Stories for 11 December 2007

The Northern Echo News

Former N-E mum escapes death penalty for killing her kids

A MOTHER who killed her two young sons in 2004, believing they were possessed by a demon, has been cleared of their murder.   more...

Suspected weapon found in school was harmless canister

A SUSPECTED First World War weapon that led to a school being evacuated and the bomb squad being called in was a harmless canister.   more...

Council finds another job for school leader

A HEADTEACHER who resigned after a council report raised concerns over the effectiveness of his leadership has been given a post with the same authority, mentoring other school leaders.Tadeusz Zaranko, who was headteacher of Risedale Sports and Community College in North Yorkshire, made the decision to leave his post with immediate effect in the best interests of the school and to allow Elaine Richardson, who has worked as a consultant head at Risedale in recent months, to expand her role.Richard Geoghegan, assistant director of North Yorkshire's children and young people's service, said: "As an authority with schools that enjoy the highest standards, we are extremely vigilant in all matters involving school leadership."In this case, Mr Zaranko was aware of our concerns and made the decision to stand down in the best interests of pupils."A spokeswoman for North Yorkshire County Council said: "Risedale Sports and Community College is a school in challenging circumstances, serving as it does the service base of Catterick, and therefore managing a very high pupil turnover."The county council children and young people's service keeps a close watch on schools in such circumstances, wishing to ensure that children receive the best education possible. As a result, there have been a number of reviews of the school by the authority over the past 18 months. The most recent raised concerns about the effectiveness of the school leadership."But, despite the report, the county council has offered Mr Zaranko a role in mentoring potential headteachers in the county.In an earlier statement, Mr Geoghegan explained the decision to offer Mr Zaranko a secondment within the authority.He said: "Mr Zaranko's experience as deputy head at Ripon College and latterly as headteacher at Risedale College equips him very well with the necessary skills and knowledge to make a strong contribution to this area, as the county responds to the impact of an aging workforce." Terry McCann, Risedale's deputy, has become acting headteacher until January. The acting headship, subject to approval by college governors next Monday, will be taken up by Elaine Richardson, who was headteacher of Eastbourne secondary school, in Darlington, and before that, headteacher of Matthew Murray High School, in Leeds.At Eastbourne, which had the worse value-added scores in the country when she took over, GCSE passes increased from 19 to 45 per cent in a year.Mr Zaranko declined to comment.  more...

Residents celebrate lap dancing club rejection

RESIDENTS were last night celebrating what was hailed as a "landmark" victory in preventing an attempt to open a lap dancing club.Durham will remain a lap dancing-free city after residents won their appeal against the granting of a licence to convert the Loft nightclub, in the city's North Road.A licensing appeal panel at North Durham Magistrates' Court rejected a counter bid by club operator Vimac Leisure, of South Tyneside, to extend its permitted opening to more than three nights a week.Following more than four hours' deliberation, after a three-day hearing, the panel ruled in favour of residents who opposed the previous approval, granted by Durham City Council, in August.Upholding the appeal by the consortium of residents and community groups, bench chairman Glynn Jones said they heard "compelling evidence" that a lap dancing club would only aggravate problems of late-night nuisance and disorder in the city.He said the application failed four tests under the 2003 Licensing Act, and no conditions the bench could impose would reduce the possibility that such premises would not exacerbate existing problems experienced late at night in the North Road area.Delighted residents were then given further good news when a costs order application by their lawyer, Ian Miller, was awarded against the city council, and not Vimac.The city council must foot the £2,795.10 bill for the hearing.Speaking after the hearing, Ann Evans, a retired university lecturer, said: "We're absolutely delighted. We had hoped but did not dare expect the decision to go this way."Ever since I heard the first decision of the city council, I have known it was wrong and I'm so pleased to be vindicated."It shows that the city council has made a mistake in granting the licence."I think the majority of residents of Durham and district will be as delighted as I am."Mrs Evans, her husband, Dr Desmond Evans, and another city resident, Kirsty Thomas, lodged the appeal, backed by a cross-section of people in the city, including university lecturers, community groups and Durham MP Dr Roberta Blackman-Woods, who considered such a premises inappropriate in the city.Mrs Thomas said: "It's a landmark case because, to my knowledge, it's the first case where regulated entertainment has been rejected when opposed by interested parties, by local people who have put together their case as complete amateurs."It's involved a tremendous amount of work and that has only been possible by the support, encouragement and dedication of all our fine witnesses."Mrs Thomas, a retired teacher, added: "Durham people have spoken and they have made their voices clear - they do not want a lap dancing club in the city."The city council said it would comment later and Vimac Leisure's representatives made no comment after the hearing.  more...

Record arrests as sniffer dog proves he has a golden nose

A SNIFFER dog has been named the best in Britain after notching up more than 100 arrests in less than 12 months.Three-year-old Dibley is a labrador with a golden touch and his sensitive nose has helped to clock up 122 arrests this year.The sniffing skills of the Durham Police dog are now so much in demand that handler PC Alison Dawson regularly takes him to help out at operations run by forces throughout the UK.She said: "No other dog in the country has had so many arrests to their credit. Dibley is absolutely phenomenal."At one time, we had eight people in prison on drug supplying charges thanks to him."Dibley and PC Dawson have been partners since Dibley was eight weeks old.He was trained by Wilf Carr, at the force's dog training school, and became adept at detecting a range of drugs, including cocaine, heroin, amphetamine, diamorphine, ecstasy, cannabis, and rohypnol.Most of his work is carried out in pubs and clubs, where his keen nose can detect minute traces of illegal substances, but he has also worked in businesses and schools.The dog is trained to stop and sit when he detects the smallest trace of a drug on a person - he will then not move.PC Dawson said: "When he is working he is simply on fire. He is food rewarded and won't move until he gets a reward - or a pat on the head. I have come across lots of scanning dogs, but Dibley is the best I have ever seen. He just wants to work."We are one of the few forces that regularly go into pubs and we have been asked to help out with operations in Northumbria, Cleveland and North Yorkshire, and as far as North Wales."PC Dawson's previous dog, Jake, was the force's first passive scanning dog and notched up 50 arrests. Four times during his career, Jake was attacked by angry drug takers. He is now retired.  more...

Region could stage 2012 skateboarding competition

OLYMPIC skateboarding should be staged in Middlesbrough when the 2012 Games come to Britain, the Government was told last night. The activity - recognised as one of the fastest growing sports in the world - is tipped to make its debut in 2012, after talks were launched with the International Olympic Committee.Ashok Kumar, MP for Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland, has urged ministers to seize the opportunity to spread the benefits of the games to the region.In a Commons debate last night, Mr Kumar described the Prissick Skate Plaza, in Middlesbrough, as among the "biggest and most impressive" of Britain's skate parks. He said: "Skateboarding is one of the fastest-growing sports in the world and has about 600,000 regular participants in Britain."Discussions are currently in place about the prospect of skateboarding making its Olympic debut at the 2012 games. "There is a real opportunity for the region - and Middlesbrough in particular - for this Plaza to be used in the 2012 Games, for both training purposes and, if possible, for the actual competition."The government has said every region will benefit from 2012, through the boost to tourism, but has been criticised for failing to hold more events away from London. That criticism has become louder as the cost of the games has mushroomed to £9.3bn - more than four times the budget when they were awarded in 2005. Meanwhile, Lottery funding for sports charities, including some in the North-East, have been cut to plug the funding shortfall.However, skateboarders have been divided over taking part in the Olympics, some arguing it would be wrong for a hobby that grew out of the Californian surf craze.In last night's debate, Mr Kumar also spoke of his "disappointment" that The Riverside, Middlesbrough Football Club's stadium, was not being used for Olympic matches.And he urged ministers to do more to help the North-East host a training camp, maximise business opportunities - such as in construction - and generate interest in sport among young people. A list of 20 possible training camps was submitted in May, but Sport England North-East is still waiting to hear whether Olympic officials will visit before a decision next month.Mr Kumar also asked for the Government to support programmes, drawn up by regional development agency One North East to ensure local firms benefit from Olympic construction.He said: "There is a feeling in some of the regions that, despite the public money being spent, the benefits of the Olympics will be limited to London."  more...

'Rail fare increases, but still value for money'

A RAILWAY takeover will mean higher fares for passengers on the East Coast Main Line, a leading transport figure has revealed.National Express East Coast has taken over the running of the line from GNER, which has operated the service since 1996.It pledged to improve the punctuality of trains, make buying tickets easier and upgrade the onboard service by improving the food and making it more affordable.Richard McClean, production director for National Express East Coast, said discount tickets would still be available, but that overall, fares would rise until its franchise expires in 2015.He said: "Over the life of the franchise, fares will rise, but that is part of Government strategy to shift who is paying for the nation's railways between taxpayers and rail users, but rail fares will remain great value for the service that is offered."It will be different in different places because we have got so many journey opportunities."If we take from Newcastle to King's Cross, if you plan ahead, you can get a ticket for £23. "That type of offer will still be there and more incentives and promotions will be going on all the time as we try to encourage more people onto the railway."Trains are already in use showing the new livery as they pass through stations, including Newcastle, Durham and Darlington, between Scotland to London.Mr McClean said passengers would be able to take advantage of a new menu from next month.He said: "Early in the new year we will be starting a new catering structure to simplify the menu and make it more contemporary and, hopefully, provide a greater availability so more people can get hot food at their seat, and that will include standard class."The idea is that it will be more affordable, to make travel simpler for people and make all the parts of the journey that go together better, whether it is buying a ticket, punctuality or the on-board service."National Express overcame opposition from Arriva, First Group and a joint venture between Virgin and Stagecoach to secure the contract. The company agreed to pay the Treasury £1.4bn to operate the franchise until the end of March 2015. It also promised a £7.4m package of station upgrades and a further £8m on station gating schemes, including automatic ticket gates at eight stations.  more...

MEP has wii word with Germans

A NORTH-EAST politician became embroiled in a dispute between shopping website Amazon and parents desperate to get their hands on the must-have computer console Nintendo Wii.Shoppers approached Conservative MEP Martin Callanan after finding that the consoles were out of stock on Amazon's UK website.In desperation, some people tried to buy a Wii on the firm's German website - where it was available - only to be refused.Believing this denial of purchase constituted a breach of European Union rules, they contacted Mr Callanan. After he approached Amazon, the company explained that it had stopped Wii shipments from Germany to UK addresses temporarily because some buyers had bought several consoles and were selling them on at vastly inflated prices. Amazon promised to resume shipments from Germany to the UK as soon as possible.But now the company has run out of Wiis across Europe because supply has been unable to keep up with Christmas demand.Mr Callanan said: "It appeared at first glance that this was a breach of the EU's single market, but I was satisfied with Amazon's explanation."Amazon didn't want unscrupulous buyers building up stock and demanding exorbitant prices. The problem has simply been the huge demand for this product."Amazon took up my concerns and gave an assurance that restrictions wouldn't last for long."Just when we thought the situation would return to normal, the company ran out of stock right across Europe."I just hope the product becomes available again in time for Christmas."A spokesman for Amazon said: "In an effort to provide as many individual customers as possible with the opportunity to purchase a Wii, Amazon.de has temporarily stopped sales outside Germany while it works out a technological fix to ensure that the Nintendo Wii is allocated to individuals on a one unit per person basis."Nintendo has already said that demand for the Wii, launched a year ago last week, has been unprecedented.The Japanese group has upped production targets several times in recent months and now plans to ship 17.5 million units worldwide this year, up from 14 million.  more...

Inquest hears of bid to save motorcyclist

A WOMAN told an inquest yesterday of her desperate attempts to slow traffic to save a motorcyclist lying injured on a busy dual carriageway.Philip Jones, 28, died on the A19 close to the Haynes Arms public house, at Kirby Sigston, near Northallerton, North Yorkshire, on June 2.He had been riding a Triumph motorcycle north when he collided with a silver Vauxhall Astra, which was crossing the carriageway, at about 10.30pm.An inquest into his death, held at County Hall, Northallerton, heard that the collision with the Astra threw Mr Jones from his bike into the road, where he was hit by a BMW and a Vauxhall Corsa.It is thought that the impact of the BMW caused his death.Astra driver Eric Dowson had been on his way home from having tea with his wife, his son and his son's partner when the accident happened. Mr Dowson, of Great Thirkleby, near Thirsk, said he stopped at the junction, saw two headlights in the distance which he thought were about three-quarters of a mile away, and pulled out."We got to the central reservation, and then we heard a big bang in the back of the car," he said.His son's partner, Janice Channing, of Sowerby, Thirsk, said she jumped out of the car immediately and could see Mr Jones, of Bracknell, in Berkshire, in the road. "We were concerned that it would be dangerous because we could see oncoming traffic," she said. "He was shouting. I was trying to slow down the cars. I was screaming at the cars to stop and I was waving my mobile phone."Sergeant Tim Alderson, traffic investigator for North Yorkshire Police, said the oncoming drivers would have had little opportunity to react and avoid Mr Jones.He said: "Mr Dowson either failed to see the approaching motorcycle, or he has seen it and failed to judge the time and distance. The other possibility is that he misread the road layout, passed over the central line and he thought he was in the central reservation."Coroner Michael Oakley recorded a narrative verdict. He said: "Mr Jones was the rider of a motorcycle which collided with the rear near side of a motor car which pulled out from a junction on the A19 on June 2, 2007."He was subsequently struck by several other vehicles and died at the scene."  more...

Man jailed for two years over teenager's stabbing

A MAN has today been jailed for two years for knifing a teenager at the Stockton Riverside Festival.   more...

'Dead' man's wife in court

THE wife of the back-from-the-dead canoeist John Darwin appeared before Hartlepool magistrates this morning charged with two deception offences.   more...

Man airlifted to hospital after collision between car and lorry

A MAN was airlifted to hospital from the scene of an accident in which a woman was left trapped in the wreckage of a car.   more...

Bomb disposal team called in as school is evacuated

A SCHOOL has been evacuated after what is thought to be a First World War weapon was found on the site.   more...