BBC Newcastle

Image source, Paul Bergen

It's been a busy morning for North East singer-songwriter Sam Fender.

The 22-year-old has just been named the Critics' Choice prize winner ahead of next year's Brit Awards.

However, he still found the time to speak to BBC Newcastle's Alfie Joey.

He said: "I've not slept all night. It's a massive, massive honour.

"I'm an alternative rock musician. Most of the list has always been pop artists.

"To be picked as an alternative rock musician from North Shields...

"I said to my manager at the pub the other day 'I will always be the worst barman in Shields' and that is just me.

"To win the Critics' Choice Award is stupid. It's stupid!"

Previous winners include Adele, Sam Smith and Ellie Goulding.

A man's body found in a river was that of missing John Alan Saunders.

A member of the public found the body on Thursday morning in the River Skerne, in Darlingotn.

The cause of his death is not suspicious, Durham Police said.

They said: "Our thoughts are with John’s family during this difficult time."

Durham head coach Jon Lewis leaves the club after a "review of cricket operations" at the Division Two side.

BBC Newcastle

Festive season is upon us and nothing says Christmas like a dog in a country pub!

Meet Molly - the pub dog that makes everybody welcome.

Local Democracy Reporting Service
Daniel Holland

Image source, Persimmon Homes via Gateshead Council planning portal

Gateshead Council has accused landowners of the former Wardley Colliery in Gateshead of forging residents' signatures and distributing "exaggerated and intimidating" documents about the latest development of the site.

Housebuilding giant Persimmon Homes' plans to build homes at the site have been in place since 2016.

The council has now alleged the landowners, in agreement with Persimmon, delivered flyers and questionnaires to properties in Wardley last month.

It is claimed the documents falsely stated that JW Coats and Sons' former yard will open as a waste transfer station if development permission is refused.

Image source, Katie Ford

The council has also claimed that a number of the 140 individually-signed letters of support for the application submitted in April this year were falsified.

Persimmon and the landowners have denied the accusations.

A Persimmon spokesman said they were confident they had submitted "a fair and accurate" report.

Colin Ford, who owns a smaller section of the colliery land with David Wilson, said there had been no intention to mislead through the flyers and that Mr Coats' land was likely to return to industrial use if the homes are not built. He said he didn't know where the council had got the allegations of fake letters.

The council's planning committee will vote next Wednesday on whether the development can go ahead.

The Shields Gazette

A councillor has called fornew powers so police officers in South Tyneside can ram rogue motorbike riders., external

Image source, SHIELDS GAZETTE

Kevin Peachey
Personal finance reporter

Thieves are increasingly trying to smash or blast their way into UK cash machines- with the number of attacks on ATMs nearly doubling in four years.

Attempts to steal cash have risen from 400 attacks in 2014 to 723 last year, according to a report by ATM operator Cardtronics.

It said one in five incidents in Europe occurred in the UK.

Thieves are generally unsuccessful, with 41% of cases resulting in cash being stolen.

Tases included raiders using gas to blow up a cash machine outside a Matalan store in Darlington last year.

Hartlepool Mail
Newspaper

Public health chiefs have spoken out as more than 6,500 women in Hartlepool failed to attend their last potentially life-saving smear test., external

Image source, HARTLEPOOL MAIL

BBC Tees

Police investigating the discovery of a man's body in Darlington are treating the death as unexplained.

Durham Police say they received reports of a body in the River Skerne at Parkside, close to the main entrance to South Park yesterday morning.

The man is yet to be formally identified.

Abbie Dewhurst
Weather Presenter, BBC Look North

Any early rain will soon clear away to the east, leaving bright spells today.

However, there will be the risk of one or two showers. It will become blustery with a strengthening westerly wind.

Check out the forecast near you.

North East singer-songwriter Sam Fender has been named the Critics' Choice prize winner ahead of next year's Brit Awards.

The 22-year-old from North Shields was on a shortlist alongside Scottish star Lewis Capaldi and R&B singer Mahalia.

He said: "I am truly humbled to win the Brits Critics' Choice award. Being nominated was crazy enough, never mind winning it.

"I'm so grateful to everyone back home for believing and to my band and team for all their hard work."

He also praised his fans who he said were " a wonderful bunch of people".

Jason Iley, Brits chairman and chief executive of Sony Music UK & Ireland, said Fender is an "exceptional young artist".

Here he is speaking to BBC Newcastle last month.

Good morning and welcome to our live coverage.

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Edinburgh head coach Richard Cockerill warns his side not to take an under-strength Newcastle Falcons lightly in their European Champions Cup clash.

Sunderland was once dubbed "the largest shipbuilding town in the world".

Saheed Rasoolli, 30, and Araz Abdulla, 23, approached the woman as she waited for a bus.

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

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

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

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Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust says "good progress" is being made towards the construction of a new standalone hospital in Berwick.

In October plans to build a hospital and leisure centre in one complex were scrapped in response to public opposition.

In a statement today the trust said significant steps had been made towards identifying a site for the new hospital and commercial negotiations have started.

Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust chief executive Jim Mackey said: "We will be offering more appointments at the infirmary to residents and are conducting a review of the services hosted there to see how they can be better adapted/ structured to meet the town's needs."

He added that the proposed number of of regular in-patient beds will be increased from 16 to 20, in response to community feedback.

More details on the new hospital are expected to be released early in 2019.

Jacob Viera's journey to the UK began as an asylum seeker escaping drugs gangs in Kenya after being electrocuted in his own home and hospitalised with serious injuries.

The 22-year-old was on trial with Newcastle United when a youth academy coach recommended he apply for asylum after noticing his scarring and hearing his story.

Jacob was relocated to Liverpool while his asylum case was reviewed.

Playing football with local clubs led to one of the managers recommending Jacob to Paul Tait, manager of the Everton academy Under-18 squad.

However, Jacob's pending asylum status prevented him from signing any contracts, and he was dealt a further blow as an anterior cruciate ligament injury curtailed his progress.

Everton's outreach programme 'Everton in the Community, external' continued to support Jacob during his rehabilitation, sponsoring his coaching and refereeing courses.

Lee's passion for football and community work saw him complete his rehabilitation and now he helps others through football.

Following a trial of facts, a jury decided the 71-year-old indecently assault five boys, but he will face no further action.

Two men have been convicted of raping a woman at a flat in Sunderland.

Newcastle Crown Court heard the victim was waiting for a bus in the city centre on May 23 when she was approached by 30-year-old Saheed Rasoolli.

She was then taken back to a property on Roker Avenue and raped.

Once Rasoolli had left the room, Araz Abdulla, 23, then entered and forced himself on her.

The woman fled to a nearby shop and reported the attacks to police.

The pair both denied rape but were found them guilty following a trial.

Chief Supt Sarah Pitt, of Northumbria Police, said: "This was a despicable act which caused a great deal of upset and distress to both the victim and the local community as a whole.

"I would like to praise the victim for her bravery throughout this investigation, as well as the team of detectives who worked incredibly hard to secure these convictions."

Rasoolli, of Hylton Road, Sunderland, and Abdulla, of Roker Avenue, Sunderland, are due to be sentenced on 17 December.

Image source, Northumbria Police

Image source, Northumbria Police