Archive

  • Pub expansion plan opposed

    A BID to expand a pub into a next-door butchers shop has come up against opposition from English Heritage. Councillors will consider on Wednesday whether to allow Ye Old Horse Shoe, in Church Street, Crook, to take in the adjoining property, a Grade II

  • Give it up for baby, plead ex-smokers

    A FAMILY who successfully stopped smoking are hoping to inspire other people to kick the habit. Pam and David Spooner volunteered to take part in a University of Teesside video project to encourage pregnant young women to give up smoking. Pam gave up

  • Students take to the catwalk

    students are taking to the catwalk for charity. A fashion show of spring designs from several major retailers takes place at Durham University's Van Mildert College, at 7pm on Sunday, January 28, after students Ben Redshaw and Adam Bailey approached stores

  • Go-ahead for quarry landscaping

    A HUGE land reclamation programme looks likely to start in north Durham following a lengthy delay. Industrial wasteland at Hetton-le-Hole will be transformed into a community park if work starts on landscaping at Eppleton Quarry and nearby pit heaps.

  • Pointing the finger of blame

    ARISING out of any tragedy there is an understandable clamour for retribution. Often the clamour is misguided. Sometimes accidents happen and there is no one person, or no one company, to blame. This is not so in the case of last year's train crash at

  • Witness plea after crash

    POLICE are appealing for witnesses to a car crash which left two drivers and an 11-year-old boy in hospital. The accident, between a Citroen and a Ford Sierra, happened at the A19 junction with Coal Lane near Elwick, at 9.15pm on Friday. The Citroen ended

  • Portrait tribute to clown prince of soccer

    THE family of football's legendary clown prince of soccer, Len Shackleton, took part in an emotional unveiling of a tribute portrait and plaque yesterday. Len's wife Marjorie, son Roger, and other family members unveiled the 3ft portrait at Sunderland's

  • Burning Questions

    WHEN I was at school I remember reading that the Nazi party won 90 per cent of the vote in a referendum held in Germany around 1933. Can you confirm this? - LD Wilson, Guisborough. THE Nazis received 38 per cent of the German votes in July 1932 (14 million

  • Orange in flotation discount incentive

    MOBILE phones firm Orange is to offer small investors a discount in a bid to attract interest for its partial flotation later this month. Fifteen per cent of Orange, the biggest private sector employer in Darlington with 2,000 workers in two call centres

  • Residents voice fears over plans for former pub

    PLANS to turn a former pub into a youth centre have been described as a "disaster for the community" by residents. Headland Future Limited has applied for planning permission to turn the former Golden Anchor public house in Abbey Street, Hartlepool, into

  • Engines of Creation booster for bioscience

    A TECHNOLOGY and investment event will bring together North-East science and business communities. Organised by The Bridge Club, in association with One NorthEast and Bio Sci North, Engines of Creation will raise awareness of bioscience and associated

  • Cure fight family aided by charity

    A CHARITY has stepped in to help a family link up with a US institute which could help them cure their four-year-old autistic son. Jake Burgess's parents have already travelled from their home in Catterick Village to the Options Institute, in Massachusetts

  • POTTER POETS DRAW ON SKILLS AT DURHAM CASTLE

    STUDENTS, children and even internationally important artists enjoyed a day of Harry Potter mania at an awards ceremony in Durham Castle at the weekend. Children from north Durham primary schools nominated for awards in a poetry and picture competition

  • Rape case first on fast-track

    A YOUNG man accused of attempted rape will be one of the first people in the country charged with very serious crimes to receive new fast track justice. Michael Marsden, 20, of Hawthorne Close at Kimblesworth, appeared in front of Chester-le-Street magistrates

  • Professor joins the African chiefs

    African robes will take the place of an academic gown when retired Professor Neville Birdsall takes up his latest appointment. For an offer of a home to a student nearly 40 years ago launched a chain of events which next month will see the 72-year-old

  • Arrested Vicky: I'm innocent

    Coronation Street star Vicky Entwistle last night insisted she had done nothing wrong after being arrested over an alleged assault on a man. Vicky, who plays loudmouthed Janice Battersby in the soap, said her arrest, in connection with an incident in

  • New alert over letter bomb

    FRESH police warnings were issued last night after the latest in a series of letter bomb attacks in the region. The public were urged to be on their guard against the terrorism campaign, believed to be the work of animal rights extremists. Yesterday,

  • CJD fear for haemophiliacs

    BLOOD from a donor who developed the human form of mad cow disease has been used to treat haemophiliacs in the North-East, health chiefs confirmed yesterday. Letters will be sent out to patients today telling them if they are among those affected. And

  • Jail for man who set fire to friend

    A TEENAGER was splashed with petrol and set alight by a friend in an "incident of folly", a court heard yesterday. Neil Ivin, 31, sprayed petrol over Jonathan Ingleby's clothes as he filled a lawn-mower in a friend's kitchen, saying "Oops, sorry". When

  • Housebuyers 2, Mr and Mrs Karembeu 0

    MIDDLESBROUGH footballer Christian Karembeu and his supermodel model wife are still looking for a home in the region - after being beaten to two properties. The French international told a national newspaper at the weekend that he and Adriana Sklenarikova

  • Reynolds slips in wealth ratings

    MILLIONAIRE football club chairman George Reynolds has found himself languishing near the bottom of the table. But unlike his club, Darlington FC, who slumped to 19th place in Division Three after Saturday's defeat at home to Chesterfield, there are plenty

  • Beaten Rusedski prepared to buy success

    Greg Rusedski is determined to build on his best Australian Open, whatever the cost. Despite a fourth round, straight sets defeat to 15th seed Arnaud Clement yesterday, Rusedski left Melbourne much happier than Tim Henman. Both had been comprehensively

  • Action plan to entice people to look for jobs

    A TOWN'S unemployed residents are being offered incentives to encourage them to try to find jobs. Hartlepool Action Team for Jobs will be at the town's People Centre in Raby Road on Wednesday, between 10am and 2pm. The team will be available to give advice

  • Mystery over body in river

    POLICE say they are keeping an open mind about the death of a pensioner found in the River Tees. The body of 81-year-old Lawrence Holliday was found in the river by the Princess Diana bridge in Stockton on Friday. A passer-by spotted Mr Holliday at 1pm

  • Motorist suffers burns

    A DRIVER suffered burns after his car crashed into the wall of an electricity sub-station. The man had been travelling along the West Auckland to Etherley road in the early hours of Sunday morning, when he lost control of his car and smashed into the

  • Jonathan leads the way in sports awards . . .

    OLYMPIC triple jump gold medalist Jonathan Edwards led the way in this year's Northern Rock North-East Sports Awards. Jonathan was crowned the North-East Sports Award Personality of the Year for the second time in five years at a ceremony at the Seaburn

  • Magpies see red over jibes

    THAT old Newcastle-Sunderland rivalry has flared up in a football-daft area - all thanks to a controversial advertisement. Students at East Durham and Houghall Community College, based at Peterlee, County Durham, learnt that not everything is black and

  • A weighty moment

    PROUD parents Andy and Karen Gascoigne could not believe their ears when midwives announced their third son Baily had entered the world at a healthy 9lb 14oz. That was exactly the same birth weight as their first two children. Midwives at Darlington Memorial

  • Groups learn of community chest cash

    A MEETING has been arrang-ed in Richmond this week which could prove the starting point for a raft of projects to be implemented over the next decade. Communities across the region could qualify for Government cash to help pay for regeneration schemes

  • Tenants turn into managers

    COUNCIL house residents on a Darlington estate are to become the first in the town to manage their own properties. The Springfield Residents' Association has received £50,000 from the Government to develop a tenant management organisation. The organisation

  • Arson feared as school wrecked by fire

    ARSONISTS may be responsible for a fire which swept through a North-East school causing massive damage. A police investigation is under way after the blaze at Hardwick Primary School, in Sedgefield, yesterday morning. Half the school was destroyed by

  • Roof drama man arrested

    A MAN was talked down from the roof of a three-storey building after a three-hour drama. Police were called to a house in Tankerville Street, Hartlepool, at 9.30pm on Friday after receiving reports of a domestic incident. When officers arrived at the

  • A sad goodbye to little Jordan

    THE funeral of a battling North-East youngster, who was born with a hole in the heart, is due to take place today. Jordan Leadbitter, two, suffered from a rare heart condition which meant he required 24-hour around the clock care and to be drip-fed through

  • Body trio on bail

    THREE men have been released on police bail after a woman was found dead in Middlesbrough. The body of 39-year-old Judy Carter was found in a house in Southfield Road, at about 9pm on Friday. It is believed that Ms Carter's death may be drug-related.

  • City gets ready for first toll road

    A NORTH-EAST city looks set to become the first outside of London to charge people for the use of a popular road. The toll road in Durham City could be in operation within months, with motorists charged £2 to drive along Saddler Street in the city centre

  • Mayor's charity boost

    THE Mayor of Durham George Wharton received a £500 cheque on Friday for his appeal for a conservation group dedicated to saving butterflies, named Chase the Butterfly. The funds were raised by Durham charity collectors over Christmas from public donations

  • Adults offered safety aid

    ADULTS are being urged to take advantage of a law change that allows school patrol wardens to help them cross the road in safety. The changes, in the Transport 2000 Act, will be in operation from Tuesday, next week. In the past, wardens have only had

  • Apprentice's talents shine out

    APPRENTICE Ross Ward is a polished worker according to his bosses. Mr Ward, 22, has been named Apprentice of the Year by shoe repair firm Timpson's He works in Darlington's Tubwell Row branch, and has been tipped as a good prospect by chairman and chief

  • Plea to make use of revamp church hall

    CHURCH leaders are appealing for community groups to come forward to use their newly renovated church hall. St Cuthbert's Hall, in Church Bank, Shotley Bridge was renovated at a cost of £254,000, of which more than half was raised through charity. The

  • College awards

    PROUD parents will look on as more than 70 students receive awards for excellence at Darlington College of Technology on Friday. The awards are sponsored by a number of individuals, companies and organisations, for specific achievements within different

  • Victims renew call for Neale inquiry

    VICTIMS of disgraced surgeon Richard Neale are stepping up their calls for a public inquiry. Health Secretary Alan Milburn has confirmed the intention to make a review of the scandal, which saw scores of women left in chronic pain following botched operations

  • Right move keeps Bison Bede on the up and secures 150 jobs

    BUSINESS is on the up for a stair-lift manufacturer after chartered surveyors Whittle Jones helped the company consolidate operations on one site. Bison Bede's move to 33,000sq ft of converted accommodation on Northern Trust Company's Number One Industrial

  • Concern for safety of missing woman

    CONCERN is growing for the safety of a woman with schizophrenia who went missing on Friday after saying she was going to meet a relative. Paula Young, 24, from Etherley Lodge,Etherley, near Bishop Auckland, left on Friday morning with her cash and bank

  • National title hope for Co-op milkman

    A MILKMAN has been nominated as one of the cream of the crop. Stan Green, 54, of Warsett Road, Marske, Cleveland, is in the running for the Milkman of the Year title. Mr Green has worked as a milkman for 40 years at the Greencroft department of Co-op

  • Minister to unveil Holocaust memorial

    LOCAL Government Minister Hilary Armstrong will unveil a memorial plaque in Crook dedicated to the victims of the Holocaust. Wear Valley District Council has organised the event to mark the first National Holocaust Memorial Day. The ceremony will include

  • Museum has goal of world heritage title

    A FIVE-YEAR development plan has been drawn up to attracting thousands more visitors to Darlington's railway museum. The draft plan highlights improvements which could be made to increase the appeal of the Darlington Railway Centre and Museum, in North

  • My life of hell as a teetotaller

    ALL these blokes writing in the newspapers and coming on television to tell us about their battle with the booze and how hard it is to lay off. I think it's time I came clean with you, dear reader, and told you the whole sordid truth about my own personal

  • Prize makes sam a good match for his owner

    A PREMIER League pet can now emulate his Sunderland FC supporting owner - with his very own red and white striped kit. Sam the cross labrador-collie was presented with a snug coat in the club's famous colours after his owner, Tom Cook, won a Northern

  • Accordionist date

    AN internationally-renowned classical accordionist will perform at Sowerby Music's next concert. Owen Murray, who is head of accordion studies at the Royal Academy of Music, will be the star attraction at the concert in St Oswald's Church, on Saturday

  • battledress for make-believe army given an airing

    AN exhibition of battledress and armour opened at Brough Park, near Catterick, at the weekend. An array of military uniforms - part of an exhibition by Dutch artist Auke de Vries, above - went on display for the first time in Britain. The exhibition,

  • Services remember student

    THE funeral of a student who was to make her home in the region after studying at one of the North-East's universities takes place in France tomorrow. Claire Burton-Page, who was 24, died in Dryburn Hospital, Durham, on January 9, after she collapsed

  • But George walks out over taunts

    DARLINGTON FC chairman George Reynolds walked out of Saturday's game because he feared for his family's safety, it was revealed last night. The Quakers' owner left his seat in the director's box midway through the second half after being taunted by his

  • Stadium campaigners seek council tax rebate

    RESIDENTS are demanding a council tax rebate because they say their lives are being made a misery by development work on Darlington Football Club's new stadium. People in Neasham Road have written to Darlington Borough Council expressing concern about

  • Castle owners' bid to prove age of romance is not dead

    Visitors to a North-East castle are being invited to try some medieval-style courting. The age of romance is being resurrected at 12th Century Walworth Castle, near Darlington, County Durham. For £145 per person, couples can relive the Middle Ages in

  • Museum to host Great War talk

    A COUNTY Durham man is to tell of his quest to discover the fate of three of his uncles in the First World War. Jack Cavanagh, chairman of the local branch of the Western Front Association, will give a talk, entitled In Search of Three Uncles at the Durham

  • Hotelier claims club's noise levels leave rooms unlettable

    THE owner of a Stockton hotel has claimed that her rooms have become unlettable because of the noise from a neighbouring club. Sue Bennett, of The Courtyard Hotel, Green Dragon Yard, has complained about an application by the Georgian Theatre to open

  • Corrs concert cancelled

    IRISH supergroup The Corrs has postponed to-night's sell-out show at Newcastle's Telewest Arena. One of the sisters has a sore throat. Promoters are urging the 11,000 people with tickets to hold onto them pending a rearranged gig in the next two weeks

  • Axe may fall on half of Corus jobs

    UP to half of Corus workers in the North-East could lose their jobs this week, with an announcement on the company's future expected in the next few days. A statement by the Anglo-Dutch group is expected on Wednesday, when chairman Sir Brian Moffatt will

  • Sven gives Boro thumbs up, but Ince future is uncertain

    NEW England coach Sven-Goran Eriksson yesterday refused to give Middlesbrough skipper Paul Ince any guarantees over his international future. Ince was in inspired form against former club Liverpool as Boro threatened to upset the odds in Saturday's goalless

  • Dyer's shin splints given the all clear

    NEWCASTLE United have been told to tread carefully with Kieron Dyer despite receiving the all-clear over the England starlet's shin splint problem. United yesterday confirmed a specialist's report had allayed fears that Dyer could face surgery and a long

  • Ryan can help Red Imp to another win

    FAST-IMPROVING Red Imp (3.10) should not be missed in the Conference Centre Handicap Hurdle at Leicester this afternoon. Owned and trained by the season's leading permit holder, Brancepeth-based Norman Mason, Red Imp romped to an impressive track and

  • Quakers chief insists he won't walk away

    Darlington manager Gary Bennett last night warned his players of the task ahead - securing the club's Football League future. And under-fire chairman George Reynolds has vowed he won't walk away in the face of mounting pressure from the fans. Saturday's

  • Quinn in Phillips for England cry

    NIALL Quinn has told Sven-Goran Eriksson: "You should have seen Kevin Phillips three weeks ago!" Strike partner Phillips put on a wonder show earlier this month when Sunderland did a 4-1 demolition job on Ipswich - their upcoming FA Cup fourth round opponents

  • Metro extension boost

    THE £98m Metro extension from Newcastle to Sunderland is bang on track according to Metro and Railtrack bosses. The Metro extension to South Hylton, due for completion in January 2002, has been delayed in recent months due to problems caused by vandalism

  • Brothers tackle new challenge

    TTE, one of the UK's leading training companies, has appointed brothers JIM and MICK LESTER to its management and technical training business. The pair, who have pursued parallel careers which have taken them both into the armed services and the oil rigs

  • £25,000 for CJD victims

    A NORTH-EAST campaigner for sufferers of the human form of mad cow disease has described reports that families are to receive £25,000 compensation from the Government as an "insult". Frances Hall, from Chester-le-Street, County Durham, whose 20-year-old

  • Letters blitz over school places

    PARENTS battling for more places at a small village school are preparing to bombard education chiefs with letters as part of their campaign. The parents want money spent to increase the size of Coxhoe Primary School, near Durham City, which they say cannot

  • Reynolds bans under18s

    UNDER-fire Darlington chairman George Reynolds last night took the extraordinary step of banning unaccompanied youngsters from supporting their team from the home end. Mr Reynolds was the target of protests from the Feethams' terraces during Saturday's

  • Roof drama man arrested

    A MAN was talked down from the roof of a three-storey building after a three-hour drama. Police were called to a house in Tankerville Street, Hartlepool, at 9.30pm on Friday after receiving reports of a domestic incident. When officers arrived at the

  • Mental scars of machete attack

    A COMMUNITY leader who tackled a machete-wielding armed robber is so shaken by the experience that he cannot bring himself to return to his civic duties. Councillor Eric Turner, 70, burst in on two robbers, one of who was threatening his wife Edith with

  • Workshops pave road to success

    COMPANIES in the North-East are adopting a new and different approach to planning for success. Foresight North-East has already helped ten local businesses to develop a vision for the future. Up to three people from each company attended one of a series

  • Social club scheme

    PLANS for a new social club will improve the fitness of hospital staff. Bishop Auckland Hospital is being rebuilt in a £67m scheme to create a building that will bring all its services under one roof. Now a sports and social club could be added, if outline

  • It was live and they all died

    IT WAS live, but only vaguely interesting. The world had, after all, witnessed countless other space shuttle launches. Challenger itself had blasted off nine previous times and that same world was becoming blas. But this was live because it was slightly

  • Drugs support

    The next meeting of the Carers Initiative, for the carers of people with drugs problems, will be on February 5, at Woodhouse Close Church, Bishop Auckland, from 1.30pm to 2.30pm. For details contact Loretta Watt on (01388) 451400.

  • New parking permits will ease burden for city residents

    A NEW phase of parking controls in congested areas of Durham City comes into operation next week. Residents in the Gilesgate, Claypath and The Sands areas will be granted parking permits. Pay-and-display machines will be installed for everyone else. It

  • Help sought over pictures puzzle

    YOUNGSTERS at a Darlington school are appealing for help in tracking down the subjects of two mystery photographs. The photos were found in the library of Abbey Junior School by pupils Sophie Bolland, 11, and Katie Endersby, ten. One, which is black and

  • Police chief to meet residents

    RESIDENTS are to be given the chance to hear how their police district commander is looking after their interests. Chief Superintendent John Burke, of Hartlepool police, will be the guest speaker at the South Community Safety and Police Liaison meeting

  • Cabbie's behaviour with girls 'foolish'

    A TAXI driver has been given a written warning over "inappropriate behaviour" with two teenage girls. Peter Darby, 61, was investigated by police after he admitted "foolish" conduct with the girls, aged 13 and 15, who he had been driving. In a report,

  • National Lottery closer to villagers

    NATIONAL Lottery tickets went on sale for the first time in the Swaledale village of Reeth at the weekend. A terminal was installed at the village post office last Monday and came into operation at the weekend. Postmistress Jenny Curtis can now offer

  • Abuse inquiry doctor under fire again

    THE doctor at the centre of the 1986 Cleveland child abuse inquiry has been criticised for her diagnosis of sex assault on a baby in Scotland. But health officials have defended their appointment of paediatrician Marietta Higgs, saying there is no restriction

  • Youth club protests

    PEOPLE are calling on Darlington Borough Council to re-open a youth club in a popular community centre. The club, in the Skerne Park centre, was closed before Christmas and has not been re-opened. Local people attended a meeting on Friday night and were