POLICE and Gateshead Council chiefs are to discuss problems caused by a lane closure.

The council has been criticised for shutting a lane leading from Orchard Road to School Lane, in Whickham, which was used as a shortcut by drivers. Residents have complained that the closure has created traffic congestion.

PECS APPEAL: The most perfect pecs will be judged at a bodybuilding contest in Durham. The Mr and Miss City of Durham Body Building Show takes place on Saturday, April 27, at Meadowfield Leisure Centre. Judging begins at 11am and the evening show and prizegiving will start at 7pm, when competitors go through their routines. For details ring 0191-378 9888.

DEFENCE TRAINING: An announcement is expected soon on the introduction of self-defence classes for women at Ormesby Sports Complex, Middlesbrough. The base, in Stockwith Close, Netherfields, already offers five disciplines for a range of age groups, from tae kwon do to kick boxing for six to 16-year-olds. For details, ring (01642) 466866 after 5pm, weekdays.

MUSICAL EVENT: Radio station Galaxy 105-106 and the Prince's Trust have teamed up to stage one of the biggest music events in the North-East. To launch the concert and announce the first three acts on the bill, hundreds of balloons will be released at Gateshead Stadium at 11.30am today. Tickets for the concert, at the stadium on June 29, go on sale tomorrow.

FREE RENT: Student James Baxter, of Newcastle University, has won a national competition to live rent-free. Micro-electronics student James, 18, and his three housemates were chosen as the winners of the competition, run by virgin.com's Big Red House website. People were asked to vote for which ten of the competition's entrants should have their rent paid for a year.

PRISONS CRISIS: Youth detention has reached crisis point after the number of young offenders receiving Detention and Training Orders rocketed. Castington Young Offenders' Institution, Northumberland, is one of those under pressure. Chairman of the Youth Justice Board Lord Warner has asked courts to consider community sentences instead of detention orders to ease the problem.

PATIENTS' GROUP: The North-East Kidney Patients' Association will be holding its annual meeting at the James Cook University Hospital, Middlesbrough, on Thursday, May 9, at 8.15pm. The meeting is open to members, and people who are, or are about to become, kidney patients.

NEW VOICE: More than 500 residents have been recruited on to Middlesbrough's Voiceover Citizens' Panel - the council's sounding board - to replace those members who have either been on the panel since it began in 1999, or who have not answered questions about policy ideas.

TONER DONOR: The British Lung Foundation is looking for people willing to donate used computer toner cartridges. The charity recycles them and the money raised will support people with a lung condition and fund research. For details, call 0191-263 0276.

ROCK LESSONS: A five-week evening course on the geological history of the North York Moors is being held at Prior Pursglove College, Guisborough, east Cleveland, from April 17. Details are available by telephoning (01287) 280800.

ABSEIL CHALLENGE: Volunteers are needed to take part in an abseil from the Tyne Bridge, in Newcastle, on Sunday, April 21, for the Hearing Dogs for Deaf People charity. Ring (01661) 832225 for details.