A man who left a family traumatised after a fake kidnapping report led to armed police raiding their home as they ate dinner has been jailed. Ricki Kendall, 30, called 999 to say he had seen a man being bundled into a house at knifepoint in Newcastle last December, theContinue Reading
Officers have been out in force across the UK to disrupt rogue employers who hire migrants illegally and exploit vulnerable people, and to address the promise of illegal jobs that are used by criminal smuggling gangs to sell spaces in small boats crossing the Channel. Particular focus has been onContinue Reading
A specialist team setup to assist our takedown of serious and organised crime has now passed the milestone of 500 years in jail sentences. Operation Venetic was launched in 2020 with our officers working alongside international law enforcement agencies to clampdown on organised criminal networks by infiltrating the encrypted messagingContinue Reading
A landlord has been forced to pay more than £25,000 for failing to get licences for six of his homes. Kamran Adil’s properties in Blackhall Colliery, near Peterlee in County Durham, had problems including electrical hazards and structural concerns. Durham County Council uses selective licences to regulate landlords and ensureContinue Reading
Officers are appealing to the public for their help to locate a missing teenage girl. Santana Hailstones, aged 13, was last seen in the Westgate Road area of Newcastle city centre at around 5pm on Friday (December 20). However, Santana has not been heard from since – and officers areContinue Reading
A new puppet theatre in Newcastle has been vandalised, just days after reaching its fundraising target to establish a permanent space. Moving Parts Arts, the organisation behind the popular Newcastle Puppetry Festival, was preparing to transform an abandoned AA call centre in Elswick into a creative hub for puppetry andContinue Reading
A non-league footballer has appeared in court charged with the murder of another player following an altercation at York Station. James Hitchcock, a goalkeeper for Barton Town FC, sustained serious injuries on 15 December after a night out in York. He passed away in hospital on Wednesday. Mckenzie Dicicco, 22,Continue Reading
A paedophile caught in an online sting where he thought he was sending sexual messages to a 14-year-old girl has been jailed for three years. Nathaniel Morley, 26, invited the “girl” to commit a sex act, not realising he was talking to online paedophile hunters, Teesside Crown Court heard. AfterContinue Reading
Image (C) Durham Police A man who stabbed his ex-partner more than 30 times after she told him she didn’t want to be with him anymore has been jailed for 17 years. Andrew Fowler stabbed his former partner, Anastasia Wade, around 35 times on her arms, back and neck whileContinue Reading
Holidaymakers who decide to drive under the influence once they touch down at the airport are being targeted as part of a new police operation. The first of its kind in the North East, Operation Take Off sees Durham officers team up with Northumbria Police to take dangerous drivers offContinue Reading
