Skip to content

Wearside stories you might have missed this week

Getty Images Aerial view of the monument. It is on top of a hill and is made up of 18 large stone columns in a rectangle supporting an ornate triangular roof, although the roof is totally open.Getty Images
A decision on plans for a cafe near Penshaw Monument has been deferred

Women falling ill after being injected with fake Botox, s search for film studio backing and the delayed decision of a cafe near a local landmark.

Here are some stories from Wearside you might have missed this week.

Dogs help uncover illegal cigarettes

Northumbria Police A brown-and-white police dog sitting next to a stack of illegal cigarettes in what looks like an industrial kitchen unit. Northumbria Police
Police used sniffer dogs to uncover many of the items

Thousands of illegal cigarettes and vapes were uncovered with the help of two sniffer dogs.

Hand-rolled tobacco with a value of £25,000 was also seized during a day of raids in Sunderland and Washington.

The items were recovered from spots including a hydraulic lift hidden beneath a CCTV unit and the inside of an electric butchering bone saw.

In total, more than 2,200 cigarettes were found along with 1,000 vapes and 650 pouches of hand-rolled tobacco.

Read more about the action here.

'I nearly died because of fake Botox'

Kaylie Bailey, a woman in her mid 30s with long dark straight hair, a white eye patch over her left eye, sitting on a couch.
Kaylie Bailey contracted botulism after being given illegal Botox

A mum-of-three was left fighting for her life with botulism after she was injected with fake Botox.

Kaylie Bailey, from Peterlee, spent three days on the Intensive Care Unit and said she thought she was going to die.

She had paid Gemma Gray £75 for three "Botox" injections, half of what it had cost on a previous visit.

Mrs Gray, owner of Belissimo Aesthetics in County Durham, has since apologised to her clients for what happened and said how bad she feels that they became ill.

Read the full story here.

Search for film studio backing

4D Studio Architects A CGI of how Crown Works Studios could look once built. A large glass building stands overlooking the River Wear. Next to it are large warehouse-like structures. The nearest one has Studio 7 painted across one of its outer walls. 4D Studio Architects
The £450m studio development is set to be built on the banks of the River Wear

The government is "determined" to support the development of a film studio in Sunderland after a major investor pulled out, Culture secretary Lisa Nandy has pledged.

Nandy told MPs her department was working alongside local leaders as they searched for new funding for the Crown Works Studios project.

Investment firm Cain International, which led the plans in a joint venture with Fulwell Entertainment, has withdrawn from the £450m vision to build a production complex on the banks of the River Wear in Pallion.

Sunderland City Council and the North East Combined Authority say they "remain confident" of securing investment.

Read more about it here.

Treatment centre expansion

South Tyneside and Sunderland NHS Foundation Trust A cataract operation taking place at Sunderland Eye Infirmary. Four medical staff with face masks, scrubs and gloves have surrounded an operating table. One of the clinicians is looking through a machine. South Tyneside and Sunderland NHS Foundation Trust
The new eye hospital in the city centre will open next summer

Sunderland Eye Infirmary's Cataract Treatment Centre (CTC) will expand when the city's new eye hospital opens in 2026.

The CTC will gain a third theatre, which will be brought into use gradually.

Health bosses said the busy service carried out up to 7,000 operations a year and the extra facility would help meet a rising demand.

The new site will replace the eye infirmary building on Queen Alexandra Road, which is almost 80 years old.

Read more about the centre here.

Monument cafe delays

LDRS A swerving path leading up to Penshaw Monument, which resembles a Greek temple with stone pillars. There is a National Trust sign at the bottom of the hill with a map and information about the site.LDRS
The proposed cafe will sit at the foot of Penshaw Hill

Revised plans for a cafe near Grade I-listed Penshaw Monument in Sunderland have been put on hold.

The local authority's planning and highways committee voted to defer a decision on the application to give developers more time to provide additional details.

The proposals had attracted objections, including from the National Trust, which owns the monument.

Applicant Green Property Developments Ltd withdrew plans for a pizza cafe at the same site in June last year after public opposition.

Find out more about the plans here.

Follow BBC North East on X, Facebook, Nextdoor and Instagram.

More stories from BBC North East and Cumbria