A row over a story about school violence which appeared in Whitley Bay’s News Post Leader has been settled, after police confirmed the article was factually correct.

Northumberland county councillors had been angered by an article detailing the number of police calls to schools in the area, which was published following a Freedom of Information request to police.

It said violent incidents in schools in the area, five of which involved a weapon, had required police assistance 85 times between October 2005 and Spetember 2006.

But at a scrutiny committee meeting councillors criticised the article, with one claiming that the paper regularly attacked the council and suggesting that it was a matter for the Press Complaints Commission.

However Sergeant Steve Cochrane, who was at the meeting, told councillors that the article was factually correct.

He added that there was a need for clarification of what ‘weapons’ are, and suggested that was why it could have been seen to be misleading.

Editor Ross Weeks told HoldtheFrontPage: “Our letters pages can be fairly critical of the county council as we are regarded as a local platform for debate.

“I understand why they were upset but they have accepted that out story was factually correct.” Do you have a story about the regional press?
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