Father And Three Children Treated For Smoke Inhaltion At Anna Bay

BY IAN CROUCH

A father and his three young children have been treated for smoke inhalation after a fire broke out at their Anna Bay home last night.

The 32-year-old man was taking a shower in their Nelson Bay Road home at about 9pm when a smoke alarm went off.

He rushed out of the shower to find thick smoke in the bedroom of his 1-year-old daughter and managed to rescue her.

The man called out to his father-in-law in an adjacent house to come and help and they removed his other two children aged 3 and 5.

The two men managed to put out the fire with an extinguisher and a garden hose before fire crews arrived.

It's believed an electrical fault in a lamp sitting on a change table sparked the blaze, which caused only minor damage to the home.

BREAKING! Man Crushed By Car At East Branxton

BY IAN CROUCH

A man has been tragically killed when he was crushed by his car at East Branxton.

Police say the 40-year-old was rolling the car out of the garage of his home in Harvest Court when it pinned him against a brick wall.

The man's partner made the grim discovery when she went out to check on him just after 11 o'clock last night.

A report is being prepared for the Coroner.

Gun Found During Vehicle Stop At Wallsend

BY IAN CROUCH

Two people are being questioned by police after a pistol was allegedly found in a car at Wallsend this morning.

Officers noticed a Nissan Navara leaving the car park of the Bunnings Warehouse just before 1.00am and pulled the vehicle over.

They became suspicious and searched the car, allegedly finding the gun under the front passenger seat.

The driver, a 26-year-old man from Singleton and a 21-year-old female passenger from Carrington were arrested.

It's expected they'll be changed with firearm offences.

Williamtown Innovation Hub Officially Open

BY JESSICA ROUSE

The latest hub of innovation and technology has officially opened in Williamtown this morning.

The Williamtown Innovation Hub, also called "DSA-18", will support the research and development of new technologies for the defence industry.

It's a collaboration of the University of Newcastle with the support of the state government who contributed $1.5 million to the hub to drive innovation.

The hub has desks for both defence workers and university researchers, meeting rooms and will host networking events and seminars to provide opportunities for engagement with local and national companies in the defence, security, IT and transport sectors.

Parliamentary Secretary for the Hunter Scot MacDonald says the innovation hub will make the latest technologies available to researchers to develop bigger and better things.

"It's really important that people have a place to incubate those ideas if you like and bounce them off colleagues who work in the industry and see if they're adaptable and see if the commercialisation is possible and that can only happen if you're working closely together," said Scot MacDonald.

The Hunter region's defence sector employs more than 4,600 people and contributes $1.3 billion to the region's economy.

"This will get the academics and professors working out the hub making themselves available to people who have got ideas that might be picked up by the defence industry. A lot of the innovation really does come from if you like, grassroots level," said Scot MacDonald.

Artists impression.

Young Girl Brings Home Prescription Medication after Trick-or-Treating

BY JESSICA ROUSE

Police are investigating after a young girl received prescription medication while trick-or-treating in Lake Macquarie overnight.

Police say the 13-year-old girl was given the medication in the Blackalls Park area.

Officers have arranged to seize the pills today.

At this stage, there are no further reports of pills being received by children last night.

Investigations are continuing and the matter is being treated very seriously.

Police are encouraging parents in the area to check what their children brought home and call local police if they have any concerns.

Bag of pills from trick-or-treating in Blackalls Park
Image Facebook Ellouise Hawes

Funding To Cut Burglaries In Lake Macquarie

BY IAN CROUCH

The state government is proving almost $50,000 to Lake Macquarie Council to help cut the number of break-ins to homes.

Council will use the money for a crime prevention program which targets break-and-enter hot spots.

The funding is part of the $500,000 Safer Community Compact grants to help councils across NSW deliver grassroots solutions to crime.

"It's about empowering residents, there is a bit of that aspect to it, but it's really about improving community awareness and what you can do to protect your own home," Parliamentary Secretary for the Hunter, Scot MacDonald says.

Residents will be shown how to use engraving tools to mark their valuables while 100 DataDot kits will be distributed which helps police in identifying, tracking and returning stolen property.

Fifty property marking kits will also be given away to residents whose homes are considered at risk of being broken into.

The latest crime statistics shows that the rate of burglaries in Lake Macquarie has dropped over the past four years, however there were still 734 recorded break-and-enters on homes in 2016.

Parliamentary Secretary for the Hunter Scot MacDonald Announcing Crime Prevention Funding with Lake Macquarie City Council CEO Morven Cameron and Mayor Cr Kay Fraser

Free Park And Ride Trial Set To Free Up Newcastle CBD Parking Spaces

BY IAN CROUCH and LAUREN FREEMANTLE

A new park and ride plan is expected to take up to 350 vehicles out of the Newcastle CBD each weekday.

From Monday, people can park at McDonald Jones Stadium and catch a free bus into the city every 15 minutes between 6.30 and 8.30 on weekday mornings, with a return service between 4.30 and 6pm.

Morning buses will stop at four locations and the afternoon return service will pick up commuters from Customs House, the corner of Perkins and King Streets, Civic and Marketown every 15 minutes.

It's expected to save workers $1400 a year in parking fees.

The free trial continues until January 29 when a $2 fee applies to park at the Stadium.

It's hoped the service will free up car parks for CBD shoppers and ease congestion while the light rail is built.

Revitalising Newcastle Director, Michael Cassel, said it's a great initiative. "It reduces the cost to the commuter, and I think businesses will appreciate just how many car spaces are freed-up throughout the day.

"Commuters will be able to easily get into the city and enjoy the activities that we're putting on as part of Revitalising Newcastle." 

The trial will also help gauge support for Council's push to extend the light rail line to Broadmeadow.

"It's a fantastic opportunity for people to vote with their cars by jumping on to this park and ride bus morning and afternoon," Lord Mayor Nuatali Nelmes said.

"This will be a huge benefit for us pushing our case for the expansion of the light rail network
out to this stadium precinct."

There will be alternative park and ride locations when the Newcastle Jets and Newcastle Knights have weekday evening matches at the stadium, but those locations have not yet been determined.

"So at the moment there's a lot of land around this precinct at Broadmeadow," Ms Nelmes said, "We're working with Venues NSW for those couple of times in the next 12 months where there are Knights or Jets games on a Friday to look for an alternative site; that's a work in progress."

She believes the service will operate smoothly.

"A lot of work has gone into ensuring the operations of this service will be as simple as possible, and as cheap as possible."

Commuters wanting to use the service must register for a free permit either online at newcastle.nsw.gov.au/parkandride or by calling Newcastle Council on 4974 2000.

Proud: Lord Mayor Nuatali Nelmes and Revitalising Newcastle Director, Michael Cassel. Image: Lauren Freemantle.

Park And Ride Service About To Start At McDonald Jones Stadium.