Archive

  • News in brief: Shopping site plan unveiled

    DETAILED plans have been unveiled for the first phase of a retail development in South Shields, South Tyneside. Henry Boots Developments, of Sheffield, has submitted plans for seven retail units totalling 40,000 sq ft in the Keppel Street and Waterloo

  • Treat pupils as customers to see meal uptake boom

    PROVIDING what the customer wants is the guiding principle for the food service industry, yet it has not always been top priority when it comes to school meals. One school which has taken the principle on board is St Aidan's Church of England School at

  • Farmer makes a favourite sport his business, despite delays

    THE crisis in agriculture has led one farming family to turn its attentions to fishing. Tom Seymour's family has farmed in the Stokesley area for more than 50 years but, with BSE, foot-and-mouth and the strength of the pound he, like many other farmers

  • Police hunt woman at centre of dispute involving £250,000 will

    POLICE are hunting a woman who inherited £250,000 and disappeared after damaging her dead lover's home. Diane Oram, 45, vanished last year after the will of Patrick Lavery, a businessman from Peterlee, County Durham, was contested by his family. Detectives

  • Tough on the governors of crime

    Home Secretary David Blunkett and his Tory shadow Oliver Letwin are so desperate for media attention these days it wouldn't surprise me if they turned up at a music hall to perform "Me and My Shadow". But with law and order such an emotive issue, it's

  • How electric lights are outshining the stars

    THE increasing use of outdoor electric lighting is blotting out the starry skies over the North-East of England. Satellite data published today by the Council for the Protection of Rural England (CPRE) shows the worrying extent of light pollution in the

  • Comment: We must never cross this line

    THE case of Tony Martin has stirred intense public debate about the rights of criminals and their victims. The populist view is simple: burglars forfeit all rights when they invade someone's home and deserve what's coming to them. Teenage burglar Fred

  • Wrap up well for the ice saints

    THIS weekend marks the beginning of the Ice Saints' Days, sometimes known as the Frost Saints. The days run from May 11 to May 14 and this period of four days has a reputation for producing some unusually cold weather, so much so that many sheep farmers

  • Design plan succumbs to apathy

    AIMS to draw up a design statement for Stokesley have foundered. The working group, led by Andy Taylor, to create the Stokesley village design statement has thrown in the towel on the project after two years, due to lack of interest. The aim was to capture

  • Tough on the governors of crime

    Home Secretary David Blunkett and his Tory shadow Oliver Letwin are so desperate for media attention these days it wouldn't surprise me if they turned up at a music hall to perform "Me and My Shadow". But with law and order such an emotive issue, it's

  • Cole just misses top spot

    MOULTON solicitor Simon Cole continued his fine start to the sprint season in the opening round of the Yorkshire Speed Championship at Oliver's Mount, Scarborough last weekend. The two-day event saw an extremely close competition in the over 2,000cc road-going

  • Freestyle comes top in contest

    DURHAM sixth-formers have proved they are a class above when it comes to handling money. Fifteen students from Framwellgate School scooped the Harland and Company award for the best financially managed company at the Young Enterprise county awards, held

  • Bring on the dolphins, bears. . .

    BATHTIME for young patients in one hospital is a lot more colourful, thanks to a local artist. Steve Robson, from Ingleby Barwick, has given the children's ward at the James Cook University Hospital in Middlesbrough a splash of colour. Polar bears, penguins

  • Brigade plea for help to cut number of deliberate fires

    FIREFIGHTERS have called on people to be vigilant in an attempt to crack down on deliberate fires that cost the brigade thousands of pounds a year. Cleveland Fire Brigade has said it is worried about the number of deliberate fires started, particularly

  • Mayoral candidate is named

    THE Tory party has unveiled the candidate it hopes will replace a controversial North-East mayor at the centre of child porn allegations. Chris Morgan, North Tyneside's first directly-elected mayor, stepped down from the role last month. The decision

  • News in brief: Daniel named football champ

    A table football challenge was held in Asda in Darlington on Monday. The winner was Daniel Harris, aged 12, from Aycliffe who was presented with a football table and a £50 gift card and will go through to the regional finals. The runner-up was Daniel

  • Assembly launch date

    YOUNG people from all over Darlington will join together at the end of the month for the launch of the town's first Youth Assembly. Te assembly will be launched on Saturday, May 31, at the Arts Centre, where young people from across the town will have

  • Councillors meet

    THE annual full meeting of Darlington Borough Council takes place next week. It will be held in the town hall on Thursday and will see the election of a mayor to take over from Councillor Doris Jones. A deputy mayor will also be installed, as will the

  • Landmarks get floral treatment

    FLOWER displays of North-East landmarks will be on show in the Gateshead MetroCentre this weekend. The designs feature the Angel of the North, the MetroCentre, the Blue Carpet at Newcastle's Laing Art Gallery, The Blaydon Races and Newcastle Quayside.

  • Young and old give champion performance

    A GROUP of students from a Darlington taekwondo school have swept the board at an international competition. Twenty-two adult and child pupils from the Kim Chungdo School of Taekwondo, in Darlington, travelled to Switzerland recently to compete in the

  • Change in store for youth service

    ORGANISATIONS throughout Darlington have been invited to help shape the future of the town's youth service. Darlington Borough Council's youth service is hoping to work with young people and other groups in the town to make sure it is more relevant to

  • Sportsmark gold status for college

    Children and staff at Sedgefield Community College are celebrating after receiving an award for promoting sport in school. Sport England chief executive Roger Draper praised the school after it became one of 119 in the country to achieve Sportsmark Gold

  • Road closed at rush-hour by lorry accident

    RUSH hour traffic was brought to a standstill yesterday morning after a lorry overturned. The A66 at Cargo Fleet Lane roundabout, Middlesbrough, was closed for more than five hours after the vehicle turned on its side on the westbound carriageway shortly

  • Drumming up festival support

    A MUSICAL spectacular featuring 3,000 drums will be the centrepiece of one of the country's largest youth festivals to be staged in the region this summer. Organisers are scouring the county for all types of percussion instruments for the event, which

  • Awards success

    A DARLINGTON school has won a Government award for the third year running. Branksome Comprehensive School received the School Achievement Award from the Department for Education and Skills for improving its exam results. "The award recognises the fact

  • Care centre yoga classes

    Yoga classes will start in Newton Aycliffe later this month. The classes will be held at the Pioneering Care Centre, in Cobblers Hall, from Tuesday, May 20. Sessions are from 4pm to 5.30pm and cost £3.50 each. Gill Macnab, events and participation worker

  • Man cleared of handling stolen goods

    A MAN was yesterday cleared of handling tools and plant equipment stolen from a specialist building company. Leslie Mavin, 39, denied handling thousands of pounds worth of equipment taken from HCL Contracts and Safety, in Langley Park. About £66,000 worth

  • Minister misses opening

    TODDLERS and families disappointed at the last-minute cancellation of a visit from a top Government minister pressed ahead regardless with the opening of £1m community centre yesterday. Health Secretary Alan Milburn had been due to open Gateshead Borough

  • Protestors meet to fight plan for waste transfer stations

    THE strength of feeling against a waste transfer station being opened in a village has been underlined at a public meeting. Up to 100 people attended a meeting on Wednesday night to decide the next phase of the protest campaign. Yorwaste has already lodged

  • Offenders get back in touch with nature

    YOUNG offenders are working to divert a footpath which is flooded for five months of the year. Members of North Yorkshire's Youth Offending Team are working with the Dinosaur Coast Project on a five-week scheme at Burton Riggs nature reserve, near Scarborough

  • Appeal after girl, 12, dies in car crash

    A YOUNG girl was killed in a late-night accident when a car she was travelling in left the road and hit a tree. The 12-year-old, from Stokesley, who has yet to be named by police, was one of the passengers in a Citroen Saxo being driven by a 17-year-old

  • Labour's ex-leader defends his record

    THE council leader on the receiving end of the North-East's biggest upset in the recent council elections last night defended his party's record and insisted: "We did a good job''. The Liberal Democrats sent shock waves through Labour's heartland last

  • Future of carnival in doubt

    NEW faces are being urged to step in and take over the organising of two events in the South Bank calendar. The committee, which co-ordinates the Christmas tree festivities and summer carnivals, is to be disbanded after it fell to only a handful of people

  • Classic cars on parade to mark centenary of motor company

    A CAVALCADE of classic cars from across the world drove into the region as part of a nationwide tour. A total of 65 vehicles of all shapes and sizes arrived in Stokesley market place on Wednesday, in a journey recreating a part of British motoring history

  • Delegation will see what North-East can offer

    Leading oil and gas industry specialists from around the world are visiting Newcastle for an international conference on offshore technology. Led by Trade Partners UK and supported by a host of industry partners, including regional development agency

  • Report calls for young to have a say

    YOUNG people should have a bigger say in decisions that affect them, a North Yorkshire County Council report has said. The report, called Engaging Young People, has been drawn up by the authority's best value review team. The report says: "Young people

  • News in brief: Councillors' ward surgery

    Easington District councillors for the Dawdon ward will be holding a ward surgery in the Dawdon Miners' Welfare Centre, in Mount Stewart Street, Dawdon, on Monday, May 19, between 6pm and 7pm, to deal with any problems that their constituents' might have

  • Radio station will be back'

    A radio station has been so successful it is to be given a second run in the autumn. Pool FM 107.5 went off air this week after a four-week trial run, and staff say they have been delighted by its popularity. Managing director Mark Page said: "We felt

  • Council to have first woman leader

    CHESTER-le-Street District Council's first female leader will take her place on the council next week. Councillor Linda Ebbatson, 56, is taking over from Malcolm Pratt. Mr Pratt spent the past 12 years of 32 years' service on the local authority as council

  • Traders show support for republished guide to dale

    DALES traders are fighting back after heavy job losses by supporting a guide aimed at promoting the area and its beauty. The Official Guide for Weardale Rural District has been released this week more than 30 years after the last booklet was circulated

  • News in brief: A mine of information

    A DISPLAY from Cleveland Ironstone Mining Museum, in Skinningrove, opens activities as part of Adult Learners' Week at Brotton Library on Tuesday. There will be a talk about mental health awareness on Wednesday and a discussion about local history next

  • News in brief: A mine of information

    A DISPLAY from Cleveland Ironstone Mining Museum, in Skinningrove, opens activities as part of Adult Learners' Week at Brotton Library on Tuesday. There will be a talk about mental health awareness on Wednesday and a discussion about local history next

  • Initiative for women is highlighted

    A NORTH-EAST initiative to support and encourage female entrepreneurs has been picked as a shining example to the rest of the country. Women Into the Network (Win), at Durham University, was picked as the best practice initiative in the UK for promoting

  • 'Win a boob job' contest attacked

    A NORTH-EAST pub has sparked outrage after offering a £4,000 boob job to the winner of a Miss Wet T-shirt contest. The Win-a-Bust prize will give young girls the chance to have their breasts enlarged or reduced if they impress the judges at the £1m Glo

  • Time for praise as residents boost town clock repair fund

    REDCAR historian Vera Robinson has praised residents for raising more than £5,000 towards the repair of the town clock. Mrs Robinson, a Freeman of Redcar, asked the public to buy a clock brick for £1. The appeal has raised £5,746 in only three months.

  • Foes honour the hero that Britain forgot

    TO the tens of thousands of soldiers who served in treacherous conditions in Egypt's canal zone, Whitehall's failure to recognise their sacrifices is nothing short of injustice. Decades after the operation, which preceded the Suez Crisis of 1956, those

  • Sponsored walk into pits history

    EAST Durham residents and visitors are invited to find out about the area's mining heritage this weekend. On Sunday, a seven-mile Miners' Heritage Trail sponsored walk will take place, that will guide people through artworks and historical attractions

  • Letters: Low voter turnout

    Sir, - Why do residents register on the electoral role these days? Is it purely to gain a credit status address, or, as I was brought up, to be part of the democratic process and be able to vote for people with my interests at heart? Considering the cost

  • New hope for rescued goat

    A SANCTUARY for owls has welcomed two arrivals. Kirkleatham Owl Centre has taken in a host of animals, which were mistreated or unwanted by their owners in the past. Now one of them, a goat named Hope, has given birth to two kids. Hope was picked up by

  • Hospital and community in partnership

    Joan Rogers, boss of one of the region's contenders for foundation hospital status, talks to Barry Nelson. WITH the controversy about foundation hospitals still raging, most NHS trust chief executives are keeping their heads down. A backbench rebellion

  • Looking Back

    FROM this newspaper 100 years ago. - Workhouse conditions. A meeting was held on Monday to consider reports concerning conditions at Darlington Workhouse. A report by Dr Cook, a visiting lunacy commissioner, suggested that certain inmates ought to be

  • Vandalism leaves pensioner housebound

    A GRANDFATHER was left housebound after vandals destroyed his only means of transport. Stroke victim Dennis Webb, 74, used his electric buggy to shop for himself and his permanently housebound wife, Shirley. But when vandals stole the £1,200 machine from

  • Catch the vandals

    A VANDALised school is urging residents in nearby houses to help them to catch the youths who are causing thousands of pounds worth of damage. Youngsters smashed more than 30 windows at Greenlands Junior School in South Moor, near Stanley, at the weekend

  • Boxing trio lead the way

    A TRIO of young sports stars have landed trophies to get the new era in their boxing club off to a flying start. Tom Barker, Liam Shaw and Joe McPartland stepped into the ring to represent Bishop Auckland Amateur Boxing Club at a Northern Clubs contest

  • Dolan recruited by Lewis

    SUNDERLAND'S David Dolan has been recruited by Lennox Lewis to help him prepare for his next world heavyweight title fight. Dolan, who won gold at last year's Commonwealth Games, is sparring at a training camp in the United States ahead of Lewis's fight

  • Juniors flock to Darlington festival

    DARLINGTON RFC hosted their 29th Festival of Junior Rugby at Blackwell Meadows last weekend. Clubs from all over the North took part in age groups from nine to 16 with well over 1,000 players taking part. Full results. - Cleveland Data Services U9s: winners

  • Sleepless people demand talks on noisy workmen

    RESIDENTS whose weekends are ruined by the noise from work on a railway line are taking action. People living in Railway Terrace, Eaglescliffe, have met to resolve the noise problem caused by contractor Jarvis Rail's work to the line opposite their homes

  • Honorary degree for Sir Bobby

    Soccer manager Sir Bobby Robson joked he had got his education ''back to front'' today after he received an honorary degree at the age of 70. The well-loved former England football manager received the highest honour Newcastle University can bestow, an

  • Castle to host sporting weekend

    COUNTRY lovers are preparing for a weekend of sports and entertainment at a North-East castle. Organisers of the Teesdale Game Fair are predicting that a record crowd of more than 20,000 will turn up at Witton Castle, near Bishop Auckland, tomorrow and

  • Ducks' home-from-home

    THEY may enjoy the rain, but even ducks like to have a roof over the heads sometimes. And those that live on the popular pond in Scarborough's Valley Gardens have a new home, thanks to council staff. A shelter has been built by staff working at the Manor

  • Young rider sets up new training yard

    A MOVE north represents a new start for ambitious young dressage rider Louise Broom. She has moved from West Yorkshire - leaving family, friends and her trainer of six years - to fulfil her dream of running a training and livery yard at the newly-built

  • Special livestock sales

    BARNARD CASTLE. - Tues of last week. Fwd for centenary show & sale: 568 store cattle. Prizes. - Single bull: 1 K Atkinson; 2 Watson; 3 K Atkinson. Single bullock: 1 L Guy & Son; 2 JW Dent & Sons; 3 L Guy &Sons. Single hfr 1 & champion

  • Teenager died from overdose

    A TEENAGER died from a heroin overdose only a day after her desperate father tried to rescue her from a life of drugs. Administration clerk Karen Harland had never experimented with heroin before she started a relationship with known user Christopher

  • Newmarket win points to great things for Delsarte

    DELSARTE proved one to follow, scooping the Listed Newmarket Stakes for his second win just six days after his successful Leicester debut. Mark Johnston's charge, partnered by Keith Dalgleish, looks destined for greatness. Richard Fahey's Lady Bear was

  • Shiny floor sends fracture patient back to X-ray

    A PATIENT paying a return visit to hospital for treatment to her broken ankle ended up slipping on a highly polished floor as soon as she arrived. Elizabeth Steele, who lives at Staindrop, broke her ankle on Tuesday of last week. She was taken to Darlington

  • 05/05/03

    IT is reassuring to read Dave Pascoe's portrayal of the BBC as the Ministry of anti-British propaganda (HAS, Apr 26). Extremists from left and right have long accused the BBC of political bias, which suggests that the BBC actually gets the balance about

  • Beware the ideas of Marsh

    IT IS not unknown for working men's club chairmen in these parts to interrupt the main act to announce: "The pies have arrived." Pies and their enduring popularity come to mind in a week when Rod Marsh has been appointed an England cricket selector and

  • Anger as moors toilets are closed without warning

    ESK Valley villagers are furious after public toilets were closed without warning this week. Members of Danby Group Parish Council were outraged to hear at their Wednesday meeting that toilets in nearby Commondale and Westerdale had been boarded up. It

  • Inquest opens into cell death

    AN inquest opened yesterday into the death of a prisoner found hanging in her cell in the women's section of Durham Jail last week. The hearing in Crook, County Durham, was adjourned by Coroner Andrew Tweddle for further inquiries into the death of Jayne

  • Parish handed falchion to reclaim traditional welcome

    AN ECCLESIASTICAL privilege has been rightfully restored to Hurworth parish. Since 1826, the rector of Hurworth has greeted any new Bishop of Durham as he enters the most southerly point of his diocese for the first time. But in 1994, the Rev Roy Graham

  • Landmarks get floral treatment

    FLOWER displays of North-East landmarks will be on show in the Gateshead MetroCentre this weekend. The designs feature the Angel of the North, the MetroCentre, the Blue Carpet at Newcastle's Laing Art Gallery, The Blaydon Races and Newcastle Quayside.

  • Bycroft seeks Carlisle double

    Neville Bycroft only has a handful of horses, but with his small string in top form he might well come away from Carlisle with a double courtesy of Tedsdale Mac (2.55) and Efidium (3.25). Bycroft, who trains at Malton, has done particularly well with

  • Bridge building contest to be shown on TV

    TEAMS of British and Chinese students are preparing for a bridge-building challenge - with eight crossings of the River Tyne providing inspiration for the test. Residents have been invited to the Baltic Square, Gateshead, on Wednesday to watch a new international

  • 'Win a boob job' contest attacked

    A NORTH-EAST pub has sparked outrage after offering a £4,000 boob job to the winner of a Miss Wet T-shirt contest. The Win-a-Bust prize will give young girls the chance to have their breasts enlarged or reduced if they impress the judges at the £1m Glo

  • Festival nails the lie that the English don't care about food

    FOOD, glorious food. Maybe not pease pudding and saveloys, or even jelly and custard, but almost everything else and most of it grown, reared or made locally. Even the exotics like coffee and spices were being sold by people with good Yorkshire addresses

  • MP predicts go-ahead for ballot on assembly

    THE North-East will be allowed to hold a ballot on setting up a mini-Parliament to run the region, according to a leading campaigner. Labour MP Joyce Quin's prediction came as the Queen gave her assent to legislation paving the way for referendums on

  • Linking up with French grain firm

    CENTAUR Grain, the UK's largest farmer-owned committed grain marketing business, and Groupe Soufflet, France's largest private grain collector and processor, have entered into a supply chain management partnership in the UK. Centaur has agreed to buy

  • Party leaders set to unite

    NEGOTIATIONS are continuing at Cleveland's most marginal council a week after Labour lost overall control. Party leaders at Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council have met twice this week in an attempt to form a ruling coalition. It has been a week of high

  • Choking on traffic

    THE raft of proposals for improving the traffic system in Northallerton to be considered by councillors next week includes some excellent ideas. More dropped kerbs, puffin crossings, replacing the roundabouts at either end of the High Street with lights

  • Princess incurs families' wrath on Deepcut visit

    PRINCESS Anne walked into a storm of protest when she visited Deepcut barracks yesterday. Families of soldiers who died in mysterious circumstances at the Surrey barracks staged a demonstration to protest at her visit yesterday. The Ministry of Defence

  • Red letter day for post office

    WHEN security alarm company staff turned up at a farm building to fix a post office's security system they wondered if they had arrived at to the right place. They had, and from yesterday customers were able to buy strawberries, soups and stamps at Kay's

  • Minister misses opening

    TODDLERS and families disappointed at the last-minute cancellation of a visit from a top Government minister pressed ahead regardless with the opening of £1m community centre yesterday. Health Secretary Alan Milburn had been due to open Gateshead Borough

  • Step out for health

    A SERIES of healthy walks have been launched in Guisborough. The twice-weekly walks, part of the Walking the Way to Health scheme, are up to three miles long and start from the doctor's surgery in Rectory Lane. They are led by experienced walkers with

  • TV_chef had food and fun in his sights

    RICK Stein found plenty of Food Heroes at Leyburn when he visited the festival on Sunday. In fact, there was a whole marquee full! Before he and the film crew from Denham Productions stepped inside the food marquee, which was about to burst at the seams

  • Theatre's incentive scheme

    THE curtain went up yesterday on an incentive scheme to reward the loyalty of regular theatregoers. TheatreCard entitles holders to the first chance to book for shows at the Sunderland Empire as well as occasional discounts and other ticket offers. For

  • Remembering the days of a wily poacher

    Stories about the remarkable Tommy Todd are being brought back to mind now that the Talbot Inn in Middleton, where he was once landlord, is being converted into five houses. The mighty fellow was also a blacksmith, a dance promoter and, by his own reckoning

  • Variety show to meet the costs

    A VARIETY show is being planned as the curtain-raiser to an annual fundraising weekend. The Richmond Meet's Ladies Committee has put together a two-hour show, A Palace of Variety, to provide more funds before the North Yorkshire meet gets under way. Because

  • Ombudsman called in over Cams Houses barn row

    THE Local Government Ombudsman has been asked to step into a planning row over a Wensleydale barn conversion. The Association of Rural Communities has complained that the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority was given neither correct nor full advice

  • Shop Talk: Is that a bit of butter on my knife?

    DO YOU like butter? Are you scared to eat it now because of the health scares? Let me declare an interest... Some of my earliest memories are of small farms and stone flagged dairies. Pails and jugs of milk, butter churns - large and small - and that

  • Cars damaged in police chase

    TWO teenagers were being questioned last night after five police cars were damaged in a high-speed chase. Police in Catterick, North Yorkshire, started following a suspected stolen car at about 3pm on Wednesday. The car crossed into County Durham and

  • Hagglers needed for TV show

    TELEVISION stardom is on offer to anyone with the gift for haggling. Tyne Tees Television is looking for people who have a gift for getting money off and extras on deals to take part in a series called I'm Not Paying That. It will feature contestants

  • Sir Bobby kicks off cancer campaign

    NEWCASTLE United manager Sir Bobby Robson is leading a dream team of football stars in a fight against cancer. The Magpies boss leads a squad of Premiership players and managers, who have all had their lives touched by the disease. They have posed for

  • Neighbours can't wait 'til the cows go home

    RESIDENTS held their own round-up yesterday when their gardens were invaded by a herd of runaway cows. Ron Gordon awoke to find five escaped six-month-old Belgium blues were chomping on his rhododendrons and moving from his garden to concentrate on his

  • Children's football final is marred by trouble

    A REFEREE threatened to abandon a school football final because of crowd trouble. Referee Dave Scoreby warned teachers he would call off the match between two teams of under-15s. The match, at York City's Bootham Crescent ground between the rival Joseph

  • 'Sacrificed' troops to get memorial

    Troops "sacrificed'' to protect the intelligence secret that helped win World War Two will get their own memorial next week. The men, some from the North-East, were captured during the North African campaign and died on six Italian ships attacked by the

  • Borough and parish council results

    REDCAR AND CLEVELAND BOROUGH COUNCIL Brotton (3 seats) Eileen Goodenough (L) 796 *Brian Hogg (L) 1189 Barry Hunt (L) 985 Roberta Jackson (C) 497 *Valerie Miller (LD) 1036 Norma Morris (LD) 834 *Kay Walker (LD) 1002 Coatham (2 seats) *Josephine Crawford

  • The game that could save the GameCube

    THE LEGEND OF ZELDA: THE WIND WAKER, Format: GameCube, Publisher: Nintendo, Price: £39.99 IF EVER there was a time for Zelda then this most surely is it. Nintendo has endured a torrid six months in Europe. Sales of the GameCube are running a poor third

  • Suspect held over Rachel mystery

    POLICE were last night questioning a 57-year-old man arrested on suspicion of murdering a Teesside prostitute who disappeared almost a year ago. Detectives investigating the disappearance of 19-year-old Rachel Wilson swooped on an address in Sunderland

  • Richmond targets impulse buyers in ice cream war

    ICE cream maker Richmond has announced that business has exceeded even its most optimistic forecasts. The North Yorkshire company is hoping to overtake Wall's as the nation's favourite purveyor of ices. Richmond, which has a factory in Northallerton,

  • Departures on the long line into railway history

    IN THE 17th and 18th Centuries, wooden wagonways called Newcastle roads were the first railways in the world. Developed in the North-East, they transported coal on horse-drawn wagons from Durham mines to the River Tyne. In the 19th Century, locomotives

  • Police rule out street mugging

    SUSPICIONS that a man had been the victim of a mugging were yesterday ruled out by police. Police sealed off the area around Priory Street, Middlesbrough on Wednesday night after a young man was found lying in the area. Residents raised the alarm fearing

  • Millgate Baron is top Dales again

    A LARGE crowd turned out for the Dales Pony Society annual spring stallion and breed show at its new venue at Streatlam Farm near Barnard Castle last Saturday. Although there were some new names among the prize-winners, top honours went to last year's

  • Sheep show has £2,500 on offer in prize money

    MORE than £2,500 in prize money is up for grabs at the 18th annual Eastgate Sheep Show on Saturday, May 31. There are classes for Swaledales, Blue-faced Leicesters and North of England Mule sheep, and entries close on Saturday, May 24. The show will also

  • Traders back guide to dale

    DALES traders are fighting back after heavy job losses by supporting a guide aimed at promoting the area and its beauty. The Official Guide for Weardale Rural District has been released this week more than 30 years after the last booklet was circulated

  • Pupils have more fun at playtime

    PIRATE ships and wigwams are making playtime more enjoyable for primary school children following a £36,000 playground revamp. A garden with wooden seats and a willow tunnel have also added to the fun at Wolsingham Primary School. The play area has mostly

  • Vandals wreck sign

    SIGNS illustrating plans for a £3.9m park revamp have fallen foul of vandals. The information boards were erected in South Park, Darlington, to let visitors see progress on work to turn it into a tourist spot. The first phase is already under way, with

  • Garden sculptures stolen

    AN amateur sculptor who spent years perfecting his creations has had them stolen from his garden. The concrete statues, one of which took four years to complete, were taken from the man's garden in Middleton One Row, near Darlington, last month. The sculptor

  • Mayoral candidate is named

    THE Tory party has unveiled the candidate it hopes will replace a controversial North-East mayor at the centre of child porn allegations. Chris Morgan, North Tyneside's first directly-elected mayor, stepped down from the role last month. The decision

  • Trial run for bottle bank

    PRESSURE from environment-conscious residents has led to the launch of a recycling initiative this week. Council bosses are trying out a plastic bottle recycling bank in Ripon at the request of local people. They are also considering installing similar

  • End of an era as Pauline retires

    A FERRYHILL postmistress has retired after 45 years service. Pauline Blackett has stepped down from the role at West End Post Office. To mark the occasion she was presented with a bouquet of flowers and a crystal town council vase in appreciation of her

  • Toddler walk for special needs centre

    A sponsored toddle in aid of The Children's Centre in Stockton will take place on Sunday. The Children's Centre, based at the University Hospital of North Tees, is a child development centre for youngsters with special educational needs. The centre also

  • Broker guilty of drinking and driving

    INSURANCE broker Paul Davies found himself answering his second drink-drive charge in less than three years yesterday after police received a tip off. Davies, a 52-year-old father of three, pleaded guilty to driving while over the limit after the court

  • Pupils book in for ceremony

    YOUNGSTERS who have completed a student librarian training scheme will be presented with their awards during a ceremony next week. Newlands School, Middlesbrough, will host the event for students across Redcar and Cleveland. The training is co-ordinated

  • Abbey advertisement criticised as bad taste

    IT was meant as a simple advertisement celebrating the joys of one of the jewels in the National Trust's crown. But the promotion extolling the virtues of Fountains Abbey, near Ripon, North Yorkshire, has backfired - after sparking an unlikely "no sex

  • Appeal to find owner of rabbit

    AN appeal has been issued to help trace the owner of a rabbit found abandoned in a back alley in Stockton. The lop-eared grey and white female rabbit, which has been kept in good condition and appears to be fit and healthy, was in its hutch but had no

  • Sportsmark gold status for college

    Children and staff at Sedgefield Community College are celebrating after receiveing an award for promoting sport in school. Sport England chief executive Roger Draper praised the school after it became one of 119 in the country to achieve Sportsmark Gold

  • Jobcentre staff aim to help regatta visitors fine summer work

    JOBCENTRE staff will be pushing the boat out at a rowing regatta to find summer jobs for students. Visitors to the Durham Annual Amateur Rowing Regatta this weekend will be able to find out about their job prospects. Janet Kelly, captain of the recruitment

  • Fast-forward for chips

    NEIL McKie has signed up for a video games retail franchise after taking advice from his young son. When he began looking for a franchise opportunity in the North-East, his nine-year-old son, Ian, drew his attention to Middlesbrough firm Chips. Mr McKie

  • Dancer is a step ahead of the rest

    SUCCESS is on tap for a dedicated young dancer who cannot get enough of her favourite pastime. Eleven-year-old Stephanie Lund was bitten by the dancing bug when she began lessons at the age of six. Although the Lund family live in Shadforth, a small village

  • Traffic lights and calming measures in roads package

    A WIDE-ranging package of options for reorganising the traffic system in Northallerton and easing congestion in the town centre will be presented to councillors next week as a basis for public consultations. A proposed traffic management strategy for

  • Young musicians celebrate success

    THREE talented youngsters have been awarded the title of Ripon's Young Musicians of the Year. Forty students up to the age of 18 took part in what was billed as a celebration of young talent in the city. Adjudicator Chris Small said: "Although I had to

  • The Real thing

    Young footballers will soon be able to play on the same surface as the world's best players thanks to a grant. The Football Foundation has awarded £136,120 to enable Hartlepool Borough Council install a synthetic pitch at West View Primary School. It

  • News in brief: Councillors' ward surgery

    Easington District councillors for the Dawdon ward will be holding a ward surgery in the Dawdon Miners' Welfare Centre, in Mount Stewart Street, Dawdon, on Monday, May 19, between 6pm and 7pm, to deal with any problems that their constituents' might have

  • Recreation of classic trial reveals the car is still the star

    A CAVALCADE of classic cars from all over the world visited the region as it made its way around the country. About 65 vehicles of all shapes and sizes arrived in Stokesley Market Place on a journey recreating a part of British motoring history. Cars

  • Row drags on over council's £1.1m bill

    A LEGAL battle between two North-East authorities looks set to rumble on after another delay. Durham County Council was ordered to pay Darlington Borough Council £2.2m earlier this year after losing an arbitration battle which began in 1997. The county

  • Corus's chance for future

    METAL workers will be chasing a share of a 20 million-tonne steel market in an effort to save jobs, a business delegation has been told. Management at Corus's North-East operations has assured the North-East Chamber of Commerce there are opportunities

  • Pony dates

    Bedale & West of Yore PC. - May 26: Fun day at Thorp Perrow, starting at 11am with clear round jumping & SJ, handy ponies 12-2pm, all entries taken on the field, details 01677 460410, open to all, age limit 16. Jun 7 & 8: Tetrathlon, junior

  • Durham back at Racecourse

    DURHAM will return to the Racecourse ground in Durham City today for a first-class fixture for the first time since 1994, writes Tim Wellock. The university ground was considered their headquarters for their first three years in first-class cricket, staging

  • Pupils have more fun at playtime

    PIRATE ships and wigwams are making playtime more enjoyable for primary school children following a £36,000 playground revamp. A garden with wooden seats and a willow tunnel have also added to the fun at Wolsingham Primary School. The play area has mostly

  • River clean-up impact debate

    THE impact of environmental improvements to the River Tees on water and sewage bills will be the focus of a debate next week. The Environment Agency and Northumbria Water will give presentations at the WaterVoice Northumbria meeting on Tuesday, when the

  • Theatre's incentive scheme

    THE curtain went up yesterday on an incentive scheme to reward the loyalty of regular theatregoers. TheatreCard entitles holders to the first chance to book for shows at the Sunderland Empire as well as occasional discounts and other ticket offers. For

  • Prices at the markets

    BARNARD CASTLE. - Wed. Fwd: 431 sheep. Lim hfr calf £60. Pet lambs to £5; Texel Ewes & twins to £130; Mule hoggs & singles to £120; Mule shlgs & lambs to £124; Mule ewes & twins to £94; Swale ewes & twins to £50. Std lambs to 178.4p

  • Pupils book in for ceremony

    YOUNGSTERS who have completed a student librarian training scheme will be presented with their awards during a ceremony next week. Newlands School, Middlesbrough, will host the event for students across Redcar and Cleveland. The training is co-ordinated

  • Help Will top pie chart

    THE region's contender in the race for the new face of a pie manufacturer is urging people to back him. Will Gordon, 41, of Windy Nook, Gateshead, won the North-East heat of the Pie Idol contest in March and went on to star in his own billboard campaign

  • Banner for church was labour of love

    A REDCAR woman has combined two of her passions to create a processional banner for her church choir. Elizabeth Fletcher was so pleased to be singing for the choir at Christ Church, in Coatham, she has spent £1,500 on embroidery materials over the past

  • Early focus on mental health

    health workers are planning a series of informal seminars for people worried about their mental health. The seminars are the idea of Sue Sinclair, staff nurse at Whitecliffe Mental Health Resource Centre, in Brotton. It is hoped the sessions will help

  • Discarded mayor pulls out of carnival commitment

    DISAPPOINTED mayor Jack Dobson dropped a bombshell for the Northallerton community in the wake of his election defeat. He says he will not now be chairing the town carnival committee as planned. The move comes just weeks after he pledged the event would

  • Villagers step up campaign against -inner city' flats

    OBJECTORS are stepping up their fight against plans to build a block of six flats on the site of a garage in Hurworth. Church View Garage, one of the last remaining businesses in the village, would be demolished to make way for the two-storey block. The

  • Wainwright puts the fizz in Feethams party

    A DETERMINED fightback ensured that Leyton Orient failed to spoil Darlington's Feethams farewell party last Saturday. It looked as though the last game to be played at the old ground would end in a deflating defeat for Quakers when the visitors moved

  • News in brief: Pupils' road leads to Rome

    PUPILS from Lakeside Primary School, in York, have been selected to represent the UK at the European Conference on School Mobility later this month. At the conference, in Rome, the youngsters will be explaining the development of Lakeside's travel plan

  • Winning team to play in UK finals

    A NORTH-EAST school that just can not stop winning trophies and awards will fly the flag for the region at a national football competition. Dunston Hill Community Primary School is to compete against three other schools from the Midlands, the South-East

  • News in brief: Councillors' ward surgery

    Easington District councillors for the Dawdon ward will be holding a ward surgery in the Dawdon Miners' Welfare Centre, in Mount Stewart Street, Dawdon, on Monday, May 19, between 6pm and 7pm, to deal with any problems that their constituents' might have

  • Road rage driver asks court for 'weapon' back

    A motorist who threatened another driver with a spanner in a road rage bust-up stunned magistrates yesterday - by asking for the tool back. Denis Andrews protested to three JPs on the Darlington bench that it had been taken from him after his arrest.

  • Road closure

    ONE of the key routes through North Yorkshire will be closed for a week for maintenance work. The A170 at Sutton Bank, near Thirsk, will be closed from May 19 to May 23. The work will include gully cleaning, carriageway repairs, new road markings, checks

  • Letters: Reject these plans

    Sir, - With reference to the article about Stokesley's new library/care development: I feel that Mr Grey is using the wrong word when he says we in Stokesley were "consulted." I attended the public meeting in the town hall when the plans. were "discussed

  • 09/05/03

    COUNCIL ELECTIONS: LABOUR was left licking its wounds after Durham City Council fell to the Liberal Democrats in the local elections. The local Labour Party might be wondering where they went wrong. Just a little reminder for them. The Durham County Council

  • 'No sex' abbey advert sparks complaint to National Trust

    A "NO sex please" row has hit the cloistered splendour of Fountains Abbey. It has been sparked by an advertisement from the National Trust extolling the virtues of the internationally-acclaimed ruined treasure near Ripon, which dates back to 1132. The

  • Gudasmum seals Needham double

    FIONA Needham picked up a riding and training double at the Zetland point-to-point held at Witton Castle on Monday. The first leg came when Robin Tate's mare Phyllis (Hurworth) took the intermediate race. The David Smith-trained Kanona (J Walker/Hurworth

  • Old Mother Clap and the screaming queens

    Queer As 18th Century Folk (C4); Bad Girls (ITV1) IN an upstairs room at a Molly house, a man in women's clothing was pretending to give birth, assisted by a second man in midwife's garb. After much pushing, shoving and screaming, the baby was delivered

  • Horses, and drivers, must slither for two more years

    ROADS in and around Swainby should be resurfaced to reduce the hazard they are causing, say local people. They have handed in a 48-signature petition to North Yorkshire County Council to highlight the dangers and plead for the road to be resurfaced. The

  • Man wins injunction against attack dog owner

    A FATHER-OF-FOUR who was savaged by a vicious dog has won a court injunction against its owner. Dave Taylor was attacked by the Japanese akita in his home last September while minding it for a friend, Gordon Clark. The two men since fell out, and on April

  • Luke all set to make dream England debut

    A NORTHALLERTON schoolboy has been selected to play badminton for England this weekend. Luke Brudenell, a 15-year-old student at Northallerton College, is in the England under-16 team to take on Denmark, Holland, Sweden and Belgium in an international

  • Mercury on the move as amazing April beats records

    LIKE March, April was warm, dry and sunny. It is hard to imagine a better start to the year. Again, there was more sunshine than in many summer months, certainly for instance, those in the past two years. Despite attempts in the last ten days to make

  • Will the moaners ever be satisfied?

    LEYBURN'S wonderful food festival last weekend had everyone smiling- well almost. The weather, despite the depressing forecast leading up to the weekend, was as just about as good as it could be for early May and the visitors poured into the market town

  • McCarthy is ready to feed the Goat

    SUNDERLAND will launch a summer move for transfer-listed Manchester City striker Shaun Goater - providing manager Mick McCarthy can sell a number of his prize assets. Fans' favourite Goater has struggled to command a first team place at Maine Road following

  • All change for Tykes

    Yorkshire yesterday said hello to one overseas capture, while waving goodbye to another. They announced 21-year-old Indian all-rounder Yuvraj Singh was on his way to Headlingley and also confirmed that Australian left-hander Matthew Elliott will return

  • Young offenders build bridges

    CONSERVATION volunteers tackling a major clear-up operation at a famous beauty spot are receiving help from an unlikely source - young offenders. Youngsters aged up to 17 are turning their hands to some useful work under a local heritage initiative being

  • Inquest is opened into death of mother

    INQUEST proceedings opened yesterday into the death of a woman whose disappearance sparked a full-scale search last week. The body of Sarah Ann Linklater was discovered in secluded woodland close to the village of High Pittington, near Durham. A search

  • Greatest stars laugh all the way to the box office

    The Greatest Movie Stars (C4); M.I.T. (ITV1); The Peterloo Massacre (C4) I ONCE had my picture taken with Angelina Jolie, a fact I mention not through a desire to name-drop but because this Hollywood actress was described as "clearly as mad as a snake

  • Family launch campaign to save cancer sufferer

    A family battling cancer for the third time are campaigning to raise funds for controversial treatment in Mexico. Sandra Richardson, 51, from Hartlepool, lost her husband, Frank, 12 years ago, to cancer and was left to bring up her three daughters alone

  • Skaters get a home at last

    THIRSK skateboarders have finally got a home of their own. Hard-standing at the Carr's Field site, just behind Millgate car park, was laid earlier this month and the half-pipe ramp completed last Friday. The park, on land left by a local woman, has been

  • Amazing telephone torture of love rival

    A WOMAN bombarded her love rival with more than 700 nuisance phone calls after their bitter feud erupted in violence. Kristin Thompson began her vendetta after suspecting her boyfriend of rekindling an affair with Dawn Atkinson, Richmond magistrates in

  • Dynamic Dyer relishing skipper's role - Robson

    KIERON DYER is revelling in his new role as captain of Newcastle United, according to manager Sir Bobby Robson. The dynamic midfielder wore the captain's armband in the Magpies' 1-0 over Birmingham City last weekend, a win that secured the club's place

  • Wellock's World: Beware the ideas of Marsh

    IT IS not unknown for working men's club chairmen in these parts to interrupt the main act to announce: "The pies have arrived." Pies and their enduring popularity come to mind in a week when Rod Marsh has been appointed an England cricket selector and

  • Grant helps Sam in musical career

    TALENTED teenage violinist Sam Kennedy, the leader of renowned Teesside youth orchestra, has received cash to help him to pursue a career in music. The 17-year-old from Redcar has received a £1,000 grant from the West Redcar Single Regeneration Budget

  • Deputy voted into ousted leader's shoes

    THE unenviable task of following in Dave Walsh's footsteps as Leader of Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council has been handed to his former deputy. George Dunning, who was the Labour leader's second-in-command, beat his main rival, Dave McLuckie, by one

  • Grain report

    by Robin Twizell RMD Agriculture CEREAL prices have continued to improve for both old and new crop - old crop on slow supply from farms and new crop following the currency markets. Projected supply of world wheat is beginning to stabilise and there is

  • Jim keeps on running

    JIM CADDY keeps on running and has no plans to stop. At 78, the long-distance runner from Redcar won a gold medal in the British Masters Championship in Scotland last month, and the British Masters Road Races Championship, in Birmingham. The pensioner

  • Youngsters seek funding for skateboard park

    A GRANT of £50,000 could provide top skateboarding facilities for young people in Darlington. The equipment will be made available in the town if a bid by the Tees Valley Leisure Group to the New Opportunities Fund is successful. The money would be used

  • Help Will top pie chart

    THE region's contender in the race for the new face of a pie manufacturer is urging people to back him. Will Gordon, 41, of Windy Nook, Gateshead, won the North-East heat of the Pie Idol contest in March and went on to star in his own billboard campaign

  • 'I'm happy for the two of us'

    For 30 years, Paul has kept his secret from all but a handful of people. Now, he is ready to tell the world ther's another side to him - and she's called Fiona. Nick Morrison reports. IT was Christmas and Paul was back home in Ireland with his family.

  • The great breast debate

    As National Breastfeeding Awareness Week approaches, Health Correspondent Barry Nelson considers whether British reserve has anything to do with why so few people in this country choose the natural way to feed their babies. PRUDES beware, the breastfeeding

  • Greetings for Blair

    Tony Blair received belated 50th birthday greetings today from residents of his Sedgefield constituency. The Prime Minister, whose birthday was on Tuesday, joked about his age as he was given a hand-made birthday card, with 50 on the front, by three-year-old

  • Bury fallen cattle until UK catches up

    THE National Beef Association has advised its members that they can bury fallen cattle until the proposed national collection scheme is in operation - possibly from August 1. The EU regulation forbidding on-farm burial became law on Thursday of last week

  • Students' clock tower is a work of art

    BRICKWORK students have proved their talent by creating their own clock tower. The students from Bishop Auckland College were set the unusual task as part of their modern apprenticeship course. The design was based upon a typical brickwork clock for the

  • Peace takes top prize at Glaisdale

    GUISBOROUGH Motor Club held the second round of their summer trials series over a three-lap, ten-section course at Low Gill, Glaisdale last Saturday. The later starters among the massive entry of 110 competitors had to contend with heavy rain as Tim Peace

  • Delight at clock fund

    REDCAR historian Vera Robinson MBE has praised townsfolk for raising more than £5,000 in a bid to get the town's King Edward VII Memorial clock ticking again. Vera, a Freeman of Redcar, asked the public to 'buy a clock brick' for £1 and has raised £5,746

  • This was a time to eat, drink and be merry

    WAS he customer 17,501 or 18,001? The organisers were not too sure, but Richard Whiteley, the popular TV personality, was one of the last to go shopping in the food marquee as the exhausted but elated stallholders began packing up late Monday afternoon

  • Burton's Bytres: The game that could save the GameCube

    THE LEGEND OF ZELDA: THE WIND WAKER, Format: GameCube, Publisher: Nintendo, Price: £39.99 IF EVER there was a time for Zelda then this most surely is it. Nintendo has endured a torrid six months in Europe. Sales of the GameCube are running a poor third

  • Union leader's fears for Corus

    A union leader has told MPs about his fears for the future of the Corus plant on Teesside. The Iron and Steel Trades Confederation's (ISTC) Michael Leahy was giving evidence to the House of Commons Trade and Industry Committee, which is looking at the

  • Kidney-swap pair to marry

    CARING Chris Baldock has handed his bride-to-be the perfect wedding gift - the chance of a new life. His selfless gesture means he and partner, Valerie Lancaster, will be able to spend the rest of their lives together, a wish that might never have come

  • Investment speeds wood firm on its way

    A WENSLEYDALE company has just bought a new piece of machinery in the latest stage of a £170,000 investment. Weatherald Wood, a high quality wood components manufacturer, has been investing in its plant at Askrigg for the past year and has now installed

  • Iraq and back with globetrotting teddy

    A GLOBETROTTING teddy bear is back in the North-East after helping the war effort in Iraq. Diddy, the diminutive mascot of Dodmire Infants School in Darlington, travelled to the Gulf with British troops to keep up morale during the recent conflict. The

  • Zoe's second single delayed

    FANS of North-East pop star Zoe Birkett will have to wait a little longer than expected to hear her second single. The 17-year-old was due to release a record in April or May following the success of her debut single, Treat Me Like a Lady. But a spokeswoman

  • Take that

    WORRYING events in the area of Soapland known as Weatherfield as ordinary people take to the streets in an orgy of vandalism. The guilty person is none other than Vera Duckworth, who could certainly nag for England but has never struck me as a vandal.

  • Company restructuring costs fewer jobs than feared

    FEARS have been allayed that Teesside could be about to lose hundreds more manufacturing jobs. Paints and chemicals group ICI said 700 jobs are to be cut worldwide during the first phase of a restructuring, announced last Friday. It confirmed five jobs

  • When eveybody keeps kung-fu fighting...

    KUNG FU CHAOS. Publisher: Microsoft. Platform: Xbox. Price: £39.99 HOW many movies did kung-fu legend Bruce Lee make before his untimely death? If you are only on nodding acquaintance with the savage cinema of martial arts then your answer is likely to

  • Injured engineer expects large sum

    A MARINE engineer who suffered serious head and facial injuries during a life-saving drill was yesterday guaranteed a compensation pay out. George Ziemniak was taking part in the drill at the Teesport Offshore Base, in Middlesbrough, when the accident

  • Last Night's TV: Old Mother Clap and the screaming queens

    Queer As 18th Century Folk (C4); Bad Girls (ITV1) IN an upstairs room at a Molly house, a man in women's clothing was pretending to give birth, assisted by a second man in midwife's garb. After much pushing, shoving and screaming, the baby was delivered