1. REdO NEWS northernecho.co.uk N THURSDAY, MARCH 6, 2014
ARMED police were last
night dealing with an
incident at a house in
Crook, County Durham.
Officers called at the
property, in Greenside
Place, at about 530pm
after reports that a man
was in some distress.
Speaking at midnight,
a spokesman for Durham
Police said: “Unarmed
officers attended the
address and ultimately
had an interaction with a
lone male who is believed
to be the householder of
the property.
“The lone male is in
the property and appears
to be in some degree of
crisis.
“We have an armed
containment on the
premises, clearly not just
for his protection, but
also the protection of the
public.
“We have trained
negotiators in the
process of trying to talk
to the gentleman in
question.”
The area around the
incident is believed to
have been cordoned off.
“What I would stress is
that there is no risk to
members of the public,”
he said.
STARS of the region’s
hospitality Industry have
been rewarded for their
efforts.
There were hundreds of
entries for the fourth annual
North-East Hotels
Association @4EHA)
Excellence Awards and the
winners were announced at
a ceremony at The
Marriott Newcastle
Gosforth Park.
Venues including
Wynyard Hall, Rockliffe Hall
and Durham Marriott saw
staff members receive
awards for achievements
including Inspirational
leadership and service
excellence.
Ken Ellington, the NEHA’s
joint chaimian, said: “The
hotel sector in the North
East makes a huge
contribution to the region’s
economy, constantly
contribution.” Guests
enjoyed a meal prepared by
the winners of the Great
North Menu Challenge,
held at Darlington
College, which saw 14
chefs battle for the honour
of serving their dish at the
event
By Ban~ Nelson
Health and Education Editor
bany.nelsoh@nne.co.uk
MORE than 300 runners are
ready to take on the first Mus
cular Dystrophy Campaign
Durham City Town and
Gown 10k this Sunday and
help fight muscle-wasting
conditions.
The new race follows a
route past iconic Durham
sights, including the cathe
dral and castle, leading run
ners along the banks of the
River Wear into the heart of
thecity.
Thanks to support from lo
cals and Durham University
students alike, the event is on
course to raise £10,000 to
wards the Muscular Dystro
phy Campaign’s work.
The charity funds ground-
breaking research into treat
ments for muscular dystro
phy and related neuro
muscular conditions and sup
ports the 70,000 families af
fected — 3,000. of them from
the North-East.
The run will be joined by a
team of 12 from the elite re
search team at the Institute of
Human Genetics at Newcas
tle University, which is sup
ported by the Muscular Dys
trophy Campaign.
A MAN was taken to hospital
after falling from a step lad
der in the Bishop Auckland
area at 230pm yesterday.
THANKS: Wheelchair athlete
Chris Jackson
The innovative work car
ried out by 70 experts at the
institute has just been recog
nised for its contributions to
understanding and treatment
of muscular dystrophy.
Professor Kate Bushby,
chair of neuromuscular ge
netics at Newcastle Universi
ty, is now recognised as the
world’s top medical specialist
in Duchenne muscular dys
trophy research and treat
ment.
Prof Bushby said: “We are
currently looking at novel
therapies for Duchenne mus
cular dystrophy, which entail
modifying the faulty gene.
The therapies are currently
being tested on a small num
The Great North Air Am
bulance was requested and
the 55-year-old was assessed
and treated for severe leg in-
her of patients, and we hope
they will lead to a better un
derstanding and treatment of
muscular dystrophy.”
Chris Jackson, 23, a mem
ber of England’s boccia team,
has thanked runners who
have signed up for the run for
helping those affected by
muscle-wasting conditions.
Mr Jackson, from Carrville,
Durham City, who has
Duchenne muscular dystro
phy, said having the correct
powered wheelchair has been
vital to his independence and
spoke about how grants from
charities such as the Muscu
lar Dystrophy Campaign can
make a big difference to those
struggling to obtain the
equipment that they need.
Online registration for the
race is now closed but last-
minute runners can sign up
at the information tent before
lOam on the day.
Several roads will have a
rolling closure in place be
tween 1045am and 1pm, as
runners wind their way
through the city.
Elvet Waterside, Elvet
Bridge, Saddler Street, North
Bailey, South Bailey,
Prebends Bridge, Freemans
Place, Walkergate, and Silver
Street will all close.
For more information, visit
townandgownlok.com
Event aims
to aid quake
victims
AN event to raise money for
Japanese natural thsaster vic
tims will be held on Saturday.
Visitors to Durham City’s
market will be invited to write
a goodwill message and fold it
into an origami crane, in re
turn for a donation.
The creations will be sent to
areas ofJapan still recovering
from April 2011’s Tokohu
earthquake and tsunami,
which claimed the lives of
nearly 16,000 people.
The most impressive crane
will win a £10 voucher to
spend in the Market Hail. Var
ious goods will be on sale,
with proceeds going to Japan.
Durham University’s Anglo-
Japanese Society hope to raise
£500.
Manfred Yu, the society’s
president, said: “The crane
bird is a symbol of luck and
good health in Japan.”
Police hunt
missing teen
POLICE are
appealing for
help to trace
Joshua Don
nelly who was
last seen in
Middlesbrough
on Monday.
The 16-year-
old, pictured,
who is from the
Easterside area, was last seen
at about 230pm in Acklam
Road.
He is described as white,
about 6ft tall, with blue eyes
and a tattoo on his right wrist.
He was wearing a grey bobble
hat, grey or blue jacket and
dark bottoms with black boots
when he went missing.
Anyone with information
regarding his whereabouts is
asked to contact 101.
Hotel staff celebrate the best in hospitality
PEOPLE PRAISED: The winners line up at the North-East Hotels Association Excellence Awards in Newcastle
striving to attract tourism,
whether business or leisure.
“But it’s the people that
work within these
organlsatlons who really
matter.
“They put in all the hard
work and ft’s vital that we
recognise their
own and gown rac
set to r. ise thous nds
BE oUR...
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Terms & CondIUons Winner will be &s: envelope selected
at random with 25 tokens.Tolcens not valid unless ac
companied by the entrants name, address and telephone
number. Entrants must be aged over I & Mi tokens must be
from one month cannot be mixed. Multiple sets of tokens
can be sent however must be In separate envelopes- Past
winners In this campaign ale not eligible For further prizes
in this campaign. If you would not like to retelveanylnfor
matlon on further offers or competItions from The Northern
Echo or any sponsors (or this campaign, please IndudeNo
mid In your entsy.Tokens must be receIved by Wednesday.
April 2 and can be sent at any time In advance.Tokens do not
have to be from different days March campaign mm from
Saturda~ March Ito Monday March 31.
Air ambulance called for fall man
juries by rapid response pm-a-
medics and the aircrew. He
was taken to hospital by road.
He is in a stable condition.
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