News in brief

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Bogus workmen target homes in scam

Two men posing as workers for B SkyB digital television firm conned a woman out of cash in County Durham.

The fraudsters targeted homes in the Southway area of Peterlee on Monday claiming to be able to upgrade televisions for £20.

A woman, of Tamar Close, had a leaflet posted through her letterbox offering the service and when she rang a mobile number the two men arrived.

She handed over £20 to the men, but when she contacted the firm she realised they were bogus.

Durham Police are warning residents to ignore any leaflets which they receive offering the upgrade.

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Woman killed in road accident

A woman has died after being involved in a road accident on the A1M in County Durham, close to the border with North Yorkshire.

It happened just before 2300 BST on Friday on the southbound carriageway.

A Durham Police spokesman said the female pedestrian, who has not yet been identified, is believed to have been hit by several vehicles.

The southbound carriageway was closed until around 0530 BST on Saturday.

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Man threatened with bottle during robbery

A man has been threatened with a broken bottle during a robbery in Sunderland.

It happened at around 1420 BST on Thursday as the man was collecting money from television meters in Cato Street, Southwick.

He was approached by three youths, one who held a broken bottle to his face, took his car keys and drove off in his silver Ford Focus car, which was later found abandoned nearby.

A quantity of cash which was in the car was taken.

The boy with the bottle is described as white, aged 16 or 17 with black hair and a spotty forehead. The other two youths are thought to be aged around 15 and 10.

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Hot water project 'ahead of schedule'

Contractors say they are ahead of schedule in their test-drilling project to find a hot-water source in Weardale.

The bore hole has now reached 600ft, and should be completed by the end of the month.

It will be sunk to a depth of 3,000ft through highly-resistant Weardale granite which reaches temperatures of 50 degrees centigrade at the limit of the drilling operation.

They hope to find underground water that could be heated by so-called `hot rocks', which would be piped to the surface to support an `energy theme park' on the site of the former Lafarge cement factory in Eastgate.

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Bogus workmen target homes in lscam

Two men posing as workers for B SkyB digital televsion firm conned a woman out of cash in County Durham.

The fraudsters targeted homes in the Southway area of Peterlee on Monday claiming to be able to upgrade televisions for £20.

One woman of Tamar Close, had a leaflet posted through her letterbox offering the service and when she rang a mobile number the two men arrived.

She handed over £20 to the men, but when she contacted the firm she realised they were bogus. Durham Police are warning residents to ignore any leaflets which they receive offering the upgrade.