AN unoccupied pub in Middlesbrough has been targeted by arsonists again. Firefighters said in March they were worried that The Fleece, in Feversham Street, St Hilda's, was becoming a magnet for young vandals after a blaze ripped through the building. On Sunday, four fire engines attended the property just before 10pm after it was set alight again. The blaze caused fire, heat and smoke damage to the pub.

ENDEAVOUR HELP: Endeavour Housing Association has donated £100 towards the programme for a concert at Middlesbrough Theatre to raise money for the mental health support group, New Horizons. The event, on Saturday, June 1, will feature Felling Male Voice Choir and the Ever Ready Brass Ensemble.

PRIZE WINNER: Rachel Grandey, 13, of Thornton, Middlesbrough, has won the top prize in a national writing competition. The teenager, a pupil at Acklam Grange School, was praised by judges for her "taut and powerful writing".

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED: The Cancer Research UK shop in Redcar High Street is in need of volunteers who can help stock the shop on Wednesdays from 6pm to 9pm. Anyone interested is asked to visit the shop or call manager Jackie Goldsborough on (01642) 498539.

HEARING CLUB: John Herring will be giving a talk about local ghosts to members of Guisborough Hard of Hearing Club when it meets in Helmsley House, off Wilton Lane, Guisborough, on Wednesday, from 10am to noon.

ANNUAL MEETING: Redcar Ladies' Lifeboat Guild will hold its annual meeting in the Claxton Hotel, in Redcar, at 7pm, tomorrow.

CACTUS SALE: The Teesside branch of the British Cactus and Succulent Society will meet tomorrow for a bring and buy plant sale. The event, at the Settlement Community Centre, St Paul's Road, Middlesbrough, starts at 7pm. Admission is free.

LIFT RESCUE: Firefighters freed two people trapped in a lift at a block of flats in Kennedy Gardens, Billingham, just before 1pm yesterday.

POLICE PLAN: Cleveland Police's best value performance plan and policing plan for 2002-2003 can now be downloaded from the force's website at www.cleveland.police.uk