Livestock killed and buildings destroyed in Saltersgill allotment fire

Chickens were killed and two sheds were destroyed in an allotment blaze.

A total of 15 chickens kept at the site in Saltersgill, Middlesbrough, were destroyed in the fire - with only three surviving.

Nearby trees were also stripped of foliage by the blaze on Tuesday night, which is the latest in a series to hit the Saltergill Avenue site.

Nigel Reed, 51, has had an allotment at the site for almost five years.

He said: “I got here about 7.25am on Wednesday morning. Police said they had a phone call last night. “We’ve had some problems before. About two years ago our shed got burnt down, but it’s different when it’s livestock.

“They were only four-month-old chicks, they had just starting to lay - 15 chickens of them have been roasted.”

The cause of the fire is being investigated but is believed to have been started some time between 7pm and 11.05pm on Tuesday night.

Peter Whelan, chairman of the Saltersgill Allotment Association, said: “Over the past two months or so we’ve been hit badly.

“We used to have a big community meeting hut, it could hold about 70 to 80 people - eight weeks ago that was destroyed by fire.

“There’s three other site members who have had their belongings burnt down.

“We’re going to have to ring the Crime Prevention Team to ask them what to do.”

Cleveland Police appealed for witnesses who may have seen anything to contact them.

Two fire engines from Middlesbrough Fire Station attended the scene and firefighters used a single hose reel to tackle the blaze.

Any one with information is asked to contact PC James Gallafant on the non-emergency number 101 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

Teesside firm says oil and gas played large part in UK economy boost

A teesside firm says continuing investment by UK oil and gas companies is a key part of the UK’s positive GDP.

Latest official figures have shown the UK economy is now 2.7% bigger than at its pre-recession peak and also grew more strongly in the second quarter of the year than thought.

Wynyard-based Nortech Oil & Gas, which is part of professional engineering design and project management company Nortech Group, says its sector has played a large role in the boost to the economy - and the North-east is ‘perfectly positioned’ to support further growth.

Willie O’Neil, Contract Lead at Nortech Oil & Gas, said: “The very positive GDP results for the second quarter this year reflect the continuing climate of positivity and strong record of growth in the oil and gas market.

“Continuing investment by UK oil and gas companies is a key component of this growth. Investment creates a momentum to service the growing supply chain, which is also a key contributor to the UK economy.”

Nortech’s turnover has steadily increased to £10m and the company has taken on 86 new members of staff since starting up with a team of four in 2011.

Willie added: “As an increasingly significant part of the supply chain, Nortech Group is undergoing strong growth and development.

“The oil and gas sector has plenty of scope for additional growth, and the North-east and its supply chain are perfectly positioned to support that growth.”

Major data revisions by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed the economy had recovered all the ground lost since the 2008/09 recession about nine months earlier than was believed.

The figures also revealed gross domestic product (GDP) grew by 0.9% in the second quarter of this year, up from a previous estimate of 0.8% - though for the first quarter growth was revised down from 0.8% to 0.7%.

They immediately prompted speculation about whether the improved picture for the economy would put fresh pressure on Bank of England policy makers to raise interest rates from the historic low of 0.5%.

The figures were published by the ONS following major changes to its methodology to bring it into line with international standards as well as its usual periodic revisions. Its latest GDP data now includes spending on illegal activities such as drugs and prostitution, and other areas such as research and development, for the first time.

The revisions show the economy is now 2.7% larger than it was in the first quarter of 2008, the last period before the recession took hold - revised up from 0.2%.

David Kern, chief economist at the British Chambers of Commerce, said: “While the strength of the recovery will support business confidence, these figures reinforce the need to rebalance the economy towards exports and investment.

“Interest rates must be kept low until there is a clear need to start increasing them, and government must do more to support exporters and improve access to finance for growing businesses.”

Live: Crathorne Hall fire 'smouldering' after blaze sweeps through historic hotel

Eighteen fire engines have been called to a fire at Crathorne Hall in Yarm.

North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue service and Cleveland Fire Brigade are both at the scene.

The fire is reportedly in the roof space of the hotel, and staff and guests have been evacuated.

Northumbrian Water has advised people in the area that they may experience discoloured supply.

Live updates from this event will appear below.

Major Gateway Middlehaven supermarket scheme is rubber-stamped

A major supermarket scheme for Middlesbrough’s flagship regeneration area has reached financial close.

Osprey Equity Partners has agreed to forward fund the £50m deal to develop a Sainsbury’s store and adjoining petrol station, KFC and Costa coffee at Gateway Middlehaven.

The first phase of work for the project, which is being developed by Terrace Hill, is already underway.

The development, which lies between the A66 and the Riverside Stadium, is part of a £35m retail and leisure scheme.

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The Osprey Terrace Hill deal includes the 125,000 sq ft supermarket, a nine-pump petrol station and kiosk, the 3,650 sq ft KFC drive-through restaurant and the 1,846 sq ft Costa drive-through.

A 7,276 sq ft Marston’s family pub will also be built at the site.

John White, co-founding director of Osprey Equity Partners Ltd, which is a London-based private investment company, said: “This deal means the project can go ahead.

“We have been discussing this proposition for the last four to five months.

“Our client is looking for long-term secure income, they’re building the Sainsbury’s store with a view to them taking a 25-year lease.

“We are delighted to be investing in the locality, and the building will be open in time for Christmas 2015.”

As a result of the development, the current Sainsbury’s store on Wilson Street will close, with the site turned into a £20m retail and commercial development including an 80-bed hotel and car park. This is expected to open in spring 2016.

According to Terrace Hill, the current Sainsbury’s store is unable to “compete effectively” with larger stores in the area and the supermarket chain wants to relocate to a site which can accommodate a modern store to better meet its customers’ needs.

A spokesperson said: “This scheme will see the development of a prominent 16 acre site, fronting the A66.

“The development will create an impressive entrance to the Middlehaven regeneration area on the banks of the Tees.”

The scheme is expected to create up to 340 new full and part-time jobs alongside temporary construction jobs, as well as safeguarding 230 jobs from the existing store.

Osprey has also funded a similar sized Sainsbury’s in Sunderland, also acting for Terrace Hill, which is part of Urban & Civic plc.

Terrace Hill is also developing a mixed-use retail and leisure scheme at Darlington on the former Arriva bus depot site, adjacent to the River Skerne and Darlington’s Town Hall.

The company’s portfolio also includes initial development of the Asda site at Skelton, which was completed last year.

Modi indicted by ‘Citizens Court in Washington’ for abetting murder of Muslims

Washington: The US based Sikh Foundation for Justice (SFJ) in coordination with the American Gurudwara Prabhandak Committee (AGPC), Tuesday held a Citizens’ Court in Lafayette Park, a small park infront of the White House to indict PM Narendra Modi for the human rights violations in 2002 in Gujarat.

The one hour well organized ceremony was conducted following US legal procedure.

SFJ organized a grand jury of 24 citizens comprising of people of various colors, white, black, desi etc. The judge was a white American woman lawyer.

An effigy of Modi with his face photo, stood in a dock on the left side of the judge’s desk. The prosecutor was an Indian-American lawyer. The mock court room was set up in the park just like it happens in court rooms. It looked like a professional setting.

The attending audience of about one thousand people consisting of men and women of all races and colors, but mostly Sikhs, stood behind the prosecutor’s desk in the park. Lots of TV cameras and media people were in attendance.

The proceedings began at 1:30 PM on Tuesday (Sept 30) when PM Modi was actually in the White House building, that is right infront of the court setting and ended at 2:30 PM.

The prosecutor read out the charges against Modi and informed that the charge sheet was handed over to an official of the Indian embassy in Washington DC a few days ago, and that Modi has been given an opportunity to defend himself.

But he has chosen not to attend even though right at this time he is in the White House building, just a couple of hundred yards away.

All charges of abetting murder of 2000 Muslim people, raping of a large number of Muslim women, destruction of their houses in February, March 2002 were read out in detail.

The lady judge then turned the matter over to the grand jury and asked them to indicate their opinion by writing on pieces of paper infront of them.

The judge then polled the grandjury members and with their concurrence announced that Modi has been indicted of the charges levelled against him by the prosecutor.

Laying the factual details of Narendra Modi’s crimes and culpability, the charge sheet filed in the Citizens’ court listed crimes of genocide; murders in the first degree; rapes and sexual assaults; torture; tempering with the witnesses, victims and informants; and obstruction of criminal investigations.

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K Home International celebrates 2.5 million hours safety milestone

Teesside engineering firm K Home International Limited (KHI) is celebrating 2.5 million man-hours without a lost-time accident.

It covers all its 200 employees, which are based at various chemical, petrochemical, energy and nuclear clients’ project sites across Teesside and the North-west, and the company’s head office at Allensway in Thornaby.

The company says the achievement reflects its ‘continual commitment’ to Health, Safety and Environmental (HSE) management.

A spokesperson said: “Excellent HSE compliance ensures everyone can go home at the end of the day without injury, and has established an ethos of competency and safety-focus throughout the company.

“The requirement to ‘design to avoid risk to health, safety and the environment’ is inherent in KHI’s procedures.”

KHI provides engineering design consultancy, project management and construction supervision services to industry sectors worldwide.

The company also works in other heavy industries such as minerals extraction and metals manufacture.

And as recognition of reaching the 2.5m man-hours milestone, the company has made a donation to stillbirth and neonatal death charity, Sands.

Lee Anderson, Operations Director for K Home International, said: “We are pleased to be able to mark this achievement by donating to a worthwhile cause within our local community and we would like to thank all our personnel for their contribution in achieving another milestone in our HSE performance programme.

“People are our greatest asset and we always emphasise that HSE is our number one priority as part of the execution of our works.

“The Health, Safety and Environmental culture is well established in the company, and we have proudly achieved the RoSPA Gold Award in three consecutive years.”

Sands, which operates throughout the UK to support anyone affected by the death of a baby and promote research to reduce the loss of babies’ lives.

A Sands group has been set up on Teesside for the first time by bereaved parents.

The group’s first support meeting is on Tuesday, October 7 and the first Tuesday of every month thereafter, from 7-9pm at Low Grange Community Centre, Low Grange Avenue, Billingham.

Family pay tribute after woman who was hit by a bus on Stockton High Street dies in hospital

A "bubbly and loving" Stockton woman who was left fighting for her life after being hit by a bus on Stockton High Street has died.

Kelly Marie Evis was rushed to James Cook University Hospital with serious injuries including a fractured skull after the collision on Monday, September 15.

But the 28-year-old lost her fight for life late last night.

Kelly's devastated family have paid tribute, saying: "Kelly was a bubbly, lovely and loving daughter and sister who will be sadly missed.

"It hasn't sunk in yet that she has gone."

Police are still appealing for witnesses to the incident.

They particularly want to speak to a female passenger who was travelling on the bus at the time of the collision.

The accident happened at around 11.05pm on Stockton High Street, opposite Ropery Street.

Any witnesses who have not yet spoken to police are asked to contact PC Lee Benson from the Cleveland and Durham Specialist Operations Unit on the non-emergency number 101, quoting event number 162776.