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Wearside stories you may have missed

News imageBBC A young girl plays a piano. She has shoulder-length black hair with a thin hairband. She is wearing a pink outfit. She is playing a brown wooden piano and some people are in the background watching on.BBC
The attempt to break the world record was carried out at The Fire Station in Sunderland

A boy with neuroblastoma is a firefighter for a day, a piano relay record attempt and Network Rail apologises for the problems faced at Sunderland station.

Here are some stories from Wearside and Durham you may have missed this week.

Boy with cancer gets dream firefighter day

Benjamin got to fire a hose as part of his Christmas wish

Benjamin Bahmanizad was diagnosed with a rare and aggressive childhood cancer when he was two years old.

After years of treatment he went into remission in March this year but a routine check-up in September revealed his cancer had returned.

Now the four-year-old has had an early Christmas wish come true when family friend Gary Tough, a County Durham and Darlington Fire and Rescue station manager, invited him to join the team for a day.

Private ADHD prescription costs 'not sustainable'

News imageLuke Walton/BBC Kieren Jennings looking into the camera with a straight face. He has short, grey and brown hair and beard. He is wearing a black shirt. He is standing in front of a green wall with various frames in the left corner.Luke Walton/BBC
Kieren Jennings said his private prescription for ADHD medication was costing him hundreds of pounds a year

A father-of-two with ADHD has called for better treatment of patients with a private diagnosis, as he struggles to afford medication.

Kieren Jennings, from Houghton-le-Spring, Sunderland, received a private diagnosis of the condition last year, followed by a private prescription of ADHD medication.

But he said he had been left with a bill of about £1,500 a year for medicine and assessments after his request to a local GP for an NHS prescription was refused.

  • Read more about Kieren's story here

Orchid habitat 'destroyed' in logging track works

News imageAndy Richardson Orchids growing in a slightly overgrown road verge. There is a selection of small pink orchids at various stages of growth among grass and weeds.Andy Richardson
The orchids were destroyed during forest track resurfacing and ditching work

An abundant patch of orchids has been "destroyed" during work by Forestry England to improve a track for logging operations.

The work to create ditches and resurface the route to Mayland Bank in Hamsterley Forest, County Durham, took place in November.

Local resident Andy Richardson and his fellow dog walkers are "angry" the work could not avoid the abundance of common spotted and northern marsh orchids during the work.

  • Read more about the impact of the operation here

Pianists nervous waiting for record bid result

News imageA young girl plays a piano. Two other girls are sat behind her, watching. A TV camera is placed on the side, with a person operating it. The brown wooden piano is placed in front of a glass-fronted wall.
Organisers are waiting to find out if the record has been broken

Organisers of a bid to break the world record for the largest number of people playing a piano in relay are waiting for the result with bated breath.

The attempt to defeat the current record of 169 pianists, which was set in Hong Kong earlier this year, kicked off at Sunderland's The Fire Station on Sunday morning.

  • Find out more about the record attempt here

Network Rail says sorry for £27m station lift woes

News imageSunderland Station's southern entrance. The area is sparsely filled with just a few seats, a ticket machine and vending machines in the distance. The flooring is grey, while the walls are painted white.
Lewis Atkinson had called for a public apology from Network Rail over issues at Sunderland station

Network Rail has apologised for the problems faced at a station which recently underwent a £27m redevelopment.

A new southern entrance to Sunderland station was opened in December 2023 with Network Rail saying at the time that "finishing touches" would be applied in the next few months.

  • Read more about the latest with the station here

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