Cleveland Police 'left £11k of cannabis behind' following drugs raid at Gresham home

Claim made in a court case involving removal man Alex Westwood, who had cleared the house and was later caught with 1kg of cannabis in his van

Drugs worth a potential £11,000 were left behind by police after a raid on a Middlesbrough home, it has been claimed.

Officers from Cleveland Police are said to have left cannabis after a swoop on a drugs factory in Princes Road, Gresham.

The claim was made in a court case involving a removal man who had cleared the house and was later caught with 1kg of cannabis.

Alex Westwood said he was carrying 1.11kg of the Class B drug in his van to throw it away at the tip.

Police stopped the businessman and found the plastic bag of cannabis.

Teesside’s most senior judge said he was “taken aback” at first by Westwood’s plea to simple possession of cannabis.

He gave Westwood a conditional discharge after he and the prosecution accepted the defendant’s account.

Westwood was stopped driving a white van on Worcester Street, Middlesbrough at about 4.20pm on July 4 last year.

A bag strongly smelling of cannabis was found in the front of the van, Teesside Crown Court heard.

Other items including a fridge were in the back of the vehicle.

Prosecutor Sue Jacobs said: “The defendant’s account throughout is that he was asked to clear out a cannabis farm and swept up the rubbish from the floor.”

She said police confirmed he’d already taken one load to the Haverton Hill tip when he was caught.

The bag in the van contained “herbal material and debris” - 1.11kg of cannabis valued at £11,000 if it was all usable.

Mrs Jacobs added: “The landlord’s agent confirmed that the defendant was asked to clear out the property.

“Everything seems to point to the account that’s given by the defendant being correct.”

Westwood, 37, of Marton Road, Middlesbrough, denied possession of cannabis with intent to supply but admitted simple possession, which the Crown accepted.

He had previous convictions for possession of heroin and cocaine, and being concerned in the supply of heroin.

Scott Taylor, defending, said the cannabis was left behind by police after a raid.

He said: “They took what was needed. They left everything else behind.

“A certain amount of material was left by the police.

“The police have accepted and the prosecution accept that this defendant was asked by the owner of the property to bag everything up and take it to the tip.

“He bagged it up and on the way to the tip was stopped by the police.

“It’s accepted by the Crown that he’d simply cleared everything away as it was left and he was on his way to dump it along with a fridge freezer and anything else that had been left in the premises.

“He was basically doing what he was asked to do by the owner.

“It was certainly not for his own consumption.”

Mr Taylor said the home was raided the day before Westwood, who runs a removal business, was caught.

Cleveland Police and the Crown Prosecution Service say the raid took place on October 15, 2012, almost nine months earlier.

Mrs Jacobs said in court none of the officers in the raid of the “extensive” cannabis farm could “assist as to what state the premises were left in”.

Judge Simon Bourne-Arton QC, the Recorder of Middlesbrough, told Westwood: “The prosecution are persuaded and therefore I am persuaded that the account given to the court is accurate.

“I’m going to sentence you upon that basis.

“You knew what you were doing, namely helping clear out premises which were a cannabis factory, and no doubt you did that for a reward.

“But I’m equally confident that the kilogramme was not in a state for immediate use because it was clearly the floor sweepings from the premises and would have been little or nor use to anybody, you included.

“You were involved in the possession of that amount of cannabis and clearly you have to be punished for it.”

He had noted: “People who operate a cannabis farm do not willingly dispose of £11,000 worth of their profit.”

He gave Westwood an 18-month conditional discharge, which he said was “the equivalent of a suspended sentence”, and ordered him to pay £500 costs.

A Cleveland Police spokesman said: “The cannabis farm and equipment that was recovered from the address by the police was some eight months prior to the defendant being stopped in his vehicle.

“When he was stopped and searched he was found with over a kilogramme of cannabis which could have been used or sold on.

“We are pleased the judge has recognised the criminality in the defendant’s actions and encouraged by the sentence given.

“The production of cannabis is a concern and a profit-making exercise for organised criminals.

“Those who discover farms within their property and wish to clean up afterwards are advised to contact the police for advice and guidance.”

Live: Breaking news, traffic and travel across Teesside

The Evening Gazette's live breaking news blog brings you regular updates, pictures, video, tweets and comments covering the latest Teesside and North Yorkshire traffic, travel, weather, crime and council news for today, Tuesday 27th May, 2014.

You can contribute to the live blog by posting your comment below, and you can also tweet us @EveningGazette to share breaking news stories, pictures and opinions.

Our Teesside breaking news live blog begins at 07:00am every weekday and is updated throughout the day and into the evening.

North-east centre to drive satellite technology

The region has been selected as one of the UK's leading centres in satellite technology

The North-east has been selected as one of the UK’s leading centres in satellite technology which will allow firms to tap into a market expected to exceed £40bn by 2030.

NETPark, the science park at Sedgefield, will be one of the first three centres in the UK and will work with businesses wanting help and advice to break into the satellite applications industry or get more support for current work.

The North East Satellite Applications Centre of Excellence is a regional consortium led by Business Durham, the economic development company for County Durham, and includes the region’s five universities and Tees Valley Unlimited - Teesside’s Local Enterprise Partnership.

It is being launched by The Satellite Applications Catapult, an independent technology and innovation company driving economic growth in key sectors.

Stuart Martin, CEO of the Catapult, said: “The North East Satellite Applications Centre of Excellence offers an impressive partnership looking at opportunities to unlock a range of high value market opportunities within the region.

“The new centre will ensure the successful commercialisation of new technology and innovation, cementing the UK’s position in key technology sectors.

“The centre will provide North-east businesses with access to the tools and support to tap into a market that is continually growing. One of the key objectives of the centre is to engage regional companies in solving industrial problems using satellite data and technology.

“These solutions are typically high value with the opportunity to export into global markets.”

Stephen Catchpole, managing director of Tees Valley Unlimited, added “Being awarded Centre of Excellence status is important as it will contribute to the expansion and diversification of the local economy.

“It also will help give companies a competitive edge, placing them at the forefront of high value new technologies and innovation and enable them to tap into new business opportunities both at home and abroad.”

Satellite applications, data and technology is a rapidly developing sector with the market growing by an average of 7% each year since 2008.

Latest developments include satellite systems using earth observation tools to monitor and track building control and satellite based radar to track ground and building movements in areas prone to landslides or subsidence.

John Hildreth, North East Satellite Applications Catapult Centre of Excellence manager, said: “This is a hugely exciting and developing sector and we are delighted to be working with our partners to provide a Centre of Excellence for the North-east.”

The regional consortium also includes the North East Local Enterprise Partnership, Smart Specialisation Ltd and the BE Group.

Contract wins mark 10 years in business for Ambient HVAC

Specialist air conditioning, heating and ventilation firm Ambient HVAC has grown turnover to almost £1m as it celebrates a decade in business

Teesside-based air conditioning, heating and ventilation services specialist Ambient HVAC is celebrating 10 years in business with a series of major contract wins.

Brothers Ross and Guy Burke say the Eaglescliffe firm has just enjoyed one of its best-ever years with profits trebling and the company’s turnover increasing to almost £1m.

Ambient’s 12-strong team has designed and installed industrial air-conditioning systems for many of Teesside’s leading chemical companies including Lucite International, ConocoPhillips and Hertel.

Specialising in cooling systems for data centres and server-rooms that require precise temperature control, Ambient also serves the public sector, together with the telecoms, leisure and retail industries – and, says project manager Ross, “everything in between”.

Ambient marked its 10th anniversary by installing a new £50,000 high-performance heating, cooling and ventilation system in the new Stockton headquarters of commercial construction company, The Mandale Group, while it is currently completing the installation of cooling equipment for two of Teesside’s major industrial businesses - contracts each worth nearly £100,000.

Another successful £100,000 project involved helping Evenwood-based CA Group switch its air conditioning from a gas boiler system to renewable heating.

The family-run business was launched in 2004. With Ross as project manager and Guy as installation engineer, the brothers ran what was originally a general air conditioning business from home.

As they progressed into the specialised industrial field, they moved to premises on the old Ministry of Defence site in Eaglescliffe before switching to their current base featuring offices and storage facilities on the town’s Urlay Nook Road in 2013.

“We’re proud with what we have achieved so far,” said Ross. “It’s been a fantastic journey and the years have flown by. From our small beginnings, we’re delighted that many of Teesside’s leading companies now view us as their designers and suppliers of choice for their air conditioning requirements.

“With our background of working on petrochemical sites, we have developed a niche for data centre and server room cooling systems.

“Over the past 12 months we’ve achieved our best turnover and profit for three years - with several more major contracts currently under way.”

Managing a community as well as our customers: Karen Eve, Castlegate Shopping Centre Manager

NAME: Karen Eve

JOB: Castlegate Shopping Centre Manager

LIVES: Coulby Newham

FAMILY: Sons Sam, who’s nearly 13, four-year-old Oliver and boyfriend Jonathan, who owns Billingham-based AM Engineering.

DOWNTIME: “We like our weekends away when we can, recently went to Cameron House in Loch Lomond, which is gorgeous, meals out, music and comedy nights. Jonathan and I have immersed ourselves in Stockton culture, we go to a lot of events I didn’t even know existed. The Arc, to Storytellers - there’s so much.”

BUSINESS MANTRA: “Be honest with people. Working in this environment, you can run around in circles if you try to be cryptic about what you want to achieve with your business. And be fair - judge people by the same standards.”

There are some moments that just stay with you.

Karen Eve helped organise a Hampers from the Heart event at Stockton’s Parish Church, an ‘open kitchen’ that saw businesses gave away 200 hot meals, toys and essentials for less privileged families.

“It was my four-year-old’s birthday,” she says, “we went along. People had kids with them and I thought ‘why aren’t they at school?’

“It was because they had literally nothing.

“As we were leaving, we saw a lady sat on the park bench with her son, she was eating dry bread and he was eating dry cereal out of the box.

“I walked out with Oliver, thinking ‘what a lovely morning we’d had’, we were going home for a lovely family party - and there they were.

“It pulled at my heartstrings.”

Karen is part of a new wave of more people-focused shopping centre managers.

It follows the declaration by Queen of Shops, Mary Portas, that adopting a strong community feel is the way forward for the UK’s ailing high streets.

In the last year, under Karen’s leadership the tills have started ringing for no fewer than 11 new independent traders in the centre’s Spencer Market Hall, from fish and cheese-mongers to barbers, fabric-sellers and florists.

“We wanted to become the heart of the community,” says Karen.

And they’re achieving it. A string of successful free community events including the open kitchen, just before Christmas, has earned the centre the Community Award at this year’s North East Business Awards.

Karen spent nine years in commercial radio and was also marketing manager for The Mall in Middlesbrough, which has now reverted back to its original name - the Cleveland Shopping Centre.

“My background is very much marketing and PR,” she says.

“When I was recruited into the role, it was the changing face of what centre managers needed to be. They needed somebody that was very people-focused, and could build relationships with other stakeholders in the town and get to know the customer, push the business from a personality perspective rather than an operational one.

“A lot of centre managers are coming through with this kind of background.

“It’s not just about bricks and mortar. Women do really well as centre managers, when it’s previously been very male-dominated.”

Portas’s plan to breathe new life into struggling high streets saw Stockton named one of 12 pilots towns for the High Street Innovation Fund.

It resonated with Karen.

“It was something I wanted to achieve too,” she says, “especially as many think Stockton was a regeneration town, and with the demographic we’ve got here. Mary Portas said shopping centres should be the new community hubs, almost aligning themselves with churches and community groups.”

“Middlesbrough is my home town, I didn’t now a lot about Stockton. I thought it was all charity shops. It was easy to look at it as a failing high street - and I knew that I could help make a difference.

“The council was doing a lot of work with North Shore, millions of pounds were being spent on the high street, and the development of the Globe.”

And the Castlegate Shopping Centre itself is looking different these days, after a £4m injection from the landlord.

A branding overhaul with the clear aim of increasing and retaining customers, and features such as free wi-fi, a better social media presence and new website has followed.

The Spencer Market Hall has seen a £1.5m facelift and the ugly, crumbling multi-story car park has been revamped to the tune of £2.5m, gaining it a Park Mark Award; a ‘real coup’ considering it came within a hair’s breadth of being demolished.

A new life for the Swallow Hotel is something Karen’s team is pursuing “relentlessly”, she says.

“We had a tough year with the high street regeneration works, it’s moved further down the High Street now - it’s challenging for everyone, but you can’t make an omelette without cracking eggs.”

The investment at the centre is starting to pay off - footfall at the centre has bucked the national trend with a year-on-year increase of 8.5% in 2013. The centre is also 98% let, a rarity among shopping malls countrywide.

“We’ve shown shopping centres should be relevant for the community they’re part of,” says Karen. “Our customers are savvy shoppers, they know what they want and will buy from a number of shops.”

The centre’s commissioned artwork - a giant panorama by acclaimed artist Gayle Chong Kwan - is also attracting attention on Stockton’s Riverside Road.

The artist took 600 photographs of Teesside icons and created a mythical 3D island out of our region.

A summer event is now being planned.

“We wanted to take children that won’t get a summer holiday this year away for a day, but logistically we can’t do that,” she smiles.

“So we will put on a day, probably in August, with free rides, swing boats, picnics, Punch and Judy and entertainers, so that children can at least think ‘we’ve had a lovely day out’ and it’s cost them nothing.

“We are a commercial organisation but it’s about going the extra mile and really caring about what happens in Stockton - and the centre will benefit from customer loyalty and footfall.”

South Tees Hospitals NHS Hospitals Foundation Trust hits key waiting time targets in April

Board of directors meeting will be told of improvements in waiting times for patients being referred to hospital

Patients at Teesside’s biggest hospital are benefiting from reduced waiting times after action was taken to tackle delays.

South Tees Hospitals NHS Hospitals Foundation Trust has said it is now meeting a key target over how soon it sees patients.

The trust - which runs James Cook University Hospital in Middlesbrough and Northallerton’s Friarage - is under investigation by health watchdog Monitor after it missed targets for a total of nine months.

Patients had been waiting longer for treatment than the nationally accepted 18 weeks from being referred to hospital.

But the latest set of figures for April show a turnaround in waiting times.

The majority of patients are now being referred for treatment within 18 weeks - beating the 90% target set by Monitor.

A report to be presented to a board of directors meeting today showed that the trust has also hit four-hour waiting time targets for patients visiting Accident and Emergency.

In March, all cancer targets were also met.

Chief operating officer Susan Watson said in the report that the results were “very pleasing”.

In November, a leaked document indicated that patients could be sent as far as Leeds for expensive private treatment to cut waiting times at James Cook.

As well as waiting times, Monitor also set the trust tough targets for the permitted number of cases of the superbug clostridium difficile (C.Diff).

Four were recorded in April - the first set of results for 2014/15, in which South Tees has been set a target of recording no more than 49 cases.

Last year, the trust missed its target of 37 cases - set by Monitor - by 20, recording 57 in total.

In March, Alison Peevor, assistant director of nursing at the trust, said: “We have achieved significant reductions in clostridium difficile cases over the past few years but one infection is one too many so it’s essential that we continue to do everything we can to tackle this issue.”

Monitor launched its investigation into the trust in October last year.

It threatened regulatory action if they found the trust was in breach of its licence.

Charity shopping goes upmarket with secondhand superstore on Stockton's Portrack Lane

The new store will raise cash for Norton-based charity Daisy Chain and features a plush split level interior with coffee shop

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Daisy Chain superstore opens on Portrack Lane

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Charity store shopping has gone upmarket with the opening of a secondhand superstore.

The out of town store on Stockton's Portrack Lane opened today and features a plush split level interior with coffee shop.

It is to raise cash for Norton-based charity Daisy Chain - a charity supporting children with autism and their families.

It was the brainchild of Daisy Chain’s chair of trustees Albert Dicken, one-time managing director of Dickens Home Improvement, a once Teesside-renowned home improvement store which was near the new charity shop.

The first customer to visit the store was Julie Brookes, 45, from Hartburn, who is one of those helped by the charity.

Her son Ian, 16, was diagnosed with Asperger syndrome three years ago meaning he has difficulties in social interaction amongst other challenges.

Julie, an administrator who lives with her husband Martin, 47, a HGV driver and their younger son Richard, 12, said: “Daisy Chain has been a godsend really.

“I think the store is fantastic - and the money raised is going to such a good cause.

“I hope that people really support it.”

Daisy chain chief executive Judith Haysmore said that the charity store is unlike others in the area.

She said: “It’s been in the pipeline since October last year - quite a short space of time really.

“The charity needed a sustainable income so we can still be there for the parents supporting them - I also think it will raise a lot of awareness about autism.

“We are going for the experience.

“We have a coffee shop and it doesn’t smell like a charity shop and it doesn’t feel like one.

“Our tag line is shop, donate, volunteer.

“We are hoping that people will come along and donate something, buy something, have a coffee and a think about volunteering to help local families.”

She added: “Daisy Chain is a lifeline for many families.”

The Daisy Chain Charity Superstore is located near the Asda end of Portrack Lane heading towards Stockton town centre.

Fine opening days and times here .

Hundreds of mums 'sent home from hospitals during the night'

Concerns raised over the release of new mums between 11pm and 6am from Teesside hospitals

Almost 250 new mums were discharged from hospital in the middle of the night by Teesside hospital trusts in a year, reports claim.

Concerns have been raised over the release from hospital between 11pm and 6am of women who have given birth.

Details released under Freedom of Information laws indicated 129 women were released during the night during 2013/14 by South Tees Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, which runs Middlesbrough’s James Cook University Hospital. A further 117 were released by North Tees and Hartlepool.

Katherine Murphy, chief executive of the Patients Association, said being discharged in the night is not appropriate “under any circumstances”.

In response, the Department of Health said many women who have healthy babies choose to go home soon after giving birth, but that this should always happen in discussion with a clinician.

Vietnamese man jailed after 'acting as a shield' for cannabis growers

Phu Doan jailed for 16 months at Teesside Crown Court after being arrested at cannabis farm on Balmoral Avenue, Thornaby

A Vietnamese man has been jailed for 16 months after being arrested at a cannabis farm capable of producing nearly £140,000 worth of the drug.

Phu Doan, 49, had pleaded guilty to producing the Class B drug after 306 plants were found at a property on Balmoral Avenue in Thornaby in April.

The living room of the house had been split in two - with one half for Mr Doan to live in, and the other to grow around 100 cannabis plants.

Cannabis plants were found growing in three upstairs bedrooms, while 37 seedlings were found in the attic.

Emma Atkinson, prosecuting, said: “These plants had a significant annual yeild of 13.77kg with a potential value of £137,700.

“The defendant was arrested from inside the property. He claimed he was in debt in Vietnam and was told to travel abroad to earn money. He travelled to France and then lost his passport and travelled to England four years ago on the back of a lorry.

“He was to be paid £100, and thought it was medicinal. He was made to put his fingerprints on everything. He never received the money, and let people in to tend to the plants.”

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Cannabis farm found at Balmoral Avenue in Thornaby

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Alex Bousfield, defending, said: “I would simply say that he is a victim of this cannabis growing operation as well. He has been used by someone further up the enterprise to make substantial profits.

“He was tortured by criminal gangs in Vietnam for a debt. The only reason he was there is for police to arrest someone, it is publicised and those running it don’t have to return there.”

Jailing Doan for 16 months, Judge Peter Bowers said: “This is a very topical set up for illegal immigrants from Vietnam.

“Whilst I accept that you were little more than a sheild for others, you have little option but to accept full responsibility for the part you played.”

After serving his prison sentence, Doan will be deported.

As it happened: European Election count in the North East

On May 22, voters in six North councils went to the polls to their say in local elections. At the same time, everyone in the region was given the chance to vote in the European elections. The North East’s three MEP seats in Brussels will be decided.

For the first time in many years, the European battle in the North East is set to throw up some interesting battles. Currently, there are three MEPS – one each for Labour, the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats.

Adrian Pearson, the Chronicle and Journal's regional affairs correspondent, is hosting a live blog bringing updates, results and reaction from polling stations around the North East, bringing the results of the European elections count from across the region.

Read a full guide to the European elections here.