Archive

  • Students raise £1,000 for charity

    PUPILS at a Sedgefield school have raised £1,000 in two months after forming their own charity committee. Teenagers at Sedgefield Community College set up the committee to help them decide which charity should receive the money they raised. After two

  • Cubs lead the way home

    CUB Scouts from Bishop Auckland are celebrating after finishing runaway winners in a district cross-country competition. Alex Peat, Luke Robinson and Callum Hopper, who are all aged ten, took the first three places in a 1 mile race at Hardwick Country

  • Boost for special needs pupils

    A DARLINGTON primary school has been awarded a grant to help children with special needs. Red Hall Primary School has been given £3,500 by Ronald McDonald Children's Charities. The money will be used to buy a dedicated special needs computer room. Headteacher

  • Search goes on for Taylor

    Read more about the Quakers here. Darlington return for pre-season training today with manager Tommy Taylor still searching for Paul Heckingbottom's replacement. Quakers, along with many other Third Division clubs, have yet to sign a player this summer

  • MP to quit rail union

    YORK Labour MP Hugh Bayley last night confirmed his intention of resigning from the Rail, Maritime and Transport union after it severed links with his constituency party. His decision follows Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott's resignation from the

  • Town watch scheme bid

    MOVES are under way to set up a town-wide Neighbourhood Watch scheme in the Ferryhill area. The scheme, which will also include Chilton, West Cornforth and Bishop Middleham, follows the successful introduction of a similar town-wide group in Sedgefield

  • Fete finale to history show

    Visitors to St Peter's Church, Byers Green, near Spennymoor, yesterday enjoyed a journey into the past. An exhibition looking at life in Byers Green, Newfield and Binchester, which has been on show at the church since the beginning of the month, was brought

  • Footballers celebrate

    YOUNG footballers have celebrated their success at a presentation and race evening. The three teams from Bishop Auckland St Mary's Juniors welcomed Martin Gray, formally of Sunderland and now at Darlington, to the event at the Belvedere Working Men's

  • Gearing up for classic challenge

    MOTORING enthusiast Neville Wright is gearing up for the biggest race of his life after reaching the finals of a classic car championship. The 47-year-old driver, from Cockfield, in Teesdale, raced through his class in the western round of the 2002 Autoglym

  • Small school in the spotlight

    Hamsterley Primary School held an open afternoon to celebrate National Small Schools Week. The countrywide scheme was launched to highlight the benefits of small, close-knit schools, and with just 30 pupils, Hamsterley is just that. Headteacher Sandra

  • Auckland take an advantage

    Leaders Bishop Auckland stole a march on their rivals when they won the only game to be completed yesterday's. They needed a herculean effort before overcoming Guisborough, however, when their innings was reduced from 50 to 20 overs because of rain. In

  • Council to crack down on abandoned cars

    COUNCILLORS are to take action over the escalating number of cars left abandoned in Darlington. Latest figures released by Darlington Borough Council show the problem has increased dramatically in the past two years, with the number of abandoned cars

  • Festival takes off under its own steam

    THERE was a feast of attractions for steam enthusiasts at the weekend. Bondisle Field, Stanhope, County Durham, was the venue for the Weardale Steam Transport Festival, featuring vintage cars, motorbikes and trucks, fairground organs, a model railway,

  • Fans go a-roving to celebrate a famous name

    ROVER enthusiasts flocked to a museum for the region's biggest exhibition of the make. Beamish Museum, in County Durham, staged an All Rover Rally, with about 250 Rovers of all ages and models, on Saturday and yesterday. Among the highlights were vehicles

  • Peanut power is a winner

    NORTHERN Echo the racing pigeon winged her way to her first victory yesterday after a testing 270 mile race - fuelled by a handful of her favourite peanuts. Living up to her trainer's promising predictions, the yearling Blue hen left 135 of her club competitors

  • Lifeline for Byers after sex scandal

    EMBATTLED North-East MP Stephen Byers was last night offered a lifeline by his constituency colleagues following revelations about the former minister's sex life. Senior figures in his constituency party publicly defended the North Tyneside MP after details

  • Help for car theft victim

    A VICTIM of car thieves is being offered a choice of second-hand motors to drive away in. Readers of The Northern Echo have offered their own second cars after thieves left Deborah Hadley, of Skelton, east Cleveland, who has three children, stranded and

  • Fired up for medals

    TWO intrepid teams of fire service staff scaled three peaks in aid of charity. Colleagues from County Durham and Darlington Fire and Rescue Brigade undertook the Three Peaks Challenge in aid of County Durham Macmillan Cancer Relief. They set off for Scotland

  • Tim Wellock's Durham Diary

    CHAIRMAN of selectors David Graveney will be wearing his Durham blazer when England play India in the Riverside's first floodlit international on Thursday. Well, that's what he told my old mate Jeff Brown, who conscientiously covered Durham home and away

  • Novices take their turn in regatta fun

    ROWING novices took to the water for their own version of a North-East regatta on Saturday. The All-Comers is a fun regatta that runs every year, a couple of weeks after the main Durham Regatta, for people who have not rowed before but would like to experience

  • Volunteers give beach a clean-up

    Enthusiastic volunteers bent their backs at the weekend to clear up a stretch of beach. Residents of Saltburn undertook a litter-pick, sweeping up what the tide and human visitors have deposited. Members of the Saltburn 500 Club and surfers have adopted

  • Pop's big names thrill the crowds at charity concert

    STARS including Sophie Ellis Bextor, Sugababes and Liberty X converged on the North-East for a charity pop concert at the weekend. The Galaxy Out There event on Saturday was organised by the Galaxy radio station in aid of The Prince's Trust. It included

  • Danger site disruption continues

    ENGINEERS are to carry out investigations into the state of a town centre store. St Nicholas Street, Scarborough, North Yorkshire, one of the resort's main thoroughfares, has been closed since Thursday night when it was discovered that the six-storey

  • Restaurant suffers king-sized theft

    A STONE effigy of Richard III has been stolen from outside a harbourside building. It was taken from an iron cage outside the King Richard III House restaurant, in Sandside, Scarborough, where it had been housed for generations. Mike Willby, the manager

  • Phone company mast approved

    Mobile phone company Orange PCS Limited has been given planning permission to erect a higher mobile phone mast in a field off Green Lane, Weeton, near Harrogate. Borough council planning officers approved a 17.5metre mast to replace one of 15m. The total

  • Spurred on by memory of coach

    A POIGNANT memory will spur on competitors in a hill race. The Roseberry Challenge features strong-arm teams racing against the clock carrying someone in a wheelchair up the famous 2,500ft North Yorks Moors incline. John Marsay, a coach with Middlesbrough

  • News in brief: Getting ready to party . . .

    HARROGATE Lions Club is joining forces with the borough council to stage an event marking the Queen's Golden Jubilee on the town's Oatlands Stray, on Sunday. Events will include a fancy dress contest depicting famous people during the Queen's reign. The

  • Nurses go to jail - to say thanks

    NURSES swapped a ward for a prison wing to thank inmates for their charity effort. Prisoners at Durham Jail raised more than £1,400 for the Treetops ward at the University Hospital of North Durham through a day of events, which included a marathon bench

  • Students' work presented at theatre

    AN exhibition of art and ceramics, including giant fingers, fruit and vegetables, and a decorated mannequin, is on display in a theatre foyer. The exhibition at Durham's Gala Theatre has been created from exam pieces by Durham Sixth Form Centre AS and

  • Speaker gives insight on snipers' role

    THE role of snipers in the First World War will be explained in a talk at the weekend. Martin Pegler, senior curator of weapons at the Royal Armouries, Leeds, will give the talk, Sniping in the Great War, at the dli, formerly the DLI Museum and Durham

  • Gearing up for classic challenge

    MOTORING enthusiast Neville Wright is gearing up for the biggest race of his life after reaching the finals of a classic car championship. The 47-year-old driver, from Cockfield, in Teesdale, raced through his class in the western round of the 2002 Autoglym

  • Sale go-ahead

    Council chiefs have approved moves to sell a city's historic assembly rooms. The Grade One-listed building, in Blake Street, York, was built 270 years ago and designed by Lord Burlington. A condition of the sale, to the York Conservation Trust, will be

  • Protest after sacking of store worker

    A RIGHT-WING extremist party held a demonstration at the weekend in protest over a DIY store worker's sacking. Fifteen members and supporters of the North-East branch of the National Front staged the protest outside B&Q's Scotswood branch, in Newcastle

  • Town-wide Neighbourhood Watch proposed

    MOVES are under way to set up a town-wide Neighbourhood Watch scheme in the Ferryhill area. The scheme, which will also include Chilton, West Cornforth and Bishop Middleham, follows the successful introduction of a similar town-wide group in Sedgefield

  • Manor house and grounds opened to the public

    A MANOR house fortified by its owners 700 years ago to keep out Scottish raiders opened to the public at the weekend. Markenfield Hall, near Ripon, opened its doors for visitors to see the house, courtyard and moat yesterday, and will remain open until

  • Pair quizzed after taxi driver's death

    A MAN and a woman have been arrested following an accident in which a taxi driver died. William Angus Bell, 44, of Brinkburn Crescent, Ashington, Northumberland, was pronounced dead at the scene after a tipper lorry collided with his taxi at the Woodhorn

  • Grassroots: Washington

    TEXTILE DISPLAY: The Washington Embroiderers' Guild will visit the Durham Oriental Museum to view some of the museum's textile collection. FOLK NIGHT: Michael Marra will be entertaining the Davy Lamp Folk Club on Saturday, in the Biddick Arts Centre.

  • Taking to the stage for a lunchtime trip down memory lane

    LUNCHGOERS were treated to king-sized bites of 1960s' and 70s' music in Middlesbrough. Five-piece band Big Sigh and the Yawns, above, took to the stage of Victoria Gardens to play the hits of yesteryear, including Rolling Stones' and Monkees' classics

  • Exercise puts managers in the firing line

    GUISBOROUGH managers Neil Dainton, 35, and 33-year-old Antony Myrrdin-Baker have found out what it is like to be in the firing line. Organisers of a Territorial Army promotional event at Catterick made life hot for Mr Dainton, who is manager of Boots

  • Heroes to villains

    HOW quickly the mighty have fallen. On Thursday, Normanby Hall and Marske toppled Guisborough and Saltburn - but within 48 hours the celebrations came to an abrupt end when they both tasted defeat. At the very least, the pair were expected to draw their

  • Snow White helps children's charity

    A CHILDREN'S charity is to benefit from Sunderland Empire's Christmas pantomime. The theatre is staging Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, featuring Danielle Nicholls from Children's ITV and Tyneside Pop Idol contestant Aaron Bayley, in December and January

  • Patrick's knowledge wins top farming prize

    FARMING advisor Patrick Stephenson has proved he is the best around after being named UK Agronomist of the Year. He beat off stiff competition from all over the country to take the title and prize money of £1,000. Patrick, who works in the Ryedale area

  • Hear All Sides: MODERN BRITAIN

    THE letter from Aled Jones (HAS, June 21) merits a response. Fact, Mr Jones: You are more likely to be struck and killed by a meteorite than you are to win the National Lottery jackpot. Fact Mr Jones: You are more likely to die by choking on a sandwich

  • Motorists face illegal parking crackdown

    FIXED penalty charges of £60 will be imposed on drivers illegally parking on yellow lines throughout the Harrogate district. Currently, North Yorkshire Police impose £30 fixed penalty notices. But from July 15, the police will hand over enforcement to

  • Concern at rising house prices

    HOUSE prices in part of the North-East are increasing faster than the national average. A survey by property research company Hometrack shows that prices on Teesside rose by three per cent in June, compared to a national average of two per cent. The rise

  • Body in river riddle sparks plea for help

    MYSTERY shrouds the death of a young man whose body was recovered from the River Tees days after he was reported missing from home. A pathologist has found no marks of violence on the body of 18-year-old Christopher Shaw, who died from drowning, a post-mortem

  • Hockey pitch plans win parish support

    PLANS for a new hockey centre of excellence at Eggles-cliffe School, in Eaglescliffe, have won the support of parish councillors. The whole community would benefit from the new £390,000 all-weather pitch, which could open in October next year if the development

  • Police seek witnesses in youth's death

    Police investigating the death of a teenager are still anxious to speak to people who may have seen him after he left a Stockton nightclub in the early hours of Sunday June 23. The body of Christopher Shaw, was recovered from the River Tees last Friday

  • 'Why the suicide bombers are heroes'

    As tensions in Israel continue to rise, Christen Pears meets a woman who spent two weeks under siege in a Palestinian refugee camp, and who plans to return later this summer. WHEN Israeli tanks rolled into Bethlehem at Easter, Claire Theret was trapped

  • Will the Magpies rue their decision?

    They still talk at Sheffield United of the time they almost signed a young Diego Maradona, only to fail to come up with the £200,000 transfer fee. Their city rivals at Wednesday also rue the day they let Eric Cantona slip through their fingers and bring

  • Dream alive as Brits prepare for battle

    ONCE again they are daring us to dream; inspiring hopes that one of British sport's most miserable records will be cast aside. Every year, it seems, Tim Henman and Greg Rusedski flirt with tennis fans, offer them a hint of success - only to fail. But

  • Hotel may double in size if development is approved

    A hotel could more than double in size if councillors approve development plans. Bowburn Hall Hotel, just off junction 61 of the A1, near Durham, has applied to Durham City Council for permission to build 30 extra rooms, expand its reception area, and

  • Chance to see baton heroes

    Crowds that flocked to see the Queen's jubilee visit to the North-East are expected to turn out again in support of the baton relay in her honour. The world's longest relay will travel throughout the region on its way to the opening ceremony of the Commonwealth

  • Funding boost to fight crime

    Millions of pounds is set to be channelled into the region to break the link between drugs and crime. The Home Office has announced that £70 million of Communities Against Drugs (CAD) funding will be allocated across the country in the coming weeks. The

  • Heart op patients on the move from today

    NHS heart patients waiting more than six months for surgery will be able to choose from today where they are treated. They can select a hospital which can do the operation sooner - whether it is NHS or private, or even abroad. It means patients will no

  • Robinson delivers at last

    Former Yorkshire paceman, Mark Robinson, the man with the worst batting reputation in the country, blocked out a tense final over at Arundel on Saturday to deny his native county their first Championship win of the season. In a dramatic finale to an absorbing

  • Hospital parking problem protest

    PEOPLE have joined forces to call for a public meeting about traffic problems in their street. Residents of Escomb Road, Bishop Auckland, say staff and visitors to the town's hospital persistently park outside their homes. They fear that now the accident

  • Pensioner the oldest curry fan

    An 84-year-old man has been named the oldest curry lover in town for his weekly visits to an Indian restaurant. Bert Masterton indulges his passion for curry by paying weekly visits to the Salaam Bombay buffet restaurant, in Newcastle. He developed a

  • Disabled man shot with air gun

    A man who was born deaf-blind and without speech needed hospital treatment after being shot in an air rifle attack. Leslie Phillips, 44, was walking back from his local newsagent with his father's Sunday paper when he was shot in the stomach yesterday

  • Teen in main line accident

    A teenager is critically ill in hospital after being hit by a train near Darlington. Police confirmed that the youngster was due to celebrate his seventeenth birthday today. The accident happened near Darlington railway station on the East Coast Main

  • Getting on the wrong bike

    Q WHO was it who said: "Get on your bike and go and look for work". My son says it was Margaret Thatcher, I say it was Norman Tebbit. - Mrs A Shields, Darlington. A AS far as I know, neither Margaret Thatcher nor Norman Tebbit ever said this. However,

  • Attack forces lesbian couple to leave home

    A LESBIAN couple say they have been hounded out of their house because of a homophobic hate campaign. Kirsty Lord and her partner, Samantha Dewhurst, are to quit their Darlington home after Samantha was attacked in the street on Friday. Ms Dewhurst, 24

  • Burning Questions: The mugs who are not all wumps

    Q WHAT is a mugwump and how does it get its name? I have heard it is the name of a plant. - Jack Watson, Newcastle. A THIS word originated in a Native American dialect. The Alongquins, a group of native Americans in Massachusetts, used the word to mean

  • Spennymoor struggles to survive

    One of the country's most famous football clubs faces defeat in its long running battle for survival after councillors voted to evict it from its historic ground. A bitter battle over a lease could see Spennymoor United homeless after 100 years at its

  • Durham's turnaround

    JUBILANT Durham survived a scare from the weather to complete their shredding of the formbook in the Worcester gloom last night. They were 12 for one in 3.4 overs when play resumed at 6.35 with a revised target of 62 in 13 overs under the Duckworth/Lewis

  • News in brief: Blaze wrecks outhouse

    Firefighters were called to a blaze at the rear of a house in Cumberland Street, Darlington, early yesterday. The fire, which started at about 1.30am, caused severe damage to an outhouse. The occupier of property received treatment for smoke inhalation

  • Reprieve for bus service after attacks

    A BUS company which has had its vehicles targeted by stone-throwing youths will not withdraw its services to a Darlington estate. Stagecoach North-East threatened to stop its services to the Red Hall Estate after bus windows were broken by stones in the

  • Teacher left with nothing on face

    A DARLINGTON teacher has had his beard shaved off, after he challenged pupils to help raise money for school funds. Richard Glover, an information and communications technology teacher at Polam Hall School, agreed to part with his facial hair if pupils

  • Question Time for town's MP

    DARLINGTON'S representative in the national youth parliament has been having a trial run of ministers' Question Time. Jamie Dillon, who was elected earlier this year, is preparing to go to the national Youth Parliament to debate issues concerning young

  • Double celebration for villagers

    VILLAGERS partied all day at the weekend when their community carnival doubled as a celebration to mark the Queen's golden jubilee. People lined the streets of Toft Hill and Etherley as a procession, including carnival floats, jazz bands, Teesdale Pipes

  • Monty's Open fears

    COLIN Montgomerie fears he may be forced to miss next month's Open at Muirfield because of his continuing back problem. The 39-year-old Scot was troubled by a recurrence of the injury at the Irish Open and could now face several weeks out of action. '

  • Charity honour for 'amazing' worker Kevin

    A CARING teenager was awarded honorary lifelong membership of a charity for his work on its behalf. Kevin Paterson, who has just turned 18 and has cerebral palsy, epilepsy, and is blind, accompanies his father, David, and dog Jolene on weekly visits to

  • Women's efforts aid cause

    FUNDRAISERS pounded through the grounds of a stately home in a bid to pay for improvements in the cure of cancer. About 2,000 women arrived at Ormesby Hall, Middlesbrough, to take part in the Middlesbrough Race for Life, organised like scores of similar

  • Fete finale to history show

    Visitors to St Peter's Church, Byers Green, near Spennymoor, yesterday enjoyed a journey into the past. An exhibition of photographs and memorabilia looking at life in Byers Green, Newfield and Binchester, which has been on show at the church since the

  • Anger grows over plans to keep bus lane

    RESIDENTS are expected to protest at proposals to keep a controversial green bus lane. Police have been calling for the scrapping of the quarter of a mile bus corridor on Yarm Road, Eaglescliffe, after compiling a catalogue of near misses, "inappropriate

  • Peterlee edge closer to leaders Murton

    Peterlee closed in on leaders Murton when they beat title rivals Hylton by five wickets - but it was an extremely close call. Faced with a target of 172, they won from the penultimate ball as David Cross carried his bat for 35. Stuart Wilson (63) and

  • Invasion of the macrosiphum rosae

    CLIMATE change is wreaking havoc in the region's gardens with infestations of pests which suck the life out of prize plants. Recent years have seen parasites such as greenfly - Latin name macrosiphum rosae - and whitefly thriving, and experts believe

  • Warning sounded over safety of child car seats

    SCORES of parents are gambling with their children's lives every time they turn the key in their car ignition. A councillor responsible for safety issues is urging parents to check their child car seats after spot inspections in east Cleveland found 70

  • Teachers win praise for bridging gap

    Tteachers have been prais-ed for bridging a divide in a town's classrooms. Three problem estates are included in the top ten of Britain's most disadvantaged areas in a national poll. Despite the bleak picture, schools on Middlesbrough's Pallister Park

  • Youngsters' chance to join creative elite

    A NORTH-East school is celebrating after being chosen to participate in a flagship arts scheme. Belmont Comprehensive School, in Durham, is one of only 25 schools in Durham and Sunderland to be chosen to take part in the Creative Partnerships scheme,

  • Top cops link up with civic leaders for opening

    POLICE chiefs, civic leaders and schoolchildren joined forces to take part in the opening of the region's newest police station. Guests gathered outside the million pound station at Seaham on Friday to watch a commemorative plaque unveiled by Durham Police

  • Festival teaches skills for all types of music

    YOUNGSTERS learned the arts of spinning discs, dancing and gospel singing as part of a music festival at the weekend. Music for All, the first event of its kind held at Hermitage School, in Chester-le-Street, invited people from throughout the area to

  • News in brief: Spotlight falls on housing

    HOUSING strategy proposals for homes in Grangetown North, near Redcar, are to be discussed at an open meeting at the Youth and Community Centre, on the Trunk Road, Grangetown, tonight. Presentations will be made by the Single Regeneration Budget Partnership

  • Hit-and-run witnesses call

    POLICE are appealing for information after a hit-and-run incident in which a blind man was struck by a vehicle. The incident happened on Wednesday, June 19, as the 73-year-old man was attempting to cross Benwell Lane, Benwell, in Newcastle, at its junction

  • Soldier's tribute to a friend

    A SOLDIER has shown his support for a disabled friend by embarking on a climbing challenge for her benefit. David Lucas, 17, an apprentice tradesman in the Army, set off on the Three Peaks challenge to climb Mount Snowdon, Scafell and Ben Nevis, with

  • Danny earns trip of a lifetime

    Danny Moore, 16, has worked hard to earn a four-week trip to Peru. The Newcastle Royal Grammar School pupil, who lives in Belmont, Durham, will trek through the Andes. He is one of a team of 13 who are flying out on Friday on the Team World Challenge

  • Helpers sought for musical weekend

    VOLUNTEERS are needed to help stage a family music event in the region this summer. The Tuned In Music Weekend will be held at the Darlington Arts Centre, Vane Terrace, on Saturday and Sunday, August 17 and 18. As well as performances from youth and adult

  • Comment: Still a long way to go

    SINCE The Northern Echo launched its Chance To Live Campaign, much attention has been paid to the length of time people are having to wait for life-saving heart surgery. Decades of under-investment meant that efforts to reduce waiting times to acceptable

  • News in brief: Women hurt in road crashes

    TWO women were taken to Sunderland Royal Hospital following separate road accidents on the A19. The first happened just after 11pm on Friday, on the northbound carriageway, near the Murton flyover, when a car overturned and a woman had to be cut from

  • Tests ease farmers' fears of disease outbreak

    TESTS were continuing last night into a possible outbreak of a disease which could bring fresh heartbreak to the region's pig farmers. But although it will be another 24 hours before the results are known, it is now considered increasingly unlikely that

  • Cyclists will get in free to village event

    BIKE riders are being invited to visit a village's annual show for free next weekend. A 22-mile round cycle trip from Chester-le-Street to Lanchester Show, on Saturday, is being organised by Durham County Council as part of the On Yer Bike campaign to

  • More aid, less red tape, say firms

    STRUGGLING small businesses are calling on the Government for more help. North firms hit by the foot-and-mouth crisis last year say more direct help and less red tape is needed. Peter Troy, chairman of the Darlington branch of the Federation of Small

  • Burnopfield put to sword by league leaders

    LINTZ strengthened their position at the top of the table when they easily saw off the challenge from neighbours Burnopfield. After Gary Christie had taken a couple of early wickets, Graham Clennell and Michael Edmunds shared eight wickets as the home

  • Time for questions at MP's annual report launch

    AN MP has given his constituents a chance to raise issues affecting their community during the launch of his annual parliamentary report on Friday. Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland MP Ashok Kumar held a public launch of his parliamentary report

  • Evenwood edge to victory

    EVENWOOD held on to pole position with a nine-run victory at Esh Winning. Billy Teasdale (40) and Darren Wallis (61) propelled the visitors to the healthy total of 195-8 despite Tariq Mehmood returning 4-33 in an economical 12-overs spell. Esh's reply

  • Celebrity autographs raffled in aid of volcano city

    STUDENTS plan to help a devastated city by raffling celebrity autographs. More than 270 signatures, including a signed autobiography by Sir Bobby Robson and a Gosford Park film script signed by the writer Julian Fellowes, will be on offer at Framwellgate

  • News in brief: Fun is the quay to festival

    THOUSANDS of people are expected to flock to the coast at the weekend for the Hartlepool Maritime Festival. It starts at 11.30am on Saturday with a procession of stiltwalkers and drummers from Maritime Avenue to the Historic Quay. Activities during the

  • Rescue operation saves horse from a watery grave

    A HORSE ended up in deep water while grazing by the River Derwent in North Yorkshire. Having stumbled down the bank, it fell into the river at Malton and was unable to get out. The stallion was tall enough to stand on the river bed with just its head

  • Dressed up for the occasion

    Cloudy weather did not stop people turning out for Darlington Community Carnival. The event, which was held in Stanhope Park, was officially launched on Saturday by the Mayor of Darlington, Councillor Doris Jones, and was followed by a street parade through

  • Mayor Mallon makes students' day

    SIX teenagers met Middlesbrough Mayor Ray Mallon after becoming the first schoolchildren in the country to achieve an NVQ Level One in fabrication and welding. The youngsters gained their qualification at NETA Training, in Billingham, as part of a course

  • Council seeks return of old pistols

    TWO ancient pistols could be back in their rightful home if North Yorkshire Police give their approval. The pistols belong to Ripon City Council, which wants to display them along with treasured civic regalia at the Town Hall. They were taken to Harrogate

  • Students raise £1,000 for charity

    PUPILS at a Sedgefield school have raised £1,000 in two months after forming their own charity committee. Teenagers at Sedgefield Community College set up the committee to help them decide which charity should get the money they raised. After two months

  • Durham prepares for cricket international

    Special measures are being taken to cope with heavy traffic and the influx of fans expected as the international cricket roadshow reaches the North-East. Durham's Riverside ground at Chester-le-Street hosts the fifth NatWest Series one-day international

  • Sessions give pupils taste of university life

    MORE than 700 primary school pupils from across Teesside have had a taste of life as a university student as part of a summer initiative. The University of Teesside opened its doors to pupils from 18 primary schools for the fourth Meteor Summer School

  • The Monday Page: A year in the life of the Lottery winners

    A year ago, a North-East couple struck lucky and won £3.6m on the National Lottery. Liz Lamb catches up with the Wynnes to see how their lives have changed. THEY shop at Morrisons and enjoy a drink or two with their friends at the local pub. Their house

  • Weekend TV: Talking With Animals (BBC1)

    When animal attraction gets back to basics. DR Dolittle could do it and now Charlotte Uhlenbroek does it in this new TV series. There can't be anyone who hasn't wondered what animals would say if they could speak. Of course, the point is they can communicate

  • Region lagging behind over 3Rs

    MORE than 400,000 people in the North-East have trouble with basic reading, writing and maths, according to a new report. The TUC report, entitled Half The World Away - Making Regional Development Work, to be published next Monday, finds that the region

  • Need new footwear? Try shoe-it-yourself

    A North-East company is offering customers the chance to create their own unique pair of shoes. Women's Editor Christen Pears reports. IF you find yourself at home one evening, bored and with nothing to do, why not try making a pair of shoes? It's not

  • Champions Cestrians sent reeling by strugglers Norton

    Norton produced one of the shock results of the season when they sent reigning champions Chester-le-Street to an unexpected three-wicket defeat at Ropery Lane. The visitors, who went into the match in bottom position having won only once, were the underdogs

  • Gunman alert at holiday centre

    A SUSPECT was still on the run last night after reports that a gunman had threatened a security guard at one of the east coast's biggest holiday parks. Armed police descended on the Blue Dolphin Holiday Park, near Scarborough, in the early hours of Saturday

  • News in brief: Blaze wrecks Scout hut

    A FORMER Scout hut was destroyed by fire yesterday afternoon. The disused timber building, in St Mary's Avenue, Crook, was well alight by the time firefighters arrived. It took them more than an hour to extinguish the blaze. HOSPITAL EVENT: The Friends

  • Getting ahead in the fashion stakes

    SMARTLY-DRESSED women jostled with celebrities at this year's Northumberland Plate race meeting at the weekend. The annual event, also known as the Pitmen's Derby, attracted as many as 35,000 people over two days of racing at Newcastle Racecourse. More

  • Moves for ski slope at doomed cement works

    A DOOMED North-East cement works could be turned into an indoor ski slope, it was revealed yesterday. The idea, which would include real snow, is one of the options being put forward for the former Blue Circle plant, at Eastgate, Weardale, County Durham

  • Protests prompt funfair rethink

    PLANS to bring a traditional street fair into the heart of North Yorkshire's market towns have been rejected by local people. A fairground operator wants to bring the funfair back to the Market Place in Thirsk. Hopes had been expressed that, if approved

  • Running Jack to ground

    Q CAN you tell me who was the Jack Russell of terrier fame? - Kenneth Orton, Ferryhill Station. A THE man who gave his name to this breed of dog was the Reverend John Russell (1795-1883) of Swimbridge, near Barnstable in north Devon, where the pub is

  • Disbelief at school closure decision

    A YEAR-LONG battle by parents to keep a school open has been lost. The Government has announced that the 215-pupil Tedder Primary School, in Thornaby, will close because of surplus places. Diane Marley, spokeswoman for the parents, said: "We are stunned

  • How the Romans divided and ruled

    Q HOW did the Romans express fractions? A THE Romans didn't have a way of writing fractions in figures. Instead, they were spelled out as words. The Roman for "and a half" was semsique, abbreviated to S or SK. The symbol for a third was T or TK, for two

  • The mugs who are not all wumps

    Q WHAT is a mugwump and how does it get its name? I have heard it is the name of a plant. - Jack Watson, Newcastle. A THIS word originated in a Native American dialect. The Alongquins, a group of native Americans in Massachusetts, used the word to mean