Ex-champ Ian Horn: This could be my last ever rallycross meeting

Ian Horn from Stokesley will be back on track at Croft this weekend - but says it could be his last ever rallycross meeting.

The former BRDA and BTRDA national title winner quit the sport in 1997 when his twins were born, but returned to action in 2003.

However his most recent rallycross was last winter’s BTRDA 75th Anniversary Meeting at Croft and now he’s says his comeback, 12 months on, could also be his last hurrah.

Horn will line up at the wheel of his Vauxhall Nova GTE in a Red 5 Motorsport production class which also includes Ingleby Barwick’s Martin Peters (Citroen Saxo).

He’s been kicking his heels for most of the year because championship regulations meant his car was too old for one series and too new for another.

Now he says he’ll use this Sunday’s meeting at his local track to see if he still has the desire to keep competing in rallycross.

“This could be my last rallycross event,” revealed Horn, “I’ve lost heart in it, to be honest.

“I know it’s part and parcel of the sport, but in my last event there were a lot of drivers bumping into me.

“The sport isn’t what it used to be and a lot of the young kids seem to struggle to get round the corner.

“I find I’m getting more satisfaction out of rallying these days so maybe I’ll concentrate on that in the future. I don’t know.

“I’m going to do this meeting and then see how I feel. It’s an opportunity to see if I still have an appetite for rallycross.

“There’s another BTRDA meeting at Blyton at the end of the month but whether I do it or not depends on how this weekend goes.

“I’ve got someone who wants to buy my car so if I do decide to give up rallycross, I’ve got someone to buy it.”

Horn won’t be lost to motorsport though and says, whatever his decision, he intends to compete in the two traditonal winter single venue rallies at Croft, the Christmas Stages and the Jack Frost Stages.

And with a change of regulations allowing him to track his car at British Championship level again next year, he says he’d be up for an assualt on the title should he decide to continue in the sport.

Sunday’s event also sees action from the supercar, supermodified, Mini, BMW Mini and autocross car classes.

Kevin Procter (Fiesta Mk 7) and Andy Grant (Focus) are expected to be at the head of the supercar field but Barnard Castle’s ‘Mad’ Mark Watson is also fired up for a tilt at the trophy in his comeback meeting at his home track.

Watson has spent almost a full year off track rebuilding his Citroen Xsara.

During that time he’s picked up sponsorship from Mend-A-Hose of Castleford which will enable him to compete in the British Championship, European Challenge and World Championship rounds in 2015.

Tees Valley Mohawks get season back on track with two crucial wins

Tees Valley Mohawks’ season is back on track after two crucial wins.

Bryan Hockaday made an impressive debut as they won 86-76 away to Hemel Storm and continued his good form the following day in a 92-81 home victory over Bradford Dragons.

Though Storm scored first on Saturday, Romonn Nelson and Hockaday gave Mohawks a 7-2 lead and they remained in front for the rest of the match.

They led 24-16 at the end of the first quarter and although Simon Kearney and Walid Mumuni replied with some good baskets, Nelson and Lee McLaughlin hit some big three pointers.

Mohawks remained in control and though Hemel cut the gap to six points at one stage, great play from Hockaday and Charles Rhodes pushed the lead back up to 10 points.

“It was very important we got the win,” said coach Steve Butler. “We needed that confidence booster and now I’ve got my full squad together I really feel we can assert ourselves on this league now. Bryan, Charles and Romonn were fantastic.”

The following day Hockaday was again on the scoresheet early, along with Rob Donaldson while 6ft 10in Norwegian debutant Mattia Bradascio snuffed out the Dragons’ fire as Mohawks led 21-18 after the first quarter.

Good play from Richard Sulcs saw Bradford tie the game up at 38-38 going into the locker room but Mohawks controlled the third quarter, to lead 61-56.

Mohawks fell behind in a sloppy final session but Hockaday and Bradascio made the difference as the clock ran down and though Jason Swaine hit a three-pointer with just 5.1 seconds to go, Mohawks clinched it in overtime.

“We ground that win out,” admitted Butler. “Bradford are a very good team and I’m really pleased to get that victory as two weeks ago we would have folded.”

Watch: Company Manager tells how armed raiders made off with cash and jewellery from Yarm store

The Company Manager of Market Cross Jewellers has told how armed raiders made off with hundreds of thousands of pounds in cash and jewellery .

Dawn Welsh, who was not at the Yarm High Street store at the time, said: “They were wearing all black, with black gloves on.

“They came in and told everyone to get down. They had a gun and an axe.

“They smashed all the displays and they have taken loads of stuff including watches such as Omegas and Rolexes.”

Alongside the jewellery, the shop’s takings for the day were also taken.

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Ms Welsh said her staff were left badly shaken.

She added: “One of the girls can’t speak and the gentleman who was thrown to the floor was already quite poorly.

“The staff all reacted as they were expected to - and they just let them get on with it.”

“We are going through the stock now. We don’t know the exact amount but it will be hundreds of thousands. I don’t even want to think about it.”

Detectives from Cleveland Police’s Major Crime Team are now investigating the incident .

Match preview: Boro U21s v Hartlepool United

Boro’s Under-21s are targeting a return to winning ways as they look to maintain their cup momentum against Hartlepool United this afternoon.

Eleven days will have felt like an eternity for Paul Jenkins’ young guns since they slipped to a last-gasp 2-1 defeat at Arsenal, bringing their eight-game unbeaten run to a disappointing end.

With another three weeks before their next Barclays Under-21 Premier League Second Division outing, Boro’s focus now turns to cup competitions in the coming weeks.

Tuesday's final Third Development League Cup clash at Rockliffe Park sees Group C North’s two unbeaten sides lock horns, with Boro having won their two games in the group stage against Hull City and Gateshead.

Meanwhile Pools saw off Gateshead in their only match in the competition so far - meaning a home win would see Boro seize control of the group.

In the previous two cup outings Jenkins has given some of his fringe stars a chance to impress, and facing a number of first-team absentees due to the upcoming international break, a number of changes are expected again from the Gunners setback.

Bryn Morris and Bradley Fewster will definitely miss out with the influential duo having joined up with England’s Under-19s, while in-form striker Callum Cooke - who has netted three goals in his last four games - is on England Under-18s duty.

Tom McAloon (knee) and Kieran Weledji (tendonitis) remain on the sidelines while right-back Bradley Halliday faces a late fitness test.

Luke Williams (Scunthorpe), Andy Halliday (Bradford) and Charlie Wyke (Hartlepool) are all out on loan, but returning Ryan Brobbel could make his first appearance in a Boro shirt this season having spent the last three months at Victoria Park.

Emmanuel Ledesma is also in contention, along with Junior Mondal, Scott McCarthy and Mark Kitching.

The cup clash kicks off at 1pm.

Possible Boro line-up: Fryer, B Halliday, Fry, Atkinson, Bennett, Brobbel, Tinkler, McCarthy, Mondal, Ledesma, Jones.

Single Acklam mum who fiddled £71,000 in benefits is told to get ready for prison

A single mum who fiddled thousands of pounds in Benefits for six years was told by a judge yesterday to get ready for prison.

The Crown said that Dawn Bryan, 41, from Middlesbrough, pocketed £71,000 from false claims for housing tax, jobseekers allowance and housing benefit between 2006 and 2012.

She admitted at Teesside Crown Court that she failed to declare that she had been living with a man and that she had made false declarations denying it.

She pleaded guilty to eight charges of failing to notify a change in her circumstances for Benefit between January 2006 and December 2012.

Her defence counsel Rachedl Dyson said that Bryan pleaded guilty on a basis that her partner moved out in January and not in December.

Judge Michael Taylor told Bryan: “In view of the amount of money involved here a prison sentence is probable.

“Go and sort your affairs out.”

Bryan, of Mandale Road, Acklam, was given extended bail for a pre-sentence report and she will be sentenced on December 9.

Pensioner left lying in rain for two hours waiting for ambulance is re-admitted to hospital

A great-grandmother who was left lying in the rain for two hours waiting for an ambulance has been re-admitted to hospital.

Evelyn Davey, 89, was left cold and in pain on the pavement after she slipped and fell outside the front door of a social club on Prescot Road, Ormesby.

She was eventually taken to Middlesbrough’s James Cook University Hospital where she was treated for a broken arm.

However she was yesterday re-admitted to hospital after x-rays showed she also suffered a suspected broken hip as result of the fall.

The fall happened at about 12.30pm on Friday. An ambulance was asked to attend at 12.38pm however it failed to arrive until 2.40pm.

Mrs Davey’s son-in-law, Ray Porter, 61, said: “She was treated in hospital and had some tests done and then was brought home to rest.

“She has been recovering at home but we got a call from the hospital saying they wanted her to come back in as they believe she has broken her hip as well. They had reviewed the x-rays they had done.”

Ambulance chiefs blamed the service facing “high” demand at the time for the slow response.

After her fall, passers-by and club members tried to keep Mrs Davey as warm and dry as possible, placing blankets and umbrellas over her as she lay in agony.

At one point, helpers attempted to move her but they feared they would cause further harm as Mrs Davey was screaming.

Mr Porter said: “She has settled a bit now and is less upset and shaken by it all but I am still very angry.

“Everyone we speak to is disgusted about it.

“I understand the ambulance service has to prioritise callouts but she is 89-years-old. It is not something you expect to happen. She had an awful experience and she was badly injured as a result of the fall.”

Mr Porter said he plans to make a complaint to the North East Ambulance Service about the incident.

Ambulance responses are categorised between life-threatening “red” incidents, which crews should attend within eight minutes, or “green” incidents which should be reached between 20 minutes to an hour.

Aitor Karanka full of praise for Adam Reach as winger is named in Championship Team of the Week

The future is bright for Adam Reach, says Aitor Karanka.

The in-form Boro winger marked an impressive start to the season by penning a new four-and-a-half-year contract last week and was yesterday named in the Football League Championship Team of the Week.

It’s been a remarkable change in fortune for the 21-year-old, who only made two first team league appearances for the club last season, spending most of the campaign on loan with Shrewsbury and Bradford City.

Karanka has no doubts as to why Reach has been a regular presence in the Boro team this season.

“The key is now he is more mature,” he said. “Sometimes the player’s character permits them to play at 20 year old or 18 years old but other players like Reachy or Gibbo (Ben Gibson) have gone out on loan three or four times.

“It’s the most important thing that he now is more mature. As a player, when you are more mature, you are more confident.

“The manager, the club, and the staff, give you more confidence and you feel that confidence so it’s normal that you improve.”

Joining Reach in the team of the week were Darren Randolph (Birmingham), Andre Bikey (Charlton), Liam Cooper (Leeds), Nikolay Bodurov (Fulham), Jeff Hendrick (Derby), Lee Chung-Yong (Bolton), Kevin Bru (Ipswich), Britt Assombalonga (Nottingham Forest), Andre Grey (Brentford) and Johnny Russell (Derby).

Outlining the reasons for Reach’s inclusion, a Football League statement read: “Boro may have failed to secure three points against fellow high-flyers Bournemouth, but Reach came closest to scoring in the goalless draw by firing against the crossbar in the first half, in what was a solid performance.”

For his part, Karanka has been impressed by the winger’s work-rate and determination to improve.

“He is playing well and I’m sure that he can play better because he’s a very good player, a good lad and a good example for the Academy,” said the Boro boss.

“Now, he is more mature, he’s the kind of lad who always wants to learn, he listens to you, he listens to my assistants.

“On Thursday, he finished his recovery session and then stayed out on the pitch to watch the lads train so he’s the sort of lad who loves football, who always wants to learn and for this reason will have a very good future.”

Terry Cochrane will be the guest speaker at the next meeting of Middlesbrough Official Supporters’ Club on Monday in the Fenton Suite at the Riverside Stadium.

The former Boro, Burnley and Northern Ireland winger will be signing copies of his new autobiography See You at the Far Post.

The meeting starts at 7pm and new members can join on the night.