Shields Gazette (South Shields, England) back issues from April 2008:
Thumbs up for new homes plan.
Apr 01, 2008 ... PLANS to build new homes on vacant land in Hebburn have been welcomed by town councillors. Developers will be invited to build in School Street, where dozens of flats were demolished about 15 years ago. The new housing would be part of the massive revamp plans for ...
Kelis's dancing dream goes on.
Apr 01, 2008 ... LITTLE Kelis Tait is determined to become a dancer after years of treatment to correct her club feet. The six-year-old was born with bilateral talipes and had her first operation, to stretch the tendons in her ankles, at the age of four months. She is now having ...
Hollywood makeover for Cookson classic.
Apr 01, 2008 ... HOLLYWOOD chiefs are set to build a multi-million pound movie replica of Jarrow - in Jarrow. The Gazette can today reveal plans to turn Catherine Cookson's novel The Fifteen Streets into an [pounds sterling]80m Hollywood blockbuster. Superstar George Clooney is being ...
Serving up healthy, fruity treats.
Apr 01, 2008 ... A HEALTHY fruit and veg scheme is on the menu at a South Tyneside estate. Based at Lukes Lane Community Centre, in Marine Drive, Hebburn, the Food Chain allows residents to order a variety of fresh fruit and vegetables, which are then delivered to the centre for collection. ...
Gary's Revvy for take-off.
Apr 01, 2008 ... GARAGE boss Gary Potts may be more at home at the wheel of a car - but that won't stop him taking his first solo flight. The 42-year-old has been learning to fly for about 18 months. He became hooked after girlfriend Kerry Taylor, 31, bought him an air experience ...
TA medics honoured for war zone work.
Apr 01, 2008 ... TERRITORIAL Army medics from across the North East of England have been presented with medals after returning from Afghanistan. The brave soldiers were awarded the Afghan medal during a special parade held in Newcastle over the weekend. Among them were three TA ...
Rise in eating disorders among older people.
Apr 01, 2008 ... EATING disorders are usually associated with teenage girls struggling to cope with the changes their body is going through. Fingers are then pointed at the stick-thin celebrities dominating newspaper gossip columns and magazines, giving impressionable youngsters a warped idea of ...
Yob gang victim: 'I feared for my life'.
Apr 01, 2008 ... A FATHER-of-two has told how he feared he would be stabbed after a gang of yobs attacked him outside his home. Edward Bainbridge, 56, from Hill Park Road, Jarrow, was at home with his wife on April 27 last year when he heard youths teasing his dog outside his home. ...
Panto tickets selling like hot cakes.
Apr 01, 2008 ... THEATRE bosses in South Shields have struck gold with their latest pantomime - even though it's eight months away. While others theatres may not be able to 'bear' the idea of thinking about their seasonal panto, The Customs House is already gearing up for a golden performance. ...
Transfer rumours: Sunderland, Sheff Wed, Birmingham, Pompey, Reading, Leicester, Watford, Charlton, Cardiff, Burnley, Man U, West Ham, Wolves, Derby.
Apr 01, 2008 ... STRIKER David Connolly will leave Sunderland for Sheffield Wednesday, providing The Owls can avoid relegation. That's one of the main transfer rumour stories according to today's national newspapers. Here are some more: Birmingham loan signing Mauro Zarate ...
United star gives KK fresh injury scare.
Apr 01, 2008 ... EMRE gave Newcastle United a fresh scare on his comeback from injury. But the midfielder - who had been out for seven weeks with a calf problem - shrugged off an early knock to score a superb goal for the reserves in last night's 1-1 draw against Manchester United in front of ...
Museum scoops [pounds sterling]3m Lotto cash.
Apr 01, 2008 ... A MUSEUM has scooped a multi-million-pound Lotto windfall. The Bowes Museum in Barnard Castle will use the [pounds sterling]3.3m Heritage Lottery Fund handout to expand access to its collections and improve its ...
Newcastle Brown Ale brewers' takeover talk.
Apr 01, 2008 ... THE firm that makes Newcastle Brown Ale has moved another step closer to being taken over by European brewing giant Carlsberg and Heineken. Scottish and Newcastle Breweries yesterday approved the [pounds ...
Detectives' search for murder weapon.
Apr 01, 2008 ... POLICE are appealing for witnesses to come forward with more information about the murder of a teenager. Ross Davidson, 19, died after suffering head injuries at a house in Grace Street, Byker, on Sunday, March 23, at about 10pm. Three ...
Pregnant woman who stabbed lover walks free from jail.
Apr 01, 2008 ... A PREGNANT woman who stabbed her lover for flirting with other women has been given a two-year community rehabilitation order. Sharon Lynch, 41, pulled on rubber gloves to attack Joseph Roach, 22, with a kitchen knife at the flat they shared in ...
OAP's lucky escape after towel blaze.
Apr 01, 2008 ... A PENSIONER had a narrow escape following a blaze at a sheltered complex in Jarrow. A 67-year-old man dropped a lighted cigarette on to a towel at Martin Hall in Monkton Terrace, at 8.10pm yesterday. The blaze triggered smoke alarms and eight Hebburn ...
Arson probe after car blaze.
Apr 01, 2008 ... FIREFIGHTERS were called out to tackle a car blaze in Whiteleas. Crews were alerted to the fire in Manet Gardens, South Shields, where flames had engulfed the engine of a Renault Megane Coupe at 10.15pm. ...
Jail threat to mugger who attacked 77-year-old woman.
Apr 01, 2008 ... A MUGGER who snatched a handbag off a 77-year-old has been warned he faces jail. Darryl Lidgard dragged pensioner Freda Bayles along the ground when he grabbed her handbag near Bede Metro Station, in South Shields. The 21-year-old got away with the contents of the ...
Mum shed six stones for sake of her son.
Apr 01, 2008 ... A MUM has slimmed down by more than 6st in just 15 months for the sake of her young son. Maria Parkin was a size 24, weighing 15st 12lb, when she woke up with heart pains at her Castletown home, in Sunderland. The scare frightened the 35-year-old into action, and now ...
Anger over [pounds sterling]19m NHS cash loans.
Apr 01, 2008 ... MORE than [pounds sterling]18m meant to be spent on the NHS in Sunderland has been used to improve services elsewhere in North East England a probe has revealed. Health chiefs transferred [pounds sterling]7.9m in November last year from Sunderland Teaching Primary Care Trust ...
It's payback - police arrest money laundering suspect.
Apr 01, 2008 ... MORE than [pounds sterling]1,000 has been seized from a South Tyneside home and a man arrested in connection with money laundering during a police raid today. Officers smashed their way into the property in Froude Avenue, Biddick Hall, South Shields, early this morning. ...
Boys' 999 call saves pensioner.
Apr 01, 2008 ... TWO young boys have been hailed heroes for helping out an elderly woman in distress. Pals Joseph Henderson, 11, and Lee Everson, 10, from Toner Avenue Primary School in Hebburn, were playing out with friends on Sunday afternoon when the pensioner came to her door feeling unwell ...
Councillor arrested in 'racial' parking row.
Apr 01, 2008 ... A SOUTH Tyneside councillor has been suspended by Labour Party chiefs after being arrested on suspicion of racially aggravated disorder. Coun Rob Dix, pictured, Labour representative for Harton, was arrested last Wednesday afternoon by officers in Chapter Row, South Shields, ...
Recording stories of town's Arab community.
Apr 01, 2008 ... A UNIQUE chance to hear the stories of the Yemeni community which settled in South Tyneside is launched tomorrow. The community was essential to the shipping industry in South Shields and established one of the largest Arab settlements in Britain when they came to the UK in the ...
Passengers safe as bus catches fire.
Apr 01, 2008 ... TWENTY passengers escaped unhurt from a bus after the engine over-heated and set alight on a busy South Tyneside street. The No9 Go North East bus was evacuated at about 3pm yesterday after it turned onto the Albert Road, Ellison Street fly-over, above Jarrow Metro station, when ...
Ferry repair safeguards 600 shipyard jobs.
Apr 01, 2008 ... A NEW ship repair contract at a South Tyneside yard will safeguard the jobs of up to 600 workers. P&O passenger and vehicle ferry Norcape has just arrived at A&P Tyne, Hebburn, for a general upgrade, including decking and main engine crankshaft work. The contract, ...
End of an era as Tyne pilots retire.
Apr 01, 2008 ... THE end of an era has been reached with the retirement of the last two Tyne pilots. They are the last exponents of a tradition of pilot families on the river going back hundreds of years. DURING careers spanning 45 years each, John Marshall and Alan Purvis have ...
Sunderland star to answer bail over wife-beating claims.
Apr 01, 2008 ... FORMER England striker Andy Cole is due to answer bail after being arrested on suspicion of assaulting his wife. Cole, who is on loan to Burnley from Sunderland, but enjoyed most success while playing for Newcastle United and Man Utd was arrested on 25 February at his home in ...
Grandma's campaign hits [pounds sterling]3,000 mark.
Apr 02, 2008 ... A CHARITY appeal sparked by a former South Shields grandmother has reached the [pounds sterling]3,000 mark. Rose Brown set up the Lucas Charity to raise money for the hospital treating her desperately ill grandson. Two-year-old Lucas Longthorpe, from Leeds, is one of ...
Fitness experts will whip you into shape for summer.
Apr 02, 2008 ... SOUTH Tyneside's top fitness experts are joining forces to whip people into shape for the summer. Gazette columnist Paul Mort and pilates instructor Emma Newham have combined their expertise and set up a joint venture. Their ambition is to shrink the waistlines and ...
DNA kit helps catch bus spitting teen.
Apr 02, 2008 ... A TEENAGER who spat at a bus driver was tracked down by police thanks to a specialist DNA kit. Hal Parker ended up in court and was landed with a [pounds sterling]230 fine after he was snared by a spit kit, issued to Go North East and Stagecoach bus drivers. The ...
Police help kids stage rave night.
Apr 02, 2008 ... THERE have been lots of cases nationwide over the years of police stopping or breaking up raves over the years. Exactly the opposite has been happening in Whitburn, however, as police there have been encouraging youngsters to rave on. Police neighbourhood beat ...
Promoted Colts get a new kit.
Apr 02, 2008 ... A JUNIOR football team have made it into the top flight - and been rewarded with a new strip. Boldon Colts Under-10s finished runners-up in the Russell Foster League First Division this season, narrowly missing out on first place. But before ...
Mum Joan's enthralling bedtime stories.
Apr 02, 2008 ... MUM Joan Watson has a vivid imagination, but has only recently started to put her stories down on paper. They emerged from bedtime tales she would tell her daughter Georgina, who's now six. Now Mrs Watson, of Walsh Avenue, Hebburn, is the latest entrant in our Author ...
Spared jail for attack on drunken reveller.
Apr 02, 2008 ... A YOB who took part in a street attack on a drunken reveller has been spared jail. David Humphreys, 22, punched Daniel Cook once before a 17-year-old youth continued the assault. Newcastle Crown Court heard how Mr Cook, 25, who was "very drunk", suffered ...
Teenager denies friend's murder.
Apr 02, 2008 ... A TEENAGER has appeared in court accused of murdering a close friend. Joseph Longstaff, 18, is accused of throwing a punch at Graeme Pounder which led to the 21-year-old's death. The incident happened at The Loft nightclub in Durham, while the pair were ...
Recognition for funeral director.
Apr 02, 2008 ... A SOUTH Shields funeral director is celebrating after receiving nationwide recognition. Golden Charter, a leading independent funeral plan provider, has awarded funeral director Peter Kerrigan, of Tynedale Funeral Service, the prestigious 'National Funeral Planner of the Year ...
Changes to housing benefits.
Apr 02, 2008 ... CHANGES to housing benefit for private tenants is set to come into force on Monday. The Local Housing Allowance (LHA) will see changes to the way benefit is worked out and paid to people on low incomes, who are living in privately rented accommodation. Only new ...
Martial arts expert battling blindness.
Apr 02, 2008 ... A MARTIAL arts expert is facing the biggest fight of his life - against blindness. John Suggitt, from Jarrow, has suffered from failing sight since he was diagnosed with diabetes in 1982. Only his love of the ancient art of aikido has sustained him through several ...
Teachers to strike over pay deal.
Apr 02, 2008 ... TEACHERS will stage the first national strike in 21 years. The National Union of Teachers (NUT) said a ballot of its 255,000 members found a majority of those who voted were in favour of a one-day strike over pay. It's due to take place on April 24, and South Tyneside ...
Stop calling me pet, love!
Apr 02, 2008 ... "MAKE mine a pint, pet!" is no more as a new law banning affectionate phrases comes into force this weekend. They've long been used across North East England as terms of endearment, but words like "pet", "love" and "darling" will all be off limits as an amendment to the sex ...
Tumour survivor Shanice up for award.
Apr 02, 2008 ... BRAVE Shanice Baird had never been in hospital before - until she was diagnosed with a life-threatening brain condition. The 11-year-old, from Coppergate Court, Hebburn, caught a cold before Christmas, with her symptoms growing increasingly worse over the holiday period. ...
Ambulance bosses get top marks.
Apr 02, 2008 ... AMBULANCE bosses are celebrating after getting to more patients in the North East of England faster than they have ever done before - and saving more lives. Average response times to life-threatening calls in 2007-08 were achieved in eight minutes or faster in 78.8 per cent of ...
It's payback time says police chief.
Apr 02, 2008 ... POLICE chief Mike Craik has urged South Tyneside to help make it Payback time for criminals. A major operation, Payback 2, launched was launched on Monday in Gateshead. The force-wide campaign is aimed at seizing criminals' assets, from low-level offenders to ...
Did you fall for our April Fool?
Apr 02, 2008 ... DID you fall for our April Fool yesterday? We told the far reaching story how Hollywood chiefs were planning to remake Catherine Cookson's classic novel Fifteen Street into an [pounds sterling]80m blockbuster with George Clooney in the lead role. And after a scouting ...
Payback for honest schoolboy crimefighters.
Apr 02, 2008 ... TWO youngsters have been rewarded after handing in an abandoned bike. Eight-year-olds Connor Johnson and Jake Bowman, from Blyth, found the mountain bike in bushes.They contacted their local residents' association and the bike was handed in to police. After 28 days ...
OAPs tour England on the buses - for free.
Apr 02, 2008 ... TWO men are set to test the new England-wide free bus pass by travelling from Newcastle to Liverpool using only local buses. Ken Turley and Ian Pyle, both from Newcastle, will begin their journey on Sunday, May 18 by taking the number 685 to Carlisle. ...
Teen charged with nightclub murder in court.
Apr 02, 2008 ... A TEENAGER has appeared in court accused of murdering his friend. Joseph Longstaff, 18, is accused of throwing a punch at Graeme Pounder, which led to the 21-year-old's death. The incident happened at The Loft nightclub where the pair were out celebrating a birthday. ...
Get Carter mansion up for sale.
Apr 02, 2008 ... A MANSION house used in the classic crime film Get Carter has been put up for sale for [pounds sterling]1.75m. Dryderdale Hall, near Hamsterley, County Durham, ...
Jealous dad set fire to estranged wife.
Apr 02, 2008 ... A father-of-four set his estranged wife on fire when he threw a homemade petrol bomb into a busy pub. Brian Renfree was temporarily separated from wife Katherine when he saw her in the Shakespeare pub in Guidepost, Northumberland, with another man. He demanded she ...
CLIQ and buy some rock records.
Apr 02, 2008 ... A PIONEERING radio station has launched in North East England - which lets the listener buy the song they have just listened to. Digital Rock Radio is the UK's only radio network which allows the listener to download music to a mobile phone while listening, using the software ...
Scientists create Europe's first human/animal hybrid egg.
Apr 02, 2008 ... SCIENTISTS in the region have made a breakthrough with the creation of Europe's first part-human, part-animal embryo. After being given a licence to start a research programme in January this year, researchers at Newcastle University have now succeeded in transferring a human ...
Toon's turnaround down to Norman's good luck charm for KK.
Apr 02, 2008 ... ARTIST and poet Norman McGlasham could be Newcastle United's good luck charm. The pensioner recently sent the club a sketch of newly-appointed Toon boss Kevin Keegan, expressing the hope it "might bring him luck" after a sequence of bad results. And the artistic ...
Man fighting for life after taxi collision.
Apr 02, 2008 ... A MAN is critically ill in hospital after colliding with a taxi on a South Shields road. The 46-year-old is being treated for serious injuries at Newcastle General Hospital following the incident on March 23. It is thought he had stepped ...
Police hunt mugger on bike.
Apr 02, 2008 ... A THIEF snatched an 87-year-old woman's handbag as he sped past her on a bike. The pensioner was unhurt, but left shaken by the ordeal which happened on Friday, at about 4pm. The woman had been walking along Readhead Avenue, in South Shields, when a man on a bike ...
Shannon dad in porn arrest.
Apr 02, 2008 ... DETECTIVES investigating the disappearance of Shannon Matthews have arrested her stepfather on suspicion of possessing indecent images of children. Craig Meehan, 22, was arrested after officers on the Shannon Matthews case carried out inspections on a number of computers. ...
Man sparks police siege.
Apr 02, 2008 ... RESIDENTS had to be evacuated from their homes after a man sparked a four-hour stand-off on a South Tyneside estate. Police surrounded an address in Bunyan Avenue, Biddick Hall, South Shields, after reports of a man refusing to come out of the property. A police ...
Save our centre - or risk losing it forever.
Apr 02, 2008 ... A SECOND community centre in South Tyneside has found itself on the brink of financial collapse. The Charles Young Centre in Talbot Road, South Shields, could close unless it boosts its dwindling membership. Bosses at the centre have now made an urgent appeal for help ...
Pair convicted for faking Michael Owen, Watne Rooney, Steve Gerrard and Jonny Wilkinson autographs.
Apr 02, 2008 ... TWO businessmen have been found guilty of cheating their customers by forging and selling the signatures of sports stars. Chester Crown Court heard the pair faked autographs of stars including Newcastle United striker Michael Owen, Newcastle Falcoms and England rugby star Jonny ...
No charges for Cole over wife-beating claims.
Apr 02, 2008 ... SUNDERLAND footballer Andy Cole will face no further action over allegations he assaulted his wife. Cole, 36, was arrested in the early hours of February 25 at his home in Alderley Edge, Cheshire. He was due to answer bail yesterday, but a Cheshire Police spokesman ...
Transfer rumours: Arsenal, Chelsea, Blackburn, Middlesbrough, Bolton, Birmingham, Sheff Utd, Southampton, Huddersfield.
Apr 02, 2008 ... ARSENAL boss Arsene Wenger has ruled out rumours linking one of his young stars with a summer move to Juventus, according to today's papers. The Italian giants do not want to sign Mathieu Flamini Wenger has told the Daily Mirror. Meanwhile, Chelsea have been linked ...
'Let's extend winning run at Fulham' - Chopra.
Apr 02, 2008 ... SUNDERLAND striker Michael Chopra is looking to extend the Black Cats' winning run - to make Premier League survival a certainty. Successive wins over Aston Villa and West Ham have taken Roy Keane's side to the brink of safety - they now sit in 14th place, seven points clear of ...
End of the Sho for paceman Akhtar?
Apr 02, 2008 ... A FIVE-YEAR ban imposed on former Durham player Shoaib Akhtar came about because the Pakistan Cricket Board felt the fast bowler's presence was "damaging to the team and the image of Pakistan cricket", according to chairman Nasim Ashraf. Shoaib has vowed to appeal against the ...
Does Keane enjoy managing Sunderland?
Apr 02, 2008 ... SUNDERLAND boss Roy Keane freely acknowledges he is learning his trade by the week - while he attempts to steer the club to safety during his first season as a Premiership manager. However, while a man who has developed a reputation for straight-talking over the years is clearly ...
Keane scouring Europe to bring 'top, top players' to Sunderland.
Apr 02, 2008 ... SUNDERLAND manager Roy Keane will attempt to fulfil the dreams of the club's fans when he sets about his summer recruitment drive. The Irishman has already invested around [pounds sterling]44million of the Drumaville consortium's cash since taking over in August 2006, winning ...