Tyne Theatre break-in will hurt charity, says CEO
Mr Higgins said the damage could not be fixed quickly and easily due to the building being listed."The bottom line is that the charity will suffer as a result of this," he said."It's not like just chucking a bit of glass in your house, it has got to be the right stuff which makes it expensive."Any insurance claim we make has a direct effect on our premiums, so the small charity is faced with difficult decisions of making a claim or the charity has to spend its hard-earned and donated money by an act of depravity."
Significant damage was caused to the cafe, which opened last December and is named after the date the theatre originally opened.Hundreds of pounds worth of stock was also stolen from its bar.Mr Higgins said a rock had been used to break through the main glass window.He said a "significant amount of blood" had been left inside and so remaining drink stock had to be thrown out due to contamination.
The theatre's box office also had to close but its other bars and foyer box office are still open."We are a charity and we are only here to preserve and develop this Grade I listed heritage theatre for the good of Newcastle and the surrounding communities," Mr Higgins said. The building, which has welcomed the likes of Tom Allen, Julian Clary and Sara Millican to its stage, was funded by Victorian industrialist Joseph Cowen who envisaged a "theatre for the people".
During much of the 20th Century it operated as a cinema called the Stoll Picture Theatre, which closed in 1974.It reopened as a theatre in 1983 but was plagued by financial troubles.In 2008 it was purchased by Newcastle City Council, which transferred the freehold ownership to the Tyne Theatre and Opera House Preservation Trust.Mr Higgins said staff were "thankful for all the messages of support" the theatre had received. "We are also so touched that the theatre really sits in the heart of Geordies and the wider community."
Follow BBC North East on X, Facebook, Nextdoor and Instagram.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Independent
26 minutes ago
- The Independent
Driver who killed mother and daughter on Boxing Day was ‘racing' at up to 84mph
A driver who killed a mother and her daughter in a head-on Boxing Day crash had been 'racing' with another car at up to 84mph in a 30mph zone, a court has heard. Mohammed Ibrahim, 25, fled the scene after his BMW 420 – travelling 'in convoy' with a BMW X3 – crashed into a quad bike and then hit an MG car containing four generations of the same family. Birmingham Crown Court was told on Wednesday that Amanda Riley, 49, and Linda Philips, 72, both died at the scene despite the efforts of paramedics to save them at the roadside in the Shard End area of the city. Four other family members travelling in the MG suffered injuries, including a fractured sternum, a broken leg requiring surgery and bruising to the lungs. Describing the circumstances of the crash at Ibrahim's sentencing hearing, prosecutor Philip Vollans said the victims were travelling home from family celebrations on the evening of December 26 2023. Before showing video footage to the sentencing judge of Ibrahim's car speeding past a bus towards the crash site on Meadway, at its junction with Kitt's Green Road, Mr Vollans said the driver of the BMW X3 had never been traced. Mr Vollans said of the two BMWs: 'Both cars were speeding, both cars racing each other. 'The defendant was the faster driver of the two.' Estimating that Ibrahim was speeding for at least half a mile before the 'tremendous' impact, reaching 80-84mph, Mr Vollans added that the defendant initially hit a quad bike, which had run a red light, and lost control while in the wrong lane. Ibrahim, of Old College Road, Sheldon, then hit the kerb of the central reservation and crashed into the family's car as it slowed down on the opposite carriageway. The driver's seat of the MG was knocked out of its fixings and it caught fire, leaving its occupants trapped as a member of the public attempted to free them. A witness saw Ibrahim, who was saying 'I need to go', lying on the ground near the driver's side of the BMW before he left the scene. His car was also on fire following the crash, the court heard. The court heard Ibrahim was caught on CCTV at Heartlands Hospital, where he was treated for a leg injury, and he later returned to the scene, where he was arrested but refused a breath test. Mr Vollans added: 'Both cars were completely destroyed as a consequence of this collision.' Three relatives of the victims, including the driver of the car, read victim impact statements to the court, with one describing those killed as having 'died fighting for their lives, lying on a cold roadside, scared and in tremendous pain'. In a statement read into the court record by Mr Vollans, George Philips, the husband of Linda, said: 'Our family are the centre of our world. The aftermath (of the crash) was the complete devastation of my family. 'My wife and daughter had both died. My world fell apart. I felt an immense emptiness.' Amanda and Linda were both hard-working, doted on their families and would help anyone, Mr Philips added. Defence barrister Jasvir Mann, offering mitigation, told the court that Ibrahim has no previous convictions and there was ample evidence, including references, that he had 'led a thoroughly positive life'. Mr Mann said: 'My instructions are that he has no meaningful memory of that day.' The actions of the quad bike rider, who also left the scene and has never been identified, had contributed to what happened, Mr Mann added. Ibrahim pleaded guilty earlier this year to two counts of causing death by dangerous driving and three counts of causing serious injury by dangerous driving. The defendant is due to be sentenced by Judge Paul Farrer KC later on Wednesday.
The Independent
26 minutes ago
- The Independent
Stella Creasy thanks passengers for intervening as she was ‘hassled' by man on London Underground
A female Labour MP has thanked London Underground passengers for rushing to her defence as she was hassled by a man. Stella Creasy was on the Victoria Line when she began to be harassed by the male passenger in an incident she is planning to report to the police. In a post on X, formerly Twitter, the Walthamstow MP said: 'If you were one of the passengers on the victoria line just now who intervened to stop a man hassling me thank you from the bottom of my heart. 'Please get in touch with my office if you are prepared to be a witness as maybe the police might listen to you about him now!' The Independent contacted Ms Creasy to ask for more details. TFL was contacted for comment. Ms Creasy has been repeatedly targeted with abuse, lashing out last year at the crusade of harassment launched against her by anti-abortion activists, an issue on which she has campaigned. In a moving interview with The Independent, Ms Creasy said she was facing 'a bonfire of abuse' from anti-abortion ideologues on social media in punishment for campaigning on abortion rights. And in 2013, a man was arrested after launching a torrent of violent abuse on social media at Ms Creasy. Peter Nunn, a blogger from Bristol, was sentenced to 18 weeks imprisonment in September 2014 for sending messages to Ms Creasy calling her a witch and retweeting rape threats. She and other feminist campaigners were harassed after expressing support for the image of author Jane Austen to be placed on a banknote. After the incident, Ms Creasy was forced to have a panic button installed in her home. Ms Creasy's latest incident comes months after a cross-party inquiry warned that democracy is being undermined by the scale of abuse, threats and intimidation facing MPs. A survey by the Speaker's Conference revealed about half of MPs said threatening behaviour had caused anxiety or depression (49 per cent), with a similar share feeling unsafe as a result (52 per cent). The inquiry concluded that electoral law is 'not fit for purpose' in relation to tackling abuse of political candidates in elections and called for a Government review to assess security and electoral integrity. This phase of the Conference was established in 2024 to help ensure that elections to Parliament are conducted freely and fairly, without threats or violence. It also seeks to enable candidates to campaign safely and support elected representatives to do their job securely. Commenting on the findings, Sir Lindsay Hoyle, Commons Speaker and chairman of the Speaker's Conference, said: 'Participating in free and fair democratic processes – as a candidate or a Member of Parliament – is a privilege, and we expect that to come with robust political discourse and debate. 'But abuse, threats and intimidation should never be part of this job. It threatens the health of our democracy, and forces people to choose between the public good and their own safety and wellbeing. 'I am grateful to members, their staff and the witnesses we have heard from to date for sharing their experiences with us and look forward to working with colleagues on the next phase of the Conference's work.'
The Independent
26 minutes ago
- The Independent
£66m returned to APP scam victims in first six months of rules going live
Some £66 million was returned to victims of authorised push payment (APP) scams in the first six months of a new reimbursement scheme going live, according to a regulator's figures. Rules requiring banks to reimburse people who have been tricked into transferring money to a fraudster were launched in October last year. Under the shake-up, banks must reimburse APP fraud victims, unless the customer has been grossly negligent. Figures released by the Payment Systems Regulator (PSR) showed that in the first six months of the new rules, 87% of money lost to APP scams in scope of the policy was returned to victims, equating to £66 million. Consumers reported around 109,000 claims, with 77,000 in scope for reimbursement. Nearly nine in 10 (86%) claims were closed within five business days. In the update on its website, the PSR said: 'The data shows positive outcomes for consumers in the first six months of our policy. 'Reimbursement rates were high, firms responded to claims promptly, and there was no indication of people being significantly less cautious.' Some £27.6 million was reimbursed in the first three months of the new rules, rising to £38.4 million in the following three-month period. A reimbursement limit of £85,000 applies under the rules, although banks can choose to go further than this and repay higher amounts. The new protections apply when a transfer is made to and from a UK bank account. They cover transactions made from October 7 2024 onwards and do not apply retrospectively. Previously, many bank customers relied on a voluntary code to get their money back. Concerns were raised that consumers faced a refund 'lottery'. Criminals will often pose as trusted institutions such as banks, companies or Government departments to persuade people to part with their cash, with scams becoming increasingly sophisticated. They may also use artificial intelligence (AI) and deepfake videos to make scams seem even more plausible. There are various reasons why an APP scam claim is not reimbursable under the policy, for example if it is a civil dispute, the PSR said. Around 3% of claims in the first six months of the new rules were rejected due to the consumer being deemed not to have taken enough caution. This equated to around 1,100 rejections in the first three months of the new rules being launched and 1,700 claims turned down in the following three months.
