1. 5the sunderland times FRIDAY, DECEMBER 14, 2012
Primark store to open
doors at the Bridges
THE NEW Primark shop at the Bridges shopping
centre, in Sunderland, will open its doors at 9am
on November 14.
Customers may be welcomed by stars of stage
and screen who will appear at Sunderland Em-
pire.
Andrew Bradley, centre director for the Bridges,
said: “We are trying to secure the cast of the Peter
Pan pantomime at the Empire theatre. They will
be there to welcome the first customers and cut the
ribbon of the new store opening.”
The 60,000sq ft Primark development will help
in both boosting city centre trade and lowering the
unemployment rate - the number of people out of
work in the North East has fallen to 9.9 per cent in
October from 10.4 per cent in September, accord-
ing to the Office for National Statistics.
The additional jobs at the new store take Pri-
mark’s workforce in the city to 111.
Giving his own view on whether the unemploy-
ment rate will get lower thanks to the store, Mr
Bradley said: “Yes, absolutely. I think the new Pri-
mark modern building could be a catalyst in High
Street West for new building and new investments
in that part of the city.
“It is a fantastic commitment from the owners
of the Bridges to invest £15million in Sunderland.”
Andrew Bradley pointed the Bridges as a major
employer recruiting 1,800 people of every year.
The new shop sparked competition among
young people, applying to get a job there.
Lauren Elise Sutcliffe, 21, a third-year Fashion
Journalism student at Sunderland University, ap-
plied for a part-time position as a sales assistant
at the new shop, which she did not get. Lauren
said: “I study Fashion Journalism and would have
been really interested in what I would have been
working with.
“I wanted the job to help me through univer-
sity. And Christmas is coming. I wanted a bit of
extra money so I could afford to buy some pre-
sents.”
However, on social networking site Twitter, an-
other Primark applicant, Natalie Davison tweet-
ed: “Excited to start work at Primark, I might as
well live there.”
Andrew Bradley said that the store opening
hours will be from 9am – 6pm. However, the shop
will stay open until 9pm every Thursday.
He said: “There is no real great late night shop-
ping in Sunderland at present. So, hopefully, the
Primark will be another reason for people to come
and shop, after hours, one late night a week.”
New Primark welcomes shoppers.
Fans snap up
Rihanna tickets
FANS finally got their
hands on Rihanna tickets
after queueing through the
night in freezing weather.
But police had to be
called after reports of a dis-
turbance among some fans.
Nobody was arrested.
It was claimed teenage
girls were drinking inside
the concourse and that ar-
guments and fights broke
out.
One Wearside woman,
who was near the front of
the queue but did not want
to be named, said: “It was
about 1am when there was
a little bid of a to-do be-
tween some lads and lass-
es. One of the girls then
headbutted a lad.
“The girls came back and
got into the lad’s tent and
he started screaming.”
A spokesman for Sunder-
land AFC said: “Fans were
allowed to queue inside the
Stadium of Light overnight
for concert tickets.
“Stewards were in op-
eration to deal with any
issues, ensuring the safety
of everybody waiting for
tickets for the concert.
“As always the club have
a zero tolerance stance on
any violence within the
stadium and any incidents
have been dealtwith.”
Stacey Armstrong, of Ry-
hope, waited patiently for
nine hours with pal Betha-
ny Burn, 16, of Grindon, to
get her hands on tickets for
the June 20 concert.
Sick style: students dressed as DJ, his victims, and police officers.
RUGBY players who dressed as disgraced
entertainer Jimmy Savile for a night out
have been banned by their club.
Members of St Cuthbert’s Society Mens’
Rugby Club, part of Durham University,
were also asked to dress as young girls,
policemen and BBC reporters for the social
evening last month.
According to the Durham Students’
Union newspaper Palatinate, the group
toured several university bars, and some
eyewitnesses claimed they tried to steal a
dartboard and set off a fire extinguisher.
One student is alleged to have stripped
naked.
“Freshers were asked to dress as young
girls, second years as Jimmy Savile and
third and fourth years as BBC reporters
and policemen,” reports the newspaper.
St Cuthbert’s Society could not be
reached for comment, but it is understood
administrators have completed a swift in-
vestigation and punished those students
responsible.
They have banned the team from re-
maining fixtures this season, although it is
understood the players are appealing that
part of the penalty.
The club captain and social secretary
have been ordered to carry out 20 hours of
community work, and every member who
took part in the night out has been fined a
total of £50.
It is understood the players haves asked
for the fines to be paid to their chosen char-
ity, a hospice in Hertfordshire.
Banned for Savile prank
In Brief
CITY CENTRE: Sunderland
University Students’ Un-
ion will be holding a coffee
morning and bake sale to-
morrow, from 9am to 1pm, at
Cityspace, Chester Road. The
profits from the event will
go to the Breast Cancer Cam-
paign and Everyman, as part
of the Raise and Give (Rag)
week.
CHESTER ROAD: Test your
brain and battle it out with
other teams at The Chesters’
pub quiz tonight to see how
much you know. The quiz
starts at 8:30pm.
CITY CENTRE: Taekwondo
lessons for juniors will take
place tomorrow for five- to
13-year-olds at the Crowtree
Leisure Centre. Classes run
from 5.30pm to 6.30pm. Email
crowtree@sunderland.gov.uk
or call 553 2600.
SEABURN: A craft fair will
take place at the Seaburn Cen-
tre on Saturday, December 28,
from 10am to 4.30pm. Call 522
9533 for more information.
MONKWEARMOUTH: Cre-
ate a textured surface on clay
and coloured glass at the
Tactile Tiles sessions at the
National Glass Centre on De-
cember 20 and January 5.
Charge over
murdered
schoolboy
Victim: Simon Martin.By Violeta Gorcheva
A MAN has been charged
with the murder of 14-year-
old schoolboy Simon Martin
more than 22 years ago.
The youngster’s half-na-
ked body was discovered by
two boys at the derelict Gill-
side House in Roker Terrace,
Sunderland, in May 1990.
His death, which shocked
the city, sparked a major po-
lice investigation spanning
more than two decades.
Now the Crown Prose-
cution Service (CPS) has
charged Steven John Grieve-
son, also known as Steven
John Field, with murder.
The 42-year-old is expect-
ed to appear at Sunderland
Magistrates’ Court on De-
cember 4.
Kingsley Hyland, head of
the complex casework unit
at the CPS North East, said:
“I have authorised Northum-
bria Police to charge Steven
John Grieveson, also known
as Steven John Field, with
one count of murder, after
careful consideration of new
evidence in this case.
“The charge relates to the
discovery of the body of
14-year-old Simon Martin at
a derelict property in Sunder-
land, on May 26, 1990.
“This decision was taken
in accordance with the Code
for Crown Prosecutors.”
At its height, a murder
probe involved a team of 70
detectives, with officers also
carrying out extensive finger-
tip searches and forensic ex-
aminations at the scene.
A VENUE, which was once
one of the busiest in Sunder-
land, is being brought back to
life.
The former Glass Spider
pub and club, which has
stood empty for the past year,
has been taken over.
South Shields-based Moor-
gate Bars is due to open Life
of Riley on the Green Terrace
site in March, a spin-off from
Life of Riley in the South Ty-
neside town.
The company is also be-
hind Dusk, Viva, The Mile
and The Rattler in South
Shields and hopes branching
into Sunderland will see the
venue flourish.
Daniel Whale, marketing
manager for Moorgate Bars,
said: “The location is a prime
spot and is a perfect oppor-
tunity for us to bring Life of
Riley to Sunderland.
“The aim is to create a ven-
ue where food is served every
day. Somewhere where peo-
ple can listen to live acoustic
acts, not unknowns from out-
side the area, but strong local
acts.”
Glass Spider, which was
owned by trouble-hit Sun-
derland firm Wylam Leisure,
closed in January last year.
Daniel said: “It’s such an
iconic bar in the city and
we’ve had loads of people
interested in what’s going on
and asking about jobs.
“The building is being
completely stripped. It’s not
just a lick of paint, and con-
struction is taking place with
a view to opening in March.”
Glass Spider back to life
Tickets for Rihanna’s concert in June are the most wanted.