Hello and welcome to the breaking news blog for Sunday, January 14, 2018.
We will be bringing you regular updates throughout the day of all the breaking news and sport.
We have pictures, video, tweets and comments covering the latest Newcastle and North East traffic, weather forecasts, crime and council news too.
It’s Tom Eden here and I’ll be keeping you updated on what’s going on across the North East including the latest on the roads.
If you would like to get in touch with us today about any breaking news, here are my details:
Phone: 0191 201 6106
Email: tom.eden@trinitymirror.com
Twitter: @TomEden11
'Vile' men taunt severely disabled boy
Loved ones of a disabled boy were left in tears after a group of men made cruel jokes about him in the street.
Craig Rennoldson, 13, has cerebral palsy which leaves him unable to walk or talk and is currently recovering from spinal surgery.
Returning from a check-up at the Royal Victoria Infirmary in Newcastle shortly before Christmas, his family decided to enjoy a meal out together and headed to Pani’s restaurant on High Bridge.
But their good mood was destroyed when they say a group of men stumbled out of a nearby pub and began mocking Craig.
Laughing at him, one is claimed to have said to his friends: “What part of a cabbage can’t you eat? The wheelchair.”
Mum Lisa Henry, from Seaham, County Durham, said she was appalled by the “vile” jokes hurled at her family.
Missing teenager found
Some very good news from Durham Constabulary this morning:
Plummeting temperatures and snow forecast
Mild winter weather could give way to snow and sub-zero temperatures as a polar freeze heads towards the North East.
The settled, calm weather we’ve been experiencing is set to change to freezing gales and showers as we start the working week.
A snow warning has been issued for Scotland on Tuesday and Wednesday, but forecasters predict that the North East could also be hit by snow.
Heavy wintry showers are expected on Tuesday with 1-4cm of snow possible for most, and up to 8cm on higher ground.
The return of freezing cold weather is due to a blast of polar air sweeping in from the North West.
Alex Burkill, a spokesman for the Met Office, said:
“After a calm spell of weather for the past few days we are going to have Polar air instead, followed by a drop in temperatures and colder winds.
“Showers will be falling as sleet and snow - and all areas of the country could be hit.
“In northern England, Northern Ireland and Scotland there will be a greater chance of the snow lying.
“There’s the potential for 10cm snow over Scotland on Tuesday.”
Record number of people on speed awareness courses
The number of UK drivers attending retraining courses after committing a motoring offence reached a record 1.4 million last year, new figures show.
Speed awareness courses were by far the most common with 1.2 million attendees, according to analysis of data from the National Driver Offender Retraining Scheme (NDORS).
The money police forces receive from each driver who completes these courses jumped from £35 to £45 in September, meaning constabularies collect around £54 million each year.
This is designated as a cost recovery fee to reimburse forces for the expense of catching speeding motorists.
Steve Gooding, director of motoring research charity the RAC Foundation, said: “What might perplex drivers is how the number of offenders sent on speed awareness courses differs hugely by constabulary.
“In 2016, 80,235 drivers were offered the courses in Avon and Somerset. In neighbouring Wiltshire, nobody was.”
The total number of attendees for all nine retraining courses available rose by 2% year-on-year.
Police defend record on Clare's Law disclosures
Police chiefs have defended their response to requests from people concerned about their partner’s potentially violent past.
Clare’s Law, which allows those in fear of domestic violence to ask police for information, was introduced in 2014 after Clare Wood was killed in Salford by her violent partner.
Home Office figures for 2016/17, analysed by the Bureau for Investigative Journalism, identified Northumbria Police as one of the worst performing forces for their rate of disclosures.
Data showed Northumbria received 273 requests for information over that period, of which 25 had been granted - a rate of 9%.
Good morning
Good morning and welcome to Sunday’s live news blog.
If you would like to get in touch with us today about any breaking news, here are my details:
Phone: 0191 201 6106
Email: tom.eden@trinitymirror.com
Twitter: @TomEden11