Wearside and County Durham stories from this week

Sally TM wore a Metro-themed dress on RuPaul's Drag Race
- Published
A Drag Race star paying homage to the North East, rising costs resulting in a shorter light festival and plans to install a statue of a World War Two hero in a park.
Here are some stories from Wearside and County Durham you may have missed this week.
Family of murdered toddler plea for law change

Maya was two when she died
The family of a murdered toddler say they want a new law created in her name to protect other children.
Maya Chappell, who lived in Shotton Colliery, County Durham, suffered severe brain damage when she was violently shaken by her mother's boyfriend, Michael Daymond.
Maya's great aunt, Gemma Chappell, said the toddler, who died in hospital, would "still be alive today" if laws disclosing a parent or a caregiver's history were in place.
Find out more about what Maya's family want to achieve here
RuPaul's Drag Race star slays with Metro dress

Sally TM took inspiration from the Tyne and Wear Metro
Start your Metro engines...
A drag queen featuring on the new series of RuPaul's Drag Race UK wanted to pay homage to her home region, taking inspiration from the Tyne and Wear Metro for one of her looks.
Sally TM, 27 and from South Shields, said she wanted to "pay tribute to something which has been so instrumental and iconic in the story" of north-east England and wore the yellow-and-black dress when the seventh season aired on BBC Three on 25 September.
Take a trip here for more
Mum devastated as charity base destroyed in arson

Toni Mathieson was inspired to lead the charity after losing three of her children to the disease Niemann-Pick
A mother who leads a charity for rare diseases in memory of her three children has described the destruction of its office in an arson attack as "devastating".
Toni Mathieson said everything turned to ash after a deliberate fire ripped through the base of Niemann-Pick UK (NPUK) in Vermont House, Washington, on 10 September.
The charity has been offered a free temporary base in Sunderland, although family records have been destroyed and a 24/7 helpline for families has been cut off.
Read more about what Toni has to say here
Plans to install war hero statue in park

Charity Daft as a Brush has submitted plans to install the Ray Lonsdale statue in South Shields
Plans have been submitted to install a statue celebrating a World War Two hero in a park.
Cancer charity Daft as a Brush has applied to South Tyneside Council to give Ray Lonsdale's statue of prisoner of war Len Gibson a permanent home in South Shields.
The statue depicts Mr Gibson, who was from Sunderland and imprisoned on the Burma Death Railway by the Japanese, handing a homemade banjo to a Burmese boy.
Read more about Mr Gibson here
Rising costs result in shorter light festival

The Durham Lumiere draws huge crowds to the city
The latest edition of a city's light festival will be a day shorter than previous events due to increased costs, organisers have said.
Durham Lumiere usually takes place across four nights in November every two years.
It sees landmarks and buildings lit up in intricate artistic designs and has drawn more than 1.3 million visitors over the years.
Read more about what to expect from this year's festival here
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