ONE of the worst pit disasters to befall the North-East will be recalled when a poignant reminder of the event falls under the hammer later this month. A tiny gold medal - the size of a 2p piece - was awarded to Joseph Snaith "for services with the relief
BRIDES-TO-BE were yesterday given the chance to visit an exhibition for help with everything they need to plan their perfect day. The Northern Echo's Bride & Groom Exhibition, was held at Scotch Corner Hotel, Scotch Corner, near Richmond. On show
SCOTLAND star Don Hutchison is "desperate" to mark his home debut for Sunderland with a victory over his old club West Ham United tonight. The £2.5m close-season capture from Everton has started his new career on Wearside with away defeats at the hands
WHEN Betty Boothroyd announced earlier this year that she was quitting the Commons, she took the wind out of virtually everyone's sails. When Mo Mowlam confirmed yesterday that she was throwing in the towel at the next General Election, there was barely
AN ancient monument said to rival Stonehenge in its importance, could be the region's next tourism attraction. Thornborough Henges, near Ripon in North Yorkshire, date back about 6,000 years to the Neolithic period, but are largely unknown to all but
A MAN and a teenager are being questioned by detectives about the death of a 30-year-old religious leader. Father-of-six Ali Rehman was stabbed in the chest following a row in the Middlesbrough mosque, where he was appointed secretary only days ago. He
Sally Slater, the six-year-old who was given just hours to live before a heart transplant saved her life, takes another big step on the road to recovery when she returns to school today. It is more than five months since Sally, from Kirkby Malham, in
A DOG with superior stage presence is on the lookout for a leading lady to join it in a musical adventure. Portia, a three-year-old mongrel, has been chosen to play the character Sandy, who teams up with little orphan Annie, to help her escape her unhappy
FORMER England skipper Alan Shearer congratulated another young mother only hours after his wife gave birth to his new son. Marie Robson, 21, gave birth in the car park of the hospital where Shearer's new baby had just been delivered. The young mum rushed
DURHAM'S division one life ebbed slowly away on the Riverside's final day of the season as a desperate attempt to contrive a victory handed the game to Hampshire. It was cruel justice that after their experience at Basingstoke, where they lost on a poor
SIR Richard Branson has announced plans to turn his Our Price record stores into a pioneering new Internet-led brand. The new V Shops will encourage people to use in-store Internet-linked computers to buy Virgin products. Sir Richard opened the first
MAGICIAN Paul Daniels has leapt to the defence of his youngest son, who has been accused of pretending he was the victim of a violent burglary. Paul Daniels insists his son Gary was attacked in his North-East home and only dropped the matter because he
VANDALS who wreaked havoc at a North-East agricultural show at the weekend, failed to spoil the fun for thousands of visitors. The vandals targeted the horticultural marquee at Wolsingham Show, in County Durham, on Saturday evening, smashing plant pots
A FIVE-year-old has become the youngest criminal in Britain after being served with a new type of court order. The youngster was involved in theft with older children while he played truant from school. The problem became so bad that a child crime-busting
STUDENT Louise Tinkler, now the lone survivor of a death crash, has talked of her despair after a third friend lost her fight for life. Louise, 28, spoke from her home at Chester-le-Street, County Durham, yesterday after learning of the death of 27-year-old
IT was only after months of planning that the disaster dawned on bride-to-be Angela Glasper. Her big day, which she had been planning since boyfriend Graeme Nobbs popped the question on St Valentine's Day, had no chance of running smoothly. Instead of
HUNDREDS of poppies were scattered on to the sea off a North-East town yesterday, as part of a poignant tribute. A crew member on the Redcar lifeboat threw the emblems on to the water, near Redcar seafront, as part of a veterans' parade. Yesterday saw
NAVY and civic chiefs are hoping for third time lucky when a warship makes its latest attempt to visit its adopted North-East city this week. HMS Ocean's last two scheduled visits to renew affiliations with Sunderland were cancelled due to operational
A YOUNGSTER who made medical history by being operated on during birth is today celebrating an important milestone. Little Jaydon Vasey was given only a five per cent chance of being born alive because of a windpipe blockage discovered while he was still
Bobby Robson has turned his back on a potential £5m double transfer sale at Newcastle after warning off clubs interested in Shay Given and Andy Griffin. Goalkeeper Given is a target for Celtic while Young England defender Griffin is wanted by Manchester
Labour favourite and North-East MP Mo Mowlam yesterday ended months of rumours over her future and announced that she is to leave front-line politics. But last night the reasons behind her decision remained the subject of intense speculation. The Redcar
RIGHT-WING extremists were described as "despicable" last night for using the case of murdered schoolgirl Sarah Payne to promote their policies. The BNP has targeted the Cockerton East area of Darlington, where it has a candidate in a forthcoming council
Champagne sprayed over England's celebrating cricketers yesterday after an historic and emotional final Test victory at The Oval to end three decades of despair and disappointment against the West Indies. The 158-run triumph completed their first series
POLITICIANS are seldom trusted. Their words are, more often than not, treated with scepticism; their promises taken with a pinch of salt. Mo Mowlam is a rarity in the political ranks. People, whichever party they may support, believe her. They consider
A CUSTOMER service manager for HB Technologies in Newton Aycliffe is celebrating the achievement of his European computer driving licence (ECDL) as part of County Durham On Line's Prospect project. Stuart Egglington participated in the ECDL, which is
INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS IN view of the French government's settlement with the fishermen, there is much to concern the British onlooker. Not only have the French capitulated to strike action, thereby laying themselves open to further demands at the hands
BOTH Darlington clubs tuned up for next Saturday's Tetley's Bitter Cup ties by topping 40 points in their first league outings. Mowden Park sounded a warning to the rest of North Division One by overpowering visitors Bradford and Bingley in the final
BANK on Baranova (2.15) to get the afternoon off to winning start in the opening one mile EBF Maiden Stakes at Leicester. John Gosden's filly appeared to be all at sea on her debut at Newmarket when starting slowly and spending much of the race hunting
A NORTH-EAST youngster is walking properly for the first time in seven years after being the first in the country to undergo a pioneering operation. Ten-year-old Josh Gray was able to leave the wheelchair, in which he has been forced to spend most of
THOUSANDS of policyholders at mutual life assurer Scottish Provident could be set for £5,000 windfalls with Abbey National expected to confirm later this week a £2bn takeover of the group. Early indications say the deal could trigger the generous windfalls
THE wife of a "bullied" North-East teacher hopes she may be a step closer to winning an inquiry into how a local authority handled her husband's case. Gill Hetherington's husband, Geoff, 49, of Stockton, won a claim of unfair dismissal against Darlington
REGIONAL union leaders are forecasting a deluge of calls from members across the North-East and North Yorkshire in response to new legislation launched this week. Yesterday saw the beginning of new rights for all union members in the workplace, whether
MONTHS of speculation over Mo Mowlam's political future could be about to come to an end. The Redcar MP's agent said that although he had not seen the minister for about a month, he expected her to make her intentions clear "in the next couple of weeks
AN inquiry into how more than 5,000 fish died in an apparently poisoned lake has been launched. The dead fish at Priory Cottage Lake, Guisborough, Cleveland, include a monster pike of nearly 37lbs, bream to 17lbs and many 30lb-plus carp. The source of
CAN you tell me how it came about that the names of most Italian towns and regions have been Anglicised, eg Roma, Napoli, Milano, Sicilia, Toscana etc and even Italia. It is understandable that the difficult to pronounce names of Eastern Europe are Anglicised
