Archive

  • Shopping centre subway to close despite fears for safety

    A SHOPPING centre subway will close despite concerns over pedestrian safety. As part of a redevelopment of Hartlepool town centre, developers want to close the subway under Stockton Road, demolish units and extend the Middleton Grange shopping centre.

  • Nose op patient in 'sacred' cow payout

    A Hindu woman has won £4,000 in damages after a surgeon performed an operation on her nose using "sacred" cow cartilage without her knowledge. The woman, who has asked not to be named, said she would never have consented to the procedure had she known

  • Durham search for winning hat-trick

    DURHAM have a dual incentive in going for a hat-trick of one-day wins against Lancashire at Old Trafford tomorrow. Victory would keep them at the top of the Norwich Union League second division and give them a psychological advantage ahead of their C

  • Inject some late colour into your garden

    THE flower garden is now coming towards its peak of colour and interest, so for most gardeners thoughts of bulb planting would be considered premature. However, if you are thinking of injecting a little late colour into beds and borders, then autumn flowering

  • Reid lift for Quinn

    SUNDERLAND manager Peter Reid last night flashed out a warning not to write off Republic of Ireland striker Niall Quinn. The 33-year-old Dubliner is still on Wearside resting and receiving further treatment to a troublesome back injury and is not involved

  • Comment from The Northern Echo - Public matter of confidence

    THE case for an inquiry into the Richard Neale scandal is clear cut. Indeed, it is difficult to see why we have had to wait a year since the gynaecologist was struck off for the investigation to be ordered. We realise the process of public administration

  • Turner's triple strike as Miller decides on move

    HARTLEPOOL United boss Chris Turner last night swooped for a trio of summer signings as hot-shot Tommy Miller edged closer to a Victoria Park exit. Miller spent yesterday locked in talks with Crewe boss Dario Gradi after the Gresty Road club had an offer

  • E-fit issued of burglar who hit woman

    POLICE have issued an e-fit of a burglar who punched a disabled woman and stole her handbag. The man confronted his victim while she was at her sister's flat in I'Anson Street, Darlington, on Wednesday morning. She was punched and fell to the ground,

  • Fury at Neale inquiry behind closed doors

    PROTESTORS hit out last night after it was revealed that an inquiry into a disgraced surgeon dubbed "The Butcher" is to be held behind closed doors. Richard Neale was struck off the medical register a year ago after a series of horrific blunders on patients

  • Nemeth compensation bill for Boro

    MIDDLESBROUGH boss Steve McClaren has admitted he may be forced to fork out compensation to Inter Bratislava for £3m-rated striker Szilard Nemeth. The 23-year-old Slovakia international was a free agent when he joined Boro at the start of the month after

  • Unfair for north tracks to lose out

    THIS week the British Horseracing Board announced replacement venues for the lost fixtures due to foot-and-mouth at both Catterick and Carlisle. It annoyed me to hear that three of the four fixtures replacing Carlisle have gone south. July 20 moved to

  • Fraud case man leaps to death off bridge

    A FORMER North-East businessman is believed to have killed himself hours before receiving an expected jail sentence for fraud. Father-of-two Colin Hutchinson threw himself off London Bridge shortly after midnight yesterday. The 41-year-old was a partner

  • Hear All Sides

    Letters from The Northern Echo GOOD SAMARITAN JUST a few lines to thank The Northern Echo for your continued support in the Richard Neale saga. People never remember the name of a Good Samaritan, only the good deed that was done. Many people will remember

  • 'Wrong format' blamed as Boots pulls out of Japan

    HIGH street chain Boots has pulled the plug on its loss-making venture in Japan after admitting it had got the format wrong. Boots is closing its four stores in the country, which it has jointly run with the Mitsubishi Corporation for the past three years

  • Oasis buy-out deal

    FASHION chain Oasis is involved in a £54m management buy-out deal. Independent directors of the group have recommended the 103p-a-share deal, which is led by chief executive Derek Lovelock and backed by PPM Ventures, the venture capital arm of Prudential

  • Region heads Caesarean ops league table

    NEW figures suggest wide regional variations in the proportion of women who give birth through Caesarean section. A new guide to maternity services reveals that Caesarean rates in some North hospitals are nearly 50 per cent higher than in neighbouring

  • Geordie pride is the key to securing Euro place

    BOBBY ROBSON last night ordered his Newcastle United side to re-ignite Geordie pride by blazing their way back into big-time European competition via the much-maligned Intertoto Cup. The Magpies kick off their campaign in Belgium tonight against Sporting

  • Troubled chairman "to quit" Jesters

    NEWCASTLE Jesters chairman Paul Smith has revealed how he expects to stand down from the troubled post within three months. Smith's revelations come five months into a £150,000 pay dispute at the Newcastle Jesters, with the club's owners, Fablon Investments

  • Devilishly beautiful voices ring out

    IF it is true that the devil has all the best tunes, as popularly is supposed, then the Church of England comes a close second. Thus was it particularly disappointing that number two on the hymn sheet - the gloriously resounding O For a Thousand Tongues

  • Quakers set sights on return for Wainwright

    DARLINGTON yesterday handed a striker his chance to impress - while manager Gary Bennett turned his attentions to securing a Feethams' return for Sunderland's Neil Wainwright. The right-winger impressed while on loan from the Stadium of Light during the

  • The crusade for truth and justice

    SHEILA Wright-Hogeland fervently wishes she had never heard of Richard Neale - but she is not about to give up on a campaign which has become a near-obsession. The former Cosmopolitan model has developed a steely determination to get to the truth after

  • Mourners pay tribute to popular minister

    CROWDS gathered to pay tribute to a man who dedicated his life to helping those less fortunate than himself. Half Moon Lane, in Spennymoor, County Durham, was packed with mourners wanting to pay their last respects to popular minister Walter Wilkinson

  • Burial pit sludge removed from site

    LIQUID run-off waste from a foot-and-mouth burial pit is being taken for processing to Teesside. The residue, which forms when rain falls, is being pumped off a burial site at Tow Law, County Durham, to ensure it does not get into the water table. It

  • You gotta keep your hands on this wheel

    Formula One: Season 2001. Publisher: Sony. Format: PS2. Price: £39.99 AN estimated audience of 500 million people will tune in for the British Grand Prix, at Silverstone, tomorrow afternoon. Ten years ago all but a tiny fraction of those people would

  • Scholarships boost for budding bosses

    BUDDING entrepreneurs from deprived areas of the region are to be given the opportunity to train at local university business schools to acquire the skills to start their own ventures. New Entrepreneurship Scholarships, part of a Government initiative

  • Whatever you want . . . with knobs on

    WHEN web designer John Atkinson was left frustrated at the poor choice of accessories to complete his kitchen makeover, he decided to go into the DIY business himself. He found the products he needed, then created an online store selling kitchen knobs

  • Call for closure of women's prison rejected

    ASSURANCES were given last night that Durham Prison is unlikely to lose its role as the country's only high-risk centre for women inmates. Speculation arose that the female section of the city's jail, previously nicknamed "She Wing", may be facing closure

  • Charity fears for welfare of sheep

    THE RSPCA fears that thousands of hill sheep could die of starvation this autumn, if the foot-and-mouth epidemic continues to tighten its grip on the region. Restrictions imposed on the movement of animals during the outbreak have meant that food stocks

  • Junior doctor found hanged

    A JUNIOR doctor has been found hanged at a hospital where he had been working for just five months, it was revealed yesterday. The body of Dr Robert James Harris, 24, was discovered by a fellow member of staff in his room at the Friarage Hospital, in

  • Frost on a grey day

    BETTING in 24-runner races is arguably one of the fastest routes to the poor house, so while a small investment is recommended on A Touch Of Frost (3.00) in the Kronenbourg Handicap at York today, don't be tempted to go overboard. Sentiment shouldn't

  • Name change may prove costly

    Q When my daughter reverted to her maiden name, the DSS said this was a reason for suspending benefit payments into her bank account. Because they did not tell her, she went into the red, incurring bank charges of £55. The DSS said it was "procedure"

  • Banking on fair amount to ponder

    THE City will be kept on its toes next week with updates from Alliance & Leicester, Northern Rock and Misys. It will also be a busy one on the economic news front, with inflation and high street sales figures to ponder. FTSE-100 software company Misys