A SPECIALIST recruitment consultant from Darlington has won a top business award at the Northern region final of this year's Shell LiveWIRE Young Entrepreneur of the Year Awards. Angela Anderson, 28, of Brinkburn Drive, Darlington, won the award for growth
IT has been an extraordinary week for the humble carrot. On Monday it was announced that the carrot is Britain's most popular vegetable. Seventeen per cent of people voted it their favourite. The potato came second with 15 per cent, and the detestable
A mini-proms event will take place at a Middlesbrough shopping centre as part of celebrations for the Queen's Golden Jubilee. Opera Nova will perform at the Cleveland Centre on Saturday, June 1, at 2pm. From Monday until June 4, there will also be entertainment
FEARS are growing that cold-hearted killers are putting in jeopardy an ambitious scheme to bring a rare bird-of-prey back to the north. The concerns follow the recent discovery of the body of a red kite on the moors above Nidderdale by a team from the
KAREN Cheesman's recently- awarded certificate in management from the University of Newcastle, proves that she takes her own advice when it comes to lifelong learning. The 26-year-old works co-ordinating management development programmes provided in Consett
THE GRIEVING family of the victim in one of the UK's most high profile murders is backing The Northern Echo's Criminal Injustice campaign. Touched by the plight of Teesside mother Ann Ming, whose daughter Julie Hogg was murdered in 1989, Maureen Harvey
Staff at the Skipton Building Society on Northallerton's High Street are holding a fundraising treasure hunt for charity. Anybody wanting to contribute should call in at the office
QUESTIONS and concerns about drugs can be put to advisors at a drugs forum next month. Drugs agencies and support groups will be at Lumley Community Hall on Wednesday, June 5, to offer advice and information about drugs. Gail Simpson, from the Action
THE outgoing chairman of Chilton Parish Council has raised more than £4,500 for charity during his year in office. Councillor Alan Bruce held a presentation evening at Chilton and Windlestone Workingmen's Club. Much of the money was raised at events during
A DEVICE to put an end to back breaking feeding times on farms has put its inventor in line for a Spirit of Innovation Awards. Philip Cowan, 17, from Middleton St George, near Darlington, has designed an ATV live stock feeder capable of travelling over
Durham County Council's cabinet will be recommended today to set up forums to let bus passengers have their say on services. The move follows a presentation by Dr Caroline Cahm, of the National Federation of Bus Users, to a county transport seminar. Environment
PUPILS from two schools are hoping to win their own World Cup on Saturday at a six-a-side soccer tournament. Youngsters from Pallister Park Primary School, Middlesbrough, and Ravensworth Junior School, Normanby, will take part in the Sporting Chance World
THE woman appointed to lead improvements to community safety and quality of life in Darlington was introduced to a gathering of the town's leading representatives yesterday. Jane Brown, the first chief executive of the Darlington Partnership, was presented
BUSINESSWOMAN Jeanette Davis has won a software package worth £200 in recognition of her entrepreneurial spirit. Ms Davis, 23, from Sunderland, won the Everywoman Solutions Plan (ESP), an online business solutions package designed by everywoman.com and
ACROBAT Jaroslaw Bodo dreamt all his life of the bright lights and glamour of the travelling circus, an inquest at Harrogate Matistrates' Court heard, yesterday. He ran away from his native Poland, joined a Dutch State Circus troupe and tried to make
MAKING a date with Dolores (2.00) in the opening Listed Fillies and Mares race at Goodwood might just result in an afternoon to remember. Dolores belied her totally unfancied odds of 66-1 by finishing fourth in the Sagitta 1,000 Guineas on her reappearance
DOMESTIC door company Rhino could be put out of business after infringing a trademark. The South Hetton, County Durham, company, established a year ago by David Turnbull and Allen Glasper, has been served notice to cease using the name Rhino or face a
THE impending World Cup is posing a serious dilemma for schools across the region - and many are considering opening early to allow eager pupils to watch their heroes. Faced with the possibility of mass truancy or risking the wrath of parents by devoting
STUDENTS at Northallerton College have raised £730 to help sick youngster Rosie Henry, who suffers from a rare degenerative disorder. The money came from a special dress day held at the college in March, where students paid £1 each to come to lessons
A WIDE-RANGING programme of projects and events for the next 12 months has been unveiled by Ferryhill Town Council. In his annual report to councillors last night, executive officer Jamie Corrigan outlined progress that had been made on the schemes proposed
BANNATYNE Fitness, the largest independent health club business in the UK, has reached another landmark. The business, which has its headquarters in Cleveland Terrace, Darlington, has just signed up its 50,000th member. Started by entrepreneur Duncan
THE long-running debate over the eyesore of Scarborough's South Bay Pool complex - derelict for the past decade - is about to come to an end. The borough council's cabinet has given the go-ahead for plans to be submitted to its development control committee
MOTHER and baby retailer Mothercare has reported a slump in profits after warehouse-related problems set back its recovery, and confirmed its chairman would be stepping down. The group, which issued two profit warnings at the turn of the year, said it
stonemason Peter Coverdale topped off a restoration scheme with an accolade for craftsmanship. The contractor, from Barnard Castle, put his skills to the test upgrading a derelict 15th Century castle. Scargill Castle, near Barnard Castle, was bought by
A man is in a critical condition in hospital following an incident in a Darlington pub. The incident at Rise Carr Hotel on Whessoe Road on Saturday night has left the 51-year-old man in intensive care in Middlesbrough General Hospital. He has a fractured
A LEADING campaigner battling to widen a flood-damaged bridge, shut for more than 18 months after being partially washed away, is celebrating a victory. Parish councillor Ernie O'Keefe successfully lobbied Ripon area planning committee of Harrogate Borough
CHARLES Simon, the indomitable actor who died last week, remained until his last gasp a 40-a-day man. Dunhill King Size, an' all. Perhaps it's true what they say about smoking damaging your health. "I've been smoking since I was a choir boy," he told
GIRLS from a Darlington school took part in a study sleepover at the Science Museum in London. The 44 girls and eight staff from Polam Hall School joined 350 other students from across the country in a series of workshops and lectures on the theme of
THE North-South divide will widen further and bring more unemployment to the region, according to a gloomy economic forecast. A report compiled by economic analysts Business Strategies also forecasts that the North-East will have the country's slowest
A 41-year-old man who had been missing from home since the weekend was found safe and well last night. Police said Peter Mitchell, who disappeared from his home in Kelloe, County Durham, after a row with his wife on Sunday, was found in Peterlee at about
HELDER'S hopes of rejoining Newcastle could be dashed by United's £6m move for Ipswich centre-back Titus Bramble. England Under-21 international Bramble is manager Bobby Robson's top defensive target and the Magpies are understood to be closing in on
FURNITURE retailers MFI and Homestyle have shown how much they are benefiting from the housing boom, by reporting a strong start to the year. MFI chairman Ian Peacock said sales at the DIY company were up 12 per cent in the first 20 weeks of this year
CUTLERY picked out of pigswill at a farm at the centre of last year's foot-and-mouth first outbreak was routinely sent to Romania, a court heard yesterday. Pig farmer Bobby Waugh was giving evidence for the first time on the ninth day of the trial against
Carnival revival for jubilee Villagers in Toft Hill and Etherley have decided to revive their summer carnival to mark the Queen's golden jubilee. Etherley Parish Council has backed the event, being planned by Toft Hill Community Association, on Saturday
NORTH-EAST MPs are calling for better drug programmes and rehabilitation centres in their area. Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland MP Dr Ashok Kumar sponsored an Early Day Motion in the House of Commons calling for better Government-funded drug detoxification
BILLIONAIRE retailer Philip Green marked his second anniversary in charge of high street chain Bhs by reporting the group's highest profits. Mr Green said there was a "very solid platform" for the business after operating profits rose 202 per cent to
NORTHERN Oaks winner Pond Imogen, bred and trained by Witton-le-Wear handler Harry Williams, is going for the Midlands Oaks title at Hall Green, Birmingham, this weekend. And if the May 1999 Highway Leader-Pond Saturn black bitch is successful she will
A LITTLE girl choked to death on her own vomit even though her grandparents had warned social services she was being neglected by her parents, an inquest heard. Thirteen-month old Sophie Casey's grandmother was horrified when a social worker told her
BACKERS of a planned super school have moved to reassure parents who say they are concerned about "brainwashing". The Vardy Foundation, which believes in children learning "lessons for life through the bible" is putting £2m into a new city academy planned
The Newcastle School at the centre of a row over the expulsion of 11-year-old Jade Blackburn is again in the spotlight after it has been revealed the school has suspended another thirteen pupils within the space of 24-hours. The pupils aged between nine
NEW NHS trusts with greater freedom from Government control could be in place by the end of next year, Health Secretary Alan Milburn has announced. In a speech to hospital managers in London, Mr Milburn outlined the timetable for NHS Foundation Trusts
CHARLES Simon, the indomitable actor who died last week, remained until his last gasp a 40-a-day man. Dunhill King Size, an' all. Perhaps it's true what they say about smoking damaging your health. "I've been smoking since I was a choir boy," he told
A GOOD Samaritan couple are being urged to come forward and help police in Hartlepool catch a mugger who attacked an elderly woman. The pensioner was robbed after leaving Middleton Road post office on May 2 by a man who snatched her bag and ran into Joyce
COUNCILLORS have backed the idea of a go-it-alone project to build a village school, but they are unhappy about its design. For eight years governors at Grewelthorpe Church of England Primary School, near Ripon, backed by the local community, has been
The spectre of hooliganism has haunted English participation in football tournaments for over 20 years. Mark Summers talks to the man who has to make this year's event trouble-free. IF England fans do live up to their stereotypical booze-fuelled hooligan
Councillor changes party VETERAN Scarborough councillor Harry Rowe has quit the Conservatives and become a member of the independent group. The former Mayor, who has represented the Staithes, Runswick Bay and Hinderwell area for more than 30 years, said
Clampdown on scramblers MOTORCYCLE scramblers who ride their bikes on disused land are being targeted by Northumbria Police. Officers from Wallsend area command are experiencing problems with riders using Weetslade pit, in Old Great Lime Road, Dudley.
Walks organised by the Rotary clubs of Northallerton and Northallerton Mowbray, will take place from Osmotherley on Sunday, to show support for countryside communities which suffered during the foot-and-mouth crisis. The first walk will follow a ten-mile
THE voices of older people in the Whitby area will be heard loud and clear thanks to a group launched this week. The Whitby and District Older People's Action Group is made up of over-50s who want to air the views, concerns and anxieties of older people
THE new Criminal Record Bureau (CRB) is creating havoc for Darlington's taxi drivers, they say. The bureau, which was formed to carry out criminal record checks nationally for all organisations wishing to vet prospective employees, has taken over the
TWO confirmed sightings have been made of a missing university student following a public appeal for information by his distraught family. Ross Edmond, 22, left his home in Eaglescliffe, Teesside, last Thursday and has failed to make contact with his
A CRACKDOWN on drug dealing on a town's streets has resulted in 11 arrests as well as the recovery of drugs, cash and a stolen car. Dealer-a-Day drugs busters at Middlesbrough employed a slight change of tack this week when they swooped on dealers selling
FRESH and frozen food supplier Albert Fisher has gone into receivership and is to be carved up and sold off. The group, which employs about 3,000 staff in the UK, including more than 600 at operations in the North-East, is currently trading as normal,
IT'S not easy having a boy wizard in the house. Max, aged five, has become lethal with his magic wand ever since the name Harry Potter became an essential ingredient in family life the world over. And Dad - as usual - bears the brunt of the responsibility
A WOMAN who claimed she had been raped may face prosecution for wasting police time after withdrawing her allegation. The 21-year-old told detectives that she had been held down by one man and assaulted by another in an alley in Askrigg Street, Darlington
A CRACKDOWN on illegal fly-tipping by Sedgefield Borough Council could see large fines being imposed on the perpetrators. Staff from the council are monitoring selected sites which have been identified as dumping spots and are collecting evidence against
A COUPLE who said they did not think twice about allowing their son's organs to be used to save others after his death are backing a campaign to increase the number of transplants. David and Anthea Traher were at the UK Transplant stand at the annual
A CHILTON couple are marking 60 years of married bliss today. Bob and Violet Cornish will be celebrating their diamond wedding anniversary with a small family gathering at their home in The Pentlands. The couple met at a party at the Grange Inn Hotel,
SOME of football's greatest names have held the FA Cup aloft in triumph. But yesterday it was the turn of children from three primary schools to sample a taste of glory. Art and football fanatic Lauren Gill combined her two hobbies to win a top prize
A WOMAN received an early birthday present after entering a competition. Jean Smith, of Sherburn Village, Durham, entered a prize draw in The Northern Echo to win a millennium diamond pendant from jeweller Goldsmiths at the Prince Bishops Shopping Centre
QUEEN Victoria may not have been amused, but Chuckles the Clown is hoping for a more favourable response when he heads for the Hebrides for his own royal performance this weekend. Ron Wood runs Spectacular Events from offices in Richmond, North Yorkshire
A MAN accused of selling heroin was yesterday found guilty of one of the charges he faced. A jury at Teesside Crown Court found Michael Plaice guilty of being in possession of heroin with intent to supply between November 14 and 17, 1999. But last night
NATIONAL hot air balloon flights consortium, Balloons Over Britain, has appointed Blue Sky Balloons as a regional operator. The Knaresborough, North Yorkshire-based business will provide balloon flights for people in the Yorkshire and Cleveland areas
Not Another Eurovision (BBC1) ANY other time and this half-hour time-filler, taking the mickey out of the Eurovision Song Contest, would pass with hardly a comment. But since presenter Angus Deayton's elevation to Sunday tabloid celebrity, it will be
A TINY theatre in the heart of North Yorkshire is in line for improvements with the help of Lottery cash. The Kirk Theatre in Pickering is one of a number of projects in the county that have won awards from the Regional Arts Lottery Programme. The theatre
IT'S not easy having a boy wizard in the house. Max, aged five, has become lethal with his magic wand ever since the name Harry Potter became an essential ingredient in family life the world over. And Dad - as usual - bears the brunt of the responsibility
Hundreds of pubs across the region will be opening as early as 6.30am for football fans to watch the action in Japan and South Korea. Magistrates have been inundated with applications from landlords eager to extend their opening hours and serve breakfast
BAYDALE Architectural Systems is to boost its workforce by at least 20 after winning a £2.5m contract to install made-to-measure windows for the Scottish Parliament building in Edinburgh. The contract is the biggest single order in the history of the
OUTREACH workers for Darlington's Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB) are reporting a steady increase in the number of people using the services. Now the outreach team is expanding its services, with regular surgeries held in Darlington Memorial Hospital's Pierremont
THE London Stock Exchange has reported a 22 per cent rise in operating profits for the last year, but gave no update on the mounting speculation it is to merge with another exchange. Chief executive Clara Furse said in "difficult market conditions" turnover
A SAFETY-CONSCIOUS student picked up an award yesterday after gaining top marks in an exam. Martin Taylor, 41, from Middlesbrough College, was presented with Teesside Safety Group's Golden Helmet award for getting the best marks on Teesside in the National
A WOMEN'S prison has been hailed a success story by Government inspectors. Low Newton Prison and Young Offender Institution, on the outskirts of Durham, has received a glowing report from Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Prisons. The site only became a women's
A CHURCH in Darlington is looking for organists. The organ at Northgate United Reformed Church is a Binns Bramley, installed in 1894 and first used for Sunday worship on April 25 that year, having cost £600 - the equivalent of two years' collections.
Darlington reserve team coach Gary Bennett and his assistant Jimmy Montgomery have left the club. The pair were out of contract and become the latest to leave the club this summer following the departures of seven players who had also reached the end
A NEW category has been added to an annual garden competition to encourage new entrants. The closing date for entries in this year's Darlington Borough Council and the Rural Parish Councils/Parish Meetings Rural Garden Competition, is Monday, June 10.
PASSENGERS have been left angry and disappointed after a summer bus service to the Lake District was cancelled. Arriva North-East's Loftus to Kendal X95 service made return trips on Saturdays, with extra runs during the holiday period. But the firm wants
CONTROVERSIAL plans to revamp a community pub and introduce entertainment have been approved despite fierce opposition. The Wheatsheaf Pub, in Yarm Road, Darlington, was granted a provisional public entertainment licence on Wednesday, after assurances
PLANS for a concert in Thornaby to mark the Queen's Golden Jubilee have been met with opposition from residents. Stockton Borough Council has received an application from NHP Event Management to hold two concerts over the jubilee weekend. The proposed
FOOTBALL, falconry and dog agility are all on the programme for Shildon Carnival at the weekend. The carnival procession starts at 11.45am on Saturday from the Dabble Duck Industrial Estate, and finishes at Hackworth Park, where special events will take
A KNIFE-WIELDING robber who terrified shop staff was jailed for nine years yesterday. Christopher Dalziell waved a knife with a 12in blade in the faces of shop workers while demanding cash, Teesside Crown Court was told. Then he and an accomplice threatened
A DOCTOR worked at a prison and a private clinic when he was suspended by the General Medical Council, a court was told yesterday. Dr Michael Donnelly, 53, was escorted from Holme House Prison, in Stockton, when the authorities learnt that he had been
HEALTH campaigners are claiming a moral victory after a Government U-turn over patient watchdogs. Almost two years after the NHS Plan stirred up controversy by announcing the planned abolition of community health councils the Government has changed its
A CRACKDOWN on illegal fly-tipping by Sedgefield Borough Council could see large fines being imposed on the perpetrators. Staff from the council are monitoring selected sites which have been identified as dumping spots and are collecting evidence against
A SHOPLIFTER who cost taxpayers £10,000 by insisting on trial by jury for pinching a 92p tin of spaghetti walked away from court with an absolute discharge yesterday - prompting outrage at the waste of public money. Government law advisor Lord MacKenzie
THE case against the first suspected terrorist to be arrested under tough new anti-terror laws was thrown out of court by a senior judge yesterday. Student Adnan Abdeleh bragged of his support for Osama bin Laden and rejoiced as the news filtered through
A CHEEKY civil servant who ran naked alongside the Queen's car during a Royal tour had his specially adapted "quick release" trousers confiscated yesterday. Brynn Reed was given a 12-month conditional discharge by magistrates after he admitted indecent
RELEGATED Derby County are eyeing Middlesbrough midfielder Robbie Mustoe. Rams manager John Gregory, plotting an immediate return to the Premiership, is keen on Mustoe, who is out of contract this summer and stalling on the offer of a one-year deal from
NCP sold in £820m deal BRITAIN'S biggest car park operator, NCP, has been sold by its American owners in a deal worth £820m. New York travel and property group Cendant completed the sale four years after acquiring NCP and roadside business Green Flag
ROYAL memorabilia forms the basis of a new exhibition at Kirkleatham Hall Museum, Redcar. Exhibits loaned or donated by people for the God Save The Queen exhibition range from a 1953 bedspread and pillow to a 1953 casting of the 1953 coronation coach
I WAS brought up to believe that quality sells itself so why was it necessary for Tony Blair's cold sell merchants to come up here to tell us all about the proposed regional assembly? However, it is a basic tenet that a lie cannot exist without a truth
ULTRA-DISTANCE ace Sharon Gayter is second in the world 24-hour rankings just two years after a serious road accident threatened to end her running career. The gritty Middlesbrough College lecturer has bounced back after doctors told her that her badly-damaged
A COUNTY-WIDE shake-up of the North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service has seen the brigade restructured along local authority lines. The intention has been to streamline the service to help it respond to calls more effectively. The existing 11 operational
Times are hard and time is tight. Last week we not only turned down a booze up in a brewery but money, good money, an' all. The booze up - a beer tasting, properly to identify it - was at Black Sheep in Masham. The money, enough not only to have paid
VILLAGE FAIR: Billy Row, near Crook, is holding a fair on Monday, June 3. Entries for the tug-of-war specify teams of eight with an entry fee of £5, and should be made to The Green pub, Billy Row, by Sunday. All proceeds from the fair will go to ward
POLICE investigating the murder of a 44-year-old loner who was bludgeoned to death in his home said last night that he probably knew his attacker. Detective Superintendent Ian Sharp, who is heading the investigation into the killing of Sydney Baldwin,
A WOMAN has discovered a document she hopes will defeat attempts to turn a playing field into a car park. Sandra Reynolds has joined a campaign against plans to turn land east of Dixon Street, Blackhill, near Consett, into a 92-space car park. The area
A SCHOOL could soon achieve its long-held ambition of building a sixth form centre. Nunthorpe School, controlled by Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council, has had its achievements recognised by the Government. Many of its pupils come from neighbouring
AN audience in east Cleveland has been treated to a musical evening thanks to the piano brilliance of a local teenager. Richard Simpson, a year 11 pupil at Laurence Jackson School, Guisborough, gave a piano recital at the school for pupils, parents, staff
A North-East landmark is to be painted for the first time in 11 years as part of a refurbishment programme. Work begins on Sunderland's Wearmouth Bridge, on Saturday - the start of a 40-week restoration programme. Motorists are warned that bridge traffic
A HISTORY of one of the region's proudest regiments has been brought up to date by the son of the original author. The regimental history of the Green Howards was first published in 1992 by Colonel Geoffrey Powell MC and has now been extended by his son
BOOKIES are not the only businesses in the North-East which are threatened with losing a small fortune if England make it all the way to the World Cup Final. Business leaders estimate that every man hour lost costs industry in the region of up to £50.
THE Bank of England has been warned that recession-hit manufacturers are not yet "out of the woods" as pressure for an early interest rate hike intensified. The CBI said that while the long-awaited manufacturing recovery was on course the revival was
STAFF at a Darlington supermarket have raised money for the town's St Teresa's Hospice as part of anniversary celebrations. The Asda store in Winfield, which is celebrating its second anniversary, held a number of events, including a charity car wash,
A HOUSING association has vowed to combat the soaring cost of property in Teesdale by building cheaper accommodation. House prices in the area have continued to rise considerably in recent years, which has forced many local people to leave the dale in
