Archive

  • Turner praises spirit

    DISAPPOINTED Chris Turner last night praised his Hartlepool United record breakers. Yesterday's televised defeat at Bournemouth was Pool's first away defeat in 12 outings and after eastablishing a new club record in winning at Shrewsbury the previous

  • Youth hunted after metal thrown at car

    POLICE are trying to trace a youth who risked the lives of motorists by throwing a metal grill at an oncoming car on a dual carriageway. The 2ft grill went through the windscreen of Volkswagen Golf car travelling east in Askew Road, Gateshead. It caused

  • History of Meccano on display in train museum

    MECCANO enthusiasts descended on Darlington at the weekend for a major exhibition. The workings of the famous metal construction system were displayed at the town's railway centre and museum. Experts from the National Meccano Society showed off working

  • Workers near power plant issued with radiation pills

    ANTI-RADIATION pills have been distributed to scores of factory workers around Hartlepool nuclear power station because of heightened fears of terrorist attack. The pills have been distributed to workers on the Graythorpe industrial estate, which borders

  • Cook festival weighs anchor

    THE Captain Cook Festival 2002 gets under way on Friday and culminates in a gala celebration at Middlesbrough's Stewart Park on Sunday, October 27. Judith Croft, Middlesbrough Council's events and entertainments manager, said: "The festival brings together

  • Flyaway Paula soars to marathon heights

    Paula Radcliffe hit a new high in a magnificent year yesterday as she shattered the world record marathon time in Chicago. The 28-year-old Briton's awesome strength and speed saw her cross the finishing line in two hours 17 minutes 18 seconds - slicing

  • College celebrates its names

    BUILDINGS at an all-girl college have finally acquired names - 50 years after the institution moved to its present site. Former principals of St Mary's College were honoured yesterday as the current crop of undergraduates marked the golden jubilee of

  • Football club prize offer

    AN auction is being held by the Friarage Hospital in Northallerton, North Yorkshire, to raise money for the children's ward. Anyone interested has until Friday November 1, to bid for a signed Middlesbrough Football Club shirt or a tour of the BT Cellnet

  • Comment: Even paradise isn't safe

    BALI, a tropical island in the Indonesian archipelago, is so picturesque and immaculate it could almost be a painted backdrop. It has rice paddies tripping down hillsides like giant steps, volcanoes soaring up through the clouds, dense tropical jungle

  • 'UEFA must clamp down on racism'

    IF there is one thing more abhorrent than racism, it is UEFA's lily-livered stance against European football's greatest evil. The Slovakian Football Association will be fined following the disgusting chants aimed by their Neanderthal supporters at Emile

  • 'Sea wall is inevitable' as bay battered

    CRASHING waves which loosened railings along Scarborough's sea walls have prompted council chiefs to pledge themselves to improved defences. Marine Drive and East Pier took a battering as the highest tides of the year were recorded along the east coast

  • Shopping around for flu protection

    SHOPPERS at a York supermarket found a new bargain amid the baked beans at the weekend. While buying their groceries, customers calling at the Asda superstore, at the Monk's Cross centre, could snap up a flu jab at £11.97 a shot. Administered by professional

  • Child cancer scrutiny

    THE long-term effects of cancer treatment on young patients is to be the subject of a new study by York University. There has been progress in recent years in the treatment of child cancer and leukaemia, with the survival rate now standing at more than

  • Grassroots: Washington

    A FRIENDLY EAR: A listening service is offered by the Bridge Women's Education and Support Trust from 10am until noon, and from 1pm to 3pm, Mondays to Fridays in the Sulgrave Support Centre. Appointments can be made on 0191-417 0218. PAROCHIAL ART: Local

  • Close call for winning leeks

    IN the tightest finish of the show season in Weardale Mick Emerson emerged as winner of the annual leek show at Rookhope Workingmen's Club at the weekend. Mick, from Stanhope, showed a pair of leeks measuring 196.3 cubic inches to beat off the challenge

  • Strip show mayor faces conduct probe

    THE mayor of a North-East town who was spotted at a lesbian strip show may be suspended from office following an official complaint about his conduct. Stuart Drummond, who was elected to be mayor of Hartlepool as H'Angus The Monkey, has been reported

  • Gymnasts put on display to entice people

    POTENTIAL gymnasts from the region gathered for a festival aimed at getting youngsters interested in the sport. Hundreds of people turned out for the event at Spennymoor Leisure Centre yesterday, where Olympic medalists and County Durham gymnastic clubs

  • College master axed over allegation

    A ROMAN Catholic college run by Benedictine monks confirmed yesterday it has sacked a house master at the centre of allegations of improper conduct with a pupil. Father Christian Shore had been on "administrative leave" from Ampleforth College, in North

  • Residents to make a difference

    VOLUNTEERS will be joining forces with students to take part in a series of events to improve their local communities in Teesdale. As part of national Make A Difference Day, residents around the dale will be encouraged to take part in events organised

  • House for sale... would suit small family

    BIDDERS at a charity auction can literally walk away with a new home, when a meticulously created dolls' house goes under the hammer. It is not often a house can be bought complete with accessories, including working Tiffany light fittings, knives and

  • News in brief: Musicians play charity concert

    THE Rotary Club of Crook presents Arthur Kay and the AK Chorale with soloist Alison Snell and pianist George Hetherington in a Gershwin Night concert at Cockton Hill Methodist Church, Bishop Auckland, at 7.30pm, on Friday. Tickets are £4, including refreshment

  • More than 60 arrested in crackdown

    THE number of arrests and solved crimes is continuing to soar in east Cleveland as the result of a major police clampdown. Detectives say the success of Operation Trident is growing as arrested criminals begin to implicate associates in other crimes.

  • Rural learning partnership

    THE country's first rural learning centre is being set up at Fylingthorpe, near Whitby. The venture, known as Baythorpe College, has been funded by the Learning and Skills Council to the tune of £32,000. It involves a partnership of learning providers

  • Well versed on native American history

    POETRY based on the legend of a native American girl's encounter with a British sailor was read to an eager audience by a distant descendant at the weekend. Sandi Russell, an American who has lived in Durham for the past 18 years, is part Chickahominy

  • Club opens for children

    YOUNGSTERS are taking part in after school activities after the launch of a community centre club. Auckland Youth and Community Centre, on the Woodhouse Close Estate, in Bishop Auckland, has managed to secure funding for a year for the out of school club

  • Armed and ready for stage roles

    YORK shoppers had to run the gauntlet at the weekend as gangsters did battle at one of the city's shopping malls. Bugsy Malone and his cronies sparked a shoot-out at the McArthurGlen Designer Outlet - but no one was ever in any danger. The stunt was staged

  • A black belt at 15

    TEENAGE judo sensation Heather Morren has become a black belt at the age of 15. Heather, from Middlesbrough, is already a force to be reckoned with having recently won medals for Great Britain. One of the country's youngest black belts, Heather began

  • Golfers club together for charity

    GOLFERS have boosted two North-East children's causes at an annual charity day. The Federation Brewery teamed up with Brancepeth Castle Golf Club, near Durham, to stage the final round of an event which attracted such a big entry that qualifying rounds

  • Volunteer rangers expected to patrol nature reserves

    COUNCILLORS are expected to give the go-ahead tomorrow for a new team of countryside rangers to patrol the nature reserves of Darlington. The group of volunteers will be asked to provide support to the borough council in preserving and enhancing the town's

  • News in brief: Bids invited for signed bat

    A BAT signed by Durham County Cricket Club players is being offered to the highest bidder to help raise funds for a Christmas dinner staged for elderly villagers. Jim Affleck, the sub-postmaster in Newfield Village, near Pelton, on the outskirts of Chester-le-Street

  • Liddle fury after Quakers' give-away

    DARLINGTON skipper Craig Liddle admitted that the players were "gutted" after a dramatic late collapse at Gigg Lane on Saturday. "The players were devastated at throwing away a 2-0 lead," he said. "For 95 per cent of the game, I thought we defended quite

  • Residents step up fight for homes cash

    RESIDENTS are seeking legal advice as they prepare to take out an injunction to stop a council redeveloping their homes. People living in the 120 condemned houses and bungalows in Cuthbert's Walk and St Aidan's Walk, Bishop Auckland, want to stop Wear

  • Top marks for school after inspection

    A PRIMARY school in Hartlepool has received top marks following a visit from Government inspectors. St Teresa's RC Primary School was visited in July by Ofsted as part of their national programme of school inspections. The report said: "This is a highly

  • Small railway's future is lined up

    BIG ideas are on the way for a small railway in Eaglescliffe. Plans for Teesside Small Gauge Railway, based in the grounds of Preston Hall Museum, include major maintenance work on the track. The railway will run every Sunday, weather permitting, between

  • Pub-goers jump to challenge

    ADVENTUROUS pub-goers in a village raised more than £2,000 after taking part in a Bungee Jump challenge. Thirty-two people took part in the charity event at The Brown Trout Pub, in Sunnybrow, near Willington. The event organised by pub landlords Stephen

  • Angel fish of the North

    IT has been a familiar sight to hundreds of thousands of motorists travelling through the heart of the North-East. But experts believe the Angel of the North could be greeting boats, rather than cars, in the not-too-distant future. The Energy Saving Trust

  • Thieves in grab 'n' smash lorry raid

    POLICE are hunting thieves who carried out an audacious daylight raid on a North-East factory yesterday. The raiders broke into a compound belonging to Crosslings Limited, on Meynall Road, Darlington, at about 2.15pm. They stole a blue Leyland lorry,

  • Church leader to quit for rural post

    ONE of the most senior clergymen in the country has announced his decision to quit his post and return to life as a parish priest. Archbishop of York, Dr David Hope, plans to break with tradition and return to "grassroots" Christian leadership. Dr Hope

  • Unveiled... the latest wedding day look

    AN exhibition hall was filled with the whispered sounds of weddings being planned at the weekend. The Pavilions complex at the Great Yorkshire Showground in Harrogate, North Yorkshire, took over from the town's Royal Hall complex to host the two-day Yorkshire

  • Myhre blow for Wilko

    HOWARD Wilkinson was last night facing a goalkeeping crisis after Thomas Myhre suffered a thigh injury. With Thomas Sorensen ruled out until the New Year after dislocating his elbow last week, Wilkinson could be forced to call on Jurgen Macho for his

  • School rethinks lighting proposal

    PLANS to erect eight giant floodlights close to Durham's world heritage site have been scrapped following residents' objections. Durham School submitted the plans as part of an application to convert its existing rugby pitch, adjacent to Archery Rise,

  • Tees tourism strategy plan

    PLANS for a new strategy aimed at making Seaton Carew a more attractive tourist resort for visitors and residents will be discussed later this week. The strategy, will provide a framework for developing the town economically, socially and physically.

  • Moors make point

    Spennymoor manager Tony Lee was full of praise for keeper Adrian Swan as Moors held on for a goalless draw at Droylsden. The teams replay at the Brewery Field tomorrow night after Swan kept them in the competition in the first half with some excellent

  • Ayr trip just the job for Magenta

    Horses for courses is one of racing's oldest maxims and one of its most prudent. It's fairly apparent that six furlongs on easy ground at Ayr bring out the best in Eastern Magenta. And Linda Stubbs' juvenile can notch his third win over that course and

  • Falcons make cup progress

    NEWCASTLE Falcons can look forward to a second round match against Castres after hanging on for a highly-encouraging win in the first leg of Saturday night's Parker Pen European Challenge Cup tie. They will face Grenoble at home next Sunday with confidence

  • Lindoe hails Brandon's four-midable display

    Brandon manager Kenny Lindoe thought that his side produced one of their best performances of the season to remain top of the table with a 4-2 win at Guisborough on Saturday. Brandon bounced back from their midweek defeat at the hands of Billingham Synthonia

  • Cleckheaton put dent in Darlington's hopes

    DARLINGTON suffered a rare home defeat when Cleckheaton were awarded a penalty try with six minutes left and the conversion from under the posts gave them a 22-20 win. This was a big setback to Darlington's North One promotion hopes, especially as they

  • Attack by yobs halts night bus service

    NIGHT bus services have been withdrawn on a troubled housing estate after a gang of yobs stormed a bus and attacked passengers. The terrifying attack is the latest in a series to hit the Skerne Park estate, in Darlington, where residents are said to be

  • TV review

    Sahara With Michael Palin (BBC1) Fame, Set And Match (BBC2) Think of desert and you think of sand. Lots of sand and not much else. So the possibility of intrepid traveller Michael Palin finding enough in the Sahara desert to keep us interested over four

  • Parents of tearaways could face eviction, warn police

    POLICE in Spennymoor have issued a stern warning to the parents of young tearaways who are wreaking havoc on a council estate. Large gangs of youths have been condemned for starting a series of fires on the Middleston Moor estate - and police are considering

  • Unlucky Mowden Park meet their Waterloo

    AFTER their cup defeat at Kendal the previous week, the Cumbrians told Mowden Park they would survive comfortably in Division Two. The difficulty would be getting there. Further proof of this came against a Waterloo side clearly determined to reverse

  • Pool hoping for no more TV Times

    HARTLEPOOL United and live games don't go together well. In their fourth televised appearance, they yesterday suffered their fourth defeat as Pool went down in front of the Sky Sports cameras. After defeats to Halifax, Hereford and Nottingham Forest in

  • Liddle fury after Quakers' give-away

    DARLINGTON skipper Craig Liddle admitted that the players were "gutted" after a dramatic late collapse at Gigg Lane on Saturday. "The players were devastated at throwing away a 2-0 lead," he said. "For 95 per cent of the game, I thought we defended quite

  • Workers near power plant issued with radiation pills

    ANTI-RADIATION pills have been distributed to scores of factory workers around Hartlepool nuclear power station because of heightened fears of terrorist attack. The pills have been distributed to workers on the Graythorpe industrial estate, which borders

  • Fans draw great support

    SUPPORTERS' chiefs told the game's bosses to dig deep last night after the inaugural Football Fans' Parliament was hailed a "fantastic success". More than 200 delegates, representing 67 clubs in England and Wales, attended the conference at the National

  • Relatively speaking in tongues

    Q WHY is Welsh classed as a Celtic language when it is about as akin to Gaelic as chalk is to cheese? - A Jones, Bridlington. A GAELIC and Welsh are noticeably different because they belong to two distinct branches of a group of languages known as Celtic

  • Mandelson plays down party threat

    NORTH-East MP Peter Mandelson has brushed off threats to oust him by local party members. A coalition of Labour Party members in his Hartlepool constituency is backing moves to get him deselected after a row over the possible siting of a new nuclear power

  • Late, late show leaves Taylor's men fuming

    TWO goals in the dying minutes turned triumph into frustration for Quakers at Gigg Lane. Leading 2-0 with three minutes of normal time left, Quakers looked as if they were on the verge of back to back wins for the first time this season, until their defence

  • Carnage in paradise as bombers kill 187

    AT least six Britons were last night feared to have been among the 187 people who were killed when two bomb blasts ripped through a crowded tourist resort on the paradise island of Bali. The British ambassador to Jakarta, Richard Gozney, said that the

  • News in brief: Surfers trigger rescue mission

    TWO surfers caused a scare when they were reported stranded in the North Sea, off the Cleveland coast, yesterday. The pair seemed to be in difficulties 150 metres off the coast at Saltburn, at about 11.30am. But by the time the Teesmouth Lifeboat was

  • Attack by yobs halts bus service

    NIGHT bus services have been withdrawn on a troubled housing estate after a gang of yobs stormed a bus and attacked passengers. The terrifying attack is the latest in a series to hit the Skerne Park estate, in Darlington, where residents are said to be

  • Day that King Coal was killed off

    THE death-knell of the once mighty Durham coalfield was delivered in a single crushing announcement ten years ago this week. King Coal reigned supreme, fuelling the heavy industry of the North-East and beyond for nearly two centuries from the early years

  • Have you ironed your last shirt?

    IRONING - that most hated of household chores - is on the verge of being banished to the dustbin of history, thanks to researchers at a North-East university. A robot maid which can fly through piles of clothes without complaining, getting bored, or burning

  • Man hurt in explosion

    A MAN suffered severe burns in an explosion which destroyed his caravan at a riverside site. The blast ripped through the caravan on the Finchale Abbey site, near Durham, shortly after 9.30am yesterday. Firefighters were called out to extinguish the blaze

  • On the trail of ghosts . . .

    The Butterwick Hospice is hosting a sponsored Halloween ghost trail on Saturday, November 2, from 3.30pm at Castle Eden Walkway, Thorpe Thewles, near Stockton. The two-mile walk is for five to 15-year-olds. There are prizes for best fancy dress and most

  • News in brief: £1.7m needed to protect cliffs

    ENGINEERS say that nearly £1.7m needs to be spent shoring up cliffs at Scalby Beck and Scalby Mills, on Scarborough's North Side. Derek Rowell, the borough authority's technical services director, said: "There is the potential for the large scale failure

  • Register office staff on award shortlist

    A local government department is in the running for a national award. The Improvement and Development Agency's (IDeA) Top Team is announced at a ceremony on Wednesday, November 27, and North Yorkshire's register office staff are among seven nominations

  • 'Sea wall is inevitable' as bay battered

    CRASHING waves which loosened railings along Scarborough's sea walls have prompted council chiefs to pledge themselves to improved defences. Marine Drive and East Pier took a battering as the highest tides of the year were recorded along the east coast

  • Shopping around for flu protection

    SHOPPERS at a York supermarket found a new bargain amid the baked beans at the weekend. While buying their groceries, customers calling at the Asda superstore, at the Monk's Cross centre, could snap up a flu jab at £11.97 a shot. Administered by professional

  • Police inquiry into house fire

    INVESTIGATIONS into a house fire, which occurred in the early hours of yesterday, are under way. Firefighters were called to a report of a car blaze in Salters Avenue, Darlington, just after 1am, but found it had extended to a nearby property. Crews were

  • Antiques valued

    A Valuation day and art exhibition will be held at a North-East church on Saturday to raise funds to help provide for the disabled. Birtley Methodist Church has arranged for Giles Hodges, of Boldon Auction Gallery, to give valuations at £1 per item, while

  • Relatively speaking in tongues

    Q WHY is Welsh classed as a Celtic language when it is about as akin to Gaelic as chalk is to cheese? - A Jones, Bridlington. A GAELIC and Welsh are noticeably different because they belong to two distinct branches of a group of languages known as Celtic

  • Word processing course available

    A NEWTON Aycliffe school is able to offer the next stage in a word processing course. Greenfield Community and Arts Centre now has the resources to offer the CLAIT Level 2 course, which has replaced the IBT2 course as the progression level from CLAIT

  • Theatre's opening night postponed due to rising damp

    THE scheduled reopening of a community's theatre has been postponed after severe rising damp was discovered in the walls. The staging of a popular pantomime has been thrown into uncertainty, professional shows have had to be reprogrammed, and plans for

  • Armed social club robbers grab £8,000

    A GANG of armed raiders escaped with thousands of pounds after holding up a North-East social club at gunpoint, it emerged last night. The masked men burst into the Darlington and Simpson Rolling Mills (DSRM) Club, on Longfield Road, and demanded cash

  • Honour happy with Bishops

    Bishop Auckland manager Brian Honour was heartened by his side's display even though they lost 1-0 at Witton Albion on Saturday in the UniBond League. Honour included seven new players in the line up and he said: "It was a massive improvement on my first

  • Rail stalwart dies

    PETER KING, for many years one of the best-known figures at Scarborough railway station, has died at the age of 74. His family plan to scatter his ashes on the railway track at the station where he worked for 25 years. He had been involved in the railway

  • Town criers audition

    THE future town crier of Chester-le-Street is to be picked with the help of the townspeople. Chester-le-Street District Council and the town's traders' association sent out an appeal for someone with a "thunderous yet articulate voice" who must also be

  • Opposition to college relaunch

    PLANS to create a sixth-form college to boost staying-on rates in East Durham have run into opposition from the area's main college. School heads in the area want to form a college of excellence in the area to lift its low levels of post-16 education

  • Hotel wins Good Food Guide award

    ONE of the region's top hotels has made an immediate impact by being named Newcomer of the Year in the 2002 Good Food Guide. Seaham Hall Hotel, a converted former residential home, is set in expansive grounds overlooking the sea, in Seaham, County Durham

  • Providing an insight into Army life

    CIVIC dignitaries and leading members of the community are being offered an insight into Army life tomorrow. The Army Presentation Team is touring the region and will be visiting Ripon, North Yorkshire, to explain why the forces are vital, what the Army's

  • Millennium Bridge wins architect award for second year

    THE Millennium Bridge over the Tyne is earning a reputation as one of the country's modern architectural gems. It follows the latest accolade awarded to the newest Newcastle/Gateshead river crossing over the weekend. The Blinking Eye Bridge as it has

  • Sven spared more strife in Slovakia

    Whether or not Sven-Goran Eriksson reckons himself lucky in love, he certainly cannot complain about his team's fortune. On a pitch more suited to growing swede than playing football, England spared their Scandinavian coach any 'turnip' headlines with

  • Awards for volunteers with '126 years service'

    VOLUNTEERS with 126 years experience between them were presented with long service awards at the annual meeting of Sedgefield and District Citizens Advice Bureau. The 11 long-standing volunteers were presented with certificates and gifts for their years

  • Telecoms companies warned over prices

    TELECOMS companies have been urged to make "fundamental adjustments" or risk going under amid stiff worldwide competition. Authors of a new research paper, including a Newcastle University business expert, accuse many telecommunications companies of still

  • On course to train would-be detectives

    THE next generation of detectives are being honed in a pioneering course being tested by a North-East police force. Durham Police are among the first forces in the country to launch the detective training scheme. As part of a drive to establish new standards

  • Council refuses parking plea

    RESIDENTS are calling on a council to think again after it refused to consider their suggestions for parking restrictions. Last month, Durham County Council tried to introduce mixed permit holder and pay and display parking restrictions in the streets

  • Residents rewarded

    GREEN-FINGERED residents helping to brighten up their neighbourhood were rewarded with flowers for their gardens at the weekend. People were invited to join Tees Valley Wildlife Trust and plant daffodil bulbs at Whinney Banks green-space, in Middlesbrough

  • Author to 'repay debt' to fisherfolk

    WHITBY-born author Peter Frank who became a university lecturer teaching Soviet and Russian politics, has return to his home town to write a new book, Yorkshire Fisherfolk. It tells the story of the inshore fishing communities at Whitby and Scarborough

  • Festival harvests worshippers' talents

    MORE than 1,000 people visited a North Yorkshire church as it held a harvest festival with a difference this weekend. Clergy at St Mark's, in the heart of Harrogate, felt that produce brought to harvest festival services in the past has had more to do

  • Bathing waters cleanest on record

    THE coastal bathing waters in Yorkshire are the cleanest on record - for the second year running. Tests carried out by the Environment Agency during this year's bathing season, showed the water is cleaner than ever before. As well as all 23 of the region's

  • Plan is unveiled for £1m surgery

    A SUPER-SURGERY costing up to £1m has been given the go-ahead, the first of its type in the North-East. Health officials are in final negotiations with developers before starting work on the project, which will be in Darlington town centre. Expected to

  • Exhibition looks to artists of the future to put on show

    THE artistic talents of school students have formed the basis for an art exhibition. Tomorrow's Art Today features a variety of artworks produced at GCSE level by students at Bishop Barrington School, in Bishop Auckland. The exhibition at The Discovery

  • Hitting the comeback trail

    THE timing could not have been better. Just as Sven-Goran Eriksson's ability to inspire England was coming under intense scrutiny, England produced their first second-half comeback in 16 years. It was certainly not pretty but, as they emerged with an

  • Golfers club together for charity

    GOLFERS have boosted two North-East children's causes at an annual charity day. The Federation Brewery teamed up with Brancepeth Castle Golf Club, near Durham, to stage the final round of an event which attracted such a big entry that qualifying rounds

  • Bed race benefits hospital's baby care

    A HOSPITAL'S special care baby unit is more than £2,000 better off thanks to the efforts of staff from a specialist car firm. They raised £2,020 for the unit at Northallerton's Friarage Hospital through sponsorship by joining in this year's Thirsk festival

  • Man faces vice girl rape charge

    POLICE have charged a man with the rape of a prostitute. The man, from Middlesbrough, is accused of raping the woman in the Newport Road area of the town, on October 4. Detective Constable Robin Jacobs, of Cleveland Police, said: "Prostitutes, by the

  • Parents of tearaways on estate could face eviction, warn police

    POLICE in Spennymoor have issued a stern warning to the parents of young tearaways who are wreaking havoc on a council estate. Large gangs of youths have been condemned for starting a series of fires on the Middleston Moor estate - and police are considering

  • News in brief: Bids invited for signed bat

    A BAT signed by Durham County Cricket Club players is being offered to the highest bidder to help raise funds for a Christmas dinner staged for elderly villagers. Jim Affleck, the sub-postmaster in Newfield Village, near Pelton, on the outskirts of Chester-le-Street

  • Professional help for young dancers

    FIFTEEN young dancers from Hartlepool will get a taste of the big time when they take to the stage in the company of professionals next week. The Elwick Academy of Dance youngsters, who are aged between 14 and 20, will perform two numbers at the Town

  • News in brief: Surfers trigger rescue mission

    TWO surfers caused a scare when they were reported stranded in the North Sea, off the Cleveland coast, yesterday. The pair seemed to be in difficulties 150 metres off the coast at Saltburn, at about 11.30am. But by the time the Teesmouth Lifeboat was

  • Bid to publish childcare jobs

    A PUBLICATION detailing new job vacancies in the childcare and early years education sector has been launched. The guide has been produced by the Darlington Early Years Development and Childcare Partnership. It also includes information about qualifications

  • Government advisor takes top job

    A GOVERNMENT advisor has been appointed as a city's new director of social services. Glenys Jones, from Stockton, takes up the role in Sunderland after serving as corporate director of social services with Middlesbrough Council for six years. Her career

  • Opera star sings praises of 1966's unlikely heroes

    CELEBRATED opera singer Suzannah Clarke is facing up to one of her toughest challenges to date - mastering Korean before singing before thousands at a North-East football stadium. The Middlesbrough-born singer has volunteered to perform a rendition of

  • Fallon closes on title

    Kieren Fallon put an iron grip on the jockeys' championship with a power-packed treble at York on Saturday, but will not accept that the title is in safe-keeping until it is impossible for him to be caught. The three-timer on Avonbridge, Talbot Avenue

  • Railway bosses fear jobs sidetrack

    RAILWAY bosses in the final stage of reopening an historic North-East line are anxiously watching developments at a troubled steelworks. At present, the Weardale Railway Company occupies the old gun barrel shed at the steel plant in Wolsingham, County

  • Cleckheaton put dent in Darlington's hopes

    DARLINGTON suffered a rare home defeat when Cleckheaton were awarded a penalty try with six minutes left and the conversion from under the posts gave them a 22-20 win. This was a big setback to Darlington's North One promotion hopes, especially as they

  • 'UEFA must clamp down on racism'

    IF there is one thing more abhorrent than racism, it is UEFA's lily-livered stance against European football's greatest evil. The Slovakian Football Association will be fined following the disgusting chants aimed by their Neanderthal supporters at Emile

  • The real voice of hunting

    So far it's been confined to stickers and graffiti, but there are rumblings that the rural rebellion could turn nasty as the prospect of a hunting ban draws near. Nick Morrison meets the public face of the militant pro-hunt movement. THERE'S an embossed

  • The miracle baby who's just a normal teenager now

    FIFTEEN years ago, surgeons carried out a pioneering heart transplant on baby Kaylee Davidson after her mother Carol was told her child wouldn't survive without it. Barry Nelson reports how Kaylee and her family coped with being the UK's first successful

  • Hear All Sides: War On Iraq

    SO President Bush has warned the Iraqis not to resort to 'criminal acts' by retaliating with chemical or biological weapons when he launches his promised attack on their country. Is it not a 'criminal act' to deliberately obstruct the UN weapons inspectors

  • 'I've had seven marriages and two babies'

    From perfect partner to perfect pads... Country Life's Caroline Gee has turned her matchmaking skills to people and their dream country homes. Steve Pratt reports. WHEN she played at being a matchmaker, farmer's daughter Caroline Gee had a better success

  • News in brief: Musicians play charity concert

    THE Rotary Club of Crook presents Arthur Kay and the AK Chorale with soloist Alison Snell and pianist George Hetherington in a Gershwin Night concert at Cockton Hill Methodist Church, Bishop Auckland, at 7.30pm, on Friday. Tickets are £4, including refreshment

  • Neale inquiry to start

    MORE than two years after he was struck off for botching operations the long-awaited inquiry into Richard Neale is finally getting under way. The inquiry chairman, Suzan Matthews QC, has invited former patients of Mr Neale to come forward and give evidence

  • Pupils get a taste of the Orient

    CHINESE dragons, lanterns and even Chinese eye exercises were on the agenda last week for schools staging an oriental festival. Five County Durham primaries took part in a week-long celebration of China following a trip by a delegation of head teachers

  • Agency flooding scheme opposed

    PLANS to flood fields surrounding a Teesside stream have been slammed by residents. The Environment Agency is consulting householders in the Hartburn area of Stockton on plans to tackle flooding in and around Lustrum Beck. The 12 mile-long beck, part

  • Theatre's opening night postponed due to rising damp

    THE scheduled reopening of a community's theatre has been postponed after severe rising damp was discovered in the walls. The staging of a popular pantomime has been thrown into uncertainty, professional shows have had to be reprogrammed, and plans for

  • Heart-op girl has reason to celebrate

    A NORTH-EAST teenager whose heart transplant made medical history has talked about her future plans for the first time. Fifteen years ago today, five-month-old Kaylee Davidson of Washington, Wearside, became the first child in the country to have a successful

  • How pit closures brought down the curtain on a way of life

    THE work was dangerous, dirty and cramped. But to the thousands of miners who worked on the Durham coalfield, it was not just about work. For 400 years, mining was at the heart of the region and provided a way of life for the communities which surrounded

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    STEPHEN Harmison was last night backed to have Australia running scared by fellow England speed merchant Simon Jones. They have each won just one Test cap but Jones, of Glamorgan, believes he and Durham's Harmison will have the likes of Steve Waugh and

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    Stokesley narrowed the lead at the top of the table hitting five past Annfield Plain. The home side dominated the first half and went in at the break three goals to the good with strikes from Warren Gregson, Richard Hore and Jonathan Smith. Complacency