Latest news with #Teeside
The Sun
15-05-2025
- The Sun
Brit teen Bella Culley was ‘visibly shaken' to learn she faced life in jail… as new details of drugs arrest emerge
THE British teenager arrested on suspicion of smuggling drugs was reportedly visibly shaken when she learned she faced life in jail. Bella Culley's lawyer has described the teen's emotional state for the first time after meeting with her dad and aunt. 10 10 10 10 Bella, 18, faces life in jail after she was arrested at Tbilisi airport for allegedly entering the country with 34 bags of marijuana hidden in her luggage. The teen's lawyer, la Todua, told The Sun that Bella was shocked at the news and said that she "didn't know what she was doing". Ms Todua said: 'When I explained to her the consequences - that she could be sentenced to 15-20 years in prison or life - she was visibly shaken. 'My impression was that she ended up in Georgia without even knowing what she was doing. 'I got the impression she wasn't expecting those consequences." The lawyer revealed that Bella had yet to explain to her own legal team how or why she came to be in Georgia with the huge stash of drugs. Ms Todua said: 'She has not explained anything to me about the drugs - there will be a more detailed discussion about this later. 'This means that I have been unable to explain anything to her father.' The teen from Teeside stunned her family further when she announced that she was pregnant at her first court appearance on Wednesday. Ms Todua said: 'She was emotional - she announced in court that she was pregnant and one of the first things that will be done now is a medical check-up. "The pregnancy will be investigated." Bella has now submitted a formal request for her dad Niel and aunt Kerrie to be allowed to visit her in prison - which could take up to five working days to be processed. Ms Todua said: 'The visit could happen as soon as tomorrow but could be as late as next Wednesday, protocols have to be followed. 'Bella has written a letter to the authorities asking them to allow her father to visit, but they have not yet responded. 'They might respond tomorrow so he can go in, but they have up to five days to respond. "Bella has the right to demand a short term visit from her family of up to one hour. 'They would meet in a room, there would be no glass separating them.' Bella's dad and aunt were seen leaving the lawyer's looking upset and were being supported by UK embassy staff. But the lawyer assured that the pair had remained 'calm' throughout the ordeal. The lawyer also revealed that Bella had been assigned a young English-speaking foreign cellmate while on remand but declined to say what offence they had allegedly committed. Bella reportedly entered the Georgian capital on a flight from Thailand via Sharjah in the UAE, according to Ms Todua. The teen reportedly hid the weighty cannabis and hashish stash in separate packets crammed into her hold bag. 10 Bella now faces between ten years and life for suspected drug smuggling. But her distraught family are convinced she was led astray. Bella previously told loved ones she was meeting a man in the Philippines, sparking a police hunt for the mystery man. Bella's social media showed her clearly in the company of a male stranger on her travels - but he was never clearly pictured or named. Her granddad William Culley, 80, confirmed yesterday that while she appears to have spent most of March in Thailand she also spent time in the Philippines with a man called 'Ross or Russ'. Mr Culley said: "She went to the Philippines to see somebody, a lad there, who she used to go out with a couple of years ago, who was working out there. "She said, 'I'm going on my own, but I'm meeting Ross out there. Or Russ, I'm not sure what his name is. "He was working out there for his father's company or something - but now I wonder if what she told me was true." Video clips and snaps shared on social media show the teen holding onto a man as she rides pillion on a scooter and another shows her smoking a cannabis spliff. Another on TikTok shows her joking about 'Bonnie and Clyde' crimes and is captioned: 'Don't care if we on the run baby as long as I'm next to u.' But Bella's male companion's face never appears in the posts and he is never tagged. Family members said yesterday that she went on to meet a group of young men from the north west of England in Thailand before she was reported missing on Saturday. Her family raised the alarm, sparking a frantic search which ended in Bella's shocking arrest in Tbilisi. Bella's dad - who lives in Vietnam - even travelled to Thailand to help look for her. Her dad has now travelled to Tbilisi to try to see Bella, as he told how he is suffering "every parent's worst nightmare". Bella appeared in court in the Georgian capital after being detained by cops who are believed to have acted on a tip-off. Local sources said a border check revealed '34 hermetically sealed packages containing marijuana were found in the passenger's bag, as well as 20 packages of hashish'. The teen faces charges of illegally purchasing and storing narcotics, illegally purchasing and storing the narcotic drug marijuana, and illegally importing it into Georgia and is due back in court on July 1. Unexplained records have also emerged revealing Bella's apparent business links to the Far East - with her listed as the director of at least two companies with Chinese ties. Bella's cousin took to Facebook yesterday to make a statement. She wrote: "No parents ever want to find themselves in this situation, and they are going through the worst time of their lives right now and are at the start of an extremely difficult journey. "Speculation and rumours are making it harder to navigate through this nightmare." 10
Yahoo
15-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
🎥 OTD: David James plays up front for Manchester City 😱
Few things in football are as bizarre, or as entertaining, as a goalkeeper playing up front. That is exactly what happened when Manchester City faced Middlesbrough on the final day of the 2004/05 season. Exactly 20 years ago today, City faced the Teeside outfit with both sides in contention for the final UEFA Cup spot. The game was all square late in the second half following goals from Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink and Kizito Musampa. City were in desperate need of a second goal, and with six minutes remaining, then-manager Stuart Pearce made one of the boldest substitutions the game has ever seen. He took off Claudio Reyna and brought on substitute goalkeeper Nicky Weaver, pushing David James, who had played the entire match in goal, up front. 20 years ago today, David James became a striker for Manchester City. 😂 — City Xtra (@City_Xtra) May 14, 2025 Chaos ensued in the closing stages, with Robbie Fowler missing a last-gasp penalty for City, and Middlesbrough ultimately securing European qualification, as a point proved enough for the visitors. 📸 Julian Finney - 2005 Getty Images
The Sun
13-05-2025
- The Sun
Brit tourist, 18, missing for 4 days in Thailand after her phone went dead as mum issues desperate plea for help
A BRIT teen has been missing in Thailand for four days - with her family now issuing a desperate plea for help. Bella May Culley, 18, from Teeside, has not contacted anyone since Saturday - despite usually flooding her family with texts. 5 5 5 Mum Lyanne Kennedy, 44, is worried sick about the Billingham teen - and says her mind is racing. She told The Sun: 'Bella showed her dad an itinerary that said she should arrive back in Manchester on Saturday - but there's no sign of her. "We're really concerned. This is completely out of character." Bella has just finished an access course at Middlesbrough College and hopes to become a nurse - but first wanted to go travelling. Lyanne said: "Her dad lives in Vietnam, so she's always wanted to see Asia. She loves all the touristy stuff, like releasing turtles." She flew out to the Philippines with a friend - and Thailand wasn't even on the agenda to begin with. But when her pal went to Ibiza, Bella decided to split off because "she doesn't drink that much and isn't really into the party lifestyle". Instead, she travelled on to Thailand around May 3. Lyanne said: "I really didn't want her to go to Thailand. I begged her to come home. I don't trust some of the boys over there. "But she wanted to meet up with some friends she made over there on a previous trip. I don't know who any of them are." Brit tourist, 44, missing after going on freediving trip in Philippines amid fears he was swept away by brutal currents No one has spoken to Bella since Friday, but she sent her mum a message on the Saturday promising to video call. Lyanne said: "I noticed on Saturday evening that she hadn't called as she promised. "On Sunday, I sent a message to her WhatsApp - and could see that her phone wasn't receiving it. The messages still aren't getting through. 'Even if she's lost her phone, she'd remember one of our numbers and call - and you can log into your social media on anyone's phone these days." Bella's dad Neil lives in Vietnam, so he rushed to Bangkok this morning to look for his daughter. 5 He went straight to the police station, and they told him to contact the immigration bureau to figure out where Bella was last staying. Lyanne said: 'When she stopped answering messages I assumed it was because she was flying back to surprise me. But then nothing." The family got in touch with the airline, who revealed that Bella had made a request for a ticket but the payment never went through. Lyanne added: 'We think she was last near Pattaya, and was supposed to fly back from Bangkok via Frankfurt according to the itinerary." "But I never heard anything about picking her up." The distraught mum put out an urgent appeal on Facebook, which has been shared hundreds of times. A spokesperson for Cleveland Police said: "We have received a report of a missing person who may be in Thailand. Enquiries are ongoing locally and with other agencies to establish the circumstances. "We would appeal for anyone with information on the whereabouts of 18-year-old Bella Culley to contact Cleveland Police on the 101 number quoting ref 084859."
Irish Independent
11-05-2025
- Business
- Irish Independent
Investors might get 90pc back, says Solar 21 in update, after UK gives development consent to energy project
But 'considerable work' is needed to bring it to the point where project rights can be sold, the company's update warned. The new update projection comes as the long-time auditors of the four main Solar 21 fundraising companies resigned from each of them. They noted there were no matters with the resignations that needed brought to the attention of creditors. Solar 21 management issued the new update on the back of achieving development consent from the British government in March for the proposed project. There was no estimate for returns to investors in Solar 21's Teeside scheme At the time, it promised to provide an estimate of returns within days, but this was delayed. 'There is understandable and legitimate pressure from brokers and investors to publish the number quickly,' it said subsequently, blaming the workload around asset sales for the delay. In its latest update to investors, the investment firm has now said that EY had placed a potential 'lower-end' valuation of £235m for a 'project rights sale' of NLGEPL. Based on this figure, Solar 21 now had a 'current internal estimate' that investors may recover approximately 90pc of the initial investment. The update did not give any estimate for returns to investors with money in Solar 21's Teeside scheme that is not covered by the High Court plan. In its last update report at the end of March, consultant Alvarez & Marsal, which is supervising Solar 21's High Court-approved restructuring scheme, said that it had not been engaged by Solar 21 to assist with the new analysis of investor returns, so as 'to reduce professional costs'.
