45 second pursuit ends in tree collisions

An 18-year-old driver has been charged with a number of offences after leading police on a pursuit through Mayfield in the early hours of Sunday.
 
Highway Patrol Police allegedly saw the vehicle travelling west along Maitland Road at high speed.
 
Inspector Terry Burns says the driver sped off after police attempted to pull him over.

"It [the pursuit] lasted about 45 seconds until the driver lost control of the vehicle, colliding with a number of trees along Warabrook Boulevard.
 
"The driver only sustained superficial injuries and didn't require treatment."

Attempted abduction at Cooranbong

Lake Macquarie Police are searching for a man who assaulted a teenage girl at Cooranbong.

 

The 15-year-old was walking along Freemans Drive just before 11am on Saturday when she noticed a man following her before he disappeared.

Brooke Eggleton from Police Headquarters says a short time later the man reappeared from nearby bushes and grabbed the girl from behind, placing his hand across her mouth.

 

The girl ran to a nearby church, where staff alerted police.

 

The man is described as being of African appearance, 20-30 years of age, a medium build and was last seen wearing grey knee length shorts.

Fires believed to be linked

Police believe the same person or people are responsible for lighting a series of bush fires in the Lake Macquarie area.

Between Sunday, July 21 and Tuesday, November 5, 10 fires broke out on the western side of the lake, including a large blaze which started on Sunday, September 29

 

The fire required water bombing aircraft to help extinguish it.

 

Detectives believe all the fires were deliberately lit and are potentially linked.

Newcastle Airport expansion receives funding

The $80 million Newcastle Airport expansion project is another step closer to completion with the Department of Defence committing to a funding contribution for a wastewater pipeline.

The construction of a $17 million wastewater pipeline is required to cover the expected increase of airport visitors from 2 million to 5 million people each year.
 

The 14 kilometre long pipeline will run between Tomago and the airport, and it is expected to bring employment and tourism benefits to the Hunter.

The project is expected to be completed this month.

Firearm charges for Abermain man

An Abermain man will front court early next year after firearms were seized from his home.

Police allegedly found two unregistered bolt-action rifles, and a rifle stock in a rear shed.

The 35-year-old man has been issued with a court attendance notice for several offences including not keep a firearm safe and two counts of possessing an unregistered firearm.

Kent Hotel Makes State's Most Violent List

Newcastle's party scene has cleaned up it's act, with only one venue named on the State's Most Violent Venues list.

The Kent Hotel will now face Level Two restrictions forcing it to stop serving alcohol  30 minutes before closing, stop using glassware after midnight and provide alcohol time-outs every hour after midnight.

It comes after they recorded 12 assaults in the last year.

Rail Report Recommendations

The Newcastle rail industry could be revitalised if the State Government follows the recommendations of a recent report.

If followed, the country would benefit from seeing 30% of rail manufacturing value remain with domestic suppliers.

The move would add approximately $15 billion to the economy over a 30 year period, with $3 billion coming from the Hunter.