Man, 72, denies sex assaults: A pensioner carried out a string of sex attacks on a 13-year-old girl after spotting her taking a short cut through his garden, a court heard.

Raymond Herron, 72, of Redcourts, Brandon, County Durham, continued his campaign of abuse for a year after the girl offered to run errands for him, it was alleged at Newcastle Crown Court. The court was told the girl eventually told a school nurse. Mr Herron admitted hugging the girl, but denies three charges of indecent assault.

The trial continues.

Man named: A 27-year-old man who died after a suspected heroin overdose has been named as David Messruther, of Valley Bridge Parade, Scarborough. He was found in his flat and died in hospital. The North Yorkshire East Coroner, Michael Oakley has been informed.

Case adjourned: A 16-year-old boy appeared before magistrates in Hartlepool yesterday charged with four cases of indecent assault and one charge of attempted robbery. The youth, who cannot be named for legal reasons, appeared in court with his mother and father. The case has been adjourned until August 1.

Rape claim charge:

A teenager has appeared in court accused of making a statement in support of a false allegation of rape.

The 16-year-old, who cannot be named, is said to have backed up a claim made by another woman to police in Sunderland,on January 31. She denied a charge of perverting the course of justice at Newcastle

Crown Court, yesterday, and will appear again on July 30.

Lofts blaze: Sixty prize- winning racing pigeons have died in a fire which gutted two lofts on an allotment at the Abbey Plain, Whitby. John Douglas and his son, John, said they had lost 23 years' work. The fire is thought to have been caused by a gas-powered cooker nearby exploding.

Hopes dashed: Hopes of getting Whitby Abbey and headland designated as a World Heritage Site have been dashed. The town's MP, Lawrie Quinn, has been told by David Fraser, regional director of English Heritage, that there is not a strong case for adding Whitby Abbey and Whitby to a tentative list. He said Monkwearmouth and Jarrow were on the list because they had more evidence of the early medieval period.There were also better-preserved sites such as Durham and Fountains Abbey, North Yorkshire.

Keeping power: Labour has retained control of City of York Council for at least another ten months, after a motion of confidence in the ruling group was approved by four votes. The Conservative group, which voted with Labour, said the public should decide who runs the city at next May's full council elections.

Found safe: A 35-year-old South African man, who had been reported missing by his landlord at Ampleforth College, North Yorkshire, was found safe and well yesterday. Chris Fisher was found in the nearby village of Gilling