News Guardian, Thursday, February 9, 2012
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Thursday, February 9, 2012
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CHILDREN FIGHT THREAT TO CLUB – Pages 8 and 9
POLICE HUNTING PUB RAIDERS – Page 13
Warring gang members facing 30 years behind bars between them
Thugs jailed over armed street brawl
Rival gang leaders Dean Elliott, left, and Dale Fuller have both been locked up for over two years for organising the fight in Howdon’s Churchill Gardens, below.
By Tegan Chapman tegan.chapman@northeast-press
KNIVES, three machetes and two samurai swords were among the arsenal of weapons used by two feuding gangs as they waged war on each other. Sixteen thugs armed themselves with the potentially lethal weapons and took to the streets of Howdon last April to settle a score. Now the men – including one almost killed during the brawl – are all behind bars starting prison sentences
Weapons seized by the police after the fight. totalling 30 years for their parts in the fight. Newcastle Crown Court this week heard that there was bad blood between the two factions after Paul Borg,
shot in a dispute the year before, told the police the names of those responsible. The 26-year-old, of Willington Quay, was labelled a grass, and the tension be-
tween the two gangs grew until it exploded into bloodyshed during the pre-arranged braw in Churchill Street and Coldstream Gardens. Covering their faces with balaclavas and ski masks, gang members used machetes, swords, knives, axes and a hammer to fight each other. Those given the longest prison sentences were rival gang leaders Dale Fuller, 24, jailed for 31 months, and Dean Elliott, 22, locked up for a month longer. n Full story – Pages 4 & 5
mem-ories are made of this for sting – Page 39
Teenage handbag thief targeted mother out with her two daughters A SHAMED ice hockey player has owned up to carrying out a terrifying attack on a mum and her daughter. Thomas Etherington pulled Miriam Scott and one of her eight-year-old twin daughters to the ground as he snatched her handbag while they were walking home. Mrs Scott was walking past Tynemouth Metro station in November last year when she was attacked by the 19-yearold, Newcastle Crown Court heard last week. Debbie Breen, for the prosecution, told the court that Mrs Scott heard footsteps behind her and turned to see Etherington pulling her bag strap. “She tried to keep hold of the bag, but the defendant pulled it with such force that she was pulled to the ground, falling on her side,” Miss
Thomas Etherington. Breen said. “She took one of her daughters with her as she fell, and she landed on top of her.” Etherington then ran off towards Northumberland Park where he asked some people how to take the back off the iPhone he had stolen, n Turn to Page 4
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Concerns voiced over council rent decision delay CONCERNS have been raised that some council tenants could face problems getting their benefits after councillors put off making a decision on rent rises. Residents living in North Tyneside Council properties are facing a potential nine per cent rise – an average increase of £5.66 – in their council rents. However, Labour councillors deferred
agreeing to the rise last Thursday, claiming they did not have all the necessary paperwork. Instead, they agreed to give their decision at an unspecified later date, but their Conservative counterparts say that could leave some residents receiving the incorrect benefits while they wait for the new rents to be set. Borough mayor Linda Arkley said:
“Delaying a decision has potential consequences for the future condition of our houses and could cause difficulty for tenants when managing their own finances.” Labour group leader Jim Allan said: “Our deferment is because we haven’t been able to construct our objection because a lot of the information wasn’t available.”
ROBINS MAKE IT INTO MEMORIAL TROPHY QUARTER-FINALS – Page 91
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