George Friend: 'Doing well in the cups is excellent, but I know most would prefer us to go up'

George Friend has warned his Boro teammates that Saturday’s FA Cup heroics will count for nothing if they don’t win at promotion rivals Brentford this weekend.

Boro are riding a wave of optimism after beating Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium.

But Friend admits it’s back down to earth for Boro’s players this week, as they look to resume their promotion charge at Griffin Park on Saturday lunchtime.

“We’ve been solid all season,” said the marauding left-back.

“We don’t concede a lot of goals. We didn’t expect to go to the Etihad and keep a clean sheet, but it was a real bonus.

When you keep a clean sheet you usually win - that’s the laws of football.

“But it means nothing if we don’t go and win at Brentford. The league is the priority for us.

“Doing well in the cups is excellent for the team and for the fans, but I know most people around Middlesbrough would prefer us to go up this year. We know that and that’s what we want to achieve.”

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, Thursday 29th January 2015.

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.

King Salman left Super Power Obama alone on his arrival in Saudi Arabia to perform Asr Salah

On his way back to US, President Barack Obama landed in Saudi Arabia to offer his condolences to the royal family on the demise of King Abdullah. When Obama reached there, King Salman left the ceremony to welcome Barack Obama midway to offer Namaz. In the video, Barack and Michelle Obama arrive at the airport where Saudi officials welcome him. Saudi King Salman also shares a handshake with the couple.

But before Obama could walk the red carpet, King Salman leaves the place for performing evening Namaz. He does not forget to greet Obama but then leaves in a rush. He might have given an excuse for leaving the ceremony in between. Obama later walks the red carpet and then moves to the scheduled place in his car.

Obama might have found this behaviour unusual because whenever the US President visits any country, the emperor or head of the country greets him with exceptional hospitality. So did Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. But the Saudi King Salman preferred religious responsibility over the official ceremony to welcome Barack Obama.

Seventy staff being recruited NOW as firm wins major turbine contract

The company behind a unique wind turbine facility in Billingham is recruiting 70 staff now - and says Teesside could be a key supplier for the UK’s offshore wind sector.

Offshore Structures (Britain) Ltd says there’s “huge, huge potential” for the company in the UK, including up to 400 Teesside jobs - and the first phase of its planned £30m investment is already underway.

German engineering firm EEW SPC and Danish steel contractor Bladt Industries took over TAG Energy’s Haverton Hill facility last November. The joint venture has now secured its first order for Dong Energy, in a major boost for UK manufacturing.

EEW’s sales director Michael Hof told the Gazette: “At the moment, this is the only facility of its kind in the UK.

“We see huge, huge potential in the UK for our future business - it’s a very important market for us - and the next step is to employ 300-400 people on Teesside.

“First we need around 70 people to get the equipment and facility up and running

“We are starting to invest on Teesside to improve productivity and equipment. To make large components, you have to invest - and some of the facilities are not state-of-the-art enough to be competitive in the market.

“The first step has already been agreed and arranged and will be installed in the summer. Additional money will then be invested to improve capacity.

“As a German company involved in making pipes for 40 years, we have a different understanding of how to proceed; there’s a need for investment to speed up quality and productivity to a certain level.

“There are many opportunities in the UK’s Round Three licensing for offshore wind.

“There is always some uncertainty and risk management in offshore wind.

“But we think this is an investment to be the supplier for the projects that are coming through.”

Successful candidates will be trained at the companies’ existing facilities, he added.

“We are now starting to recruit people and I am quite sure there will be people who previously worked for TAG.

"This is an on-going process at the moment.

“We need to recruit 60 to 80 people in the next two months and train them in Germany and Denmark, ready to start main production by July or August.

“Teesside was a facility that we could use immediately to produce components; we detect a lot of opportunities in the UK and Scotland but haven’t found any other existing facility that we could use.

"Teesside has rolling machines, welding equipment and the right facilities.

“We’ve been working with UK companies on oil and gas projects for many years, we want to bring the Teesside facility to the same level as Europe for the future.

“We hope to employ 350 people by the second phase of investment within the next two years.”

Stephen Catchpole, Managing Director of Tees Valley Unlimited, the Local Enterprise Partnership for Tees Valley, said: “The renewable energy sector is one in which Tees Valley has a strong presence, as shown by this significant order.

“One of TVU’s roles is to support Tees Valley inward investors and we have met Offshore Structures to discuss their ambitions. Since then we have helped them with their recruitment plans and to forge local contacts.

“Offshore wind is vital to the delivery of a balanced energy mix for the UK and it is important for the Tees Valley economy that it sustains and expands its capabilities and capacities in this field.”

The company will use its Teesside facility to manufacture a ‘high proportion’ of the transition pieces for 32 turbines, bound for the Burbo Bank Extension wind farm in Liverpool Bay.

TAG Energy became the first UK company to win a substantial monopile and transition piece project for a wind farm in British waters. It completed the 16 monopile load-out last summer and fell into administration weeks later.

#OnThisBoroDay 2012: Boro draw 1-1 with Sunderland in an absorbing FA Cup tie

Mogga was concerned about a fixture pile-up and Barry Robson had binned his man of the match bubbly.

The fans were feeling no such frustration. Instead, sheer pride.

Barry Robson was understandably annoyed. The all-action Scot had fired Boro into an early lead at the Stadium of Light in an absorbing FA Cup fourth round clash on this day in 2012.

His 16th minute strike sent the 3,000 travelling fans into raptures.

But it was the goalscorer’s miss-hit back-pass which allowed the home side to level on the hour mark through Fraizer Campbell.

Mowbray had to do without a string of first team regulars including Julio Arca, Nicky Bailey and Jason Steele.

But a neutral would have found it difficult to pick out which of the two sides belonged in the Premier League.

Boro were certainly not daunted by their top-tier opposition,

And Mogga’s brave choice to field a three-pronged attack of Scott McDonald, Lukas Jutkiewicz and Marvin Emnes caused the hosts problems.

They were impressive but Robson was the pick of the bunch, not that he was in the mood for plaudits after the game.

“The mistake I made cost us the game,” said the fiery Scot.

“Had I not done that we would probably have gone through to the next round.

“But that’s football for you. Far better players than me have made mistakes.”

Boro now faced the prospect of a replay with their neighbours at the Riverside the following week, another fixture in an already congested schedule.

Six games in 18 days would prove to be a real test, although Boro and Sunderland would both go at it again in the knowledge that it was a home tie with Arsenal awaiting them in the next round.

“The bottom line is we would prefer to have a replay than be out of the cup,” was Mogga’s assessment.

“The replay should be a fantastic occasion and if we can get through that game we’ll play Arsenal which will be another huge spectacle.

“I hope the fans can get along next week and get behind us. Hopefully it will catch the imagination of the town.”

It did with almost 27,000 turning out for the replay, a tie settled by Stéphane Sessègnon’s extra-time winner.

Million-pound Teesside bottling plant for Camerons Brewery bars

Pub chain and brewery business Camerons is set to open new venues - and a £1m Teesside bottling plant - following a “transformational” year that saw turnover growth of 11.4%.

Following the recession the Hartlepool firm focussed on reducing debt, a move which has seen the company lower its debt by £4.2m in the period from April 29 2013 to May 4 2014, putting the company on a firm footing.

Sales increased from £54.3m to £60.5m, the majority of which – £55.4m – came through its brewery and associated activities.

An investment program is now underway as part of a clear five-year growth strategy, which will this year include a £1m investment into a new bottling plant at its Teesside base, as well as the opening of new pubs.

Financial director John Foots said the company now has a solid base from which to grow its three core pillars of brewing, brands and pubs.

He said: “These are exciting times for Camerons and we’re trying to grow across all three of our main pillars.

“As part of that strategy we’re investing £1m into a bottling plant at the Hartlepool headquarters and opening three new pubs by Easter.”

Founded in 1865 as a family business, Camerons has established itself as one of the UK’s leading contract brewers, as well as operating a portfolio of 72 pubs in the North East.

The company brews its popular Strongarm Ruby Red Ale, Trophy Special and several other beers which are outsourced for blue chip customers, and said that new brands are set to be introduced this year.

And customers are now enjoying traditional cask ales, craft beers and world lager at the firm’s renowned Head of Steam pubs, after Camerons acquired the Newcastle firm, in a deal overseen by UNW and Watson Burton, in December 2013.

Eight pubs were acquired in the period, including the Head of Steam pubs, and since then three more have been opened under the Head of Steam banner in Sunderland, Whitby and Leeds.

Meanwhile, a program to dispose of its unprofitable pubs is now almost at an end.

In accounts filed at Companies House the firm outlined how it is focussing on expanding its retail estate while continuing to invest in its core estate.

Five outlets were disposed of, generating a loss of £864,000 and a further seven have been identified for disposal which resulted in an impairment charge of £1.4m.

The accounts show operating profit dipped only slightly to £1.76m, but the firm recorded a loss for the financial period of £956,056 as a result of the impairment charge.

The acquisition significantly increased headcount at the business, from 145 staff to 243, a figure which will grow further when new pubs open this year.

Camerons finance director John Foots said: “We continue to grow our managed estate which is now 13 strong following the Head of Steam acquisition, which included seven outlets, and have subsequently opened sites in Sunderland, Leeds and Whitby.

“We’re looking to expand our managed estate and expect to have a further three by Easter, taking us up to 16, with new sites expected to open in Sunderland, Newcastle and Thirsk.

“I can’t be specific on locations yet but we’ll have more news soon.

“We’re also largely through our disposal program in the tenanted and headed division where we now have 59 outlets and within our own brands we have created some exiting new brands to add to our portfolio in 2015.

“We’ve got a great business and a great platform to grow from.”

Man City win counts for nothing if we don't beat Brentford says George Friend

George Friend has warned his Boro teammates that Saturday’s FA Cup heroics will count for nothing if they don’t win at promotion rivals Brentford this weekend.

Boro are riding a wave of optimism after beating Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium.

But Friend admits it’s back down to earth for Boro’s players this week, as they look to resume their promotion charge at Griffin Park on Saturday lunchtime.

“We’ve been solid all season,” said the marauding left-back.

“We don’t concede a lot of goals. We didn’t expect to go to the Etihad and keep a clean sheet, but it was a real bonus.

When you keep a clean sheet you usually win - that’s the laws of football.

“But it means nothing if we don’t go and win at Brentford. The league is the priority for us.

“Doing well in the cups is excellent for the team and for the fans, but I know most people around Middlesbrough would prefer us to go up this year. We know that and that’s what we want to achieve.”

Occupying the White Male Syllabus at Berkeley

Upon witnessing the trials of Nazi war criminals in Jerusalem, Hannah Arendt remarked that they shared in common one salient feature: “it was not stupidity,” she said, “but a curious, quite authentic inability to think.” This inability or refusal to think is on full display in a student editorial—“Occupy the Syllabus”—that was recently published by The Daily Californian.

Rodrigo Kazuo and Meg Perret are Berkeley students who are none too pleased by—surprise, surprise—the lack of gender and racial diversity among the canon of assigned authors in most humanities and social sciences courses. In short, there are just too many white guys that students are expected to know about.

The students’ “call” for an “occupation of syllabi” was “instigated” by their experience in “an upper-division course in classical social theory.” The syllabus for this course is scandalous, for it “employed a standardized canon of theory that began with Plato and Aristotle, then jumped to modern philosophers: Hobbes, Locke, Hegel, Marx, Weber and Foucault, all of whom are white men.” Not “a single woman or person of color” was included.

Kazuo and Perret insist that it is “absurd” for these courses to “pretend that a miniscule fraction of humanity—economically privileged white males from…imperial countries…—are the only people to produce valid knowledge of the world.” The authors convict the “white male syllabus” for “silencing the perspectives of the other 99 percent of humanity.”

These white theorists can’t relate to “the lives of marginalized peoples,” or “gender or racial oppression.” In fact, they didn’t “even engage with the enduring legacies of European colonial expansion, the enslavement of black people and the genocide of indigenous peoples in the Americas.” When “race and gender” are mentioned in “the white male canon,” they “are at best incomplete and at worst racist and sexist.”

“The standardized canon,” Kazuo and Perret conclude, “is obsolete.” While their course in “social theory” purported to be “relevant” to the day’s issues, its failure to “address gender and racial oppression” belied that claim.

Yet the failures of the white male canon aren’t merely theoretical: they affect non-white, non-male students adversely. The student writers allege that “the classroom environment [in their classical social theory course] felt so hostile to women, people of color, queer folks and other marginalized subjects that it was difficult for us to focus on course material.” Even worse, there were times “when we felt so uncomfortable that we had to leave the classroom in the middle of a lecture.” Kazuo and Perret offer as an example of such moments the time that their instructor, while lecturing on Marx, noted the plausibility of the latter’s theory of “the natural division of labor” between the sexes given that women tend to get pregnant. When a student objected that this does not apply to transgendered people, the instructor replied that there will always be “’exceptions.’” Then, presumably to lighten the mood, he joked: “’We may all be transgendered one day’.” Kazuo and Perret warn that “mocking” and referring to transgendered persons as “’exceptions’ is unacceptable.”

In conclusion, the authors encourage other students to help them to “restructure the way social theory is taught.” The white male canon is a “tyranny” that students must “dismantle [.]” In its place, students must “demand the inclusion of women, people of color and LGBTQ* [Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgendered, Queer] authors on our curricula.”

Only in so doing can students hope to “break, systematically and explicitly, the epistemological assumptions on which this exclusionary education rests.”

Kazuo and Perret end their essay with a question: “Is it really worth it to accumulate debt for such an epistemically poor education?”

Given both the content and logic of their op-ed, how can we answer this question with any answer other than a resounding no! These poor students, like the vast majority of their peers in liberal arts departments around the country, have indeed been getting the shaft. But this is because they are not receiving an education at all; rather, it is training, or maybe indoctrination, in an ideology, a doctrine or creed, of which they are the unfortunate recipients.

It is obvious, so painfully obvious, that these Berkeley students are paralyzed by “the inability to think” to which Arendt alludes. Their essay amounts to a caricature of the Politically Correct orthodoxy, i.e. the militant leftist ideology, for which academia has become known—and for which it is routinely ridiculed. In an essay that can’t be more than a 1,000 words, there is scarcely a leftist stock phrase, cliché, or sacred cow that isn’t exploited.

The problem, though, is not that the students are incapable of thinking beyond leftist stock phrases and clichés; the problem is that they are incapable of thinking beyond stock phrases and clichés. As Arendt writes: “Clichés, stock phrases, adherence to conventional, standardized codes of expression and conduct have the socially recognized function of protecting us against reality, that is, against the claim on our thinking attention which all events and facts arouse by virtue of their existence.”

Arendt admits that if “we were responsive to this claim [on our thinking attention] all of the time, we would soon be exhausted [.]” In other words, we must trade, at least much of the time, in “standardized codes of expression and conduct [.]” However, “the difference” between some of us and the average Nazi defendant that she observed is that the latter “clearly knew of no such claim” on his “thinking attention.”

And what was true in Eichmann seems equally true of these Berkeley students.

The latter can also be likened to some of Socrates’ pupils to whom Arendt refers, men who were not “content being taught how to think without being taught a doctrine,” a creed on which to hang their hats (italics added). Yet the activity of thinking “is equally dangerous to all creeds and, by itself, does not bring forth any new creed” (italics added).

Substantively, of course, Kazuo’s and Perret’s comments are outrageous. The point here, though, is that even if there was truth to them, that they are framed in terms of all of the buzzwords of any orthodoxy—in this case, the prevailing orthodoxy at Berkeley and in academia generally—reveals the shallowness of their intellects.

Moreover, Kazuo’s and Perret’s op-ed serves as an indictment of the faculty and administrators of their institution. Not only has Berkeley (like colleges and universities throughout the land) failed miserably to supply their students (in the liberal arts) with an education, the ability and willingness to interrogate their own most cherished doctrines. Berkeley has actually supplied them with the doctrine that resulted in this essay: After all, can anyone really doubt that Kazuo and Perret are, from tip to tail, the children of Berkeley?

Rather than occupying their instructors’ syllabi, the Kazuos and Perrets of the world would be much better served trying, for once, to occupy their own minds instead of allowing them to be fed with the dogmas and vapid slogans of their professors.

Freedom Center pamphlets now available on Kindle: Click here .

Subscribe to Frontpage’s TV show, The Glazov Gang, on YouTube and LIKE it on Facebook.

Israeli forces injure 3 Palestinians during clashes in al-Ram

RAMALLAH (Ma’an) — Three Palestinians were injured with rubber-coated bullets in clashes with Israeli forces northeast of Jerusalem on Tuesday, a Ma’an reporter said.

Dozens of Palestinians were protesting the closure of the main entrance of the village of al-Ram when Israeli forces fired stun grenades, tear gas, and rubber-coated bullets at them.

Youths threw stones and empty bottles and shot fireworks at Israeli forces, preventing them from deploying at the top of a nearby hill.

Several Palestinians in the area suffered excessive tear gas inhalation.

Early Tuesday, Israeli forces used cement blocks to close the main entrance of al-Ram.

The Israeli occupation systematically limits the freedom of movement of Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza through a system of checkpoints and permits

£13.9m extra funding announced to boost Teesside's economy

An extra £13.9m pounds worth of investment has been announced which will boost Teesside’s economy.

The Tees Valley Local Enterprise Partnership has agreed to an expansion to its Growth Deal with the government which will see the extra cash invested in Teesside between 2016 and 2021.

This comes after £90.3m funding was committed by the government in July last year.

The partnership estimates over the next six years, up to 5,000 new jobs could be created, safeguarded or enabled, 1,500 new homes built and that it also has the potential to generate £150m public and private investment.

This expanded deal will complement the projects already prioritsed including road schemes in Stockton and Middlesbrough, innovation schemes in Middlesbrough and skills projects in Redcar and Cleveland.

Projects include road widening and improvements at the A689 Wynyard/A19 junction; upgrading existing facilities at Cleveland College of Art and Design inclduing a new building for creative industries; specialist accommodation for an Oil and Gas Academy at Redcar and Cleveland College; road and junction improvements at Ingleby Barwick to support new housing and work to the A66/Teesside Park interchange.

MP for Redcar Ian Swales said: “Ian Swales said, “I am delighted that the government is pumping yet more money into the Tees Valley. The projects are much needed and will further enhance the infrastructure, skills and business opportunities throughout our area.

“I congratulate our Local Enterprise Partnership on their successful bid and their proactive approach to getting our area moving. This funding comes on top of Growing Places funding, the City Deal and huge investment in businesses through the Regional Growth Fund. The government is setting us up for major success in the future.”

Middlehaven Sainsbury's: Change to planning permission pushed through after supermarket chain's 'wobble'

Changes to planning permission for a new Sainsbury's supermarket close to The Riverside Stadium have been pushed through despite doubts over whether the store will open.

Building work at the site in Middlehaven started in September, but Sainsbury's confirmed earlier this month it was reviewing moving its store from the current location on Wilson Street.

In the latest development, an amendment to planning permission for the site has been pushed through by council officers - after Sainsbury's insisted they could not wait for the changes to go before a committee of councillors.

Speaking at a Planning and Development Committee meeting on Friday, development control manager Ernie Vickers said: “Just before Christmas Sainsbury’s came into the office with another planning application - an amendment to the current application.

“The request was to divide the site into two smaller units which would have no effect to the appearance of the building.

“We were pushing on with the application when, last Monday, we found out that Sainsbury’s board were wobbly about getting on with the development, particularly because of this planning revision.

“Sainsbury’s wanted permission before the end of last week. We couldn’t wait for committee.”

As reported, Sainsbury’s had previously confirmed it was to relocate from its Wilson Street store to an 80,000sq ft outlet at Middlehaven once the construction work was completed.

VIEW GALLERY

Mr Vickers said: “We worked really quickly and permission was granted on Thursday by the officers to make sure Sainsbury’s stayed on track. As you may have noticed, work is still going ahead on site.

“I’m sorry we couldn’t bring it to the committee - but needs must.

“We needed to make sure Sainsbury’s headquarters remained robust.”

Praising the decision to press ahead, Middlehaven Ward councillor Pervaz khan said: “I’m really glad council officers dealt with it as they did.

“To keep Sainsbury’s on track is excellent even if it had to go through without the compliance of the committee.”

Earlier this month a Sainsbury’s spokesperson said: “The food retail market is extremely competitive and has changed considerably since our proposals for Middlesbrough were first announced.

“We are reviewing our plans across a number of supermarket sites, including Middlehaven.

“Once we are in a position to do so, we will update the community on our future plans for the site.”

Regarding the decision to press ahead with the approval before the planning committee meeting, a Middlesbrough Council spokesman said: “Approval for the amendments to the original planning permission was granted in accordance with the Council’s scheme of delegation.

“The only deadline we are required to meet is that imposed on us by statute for the determination of planning applications.

“We will always endeavour to process amendments in a timely manner.”

How Adam Forshaw compares with Grant Leadbitter and Adam Clayton according to Opta stats

The ink on Adam Forshaw's Boro contract was still drying out when attention turned to how he would force his way into the starting XI.

The midfielder "fits the profile" of what Aitor Karanka is looking for in a new recruit but how he will he fit into the engine room?

Grant Leadbitter's name is engraved in the team-sheet, he won't be budged, and the fact Adam Clayton was judged to be the best of Aitor Karanka's signings by fans shows how much of an impact he's had in his first season at Boro.

Poor Dean Whitehead. The experienced midfield man has done all that's been asked of him and more when he's been handed an opportunity this season but he'll be aware of the fact that Leadbitter and Clayton are the first choice.

Clockwise from top-left: Adam Forshaw, Grant Leadbitter, Dean Whitehead and Adam Clayton

But having forked out £2.5m for his signature, Boro will see Forshaw as competition rather than cover.

And although, by Malky Mackay's own admission, it hasn't worked out for him at Wigan, the 23-year-old playmaker was one of the stand-out players in League One last season and will be looking to get his career back on track.

A play-maker? Does that mean he can play as the No.10 and provide competition for Lee Tomlin or whoever else plays in that role just off the striker?

Unlikely. Forshaw will almost certainly play his football for Boro as one of the two 'sitting' midfielders.

So how does he compare to Boro's dominant duo of Leadbitter and Clayton - the pair who've bossed midfield battles week in, week out this season?

Amidst the uncertainty of managerial changes and having not signed until mid-September Forshaw has only played 16 times in the league for the Latics this season.

But, in a struggling side, Forshaw has certainly demonstrated an ability to keep the ball. Indeed, his impressive passing accuracy rate of 85.6% is better than both Leadbitter's (82.8%) and Clayton's (84.2%).

That is, however, taking into account the number of games played. While Forshaw has made 658 passes this year Leadbitter's tally is 1,434.

And while Leadbitter and Clayton are both willing to take a risk with a forward pass, Forshaw is another who isn't simply a flavour-of-the-month midfield player who hogs the passing limelight by sitting deep and playing a simple five-yard ball to the nearest man.

His passing accuracy rate in the opposite half of 81.5%.

But is his style twinned with substance?

Action Images / Jason Cairnduff

Adam Forshaw in action for Wigan Athletic earlier this season

Grant Leadbitter has created a staggering 62 chances so far this year, more than double the 23 created by Adam Clayton and more than four times as many as Forshaw's 13 - although the new signing has played 10 games less than Boro's skipper.

But that's not to say Forshaw has a phobia of joining in with an attack. The eight goals he scored for Brentford last season was a respectable return for a midfielder and although his only goal this season has come from the spot, he has a 45.5% shooting accuracy rate.

Not bad at all when compared to Leadbitter's 53.8% and nobody needs reminding of the skipper's ability to let rip from distance.

That's in a side that have only mustered 26 goals so far this season - only Blackpool, Millwall and Charlton have scored less.

As the Latics scrap for points, Forshaw has had to roll his sleeves up with Wigan fighting for survival. And he isn't one to shy out of a challenge.

The Everton Academy graduate has won just over 56% of duels and 62.5% of aerial duels, slightly fewer than Clayton but more than Leadbitter.

That said, Karanka's first choice duo have both won more tackles this season and made more than 80 interceptions and blocks between them - vital as Boro more often than not come out on top in the middle of the park.

After putting pen to paper on a three-and-a-half year deal, Forshaw revealed how he was "up for the challenge of coming to Middlesbrough".

His first challenge is breaking into the team, although with a flurry of fixtures coming up Aitor Karanka will make the most of his squad depth and rotate when he feels fit.

He knows the challenge ahead.

"I can’t expect to go straight into the team and to be playing. The lads who are in there at the moment are doing really well," he says.

But if he fits in as well as the summer additions, Forshaw will be another excellent recruit as Boro look to nail down a spot in the top two.

Stockton Council extends its consultation on proposed school admission arrangements

A council has extended its consultation on proposed school admission arrangements after parents raised concerns.

Consultation on the proposals – for community, voluntary controlled primary and secondary schools in Stockton – was due to end on February 13.

But the council has extended the closing date to February 28 and organised a further four public meetings for parents and carers in the Egglescliffe School zone.

Councillor Ann McCoy, Stockton Council’s Cabinet Member for Children and Young People, said: “We have said from the outset that we are very keen to hear from as many parents and carers as possible and are happy to hold additional public meetings as required to allow greater opportunity for people to have their say.

“We have had a lot of interest in these proposals and a number of parents and carers have asked that we hold additional meetings. We have listened and we have agreed to this as well as to extend the consultation period for as long we possibly can under national guidance, which takes us to February 28.

“We have also arranged four more public meetings in addition to the two already held. Copies of the consultation document will be available at the meetings as well as paper copies of the consultation survey for people to fill in and express their views on the proposals. And of course, the survey can still be completed online.

“I would reiterate that all views expressed during the consultation will be carefully considered and fully taken into account before any decision is taken.”

James Wharton MP has welcomed Stockton Council’s announcement that the consultation on Egglescliffe School’s admission zone will be extended and four additional public meetings have been agreed.

He said: “Many residents, particularly in Ingleby Barwick who would be badly affected, did not know the public meetings were taking place. By extending the consultation period and arranging new meetings the council gives us hope they might also be willing to listen.

“We need as many people as possible to take part and voice their concerns so that the council can be made to see sense, this proposal is not right and needs to be changed.”

The additional public meetings are for parents and carers living in the Egglescliffe School zone.

The meeting for Ingleby Barwick parents and carers will take on Thursday, February 5, from 5.30pm to 7pm at All Saints CE Academy in Blair Avenue.

The public meetings for parents and carers from Eaglescliffe and the Western Parish villages of Carlton, Elton, Long Newton and Redmarshall will take place as follows:

· Monday, February 9, from 5.30pm to 7pm at Egglescliffe School, Urlay Nook Road, Eaglescliffe

· Wednesday, February 11, from 5.30pm to 7pm at the Wilson Centre, Darlington Road, Long Newton

· Thursday, February 12, from 5.30pm to 7pm at The Links Primary School, Carnoustie Drive, Eaglescliffe

The proposed school admissions arrangements have been drawn-up following a Scrutiny Review by the Council’s Children and Young People Select Committee.

To view the consultation report in full, or to download a consultation survey, visit: http://bit.ly/1DdTCY6

Views and comments on the consultation document can also be fed back in writing to School Admissions, Stockton Borough Council, Municipal Buildings, Church Road, Stockton-on-Tees, TS18 1XE, or by email to school.admissions@stockton.gov.uk

Israeli forces shoot, injure Palestinian teen near Joseph’s Tomb

NABLUS (Ma’an) — Israeli troops shot and injured a Palestinian teenager during clashes Tuesday morning near Joseph’s Tomb near Balata refugee camp in Nablus in the northern West Bank.

Palestinian security sources told Ma’an that several buses loaded with ultra-orthodox Jews and settlers arrived to Joseph’s Tomb escorted by more than 15 military vehicles at around 2:30 a.m.

They then performed religious rites at the holy site.

The sources added that clashes then broke out in the nearby Balata and Askar refugee camps between young Palestinian men and Israeli soldiers.

They said dozens of young men hurled stones at the Israeli soldiers who fired tear-gas canisters, stun grenades, rubber-coated bullets as well as live ammunition at the protesters.

As a result, a teenage boy was shot in the foot. The sources identified him as 16-year-old Basim Zakariyya Suleiman and said that he was evacuated to Rafedia public hospital for treatment.

The sources said Israeli troops and worshipers withdrew from the area in the early morning hours.

An Israeli army spokeswoman said forces opened fire at a Palestinian rolling a burning tire. She said they forces fired at his lower extremities and identified a hit

Watch: Bizarre moment a live chicken was thrown into McDonald's drive through

A student who threw live chickens into two McDonald's drive-throughs on Teesside said he “did it for a laugh” and “never hurt” the birds.

Jack Walker, 21, has spoken out after his prank caused widespread attention.

Mr Walker, from Billingham, threw the chickens into the drive-thru windows of the McDonald's in Portrack, Stockton, and then Wolviston services, Billingham, on Monday.

The RSPCA are investigating the incident.

Mr Walker told the Gazette: “It was just a prank really. Anyone who knows me knows that I do stupid things like this.

“But I never hurt the chickens. I fed them and I knew how to handle them as my mum has chickens.”

The prank was filmed on a mobile phone and the video footage has been viewed and shared hundreds of times on Facebook.

Mr Walker, who studies business studies at Leeds University, said he was in a car with a friend when he spotted a chicken in the Thornaby area.

He said: “We were driving around and we saw a chicken and thought it would be funny if we stopped and put it in the car - we didn’t steal it - it wasn’t on a farm, it was just randomly there.

“When we stopped we noticed another chicken too so we took that one as well.

“We put them in boxes and fed them.”

He said they then drove to the McDonald's restaurant at Portrack.

Jack Walker

He added: “We went through the drive-through and ordered our food. Then went to the next counter and paid.

"Then as we drove up to the next counter we just thought it would be funny to throw the chicken. We then drove off. We didn’t even get our food.”

Mr Walker said they then “drove round for a bit” before going to McDonald's at Wolviston Services.

He said: “We just thought it was pretty funny what we did, so we did the same at the other McDonald's."

Mr Walker said he didn’t expect the prank to receive the attention it did.

He said: “I thought it would get a few likes on Facebook and people would think it was daft but that was it. I didn’t think it would blow off like it has. I didn’t really think anything would happen.

“Some people have given me some stick about it but it was just a prank.”

Mr Walker said his mum “went mental” when she found out.

He said: “She heard it on the radio, rang me, and went mental.”

The RSPCA are continuing to investigate the incident and it is believed that the chicken from the Wolviston prank has been rehomed by a RSPCA officer.

Mr Walker added: “I have been told by a neighbour that someone from the RSPCA came round to see me but I wasn’t there.

“I am happy to speak to them because I wasn’t cruel to the chickens. Anyone who knows me knows I like animals.”

A spokesman for McDonald's said: “We can confirm incidences took place at our Portrack and Wolviston restaurants on Monday evening around 6pm. The RSPCA are investigating further.”

Adam Forshaw: 'The lads are doing really well so I can't expect to go straight into the team but I'm relishing the challenge'

New signing Adam Forshaw would love to make his Boro debut against his former club Brentford this weekend but knows he faces a fight to force his way into the team.

The 23-year-old enjoyed "two great years" at Griffin Park before leaving for Wigan Athletic in the summer, a move that hasn't worked out with the Latics struggling at the wrong end of the Championship table.

The Liverpool-born playmaker was keen on making the move to Boro as soon as he discovered Aitor Karanka's interest but is under no illusions about the size of the task facing him as he looks to break into the side.

"Competition for places brings the best out of everyone," said Forshaw.

"I can't expect to go straight into the team and to be playing. The lads who are in there at the moment are doing really well.

"The style of play is really good. It's a strong squad and I have just got try my hardest to contribute when I am needed.

"I'm a midfielder who likes to get on the ball and make things happen. I like to think I have got a bit of energy and I like to chip in with a couple of goals as well."

Adam Forshaw

Forshaw is available to go straight into the squad for the game at Griffin Park on Saturday. He knows Boro's opponents better than most and said the Bees can be a tough nut to crack on home turf.

"They will be tough opposition on Saturday," he told the club's website.

"Their home ground is a bit of a fortress to them, so we'll have to be really ready.

"They get about 12,000 fans and they are really close to the pitch. They are a good set of fans and they are a really good football team, but I am more than confident that we can go there and get a result."

Forshaw admits it's been a "strange" few days after learning of Boro's interest but was delighted to end the speculation and pen a three-and-a-half-year deal with Aitor Karanka's promotion chasing side.

"When I found out an offer was being made, and that a bid had been accepted, then I was really looking forward to the challenge of coming to Middlesbrough," he said.

Hounslow Sport

Adam Forshaw

"I loved my two years at Brentford. We got promoted and when I found out that Wigan wanted me, I was over the moon. I believed it was going to be a great move, something that would be good for my career.

“Unfortunately, it proved not to be. It was a tough five or six months and, like I said, when this chance arose I grabbed it with both hands.

“We were having a bad time on the pitch. There were some great players there and a lot of people say they can’t understand why they are in that position. It’s hard to put your finger on it.

“Putting that to one side, I’m now a Middlesbrough player and I’m relishing the challenge here.

"First and foremost, I know how big a club this is.

“They’ve got lovely facilities at the training ground and I believe the stadium is really nice, too. They are a well-known club in England and they are going in the right direction.

"They have a good manager and an excellent set of players.

“Watching from afar, the style of play is really encouraging. That excites you. I’m a midfielder that likes to play football so to be coming into a team like this is really exciting.”

Bianca Gascoigne, TOWIE cast and Jodie Marsh give thumbs up to Dollywood boutique

London, Paris, Milan are fashion faves for celebs stocking up on the latest in couture.

But what about Marton shops?

It is home to Dollywood Boutique, which is quickly gaining a following on social media platform Instagram - with almost 60,000 viewing.

Its host of celeb fans include Bianca Gascoigne, members of the TOWIE cast including Gemma Massey and Fran Parman, Kelly Brook and Geordie Shore star Holly Hagan.

Chloe Spriggs, 21, from Nunthorpe opened the store little over a year ago with her mum Nicola Pentland, 38 - and it has now had a revamp.

Nicky Pentland and daughter Chloe Spriggs who run the shop.

Chloe said: “After we had our one year party we thought a makeover of the store would be a good chance to brighten it up and make it look superior.

Dollywood Boutique at Marton Shops.

“There is a new changing room and everything is white now. It looks a lot more grown up.

“Everyone loves it and says that it looks so expensive.”

She says that visitors to the store - which has a popular website - are shocked at their location.

“People aren’t expecting it to be like this,” says Chloe, who has a wall in the shop dedicated to messages from celeb fans.

“Everyone is shocked we’re at Marton shops and says that there’s never been anything like this before.

“It’s easy just to park outside and just pop in - not like town where you have to park up.

“People love just coming from nearby.”

Chloe explains why she thinks the store has been such a success.

Dollywood Boutique at Marton Shops.

“It’s been very much word of mouth and our Instagram - which has 58,000 followers," she said.

“When we opened we had 900.

“Our followers are constantly going up.

"We send celebs outfits and they send us a pic of them wearing the outfit.

“We sell a bit of everything for a wide age range.”

Brands include The Pretty Dress Company, Hybrid and Lavish Alice - as well as new popular brand Jovani - from just £10.

As well as clothing the boutique sells accessories and hair pieces.

'Naive' dealer led police on high speed chase - while on bail for drugs offences

A naive dealer who led police on a high-speed car chase while on bail for intending to supply MDMA and cannabis is behind bars.

When Benjamin Strickley, 24, was pulled over by police on Grinkle Road in Redcar, they found around 100g of cannabis and a rock of MDMA in his jacket pocket.

Checking his mobile phone on December 18, 2013, officers found messages advertising the drugs which had been sent to 15 people and read “whiff, 50s or three for £120. Mandy’s, 50s or three for 120.”

Strickley’s barrister Victoria Lamballe said that other “boastful” messages - which suggested the high quality of his merchandise - showed “naivety and bravado”.

Strickley, of Back Lane, Skelton, was arrested, and made no comment to police.

While on bail, he was spotted by officers driving a Vauxhall estate car - his father’s - on Middlesbrough Road East in South Bank on August 3, 2014 at around 12.20pm.

Teesside Crown Court heard that Strickley initially stopped for police, but then sped off towards Redcar - travelling at speeds of up to 80mph - until he eventually abandoned the car on Ings Road.

A breath test after his arrest revealed 65mg of alcohol in 100ml of breath - over the legal limit of 35mg.

Strickley had been before the courts in 2011 for driving with excess alcohol, and received a community order on December 6, 2013 for cannabis possession.

Mitigating, Victoria Lamballe said: “Quite literally, he is the author of his own downfall.

“Without the text messages on his phone, he could only have been charged with possession. Those messages were sent only to friends and associates, and were in the words of a police officer, boastful.

“Sending them shows a naivety and bravado to paint his operation to be more impressive than it really was.”

Ms Lamballe said that Strickley knew he was over the limit and in his father’s car without permission when stopped by police in South Bank, and made a “foolish” decision to drive away.

He had pleaded guilty immediately to dangerous driving, but delayed his guilty plea for the charges of possessing Class A and B drugs with intent to supply until the date of his trial in January.

Ms Lamballe said that he had done so to spend one last Christmas and New Year at home with his family.

Recorder Felicity Davies said: “If you had pleaded guilty earlier, your sentence could have been reduced. This is symptomatic of your foolish approach so far.

“Boastful messages found on your phone prove you were clearly intending to supply drugs.

“And while on bail, you drove while over the limit, sometimes at 80mph, through red lights and built up areas, in broad daylight.”

Strickley was sentenced to 40 months in prison for possessing Class A drugs with intent to supply, and 10 weeks for dangerous driving - 42 and a half months in total.

He was also given 12 months in prison for possessing Class B drugs with intent to supply, and six weeks for driving while over the limit, to run concurrently.

Strickley received a three year driving ban.

Words ‘secular’ ,’socialist’ must be removed from Constitution, India belongs to Hindus, says Shiv Sena

Mumbai: The Bharatiya Janata Party led government at the Centre is facing yet another controversy after its ally Shiv Sena said it wants the words ‘socialist’ and ‘secular’ removed from the Preamble of the Constitution of India.

“Removing the words socialist and secular is not controversy but the feeling of crores of Indians,” Shiv Sena spokesperson Sanjay Raut said. He even went on to say that crores of Indians want the words removed as the country belongs to Hindus. “The country is of Hindus and belongs to them. People of all religions can live in India but Hindus will dominate,” he said.

The controversy began after the government on Republic Day published an advertisement which had the words ‘secular’ and ‘socialist’ missing from an excerpt of the Preamble.

Slamming the government and its ally Shiv Sena, the opposition parties condemned the statement. “This is a secular country and not a Hindu country. The word secular cannot be removed arbitrarily on its own. This is an attempt to undermine the Constitution of the country,” Congress leader Mani Shankar Aiyer said.

The Nationalist Congress party (NCP) also said that the BJP only wants a Hindu nation. “BJP does not want a socialist, secular state, they want a capitalist Hindu state,” NCP leader Nawab Malik said.

However, the government defended itself and stated the words secular and socialist were included only after 1976. “The words were included in the Constitution after an amendment in 1976. It doesn’t mean that we are saying that before 1976 governments were not secular, we were just respecting the Preamble made at that time and used the same picture which was first made during the year of first Republic Day,” Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore said.

The words socialist and secular were not a part of the Preamble of the Constitution of India which was adopted in 1949. The two words were added by the 42nd amendment in 1976.

Below is the Preamble of The Constitution of India

WE, THE PEOPLE OF INDIA, having solemnly resolved to constitute India into a SOVEREIGN SOCIALIST SECULAR DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC and to secure to all its citizens:

JUSTICE, social, economic and political;

LIBERTY of thought, expression, belief, faith and worship;

EQUALITY of status and of opportunity; and to promote among them all

FRATERNITY assuring the dignity of the individual and the unity and integrity of the Nation;

IN OUR CONSTITUENT ASSEMBLY this twenty-sixth day of November, 1949, do HEREBY ADOPT, ENACT AND GIVE TO OURSELVES THIS CONSTITUTION.

How tragic accident led to Teesside's newest vicar swapping the frontline for the pulpit

He served with the British Army and saw action in Bosnia, but after a tragic accident, Teesside’s newest vicar swapped the frontline for the pulpit.

Andy Grant, 46, is the new vicar for Middlesbrough’s Marton parish at St Cuthbert’s Church. Originally from Bristol, Andy’s journey to the clergy has been filled with drama having served a full career in the British Army.

Before being ordained in 2011, Andy served in HM Forces in 1st Battalion The Royal Gloucestershire, Berkshire and Wiltshire Regiment.

In 1994, he was posted to Bosnia as part of the British Army’s combat operations against Slobodan Miloševic’s Serbian forces.

It was while serving in Bosnia that Andy was involved in an accident that changed his life forever.

Andy Grant in his army days

He said, “While it may seem a bit of a leap from being a soldier to becoming a vicar, there are lots of strong links between the church and the Forces.

“I joined as an infanteer - a regular soldier. While I was serving in Bosnia, I was involved in an accident in a troop carrier.

“We were only three weeks into our tour and we were traversing these very steep valleys and mountains in a Saxon truck, which is basically an armoured taxi for troops.

“There was a barrier all the way along the road, There was one small gap in it, but sure enough we found it.

“We clipped over something and the Saxon left the road and fell 1,000ft down a steep valley.

“I don’t know how I survived, we rolled for about 600ft. Somehow all my body armour and my helmet were stripped from me and I felt a force shove me inside the Saxon.”

When the Saxon finally came to a stop at the bottom of the valley, the scene was devastating.

“The crash killed three and left the rest of us injured. The vehicle itself was flattened. I had face, leg and arm injuries as well as ligament damage to my knees,” said Andy.

“After that I felt a shift in my thinking. From my experience there was what I can only describe as a divine intervention at the point the vehicle dropped - the margin for error was so minimal.

“It made God very real and kind of got me going back to church on a regular basis.

“I didn’t become a pacifist, because you can’t be a pacifist in the army, but I found myself wanting to do a different job there.

“I trained to be a clerk in administration, and in a few years I re-trained again to become an occupational welfare worker. I was still a soldier, but doing a very different role, involved in welfare work with the serving community.

“Within three years I was very much back into the church and I began to start thinking about ministry.”

Andy Grant in his army days

Andy left the Army in 2009 and began his training as a priest with The Church of England.

He was ordained in 2011, serving four parish churches within the Benefice of Bramham, Boston Spa. It was during this period that Andy found out about a plan by Colonel Ian Harris - who Andy had served under when in the Army - to return to Bosnia with a team to re-dedicate a memorial stone in honour of colleagues who died there back in 1994.

“It was a great honour to be invited along to lead the service of rededication as a minister, and the service was a great success,” said Andy.

“Half the people in the congregation for the rededication were Bosnian Muslims - it was a challenge to get the content of the service right, but it was well received by everyone there.”

Andy is married to Allison, 47, and has three children - Adam, Holly, and Heather. At Marton, he’ll be helped by pioneer minister the Revd Ben Norton, who is also a chaplain with The 4th Battalion The Yorkshire Regiment.

St. Cuthbert’s Church has a firm place in the history of Teesside - Captain James Cook was baptised there and Middlesbrough’s founding fathers, Henry Bolckow and John Vaughan, are in the churchyard.

“I’m looking forward to starting my new role as vicar in Marton, working with Ben and everyone else at St Cuthbert’s, and getting to know everyone in my new parish,” said Andy.

“It’s an amazing parish, a church is made up from its congregation but it is a beautiful building and the Captain Cook link is very special.”

Stockton volunteer Lynn Ford wins Prime Minister's Points of Light award

The mum of a young man who died in a house fire has been chosen by the Prime Minister as the winner of a volunteers award.

Lynn Ford’s world was shattered in December 2005 when her son Andrew, 22, was killed in a blaze at the family’s home in Surbiton Road, Stockton.

Andrew left a chip pan on after falling asleep. His 18-year-old brother Christopher escaped after jumping through an upstairs window.

But determined to gain something positive from the tragic circumstances, care home assistant Lynn joined the Cleveland Fire Support Network in 2009 in a bid to educate the community in fire safety.

Lynn was given a Points of Light award for her leading efforts in the Ban the Pan campaign to replace chip pans with deep fat fryers.

She also wrote a book of poetry about her experience, with money from sales going towards to the campaign,

Lynn became a trustee for the charity two years ago and has also raised more than £10,000 for the Cleveland Fire Brigade.

The network works does home safety visits, portable appliance testing and also installs sensory loss alarms to assist those living with disabilities.

Lynn Ford pictured with her son, Andrew

Speaking of her achievements, Lynn said she was “honoured and privileged” to accept her award.

“The Cleveland Fire Support Network do a wonderful job to help and support our community. Since joining I have tried to make people aware of the dangers around homes, especially leaving cooking unattended.

“It is still very hard to come to terms with the loss of a child and I have down days when I miss Andrew so much, but if something good and positive can be learnt from what happened, then his life was not in vain.”

The Points of Light award has been developed in partnership with the Points of Light programme in the US, which was established by President George H W Bush and has since recognised more than 5,000 people. It also has the support of President Barack Obama.

Prime Minister David Cameron said: “Lynn has used her compassion and personal experience to help others through difficult and often devastating times. Her important work raising awareness of fire safety and visiting people in their own homes is incredibly touching, and fully deserving of her Point of Light award today.”

Stockton North MP Alex Cunningham, also praised Lynn fore her efforts saying: “Lynn has shown tremendous strength and compassion for the welfare of others in the face of the most difficult of family circumstances, the loss of her son.

“It is work like hers to help others learn from her own personal tragedy that will doubtless save lives. I am delighted she has been recognised with a Point of Light Award – and I am sure it will help highlight her work to even more people.”

Chicken-throwing pranksters struck at TWO McDonald's drive-thrus on same day

Pranksters threw live chickens into two McDonald's drive-thrus on the same day, the fast food chain has confirmed.

The Gazette reported yesterday that youths had thrown a bird through the window of the drive-thru at the restaurant at Wolviston Services, near Billingham.

And the restaurant has now confirmed that the same prank was also carried out at its restaurant in Portrack.

A spokesman for the restaurant said: “We can confirm incidences took place at our Portrack and Wolviston restaurants on Monday evening around 6pm. The RSPCA are investigating further.”

It is believed that the bird from the Wolviston branch has been given a home by an RSPCA inspector and named Nugget.

Helen Laville, from Billingham, was with her seven-year-old daughter in the Portrack branch when the incident happened.

“I was waiting at the counter with my seven-year-old when a live chicken was thrown through the drive through serving hatch," she said.

“I didn’t see who had thrown it.

“The staff calmly removed it from the store, and said it wasn’t the first time it had happened!”

Rare Star Wars Boba Fett toy sells for staggering £18,000 at Thornaby auction house

A Star Wars collector has stumped up a staggering £18,000 for a rare action figure which went on sale for just £1.50 three decades ago.

The seller Craig Stevens clenched his fist with joy when the auction price reached £15,000 for the pristine Boba Fett figure he has cherished since 1990 - and then kept rising.

The anonymous UK buyer snapped up the figure - believed to be just one of four or five in the world in such excellent condition - at Thornaby auction house Vectis earlier today.

The winning bid was made over the internet.

Craig, from Croydon, turned to the dark side when he decided to put up 85 figures from his vast Star Wars collection at auction.

VIEW GALLERY

But the 45-year-old said after the sale: “I’m amazed at the price, that was absolutely perfect.

“The money is going to go towards a house for me and my wife. We are looking to move quite soon so that will be perfect to put towards it.

“I hope it will go to a good collector who will look after it and cherish it like I have.”

The extremely rare Boba Fett, the bounty hunter from the Empire Strikes Back, was the pick of the sale, which has received bids from around the world.

Before the auction Craig said he was looking at £10,000-plus for this one figure alone.

“This Boba Fett is in the original packaging in the UK, it is in factory fresh condition,” he said. “He is a very popular character, he had about three minutes of screen time and became a huge cult figure.

“It was only available in this packaging for a year.”

Sold under the UK’s Palitoy brand, the packaging is unpunched, meaning the card had not been pierced to allow it to be displayed on a peg in a shop.

“Unpunched shows it has never been sold and it is factory fresh,” Craig said.

The toy would have retailed for £1.50 in 1980 when it was released. In 1990, a figure in similar condition would sell for £50.

“It has gone up and up and up to crazy prices,” the collector said.

While it was a wrench to sell, Craig realised he needed to raise cash to buy a house with his wife Karen.

He said: “I’m living in a rented flat in my home town. You think to yourself ‘I’m in a flat and I have got a box of figures worth as much as a house’.

“There’s no contest really.”

Even after the auction he still has 10,000 items in his collection of Star Wars memorabilia.

He said: “I was one of the children who queued up to see Star Wars when it was first released in 1977 and it had a tremendous effect on me.

“I began collecting everything that I could get my hands on connected to Star Wars and I have kept going right up to the present day.”

Valuer Kathy Taylor said the figures came from the “golden age” of Star Wars films, and rarely if ever came to market.

She said: “We have never had a collection like this.

“We do get a lot of toys here which make big money, but this is the first Star Wars collection that we have ever had that is of this calibre.”

The entire collection made Craig a healthy £41,796 today. For Star Wars fans who missed out he is putting up more figures for auction at Vectis next month.

Watch: Jamie Bell stars as The Thing in new Fantastic Four trailer

From pirouettes in Billy Elliot to a destructive superhero - Jamie Bell's career has taken yet another exciting turn.

The Billingham born 28-year-old stars as The Thing in new Marvel Comics based film The Fantastic Four - hoped to be a Hollywood hit when it's released in August.

The premise of the film is that four people are teleported to another universe, which alters their physical form and grants them new abilities.

The group must learn to harness their powers and work together as a team to save earth from a 'familiar' enemy.

Jamie Bell stars in the Fantastic Four

Jamie plays Ben Grimm - an alienated kid from a tough neighbourhood. He is then transformed into The Thing - who has a trademark orange rocky appearance and famous battle cry "It's clobberin' time!".

King Kong and The Adventures of Tintin are two other films in which Jamie has had a starring role.

He first shot to fame in Billy Elliot in 2000 directed by Stephen Daldry.

Jamie Bell in Billy Elliot

Last year he separated from his wife actress Evan Rachel Wood, 27, who is the mother of his son.

2,000 Tesco jobs at risk after supermarket giant announces 43 store closures

Around 2,000 Tesco workers discovered their jobs were at risk today after the supermarket giant disclosed the locations of 43 store closures.

Seven superstores and six Homeplus outlets are among the unprofitable shops identified for closure by new chief executive Dave Lewis.

He announced the closure plan earlier this month as part of wider measures designed to revive the group's fortunes in the wake of a disastrous 2014.

Tesco said that 2,000 staff are expected to be affected by the 43 closures and that it will begin consultations with all those workers affected.

Mr Lewis said: "The decision to close the stores has been exceptionally difficult to take. I recognise it will affect many hard-working colleagues, our customers and local communities.

"Our priority is to explain what this announcement means for our colleagues and, wherever possible, offer them alternative roles with Tesco."

Was Boro's win over Manchester City the club's biggest ever cup shock?

Saturday's victory at Manchester City has been described as one of the biggest FA Cup upsets involving a winning Boro team.

Is that accurate? To find out, Philip Tallentire dug through the records to find other candidates and, in addition to the Etihad victory, came up with nine other memorable post-War examples of Boro overcoming the odds to cause a cup upset.

To identify the shock of shocks, he applied his patented ‘Upset-o-meter’ to rate the games in order of shockability and ended up with the following top 10.

How the Upset-o-meter works

A: Gap in respective league positions – one point per place

B: Reigning champions – 10 bonus points

C: Away win – 10 bonus points

D: Win by a two or more goal margin – 5 bonus points

FA Cup, fourth round, Jan 24, 2015: Manchester City 0, Boro 2 (Bamford 53, Kike 90+3). Atten: 44,836

Boro 2nd in the Championship, City 2nd in the Premier League

A: 20 points

B: 10 points

C: 10 points

D: 5 points

Shock rating: 45 points

FA Cup, fourth round, Jan 26, 2002: Boro 2 (Whelan 85, Campbell 89), Manchester United 0. Atten: 17,624

Both teams were in the top flight at the time but few pundits gave Boro prayer prior to kick-off.

Steve McClaren’s side were third from bottom in the Premiership,17 places behind leaders and reigning champions United, which explains the half-full Riverside, along with a lunchtime kick-off and live television coverage.

Daily Mirror

Dean Windass leads the celebrations after Boro dump Manchester United out of the cup

Boro failed to read the prepared script, holding their own throughout the game before grabbing two late goals to complete a deserved win.

* Pre-match league placings: Boro 18th in Premiership, United 1st in Premiership

A: 17 points

B: 10 points

C: 0 points

D: 5 points

Shock rating: 32 points

FA Cup, third round, Jan 4, 1992: Boro 2 (Kernaghan 80, Wilkinson 81), Manchester City 1 (Reid 25). Atten: 21,174

Lennie Lawrence’s Boro were chasing promotion from Division Two while, in the first division, City were fourth in the table going into this encounter.

That said, Peter Reid’s side has been beaten 2-1 at Boro in a fourth round Rumbelows Cup tie just four and a half weeks earlier, so Boro knew they were capable of winning the FA Cup re-match.

The City player-manager opened the scoring from close range in the 25th minute but Boro hit back in the second-half with skipper Alan Kernaghan heading home 10 minutes from time and, just seconds after the re-start, Paul Wilkinson ramming in the winner.

* Pre-match league placings: Boro 4th in Division Two, City 4th in Division One

A: 22 points

B: 0 points

C: 0 points

D: 0 points

Shock rating: 22 points

FA Cup, fourth round, Feb 4, 1992: Sheffield Wednesday 1 (Hirst 4), Boro 2 (Hendrie 39, Wilkinson 72). Atten: 29,772

Played a month after the aforementioned City win, the gap between the respective teams was remarkably similar. Wednesday, who would go on to finish third in the top flight, were fifth before kick-off while Boro were fifth in Division Two.

John Hendrie and Paul Wilkinson.

David Hirst opened the scoring but, crucially, Boro hit back through John Hendrie six minutes before half-time. Cheered on by 5,000 supporters, the visitors kept pushing for the winner and finally made the breakthrough in the 72nd minute, when Paul Wilkinson chipped England keeper Chris Woods.

* Pre-match league placings: Boro 5th in Division Two, Wednesday 5th in Division One

A: 22 points

B: 0 points

C: 10 points

D: 0 points

Shock rating: 32 points

FA Cup third round, January 10, 1962: Boro 1 (Peacock 55), Cardiff 0. Atten: 29,013

A typical blood and guts cup tie had to be played on a night after it was initially postponed.

Cardiff were a top flight side that season – though would go on to be relegated - and went into the game as favourites to beat a Boro team floundering at the wrong end of Division Two.

However, it was the hosts who dominated the game and they deserved to win by a wider margin than their solitary goal.

It was Alan Peacock who scored it, firing home after City defender Alan Harrington had chested a Billy Day header off the goal line.

* Pre-match league placings: Boro 20th in Division Two, Cardiff 12th in Division One

A: 30 points

B: 0 points

C: 0 points

D: 0 points

Shock rating: 30 points

FA Cup, third round replay, Jan 18, 1972: Boro 1 (Hickton 64), Manchester City 0. Atten: 37,931

Second division Boro squandered several wonderful chances to beat title-chasing City in the initial tie at Maine Road but had to settle for a 1-1 draw.

In the replay they edged a tight game courtesy of John Hickton’s 64th minute winner which the City players claimed should have been flagged off-side.

After the match, City coach and future Boro boss Malcolm Allison said: “We were cheated by incompetence.”

Hickton, however, insisted the officials got the decision spot-on.

City’s illustrious team included Mike Summerbee, Colin Bell and Francis Lee and they were second in table, one point off top spot, when their cup tie at Boro kicked-off.

* Pre-match league placings: Boro 7th in Division Two, City 2nd in Division One

A: 27 points

B: 0 points

C: 0 points

D: 0 points

Shock rating: 27 points

FA Cup, third round, Jan 7, 1984: Boro 3 (MacDonald 5, Sugrue 60, Baxter 70), Arsenal 2 (Woodcock 13, Nicholas 64). Atten: 17,813

Both teams were mired in mid-table in their respective divisions ahead of this tie; Boro in the second, Arsenal in the first.

An entertaining game saw Malcolm Allison’s team twice take the lead only for the Gunners, including internationals ‘Champagne’ Charlie Nicholas, Pat Jennings, David O’Leary, Kenny Sansom, Tony Woodcock and Graham Rix, to peg them back.

Then, with 20 minutes to go, Mick Baxter headed home Mick Kennedy’s corner to send Boro through to the fourth round, though it required a couple of sensational Kelham O’Hanlon saves to preserve the slender lead.

* Pre-match league placings: Boro 12th in Division Two, Arsenal 11th in Division One

A: 23 points

B: 0 points

C: 0 points

D: 0 points

Shock rating: 23 points

FA Cup third round replay, March 11, 1963: Boro 3 (Peacock 23 & 31, Kaye 56), Blackburn 1 (Byrom 46). Atten: 39,596

It was the year of the great freeze, which decimated the fixture list and meant Boro’s FA Cup tie at Ewood Park didn’t take place until March 6.

That game ended goalless and the teams tried again the following week, when Boro, 10th in Division Two, beat their top flight opponents 3-1.

The Gazette’s Cliff Mitchell described the tie as “blistering, emotional” and “thrill-studded” and a “sizzling, fever-pitch clash”.

Alan Peacock put Boro 1-0 up with a close-range finish and added a second just after the half hour mark. John Byrom pulled one back at the start of the second half but Arther Kaye sealed the win when he scored with a direct free-kick.

* Pre-match league placings: Boro 9th in Division Two, Blackburn 15th in Division One.

A: 16 points

B: 0 points

C: 0 points

D: 5 points

Shock rating: 21 points

FA Cup third round, Jan 3, 1970: Boro 2 (McIlmoyle 29, Downing 82), West Ham 1 (Stephenson 86). Atten: 32,585

West Ham could be something of a soft touch in those days but they did boast England legends Bobby Moore and Geoff Hurst, so had the potential to dish out a hiding.

Ahead of the game, Boro were mid-table in Division Two but it was Stan Anderson’s underdogs who edged a thrilling cup tie.

Hugh McIlmoyle opened the scoring by heading home Gordon Jones’ corner just before the half hour mark and Derrick Downing nodded in the hosts’ second in the 82nd minute.

That should have been game over but Alan Stephenson set up a grandstand finish by pulling one back four minutes later.

* Pre-match league placings: Boro 10th in Division Two, West Ham 16th in Division One

A: 16 points

B: 0 points

C: 0 points

D: 0 points

Shock rating: 16 points

FA Cup, third round replay, Jan 5, 1971: Boro 2 (McIlmoyle 7, Downing), Manchester United 1 (Best). Atten: 41,000

United weren’t the force they had been three years earlier, when they won the European Cup, but they were still, able to field the holy trinity of George Best, Bobby Charlton and Dennis Law at Ayresome Park.

Boro, then eighth in Division Two, had drawn 0-0 at Old Trafford to force the replay, which attracted a whopping crowd.

Hugh McIlmoyle opened the scoring early on and Derrick Downing added a second midway through the second half before Best headed in a last gasp consolation.

After the game, Boro boss Stan Anderson said: “Promotion must remain our main target.”

* Pre-match league placings: Boro 8th in Division Two, United 18th in Division One

A: 13 points

B: 0 points

C: 0 points

D: 0 points

Shock rating: 13 points