Crash car recovered.

A three-day police operation to recover a stolen car ( thought to have the driver's body still in it ( from the River Tees ended yesterday when the empty vehicle was dragged up by divers.

The red Mazda was thought to have crashed into the river behind Safeway superstore at Yarm, Teesside, on Wednesday.

On the board

NEWCASTLE councillor John Shipley and Northumberland businessman Ian Brown have been added to the board of regional development agency One NorthEast.

They replace Tim Cantle-Jones and Keith Taylor who are retiring after four and three years respectively.

Bus protest

THE restoration of an axed bus service in County Durham is still not good enough, Durham City MP Roberta Blackman-Woods said yesterday.

The MP campaigned for the 25A service, which connects Spennymoor and Peterlee via Kelloe, Cassop and Quarrington Hill, to be reinstated.

She said she will continue to fight for it to return to its former frequency.

Global view

TRADE unionists in the North are to highlight gender inequality across the globe.

The event, entitled Closing the Gap will be staged by the Northern TUC at St James's Park, Newcastle.

Speakers include Unison regional secretary Gill Hale, Department for International Development minister Gareth Thomas and union members from Ghana and Colombia.

Scam warning

POLICE are warning people to be on the lookout for a scam which conned a 72-year-old woman out of about pounds 40,000.

The victim, from Billingham, Teesside, was told she had won pounds 200,000 in a German lottery and she sent several cheques to a number of people around the UK to meet "administration demands".

Art platform

ARTISTIC pupils from two South Shields schools have helped decorate a Metro station.

Children from St Wilfrid's and Brinkburn comprehensive schools came up with designs for the Tyne Dock station.

The artwork, on the theme "Celebration of South Tyneside" has gone on display on 8ft x 4ft hoardings.