By Mark Summers PREMATURE-BORN baby Frances Dennis needed a life-saving operation within hours of being born because of a rare condition.

THE battle over plans for a Tesco superstore on a hospital site stepped up a gear yesterday when protesters handed over 350 objection letters and a 300-signature petition. The Stop Fenham Tesco campaign presented the objections to Newcastle City Council.

THE plans for the Newcastle General Hospital site are part of the largest healthcare project ever to take place in the North East, it was said yesterday.

ACTRESS Charlie Hardwick fell victim to pride, not hyperbole, when she referred yesterday to the creation of a jewel in the crown of the North of England. By that she meant the children's hospital being built at Newcastle's Royal Victoria Infirmary.

By MARIE LEVY TEESSIDE parents today welcomed the unveiling of plans for the North-east's first specialist children's hospital - a pounds 100m facility set to revolutionise children's care in the region.