Welcome to our breaking news live blog for Wednesday, November 13.
Two men are due standing trail accused of the murder of popular teenager Connor Brown today - follow our updates from court here.
In travel news, a crash on the A1 from Junction 73 to Junction 74 caused disruption on the approach to the city, as one Northbound lane was closed. Meanwhile Nexus announced passengers could no longer travel from Haymarket metro station as the station was market 'exit only' due to a fault with the escalator.
A collapsed manhole has also caused chaos for traffic in Durham city centre.
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Email: kieran.murray@reachplc.com
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Today's must-read news, sport and entertainment
Key Events
Here's a round-up of Wednesday's headlines
1. Tributes paid to ‘one of Newcastle’s biggest characters’ after Bigg Market tragedy
2. The 20 ‘worst baby names’ of 2019 - including Danger, Chardonnay, Shy and Pinches
3. Police launch manhunt after woman sexually assaulted in Morpeth
4. Health officials called in as fever and vomiting outbreak sweeps Gateshead school
5. Homeless man stabbed beggar with broken bottle in Newcastle city centre patch row
A look at the weather tonight
“Variable amounts of cloud and some clear spells. Many parts dry overnight, especially inland, however coastal showers are likely.
“These perhaps spreading westwards at times with the brisk onshore breeze, and turning wintry across the hills. Cold, with frost possible. Minimum temperature 0 °C.”
Stewart Donald explains the consequences of Sunderland's FPP loan deal
Stewart Donald insists the only ones left exposed to any risk by FPP’s £9m loan are Sunderland’s owners - himself, Charlie Methven and Juan Sartori.
Papers lodged at Companies House showed that the £9m investment by FPP - the vehicle set up by American billionaires Glenn Fuhrman, John Phelan, and Robert Platek - announced at the end of October has in fact come in the form of a loan to Madrox, the holding company which owns the football club.
And the loan is secured against the football club, and its assets including the Stadium of Light and the Academy of Light.
But in an interview on BBC Radio Newcastle’s Total Sport, Donald says the debt has been incurred by himself, Methven and Sartori, and it will be their responsibility to repay it - while acknowledging that if they do not do so, the club and its properties would pass to FPP.
Is your Freeview not working? Here's why you may need to retune your TV
Have you lost your Freeview signal?
Residents in the North East may need to retune their TV equipment tonight to continue watching programmes.
Some Freeview channels are moving to new airwaves to allow for the future development of new mobile broadband services, the company confirms.
This affects those in the County Durham and Tyne and Wear areas.
'Brave' teenager Connor Brown allegedly murdered after standing up to knifeman 'out for revenge'
A “brave” teenager was stabbed to death in a back alley after standing up to a vengeful knifeman who threatened to stab people after a row over £5.
Connor Brown was out with friends just four days after turning 19 when he and his friend were approached in a busy alley by Leighton Barrass and Ally Gordon - who Connor knew from school.
Trouble flared between Connor’s friend, Stephen Nunn, and Barrass, after Barrass was said to have short-changed him after asking to swap a £10 note for two £5 notes, following the two men declining his offer to sell them drugs.
Jurors at Newcastle Crown Court heard Barrass became angry and Mr Nunn ended up punching him on the nose, fearing an attack.
Dad of missing Michael Whinham vows to carry on search for son four years on
It has been four years since Newcastle man Michael Whinham went missing - but his dad says he will never stop looking for him.
Michael, who had been living in Oakfield Gardens, Benwell , was reported missing to police in 2015.
He vanished on November 14 that year and the last confirmed sighting of him was on CCTV footage which showed him leaving Newcastle Crown Court, on the Quayside.
His dad Paul believes he is alive and has been trying to search for him ever since.It has been four years since Newcastle man Michael Whinham went missing - but his dad says he will never stop looking for him.
Health officials called in as fever and vomiting outbreak sweeps Gateshead school
Health officials have been called into a Tyneside school after pupils were struck down with a fever and vomiting outbreak.
Experts from the Government run Public Health England North East (PHE NE) health protection team have confirmed they have been working with staff at Kells Lane Primary School in Low Fell, Gateshead.
ChronicleLive understands there are over 60 pupils who are ill.
But bosses at the school declined to give a statement and will not confirm how many of the children have been affected.
Collapsed manhole causes traffic chaos in Durham city centre
Traffic is facing severe delays in Durham city centre following the collapse of a manhole on a major thoroughfare.
A manhole has cracked open on the A690 after Leazes Bowl roundabout on Wednesday afternoon.
Durham County Council has imposed a lane closure leading to huge delays for traffic with GoNorthEast saying buses are experiencing delays of an hour.
Traffic is also affected by a crash on Margery Lane, meaning there is huge congestion in and around the city centre.
The council has confirmed that the lane closure will stay in place until Thursday morning to allow time for work to be completed.
The road will only fully reopen once the manhole is deemed safe for traffic to travel over it.
Hard Rock Cafe all set to open on Newcastle Quayside in 2020
The transformation of one of Newcastle’s most historic buildings into a Hard Rock Café is all set to go ahead.
Plans were unveiled earlier this year for the iconic restaurant chain to open its first site in the North East at the Grade-I listed Guildhall on the Quayside.
Those plans have now secured the final backing of city council bosses, who granted planning permission for the £2.5m renovation on Wednesday.
Lane closure to be in place until tomorrow morning
The lane closure on the A690 after Leazes Bowl roundabout will remain closed until tomorrow morning (14 November) due to a collapsed manhole.
Allow extra time for your journey home.
Illegal tobacco worth £18,000 seized from homes and cars across Newcastle
Tens of thousands of pounds worth of suspected illegal cigarettes have been seized across Newcastle.
A two-day multi-agency operation between Trading Standards, Northumbria Police and HMRC involved sniffer dogs scouring homes and vehicles across the city as part of a clampdown on the sale of illegal tobacco in the city.
Operation Beagle XIV saw the taskforce visit nine premises across Byker, Benwell and Elswick, while two vehicles were also seached.
As a result, 27,000 suspected illegal cigarettes and 3kg of hand-rolling tobacco, worth an estimated £18,000, was seized and removed from the streets of Newcastle.
The driver of a car containing a large stash of tobacco was arrested for driving without a licence or insurance and his car was also seized.
Newcastle man heavily fined for flytipping in Gateshead
A Newcastle man has found himself almost £1,500 out of pocket after his waste was found fly tipped in a back lane in Gateshead.
An investigation by Gateshead Council established that furniture and other waste dumped in a back lane behind Saltwell Road in June this year could be traced back to Xinge Zhu of Falconer Street in Newcastle, whose belongings were found among the waste.
Mr Xinge was issued with a legal notice requiring him to account for the discovery of his belongings and provide information on how the waste had come to be left in a street in Gateshead. However, he made no response to this or any further requests for information.
Gateshead Council then decided to prosecute him for failing to comply with the legal notice.
Xinge Zhu was summoned to appear before Gateshead magistrates this week to answer charges relating to his failure to supply the information requested by Gateshead Council. However, he failed to attend and the case was held in his absence.
Gateshead Magistrates found him guilty in his absence and fined him £1,100.00. They also levied a victim surcharge of £110 and costs of £256 - a total of £1,456.
Four-car pile-up near the Tyne Bridge causes traffic chaos
A pile-up near the Tyne Bridge caused late night traffic chaos on Tuesday.
Four cars were involved in the collision on the junction of Askew Road and High Street at around 10pm.
Northumbria Police confirmed that a Nissan, BMW, Volvo and Vauxhall were all involved in the Gateshead accident which left wreckage strewn across the road.
Video footage captured around an hour after it happened shows two badly damaged cars.
At least two traffic lights were wiped out in the collision, with one car seeming to have crossed over on to the other side of the road and knocking down the signal.
The late night crash caused heavy traffic for over an hour after the crash.
Traffic was left almost stationary on the Tyne Bridge with cars taking more than half an hour to cross.
Askew Road was also temporarily closed entirely but reopened a couple of hours later.
Despite the visible damage to the vehicles involved, no injuries were reported from the crash.
Tributes paid to 'one of Newcastle's biggest characters' after Bigg Market tragedy
Larger than life and always smiling, this is tragic Mark Connelly who died after collapsing in the Bigg Market.
Friends of the popular city pubs regular have paid tribute to their pal, saying Newcastle has lost one of its biggest characters.
It is understood Mark, whose real name is John, had been out for a drink with a pal when he collapsed while walking from the Beehive to the Rose and Crown, at around 5.30pm on Monday night.
Eyewitnesses said passing police officers attempted to revive him, but nothing could be done to save his life and he was pronounced dead at the scene.
Mark, who is thought to be from the Felling area of Gateshead, was a familiar face around the pubs in Newcastle city centre, and a regular at the Beehive, the Rose and Crown, the Duke of Northumberland and Pumphrey’s Bar.
Delays in Durham City Centre
A lane closure is in place in Durham City Centre on the A690 after Leazes Bowl roundabout due to a collapsed manhole.
Broken down vehicle on the A1
One lane closed and queuing traffic due to a broken down vehicle on the A1 Western Bypass southbound from Dunston Interchange to the Angel Of The North.
19,000 drivers clocked speeding on Hollywood Avenue in just one week
Almost 19,000 drivers were clocked speeding through a newly-reopened rat run in just one week.
New figures have revealed the shocking extent of dangerous driving near Salters Bridge in Gosforth , with some motorists caught going at more than 60mph in a 20mph zone.
The bridge opened for the first time in more than two years last month to help relieve congestion during the nearby Killingworth Road roadworks , and residents around Hollywood Avenue say they are “living in dread” of a serious accident being caused by reckless drivers.
Between October 18 and 24, council monitors recorded 9,913 vehicles speeding eastbound on Hollywood Avenue and 8,836 westbound, with the majority of offenders believed to be commuters.
B6342 closed for recovery
It is estimated that the road will be closed for about an hour to accommodate the recovery.
No one injured in lorry crash
A Northumbria Police spokeswoman said:
“Shortly after 12pm today (Wednesday), police receieved a report that a lorry had overturned on the B6342, just north of Divet Hill Quarry.
“The road is currently closed between the A68 and the A496 until the lorry can be recovered.
“No injuries were reported.”
Homeless man stabbed beggar with broken bottle in Newcastle city centre patch row
A violent thug stabbed a homeless man in the neck in a row over begging territory.
Carl Murtha, 31, was jailed for more than six years at Leeds Crown Court for the attack, which took place on Grainger Street in Newcastle city centre.
Murtha and his 33-year-old victim were both sleeping rough in the city and were well known to each other.
On the evening of February 22 this year, they got into an argument when Murtha complained the man was encroaching on his patch.
The argument turned physical and both men swung punches at each other before grappling on the ground.
Urgent warning for Morrisons customers
Fraudsters are targeting Morrisons shoppers with a scam aimed at getting their personal details.
The supermarket posted a warning on its website warning shoppers to stay vigilant.
Scammers have sent emails, texts and social media posts posing as Morrisons in a bid to shoppers’ details.
Lanes reopen following A1 crash
Police say traffic is now clearing following a crash on the A1.
A spokesperson for Northumbria Police said:
“At 12.37pm today police received a report of a two vehicle collision on the northbound carriageway of the A1 near to the junction with Dunston.
“ Emergency services are at the scene but nobody is believed to have been seriously injured.
“The road was blocked for a short period of time but has since been cleared.”
Dual ticket plans for two of Newcastle's biggest events
A dual ticket for two of the biggest events coming to Newcastle in 2020 could soon go on sale.
City leaders have raised the prospect of offering joint passes for the This is Tomorrow music festival and rugby league’s Magic Weekend, which are being held in the city on the same weekend next May.
The huge festival will be making its return to Exhibition Park from May 22 to 24 next year, with promises that it will be “bigger and better” than last year’s inaugural event that attracted more than 30,000 visitors.
A1 lane closed after crash
There’s heavy traffic on a key route into Newcastle following an accident this afternoon.
One lane is blocked and queues of traffic are building, due to accident on A1 Western Bypass Northbound from J73 A694 Derwenthaugh Road (Blaydon / Consett Turn Off, Swalwell ) to J74 (Newcastle City / Newburn Turn Off, Scotswood ).
Lane two (of two) is blocked.
