Archive

  • Driving ambition leads to success

    CAR fanatic Kerry Bell is flying the flag for equality after becoming the North East Chamber of Commerce's (NECC) first female car mechanic. Keen to pursue her passion for motors, Kerry sought the help of the NECC, which helped get her chosen career on

  • 20-year wait over

    THE arrival of baby Aidan Michael Dargue has ended a 20-year wait by his great, great aunt and brought unexpected joy to a Women's Institute. In 1983, Ruth Brown, of Durham, won first prize in a raffle -a quilt made by Merryoaks WI. Traditionally, the

  • Stunned star says: I'm not racist

    Girls Aloud star Cheryl Tweedy insisted she was not a racist last night after she was found guilty of attacking a black nightclub attendant. The 20-year-old said she was "stunned and disappointed" after a jury at Kingston Crown Court found her guilty

  • Job Search: Vacancies

    Caretaker, Northallerton. £5.88ph, 37hrs pw, between 7am and 8pm, Mon-Fri. Required to assist site manager, security, key-holding and call-outs. General caretaking, experience of maintenance work desirable. Ref: NOE 20251. Recovery driver, Leeming Bar

  • Centre will celebrate ten years of support

    A CENTRE that has helped create more than 5,000 jobs in the North-East is celebrating its tenth birthday this week. The landmark will be celebrated by the Quayside Business Development Centre on Friday at the Ouseburn Building, in Newcastle. The Grade

  • Firm gives help to police force

    ONE of the region's security specialists has been commissioned by Lothian and Borders Police to overhaul its surveillance systems. The contract, worth about £180,000, will see 2020 Vision Systems, of North Shields, North Tyneside, building on the network

  • Jennifer breaks into haulage sector

    A WOMAN has fulfilled her life-long ambition to make it in a traditionally male-dominated workplace. Jennifer Burton, from Billingham, Teesside, had always dreamed of being a trucker. She left Manor College of Technology, in Hartlepool, when she was 16

  • More room found for food and drink fair

    A WRANGLE which threatened the destiny of one of Wensleydale's biggest events appears to be over, with organisers confirming they have found new locations for some of the attractions. The Food and Drink Festival, held mainly in Leyburn, is only two years

  • Stunned pop star: I'm no racist

    Girls Aloud star Cheryl Tweedy insisted she was not a racist last night after she was found guilty of attacking a black nightclub attendant. The 20-year-old said she was stunned and disappointed after a jury at Kingston Crown Court found her guilty of

  • How are we to cope in gun-crazy Britain?

    I DON'T know how safe you feel up in the North-East these days, but down here in London it's like living in the Wild West. There were 4,192 firearms offences in London last year: that's 42 per cent of all such offences nationwide. Drive-by shootings seem

  • Comment from The Northern Echo: Conspiring to confuse

    AS conspiracy theories go, the alleged plot to murder Diana, Princess of Wales tops them all. The suggestion goes that Diana did not die by accident when her car crashed in Paris, but that her death was planned by dark forces who tampered with the brakes

  • '£16m in aid would secure 8,000 jobs'

    EIGHT thousand jobs are dependent on regional development agency One NorthEast securing £16m in grant aid, The Northern Echo has learned. That would be the cost of vital infrastructure work which would guarantee the future of steelmaking on Teesside.

  • Politics on timetable

    DURHAM sixth formers found out about the campaign for a regional assembly yesterday. Teenagers from St Leonard's School quizzed MP Ed Davey, the Liberal Democrat spokesman on the regions, about the issue. The event was organised by Yes4theNorthEast, the

  • Church impasse on grass cutting

    GRASS cutting in 20 churchyards across north-west Durham has not been carried out for more than a year. Derwentside District Council, which is responsible for maintaining the cemeteries, is in dispute with the Bishop of Durham's office over dangerous

  • Students' fearfully good charity effort

    HOSPICE fundraisers are counting on the fear factor to bring in the money at a Halloween event. Sixth form students from Spennymoor School are the terrible team providing the thrills for visitors to folk hero Bobby Shafto's former home, Whitworth Hall

  • £100,000 campaign aims to put town back on the map

    A £100,000 campaign to promote Bishop Auckland as a centre for shopping and tourism could be under way within weeks. Steps have already been taken to set up Bishop Auckland Marketing, a charitable company that will advertise the town and arrange a programme

  • Volunteers on crisis team given praise

    PRAISE was given yesterday to volunteers who run a push-button alarm service, enabling elderly people living alone to call for help if they are in trouble. The call devices are worn by 412 pensioners who live in remote parts of Teesdale and Weardale.

  • Mayor to launch poppy appeal

    The Redcar branch of the Royal British Legion's Poppy Appeal will be launched at 11am on Saturday, November 1, by the Mayor of Redcar and Cleveland, Councillor Norah Cooney. Cadets from the Army Cadet Force and the Air Training Corps will march in High

  • Scheme for lighter streets

    A scheme to improve street lighting and make people living in part of Hartlepool feel safer has been unveiled. It is proposed to renew 12 existing lights and install eight additional ones in the area covered by Carlisle Street, Berwick Street, Allendale

  • Views sought over spending

    A LOCAL authority is to canvas council tax payers on what they see as the priorities before it sets its spending targets for next year. Market researchers from London have been called in to assess Richhmondshire residents' views, basing their findings

  • £105,000pay-back plan to save club

    MEMBERS of a working men's club are planning a buy-back attempt to prevent a takeover. The future of Lingdale Working Men's Club and Institute in Lingdale, near Guisborough, is uncertain because members said they could not afford to pay brewery charges

  • Full steam ahead on the Cuckoo Line

    HURWORTH BURN: IT is some time since a ramble in the country has been covered in this feature. So, before the sun drops much lower and we need to dig out the gloves and thermals before even thinking about venturing out, let's get another trip in. Many

  • £100,000 scheme to put town on map

    A £100,000 campaign to promote Bishop Auckland as a centre for shopping and tourism could be under way within weeks. Steps have already been taken to set up Bishop Auckland Marketing, a charitable company that will advertise the town and arrange a programme

  • Friends make holiday a charity money-spinner

    TWO friends who were looking for something to do during the summer holidays ended up making a concerted effort in aid of a charity appeal. Jenna Meek, 11, and 14-year-old Steffi Hendriksen, live in the same street in Bishop Auckland and have been friends

  • Spacemen share experiences

    TWO Russian spacemen have visited Darlington to share the secrets of space travel and exploration with students. Cosmonaut Alexandre Alexandrov gave a talk at Queen Elizabeth Sixth Form College about the excitement of his missions and living in orbit.

  • Children learn oriental artistry

    CHILDREN tried their hand at Oriental art at a workshop in Darlington yesterday. Pupils from Reid Street Primary School visited the town's Railway Centre and Museum for the session with Chinese artist Lip Lee. They were taught Chinese drawing techniques

  • On the buses. . . all the way to hospital's front door

    OUTpatients and visitors to a North Yorkshire hospital will now be able to take public transport right to the front door. A £60,000 project will allow buses to pick up and drop off passengers within the grounds of the Friarage Hospital, Northallerton.

  • Learning centre opens in town

    A town famous for its links with the past can look to a brighter future with the help of a new facility. Thirsk is proud of its association with the stories of Yorkshire vet James Herriot, but the £110,000 East Thirsk Community Learning Resource Centre

  • Scheme to help people cope with illnesses launched

    PEOPLE in Derwentside with long-term medical conditions have been offered the chance to take part in a scheme to help them cope with their illnesses. Derwentside Primary Care Trust (PCT) is seeking people to take part in its third Expert Patient Programme

  • Wor Jackie: a great dad

    Growing up when your dad is a living legend isn't all its's sometimes cracked up to be. Nick Morrison meets the son of one of the North-East's most celebrated footabll heroes. WHEN Bill Shankly tossed him the ball and gave him the chance to show what

  • Homes plan protestors try to save their gardens

    Householders yesterday confronted local councillors over a housing scheme that could cost them their gardens. Members of Hambleton's planning committee will this week decide whether to give the go-ahead to a scheme to build 43 houses and 19 flats in Romanby

  • Checking out careers in the Army

    FIVE Stockton teenagers were among potential recruits given a taste of life in the Army when they attended an open day at North Yorkshire's Alanbrooke Barracks. Anthony Johnson, Dan Broadbent and Andrew Ions, who are all 18, and 17-year-olds Peter Allan

  • Surveyor wins major contract

    A NORTH-EAST firm of chartered surveyors has reeled in a major contract. Smith Cole Wright, of Newcastle, has been retained by Harry Ramsden, the fish and chip chain, on the development of a 4,000sq ft retail unit being built on part of the Harry Ramsden

  • Man jailed four years for sex row bat attack

    A MAN who attacked his lover with a baseball bat has been jailed for four years. Newcastle Crown Court head how Stephen Martin, 36, snapped and smashed Peter Hunter over the head after spurning his advances. He then hit him with the bat another four times

  • PM 'back at full throttle'

    Tony Blair will be back at "full throttle" today following his heart scare, the Prime Minster's official spokesman said last night. Foreign Secretary Jack Straw stood in for Mr Blair to deliver a statement to MPs yesterday. But Mr Blair held a string

  • Boiling brains and bad dialogue

    Pompeii: The Last Day (BBC1): POMPEII without Up in the title and Frankie Howerd telling us, "Titter ye not" isn't the same. Not that this historical spectacular didn't have moments of amusement. But that wasn't how it should have been when recounting

  • Job Search: Vacancies

    Sales representative, Darlington, £175 per week plus commission, 16 to 37 hours per week. Must have car and telephone, sales experience not essential, but must be self-motivated. Ref: DAE 34526. Apprentice welder/fabricator, Newton Aycliffe, 39 hours

  • Friends pay tributes to 'gentle giant' crash victim

    A FATHER-OF-THREE donated money to help save the life of a Romanian burns victim only hours before he died. Lee Smith, a bar manager in his early thirties, died after his Mazda MX3 hit a road sign on the A689 near Wynyard, near Billingham, last week.

  • Mourners gather for businesswoman

    MOURNERS turned out yesterday as a cortege made its way to a church for the funeral of a well-known businesswoman. Scores of business people joined friends and family of Annette Hewitson for the service at St Giles' Church, Gilesgate, Durham. She lost

  • Man with a mission to find a future for Teesside steel

    Construction engineers are crawling over a mass of metal and machinery. But they are not building anything. Instead, they are dismantling yet another legacy of Teesside steelmaking. The coil plate mill at Lackenby, once a productive plant, has come to

  • Access All Areas: Full steam ahead on the Cuckoo Line

    HURWORTH BURN: IT is some time since a ramble in the country has been covered in this feature. So, before the sun drops much lower and we need to dig out the gloves and thermals before even thinking about venturing out, let's get another trip in. Many

  • Tobacco firm to leave legacy for town after site shutdown

    TOBACCO firm Rothmans has pledged to leave a legacy for the hundreds of workers who will lose their jobs at its North-East plant. Bosses at parent company British American Tobacco (BAT) have been under pressure since announcing the Darlington plant is

  • Mood music

    The food was fine, the atmosphere convivial. Only the piped music struck a discordant note at a North Yorkshire country pub. HAD we hung onto the 1956 Topper annual - Mickey the Monkey, Beryl the Peril, Big Fat Boko and his crow, Koko - it would now be

  • Church pews put on market

    PEWS which have been part of the furniture at a North Methodist church since it was built 114 years ago have gone up for sale. And there seems little doubt that they will soon be bought up. Old church pews, widely being discarded by places of worship,

  • Is a 'who dares wins' attitude necessary for business success?

    Q I have had a small business for a couple of years, but I haven't been able to make the next big step. It is not that I lack ideas or business sense, but maybe I don't have enough of a "who dares wins" attitude. Is that the sort of attitude you need

  • Artist finishes work on rural mural

    ARTIST Flora Stoneman was yesterday putting the final touches to a country mural. The mural is one of two that will form the background to the Village Green exhibition at Countryside Live! -a new event at the Great Yorkshire Showground, in Harrogate.

  • Criminals to be given free needle packs

    POLICE are to give free needles to drug-addicted criminals when they are released from custody. It is hoped the Cleveland Police scheme, the first of its kind in the North-East, will reduce the number of dirty needles dumped in the street. Intravenous

  • Air ambulance attends crash

    A YOUNG family has escaped serious injury after their car left the road, rolled over into a ditch, and ended up on its side. The couple, from York, were travelling south on the A19 near Thirsk, North Yorkshire, with their baby in a black Vauxhall Astra

  • Eating Owt: Mood music

    The food was fine, the atmosphere convivial. Only the piped music struck a discordant note at a North Yorkshire country pub. HAD we hung onto the 1956 Topper annual - Mickey the Monkey, Beryl the Peril, Big Fat Boko and his crow, Koko - it would now be

  • 'We need region to back town's devolution plans'

    THE region should back Darlington as a location for Government departments, a leading town developer said last night. Elliot Ward, managing director of City and Northern, the company developing the Morton Palms site in Darlington, said the town should

  • TV review

    Pompeii: The Last Day (BBC1) POMPEII without Up in the title and Frankie Howerd telling us, "Titter ye not" isn't the same. Not that this historical spectacular didn't have moments of amusement. But that wasn't how it should have been when recounting

  • Mortgage lending reaches record heights

    MORTGAGE lending reached a new high during last month as loans for buying a house remained buoyant, figures showed yesterday. A total of £25.7bn was loaned during the month, with mortgage lending on course to reach £270bn this year, compared with £219bn

  • Men involved in diesel tax scam await court verdicts

    THREE men who were involved in a fuel tax scam that netted huge profits for the Real IRA are expected to be sentenced later today. The men, who were unaware of where the money was going, were arrested as part of a Customs and Excise investigation, codenamed

  • New Zealand exports strong

    NEW Zealand has become a York company's fastest-growing export market. An average of five Cambridge rollers and coils, a full container load, leaves cultivation equipment manufacturer Flexi-coil's Seaton Ross factory every month for New Zealand. It is

  • New manager could lift Cheltenham, warns Quakers boss

    Cheltenham Town may have parted company with their manager at the weekend but Darlington boss Mick Tait last night warned that could work against his side tonight. Tait and his flu-hit squad travelled to Gloucestershire yesterday in preparation for the

  • Arca insists Sunderland have sights on the title

    SOUTH American Julio Arca last night revealed Sunderland's sights are firmly set on the First Division title. The Argentine full-back is in his fourth season at the Stadium of Light, the first of which ended with an impressive seventh-place finish under

  • Job Search: Vacancies

    Class 1 driver. 40 hrs pw, 5 days out of 7. Required for long distance deliveries/collection through UK. Must be 25-plus. Forklift licence an advantage but not essential. Ref: DUR 37327. Chef. £5.18ph, 38hrs pw, temporary for six months. Must have 706

  • 'There is life outside the golden triangle'

    Developing the medicines of the 21st Century is among the tasks of the Centre of Excellence for life Sciences. In the latest of his interviews with the chiefs of the five regional centres of excellence, Business correspondent Jonathan Jones talks to Dr

  • On course for support

    AN EVENT aimed at bringing small businesses, investors and professionals together is to be held in the region next year. The York Professional Initiative (YPI) has teamed up with regional development agencies to host Venturefest York, on February 5, at

  • Quayside project jobs boost

    A MAJOR construction project on Tyneside has boosted staff numbers at consultants Faithful and Gould. The company has been appointed as employer's agent for the £55m Trinity Gardens scheme on Newcastle Quayside, which has seen it increase staff at its

  • Accountancy group sums up year

    A NORTH-EAST accountancy software group yesterday said annual profits would be in line with expectations. In a year-end trading update, Newcastle group Sage said pre-tax profits would be about £151m, showing 12 per cent growth on the previous year. The

  • Bellamy goes under the knife

    CRAIG BELLAMY is in the United States to have his sixth knee operation, as Newcastle United try to save his injury-plagued career. Leading specialist Dr Richard Steadman, the well-respected expert who saved Alan Shearer's playing days, has been given

  • Calls for Carlton chairman to quit

    ITV GROUP Carlton could face the prospect of a shareholder vote to oust chairman Michael Green if he does not agree to go, it emerged yesterday. David Cumming, of insurer Standard Life, which owns shares in the company, said investors could call a special

  • Marcus back at Pool

    MARCUS Richardson's loan spell at Lincoln was last night cut short as he made a surprise return to Hartlepool United After netting five times in 13 League and Cup outings, Pool agreed to allow the striker to stay for a third and final month at Sincil

  • Fulll steam ahead

    HURWORTH BURN IT is some time since a ramble in the country has been covered in this feature. So, before the sun drops much lower and we need to dig out the gloves and thermals before even thinking about venturing out, let's get another trip in. Many

  • Priest, 75, admits indecent assaults on two teenagers

    A 75-YEAR-OLD priest has pleaded guilty to indecently assaulting two teenage boys. Patrick Fitzpatrick, who used to teach at St Cuthbert's Roman Catholic School for Boys, in Hartlepool, appeared at Hartlepool Magistrates' Court yesterday, where he faced

  • Clean-up task by woodland friends' group

    A DURHAM woodland is to be tidied up by volunteers on Friday. The Friends of Pelaw Woods has been set up to look after the 35-acre site in the Gilesgate area of the city. Friday is Make a Difference Day and the friends will be working in the woods. Friends

  • Youngsters invited to planting party

    YOUNGSTERS are being invited to a party during their October school break - but they will need to take their wellies and a trowel. Hambleton District Council is hosting a planting party in Northallerton as part of a scheme to spruce up a beckside walk

  • Grassroots: Crook

    History Project: Howden-le-Wear Local History Society has been awarded a £400 grant from the South Church Educational Funds. The money will be used to organise a history project that will focus on life in the village during Victorian Times. Activities

  • Friends make holiday a charity money-spinner

    TWO friends who were looking for something to do during the summer holidays ended up making a concerted effort in aid of a charity appeal. Jenna Meek, 11, and 14-year-old Steffi Hendriksen, live in the same street in Bishop Auckland and have been friends

  • Caravans plan faces opposition

    TRADERS gave their backing yesterday to a big caravan park that wants to stay open for ten extra weeks each winter. But the plan is likely to meet opposition from local residents. Business people in Barnard Castle say their takings will be boosted if

  • Rowers celebrate river success

    A TEESSIDE rowing club is celebrating after scoring successes in a rowing competition in Durham City at the weekend. Tees Rowing Club sent a strong contingent to the Wear Scullers Head of the River in which 115 crews took part in the 2.4km race upstream

  • School's closure has silver lining

    A NEW children's centre will soon open in Thornaby, offering a range of services to the community. SureStart Stockton, Stockton Borough Council and Bader Primary School in Thornaby, have worked together on a scheme that will have benefits for the community

  • Youngsters will need to be better prepared for retirement

    FROM recently released government statistics it is now official that life expectancy of men and women is projected to increase from 45 and 49 years respectively in 1901 to 80 and 84 years in 2011. This means as individuals we are faced with increasing

  • Disabled drivers get expert help

    A DRIVING instructor is to help disabled people get back on the road to independence. Roy Hadley has been appointed by driver training experts BSM to support those with mobility difficulties. Mr Hadley will deliver individually tailored driver training

  • Ambulance funds appeal launched

    AN appeal to raise £250,000 to buy new ambulances for a charity was launched at a successful open day. Durham County's St John Ambulance held the event at its new headquarters in St John Road, Meadowfield Industrial Estate, on the outskirts of Durham

  • Fearsome dragon work impresses experts

    IMPRESSIVE artwork from primary school children has gone on display at the Arc in Stockton. More than 600 youngsters from Whinstone Primary School, in Ingleby Barwick, took part in the National Gallery Take One Picture scheme, which was designed to encourage

  • How Dot's boxing talent was screened from view

    She was among the country's top swimmers, represented England, held every Northumberland and Durham title simultaneously. What no-one knew was that the young Dorothy Oliver longed to pull a different stroke entirely: she wanted to be a boxer. "She had

  • Work starts on pioneering ambulance station building

    WORK began yesterday on a community emergency resource centre which could be the forerunner for others in remote areas of the UK. The first turf was cut to mark the beginning of the construction of a £250,000 24-hour ambulance station at Bainbridge, in

  • Fire team celebrates buildings project

    A NORTH-EAST fire and rescue service is on its way to having six new stations and two new buildings completed. A topping-out ceremony was held yesterday to celebrate reaching the key phase of the project, which is part of a Public Private Partnership

  • Prince Charles praises troops

    PRINCE Charles has urged young recruits to have pride in Britain's military traditions, during a visit to Catterick Garrison last Thursday The Prince of Wales is Colonel in Chief of the Welsh Guards, the Parachute Regiment and the Gurkhas, who all have

  • Nuclear station settles tax bill

    A BUSINESS rates break for Hartlepool's nuclear power station has been settled, along with almost £27,000 in interest. British Energy negotiated a deferral with councils for five months while bosses drew up a plan to restructure the struggling company

  • Wonderful and weird guests

    STAFF from Zoolab, an interactive animal workshop group, visited Haughton Community School in Darlington to teach students about an array of weird and wonderful creatures. Students from most year groups saw millipedes, spiders, red-bellied toads, giant

  • Help for victims of home violence

    VICTIMS of domestic violence who feel they have nowhere to turn are being targeted by a campaign in Darlington. The Darlington Domestic Violence Forum has joined forces with the borough council and housing associations to offer help to thousands of abused

  • Scholarship cash plea by footballer

    A DARLINGTON student is making a renewed appeal for businesses to help him finance a football scholarship in America. Paul Holloway, 19, has won a scholarship at Heidelberg College, Ohio, but needs to raise £11,000 to finance his accommodation and tuition

  • Pupils' efforts reap a reward

    PUPILS and teachers at a Darlington school are celebrating success after winning two awards and raising money to help a charity. McMullen House Alternative Centre for Education, which is attended by children who are unable to go to mainstream schools,

  • Arriva gets £1.63bn lift for Welsh deal

    A NORTH-EAST rail and train company is to receive subsidies totalling £1.63bn to run the new Wales and Borders rail franchise over the next 15 years, it was announced yesterday. Transport company Arriva has beaten its rivals to run the franchise, which

  • Nuclear station settles tax bill

    A BUSINESS rates break for Hartlepool's nuclear power station has been settled, along with almost £27,000 in interest. British Energy negotiated a deferral with councils for five months while bosses drew up a plan to restructure the struggling company

  • £100m projects 'struggling to make progress'

    A FLAGSHIP Government scheme to breathe new life into struggling areas of Teesside has so far failed to improve people's lives, according to a new report. The study found that the New Deal for Communities (NDC) had made no significant progress in cutting

  • Musicians to appear on national CD

    FOUR young musicians from Richmond are among dozens from across the country taking part in a project that will culminate in the release of a compilation CD. Teenagers Ed Spear, Johnny Parker, Jonathan Moss and Toby Anderson have already spent a day in

  • Fire team celebrates buildings project

    A NORTH-EAST fire and rescue service is on its way to having six new stations and two new buildings completed. A topping-out ceremony was held yesterday to celebrate reaching the key phase of the project, which is part of a Public Private Partnership

  • Checking out careers in the Army

    FIVE Stockton teenagers were among potential recruits given a taste of life in the Army when they attended an open day at North Yorkshire's Alanbrooke Barracks. Anthony Johnson, Dan Broadbent and Andrew Ions, who are all 18, and 17-year-olds Peter Allan

  • Village hails nursery

    A VILLAGE turned out in force at the weekend to celebrate the success of four years of fundraising. Sowerby can boast a bigger and better nursery thanks to a £20,000 boost from the local community which has paid for an extension. The new block was officially

  • Events lined up as school celebrates 125th anniversary

    Collierley Primary School, in Dipton, near Stanley, will celebrate its 125th anniversary this week. On Thursday, there will be a performance of a new school play written by the children and Cap-a-Pie theatre group. On Friday, the school will be open to

  • Lack of creative spirit blamed as Lindisfarne split

    THE North-East's most enduring music group, Lindisfarne, are calling time on five decades of music. The Tyneside band have announced that the closing concert of their current British tour, at the Newcastle Opera House on Saturday November 1, will be their

  • Schoolchildren work to fill park with joys of spring bulbs

    MORE than 400 children braved the rain to help bring some colour to a park yesterday. The youngsters, from Corporation Road Primary School, Darlington, along with the town's mayor, Councillor Ron Lewis, helped to plant 2,000 tulip and daffodil bulbs in

  • Last Night's TV: Boiling brains and bad dialogue

    Pompeii: The Last Day (BBC1): POMPEII without Up in the title and Frankie Howerd telling us, "Titter ye not" isn't the same. Not that this historical spectacular didn't have moments of amusement. But that wasn't how it should have been when recounting

  • Wearmouths 'mixed luck

    While Bishop Auckland's world championship rider Stuart Wearmouth struggles to find form, his brother Gary is proving unbeatable in local cyclo-cross events. After his solo win in the opening round of the North East League a week earlier, Gary was unstoppable

  • Gun siege brings town to standstill

    A MAN was rushed to hospital last night after an armed siege brought chaos to Darlington. Armed police surrounded an address in North Road for more than two hours after reports that there was a man with a gun inside. Dozens of officers were called to

  • Brooklyn and Mooney to land Smart double

    BRYAN SMART'S runners normally excel themselves at Southwell, boding well for the prospects of Bond Brooklyn (2.40) and Ellen Mooney (3.10) on the fibresand. Bond Brooklyn appears to be the proverbial "steering job," having chased home a pretty smart

  • From tea girl to call centre queen

    FROM the window of her 12th floor office suite, Chey Garland looks out over the ranks of terraced houses tucked behind Middlesbrough's Albert Road where her business started more than 20 years ago. It is only a matter of yards away from the front door

  • School takes leap forward

    A Multi-million pound science block, library and IT Centre at Durham High School for Girls has been opened by record-breaking triple jumper Jonathan Edwards. The two-storey building is part of a development of the school campus and has been designed to

  • Mood music

    HAD we hung onto the 1956 Topper annual - Mickey the Monkey, Beryl the Peril, Big Fat Boko and his crow, Koko - it would now be selling for around £300 on an Internet auction site. It would also be possible to recall the instructive little feature about

  • Bad Boro boy Queudrue is pleading his innocence

    ANGRY Middlesbrough star Franck Queudrue has revealed his determination to clear his name and shrug off a growing bad-boy reputation. The erratic Frenchman has requested a personal hearing after being charged with violent behaviour over his part in Southampton

  • Special celebration for Hilda's 100th birthday

    FAMILY, friends and residents all joined in the celebrations at Cherry Garth Residential Home, Thirsk, last Thursday as Hilda Geldard marked her 100th birthday. Despite being unable to read her telegram from the queen, she enjoyed a buffet lunch and a

  • 21/10/03

    FOOTBALL: I AGREE wholeheartedly with Peter Mullen's views of Gareth Southgate (Echo, Oct 14). There is indeed a fear in the country of standing up and speaking, nay, shouting out about what is decent and morally right. The all pervading belief in 'say

  • Britons keep faith with market

    NEARLY a third of Britons are still investing in the stock market despite three years of poor performance, according to new research. But nine out of ten people said they saw shares as a long-term investment, rather than a way to make a quick profit,

  • 'I would hate anyone to go through what I did with Matthew'

    Following the death of her son from spina bifida, Sue Calvert has raised thousands of pounds for charity. She talks to Women's Editor Christen Pears. ALMOST from the start of her pregnancy, Sue Calvert knew there was something wrong. Sitting in her office

  • Garrison faces catalogue of fresh bullying allegations

    FRESH bullying allegations have been made by soldiers at Europe's biggest Army base, The Northern Echo can reveal. Squaddies at Catterick Garrison, in North Yorkshire, have sought legal advice with a firm of military solicitors in the hope of seeking

  • Brooklyn and Mooney to land Smart double

    BRYAN SMART'S runners normally excel themselves at Southwell, boding well for the prospects of Bond Brooklyn (2.40) and Ellen Mooney (3.10) on the fibresand. Bond Brooklyn appears to be the proverbial "steering job," having chased home a pretty smart

  • Works starts on 999 base

    WORK began yesterday on an SOS base that could be the forerunner for others in remote areas of the UK. The first turf was cut at a £250,000 24-hour ambulance station at Bainbridge in Wensleydale which will have bays for three vehicles, modern facilities

  • 'No plans to export jobs from Byker to Bangalore'

    NORTHERN Rock is undertaking a radical shake-up of its business in a bid to become one of the UK's leading mortgage banks. While that move will lead to the closure of 20 smaller branches, including eight in the North-East, it will also lead to the creation

  • Eco-worker Maggie to meet PM

    THE woman at the centre of a North-East county's plans for a greener future will meet Prime Minister Tony Blair tomorrow. Maggie Bosanquet has been invited to a reception at Downing Street, where she will outline her role as Local Action 21 (LA21) partnership

  • £100m projects 'struggling to make progress'

    A FLAGSHIP Government scheme to breathe new life into struggling areas of Teesside has so far failed to improve people's lives, according to a new report. The study found that the New Deal for Communities (NDC) had made no significant progress in cutting

  • Dealing with the problems of a stressed workforce

    Stress at work is undoubtedly a serious problem. Research released by the Health and Safety Commission last December found that 33 million "sickies" were taken in 2002 - with stress being the most common occupational health reason. The number of employees

  • Exporting jobs may not be the best way forward

    To move a part or all of a UK business to India or Eastern Europe must be one of the easiest - and possibly laziest - decisions that management can make. If you're in manufacturing, you up sticks to the Czech Republic. If you have a big call centre operation

  • Keep an eye out for a rise in interest rates

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