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Teesside stories you may have missed this week

G & Tea House A mother duck curled up on top of her eggs in a plant pot with a water tray on her left and a flowering plant on her right.G & Tea House
Staff at the G & Tea House were devastated when their resident duck died over the Easter weekend

Orphaned ducklings, "yoga" donkeys and ukulele players shocked to discover they had gone viral on TikTok even though they did not have a profile on the platform.

Here are some stories you may have missed on Teesside this week.

Yoga donkeys 'do not know what to make of it all'

Sharon Rookes Three people in a field on yoga mats pull a yoga pose which involve them on all fours with one leg stretched out behind them. Seven donkeys - five black, one light brown and one white - are in the background although only two are paying any attention to the contorted humans.Sharon Rookes
A donkey yoga session was held in County Durham

A therapeutic donkey yoga session has taken place with organisers saying the animals "didn't know what to make of it all".

The first session run by Ark Therapies, a community interest company in Hutton Henry, County Durham, took place on 26 April with the help of seven of their rescued and rehomed donkeys.

  • Read more about the story here

Orphaned ducklings hatch after eggs rescued

James Carter Several white duck eggs in a circle on a dark blanket.James Carter
James Carter says he took the decision to bring the eggs home as he had equipment to help keep them warm

A couple came to the rescue of 12 unhatched duck eggs after their mother died.

James Carter, a chef at the G & Tea House in Great Ayton, near Middlesbrough, said staff were unable to raise help due to the Easter bank holiday.

Because Mr Carter and his girlfriend Stephanie Weeding collect tropical butterflies, they had heat lamps ready to create an incubator.

Over the past few days they have seen signs of life from the eggs and three of them have hatched.

  • Read more about the eggs here

New mum says maternity treatment was 'traumatic'

Niki Cotson Niki Cotson cradling her newborn son while lying on a hospital bed. Both have dark hair, with Niki's being in a short bob cut.Niki Cotson
More than 700 people have signed Niki Cotson's petition to have the North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Trust put into special measures

A mum who says she has been left in chronic pain a year after giving birth has called for an NHS trust to be put into special measures.

Niki Cotson has amassed more than 700 signatures for her petition calling for special measures to be imposed at North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Foundation Trust.

The hospital said it was always "dedicated to ensuring safe, quality care for all of our patients".

  • Read more about Ms Cotson's story here

'Our ukulele videos were ripped off on TikTok'

Roz Hall Roz Hall in a red t-shirt and wearing glasses next to Graham Hall. They are both smiling and leaning into each other.Roz Hall
Roz and Graham Hall have been running a ukulele group for seven years

A couple who create ukulele tutorial videos on YouTube were "shocked" to discover a fake profile of them had gone viral on TikTok.

Roz and Graham Hall, from Eaglescliffe, Stockton, said they "could not believe it" as they did not have a profile on the social media site.

  • Learn more about the couple here

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