Police are investigating after “racially-aggravated graffiti” was sprayed onto a building which is due to be transformed into a Muslim education centre in Shotton Colliery, near Peterlee. A police spokesman said the graffiti had been sprayed on The Melrose Arms, overnight on Friday February 7. Anyone with information should contact Durham Police on 101.

KITCHEN FIRE: Firefighters were alerted to a fire alarm in the Wordsworth Drive area of Wheatley Hill, near Peterlee, this morning (Monday, February 10). A spokesman for the County Durham and Darlington Fire and Rescue Service said it was small kitchen fire which was extinguished before arrival.

PACT MEETING: A Police and Community Together (Pact) meeting will be held at the Blackhall Resource Centre, in Blackhall, near Peterlee, from 6pm to 7pm on Wednesday, February 12. A representative of the neighbourhood policing team will be in attendance.