A recent report has shown that West Sunderland gamblers spent a staggering £45m on betting machines in a year.
Ben Smith, Ryan Warnock and Alex Price, produced this report on one of the gambling hotspots of the area, in Pallion.
Pallion prankster given ASBO
A Pallion nuisance caller could be jailed if he continues to pester the 999 service without good cause.
Paul Simpson has been given a three-year Antisocial Behaviour Order after making more than 100 nuisance calls to Northumbria Police and Durham Constabulary in the last year.
They have included requests to be given a lift home when he is drunk and foul-mouthed abuse, with more calls placed with the ambulance service where he has also wrongly claimed he needed help.
It follows a previous order, which ran from 2005 to 2007, with the level of Simpson’s bad behaviour dropping until the last year, when repeated calls to the emergency services were made.
Adults who breach Asbos can be fined up to £5,000 or sentenced to five years in prison, or both.
Story first seen on Sunderland Echo at http://www.sunderlandecho.com/news/crime/pest-caller-dialed-999-for-a-lift-home-when-drunk-1-5612607
Woman arrested after Millfield fire
Photo from sunderlandecho.com
A woman has been arrested by police investigating a fire that burnt down the Zeba takeaway in Millfield, Sunderland.
The fire happened at around 2 am at the Hylton Road balti house on Tuesday March 12 but no one was injured.
Northumbria police have previously stated that it was a suspected arson attack.
Pallion dancers aim for world championships
Photo of dancers from sunderlandecho.com
Street dancers from the Boom ‘n’ Bounce project, run by Pallion Action Group, are pulling out their best moves to make cash and become world champions.
The four crews of performers have won a place at the Udo World Street Dance Championships but their chance of success may be scuppered if they cannot raise the money to get to the competition.
The group has raised £1,000 so far of the £7,000 needed to take 26 members to the 8th annual event, which will be held in Glasgow in August.
Pallion Action Group’s activities co-ordinator Marie Mould, 32, said: “We need to raise the money because some of the children simply can’t afford to go if we don’t. It’s as simple as that.
“We are trying all angles to get money for the project and the young people but, in the current economic climate, people simply don’t see going to a competition as being a necessity.
“But it has done amazing things for some of the people who are members – keeping them out of trouble and off the streets – and I have read things about the problem of obesity in young people in Sunderland recently, and this could really help with that because it gets kids active.”
In the past the group, which has six dance crews in total, has won trophies at the World Street Dance Championships and represented Sunderland at an international youth meeting in twin city Essen, Germany.
Story first seen at http://www.sunderlandecho.com/news/how-onesies-are-helping-sunderland-street-dancers-conquer-the-world-1-5544445
Teenager in critical condition after SR4 motorbike crash
A 15-year-old boy is in a critical condition after colliding with a wall in Ettrick Grove, Sunderland while riding a motorbike.
The accident happened on Tuesday March 26, and the boy was taken to the Newcastle Royal Victoria Infirmary with serious injuries.
Police are appealing for witnesses, or anyone who believes they saw the bike prior to the incident, to contact them on 101 ext 69191.
“Incredibly stupid” man walks onto tracks at Pallion Metro station
The man climbed on the track at Pallion station
A man has been caught walking onto the train lines at Pallion’s Metro station, proceeding to walk in the direction of South Hylton.
While he was walking a Metro train driver saw him alongside the tracks and stopped his train to allow him to board.
British Transport Police (BTP) have now released CCTV footage of a man they want to speak to in connection with the incident, which happened on February 27 around 5pm.
PC Graham Adams said: “I am shocked to see people willing to risk their lives by trespassing on the tracks to save themselves a few minutes. This was an incredibly stupid thing to do.”
Anyone with information relating to this incident is asked to contact BTP on 0800 405040 quoting reference B11/NEA of 18/03/13. Alternatively contact independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
Story first seen at http://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/news/north-east-news/british-transport-police-release-cctv-1764181
Horse meat scandal yet to hurt Millfield businesses
The Orange Leaf cafe seems unaffected
Millfield businesses could see an upturn in trade as the horse meat scandal continues to affect major retailers.
Public trust in beef products has diminished, with sales of frozen burgers in supermarkets plummeting 43 per cent since the beginning of the scandal.
However, smaller businesses have yet to be affected and the scandal could mean consumers shop elsewhere than the big supermarket chains.
Rob Bewick, 51-year-old owner of the Orange Leaf café in Millfield, said: “It’s been no skin off my nose at all. I sell 100 per cent steak burgers and there isn’t any horse in that.
“It actually could be a good thing as people become more educated that eating meat every day isn’t good for you.”
Mr Bewick also says he hasn’t changed his menu since the revelations, and he doesn’t believe that he has lost any customers.
Monika Paulauskaitė, 20, who also works at the café, said: “Some customers have seemed quite angry about it (the horsemeat scandal), but I think that they trust our food to be good quality.”
Though the Orange Leaf seems to be doing well during the crisis, Millfield residents have expressed their concerns about the nationwide situation.
Barry Smith, 38, who lives on Houghton Street, said: “I was shocked when I found out. I mean, how do we know what is safe to eat anymore?”
The Food Standards Agency has launched a survey in response to the scandal but some people think the authorities could do more.
Joan Farrell, 53, from Barnes Park Road, said: “The government needs to step in and sort it out so we can trust our food again.”
For more information and updates on the scandal please visit the Food Standards Agency website www.food.gov.uk or call the helpline on 08450518322.
Sunderland Council announce £37m spending cuts
Sunderland City Council has confirmed £37m of spending cuts are to be made in the 2013 financial year, with job losses likely and library closures possible.
A meeting at Sunderland Civic Centre saw councillors discuss proposals to begin making almost £100m of savings by 2016, with £37m of those to be made during 2013.
A full review of library services will be carried out, while the Council agreed to take control of the city’s museums instead of paying Tyne and Wear Archives and Museums to run them.
Cuts to children’s services will also continue in the third of a four-year plan to make them more efficient by reducing costs at management level.
Parking costs could also go up as the Council agree to find a way to run a “breakeven operation”, as could the cost of leisure facilities which will be run on a greater commercial basis.
Further details of the spending cuts are expected to emerge as consultations on the agreed budget proposals get underway over coming months.
For more information please go to http://tyneandwear.sky.com/news/article/58706/sunderland-council-confirms-cuts-to-jobs-libraries-and-school
Sunderland cannabis farm uprooted
Police have destroyed a cannabis farm found at a residential address in the SR4 area of Sunderland.
200 cannabis plants were discovered at a property on Rosslyn Terrace on Monday March 4.
No arrests have yet been made, however police officers are making enquiries to trace the house’s tenants who officers believe may have important information about the crime.
Chief Inspector Richard Jackson said: “The destruction of this cannabis farm once again demonstrates our ongoing commitment to tackling drug crime in Sunderland.
We would encourage people to contact us if they suspect a property is being used to produce drugs.
Tell tale signs include people arriving at unusual hours, a pungent aroma in the area, blacked out windows or bright lights coming from a number of windows throughout the night.
By working together, we can put a stop to drug offences in Sunderland.”
Anyone with information about drug use or cultivation in their community should contact police on the 101 non-emergency number.
Headstone vandalised in Sunderland cemetery
Vandals threw paint on a gravestone
Police are appealing for information after vandals damaged a grave in Bishopwearmouth Cemetery in Chester Road.
Between midday Saturday March 2, and 3pm Sunday March 3, vandals threw paint over a headstone inside the cemetery in the SR4 area of Sunderland.
Neighbourhood Inspector Dave Pickett said: “Mindless damage like this causes lots of distress to the victims and there is no place for it in our communities.”
Enquiries into the damage are ongoing and anyone with information is asked to contact police on 101 ext 69191.
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