Local News

Crowds of people gathered in Grangetown yesterday afternoon after a man climbed onto a rooftop in stand-off with police;

The owner of a derelict former petrol station site in Middlesbrough is being urged to come forward;

...and a new bus service has been launched to ensure local people working at companies based at Teesport can get to and from their jobs.

Crowds of people gathered in Grangetown yesterday afternoon after a man climbed onto a rooftop in stand-off with police.

The armed police drama began at around 2.15pm, on Derwentwater Road, following an an alleged shop robbery.

Residents gathered on the residential street, which is near a playpark, yesterday afternoon.

The emergency services' helicopter was called into action, as well as the use of a drone, and the road taped off.

Cleveland Police has confirmed that they received a report of a robbery at a shop on Birchington Avenue at around 1.15pm yesterday, officers responded to the scene and conducted an area search for people they wished to speak to.

They said that during this investigation, a man that officers wished to speak to in connection with the incident climbed onto the roof of the property and began throwing missiles at officers on the ground.

The owner of a derelict former petrol station site in Middlesbrough is being urged to come forward.

Middlesbrough Council is keen to clear up the eyesore plot off Cargo Fleet Lane to prevent it becoming a magnet for vandalism and ant-social behaviour.

The site - at the junction of Bournemouth Avenue and Cargo Fleet - has been vacant for around 20 years.

Attempts have been made to contact the owner but these have been unsuccessful.

Now a public appeal is being made in the hope they will come forward so a productive future can be found for the site.

The move is part of a drive by Middlesbrough Council to clean up abandoned and eyesore buildings for the benefit of the wider community.

A new bus service has been launched to ensure local people working at companies based at Teesport can get to and from their jobs.

Recently concerns have been raised over the lack of bus routes servicing Teesport, with employees at sites such as the Tesco Distribution Warehouse finding it difficult to get to work if they didn't have a car, with many on 24-hour shift patterns.

The situation also reduced opportunities for unemployed people without a car that could have otherwise attended interviews, training or apprenticeships on the site.

Now bus operator Stagecoach has been appointed to deliver a new bus service. The new route is being backed with £58,000 in funding, with the goal of it eventually becoming fully commercially viable.

The service, numbered 101, runs between Middlesbrough Bus Station and Teesport three times a day via Thorntree Job Centre, Eston and South Bank, leaving the town at 5am, 1pm and 9pm to line up with workers' shifts.