Teenage ‘thief’ in burns horror From The Northern Echo

More than 800m of live street lighting cable was taken from Heugh Hall Row, Old Quarrington, near Durham City, about ten days ago and 700m were taken from Ushaw Moor, last Tuesday.

via Teenage ‘thief’ in burns horror From The Northern Echo.

BBC News – Cash machine thieves use homemade ‘stingers’

A gang of would-be thieves who tried to steal a cash machine used homemade “stingers” in a bid to delay police.

Nail-spiked pipes were laid across roads near the Co-op in Ushaw Moor, County Durham, while the machine was attacked with a JCB digger.

One police car and a passing delivery vehicle each had punctured tyres as a result.

Three men have been arrested in connection with the incident, which happened in the early hours of Tuesday.

Local people raised the alarm at about 0420 BST when the JCB’s driver attempted to prise the machine from the wall of the store in Broom Lane.

‘Fantastic response’

Durham Police’s helicopter was deployed after the attempt failed and the gang fled the scene.

The force said the arrests were made quickly because of the community’s “fantastic response”.

Detectives are trying to trace the owner of the mechanical digger, and have appealed for anyone with information about the incident to come forward.

The three men arrested are aged 24, 28 and 30, and from the local area, said police.

via BBC News – Cash machine thieves use homemade ‘stingers’.

Karen to walk for mum Anne (From The Northern Echo)

A WOMAN is to tackle a sponsored walk in aid of a hospice which transformed her mother’s quality of life.

Karen Dobson noticed a marked improvement in her mother Anne Nixon’s health after she began visiting St Cuthbert’s Hospice, in Durham, in December.

Mrs Nixon, 65, from Bearpark, near Durham, has suffered two heart attacks and her condition worsened in March 2009.

Mrs Dobson, from Ushaw Moor, said: “Apart from her frequent trips to hospital, mum wasn’t able to leave her house for nine months.

“Within a few days at the hospice, mum was literally glowing. It was an astonishing improvement.”

Mrs Nixon said: “I can’t put into words how much the hospice has helped me – I feel like a person again. Knowing that I can come back here in a few months will keep me going.”

Mrs Dobson will take part in the ladies-only Midnight Walk for St Cuthbert’s Hospice on Saturday, June 19, in Aykley Heads, Durham.

Organisers hope 1,000 women will take up the challenge.

Registration costs £10 per person, plus sponsorship. For more information, call Rachel Jobson on 0191-386-1170 or visit stcuthbertshospice.com The closing date for entries is Sunday, May 23.

via Karen to walk for mum Anne (From The Northern Echo).

ChronicleLive – News – Today’s Chronicle – Suspected dealers targeted in Durham drug raids

Suspected dealers targeted in Durham drug raids

Feb 27 2010 by Katie Davies, Evening Chronicle

Police raid premises near Durham as part of a drugs raid

DRUGS and more than £24,000 in cash were seized after suspected dealers were targeted in a series of raids.

The alleged pushers were arrested as part of a crackdown of the supply chain of Class A and B drugs in and around the Durham area.

A team of officers swooped on the properties with the aim of smashing the supply of cocaine and cannabis.

Dressed in riot gear, they smashed their way into two properties and entered a car garage, targeting individuals believed to be involved.

More than £14,000 was seized from under the mattress of a home in Holly Park, Brandon, as well as a small quantity of cannabis bush and resin.

A safe was also detained after officers found it hidden in the loft.

And another £10,000 was then found in Oakridge Road, Ushaw Moor.

Three people were led from the properties in handcuffs, before being taken away for questioning.

At Littleburn Industrial Estate police entered MVM car garage, where workers were carrying out repairs on vehicles.

Meanwhile, members of the public looked on from other units in the industrial estate, as the police searched the property.

One man was led from the garage as police officers put him into the back of a van for questioning.

Another two men were also led away in handcuffs from their homes in Holly Park, Brandon, and Oakridge Road, Ushaw Moor, and were all being questioned on suspicion of drug offences.

The raids were organised after the success of Operation Calabria, a campaign aiming to take drug dealers off the streets of Durham.

After eight simultaneous raids last month, members of the public have stepped forward to identify more individuals allegedly involved in the drugs market.

Chief Inspector Paul Anderson, of Durham Constabulary, said: “People are getting more and more confident in reporting incidents to the police and we are now able to crack down on various drug markets.

“We take every bit of information we get very seriously. Sometimes it may take a bit of time to act but we have to build up a full picture of the distribution of drugs in the area.

“Things like today demonstrate that we act upon people’s information.”

via ChronicleLive – News – Today’s Chronicle – Suspected dealers targeted in Durham drug raids.

Dismay as thugs desecrate memorial

Durham Times – UK
They also set up a planter in memory of him in a cemetery in Ushaw Moor, near Durham, where he grew up and lived in his younger days. …MORE

Theft of charity bags

Northern Echo – Darlington,England,UK

POLICE are looking for a van which is believed to have been used to steal bags packed with donations to help a life-saving service.

Police say the white Ford Transit – registration SB52 PFV – was used to pick up charity bags for the Great North Air Ambulance which had been left on the doorstep by well-wishers.

A number of bags went missing at around 9am yesterday after being left out in Hill Top, in the village of Bearpark, Durham City.

A witness said the bags had been collected by the van, which contained two men, both wearing high-visibility jackets.

The driver was aged 25 to 30, with short fair hair. The passenger was around 5ft 6 tall, of slim build, with short fair hair.

Genuine collectors for the Great North Air Ambulance were in the Durham area today picking up collections in the Ushaw Moor, New Brancepeth, Brandon and Langley Moor areas.

Anyone with any information about the incident or knows the whereabouts of the van is asked to ring police on 0345 6060365 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555111.