THE end of an era could be in sight for one of the Teesside chemical industry's historically-important buildings. The grade two-listed Wilton Castle and stables, near Redcar, were used by chemical firms for corporate training and entertainment until 1999
ONE of a community's best known couples have celebrated their diamond wedding in their home of 60 years. John and Ethel Hall first moved into their house at Castleside, near Consett, after they were married in 1941. Their home was packed out with well-wishers
AN elderly woman was left shaken after being confronted by a masked car thief while she waited for her husband in a town centre car park. The 75-year-old woman's ordeal took place in Darlington's Beaumont Street car park, yards from the busy Grange Road
A MONTH-long crackdown on speeding motorists has been launched to cut the toll of injuries and deaths on County Durham's roads. Officers will target speeding hotspots using a mobile infra-red speed camera, and cars will be fitted with video cameras. Marked
one of the region's museums has decided to reopen, despite the continuing crisis. The committee which runs Beamish Open Air Museum, near Stanley, County Durham, made its decision yesterday following advice from the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and
just as England were displaying jitters in Albania as the home side pressed for a late equaliser, Andy Cole came up with his first international goal. Michael Owen had changed the course of the game with yet another strike when it mattered most and Paul
ROAD improvements costing more than £160,000 will pave the way for new business opportunities in Shildon. The scheme will be an access route for tourists visiting the National Railway Museum being built in the town. The work, which will cost an estimated
FOOT-AND-MOUTH I THINK wild animals may be partly to blame for the rapid spread of foot-and-mouth disease. About a month ago, a wild boar was killed by a car on the road between Consett and Lanchester. The other night, a fox was seen in an infected area
A CHARITY which helps children with severe behavioural problems has urged academics to carry on the work of a controversial professor killed in the Selby rail crash. Professor Steve Baldwin defied the establishment by setting up the country's first clinic
VODKA can justify the 834-mile round trip from Maidstone to Musselburgh by winning the Nish & Raymondo Classified Stakes at the Scottish track this afternoon. Trainer John Best claimed Vodka (4.20) out of Patrick Haslam's stable last month, a shrewd
DEPARTMENT store group House of Fraser is on the brink of announcing a number of new store openings. The company, which has a store at the Gateshead MetroCentre as well as Binns outlets in Darlington and Middlesbrough, said it was in "advanced negotiations
POTENTIAL recruits are being urged to get in gear to help Darlington youngsters learn to ride their bikes safely. An initiative developed by Darlington Borough Council aims to teach children to be safe and sensible when cycling on the road. But to stay
MORE troops were called up in the North-East last night as the Army struggled to hold the line against foot-and-mouth disease. Brigadier Andrew Farquhar - the officer heading the military operation in the region - said that about 120 soldiers were now
A LIBRARY is ready to open an extra three hours a week after more flexible working arrangements were agreed. From Monday, Northallerton library will open at 9.30am, instead of 10am, each day. The local group libarian, Rosemary Bullimore, said: "We are
HOUSE prices are rising faster in the North than in the South, according to a survey published today. Figures compiled by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) show more surveyors in the region reported an increase than in the traditionally
WORK on a scheme to provide villagers with affordable housing will be launched this week. Two Castles Housing Association is building 17 pensioners' bungalows, 13 houses for rent, and four shared ownership properties at Burnopfield, near Stanley. The
A MUSICIAN is distraught after the theft of the drum kit he has had since he was a teenager. Peter Roberts, who plays in a band called The Majorities, has owned the Premier drum kit for nearly 40 years. The band, which also includes North-East Euro MP
WORK has started on the creation of a £1.85m technology park in Sedgefield. The NetPark project aims to create 1,000 jobs in the first two or three years. The technology park, on land at the former Winterton Hospital site, is being developed by Durham
YOUNGSTERS from schools across the North-East are learning something new from university scientists this week. Durham University is hosting a four-day science festival, aimed at people of all ages. Durung the day, hundreds of secondary school pupils are
WORRIED residents fear stray horses are spreading foot-and-mouth. Wandering horses in Bishop Auckland, County Durham, have been a headache for authorities in Wear Valley for years. Police and Wear Valley District Council receive about 20 to 30 phone calls
Housing plan on hold PLANNING officers are waiting for more information on a controversial proposed housing development which has divided a village near Northallerton. A local farming family, J Charlton and Sons, wants to build eight houses and garages
A FARMING couple have recorded a harrowing account of their battle with foot-and-mouth. Colin and Vivien Whitfield have been filming a "warts and all" video diary since the disease was confirmed at their farm near Tow Law, County Durham, last Thursday
FIREFIGHTERS spent two hours cleaning up an oil spill after 45-gallon drums were dumped. The four drums, which were left at the rear of Mannion Court, South Bank, near Middlesbrough, were knocked over, spreading a 300m pool over the road, late on Monday
VANDALS who destroyed a tree-planting project have been described as "mindless idiots" by police and the teenagers who spent 18-months running the scheme. Members of the Cockfield Youth Project have been devastated by the attack, which saw saplings uprooted
THE slogan urges Army recruits to Be The Best - but one corporal based in North Yorkshire now has a world record to prove it. Highlander William McLennan had been in training for the Redcar Half-Marathon for months, pounding the roads around Catterick
FLOATING high up in the highest echelons of professional society, Vera Baird is a fine example of the accomplished career woman. A criminal and civil liberties barrister and QC in the London chambers of Michael Mansfield, she covers high-profile cases
THE promise of surveillance cameras has not proved enough to mollify angry residents of a North Yorkshire village, who claim their lives are still being blighted by gangs of young thugs. Extra police patrols were promised when a meeting to thrash out
FAMILIES look likely to win a battle to have their homes centrally-heated. People living on part of Seaton Lane Estate, Hartlepool, signed a petition calling for their homes to get full central heating systems, instead of the partial heating they have
POLICE are appealing for witnesses after a robber jumped out of a car and stole money from a young woman. The incident happened yesterday afternoon at the junction of Milton Street and Ruby Street, Saltburn, east Cleveland, when the 19-year-old girl was
Peter Reid today celebrates his sixth anniversary as Sunderland boss with a vision to make the Wearsiders as big as Manchester United. It looked an impossible dream in March, 1995 when Reid inherited a team poised perilously on the brink of the second
THE brother of a North-East man killed in the Southall rail crash has attacked Railtrack ahead of two new reports which are expected to heap further criticism on the company. Railtrack is said to be behind schedule with the implementation of the Train
THE radio presenter who made national headlines last weekend by attempting one wind-up too many on England soccer boss Sven-Goran Eriksson has turned his attention to the North-East and former England rugby star Tony Underwood. Tony Horne is launching
HOUSEBUILDER Barratt Developments has unveiled record interim profits following a significant leap in the number of house completions. The Newcastle firm said it improved all its key financial figures as the housing market remained robust during the six
DEFENDANTS will be able to e-mail the judge with "not guilty" pleas during virtual reality-style court cases. In a court piloted in Newcastle Crown Court, instead of attending a preliminary hearing, defendants will be able to e-mail the judge with pleas
DARLINGTON winger Richard Hodgson is hoping bench duty is a thing of the past after Tuesday's point-saving goal at Exeter. Hodgson's strike, just minutes after replacing Clint Marcelle, earned his side a vital point in the relegation dogfight. And now
SUNDERLAND Football Club has played its way to an impressive performance on and off the pitch in the first half of the year. The club has continued to consolidate its position in the Premiership, standing fourth in the table, while improving its profitability
POLICE are appealing for witnesses after a robber jumped out of a car and stole money from a young woman. The incident happened yesterday afternoon at the junction of Milton Street and Ruby Street, Saltburn, east Cleveland, when the 19-year-old girl was
A "GENTLEMAN" car salesman is giving up his passion after 36 years of dedication. George Wood started his career in sales at Rycroft, formerly Croft and Blackburn, in Stockton, in January 1965. Mr Wood started selling agricultural vehicles, and then sold
SCHOOLBOY Jon Fraser came home yesterday to the farm where the two pet sheep he had bought with his pocket money had been slaughtered, along with 350 other animals. Fifteen-year-old Jon had been sent away from the farm at Wolsingham, in Weardale, County
YOUNGSTERS taking part in a gymnastics festival were treated to a sporting first by a team of internationals yesterday. Teenagers from Deerness Valley High Performance Centre stunned an audience of Bishop Auckland children when they performed a four-high
TAXIS plying for trade in a North-East town, have failed checks. Twenty cabs checked in a blitz carried out by Cleveland Police and council officials in Middlesbrough town centre, were found to be deficient in some way. Of 16 taxis tested for dirty exhausts
THE tiny community of Gunnerside in Swaledale defied the foot-and-mouth crisis to welcome the leader of the Methodist Church yesterday. The Reverend Inderjit Bhogal had to postpone his visit to Wensleydale last week, due to the epidemic which hit four
A COUNCIL has been praised over the way it handled a programme of redundancies. More than 100 employees left when Durham City Council shed staff because it needed to make savings and re-structure its organisation. A report into the council's human resources
A FIRM is getting back to its educational roots to add to the sporting prowess of its local school. Feed suppliers I'Ansons has been based in Masham for more than a century, and four generations of the family have attended the local Church of England
PEOPLE are being invited to help turn former farmland into an area for families. The Countryside Agency and Sunderland City Council plan to create a floral meadow, restore hedgerows and improve a footpath at Copt Hill, Houghton-le-Spring. It will form
THE Green Party is pushing for County Durham to become a GM-free zone. Within the next few weeks, genetically modified oil seed rape is to be planted at farms at Oakenshaw, Willington and Hutton Magna, near Barnard Castle, where activists destroyed £2,000
A £184,000 community technology and resource centre has been opened in a former east Durham mining village. Euro MP Stephen Hughes launched the project, which will bring a range of facilities to Horden residents. Horden Parish Council's Community Technology
A FOOTBALL league has had to cancel all of its cup competitions because the bad weather has caused a fixture backlog. Clubs in the Stepy's Coaches Durham Sunday Football League have agreed to the drastic move in a bid to complete the league season on
A GUISBOROUGH drama club is preparing to make a film chronicling the past 100 years of life in the town. Spotlight Film and Drama enables people in east Cleveland to learn drama and film-making skills, and brings together amateurs and professionals to
A NORTH-EAST council has been given a key role in the Government's plans to revolutionise local services using the latest electronic technologies. The Department of Environment, Transport and Regions has awarded Sunderland City Council Pathfinder status
WORD games, as ever, last week's column moved mellifluously from oxymorons to those rare terms which appear to be a negative but which have no recognised positive. P G Wodehouse probably provided the best remembered example: "He spoke with a certain what-is-it
TENSION over the future of selective education in Ripon has been turned up another notch with a vote at the town hall supporting a parish poll on the issue. The city council has already made it clear it is opposed to a survey on a topic which has split
A PENSIONER was left "extremely shocked" after a man delved into her bag and snatched her pension. The incident happened at 11.45am on Monday, as the 87-year-old woman was standing outside the Fresh and Crispy and Fruity fruit shop in King's Road, North
A MAN has been arrested and computer equipment seized following an operation to uncover Internet paedophiles. The suspect, from North Tyneside, was arrested in the early hours of yesterday as part of a national campaign, led by Greater Manchester Police
WAHEY! House prices in the North are at long last rising ahead of the South, trumpeted the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) yesterday. It is the first time in 30 years that this phenomenon has been noticed. But really, this is only good
VISITORS are being asked not to keep away from the Tees Valley during the crisis. The Tees Valley Tourism Bureau is stressing that many of the visitor attractions, parks and green areas in Middlesbrough, Darlington, Stockton, Hartlepool and Redcar and
A LONG-SERVING school teacher was honoured by the Queen for her services yesterday. Judith Kent, 61, who works at the Abbey Junior School, Darlington, was presented with an MBE by the Queen for her services to education. She has been teaching for 41 years
PATIENT waiting times at a hospital's casualty department have been slashed since last year, according to the latest figures. A survey conducted by South Tees Community Health Council (CHC), on Monday, showed that the longest waiting time at Middlesbrough
Patrick is only a few weeks old and is named after St Patrick - on whose day he was found, wrapped in a shirt, left on a doorstep. His young mother had given birth to him alone and then waited for her parents to be asleep before slipping out of the house
A 40-STRONG team of police officers yesterday launched an investigation into the death of a 49-year-old taxi driver, whose body was found floating in a dock. Abdul Rashid, 49, of Southwell Square, Middlesbrough, was discovered by the Dutch captain of
AN ARTIST, whose work hangs in the homes of Prime Minister Tony Blair and TV personality and academic David Bellamy, is celebrating 21 years as a professional painter. To mark the anniversary, Eric Thompson, of High Croft, Middlestone Moor, is holding
WHEN will the madness end? "I am in blood stepped so far that, should I wade no more, returning were as tedious as to go o'er.'' Presumably, it is something like the thought that spurred Lady Macbeth through multi-murder that now drives the Government's
A STRATEGY to improve the management of playing fields in Darlington is being drawn up by the local council. Darlington Borough Council says the strategy is needed to determine existing and future needs of people who take part in sports that involve playing
A POLICE letter writing initiative aimed at stamping out juvenile disorder has been hailed a success. Northumbria Police officers called to incidents of youth disorder in Washington have written to parents to advise them about their children's activities
