A 26-YEAR-OLD man has been arrested following the seizure of amphetamines worth more than £1,000.

The drugs, some cash and a suspected stolen motorbike were recovered in a raid on a house in Hampden Street, South Bank, near Middlesbrough. The man has been arrested on suspicion of possession of drugs with intent to supply.

POLITICS PREACHED: A Cleveland MP will help teach pupils about politics today. Ashok Kumar, Labour MP for Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland, will see democracy in action in a mock election at Freebrough College, in east Cleveland, and will talk to the 13 and 14-year-old pupils about his work. The pupils, based at the college's Loftus site, have formed the yellow, purple and green parties, and their leaders will deliver speeches before a mock vote today.

LIBERAL HERO: Redcar and Cleveland Liberal Democrats will today celebrate the life of William Beveridge, a Liberal who helped create the welfare state. The group has baked a cake to commemorate the publication day of The Beveridge Report on December 1, 1942, and will have a party tonight. The Beveridge Report was the blueprint for the Labour Party's welfare state legislation from 1945 to 1951.

PARTY OFF: The South Tees Cardiac Rehabilitation Team has announced that a patients' Christmas get-together planned for the James Cook University Hospital, Middlesbrough, will not now take place this year due to the imminent re-location of the cardiac rehabilitation gym. Instead, the team would like to wish all of its patients a happy Christmas and a healthy New Year.

EXTRA SERVICE: Reflective music, including sounds from Taize, France, will feature in a series of Masses aimed at young adults, at St Thomas More RC Church, Beechwood, Middlesbrough, starting on Sunday, at 6pm. The Masses will be held each Sunday during Advent.

STRONG SUPPORT: Fundraisers who have handed £42,767 to Teesside Hospice over the years, received special thanks this week. The hospice's Stokesley Support Group is celebrating its tenth year.

TOP JOB: A shortlist has been drawn up for the chief executive's post at Middlesbrough borough Council. The final decision will be made next Friday.