POLICE have recovered £40,000 worth of drugs in a house raid.

Uniformed officers and the Wallsend Tactical Action Group, set up recently to tackle problems in the area, responded to intelligence to raid the house in Wansbeck Road, Dudley, North Tyneside, on Saturday morning. In a rear bedroom, they found a cannabis farm containing special watering and lighting equipment along with 41 mature cannabis plants and several seedlings, with an estimated street value of £40,000. A man and a woman were arrested at the property and are helping police with their inquiries.

PLAN REJECTED: A planning application to build a two-storey block of 12 flats on the site of the Save garage on Bensham Road, Gateshead, has been refused by Gateshead Borough Council. The decision was reached after an 81-name petition was submitted and councillors visited the site.

BEDROOM FIRE: Fire-fighters were called to a two-storey semi-detached bungalow at Park Avenue, Roker, Sunderland, just after 11pm on Friday to a report of a bedroom alight. The blaze was extinguished by the property's 94-year-old occupier, and she and her 50-year-old nephew, who also lives there, were taken to hospital suffering from smoke inhalation. A mattress was destroyed.

SCHOOL ACCOLADE: St Godric's RC School, in Thornley, east Durham, has been given an Investors in People award. It was given after assessors highlighted staff development work following a visit last month.

RESCUE MONEY: Teesdale and Weardale Search and Rescue team raised £748 through a collection in Durham city In December.

FLAT FIRE: Firefighters were called to Carley Road, Southwick, Sunderland, at about 2.30pm on Saturday to a blaze in a boarded-up first floor flat. Damage was caused to three rooms in the flat, part of a two-storey building.

MEN ATTACKED: Police are appealing for information about an attacker after an assault on two young men in Front Street, Consett, at about 2am on Saturday, December 7. Both victims needed stitches. The attacker, who was accompanied by two men not thought to have been involved, was described as white, in his early 20s, between 5ft 9in and 5ft 11in, of slim build and with very short dark hair. He wore a cream top, cream tracksuit trousers and black and white trainers.

BIRD AID: Families are invited to attend a special workshop to help birds get through the winter months. The event will be held at Millfield House, Jesmond Dene, Newcastle, on Sunday. The two-hour session, starting at 1.30pm, will teach people how to feed birds in their gardens. For more details, ring 0191-281 0973.