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Teesside stories you may have missed this week

Redcar Model Boat Club About a dozen members of Redcar Model Boat Club smiling next to the partially refilled lake. A member in the centre of the group is holding a brown and white model boat. There's a flag on the side of a portable building next to them, with the name of the club on it.Redcar Model Boat Club
Redcar Model Boat Club has previously said how the empty lake stopped the club "in its tracks"

A soon to be 80-year-old mountain rescue volunteer, a statue unveiling of a cat that became a "local celebrity" and two brothers who competed in the TV series Race Across the World share their experience.

Here are five stories from Teesside you may have missed this week.

'You just do it because it helps people'

Gari Finch Gari Finch stands next to a mountain rescue vehicle. He is wearing a red waterproof jacket with a small mountain logo on the chest, a black collared top.Gari Finch
Gari Finch, 80, has attended at least 1,500 call-outs over his decades of service

Most people celebrating their 80th birthday do not run the risk of being called away to a work emergency - but that will be a possibility for Gari Finch.

The soon-to-be octogenarian from Great Ayton, in North Yorkshire, has been a volunteer at Cleveland Mountain Rescue for 54 years, and so far he has at least 1,500 call-outs to his name.

However, Mr Finch's teammates know better than to suggest that after this latest milestone, he should hang up his distinctive red uniform and enjoy retirement.

  • Read more about Mr Finch's service to Mountain Rescue here

Boats back in leaky lake ahead of further repairs

Redcar Model Boat Club Five grey model ships of different sizes sailing in a section of the lake on 6 June.Redcar Model Boat Club
The model boat club held a D-Day sail at the lake on Friday

Boats are sailing once again in an historic, but leaky, lake ahead of further repairs.

The lake, at Newcomen Terrace in Coatham, Redcar, has had low water levels for years, forcing a model boat club to race radio controlled cars there instead.

A test refill in April failed, prompting an investigation, and more repairs to a pump and the structure's base will be carried out this month.

  • Read more about the mini vessels here

No translation help for riot forms, PCC says

PA Burning car in the night. There is fire all around and the car is charred with the back completely gone and fire engulfing the inside and the seats. PA
A police car was set alight during Hartlepool's riots

The office for a police and crime commissioner has said the Home Office did not help translate riot compensation forms to help those affected by last summer's disorder.

In the wake of a stabbing attack in Southport, rioting broke out across the country, with disorder in Hartlepool on 31 July, followed by Sunderland on 2 August and Middlesbrough on 4 August.

A spokeswoman for Cleveland's Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) said that many of those affected did not speak English and so they would have expected some translation help with the forms designed to offer support.

  • Read what the office of Cleveland PCC said here

Crowds gather for cat statue unveiling

Crowds gather for Hendrix The Cat statue unveiling

A cat that became a "local celebrity" has had a statue unveiled in its honour.

More than £4,000 was raised to place a bronze statue on Saltburn's pier in Redcar and Cleveland, where Hendrix was a familiar face - often visiting cafes and arcades.

The feline, who previously lived in Whitley Bay and was known to hop on Metro trains, was much-loved by locals and tourists alike.

Owner Nathan Bye thanked the people of Saltburn, Hendrix's international social media fanbase and Redcar Council who had supported the campaign to memorialise him.

Race Across the World 'surreal' for brothers

BBC/Studio Lambert Brian Mole (left) and Melvyn Mole (right) at the Great Wall of China. They are wearing their hiking equipment including rucksacks. They are smiling and looking to the right of the camera.BBC/Studio Lambert
Melvyn and Brian Mole formed one of five teams who raced more than 14,000km (8,700 miles) across China, Nepal and India

Two brothers who competed in the TV series Race Across the World say the experience and associated public recognition still does not feel real.

Melvyn and Brian Mole, who are both in their 60s, formed one of five teams who raced more than 14,000km (8,700 miles) across China, Nepal and India to try to win £20,000.

Ahead of Wednesday's final episode, Melvyn, a driving instructor who lives in Middlesbrough, said appearing on the show was "a surreal journey" which did not end with filming.

  • Read what else Melvyn and Brian say here

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