A second person may be charged in relation to the killing of a dad at a New Year's Eve party.
Barry Self, 38, suffered serious head injuries after attending a party in Gateshead.
Yesterday, Paul Robinson appeared before Newcastle Crown Court charged with murder.
A provisional trial date was set for July although no pleas were entered.
Police found cannabis worth around £500,000 in homes at a Northumberland town over the weekend.
Following tip-offs from members of the public officers from Northumbria Police searched in two houses at Eskdale Avenue and Seventh Avenue, Blyth, and discovered more than 1,000 plants.
Anyone with information on the cannabis farms is asked to contact Blyth CID on 0345 604 3043 ext 61974 or ring the independent charity Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555111.
A row has blown up after a council used money intended to help jobs blackspots to fund a horse show.
Blyth Valley Labour MP Ronnie Campbell (pictured) branded the summer event 'a weekend out for toffs'.
He strongly criticised Northumberland County Council - which is in the midst of making budget cuts totalling £40m over two years - for earmarking £80,000 to stage the high-profile equestrian event.
A new bridge will be built over the River Blyth as part of an ambitious £5m "active travel" project in Northumberland's most heavily-populated area.
The bridge will carry walkers and cyclists across the river under plans to create a major new network of green travel routes, cut car use and promote healthier lifestyles.
It will be built near Humford Mill as part of a £2.3m scheme to improve walking and cycling links between the towns of Bedlington and Cramlington. The new bridge is a key element of a revised package of sustainable travel initiatives, building on £1.35m of Big Lottery funding which was allocated to Northumberland in 2007.
It's not often that people welcome the sight of graffiti in their neighbourhoods. But that was exactly the case in one community - until well-meaning officials wiped out a much-loved piece of urban art.
A 6ft mural of the 1970s comic book character Cerebus the Aardvark had brightened up a bridge near Blyth for nearly three decades until its disappearance last weekend.
Despite its popularity, Northumberland County Council blitzed the colourful design as part of a crackdown on graffiti.
Parking fees levied on drivers visiting Northumberland towns has emerged as the hottest topic in the initial stages of a major review aimed at developing a county-wide parking strategy.
A progress report on the review reveals hundreds of people have made their views known on whether parking fees should be imposed across the whole county - rather than just in selected towns.
More than 560 people have signed three separate petitions calling for an equal policy across the board, with charges being made in all principal towns.
Families in Northumberland have been spared a 25% increase in the cost of having their garden waste collected this year following a revolt by opposition county councillors.
It was planned to put up the annual charge for the service from £20 to £25 in March - to bring in an extra £60,000 and help the county council achieve tough budget savings.
Now the saving will have to be found elsewhere after Conservative and Labour councillors joined forces to defeat the move at a meeting in County Hall on Wednesday.
A second trial starts tomorrow to decide whether shoppers in Morpeth should get another weekly market on a permanent basis.
An initial six-week pilot Friday market was held in Morpeth in October and November last year, prompting anger from councillors in neighbouring Blyth who claimed it would harm trade at that town's established market on the same day.
Now county council bosses are launching a second trial, which will be carefully monitored before a decision is made on whether Morpeth will have both a Wednesday and Friday market.
County Hall officials say a second trial is needed during the quieter months.
Visitors to a Blyth church will now literally see the light after a £5,000 grant helped to pay for the installation of a new, energy-efficient lighting system.
The grant, given by County Durham mining and waste management firm The Banks Group through its Banks Community Fund, covered half the cost of putting in the new lights at the town's St Cuthbert's Church, and matched the amount raised by parishioners for the project.
From left: Ann Pearson (organist), Carol Yearnshaw (Toddler Group organiser), John Ruddick (Banks), Neville Craggs and the Reverend Richard Taylor
The new system is expected to cut the cost of lighting the church by up to 60% and saving several hundred pounds every year.
A community enterprise centre in Northumberland received a grant of nearly £20,000 to help it improve its communications system.
Blyth Community Enterprise Centre, which helps small local businesses, was awarded the grant by the Coalfields Regeneration Trust (CRT) to install a telecommunications system.
Blyth Valley MP Ronnie Campbell said: "News like this is always welcome in Blyth Valley."
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Journal Extra, Northumberland's free weekly, is inside copies of The Journal across the county every Thursday, and can also be picked up from these locations around Blyth »
"Very nice, but a railway station at Bebside and/or Newsham would be of more use and of greater value..."
"It is a fact that the outgoing Labour council left a financial black-hole that can only be filled by..."
"Councillor Watson appears to betrying to build an empire, just like he and his Labour Councillors di..."
"Hello, So if the ferry plan has been "sunk" how is the Cambois and North Blyth villages going to ben..."
"So if Mr Campbell didnt say anything then would you be happy? At least he is trying!!! You must lead..."
"Here we go again with Colin Brown acting like the Anti-Christ. BLAH BLAH BLAH, Mr Campbell is trying..."
"It is now getting boring, do people not yet realise, Ronnie is again blaming the County Council for ..."
"Again ex-Labour Councillors are complaining about lack of funds, but surely if they had left Northum..."
"I have complained to Northumberland County Council since early September about the appalling roadwor..."
"It is fantastic to hear that Mr Campbell is going to do what he should have done since he was first ..."