W is for WASHING UP. Yes, I know, I know, a trivial sort of subject. But with boys, it's the trivial that makes you fear for your sanity. Of course it's a breakthrough when they make their own sandwich, cook their own meal. They glow with achievement
ON Hartlepool's historic Headland lies Spion Kop cemetery, a haven for plants and wildlife and a last resting place for 26,000 people. Last night they formed a graveyard "Friends" group to help keep it that way. "It's very much a balancing act between
IT has taken the best part of 50 years, but Bill Lowe is finally able to lay to rest some of the memories that have haunted him since his adolescence. Images of bodies being brought into hospital and war victims badly scarred by terrorist activities have
LIVER swap patient Laura Fairlamb has been given another chance for a new life after her second transplant operation. The 21-year-old was given only a two per cent chance of survival and told to say her goodbyes after her first liver failed. But, at the
VETERAN actress Stephanie Cole is appearing at a North-East theatre in the stage version of best-seller The Shell Seekers. The star of Tenko and Waiting for God is performing in the Terence Brady and Charlotte Bingham adaptation of the story at Darlington
THE long arm of the law finally caught up with a bogus policewoman who launched a blitz on drivers. Sharon McLachlan stole a uniform from a police station and started handing out tickets - stopping speeding cars and slapping fixed penalty notices on parked
TWO runaway teenage sweethearts from the region were found safe and well in North Yorkshire last night, police said. Paul Baxter, 16, and his 14-year-old girlfriend, Christine Rylance, of South Tyneside, disappeared on Friday. Northumbria Police said
A driver was injured when his car left the road and rolled down a 50 metre bank. The accident happened on Tuesday at 2.05pm, on the A19 southbound, at the bottom of its slip road with the A1231, near Sunderland. The Rover 216 travelling south ploughed
HUNDREDS of the region's young people have entered an art competition that aims to raise awareness about HIV and Aids. The competition was organised by health promotion workers in Newcastle and North Tyneside Primary Care Trusts. The winners' work will
A donation in memory of a local woman should ensure users of a library will be able to choose from 30 new talking book titles. Honor Taylor, of Great Ayton, has presented her local library with a cheque for £1,000 in memory of her friend, Edna Bedford
BOY racers who shatter the peace of a North Yorkshire town by revving their engines and playing loud music have been warned to keep it quiet - or walk home. Under the Police Reform Act, officers can confiscate cars or motorbikes being driven or ridden
AN evening Halloween walk and the chance to see some owls up close are some of the activities taking place at a nature reserve this month. Rainton Meadows Nature Reserve, near Houghton-le-Spring, has organised a range of activities for families during
DOZENS of people took to the streets at dawn to protest against council plans to bulldoze hundreds of homes. Up to 500 homes on Stockton's Hardwick Estate - once Western Europe's largest - could be destroyed as part of a £160m borough-wide programme to
THERE was an international flavour in the air when Easington's MP John Cummings met students attending a new course. Since last year, East Durham and Houghall Community College has tripled its intake on a course aimed at students from overseas countries
AYCLIFFE villagers are celebrating winning third place in the Britain in Bloom contest. Representatives of the Aycliffe Action Group, which organises the displays, travelled to London's Guildhall to hear the results. Councillor Billy Blenkinsopp said:
CAMPAIGNERS for a town council in Willington have set up a steering group. Chairman is Simon Tasker, secretary Pauile Moger and Press officer Councillor Brian Myers. The move follows a public meeting in Willington Methodist Church attended by more than
A TEENAGER cleared of killing another youth has expressed his remorse over the incident which led to the boy's death. A jury found Craig Coombs, 18, not guilty of the manslaughter of 16-year-old Andrew Jones. Yesterday, Mr Coombs said he was sorry for
A ROADSHOW promoting responsible pet ownership is visiting Darlington, offering free health checks for dogs. The PetCheck unit, which has been travelling around Britain since March, will be in Darlington's Pets at Home store from next Thursday to Sunday
WORK costing £50,000 to upgrade the footpaths in a Darlington park will be starting this week. The Denes is the latest area to benefit from the borough council's £180,000 programme to upgrade and improve security in parks and cemeteries. The work has
A FARMER admitted hiding an unlicensed firearm in an old freezer, when he appeared before magistrates yesterday. Gordon Sedgewick, 44, of Binchester Hall Farm, Binchester, near Spennymoor, admitted possessing a Baikal 20 bore single-barrelled shotgun
A SEDGEFIELD soldier has won the trophy for being best marksman in his intake after completing phase one of his training. The family of Private John Maslin travelled to Winchester to watch his passing out parade at the Army Training Regiment. Pte Maslin's
PRIMARY school youngsters are starting their footballing season with new kit thanks to generous parents. A fundraising drive for a school strip was given a boost when parent Angela Race completed the Barnard Castle 10k race. Mrs Race, 32, raised £206
BISHOP Auckland traders are digging into their pockets to light up the town for Christmas. For the first time for many years, Christmas shoppers will be treated to a blaze of colour along Newgate Street, with smaller displays in the Market Place and Forebondgate
AN hotel has launched a competition with a two-night stay at the 17th century coaching inn as a prize. The Morritt Arms Hotel at Greta Bridge, near Barnard Castle, has undergone a refurbishment and owner Barbara-Anne Johnson has decided to name the rooms
A SERVICE which provides invaluable support for elderly people in the Darlington area has doubled its membership over the past three years. The borough council's Lifeline scheme benefits about 2,500 people, giving them access to a 24-hour alarm system
A LEEK club has its first female champion in its 41-year history. Denise Ledley is the toast of the leek club at the Royal British Legion in Newton Aycliffe after claiming first prize. She won in the pot leek section with an entry measuring 170.49 cubic
A HUGE banner has been erected at a church in Darlington to welcome people. The 22ft by 14ft silk embroidered collage, which has been hung in St Teresa's Church, in Harris Street, depicts the risen Christ. The banner has taken two years to create and
LABOUR MPs urged Tony Blair to think again over setting up "super hospitals" after he suffered an embarrassing defeat on the flagship policy at Labour's conference yesterday. Both North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Trust and City Hospitals Sunderland NHS Trust
A CHEMICAL factory which looks likely to close with the loss of 100 jobs was due to undergo a £2.25m upgrade, it has emerged. Great Lakes Chemical Corporation announced this week that it is proposing to close its plant in Newton Aycliffe, County Durham
THOSE luscious lips, that tanned body and artfully tousled blond hair prove too much for Todd Grimshaw in Coronation Street (ITV1). He can't resist any longer. He puckers up and plants a great big smacker on the mouth of his girlfriend's brother Nick
A COUNCILLOR who campaigned to keep a former stately home under the control of North Yorkshire County Council has expressed his sadness at the decision to sell the property. As reported in yesterday's Northern Echo, the county council is selling Grantley
POLICE are searching for landscape gardeners who tried to bully residents into hiring their services. Three men in a white pick-up truck with a green rear end were seen in Delves Lane, near Consett, at the weekend. The trio said they were from a firm
Two women yesterday lost their High Court battle to use their frozen embryos against the will of their former partners. Nick Morrison lookas at what happens when couples undergoing IVF treatment split up. FOR Natallie Evans, it seemed her only chance
JOHN OSTER wants to capitalise on his best form in a Sunderland shirt by securing a new contract at the Stadium of Light. Oster, 24, is due to become a free agent at the end of the season when his current deal expires. But the Wales midfielder, who has
THE people of a market town came together yesterday to celebrate victory in The Northern Echo's environmental competition. North-East botanist Dr David Bellamy made a presentation to Richmond Pride, the first North Yorkshire winner of Making a Difference
PENSIONERS will get a taste of life in a modern classroom, as part of celebrations to mark a school's 91st anniversary later this month. On Thursday, October 16, Tanfield School, near Stanley, will welcome back pupils from more than 50 years ago. It is
MARK Robinson hopes he has consigned a personal nightmare to the memory bank. A regular in last season's promotion-winning side, Robinson has had to look on from the sidelines this season after failing to impress new boss Neale Cooper. But he revealed
NINE members of the Cleveland Search and Rescue Team who have carried out more than 600 rescues have notched up 25 years of service. The volunteer rescuers have been called out in all weathers and around the clock to look for anyone from missing children
A US court is expected to make a decision later today over attempts to prevent the first of the US ghost fleet setting sail for the North-East. But Able UK, which is to dismantle the obsolete fleet at its Hartlepool base, yesterday confirmed it has won
THE importance of companies such as Great Lakes to the region's economy had been recognised this year with the establishment of a new organisation. The Pharmaceutical and Speciality Cluster Limited, the first body of its type in the UK, represents more
The Human Mind (BBC1): "WHEN I came home, I just took my shoes off, dumped my bag, took my coat off, sank into the settee and watched the telly," confessed young Elliot, sounding like a TV critic. Unlike those who criticise TV programmes for a living,
AN unhappy schoolgirl took a fatal overdose of tablets after she became upset when her family home was put up for sale, an inquest heard. Fifteen-year-old Hannah Westwood swallowed nearly 200 tablets after she drank cider earlier in the day. She had also
BISHOP Auckland traders are digging into their pockets to light up the town for Christmas. For the first time for many years, festive shoppers will be treated to a blaze of colour along Newgate Street with smaller displays in the Market Place and Forebondgate
SURELY I wasn't the only person who thought, when I read the story about the Scarborough judge in court for being drunk and disorderly, that someone had made a mistake? "A judge?" I said as I glanced at his picture in the papers. "He can't be a judge.
GOLFING hotels group De Vere boosted turnover last year despite challenging market conditions. The operator, which includes Slaley Hall, pictured, Northumberland, and the Belfry, in North Warwickshire, in its portfolio, was forced to switch its focus
A FOOD manufacturer is expecting to create up to 100 jobs as a result of a £3m expansion. Hartlepool food manufacturer Hibernia Foods, which makes frozen ready-meals for supermarkets, will create the positions at its Brenda Road factory. That will lead
A COMPANY is setting up a logistics and distribution headquarters which will create 76 jobs. Amaro Professional Distribution Ltd will establish the base at its 10,500sq ft premises on the Metro Riverside Park, which it moved to last December. The company
A YOUNG girl was being hunted last night after she left bus passenger Brenda Lauderdale nursing a gashed face in a brick attack. Mrs Lauderdale, 59, saw the girl an instant before she was hit on the cheek as the youngster threw the brick through a window
THE parent company of Hartlepool Water announced its order book had risen in value to almost £2bn in the first six months of the year after its infrastructure management section won more than 30 contracts. AWG, formerly known as Anglian Water, and based
A MOTHER who lost her son to the human form of BSE is closely monitoring the use of a new treatment. The experimental drug Pentosan Polysulphate (PPS) has been used on a 19-year-old with the deadly brain disease vCJD in the hope that it will halt its
ATTEMPTS to stage a mass protest by drivers angry at petrol price hikes fell flat yesterday. Fuel protest leaders had urged motorists to stop their vehicles for one minute at 8.30am yesterday. But motoring organisations said there was no sign of any protests
A FOOD manufacturer is expecting to create up to 100 jobs as a result of a £3m expansion. Hartlepool food manufacturer Hibernia Foods, which makes frozen ready-meals for supermarkets, will create the positions at its Brenda Road factory. That will lead
A VOLUNTEER group is celebrating being honoured with a Queen's Golden Jubilee Award. The Lord Lieutenant of North Yorkshire, Lord Crathorne, presented Stokesley's Community Care Association (CCA) with the award at a lunchtime reception on Tuesday. The
A COLLECTION of paintings and prints by North-East artist Tom McGuinness will be sold at auction this month. The four oil paintings, a watercolour and limited edition print, all depicting mining or colliery village scenes, date from the 1970s and will
DOZENS of people have been rewarded for striding towards a healthier lifestyle by completing a fitness challenge. A ceremony was held last week for people who rose to the Ton Up Challenge, and reached 100 miles by jogging or walking at Peases West athletics
W is for WASHING UP. Yes, I know, I know, a trivial sort of subject. But with boys, it's the trivial that makes you fear for your sanity. Of course it's a breakthrough when they make their own sandwich, cook their own meal. They glow with achievement
ANOTHER major shopping centre is being lined up as part of a retail revolution in Darlington, The Northern Echo can reveal. Investream Limited, acting on behalf of the owners of the town's Cornmill Centre, is hoping to secure permission for a 32,000sq
A PHOTO processing company accused of misleading the public could face thousands of pounds in fines after the case was yesterday handed over to the Crown Court for sentencing. Magistrates in North Yorkshire said their powers were insufficient to deal
FLYING WANDA (1.10) has the speed to wave goodbye to her rivals in the opening race of Newmarket's star-studded three-day Cambridgeshire meeting this afternoon. Jeremy Noseda's classy filly was a desperately unlucky loser at Ascot eight days ago when
THE family of a teenage girl who fell more than 150ft to her death during a late-night clifftop walk were still baffled by the tragedy last night. Terri Ann Ellwood, 16, of Peterlee, County Durham, died and a 30-year-old woman from Sunderland suffered
PETER MULLEN PETER Mullen's crass and infantile comments (Echo, Sept 30) on the return of Doctor Who to BBC1 fail to make mention of the fact that, as well as Queer as Folk, the scriptwriter has also written a number of high quality television drama serials
THE region has a new millionaire - but the jackpot winner wants to remain anonymous. One lucky resident from somewhere in Tyne and Wear has won the £1m Premium Bond jackpot. Ernie, the Premium Bond number generator, worked his way through billions of
A SCHEME to encourage private landlords to clean up their properties to build better communities was launched yesterday. Derwentside District Council has set up an accreditation programme for landlords to raise the standard of rented houses. Council bosses
BURGLARS have taken family heirlooms in a daytime raid on a secluded house. The two men struck at the home of a 37-year-old woman in Snows Green Road, Shotley Bridge, near Consett, between 2pm and 3pm on Tuesday. They stole silver and china worth about
PEOPLE with a passion for storytelling or creative writing will be able to hone their talents at a series of workshops held in libraries throughout the county. The workshops throughout this month and November are being run by Electraglade, which includes
THOSE luscious lips, that tanned body and artfully tousled blond hair prove too much for Todd Grimshaw in Coronation Street (ITV1). He can't resist any longer. He puckers up and plants a great big smacker on the mouth of his girlfriend's brother Nick
TWO men raised more than £200 by having their legs waxed. Shaun Airey and Gary Donald went through the ordeal at Redhall Community Centre, in Darlington, on Tuesday night. Their fundraising ordeal was staged to raise money for children's play schemes
A MUSICAL performance detailing a century of black history through the lives of several generations of women is to tour County Durham. The production, Stamping, Shouting and Singing will be taken to five venues to celebrate Black History Month next week
GIRLS from a Darlington youth theatre group are getting to grips with curling tongs to look the part for their second production next week. An all-girl cast from St Augustine's Youth Stars present Louisa M Alcott's Little Women at the Parish Centre in
YOUNGSTERS at a Darlington primary school have a new football strip thanks to a local business. House builder Bussey and Armstrong have sponsored Alderman Leach Primary School's new strip, after Paul I'Anson, year five teacher and football coach, wrote
MEMBERS of a group for older people have designed a time capsule to go into a housing development in Darlington. People from the Growing Older Living in Darlington (Gold) group went to the South West Durham Training Centre in Newton Aycliffe to watch
MEMBERS of a group for older people have designed a time capsule to go into a housing development in Darlington. People from the Growing Older Living in Darlington (Gold) group went to the South West Durham Training Centre in Newton Aycliffe to watch
GOVERNMENT plans to introduce citizenship ceremonies are to be discussed by Darlington Borough Council's cabinet on Tuesday. All adults applying for naturalisation or registration as British citizens will be expected to take part in the ceremony, which
Darlington manager Mick Tait last night claimed the reaction from his players after Tuesday night's draw with Southend shows how expectation levels within the team have been dramatically transformed this season. Quakers opened their Third Division campaign
MORE than 110 tonnes of waste has been collected for recycling in the first month of a pioneering environmental scheme, to the delight of council officials. Darlington Borough Council's kerbside recycling scheme has been hailed a success after thousands
A ROW between hospital staff and management over new working conditions has been resolved. Union officials were drafted in yesterday to resolve the dispute which centred on changes to the porter service at the Friarage Hospital, Northallerton, North Yorkshire
MIDDLESBROUGH soccer star Szilard Nemeth has been fined by magistrates after he was caught speeding in his four-wheel drive car. The Boro striker and Slovakian player was captured on a speed camera doing 79mph on the A66 dual carriageway near Stockton
NORTH-EAST holidaymakers had to spend the night in London hotels after their aeroplane was forced to make an emergency landing. A Mytravel plane with 220 passengers on board, travelling to Malta from Newcastle, was forced to divert to Gatwick airport
BOTH amateur and professional photographers, as well as collectors, will be trying to snap up a bargain at an auction next week. Tennants, in Leyburn, hosts another camera sale on Saturday, October 11, after similar events attracted great interest in
NEW rules imposed in swimming baths in the Harrogate district will prevent individual parents from taking more than one toddler into the pool with them at a time. Health and safety rules introduced by the Institute of Sport and Recreation Management states
PETER MULLEN: PETER Mullen's crass and infantile comments (Echo, Sept 30) on the return of Doctor Who to BBC1 fail to make mention of the fact that, as well as Queer as Folk, the scriptwriter has also written a number of high quality television drama
A MAN who posed as a police officer to get free sex from prostitutes was on the run last night. Red light district regular Michael Walton vanished before a jury found him guilty of one sex charge and cleared him of another. The 40-year-old, from High
IN former times, defeat for the Labour leader at party conferences was commonplace. Asked what he was going to do after another conference bruising, Prime Minister Harold Wilson said he would get on with governing the country. Tony Blair is less used
The Human Mind (BBC1): "WHEN I came home, I just took my shoes off, dumped my bag, took my coat off, sank into the settee and watched the telly," confessed young Elliot, sounding like a TV critic. Unlike those who criticise TV programmes for a living,
A NURSERY professional has been commended after completing a customised training course for special needs education. Julie Gowland of Pixley Dell Day Nursery in Spennymoor has recently been promoted to assistant principal. She has also been appointed
Clive Woodward marked England's departure for the World Cup last night by warning his big-guns he would not hesitate to wield the axe should they fail to perform. The England boss declared a clean bill of health for his 30-strong squad as they left their
A SENSORY garden has been opened in memory of a much-loved North-East boy who was killed while on a family holiday in Ireland. Four-year-old Rio Singh Ranja Potiwal was knocked down by a car days into a holiday with relatives in August. His death shocked
NINE members of the Cleveland Search and Rescue Team who have carried out more than 600 rescues have notched up 25 years of service. The volunteer rescuers have been called out in all weathers and around the clock to look for anyone from missing children
THE £500,000 headquarters of County Durham St John Ambulance have been opened by the Bishop of Durham. The new premises on the Meadowfield Industrial Estate, Meadowfield, near Durham City, were dedicated by the Right Reverend Tom Wright. The organisation
THE re-opened Arc arts complex in Stockton is staging a host of classes, including salsa, tai chi and meditation. Also held at the the centre, which reopened this week, is a club for teenagers and art classes for three-year-olds. Weekly classes in other
WARMER homes are being promised for people in the Hartburn area of Stockton. Assessors from the Transco-sponsored Stockton Warm Zone project started working in the area yesterday. It is the latest stage of their bid to help the residents of 13,000 homes
AN awareness day took place in Redcar to spread the anti-drugs message. Organised by Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council, in partnership with Cleveland Police and youth and health agencies, Saturday's Drug Awareness Day (DAD) provided street theatre,
Primary school children across Stockton will put their best foot forward next week. They will take part in the International Walk to School Day, on Wednesday. Last year, 4,000 pupils from Stockton signed the pledge to walk, backed by Middlesbrough Football
CREATIVE people who want to expand their skills can enjoy courses organised by Stockton Borough Council. French polishing and embroidery courses take place in Billingham, flower arranging in Ingleby Barwick, calligraphy and woodwork in Thornaby and china
FLYING WANDA (1.10) has the speed to wave goodbye to her rivals in the opening race of Newmarket's star-studded three-day Cambridgeshire meeting this afternoon. Jeremy Noseda's classy filly was a desperately unlucky loser at Ascot eight days ago when
ALMOST 800 households have given their views on the future of Weardale, in the wake of job losses and the foot-and-mouth epidemic. A Task Force set up following last year's shut down at Lafarge UK's Blue Circle Cement Works, in Eastgate, ended a six-month
PAY TV group BSkyB has hit its target of seven million direct-to-home satellite subscribers three months earlier than expected. The group hoped to pass the milestone by the end of the year, but announced yesterday that there were already 7,015,000 digital
UP TO 670 brickmakers are considering striking over a pensions dispute. As revealed by The Northern Echo in August, the workforce of the brickbusiness was balloted on industrial action after company bosses closed the final salary scheme. Union leaders
SIR BOBBY ROBSON last night pleaded with his Newcastle United players to repay the club's faith in them after insisting he has never had any intention of stepping down as manager at St James' Park. Internet rumours that Robson had quit on Tuesday prompted
MIDDLESBROUGH striker Joseph-Desire Job is out of Sunday's clash with Chelsea at the Riverside after twisting a knee in training. The Cameroon star must visit a specialist to learn the full extent of the damage. Job, 25, has been pivotal in Boro's recent
TWO runaway teenage sweethearts from the region were found safe and well in North Yorkshire last night, police said. Paul Baxter, 16, and his 14-year-old girlfriend, Christine Rylance, of South Tyneside, disappeared on Friday. Northumbria Police said
Darlington manager Mick Tait last night claimed the reaction from his players after Tuesday night's draw with Southend shows how expectation levels within the team have been dramatically transformed this season. Quakers opened their Third Division campaign
DEBT-laden nuclear power group British Energy has been rescued from collapse by a last-ditch restructuring deal. The generator, which supplies one-fifth of the UK's electricity needs and operates Hartlepool Power Station, escaped being placed into administration
A LAST minute hitch has delayed a long-awaited bypass aimed at boosting business and creating jobs in a market town. It is understood that the £1.4m new route through Crook could be put back for more than a year following difficulties with negotiations
A village which is rising from the ashes of a former coastal pit is attracting hundreds of new home buyers. Last weekend, more than 300 prospective purchasers visited the show-homes at East Shore Village, which skirts a stunning strip of coastline at
A MAN who posed as a police officer to get free sex from prostitutes was on the run last night. Red light district regular Michael Walton vanished before a jury found him guilty of one sex charge and cleared him of another. The 40-year-old, from High
