Remember When: 12 archive pictures of North Ormesby from years gone by

VIEW GALLERY

A delve into The Gazette archives has uncovered a fascinating record of the human history of North Ormesby.

From an Armistice celebration almost 100 years ago to the changing fashions through the decades, one thing that has remained constant has been the steadfast sense of community.

North Ormesby was established after John Vaughan and geologist John Marley discovered large seams of iron ore at Eston, in the nearby Cleveland Hills in 1850.

After mining began a year later, North Ormesby saw a massive surge in its population as workers flocked to the region.

On November 11 1918, residents of Worsley Street, North Ormesby, certainly had plenty of reason to celebrate with the end of the Great War.

The picture of a street party to celebrate Armistice Day was sent in by Mrs Maria Campion in the late 1980s.

One of her sisters is the baby having a grand time in the highchair in the foreground of the picture, watched by another sister.

Another image shows Mr Henry Cordeux, the original owner of the undertaker’s business at 43 King’s Road, North Ormesby, outside his premises in the early 20th Century.

The images also document a bus crash in the mid-1940s, a market trader dressed in 1980s fashion and the clock tower of Holy Trinity Church overlooking North Ormesby Market back in 1991.

Random Thoughts on the Passing Scene

Random thoughts on the passing scene:

What a non-judgmental society amounts to is that common decency is optional — which means that decency is likely to become less common.

The biggest issue in this fall’s election is whether the Obama administration will end when Barack Obama leaves the White House or whether it will continue on, by appointing federal judges with lifetime appointments who share President Obama’s contempt for the Constitution. Whether such judges will be confirmed by the Senate depends on whether the Senate continues to be controlled by Democratic Majority Leader Harry Reid.

Why in the world would any sane American go to North Korea and put themselves at the mercy of a crackpot dictator?

Since Illinois enacted a law permitting more people to carry concealed firearms, more than 65,000 people got permits to do so. Rates of robbery, burglary and motor vehicle thefts have dropped significantly, and the murder rate has fallen to a level not seen in more than half a century. If only the gun control fanatics would pay some attention to facts, a lot of lives could be saved.

If you took all the mumbo-jumbo out of our educational institutions, how much would be left? Students could finish their education years earlier and end up knowing a lot more than they know now.

Why are Americans — and the Western world in general — falling all over ourselves stifling our own self-expression to appease people who chose to immigrate here, and are now demanding the suppression of anything they don’t like, such as public expressions of Christianity or displays of the American flag?

Someone should write a history of political rhetoric, if only to put us on our guard against being deceived into disasters. The First World War, for example, was said to be a war “to make the world safe for democracy.” What it actually led to was the replacement of despotic dynasties by totalitarian dictatorships that were far worse, including far more murderous.

Professor Sterling Brown remains as much a hero to me in my old age as he was when I was a freshman at Howard University.

He wrote bitterly eloquent attacks on racism — and yet, when I was preparing to go off to Harvard, he said to me, “Don’t come back here and tell me you didn’t make it ’cause white folks were mean.”

The fatal weakness of most clever people is that they don’t know when to stop being clever. The past cleverness of President Obama is finally starting to catch up with him.

Why Republicans would bring up the subject of immigration during an election year is beyond me. Yet Speaker of the House of Representatives John Boehner seems drawn to the subject like a moth to a flame.

Who says the Obama administration is not transparent? They are constantly telling our enemies overseas when it will pull out our troops and where we will not put boots on the ground.

Heartening as it has been to see Derek Jeter get farewell honors during his last season, as with Mariano Rivera last season, it is also a melancholy thought that we may not see their like again — in their personal dignity and class, as well as their performance on the field. They are throwbacks to an earlier time, in a sports world of spoiled brat showoffs today.

I must have heard the word “diversity” proclaimed in ringing tones as a great benefit to society at least a thousand times — and probably closer to a million — without even once hearing a speck of evidence provided, or even suggested as a way to test whether that is true or false.

Attorney General Eric Holder has picked the perfect time to resign, in terms of his own self-interest. He will have two years in which to cash in with lucrative fees on the lecture circuit and to make a big-bucks book deal. If he waited until the end of the Obama administration, a former Attorney General would be eclipsed in both respects by a former President of the United States, thereby reducing the demand for Holder.

With the momentous consequences of control of the Senate at stake in this fall’s election, anyone who risks the outcome by running as a third party candidate should not only be voted against this year but remembered for such irresponsibility in future years.

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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, Wednesday 1st October, 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.

The Throat-Clearing President vs. the Throat-Cutting Terrorists

Last week, President Obama spoke to the United Nations about the growing threat of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria. In the course of that speech, he discussed a wide variety of threats to Western civilization, ranging from Ebola to global warming, from chaos in Syria to China’s incursions in the South China Sea. The speech seemed unfocused, meandering. But it held together thanks to one common thread: Barack Obama believes that words solve everything. Particularly his own.

Obama’s narcissism isn’t mere arrogance. It’s messianism. It’s pure faith that his verbiage can alter the course of history. “We are here,” Obama said, “because others realized that we gain more from cooperation than conquest.” Well, actually, no — the United Nations exists because evil nations were forced through conquest to admit that cooperation might be a more advantageous strategy.

“While small gains can be won at the barrel of a gun,” Obama said, “they will ultimately be turned back if enough voices support the freedom of nations and peoples to make their own decisions.” Not exactly — millions of voices in North Korea have not altered the fate of those stuck in the world’s largest gulag, nor have millions of voices in Iran freed them of the tyranny of the mullahs.

“The ideology of ISIL or al Qaeda or Boko Haram will wilt and die if it is consistently exposed, confronted, and refuted in the light of day,” Obama spouted. If good argument killed bad argument, Islamism wouldn’t be on the march, but on the ash heap of history. Global politics, it turns out, is not a Harvard Law mock trial.

“We believe that right makes might,” Obama summed up, “that bigger nations should not be able to bully smaller ones, that people should be able to choose their own future.” Hogwash would be too kind a word to describe this sort of highfaluting idiocy — if right made might, millions of Jews would still populate Europe.

In reality, right dictates that right arm itself — right must become might in order to emerge victorious. Americans know that.

Because Americans know that, Obama must occasionally bow to reality. And so, in the same speech in which Obama called for Russian, Chinese and Syrian conflicts to be resolved through diplomacy, he uttered the most un-Obamaesque comment of his entire presidency with regard to ISIS: “The only language understood by killers like this is the language of force.”

This is eminently true. It is also so far out of Obama’s wheelhouse that he almost strained an oblique in making that statement. And, in fact, when polling doesn’t apply to him, Obama is happy to pressure other nations not to use the language of force — in the same speech, Obama pressured Israel to negotiate with its enemies, even though its enemies are of the exact same ilk as ISIS. If Obama does not bear a striking animus for the Jewish state, the best that can be said is that he wants Israel to be on the cutting edge of Western civilization’s rhetoric-first throat-cutting. After all, Obama tells Israel, too many Israelis are “ready to abandon the hard work of peace.”

Yes, the hard work of peace. With people who want to slit their throats.

That’s the real Obama, not the puffed-chest commander-in-chief threatening to bomb virtually everyone in virtually every country in the Middle East.

And that’s the problem. Lack of foreign policy comes from lack of belief in the principled use of force. And so Obama, the messianic narcissist, vacillates between two extremes: empty threats and pathetic wheedling. Neither works.

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Israeli police arrest 2 Palestinian women, man at Aqsa compound

JERUSALEM (Ma’an) — Israeli police on Monday detained two Palestinian women and a man at the al-Aqsa compound in Jerusalem, witnesses said.

Eyewitnesses told Ma’an that Rania Abu al-Hawa, Islam Abu Sneineh, and her husband were detained at the holy site and taken to the Chain Gate police station.

They were later transferred to the al-Qashla police station in the Old City.

Israeli police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld told Ma’an three suspects were arrested while “groups (were) visiting on the Temple Mount.”

He said stones were thrown at police officers at that there were “cries of ‘Allahu Akbar,’ et cetara” from Palestinians in the area.

Israeli forces regularly escort Jewish visitors to the Al-Aqsa compound, leading to tension with Palestinian worshipers.

The compound, which sits just above the Western Wall plaza, houses both the Dome of the Rock and Al-Aqsa Mosque and is the third holiest site in Islam.

It is also venerated as Judaism’s most holy place as it sits above the site where Jews believe the First and Second Temples once stood.

Al-Aqsa is located in East Jerusalem, a part of the internationally recognized Palestinian territories that have been occupied by the Israeli military since 1967

Live: Boro v Blackpool from the Riverside Stadium

Winless Blackpool come to the Riverside bottom of the Championship and without a competitive victory since April.

Boro’s home form was a cause for concern earlier this season following back-to-back defeats against Sheffield Wednesday and Reading, but any demons were tackled as the Teessiders thrashed Brentford 4-0 a fortnight ago.

Boro will be looking to return to winning ways following the stalemate at Charlton.

Sexual predator who groped schoolgirl after following her off a bus avoids jail

A sexual predator who groped a 15-year-old schoolgirl after following her off a bus avoided prison today.

Shakeel Razaq was caught after being chased by his young victim’s sister who called police and pursued him until she saw him being caught by an officer.

But a court was told today he still could not explain what possessed him to pursue the underage girl and grab her, leaving her traumatised.

Teesside’s top judge said a short prison sentence would only release Razaq back on to the streets without supervision.

The girl noticed Razaq constantly staring on her as she sat on a bus after school, Teesside Crown Court heard.

She felt uncomfortable and tried to ignore the 22-year-old stranger on the afternoon of May 15.

Carrying a bag containing a chef’s uniform from an Indian restaurant, Razaq got off the bus at the same Middlesbrough stop as the girl and her older sister.

He kept pace with them as they deliberately slowed down to see if he would walk past them, said prosecutor Harry Hadfield.

Razaq then put his hand up the 15-year-old girl’s skirt and grabbed her bottom so hard it hurt her.

The girl, who cannot be named for legal reasons, froze and screamed.

Razaq ran off, chased by the girl’s sister who saw him detained by police.

The victim was in tears, shocked and scared after the attack. She ran into her home and locked the door. When police came to see her, she could not stop crying and shaking.

She later said the assault made her feel dirty and was aghast that it could happen on a busy street in the middle of the day.

Razaq, of Acklam Road, Middlesbrough, admitted sexual assault, his first offence. He had initially denied it then owned up saying he was ashamed.

Andrew White, defending, said: “He is at a loss to really explain why this event took place.

“It was really a moment of madness.

“He shows genuine remorse. He does genuinely bitterly regret what he did and he sincerely apologises to the complainant.

“He’s mortified by what he did. He’s deeply ashamed and he’s disgusted by his behaviour.

“For his part he’s absolutely determined that there will be no recurrence.

“He’s never taken alcohol, never taken drugs. He has no previous convictions whatsoever.”

He said Razaq’s guilty plea in May would have reassured the victim, sparing her having to give evidence and relive her ordeal in a trial.

Razaq lost his job because of his crime, hoped to get new work and had family support in court.

Mr White added: “An immediate custodial sentence would be completely counter-productive.

“It would place him in the company of malign influences rather than giving him the benefit of constructive support from the Probation Service.”

A probation report said Razaq was a “predatory young man” who would continue to pose a risk, recommending a community order for him.

Judge Simon Bourne-Arton QC, the Recorder of Middlesbrough, told Razaq: “For reasons that only you know, and perhaps you don’t know or claim not to know, you became interested in this young girl.

“You pursued her and followed her for some distance before you indecently assaulted her.”

He said it was a “determined and deliberate” attack which horrified, frightened and disturbed the girl, and would affect her for some time.

He gave Razaq a six-month prison sentence suspended for 18 months with supervision and programme requirements.

Explaining his decision, he said: “If you were to serve the sentence of six months you’d come out and nothing would be done by way of supervision or guidance of you.”

Razaq was given a five-year sexual offences prevention order banning him from unsupervised contact with girls under 16 except in certain circumstances.

Police search for vulnerable missing Redcar man Bryan Rawstron

Police are currently searching in and around the Redcar area for a vulnerable missing man.

Bryan Rawstron is described as a white male, five feet seven inches tall, of medium build with short dark brown hair which is greying.

The 52-year-old has a short trimmed goatee beard and could be wearing a light coloured or white short sleeved shirt with a collar and thin hoops around the chest area.

He also could be wearing jeans or grey tracksuit bottoms.

Anyone who has seen Mr Rawstron is asked to contact Cleveland Police on the non emergency number 101.

Billingham Stars lack bite in Solway Sharks cup mauling

Billingham Stars gave their most lacklustre performance of the season in the British Challenge Cup, losing 4-2 in front of their home fans to gritty Solway Sharks.

The Teessiders had to reshuffle with several players out and were slow to start, appearing sluggish and second to every puck.

Solway, although still light on numbers, by contrast looked bright and up for the fight.

A defensive error in the fourth minute allowed captain Alan Crane to set up Rick Bentham nicely for the opening goal, which seemed to go some way to waking up the home side.

The Ultimate Windows-sponsored Stars continued to shake some of their lethargy as the session wore on but could not find a breakthrough and the period closed with the Sharks a goal to the good.

The visitors were again fast out of the blocks in the second period, stunning their hosts with two quick goals in the 22nd minute.

First Iain Bowie fired into the roof of Mark Watson’s net, then just seconds after the restart youngster Gordon Horne tipped in past a screened Watson to make it 3-0.

Billingham needed a quick response, and it came just over a minute later when Garry Dowd rifled home to open the home side’s account.

The Stars continued to make hard work of the game, although it took a top-drawer save from Solway’s Gary Russell to prevent Billingham from narrowing the gap.

The Sharks were on target again early in the final period, another defensive lapse punished in fine style by Bentham as he bagged his second of the evening for 4-1.

Solway began to absorb increasing Stars pressure and Michael Bowman gave the home fans hope when he knocked in a loose puck at Russell’s near post in the 46th minute.

Billingham tried everything to get back into the game, pulling Watson for the final 56 seconds to give them the extra man, but never really troubled Russell and the Scots were able to comfortably close out their victory.

Man of the match for the Stars was Jamie Pattison.

The Stars won 5-2 at Solway in their second game of the new season, and director of coaching Terry Ward felt complacency might have crept into the cup clash at Billingham Forum.

“The lads just didn’t turn up,” Ward said.

“Perhaps they thought it was just going to be too easy, which was a major mistake on our part.

“Solway have always produced good sides, and we just weren’t up for the game.

“We were late coming out for the warm-up, a total lack of professionalism from our side, and consequently we were late for the first period.

“We’re disappointed with the mistakes we made on the goals.

“We just weren’t intense enough in and around the net. When we got near their net they had one or two defensemen and the goalie scrambling to make sure they got that puck.

“We weren’t doing that, and I think that was the difference,” he added.

Billingham are again in Challenge Cup action this Sunday at home to Blackburn (5.45pm).

Man is stabbed in the leg by thief he caught stealing from his car

A man was stabbed in the leg by a thief who was stealing from his car in what has been described as a “nasty attack”.

The 26-year-old victim had noticed that the door to his car was open at about 11.30pm on Saturday September 27, and when he went to check a man was in his car.

When he confronted him, the suspect pushed the victim away, striking a blow to his leg.

The offender then made off, and the victim chased him until he realised he had been stabbed - believed to be with a screwdriver.

The victim attended Middlesbrough’s James Cook University Hospital, where he received three stitches to the wound.

A cash card and a small amount of cash had been taken from the vehicle, a silver Volkswagen Golf was parked on Belvedere Road, in Beechwood in Middlesbrough.

The suspect is described as a white male, no taller than six feet, and was wearing a black Berghaus jacket and black bottoms.

Detective Constable Andrew Bean, from Middlesbrough Volume Crime Team, said: “This was a nasty attack on a man who has been left in shock and understandably upset by what has happened.

“We would appeal to any local residents who may have seen anyone suspicious around the time of the incident.”

Anyone who may have information is asked to contact DC Andrew Bean on the non-emergency number 101 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

01642 changes: Teessiders must use area code for local landline calls from tomorrow

From tomorrow, Teessiders making a phone call will have to remember to dial five extra numbers.

People in the area will have to include the full 01642 number code every time they make a phone call from a landline - in the same way as a mobile phone user.

Ofcom says the change is designed to safeguard the future supply of landline numbers in the 01642 area, avoiding the need to change existing phone numbers.

Now, callers in the area who do not dial the 01642 code when making a call locally will not be connected.

Instead, they will hear a message telling them to redial and include the code.

The 01642 code covers many towns on Teesside - from Billingham to Redcar and including Middlesbrough, Stockton and Yarm among others.

Telephone companies are expected to have implemented the change by late afternoon on Wednesday, and Ofcom say the price of making local calls will not be affected by the change.

Ofcom said on their website: “The number of communications providers with landline numbers has increased significantly over recent years, leading to more competition and cheaper landline bills for millions of homes and businesses.

“But it has also led to increased pressure on the supply of phone numbers.

“Currently, Ofcom cannot allocate phone numbers in which the first digit after the area code is 0 or 1.

"This is because the network that is connecting the call may confuse the number with other existing dialling codes, such as a mobile number beginning with 075, or with a number reserved for special use such as 118 for calls to directory enquiry services.

“Dialling the code avoids this confusion and allows Ofcom to allocate numbers in which the first digit after the area code is 0 or 1. This makes almost 200,000 more 01642 numbers available for use.”

Cleveland Police have confirmed that members of the public will no longer be able to use the 01642 326326 number for non-emergency calls to the force, as a result of the change.

Those wanting to speak to police about anything that is not an emergency should use the 101 number.

Chief Inspector Kath Prudom said: “The advantage to using the 101 number is that no matter where you are in the country – if you need to contact the police you only have one number to remember.

“People should continue to call 999 in an emergency – when a crime is in progress, there is danger to life or violence is being used or threatened.”

Recap: 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, Monday 29th September, 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.

Billingham-based group that helps adults with disabilities recognised for work

Nominate your local heroes in the Gazette Community Champions Awards

Adults living with disabilities across Teesside face multiple struggles in their everyday lives.

One of the toughest challenges for them can be accessing a suitable social life.

Now, a user-led group which has come up with a solution to this issue has had its hard work recognised by receiving a nomination as a Champion Fundraiser in The Gazette’s Community Champions Awards.

Our Version of Events was set up by adults with disabilities for adults with disabilities, with the hope of providing age appropriate activities that people can attend with or without the help of a carer.

One of the main events they have set up is a social night which takes place at Billingham Synthonia’s Fosters suite twice a month.

The group is supported by Alison Watson-Shields who placed the nomination. The 29-year-old from Stockton said: “I am so proud of them and they never cease to amaze me.

“The group identified a gap in the market for people with disabilities and they decided to do something about it.

“Our Version of Events has been going for around 18 months and we didn’t even think it would last three.

“They are still as enthusiastic and dedicated as they were in the beginning which is brilliant.”

The group consists of 12 paying members and six non-members who regular attend events.

Support worker Alison acts as a voluntary facilitator and group treasurer, but is humbly keen to point out that it is the group who do the majority of the work - which is why she feels they deserve to win the award, sponsored by npower. She said: “Everything they have achieved so far they have done themselves.

“The group comes up with all the ideas, from the fundraising side of things to how the money will be spent. They even wrote and agreed their constitution and make sure to thoroughly stick to it.

“They have worked extremely hard for the last 18 months and their work deserves the recognition.”

As well as working to raise funds for the benefit of those who access the group, the members donate their time and money to other local, national and international campaigns - most recently getting on board with the ice bucket challenge phenomenon.

Other activities they are regularly involved in include Race for Life, Macmillan coffee mornings and Miles for Men.

It is clear that Alison thinks extremely highly of Our Version of Events and the work it does, but she is also held in high regard and has herself been nominated in the Community Champion category, sponsored by Johnson Matthey.

Paul Willows, who nominated her, said: “Alison has devoted a lot of her free time over the last two years listening to and working with the members and committee of Our Version of Events.

“She was the one who suggested that we become a user-led group in order to meet the needs of those who were left without access to services for various reasons. She is always there to lend a hand whether it is for fundraising or to help us to understand our roles and responsibilities. She gives her time freely and fits it in around her full-time job and part-time studies. Alison is a valuable member of our team and without her support, the group would not be here today, which is why we want to show our appreciation.”

Good Samaritan who confronted Flatts Lane knife attacker is rewarded by judge

VIEW GALLERY

A Good Samaritan who bravely confronted a knife attacker on a public path was today rewarded by Teesside’s most senior judge.

David McNicholas was on his way home from the shops when he saw a woman being attacked on a footpath between Flatts Lane and the Trunk Road in Normanby.

He came to her aid when he saw Tony Griffin, 20, making “deliberate methodical slashing movements” at her with a kitchen knife.

He blocked Griffin and advanced on him holding his car keys when the victim ran behind him for safety. A female dog walker shouted at the attacker and called 999.

Griffin walked away and ran into the path of a vehicle on Normanby Road and was arrested after a chase. The victim escaped with mainly superficial injuries.

The severely autistic assailant was given an indefinite hospital order at Teesside Crown Court yesterday.

Judge Simon Bourne-Arton QC, the Recorder of Middlesbrough, said: “That she did not sustain further injuries or any greater injuries was due in part to her courage, but also due to the courageous intervention of Mr McNicholas.”

Today he went further, saying: “One of the merciful aspects of the case was that the attack was forestalled to an extent by the intervention of a passer-by.”

He ordered that Mr McNicholas should receive £350 from public funds.

Griffin, of Sandmoor Close, Eston, was detained indefinitely under the Mental Health Act yesterday, on psychiatrists’ recommendation.

He will not be released until doctors and a mental health tribunal decide it is safe.

The court heard how his severe autism led him to attack the woman, whom he had met via a dating website, with a knife after she broke off his first relationship.

He pinned her down and slashed at her neck, chest and face two days after she told him she just wanted to be friends, Teesside Crown Court heard.

She bravely fought him off and later showed her attacker “a level of understanding and forgiveness that is remarkable and commendable”, said the judge.

Judge Bourne-Arton said Griffin was “an exceedingly dangerous young man” who could not accept rejection because of his condition.

He said he would have considered jailing Griffin for life if it were not for his mental disorder.

He said the condition made it “difficult if not impossible” for Griffin to manage social relationships - and prison would make it worse.

The judge said: “You carried out a brutal, unprovoked, prolonged and indeed vicious attack upon an entirely innocent young woman.

“She had shown you nothing but friendship.

“What was precisely in your mind at the time that you attacked her, perhaps nobody knows. Perhaps you do not know.

“For as long as you suffer from this illness, you will pose a significant danger to the public and particularly to young women.”

He said the sentence was designed to protect the public and help Griffin receive treatment.

Griffin denied attempted murder but admitted wounding with intent to do grievous bodily harm and possession of a bladed article.

He seemed to accept the woman’s wish just to be friends, said prosecutor Nick Dry yesterday.

But his father visited the woman expressing concern he might react differently because of his autism.

She and Griffin, both 20, met and talked on the Normanby footpath on the afternoon of March 24.

She became scared as he tried to take her to a small hut and a wooded area. When she said he was nice, he said she was wrong.

Wearing black gloves on a warm day, he attacked her with a kitchen knife from his family home.

She fled but he brought her to the ground making “deliberate methodical slashing movements”.

The petrified victim put up a strong struggle and ran when a dog walker shouted at Griffin and called 999,

After his arrest he told police he was shocked after he lost control and took his anger out on the woman wanting “to hurt her as she had hurt him”.

Dr Helen Pearce said all of his offending stemmed from his autism which, though subtle and not fitting a stereotype, had a huge impact and made him vulnerable.

Lacking autism-specific treatment and with a poor understanding of relationships, he would be “taught the wrong things” in jail.

Michael Bosomworth, defending, said Griffin was well brought up by a decent family but had been bullied, ridiculed and picked on.

He said this was Griffin’s first sexual experience and his first proper relationship: “When told that it was over and they were just friends, his brain can’t compute what that means. For him, none of this made sense.”

He said Griffin saw things in black and white, thought she was making fun of him and “snapped” at a comment about his father.

He added: “What he wanted to do was to make her think he was trying to kill her, in his disordered mind punishing her for the wrongs that he thought she had done him.

“He understands that it will be many years before he’s able to be released into the community, and there’s a long road ahead of him.”

Model Heather McCartney apologises for stripping naked at Aussie cup final but admits: 'I've no regrets'

A gorgeous model says she has no regrets after stripping nude and dancing in front of fans at the Aussie Rules Grand Final.

Blonde beauty Heather McCartney was caught on camera peeling off her clothes in a corporate box at Melbourne Cricket Ground on Saturday.

She then put on a sultry strip show, dancing as she celebrated the Hawthorn Hawks' impressive victory over Sydney Swans.

But the Scottish-born 26 year-old's impromptu performance was stopped by police who had to wrestle her to the ground to stop her climbing out the window.

Heather was then led away from the ground in handcuffs and spent the night behind bars before being fined £160.

But a defiant Heather told the Herald Sun: “I guess I got a bit carried away with all the free alcohol in the box."

“Everyone was making silly bets on the day so I thought I’d just up the ranks and go ‘well I’ll get naked.’

“I don’t regret it but I’m sorry for offending anyone.”

Photos of her antics were widely circulated on social media after the Hawks' victory over the Swans.

When police stepped in, she attempted to kick, punch and bite officers who tried to arrest her shortly after the final siren of the game.

“I don’t know how I managed to bite someone, because I was handcuffed! I was drunk, like five cops dragged me away,” the model said.

“It was a silly thing to do I guess and I can see how it’s been blown out of proportion, but I had a great time.”

Despite thrilling some of the huge crowd at the match, the incident has angered officials who are reportedly launching an investigation.

Melbourne Cricket Ground spokesman Shane Brown said the body was "taking the matter seriously."

Images of Heather being dragged away from the ground by police have been shown on Australian TV.

Pictures have also appeared of Heather in a host of skimpy outfits, including a bikini in the colours of the Scottish Saltire flag, and one of her in a bunny suit.

She was spotted leaving court on Sunday holding her belongings.

Thornaby care home residents knit over 80 blankets to donate to charities

More than 80 blankets knitted by Thornaby care home residents have been donated to charities this year, bringing much-needed warmth to rescue dogs and cats as well as other causes.

Knitting needles have been clicking away in Poplars Care Home, on Thornaby Road, since January when residents started spending their spare time creating coloured squares to then be stitched together into blankets.

After an appeal for spare wool saw bags full come in, the group of residents were able to step up their efforts, and have already made around 100.

Brenda Smith, activity co-ordinator at the care home, said: “The blankets are lovely and we’ve so far given them away to charities including the Dogs Trust, Save Our Strays, Cats Protection and the local church.

“Each of the charities have had people come into the home to talk to the residents about what they do and what the blankets will be used for, and it’s really nice that they’ve been able to see where their hard work is going.

“When we appealed for donations of wool we had bags of it come in - it was absolutely wonderful. Some people said they just had bags of it stored away not being used so it’s good that that’s been able to go to a good cause instead of just sitting in someone’s loft.

“We’re running low again now and the residents want to continue knitting for this good cause, so again, if anyone has any wool spare that we could have, we’d be very grateful.

“The ladies get so much out of the knitting. It’s only a handful of ladies who do it - obviously lots of our residents have eyesight problems or issues with using their hands, but they really enjoy it.

Young Middlesbrough actress lands lead role in Cinderella panto

A young actress has proved that hard work and determination does prevail after landing the lead role in Cinderella.

Gabrielle Green will be hoping to ‘break a leg’ after being chosen to appear alongside celebs Maureen Nolan and Lee Latchford-Evans, in the panto version of the classic fairy tale.

The 20-year-old, who grew up in Linthorpe, will play Cinders throughout the panto season at Ipswich’s Regent Theatre but at one point was not even going to apply for the job.

The former Stockton Riverside college student said: “I didn’t actually end up doing an audition.

“My agent, Sue Francis, sent some clips of me from Wolfblood to the casting agents and really pushed for me to get the job.

“I have worked hard for this but I also have a lot to thank her for.”

Gabrielle - who got knocked back from over 50 auditions before landing her first big role in CBBC’s Wolfblood - studied Musical Theatre at college.

She has always wanted to be in a pantomime and is looking forward to combining her love of singing and dancing.

The actress said: “I really enjoy television acting but I miss not singing and dancing.

“Panto is going to be totally different to what I am used to, but I will finally be getting the chance to do what I am trained in, which is amazing.”

Prince Charming is played by Steps heart-throb Latchford-Evans but Gabrielle is more excited at the prospect of acting opposite singing and acting legend Maureen Nolan.

She said: “I can’t believe that I am going to be acting opposite someone as experienced as Maureen.

“I went to see her in Blood Brothers at Sunderland Empire and she was amazing.

“I am hoping to really learn from her as she has done pantomime before so I am hoping that she can get me through.”

Gabrielle, who now lives in Normanby, hopes that her performance in the panto grabs the attention of the right people to help further her career.

She said: “I would love to do more TV acting but the dream role would be in a musical film.”

More than one in six three-year-olds in parts of Teesside have obvious tooth decay

More than one in six of three-year-olds in parts of Teesside have obvious tooth decay.

Some 17.3% of three-year-olds in Middlesbrough and Redcar and Cleveland have had at least one tooth removed, a filling or tooth affected by decay.

That is higher than the England average of 11.7%, according to a survey done by Public Health England.

Sunderland is the only place in the North-east with a worse rate of tooth decay among three-year-olds.

It means that in Middlesbrough the average three-year-old has 0.53 teeth affected by decay, higher than the England average of 0.36 teeth per child.

Among children who actually have obvious deterioration in their teeth, that figure rises to over three teeth per child in Middlesbrough.

In contrast, Stockton had just 7.3% of children with obvious tooth decay.

This is the first time a survey on dental health has been done on children as young as three across England.

The data for North West England was collected in 2011, but this is the first time it has been published.

The survey was done on children who attend nurseries. If parents did not want their children to be examined they could withdraw them from taking part in the survey.

It comes just weeks after figures released by Health and Social Care Information Centre show that the rate of children in Stockton, Middlesbrough and other parts of the region requiring dental work such as fillings and root canal surgery was among the highest in the country.

The NHS data showed that children in Stockton were having a tooth filled every seven minutes on average last year and the rate in Middlesbrough was also one of the highest in England.