Theft of 117 wheels from 27 brand new trucks shocks South Bank business

20 Feb 2014 19:34

Bill Whyte, the owner of Autoplate UK, faces a £10,000 bill after the thieves struck some time overnight on Tuesday

Bill Whyte of Autoplate UK

A BUSINESSMAN has been left counting the cost of “mindless” criminals who stole 117 wheels from 27 brand new trucks in a matter of hours.

Rows of callously damaged and wheel-less Ford Transit flat bed vehicles line the yard at Autoplate UK in South Bank, where company owner Bill Whyte faces a £10,000 bill.

“This can affect a business badly and already has,” said Bill.

Some time overnight on Tuesday thieves stole the 117 rare wheels and caused substantial damage to the trucks.

Employees at the Middlesbrough Road East vehicle delivery business discovered the theft when they arrived for work on Wednesday morning.

“We start work at about 6am in the morning and when I got in, a couple of drivers were already here,” said Bill.

“One came over to me and said ‘it’s a disaster’.

“It was pitch black at the time so I couldn’t fully see what had happened but I was in shock when I saw the full extent of it.

“It took me two days to fully assess the damage.”

As well as the wheels, fitted with rare Bridgestone 623 tyres, six tailgates were stolen, windows were smashed, and doors damaged.

“Eight of them will have to go to the body shop which will cost £7,000 to £8,000,” said Bill. “The man there was astonished at the brutality used.

“Then to replace the wheels it will cost about £2,300 and for the windows, about £1,000.

“It takes a long time to earn that money.”

“This has been planned in advance,” he added. “It is a massive operation.

“They have gone through the fence outside our office and across the field with the wheels.

“Moving the amount taken would have been a massive job.”

Bill is now hoping people will come forward if they have any information.

“Within the business community, people are relaying to others what has happened so if anyone is offered wheels for sale, I hope they pass information on,” he said.

“Never in my working life have I ever experienced anything like this before.”

Cleveland Police are appealing to anyone who may know the whereabouts of the wheels or anyone with information. They should call DC Matthew Waterfield at Redcar and Cleveland CID on the non-emergency 101 number or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

Shay Given aims to sign off Boro stint in style against Leeds

20 Feb 2014 19:24

Shay Given will be looking for a clean sheet against Leeds, but would sacrifice that shut-out for a win on his swansong

Shay Given

Shot stopper supreme Shay Given aims to sign off his Boro stint in style in Saturday’s showdown with Leeds.

The keeper wants to end his successful loan spell at Boro by collecting a tenth clean sheet.

But he would sacrifice that shut-out so long as Boro win in his swansong.

“There’ll be a bit of sadness with it being my last game here,” said the veteran, who returns to Aston Villa on Monday.

“I really want to go out on a high at Middlesbrough and keep another clean sheet.

“But if I can’t do that and it finishes 10-9 then I’d take that now because we just want to win the game. It’s all about the team not about me personally, we just want the three points.”

Given has proved a massive hit with fans and admits that the vocal support helped him find his feet at the Riverside.

“I want to say thank you for the way the fans made me welcome,” he said. ”They have been fantastic to me personally.

“There’s always a bit of trepidation when you are settling in to a new club but the fans here have been fantastic.

“With my connections with Newcastle, one of the big local rivals, it could easily have gone either way but they have been phenomenal from the first game, home and away. So I want to thank them for that.

“And they haven’t just backed me but the whole team and I want them to keep that up for the rest of the season and keep on believing.

“I have been happy how things have gone and how the fans have reacted to me on a personal level was very pleasing.

“And I like to think I’ve helped the team a little bit as well.”

Boro tried to extend the clean sheet specialist’s loan deal in January and he was keen to stay but the club couldn’t agree terms with Villa on deadline day,

“I would have liked to have stayed until the end of the season and try to help Boro climb the table but it was very much out of my hands and I have to go back to Villa,” he explained.

“But I will look back fondly on my time at Boro. I was delighted that Mr Karanaka brought me in. I’ve had great times here and enjoyed every minute of it.”

Daylight attacker stamped on victim's head before leaving him in middles of the street

20 Feb 2014 18:51

VIDEO: CCTV showed Lee Harvey punching, kneeing and kicking a man on a Gresham street in Middlesbrough

CLEVELAND POLICE PICTURE

Lee Harvey

A street attacker who stamped on a man’s head three times and left him lying unconscious on the ground has been jailed for five years.

CCTV showed Lee Harvey punching, kneeing and kicking a man on Enfield Street, Gresham, Middlesbrough.

The 26-year-old admitted stamping on him wanting to knock him out, to “neutralise” him and “take him down”.

He’d told a jury he thought he was doing the right thing on August 30 last year.

Sentencing him yesterday, Judge Peter Bowers said: “You did stamp on his head while he was unconscious, and left him there lying in the road.”

The video showed the victim knocking on a house door.

He argued with a woman at the house before Harvey emerged from the home and pushed him into the road, Teesside Crown Court heard.

Prosecutor Rachel Masters said it was a sustained attack where the victim tried to defend himself but Harvey overpowered him.

She said Harvey pushed, held and punched the man, putting him to the ground.

Then he kneed him and kicked him on the ground, one witness said “like a football”.

The footage showed the victim unconscious in the middle of the road until another man dragged him to the side.

He suffered a punctured lung and bruises to the eye and jaw.

He had fractured ribs but it could not be proved that Harvey was responsible as he’d also been assaulted two days earlier.

Harvey, of Valley Road, Grove Hill, Middlesbrough, admitted affray but denied attempting to inflict grievous bodily harm with intent.

He was convicted of that charge by a jury after a short trial earlier this month.

Harvey told jurors the victim tried to grab him and threatened to stab the woman.

He said: “I thought he was going to stab me as well. I thought I’ll just take him down.”

He claimed he was in fear of his life when he had the man on the ground.

He said he acted to prevent an assault, stop the man reaching into his pockets and keep him on the ground.

He added: “I didn’t put full force but I did stamp on his head. I didn’t intend to cause any injury to him. I just tried to shock him, to give him a warning, to say leave her alone.

“I thought I was doing right at the time but obviously I wasn’t.”

He was previously jailed for three years for grievous bodily harm in 2006 and received an extended sentence for assault and affray in 2009.

At the time of the attack he’d been out of prison for three years and just finished his licence period.

Brian Russell, defending, said yesterday: “Trouble came to his door rather than him seeking it out.

“It doesn’t excuse what happened thereafter.

“He felt at the time he was doing the right thing. He realises he lost control.

“He’s now demonstrating a degree of maturity and realises that he can’t behave in this way.”

Police search for missing Middlesbrough man Darren Fenwick

19 Feb 2014 21:38

Police are trying to trace 37-year-old Middlesbrough man, Darren Fenwick, who has been missing since Tuesday evening

Missing Middlesbrough man Darren Fenwick

Police are appealing for help in tracing a 37-year-old Middlesbrough man who has not been seen since yesterday evening (Tuesday).

Officers are concerned for Darren Fenwick’s welfare and ask anyone who has seen him or his silver 53 plate Vauxhall Corsa to contact them.

Darren is described as white, 5ft 11in tall and of slim build. He has a prosthetic left arm and he walks with a limp to his left leg and may be using a walking stick. He has mousey cropped short hair and a tribal tattoo on his right arm.

He was last seen wearing a grey zip-up cardigan, light blue jeans and black footwear.

Anyone who knows of his whereabouts or who has seen his vehicle is asked to contact Cleveland Police on 101.

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Amnesty censures Kenya over Somali refugees

File photo shows Somali refugees walking at the Dadaab refugee camp in Kenya.

Amnesty International says extensive intimidation and human rights abuse is forcing Somali refugees out of Kenya.

In a report published on Wednesday, the human rights group warned over the hostile environment in Kenya, saying that the refugees are actively targeted by the police with indiscriminate arrests.

According to the report, named No Place Like Home, the refugees are even denied access to registration, meaning they are illegally staying in the African country.

“The environment in Kenya is now so hostile that some refugees feel they have no option but to return to Somalia where the ongoing conflict in parts of the country continues to destroy lives. This is tantamount to forced return,” said the rights group’s deputy regional director Sarah Jackson.

Last week, the Kenyan government called on Somalia to speed up repatriation procedure of some half a million Somali refugees living in the United Nations-designated camps in Kenya.

The Kenyan government argued that stability has returned to Somalia following successful joint operations by the African Union and Somali government forces.

The Somali government also said it wants its refugees resettled, but the process must be gradual.

According to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), about 42,000 people in Somalia sought asylum last year.

Nearly 60,000 Somalis were also displaced in the country’s southern and central regions last year.

Somalia did not have an effective central government from 1991 until August 2012, when a previously agreed upon political transition was instituted.

On September 10, 2012, Somalia’s clan elders appointed 275 members to a new parliament, which subsequently elected Hassan Sheikh Mohamud president.

MOS/HSN

Watch: Canine capers making Stockton dog Sydney a TV superstar with owner Stacey

20 Feb 2014 14:00

For Stacey Nicholson and prodigious pooch Sydney, training was key in getting them on Channel 4's Superstar Dogs: Countdown to Crufts

View gallery

Stacey Nicholson and dog Sydney

View gallery

Training your dog to sit can feel like an achievement to most, but that’s just the start if your dog happens to be a superstar.

And for professional pet sitter Stacey Nicholson and her prodigious pooch Sydney, training was the key in getting them on Channel 4’s Superstar Dogs: Countdown to Crufts.

Presented by John Barrowman, the series began on Monday and features dogs and their owners from all over the UK competing in a number of challenges.

While Sydney licked her face, Stacey, 23, said: “It’s really worth a watch.

“About 1,000 dogs applied but only 250 got through to the first audition and then only 30 made it to the TV recordings.”

Judged by The Kennel Club expert Dave Ray, the dogs and their owners compete in a number of disciplines such as swim and fetch, a penalty shoot- out and finally a giant assault course aptly called the Dogstacle Course.

Showing off the skills that got them past the auditions, Stacey and Sydney performed some of their best tricks.

In one trick, Sydney sat attentively while Stacey slowly stretched out her arm and took aim at him with pistol shaped fingers.

Then with a shout of “BANG!” Sydney keeled over onto his side - quite “dead”.

But not for long, soon the clever canine was crawling along the floor, jumping, hiding and barking on command.

Stacey, from Stockton, started training three-year-old Sydney when he was a puppy.

And it doesn’t take long to realise that Stacey loves all animals.

But Stacey’s mum, Alison, told of how her daughter’s confidence had been knocked after an attack by a Japanese Akita left Stacey with scars on her arms and legs.

Alison said: “I didn’t think she would ever work with animals again but how wrong can you be, the house is full of them.”

Now Stacey runs her own franchise of Paw Pals and makes her living pet-sitting.

While she played with her pet grass snake Spot, Stacey told us how, despite Syd being cute and clever, life with him isn’t always a walk in the park.

She said: “Everyone on the show took to Sydney.

“John Barrowman loved him, he was rolling around on the floor with him and the crew called him Brussel because he’s a Beagle-Jack Russell cross.

“But in one of the auditions I kept telling Sydney to sit and he just kept barking at me.

“He will do what he’s told - if he feels like it.”

Stacey’s heat airs on Thursday, February 27, at 5.30pm.