PLANNING chiefs have rejected an application for an extension to a bungalow after more than 30 objectors turned up at a site visit.

The proposal, to convert a bungalow in Cat Flatt Lane, Marske, into a dormer bungalow was thrown out on Wednesday after councillors decided the development would be out of character with the area. Helen McLuckie, chairman of Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council's planning committee, said that many nearby residents were opposed to the plan.

Take heart: A big band event in support of the Take Heart support group will take place at Great Ayton Working Men's Club at 7.30pm on Tuesday, May 7. It will feature the New Horizons Orchestra, led by Gene Jarred, with vocalists Joan Evans and John Marshall. With live dance music from 8pm to 11pm 50/50 dancing, and refreshments for £5, tickets are available from the Marske Centre at 69-71 High Street. Ring (01642) 491655 for further details.

Class act: A group of young dancers from Middlesbrough have been chosen to perform at the Playhouse Theatre in Newcastle as part of Northern Lights. The Middlesbrough Youth Dance Group will be at the Playhouse at 7.30pm on Monday. This is the second time they have been selected to appear in Northern Lights and results from their recent highly acclaimed performance with Peter Huggins and the Northern Dance Company at Middlesbrough Theatre.

MASTERED DEGREE: RAF wing commander John Harrison, from Neasham, Darlington, has completed a Master of Philosophy degree in international relations at Cambridge University. The 41-year-old, who joined the air force in 1981, will graduate on May 11. He was educated at Bede High School, in Billingham, before becoming a member of the Stockton Sea Cadets unit, which gave him the taste for a career serving in the armed forces.

CRIME RING: Fifty Nokia mobile telephones and a laptop computer have been stolen from Fleet Factors, on the Skippers Lane industrial estate, near Middlesbrough. Burglars broke in by smashing a first-floor window. Cleveland Police are asking anyone who is offered a cheap mobile telephone to contact them, on (01642) 30196.