Stories for 23 January 2007

The Northern Echo News

Curator takes horse painting to dinner

A MUSEUM curator was so   more...

Estate and wall get listed protection

THE Byker estate, in Newcastle,   more...

£15,000 fine after worker engulfed in ball of flames

A JAPANESE company has   more...

From wheelchair to ballet star in two years

A BRAVE young girl who battled   more...

Chief quits job creation organisation

THE job creation company   more...

"Tuned up nice again"

YOUNG musicians will soon be   more...

Probation expert jailed over child porn charges

A PROBATION Service expert who distributed child pornography while setting up a £10m Home Office database of sex offenders has been sentenced to 14 months in prison.   more...

Bungle leaves no grave at family funeral

DISTRAUGHT family members were left waiting for nearly an hour at a funeral as bungling council workers hurried to finish digging a grave.Nearly 50 mourners at the funeral of 83-year-old Ethel Hird had to wait to pay their final respects to the mother and grandmother in Darlington yesterday morning.At one stage, mourners were told they might need to come back in the afternoon to bury Mrs Hird.Darlington Borough Council, which runs West Cemetery, where the blunder took place, has blamed a "breakdown in communications" for the errors. The authority has vowed to look at procedures to prevent a repeat of the mistake.Mrs Hird's funeral took place at the cemetery chapel at 9.15am.But as mourners left the chapel for the interment, it was obvious that something was wrong.Billy, Mrs Hird's son, said: "As we started to walk down we saw a digger and a trailer. We were told 'Sorry, but there's been a delay'."He added: "They told us we might have to come back in the afternoon."Initially, the family was told a headstone near the site of the grave had to be secured.However, it became clear that the grave, which Mrs Hird was to share with her late husband, Arthur, had not been dug.Mr Hird added: "It was freezing. Many of the people there were elderly and we had to bring cars for them to wait in."The funeral directors were mortified. They were very professional and did everything they could to help. It wasn't their fault."After making several calls to the council, including the Street Scene department, which runs the cemetery, Mrs Hird's family was told the burial could take place at 10.20am - nearly one hour after the family had left the chapel.Mrs Hird, who had three children, nine grandchildren and four great-grandchildren, died last Friday after a long battle with cancer.The family says the events at her funeral have left them devastated.Peter Tindale, the managing director of Seaton Leng funeral directors, said he had never experienced anything like this before and passed on his condolences to the family.He said: "My firm arranged the funeral of Mrs Hird with the family, and arranged with Darlington Borough Council for the family grave to be prepared for 9.45am."Last night, the council admitted responsibility for the error.A spokeswoman said: "This regrettable situation was caused by a breakdown in communications and measures have been put in place to ensure the same thing doesn't happen again."  more...

Pennies drop in pay row

FRED RAINE was in for a shock when he received the balance of his severance pay.Instead of a cheque for £1,300, an 11-stone crate containing thousands of coins from 1p to 20p coins was dumped in the hallway of his Burnhope home, in County Durham.The crate was the latest twist in an 18-month wrangle between Mr Raine and his former employer, Malcolm Lee, boss of Lee's Coaches, of Langley Moor, Durham.In June 2005, following a dispute with Mr Lee, Mr Raine handed in his notice and on medical advice spent his last days at work on sick leave.He claims Mr Lee refused to pay him what he was due and the matter went to an industrial tribunal, which awarded Mr Raine £2,300."To put the matter behind us, I even offered to settle for less than half the amount," said 61-year-old Mr Raine yesterday.But with no resolution in sight, Mr Lee was ordered to pay up. He did pay the first £1,000, leaving £1,300 outstanding - which he has now paid in coins.At home with his partner, Linda Walker, Mr Raine said: "We were stunned when a man dragging a large blue crate came to the door."After he dumped it in our hallway, I contacted a solicitor and told him how thousands of unbagged coins in an unsealed crate with no paperwork had been delivered."Mr Raine's neighbours helped the couple haul the crate into their living room - and there it has remained.Ms Walker said: "Fred has a heart condition and all this has been extremely stressful. It is not about money now, it is the principle."The Northern Echo contacted Mr Lee yesterday to ask why he had chosen the unusual method of payment.He said: "There are always two sides to a story and my side's going to be no comment."* Coins can only be used to pay for goods up to a certain amount in the UK.Any amount over 20p in 1p coins is not legal tender and does not have to be accepted by a business.However, there is nothing to stop the business accepting any amount of 1p coins if it wishes to.The following amounts of coins are legal tender in Britain for any single transaction: 20p for any amount not exceeding £10; 10p for any amount not exceeding £5; 5p for any amount not exceeding £5; 2p for any amount not exceeding 20p; and 1p for any amount not exceeding 20p.  more...

Killer filmed sick confession

A KILLER who stabbed an amateur photographer to death for his camera bag filmed a sick confession on his mobile phone.   more...

Dockland dispute as firm sues for £10m

TWO key players behind a massive North-East regeneration project are being sued for £10m by a small development company, The Northern Echo can reveal.English Partnerships (EP) and Tees Valley Regeneration (TVR) are being drawn into a David and Goliath-type legal battle over an alleged breach of contract.Middlesbrough-based Chilli Developments has brought the case against EP and TVR, claiming both parties went back on an agreement signed in 2004 relating to the redevelopment of five acres of the 50-acre Middlehaven site.Chilli was last night unable to comment, but The Northern Echo has seen the court papers that outline the firm's claim for loss and damage amounting to almost £10m.TVR, the agency set up to develop the site in Middlesbrough, last night said it considers Chilli's court case is without merit and will be defended in full.Had Chilli been able to go ahead with its plans for the Middlehaven site, for which it had secured planning permission and private funding, work would have been finished by next month.As it stands, BioRegional Quintain - a joint venture partnership including Bio- Regional Properties, Quintain Estates and Development PLC1 - was chosen last November as the preferred developer and work is expected to start this year for completion in 2012.The scheme includes 750 homes, a hotel and offices, together with shops, bars, cafes and restaurants.It forms part of a wider development of the docklands, which will cost about £500m and includes a new college campus and offices.Chilli's involvement in the scheme started in 2003, when Simon Brown set up the business to create a complex of 131 flats with offices, bars and restaurants on a five-acre area of the Middlehaven site.By summer 2004, Chilli had put together detailed plans for the £50m, two-phase project. With support from both EP, which owns the land, and TVR, the firm went on to secure financial backing and planning permission from Middlesbrough Council.In October 2004, Chilli signed an agreement with EP and TVR relating to the land, the terms of which stated that it would not be marketed to developers considering bidding for work on the rest of the Middlehaven site.It was this agreement that Chilli claims both parties turned their back on by marketing the land and selecting BioRegional Quintain to redevelop the entire area.In the court papers, Chilli claims EP and TVR entered into negotiations with other developers relating to the land and then took steps to "undermine" Chilli's interest.The firm also claims that EP and TVR "took unconscionable advantage" of Chilli by allowing it to go ahead with the planning process before turning its back on the scheme.Chilli's plans to redevelop the site collapsed in June 2005, when a meeting of all parties resulted in Chilli's funding partners - the Durham-based Esh Group - walking away from the scheme.Chilli claims officials took advantage of the meeting to "attack, undermine, insult and ridicule" the firm's plans in front of Esh.At the time, Chilli's managing director, Mr Brown, said he felt that the rug had been pulled from beneath him.By September 2005, EP said the matter was closed.In November last year, officials announced that Bio- Regional Quintain would carry out the £200m riverside renaissance scheme, bringing 1,000 jobs to the region.The legal wrangle follows a previous court case involving the three parties, at which Chilli requested that all information relating to the Middlehaven case should be made available. TVR was awarded full costs.A TVR spokesman said last night: "Despite attempts to reach settlement, the costs remain unpaid. An application is to be made to the court for a stay of the proceedings until a suitable payment has been made by Chilli."Nobody at EP was available for comment.Ã Dock plans - Business Echo  more...

Jail for pervert in 'worst' porn case

A FACTORY worker who went home in his tea break to download the biggest collection of internet child porn a police force has uncovered has been jailed for five years.Maintenance fitter Derek Cole, 46, was obsessed with child pornography and probably downloaded tens of thousands of photos and videos, said a judge yesterday.Cole, a father-of-one, had the biggest collection seized by Durham Police, Paul Newcombe, prosecuting, said at Teesside Crown Court.Judge Michael Taylor said: "I have had the misfortune of viewing these images, and it is the worst I have come across in my professional life."Any member of the public who was shown this material would be totally horrified."In November, Cole was convicted of 20 charges relating to possessing and distributing child porn.Cole, of Windsor Avenue, Spennymoor, County Durham, bought a computer in 2002, and it was likely that he transferred a number of indecent images from that to a computer seized by police, which had a total of 3,706 images, including 98 at the most serious level five and 318 at level four.Mr Newcombe said: "The material was found on the computer and on a CD in his bedroom, and he had been exchanging material with other members of paedophile groups."Stewart Allison, defending, said that Cole had finally acknowledged his guilt and offending to a probation officer.Cole was jailed for five years, banned for life from using the internet - except on a public library computer or for work - and banned from unsupervised contact with children under 16.He was also ordered to register as a sex offender for life.  more...

Bard habit to break after 30 years of touring

THE company rated as the Manchester United of theatre, the Royal Shakespeare Company, has decided to end 31 years of North-East seasons and replace it with a series of individual shows throughout the year.   more...

Tributes to soldier who had so much to live for

AN 18-year-old North-East soldier   more...

Accolade for teenager who saved life of crash driver

A TEENAGER whose quick   more...

Row as Shipwrecked TV girl praises slavery

A PUBLIC schoolgirl from the   more...

Poignant last visit for ex-player

THE funeral cortege for Middlesbrough   more...

Communities will get money to stamp out yob culture

COMMUNITIES across the region   more...