Metal thiefs hunted after Stockton overhead cable thefts

Metal thieves have targeted overhead lines on Teesside, cutting electricity supplies to homes and businesses and risking people’s lives.

In the last three weeks, five separate attacks on power lines have taken place in the same location.

More than 700 metres of power cables have been taken and nearly 2,000 properties losing electricity supply while Northern Powergrid engineers carried out emergency repairs.

The sections of line targeted during the latest incidents are close to the back of Bishopsgarth School, Harrowgate Lane, Bishopsgarth with the thefts taking place between 26th June and early today.

Power lines have been left in an unsafe condition, in some cases hanging close to or touching the ground risking electrocution to anyone passing by.

In the latest incident, a nursing home lost power, as did a large plastics company disrupting their 24 hours a day operation.

Nigel Walker, Northern Powergrid’s Vulnerable Assets Manager said: “These thieves don’t care about the lives they’re endangering, causing significant damage to our equipment situated very close to a school.

“These power lines are extremely powerful, carrying 11,000 volts of electricity.

“They’re also cutting supplies to people’s home and businesses with the most recent incident affecting a nursing home, something that must have been quite traumatic for residents.

Inspector Mick Brown from Cleveland Police said: “We are working very closely with Northern Powergrid to prevent and detect these crimes. They are clearly centred around valuable metal theft and we are currently pursuing a number of lines of enquiry.

“Apart from the obvious risk to the offenders and to the public, the community impact is huge with no regard to the hardship they place people under when they have no power.”

Anyone with information or who saw any suspicious activity should call Northern Powergrid 0800 668877, or police on 101.

Vulnerable man beaten in central Middlesbrough street after drinking pints of vodka to celebrate birthday

A man who had been drinking pints of vodka to celebrate his birthday was beaten up in the street by two teenagers, a court was told yesterday.

The late night attack in central Middlesbrough was caught on CCTV and it showed the pair kicking the man in the head as he lay motionless.

A judge who jailed one of them at Teesside Crown Court said that the victim’s celebrations made him a vulnerable target, and on his own calculations on a drunkenness scale of 1 to 10 he was a 9.

Prosecutor Rachel Linden said that the man had been downing multiple vodkas in a pint glass at home before he went on the town on December 29 with his brother.

He was hit from behind, and when he turned around he was hit again.

His brother saw him lying on the ground with the two teenagers standing over him, kicking him all over and in the head.

He was lying motionless and not fighting back. A woman witness told police that he had a cut to the left eye and he was bleeding.

Other concerned witnesses chased the pair Aiden Owens, 19,and Aidan Luft, 18. Owens was quickly arrested and Luft made his escape.

Owens said it was a mistake, but he was positively identified on CCTV.

They were charged with attempted robbery and actual bodily harm assault, and they went on trial at Teesside Crown Court on June 18.

Judge Howard Crowson directed the jury to find them not guilty of attempted robbery, and they then pleaded guilty to the assault.

Tom Mitchell, defending Owens, said that he had no previous convictions for violence, although he had failed to carry out unpaid work imposed for a previous offence.

The judge told Owens that he was acquiring quite a bad record by mixing with other people who behaved in an anti-social way.

The judge said: “This was a situation where, at night, a man out celebrating his birthday and had probably more to drink than was good for him and he came across you two.

“He was vulnerable, and it’s the level of injury which is not as bad as I’ve seen in some cases, and the length of assault does not possibly make it a sustained attack, that allows me to put it in a lower category.”

Owens, of Troutbeck Road, Redcar, was sentenced to 48 weeks in custody.

Luft, of Malling Walk, Middlesbrough, was remanded on bail for sentence on September 5 after the preparation of pre-sentence reports.

The judge told him: “You now know the serious view I take of this sort of thing.

“We meet again when I have got the report.”

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Elderly woman bitten by police dog in Park End named locally as Irene Collins

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Gallery: Dog bite incident in Penrith Road, Park End

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An elderly woman who was attacked by a police dog during a police operation has been named locally as Irene Collins.

The 73-year-old is now in a stable condition in hospital after she was bitten by a police dog while officers searched for a crime suspect.

Yesterday her condition was described as “poorly” after she suffered injuries to her arm and leg from a German shepherd when she allowed police into the garden of her home in Park End, Middlesbrough.

Senior officers at Cleveland Police said they “deeply regret” the incident, on Penrith Road, which led to the woman being taken to Middlesbrough’s James Cook University Hospital.

Next-door neighbour Jack Williams, 20, saw the drama unfold: “There was a lot of police cars and loads of people running around. The police came through our back as well, and were looking over the wall into next door’s garden. It was bedlam.

“We saw the police dog in her front garden. We told police that she was very ill and told them to go careful.”

The Teesside University student described how the police dog was then taken away.

“We could see through the window and there was a police officer laid over someone. It was the old woman.

“They brought her out and she had blood on her face and she was laid on the bed looking very fragile. She was in a bad state.”

Officers had been chasing a man through the estate as part of a drugs operation.

He was stopped in a vehicle but made off on foot - reportedly running through gardens on Penrith Road.

The man was not found and police say enquiries are ongoing.

The Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) has been informed of the incident, which happened at between 9pm and 9.30pm on Wednesday.

The dog has been suspended from operational duties.

It was during the search for the suspect that the German shepherd dog bit the woman.

Assistant Chief Constable of Cleveland Police, Sean White, said he was “deeply sorry” for what had happened.

He said: “Our main concern at present is for the welfare of the lady and her family, we deeply regret what has happened and we wish her a full recovery from her injuries.

“The dog has been removed from operational duties whilst an investigation takes place and the matter has been referred to the IPCC, which is mandatory in these circumstances.”

ACC White said that the “victim has the full support of Cleveland Police” and called the incident “unusual and unprecedented - the first such incident I have had to deal with in almost 30 years of service”.

Neighbours on Penrith Road described their shock yesterday.

One neighbour said: “It was absolute mayhem, the streets were packed with people and police.

“They were searching all the gardens in the street, so we knew they were looking for someone. The lady who was bit is a lovely woman, I can’t believe what has happened to her.”

Anyone with information about the incident is asked to call Cleveland Police on the non-emergency number 101.

Redcar Bears pull off stunning comeback against Workington Comets

Redcar Bears pulled off the mother of all comebacks to celebrate the unlikeliest of wins in front of a delighted and relieved home crowd last night.

Fifteen points down to Workington Comets after five races, the beleaguered Ecco Finishing Bears looked like they were staring down the barrel of heavy defeat.

But they clicked into gear, put their heads down and got their noses in front when it mattered thanks to a 5-1 by dynamic duo Aaron Summers and Richard Lawson in the restarted final heat to snatch a 47-45 victory.

It was smiles all round as the Bears prevented their losing home run being stretched to three Premier League matches, but you have to ask how on earth they managed to get in such a pickle in the first place against the Comets.

The Bears have developed an alarming habit of starting slowly and it looked as though it was going to cost them dear against Workington.

Hugh Skidmore fell with the visitors on a 5-1 in the opening heat, although the 4-2 they ended up with from the restart wasn’t quite as bad, while heat two went the way of the Comets 3-2 after first their guest Luke Crang fell heavily after clattering into Rafal Konopka and was excluded from the restart, and the Bears reserve Jan Graversen dropped a chain coming out of the start.

Crang, who started the season with Redcar, was taken to hospital with a shoulder injury, leaving his side with just five men as they were already using rider replacement for Kyle Howarth, and teeing up Simon Lambert to take seven rides. It also left Workington with only one rider in two races.

The comeback started in heat eight as Lawson took the chequered on a tactical double ride and team-mate Hugh Skidmore second – the 8-1 heat advantage slashing the gap from 22-7 to 23-15.

Thereafter the Bears set about chipping away at the Comets’ lead, the determined Skidmore spent four laps all over the back of Lambert in heat eight before nipping past for a last gasp win as they got the bit between their teeth.

A 4-2 from Summers and Jan Graversen- the latter of whom battled valiantly to keep the hitherto unbeaten Josh Grajczonek at bay until the last lap – cut the margin to just two points and suddenly thoughts of a victory became very real.

The sides swapped 4-2s before Lambert fell heavily in heat 14 with the Bears on a 5-1. He was thrown out of the restart but Mason Campton gated in front of Carl Wilkinson and Graversen at the second time of asking to make the score 42-44 going into the last race.

The Bears needed a 5-1 from the last race to clinch victory but Rene Bach was first out of the traps, only for all four riders to be called back as a result of Grajczonek taking a first bend tumble.

At the second time of asking Lawson and Summers made the gate and stayed there with Bach third and Grajczonek falling while at the back, sportingly leaving the track quickly.

If Carlsberg did comebacks…

BEARS: Richard Lawson 12+2, Aaron Summers 12, Hugh Skidmore 7+1, Jan Graversen 6, Carl Wilkinson 5+1, Rafal Konopka 3, Mark Lemon 2.

COMETS: Simon Lambert 11+2, Rene Bach 11+1, Josh Grajczonek 10, Mason Campton 7+1, Ricky Wells 6, Luke Crang 0 (w/d), R/R for Kyle Howarth.

Annual celebration of Sikh culture to take place in Middlesbrough

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Sikh Nagar Kirtan in Middlesbrough in 2012

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A celebration of Sikh culture in the North-east will take place in Middlesbrough this weekend.

The annual Sikh Nagar Kirtan aims to spread the message of love, happiness and peace and will involve music, martial arts displays, speeches and free food.

Taking place on Sunday the regional Nagar Kirtan will begin with a procession from the Lorne Street Sikh Temple at 10.30am, with music and singing of the Sikh holy scriptures.

A rolling road closure will be in place as the procession heads along Derwent Street, Union Street, Borough Road, Albert Road and into Centre Square.

The event in Centre Square will start at 12.15pm and will run until 3pm. A free lunch will be provided by the Sikh community to all who attend.

Jasbir Singh, general secretary of the Sikh Temple, said: “Although there is a religious significance it is designed to bring everyone together.

“It is an open invite to all members of the community and all faiths and religions.

“This is our way of giving something back to the community and we hope as many people as possible can join us for the celebrations.”

The origins of the Nagar Kirtan go back many hundreds of years when processions would take place through the towns and villages of India.

Meanwhile the second Ingleby Barwick family fun day is also taking place this weekend.

Up to 6,000 people are expected to attend the event, which is being held on the field next to Tesco on Saturday.

Tesco has allowed the event’s organisers, Ingleby Barwick Community Partnership, free use of their field, while local business Scott Brothers sent an industrial roller along on Monday to level out the field and delivered topsoil to fill in divots.

The fun day runs from 10am to 6pm and features a fun fair, a 48-stall farmers’ market, face painting, Punch and Judy, Disney characters and other children’s entertainment, a samba band, steel band and from 1pm to 2pm a police band playing First World War songs followed by a Last Night of the Proms finale.

There will also be donkey rides for children.

Ted Strike, chairman of the Ingleby Barwick Community Partnership, said: “Our small committee have worked hard on the event, and we would like to thank Tesco, Scott Brothers and everyone who have helped.

“This is our second Family Fun Day, we have also held a number of fundraising events including a race day at the Myton Pub, race nights, and a Christmas Fayre.”

Man to appear in court charged with robbery following incident at HSBC bank on Stockton high street

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HSBC in Stockton high street taped off

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A 30-year-old man will appear in Teesside Magistrates Court today after being charged with robbery following an incident at a Stockton bank yesterday.

HSBC in Stockton high street was taped off by police following reports of an attempted robbery at 2.25pm on Thursday July 17.

A 30-year-old man from the Stockton area was arrested on suspicion of robbery and was held in police custody.

He has since been charged with robbery and will appear in Teesside Magistrates Court today.

Speaking yesterday, a spokeswoman for Cleveland Police said: “Investigations are at a very early stage with officers on the scene working to establish the circumstances.

“At this stage there are no apparent injuries and the branch is closed while the investigation continues.”

A spokesman for HSBC said: “We can confirm that an incident took place at the branch. Thankfully no one was injured or hurt.”

Anyone who believes they have information or were in the area near to HSBC and have seen anything suspicious is asked to call Cleveland Police on the non-emergency number 101.