Wearside and County Durham stories catch-up

Julie Kilmartin wore PPE to prevent spreading diseases or viruses to the protected species

Ed Davey criticised how Reform was running Durham County Council, a school was evacuated after a gas leak and a rare bat crashed into a car.

Here are five stories from Wearside and County Durham you might have missed.

Reform making complete mess of council - Davey

Sir Ed Davey attacked Reform UK's leadership of Durham County Council

Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey has accused Reform UK of making a "complete mess" of a local authority after taking charge of it earlier this year.

He promised to expose its "bad performance" and accused Nigel Farage's party of abandoning net zero policies, which he said were saving taxpayers' money.

The authority's deputy leader councillor Darren Grimes said the county was "bankrupting itself in pursuit of net zero in order to virtue signal and pat itself on the back with Lib Dem and Labour politicians".

Reform won control of the council in May's local elections. It was previously run as an alliance between the Lib Dems, Conservatives and independents.

• Read more about Ed Davey's thoughts on Durham County Council here

School evacuated over gas leak in car park

Gas board workers have been working in the school's car park

Hundreds of school pupils were sent home because of a gas leak.

Students and staff were told to leave Thornhill Academy, Sunderland, after the leak just before 08:30 BST.

The school said it had ordered a "full-site evacuation" as a precaution and would remain closed until Monday.

Several workers from the gas board were at the scene and dug up a section of the school's car park.

• Read more about the school gas leak here

Labour councillor to resign over glass centre row

Denny Wilson said the Sunderland Labour leader should also resign if the party lost a by-election

A Labour councillor says he will step down unless his council leader agrees to hold a public meeting about the fate of the National Glass Centre (NGC).

Denny Wilson, who sits on Sunderland City Council, had the whip temporarily removed in July due to his involvement in a motion to preserve the venue.

He continues to represent the Castle ward as an independent, and said the Labour-run local authority had not done enough to find alternatives to demolishing the building.

A Sunderland Labour Group spokesperson said the closure of the NGC was a "decision that we regret but it is ultimately a decision that is completely out of our control".

• Read more about the Labour councillor's resignation here

Rare bat crashes into car after '1,000-mile trip'

Nancy had been seen among other bats coming in from the North Sea

Julie Kilmartin, who took Nancy into her home, said there had been a "lot of excitement" and people were "bombarding her all weekend" after learning of the find.

"It's quite a big feat for something of this size to fly that far," she said.

"They're not like birds, they don't have hollow bones, so it takes an awful lot of effort to do what she's done along with her little friends who came with her."

It is thought Nancy had migrated from abroad due to the way she arrived, and the direction of travel, before the crash.

• Read more about the rare bat's journey here

'Bonkers' bus lane plans dropped

Work is now expected to start in January

Controversial plans for a bus lane near a busy roundabout have been scrapped.

The lane, towards the roundabout at the junction with Springwell Road and Holborn Road in Sunderland, was part of proposed upgrades for the city's Chester Road.

But Sunderland City Council confirmed the idea had been dropped, following consultation feedback.

Residents had criticised the proposals, saying a bus lane would make traffic worse, with opposition councillors calling the plans "bonkers".

• Read more about the scrapped plans here