FIVE years ago this week, a cage fighter's soft side had been revealed after he turned one of his biggest competitions into a fundraising event to send a boy with a muscle wasting disease on a dream holiday.
The Northern Echo’s report on the cage fighter fundraiser
Michael Hodgson wanted to use his next big event to raise money so, at the time, five-year-old Ryan Bennett and his family, from Bishop Auckland, could go to Disneyland in Florida that summer.
Ryan, a pupil at Cockton Hill Infants School, in Bishop Auckland, had Duchenne muscular dystrophy.
The genetic condition meant his muscles couldn't heal themselves and would grow weaker over time, eventually he would need a wheelchair and the disease would probably shorten his life.
After he was diagnosed with the condition in August 2014, a campaign was launched in his home town to give him, sister Amy, ten, and parents Alan Bennett, 30, and Rebecca Daniel, 29, the trip of a lifetime.
The cash crusade was kick-started in The Aclet pub but when fundraising stalled and organisers appealed for help Mr Hodgson, of West Auckland, decided to get involved.
When he learnt about Ryan he decided to take supporters up on their offer to sponsor him when he fought for a Machine MMA British title at Stanley Civic Hall, formerly The Lamplight Arts Centre, in Stanley, County Durham.
The money was to be donated to the family's holiday fund along with a donation from friend Richard Bowser's business The Bronzing Boutique and proceeds of a family fun day to be held at The March Hare.
Also that week, a horror road crash which left a woman paralysed after a "rubber-necking" driver ploughed into the back of her was being highlighted by police to show the dangers of distraction.
The aftermath of the two crashes on the A19 in March 2015
The Northern Echo’s report on the crash
Probation worker Marilyn McKnight, 60, was left paralysed in all four limbs and torso after her car was hit from behind by 44-year-old Craig Harding's VW Polo on the A19 - Mother's Day.
Mr Harding was distracted by another crash on the opposite side of the road, losing concentration for just one-and-a-half to two seconds.
The National Police Chief's Council launched a week-long campaign aiming to raise awareness of the dangers of using mobile phones or being distracted at the wheel.
Meanwhile, North-East devolution took a significant step closer to becoming reality when leaders of six councils decided to back plans for a directly elected mayor.
North East Combined Authority Leadership Board meeting at the time
The Northern Echo’s report on the devolution deal
The only dissenting vote was from Gateshead Council, but its outgoing leader Cllr Mick Henry pledged to keep open dialogue with Government and has not closed the door on the deal.
The decision by the North East Combined Authority (Neca) Leadership Board, meeting at Durham County Hall, followed detailed negotiations with Whitehall and paved the way for election of the region's first mayor in May 2017.
Neca chairman Cllr Simon Henig said: “We feel that we are now in a position to move to the next stage."
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