91Èȱ¬

Cleveland Police have released a photo of the Middlesbrough pharmacist Mitesh Patel, who was convicted of murdering his wife, with his lover.

Taken in 2012, it shows Mitesh Patel with the man described during his murder trial as his "soulmate".

The trial heard Mitesh wanted to move to Australia to be with his boyfriend Amit Patel, and the pair had planned to raise a child conceived by Mrs Patel through IVF.

She had undergone three courses of IVF and the last cycle resulted in three embryos being created, but she was murdered before they could be implanted.

Image source, Cleveland Police

Mitesh Patel murdered his wife to claim a £2m payout and move to Australia with his boyfriend.

Jessica Patel's family have issued a statement after her husband was jailed for 30 years for her murder.

Pharmacist Mitesh Patel, 37, was found guilty at Teesside Crown Court of strangling his wife to death.

This afternoon Jessica's family said: "She had simple dreams, all she ever wanted was to fall in love, have a family of her own and live happily ever after.

"A life sentence will never be enough, we will never get Jessica back and her dreams and wishes will remain unfulfilled, however we as a family take some solace in that an element of justice has been served and that the right person has been convicted and will remain behind bars for decades to come."

Image source, Family Photo

Two neighbouring NHS Trusts in the North East look set to merge.

Discussions with the public will now begin about joining together the South Tyneside NHS Foundation Trust and the City Hospitals Sunderland NHS Foundation Trust.

The boards, who are both are in favour, hope to become one organisation from April next year.

A UK-based team arrives in Greece for the grand final of a contest to find innovative solutions for seafloor mapping.

91Èȱ¬ Tees

The number of recorded cases of child neglect have more than doubled across the Durham Constabulary area in the last year.

Figures revealed by the NSPCC show the force had an increase of 114 child cruelty investigations over the last 12 months, from 96 in 206/17 to 210 in 2017/18.

Northumbria's figures rose from 277 to 440 in the last 12 months.

Whereas numbers for Cleveland fell over the two 12-month periods, from 138 to 108.

It comes as the charity is launching its Christmas appeal Light for Every Childhood in which UK landmarks are being lit up green to raise awareness of child neglect.

Parents on Teesside will be getting a taste of what it is like to sit SATS exams in Year 6.

The "More Than A Score" campaign is taking place at a number of schools across the country today, to highlight the pressures put on school children to perform well in these exams.

Saint John the Evangelist Primary School in Billingham is taking part in The Big Sats sit in protest.

Matthew Hedges says he was asked by the UAE to act as a double agent in the UK's Foreign Office.

This footage shows the final moments of Jessica Patel's life just before her husband murdered her.

Eight people were taken to hospital following a seven-vehicle crash.

Hazardous response teams joined emergency services, who were called to the A1 between Alnwick and Denwick just after 09:00.

The southbound carriageway remains closed but the northbound is back open.

Mark Denten
91Èȱ¬ Look North

Durham University says it has a second PhD student in the UAE but they will not be required to return to the UK despite the arrest and detention of student Matthew Hedges.

Mr Hedges was pardoned after being initially jailed on spying charges which he denies. He's claimed he was psychologically tortured while in prison.

Durham University says it has another "postgraduate research student" in the UAE at the moment. Neither the name or department of the student have been released.

The university says it's advising a moratorium on travel to the country for "all non UAE staff and students".

The moratorium is not compulsory and staff and students may make their own decisions.

In a statement commenting on Matthew Hedges, release, Durham University Vice Chancellor Professor Stuart Corbridge said: "We look forward to welcoming Matt and (his wife) Dani back in Durham as soon as they feel able to join us."

The pharmacist killed his wife in a staged burglary of their home.

Peter Harris
91Èȱ¬ Look North

A pharmacist who strangled his wife has been jailed for a minimum of 30 years.

Mitesh Patel, 37, killed his wife Jessica at their Middlesbrough home in May.

Earlier, Jessica's sister had told Teesside Crown Court while she would rest in heaven he would "rot in hell".

Image source, IAN MCINTYRE/THE GAZETTE

The Institute of Public Policy Research North says the Northern Powerhouse has been "deprioritised".

Eight people were taken to hospital following the crash on the A1 this morning.

The ambulance service says that four people were taken to Cramlington Hospital, one to the Royal Victoria Infirmary in Newcastle and three patients to Alnwick Infirmary.

Children and young people are missing out because of a squeeze on youth services across the region.

That is the message from children's charities after new figures suggested the number of North East youth clubs and youth workers was falling.

Data from the union Unison covering Durham, Gateshead and Northumberland shows the loss of about 120 youth workers and eight youth centres over three years as part of local authority cuts.

Staff at the Youth Almighty Project in Sunderland say youngsters travel to it from far afield because there are fewer sessions elsewhere.

Paramedics remain at the scene of a severe accident on the A1 near Alnwick in Northumberland which involved seven vehicles.

A spokesperson for North East Ambulance Service said: "We were called at 09:16 this morning to reports of a multi-vehicle road traffic collision on the A1 at the junction with the A1068 in Alnwick.

"We dispatched 10 resources, including a community paramedic, an officer, four double-crewed ambulances, one crew from our Hazardous Area Response Team, two scheduled transport crews and an advanced practitioner."

Drivers are being urged to be wary of sheet ice in the area which is causing major problems for the emergency services.

The southbound carriageway remains closed between Alnwick and Denwick - northbound is now back open.

Local Democracy Reporting Service
Alex Metcalfe

A Teesside leader has criticised a wildcat protest outside the Tees Renewable Energy Plant, at Teesport which brought traffic on the A66 to a standstill last month.

Tees Valley Mayor Ben Houchen said the protectors, who walked off site over a row with one of the main contractors about safety conditions were "unhelpful" and had a "disproportionate impact" on potential investment and jobs on Teesside.

With there only being one access route in and out of Teesport, the walkout quickly caused long tailbacks on surrounding major routes including the A66 Tees Dock Road and the A1053 towards the A174 Parkway.

Image source, Teesside Live

Mayor Houchen said: "The last time I had a meeting with MGT two weeks ago - the statistics are that 75% of people employed on that site are local people which is fantastic in comparison to other projects of that size and is a really good number.

"So when you get these wildcat strikes on Teesport that bring everything to a close, that is just unhelpful because it flies in the face of the facts on the ground and, on top of that, what does that say to further investors who are going to be bringing and creating jobs for local people?

"It is something that needs to stop because MGT is a very good project that has been supported by a lot of local partners."

A spokesperson from the Unite Union did not comment adding it did not have any involvement in the walkout.

Rail operator Northern is disputing claims by the RMT union that talks aimed at averting more strikes have collapsed.

It is not good news for Christmas shoppers with the union now saying walkouts will definitely go ahead on

The long-running row is over plans to change the way trains are staffed.

Image source, Getty Images

British academic Matthew Hedges said he was drugged by the Emirati authorities and forced to stand "all day" in ankle cuffs.