A SERIOUS crash has occurred on the country's worst road, days after a fatal accident claimed the life of a lorry driver. A post office van and a Mercedes Benz car were involved in a crash shortly before 9am yesterday on the A66 trans-Pennine route. There
Hearing-impaired children in the North-East will take part in a two-day soccer school to encourage their involvement in the sport. The school, sponsored by Phonak Hearing Systems, is part of the national Hear the Cheer campaign run by David Campbell Celebrity
YEAR 11 students from the region are being urged to apply for places at an Army college before this year's deadline. The Welbeck Residential Sixth Form College, in Worksop, Nottinghamshire, offers a two-year, science-based education, with students eventually
A NEW hotel on the A1 has started a recruitment drive to find 30 staff. The £4.5m Sleep Inn, situated at Newton Park Services, near Newton Aycliffe, County Durham, is the first of a nationwide chain planned by Aston Hotels. The group, headed by Paresh
MURDER squad detectives were last night investigating the gruesome discovery of a body at a Middlesbrough waste site. Officers were called to the Teesside Waste Management premises on Dockside Road, not far from the Riverside Stadium, yesterday afternoon
MOTORIST Gary Hart faces another multi-million pound writ from a freight company involved in the Selby rail crash. Freightliner yesterday confirmed it was looking to recover a "substantial" sum of money for damages and loss of business following the disaster
DURHAM skipper Jon Lewis believes Nicky Peng could be in contention for an England place this summer if he maintains the form which brought him a century at Derby on Thursday. Every county's Professional Cricketers' Association representative has been
Charlton 2 - 2 Sunderland - SUNDERLAND were glad to see the back of London after gleaning one solitary point from six visits this season. And the trip to The Valley was different only because Charlton proved to be no better than their relegation-haunted
RADIO presenter Paul "Goffy" Gough is considering taking legal action over a banner put up at a North-East football stadium falsely claiming that he is a secret homosexual. The Century FM DJ, who is married with three children, is furious that the banner
Middlesbrough 0 - 2 Chelsea - FOR most, Middlesbrough's clash with Chelsea at the Riverside on Saturday was regarded as another game in a season approaching its close. Boro sit tenth in the Premiership while fifth-placed Chelsea's eyes are firmly fixed
FORMER Hartlepool United star Tommy Miller last night sent his full backing to his old teammates my insisting: "You can clinch promotion." Pool take on Cheltenham at Victoria Park this afternoon in the first-leg of their Third Division play-off semi-final
PLACEMAT manufacturer Pimpernel International is set to create about 70 jobs after buying rival Cloverleaf for an undisclosed sum. The Consett business is shutting Cloverleaf's Wiltshire headquarters, making about 90 of its 130 staff redundant. But it
HARTLEPOOL United's Ritchie Humphreys last night revealed he is determined to make sure his first taste of an end-of-season shoot-out is a sweet one. The 24-year-old, who has had spells with five different clubs, has played in every division but he has
An uncharacteristic fall by Carbury Cross in the Scottish National last Saturday put a damper on an otherwise pure gold season for Jonjo O'Neill. Since being installed by the legendary Irish gambler J P MacManus at the lavishly-appointed training established
A terrified girl is guarded by armed police yesterday as she is helped from an armoured vehicle following a massacre at a school in Germany. Eighteen people died in the bloodbath at Erfurt - the same number who were killed in the Dunblane horror in Scotland
CRAIG BELLAMY has been pulled out of Newcastle United's end-of-season party after failing to shake off a nagging knee injury. The Wales striker won't play again this term after manager Bobby Robson revealed he is still suffering the effects of tendinitis
A VERGER who was attacked by an intruder in his own church told of his ordeal yesterday - and said he was thinking about resigning. David Brown, 61, struggled with the man he found sleeping in Holy Trinity Church, in Trinity Lane, off Micklegate, York
Australian police have launched an investigation into claims that officers ignored a telephone call telling them about a woman's screams on the night British backpacker Caroline Stuttle was robbed and killed. Queensland state Police Commissioner Bob Atkinson
CHRIS Turner has an example in front of him - now his players and supporters must follow the script. Turner leads Hartlepool into the play-offs for the third season in a row, aiming to follow the lead set by Blackpool last season. After a semi-final defeat
IT'S a scenario that has become all too familiar to Sunderland fans. Once their club were mainstays among English football's elite, but that changed irrevocably when a then-record 68-year tenure in the top flight was broken by relegation for the first
Esh Winning manager Barry Fleming knows that the club faces the biggest day in its history against already promoted Shildon in the Albany Northern League today. Esh are in second spot in the Second Division this morning, and victory will ensure their
A group of North-East public figures met museum bosses from across the region yesterday to discuss an innovative funding initiative. Management staff from Beamish Museum, near Gateshead, Bowes Museum at Barnard Castle, County Durham, Hartlepool Museum
MIDDLE EAST ON TV I was watching the Israeli Defence Minister being interviewed about the Israeli and Palestinian conflict in which he stated that there was no political solution to terrorism. Does he not recall how the state of Israel was created, by
THE region's newest community woodland was launched yesterday with the planting of the Tees Forest's two millionth tree. South Burdon Community Woodland is being created along the A66 Darlington bypass, in a joint project between the borough council and
UP TO 1,000 jobs could be created with the re-development of a one-time North-East landmark that has become a run-down and badly vandalised office block. Planning officials are already backing the moves to redevelop the former ICI offices, known as Billingham
A YOUNG man was last night critically ill in hospital after being found unconscious in the street following an assault at the weekend. A police spokesman said the 22-year-old man, who has not been named, was found in Stockton Road, Seaham, County Durham
A GAY woman, persecuted in her community, is preparing to help others in the same situation. Last month, The Northern Echo reported that Kirsty Lord and her partner, Samatha Dewhurst, had suffered verbal attacks and their home, in Darlington, had been
NEWCASTLE Falcons will go into the three home games which could secure their place in Europe without hooker Matt Thompson, son of the club owner David Thompson. The club have handed Thompson junior a two-week ban after being sent off for fighting in an
Sunday is Workers' Memorial Day . The international event is intended to remember the hundreds of thousands of people who die because of their employment or who suffer physical or mental impairment because of their work. One of the biggest gatherings
MIDDLESBROUGH boss Steve McClaren last night refuted suggestions that star striker Alen Boksic's future lies away from Teesside. The Croatian has not played in either of Boro's two games since their 1-0 FA Cup semi-final defeat to Arsenal at Old Trafford
SENIOR police officers from Germany and Holland are visiting the North-East this weekend on the last leg of a European tour aimed at reducing football-related disorder. A delegation of 11 officers will be guests of Northumbria Police, studying the policing
A SCHOOL which lost its fight to stay open is closing in a blaze of light. One thousand candles will be lit at a Roman Catholic mass to celebrate the 45-year life of St Anthony's RC School, Middlesbrough, which has surplus places. Its motto is Let Your
IT has not been a good week for justice - either here or abroad. A week in which the trial into the murder of Damilola Taylor ended with serious questions being asked about the police and the Crown Prosecution Service. A week in which a North-East shoplifter
A BANNER hung outside Darlington's new football ground for 24 hours. It didn't say "Welcome to the exciting new home of the Quakers" as it might. For the thousands of motorists on the bypass skirting Darlington, it alleged that one of the region's best-known
TWO teachers have been nominated for their dedication to the classroom in the forthcoming Teacher of the Year Awards. Roisim McVeigh and John Maddison, who both teach at Wolsingham School and Community College, County Durham, have been shortlisted for
VITAL safety work on road bridges across the region's railways is to begin during the next few weeks. Four Railtrack bridges in Darlington borough have been highlighted as in need of high priority work in an independent survey commissioned following the
THE economy edged ahead just 0.1 per cent in the first quarter this year, new figures have revealed - making an imminent rise in interest rates highly unlikely. The figure was below economists' expectations of 0.4 per cent and meant that against the same
SEDGEFIELD specialist Fatehalkhair bids for an amazing twelfth course win in £20,000 Foster's Durham National today. "He just loves the place," said trainer Brian Ellison who added: "Fatehalkhair is in a different class to his rivals, it's simply a question
Hartlepool United 1 - 1 Cheltenham - WRITE Hartlepool United off at your peril. Who didn't walk out of Victoria Park on Saturday feeling a little down after seeing Cheltenham nab a late equaliser? But who hadn't already written off Pool's play-off hopes
It's Auf Wiedersehen, Pet and hello Arizona as Oz and the (cow)boys return with plans to dismantle the Transporter Bridge in order to sell it to native American Indians. Entertainments Writer Steve Pratt reports. A NATIVE American Indian sits crosslegged
Newcastle Utd 3 - 1 West Ham - NEWCASTLE'S Jekyll and Hyde character, embodied best by the enigmatic Laurent Robert, resurfaced at St. James' Park and threatened to make a mockery of their end-of-term celebrations. As it was, the real Newcastle finally
BURGLARS have left victim Mohammed Chughtai reeling following two break-ins in two months. The 28-year-old mature student lost a family heirloom in the first raid on his home then burglars returned to steal his pet puppy. "It's awful, devastating. I am
UNIVERSITY graduates Liam Dawson and Mark Overfield are making a name for themselves in the modelling industry - without a catwalk in sight. Liam, 24, from Guisborough, and Mark, 22, from Brotton have used their technical skills to secure promotional
THE Parliamentary football team made up of Westminster MPs is playing a North-East team in a charity match at St James' Park tomorrow. The regional team is made up of representatives from key North-East institutions. The Regional Development Agency One
THE Northern Echo has launched an online TV listings service. Readers can check The Northern Echo's website for programmes on dozens of cable and satellite channels - far more than it is possible to carry in print - as well as last-minute schedule changes
Six stunned British plane-spotters were last night preparing to fly home from Greece with the shadow of a three-year jail sentence hanging over them. Lawyers acting for the six, and two Dutchmen, launched an immediate appeal after they were convicted
SUNDERLAND manager Peter Reid will order his team to go out at Charlton this afternoon with all guns blazing in a bid to shoot their way to safety. "Three points at Charlton and we should be all right - that could be it and we've got to aim for that and
REPUBLIC of Ireland international Jason McAteer - desperate to avoid the agony of Premiership relegation - has told his Sunderland teammates before the crucial game at Charlton: "Let's sort it out." The 30-year-old Merseysider, who was sidelined by injury
Bishop Auckland start a tense final week of the regular league season with a tricky game at Runcorn today. Bishops go to Cheshire level on points with Colwyn Bay, and with two more away games to play, at Droylsden and champions Burton Albion. And the
THE Chinese ambassador to the UK was in the North-East yesterday to meet Chinese investors in the region. The region leads the UK in Chinese investment and is home to 18 Chinese companies. Ma Zhengang visited the offices of accountancy software firm Sage
CONCERNS are growing for a diabetic pensioner who is missing from home and may not have taken his medication all week. Clifford Reed was seen by a number of people in his home town of Staindrop, County Durham, on Monday, but there have been no confirmed
A PROLIFIC offender dubbed Spiderboy was jailed for five years yesterday by a judge who said he had an "appalling" criminal record. Thomas Laws, 22, who admitted robbing a taxi driver at knifepoint, earned his nickname nine years ago for his ability to
AFTER being compared to one of Hartlepool United's greatest players when he arrived, Darrell Clarke had a lot to live up to when he moved to Victoria Park. And now the hard-running midfielder is showing exactly why Chris Turner was quick to make his move
A CHEMICAL tanker crash caused road chaos yesterday. Firefighters said the collision between a lorry carrying sulphuric acid and titanyl sulphate and a highway maintenance truck, on the A19 in Teesside late on Thursday, was "a potentially nasty incident
POLICE confirmed last night that they were treating as arson a major fire which broke out at a North-East factory this week. Meanwhile, the management at E&R Polymers, on the former Ever Ready site near Stanley, County Durham, have revealed that losses
THE most endangered bird of prey in northern England appears to be making a comeback after being driven to the brink of disaster. Last year was the first time the hen harrier had failed to nest at all in the North-East and North Yorkshire since they re-colonised
POLICE were yesterday sifting their way through CCTV footage to try and establish how a man ended up being crushed to death at a North-East re-cycling plant. The body of David John Griffiths was found at the premises of Teesside Waste Management on Dockside
