A TEENAGE girl was left beaten with blood over her clothes after an attack in a town centre alleyway, a court heard. The 16-year-old's clothing was dishevelled, her bra had been pulled up and her trousers ripped off in the attack in March. Yesterday,
A CHARITY is appealing for older computer buffs to help East Durham pensioners log on to the Internet. A project that will teach people aged 50 and over how to surf is being launched at the libraries in Easington Colliery, Blackhall and Thornley libraries
A golf club has tabled plans for a two-storey driving range costing half a million pounds. Roseberry Grange Golf Club, at Grange Villa near Chester-le-Street, made the announcement after a string of successes this year. In April it was designated the
CAPITAL investment levels in the water industry continued a record levels last year, reports water watchdog Ofwat. The report of financial performance and expenditure of the water companies in England and Wales, issued by Ofwat yesterday, reveals that
THEY may only be doing what comes naturally, but a flock of pigeons yesterday had the High Court in a flap. The country's finest legal minds have been poring over pigeon droppings to determine who is responsible for cleaning up - and the decision may
CHIEF Constable Barry Shaw is today at the centre of new shock allegations which will rock the shaky foundations of Cleveland Police force. A senior civilian employee has used new Government 'whistle-blowing' legislation to make serious claims which,
A furniture company is closing its Durham store later this summer and heading out of the city centre. Durham Pine, which has showrooms throughout the country, will close its North Road premises next month, when the lease runs out. The company, which has
A DISUSED football ground is to be developed to help keep youngsters off the streets. The former Ferryhill Athletic Football Club ground has stood empty for more than five years since the club went bankrupt, and has attracted vandals and fire-raisers.
THE country's largest festival of street entertainment has been launched in the region with a multi-national circus celebration. This year's Stockton International Riverside Festival's multi-cultural extravaganza burst into life in the big top yesterday
THE PROBLEM-plagued manufacturing industry received more bad news yesterday after union leaders predicted more job losses. The Manufacturing Science and Finance (MSF) union warned of more redundancies in the sector over the next year unless interest rates
A BOUNCER drove a double- decker bus for a prank when he was more than three times over the drink limit, a court was told. Gordon Robb, 32, a nightclub doorman, decided to move the service bus because he thought it was blocking a parking bay used by the
DISABLED people are being given the chance to get back to work and off benefits under a new initiative. More than 200 people have so far taken advantage of the scheme in the districts of Hambleton and Richmondshire, through finding employment or landing
South African striker Siyabonga Nomvete's dream of an early move to Sunderland was shattered yesterday. Sunderland manager Peter Reid revealed he isn't planning an immeidate swoop for the 22-year-old international, who was on trial at the club last season
Accident specialists are investigating a car crash which left a teenager dead. The body of Stuart Walker, 18, a care assistant, of Sudburn Avenue, in Staindrop, near Barnard Castle, was discovered in the early hours of Monday at the side of his car. A
POLICE are renewing their appeal for a North-East man who disappeared from his home more than a month ago. Thomas Patrick Dickinson has been missing from his Redcar home since June 27 and was due to appear at Teesside Magistrates Court on July 27 to answer
WAKING up to the sounds of Yorkshire's unofficial anthem must seem like heaven to any true Tyke. And when everyone in sight is wearing a flat cap and the bedtime reading is Yorkshire County Cricket Club scorecards, what more could anyone ask? The corridors
POLICE have still not named a 23-year-old man injured in an attack outside a North-East pub at the weekend. He was assaulted in Collingwood Street, Coundon, County Durham, late on Saturday night, near to where 37-year-old former Newcastle United footballer
A SUPERMARKET worker has been awarded more than £13,000 after injuring her back when she tripped on uneven flooring at her store. Marilyn Clarey, 47, sued Wm Morrison, claiming the company was responsible for the accident. But the supermarket group has
PETROL stations across the region are bracing themselves for a fall in customer numbers as motorists prepare to desert garage forecourts. The Dump-the Pump boycott has been organised on the Internet by Garry Russell, from Essex. He is urging all motorists
A TEAM of workers battling to rebuild a flood-damaged bridge pledged yesterday to complete the project as quickly as possible. Engineers working on the 150-year-old Mercury Bridge, at Richmond, North Yorkshire, said they were on course to have it open
THIS year's Thornaby Show will relive the old days by including a parade for the first time in many years. What used to be called the Mayor's Parade has dropped its old title, but has been resurrected to support the show on the Harold Wilson Ground, Thornaby
THIS is a region which should be proud of the generations of men who toiled down the pit - but ashamed of the conditions in which they were expected to work. The miners were a tough breed who laid the foundations for this country's industrial strength
CRIME in Richmondshire is falling, despite public concern about the lack of bobbies on the beat. Inspector Charlie Kay, of North Yorkshire Police, revealed the figures to a meeting of Richmond Parish Forum. From May 1999 to June 2000, recorded crime fell
THERE is a thick wad of mansize paper tissues under Ben Aitken's pillow ready for when the coughing starts every morning. Just in case he runs short, he has 17 large boxes in his cottage kitchen in Wheatley Hill, County Durham. "I cough for hours in the
NEW measures are being planned by the Environment Agency to head off the threat of floods. A report compiled by the agency cites a number of points to be tackled - including a new flood warning service in South Church and West Auckland, County Durham.
Former Everton and Arsenal midfielder Kevin Richardson will play for Quakers tonight in their latest pre-season friendly at Norton. Richardson, 37, has been training with Quakers during their pre-season build up and is looking to continue his career.
SCARY Spice Mel B changed to Scaly Spice by trying her hand at fish filleting for a film role. The singer left behind her pop star lifestyle at the weekend and donned rubber wellies, white coat and plastic hairnet while filming the short film, Fish, at
JOHN Carroll could be the jockey to follow on day one of Glorious Goodwood where he has several fancied rides to look forward to. John's best chance may well come in the opening event of a star-studded card aboard St Helensfield (2.15) in the Moneyguru
Middlesbrough are poised to seal the double signing of Coventry's Noel Whelan and Cameroon international Joseph-Desire Job today. The club have agreed a £2m fee for Whelan, who travelled to Teesside for initial medical examinations at the weekend and
WORK has started on a £1.5m retirement development at Vicarage Drive, Marske, Redcar, which will provide accommodation with extra care facilities and a day centre. Created by national 'not for profit' housing association, Anchor Trust, with Newcastle-based
TWO men ran into a store and grabbed £540 worth of jeans during a busy afternoon. At about 3.15pm on Friday, thieves ran into Burton Menswear, in Newgate Street, Bishop Auckland, and snatched 12 pairs of men's Levi jeans. Both men were about 25-years
A GROUP of young people has attracted a grant of more than £9,000 to help convert part of a nightclub into an information centre for homeless people. The Prince's Trust has agreed the cash for a project to create a tenants' room in the new community campus
A CONVICTED paedophile who was named and shamed by a newspaper has escaped abroad and police fear he could avoid arrest. Last November, Stephen Featherstone, 33, known as Glen and formerly of Thames Road, Billingham, was convicted after a trial at Teesside
A FISH and chip van and two ice cream vans have been seized by customs officers in a crackdown on the North-East's illegal cigarette trade. One of the traders targeted in the raids was found to be selling bootleg cigarettes - in bags of threes and fours
A GROUP of schoolmates are planning to undertake an arduous challenge to raise money for hospital's baby unit. Laura Frost, 15, Simon Lucas, 16, Elizabeth Dick and Susan Thornborough, both 18, will take part in the National Three Peaks Challenge, on Monday
ONE of the region's top building societies has produced record interim results for the six months ending June 30, 2000. Darlington Building Society's new lending was £46.3m - 27 per cent higher than the corresponding period in 1999. Total advances to
TWO former New College Durham students are heading for places at two of the country's most prestigious drama schools. Brian Lonsdale, of Crook, has been offered a place at Rada (the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts), and Hannah Bond, of Durham, will study
FILTRONIC revealed yesterday that recruitment at its County Durham site had begun in earnest, as the company released its annual results. Although announcing a pre-tax loss of £3.9m, compared with profits of £12.5m in 1999, costs of around £10m were incurred
Thursday marks the tenth anniversary of one of the region's most perplexing murders. Read a special report in The Northern Echo tomorrow on the continuing search for the killer of Ann Heron, above, who was found with her throat cut at her home near Darlington
A DANCER is helping others to get in step. Stacey Penman, 18, of Silksworth, is having great success with the dance school she set up herself. She teaches 20 hours a week when she is not studying for a BTEC National Diploma in performing arts and A-levels
A TAXI driver whose passengers claimed he had been driving at 110 mph went on trial yesterday accused of causing the death of a 46-year-old man by dangerous driving. Two of Neil Thompson's passengers at the time of the crash in March last year told a
A FAILED charity music event is due to be restaged next year despite concerns over noise levels, safety and costs. Teesside Hospice held the three-day event in Middlesbrough's Stewart Park in June but, despite attracting acts such as Bob Geldof and Chumbawamba
The latest news from the Darlington & Stockton Times will be updated here every Friday. You can also read the latest farming news from the paper online in the business section of this website. If you wish to contact the paper you can email us.
A MOTHER appealed for help last night in trying to piece together the last few hours of her son's life. June Gibson last saw her son, Lee Haymer, on Saturday morning when he was fit and well. Less than 12 hours later, passers-by found him dying on a footpath
A CONVICTED paedophile who was named and shamed by a newspaper has escaped abroad and police fear he could avoid arrest. Last November, Stephen Featherstone, 33, known as Glen and formerly of Thames Road, Billingham, was convicted after a trial at Teesside
AN historian will be giving an insight into Victorian-style crime and punishment tomorrow. David Butler is giving a talk at Durham City Library, called Guests of Queen Victoria, which will shed light on the crimes committed by inmates of Durham Jail.
YOUNGSTERS from a North-East school are playing host to pupils from Germany and Spain as part of European Partnership Week. Forty-two pupils aged from 14 to 18 arrived in Stockton at the weekend to take part in the event organised by Ian Ramsey School
GOVERNMENT aid to attract production of a new Nissan model to the North-East topped the agenda as company executives met Prime Minister Tony Blair yesterday. The country's biggest car manufacturer was looking for assurances from the Government after revealing
YOUNG arsonists are being blamed for a blaze which wrecked an empty North-East primary school and put firefighters lives in danger. Crews from three stations took more than three hours to put out the fire, at New Marske Primary School on Moortown Road
ORGANISERS of a reunion for hospital staff fear it may be a wash-out, after records of former colleagues were destroyed during floods. Tindale Crescent Hospital, Bishop Auckland, is planning a celebration for the millennium, and the Queen Mother's birthday
It was raining at Chester-le-Street, fringe entertainment at the Riverside provided by Mike Gough - Hartlepool sports shop owner and father of the Durham opener - with the story of how he hit an eight. Gough senior - usually sound, rarely spectacular
LISA Chipchase has only been in business eight weeks, but already her thoughts are turning to expansion. The 27-year-old, from Bishop Auckland, has opened a men's hairdressing salon with the help of the Prince's Trust, and is delighted with the way her
THERE was mixed news for Durham on the pace bowling front yesterday as Melvyn Betts went to see a specialist about his latest knee injury and Steve Harmison was named in the second team for today. Betts, who has yet to get through a full season, was due
MEETINGS will be held across County Durham next week to give ethnic and other minority groups the chance to shape future policing. The force announced last week that it had appointed consultants to find out how groups felt policing could be improved.
THIEVES and troublemakers will face the Hill Street blues thanks to a unique police initiative. The innovative scheme, successfully piloted in America, is being brought to the UK by Cleveland Police. Middlesbrough's Hill Street shopping centre will get
A PROJECT set up to give advice to people dealing with health and social services, has helped more than 400 in its first 18 months. The Representational Advocacy Service, part of the Middlesbrough Citizens' Advice Bureau (CAB), has four workers dedicated
AN old-style red British telephone box may soon become a talking point in a German town. In October this year, the borough of Redcar and Cleveland will be celebrating the tenth anniversary of the signing of the Town Twinning Charter with Troisdorf, a
SIXTEEN months after the Government promised to compensate miners whose lungs were wrecked in the pits, only one man out of more than 110,000 who have applied for cash has received his due. Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) officials yesterday admitted
SCARY Spice Mel B changed to Scaly Spice by trying her hand at fish filleting for a film role. The singer left behind her pop star lifestyle at the weekend and donned rubber wellies, white coat and plastic hairnet while filming the short film, Fish, at
PUPILS from Hebburn Comprehensive School are beating the architects and builders at their own game by designing and creating their own business centres - although on a smaller scale. As the new £3.8m Business Works centre in South Shields prepares to
MINERS SO RP Bainbridge of Crook (HAS, July 21) thinks that what his late father's friend told him about miners was "rather apt". He said: "Miners who did not like hard work became union men and those who detested any kind of work became Labour councillors
POLICE have uncovered a large haul of stolen tools and are appealing for the owners to come forward. Thousands of pounds worth of drills, saws and other tools were discovered at a house in Spennymoor, following an arrest on July 21. Police are trying
POLICE in Darlington have issued an alert over stray horses being kept on wasteland in the town. They fear that a motorist or bike rider could be killed or seriously injured in a collision with one of the animal, believed to belong to gipsies. Inspector
NEW measures are being planned by the Environment Agency to head off the threat of floods. A report compiled by the agency cites a number of points to be tackled - including a new flood warning service in South Church and West Auckland, County Durham.
DOWNING Street dismissed renewed speculation yesterday that Redcar MP and Cabinet Minister Mo Mowlam is to quit the Government after the next election. Dr Mowlam was quoted in a newspaper interview as saying she planned to help schoolchildren in Northern
DARLINGTON'S newest hospital has started to take shape on a 5.4 acre site at the town's Morton Park, following a multi-million pound investment agreed by local firm Woodlands Healthcare. The 42-bed independent Woodland's Hospital will use the latest innovations
PEOPLE are being invited to attend public meetings across Richmondshire which will help to create the district's arts strategy. Consultant Gillian Howells has sent out 400 letters already but said: "This is just the tip of the iceberg. I have been trying
MEETINGS will be held across County Durham next week to give ethnic and other minority groups the chance to shape the future of policing. The force announced last week that it had appointed a firm of consultants to find out how the group felt policing
POLICE in Sedgefield are warning elderly people to be careful of who they allow into their homes. The warning comes after a pensioner had her purse and cash stolen after allowing two men into her home at the weekend. They came to her house, in the Meadows
POLICE are looking for public-spirited people to help them keep the streets of North Durham safe and free of crime. The county's force hopes to boost the number of people who serve as part-time police, providing valuable back-up to regular officers. It
