A Darlington man who it was feared was caught up in the volcanic eruption in New Zealand has been located this evening.

Karl Rakos's mum, from Ferryhill, has confirmed that he is safe and on a cruise ship heading for Australia.

He's due to arrive there tomorrow.

Earlier today, Mr Rakos's son had said he was increasingly worried about his father and stepmother as he hadn't heard from them since Sunday.

Six people are now known to have died and 30 have been injured following the eruption on White Island.

Thomas Johns from County Durham had saved for months to buy a new dog after the death of his 16-year-old pet Patch, but the money was stolen.

So when police officers in Bishop Auckland heard about the theft, they turned Santa Claus.

They asked the Stray Aid charity if they could help out and staff said that Mr Johns, 72, could adopt one of their dogs free of charge.

The retired factory worker was surprised and delighted when he was taken to the Coxhoe-based charity to pick out his new companion.

And when he met five-year-old terrier cross, Tex, the pair formed an instant bond.

Tex has now left the centre for his new forever home with Mr Johns.

Image source, Durham Constabulary

New figures show the North East is the only region in the UK where workers are now worse off since the last election.

The typical worker in the region has lost £195 from their annual pay, according to research by the BBC.

Both the Conservatives and Labour are promising to boost the minimum wage to over £10 an hour.

But trade union leaders say working families are being trapped in poverty.

BBC Newcastle

More than £3,000 has been raised to help the family of a man who died following an altercation in County Durham.

David Cameron, 47, was found by emergency crews in Southernwood, Consett, at about 17:30 on Thursday.

Doctors and paramedics attended but he was pronounced dead at the scene a short time later.

A tribute to him on an online fund page says he was a "true gentleman"

A 14-year-old boy who was arrested on suspicion of murder has been released on conditional bail.

Image source, Family Handout

Local Democracy Reporting Service
Ben O'Connell

Councillors in Northumberland are today being asked to sign off an extra £3m of funding for the next three years in an effort to tackle climate change.If approved by councillors today, an action plan will be drawn up for more tree planting to made throughout the county.

It will also include installing more electric vehicle charging points, and making the council's fleet of vehicles more environmentally friendly.

Council chiefs have dropped plans for a green waste charge in Hartlepool but are continuing with proposals to increase council tax by 3.9% overall.

Initially Hartlepool Borough Council bosses believed the budget deficit for 2020-21 would be £4.83m, but by September it had reduced to £2.64m following the government spending review.

Councillors had previously looked at bringing in an additional charge for green waste collection for the coming financial year in an attempt to provide additional income.

However council bosses have confirmed this has been dropped after a lack of support for the idea, with money being used from the budget support fund instead to balance the budget.

The Unite union says it is seeking an urgent meeting with KPMG over unpaid wages.

NHS chiefs in County Durham and Darlington have admitted they are "constantly" trying to fill vacant posts in their A&E departments - even travelling to Italy to recruit nurses.

They also revealed that they face a "real challenge" keeping waiting times down, especially with the impact of added winter pressures.

There have been calls to ease this by reopening emergency care at Bishop Auckland Hospital.

However, it is believed this option is not viable due to the other services that would also need to be restarted to ensure patient safety.

The Trust says it is actively working on a recruitment programme.

Image source, Science Photo Library

BBC Look North
North East and Cumbria

A 22-year-old University of Sunderland student has won silver in the British Championships at Taekwondo.

Cameron Park has been training in the martial art for a decade thanks to his dad John.

John, who also works at the university, encouraged his son to take up the discipline which he himself has been doing since 1984.

Cameron now has his sights set on the World Championships in Denmark next year.

Image source, Sunderland University

Ahead of the general election, BBC reporter Caroline Lewis takes a look at how much the UK spends on defence.

BBC Sport

Former Newcastle and Sunderland striker Daryl Murphy has admitted testing positive for using cocaine.

Murphy, 36, took the drug on a night out and was banned from 6 October to 8 December last year while he was a Nottingham Forest player.

The FA does not name players who have failed tests for recreational drugs.

"I would like to stress that the taking of recreational drugs is something that I don't condone whatsoever," Murphy said in a statement.

"I served a suspension at the beginning of last season for making a bad decision while on a night out."

Murphy won 32 caps for the Republic of Ireland between 2007 and 2017, currently plays for Bolton and his previous clubs also include Celtic and Ipswich.

Image source, Getty Images

BBC Look North
North East and Cumbria

There has been a big fall in the number of children arrested by the five police forces in our region since the start of the decade.

According to figures released by the Howard League for Penal Reform today, the biggest fall was in the Northumbria police area, where there was a drop of 9,000 child arrests over a seven-year period.

The League says each contact a child has with the criminal justice system drags them deeper into it, leading to more crime.

Image source, BBC Look North

The gang led police on a 20-mile pursuit before officers arrested those involved.

A 20-year-old woman who died in a car accident in the early hours of Friday has been named by police.

Image source, Family photo

Naomi Buckle, of Catterick Garrison in North Yorkshire, was killed when the Audi car she was travelling in as a passenger hit a tree on the B6265 near to Ripon.

She died at the scene due to her injuries, police say.

The driver of the car, a 21-year-old man from Richmond, was arrested and has since been released under investigation.

Police are appealing for anyone who saw the white Audi RS3 at any time between 23:00 and 02:15, travelling from Catterick towards Risplith, to contact them.

Concern is growing for a County Durham couple in New Zealand who have not got in touch with family following the devastating volcanic eruption.

Karl and Deb Rakos, who are both in their 50s and from Darlington, are on holiday there and were planning to go on to Australia.

Their family has now confirmed they haven't been in touch since the eruption.

White Island volcano blew yesterday, killing at least six people and leaving more than 30 others in hospital.

Karl's son Mark said: "I've been trying to call my dad since Sunday and now I'm getting quite worried to be honest."

Image source, AFP

North Yorkshire Police said the former special constable had "let the police family down".

A former North Yorkshire Police Special Constable has pleaded guilty to eight child sex offences.

Image source, North Yorkshire Police

Ryan John McCaffrey, 33, of Richmond Road, Catterick Garrison, appeared at York Crown Court yesterday.

He was charged with six counts of making indecent images of children, one count of possession of prohibited images of children and one count of possession of extreme pornography.

McCaffrey, a former police staff member and self-employed photographer, pleaded guilty to all the charges against him.

He's been given a 12-month suspended sentence, a five-year sexual harm prevention order and a 40-day rehabilitation order.

A force spokesperson said: “Nothing short of the highest integrity is tolerated in North Yorkshire Police.

"Those who commit crimes of this nature, no matter who they are, will always be pursued and put in front of the courts.”

Police investigating the murder of a missing Middlesbrough woman say someone has come forward with "crucial information".

Naheed Khan, 43, was reported missing on 12 June 2018, but had not been seen by her family for three weeks before then.

Cleveland Police said they are not able to disclose how they received the new information, or go into specific details, but did say it could be of "real significance" to their investigation.

They are appealing to those who have provided the information last month to come forward again.

Independent charity Crimestoppers is now offering a reward of up to £10,000 for information that leads police to find Naheed Khan’s body.

Image source, Cleveland Police

Paul Mooney
BBC Weather

A stormy day with strong winds and bands of rain, often heavy, moving through during the morning and afternoon.

Winds will be very strong on exposed hilltops, especially in the afternoon.

Maximum temperature:11C (52F).