Replay: Breaking news updates from Newcastle and the North East

The latest traffic, travel, weather, crime and breaking news updates from The Chronicle, covering Newcastle, Gateshead, North Tyneside, South Tyneside, Northumberland, Sunderland and Durham for Wednesday, 21 May 2014

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The Chronicle's live breaking news blog brings you regular updates, pictures, video, tweets and comments covering the latest Newcastle and North East traffic, travel, weather, crime and council news for Wednesday, 21 May 2014.

You can contribute to the live blog by posting your comment below, and you can also tweet us @EveningChron to share breaking news stories, pictures and opinions.

Our Newcastle breaking news live blog begins at 06:30am every weekday and is updated throughout the day until 10.00pm.

06.30
Michael Brown

GOOD MORNING NORTH EAST ENGLAND! Yes, it's 6.30am, I'm Michael Brown and this is The Chronicle liveblog for Wednesday 21 May 2014.

Its a lovely sunny morning here in Newcastle - though from the windows of Chronicle Towers I can see a few small dark clouds floating in the clear blue sky.

I'll bring you the weather forecast in a little bit but first, as usual, lets see that the region's emergency services have been up to overnight...

06.39

FIRE: As usual it seems to have been a relatively quiet night for the police and fire services.

Of course if you know differently - of have anything else you'd like to tell us about - then tweet us @EveningChron, email ec.news@ncjmedia.co.uk or call 0191 201 6446.

06.48

WEATHER: So to the weather, and after yesterday's warnings of heavy thunderstorms - which I'll confess I saw none of down in sunny Gateshead - forecasters say today is likely to be dry with spells of warm sunshine.

 

People enjoy the sunshine in Newcastle city centre

According to the Met Office we'll perhaps the odd mist patch around first thing today but these will quickly clear to leave a fine and dry day with spells of warm sunshine. Winds will remain light throughout and the maximum temperature will be 20°C.

Tonight it'll remain dry through the evening and for much of the night. Towards dawn however thickening cloud will bring outbreaks of rain into the south of the area.

Tomorrow rain will spread to all parts through the morning, some of this heavy and thundery. Some drier weather later, though still with the risk of a heavy shower.

It'll also feel cooler with a maximum temperature of 14°C.

And the all important outlook for the Bank Holiday weekend? Well it'll remain unsettled through Friday and the weekend with plenty of cloud. There will be also be showers or some longer spells of rain, some of which could be heavy, especially on Sunday.

06.55

WEATHER: For anyone who doesn't believe after yesterday that they may need a brolly tomorrow, here's a look at the Met Office's rainfall forecast for 7am tomorrow morning.

Met Office forecast North East England Thursday May 22 2014

That band of heavy rain moves north west as the morning progresses too, so it could mean downpours lasting for hours.

07.00

NEWS: Big news if you're a fan of pop boybands - Metro drivers are threatening a 24 hour strike on the day of a major concert in the region.

A metro train on the line

Drivers, who are members of the RMT trade union, are planning a walkout on Wednesday, when tens of thousands are expect to descend on Sunderland’s Stadium of Light for a gig by One Direction.

Bosses have insisted they are “confident” they will be able to operate a reduced service on the day of the planned strike and have vowed to prioritise moving concert-goers to and from Sunderland.

The planned action follows the dismissal of a union member by Metro operator DMB Regio under its wellbeing policy, which relates to sickness leave.

RMT’s lead officer for DB Regio Sean McGowan told The Chronicle the union had challenged the “unfair” dismissal of the driver, who the union named only as “Brother Pringle,” under the company’s disciplinary procedures and through a directors review, without success.

07.10

INTERVIEW: I've been chatting to Newcastle-based photographer Jonathan Keys, who does awesome pictures using a Victorian camera.

Reporter Michael Brown and photographer Iain Buist as photographed by Jonathan Keys with his Victorian era camera


He uses a collodion "wet plate" process that involves exposing glass plates covered in silver nitrate to light for anywhere between seconds and minutes at a time, then immediately developing them in a portable darkroom.

You can read all about his work, including how the it relates to one of the North East's greatest inventors, and check out a gallery of his photos here - including the shot he took of Chronicle photographer Iain Buist and I while we were interviewing him.

07.19

NEWS: I'm hoping to bring you today's front and back pages in a few minutes but first - Youngsters are saddling up for the ride of their lives.

Kids from Morpeth Road Primary school in Blyth, Northumberland who are going on a bike ride in Italy with teachers and staff from Steel Cycles in Gosforth

Pupils at Morpeth Road Primary School, in Blyth, will jet out to Italy on Thursday where they will take part in a week-long cycling trip.

The super-fit children, aged between 10 and 11, will tackle the mighty Dolomites mountain range in northern Italy, peddling up 30 miles in a day.

Read all about it here.

07.27
Michael Brown

TRAFFIC: So far, so quiet on the region's roads - and indeed on the region's railways, runways and erm, gangplanks? Sorry, I ran out of Rs.

07.35
Michael Brown

TODAY'S PAPER: Here's The Chronicle's front page - Lout Matthew McCrea has admitted throwing a glass bottle that smashed through a car window and scarred a girl.

The Newcastle Chronicle front page 21 May 2014

Young Abbie Keers was rushed to hospital for plastic surgery on her face after the incident. McCrea, 24 has pleaded guilty to assault occasioning actual bodily harm.

07.45
Michael Brown

TODAY'S PAPER: And here's The Chronicle's back page - Newcastle United fans have warned the club's hierarchy that they need to spend big this summer or the team will be in trouble next season.

The Newcastle Chronicle back page 21 May 2014

The message from supporters who took part in our Big Toon Survey is clear: "Last season was terrible. You are dead wrong not to prioritise a cup win. And we fear a bottom-half finish next season and even relegation."

In direct contrast to what those inside St James’ Park believe is the current situation, over three quarters of fans in total claimed the previous campaign was poor (59.8per cent) or disastrous (17.2 per cent).

07.56
Michael Brown

NEWS: A Tyneside man is one of two inmates to abscond from prison in Doncaster.

Dean Jackson, from Newcastle, who has absconded from prison in Doncaster

Police were hunting Dean Jackson, from Newcastle, and Damien Burns, from Scarborough, after they disappeared from MP & YOI Hatfield, in Doncaster, on Monday evening.

Officers believe 27-year-old Jackson may be making his way home to the North East and have urged the public not to approach him.

Read all about it here.

Anyone with information or who have seen him should ring 101 or Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555111, quoting incident number 1009 or 1067 of 19 May 2014.

08.04
Michael Brown

WHAT'S ON: Looking for something to do in Newcastle tonight? Then check out our guide.

Following the astonishing success of their brief reunion at the Royal Albert Hall on the occasion of McFly’s tenth anniversary concert, Tom Fletcher, Danny Jones, Dougie Poynter and Harry Judd announced they were going to join forces with James Bourne and Matt Willis to form supergroup McBusted for a full UK arena tour.

Tonight, they are playing the Metro Radio Arena and fans can expect a shamelessly nostalgic set full of everyone’s favourite Busted and McFly hits, with a few surprise gems thrown into the mix.

For this and more recommendations check out our guide here.

8:07 am
Michael Brown

TRAFFIC: Rush hour is in full swing with reports coming in that the roads are busy in all the usual places.

In Newcastle:

  • The A1058 Jesmond Road is busy but moving inbound at the Punch Bowl traffic lights.
  • There's slow traffic on A167(M) Central Motorway, southbound, near the A186 Pilgrim Street Roundabout.
  • Barras Bridge is busy inbound at St Mary's Place.
  • Unsurprisingly Gallowgate is busy in in both directions between B1307 Percy Street and A189 St James Boulevard.
  • And the A1058 Coast Road, inbound, is busy but moving at the A188 Chillingham Road junction, towards the Central Motorway, past The People's Theatre.
08.17
Michael Brown

FOOTBALL: Gateshead FC's James Marwood is jokingly following in the footsteps of Manchester City's Yaya Toure...

I'm sure all Heed fans will be glad to know that he is only joking, as he was arguably the team's best player at Wembley on Sunday.

08.30
Michael Brown

TRAVEL: There are currently no reported problems at Newcastle International Airport, on the Shields Ferry or on DFDS's ferries to Amsterdam.

08.39
Michael Brown

CELEBS: Supermodel Kate Moss has swapped the catwalk for the countryside with a high-fashion shoot in Northumberland.

Kate Moss

The 40-year-old sent the rumour mill into overdrive when she made an appearance in the region alongside world famous photographer Tim Walker for prestigious Love Magazine.

The pair are believed to have been staying at a stately home near Alnwick and the final pictures from the shoot will be in the biannual magazine’s July/August edition.

But they also found time to visit other North East landmarks - including a Little Chef on the A19.

Read all about it here.

08.47
Michael Brown

NEWS: Continental-style communal dumpsters could be coming to Newcastle.

An example of a communal waste bin

Nearly 10,000 households in Jesmond, Sandyford, the Ouseburn and Heaton have been identified by Newcastle City Council as needing their wheelie bins replaced by larger communal waste bins.

Each bin would cater for the rubbish coming from several homes, but the plan has already been met with opposition from families in Heaton.

Read all about it here.

09.00
Michael Brown

WEIRD: A beer company in Brazil has registered football as a religious cult so that "followers" can claim time off work to watch games

.

Sugar Loaf Mountain, Brazil, made from Lego, at the Centre for Life

Foca Beer aims to use the Brazilian freedom of religion law, which lets people in the South American county get out of work or other commitments to observe their beliefs.

It has now received a legal notice that turns fans into followers, stadiums into temples and Foca into the religion's "holy water."

Workers can now enter in which games they need to watch or attend on a website, and the program sends a note to their boss, informing them that the employee needs to take time off to pay his respects and "pray."

I'm sure there's a few British football fans who might fancy trying something similar but unfortunately UK law means while your employer should consider your request to take off religious holidays sympathetically, they can refuse if it will affect the business.

09.10
Michael Brown

NEWS: Pensioners got into the swing of things when they took on schoolchildren in a game of rookie golf.

Elderly people from six sheltered accommodation schemes teamed up with nearby primary schools to tee off.

And this week year 3 pupils from Rowlands Gill Primary School took on a group of residents from Southwood Crescent sheltered housing scheme, in Rowlands Gill, in their school hall.

Read all about it here.

09.19
Michael Brown

NEWS: More on our front page story now - Lout Matthew McCrea has admitted throwing a glass bottle that smashed through a car window and scarred a girl.

Abbie Keers nearly lost the sight in her right eye when a yob threw a beer bottle at her grandma’s car and shattered the window

Little Abbie Keers was rushed to hospital for plastic surgery on her face after the dramatic incident on Valentine’s Day.

Durham Crown Court heard yesterday the nine-year-old was in the passenger seat of a Fiat Punto on the A693 in Stanley, County Durham when McCrea lobbed the beer bottle toward the car.

The side car window was shattered and Abbie was showered with broken glass.

Yesterday, McCrea, 24, of Tyne Vale, Stnaley, County Durham pleaded guilty to assault occasioning actual bodily harm.

Read all about it here.

 

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