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Owen Kerry's parents tell of year of hell

With his cheeky smile and zest for life, Owen Kerry had the world at his feet.

Popular, funny and loved, the teenager’s life was tragically cut short when he was stabbed in a Cramlington social club last Christmas Eve.

Owen, 19, had gone out for a game of pool and a couple of pints with his friends when tragedy struck at what should have been a happy time.

Over the past year his parents, Keith and Rachel, have struggled to come to terms with their loss, while desperately trying to put on a brave face for their daughters Eve, 12, and six-year-old Summer.

Paying tribute to her son, Rachel, 38, said:

“He was full of fun, he definitely had an eye for the ladies and lived life to the absolute maximum.

“He was a good friend to people, a good big brother and really cheeky. He was a typical boy - loved cars, football, motorbikes and going to the gym.

“Owen was a lovely lad and he didn’t want to go out to cause any trouble, but he just didn’t come home.”

Cowardly killer Brian Cahill stabbed Owen in the stomach at Cramlington Working Men’s Club after his girlfriend, Lyndsey Harper, tried to lash out at him with a glass.

Owen collapsed by the bar after the knife pierced his aorta and went all the way through to his spine.

His friend frantically called Keith saying his son had been stabbed, but the former taxi driver never imagined he would have been fatally injured.

Read the full story here.

Heavy in Sunderland

There’s heavy traffic on the A1018 Wearmouth Bridge southbound.

Appeal after Spennymoor collision

Police are working to find out the identity of a pedestrian who was involved in a collision in the early hours of Saturday morning.

At around 3.45am, a man was hit by a red Volkswagen Polo on Clarence Street, Spennymoor, County Durham.

The pedestrian is described as a white male aged 30-40, of thin build and approximately 5ft8, and with a tattoo on his neck.

He was wearing dark blue jeans, a green camouflage jacket, and black Adidas trainers with a red sole.

Officers are now appealing for help from the public to identify the man involved.

A spokesman for Durham Constabulary said:

“Anyone who witnessed the incident or has information regarding the identity of the pedestrian is asked to contact Durham Police on 101, quoting incident number 70 of December 23.”

A1 closed overnight due to collision

Part of the A1 was closed overnight following a multi-vehicle collision.

At around 2am, Northumbria Police warned motorists to avoid the A1 northbound at Kingston Park in Newcastle due to an incident in the early hours of Saturday morning.

The northbound carriageway was closed at the A696 for around two hours while emergency services dealt with the collision.

Just after 4am, police confirmed via Twitter that the road had been fully reopened and the vehicles cleared.

It is not known how many vehicles were involved in the collision and Northumbria Police were unavailable for further comment.

Today's weather forecast

“Cloudy over the Cheviots and Pennines with patches of hill fog and occasional drizzle. Eastern areas will tend to be drier and brighter, although the wind will pick up to become rather blustery in places by the afternoon. Mild. Maximum temperature 12 °C.”

Get in touch

If you would like to get in touch with us today about any breaking news, here are my details:

Phone: 0191 201 6144

Email: katie.collings@trinitymirror.com

Twitter: @KCollingsNews

Good morning

Hello and welcome to The Chronicle’s live breaking news blog.

We will be bringing you regular updates throughout the day of all the breaking news and sport.

It’s Katie Collings here and I’ll be keeping you updated on what’s going on across the North East including the latest on the roads.