Stories for 8 December 2007

The Northern Echo News

Centre survives for a few more months after cash injection

A COMMUNITY centre that faces a funding crisis has secured enough cash to survive until next spring.   more...

Big bill means lights go out on Christmas tree plan

A VILLAGE residents' group has cancelled its communal Christmas tree because it could not afford to pay for the lights.   more...

Teen branded a 'menace to society' jailed

A TEENAGER was branded a menace to society and a danger to the public as a judge jailed him for three years for a string of offences.   more...

Boat dealer: Getting to know Darwin 'was like drawing blood from a stone'

A BOAT dealer who negotiated to sell John Darwin a yacht when he was supposed to be dead said that trying to get to know him was like drawing blood from a stone.   more...

Reported sightings of "missing" John Darwin in North-East may have been genuine

CLAIMS made tonight by Anne Darwin that her husband, "missing" canoeist John, had moved home within a year of his apparent death has given credence to reported sightings of him, a police source told The Northern Echo tonight.   more...

Missing canoeist's wife believed to be in Florida

IT is believed that the wife of "missing" canoeist John Darwin is in the United States.   more...

Bound victim tells of her terror raid ordeal

A HOUSEWIFE who dialled her husband's mobile phone using her tongue after she was tied up by burglars has described her ordeal.Still clearly shaken, the woman, in her mid-40s, described how she was roughed up by two masked men, who spent half an hour in her County Durham home before they fled with money and a Rotary watch. Speaking yesterday, she said: "I do not like to be on my own any more, especially at night-time when it is dark now."These people need to be caught. I really do not want anyone to have that fear."The attack happened when the woman returned to her isolated home in Nevilles Cross Bank, on the outskirts of Durham, at 5.30pm on Thursday, November 29.Once inside, she heard the sensor alarm go at the front door and thought it was the paperboy.She said: "There was nothing there and as I returned to the kitchen, there was a masked man coming towards me shouting and yelling. I cannot remember what he was saying -it was just a noise."He then got hold of me and put his hand over my face when I started to scream."She was dragged to the living room, where a second man was waiting, and was tied up. She said: "They started to push me down. They were just shouting at me and I was screaming."They told me to keep quiet and asked me where my husband's money was."At one point they dragged me across the floor and told me to keep quiet. They hit me and I did not know if they were going to do it again. It was absolutely terrifying."After they left, the woman, with her hands still bound, managed to stand up and get to the kitchen. She said: "I nudged the phone off the receiver and then dialled my husband's mobile, pushing the numbers down with my tongue."It cut off at one point because I never dialled quickly enough and I had to press the buttons again."When she got through, she was cut off again, but her husband called back to find out what had happened. Detective Inspector Brad Howe said: "It is a very rare offence and a serious one -reflected in the number of officers dealing with it. It has had a quite horrific effect on the victim, who has been psychologically traumatised."He said there may have been a third person involved in the attack and appealed for witnesses who may have seen a car leaving the area at speed or anyone acting suspiciously in the area at the time.Anyone with information is asked to call 0845-60-60-365 or anonymously to Crimestoppers on 0800-555-111.  more...

'Darwin hatched plot to disappear for second time'

BACK-from-the-grave canoeist John Darwin is believed to have told police he hatched a plot to disappear for a second time because his wife had cashed in his life insurance while she genuinely thought he was dead. The revelation came as Anne Darwin claimed that John had been back living in their home in Seaton Carew within a year of the 2002 canoe accident after which he had disappeared.Mrs Darwin's whereabouts remain known only to the journalists to whom she has sold her story. Her revelations in this morning's newspapers include the claim that when her sons came to visit, Mr Darwin would move into the house they owned next door - possibly through a hole in the wall behind a wardrobe - so that the boys did not see the father they believed was dead.Mrs Darwin - whose story has changed dramatically in the past few days - claimed that her husband had faked his death to avoid his mounting debts.This, though, would appear to differ from the details Mr Darwin is telling the police who are questioning him in Kirkleatham station in Redcar. A source close to the investigation told The Northern Echo that Mr Darwin, 57, was choosing not to answer any direct questions yesterday, but gave officers a prepared statement when his interview started.It is believed the statement revealed he could remember taking his canoe out to sea, "coming to" months later and finding his way back home where his wife told him she had cashed in his life insurance policy. The Northern Echo understands that the statement says the couple could not afford to pay back the cash Mrs Darwin had collected, so they hatched a plan for the prison officer to disappear for a second time.The revelations add credence to sightings of Mr Darwin in the North-East after he supposedly died."As the inquiry has progressed over the last few days it has become abundantly clear that all was not as it seemed," said the police source last night."With the magic of hindsight, it is now possible to accept the accounts witnesses have given over the years which were hard to believe at the time when Mr Darwin was thought to be dead."When you look at those accounts now you can put two and two together and get four when in the past it had not been possible to do that. Two and two seemed to add up to five."Cleveland Police are holding Mr Darwin, 57, on suspicion of fraud. Yesterday morning, the father-of-two was taken to a private hearing at Hartlepool Magistrates' Court, where police were granted a further 36 hours to question him.That runs out at 11.33pm today, although they may apply for another extension.Speaking outside the court, Detective Inspector Andy Greenwood, of Cleveland Police, said: "John Darwin is presently being interviewed. He is putting forward some sort of account."However, Det Insp Greenwood said he could not yet give any further details about what Mr Darwin had told police because it was a complicated inquiry. He said of Mr Darwin's court appearance: "He was calm and relaxed."It is also believed that Mr Darwin only discovered yesterday that a photograph of him with his wife in Panama taken last year had been seen by police after it was discovered on an estate agent's website.It has been reported that 55-year-old Mrs Darwin, who until her emigration to Panama six weeks ago had worked as a doctors' receptionist in Gilesgate, Durham City, has admitted that the picture is genuine. Police will soon show it to Mr Darwin.The police source said: "Is he remembering anything yet? "Clearly, when he sees the photograph of himself off the internet, he is going to have to come up with something. But the short answer is 'No'."Detectives who are trying to piece together the former Holme House prison officer's movements since he vanished have also been helped by key witnesses.A boat dealer in Gibraltar has told police he agreed a deal with Mr Darwin - said to have been travelling on a fake passport and calling himelf John Jones - for a £45,000 catamaran in 2005 - three years after his "death".A £1,000 deposit is said to have been transferred from his wife's bank account but the deal for the 69ft boat fell through when the buyer argued about its interior fittings. It is believed Mr Darwin flew to Gibraltar via Gatwick from Newcastle Airport - again indicating he had spent some of his lost years in his native North-East.Detectives are thought to have paperwork, which includes Mr Darwin's email address, bank statements showing Mrs Darwin's deposit, and details of the November 12 flight.Last night, police said they also wanted to speak to an angler who claimed to have met Mr Darwin while fishing in Cornwall 18 months ago, and been told: "I've done a Reggie Perrin."Dockyard worker Matt Autie, 37, said the man he met while fishing at a lake called himself John Williams - but he now recognised him as Mr Darwin from newspaper coverage.A Cleveland Police spokesman said that officers were trying to trace Mr Autie, from Helston, Cornwall.Mr Autie told The Sun newspaper that he met his fellow fisherman at Wheal Grey lake near Penzance - and even lent him £300.He claimed the man he says is Mr Darwin told him he had done a "Reggie Perrin", telling him: "I have gone missing, it worked out better for me and my missus." Mr Autie said he was told by the man that the pair were in debt and: "We just agreed for me to go".Although Mrs Darwin's location was unknown last night, she has said she is on her way back from South America to face the music and apologise to her sons, Mark and Anthony, who have disowned her.Police remain in telephone contact with the sons, who are being treated as victims of the scam, and Mr Greenwood said: ''They are keeping their heads down.''  more...

Jockey who galloped into the record books

THE accusation was unthinkable to a legion of ordinary punters who backed the "Fallon Factor".The Old Bailey trial was only the latest in a series of controversies which have dogged the six-times champion jockey's career.Frankie Dettori may have been the darling of many, but when it came to getting the job done, no one did it better than Fallon, according to racing fans.The day before his trial started, Fallon rode Dylan Thomas to victory in the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe, in Paris.Born in County Clare, Fallon had a fiery reputation when riding in the North of England early in his career.He hit the headlines for the wrong reasons after an altercation with a fellow jockey in 1994.He was banned from riding for six months after the Jockey Club found him guilty of violent or improper conduct after pulling Stuart Webster from his horse at Beverley.Fallon's talent, however, was indisputable and he landed the top job as stable jockey to Henry Cecil in 1997.The string of winners from Warren Place in Newmarket helped Fallon make a giant leap forward, and he ended the season as champion jockey for the first time, with more than 200 victories to his name.The partnership did not last, and the pair split in 1999 - even though they teamed up to win the Derby with Oath at Epsom in June of the same year.The jockey suffered a serious injury and almost lost the use of his left arm in a fall at Royal Ascot in June 2000. The injury threatened his career and led to him being out of action for six months.In 2003, he admitted in an article in The Sunday Times to having a problem with alcohol and was undergoing a 30-day programme of treatment.There were other controversies too but, through all his troubles, Fallon's extraordinary riding talents shone like a beacon.He cemented his huge popularity with punters when he landed a massive public gamble in the 2003 Vodafone Derby, winning on Kris Kin for Sir Michael Stoute after an inspired ride.And he once again proved he had taken over Lester Piggott's mantle as the master of Epsom with a Classic-winning double 12 months later when he again won the Derby, this time on North Light, and also took the Vodafone Oaks on Ouija Board.Undeniably one of the all-time greats, he ended 2004 as champion jockey for the sixth time. But during the same period, Fallon had been the subject of an undercover police surveillance operation.He left Newmarket to form a new successful partnership with the Coolmore and O'Brien stables in Ireland, in 2005. He rose to new heights and had a historic Guineas double at Newmarket, among other victories.But things turned sour in July last year, after he was charged with conspiracy to defraud punters at Betfair, and was banned from racing in Britain.Further suspensions in the US and Hong Kong bedevilled his progress outside Britain.He was banned worldwide for six months in November, last year, for testing positive to a metabolite of a prohibited substance in France.  more...

Fallon: My outrage over race fixing trial

MILLIONAIRE jockey Kieren Fallon spoke of his relief and outrage last night after a £10m race-fixing trial collapsed - as the racing world waited to see if he would launch a claim for loss of earnings.Fallon and five other men, who were accused of plotting to throw races, were acquitted by an Old Bailey jury on the directions of the trial judge.Outside court, Fallon, who had been banned from racing since his arrest last year, said he was relieved but angry.In a statement read on his behalf, he said: "I am, of course, relieved and delighted, but also outraged. There was never any evidence against me."I have always said I have never stopped a horse or fixed a race. The court has confirmed what we have always said - there was no evidence against me."I am devastated at having lost over a year's racing at the top level, at possibly the most important time in my career, and I have missed out on considerable income."Trial judge Mr Justice Forbes said the evidence given by the prosecution's sole expert witness - Australian Ray Murrihy - contained "significant limitations and shortcomings".Fallon's solicitors immediately called for two inquiries into the case, which they estimated cost £10m.They said one investigation should look into police testimony during the trial, and the second into why the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) proceeded with the case.But the CPS defended the decision to prosecute. CPS lawyer Asker Husain said: "This was a serious allegation of fraud in connection with horseracing, with the potential to undermine the integrity of a historic sport enjoyed by millions."Fallon, one of the most successful jockeys ever, has amassed £22m in prize money in the past five seasons, according to the Racing Post.Racing sources said he could have netted £1m last year in this country if he had not been suspended by the British Horseracing Authority (BHA) throughout the inquiry.Last night, the authority lifted its ban on the six-time champion jockey racing in the UK.But senior figures criticised the suspension.Ferdy Murphy, who trains horses out of Wynbury Stables at West Witton, near Leyburn, North Yorkshire, said the jockeys should not have been suspended from riding before a verdict was reached.He said: "The justice system in this country says you are innocent until proven guilty, and really, they should have been allowed to ride all the way through."That is the downside of it, that they were deprived of a living."Mark Johnston, of Kingsley House stables at nearby Middleham, warned that potential claims for loss of earnings from Fallon for his English riding ban during the trial could be enormous.He said: "It is not just the direct lost earnings, it is things like his breeding interests and stallions that could have gone to stud if he had ridden them."Spokesman Paul Struthers said the BHA would review all the evidence to see if there had been breaches of the rules of racing that would merit disciplinary action.He said: "This will be done as a priority and, we trust, with the full co-operation of those involved in the police investigation."Fallon, fellow jockeys Fergal Lynch and Darren Williams, gambler and businessman Miles Rodgers and two other men had been accused of plotting to throw races.But the "fatal flaw" in the £6m case was that no one was able to prove the jockeys had interfered with horses.The case against the men was that they were trying to break Jockey Club rule 157 by stopping horses racing on their merits.But Mr Murrihy said he was not familiar with the rules in the UK, was only giving his opinion on the riding, and could not say what the outcome of a stewards' inquiry would have been.The jury also heard that Fallon had a higher win rate in the races he was allegedly meant to throw than his average.City of London Police, which had been asked to investigate by the Jockey Club, came under constant criticism throughout the case.It emerged that the then commissioner of the force had approached a director of the Jockey Club - now the British Horseracing Authority - about more funding for the inquiry, which is thought to have cost about £3m.It was also revealed that the main detective in the case had been offered a job with the BHA's investigation unit.The accused were said to have plotted to stop 27 horses winning between December 2002 and August 2004.The betting syndicate run by Rodgers was said to have wagered £2.1m on horses to lose, making between £60,000 and £143,000.Fallon, 42, formerly of Newmarket but now of Tipperary, Ireland; Lynch, 29, of Boroughbridge, North Yorkshire; and Williams, 29, of Leyburn, North Yorkshire; Lynch's driver brother Shaun Lynch, 38, of Belfast; gambler and businessman Mr Rodgers, 38, of Silkstone, South Yorkshire; and barman Philip Sherkle, 42, of Tamworth, Staffordshire, were all cleared on the directions of the judge.Mr Rodgers was also found not guilty of concealing the proceeds of crime. Trainer Karl Burke, of Spigot Lodge, Middleham, was arrested in the first round of police raids in September 2004, but later released from his bail without charge.Last night he said he was delighted that the race-fixing trial had collapsed, particularly for Darren Williams, who regularly raced for him."I just think it was a farce from day one," he said."From the evidence that they were producing, I never thought it would go the full length."  more...

Thief spared jail to save prisons from burden

A WHEELCHAIR-BOUND thief who stole pension money from her elderly friends was spared jail yesterday because she would have been too much of a burden for prison staff.Carol Dewar was told by a judge that she deserved to be locked up for the "mean and nasty" offence, but that her ill-health would have caused problems for the authorities.Dewar stole £1,200 from the Post Office account of her friends Peggy and Jim Haynes, both in their 80s, during a four-day break at their County Durham home.The 55-year-old took the account card and got access to the Pin number before she went to a Post Office and withdrew £600 on two consecutive days in January.She was found guilty of two counts of theft at Teesside Crown Court last month, and the case was adjourned for reports.Dewar was put on probation 13 years ago after she admitted stealing cash from an elderly professor she worked for in her native Scotland.Yesterday, she was given a 12-month jail sentence, suspended for two years, ordered to pay the couple £1,200 compensation and put on a six-month curfew from 6pm to 6am.Judge Peter Bowers told her: "It seems the prison authorities would struggle to cope with you for the sort of sentence you richly deserve."This was a mean and nasty offence against an elderly couple who thought you were their friend, but you abused that friendship in a gross and despicable way."But for the difficulties for the authorities to cope and the manpower needed to look after you, I would send you away."The court heard that the thefts -carried out as the elderly couple from Ferryhill had afternoon naps - was noticed when Mr Haynes went to take out their usual monthly £400 in February.Dewar, from East Lothian, was in the North-East at the time and was staying with the couple, but denied she was responsible for the theft.She continued to dispute she was the thief even though she was captured on a security camera in the post office -inside the Spennymoor Co-op -at the times the money was withdrawn.Ian West, in mitigation, said Dewar accepted the offences were mean and said she deserved to be jailed.  more...

‘Pensioners have seen big incomes rise’

PENSIONERS have seen   more...

Soldiers relive ordeal of tragic helicopter crash

TWO soldiers who survived a military   more...

Survivors raise cash for charity

THE Army platoon involved in   more...

Aged 105 and still a character

ONE of the North-East's oldest   more...

Rock fan takes centre stage after his hero is taken ill

A TEENAGE fan of rock star Pete   more...

Panto plea for Children’s Foundation

MEMBERS of a theatre audience are   more...

Police charge John Darwin

DETECTIVES investigating the case of back from the dead' Teesside man, John Darwin, this afternoon charged him with two offences.   more...

BREAKING NEWS: Police to charge John Darwin

DETECTIVES on Teesside say they plan to charge 'back from the dead' canoeist John Darwin this afternoon.   more...

Darwin lived in Hartlepool for years after his "death"

THE wife of back-from-the-dead canoeist John Darwin has said he was living in their family home for three years after he was declared dead.   more...

Teenager suffers fractured skull in road accident

A TEENAGE boy who ran out in front of a car suffered a fractured skull and broken leg.   more...

Project to upgrade water mains set to start

A £300,000 project to upgrade 3km of essential water mains in a Teesside town looks set to start next month.   more...

Drive to improve town's health

POOR health in Darlington will not improve unless young people are helped to change their lifestyles, community leaders have warned.   more...

Girl's parents honoured for fundraising efforts

THE parents of a little girl who lost her hands and toes to a deadly form of meningitis have been honoured for bringing people together through their fund-raising effort.   more...