West Lindsey News - West Lindsey District Council

Snow heroes win
special award
West Lindsey staff praised
for going the extra mile
during the adverse
weather conditions
The British Red Cross has
praised staff at West Lindsey
for going the extra mile to
support vulnerable people during
December’s severe weather.
Despite heavy snowfall and
freezing temperatures of minus 17
degrees centigrade staff rallied round
to support the charity in helping local
residents.
Senior Service Manager for the
British Red Cross, Edith Wesley,
explained how they took the lead in
directing staff to priority needs in the
area.
She said: “I am delighted to present
this award to West Lindsey District
Council – for their innovative help
during the severe weather conditions.
“We received calls from residents
in areas of West Lindsey which were
hard hit, including people who were
alone, had no food or heating and
needed urgent help to get to medical
appointments.
“Between ourselves and the
council we were able to support
residents. It did not matter what time
of the day we called – there was
always someone willing to lend a
helping hand.
“This award is recognition of the
council thinking totally outside the box
and offering to support the Red Cross
and vulnerable people in their area in
a time of crisis.
Council worker Paul Redhead clears the snow so a resident can attend a medical appointment
“To me this was a fantastic offer by
West Lindsey and has been flagged
up as good practice to be considered
in future emergencies.”
Director of Strategy & Regeneration,
Rachel North, said she was delighted
to receive the award on behalf of the
council. “It recognises our staff’s ability
to be flexible in some of the most
testing circumstances. We offered
extra support to vulnerable residents
by helping to clear pathways to get
them to medical appointments and
delivered food parcels and heating.”
And Mrs North said the award
reflected the West Lindsey community
spirit as a whole: “We made the
From L-R: Director of Strategy & Regeneration Rachel North; Senior Service Manager
for the British Red Cross Edith Wesley; and Lesley Beevers pick up the award
“We made the most of our
resources to help communities
Rachel North,
Director of Strategy & Regeneration
most of our limited resources to help
communities help themselves.
“There were some great examples
of communities working together to
clear snow from their own streets and
checking on their neighbours, which
has to be commended.”
Mrs North said the award was a
credit to the great partnership work
between the Council, the British Red
Cross, Lincolnshire County Council
and Lincolnshire Police.
Councillors did their part by rallying
support to help their local wards.
Council Leader Cllr Burt Keimach
said: “We had one of the worst winters
in over 100 years. I was delighted to
see councillors out and about helping
the local community.
“Offers of help ranged from using
their own 4x4 vehicles to access
residents, putting out posters to inform
residents of static waste collections or
offering a shopping service for some
of the most vulnerable residents –
a good effort was made by all.
“It was heart-warming to see
communities pulling together to help
themselves – whether it was clearing
the market place in Market Rasen or
helping to check on a neighbour.”
West Lindsey News 11