Terrorism Charges for 14 Year Old, Shoplifting Trio Caught, New Powers for Mayors & More
Happy Monday to you all and I hope you had a great weekend.
Monday morning has come around fast again, it's time to grab a brew, open the chocolate digestives, put the phone on silent and kick back for 10 - enjoy a read of today's newsletter covering all things Bassetlaw and surrounding areas.
Todays Quote for the day - "Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work. There is no substitute for hard work.” – Thomas Edison
Justin Doddy, Editor
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14-year-old boy sentenced for terrorism offence
A 14-year-old boy from Nottinghamshire has admitted downloading a video which described how to make a bomb using household items.
The teen was charged with the terrorism offence after officers from Counter Terrorism Police East Midlands (CTPEM) arrested him in January this year, following concerns that he was carrying a knife.
The knife was found in his bedroom and he was charged with possession of an offensive weapon - for which he received a referral order for nine months.
During their investigation CTPEM also found a knuckle duster and a photo of extreme right-wing graffiti sprayed on a fence near his home.
The boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was charged with section 57 of the Terrorism Act 2006 (possession of items for a purpose connected with the commission, preparation or instigation of an act of terrorism).
That charge was later withdrawn, and on his first appearance at Westminster Crown Court on 14 July, he pleaded guilty to new charges put to him.
The boy admitted possession of an offensive weapon (the knuckleduster), racially aggravated criminal damage (graffiti) and S58 TACT (possession of the bomb-making video, useful to a person committing an act of terrorism).
On 28 August 2026 at Nottingham Youth Court, he was sentenced to a three-year youth rehabilitation order with electronic monitoring. An order was also made depriving him of items seized during the investigation.
Detective Inspector Steve Shaw, who was Senior Investigating Officer in the case, said:
"It is worrying to think a person of such a young age could display these concerning thoughts and behaviours.
"Going from owning weapons, to spray-painting graffiti, to downloading a bomb-making tutorial, shows how his behaviour was escalating, which is why we stepped in and charged him when we did.
"I'd encourage all parents to check they know what their child is doing online. Know what kind of things they are reading and watching, who they are talking to, and what sites they are visiting.
“If you have any concerns, report it to us. You won't be wasting anyone's time, and we can help."
Courtesy of Nottinghamshire Police
Triple win for Newark officers as wanted shoplifting trio caught
Newark officers managed to catch three wanted shoplifters in 24 hours and put them before the courts this week.
The neighbourhood policing team have been on the lookout for Alistair Paterson, Daniel Allsop and Karl Allsop for some time now.
Responsible for around 50 shop thefts between them, the trio managed to successful evade the police until the start of this week when they were all arrested.
Paterson and Karl Allsop both found themselves in handcuffs by lunchtime on Monday (24 August), with Allsop's namesake Daniel detained as well late on Tuesday (25 August) morning.
All three were arrested by the Newark neighbourhood team, who used their local knowledge and experience to identify them as the culprits in each offence from available CCTV, before ultimately tracking them down.
The two Allsops and Paterson are known to have targeted multiple shops in Newark over the last few weeks, with the thieves sometimes working together and sometimes stealing on their own.
Bottles of alcohol, meat, cleaning products and electrical appliances are among the longlist of stock that is known to have been taken by at least one – or all – of the offenders since the middle of June.
The last theft – of cans of Febreze – was carried out by Paterson and Karl Allsop at the North Gate-based B&M last Sunday morning, with Daniel Allsop last stealing meat from Sainsbury's in Balderton on 18 August.
He was ultimately charged with 21 separate shop thefts and a burglary – where he broke into a Newark-based dentist and stole cash.
Paterson, meanwhile, was charged with 31 counts of shop theft, while Karl Allsop was separately charged with five shop thefts and a theft of a pedal cycle.
All three pleaded guilty to each of the offences put to them, with Karl Allsop, 38, of Barrows Gate, Newark, and Paterson, 40, of Yorke Drive, Newark, both attending Nottingham Magistrates' Court this Tuesday to be sentenced.
Paterson was jailed for 32 weeks, while Allsop was sentenced to 16 weeks in prison suspended for 12 months and ordered to complete 15 rehabilitation activity requirement days.
Daniel Allsop, 37, of no fixed address, attended the same court on Wednesday, where he was remanded into custody until his sentencing hearing at Nottingham Crown Court on 16 September.
These results come at a time when cracking down on serious acquisitive crime – like shoplifting – remains one of the chosen policing priorities for the Newark neighbourhood policing team.
As part of this, officers have been conducting a series of different operations in and around the town centre, including a mixture of visible and plain-clothed patrols, to both deter and catch those involved in criminality.
This work has helped contribute to a 26 per cent reduction in shop thefts in Newark over the last year, while there has also been a big improvement to the positive outcomes rate for shoplifting cases – meaning police action leading to an arrest or some other sanction.
In terms of the last 12 months as a whole, some form of sanction has followed a shoplifting report in 45 per cent of cases – a marked improvement on the year before when Newark had a 33 per cent positive outcomes rate for shoplifting.
Inspector Charlotte Ellam, District Commander for Newark and Sherwood, said:
"Our officers deserve great credit for linking these individuals to the multitude of offences they were responsible for and then putting them before the courts.
"These three men shoplifted from stores in our area around 50 times in total – sometimes working in tandem and sometimes on their own – with their actions caught on camera in each of the stores.
"Having reviewed all the available footage, our neighbourhood team managed to pin each theft to each culprit, before successfully tracking down the trio earlier this week.
"Tackling shop theft has been a primary focus for our officers in Newark for some time now, with the team regularly involved in patrols and operations aimed at targeting shoplifters.
"Bearing all of this in mind, it was great to see Alistair Paterson, Daniel Allsop and Karl Allsop caught and placed before the courts this week."
Content courtesy of Nottinghamshire Police
Gainsborough's rubbish bags should be phased out in favour of modern alternatives, a councillor has said.
By: Jamie Waller, LDRS
Gainsborough’s South West ward is the only part of West Lindsey to use them, where the narrow ’10ft‘ alleys behind homes make wheelie bins inconvenient.
However Councillor Trevor Young (Lib Dem), who represents the area, says the bags are “outdated”, costly 💷 and may attract pests 🐀.
West Lindsey District Council 🏛️ has told the Local Democracy Reporting Service that it plans to review the service.
Cllr Young has submitted a motion 📄 to the full council meeting on September 7 calling for the authority to look into alternatives such as wheelie bins and communal collection points.
“Some households in West Lindsey continue to receive waste and recycling collections in bags rather than wheeled bins,” it says.
“The current arrangement is outdated and resource-intensive and may contribute to litter, vermin and adverse environmental conditions 🌍.
“Residents have raised concerns about the service’s effectiveness, cleanliness and long-term sustainability.
“Recycling performance in areas served by bagged collections requires improvement 📈.”
Older parts of Gainsborough were built in the 1800s for workers when the town was an industrial powerhouse 🏭, and have a much smaller layout than modern homes.
Cllr Young has previously raised concerns about rubbish in the ward, saying: “At least three days a week, parts of the South West ward in Gainsborough become extremely unsightly due to large amounts of waste being left in the 10ft areas.
“The conditions in some of these locations are unacceptable ⚠️. In my view, they resemble the neglected slum areas seen in the 1960s, and the people who live there deserve far better.”
The council recently announced 📢 that large purple bins 🟣 will be placed in public areas around Gainsborough to allow residents to recycle paper and cardboard, which currently aren’t collected. ♻️
Mayors given powers to green light developments
Mayors across England are to be given ‘call in’ powers to take the most important planning decisions in their areas.
Under proposals to be published next week, a mayor will now be able to take over key planning applications which impact on local growth, and direct a council to take it forward or refuse it.
The move has been backed by ten mayors from different parties and will bring mayors across the country in line with powers the Mayor of London already has.
The national thresholds are being set outside of London for the first time: schemes with more than 150 homes, more than 15,000 square metres of commercial space, or any building over 30 metres or taller, roughly ten storeys will be in scope.
Mayors will also be able to grant up front permission for development, so that building can begin without a developer having to apply.
Councils will continue to decide the majority of applications, and many are already getting homes built at scale. Over the last three years, Salford has delivered 7,584 homes against a requirement of 4,249. Leeds has delivered 11,690 homes against a requirement of 10,151, and Knowsley has delivered 1,888 - well over double the requirement of 772 homes.
Every decision must follow the planning rules, the local plan, and national policy. Applicants keep the right of appeal, and ministers retain a backstop power to intervene themselves.
Mayors will also have a bigger say over how national housing funding is spent in their areas. Homes England will still lead on the biggest projects, but its funding and expertise will be focused on the priorities agreed by local mayors.
A £1.3bn portion of the national fund for land and infrastructure has already been allocated to the seven most established mayoral areas, with an additional £234 million of brownfield funding to seven MSAs, and £1.5 billion committed for devolution through the Housing Accelerator Fund.
Mayors outside London will also be able to charge a levy on development to fund major infrastructure, using the same tool that helped deliver the Elizabeth line, which has boosted rail capacity, supported housing growth and regeneration, and become the UK’s busiest railway service.
Courtesy of HMG www.gov.uk
Get ready for a fun-filled day of excitement, discovery and hands-on fun as Nottinghamshire Police Family Fun Days return for 2026!
Join Nottinghamshire Police at Bracebridge Recreation Ground on Saturday 12 September for a day filled with activities, demonstrations and chances to see the amazing work that officers and volunteers do every day.
There will be a huge range of interactive police stalls and activities, including:
🔍 CSI fingerprinting
🚁 Drones unit display
👮 Police kit try on – see how you look in uniform
🚓 Sit inside a police car
⚡ Test your reactions on the Batak machine
🐕 Meet the police dogs and much more!
There's something for everyone, so bring the family along!
🕚 The event runs 11am – 3pm, so drop in any time.
Courtesy of Nottinghamshire Police 🚔💙
Thanks so much for reading our local newsletter and for supporting us. We’re committed to providing Bassetlaw with the quality local news service it deserves, but sustaining this work may come with some challenges. Our team is currently discussing how to make Bassetlaw Today financially viable in the long term, and one option we’re considering is introducing a subscription model to help cover our costs.
We want to be open with you about these conversations so you’re aware that a fee may need to be introduced in the future. If that happens, we hope you’ll continue to stand with us and support the publication.
Have a great day and I look forward to seeing you read our next newsletter.
Justin Doddy, Editor
Bassetlaw Today
P.S. Your feedback about this newsletter is important to me. You can email me your feedback to news@bassettlawtoday.co.uk
