A SEAFRONT restaurant manager and his cook risked their lives and jumped into Scarborough Harbour to rescue a drowning man.

Richard Johnson and cook Richard Jones, of The Golden Grid Restaurant, on Sandside, were alerted by calls for help from holidaymakers. Father-of-three Mr Johnson said "We just dived in and managed to grab the man and pull him to the side of the harbour." The unnamed man was taken to Scarborough General Hospital suffering from hypothermia.

FLAT FIRE: Firefighters spent 30 minutes putting out a blaze in a bathroom yesterday. Officers were called to a block of four flats in Chadwick Walk, Gateshead, shortly after 5.30am, to deal with a fire that started in a laundry basket on the first floor. The bathroom was severely damaged and the rest of the building suffered smoke damage. The cause of the fire is under investigation. Smoke alarms were installed in the property, but were not in use at the time.

SOAP SOCCER: Soap stars from Emmerdale are taking part in a celebrity football match to raise money for the Butterwick Children's Hospice appeal. The five-a-side challenge takes place at the Meadowfield Leisure Centre, Durham, on Sunday, between 10am and 4pm. On Saturday, there will be a charity folk cabaret night at The Ladle, Middlesbrough, in aid of the hospice and Macmillan Cancer Research.

SHOPPING BONANZA: The new Dalton Park outlet shopping site, in east Durham, continues to attract customers. Figures show that 150,000 people visited in the first ten days of trading, during April, at the outlet, on the former Murton Colliery site. The trend has continued in May, with 23,000 visitors over the Spring Bank Holiday weekend.

ROYAL REPORT: Broadcaster Jennie Bond will give an insight into her role as the BBC's Royal Correspondent for the past 14 years at Durham's Gala Theatre. The one-woman show, featuring a talk and an audience question and answer session, is on Monday, July 7, at 7.30pm. Tickets are £12, with concessions available. To book, call 0191-332 4041.

HEALTH BOOST: More than £7m will be spent on improving community healthcare services for patients in Newcastle and North Tyneside. People in Kenton, Shiremoor, Walker and Brunton Park will be the first to benefit from the programme, which will upgrade more than 25 outdated health centres and facilities.