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Clashing dustbin lids and hammering containers, the cast of Stomp certainly didn't go unnoticed when they arrived in Newcastle on Wednesday morning. The energetic performers quickly drew a crowd outside the Theatre Royal as they gave a high-impact - and very noisy - performance with clattering and banging on makeshift drum-kits, dancing and somersaults. The cast members, including local talent Jamie Welch, were giving a taster of Stomp ahead of its opening on Thursday for a three-day run at the Theatre Royal. Jamie, from Bedlington in Northumberland, has been in the cast of the popular show for two years during which he has toured across Europe but this will be his first time in his home region with it - and he was delighted to be bringing it to Newcastle. "It's great," he said. "This is my first time back in the North East with the show I do for a living and I've got a mix of family and friends coming." While the show - snippets of which featured during the closing ceremony at the 2012 London Olympics - has been around since 1991 - and has built up a loyal fan-base - this week marks the first time it has been back at the Theatre Royal for about two years and audiences are being promised a performance that is faster and funnier than ever.

These are the North East care homes and services which have been ordered to improve by a health watchdog. Inspectors from the Care Quality Commission (CQC) have handed out two ratings of ‘inadequate’ in the region over the past month, with more rated as ‘requires improvement’. All information comes from reports published by the CQC. We’ve rounded up the results for reports with either of the bottom two gradings below: Inadequate Report published: July 25, 2018

A fund-rasier organised by the family of a teenager who was the victim of a car crash in a Bedlington street will take place exactly one year after her death.

This is the noisy haul which made life hell for neighbours in Bedlington. More than 20 din-creating items, including televisions, HiFi systems, loudspeakers and musical instruments were seized from a home in the Northumberland town, where residents had been making a racket day and night. On Thursday the council’s Housing and Public Protection Service, alongside officers from the Bedlington Neighbourhood Policing Team, swooped on the house, which had a noise abatement notice served earlier this year. But the council says the notice was “ignored”, so officers entered the property by force and removed all equipment capable of producing amplified sound. Northumberland County Councillor John Riddle, cabinet member responsible for public protection, said: “Today’s action clearly demonstrates the Council’s commitment and determination to protect local communities from irresponsible individuals and our intention to use the full force of the law when needed. “We will not tolerate the small minority whose anti-social behaviour affects the quality of life for the rest of the community.”

This is the moment two cruel thieves raided a family-run cafe in Northumberland. The masked pair made off with around £800 from Coffeelicious in Bedlington after rifling through the till and charity boxes in the early hours of Wednesday. Devastated owner Gemma Robson discovered the break-in the following morning and quickly checked her CCTV to see the burglars in action. Police have now launched an investigation. Gemma, who runs the cafe with husband John, said: “It’s my business, it’s like my home. This is how we make our living and we work so hard. “For someone to come in and think they can get away with this is infuriating.”

It was tee-time for care home residents as they tried a new activity.

A woman has appeared in court charged with the murder of Sunderland teenager Scott Pritchard. Karen Tunmore, 36, of Killingworth, North Tyneside, appeared at Bedlington Magistrates Court - sitting at Newcastle Crown Court - on Saturday. The teen’s death sparked one of the biggest manhunts in Wearside’s history when he was found bludgeoned outside his Sunderland home in 2004 and left to die. At the time his leg was in plaster after suffering a bad injury and he could only walk with crutches. Scott was confirmed dead on arrival at Sunderland Royal Infirmary, aged just 19, and detectives have been investigating the case ever since. Nobody was convicted in relation to the case at the time, but the investigation has remained open.

This is the moment a burst pipe sent water shooting 20ft into the air in a Northumberland town. The water main burst near Hartford Gardens, in Cramlington, on Friday morning and the supply was eventually shut off at around 7pm. Dramatic drone footage captured by Jason Carrick showed the water shooting into the air and across a nearby field. His partner Donna Scott, 32, said they were shocked when they discovered the water pipe had burst. She said: “It started on Friday morning and was still pouring out in the evening. “Northumbrian Water weren’t on the scene until about 3pm and they said they couldn’t turn it off because it supplies water to Morpeth and Bedlington.

A group of students spent time visiting former battlefields from the First World War.

A small magnetic device invented by a Northumberland entrepreneur is set to make a big splash in the global oil, gas and power industries following financial backing. Jon Naylor has more than 30 years’ experience in senior positions within the industrial pipelines sector and he now acts as a top level consultant for clients around the world through his Bedlington firm , JNCS Business Services Ltd. Now Mr Naylor has invented the TorqTag, a magnetic piece of kit used on pipelines which is already winning orders around the world – and is poised to reach new heights after winning support from the new North East Small Loan Fund Supported By The European Regional Development Fund. The TorqTag was developed when Mr Naylor realised there was an industry need to improve processes around the closure of the dozens of flange pieces that join sections of pipeline to each other. This process is done by engineers in a precise order, to make sure connections are made as they should be, and the TorqTag temporarily attaches to each bolt, helping technicians keep track of their bolting sequence. Having already won orders from existing and new clients around the world, Mr Naylor has worked with regional fund management firm NEL Fund Managers to secure a £10,000 Small Loan Fund investment that is helping improve the manufacturing processes around the TorqTag.

An entrepreneurial duo are hoping to be on the road to success after launching a new repair and upgrade centre.

Music fans braved an afternoon downpour to catch X Factor winner Matt Cardle live in Bedlington. The singer-songwriter headlined Northumberland Live in Bedlington on Saturday evening. Cardle took to the Gallagher Park stage at around 8pm, following rain in the late afternoon. Cardle, who won X Factor in 2010, was joined on the bill by Newcastle singer Channy, the Midnight Soul Sisters and pop punk group 5K. The future of the under threat festival had been in doubt, but went ahead following donations from councillors and East Bedlington and Choppington's parish councils. East Bedlington Parish Council chairman Keith Grimes said: "There was a real danger that the festival would not happen this year. We are well aware of how much this free event means to our community and we believed as a parish council that they deserved to have it."

A blast of thunder and lightning didn’t stop Bedlington having a party in the park yesterday (Saturday).

Parish councillors were determined to ensure that the third Northumberland Live at Bedlington festival would take place as scheduled on Saturday.

The number of magistrates in the Northumbria service, which covers courts in Bedlington and Berwick, has plummeted by more than a third in just three years – one of the steepest drops across the whole of England and Wales.

New speed signs are in place in Bedlington following a fatal road accident last year.

A “traffic stopping” event is being planned for Bedlington later this summer.

Forever haunted by the image of her daughter’s lifeless body in a crashed car, a mum is today begging other drivers to stop speeding. It has now been almost a year since Isabel Easson lost her precious girl Bethany Fisher when a car, driven by Jordan O’Donnell, smashed into parked cars and a wall outside her home in Bedlington. Today two new speed indicator display (SID) signs have been installed on the C405 by Northumberland County Council following campaigning by Bethany’s family and friends. And Isabel hopes the signs will make people think and help stop other parents going through what she has. The 48-year-old said: “I just don’t want this to happen to anyone else. I still can’t see past that image of her body. I’m struggling to get that image of her out my head. “That’s something no parent should ever see.

Fire crews were called to a blaze at a waste management site in Bedlington this morning.

Firefighters have battled a blaze which broke out at a Northumberland industrial estate. Crews were called to Barrington Industrial Estate in Bedlington on Saturday morning as huge clouds of smoke were billowing above. One fire engine remains on scene at midday as they continue to dampen down the fire. A spokesman for Northumberland Fire and Rescue Service said: “A crew is still in attendance. “We had two fire engines there and now one remains on scene. “They used two jets and one hose reel as well as a mechanical grabber to dismantle debris.

A Bedlington school is asking members of the public to vote for it in a national competition to win a recycled plastic playground.

Ten people have been arrested after drug raids across Northumberland. Police raided eight homes in Ashington, Bedlington and Widdrington in Northumberland and arrested eight men and two women on suspicion of conspiracy to supply Class A drugs. Detective chief inspector Jon Bensley, of Northumbria Police, said Thursday morning’s operation was part of a strategy to tackle a range of offences — including violent crime — which could be linked to the use and supply of Class A drugs. He said: “The warrants we have carried out today are prime examples of the robust response we will take to proactively target those believed to be involved in criminal behaviour. “A large part of our operation is responding to reports and intelligence that comes to us from the community. “There is no doubt of the harmful impact drugs and drug dealing has on these communities and we are absolutely committed to pursuing those who think they can get away with it.