place in Sheffield City Centre on November 24th.

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn (PA)

By Paul Martin

The Spar store on Stannington Road, one of two local shops subject to robberies.

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All the latest from Stocksbridge, Stannington and East and West Ecclesfield

Local fury as hamlet in Stannington gets go ahead

Smithy Wood to WH Smith’s: Protests planned against proposedmotorway services

Joy for Jamie as Steels legend breaks Premier League goal recordFormer Stocksbridge Park Steels striker Jamie Vardy has made Premier League history by scoring in eleven consecu-tive games.

The Leicester City front-man’s goal against Manchester United on November 28 se-cured the record, which had previously been held by Ruud van Nistelrooy since 2003 - the year that a 16-year old Vardy joined Stocksbridge after his release by Sheffield Wednes-day.

The striker went on to play over 100 times for Steels, notching 66 goals in the pro-cess.

“He was always ‘Jack the Lad’ but people like Jamie, he is an easy mixer.” said Steels chairman, Allen Bethel. “He was one who was first in the changing room and last out, which made an impression and I could see something a bit special.”

He had to be substituted early in some away matches in order to meet a curfew which was imposed after Vardy was involved in an incident in a Sheffield pub.

“It didn’t stop him scoring but it was around this time that he started with his famous two-footed tackle, which led to the red cards.” Bethel said.

“I used to get annoyed with him because I had to pay him and he wasn’t on the field.”

After seven years at the Look Local Stadium, Vardy submit-

A controversial plan to build 88 homes on Green Belt land in Stannington has been approved by Sheffield City Council despite objections from residents.

The houses are set to be built on Stopes Road at the old Dy-son Refractories, a move which attracted 75 formal objections and a petition with over 300 signatures.

Jan Symington, of the Lox-ley Valley Preservation Society, has been vocal in her opposi-tion against the plans.

“It’s not compliant with planning policy for either the Green Belt or the national planning policy framework,” Jan told Upper Don Daily. “Re-building on a previously used site on the Green Belt has to be sustainable, and we have been told that this development isn’t because it is so far out in the countryside.”

The nature of the develop-ment has also been met with anger by some residents, who are adamant that it will look out of place in a rural environ-ment.

“One of the main factors that we object to is the fact that it is an urban development which has been put in the country-side,” Jan said. “88 packed houses of town design – I’ve seen similar developments in inner-city Doncaster, it’s not a rural development.”

“It’s not that we don’t want to see the site developed, but we do not feel that this is right.”

Jan was also critical of the council’s response to local con-cerns.

“They belittle all of the things that people say will be horrific for their lifestyle and think ‘it’ll be fine, we can ac-commodate another 180 cars’ - it’s not that simple.”

Liberal Democrat councillor for Stannington, David Baker, was one of four people on the Planning and Highways Com-mittee to vote against the pro-posal.

When asked why he had registered his objection to the plans, Cllr Baker replied: “Overdevelopment, in a word.”

“There are as many houses are this new development as there is in the village of Dung-worth, perhaps even more,” he continued. “Dungworth has taken years to develop, but it’s got a community structure in place now with a church, pubs, a shop and a village hall. This new site will have absolutely

nothing at all except housing. I think it’s too big, and that was my principal objection.”

“It’s an indication of the problems we’re facing in rural areas. Our job is to be vigilant and make sure that the devel-opments are realistic and sym-pathetic rather than just mass housing stuck up.”

He went on to express his concern for youngsters grow-ing up in areas such as Stan-nington and Dungworth. “Rural deprivation is very real. Young people born in the countryside or rural hamlets can’t afford houses – affordable housing should have been built on this site.”

Controversial plans to build a service station on historic wood-land in Ecclesfield have been met with anger from local wildlife groups.

The Extra MSA group has put forward a proposal to build a fast food court, 80-bed hotel, petrol station and car park on the ancient site of Smithy Wood, which is situ-ated just off Junction 35 of the M1.

An online petition against the decision attracted over 500 sig-natures within days of appearing online, whilst further objections were received after Sheffield City Council extended the deadline for complaints.

Smithy Wood has been in place for over 800 years and is designat-ed as a Local Wildlife Site.

The Sheffield and Rotherham Wildlife Trust have announced that they are planning a peaceful

protest at the meeting of the Plan-ning and Highways Committee at Sheffield Town Hall on January 19, when a decision on the pro-posal will be made by councillors.

The trust have released a state-ment outlining their belief that there are other more suitable sites in Sheffield that could be devel-oped, and that Smithy Wood’s status as an ecological network should “ensure that it is protected from this sort of urban building work.”

The Extra MSA group could not be reached for comment.

Those wishing to register ob-jections can do so by signing the Woodland Trust’s petition or using the council’s online com-plaints system.

The application reference is 14/01079/OUT and those without an account will have to register.

ted a transfer request in 2010 and was snapped up by FC Halifax Town for £15,000.

“Everywhere he went there were a string of scouts,” Bethel explained. “Players obviously have our blessing to go if they are moving up the leagues and we are obtaining a fair price.”

Vardy tops the Premier League scoring charts this sea-son with 14 goals as Leicester continue to take the league by storm, and if this form contin-ues then Vardy will be assured of a place in the England squad for the European Champi-onships, which take place in France next summer. It would be a fairytale way to cap the ex-Steels man’s remarkable rise.

Vardy’s Remarkable Run:

Bournemouth 1-1 Leicester

Leicester 3-2 Aston Villa

Stoke 2-2 Leicester

Leicester 2-5 Arsenal

Norwich 1-2 Leicester

Southampton 2-2 Leicester

Leicester 1-0 Crystal Palace

West Brom 2-3 Leicester

Leicester 2-1 Watford

Newcastle 0-3 Leicester

Leicester 1-1 Manchester Utd

Jamie Vardy celebrates his record-breaking strike against Manchester United (PA)

Protesters hoping to save Smithy Wood amidst growing fears that a motorway service station could be built on the ancient site.

The Dyson refractories on Stopes Road, which are set to become 88 homes. The move has attracted widespread criticism locally.

By Paul Martin

UPPER DON DAILY// upperdondaily.wordpress.comAll the latest from Stocksbridge, Stannington and East and West Ecclesfield

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End of an era

The mood is far from festive in a tinsel-festooned miners’ social club near the UK’s last remaining deep-coal pit.

The closure of Kellingley Colliery on Friday will sound the death knell for the UK mining industry.

And while most are resigned to their fate, the thought of an uncertain future and a life without the pit is enough to bring even the most hardened of miners close to tears.

Speaking at the Kellingley and Knottingley Miners’ Wel-fare Scheme Social Club, in West Yorkshire, Keith Poulson said the miners have been an-ticipating the closure since it was announced two years ago.

The branch secretary for Kellingley NUM said: “It has been like being a convicted prisoner on death row.

“And now it’s got to Decem-ber, and we’re in the last week, we can basically hear the gov-ernor coming down the corri-dor and he’s about to put the key in the cell door to take you to meet your fate.”

He continued: “The morale

of the men is absolutely rock bottom, to be thrown on the industrial scrapheap.

“Some people have worked there 20, 30, 40, even 50 years. To be actually told, two years since, that Kellingley would be closing came like a bolt of lightning.

“Now we’re approaching that final date, it’s a mixed emotion. They’ve got anger, frustration and fright to a certain extent because, like myself, they start-ed from school and worked in the industry for all those years.

“Since it was an-nounced, I feel like somebody’s stuck a pin in me and I’m eventually deflating. I feel completely let down and deflated.”

Maurice Kent, an NUM official, added: “Some of the men seem to have recognised the fate that they’re going to be made redundant, they do un-derstand that times are going

to be very hard once they’ve finished. Other people, I don’t think some of them have ac-tually grasped what the future holds for them.”

Mr Poulson, 55, has worked in the mining industry for 39 years, starting at South Kirkby Colliery in January 1977 before moving to Kellingley in 1988.

During that time, he has seen out the miners’ strike

of the mid-1980s and, in his NUM role, had to visit the families of three colleagues to inform them of their tragic deaths at the pit.

He said: “One of the worst things ever that a man could have

to do is go and tell a wife and kids that their

husband or their father’s not coming home because

he’s been tragically killed at a mine.“It’s one of the hardest jobs

I’ve ever had to do.”And now, he says he will

walk away with just a statutory redundancy package and have

to live off a reduced pension for the rest of his life.

Mr Poulson said he is “quite sure” the closure could have been avoided and wants to meet Prime Minister David Cameron to argue the case for the miners.

He said nearby Drax power station will continue to burn coal but now the coal will be imported from overseas, rath-er than from Kellingley - just seven miles away.

“That’s what people can’t get their heads round,” he said. “This is why people are so sad and angry.”

Another reason for sadness is the feeling that the tight-knit Kellingley Colliery family is on the verge of a break-up.

The NUM committee did not want to mark the closure - “we don’t think it’s an occasion we should celebrate” - but two miners’ wives have arranged a march, which will take place on Saturday afternoon and is likely to be attended by miners from around the country.

The march will be followed by an event at the social club.

Royals spread Christmas cheerChristmas may be ten days away but Kate Middleton has already enjoyed her first Yule-tide gathering. The 33-year-old royal kicked off the festive season by spreading some cheer at the Anna Freud Cen-tre Christmas party.

During the North London’s charity’s end-of-term celebra-tions, the mother-of-two ap-peared animated as she spent time with families, watched a musical performance put on by the children and helped to create a Christmas tree collage.

She also showed off her playful side when she sat amongst the children and tapped along to the beat on her drum during a music session.

The Anna Freud Centre is a leading institution that helps children and young people with mental health issues. As the royal patron, Prince Wil-liam’s wife has been steadfast in campaigning to raise aware-ness about children suffering mental health problems and other difficulties. In Septem-ber, the Duchess marked her

return to royal duties following the birth of her second child, Princess Charlotte, by paying a visit the Anna Freud Centre.

“I have been heartened to see that so much progress has been made in ending the taboo of adults openly treating men-tal well-being as the health is-sue it is,” she previously said in a statement calling for greater investment in child mental health services,” Kate said.

She also noted the impor-tance of focusing on mental health issues.

“I believe that our genera-tion of parents, carers, teachers and health workers now have the chance to give the mental health of our children the fo-cus it requires.”

Kate was not the only Roy-al on festive duty. Elsewhere, Prince Harry paid a visit to the Mildmay HIV hospital in London to speak to patients and employees, whilst Prince Charles was in Merthyr Tydfil meeting teachers, pupils and medical students in the Welsh town.

Carrie Fisher has called for blockbusters like the new Star Wars movie to receive more recognition from the Oscars as she joined the film’s cast and creators at the Euro-pean premiere in London.

The American actress, who has reprised her role as Prin-cess Leia, joined fellow orig-inal stars Harrison Ford and Mark Hamill along with Brit-ish newcomers John Boyega and Daisy Ridley in London’s Leicester Square.

Critics have hailed Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awak-ens as a tour de force to rival the original trilogy and Fish-er - who brought her French bulldog Gary along to join her on the red carpet - was full of praise for the film.

Asked whether the mov-ie should be nominated for an Academy Award for best picture, she replied: “This is a really, really good film. I don’t think they give films like this as much recognition as they should.”

“Some are really well made and they’re fun to look at and this is a great story.”

Star Wars creator George Lucas and the new film’s di-rector and co-writer JJ Abrams joined a host of stars at the highly anticipated London premiere.

Lucas, who created the fran-chise in 1977, said: “All of the

premieres have always been in London. It’s like coming home to an event we’ve done for the last 40 years but this was the biggest by far.”

Abrams went on to explain how he was struck every day while filming by how lucky he was to be working on the movie.

The film is eagerly antici-pated by fans and has already made box office history, with more than half a million tick-ets for its opening week sold at one cinema chain alone.

Carrie Fisher on the red carpet (PA)

Carrie fishes for Oscars success

Keith Poulson and Maurice Kent from the NUM outside Kellingley Colliery, which closes on Friday and marks the end of coal mining in the UK (PA)

Kate Middleton having fun at the Anna Freud Centre in London this week (PA)

As the popular Christmas song goes, many people will be “dreaming of a white Christmas” here in the UK, but in fact many areas have been experiencing unseason-ably mild temperatures re-cently, with snow and frosty mornings a distant memory.

These exceptionally mild

temperatures are expected to continue through the next few days, with maximum tempera-tures on Saturday December 19 widely reaching 13 - 16C (55F - 61F) with highs of 17-18C (63F - 64F) likely across the UK.

The December record in the UK is 18.3C, set in 1948.

PA Images

Snow chance of White Christmas