Evening Chronicle

Left in Road

An 11-year-old girl is in hospital today after she was knocked down by a hit-and-run driver. Lucy Whittle, pictured, was playing with her friends in Denton, Newcastle, when the accident happened at around 7.45pm yesterday.

Did Nurse Help in Escape?

Two nurses have been suspended from a Tyneside psychiatric hospital over claims they helped a prisoner escape. Abigail Watson, 32, of Cramlington, Northumberland, has been arrested on suspicion of perverting the course of justice and a 29- year-old female member of staff was arrested for assisting an offender to go AWOL. Police launched an investigation after the 35- year-old prisoner, serving a sentence on a hospital order at St Nicholas Hospital in Gosforth, Newcastle, broke out of the unit.

Killers Still Free

The killers of a 45-year-old carer, who was attacked and robbed moments before his death, have still not been brought to justice. An inquest into Michael Grey's death recorded a verdict of unlawful killing, after he was punched in the mouth, causing him to fall and hit his head on the pavement last November.

Head for This

Indie Rockers, the Lemonheads, are to perform an intimate gig in Newcastle this Autumn. American lead singer Evan Dando married Elizabeth Moses, a former Seaton Burn High School pupil, in 2000 and fell in love with Newcastle on visits to see his wife's family.

Junior Doctors Hours Move

Junior doctors at one of the North East's biggest hospital trusts are clocking in and out for shifts or breaks. Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, which includes North Tyneside and Hexham General Hospitals, is the first in Britain to trial the electronic system.

Cancer Robs Bride of Wedding Day

A woman has died from cancer just three weeks before she planned to marry. Former model and air stewardess Trish Traynor, 34, was diagnosed with a brain tumour in 1998, and underwent successful courses of radiotherapy.

Girl Struck by Hit and Run Van

A young girl is in hospital today after a van driver mowed her down in a hit and run. Lucy Whittle, 11, was playing with her friends on Duchess Drive, Denton, when the accident happened at around 7.45pm yesterday.

Water Way to Spend Your Holidays

Girl, 12, travels to Kenya to help improve life in remote village She may only be 12, but Clare Sacco has already made a splash.

Food Lessons

Hands-on classes to teach children how to bake cakes and knock up a spaghetti which are to be introduced in every school has received support from leading chefs. All pupils will get the chance to earn a "licence to cook" in a bid to improve their kitchen skills and encourage them to eat more healthily.

Suspects Held

Police were today continuing to question 14 men arrested in anti- terror raids in London. Scotland Yard said the remaining 11 suspects can be questioned until Friday.

Death Charges

A 36-year-old man will appear in court today charged with the murders of his wife and their three children. Rahan Arshad is accused of killing his wife Uzma Rahan, 32, and their sons Adam, 11, and Abbas, eight, and daughter Henna, six, whose bodies were found at their home in Cheadle Hulme, Stockport, Greater Manchester on August 20

Stingray Kills the Croc Hunter

Steve Irwin, the Australian TV environmentalist, known as the Crocodile Man, was killed today by a stingray barb during a diving expedition. Irwin, 44, was filming an underwater documentary on the Great Barrier Reef, off Queesland state when the accident occurred, police said.

Army Almost at Breaking Point

The new head of the Army today warned soldiers are at the limits of their capacity and can only just cope with demands placed on them by the Government. General Sir Richard Dannatt, said the UK was doing more than its share of the military work in Afghanistan ( his comments came as another British soldier was killed and another seriously wounded in a suicide car bomb attack in the Afghan capital of Kabul today.

Blair Comes Out Fighting

Tony Blair will try to regain the initiative today after a weekend dominated by Labour infighting over the timing of his departure. The Prime Minister is beginning a two-day tour of the regions, which will culminate in a keynote speech tomorrow on his plans to tackle social exclusion. He will advocate early state intervention in "nuisance" families to prevent their children becoming "a menace to society".

Patient Escape From Psychiatric Unit Sparks Probe

Two nurses have been suspended over claims they helped in an escape from a psychiatric unit. The 35-year-old had been serving a sentence on a hospital order at St Nicholas Hospital, Gosforth, Newcastle.

Shop Raider's Threat to Rape Young Victim

A raider brandished a hammer at a young shop assistant during a terrifying robbery and then threatened to rape her. Drug addict Phillip Mansell went to the checkout at a shop in Walbottle, Newcastle, after customers had left. He had already stolen a hammer for the attack from a garden centre an hour earlier.

Teen Charge

A woman was allegedly assaulted by a teenager in a separate security scare involving St Nicholas' Hospital. William Pritchard, 18, was due to be released from a hospital supervision order when, it is claimed, he attacked a woman on a day trip.

Naked Revenge

An artist has been made the subject of a series of explicit nude portraits by her ex-husband. Stella Vine, who spent her childhood in Alnwick, has had a high- profile feud with ex-husband Charles Thomson.

Is It Las Vegas or Lost Wages?

Plans for a Las Vegas-style super casino on Tyneside will be considered at a public examination in Newcastle tomorrow by the independent Casino Advisory Panel. They are visiting each of the eight competing cities before making a recommendation to Ministers. Here we look at the positive and negative sides of having a complex on Tyneside Yes

True Cost of Parking

There is nothing like the cost of motoring to get people going. Today we reveal the amount of money councils make through parking charges.