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Wearside stories you may have missed

BBC A man wearing an orange high visibility jacket and a blue coat underneath stands to the side of a blue and white liveried bus.BBC
Stagecoach North East managing director Steve Walker said more electric buses would be rolled out

The arrival of electric buses, a teenager taking a crack at the World Ice Swimming Championships, and an "insanely exciting" star discovery.

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

Passengers board Sunderland's electric buses

Two men sitting on the bus looking at the camera. They are sitting on different levels of seats and wearing Stagecoach branded clothes.
The electric buses are replacing diesel vehicles on routes

Passengers have returned to electric-powered travel after 70 years with the arrival of a city's fleet of battery-operated buses.

A total of 20 single-decker vehicles are entering service at Stagecoach North East's Sunderland depot.

The new buses will run on the E1, E2 and E6 routes between Wearside and South Shields, replacing older and less environmentally-friendly vehicles.

Passenger Terry Amess, from South Shields, said the journey "felt smooth" and the seats were comfortable.

Scientists make 'insanely exciting' star discovery

NASA, ESA, and J. Lotz and the HFF Team Images taken from the James Webb Space Telescope of the stars in the Dragon Arc galaxy. Some of the stars appear as bright spots. Others show bright spirals around a central light.NASA, ESA, and J. Lotz and the HFF Team
Scientists discovered 44 stars 6.5 billion light-years away in the Dragon Arc galaxy

Scientists have discovered 44 previously unknown stars which had been hidden behind a cluster of galaxies.

Physicists at Durham University helped discover the stars in the Dragon Arc galaxy nearly 6.5 billion light-years from Earth as part of an international research project.

Pictures show how the stars look during a period known as the cosmic noon - the middle ages of the universe when the most stars were born.

The Durham team was led by physicists David Lagattuta and Mathilde Jauzac, who said discovering the stars was "insanely exciting".

Teen takes on World Ice Swimming Championships

Frankie, with a swimming cap and goggles, swims through a channel in the icy Sweethope Lough. Coach Fenwick Ridely is standing in the water, knee deep, in a red coat and fluffy hat and monitoring her progress.
Frankie's coach recently guided her through her first swim down an ice channel

A Sunderland schoolgirl is preparing to throw herself into icy depths as the youngest ever member of Great Britain's ice swimming team.

Frankie Jackson, who turned 14 last month, has been selected as one of 49 swimmers to travel to Molveno, Italy, this weekend and represent their country in the world championships.

She has been training at one of England's coldest open water venues, Sweethope Lough in Northumberland.

Faced with the prospect of plunging into icy water, she said: "I just sort of get on with it really."

Sculpture honours 'forgotten' women shipworkers

A group of four women and one man stand around a 6ft steel sculpture called Molly on the banks of the River Wear in Sunderland. In front of the sculpture is a plaque with more details about the artwork.
The sculpture has been installed on the riverside in Sunderland near the National Glass Centre

A sculpture honouring the "forgotten" women shipyard workers of Wearside has been unveiled.

The 6ft (1.8m) tall corten steel artwork, named Molly, recognises those who kept the Sunderland shipyards running while men fought in World War Two.

Education Secretary and minister for women Bridget Phillipson cut the ribbon to reveal the statue, which has been installed on the riverside opposite the National Glass Centre.

Catherine Jamieson, 95, said women like her had "kept the yards going" and said the sculpture would help a new generation understand their efforts.

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