Children's author Helen Bailey may have been alive when she was dropped into a well full of excrement at her home, a court has heard. 

The 51-year-old, orginally from Northumberland, was found in a cesspit in the grounds of her home in Royston, Hertfordshire, after being missing for three months.

Her partner, Ian Stewart, is accused of murdering her - a charge the 56-year-old denies.

Image source, Hertfordshire Police

Giving evidence, a pathologist told St Albans Crown Court it was "possible that she was put down the well in an unconscious state and then drowned".

A former Port of Tyne pilot has been appointed as its new harbour master.

Steven Clapperton has had 20 years experience as a master mariner, and has recently been managing upstream marine operations for a major UK oil company.

Prior to that he was a pilot at the port for eight years, and also worked as senior officer on board various offshore construction vessels. 

He said: "I am delighted to be appointed harbour master to one of the UK's busiest commercial ports and to be coming back to the River Tyne with its rich heritage and thriving maritime community."

Image source, Port of Tyne

Two men have been charged with burglary at a North Tyneside fish restaurant.

Riley's Fish Shack on King Edwards Bay, Tynemouth, was targeted on 3 January.

A 35-year-old man, and another aged 38, have now been charged with joint burglary, criminal damage and joint theft of a bicycle.

Both will appear before North Tyneside Magistrates Court later.

Almost 3,000 people are without power in Gateshead, after the region was battered by strong winds.

Northern Powergrid has been working to restore supplies to homes around the North East, after earlier problems, and said 2,780 homes in the NE8 area have now been affected.

Elsewhere, the collapse of a gable end at Pelton left cars covered in debris (pictured below), but earlier restrictions to high-sided vehicles on the A19 have now been removed.

Newgate Street in Newcastle City Centre remains closed  after an air conditioning unit was blown off the Debenham's store, knocking tiles off the roof of Eldon Square shopping centre.

How do you think Sunderland or Middlesbrough will fare?  

A Middlesbrough woman who had been the subject of a huge fundraising campaign to send her abroad for specialist cancer treatment has died.

Ferzana Khan, was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2013, which spread to her lower back.

The 41-year-old mother-of-four was pinning her hopes on experimental immunology treatment in Germany.

Almost £60,000 had been raised, some from a fundraising walk up Roseberry Topping at the weekend, involving more than 40 people. The money will now be given to Cancer Research.

Posting on the fundraising page, her husband says his "world has collapsed".

Adam Clarkson
BBC Tees

I'm in Sedgefield, County Durham this morning at NETPark speaking to local inventor Andrew Turner.

Andrew has developed a new, upgraded school crossing patrol sign. 

The new sign features industrial etched edge-lit plastic, developed by local company Thorn Lighting.

Early trials suggested that the sign made drivers start braking 40% earlier than usual when approaching it.

He believes due to legislation, this is the first upgrade the equipment has received in 50 years.

Andrew's product has received full support from Road Safety GB and he hopes to have the final product on the market in 2018 after more tweaks and tests.

The Gazette
Newspaper

Here's today's front page and a link to our top story, external.

Image source, Gazette

Hundreds of homes remain without power as strong winds continue to sweep the North East.

Northern Powergrid said it was working tor restore supplies to about 1,250 properties, and hoped all would be reconnected by lunchtime.

Fallen trees and debris on the roads are also causing problems, and Newgate Street remains cordonned off after damage to a building at Eldon Square.

Phil Steele, general manager of intu Eldon Square, said: "Thankfully no one was hurt, but as a precautionary measure Northumbria Police have temporarily closed Newgate Street until debris can be removed from our roof and the building can be made safe. 

"Our structural engineers will be carrying out a full assessment as soon as the wind drops and it's safe to do so. 

"Intu Eldon Square is open as usual today, and we sincerely apologise for any inconvenience caused."

Abbie Dewhurst
Weather Presenter, BBC Look North

Today it will be cold and very windy with westerly gales through the day. 

Spells of sunshine will be interspersed with scattered blustery showers, which will be wintry at times especially over the Pennines and Cheviot hills. 

It will feel cold with significant wind chill and the risk of some travel disruption in the high winds.

Maximum temperatures will stay positive at about 6C (43F), but the effect of the wind will make it feel colder.

Tonight it remains very windy with further gales and frequent blustery showers, these heavy at times and wintry, especially over the hills. 

It will stay very cold with a widespread frost and a minimum temperature of  0C (32F).

BBC engineer AndyMcLannahan filmed this video of the scene in Newgate Street after part of the roof of Eldon Square was damaged

This from BBC Newcastle reporter Michael Hamilton who has been out to Newcastle's Newgate Street this morning.

Police vans are at both ends of the section of Newgate Street, with lots of police tape a safe distance from the debris on the ground.  

This is thought to have come from the roof of Eldon Square, but we don’t know what the debris is.  One passer by suggested it might be polystyrene ceiling tiles. 

The policeman on the scene wouldn’t let me have closer look, and said he didn’t know what it was either. 

The officer was turning people back, who were trying to walk through the cordoned off area, and I overheard him say this section of road will be closed until at last 11:00. 

 It shouldn’t have a massive impact on traffic though, because this section is for buses and taxis only.   

The high winds are causing problems on roads around the North East.

Among those affected are the Tees flyover which is closed to high-sided vehicles. 

Newgate Street in Newcastle is closed after the roof of Eldon Square was damaged.

Gateshead Police tweeted this picture of a shed which had blown on to a road in Winlaton.

Cick here for the latest situation on the traffic in Tyne and Wear and on Teesside.

Newcastle's Newgate Street is closed after part of the roof of Eldon Square was damaged by high winds.

Image source, Kyle Marr

Image source, Kyle Marr

Gales have brought disruption to the region, with power cuts and road closures due to wind-damaged buildings.

About 2,300 homes across Durham, Sunderland, Gateshead and Northumberland are without power because of gale force winds.

Northumbria Police tweeted these pics of downed trees in the Newcastle area.

Gusts of nearly 70 mph have been recorded in some parts of the region, just short of hurricane conditions.

Worst affected is rural County Durham around Lanchester and Cornsay, where some 1,500 homes are without power.

Northern Powergrid said it hoped most would be reconnected by the afternoon.

Virgin East Coast electric trains are running slowly due to Network Rail speed restrictions on the stretch between Darlington and Widdrington - putting about 25 minutes on London to Edinburgh services and 15 minutes Southbound from Newcastle to London. 

On the roads, the A66 is closed to high sided vehicles on the Brough stretch and caution is advised elsewhere.

Good morning. Welcome to BBC Local Live. We'll be with you throughout the day to bring you the latest news, weather, sport and travel updates.

The wind is causing some problems this morning so we'll keep you updated on the situation.

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