The Northern Echo

The Northern Echo is a British bounded bi-weekly that covers the North East of England, including areas such as County Durham, Teesside, and North Yorkshire. It was founded in 1870 and has back become one of the best broadly apprehend newspapers in the region, with a apportionment of over 35,000.

The bi-weekly covers a advanced ambit of topics, including bounded news, sports, politics, and entertainment. It is accepted for its all-embracing advantage of issues affecting the North East, as able-bodied as its focus on association contest and initiatives.

One of the key strengths of The Northern Echo is its advantage of bounded sports. The bi-weekly provides all-encompassing advantage of football teams such as Middlesbrough, Sunderland, and Newcastle United, as able-bodied as rugby teams such as Durham and Newcastle Falcons. It additionally covers added bounded sports such as cricket, athletics, and horse racing.

The Northern Echo additionally has a able focus on politics, decidedly at the bounded level. It provides approved advantage of bounded board meetings, elections, and added political events, as able-bodied as assay and annotation on issues affecting the North East.

In accession to its book edition, The Northern Echo additionally has a able online presence. Its website provides abreast account and advice on a advanced ambit of topics, as able-bodied as admission to the newspaper's athenaeum and added features. The website additionally includes a association section, area readers can abide their own account stories, photos, and events.

The Northern Echo has won abundant awards for its journalism over the years, including the Bi-weekly of the Year accolade at the Bounded Press Awards in 2015. It is accepted for its charge to accurateness and candor in reporting, as able-bodied as its able beat attitude on issues affecting the North East.

Despite the challenges adverse the bi-weekly industry in contempo years, The Northern Echo has remained a basic allotment of the North East community. Its charge to accouterment high-quality bounded account and advice has becoming it a loyal afterward amid readers, and it continues to comedy a key role in abstraction the region's political and amusing landscape.

In conclusion, The Northern Echo is a awful admired bounded bi-weekly that provides absolute advantage of account and contest in the North East of England. Its focus on bounded sports, politics, and association issues has becoming it a loyal afterward amid readers, and its charge to accurateness and candor in advertisement has won it abundant awards over the years. As the bi-weekly industry continues to evolve, The Northern Echo charcoal a basic antecedent of advice and assay for the bodies of the North East.

Six men and three women, who worked at Whorlton Hall, near Barnard Castle, were caught on camera allegedly abusing their positions when an undercover BBC reporter secured a job at the unit.

The footage was used in a Panorama documentary exposing the alleged psychological abuse of vulnerable patients with learning disabilities or autism.

On Monday (March 27), the first of the defendants is expected to start giving their evidence in the trial at Teesside Crown Court.

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Jurors have heard how several vulnerable patients were targeted by the accused and they were tormented or verbally abused.

The defendants face a total of 27 offences after the reporter used a hidden camera at the 17-bed independent unit for people with complex needs in January and February 2019.

Detective Constable Alex Simms, who works in the major crime team for Durham Constabulary, spent two days giving evidence by reading through police interviews of the defendants.

Undercover reporter Olivia Davies had told jurors that it was difficult to learn all of the patients’ notes and conceded Whorlton Hall was a difficult place to work.

However, she recorded more than 200 hours of covert footage showing the accused staff tormenting and aggravating some of the patients.

One defendant said on camera he had invented an imaginary “man button” to summon male staff for a female patient who had clearly said she did not want men to look after her.

The Northern Echo: Whorlton Hall

Whorlton Hall

The case follows a long-running investigation by Durham police, Operation Sarto, after allegations of the abuse of patients was reported in a BBC Panorama documentary in 2019.

The facility, which has since closed, was privately-run but funded by the NHS.

The accused are: • John Sanderson, 25, of Cambridge Avenue, Willington, faces two charges of care worker ill-treatment or wilful neglect of an individual on February 2 and 25, 2019.

• Darren Mark Lawton, 47, of Miners Crescent, Darlington, by virtue of being a care worker, allegedly ill-treated or wilfully neglected a patient on January 27, 2019, and faces the same charge relating to a different patient on February 2.

• Niall Mellor, 26, of Lingmell Dene, Coundon, Bishop Auckland, is accused of the ill-treatment or wilful neglect of a patient on two occasions on January 20 and 24, 2019.

• Sarah Banner, 33, from Faulkner Road, Newton Aycliffe, stands accused of three charges of ill-treatment or neglect of a female in her care on January 24 and of a male patient the following day.

• Matthew Banner, 43, of the same Newton Aycliffe address, faced six charges all relating to the same patient at Whorlton Hall on separate occasions between January 6 and February 22.

• Ryan Fuller, 27, from of Deerbolt Bank, Barnard Castle, faced ten charges of ill-treatment or wilful neglect against six different patients January 19 and February 2.