DRIVERS from one of the region's largest bus operators raised more than £2,000 to help a youngster have a vital operation. After reading about the plight of Hope Elliott, Go North East drivers embarked on a number of major fundraising events. A total
ONE of the first major sailing regattas in the North-East takes place this weekend. The Tees and Hartlepool Yacht Club is hosting the event, which will attract people from across the region. The regatta will include classes for all types of yacht and
ONE of the region's biggest fireworks displays will light up the skies on Saturday. The display, part of the Orange Wow (Window on the World) festival at North Shields Fish Quay, North Tyneside, is expected to attract more than 40,000 visitors. Orange
CLERGY from the diocese of Ripon and Leeds sit down next month to a debate on an issue which has split the Anglican Church in the past. Until now, individuals have been left to decide if they should remarry divorcees in church - and there have been strong
BY his own admission, it proved to be only the second greatest day in the life of Middlesbrough FC and England football legend George Hardwick. Not that those honouring the 81-year-old for his achievements would mind being eclipsed by a world-beating
THE British Humanist Association (BHA) will hold a one-day conference about the role of religious organisations in politics, education and state-funded public services. Religion and Politics don't mix? will take place at the Station Hotel in Newcastle
GENERAL ELECTION THE John Prescott saga will, it seems, be made a meal of by the media and did, I suppose, put some spice into what was going to be a boring few days. Whether John Prescott was right to retaliate is not the problem. It now seems certain
ANOTHER Bank Holiday, followed by a week of half term. Time to get out and about. But where to? And how much? The cost of a family outing can come as a shock, hitting the wallet hard, but by the time you get to the turnstiles and your children are happily
A BLANKET 20 miles per hour speed limit came into force across a city centre yesterday. Motorists using 80 streets and roads in the centre of Sunderland were faced with the newly imposed restrictions from noon. The cover came off 100 signs in streets
ELECTRONICS firm Filtronic last night denied it had been forced to abandon plans to manufacture chips for the next generation of mobile phones. The company announced yesterday that it was in discussions with a leading aerospace and defence equipment manufacturer
WALKERS are enjoying countryside paths for the first time since the foot-and-mouth crisis began, after they were reopened on Tuesday. Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council opened areas of Flatts Lane, Normanby, and Guisborough Branch Walkway following
A SCHEME to train residential workers is celebrating after seven trainees achieved their qualifications. Trainees with Sunderland City Council's social services department's began their courses last August and were given posts in residential homes, or
THE Children's Hope Foundation has announced the date for its Diamonds R Forever Ball. The ball is being held to raise funds for an educational programme for children in Sunderland, which will be unveiled on the same day at the Stadium of Light. The black
A NURSE has been struck off for professional misconduct after an inquiry heard how she grabbed the hand of a severely handicapped patient and used it to whack another patient in the face. Sheila Ellwood, 50, was found guilty of slapping a male patient's
NEW mother Denise Welch has had her first taste of life in front of a camera since the birth of her son. The former Coronation Street star looked happy and healthy as she filmed a one-off comedy in North Shields, North Tyneside. She puts her gastronomic
Two senior female council staff who say they were passed over for promotion because of their sex had their compensation hopes dashed by the Appeal Court yesterday. Julie Karen Wheeler, 39, of Belle Vue Avenue, Newcastle, and Hazel Newton, 52, from Durham
Bank worker Lee Doyle was almost killed by stress balls handed out by her union to ease the pressures of the working day. Finance union Unifi thought it was doing the Sunderland Barclays call centre staff a favour by providing the spongy yellow balls.
A bride told last night how she had been forced to postpone her wedding because of the foot-and-mouth crisis gripping the Yorkshire Dales. Susan Read, of Hartlington, near Skipton, had been due to marry her fiance Jeremy Stockdale on Saturday but the
THE first volume of Durham Biographies, an admirable and an overdue idea, has arrived in a little parcel of books from Professor Gordon Batho. Particularly, we are taken by the account of Ada Byron - the great poet's only legitimate daughter - who is
AN old form of transport is to make a comeback in Durham City with the launch of a horse taxi service. Local businessmen Dennis Sweeney and Arthur Walsh believe their landaus, drawn by grey Cobb/Clydesdale horses, will soon be a popular attraction on
THIRTEEN recruits with Cleveland Police are being sworn in today. The 12 men and one woman have spent the past fortnight getting a taste of life in the force and the districts where they will be based. They will spend the next three months on an intensive
CAR production in Britain is a doomed industry, according to a report. The study, by consultants AT Kearney, predicts a continued decline in high volume production, increasing plant closures and continued pressure on parts suppliers. The report, The Future
NEWCASTLE United were last night still waiting anxiously to learn the full extent of the ankle injury which led to striker Carl Cort being stretchered off in Tuesday's friendly at Exeter. Fears that Cort had suffered a break were allayed following X-rays
A NEW children's nursery is ready to open - six months after the owner won her struggle to secure planning permission. A series of applications for nurseries in Sedgefield, County Durham, have been turned down over the last two years. Concerns over potential
A backlog of almost 50 million letters was awaiting clearance last night after agreement was reached to end a wave of wildcat strikes by postal workers. Post boxes remained sealed in some parts of the country amid estimates that it could take up to two
PHARMACISTS have teamed up with GPs to launch a new initiative to help get rid of head lice. Instead of visiting their GP or buying treatments over the counter, people living in the Easington area are being encouraged to ask their local pharmacist for
Railtrack caused a storm last night by demanding an extra £2bn of public money for improvements to the railways - as further safety concerns were raised in the North-East. The company, which announced that it made a £534m loss last year, was also attacked
THE company behind the latest controversial nightspot proposals for a disused North-East cinema has dropped its public entertainment licence bid. Yesterday, Durham City Council's licensing panel was to have considered Luminar Leisure's application for
ROAD safety experts are hoping a TV comedy star will succeed in getting the message through to drivers - after speed camera warning signs failed. Men Behaving Badly actor Neil Morrissey has been recruited to urge motorists to behave - and slow down. More
EVERYONE has their own idea of the nightmare that would await them in Room 101. For Winston Smith, in George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four, the room which brings victims face-to-face with their greatest fear, was crawling with rats. For others it might
A TEENAGER returned to re-launch the ship she sent on its maiden voyage ten years ago. Lindsay Temple, 16, re-launched Northumbrian Water's passenger cruiser Osprey at Kielder Water on Monday. Lindsay, who is from Kielder Village, also cut a ship-shaped
THE victim of a road rage attack is to be taken to see a car police believe may have been involved in a similar incident in the past. Early last Wednesday, the 26-year-old was slashed with a knife and beaten around the head by another motorist. The attack
THE sight of horses grazing by the roadside may be a picture of rural tranquillity, but it has long since lost its charm for North-East communities. Owners take advantage of complex legislation which has frustrated police, councils and animal welfare
DRIVEN by a keen mind and a thirst for knowledge beyond the mere curiosity of youth, the five-year-old Frank Williams would spend hours wandering the streets of his home town. Jarrow, South Tyneside, circa 1949, was a safe enough place. Frank's wanderlust
IT'S full steam ahead for the eighth Kirkleatham Rally in east Cleveland in August. The annual event will take place at Kirkleatham, near Redcar, over the weekend of August 11 and 12, but organisers are encouraging exhibitors, traders and visitors to
POLICE will be out in force over the bank holiday weekend - targeting dangerous caravans on one of North Yorkshire's busiest holiday routes. They are teaming up with officials from the Department of Transport and the Tyre Industry Council to mount Operation
TRANs-Atlantic conmen are targeting householders with a new scam. Trading standards officers in North Yorkshire are investigating after being alerted by a worried homeowner. She had been telephoned by a company claiming to be Lotto Net of Newfoundland
HOPE is on the horizon for redundant Cammell Laird workers on Teesside after the yard's former owner appeared as a potential buyer. Eric Welsh sold out of the Teesport yard in 1998 when Cammell Laird took over the ship repair yard. But in April, the 110
WARNINGS that a North Yorkshire port faces Captain Cook overkill have been given as the town wrestles with a decision on a £10m scheme for a heritage centre to the navigator. Reaction to proposals that include the conversion of a 19th century engine shed
Royal hats are in the spotlight at a County Durham museum. The Royal Milliners exhibition, at the Bowes Museum, in Barnard Castle, features more than 100 items of regal headgear belonging to the Queen Mother, Princess Royal, and Princess Margaret, as
A FORMER miner has produced a book of photographs of the early days of Stanley. Ron Hindhaugh has trawled his collection of postcards for the illustrations for Memories of Stanley. The book, published by County Durham Books, the publishing arm of Durham
A COUPLE are devastated after more than £3,000 worth of plants were ruined by vandals. Mike and Judith Collins arrived at their family business, The Golden Acre Nurseries, in Marske, Teesside, on Monday morning to discover that 75 per cent of their stock
NATIONAL park chiefs will be warned that, without careful strategies, the Yorkshire Dales could be at risk of being "loved to death". The authority which administers the area meets next week to discuss a park report, which encapsulates both the current
GARAGES and sheds are being targeted in a "mini-crimewave" that is sweeping an area. During the past six or seven months, the number of break-ins to garages, sheds and outhouses in the Woodside area of Ormesby, Middlesbrough, has steadily increased. In
TEENAGERS were able to see how life behind bars is no picnic when their school was transformed into a prison for a day. Prison officers moved into King James I Community College, in Bishop Auckland, County Durham, with a mobile cell and guard dogs, to
A VILLAGE'S representative on two councils is stepping down from one authority, but is eager to quash rumours that he is quitting local politics for good. Former miner Derek Armstrong is recognised as a man of the people, speaking up for the ex-pit village
IS it really only four years since the last election? For me, the weeks running up to the vote in 1997 were quite extraordinary as Tony Blair, his wife Cherie, and the then Shadow Home Secretary Jack Straw all rushed up to Middlesbrough to hear our crime
A DOG training team may not sweep the board at this year's Crufts show, but at least they will look the part. The Barney Bullets flyball team, which is part of the Barnard Castle dog training team, will be competing against groups from across the country
NEW Manchester City manager Kevin Keegan has let slip he was first approached by the club on Sunday - 24 hours before Joe Royle was sacked. City claim they did not contact Keegan until after they had dismissed Royle on Monday morning. However Keegan has
house hunters have resorted to camping out to be certain they are first in the queue when cut-price properties go on sale next week. The clutch of 60 former Army quarters in Catterick Garrison in North Yorkshire do not go on the market for another week
MANCHESTER United full-back Denis Irwin is in the running for a player-coach role in Steve McClaren's new regime at Middlesbrough. Republic of Ireland international Irwin, 35, is leaving Old Trafford on a free transfer this summer after 11 years and could
THE RSPCA has admitted it has been left puzzled over a mystery illness affecting cats in a North-East town. Cat owners on a Darlington estate are keeping their animals indoors amid fears that a poisoner is at work in the area. Several cats on the Firthmoor
PETER BEARDSLEY last night hailed Kevin Keegan's return to football with Manchester City, and declared: "It's a marriage made in heaven.'' Geordie legend Beardsley, who played alongside and under Keegan at Newcastle United and was a member of his England
BRITISH TELECOM has appointed Ray Smith as its regional director for the North-East. Mr Smith, 46, a married father of two, has been with the company for 14 years, and is currently managing director of the commercial division of BT retail. As regional
CASH rich hotels-to-pub group Bass has hinted at further acquisitions as it strives to build up its reshaped business. Chairman Sir Ian Prosser said Bass was intent on taking advantage of "slowing global economic conditions" to find investment opportunities
Warm weather is forecast to continue over the Bank Holiday weekend - but tourism in rural areas is unlikely to reap the full benefits. The English Tourism Council (ETC) said almost 80 per cent of rural footpaths are still closed because of foot-and-mouth
AN 82-year-old man who was told to wait until November 2002 to see a hospital eye specialist cancelled the appointment yesterday - because he fears he will not live that long. Retired truck driver Philip Thomas-Peter said: "It in within the realms of
MORE than 1,300 years on, what may be the nation's first flag flew proudly over the Tyne anticipating a new role. Campaigners for a regional assembly are hoping the ancient flag of the King of Northumberland, King Oswald, who died in 642, will again become
AN electricity company has been told to improve its selling techniques following a number of complaints from customers. npower has been forced to take action after receiving a rebuke from gas and electricity watchdog Ofgem. Figures show that from November
KEVIN Keegan had the look of a broken man when he quit as England coach following defeat by Germany at Wembley in October. Brutally honest about his own shortcomings on the international stage, his confidence was shattered, and there were many who believed
COACHES from Sunderland AFC will be helping young footballers in the region brush up their skills this half-term. Next Tuesday and Wednesday they will be at Park View Community Association, in Chester-le-Street. On the Thursday and Friday they will be
A ROW has erupted over the appointment of a town's deputy mayor. Members of all parties represented on coalition-run Hartlepool Borough Council gathered at the Civic Centre on Tuesday for the annual mayor-making ceremony. There were no objections when
