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Wearside stories you might have missed this week

Supplied Kaylee Davidson-Olley, centre, while as a baby and with short spiked up hair is being held by her late mother, Carol, who is also holding a card which says "especially for you".Supplied
Kaylee Davidson-Olley is the UK's longest surviving heart transplant patient after undergoing the procedure in 1987

From jubilant lottery winners to Elon Musk-style spending reviews - here are some of the stories from Wearside you might have missed this week.

Lottery winner fulfils 'every parent's dream'

PA Media Caroline (left) and Terry Gillings celebrating their win with a drink. Caroline has grey hair, tied back, and is wearing a blue top. Her husband is bald and wearing a blue checked shirt. Behind them is a sign that reads "£1,000,000 winner".PA Media
Caroline and Terry Gillings are using the win to support their children

A builder who won £1m on the National Lottery says he has fulfilled "every parent's dream" by paying off his four daughters' mortgages.

Terry Gillings, of Stanley, County Durham, said he would "never forget" phoning his children to tell them about the win.

However, the triumph was accompanied by heartbreak as his 85-year-old father, who had prostate cancer and Parkinson's disease, died two days later.

"I like to think knowing [my wife] Caroline and I, and the girls, were all well set up for the future meant he slipped away more peacefully," Mr Gillings said.

'Organs are needed here, not in heaven'

Kaylee Davidson-Olley, wearing a pink shirt which says NHS Blood and Transplant, and wearing pink heart shaped earrings holds up a black and white picture which shows her being held by her late mother, Carol.
Kaylee Davidson-Olley had a heart transplant when she was just a baby

A woman who was the first baby to have a heart transplant in the UK says families should not be able to overturn a loved one's decision to donate their organs.

Family-blocked donations have almost tripled from 255 in 2020/21 to 680 in 2023/24, according to official figures, leading to an estimated 2,040 "missed opportunities" last year.

Kaylee Davidson-Olley, from Houghton-le-Spring, who had transplant surgery at Newcastle's Freeman Hospital in 1987, said lives were continuing to be lost.

NHS Blood and Transplant said families were "always involved" in donation and they might have important information which was vital in understanding whether organs were safe for donation.

Festival cancelled after efforts to save it fail

Kubix Kubix festival's stage photographed from the side. A security guard is standing in front of it as pink and yellow confetti flies in the air with stage smoke going off. Fans are lined behind a metal barrier and have their hands up in the air.Kubix
Northern Kin festival joins other events, including Kubix, in being cancelled

A festival has been cancelled after attempts to save it failed, organisers have said.

Northern Kin was due to take place at Thornley Hall farm, in County Durham, at the beginning of August.

Organiser Wannasee Ltd had previously said discussions were under way to preserve the festival after 10 of its other events, including Stone Valley North and Kubix, were cancelled at the end of May.

But a social media post on Wednesday confirmed Northern Kin would not be going ahead, despite the team having worked "around the clock" to find a way to run it.

Musk-style Doge audit planned for council

New Durham County Council leader Andrew Husband outside County Hall. He is wearing a light blue suit jacket, a white shirt and a gold tie. His brown hair is swept back.
Council leader Andrew Husband said the Doge unit was headed for County Durham

A council is set to undergo an Elon Musk-style review into its spending.

Reform UK, which took charge of Durham County Council following the elections in May, has set up a unit to look into "wasteful spending", inspired by Musk's Department of Government Efficiency (Doge) in the United States.

The party said teams of software engineers, data analysts and forensic auditors would "visit and analyse" the local authorities it controlled, starting with Kent County Council this week.

Promoting the party's scheme, Durham County Council leader Andrew Husband posted on social media: "Coming to a county near you."

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