The Chronicle (South Tyneside and Durham)
FREE£3 SHOP BET
THE Pope will miss a planned trip to Assisi next week on doctors’ orders as he continues recovering from thoracic surgery, the Vatican said. Leo XIV had been due to attend a gathering on Tuesday, marking the 40th anniversary of St John Paul II’S World...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
HUNT FOR RAM RAIDERS
THE eyes of the music world were on Newcastle last night as one of the industry’s biggest and most famous accolades, the Mercury Prize, was being handed out in the North East for the second year in a row. And once doors had opened at the Utilita...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
CRASH DRIVER BANNED
A WOMAN who caused a car crash in Newcastle that left a police officer with serious injuries has been fined and banned from driving. Jacquline Robson was behind the wheel of a BMW when she pulled out into the path of a police car that was responding...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
TWIN TYNE TARGET
TWO new bridges could be built across the Tyne, under a new masterplan to revamp the heart of Newcastle and Gateshead. A new vision has been unveiled to build 16,000 new homes, boost transport links, and unlock billions of pounds of investment in the...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
I’VE HAD ENOUGH
A shopkeeper says it is no longer safe for him to run his store after being kicked as he lay helpless on the floor. The Venus Express shop, in Gateshead, has been at the heart of its community since the 1970s. But Jaafar Jaafar, who has run it for the...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
NO RELIEF IN SIGHT
THE long-awaited Blyth Relief Road has been thrown into jeopardy after the Government confirmed it would not be funding the scheme. It had been hoped that the £55m scheme, which has been granted planning permission, would alleviate serious congestion...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
BRIDGE GAP
THE Tyne Bridge will be closed for 10 days as its restoration nears its “centrepiece”. Council bosses have announced that the bridge will be closed throughout the October half-term holidays, to allow engineers to prepare for a critical phase of...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
‘WE WILL FOREVER THANK THEM’
A TEENAGER who survived a crash on his e-scooter has reunited with the North East Ambulance Service paramedics that helped save his life. Davide-daniel Tiblea, now 13, sustained life-changing injuries in the collision back in March, when he was just...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
‘I WOULD HAVE BEEN A GONER’
STANDING in front of the blackened ruins of what she thought would be her “forever home”, Katie Ramsay knows she is lucky to be alive after her nightmare neighbour’s dangerous arson. The 59-year-old was at home with her disabled husband when Stephany...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
MUM AND BROTHER CLEARED OVER FIRE TRAGEDY
TRAGIC teenager Leah Casson’s mum and brother have dramatically been cleared of killing her in a fire. The 18-year-old died in a blaze at her home in Vicarage Street, North Shields, in the early hours of January 16, 2023. Her mum, Danielle Johnson,...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
WILL SERIAL MOTOR MENACE EVER LEARN?
A SERIAL motor menace drove on a footpath and the wrong way along a busy road while taking police on a dangerous chase on a stolen motorbike. Mark Campbell was banned from the roads in September last year for drug-driving. A court at the time heard...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Tributes to thrash metal legend Cronos
TRIBUTES have poured in after the death of Newcastle music legend and “thrash metal” pioneer Conrad Lant. The co-founder, frontman and bass player of heavy metal band Venom has died at the age of 63, it has been announced. For almost 50 years Lant,...
Read Full Story (Page 2)
Prize attraction
IF you haven’t yet got your ticket for this year’s Mercury Prize in Newcastle you really need to. And that’s because a whole host of big name performers have just been confirmed for the prestigious event, including RAYE, Suede, JADE, Newcastle’s own...
Read Full Story (Page 3)
Family’s tributes to man killed on hospital ward
THE family of a man with a “quiet strength”, who was killed on a mental health ward in Newcastle has shared a touching tribute. The loved ones of Michael Matthews have shared emotional words, after a coroner found that there were “failures to monitor”...
Read Full Story (Page 2)
TRAGEDY OF MAN SENT AWAY FROM THE RVI
A NEWCASTLE dad who died due to a severe head injury had been escorted out of A&E at the Royal Victoria Infirmary by security hours after he arrived, with a visible “bloody gash” on the back of his head. That’s according to evidence heard at an...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
The council chair says sorry after ‘shut up’ remark
NORTH Tyneside Council’s chair has apologised to High Borrans campaigners after saying “oh shut up” amid public outcry last week. Coun Wendy Lott, chair of North Tyneside Council, has apologised for a remark made as Friends of High Borrans campaigners...
Read Full Story (Page 2)
‘If me talking about it helps just one person then it will have been worth it’
FORMER Newcastle United striker Andy Carroll says he was sexually assaulted ‘a few years ago’ in a traumatic attack. Speaking in his new autobiography, the 37-year-old says it’s scary to think about the incident and that he even debated revealing it...
Read Full Story (Page 2)
Force’s sad farewell to police horse Pep
TRIBUTES have been paid to a much loved and well respected four-legged member of Team Northumbria Police. Police horse Pep has sadly passed away. Pep, who has helped protect the North East since she joined the force in 2023, has made a lasting...
Read Full Story (Page 2)
LACK OF PLAN TO PREVENT VIOLENCE
A CORONER has heard how a mental health inpatient who killed another man in hospital had not received a written care plan and was not allocated a “key nurse” – among other procedural failings. Michael Matthews was violently attacked in his room on the...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
‘Tax changes will destroy holiday lettings industry’
THE boss of a major UK holiday letting agency has warned Government plans could unleash a “tidal wave” of destruction on the industry. Richard Bond, the owner of Finest Retreats, said plans for a tourist tax and new rules around council tax could make...
Read Full Story (Page 2)
Quayside vision unveiled
Business and Agenda Editor PLANS for an open-air performance area and public park on the Gateshead Quays have been unveiled. The £24m scheme aims to improve the area while authorities try to progress larger proposals for an arena on the site. The...
Read Full Story (Page 2)
Speedy e-bike menace left woman with serious injuries
A TEENAGER riding an electric motorbike dangerously through Newcastle city centre left a woman crossing a road seriously injured. Shantho Rahman, who was 17 at the time and was uninsured and had only a provisional driving licence, had turned off the...
Read Full Story (Page 2)
Project draws on Metro fleet for its inspiration
THE original fleet of Tyne and Wear Metro trains are currently featuring in an art project in Newcastle city centre. The urban installation has seen the subway tunnel underneath the 55 Degrees North roundabout be converted into a 75 metre long...
Read Full Story (Page 2)
THREE HELD AFTER ‘GUN FIRED IN STREET’
WATCHING on as police carried out fingertip searches on their usually quiet street, neighbours have told of their fears after a gun was allegedly fired outside their homes. Specialist search teams could be seen at work on Henshaw Place in Fenham,...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
I THOUGHT I HAD FLU – BUT IT WAS LEUKAEMIA
A MAN who dismissed his loss of appetite and tiredness as the flu was diagnosed with leukaemia. Dan Wright, 33, was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) last October. In the weeks prior, he had suffered from flu-like symptoms and assumed he...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Artist’s tribute to Toon legend Keegan
AN artist from Gateshead who was personally inspired by Kevin Keegan is creating a special tribute to the Newcastle United legend. Ronnie Pattison has picked up his paintbrushes to make the emotional artwork, with half of the proceeds going to The Sir...
Read Full Story (Page 2)
PM joins record Great North Run field and jokes: ‘I can hardly give up halfway round, can I?’
ANDY Burnham made history on Sunday as the first serving Prime Minister to complete the Great North Run. In a huge surprise for crowds at the Newcastle start line yesterday morning, Mr Burnham arrived to run the world-famous half marathon for a fourth...
Read Full Story (Page 2)
Dog of wor in the Lions’ den
NEWCASTLE United fans have their very own ‘football dog’ Arlo, who travels to every away game on a coach driven by his owner John Rush. Operating North East Coach Travel alongside his daughter Jenna, John is able to bring his five-year-old Pointador...
Read Full Story (Page 3)
‘My son might be non-verbal, but his mam’s not’
A Newcastle mum led a march through the city centre as part of her push for more funding to support children with mental health difficulties or neurodiversity. Chantelle Connelly said she has herself experienced long waits for care when it comes to...
Read Full Story (Page 2)
Little Isla taking on Junior GNR in support of charity
FIVE years ago brave little Isla Turnbull from Kenton underwent a first-of-its-kind-operation. In July 2021, doctors at Newcastle’s Royal Victoria Infirmary turned to a surgery normally only used on children with severe neurological issues nearing the...
Read Full Story (Page 3)
‘I WANT THEM TO GO BOOM’
A BOMB hoaxer who told police he wanted to blow up illegal immigrants was found with a fake improvised explosive device in his kitchen cupboard. Sean Mccrystal had grown frustrated at watching TV news about people coming into the country while he was...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
SAYERS SLASHED WITH TUNA TIN LID BY DOUBLE MURDERER
A DOUBLE murderer slashed John Henry Sayers with a makeshift blade while both men were locked up in a North East prison. Sayers was on remand at HMP Frankland when he was attacked by Hussain Bah last year. Bah, who is serving a life sentence for...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
BIRTHDAY PRESENTS DESTROYED
A family from Wallsend have spoken of their devastation after a house fire destroyed a bedroom shared by the two youngest daughters, just weeks after one of their birthdays. The blaze broke out on Edge Way at around midday on Wednesday, when Rebecca...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
TIPPING POINT
THREE illegal waste dumps across the North East are being investigated after almost 3,500 tonnes of rubbish was left. The Environment Agency is looking into the three sites at Callerton, in Newcastle, Peterlee, in County Durham, and Hartlepool, all of...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
MY LITTLE GIRL COULD HAVE BEEN SAVED
THE Tyneside father of a toddler brutally murdered by her own mother and her new partner has condemned the missed chances to save his “little angel”. Two-year-old Isabelle Welsh died after enduring a ‘sadistic’ campaign of violence and abuse inflicted...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Singer Jamie launches her career with a little help from Sir Paul
FOR 21-year-old Jamie Beth music has been part of her life from the age of four but she is now launching her career after graduating from the Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts and receiving song-writing advice from Sir Paul Mccartney. Now under...
Read Full Story (Page 3)
Festival-goers forced to make a lightning exit
REVELLERS at a music festival were left frustrated after being evacuated from the site due to concerns over lightning. Those attending Party in the Park in Morpeth were told to leave the event on Sunday evening due to a thunderstorm. They were asked...
Read Full Story (Page 2)
Noughty
THE stars were out in force on Saturday and so were the eye-catching outfits as the rain held off for the return of Noughty 90s festival to Newcastle. And we were there to get some of the best dressed fans who got down early doors. Always a great...
Read Full Story (Page 2)
A LIFE FILLED WITH LOVE
MOURNERS came together to say an emotional goodbye to a six-yearold girl who died following a battle with a rare form of cancer. Bonnie-leigh Angela Spence was diagnosed with terminal rhabdoid sarcoma cancer after a lump developed on her arm. The...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
JUMPING FOR JOY
STUDENTS across the North East have been celebrating A-level success after receiving their results yesterday. Dame Allan’s School student Eddie Seery is among those celebrating an outstanding set of A-levels after securing a place at the University of...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
USE YOUR HEADS
BIKE and scooter-related incidents in the North East have risen by a quarter this summer, ambulance service bosses have said. North East Ambulance Service (NEAS) officials have highlighted a 25.5% jump in calls to people injured when using bikes or...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
WE JUST WANT TO HELP OTHER PARENTS
A TWO-YEAR-OLD boy lost his life following a battle with a rare bowel condition. Jaxx Carr, from Felling, Gateshead, was eight weeks old when he was diagnosed with Hirschsprung disease. He struggled to pass bowel movements following his birth and...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
THANK YOU
A GOVERNMENT minister has thanked volunteers for their involvement in the nurdle clean-up. Thousands of residents have been cleaning up beaches from Northumberland down to Sunderland since the plastic pellets were spilled into the River Tyne after a...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
DRUG-DRIVE DOCTOR FLED AFTER CRASH
A drug-driving GP left a pedestrian with a suspected broken pelvis after he crashed into him on a busy city centre street and fled the scene. Matthew Mccloskey was over the limit for the breakdown product of cocaine when he got behind the wheel of his...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
JEWELLERS’ HOME WAS TARGETED AS THEY WORKED
RAIDERS ransacked the home of jewellery shop owners in a £50,000 heist. Mandeep Thiara (pictured) and another man travelled from Yorkshire to target the couple’s home in Darras Hall, Ponteland while they were at work in their shop. The victims...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
THANK YOU FOR THE GIFT OF LIFE
A YOUNGSTER who has spent eight years waiting for a heart transplant has finally left hospital after he successfully received the donor heart he has needed for so long. Young Daithi Mac Gabhann is nine years old and has spent most of his life living...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
RIVER SAVED FROM A FURTHER 58 TONNES
PORT of Tyne says that the global shipping industry must learn lessons from the spill in the Port of Tyne that has seen billions of tiny plastic pellets enter the river and the North Sea. The spill occurred within five seconds of a collision between...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
‘I’M GUTTED – AND I WON’T STAY QUIET’
THE mum of blast victim Archie York has today vowed to fight to keep his killer behind bars. The seven-year-old died almost two years ago after a powerful explosion, caused by a dangerous drugs factory in the flat below, tore through his Newcastle...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
OUR AARON WILL LIVE ON
TEENAGER Aaron Anderson asked his parents if his organs could be donated after his death just two weeks before he was killed in a tragic farm accident. The 14-year-old’s heartbroken dad has described his son as an “absolute hero” as he urged other...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
THE DEATH THREAT I JUST COULD NOT ALLOW TO LIE
A Gateshead councillor left horrified by a death threat has demanded an end to a “culture war” marring politics. Liberal Democrat Dawn Welsh has spoken out after a threat sent to her and two fellow Low Fell councillors on social media in the aftermath...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Firefighters tackle huge blaze
FIREFIGHTERS were tackling a major blaze in Washington yesterday. Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service said five appliances and an aerial ladder platform were on the scene at a factory fire in Crowther Industrial Estate. They added: “We are...
Read Full Story (Page 2)
Newcastle fans thank ‘outstanding’ Eddie Howe and say he deserves ‘the gratitude of the city’
Craig Toft “EDDIE Howe deserves the gratitude of the city, of Tyneside, and of the wider area.” That’s the verdict from one Newcastle United fan among many to tell The Chronicle how “gutted” they are to see the departure of the man who brought a first...
Read Full Story (Page 2)
WE KNOW WE NEED TO PICK IT UP
ONE of the firms involved in the huge ship crash that caused an estimated billion plastic pellets to spill into the River Tyne has admitted that clean-up efforts have “not met community expectations”. Huge numbers of plastic ‘nurdles’ have been...
Read Full Story (Page 1)