CONCERN was growing last night over the safety of the region's children after it emerged that almost one in ten school transport vehicles had been condemned as dangerous in a spot check. Police and traffic inspectors swooped during the past week across
Football fans planning on heading to the World Cup have been warned to take protection to avoid potential heartbreak. Several hundred England followers from the North-East are preparing to travel to Japan and South Korea for next month's jamboree. Some
A DARLINGTON school is starting its bid for specialist status with a launch this week. Branksome School needs to raise £50,000 in sponsorship by October in order to apply to become a specialist business and enterprise college. If successful, the school
Aston Hotels operations manager John Deighton, joined Richard Summerfield, room yield manager, and head chef Bill Johnston, on a visit yesterday to the site of the Sleep Inn, one of the region's newest hotels. Owned by Aston Hotels, it is being built
The highs and lows of 200 years of lifeboat service in Redcar include: * The only crew member to lose his life at sea was Redcar man William Guy, who died on Christmas Day, 1836. He was thrown overboard and was crushed against the vessel that the lifeboat
A MAN appeared in court yesterday charged with the attempted rape of a teenage girl. Ian Cairns, 19, of Wensleydale Avenue, Usworth, Washington, Wearside, is accused of attacking the 17-year-old on October 10 last year. He entered a not guilty plea at
WHEN the first lifeboat was launched at Redcar, the industrial east Cleveland town was merely a village of 100 souls. For the 200 years since, the boat has been an integral part of a community which depended on the sea long before steel and chemicals.
FIVE people have been arrested by police during an undercover operation to stop attacks on buses. Officers posed as passengers to target youths throwing stones at moving vehicles in Sunderland and made the arrests over five nights. Community beat manager
CARPENTERS TRIBUTE: Yesterday Once More, A Tribute to The Carpenters will be presented by Derwentside Leis-ure Services at the Empire Theatre, Consett, at 7.30pm, on Friday, May 10. Tickets are £7. CHURCH CASH: Medomsley Parish Church, which was founded
TALK about bringing the past to life... The boys haven't been on holiday with us for nearly five years now. Entirely their own choice. Each year I offer them the chance and each year they look at me with that mixture of incredulity combined with head-shaking
A clean-up campaign will be extended in recognition of people's efforts. Spring Clean Hartlepool, initially a month-long blitz on litter and other rubbish, was due to run throughout April. Now, the initiative is to continue throughout this month. Coordinated
FORMER EastEnder Leslie Grantham (Dirty Den) and former Brookside star Sandra Maitland (Mandy Jordash) will attend a celebrity lunch organised by the Hartlepool and District Hospice Committee. The event, to be held at the Sir William Gray Suite at the
Youth camp help needed A GROUP of nine young people and two adults from Yarm Twinning Association joined fifty French, German and Austrian friends in Alberndorf, Austria, at the end of last July. They enjoyed a fun-packed week, with activities ranging
SCHOOLCHILDREN took inspiration from one of the National Trust's properties to produce works of art. The children from South Otterington, near Northallerton, and St Barnabus School, York, spent the day working with three professional artists during a
POLICE are warning people to beware of foreign lottery scams. Durham Police have heard from people who have been called by supposed Canadian lottery corporations which say they have won money. The callers say that, before a payout can be made, the "winners
GROUPS planning trips out this summer but who are worried that transport may prove a problem need look no further. Richmondshire Volunteer Centre has announced it has a minibus available for hire to charities, local clubs and societies, community groups
The letter (HAS, Apr 24) cast aspersions on our greatest elder statesman Tony Benn, suggesting that he was Minister of Power in the Sixties and was responsible for the closure of many collieries. Well, let me put the matter right. Mr Benn was appointed
A SHAKE-UP could be on the way for council services in the Ryedale area of North Yorkshire. A council review has shown that with the use of technology and one-stop shops in key areas, local people could have better access to a number of services including
MEASURES to tackle traffic congestion in a Wensleydale market town are to go on show to the public. Hawes and High Abbotside Parish Council will be the first to have a glimpse of the highway authority's proposals on Monday, May 13. North Yorkshire County
FLOODS, injuries and a plague of rats has left a rugby club praying for better luck as it raises thousands of pounds to restore its clubhouse. Chester-le-Street Rugby Club has been left with a £6,000 bill after its clubhouse was destroyed in less than
GOVERNERS at the primary school attended by tragic youngster Leonie Shaw have written to Durham County Council in an attempt to make safety improvements on the road where she was killed. Chairman of governors at St Andrew's Primary School, Henknowle,
A PRISONER who said he feared he had contracted HIV while trying to save the life of a drug-using cellmate yesterday began a legal action against the Home Office. A civil hearing at Teesside Combined Court heard that in 1996 Stephen John McAuley was serving
A man accused of killing a professional rugby player and another man today claimed in court that former "Robocop" Ray Mallon forced him to sell drugs. Paul Bryan made the claim at Leeds Crown Court where he is accused of fatally shooting former Sheffield
A NATIONAL flat green bowling champion has been given a helping hand by Darlington Borough Council. Ann Anderson, from the town, is the UK flat green bowling champion. As a member of the town's Woodland Bowling Club for more than 20 years she has competed
A WELL-KNOWN Darlington taxi business has been sold. Station Taxis has been bought by Taxibank Taxis (UK), the UK's first national taxi organisation. Husband and wife team David and Hilda Armstrong decided to sell the business in preparation for retirement
DARLINGTON'S floral beauty has provided the inspiration for an exhibition of photographs and paintings which have been on show in the town this week. Daniel Thomson's Spring At Last exhibition is being shown in the Quakers Meeting House, in Skinnergate
A DISABLED support group in Darlington has criticised a children's fund for restricting itself to just two areas of the town. The Darlington Children's Fund, a Government initiative, is spending 65 per cent of the £800,000 it has been awarded on the Firthmoor
GREAT Aycliffe Town Council has unveiled its programme of events for this year's Great Aycliffe Show. Outdoor arena events at the show, on June 22 and 23, will include the Honda Imps motorcycle display team and The Mighty Smith, who will give £1,000 to
POLICE officers were forced to launch a swift cover-up operation yesterday to prevent their chief constable from being arrested - over the plight of rare newts. Durham Chief Constable George Hedges was theoretically facing the prospect of up to six months
THREE chemical drums were removed from the River Tyne by firefighters yesterday. A passing fisherman raised the alert after spotting the drums floating in the river, at Wallsend, North Tyneside, at about 5.10pm. Seven fire crews attended the incident,
PRESSURE on the Bank of England to increase interest rates rose last night amid signs that the economy may be heating up. A key industry barometer showed the manufacturing recovery was gathering pace, with export order growth at its highest level for
Yesterday, The Northern Echo looked at how Labour had delivered in its first five years. Today, Political Editor Chris Lloyd talks to the man who, after the tax-raising Budget, must deliver in the next couple of years. Health Secretary and Darlington
VILLAGERS and town councillors have vowed to continue pressing for a lane to be closed to travellers. About 300 villagers packed Sedgefield Parish Hall for a public meeting, at which it was decided there would be no compromise over calls for Beacon Lane
YOUNGSTERS tried their hands at a variety of arts and crafts activities at South Bank Youth and Community Centre yesterday afternoon. The children, aged under four, attended the creative workshop with their parents to mark the launch of the new Sure Start
NELLIE ALDERSON never really had a chance to learn to swim when she was younger. She was too busy helping out on the family farm on the hills above Low Row in Swaledale, North Yorkshire, or bringing up her family of four. But, now she has a little more
Darlington captain Craig Liddle has followed manager Tommy Taylor's lead by giving his full-backing to the Darlington Supporters Trust. The government-backed scheme was set-up in September last year and is intended to become a window of communication
A DREAM has come true for a youngster who is on the road to recovery following a bone marrow transplant. Leukaemia sufferer Michael Fogarty, nine, was promised his life's dream - a puppy - when he was given the all-clear by doctors to go near animals.
The North-East appears to have defied the national trend towards low turnouts at yesterday's council elections. Although many areas around Britain recorded poor returns, Gateshead and South Tyneside witnessed high levels of interest. Gateshead council
A TEAM of school pupils has received more than £12,000 from the Prince's Trust as a part of a millennium scheme to support youth groups. Six students from Staindrop Comprehensive School were awarded the cash for creating a CD-ROM and book to help young
A COMMUNITY centre has taken on its own chef to open a caf serving lunches to its users. Peter Scott, 33, took charge of the kitchens at the Jubilee Fields Centre, Shildon, this week as part of an initiative by volunteers who want to improve facilities
THE anchor from a Finnish shipwreck has been given pride of place in a seaside town. The anchor comes from the barque Birger, which struck the Saltscar Rock at Redcar on October 18, 1898, and has been placed on the town's Esplanade, opposite the Zetland
SURGEONS who carried out a heart bypass on a man who died days later were right to do so, an inquest heard. Doctors at South Cleveland Hospital (now the James Cook University Hospital) in Middlesbrough, operated on Kevin Hall after he was found to have
CROWN Prosecution Service lawyers are expected to decide within the next two weeks if police officers should be charged over the jailing of a former fellow officer. A three-year investigation into allegations that a number of Cleveland Police officers
PUPILS have been left heartbroken after toys for their revamped playground were destroyed in a suspected arson attack. The fire started in a storage shed at Cockton Hill Infant School, McIntyre Terrace, Bishop Auckland, on Tuesday night. Firefighters
A REVOLUTIONARY new heart treatment could significantly improve waiting lists for major surgery, it was claimed last night. The device, launched yesterday, is being hailed as a wonder treatment for patients suffering from blocked arteries, and in some
TWO Shildon teenagers are heading for an expedition of a lifetime in the land of the reindeer. Clare Lowes and Martin Keegan, both aged 16 and in their final year at Sunnydale School, have been chosen for the Lapland Challenge 2002, which will take them
AN investigation into how a car plunged into a country beck, killing one man and leaving two with serious injuries, was under way last night. Police accident investigators spent the day examining part of a country village following dramatic scenes the
CRIME cameras in Ferryhill are proving to be value for money. Members of Ferryhill Town Council requested statistics to assess the effectiveness of the town's CCTV cameras, which show that the cameras captured 193 incidents of anti-social behaviour in
Queen And Country (BBC1) THE country today seems only distantly related to the one Queen Elizabeth inherited when she came to the throne, one contributor observes in the first of writer and presenter William Shawcross's six-part examination of the monarch's
CHILDREN have contributed to a wall hanging to mark the Queen's Golden Jubilee visit to the North-East. As part of their studies at the Children's University after-school club, year five pupils from Quarry View Primary School, Sunderland, were asked to
HIS left arm is barely capable of shaking your hand, but beware, because Peter Burnell's right easily makes up for it. The 35-year-old recently returned from the British Arm Wrestling Federation Championships with a national title - testament to his determination
A CHARITY is appealing for cyclists to take part in an event. St Cuthbert's Hospice is holding its fifth Sunflower Cycle Ride on May 26, and would like to hear from anyone wishing to take part. The ride begins at Broompark and follows the cycle path to
TALK about bringing the past to life... The boys haven't been on holiday with us for nearly five years now. Entirely their own choice. Each year I offer them the chance and each year they look at me with that mixture of incredulity combined with head-shaking
PARENTS worried their son may have been murdered on an Army base have welcomed a decision to reopen a police inquiry into his death. Geoff and Diane Gray have been campaigning for further investigation into the death of their son, also called Geoff. The
GRAEME Bridge won his second big-match Gold Award for his part in a remarkable recovery by Durham in a 16-run victory yesterday. The agony looked certain to continue as Durham suffered another injury and seemed likely to emerge on the wrong end of another
THE biggest youth sporting event ever to be seen in the North-East was launched by North-East former athletics star Steve Cram. The North-East Active Sports Talent Camp, which will involve about 1,500 youngsters from across the region, is designed to
ARRIVA Trains Northern passengers may face strike action dragging on to February, The Northern Echo can reveal. The prospect of prolonged misery on the rails was raised last night by the leader of the Rail Maritime and Transport workers' union. Bob Crow
A MAYOR has broken the record for the amount raised for a civic fund. Councillor Vilma Collins, outgoing mayor of Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council, has raised £16,600 for the fund. She made three major donations of £4,500 each to the Marske and Redcar
A MOBILE youth service has been invited to London to meet the Minister for Youth, Ivan Lewis. Members of Darlington's Blitz Support Group, which offers young people aged 11 to 25 a place to meet and socialise, as well as offering advice on a variety of
A DOCTOR has been struck off the medical register after the General Medical Council (GMC) branded his behaviour as a 'disgusting and gross departure from the standards expected.' Reports from staff working at his surgeries detailing smutty remarks, temper
A NORTH Yorkshire authority's four leisure centres have been recognised as top class. Stokesley has joined Thirsk, Bedale and Northallerton in achieving the national Quest accolade - the quality mark for leisure services in the UK. The centres, run by
THE summer walking season is on the way - and author Mark Reid is hoping to tempt hikers back on to the trail. With the foot-and-mouth crisis thankfully fading, all the routes featured in his series of walking books, The Inn Way, have now been reopened
REFUGE TALK: Lorraine Cross will tell the Birtley Council of Churches about her experiences in Newcastle's West End Refuge Service, at 7.30pm next Wednesday, at Birtley Methodist Church. HEART CONCERT: A charity concert in aid of the Heart Foundation
Yorkshire threw away their Benson and Hedges Cup match against Leicestershire at Headingley yesterday after being in a position from which it seemed almost impossible to lose. Craig White and Darren Lehman were steaming along in a fourth wicket partnership
It's a big step to go from a haulage worker to a radio DJ but luckily, everthing turned out well for Jon Harle. Steve Pratt reports THERE was a moment when Jon Harle must have wondered if he'd done the right thing. The former heavy haulage worker from
A VILLAGE community is expected to come out in force next week for the opening of a sports pavilion in memory of a keen sportsman who died seven years ago. Residents of Osmotherley, near Northallerton, were united in grief in 1995 over the death of Jamie
A CONMAN involved in a stolen credit card scam has admitted a string of dishonesty charges. Darren Coomber, 27, of Pickhurst Square, Sunderland, used the cards to make purchases from supermarkets on Wearside and to withdraw cash. He admitted several charges
WORK by local artists takes centre stage at the Dales Countryside Museum this summer. Highlights include watercolours and weaving by Jo Grande, on show until May 16, a photographic exhibition by Rod Smith between May 19 and June 10, and silk paintings
THOUSANDS of people across the region are casting their votes today for US-style directly-elected mayors and new-look councils. In a radical overhaul of local politics, taxpayers are having to grapple with postal votes, a single transferable vote system
THE hills will be alive with the sound of music later this month when ten troupes of Morris dancers visit the Yorkshire Dales. Richmond on Swale Morris Men host the 289th meeting of the Morris Ring of England on the weekend of May 11 and 12. Sides from
STAFF at a Newton Aycliffe factory made a spectacle of themselves by wearing orange sunglasses for a day. Lawnmower manufacturer Flymo held the event to support the Vision Aid Overseas (VAO) charity. All staff, suppliers, retailers and visitors were urged
ONE hundred and twenty homes could be bulldozed because they contain asbestos and have structural defects which may prove too expensive to repair. The properties are in two streets on the St Andrew's Estate, in Bishop Auckland, where tests were carried
A DERELICT forge, which has blighted a town for years has finally been bulldozed to make way for a £15m superstore. Work has finally started on clearing the derelict buildings at Wilson's Forge, in Bishop Auckland. Supermarket chain Asda plans a 45,000sq
SCHEMES to improve employment opportunities for jobless residents in deprived areas of Sedgefield borough have been backed by £1.2m of European money. The West Ward of Newton Aycliffe, the Sunnydale and Thickley Wards of Shildon and the coalfield communities
A horse had to be put down after it was "savagely attacked" with a broken wine bottle which was left embedded in its neck, police said today. The 14-hand black and white stallion was grazing on grassland when it was repeatedly stabbed with a large piece
A WOMAN'S traumatic seven-week battle to secure arrangements for her brother's funeral appears to be over, thanks to the intervention of The Northern Echo. Robert Banks has been lying in a South African mortuary since he died, aged 65, from a suspected
FOOTBALLING youngsters are celebrating their winning ways after both league and tournament success. Willington Under nine's football team swept to victory recently in the Russell Foster Under nine's League Cup. The team continued with their run of success
KEVIN DARLEY'S bid to secure a second champion jockey's title is set to receive a timely boost at Redcar today where he should once again be among the winners on a six-race card sponsored exclusively by Manny Bernstein Bookmakers. Two of Darley's best
THE Queen Street Shopping Centre in Darlington has been awarded a Gold Standard Clean Air Award by the Darlington Primary Care Trust. The centre became the first smoke-free shopping area in the town yesterday when a no-smoking ban was put in place. The
A GROUP of volunteers has started work to transform a school play area. Pupils, teachers and volunteers will join forces to renovate the yard at Skerne Park Primary School after a donation from three businesses made the project possible. Orange, Cummins
FOOTBALLING youngsters are celebrating both league and tournament success. Willington's under-nines football team swept to victory recently in the Russell Foster Under-Nines League Cup competition. The team continued with their run of success when they
PROPOSED improvements to Ferryhill and Shildon Sunnydale leisure centres are expected to be approved today. Sedgefield Borough Council has already committed £125,000 of its £380,000 budget for leisure centre improvements this year. A report to the council's
CHRIS Turner has handed Hartlepool United's disappointed fans a swift pick-me-up - by declaring promotion is on the cards next season. Pool crashed out of the play-offs on Tuesday night in the worst possible manner, losing to Cheltenham in a sudden-death
AN 18th Century stately home has won unanimous backing to secure its long-term future with a development on its estate. Newby Hall, between Ripon and Boroughbridge, famous for its gardens which tumble down to the River Ure, can go ahead with a development
HUNDREDS of North-East miners' jobs have been safeguarded thanks to a £1m investment that will maintain production at their pit for the next five years. UK Coal yesterday announced a plan to access new reserves from Ellington colliery in Morpeth, Northumberland
PREPARATIONS for the Queen's first visit to Darlington in 35 years are being finalised. Her Royal Highness will come to the town on Wednesday, May 8, and will conduct a walkabout in the market square as part of the golden jubilee celebrations. The last
TODAY, half of Britain's 43 million voters are eligible to take party in elections to choose local councillors or newfangled mayors. We urge every single one of them to do their utmost to cast their vote. If people need any incentive to make the effort
A GOVERNMENT minister is on a fact-finding visit to Teesside today to investigate an MP's claims that a base used by weekend soldiers is in need of a facelift. Defence Minister Lewis Moonie is visiting the Coulby Newham, Middlesbrough, base of the local
A WOODLAND burial site has been created in the corner of Guisborough Cemetery. Created by Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council, it has 39 conventional grave spaces in an area which will be managed as a traditional woodland. The council will plant a tree
A SERIES of lectures by leading scientists begins in Stockton today. The Blinded by Science talks have been organised by Durham University's Stockton campus and local churches. The first, entitled It's Life Jim, but not as we know it, will be taken by
DELEGATES at a North-East conference yesterday heard about the efforts to regenerate the region's housing estates. The National Council for Women in the North had organised the event at Darlington Football Club. Delegates heard how Darlington's Skerne
* Middlesbrough mayoral elections - The postal-only votes must be in by 9pm. The result is expected between noon and 12.30pm tomorrow. * Hartlepool mayoral and council elections - All votes, including by post, must reach the ballot box by 9pm tonight.
JOHN Parkin will succeed Trevor Went as chief executive of Newcastle Airport, it was announced last night. Mr Parkin joins Newcastle from Bristol International Airport, where he has been managing director since 1996. Bristol has become one of the fastest
A CONFERENCE to highlight the needs of people with learning disabilities and to offer guidance to their carers will be held in Bishop Auckland next week. Expert speakers, from social services, County Durham Care and Mencap, will discuss social care, residential
TRANSFORMED leisure firm Whitbread has toasted growth from its restaurants and fitness divisions as underlying profits climbed by almost eight per cent. Strong sales from brands such as Pizza Hut and Brewers Fayre helped to compensate for weaker trading
ART fans have until the weekend to enjoy a free exhibition which showcases the talent of local college students. The exhibition has been assembled by Bishop Auckland College students for the Discovery Centre, in Grosvenor House, Market Place, Bishop Auckland
THREE distinctive high-powered motorbikes have been stolen in a raid on their owner's garage Police are alerting bike shop owners about the machines, which were taken from St Andrew's Road, Bishop Auckland, between 9pm on Saturday and 1.30am on Sunday
DRIVERS are warned they face delays and road closures when the Queen's Golden Jubilee tour arrives in County Durham next week. Several roads will be closed for a time on Wednesday, to allow free passage for the Royal entourage and to ensure security.
A DISABLED support group in Darlington has criticised a new children's fund for targeting specific areas of the town. The Darlington Children's Fund, a Government initiative, is spending 65 per cent of £800,000 awarded on the Firth Moor and Red Hall areas
