Local News

Neighbours had to pull an elderly woman over a fence to safety after a fire at her home;

A fire has destroyed an area of Guisborough Forest;

...and almost every council ward in Redcar and Cleveland is set to change after a consultation by the Boundary Commission.

Neighbours had to pull an elderly woman over a fence to safety after a fire at her home.

Just after 11.30am yesterday, members of the public raised the alarm after fire broke out in two bungalows in Seamer near Stokesley. The flames quickly spread to an outside oil tank, which exploded.

A woman, believed to be in her 70s, screamed in panic in the front garden of her home, before two young men propped up a ladder against a fence and dragged to safety.

A fire brigade spokesperson said that the fire had quickly spread into the roof space through the eaves and into a second property.

Crews quickly established that the two other properties in the terrace were not affected and concentrated on the two end bungalows where the fire had taken hold.

Six fire engines from North Yorkshire and Cleveland rushed to the scene just after 11.30am, while North Yorkshire Police also attended.

A fire has destroyed an area of Guisborough Forest.

50 square metres of woodland was destroyed by the blaze in Highcliffe, which began just before 3pm on Saturday.

Fire crews quickly extinguished the flames, but the cause is likely to remain unknown.

One fire appliance from Guisborough attended.

Almost every council ward in Redcar and Cleveland is set to change after a consultation by the Boundary Commission.

The local authority is currently split up into 22 wards, which roughly correspond with existing towns, villages and big estates.

However the Boundary Commission is now proposing 24 different wards.

As part of the plans, the local authority would gain a new ward in Redcar, covering the swathes of new housing around Redcar Lane and Marske Road.

In the west of the borough, the Hillside Academy and former Eston Park Academy area would be included in Teesville ward rather than South Bank ward.

Skelton will be split into two different wards, east and west, each with two councillors each.

The current Westworth ward in Guisborough would disappear, and be partially replaced by the smaller Belmont ward.

However, the Boundary Commission recommends that the total number of overall councillors needed to properly represent residents would remain at 59 - the same as now.