Five Peterborough stories you might have missed

An ex-city councillor avoiding jail for dangerous driving, a new chief operating officer at Peterborough Cathedral and Bretton Centre's first ever Christmas tree are among the stories we've covered in Peterborough this week.

Peterborough's Hampton Vale Primary Academy is starting a swimming project in memory of 16-year-old Jack Lloyd who died after getting into difficulty at a lake.

The school plans to install a portable pop-up pool in its playground by the Easter term, so about 400 pupils can have swimming lessons.

Jack, most recently a student at Peterborough College, drowned at the Crown Lakes Country Park on 3 April.

PE teacher Scott Collins, who taught Jack at Hampton Vale, says the scheme is vital because of the number of lakes in the area.

Jack Pishhorn will take over the chief operating officer role at Peterborough Cathedral in January. He will succeed Jan Armitage, who is stepping down after guiding the cathedral through what it has called a challenging financial period.

Mr Pishhorn is currently head of culture, tourism and heritage at North Northamptonshire-based Chester House, where he has helped increase visitor numbers and commercial income.

The Very Reverend Chris Dalliston, the Dean of Peterborough, welcomed the appointment and said Mr Pishhorn's leadership would "help us build on the work that has begun to strengthen our financial resilience".

A judge told former Peterborough city councillor he "narrowly escaped" jail after crashing into a school's wall while drink-driving at high speed and injuring four people.

Shaz Nawaz, 47, of Park Road, claimed to be a "non-drinker" but consumed alcohol to soothe a toothache, Huntingdon Law Courts heard.

Nawaz, the former leader of the city's Labour group, crashed his BMW on Park Road at 19:10 GMT on 16 March, with three children and a woman in the car.

Judge Jonathan Seely told him he was a "lucky man" to not be going to prison, before handing him a 12-month jail sentence, suspended for two years, after he admitted dangerous driving and driving while being over the alcohol limit.

Residents and businesses have been celebrating the first ever Christmas tree at the Bretton Centre precinct.

A 12ft-tall (3.7m) tree has been put up and decorated with battery-operated lights.

The initiative was led by Peterborough city councillor Richard Strangward who praised businesses chipping in to make the festive display happen.

Rob Brownlee, who runs a fish and chip shop, said it was "heart-warming to see the community come together".

Staff at a stately home used for scenes in the new Netflix film of Frankenstein said they hoped it would introduce a new generation to the estate.

Burghley House, an Elizabethan mansion near Stamford, is on the border between Cambridgeshire and Lincolnshire.

Film crews descended on the estate and many of the rooms were transformed into gothic sets for the new adaptation of Mary Shelley's 1818 horror story, directed by Guillermo Del Toro and starring Oscar Isaac as Victor Frankenstein and Jacob Elordi as his monster.

Philip Gompertz, Burghley's director of commercial visitor operations, said Elordi was on set at one point, but the crew "kept it very secret".

Peterborough City Council has agreed to try to settle a legal claim being made against it in a long-running dispute about the use of playing fields.

In March, the council agreed to lease a section of Werrington Fields to the Ken Stimpson Academy for use as self-contained playing fields, but the school wanted more of the land.

Residents are opposed to the move saying the land has always been for mixed use with public access.

The school applied for a judicial review and a final lease agreement is expected to be decided on in the new year.

Transport minister Lillian Greenwood told Parliament a proposed upgrade at Ely North junction in Cambridgeshire, which keeps missing out on government money, was still in the pipeline, but its complexity had made it very expensive.

But local MPs from all parties expressed frustration the project was taking so long to get off the ground.

Peterborough United's hopes of winning a third successive EFL Trophy title came to an end as they were beaten 1-0 at Swindon. Posh have lost their third consecutive game across all competitions. Manager Luke Williams admits his side's level of performance has "dipped" over recent matches.

Peterborough United women cruised into the third round of the Women's FA Cup by beating Wallsend BC 4-0. Renai Bennett scored twice with Edyn Osker and Jessica Rousseau also on the scoresheet. Posh travel to Burnley in the third round.

In ice hockey, Peterborough Phantoms enjoyed a double win weekend against Solway Sharks. Ashley Tait's side won in overtime on Saturday before overturning a three-goal deficit to win in the final seconds on Sunday.

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