A MAN has been warned he may be jailed after he was convicted of dangerous driving in a Hull park.

A jury of six men and six women found Admilson Ferreira-Marques, 24, guilty of dangerous driving in Pearson Park, west Hull, on April 23 last year.

He was found not guilty of assault occasioning actual bodily harm relating to the same incident, following a three-day trial at Hull Crown Court.

Sentencing was adjourned until Thursday, June 26, for a pre-sentence report.

Recorder Tim Gittins told Ferreira-Marques: "You have been convicted by the jury of a serious allegation, that is deliberately driving at someone, whatever the circumstances that led up to that.

"But given your previous good character I think it's important for me to have the assistance of a probation report, a pre-sentence report, about your circumstances.

"I'm going to adjourn sentencing for that report. I'm going to grant you bail, but understand this – I have not made up my mind what the sentence will be and I'm still considering immediate custody, do you understand?

"But obviously it's in your interests to have as good a report as possible and for you to comply with the probation service."

The prosecution claimed Ferreira-Marques has driven his silver Vauxhall Astra into Sangere Murady, 25.

Ferreira-Marques said in his defence he had gone to the park to meet his girlfriend, Abbie, and her friend, and had nothing to do with a disturbance that was taking place.

He claimed that, after he bought an ice-cream, Mr Murady and another man, called Mustafa, tried to force their way into his car. Mr Murady was on the bonnet when Ferreira-Marques drove off in fear.

Mr Murady told the court he had been enjoying a day off in the park when a group of about four men walked towards him. One pulled out a kitchen knife and tried to stab him.

He was injured when he caught the blade in his hand before chasing the man, who got away.

He then claimed that a car full of men, driven by Ferreira-Marques, drove towards him at speed and struck him on the leg before Ferreira-Marques and another man got out and attacked him, the passenger wielding an iron bar. He suffered bruising and a cut to his hand from the knife that needed six stitches.

Mr Murady told the court he only found out after the incident that his friend Mustafa had just had a fight and had his mobile phone stolen in Spring Bank, and that the attackers had told him to go into the park to "sort it out".

Ferreira-Marques declined to answer questions in his second police interview, which he said in court was because the officer asking them was "too horrible".

The wing mirror of his car was found to be damaged but he said it was like that when he bought it.

Ferreira-Marques, of Harpham Grove, east Hull, was born in Portugal and moved to England with his mother and brother in 2003.

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FAMILIES of the crew aboard the Gaul trawler hope a police visit to Russia will finally give them some answers. Humberside Police want to send three officers to Russia, where they will assess the remains of up to ten bodies, which it is thought may be those of the ill-fated crew.

Mystery surrounds the tragedy, which saw all 36 crew members perish, when the Hull trawler sank off the Norwegian coast, on February 8, 1974, and speculation into the circumstances has only grown since potential remains of the crew were uncovered in Russia in 2012.

Police are currently in discussions with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO), which is liaising with the Russian Authorities, who must first give their consent for the visit.

But Andy Atkinson, 50, who lost his father Raymond in the tragedy, when he was just ten years old, has accused the Russians of "dragging their feet" in the investigation and has made calls for a Gaul family member to accompany the police when they visit.

He said: "We are pleased they could be going on this visit but, we still feel in the dark. There are no definite answers, it is all still ifs and buts. I get the impression the Russians are being awkward.

"It is not a criminal matter, so if they let a family member go with the police, so they can hear the emotive side of it all, that might have some impact because all they have heard so far is the formal, police side of it.

"There should be no objections to a family member going with them, so there is complete transparency."

The remains were initially found on the Rybachy peninsula, in the Murmansk region of Russia, in the mid-1970s. The bodies reportedly washed ashore in 1974 or 1975 and were then buried by locals under rocks.

They were rediscovered in 2012 by a researcher who was aware of the sinking of the Gaul.

A date has yet to be set for the police visit, during which they will be accompanied by an anthropologist, who will see if there is a way of identifying whether the remains belong to the men who died on the Gaul.

DNA samples have been taken from relatives of Gaul crew members for comparison to the remains.

A police spokesman said: "We are committed to keeping the families up to date at all times and have family liaison officers deployed, who provide them with relevant news at regular intervals as appropriate.

"The next stage in this inquiry will be determined by the findings of the assessment visit."

But Mr Atkinson, of Netherton Road, west Hull, does not believe the families should have been told about the bones until they knew they belonged to Gaul crew members.

He said: "If it is the Gaul crew, it is fantastic and, personally, I would love it to be my father, but, it should never have taken this long.

"We shouldn't have been told about the bones until they knew for sure.

"All it has done is lifted our hopes for probabilities."

"In 1974, we were told the remains had been washed up and that is what we believed. Now, we don't know what to believe.

"It has been horrendous for us, but we, as a family, cannot see what we will be getting back from all of this. We don't want it to be our brother because of the emotions it will bring back for us all. It will bring everything back.

"It isn't something we will never come to terms with but, before all this, things had quietened down and now, everything has been brought back up.

"For a lot of families, this is good news but for our family, personally, we would rather leave it to rest."

THE family of a Hull-born soldier have paid tribute to a much-loved father who was "born to serve his country and make Hull proud".

Sergeant Mark Foley, 31, a member of The Light Dragoons, was killed at an Army training centre in Cumbria.

His sister Amie, 27, of Bransholme, described him as a "much-loved brother".

She said: "He made a small family massive with the amount of love that he gave. He was born to serve his country and make Hull proud. Hull was a massive part of him.

"There are not enough words to describe the true hero."

Sgt Foley died in a military vehicle while training on Warcop training area near Appleby on Wednesday. He had recently come back from Afghanistan.

He lived in Norfolk with his wife, Kelly, and their two children, Emily, eight, and Hannah, seven.

Amie, who spoke for the rest of the family in paying tribute to her brother, said: "He was a loving husband to Kelly and a doting father to Emily and Hannah.

"He was the adored son of Rose, a much-loved brother to me, Jackie and Nathan, an idol to his nephews, Jordan, Leland and Oliver, and a fantastic brother-in-law to John, Kevin and Mark.

"What has happened has come as a huge shock. It doesn't seem real."

Sgt Foley had been with Kelly, who was also brought up in Hull, since their teens. In a statement, released through the Army, she wrote: "He was my soulmate and my best friend, who always made me laugh.

"The best dad ever to Emily and Hannah.

"He loved us, his job and Hull FC. We will miss him so much."

Sgt Foley did not just watch his beloved Hull FC with his family from the stands, he got involved on the pitch with the club's Armed Forces Day and in pre-season training.

James Clark, Hull FC's head of communications, media and marketing, said he had become a close friend.

"Everyone at the club has been devastated by the news of the passing of Sgt Foley, who had become a close friend of ours through his support of our Armed Forces events and our first-team training camps with the Light Dragoons in pre-season," he said.

"He was a passionate Hull FC fan and between tours would often come back to cheer on the team, staying in regular contact with the players and myself to keep tabs on how the club was doing.

"The players and staff have been deeply saddened by the news."

The club has invited the family to their next home game against Warrington on July 4, where they will pay their respects.

Mr Clark said: "Last season, he had the chance to lead the team out at our Armed Forces fixture, as well as at the World Cup match featuring England at the KC Stadium in October, which I know was a special moment and a great honour for him."

Hull FC players have also posted their tributes on Twitter.

Tom Lineham wrote: "Devastating news about Sergeant Mark Foley, was a huge character and will be sorely missed. Gone but not forgotten."

The Army said the accident is being investigated by the Land Accident Investigation Team.

His commanding officer, Lieutenant Colonel James Senior, said: "Sergeant Foley was an exceptionally talented, battle-hardened soldier who embodied everything that is good about our profession.

"A consummate professional, he delivered on operations time and time again, accumulating huge experience on the way. Always inquisitive and engaging, Sgt Foley was at the heart of everything his troop did, everything his squadron did, everything the regiment did.

"Whether in the dust of Helmand Province or the troop store at our Regiment's home in Norfolk, he was the man people turned to for advice and guidance."

Jamie Leckenby, 41, of Wolfreton Road, Anlaby, was fined £220 and had six points put on his licence for driving without insurance. There was no separate penalty for failing to give details after an accident in which damage was caused to another vehicle. He must pay £85 costs and a £20 victim surcharge.

Krzysztof Klimowicz, 25, of Beverley Road, west Hull, was fined £500 and banned from driving for 18 months for drink-driving and driving without insurance. He must pay £85 costs and a £25 victim surcharge.

Lee Pleasance, 39, of Wynburg Street, east Hull, was discharged conditionally for 12 months for being drunk and disorderly. He must pay £85 costs and a £15 victim surcharge.

Benjamin Purdue, 28, of Southfield Close, Hedon, was fined £800 and banned from driving for 20 months for drink-driving and driving without insurance. He must pay £85 costs and a £40 victim surcharge. There was no separate penalty for driving while not wearing a seat belt.

Neil Stembridge, 33, of Buckingham Street, east Hull, must do 50 hours of unpaid work for stealing a pair of shoes, worth £8, from Asda. He must pay £85 costs and a £60 victim surcharge.

Mark Stevenson, 42, of Hull Homeless and Rootless Project, St Peter Street, Hull, was discharged conditionally for 12 months for stealing six dresses, worth £58, from Matalan, and attempting to steal two head shavers, worth £19.98, from Home Bargains. He must pay £50 costs and a £15 victim surcharge.

Mark Wilson, 35, of Telford Street, east Hull, was fined £700 for driving while disqualified and driving without insurance. He must pay £85 costs and a £35 victim surcharge.

Saeed Hassan, 56, of Boothferry Road, west hull, was fined £100 and had three points put on his licence for driving without due care and attention. He must pay £40 costs and a £20 victim surcharge.

The Highways Agency has confirmed it will not be submitting a development consent order (DCO) to upgrade Castle Street in Hull city centre until the autumn. But it says the move will not mean any delay to the start of £160m scheme.

The consent order, which is the equivalent of a full planning application, had been due to be submitted to the Planning Inspectorate this spring.

An agency spokesman said: "It is at the Highways Agency's discretion as to when it submits a DCO application for the scheme, and we have taken the decision to defer submitting the final order until the autumn so that we can further develop elements of our design with our contractor ahead of the examination period.

"This will ensure we submit a fully informed application and will ultimately help facilitate a smoother passage through the statutory process.

"The project is not delayed. Our plan is still to start construction work in 2016-17."

"By opting to submit our application in the autumn we are also hoping to learn lessons from elsewhere."

RESIDENTS say a part of west Hull is becoming a "paradise for rats" because of an increasing problem with litter and fly-tipping.

They say piles of bin bags, shattered glass, beer cans and mattresses are plaguing the community spirit on a daily basis.

The bulk of the problem is in Worthing Street and surrounding roads, according to those who live close by.

One 79-year-old resident, who did not want to be named, said: "It is absolutely disgusting. The area has become a paradise for rats and they are taking over the streets.

"People should count themselves lucky they are not having to live in these parts – it is filthy.

"It is beyond a joke and something needs to be done about it as soon as possible.

"The place stinks and looks like a dumping ground. It is full of rubbish, broken mirrors, beds, cushions, old clothes, kids' toys and beer cans.

"I once saw someone dump 14 bags of rubbish. Now is the time to speak up about it because we have had enough."

Residents say the problem has been getting more and more serious over the past three years, but that it has reached its peak in recent months.

Another resident, 74, who also asked to remain anonymous, said: "Many years ago, going out for a walk was an enjoyable experience. But, unfortunately, that is no longer the case – especially in this part of Hull.

"There is fly-tipping, littering and many other issues going on all of the time.

"We just want the culprits to stop it now because it has completely brought the area down and it is a huge shame. Why people cannot take their rubbish to a proper tip, I will never know, or even put their rubbish in a normal bin.

"People seem to have become more selfish and lazy. They think it is acceptable behaviour to dump rubbish in other people's streets.

"There is a problem across Hull."

Earlier in the week, residents in Bransholme told the Mail fly-tipping near their homes was on the increase.

They blamed children and adults and said the issues is blighting the entire housing estate.

Richard Clark, who lives in Hucknall Garth, said: "I have lived in Bransholme for many, many years and it has never been as bad as it is now.

"You cannot go down any road without seeing a pile of rubbish here or a load of litter there and it is such a shame.

"We have kids on the estate who just want to go out and play football or hang about, and this is showing them a terrible example.

"But it is both adults and kids who are littering. It is disgusting and something needs to be done about it."

Andy Burton, City Streetscene manager at Hull City Council, said: "Hull City Council is reliant on people disposing of their waste responsibly and encouraging others to use one of the 4,000 bins we have in place across the city.

"Littering and fly-tipping is a crime and people can report this to us by getting in touch, either over the telephone or by email."

• Anyone with information on fly- tippers should email enviro.crime@hullcc.gov.uk or call 01482 300300.

IT was the point when training wasn't just a chore but was something to dread which meant Setaimata Sa knew he had to make a change in his life.

The optimism that had overtaken his trepidation at leaving rugby league behind for a three-year contract with London Irish had long since been on the wane.

The call of the 13-man code wasn't so much whispering in his ear, but beating a drum that couldn't be ignored.

Determined to make a change, he sent out some enquiries. Not so much an SOS call but a statement of availability, and Hull FC came knocking.

"I knew I had to come back to rugby league, I just wasn't enjoying myself in rugby union at all," explained Sa.

The sullen look is now long gone and, back where he feels more at home, it's an optimistic and more settled Sa who greets his FC training with relish.

"It's great to be here and I'm already loving it with a great set of boys at Hull," added Sa.

"I had to get through some obstacles and do right by London Irish before we could sort the deal, but I'm glad it's done. I enquired myself about coming back to league and started asking around because I was keen to leave.

"I never really wanted to go there and leave Catalan in the first place, but the decision was based around my family. I felt in France I was at a point in my league career where I could push on, so that was frustrating."

With one child and another on the way, Sa left for the sake of his English wife and his children, moving closer to family members.

Having turned down a long-term deal in Perpignan, he headed to Reading and a deal with the Exiles.

It didn't start well with a run of injuries that prevented the former New Zealand international from establishing himself. If the start was bad, it never really got much better.

Sa said: "Leaving Catalan, where I was doing well, to play a different sport where I was struggling, it was really tough and it did make me think 'what have I done?'

"I wasn't enjoying training, I wasn't enjoying the environment. There is barely any contact in union and it was a big difference for me.

"I'm already much happier and my family are happier too about being back in rugby league as the families are all much closer together."

Sa is in Hull on his own, lodging with team-mate Mickey Paea, until he can find somewhere suitable to move into with his wife and children.

Throwing himself into training, the aches and pains he missed from hardly playing for two years have returned after his FC debut at Leeds.

The focus is now on getting ready for a second appearance against Widnes next Friday, but he's realistic when asked about how long it will take to get back to the form that made him such a threat for the Dragons.

"I've lost a lot in the last two years, skill wise especially, but also from that lack of contact," explained Sa.

"You lose your touch a little when you are not practising your skills every day, but it will come back through training and playing.

"I'll get to that point where I feel I am back to my best and when I do I'll be happy, but it will take time and having a full pre-season with Hull will help.

"What I will do is my best. I'll keep training and try to help the team control a few things defensively. I just need my body to get used to that contact again."

The past two weeks have been spent acclimatising, with Hull's play book a bedtime companion.

The plays are all down now, the calls learned, yet when asked about getting up to speed, Sa says he is not the type to overcomplicate matters.

"Rugby league is a simple game. You run the ball as hard as you can, you tackle as hard as you can and you support the guy who has the ball. If you do that you'll be fine," he added.

If Sa does that, he'll be a big hit, but whatever this season brings he's certain he's made a change for the better.

Back in the game he loves, the clouds have parted and the smile is back.

Iafeta Paleaaesina has backed his new team-mate Setaimata Sa to take Super League by storm once again.

The former New Zealand Test prop says his fellow Kiwi will give Hull FC plenty of options once he finally gets up to speed after two years away in rugby union.

Sa is currently working on his fitness with Hull after missing the victory over London Broncos with a slight muscle strain.

Having shown glimpses of what he can do in a 20-minute cameo display against Leeds Rhinos two weeks ago, Paleaaesina is confident the former Catalan Dragons player will prove a great asset once he settles back into rugby league.

"Setaimata is going to be a very good addition for us," Paleaaesina told the Mail. "He is a big human and he will be a massive positive for us. He brings some real size to the team, but he can also play in the halves which is scary thought when you think how big a man he is.

"He'll be a huge asset. I'm looking forward to him getting right and getting some training with us under his belt, because then we'll be able to see just what he can do."

"THAT Whitsun, I was late getting away," wrote Philip Larkin as he was about to embark on his now infamous train journey to London 50 years ago.

And in the five decades since, nothing much seems to have changed.

The 12.30pm Hull to London, carrying a host of characters recreating Larkin's famous poem The Whitsun Weddings, was delayed by half an hour, stalling the start of what was probably the most unusual theatre production ever to begin on the Paragon Station platform.

And yet, despite the delay, the actors, well-wishers and audience members who were packed into carriage A – the supposedly "quiet coach" – took the inconvenience in their stride.

The only person who didn't seem particularly impressed was the Larkin lookalike overseeing the event.

"It's all looks rather unsettling jolly to me," quipped Larkin, aka actor Matt Jamie.

"I suppose these kind of events bring the worst out in people.

"Will I be inspired to write anything about it? Probably not. It's just a tedious journey to London as far as I'm concerned.

"And it's 32 minutes late."

The unusual, in-journey performance aimed to recreate the Hull poet's south-bound journey by staging six original dramatic vignettes on board the train.

With two newly-wed couples clambering on board in Hull, and four more adding to the drama getting on at stations further down the line, each aimed to add their own matrimonial tale to the proceedings.

The happy – and not-so-happy – couples were joined along the way by Larkin's colourful "uncles shouting smut", "grinning and pomaded girls in parodies of fashion" and "mothers loud and fat".

To attempt staging a drama on board a moving train was, as one onlooker, remarked "a brilliantly insane enterprise" – a thought shared by writer Dave Windass, of Hull theatre company Ensemble 52.

"It's safe to say I've never done a show like this before," said Dave, wearing a morning suit complete with white rose in its lapel.

"It's all quite exciting waiting to set off. It's been really good working with the actors to create the different stories and now I feel a bit like a football manager.

"I've done all I can and now I'm sending the actors off out onto the field and it's all in their hands."

During dramatic pauses in the three-hour journey, the passengers were treated to readings of Larkin's work, voiced by Hollywood star Bill Nighy and recorded especially for the occasion.

And, at the culmination of the journey at London's Kings Cross, there were plans for an wedding dance number.

Today, a plaque will be unveiled at Kings Cross featuring the final lines of the Larkin poem, matching the poet's statue at Hull's Paragon station and a twin plaque bearing the opening words.

"The two slate plaques bookend the journey and tie Hull to London with both ends of the poem," says Professor Graham Chesters, vice-chairman of the Larkin Society.

"This is an extraordinary idea and it's the perfect day for it – beautiful and hot, just like it was when Larkin made his journey.

"The plaque in London is a great way to mark the poem and represent Hull.

"It's about 20 yards away from the Harry Potter statue, so, hopefully, thousands of people will see it."

Two Hull city councillors who recently quit the ruling Labour group say they are planning to stand for re-election as Hull Independent Labour candidates.

Councillor Dean Kirk and Councillor Gill Kennett left the group earlier this year after clashing over budget proposals to cut jobs and services.

The pair formed their own Independent Labour group on the council.

In an interview with the Weekly Worker, Cllr Kirk said: "We will be standing as Hull Independent Labour councillors next year and the year after – both Gill and I have been encouraged by the huge number of people who have offered their support for us taking this decision.

"That said, I have a meeting coming up in London with the Labour Representation Committee, who are trying to get us back into the ranks of Labour.

"My reply to the comrades is yes, we are going to return but not under the current political circumstance and political agenda of the party."

THEY may be thousands of miles away in Africa but children in Kenya are wearing Hull City's kit with pride.

Youngsters at Swanland Village School in Nairobi have been kitted out in kits donated by City, thanks to links with an East Yorkshire charity.

The African school, which is named after Swanland Primary School in the East Riding, is benefiting from a series of link-ups forged by the Swanland Education Africa Trust.

The trust's chairman, Richard Swain, is preparing to travel to Nairobi next month to visit Swanland Village School and Esther's School, which are supported through regular donations to the charity.

Mr Swain, an engineering manager from Swanland, said: "It's about getting links between our own community here and the two schools we support in Nairobi, whether it's through football kits from Hull City, or with uniforms from Swanland Primary School.

"All these things can make a difference and make a connection, whether you see the kids playing football in Hull City shirts or going to school in Swanland sweatshirts.

"It makes you realise in one sense how much we have in common.

"These are kids in a school getting education and having fun playing football.

"You also see the differences and these links help bridge the gap, it gives them some of the opportunities that our kids take for granted."

Swanland Village School is in the Ngando slums of the Kenyan capital, where children live in extreme poverty.

Mr Swain, 46, is set for a week-long trip with his son, Robert, 16, to visit the two schools and visit families supported through a HIV/Aids community project.

He said: "We will be visiting the two schools, checking on progress and seeing at first-hand how the money from the trust is being spent.

"We will also be looking at what the next steps are and what things we need to do to help them.

"One of the big things we are planning will be getting electricity to the site, which will need funding. It will open up a lot of other opportunities."

Mr Swain, who is a governor at Swanland and South Hunsley schools in the East Riding, has been invited to give out prizes for academic achievement at the Nairobi schools.

He said: "Swanland Education Africa Trust is all about bringing care, education and hope to the lives of poor and vulnerable children through the two schools we fund.

"Seeing their smiling faces brings so much satisfaction that we are making a difference.

"Although we know that life may remain a struggle for so many of them, it is good to know that with the support of our regular donors their future is a bright one."

Seventy five people across East Yorkshire make regular donations to the trust to support its work but more supporters are needed.

Mr Swain said: "At the moment we get about 50 per cent of what we need through regular donations.

"We have people who give as little as £3 and others who give as much as £200 a month by standing order.

"Ideally, we need a few more people giving regularly.

"If lots of people gave a little we can make it sustainable.

"At the moment, the other 50 per cent of the money we need comes through fundraising.

"If we could get people giving £15 a month that covers a child's food and their teacher's wages – that's only 50p a day, which is just the price of a bar of chocolate.

"It makes such a difference to a child's life."

• To contact the charity, email Mr Swain at richardmswain@gmail.com or call 07881 508472. Visit swanlandschoolnairobi.org for more information about the school.

DURING next month's visit to Kenya, Richard Swain will be looking at field trials for an irrigation project launched by Mike Brown, of Hull firm Liquid Lever.

Mr Swain said: "Mike has developed a drip-feed irrigation system and we will be visiting the field trials and reporting back on the irrigation project.

"He is hoping to arrange for us to meet some UN representatives when we see the irrigation project as he is keen on accessing UN grants and funding for his long-term vision for getting the product used across developing countries."

The drip-feed irrigation kits are for suitable for communities in developing countries where resources, such as pressure filtered water and electricity are limited or non-existent.

MP Alan Johnson recently visited Liquid Lever to learn about the project, which is benefiting from support from the Business Growth Fund.

Mr Brown said: "A few years ago we had a display in the House of Commons and Alan Johnson was very keen. He came to visit us recently to see how things are going."

"Well, we couldn't loan, that's the thing," said Bruce at the time. "Unless something happened earlier, we might have been in the ball park. I couldn't take that risk for Incey himself.

"We always knew it was a loan deal."

A Hull school criticised for poor performance by the Government is making strides in improving. Thomas Ferens Academy was given a warning letter five months ago after poor GCSE results.

Just 21 per cent of pupils gained the Government benchmark of five A* to C grades including English and maths.

The amount of teaching rated as good or better at the academy has risen from 37 per cent to 89 per cent.

Juliet Strang, principal at the Hall Road academy in north Hull, said rigorous assessment processes have been put in place by the school's leadership team to evaluate the progress of pupil improvement.

She said the academy has also seen evidence of progress doubling in GCSE maths and English since it opened in 2012.

Ms Strang said: "We are doing all we can to equip Year 11 students with the skills and confidence to do well in their exams, and we make sure our additional learning schemes reach students in every year group.

"We are not only looking to ensure an increase in GCSE results this summer but in every year to come after that."

Government ministers will be keeping a close eye on the academy this summer to see how pupils fare in their GCSEs.

Ms Strang says pupils have been working extra hard to make sure they achieve the highest grades they can.

She said: "Students are very aware of the importance of their GCSEs.

"Some have been turning up to school as early as 7.30am to fit in extra revision and have been coming in for additional lessons during the holidays.

"All the academy staff want the students to succeed and so they have worked incredibly hard to support and help our students. We hope very much that we will all be proud of well-deserved GCSE results this summer.

"We want the young people of Thomas Ferens to show everyone what they are capable of and for the academy to go from strength to strength."

Attendance at the academy has also risen from 86 per cent to 91 per cent.

Lauren Birnie, 15, said: "I used to be really bad at coming to school but the attendance team at Thomas Ferens helped me realise how important it was to get good grades in my exams."

Investments have also been made in staff, with a series of training days.

Ms Strang said: "We have always prided ourselves on being innovative and creative in our teaching and learning at Thomas Ferens.

"With the provisions now put in place we can ensure students are reaching their potential while offering a unique learning environment.

"We are a technology-rich institution and are proud of the curriculum we offer to students. We know each child learns differently and we work hard to offer an exciting learning opportunity to every one of them."

The £24m Thomas Ferens Academy is part of Hull's Building Schools for the Future programme.

It opened in September 2012 and took pupils from Sir Henry Cooper School in Thorpepark Road, which closed.

In a letter sent to the academy in Hall Road, north Hull, in February, Lord Nash, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Schools, said standards were unacceptably low and told leaders at the school to make rapid improvements or face the Government appointing additional directors to the school.

He issued the academy, which is sponsored by the University of Hull, with a pre-warning notice.

As well as unacceptably low GCSE results, Government officials said not enough pupils made or exceeded expected levels of progress last year.

Just 28 per cent of pupils made the expected level of progress in English and 32 per cent made the expected level of progress in maths.

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He's been a Napoleonic War rifleman, an acclaimed songsmith and a rabble-rousing frontman and now John Tams is heading for Beverley Folk Festival. Ian Midgley reports.

It's best to be a moving target, says John Tams, that way they'll "never realise what a charlatan you are".

It's a strange thing to say for a man who has achieved so much in so many different fields during an illustrious career that has encompassed everything from folk musician to actor, songwriter and – most recently – impressive moustache-wearer.

But talking to the modest 65-year-old, whose band, Home Service, headline Beverley Folk Festival later this month, you get the feeling that, despite his considerable achievements, he's still, at heart, the same down-to-earth Derbyshire lad who left school aged 15 with no qualifications and went to work on the travelling fairgrounds.

At the moment, he's inspecting the trophy cabinet in the corner of his living room.

Characteristically, he can't remember what awards he won for War Horse – Michael Morpurgo's stirring equine drama – for which Tams wrote the soundtrack.

How many awards are in there?

"Oh, a few," he chuckles self-deprecatingly. "It's always best to keep moving and doing different things, that way you never get found out."

Probably best-known for his long-running role as "chosen man" Daniel Hagman opposite Sean Bean – or "Beano" as he likes to call him – in the swashbuckling TV series Sharpe, Tams actually started his working life proper as a reporter working on various Midlands newspapers, as well as contributing to magazines such as the NME and Melody Maker in his spare time.

Playing in various folk clubs by night, it was only a matter of time before music lured the singer away from his early journalistic aspirations.

"I tunnelled my way out of journalism," he laughs.

"I was going out and doing shows at night and writing up court reports, council meetings and falling asleep at my typewriter during the day.

"I slowly became more disconnected from reporting until I thought eventually I might as well do the music full-time."

It was a decision that has paid off handsomely.

In the decades since, Tams has been awarded the prestigious BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards a record five times and, as a member of seminal Albion Band and, latterly, Home Service, has helped define the modern folk scene.

It was Home Service who were one of the first bands to marry traditional music with brass, which has since been so successfully adopted by the likes of Bellowhead.

Home Service, who will headline Beverley on Saturday, June 21, originally split after seven years and three albums together in 1987, but reunited four years ago to popular acclaim.

"We reformed basically because we just enjoy playing together.

"We were lucky enough to win a few awards off the back of that and it seemed like a good idea to keep going."

The eight-strong band are particularly looking forward to returning to East Yorkshire, says Tams, adding that the group will be playing tracks spanning their three-decade career and albums such as Alright Jack as well as introducing one or two new numbers.

"We're lucky that we can choose where we go now and Beverley has always been a favourite of mine," he says.

"It's always had a nice atmosphere, so when they asked us to come we were delighted.

"We're very much looking forward to it."

As well as performing with Home Service, John Tams will also take to the stage with fellow musician Barry Cooper and author Michael Morpurgo to perform extracts from the writer's classic novel, War Horse. Tams will sing the songs he wrote for the acclaimed National Theatre production of the book on the afternoon of Saturday, June 21. Children are welcome to attend the show.

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DRUG bosses drove a dealer into the arms of police by threatening to kill him, a Hull court heard.

Colin Wright, 53, walked into a police station two weeks ago fearing for his own safety.

Hull Crown Court heard his crimes would probably have gone undetected had he not done so, but a judge told him he had "done the right thing".

Wright presented himself before officers on May 21 and confessed to "looking after drugs" for others, but wanted out because threats had been made on his life.

He told police: "They threatened to take me out and kill me."

The names of those making the threats were not revealed.

Wright, of Sandlemere Close, west Hull, later admitted being concerned in the supply of amphetamines between January 1 and May 22, but the court was told it had been going on "for some time".

He also produced three "wraps" of the Class B drug, and the total value of amphetamines in his possession was estimated to have a street value of £1,500.

Joanna Golding, defending, said: "The circumstances are somewhat bizarre.

"This man has brought upon himself criminality and it's likely that would have been undetected.

"The defendant was not drug dependent when he started to take in these amphetamines for those who have not been named."

Judge Michael Mettyear, Honorary Recorder of Hull and the East Riding, called it "the most unusual case".

He told Wright his admissions were "partly self-serving" because he wanted to escape the threats, but he had "nevertheless done the right thing".

Referring to sentencing guidelines, John Thackray, prosecuting, said they were "difficult to apply".

Judge Mettyear said: "The guidelines were never intended for cases like this."

Wright was handed a 12-month prison sentence, suspended for two years.

The judge told him: "I have decided to give you a chance. I'm going to suspend it for two years."

"Thank you, sir," said Wright, who appeared via a videolink from Hull Prison.

"Don't do anything like this again will you," the judge said.

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Yobs who vandalised a child's grave have been condemned by police for the despicable act. Rachel Gadie, whose son Riley Cameron died at the age of eight in 2008, is appealing to the public to help officers find the vandals.

Ms Gadie, 39, rushed to her son's grave at St Nicholas Church cemetery in Beverley after her sister discovered the damage.

She said: "All the little pots of plants at the grave have been smashed and thrown around.

"The plants have been ripped out and one of the pots was dumped on top of the plaque.

"This has caused me great upset and anger.

"I can't understand how anyone could do this. None of the other graves appear to have been touched.

"There's a bench near Riley's grave and you see teenagers in there quite a bit so I don't know if children have done it."

Riley, who was a pupil at Beverley's Keldmarsh Primary School, died in July 2008, eight days after being diagnosed with acute myeloid leukaemia.

Ms Gadie, an office administrator from Beverley, said the damage at Riley's grave has upset the family, including his sister Rianna, 11.

She said: "I was at work when my sister had gone to visit Riley's grave.

"She rang me and I just went straight down there.

"I was really upset but now I am angry more than anything."

The police have been told about the damage, which is thought to have taken place some time between May 26 and June 4.

Ms Gadie said: "I hope if anyone saw anything they will inform the police so we can find who was responsible."

Sergeant John Roe, of Beverley's neighbourhood policing team, said: "This is a despicable and thoughtless act of vandalism.

"It is sad that someone has mindlessly damaged this child's grave without considering the feelings of the family.

'The family are obviously deeply distressed and I appeal to anyone who knows those responsible for this act to contact us."

Ms Gadie is hoping to organise a fundraising event next month in aid of the Riley Cameron Forget-Me-Not Fund, which has so far raised some £5,000 in support of Leukaemia and Lymphoma Research.

Riley had never taken a day off school sick until he was stricken by leukaemia.

• Anyone with information about the vandalism should call Humberside Police on 101, quoting crime reference CS/2048348/2014.

The Rev Richard Walker, Vicar of St Nicholas Church, Beverley, said: "In the nine months I have been here I have never experienced anything of this nature.

"It's quite alarming and unusual for the East Riding.

"It's the first experience of this while I have been here.

"It is a closed graveyard, which means we are not in there as much as we used to be. I suspect it might be an isolated incident but I would want to look into it."

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