1. 'Unacceptable' spate of attacks on fire crewspublished at 14:55 Greenwich Mean Time 19 March 2021

    Firefighters in Middlesbrough have been subjected to a series of violent attacks.

    Crews have been called out to the Northern Road area of Whinney Banks 13 times in the past two weeks, where children and youths have been deliberately setting fires.

    Cleveland Police said the behaviour will not be tolerated and it is doing everything it can to find those responsible.

    Sgt John Sproson said: "It is unacceptable that we have people in the local area purposely going out and setting fires and abusing our emergency services."

    Cleveland Fire Brigade engine

    Middlesbrough Council’s Neighbourhood Safety team has identified two young people from CCTV footage building fires in Northern Road.

    One young person has been issued with a final warning and a second has been visited by police.

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    Our job is being made more difficult by the thoughtless actions of a minority who deliberately set fires and attempt to injure staff and cause damage to fire engines, potentially making that vehicle unavailable to respond to emergencies and diverting resources away from attending other incidents."

    Carl Boasman, Assistant Chief Fire Officer, Cleveland Fire Brigade

  2. Catch-up: Challenge Cup first round - West Wales Raiders v Widnes Vikings & Featherstone Rovers v Bradford Bullspublished at 12:45 Greenwich Mean Time 19 March 2021

    Listen to BBC Radio Manchester commentary of Swinton Lions v Newcastle Thunder in the Challenge Cup.

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  3. Premier League: Brighton put three past sorry Newcastlepublished at 12:30 Greenwich Mean Time 19 March 2021

    Follow live text updates as Brighton host relegation rivals Newcastle in the Premier League.

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  4. Relive Saturday's EFL action as it happenedpublished at 12:17 Greenwich Mean Time 19 March 2021

    Relive Saturday's EFL action as Watford ease past Birmingham in the Championship and leaders Norwich are held by Blackburn.

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  5. Ex-MP doctor to stand for Labour in by-electionpublished at 20:09 Greenwich Mean Time 18 March 2021

    He previously represented Stockton South for two years and now hopes to become Hartlepool's MP.

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  6. Cyclist dies days after crash with carpublished at 17:45 Greenwich Mean Time 18 March 2021

    The 33-year-old man suffered serious injuries on Friday and died five days later in hospital.

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  7. Covid-19 case rates 'persistently stuck' warningpublished at 14:53 Greenwich Mean Time 18 March 2021

    Health chief Craig Blundred says Hartlepool's weekly case rate is stuck at 100-130 per 100,000.

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  8. Riverside Stadium opens as Covid jab centre next weekpublished at 14:11 Greenwich Mean Time 18 March 2021

    Middlesbrough's Riverside Stadium will open as an NHS vaccination centre on Monday.

    It's the fifth large vaccination site to open in the region, with the aim of vaccinating as many people as quickly as possible.

    Potentially it could see up to 1,000 patients a day, running 12 hours a day, seven days a week.

    Across the North East and North Cumbria more than one million people have been vaccinated by the NHS.

    Riverside stadiumImage source, PA Media

    NHS England is inviting everyone aged 50 and over to have their vaccination. This will be either by letter or through a text alert from the National Booking Service.

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    Opening up the fifth vaccination centre in the region helps us to reach even more people as the programme continues to expand, giving even more people the opportunity to have their vaccine.”

    Professor Neil Watson, NHS Covid Vaccination Programme

    Middlesbrough FC manager Neil Warnock welcomed the stadium being used as a vaccination centre:

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    The pandemic has been very hard for a lot of people and anything at all that contributes in the fight against this has my full support. I’m pleased and proud that we can play a part in some way, particularly for the people of our area."

    Neil Warnock, Middlesbrough FC manager

  9. James Cook patients help with Covid-19 researchpublished at 14:10 Greenwich Mean Time 18 March 2021

    Almost a year on since the first coronavirus patients were admitted to James Cook University hospital in Middlesbrough, more than 150 patients have been recruited into a trial for critical care treatments for Covid-19.

    The hospital is the third-highest recruiting centre in the country for the Remap Cap trial, which is investigating treatments for severely ill coronavirus patients.

    Patients from the hospital have also been helping with another study looking at why some people diagnosed with Covid-19 have no symptoms and others become ill.

    Critical care consultant at James Cook and research lead, Prof Stephen Bonner, said: “Through the research projects supported at hospitals like James Cook, the UK has been able to build a vital understanding of Covid-19, and deliver some of the most important findings anywhere in the world, especially why some people become critically ill and how to treat them.

    “There are still more questions to be answered in relation to Covid-19, but with our country’s unique NHS research infrastructure, along with those patients who participate in research, we are in the best possible position to succeed.”

    James Cook university hospital
  10. Multi-million pound Borderlands deal signedpublished at 11:10 Greenwich Mean Time 18 March 2021

    What does the "transformational" scheme for southern Scotland and northern England hope to deliver?

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  11. Labour 'gave no support' to ex-MP's accuserpublished at 10:57 Greenwich Mean Time 18 March 2021

    The claimant's lawyers say they "experienced significant distress" and had no access to counselling.

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  12. Boro boss Warnock charged by FApublished at 10:34 Greenwich Mean Time 18 March 2021

    Middlesbrough boss Neil Warnock is charged with improper conduct by the Football Association.

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  13. The girl on a mission for 'ginger justice'published at 06:02 Greenwich Mean Time 18 March 2021

    A 12-year-old from Northumberland wants people not to be treated differently over their hair colour.

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  14. Accrington Stanley 0-2 Sunderlandpublished at 21:59 Greenwich Mean Time 17 March 2021

    Ross Stewart scores on his debut to boost Sunderland's promotion chances in a 2-0 win over Accrington Stanley.

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  15. Newcastle 'should have acted quicker' over abusepublished at 17:17 Greenwich Mean Time 17 March 2021

    A report into child sex abuse condemns the club for "material failings" over attacker George Ormond.

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  16. Listen: Newcastle v Wasps in the Premiershippublished at 15:29 Greenwich Mean Time 17 March 2021

    Listen to local BBC radio commentary as Newcastle Falcons host Wasps in the Premiership following a 55-19 victory for Ealing Trailfinders at Coventry in the Championship.

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  17. Listen: Saturday's National League commentariespublished at 15:23 Greenwich Mean Time 17 March 2021

    Listen to BBC radio commentary from Saturday's action in the National League.

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  18. Man charged over racist Bolasie postpublished at 13:04 Greenwich Mean Time 17 March 2021

    Police Scotland arrest and charge a man in connection with a racist social media post sent to Middlesbrough winger Yannick Bolasie.

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  19. Approval for £6.8bn transport planpublished at 12:37 Greenwich Mean Time 17 March 2021

    Council leaders say government funding is needed "to make these plans a reality".

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  20. Premiership Rugby Cup scrapped for 2021published at 11:24 Greenwich Mean Time 17 March 2021

    This season's Premiership Rugby Cup is scrapped because of continuing concerns related to the Covid-19 pandemic.

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