Stories for 12 November 2007
The Northern Echo News
Rebnecca's on course for English ladies call
A YOUNG golfer has more...
Chefs bid to be crowned Parmo world champion
IT may not be most people's idea more...
Chairman urged to invest £10m in town's racecourse
THE chairman of a North-East more...
About Time head for schools proms date
A GROUP of talented students more...
Former miner wins £10,000 in lottery
A FORMER pitman has won a more...
Remploy to reveal rescue proposals
PLANS for the future of hundreds more...
Getaway from it all
TWELVE care workers are to more...
Fearsome fund raiser
Bird flu outbreak in Norfolk
Government vets have confirmed an outbreak of bid flu at a turkey farm in Diss, Norfolk. more...
Remploy announces factories to close
THERE are mixed fortunes for hundreds of disabled workers in the region fighting to save the closure of their factories. more...
Post Office to move - 20 yards
Helping young offenders face up to impact of crime
YOUNG criminals being confronted face-to-face by their victims has cut re- offending, a youth justice expert has claimed. Victims of crime and law-abiding members of the public are being asked to help young criminals transform their lives.By sitting round a table with the offender, victim, and a professional, members of the public devise a legally-binding action plan in an attempt to curb youth crime.Young criminals spared custody for a serious offence are sentenced to a Referral Order, from three to 12 months in length, and regularly meet the Youth Offender Panels, headed up by specially-trained members of the public.Being confronted by their victims face-to-face can have a profound effect on the youths, who are much less likely to offend again as a result, said Dave Haddick, operations manager of Darlington Borough Council's Youth Offending Service."We contact all the victims to see if they want to become involved, so they can put their views forward and let the offender know what impact the crime has had on them."Mr Haddick said enabling the victim to meet the youth who attacked them, stole their car or burgled their home often comes as a huge relief."Most want to know why they had been targeted and whether it will happen again."They are overwhelmed with relief when they are told they were picked on randomly. "The face-to-face-meeting is very powerful and it can be quite tearful. Youths are much more likely not to offend if they have met the victim," he said.At the climax of Inside Justice Week - which ended on Saturday - Darlington Youth Offending Service called for more members of the community to chair the offender panels. Apart from magistrates, anyone over 18 can apply. Successful candidates will need to be available for at least one day a month for a minimum of one year.The action plan "contract" devised by the panel, offender and parents could include writing a letter of apology, carrying out practical work for the victim or local community, and help finding constructive activities. Agencies including the youth offending service, police, schools, training providers and social services work together to help young offenders and their families. "These youths have no confidence and low levels of self- esteem. If they are told at home and at school that they are useless and will make nothing of their life, then they start to believe it. But if they are told positives then they are more likely to succeed," said Mr Haddick.The overall aim of the service is to prevent youth offending.An intervention plan made up of mentoring, training and education is proposed for vulnerable young people identified as being potential future criminals."Most young offenders are male and commit the most crimes between the ages of 16 and 17," said Mr Haddick."One of our biggest aims is to stop them becoming prolific offenders in the future."Some youths get tired of pushing the boundaries in adolescence and grow out of offending. Others stop when they find a girlfriend or start a family, but the biggest calming influence is getting a job." For more information about youth offender panels, call 01325-346831. more...
Student killed by unknown heart defect
A YOUNG woman who collapsed and died hours after leaving the home of Newcastle United player Steven Taylor died of natural causes, an inquest has heard.Business management student Michelle Sinclair, 20, fell ill at her Northumbria University digs, in Newcastle, and may have had up to a dozen heart attacks.The inquest heard that Miss Sinclair, from Northern Ireland, may have had cardiac arrhythmia, an abnormality of the heart.She had been out with friends in Newcastle on January 22 when they met two of Taylor's friends, one of whom was staying at his home in Darras Hall.The girls were invited back to the footballer's seven-bedroomed house, unbeknown to Taylor, who had gone to bed after celebrating his 21st birthday.Miss Sinclair's friend, Abigail Christopher, 19, wept as her statement was read to the inquest.At Taylor's home, the girls played pool and watched DVDs. "Steven Taylor was upstairs and we never really saw him," Miss Christopher's statement read. The girls later returned to the student accommodation where they shared a room.Miss Sinclair woke in the afternoon with severe breathing difficulties and collapsed. Paramedics were called to Knoll Court, in Newcastle, but she later died.Following her death, Miss Sinclair's relatives were screened for heart defects and her mother, Kim, 45, was found to have an abnormality.Newcastle Coroner David Mitford returned a verdict of natural causes. more...
Fans praised for good behaviour at derby
POLICE have praised football fans for their "excellent" behaviour during Saturday's Premier League derby match between Sunderland and Newcastle, at the Stadium of Light.There was no major disorder before, during or immediately after the game, and police reported making only five arrests for low-level public order offences.Security was tight for the match, extra officers were on duty and the majority of Newcastle fans made their way to the ground in a convoy of official buses under police escort.Newcastle United chairman Mike Ashley sat with fellow fans, so he could wear his Toon top - rather than sit in the directors' box - and watched as the two sides played out a 1-1 draw.Chief Superintendent Neil Mackay, of Northumbria Police's operations department, said: "Generally speaking, the crowd was very well behaved and enjoyed the action on the pitch, and it was only a small minority who could not behave."I would also like to thank the Newcastle fans for their patience immediately after the game when they were held back in the stadium while the area outside was cleared of Sunderland fans."Twenty people were arrested in Newcastle's Bigg Market after violent incidents broke out and officers also had to break up a fight at a South Tyneside pub, using CS sprays and Taser stun guns.They were called to the Grey Hen pub in Harton Lane, South Shields, at 7pm and made five arrests. The men were charged with being drunk and disorderly.A police spokesman said the incident involved football fans, but added that no one was hurt. Derby verdict: Football pullout more...
Candlelit vigil as
CAMPAIGNERS feared last night they had lost their fight to keep a pregnant Ugandan woman and her two-year-old daughter in the country.A candlelit vigil was held for Elizabeth Kiwunga, 25, and her daughter, Hilary-Marie, at the time they were expected to be put on a plane back to the African country.Friends and supporters in the North-East, where they have made their home, said they believed a last-ditch attempt to allow them to stay in the UK had failed after hearing nothing from Ms Kiwunga since noon.The campaigners, who include a local vicar, an MEP, a councillor and a community group, had been pushing for a judicial review in a last-minute effort to halt their deportation.Darlington MP Alan Milburn promised to raise her case urgently with Home Secretary, Jacqui Smith, who has been sent a copy of a The Northern Echo article reporting Ms Kiwunga's plight. Ms Kiwunga and her daughter, who have been in the UK for five years, arrived in Darlington on Christmas Eve last year. Since then, they have joined a church, a parent and toddler group, and made a number of friends.The family had been in Yarl's Wood Immigration Removal Centre, Bedfordshire, for five weeks.Ms Kiwunga has twice appealed for asylum and has twice been refused. But her supporters, who include MEP Stephen Hughes, and his wife, Councillor Cyndi Hughes, say her original claim was made jointly by her husband, whom she has since left. The Reverend Sheilagh Wiliamson organised the candlelit vigil at St Columba's Church, in Darlington, last night.During the service, she told the congregation: "We need to hold on to the light. We need to hold on to hope."It seems our prayers have not been answered. "They have been answered. It's just hard when God says no."The hymn, When I Needed a Neighbour, was sung, with the words of the penultimate verse changed to "When I needed asylum..." and the congregation was invited to write and read out their own prayers for the family.After the service, the Rev Williamson said she spoke to Ms Kiwunga at about 12.15am yesterday, when she had been told to pack her things. Asylum seekers have their mobile phones taken from them before they are deported, she said.She said she hoped Ms Kiwunga, who is engaged to a Ugandan man who has been granted asylum and is the father of her unborn child, would be allowed back on a visa to marry her fianc. "She was not going to be a drain on resources here. She could have been someone who would have put a lot into the community," said the Rev Williamson. "We are all very, very sad about it. We will miss her dearly. She is a lovely girl and she is part of our church. more...
Two men killed in road crash
TWO men have died after their car left the A1 and collided with a tree. more...
Fake toys warning
Gas leak causes airport evacuation
AN airport was evacuated for an hour this afternoon following a gas scare on a nearby road. more...
Last minute reprieve for woman in deportation fight
A PREGNANT Ugandan woman and her two-year-old daughter won a dramatic eleventh hour reprieve against deportation last night. more...
Man critical after fall
Barn fire
A BARN fire at Middle End Farm, Monks Moor, Middleton in Teesdale was dealt with by firefighters shortly after 4pm on Monday. more...
Former Look North presenter dies in car crash
A weather presenter and television journalist has died in a car crash, the BBC said today. more...
Couple's incredible escape
Teenager 'is proof' that Asbos really work
ASBOS do work, a teenager once more...
Young and old fall silent to remember the fallen
COMMUNITIES across the region more...
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