THE main news next week will be the Budget on Wednesday, but apart from Chancellor Gordon Brown's speech there will be a number of company announcements. The weeks starts with a first-quarter trading update from chip designer Arm Holdings on Monday. Although
A CLOSE vote is expected in a by-election in Derwentside District Council's Benfieldside ward, in the Blackhill and Shotley Bridge area, near Consett. The by-election has been caused by the resignation of Councillor John Davies who, as a Durham County
YOUR comment (Echo, Apr 6), suggests that Ray Mallon could be elected as mayor of Middlesbrough on the sentiment of his reputation. That is an issue the voters of Middlesbrough will have to decide. There are many issues that leave a bad taste in the mouth
THE one person certain to be in the pink over her lead role in Darlington Operatic Society's latest production, Mame, is employment health advisor Vera Davison. The GlaxoSmithKline worker has been a member of the society for the past 17 years and is delighted
SUPERMARKET chain J Sainsbury has shown its recovery is firmly on track by posting a surge in sales. The group, which has been attempting to reassert itself in the face of stiff competition, said like-for-like sales for the 12 weeks to March 30 were up
It was said to be unsinkable, but Monday marks the 90th anniversary of the night the Titanic went down. NOREEN BARR talks to the last British survivor of the most famous maritime disaster. FOR most of us, the sinking of the Titanic is a tragic piece of
THE National Lottery has done a good deed for a North Yorkshire Scout group. Members of 1st Barton are celebrating after receiving a grant of £1,900 from the Awards for All programme, and are now planning a summer camp in honour of the Queen's Golden
INCREASING bureaucracy and Government inertia has been blamed for the decay in North Yorkshire's rural infrastructure. The attack was made by Newton-le-Willows parish councillor Johnnie Johnson at the Lower Wensleydale Parish Forum, at Redmire.. "There
RICHMOND MP William Hague has agreed to attend a meeting to hear complaints over the high levels of business rates and tax bills. Pub landlady Cath Thompson has invited Mr Hague and county councillors Carl Les and John Weighell to a meeting to place her
Actress Britt Ekland tells STEVE PRATT why she's emjoying the life of a gipsy AS "a woman of a certain age", Britt Ekland realises her chances of big screen opportunities are limited. "Unless you're Maggie Smith or someone like that, there's not a lot
A pharmaceuticals industry company is hoping to expand after getting approval to build new headquarters in Barnard Castle. Honeyman Associates plans to build the headquarters at Harmire Enterprise Park, near its original premises. The company has continued
A NORTH-East vicar is among hundreds of scholars from the region who have graduated from the Open University. The Reverend John Masshedar, vicar of Shotton, County Durham, swapped his prayer books for study books when he enrolled on a social science degree
A SERIAL robber who threatened young boys with a knife and then stole their bikes was jailed for five years yesterday. Mark Blyth, 20, of Runnymede Close, Stockton, admitted the robberies at Teesside Crown Court yesterday. Tony Calloway, prosecuting,
Birtley Town, who have already won the Monkwearmouth Charity Cup, aim to reach their second final when they host Darlington RA in the Sunderland Shipowners' Cup this afternoon. Following an indifferent start to the season, Birtley are the in-form side
WORKING men's club members have helped to extend a hospice recycling project which brings in thousands of pounds a year. The Butterwick Hospice at Bishop Auckland has spread its waste paper collection enterprise to Shildon, where it has a skip next to
THE contribution of a local history group to a major archaeological dig has been praised as vital to its success. Experts from Channel 4's Time Team have unearthed a large Roman-period village on land at Hardwick Park, at Sedgefield, County Durham. The
A WOMAN campaigning to have the sale of fireworks banned says she is overwhelmed by the support she has received from readers of The Northern Echo. Pearl Hall, from South Bank, Middlesbrough, launched her campaign for tougher laws following a terrifying
A cancer charity is returning to the countryside for a popular fundraising event that was cancelled last year because of foot-and-mouth disease. Marie Curie Cancer Care, the Black Sheep Brewery, of Masham, and author Mark Reid have joined forces again
A retired university lecturer is the latest member to be appointed to serve the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority. Dr Malcolm Petyt was appointed by the Secretary of State for the Environment for a term of three years and takes up the position vacated
Hayley Gyllenspetz takes a short trip across the Channel to meet all the favourite characters at Disneyland Paris - and to experience the thrills of the newly-opened Walt Disney film studios IMAGINE waking up and finding Minnie Mouse at the breakfast
A PROJECT is hoping to secure funding to provide a future for Gisborough Priory. The priory, which dates back to the 12th century, is owned by Lord Gisborough but is under the care of English Heritage and is managed by Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council
AERO-engine manufacturer Rolls-Royce is investing £2.5m in its Sunderland facility to manufacture new products for engines that will power Airbus aircraft and the Eurofighter Typhoon. The factory on the Pallion Industrial Estate, which employs more than
STEEL giant Corus has been criticised for awarding its chairman a whopping pay rise while it is embroiled in a row over a pay freeze for workers. Sir Brian Moffat was paid £558,846 in basic pay and fees last year, a figure the Iron and Steel Trade Confederation
UNITED STATES captain Claudio Reyna, two-goal match-winning hero of Sunderland's crucial game against Leicester City, last night urged his teammates to keep their nerve in the battle for Premiership survival. Reyna believes 41 points would guarantee safety
A SCHEME to bring community organisations together to help the public has begun in Brotton. The One Stop Shop in Laburnum Road will act as a focal point for a number of organisations and agencies - including the police, the community safety wardens, housing
A CRACKDOWN on crime will bring police and community workers together in a bid to stamp out violence, anti-social behaviour and drug abuse in Teesdale. The joint initiative will bring together police, community safety officers, local authorities, drug
HARTLEPOOL United boss Chris Turner has called for one last push as the chase for the play-offs goes down to the wire. Pool have two games left and are relying on Scunthorpe and Shrewsbury to drop points in the next week to stand a chance of making the
NEWCASTLE United boss Bobby Robson has declared Kieron Dyer fit to play at Derby today - despite his £20m-rated England midfielder limping out of training this week. Dyer suffered a reaction when playing in a practice match at Newcastle's training ground
Shock at yesterday's explosion and fire at the Distillex plant on North Tyneside was already turning to anger last night. BRUCE UNWIN reports on the residents who are living in fear of their industrial neighbour TWICE in four months residents of Tyne-
LIBRARY services are being taken into schools to encourage youngsters to read more. Darlington's mobile library made its first classroom visit yesterday, when pupils at St John's Primary School were given a tour of the library and shown how to take out
A PARTY was held last night to mark the service of a Brown Owl who has been with the same Brownie pack for 30 years. Joy Storey, from Darlington, has been working with the 3rd Houghton-le-Skerne Brownie pack for three decades. The special party at St
THE North-East has one of the largest petro-chemical complexes in Europe, but has witnessed remarkably few major dramas. The most notable recent incidents in the area include: * October 25, 1986, one man killed and 13 injured, two critically, during two
SECURITY guards are to patrol a school's grounds after vandals carried out two attacks in less than a fortnight. Alderman Leach Infant School, in Darlington, was the target for a vandal attack on Thursday night, just days after work started to repair
A COCAINE courier was jailed for four years yesterday after he was caught with more than £60,000 worth of the drug. Alex Hand, 25, admitted possessing a Class A drug with intent to supply at Teesside Crown Court. Shaun Dodds, prosecuting, said police
A DRUNKEN man, who terrorised passengers on a bus, fell on to a busy road after opening an emergency door. The driver of the Arriva bus, Peter Wine, was so terrified by the actions of the man and two accomplices he called the police twice on his mobile
DURHAM contestants suffered early disappointments in the EIBA National Championships at Melton Mowbray. Darlington quartet, Ken Tinkler, Mark Jones, Allan Moore and Andrew Kirtland went out in the first round of the Four Championship, losing 24-14 to
CHILDREN at a Sedgefield school were looking forward to the first day of term more than usual this week. Hardwick Primary School has reopened for the first time since it was gutted by fire in an arson attack in January last year. For children returning
SUNDERLAND manager Peter Reid last night ordered his players to make amends to disappointed Wearside fans in today's full-house clash against Championship-chasing Liverpool. "We haven't given the fans enough this season - the players know that - and this
A VOTE to oppose a mobile phone mast in the heart of the Yorkshire Dales has been overturned - on the advice of the national park's planning chiefs. A planning committee meeting last month wanted to reject Vodafone's bid to install an antenna on the tower
REFORMS to licensing laws in recent years have met with our approval. For far too long, legislation was steeped in a bygone age which was out of step with modern living and other countries. The prospect of pubs opening to sell alcohol at breakfast time
A PRIVATE health firm is threatening to sue health bosses over alleged "scare-mongering" over the separate measles, mumps and rubella vaccines. Direct Health 2000 claims that advice given to a worried mother implied that children immunised at the private
Abbey National staff from the Teesdale site at Thornaby have boosted Redcar and Cleveland mayor Councillor Vilma Collins' civic fund. Guisborough ward councillor Bill Clarke, an Abbey National administration officer, nominated the mayor's charity fund
A SCHOOL is celebrating after picking up a national achievement award two years after it was slated by Ofsted inspectors. Belmont Primary School, in Guisborough,, also received praise in its latest Ofsted report when inspectors stated that "Belmont is
DURHAM County Council is extending restrictions on smoking at its headquarters. Councillors will no longer be able to smoke in the members' lounge at County Hall or in the bar, even during evening social events. County Hall's three smoking rooms will
New York Fireman Richard Picciotto was inside the Twin Towers evacuating office workers when the second tower collapsed. STEVE PRATT recounts his amazing story. When Richard Picciotto opened his eyes, he thought he was dead. He was surrounded by darkness
PUBS group Enterprise Inns has continued its expansion by agreeing a £875m deal to buy 1,860 pubs from rival Laurel. Enterprise, which owns 3,500 leased and tenanted pubs, said the acquisition fitted with its existing portfolio and "further enhances the
LAST Tuesday was an unforgettable day in the lives of most of us over the age of 50. Mainly because the Queen Mother has been there all our lives, to be honoured and revered for her graciousness and longevity. No wonder Dr George Carey declared strength
HARROGATE Rugby Union Club is celebrating its biggest victory of the season - the 11-4 vote by borough councillors in favour of its move to a new home at Killinghall. The vote overturned a previous eight-to-seven show of hands against the club's plans
Fears over the future of operations at a North Yorkshire hospital will be raised in the House of Commons next week by the local MP. John Greenway, Tory MP for Ryedale, has secured a half-hour adjournment debate on Malton Hospital on Monday night. The
A CELEBRATION of an improvement in Craghead will take place today. To mark the completion of the first phase of a £10,000 project to develop Craghead Community Park, a mini-fair will take place at the park today, between 2pm and 4pm. There will be face-painting
TONY Blair was forced to defend his handling of the health service yesterday as he toured a hospital in Health Secretary Alan Milburn's North-East constituency. A report from the King's Fund health think-tank said the NHS had been overwhelmed by a flood
THE Sedgefield Primary Care Trust (PCT) has "hit the ground running" thanks to the work done by its predecessor. The trust came into being at the start of this month, taking over from the former Sedgefield Primary Care Group (PCG). The National Health
TEDDY and Ethel Piper received their second wedding anniversary card from the Queen yesterday. The first greeting from Buckingham Palace dropped through the letter box of their home ten years ago, when the couple celebrated their diamond wedding. A decade
EURO MPs leading the inquiry into last year's foot-and-mouth epidemic will visit the region next week to speak to the farming community about the Government's handling of the crisis. More than 30 members of the European Parliament will start a three-day
A NEW £500,000 footbridge over the River Wear has been opened. Labour MP Gerry Steinberg performed the ceremony yesterday and handed old pennies to the first 20 walkers to cross the bridge. The bridge, which provides a link to Durham's £30m Millennium
TEACHERS and pupils spent last night sleeping on a school hall floor to help achieve specialist school status. Thirty-eight children from years seven and eight at Hurworth Comprehensive School, near Darlington, were joined with their sleeping bags by
A DRIVER faces prosecution after a road crash in which an 81-year-old pedestrian died. Widow Jennie Dargue was only a metre away from the safety of the kerb when she was struck by a car as she crossed Woodhouse Lane, in Bishop Auckland, in darkness in
KNOWN paedophiles will soon find it more difficult to get jobs working with children in Darlington when employers gain easier access to a national records database. The Government initiative, which will be presented to organisations in Darlington next
MOUNTAIN bikers of all ages and abilities are being invited to pit their skills against Kielder Forest, in Northumberland. The 10th Kielder Reiver Challenge is being staged by the Forestry Commission on May 25, giving leading racers and fun riders the
FORMER victims of gynaecologist Richard Neale are expected to be represented at a demonstration outside the Department of Health on Monday. The protest, on the steps of Health Secretary Alan Milburn's London headquarters, could be the first step in setting
A YOUNG girl is found wandering the streets alone at night holding something heavy in her arms. An adult approaches her and discovers that she is carrying the body of her dead sister. That haunting tale was just one of many never forgotten stories remembered
POLICE who found a car in the middle of a main road with its engine running and minus a tyre saw joiner Sean Molyneux slumped over the steering wheel, a court heard yesterday. Molyneux, 24, travelled with friends from his home in Southport to spend the
A CHARITY worker has been left fuming after thieves stole 600 Easter eggs destined for orphans in the former Eastern bloc. The eggs, kept in boxes in Rod Jones' Convoy Aid warehouse, in Stockton, were taken on Tuesday night by thieves who are also believed
REVENGE is in the air for Darlington when high-flying Scunthorpe arrive at Feethams today with their eyes on a play-off spot. The game is not of great importance to Darlington, but skipper Craig Liddle says it gives his teammates a chance to throw a spanner
Police have warned Bishop Auckland shoppers to be on the guard against purse snatchers. About a dozen thefts were reported in Newgate Street, Bishop Auckland, over two days this week. In each case the thief stole the purse by reaching into a handbag.
PAUL WILLIS discovers how to chill out in the heat of a tropical island I HAVE just spent two weeks of pure bliss on Indonesia's Gili Islands, reaching levels of relaxation usually only achievable in deep meditation or death. Whereas, in the fortnight
Hundreds evacuated after huge explosions at chemical factory A HUNDRED people were still unable to return to their homes last night after a chemical factory was rocked by massive explosions. The blasts sent a huge toxic cloud of thick, black smoke drifting
STEVE McCLAREN is praying that the luck Arsenal have enjoyed against Middlesbrough this season will rub off on his own side in tomorrow's FA Cup semi-final at Old Trafford and keep alive Teesside's trophy dreams. McClaren is adamant that the gods smiled
A POPULAR seaside attraction which had hoped to re-open by Easter is now looking to be back in business by the start of summer. The miniature railway in the Valley Gardens at Saltburn has been closed for more than a year because of severe flood damage
THE mother of a bright teenager described yesterday how she tried in vain to get her daughter off heroin before it killed her two days short of her 16th birthday. Catherine Longstaff had been on the verge of sitting her GCSE exams and pursuing her dream
Sven-Goran Eriksson is prepared to take a World Cup gamble on David Beckham if the England captain's fitness is still in some doubt ahead of the tournament. However, Eriksson is confident his influential midfielder will have recovered from the broken
I REALLY have to disagree with some of the comments made to me over the last few weeks that there isn't much colour in the garden at this time of year. In fact, I was so disheartened to hear people thinking this way that, at one point, I decided to prove
ALMOST half the members of a village administration have indicated they will be quitting their posts after refusing to sign a new code of conduct. Westminster wants all three tiers of local government to accept new rules which set out what is expected
VILLAGERS' hopes of saving recreation land from development look likely to be dashed. Durham County Council's licensing committee will be recommended to reject their attempt to have the land designated a village green. A group of residents in Ushaw Moor
A HIGH speed car chase ended dramatically in a school car park - just minutes before it would have been filled with children. A Ford Orion sped through the car park at Norton Primary School, Stockton, before the driver bailed out. The car then careered
DAVID Beckham looks like he will be boarding the plane to the World Cup regardless of whether he is fully fit or not. Is that a good move or a bad one? It would appear obvious, if Beckham is on his way to regaining full fitness, he is definitely a gamble
MUCH-TRAVELLED Roman King rates one of the afternoons' best bets in the Key 103 Classified Stakes at Haydock. Originally trained by John Gosden at Newmarket, Roman King (2.35) has since been round the houses with spells at Micky Hammond's and Mark Johnston's
There are no ghosts around Kingsway, only poltergeists. We, that is to say Shildon, always got beat there. There are those who will not only recall Sharratt building snowmen on the goal line, but the length of Sharratt's carrot and that it came from Cockton
A pervert who plagues a churchgoer with obscene messages through the post has a second target. For five years, the man has sent sexually-explicit messages and pictures to a seriously-ill woman in her late 40s. After police highlighted the case in January
A TOXICOLOGY expert said last night that fumes from the North Shields chemical blaze were unlikely to pose a serious health threat to residents. Dr Faith Williams, a lecturer in environmental and occupational medicine at Newcastle University, said if
TWO parish councillors have resigned to avoid having to make their financial interests public. Councillor Ron Dawson, vice-chairman of Middleton St George Parish Council, and Councillor John Sterling, objected to the intrusion into their private lives
THE long delay in filling Darlington Borough Council's head of arts vacancy may be about to come to an end. With Government pressure growing on the local authority to have an arts strategy in place by the end of the year, a job advertisement for the post
A POLICE officer sustained spinal injuries after his patrol vehicle was rammed by a stolen car. The unnamed, married 33-year-old officer is in hospital on Teesside, his condition reported as "comfortable". Cleveland Police are appealing to people to help
A POISON pen letter writer who described children as the "Spawn of Satan" and threatened a Dunblane-style massacre yesterday admitted a two-year campaign of sending threatening mail and making malicious calls. Ian Julian Walker, who earned the chilling
Bishop Auckland have asked for volunteers as they race to beat the UniBond League's deadline. Bishops intend to share Shildon's Dean Street ground next season to stage league matches, but they are racing against time to beat the UniBond League's April
A POLICE force is being sued for false imprisonment by two men arrested in the wake of the September 11 terrorist attacks on the US. Omar Mohammed and Walid Zamzam were among six Middle Eastern men rounded up in dawn raids by armed police and accused
HOLISTIC medicine, transport, energy saving devices and grants are some of the subjects to be covered in a disability awareness day. The Northern Echo columnist and wheelchair-user Phil Donegan will be opening the event in Stanhope on Tuesday, April 30
A WOMAN is critically ill in hospital after being struck by a police car on a pelican crossing. An investigation has been launched into the accident, which left the woman with serious injuries yesterday afternoon. The Police Complaints Authority (PCA)
A LORRY driver who caused the death of two road workers on the A1 in a "fatal error of judgement" was jailed for two years yesterday. Brian Smith, who drove for store chain Asda, was found guilty at Teesside Crown Court on two charges of causing death
WHEN it comes to taking gambles on your World Cup skipper, Bobby Robson definitely falls into the unlucky class. The Newcastle United boss was England supremo at both Mexico 86 and Italia 90, and both times his Captain Marvel and namesake, Bryan Robson
NEWCASTLE Falcons will use today's match at Leicester to find out what their young players are made of as they prepare for life without five experienced campaigners next season. Assuming they win, it will be the third time Leicester have clinched the
THE battle for places at the top of Durham's batting order is already threatening to be decided by injuries. Michael Gough and Gary Pratt, who both made centuries on the tour to Cape Town, were unable to press their claims in the two-day practice match
Residents of Gateshead have been asked to help make their community a greener place to live, as part of plans to turn a nature park into a community-run reserve. People have been invited to Windy Nook Nature Park today to help with a litter pick, organised
A GROUP of east Cleveland cadets were on the move yesterday to take part in a challenging weekend of activities in Barnard Castle, County Durham. The 120 Army cadets from C company Cleveland Army Cadet Force detatchments were involved in the largest event
