The Shields Gazette

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Photographer Jill Welham has been announced as the overall winner of this year's International Garden Photographer of the Year Competition.

The North Yorkshire photographer and former Teesside University student beat 19,000 entrants from more than 50 countries to scoop the top prize of £7,500 with her photogram print entitled Fireworks, below. The image shows Allium flower heads from her garden.

Image source, JILL WELHAM

She used a photogram printing process called wet cyanotype, where ammonium citrate and potassium ferricyanide are mixed to create a photosensitive solution which is then painted on to watercolour paper and left to dry.

The Alliums are placed between photosensitive paper and a plate of glass, and then exposed to light. When developed, the silhouettes from the flowers create an image on the paper in shades of green and blue.

She said: "The resulting pieces are unique and present botanical prints in a different and painterly manner.

"Each piece is created with plants and flowers from my own garden and exposed using only the North Yorkshire sun."

Hartlepool Mail
Newspaper

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Steven Burton burst into his ex-girlfriend's house and attacked her, breaking her arm and biting her face.

Cleveland Police is issuing advice to football fans ahead of Middlesbrough's Championship game at home to Leeds United tomorrow.

The force has previously said bad behaviour will not be tolerated.

Damian Littlefair has spent years looking for a relationship but says people "don’t want to know" when they find out he has a disability.

BBC Sport football expert Mark Lawrenson takes on A Private War stars Paul Conroy and Jamie Dornan to predict the weekend's Premier League results.

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Miguel Almiron has brushed off the pressure of being Newcastle's record signing in his first interview today.

The 24-year-old Paraguay international could make his debut for Newcastle as early as Monday evening.

He said: "I try not to think about the pressure or pay attention to it.

"As players of this club, Newcastle United, which has so much history, that is pressure in itself in terms of wanting to do well.

"We know what the fans demand of us, but it doesn't concern me overly. I'm just going to focus on playing.

"It's always been a dream of mine to come across in play and Europe and in the Premier League, I've had that in mind since the early days of my career.

"I feel I'm representing my country here, I'm proud of that, and I hope to give a good account of myself and of my country."

Image source, Getty Images

The midfielder also said moving from Atlanta United to Newcastle was a "no-brainer" for him once he knew of manager Rafael Benitez's interest:

"We all know what a great manager he is, a great person he is and there was no hesitation about wanting to play for him and the club."

Newcastle broke their transfer record when they signed Almiron for about £20m.

Rochdale sign Middlesbrough goalkeeper Andy Lonergan on an emergency seven-day loan deal.

Newcastle's record signing Miguel Almiron said his £20m transfer fee is an "honour" rather than a weight on his shoulders.

Tees Valley Mayor Ben Houchen used nearly £15,000 of his own cash on the social media site.

Enhanced Athlete Europe Ltd was convicted of placing an unsafe food product on the market.

Local Democracy Reporting Service
Michael Goodier and James Cain

Tees Valley Mayor Ben Houchen spent more than any other UK politician on Facebook adverts in the last five months, it emerged today.

He has individually spent nearly £16,000 on political Facebook ads - three times more than Greenpeace UK.

Some £14,671 of that is credited as being paid for by Mr Houchen himself.

The spending was covered by contributions and by Conservative Party funds.

Image source, Teeside Live

Commenting on his social media spending spree, Mr Houchen said: "I don't use a single penny of public money to promote my work on social media.

"You're not paying for this and you never will.

"I have the best job in the world, and part of that is promoting all the fantastic things that are happening in our area.

"I think it is essential as a public representative to engage with as many people as possible, to give the people of Teesside a voice, and to shout about all the fantastic work we are doing to the rest of the country and the world.

"I want to be the most engaging, pro-active and approachable representative in our area."

Most of Mr Houchen's adverts relate to his campaign to take Teesside Airport back into public ownership.

The next politician on the list - Conservative West Midlands Mayor Andy Street - spent only £2,552.

A Wigton company has been fined £100,000, and one of its directors given a suspended prison sentence for selling a potentially lethal substances as a weight-loss drug.

Officials who raised premises at Station Yard in Wigton found enough 2,4-dinitrophenol (DNP) powder to make 220,000 tablets, together with the equipment to do so, and Shaun Thomas Corrigan, 25, (pictured) who was at that time the sole director of Enhanced Athlete Europe Ltd.

Carlisle Crown Court heard Corrigan, of Pottersway, Gateshead, had admitted putting an unsafe foodstuff on the market, and the company was convicted of the same offence this week.

Investigators uncovered emails in which some people raised "serious concerns" about the use of DNP as a fat-burner with one warning Corrigan: "Last thing you want, bro, is some kid burning himself inside out and you end up on a manslaughter charge."

Corrigan, who was said to be remorseful and not a major shareholder in the company, was given a nine-month sentence suspended for a year, and ordered to do 180 hours unpaid work.

The company was ordered to pay £47,161 costs on top of the fine.

Matthew Raisbeck
BBC Newcastle Sport

Miguel Almiron is meeting the media at St James' Park for the first time today.

Newcastle broke their transfer record when they signed the 24-year-old for about £20m in January.

He helped Atlanta United win their first ever MLS Cup.

Services provider Together for Children agreed improvements were needed "in a range of areas" in Sunderland.

The son of a white woman who said she was black for years is going to attend Durham University .

Rachel Dolezal took to Instagram to announce the news.

She wrote next to a picture of her son Izaiah: "Guess who’s getting ready to take over the world ?

"Izaiah has been accepted to Durham University, one of the UK’s top 10 schools."

Rachel Dolezal caused controversy across the pond when it was revealed she is actually white - despite her describing herself as a mix of white, black and American Indian.

The race activist was charged with welfare fraud in 2018.