The Chronicle

Thirty years on, the Geordie who jumped from the Piper Alpha and survived shares his harrowing story., external

Hartlepool Mail
Newspaper

Asda has removed a T-shirt with a boozy slogan from stores, external after a Hartlepool health chief complained it promoted irresponsible drinking.

Image source, HARTLEPOOL MAIL

Local Democracy Reporting Service

Plans for new speed bumps in a County Durham estate have been given the go ahead by councillors, despite a raft of objections.

On July 5, Durham County Council’s (DCC) Highways Committee discussed plans for Petterson Dale housing estate in Coxhoe.

After residents raised concerns about speeding, DCC proposed to build five 75mm-high round top speed bumps spanning the width of the road.

A council traffic survey on the estate listed the average speed as 23mph with other assessments indicating that the majority of motorists travel at 28mph.

Around half the residents from 185 affected properties had their say in a council consultation with 49 (53%) in favour of the plans and 44 (47%) against.

Around 17 residents argued speed humps cause “damage to vehicles” in the consultation, a report states.

Coxhoe ward councillor and committee member, Coun Stuart Dunn, said several objections should be “disregarded” as they were not relevant to the consultation.

A naked runner who targeted at least a dozen female joggers has been caught by police after they found a till receipt and an empty packet of Haribo sweets he dropped near the scene.

The attacker hid on a stretch of riverside paths near Durham city and preyed on lone women.

Dressed only in trainers, he would run alongside his victims by the Durham Rowing Club and Maiden Castle sports complex after spying on them from bushes.

The breakthrough came when an officer found an area on the parapet of a disused railway bridge which the man used to spot his victims.

An empty Haribo packet and shop receipt found nearby allowed police to pinpoint the moment the sweets were bought and scour CCTV for an image of the suspect.

Officers traced him to a city centre address, where he was arrested. An 18-year-old man has admitted several offences and been admitted to Checkpoint, a four-month intervention programme to deal with his behaviour.

Meet three couples whose weddings clash with England's World Cup quarter-final game against Sweden.

Durham Cricket Club and Newcastle Falcons rugby club are among more than 200 employers who have failed to pay the national minimum wage, the Government says.

Care homes, car washes, pubs, hairdressers and sport clubs were among those said to have underpaid workers.

About £1.4m has been recovered in back pay for 22,400 workers, with employers fined almost £2m.

Others on the list include Bristol City and Doncaster Rovers football clubs and Odeon and UCI Cinema Group in Manchester.

A number of other North East employers have also been named. You can see the full list here, external.

Low Pay Commission chairman Bryan Sanderson said: "It is crucial that employers understand their responsibilities and workers know their rights around the minimum wage."

Abbie Dewhurst
Weather Presenter, BBC Look North

Any areas of low cloud will break up during the morning to leave spells of warm sunshine.

Winds should remain light.

Temperatures will remain slightly above average for the time of year, rising to 22C (77F)

Police have warned motorists to take care after a car was wrecked in a collision with a cow.

Officers in County Durham posted pictures on social media of a battered white Peugeot near Sedgefield, but confirmed that no-one in the car was hurt.

Image source, Durham Police

A special constable working with the team said he followed the "culprit" animal for a mile before farmers helped him get it back into a field.

Durham Roads Policing Unit said on Twitter: "This is the terrifying result of a motorist hitting a cow on the Sedgefield back road at GT Stainton.

"Fortunately no-one was injured. Always wonder what's around the bend and can you stop in distance you can see."

The officer replied: "Even the cow somehow only got minor injuries, and was still able to run from me for a good mile until it was put in a field with the help of some farmers!"

The Northern Echo
Newspaper

A woman has died after falling from a building in Durham., external

England all-rounder Ben Stokes hits 90 on his return from a hamstring tear, but cannot prevent Durham from losing in the T20 Blast at Yorkshire.

A radiographer found to be drunk at work at Newcastle's Freeman Hospital has been struck off.

Kate Gibson tried to claim that a health condition caused her to be smelling of alcohol when she turned up to work.

But the Health and Care Professionals Tribunal Service rejected this.

Ms Gibson made a number of mistakes in the summer of 2016, including taking an x-ray of a patient's wrong hip.

The Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust said it considered the issues to be "very serious" and it carried out a full investigation.

It stressed no patients were harmed as a result of her actions.

Three boys from Venerable Bede Church of England Academy in Sunderland have been excluded.

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.

Have you got any photos you'd like to share with us? In that case you can tweet them to @BBCNewsNE, external, email them, or contact us via our Facebook page, external.

Our live updates have finished here for the day but this feed will be updated with any breaking news and sport stories overnight as well as travel updates.

You can also stay up to date on BBC Tees, BBC Newcastle and Look North.

We'll be back with more updates from 08:00 tomorrow and hope you can join us then. Have a good evening.

If you'd like to get in touch with news or photos you can tweet us @BBCNewsNE, external, email us, or contact us via our Facebook page, external.

Wesley Neailey's family believe killer Dominic McKilligan is too dangerous to release.

Grace Stephenson and Ethel Armstrong have both worked in nursing for the NHS, but they have a 68-year age gap.

While Ethel began her career as a cadet back in 1948, Grace started her training last year.

The women, aged 20 and 88, share their experiences of the NHS during a visit to County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust.

Firefighters have posted a series of photos of one of the more unusual situations they have had to deal with during the current heatwave.

A 24-year-old man was on his way to buy breakfast when he stepped on some tarmac and went straight through the road.

The tarmac had become so hot during the current heatwave that it melted.

Thankfully he didn't break his ankle as he was wearing his grandad's Dr Marten shoes.

BBC Tees
www.bbc.co.uk/BBCTees

If you're on the lookout for an unusual new pet, then an animal shelter in Loftus may have the answer.

Local Democracy Reporting Service

Magistrates have backed Gateshead Council's decision to refuse a local man's application for a taxi licence.

Wayne Brannan, 42, from Ryton in Gateshead, had appealed against the authority's decision not to grant him a licence at Gateshead Magistrates' Court.

The court heard that the decision was made in January on the basis that he was not a “fit and proper” person to hold one.

The council's regulatory committee had been concerned about Mr Brannan's pervious convictions which included multiple drink-driving offences and a speeding offence.

Mr Brannan's solicitor told the court that the convictions should be disregarded as they were so long ago.

Magistrates upheld the council's decision to refuse the licence.