HOCKEY and rugby players moved a step closer to South Africa by holding a fashion show. The 15 girls and 26 boys from Barnard Castle School will travel to Cape Town and Durban at the end of term to compete in matches. The fashion show, held in the school
HEALTH SERVICE: What was the sense of building a brand new hospital in Bishop Auckland and then doing away with an absolutely vital facility like intensive maternity care? What happened to Andrea and Dean Harrison should have been unthinkable. How in
THE search is on to find a hornblower to carry on a city's 1,000-year-old tradition. But the recruitment process has hit problems after the wage of £2,025 a year was described as "peanuts" by one of the deputies, who does the job for nothing. Former Ripon
A DISPUTE has broken out between two councils over which is responsible for cleaning up a road strewn with refuse. Durham County Council and Sedgefield Borough Council have clashed over the clearing of garden waste and litter dumped near Sedgefield village
HIGHWAYS officials have been praised for their efforts to make routes safer for horseriders. The British Horse Society (BHS) presented its Access Week Good Guys Award to Durham County Council. The presentation was made to highways committee chairman Councillor
NEW summer bus services to the Yorkshire Dales will make it easier for people living in urban areas to visit the National Park. The Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority is funding additional routes to cater for an expected increased number of visitors
A JUNIOR school has won a national award for encouraging pupils to enjoy the arts. The Arts Council of England presented Pickering Junior School with an Artsmark award in recognition of its commitment to providing opportunities in dance, drama, music,
MIDDLESBROUGH were last night stepping up their pursuit of Leeds United striker Mark Viduka after Patrick Kluivert ruled out a summer move to Teesside. Viduka has spent the last week on holiday in Australia after failing to prevent Leeds slipping out
DARLINGTON branch of the Campaign for Real Ale (Camra) has named The Quaker, in Mechanics' Yard, as Champion Pub of the Year. It is the fourth time in five years that the real ale pub has taken the award. The event coincides with Steve Metcalfe and Lynda
A THEATRE group is launching a community enterprise using its collection of props and costumes. Arts and theatre company Jack Drum Art has secured funding from Wear Valley Development Agency to set up the business. It will hire costumes, props and specialist
Following an outcry about new public performance licensing laws threatening the future of live music, the 1980s punk rock star Feargal Sharkey has agreed to lead the Goverment's Live Music Forum study into the subject. The colorful chairman spoke to Viv
MIDDLESBROUGH were last night stepping up their pursuit of Leeds United striker Mark Viduka after Patrick Kluivert ruled out a summer move to Teesside. Viduka has spent the last week on holiday in Australia after failing to prevent Leeds slipping out
A pub landlord is facing a £7,000 power bill after an 18-month long row with his energy supplier. Eddie Hall, 44, was celebrating after finally resolving a long-running dispute with Business Energy, the corporate arm of British Gas. Problems began when
HUNDREDS of Norwegian bikers visited the region yesterday as part of a 500-strong convoy. The foreign visitors were greeted with their national flag flying from the tower of Hartlepool Art Gallery, in Church Square, the first time a foreign flag has ever
A NATIONAL park is missing out on £5m becasue of the way funding is distributed, it is claimed. North York Moors National Park chief executive Andy Wilson said the park lost out when, in the 1980s, the Environmentally Sensitive Areas were designated by
In an age when anti-social behavior is rife and victims fear reprisals if they dare to speak out, Glen Reynolds has spent much of his life championing the oppressed, and in his new role at Victim Support he hopes to make a difference in the North-East
Champion bodybuilder Elaine Bell is competing for the title of Britain's strongest woman today. Sarah Foster finds out why she works so hard to maintain her muscles. IT'S an all-too-familiar scenario. A group of women sit eating their lunches, complaining
CAMPAIGNERS have uncovered new evidence supporting the view that disgraced surgeon Richard Neale should never have been given a consultant's job in the region. The revelation will fuel anger among hundreds of his victims, who have asked why a surgeon
Residents of a dales town are to benefit from the lifesaving skills of ten local volunteers. The First Responder scheme, which is being launched in Middleham tomorrow, has trained ten residents in emergency life-saving techniques. The volunteers are provided
A VICAR's dark fantasy novel for children has reached the top spot in the US - days before his second book is published. Shadowmancer, by the Reverend Graham Taylor, 44, of Cloughton, near Scarborough, North Yorkshire, has reached number one in the New
SUPPORTERS' leaders were last night continuing to prepare for an election that will see a fans' representative join Darlington Football Club's board of directors for the first time. Darlington Supporters' Trust has been invited on to the board by the
A FEW months ago, a friend of a friend told me about this great idea for making T-shirts, with Hindi phrases written across the front, to sell to friends. She thought that, if it went well, she would eventually design a web-page and begin taking orders
SUNDERLAND'S chances of holding on to prized winger John Oster have been given a massive boost by West Ham's failure to win promotion to the Premiership, writes Scott Wilson. Black Cats boss Mick McCarthy has held initial talks with Oster, whose contract
Arena: Pavarotti - The Last Tenor (BBC2) Antony Beevor And The Chekhova File (BBC4) THE critics, we were told, would have been happy to see him quit ten years ago. But it's not over until the fat man doesn't sing and it wasn't until a decade later, when
IAN CLARK last night pledged his future to Darlington after turning down a move to relegated York City. The 26-year-old winger is out of contract next month and City boss Chris Brass made the cheeky move as he begins planning for a swift return to the
WHEN Tim Henman walked off Court Suzanne Lenglen yesterday, so many of the tennis demons which have haunted him for the best part of a decade were buried in the red clay of Roland Garros. It was not just the fact he had come back from two sets down for
Bishop Auckland reduced Northallerton's lead at the top of the table to just five points when they emphatically won the match of the day. Following a disappointing batting performance in their previous game, Bishops reacted in the best possible way and
A CRICKET match had to be abandoned when a man collapsed after watching his grandson score his first half-century. Herbert Underwood, 80, was a spectator at a league game between Willington and visitors Sedgefield, in County Durham, on Saturday afternoon
CHILDREN with suicidal tendencies are increasingly turning to the Internet for information about taking their lives. The claim was made at an event in Middlesbrough to launch the first national charter to tackle suicide. About 60 people a year take their
FUNDRAISING efforts by young people in North Yorkshire have come to fruition with the opening of a £32,000 skatepark. Teenagers in Bedale have been campaigning for a dedicated site to enjoy their sport and their hard work paid off at the weekend with
A MANAGEMENT buyout has saved more than 180 jobs at a troubled electronics factory in administration since March. Circatex, in South Shields, South Tyneside, which makes printed circuit boards, shed 350 jobs after administrator Tenon Recovery took over
WHAT on earth is going on with Shoaib Akhtar? Is he the Rawalpindi Express or Rickshaw? We members of the Durham press corps have been told he's not available for interview, under instruction from the Pakistan Cricket Board. Yet he has obviously been
TWO serious accidents on the region's roads left one man dead and closed major routes for several hours over the weekend. The man died when the car he was travelling in crashed into a stone bridge parapet in North Yorkshire on Friday night. The accident
A former drugs den in the heart of Middlesbrough is set to have a major overhaul after falling into a depressing state of disrepair. Plans to turn the ten storey Teesside House, on Borough Road, into student accommodation with shops on the ground floor
A door-to-door laundry service has received a delicate item to clean from its first customer. The Mayor of Great Aycliffe, Councillor Maude Gray, opened the Well Groomed Laundry Service, in Newton Aycliffe, on Saturday, and gave the business the task
OBJECTORS are preparing to protest about plans to turn a former royal home into a residential school for youngsters with learning difficulties. Residents living in the Goldsborough area near Knaresborough had been expecting to state their case against
INNOVATIVE schemes have been launched to help protect North Yorkshire's environment. The county council has introduced initiatives to be highlighted as part of European Green Week from tomorrow to Friday and on Saturday for World Environment Day. In one
SMOKERS in Darlington are contributing to their own poverty as well as seriously damaging their health, local experts have warned. Health officials in the town are urging smokers to quit the habit today, to mark World No Tobacco Day. Darlington Primary
Arena: Pavarotti - The Last Tenor (BBC2) - Antony Beevor And The Chekhova File (BBC4): The critics, we were told, would have been happy to see him quit ten years ago. But it's not over until the fat man doesn't sing and it wasn't until a decade later,
AN expert in speech therapy has won an award for his innovative work. Dr Graham Williamson, head of speech and language therapy for Sedgefield Primary Care Trust (PCT) has been jointly awarded the 2003 Sternberg Award for Clinical Innovation. The award
A MANAGEMENT buyout has saved more than 180 jobs at a troubled electronics factory in administration since March. Circatex, in South Shields, South Tyneside, which makes printed circuit boards, shed 350 jobs after administrator Tenon Recovery took over
The wraps are to come off a secret garden which has helped to introduced green-fingered skills to a group of young people. A new community allotment, created on an overgrown patch of land by teenagers from ex-colliery communities, will be officially opened
A THEATRE group is launching a community enterprise using its collection of props and costumes. Arts and theatre company Jack Drum Art has secured funding from Wear Valley Development Agency to set up the business. It will hire costumes, props and specialist
DURHAM are hoping a big Bank Holiday crowd at Riverside today will help them avenge their totesport League defeat at Derby four weeks ago. The imbalanced fixture list has deprived them of one-day action since amassing their record total of 319 for three
NEWCASTLE United have ruled out selling any of their top stars as they look to bolster their ranks ahead of next season. Sir Bobby Robson is keen to add some fresh faces to a squad that missed out on Champions League qualification when finishing fifth
Warts and all stories of life for ordinary soldiers serving in a famous North-East regiment was launched by a best-selling local author today. Terry Deary, famous for his off-beat Horrible History books, has given his own quirky treatment to 20 stories
A couple who were badly injured in a hot air balloon crash in China have arrived back in the North-East. David and Hazel Yeadon were flown first class from Hong Kong to Heathrow and then taken on to Teesside Airport by air ambulance. Yesterday, 24 hours
Although I was born in Jamaica and lived in Connecticut, in the US, I have been working in the North-East for 15 years and I have always detected a sense of Northern pride in areas such as music, sport and culture. There is also a general feeling for
THOUSANDS of extra places are to be created at dental surgeries in a part of the region in the wake of a town's treatment crisis. A £2m scheme has been unveiled to treat 11,000 more patients in North Yorkshire over the next four years. Earlier this year
A NATIONAL helpline has been set up by two North-East men for victims of bullying and harassment in the armed forces. Ged Walton and Malcolm Thorn, who have both served in the Army, decided to offer help to service personnel after hearing reports of four
SMOKERS in Darlington are contributing to their own poverty as well as seriously damaging their health, local experts have warned. Health officials in the town are urging smokers to quit the habit today, to mark World No Tobacco Day. Darlington Primary
ARMED police swooped yesterday after gunshots were fired during a horse fair on the outskirts of a North-East village. About 150 officers were involved in what was described as one of the largest spontaneous operations in County Durham for several years
WE have always had great difficulty in understanding how Richard Neale came to be employed as a consultant gynaecologist at The Friarage Hospital in Northallerton. The emergence of new evidence today, supporting the view that Mr Neale should never have
A MUSICIAN from Teesside won £25,000 on the National Lottery show thanks to North-East cartoon legend Andy Capp. Louis Spence, 55, took part in the In It To Win It quiz at the weekend, live on BBC1, before the first triple rollover Lottery draw. Watched
ARMED police swooped yesterday after gunshots were fired during a horse fair on the outskirts of a North-East village. About 150 officers were involved in what was described as one of the largest spontaneous operations in County Durham for several years
