Stockton parents champion 'Helen's Walk' for meningitis
A family from Stockton-on-Tees who lost their daughter to meningitis want people to pull on their walking boots for an annual event to raise funds for a charity tackling the disease.
Terry and Sue Laing are backing Meningitis UK's annual Big Stroll North East, previously known as Helen's Walk.
The couple lost their 24-year-old daughter Helen to meningitis aged 24, in 2001.
From the age of 14, Helen had wanted to be a nursery nurse and qualified in January 2001, four months before she succumbed to meningococcal septicaemia.
"The walk helps us come to terms with what happened and is always a great way to raise awareness of the disease.
"Everyone's support for Helen's Walk over the years was unbelievable and surpassed our wildest expectations. Although we no longer run it, we always support the walk, which is growing every year.
"We hope even more people get behind it and put on their walking boots to battle the disease that tragically took our Helen."
– Terry Laing, Helen's father
In Helen's honour, the couple support Meningitis UK and handed control of the walk to the charity after setting it up and raising £90,000.
The 5.5-mile circular Big Stroll takes place on May 12 and starts in Osmotherley.
To sign up, to donate or for more information, call 0117 303 33 47 or click here.
"We again thank Terry and Sue for helping to support the walk - without their help, it would not be as successful as it is.
"What happened to Helen illustrates just how cruel meningitis and its associated disease can be - striking anyone, of any age, at any time.
"The walk is a great way to keep fit, see some truly wonderful sights and all the while battle meningitis, which is notoriously difficult to diagnose and can kill in only hours.
"For all these reason, this is why our main focus is to fund pioneering research to eradicate the disease to protect all future generations."
A fire which killed an elderly couple in their home near Stockton-on-Tees was caused by an electrical fault, investigators have said.
William Volume, 88, and his wife Eileen, 89, died when a blaze ripped through their home in Carlton last week.
They had been married for more than 60 years and lived in the small village for over 50 of them.
Cleveland Police said the fire on Thursday was not being treated as suspicious and there will be no criminal investigation. A file has been passed to the coroner.
"This was a tragic accident caused by an electrical fault in the property."
– Phil Lancaster, director of community protection at Cleveland Fire Brigade
Two loved-up reptiles are being blamed for starting a fire that destroyed their owner's conservatory in Stockton-on-Tees and led to their own demise.
Henry the tortoise, who had just awoken from hibernation, had only one thing on his mind as he emerged from his den - his mate Alice.
But tragically as he chased her around their nest, it is thought he knocked over a heater which set fire to wood shavings.
The blaze destroyed the conservatory of Alf and Gayner Clayton, from Thornaby, who had to run out of the house to escape. The fire also damaged their garage and car.
The couple said they did their best to save their beloved pets after a neighbour spotted smoke coming out of the garage.
But neither pensioner could save them and two fire crews were called to put out the blaze, which happened on Saturday night.
A group of women from the Foetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) network have been highlighting the dangers of drinking alcohol whilst pregnant with a 'Pregnant Pause' in Stockton-on-Tees.
The pregnant pause represents the nine months that a woman is pregnant.
You can see the full report from Julia Barthram below.
