Lewis Bell murderer, chastity belt wearing predator and poison pen stalker among 51 locked up in June

More than 50 criminals have been put behind bars in June. Teesside Crown Court has heard horrific details of a murder, kidnap plot and a serial-killer-obsessed stalker who threatened to rape and murder children. Killer Sean Mcleod is beginning a life sentence after he was convicted of murdering Lewis Bell in Norton.

A kidnap gang who bound, beat and dumped teen on Ormesby[1] Bank have also been caged for combined 42 years. Ben Strangeways has been jailed for almost a decade for his disturbing and evil poison pen letter campaign which saw him send sickening letters to at least 10 victims. Here's the names, faces and stories behind the 51 people who have been locked up in Teesside and the surrounding area this month:

Gareth Evans

Gareth Evans, 48, was drunk when he attacked his girlfriend (Image: Cleveland Police)

A drink-fuelled brute, who had been given somewhere to stay by an old friend, launched an horrific attack on her.

Gareth Evans put his victim in a chokehold in the early hours of the morning after a night of drinking. When the victim said that she has asthma and couldn't breath, THE 48-year-old told her: "I know you can't breath, you stupid b****, I'm going to kill you." As the woman broke free, Evans punched her. She fled her Hartlepool[2] home and called the police from a phone box, shortly before 4am on October 6 last year. Teesside Crown Court[3] has heard that the victim had known Evans, who was homeless, for a long time and, after she offered him accommodation, the arrangement blossomed into a relationship.

But the two had only been together for four weeks when Evans launched the violent attack. The victim had been unwell in bed, when she woke up at 7pm on October 5 last year and, after seeing that Evans wasn't at home, she locked up. He began banging on her front door at 3.10am.

The woman let him in and later told police that he was drunk and upset. Evans said that he had had an argument with his brother-in-law. The woman told him to sleep on the sofa and gave him bedding.

But minutes later, Evans appeared in her bedroom, asking: "Where's the f****** fags?." On Monday, Jenny Haigh, prosecuting, told the court that Evans said he could "sleep where he wanted" and began complaining about his brother-in-law. The woman told him "to forget about the argument" and to go to sleep on the sofa. "He put her in a chokehold," Ms Haigh said.

"She tried to break free but he continued to hold her around the neck. He punched her. When she put her hands up to protect her face, he punched her hands."

Evans, of no fixed address, pleaded guilty to assault occasioning actual bodily harm, intentional strangulation and making a threat to kill at an earlier hearing. In mitigation, Stephen Constantine said that Evans has pledged "not to drink again." T Jailing Evans for 30-months, Judge Francis Laird told him: "It is clear to me that you have a significant problem with controlling your temper whilst in drink.

You attacked your victim in her own bedroom. You strangled her. You punched her and you threatened to kill her.

It must have been a terrifying experience for her to endure." You can view the full story here[4].

Carl Waller

Carl Waller (Image: Cleveland Police)

Burglar Carl Waller was traced after he left drops of blood in a Hartlepool[5] house. The, 36-year-old smashed a window to get into the home on Patterdale Street, in the Belle Vue[6] area, on February 22. The owner was in hospital with pneumonia at the time and Waller stole his entire alcohol collection, as well as aftershave and perfume.

The stolen haul was later valued at GBP4,550. Teesside Crown Court[7] heard Waller "ransacked" the home and that police were later able to identify the burglar from his DNA at the house. On Monday, the court heard that the victim of the burglary received a call from the police, while in hospital, to tell him what had happened.

He said that the stress made him even more unwell; and that he had been collecting the alcohol for years. When Waller carried out the burglary, he was on bail for a shop theft from Boots, in the town's Anchor Retail Park, on December 14 last year. A member of the public had seen him committing the offence and Waller was stopped nearby after matching the description of the thief given to police.

He had GBP60 worth of stolen make up on him and a craft knife - which he claimed he had been using to cut a carpet with. He later pleaded guilty to burglary; theft; and the possession of a bladed article. In mitigation, Calum McNicholas told the court that Waller had a traumatic childhood, where he was "taken from his friends and family and the life he knew" when his mother and step-father moved to Abu Dhabi.

Judge Jamie Hill told Waller that "anyone would have sympathy for the problems you suffered in early life" but that he had to go to prison for his offences. Waller, of Milbank Road in the Brougham area of Hartlepool[8], was locked up for 23 months. Read the full story here[9].

Stewart Tivendale

Police mugshots of Stewart Tivendale, with the most recent on the right

A paedophile is back behind bars after downloading more photos showing children being sexually abused.

Stewart Tivendale also used aliases in online chat sites - something he is banned from doing under the terms of his sex offender order. The 29-year-old has been jailed four times for similar offences. The prolific sex offender is now starting an extended prison term of eight years.

Tivendale, of Middlesbrough[10] Road, South Bank[11], admitted 10 offences at Teesside Crown Court this month:

• Using an alias on networking site Tele Guard on March 1

• Using an alias on Snapchat on March 1

• Using a social networking app

• Downloading encryption software

• Failing to make an online device available to police for inspection

• Logging into the social networking app Session under an alias

• Making six category A indecent photos of children between March 2 and 12

• Making five indecent photos of children - category B - between February 28 and March 12

• Possessing extreme pornography showing a human having sex with an animal

• Possessing further images showing sex with an animal on March 12

Tivendale will serve four-years behind bars, before being released on extended licence for four-years. You can read about Tivendale's full criminal past here[12].

Leslie Sedgewick

Leslie Sedgewick screamed 'sorry' as he was detained by Police Dog Kira

The moment a robber, who attacked a woman for her phone, was caught by a police dog has been captured on video. Leslie Sedgewick, 44, attacked a woman who was walking on her own on Friday, December 20, 2024 at 6.30am.

The robber approached the woman, in her 30s, from behind before punching and kicking her to the floor so he could steal her mobile phone. The woman managed to flee, having suffered facial injuries including chipped teeth, a suspected broken nose and bruising to her arm and wrist during the attack. Officers including the Dog Support Unit immediately attended the area in search of the suspect, who had run off.

A short time later, PC Lee Whitehouse, on duty with Police Dog Kira, spotted a man matching the description and stopped his patrol car next to him. Footage released by Cleveland Police[13] of PC Whitehouse's bodyworn camera shows him stopping the car and saying "hello mate, stay there." Sedgewick, of Aldergrove Drive in Middlesbrough[14], is then heard saying "what do you want" as he runs away from the officer.

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PC Whitehouse then opens the back door of his car to release PD Kira to catch the offender. PD Kira can then be seen biting down on Sedgewick's arm and he can be heard screaming "sorry".

PC Whitehouse later found clothing matching the robber which had been discarded at an address, along with belongings which were stolen from the woman. CID officers investigating the incident charged Sedgewick with robbery and he was also recalled to prison. Sedgewick pleaded guilty to robbery at Teesside Crown Court[15] on Monday, June 2, and was jailed for four years and five months.

You can read the full story here[16].

Mohamed Gangat

Mohamed Gangat was sentenced at Teesside Magistrates Court

Dealer Mohamed Gangat stopped by police has been jailed after officers found thousands of pounds worth of drugs in his car. The 63-year-old was sentenced at Teesside Magistrates' Court[17] on Tuesday, June 3. Evidence gathered by officers at the North East Regional Organised Crime Unit (NEROCU), supported by Matrix officers from Cleveland Police[18], uncovered the 'drugs plot' after stopping a suspicious vehicle in the Cleveland area on March 12.

A search of the vehicle resulted in the discovery of 2.5 kilos of cocaine, with a street value of GBP250,000. Gangat was arrested and subsequently charged with possession with intent to supply Class A drugs and possession of Class B drugs. On April 14, Gangat, of Evington Lane, Leicester, pleaded guilty to the charges and was sentenced to eight years in prison.

You can read the full story here[19].

Matthew Williams

Matthew Williams (Image: Durham Police)

A cocaine-snorting stalker sped from his ex's home, crashed into a wall and broke his back. Matthew Williams discovered his former partner had started a new relationship and began leaving voicemails and messages on her social media. The 38-year-old, who had started taking cocaine, turned up at their old Darlington[20] home and left gifts for the woman. Teesside Crown Court[21] heard that on March 8, Williams ignored a court order banning him from contact with his ex by walking straight into his former home, prompting the victim to call police.

Three days later, Matthews was arrested and then granted bail with the condition he kept away from the woman. But six days later, she saw him in the garden, with his face covered and carrying a knife. When members of the family confronted Matthews, the court heard he sped off in a Suzuki S-Cross.

Police were called but Matthews failed to stop when officers tried to pull him over. He crashed into a stone wall, and was left with a broken back in the crash. In a separate incident on March 1, he was caught with a small amount of cocaine on him.

In mitigation, Elisha Marsay asked the court to consider a suspended prison term for Matthews, and said: "This was three weeks of terrible decision making after the break down of a relationship that started when he was 16. His mental health had deteriorated." Mr Marsay said her client has spent the last three months in prison on remand and has missed hospital appointments, saying: "He is in constant pain with his spinal cord.

He's not getting his pain medication in prison. It's his first time in custody, it's been a shock. He's well and truly learnt his lesson."

Williams, of Pembroke Court in Darlington[22], was jailed for two years. He was also banned from driving for two years and made the subject of a restraining order, banning him from contacting his ex-partner and another family member. Read the full story here[23].

Michael Connors

Michael Connors (Image: Cleveland Police)

Burglar Michael Connors, who stole a designer handbag and jewellery from a child's bedroom, thanked a judge for his prison sentence.

Speaking to Judge Jamie Hill on video link from Holme House Prison, the 27-year-old said: "I'm not getting on in this prison, judge. "I've got autism and I just want to be sentenced today. Then I can leave this prison in two weeks or so." Connors broke into a home on Castleton Walk in Thornaby[24], on April 4.

The homeowner returned and noticed the window over his kitchen sink was smashed. The lock to his conservatory was also broken. Connors took jewellery from the victim's daughter's bedroom; watches from the son's room; and stole the mother's jewellery.

He also stole a small safe containing GBP5,000. On April 30, Connors broke into a home on Yarm[25] Road in Eaglescliffe[26]. A neighbour saw him in the garden wearing gloves and with a bandana covering his face, peering through the patio window.

The neighbour called the police, and Connor fled when they arrived - he jumped over a fence but was caught minutes later. He was carrying a YSL handbag full of jewellery. Connors, of St Pauls Road in Thornaby[27], admitted two counts of burglary.

Judge Hill jailed him for 28-months. "I can't argue with that," Connors said, "that's a fair sentence, to be fair. I was expecting about four years.

That was fair. I can't argue with that. Thanks very much.

Appreciate it." Read the full court details here[28].

Darren Goulding

Darren Goulding (Image: Cleveland Police)

A Sainsbury's-banned prolific thief is back behind bars for THIRTY-EIGHT further offences. Darren Goulding, 42, has been sent to prison for 15 months after admitting the long list of crimes. Middlesbrough's Neighbourhood Policing Team officers had charged him with:

• 18 shops thefts

• 18 breaches of a criminal behaviour order

• common assault

• criminal damage

Goulding broke his criminal behaviour order by going in to Sainsbury's on Acklam[29] Road, in Middlesbrough[30], on May 3.

He had stolen cleaning products and meat from the shop two days earlier. Goulding was caught stealing GBP150 of health and beauty products from the Co-Op on The Oval in Acklam[31], on April 29. He is also banned from the shop, by the order previously made at Teesside Magistrates' Court[32].

The professional shoplifter went on a crime spree on May 5, stealing: GBP95 worth of laundry products from Sainsburys; GBP50 worth of meat and laundry products from EG Garages on Acklam Road; and GBP100 of ham and bacon back at Sainsbury's on Acklam Road. He was violent and abusive to a member of staff and refused to leave when he was told to. Goulding, of no fixed address, is now starting a 15-month prison term.

Read the full story here[33].

Calam Currie

Calam Currie, 29 (Image: Durham Police)

A burglar stole a military medal awarded to a veteran for valour. Calam Currie, 29, said he left the medal in someone's house to pay off a drug debt, after he broke into a home on South Park Lodge in Darlington[34]. The veteran has died, but his widow kept the medal in a glass cabinet in her dining room.

The widow's horrified daughter logged onto her mother's Ring Doorbell footage and then CCTV inside the house - after she received an alert to say someone had entered the home, whilst her mother was staying with her in Oxfordshire, on March 13. Currie also smashed open a money box and left the home, as the woman called 999 from Oxfordshire. Teesside Crown Court[35] has heard that days later, on March 27, Currie walked into a Sainsbury's Local, on Corporation Road in Darlington, and held a knife up to the cashier, as he demanded she open the till. He ran out of the shop and into a nearby alleyway, where he dumped the cash tray and his grey hooded top in a bin.

It is not known how much cash Currie got away with. He was identified by the police from the shop's CCTV footage and arrested later the same day. Currie, previously of Fairfield[36] Street in Darlington but now of no fixed address, pleaded guilty to burglary and robbery.

Currie was locked up for 68-months. You can read the full court copy here[37].

Matthew Hindhaugh

Matthew Hindhaugh (Image: Durham Constabulary)

A chastity belt wearing sexual predator told a girl to 'shh' as he unzipped his trousers in a sickening kidnap plot. Matthew Hindhaugh was jailed for 16 years on Friday, June 6 after admitting to targeting the girl as she was walking in February.

The 22-year-old claimed he was trying to help the victim who he said had fallen over and hurt her face - but overwhelming CCTV evidence, exhibits and witness statements proved otherwise. The brave victim recalled how Hindhaugh approached her in Rowan Place, in Newton Aycliffe, and punched her in the face before putting his hands over her mouth and telling her to 'shh'. He then forced her into his house and onto his bed where he held her down and started to unzip his trousers.

The quick-thinking teenager told Hindhaugh that she wouldn't tell anyone what had happened if he let her go. This gave the girl a few seconds which she seized and ran out of the property leaving one shoe behind as she fled to a nearby address where she raised the alarm. Officers promptly arrested Hindhaugh and despite protesting his innocence, the victim's shoe was located on the stairs as well as other evidence linking him to the incident.

They also discovered a 'rape list' made up of various social media influencers and a sword from his bedroom. He was taken into custody where he was found to be wearing a chastity belt. He told officers he was wearing it to stop his sexual urges.

Hindhaugh, of Newton Aycliffe, pleaded guilty to kidnap, kidnap with intent to commit a sexual offence, intentional strangulation, and possession of an offensive weapon. He also pleaded guilty to another three charges of making hundreds of indecent images of children from 2015 to 2024. Hindhaugh was remanded into custody and at Durham Crown Court, he was jailed for 16 years.

Read the full story here[38].

Paris Bradley

Paris Bradley leaving court after denying the burglary (Image: Teesside Live)Paris Bradley

A Teesside mum refused to live with gran to stay out prison - and then slept in a tent with her boyfriend in Albert Park[39]. Paris Bradley, 20, was handed an intensive supervision order after she was found guilty of burgling a vulnerable man, who lived in sheltered accommodation. Bradley followed her victim into his home on Park Road North in Middlesbrough[40], on September 17, 2023. Teesside Crown Court[41] has heard that there was a struggle as the victim, who was an alcoholic, tried to close his bedroom door on Bradley - who told him she'd "come to take his bottle."

Bradley was eventually escorted out by staff at the accommodation, where she used to live herself. The victim, who has now died, said that Bradley targeted him because she knew he would have alcohol. She stole the bottle of alcohol, but later denied the charge.

Bradley, of Hereford Close in Linthorpe[42], was found guilty of burglary and failing to surrender to bail, at a trial which she didn't turn up to. Judge Jonathan Carroll offered the young mum intensive supervision - designed to help offenders with addictions, to give up drugs and the associated crime. Attendees must see their probation officer, and come back to court to see the judge regularly; as well as showing a commitment to the practical help given to them.Bradley was ordered to live at her grandmother's as part of her conditions.

But, the court heard that she moved out and has been sleeping in a tent in Albert Park[43]. Ashleigh Leach, mitigating, told the court: "She says her relationship with her grandmother broke down. She went to Middlesbrough house to ask for accommodation and they rang her grandma, who said she could stay, so Middlesbrough House wouldn't help."

Bradley failed to turn up to her appointments with the probation service - claiming that the letters were being sent to her grandmother's house and they were not passed onto her. The court heard that she has also relapsed into her drug addiction. Bradley was sent to a Young Offenders' Institution for two-years.

Read the full court story here[44].

Luke Dawson

Luke Dawson has been jailed by a judge at Teesside Crown Court

A bitter business fallout culminated in a man using his own work van to ram his brother's vehicles into his family home. Drug-addled Luke Dawson turned up at Selby Grove in Hartlepool[45] on the evening of February 27 and smashed into his brother's commercial van and his partner's car. He reversed with such force they were pushed through the living room window causing thousands of pounds worth of damage and leaving both vehicles written off. Teesside Crown Court[46] heard the brothers' relationship was 'volatile' but worsened in 2017 when Dawson's brother started his own company.

He had previously worked for Dawson's Hartlepool-based company. The court was told Dawson, 37, of The Ashes, Seaton Carew, blamed his brother for his business woes. Prosecuting, Rachel Butt said Dawson's brother and his young son were not at home when Dawson arrived and began ramming the vehicles on his drive but his partner was.

Ms Butt said: "She heard a large banging noise which she initially thought was fireworks. "She then felt the house shake. She looked out of her bedroom window and saw the defendant's work van repeatedly reversing into her partner's van at speed.

He has done this three times." She went downstairs and saw Dawson, later telling police he had 'a look of dark rage on his face'. The court heard the incident damaged the front of the house and left rubble inside the living room.

The court was told Dawson had taken a number of strong painkillers, and was not in a clear mental state when he committed the offences. Tom Bennett, mitigating, said Dawson has had significant issues with drug and alcohol abuse, which he has worked hard to address on remand in Holme House Prison. Judge Joanne Kidd sentenced Dawson to 32 months imprisonment and banned him from driving for 28 months.

You can view the full story here[47].

Wayne MacMaster

Wayne MacMaster (Image: Durham Constabulary)

A domestic abuser left his terrified partner of 15 years "covered in blood" after attacking her with a bannister spindle. Wayne MacMaster savagely beat the woman after she told him she wanted to end the abusive relationship. The woman's screams were so loud neighbours from down the street heard her, but when one of them intervened, he was also assaulted by the 36-year-old.

MacMaster, of Gilling Crescent, Darlington[48], appeared at Durham Crown Court and was sentenced to 28 months behind bars. The court heard that the couple had been in a relationship for 15 years and it was marred by domestic abuse. On March 8, the pair had been drinking at home when an argument was sparked after she told MacMaster she wanted to end the relationship.

Martin Towers, prosecuting, said: "[MacMaster] told her, 'who are you to tell me to leave?' and assaulted her. He punched her numerous times in the face and kicked her to the chest and legs multiple times, causing her to fall over. "Whilst on the floor, [MacMaster] broke a piece of bannister and repeatedly hit her to the face as she shouted for help.

Because of her shouts, a couple who were in bed [at home] down the street heard and came to investigate." One of the neighbours, a man, eventually gained entry into the home to intervene. The court was told he heard the woman say, 'stop hitting me, I'm covered in blood'.

As the neighbour entered the home, MacMaster "lunged towards him and grabbed him". Fearing for his safety, the man pushed MacMaster before headbutting him. He eventually managed to pin MacMaster down as police were called.

The court heard the woman sustained multiple bruises and abrasions in the attack and has since moved back to her home town. Calum McNicholas, defending, said MacMaster has a "long history of mental health problems" and a "very long and protracted addiction to illicit substances". He said: "He was exposed to [drugs] from the age of 15 and by 25 was consuming heroin intravenously."

Read the full court story here[49].

Newrick Robert Grange

Newrick Grange, known as 'Rob', has been jailed for child sexual abuse (Image: Cleveland Police)

A grocery delivery driver has been jailed for four years for abuse of a child. Newrick Robert Grange, 41, told the youngster to perform a sex act, saying he would watch, Teesside Crown Court heard. Grange, known as "Rob" to friends, was found guilty of causing a child under 13 to engage in sexual activity by a jury, after he stood trial in April.

Throughout his trial, Grange claimed his victim was "talking dirty" and that he'd told the child to perform the sex act, as evidenced on a phone recording, "to scare". Judge Richard Bennett said Grange's tone of voice in the recording showed he abused the child "for his own sexual gratification and nothing else." A statement by the victim was read out to the court, which said: "It will haunt me for the rest of my life. I am proud I spoke up."

In mitigation, Tony Cornberg said Grange, who delivers groceries to customers' homes, will lose his rented accommodation if he is sent to prison. The court heard the defendant is also a carer for his father "who is very ill." Judge Bennett jailed Grange, of Steel Crescent, South Bank[50] for four years and was made the subject of an indefinite sexual harm prevention order banning him from having any contact with children.

A lifetime restraining order was made to prohibit him from contacting the victim, and he will sign the sex offenders' register for the rest of his life. View the full story here[51].

Demi Pallas

Demi Pallas, 25, from Peterlee, who has been jailed for 30 months for blackmailing a vulnerable female (Image: Durham Constabulary)

A blackmailing crook drove a vulnerable woman to attempt to take her own life after a sick campaign of demands and threats. Demi Pallas began her crimes in 2022 when she created a fake Facebook[52] account using a random name generator and made repeated threats and demands to her victim.

Her victim lost over GBP700 and was also sent serious threats of violence, making her feel unsafe in her own home, and directly leading to her suicide attempt, say police. Pallas then moved the victim in with her, so that she could gain further control of her life, and it was at this point that Durham Constabulary became aware of what was going on. At this point, the victim was still in the suspect's home, shaken, scared to leave, and very apprehensive about speaking to officers, with no idea that it was Demi Pallas who was blackmailing her.

Early in the investigation, Pallas lied in a police statement, saying that she would go with the victim to meet with 'travellers', and would watch her hand the money over to them. She also named other individuals as potential suspects, in an attempt to mislead police. She also disclosed that she had taken photos of the vehicles involved in the pickups, but officers later discovered that this was another lie and that the images taken were of random cars.

Police gathered enough evidence and charged the 25-year-old with blackmail and perverting the cause of justice. She pleaded guilty to both charges and was sentenced on Friday, June 6, to 30 months in prison. She was also issued a restraining order to protect the victim and ordered to pay GBP228 in costs.

Read the full court story here[53].

Bradley Richmond

Savage Bradley Richmond stabbed ex right through hand in rage over selfie - and bit man's ear off (Image: Durham Police)

Jealous boyfriend Bradley Richmond stabbed his ex-girlfriend right through hand in a rage over a selfie with an old school friend. His attack left "an entry and exit wound" on his victim, after the sword went right the way through her hand and out near her wrist. Richmond, 29, had flipped after finding a photo of his then-girlfriend as he went through her phone.

But the victim had simply bumped into an old school pal during a night out in Darlington[54], and the two had taken the snap outside a pub. The woman had put her hand up in self-defence when they were lying on his bed, as she saw his arm coming towards her. The woman had come back to Richmond's home, where he lived with his mum, after the night out.

She hadn't seen that Richmond had picked up "an ornamental sword", which was next to his bed, when he attacked her. She was bleeding heavily and went to hospital where she was operated on, but the attack left permanent nerve damage in her hand. She lied to protect her boyfriend, telling hospital staff that she had been injured in an accident.

The attack happened in 2016, when the defendant was 21, but the victim didn't report what happened to the police until 2024, after their relationship had broken down and Richmond made threats against her. On February 4 last year, he turned up at his ex-partner's home and threatened to stab her, before smashing her windows.[55] The violent ex had been out drinking and sent her threatening messages on Snapchat, before turning up. The woman barricaded her door in terror, as Richmond told her that she "was dead" if he managed to get through.

He later pleaded guilty to making threats to kill and criminal damage, and walked out of court last year with a suspended sentence. But this month, Richmond was brought back to court to be re-sentenced for the threats and criminal damage offence, after he failed to keep to the suspended sentence order. Richmond was also sentenced for a vicious attack where he bit a man's ear off.

Richmond was out drinking at the The Quays pub in Darlington, on July 8, 2023, when he and his brother got into an argument with a fellow drinker. Shaun Dryden, prosecuting, told the court that surgeons tried to reattach the man's ear but the operation "was unsuccessful". In mitigation, Mark Phillips said Richmond is father to a young son; and that his family fully support him. "His offending escalated in 2024, following the breakdown of the relationship," Mr Phillips said. "He was just 21 when he attacked her."

Richmond, formerly of Auckland Avenue, in Darlington, but now of no fixed address, was handed an extended prison sentence totalling 14-years-and-nine-months. The sentence is made up of 11-years-nine-months in prison and three-months in the community on extended licence. Read the full story here[56].

Shane Nicholson

Shane Nicholson (Image: Durham Police)

A street robber knocked a man unconscious in a "disgusting spectacle".

Shane Nicholson attacked his 58-year old victim, who was "minding his own business" on Stockton[57] High Street, on April 25. While the man lay on the ground, Nicholson kicked him in the head and punched him. The 34-year-old stole GBP500 of cash from the victim's bag; and rifled through his pockets before pulling the man's trousers down.

Nicholson then fled. His victim began having seizures and was taken to hospital. He was discharged the next day, but in a statement, he said that he no longer feels able to go into town.

Nicholson, of Kitchener Street in Darlington[58], later pleaded guilty to robbery. Teesside Crown Court heard that he is an alcoholic, and committed the robbery to fund his habit. Judge Richard Clews told Nicholson that he had "set about a middle-aged man in the street, who was minding his own business.

He was terrified, as were others who had to watch this disgusting spectacle." Jailing Nicholson for 32-months, the judge said that the sentence should be his "wake-up call" and that if he carried out another street robbery, he will face eight years in jail. "You're still a young man," the judge continued, "you don't have to rot in prison."

Ben Strangeways

Ben Strangeways has been jailed for almost a decade for his campaign of horror (Image: Cleveland Police)

A stalker who sent horrific handwritten letters to women threatening to rape and murder their children was arrested in Middlesbrough bus station armed with a knife and 'attack kit'.

Ben Strangeways has been jailed for almost a decade for his disturbing and evil poison pen letter campaign which saw him send sickening letters to at least 10 victims. The horrendous letters describe in grossly graphic detail the rape and murder of many of his victims' children. In January, he was in possession of a black leather holdall described as his 'attack kit' when he was arrested in Middlesbrough.

And a further search of his home uncovered an obsession with serial killers and a "child-like sex doll". The 21-year-old, from Eston[59], has been branded a danger to women and children as a judge says a life sentence is not available for him to impose under sentencing guidelines. On Christmas Eve, 2024, his first victim was handed a Christmas card while she was at her parents' home, which she had moved out of.

The card, which was addressed to her, said: "Lots of love, from someone special." Another letter arrived weeks later, which was in the same handwriting and appeared to have been hand delivered. The letter said the author had been "watching her through the window and they had come prepared with a knife," said Tabitha Buck, prosecuting.

"The letter talks about raping her... they are of an extremely graphic and sensitive nature." Another woman received a letter to her address, which directly referenced her daughter. Ms Buck said: "He makes reference to raping the young girl living at the address, killing her and mutilating her."

His tirade of abuse continued as another woman, who had a two-year-old daughter, received a letter about how he was going to "abuse and kill" her child. The court heard he had sought the women out randomly on Google, from the Teesside area and across the UK. Strangeways, who had no previous convictions, was arrested at Middlesbrough Bus Station on January 10 after an officer identified him as a wanted man.

He was in possession of a flick knife, which was in his pocket. A search of his home address uncovered further handwritten letters, a black balaclava, a hammer, a knife, air pistol and a "child like" sex doll. There were also several concerning books about serial killers, Ms Buck said, including Jeffery Dahmer, Ted Bundy, the Dusseldorf Vampire, and the Ultimate Serial Killers Trivia Book.

A list was also discovered at his home which led police to further victims. Ms Buck said: "These [letters] included threats, the rape and murder of their children as well as references to engaging in necrophilia." The court heard that in almost all cases there had been a child living or who frequently visited the address.

Robert Mochrie, mitigating, said: "This is the type of case where the offending is so serious that there is little by way of explanation that can be said to temper the actions of this defendant. The more that is said perhaps will only serve to upset the victims in this case even more." Strangeways was jailed for a total of nine years and five months and will serve an additional 27 months on extended licence.

An indefinite sexual harm prevention order and restraining orders were also granted.

Kobi Dougan

Kobi Dougan has been jailed following two incidents where he attacked young women (Image: Cleveland Police)

A brute in a jealous rage attacked his girlfriend and threatened her with a machete telling her she 'wasn't going to exist any more'. Kobi Dougan has been locked up after he admitted a string of offences after two violent attacks on different young women. Teesside Crown Court[60] heard how in a jealous rage he punched and kicked his then partner before threatening her with a machete.

In November last year, Dougan had been in a night club in Stockton[61]. She wanted to go home and booked a taxi but the thug took her phone and walked away from her. She followed him and demanded it back.

Paul Abrahams, prosecuting, said: "He spat in her face, telling her she was the cause of all their arguments." Two weeks later, after the woman had been out socialising with friends, she went back to Dougan's home and got into bed next to him. As she was going to sleep she noticed him on her phone, Teesside Crown Court heard, which she allowed. She was awoken by him and he used an open palm to strike her face, he struck her again and as she was on the floor he hit her 10 times to the face. "He kicked her as she lay on the floor," said Mr Abrahams.

"He produced a machete from somewhere in the background and threatened to stab her. At one point telling her she wasn't going to exist any more." The now 20-year-old called a man on her phone and began arguing with him and the young woman took the opportunity to escape through a window, as all the doors were locked.

The incident happened while he was on bail for a previous attack on another woman. Victoria Lamballe, mitigating, said: "[The author of the probation report] has taken the view there is work that can still be done with this young man. This is his first experience of custody and he hasn't found it easy."

Dougan, of Dorset Road, Norton[62], was jailed for two years and six months for two counts of assault occasioning actual bodily harm, one of assault by beating, one of possession of cannabis, and one count of threatening a person with an offensive weapon. View the full story on the two attacks here[63].

Paul Williams

Paul Williams (Image: Cleveland Police)

A danger driver was found with three knives in his car, stored inside makeshift sheaths made out of socks. When Paul Williams was eventually stopped by police officers he was found with an ice pick in his car, months after he was found with three knives.

Ashleigh Leach, prosecuting, outlined how at 4.35am on August 10, last year, an officer in a marked police car spotted a vehicle travelling on the A689 in Hartlepool suspected to be travelling in excess of the speed limit. He made a "sharp turn" into an Esso garage and the officer approached him as he filled his tank. "The officer pulled up behind the car... [Williams] was noted to be very nervous," said Ms Leach.

Following a search three knives were found in the car - one in the drivers side pocket, one in a bag in the boot, and another in a backpack in the footwell. All three knives had "improvised sheaths made out of socks". He was bailed and, months later, at 11.50pm on December 20, a Ford Fiesta was spotted on Oxford Road in Hartlepool.

Williams got out of the car and knocked on a boarded up window, when he saw the police car he rushed back to the vehicle. The officer opened the car door and began speaking to Williams and when they attempted to take the car keys from the ignition the 50-year-old sped off. Ms Leach said: "He was driving at speed, going through red lights.

There was a lack of control over the vehicle, clipping kerbs. "He stopped twice and aggressively drove off when police approached the vehicle." He was only brought to a stop when he drove down a dead end street in Hartlepool. When searched by officers an ice pick was found in his jacket pocket.

Michele Turner, mitigating, says Williams suffers from paranoia and mental health issues which is "quite clearly" the reason behind carrying these items. "None of them were found in dangerous circumstances," she added. "None were used to threaten or harm." Williams, of Trout Poole Close, was jailed Williams for 16 months. He was also disqualified from driving for 12 months and he must pass an extended driving test before he is allowed his licence back.

Imran Miah, Shamant Sheraji and Andy Munoz-Cadena

Imran Miah, 30, Shamant Sheraji, 26, and Andy Munoz-Cadena, 26,

Three men posed as police officers in an attempt to scam their victims into handing over cash to a courier.

Imran Miah, 30, Shamant Sheraji, 26, and Andy Munoz-Cadena, 26, are behind bars after they were handed jail sentences for their involvement in fraud across the Teesside and North Yorkshire[64] area. The trio contacted victims claiming to be police officers between October and November 2020. These victims were informed that their bank accounts were under threat and encouraged to remove cash from their accounts to secure the money, which would ultimately be collected by a courier who attended their home address.

When officers identified the criminal operation, a police investigation was launched and North East Regional Organised Crime Unit officers, supported by Cleveland Police[65], were able to identify the three men and swiftly arrested them before the victims lost any money. All three were charged with conspiracy to commit fraud by false representation and, thanks to the strong evidence put before the court, all three men pleaded guilty at Teesside Crown Court[66] and were sentenced on Friday, June 13:

• Imran Miah, of Clarence Gardens, London, was sentenced to three years and six months imprisonment.

• Andy Munoz-Cadena, of Haden Court, Lennox Road, Islington, was sentenced to two years and six months imprisonment.

• Shamant Sheraji, of Ray Walk, Andover Estate, London, was sentenced to two years and three months imprisonment.

Tyson Petch

Tyson Petch

A digger thief was caught after he was stopped when police spotted his cloned number plates. Tyson Petch, 28, was towing a flatbed trailer in a stolen Toyota pick up truck on May 16.

A further five fake number plates were found inside the black truck - which Petch later said he had been given as payment for stealing a digger. Teesside Crown Court[67] has heard that the black pick up had been stolen from a home in Gravesend, Kent, on April 5. Police confirmed that the same vehicle had been used to steal a digger from a building site in Middlesbrough[68] on April 18. The digger was worth GBP30,000.

The Toyota was filmed driving onto the building site using one of the fake number plates later found in the footwell by police. Petch, who previously lived at Kindlewood Gardens in Guisborough[69] but has now moved to Sunderland, later pleaded guilty to handling stolen goods; driving with no insurance and to the theft of the digger. Simon Walker told Teesside Crown Court that Petch is a gambling addict who had got into debt.

Mr Walker said that he offered to take on the digger theft and he was given the Toyota and trailer to carry out the job. It was agreed that he could keep the Toyota pickup in exchange for his work. The Toyota has now been returned to its owner.

Judge Nathan Adams jailed Petch for 12-months and imposed eight penalty points on his licence, for driving with no insurance. View the full story here[70].

Lewis Elliott

Lewis Elliott was jailed after the case was heard at Teesside Crown Court

A crack cocaine dealer was caught after a suspected drug deal was captured on a street CCTV camera. Teesside Crown Court[71] heard Lewis Elliott, 23, was followed by police after getting into a taxi. Prosecuting, Anthony Pettengell said he was arrested in Stockton[72] on December 20.

He said: "When the taxi was searched in the rear footwell police found a Kinder egg plastic container which contained 22 wraps of what was later confirmed to be crack cocaine to be sold in GBP20 street deals." Elliott, whose address was given as HMP Durham, pleaded guilty to possession of class A drugs with intent to supply. At the time he was in breach of a suspended sentence imposed for coercive and controlling behaviour and malicious communications.

Jon Harley, mitigating, said: "It is a relatively small amount of drugs seized, worth GBP400 in total. Mr Elliott was dealing drugs effectively in order to pay off debt he had accrued as a drug user himself and in order to finance his own drug use." He told the court Elliott's issues with cocaine began 20 months before his arrest for this offence.

Mr Harley said: "Unfortunately his drug use which is rooted in the rudderlessness of his existence, at least since he was 18, spiralled to a situation where he decided to start dealing to get himself out. "It was compounded by a burgeoning gambling addiction. These are two addictions that are hard to get out of.

This was not a man who was raking in wads of bills. He was eking his way through life living hand to mouth." Recorder Simon Goldberg said the offending was aggravated by his previous convictions and sentenced him to a total 39 months imprisonment.

Anthony Gent

Anthony Gent was jailed by a judge sitting at Teesside Crown Court

Drug addict Anthony Gent swung a machete at a man outside a Teesside nightspot then lashed out at the police officer who came to arrest him for the incident near a bar in Redcar[73].

The 33-year-old then racially abused another officer as he was being taken to the police station. Saba Shan, prosecuting at Teesside Crown Court[74], said Gent attacked the man after getting out of a taxi near the venue in Queen Street late on February 15. She said: "He has approached him and punched him in the face.

"Both men adopt fighting stances before the victim has backed away to the micropub. The defendant has followed him and he has taken out a knife which he has then thrown under a stationary vehicle." Ms Shan said Gent punched him again before he was pushed away.

She said: "The defendant has then pulled out a machete and ran after the victim with the weapon. He has swung at the left side of his body causing a rip in his jacket." The court was told the victim ran inside the bar before the owner and another man held the door shut.

When police went to arrest Gent on March 6 he used the machete again while hiding behind a door inside a flat. Ms Shan said: "When the officer pushed the door back the defendant has swung a machete at him. This has hit the door.

The officer has pushed again causing the defendant to fall backwards. He has swung the machete for a second time, missing the officer's arm by inches." The officer overpowered Gent and squeezed his wrist causing him to drop the machete.

Mitigating, Tom Bennett said while the offences were serious no serious injuries were caused. Judge Joanne Kidd sentenced him to six years of imprisonment. Read the full story here[75].

Ewan Kennington

Drug dealer Ewan Kennington has been jailed by a judge at Teesside Crown Court

Crack cocaine dealer Ewan Kennington who was arrested after police raided a boarded up house has been jailed. Teesside Crown Court[76] heard Kennington, who had been made homeless, was selling drugs to pay for his lodgings at the property.

Police carried out a warrant at the house on Camden Street in Stockton[77] and had to force their way in. They found Kennington with GBP50 worth of heroin and a further 23 wraps of crack cocaine hidden under the sofa. Anthony Pettengell, prosecuting, said police found two phones containing text conversations, as well as hand-written notes, with information about drug dealing along with scales and hundreds of pounds in cash.

Kennington, of Railway Cuttings, Stockton[78], pleaded guilty to possession of class A drugs, heroin, and possession with intent to supply class A drugs, namely crack cocaine. Stephen Constantine, mitigating, said Kennington was being forced to sell drugs in order to have a roof over his head. He said: "There are people who are used because of their naivety and immaturity.

This is somebody who had no expectations of financial gain. The money that was seized was to be handed over to his paymasters. "There were other people in the house, Mr Kennington's instructions are essentially he was given money and told to take the wrap.

He did so because he accepts his criminal behaviour. "If you were to ask if he was solely responsible I suspect the answer would be 'no'." Recorder Simon Goldberg sentenced Kennington to three years imprisonment. Read the full court story here[79].

Luis Fonseca and Derem Turner

Luis FonsecaDerem Turner

A cyclist was shot after a Facebook trail following the theft of his bike led him to the door of a gun-toting drug dealer.

The victim turned up at the house of Luis Fonseca, 21, in Cameron Road, Hartlepool[80], who he suspected had stolen his push bike while he was on holiday with his family in Disneyland Paris. Fonseca left his house, off Raby Road, in a taxi, to go to the address of his associate, Derem Turner. The victim, and a group of men he had with him, followed the cab on the six-minute journey to Turner's house in Garside Drive, in the town's West View area.

The court heard the victim, armed with a plank of wood, "advanced towards" Fonseca. Within seconds, Fonseca produced a handgun and fired "a warning shot" at the group, before he shot the bike owner in the abdomen with the bullet passing through his liver before leaving his body. He suffered "life-threatening injuries" from the bullet wound and his friends rushed him to hospital.

Fonseca and Turner, 20, fled Hartlepool and spent the night in Houghton-le-Spring, ditching their phones and splitting up in a bid to evade police. Fonseca was arrested in Salford, while Turner was found in a Travelodge at Scotch Corner. Teesside Crown Court[81] heard that the bike, which the victim used every day to get to work, was stolen over Christmas 2024 while he was on the French family trip.

Nick Dry, prosecuting, said the victim "began putting out feelers on social media", adding: "He made it plain that the return of his bike would be the end of the matter. The social media trail led him to the door of the two defendants and it appeared that Mr Turner did know where the bike was." The court was told that the victim sent messages threatening to turn up at Turner's home and retrieve the bike back himself if it was not returned, adding: "I'm going to go to every f****** home, the bike better be back today or I'll take people's heads off."

Police later carried out a search of Fonseca's home and found ammunition, with Turner's DNA on them, concealed behind a bath panel. GBP1,500 worth of cocaine and crack cocaine was also found. Fonseca and Turner were originally charged with attempted murder which they denied.

On the day they were due to stand trial, the prosecution accepted their guilty pleas to lesser offences. Fonseca pleaded guilty, on the basis that the victim had made intimidating threats towards him, to:

• violent disorder;

• possession of class A drugs with intent to supply;

• possession of a firearm when prohibited

• possession of six 9mm rounds of ammunition without a certificate.

Turner admitted:

• possession of six 9mm rounds of ammunition without a certificate.

In mitigation, John Elvidge said Fonseca "was afraid" after the victim threatened to attack him, saying: "He had no control over a bike that had been taken." Both men will serve their sentences in a Young Offenders' Institution with Fonseca sentenced to five years and 10 months inside, and Turner locked up for 23 months and two weeks.

Sean Mcleod, Liam Matthews, Ashton White and Macauley Wright

Killers Liam Matthews, Sean McLeod and Ashton White (Image: Cleveland Police)

A gang of three chased down a man "like a pack of animals" before one of them stabbed him to death.

Sean Mcleod, Liam Matthews and Ashton White all denied killing Lewis Bell, 26. Mcleod, 23, was convicted of murder after standing trial in March[82]. Matthews, 26, and White, 18, were found guilty of Mr Bell's manslaughter.

Their pal Macauley Wright, who was particularly close to the Bell family, pleaded guilty to assisting an offender, before the trial began. He called a taxi just over an hour after Mr Bell was killed so he, Matthews and White could leave the area. The killers were either customers or employees at a drugs den at Norton[83] Road in Stockton[84].

Macauley Wright was working as security at the gate downstairs. Anger at Mr Bell, who was a customer and a crack cocaine addict, had been rising prior to September 19 last year, because the men believed he was "taxing their customers." Addicts were being robbed after leaving Norton[85] Road with their purchases. Teesside Crown Court[86] heard that the men believed that Lewis Bell was behind the theft of GBP20 from a man in the Norton Road area earlier that day.

The victim's girlfriend rang the police and reported the street robbery. The people running the crack house were worried about losing customers if it was not seen as a safe place to buy drugs. When Mcleod and Matthews saw Mr Bell outside the drugs den, shortly before midnight that day, they began chasing him.

White joined them as they ran across Norton Road and onto Hills Drive. CCTV from homes across the road[87] on the residential street captured the three closing in on Mr Bell, who desperately banged on a window in a bid for help. Peter Makepeace, prosecuting, described the man as "a pack of animals" as they chased down their target.

Mcleod stabbed Mr Bell in the back with a knife. Matthews stood over Mr Bell who was lying on the ground, and he slashed his victim with a metal chisel. Matthews then stamped on Mr Bell as he was dying.

White swung his hammer at Mr Bell, but missed. The stab wound from Mcleod's attack was 12.5cm deep and penetrated Mr Bell's left lung. He died minutes later.

In addition to the murder of Mr Bell, Sean Mcleod also appeared to be sentenced for driving offences from June 30. The court heard that Mcleod was homeless at the time of the attack, having fallen out with his parents. He was staying with friends, and leading what was described as a "chaotic lifestyle."

Liam Matthews was released from prison on the day he killed Mr Bell[88], under the government's 40% scheme. He had been serving a 22-month sentence for violent disorder - where he joined in on a group attack on a man. He had spent the hours before the midnight attack taking crack cocaine in the flat at Norton Road.

The court heard that he grew up amidst a difficult background before he developed a "crippling addiction" to crack cocaine. His barrister said that he was "genuinely remorseful" for taking part in the attack on Mr Bell; and that it could not be proven, during the trial, that his actions caused any injuries. The court heard that Ashton White was just 17 when he took part in the attack on Mr Bell and that he did not cause any injury.

His barrister described him as a "vulnerable individual" who was "exploited into drug dealing by others." Macauley Wright has previous convictions for battery and AOABH. In addition to assisting an offender, he appeared in court to be sentenced for dangerous driving, and driving without a licence or insurance - relating to an incident in July last year.

Judge Francis Laird said that Lewis Bell was "a much-loved son, brother, father and uncle" whose death, "in such horrific circumstances, has had a profound effect on his family."

Macauley Wright

Mcleod, of no fixed address, was handed a life sentence with a minimum term of 23-years for the murder. When he is released he will be on licence for the rest of his life. He was given a concurrent four-month prison term for his driving offences and disqualified from driving for three-years.

Matthews, of Quenby Road in Billingham[89], was handed an extended 18-year prison term. The manslaughter sentence is made up of 15-years in prison and 3-years on licence in the community. He will serve two-thirds of the 15-years before he can be considered for release.

White, of Renvyle Avenue in Stockton, was handed a 10-year sentence in a young offenders' institution for manslaughter. He will serve two-thirds before he is released. Wright, of Humewood Grove in Stockton, was handed a three-year prison sentence for assisting an offender; and for his driving offences.

He was disqualified from driving for 42-months.

Scott Northmore

Scott Northmore has been jailed for 18 months (Image: Cleveland Police)

A 'love rival' has been locked up for a Thornaby Shell petrol station stabbing A jury found Scott Northmore guilty of wounding without intent after Bradley Moralee was stabbed in the stomach at the Shell petrol station on Thornaby[90] Road. He was found not guilty of a more serious charge of wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm. The 29-year-old claimed self defence[91] as the Middlesbrough[92] court previously heard details of the love rivalry, texts between the pair and Northmore's intimacies with the woman hours before the 5.30am attack.

This month, at Durham Crown Court, Northmore was jailed for 18 months. During the trial, Teesside Crown Court[93] heard that Northmore went back to Bradley Moralee's girlfriend's home with her after an afternoon and evening of drinking on Friday, October 11. Earlier that day, Moralee had walked out of the Oddfellows pub, in Thornaby, when he saw Northmore was there seconds after he had arrived with his girlfriend.

Moralee's girlfriend sat down next to Northmore and stayed in the pub after her boyfriend left. The jury heard that the two had known each other from when they were younger. Northmore and the woman went to her home[94] and found it had been wrecked.

Northmore said that the woman's boyfriend had said that he would post her key back, but that he hadn't. The defendant testified that he put the chain on the woman's door, "so no one could get in". He said that the two of them "were chilling" in the woman's bedroom when "things started leading on between us, kissing and that.

We ended up sleeping together." At around 4am in the morning they heard someone "booting" the front door of the woman's home. Texts were exchanged between the two men[95] and at 5am on Saturday, October 12, Northmore and the woman caught an Uber taxi to the Shell petrol station on Thornaby Road, to buy more alcohol. The court heard that the woman feared that Mr Moralee was following them.

Seconds later, CCTV captured Mr Moralee arrive on to the forecourt and drive into the open door of the Uber, where Northmore was getting out. A fight ensued, where both men clambered over the car bonnet before Mr Moralee was stabbed in the stomach. Northmore says that Mr Moralee tried to run him over, punched him on the forecourt, and that he had acted in self-defence.

He denied that he intended to cause Mr Moralee serious harm, telling the jury: "He threatened me. Tried to run me over." Northmore suffered a fractured ankle in the fight.

Mr Moralee, who did not support the prosecution, was taken to hospital to be treated for his stab wound. Northmore, of Wensleydale Gardens in Thornaby, previously admitted the possession of a bladed article, possession of class B drugs and possession of class C drugs. Northmore, of Wensleydale Gardens, Thornaby, was handed an 18 month sentence on June 18.

Michael James Callaghan

Michael James Callaghan (Image: PA)

A monk who sexually abused two pupils brought the church and the Roman Catholic boarding school where he taught into "serious disrepute", a judge said.

Michael James Callaghan, known as Father James, has been jailed for seven years for preying on the vulnerable teenage boys at Ampleforth College in North Yorkshire[96]. Judge Richard Clews told the 71-year-old: "It cannot go unsaid that your actions have brought the Catholic church and the school into serious disrepute by their nature and number." Following a trial last month at Teesside Crown Court, Callaghan was convicted of 12 counts of indecent assault on one pupil in the 1990s and one count of sexual assault on another teenager in the 2010s. The older victim, neither of whom can be identified, faced the priest in court as he read out a statement in which he said "Father James was manipulative and controlling".

The court heard how the house master groomed the boy and engineered ways to be alone with him, took him out of school for meals and gave him cigarettes. David Lamb KC, defending, said Callaghan had sought medical help to address his attraction to boys even before he joined Ampleforth, that he had no previous convictions and that he had expressed remorse after his conviction. The judge said Callaghan, of Moortown, Leeds, would be subject to an indefinite sexual harm prevention order and will be on the sex offender register for life.

Read the full story here[97].

Ratnakar Singh

Ratnakar Singh (Image: Cleveland Police)

A student has been jailed for a campaign of abhorrent sexual offences against children. Ratnakar Singh, 25, from India, was studying a master's degree in computer science at Teesside University[98] when he carried out his crimes. He was sentenced to 13 years and nine months at Teesside Crown Court after being convicted of 26 child sex offences. Cleveland Police[99]'s investigation into Singh began in 2024 when a concerned parent reported that her 13-year-old daughter had been subjected to sexual communication online from someone she believed to be an adult male.

Enquiries led to Singh's student accommodation address in Middlesbrough. Officers arrested Singh, seizing his laptop and two mobile phones. When officers forensically examined his electronic devices, they uncovered the extent of his online offending with 1,914 child sexual abuse videos and images on his mobile phones, over 900 of which were of the most serious category A.

His laptop contained a further 285 images of children being sexually abused, with 84 of the most serious category A. An in-depth investigation by the force's Paedophile Online Investigation Team (POLIT) followed, uncovering the true scale of his offending. Officers located images and videos showing Singh engaging in the sexual abuse of a 14-year-old girl in a hotel room.

Detailed plans of Singh's arrangements to travel to the London area to commit these offences were found on his devices, along with evidence of a sustained period of online sexual grooming, where Singh lied about his age throughout, pretending to be a teenager. Officers began to piece together details his campaign of grooming with further images and videos of vulnerable children recovered from his devices, along with continuous sexual communications with a number of children.

Arshad Chaudrhy

Arshad Chaudrhy

A takeaway worker sexually assaulted a teenage girl and a woman. Arshad Chaudrhy, 50, subjected his two victims to assaults - where he smacked the girl on her bottom, tried to put his hands under her top, and squeezed her breasts.

On one occasion, he grabbed her face and tried to put his tongue in her mouth as he kissed her. He groped the second victim several years later under her underwear, despite her repeatedly asking him to stop. When the 20-year-old woman went to the loo, Chaudrhy barged in, as she was closing the door, with his genitals exposed.

The court heard that he tried to rape the victim. He told her that he would "break her neck" if she did not comply. Chaudrhy's attack was interrupted when someone else came into the room, and the woman fled.

She reported him to the police. The court heard that Chaudrhy, who lived on York Road, in Hartlepool, before moving to London, was arrested in 2020. He denied all of the offences which happened on Teesside.

He was later convicted of seven counts of sexual assault; attempted sexual assault; and the attempted rape, by a jury after standing trial. Christine Egerton, mitigating, told the court that her client has lived in the UK for 14 years and previously worked at Vito's Pizzeria on York Road in Hartlepool. Chaudrhy, of Eton Avenue in Hounslow, was jailed for 10 years, and will serve two-thirds of the sentence before he is released on licence.

The judge put an indefinite sexual harm prevention order in place which limited the contact he can have with women. Read the full story here[100].

Taylor Ford and Joshua Wilson

Joshua Wilson, left, and Taylor Ford (Image: Durham Police)

A pair of 'dangerous offenders' have been locked up for 14 years each for their part in carrying out arson and gun attacks at three targeted properties. Taylor Ford, 20, of St Ann's Terrace, and Joshua Wilson, 20 of Cliffport Court, both Stockton[101], appeared before Teesside Crown Court[102] for sentencing.

Durham Police arrested the men after a dispute between rival organised crime gangs from South Durham turned into violence and destruction. The pair travelled in a stolen vehicle on March 5 and threw a lit petrol bomb at the front living room window at a house in St Helen Auckland before discharging a shotgun at the front door. On March 11, they used another stolen vehicle and threw a petrol bomb at the front door of a house in Shildon and then discharged a shotgun and a Skorpion machine gun which resulted in damage throughout the property.

In a third attack, Wilson threw another petrol bomb and also fired a 9mm pistol at a house in Darlington on March 17 causing damage to the premises. Following a trial at the court both were previously found guilty of conspiring to commit arson with intent/reckless as to whether life was endangered, conspiring to possess ammunition with intent to endanger life/enable another to do so and conspiring to possess a firearm with intent to endanger life/enable another to do so. The crimes took place at Shildon, Bishop Auckland and Darlington[103] during March last year.

Ford and Wilson also admitted a string of other offences. Ford previously pleaded guilty to two charges of damage to property and two charges of aggravated vehicle taking and dangerous driving. Wilson admitted dangerous driving, driving without insurance, driving without a license, failing to stop vehicle when required by a constable, failing to give a saliva sample and aggravated vehicle taking and dangerous driving.

Paul Newcombe, defending Wilson, said: "He is sorry. This whole experience has been a wake-up call for him." Rebecca Brown, defending Ford, said he was only lightly convicted before these incidents and was just 18. She said he was a cocaine user and had run up some debts.

She said: "His young age had significantly impacted his culpability. He was less able to evaluate the consequences of his actions." Judge Marson sentenced both men to 14 years behind bars and a further four years on extended licence.

He also banned them from driving for a total of nine years and four months.

Sean and Lewis Thompson, Jack Carlsson, Jamie Lawrence and Michael Townsend

Clockwise from top left: Michael Townsend, Jamie Lawrence, Shaun Thompson, Lewis Thompson, Ormesby Bank, and Jack Carlsson (Image: Cleveland Police)

A drugs dispute resulted in five men "hatching a plan" to kidnap a 17-year-old in broad daylight. Brothers Shaun Thompson and Lewis Thompson, with Jamie Lawrence, Michael Townsend and Jack Carlsson, chased their victim across The Greenway, in Thorntree[104], Middlesbrough[105] in a white transit van. The teen desperately cycled away as one man tried to grab him from the moving van.

Children were playing nearby, on the afternoon of Saturday, June 1, last year as Michael Townsend fell out of the moving van during the kidnap. Townsend's machete also fell onto the green, along with a trainer. The gang stopped the van and got hold of their victim, before subjecting him to a vicious beating - repeatedly hitting him over the head and shoulders with a sword - with such force that the weapon broke.

They kicked him as he lay on the ground, before dragging him into the van, along with his bike, where his hands were bound. Carlsson, 22, and Shaun Thompson, 30, and Lewis Thompson 26, Townsend, 36, and Lawrence, 21, drove away with their petrified victim who was bleeding heavily from his head. But their plan ran into chaos when the van broke down on Ormesby[106] Bank.

CCTV from a house on the bank captured someone shouting: "Get out of the f****** van" and the petrified victim crying as he was pulled out onto a busy road, as cars swerved to get past. Drivers called the police, reporting seeing the boy dragged, with his hands tied and no shoes on. The victim fled, and flagged down a passing car.

The female driver was scared - she later told police that the victim was "bleeding a lot and panicking" and he asked her to drive him "out of the area - to Pallister Park[107]." Instead she flagged down a passing police car, but the victim ran off and climbed up onto a garage roof. The police talked him down and took him to hospital with a deep laceration to his head - so bad that the fatty tissue on the inside of his skull was exposed. He has not given a victim impact statement to assist the police with the prosecution of the gang.

Paul Rooney, prosecuting, said that the the three hid their identity with balaclavas and ski masks - after buying the equipment at the SAS shop on Skippers Lane. The Thompsons bought army style outfits and boots. Carlsson, of Roworth Road in Thorntree[108], was jailed for 10 years.

Shaun Thompson, of Premier Road in Middlesbrough, and Lewis Thompson, also of Premier Road, were jailed for seven years and six months. Townsend, of Eston[109] Road in Lazenby[110] was handed a nine-year-six-month sentence for kidnap and the possession of a bladed article. Jamie Lawrence, 21, of Orpington Road, in Middlesbrough was locked for eight-years-and-six-months for his part in the scheme.

Shabaz Hussain

Shabaz Hussain (Image: Cleveland Police)

A paedophile who groomed a girl online for years while using a fake profile then abused her in person has started a lengthy jail term.

In May this year, Shabaz Hussain was found guilty of 12 child sex offences including five counts of engaging sexual activity with a child. He was sentenced to nine years' imprisonment at Teesside Crown Court. His offending also included sexual communication with a child and arranging/facilitating commission of a child sex offence and three counts of possessing indecent images of children.

A spokesperson for Cleveland Police said examination of his devices showed that Hussain, of Woodlands Road in Middlesbrough, had groomed a female child online over a number of years from when she was 12. In order to gain the child's trust, Hussain had also created a fake female child profile. "This profile was also used to communicate with the child reinforcing trust in Hussain and it was used to exploit and manipulate the victim," said a police spokesperson. "The online grooming would eventually lead to Hussain arranging to travel and meet the child when she was 15 years old in order to engage in sexual activity with her under false pretence." Read the full story here[111].

Robert Harland and John Guest

Burgling duo Robert Harland and John Guest (Image: Cleveland Police)

An ex-cabbie and a former welder who attacked two neighbours when they were caught burgling a home have been sent to jail. Robert Harland, 35, and John Guest, 49,[112] broke into a home on South Terrace in the South Bank[113] area of Middlesbrough[114] in the early hours of January 14.

Two brothers in the house next door heard a noise, and knowing that their neighbour was away in Bangladesh, went to investigate. The brothers got hold of Harland - but Guest picked up the axe that Harland had brought with him, and started attacking one of them. A woman who had entered the house with the two burglars threw a kettle at the head of the other brother.

The woman has never been identified by police. The burglars managed to escape in the struggle, taking an iPad and food from the freezer with them. One of the neighbours had to be treated in hospital for an axe wound to his arm.

Teesside Crown Court[115] has heard that Harland, who has been on remand in Holme House prison, told his barrister that "a stay in custody was what he needed" because he is now clean from drugs. He was previously employed as a roofer; a taxi driver; and an asbestos remover but stopped work after the deaths of his father and brother, which the court heard "had affected him greatly." Guest has been unable to work for the past 15 years.

Cainan Lonsdale, mitigating, said that his client has struggled with mental health problems but that he used to earn a living as a welder and fabricator in South Bank. Harland, of Shinwell Crescent, South Bank, was locked up for five years for the aggravated burglary. Guest, of South Court, on South Terrace, South Bank, was jailed for four years for burglary and two counts of assault occasioning actual bodily harm.

Lee McQuade

Lee McQuade strangled his girlfriend when he didn't have any clean socks (Image: Cleveland Police)

A controlling boyfriend threatened to 'scar and disfigure' his ex's 'pretty little face' in a two-year relationship from hell.

Lee McQuade, 39, strangled his girlfriend four times during their two-year relationship and said he would only leave her if she paid him GBP5,000. He told his then partner that she was "the runt of the litter" and threatened to "slice her up" when he accused her of cheating on him. McQuade moved into his girlfriend's home shortly after the start of their romance in 2022, and threatened to hurt her in front of her children.

He messaged: "I'm going to permanently scar and disfigure your pretty little face. Sleep with one eye open." Another text said he wouldn't leave unless she paid him GBP5K; but he went on to message: "The only way you'll be single is if you take an overdose." When his partner told him their relationship was over, McQuade replied: "Watch me glass your face and pour acid in your eyes." The unemployed brute sobbed as he listened to the case against him via video link from HMP Leeds.

The court heard that he strangled his partner four times. He also threatened to kill his partner if she didn't pay his bills and later threatened her: "I'll make sure you don't see Christmas Day, never mind the next hour. I'll do it in front of the kids."

McQuade moved into the Blue Bell Hotel, on Acklam[116] Road, in Middlesbrough[117], after the relationship ended. He later pleaded guilty to coercive control and to four counts of intentional strangulation. In mitigation, Michele Turner said: "This is an intelligent man.

He found himself out of work for the first time. His behaviour escalated. He says he was out of control."

McQuade was jailed for three years. An indefinite restraining order was made banning him from contacting his former partner again. Read the full story here[118].

Thomas Blythe

Hartlepool man Thomas Blythe (left), boxer Robert Ismay (centre) and Shaun Holywell (right) (Image: Northumbria Police)

A Hartlepool 'drugs transporter' is among a gang caged after a North East boxer's lucrative GBP1m cocaine ring was toppled.

Thomas Blythe, from Hartlepool[119], worked as the transporter in Robert Ismay's 'untouchable' drugs ring until it was busted by French officials who hacked their EncroChat communications network. Now, three of the cronies have been jailed for a combined 32 years - with a fourth member due for sentencing next month. Newcastle Crown Court heard that Ismay, who has fought for national boxing championships, was in charge of the "untouchable" gang of four.

Once the hacked Encro messages were read by police, it was clear Ismay and others were involved in the buying and selling of large amounts of cocaine. The court heard Ismay, who was in charge of the conspiracy, later went on the run to Cyprus to try to evade justice and had to be extradited. The court heard Shaun Holywell was his trusted lieutenant, Gary Hope was a storeman who received a wage for providing that service, and Teessider Blythe helped transport the drugs around.

After accessing their communications, police put the gang under covert surveillance before they were arrested. When Hope was arrested, they found a bag for life he had stored at his parents' home containing five kilos of cocaine. Blythe was linked to the recovered cocaine by his DNA, which was found on some of it.

When Ismay was arrested, he had three mobile phones, a cash counting machine and a debtors list amounting to GBP87,000. When Holywell was stopped by police, he had a kilo of cocaine under his passenger seat in a Co-op bag. Police seized a total of 6.7 kilos of cocaine, worth up to GBP286,000.

But the court heard the total amount supplied over the period of the charges, between March and April 2020, amounted to 21.7 kilos, worth up to GBP868,000 wholesale and much more at street level.

• Ismay, 37, of Washingwell Lane, Whickham, Gateshead, was jailed for 16 years and four months for the cocaine conspiracy and failing to surrender by fleeing to Cyprus. He will also be subject to a Serious Crime Prevention order when he is released.

• Holywell, 34, of Fur Terrace, Burnopfield, County Durham, also admitted conspiracy to supply cocaine and was jailed for 11 years and eight months,

• Blythe, 33, of Sedgwick Close, Hartlepool[120], admitted two counts of being concerned in the supply of cocaine and got five years and seven months,

• Hope, 45, of Poplar Avenue, Burnopfield, County Durham, will be sentenced next month.

Hartlepool 'drugs transporter' among gang caged after North East boxer's GBP1m cocaine ring toppled[121]

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121. ^ Hartlepool 'drugs transporter' among gang caged after North East boxer's GBP1m cocaine ring toppled (www.gazettelive.co.uk)
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