A CONVICTED child abuser was among some of the people who featured in The Northern Echo after they were dealt with at Teesside Crown Court.

Nigel Lodge was caught inciting a young teenager to engage in sexual activity, attempting to incite a teenager to engage in sexual activity as well as breaching the terms of his sexual harm prevention order (SHPO).

The 58-year-old, pictured below, was jailed in 2018 after sending indecent messages and videos to a 13-year-old schoolgirl, while living in Darlington, before communicating with what he believed was another young girl while he was on police bail.

The Northern Echo: Nigel LodgeNigel Lodge

Lodge, of Portrack Lane, Stockton, pleaded guilty to the three offences from last month and will discover his sentence next month.

In another case, a haul of heroin, worth an estimated £35,000, was recovered from a house in Stockton after Cleveland Police raided the property in November 2017.

Lewis Hammond and two others were inside the house when more than a kilogramme of heroin, split into different weight categories, was recovered from the house on Tithe Barn Road.

Teesside Crown Court heard how the other two co-accused where cleared of any involvement in the supplying of drugs with Hammond being the only person to plead guilty.

Hammond, pictured below, of Etherley Walk, Stockton, was jailed for four years and ten months.

The Northern Echo: Lewis HammondLewis Hammond

A fraudster who stole his wife's company credit card to help fund his drug habit and online shopping has narrowly avoided being sent to prison.

Paul Cook used his IT skills to hack into his estranged wife's work computer system at Cummins, based in Darlington, pictured below, to use the credit card he had stolen out of her handbag after his life 'spiralled out of control'.

The Northern Echo: Paul Cook stole his wife's work bank cardPaul Cook stole his wife's work bank card

The 32-year-old spent more than £5,500 in a four-day spending spree last year whilst he was in the grip of his drug addiction Cook, of Prior Court, Billingham, was sentenced to 12 months in custody, suspended for two years and ordered to pay £2,400 in compensation to the engine manufacturing company after pleading guilty to fraud.

A KNIFE-wielding robber grabbed a hand full of cash from a shop's till after threatening the owner despite being a regular customer.

Paul Smith, pictured below, entered the shop on Brenda Road, Hartlepool, with his hood up and lower half of his faced covered before buying some sweets and making his audacious grab for the money.

The Northern Echo: Paul Smith jailed for robbing newsagentsPaul Smith jailed for robbing newsagents

CCTV showed the 33-year-old lunge over the counter towards the diminutive shop owner with a knife in his hand before running away for between £30 and £40.

Smith, of Windermere Road, Hartlepool, pleaded guilty to robbery and possession of a bladed article.

Judge Paul Watson QC, the Recorder of Middlesbrough, jailed Smith for four and a half years and a consecutive six months sentence for breaching a community order.