Local News

A mother who murdered her two-year-old son will not have her 18-year sentence reviewed by the Court of Appeal;

Police have issued an appeal for information after a man had his motorbike stolen on Flatts Lane;

...and Cleveland Police are introducing a DNA tagging spray in order to target off-road bikers.

A mother who murdered her two-year-old son will not have her 18-year sentence reviewed by the Court of Appeal.

Carol Hodgson suffocated toddler Daniel Hodgson Green at their home in Upper Garth Gardens in Guisborough on February 2nd before trying to take her own life.

Having initially denied killing her son whilst being interviewed under caution following his tragic death, the 40-year-old pleaded guilty to his murder.

She was given a life sentence with a minimum jail term of 18 years and four months at Teesside Crown Court earlier this year.

An application for her sentence to be reviewed as being 'unduly lenient' has now been refused as it did not meet the high threshold criteria.

Police have issued an appeal for information after a man had his motorbike stolen on Flatts Lane.

At around 10pm on Thursday, the man, who is in his forties, reported being followed by a group of people on motorbikes with no helmets and wearing face coverings from the Bolckow Street area of Guisborough. (pron "BOLL-CO")

He travelled from Bolckow Street onto Church Lane before joining the Guisborough bypass at the roundabout and he was followed by the group of suspects for some distance along the bypass.

At the traffic light junction between the A171 and Flatts Lane one of the suspects attempted to block the road in front of the victim and he lost control of his bike and dismounted.

A pillion passenger from one of the suspects motorbikes then stole the victims' motorbike.

The group then headed off towards Ormesby Bank and Cargo Fleet Lane.

The man was checked over by ambulance service colleagues at the scene, but fortunately his injuries were not serious.

Officers would like to appeal to anyone who may have dash cam footage or CCTV in these areas of the suspects on motorbikes to contact them on the non-emergency number 101.

Cleveland Police are introducing a DNA tagging spray in order to target off-road bikers.

The spray is being introduced across Cleveland, and can forensically prove that suspects were in a specific location at an exact time.

The spray can be used at scenes of a crime to detect a suspect if they make off from police, and one of those instances when it will be used is to spray off-road bikers committing antisocial driving.

It is an additional tactical option and can also be used in a crowd, such as at a mass gathering of quads or off-road bikes.

The substance can be sprayed from a distance to mark the bikes, clothing and skin of any riders and passengers with a uniquely-coded but invisible DNA that will provide forensic evidence to link them to a specific crime.

A number of other Forces around the country are also using the DNA tagging spray, which can help avoid the risks around carrying out pursuits.