LOOKING back to the week that was June 10 to 16, five years ago...
A FIRE which ripped through a derelict hotel and country club was being investigated as arson, in June 2019.
The blaze at the former Marton Hotel, on Stokesley Road, Middlesbrough, which broke out just before 7pm on Thursday, June 13, 2019 was being treated as suspicious, Cleveland Fire Brigade confirmed.
Read more: Darlington metal detectorist unearths one of the UK's oldest football whistles
Twelve fire engines were called to the scene and crews battled the huge blaze, with plumes of smoke which could be seen for miles around, all through the night.
About 30 neighbouring homes on both Stokesley Road and The Grove were evacuated.
Two engines and an aerial rescue pump remained at the scene the following morning to dampen down and ensure no gas pipes were ruptured.
Structural engineers were also on site to pull down some potentially dangerous parts of the damaged building.
A Cleveland Fire Brigade spokesman said: “The cause of the fire is believed to be deliberate and police are investigating.”
He said that firefighters had been helped in tackling the blaze by police, ambulance crews, the water authority, gas board and an environmental protection unit.
A rare copy of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s stone, signed by members of the cast including Daniel Radcliffe’s very first autograph, was to be sold at auction.
The hardback copy belonged to 33-year-old Verity Collins, who gathered the signatures as an extra during the filming of the Philosopher’s stone in Goathland, North Yorkshire.
Verity, who was a teenager at the time, was receiving treatment for leukaemia while playing an extra.
Her mother, Valerie Rudd, who was selling the book on Verity’s behalf, said: “She loved her time there. We would have even paid for her to be an extra. She was a big fan of the books.
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“When Verity was 13 she was spending lots of time in the hospital and she’d read the books while she was there.
“So when we found out they were advertising for extras for the film we applied straight away, and even though she was having her treatment she was allowed to do it.”
Verity received many of the cast members' autographs, including from Harry Potter himself after seeing him sitting alone on set.
Ms Rudd said: “She was about 15 at the time and he would have been about 11. She was with a group of extras, saw Daniel Radcliffe sitting by himself and felt sorry for him so she went and talked to him.
“She had a book with her so she asked him to sign it. He wrote ‘best wishes’ and signed it. He said it was the first time anyone had asked him for an autograph.”
Read next:
- Blast from the past: Five parts of Darlington that changed between 2012 and 2022
- Small-scale reconstruction of D-Day landings to be staged on North East beach
- Unique County Durham sport which saw huge crowds before last venue closed in 2019
An Army veteran from Catterick Garrison was gearing up to represent her country in the 2019 US Warrior Games – a competition designed for wounded, injured and sick military personnel and veterans.
Emma Templeton was a Captain in the 5 Armoured Medical Regt when she was medically retired due to mental health problems related to her time spent in Afghanistan with Operation Herrick 17.
She said: “Help for Heroes has had a huge impact on my life. I’ve attended courses held at Phoenix House Recovery Centre and received support from the Hidden Wounds team that have made me realise I am not alone in my recovery."
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