VILLAGE halls, community centres and libraries will soon be able to offer free computer training, thanks to a scheme run by The Northern Echo's CommuniGate programme. CommuniGate can hold sessions at community venues, including UK Online facilities, with
JAMES THOMPSON admits to keeping his options open when it comes to his future in touring cars. However, the Yorkshireman, whose current deal runs out at the end of the year, is clear about one thing - whatever decision he makes, he wants to make it as
The London market reversed three consecutive sessions of losses yesterday and quashed fears the FTSE 100 Index was heading for an eight-month low. The Footsie closed 18.3 points up at 4339.4 after receiving a significant boost from pharmaceutical companies
BAMBI, they called him. With his youthful energy and his wide-eyed enthusiasm, he was the politician whose only desire was to please. It may have been a nickname coined dismissively, to highlight Tony Blair's inexperience and willingness to follow the
DURHAM return to four-day action at home to Derbyshire today boosted by the news that the Australian Board have given permission for paceman Shaun Tait to join them for six weeks. The 21-year-old South Australian, who is said to be genuinely quick, is
THE company behind the redevelopment of Lingfield Point, in Darlington, has won an award in the 2004 Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) Property Management Awards. The Marchday Group received the Property Management Award for the transformation
A NORTH-EAST company has been subject to a management buyout after going into administration. Thrislington Engineering, which has been in Newton Aycliffe, County Durham, for more than 50 years, called in the administrators last week. A management buyout
PEOPLE in Coundon, near Bishop Auckland, have raised over £160,000 for the Under the Roof Appeal at St James' Church. The money which included a £114,000 grant from the English Heritage Lottery Fund has paid for a replacement roof for the Victorian church
AN attraction is offering an event with an aviation theme to tie in with the International Airshow at Sunderland at the weekend. Fulwell Mill, in Newcastle Road, Sunderland, is staging a glider-making craft session, on Sunday, from noon to 4pm. Visitors
A SCHEME to attract recruits for health and social care careers has been launched. Hambleton and Richmondshire Primary Care Trust has started the Care Work Scheme to help tackle a staff shortage. Trainees are guaranteed a job at the end of the course,
POLICE aim to crack down on rural crime near Darlington with a farm watch scheme. Officers would like to hear from farmers and other people who live in the area to the west of the town who would like to be involved. They want to set up the scheme following
POLICE are appealing for information after 30m of fencing from around a school was removed and burned. PC Julian Brown, beat officer for Heighington, near Darlington, would like to hear from anyone who knows who was camping on the village sports field
TOWNSPEOPLE have won their battle to have nine 1.5-metre works of art moved. Residents of Hartlepool's Headland had objected to the metal sculptures, known as planters, which were shaped like the bow of a ship and erected near the seating area close to
EASINGTON Primary Care Trust (PCT) has launched a campaign to raise the awareness about the wastage of medicines. The campaign is also urging patients about the importance of ordering only the medication needed from repeat prescriptions. It was in October
AN exotic bird breeder's battle with Customs and Excise has ended with him having to sell part of his farm. Harry Sissen, 65, of Cornhill Farm, East Cowton, near Northallerton, has already spent eight months in prison after a court found him guilty of
MONTHS of fundraising have paid off for a group of youngsters who want to help orphans in one of the world's poorest countries. But their hard work is nowhere near over because they have now set off for three gruelling weeks of voluntary community work
A TEENAGER is flying to the US this weekend to deal with a global crisis. Daniel Weatherley, 17, of Birtley, near Chester-le-Street, County Durham, is representing the region at the Global Young Leaders conference. He will meet 350 delegates from secondary
THREE east Durham post offices are to be closed despite a hard fought campaign. The Post Office yesterday confirmed that the sub offices at Dawdon, New Seaham and Horden will be axed later this year. Post Office bosses say the decision has been made because
A FAMILY accused of hiring a hitman to assassinate a rival will be retried in the new year. Arthur Pattinson, 42, is said to have been paid by the Anderson family to murder Stanley Creswell in a drive-by shooting. All the men accused of being involved
ONE of the six red kites released into the wild in the North-East last week has paid a flying visit to an urban area. The bird was seen flying over the B&Q DIY store at Scotswood, on Tyneside, just two days after taking its first flight in the Derwent
A PRISON branded inherently unsafe in a Government report was last night said to have enjoyed a remarkable turnaround in the past year. The new management team at Holme House, in Stockton, led by new governor Mick Lees, was credited with the transformation
CRIMEFIGHTERS have stepped up the battle against yob culture in Durham and its surrounding villages. Clare Peaden has been appointed anti-social behaviour officer for Durham, a post funded by the Home Office for two years. She held a similar post at Stockton
THE gloves will be on for a night of high octane fighting in north Durham at the weekend. An Ultimate Fighting event promises to rock Consett when it kicks off at the Grove and Moorside Social Club at 7.30pm on Saturday. It will be a feeder event for
AS a parting gesture, Gary Speed's final act as a Newcastle player could not have been more fitting. The 34-year-old had just played his second game of the club's pre-season tour of the Far East, scoring a crucial spot-kick as the Magpies enjoyed a rare
A NEW museum has applied for permission to repair an historic building. Locomotion: The National Railway Museum, at Shildon, County Durham, wants to work on the nearby Timothy Hackworth Museum. Work would include repointing, replacing doors and gutters
COUNCIL bosses are to launch an appeal in the High Court after a landmark legal ruling over the introduction of a controversial taxi drivers' test. Last week, Malcolm Kaye won an appeal against Darlington Borough Council's decision not to renew his Hackney
FEARS for the future of a city's 1,000-year hornblowing tradition have started to recede. Three applications have been received for the post in Ripon following the retirement of postman Alan Oliver, who blew the horn for 20 years. Plans are being made
A HISTORIAN has lamented the neglect of a Teesside Victorian building and pub which has been burnt out and is due to be demolished. Demolition is due to begin of The Earl of Stockton pub in Norton Road in Stockton. The pub has been derelict for nearly
CHRIS Tomlinson last night turned his attention towards next month's Olympic Games and insisted: "I know there's a medal in me". The Middlesbrough-based long jumper was finally confirmed in Great Britain's 58-strong athletics squad yesterday after an
The North-East offices of construction services company WSP have shown healthy order book growth so far this year and are continuing to recruit staff. With the order book standing at just over £3m, a 30 per cent increase on the previous six months, turnover
A 14-year-old girl was handed her stillborn baby in a specimen bottle and told to take it home by hospital staff. The girl's shocked parents put the 11-week old foetus in the family fridge before complaining to bosses at Bishop Auckland General Hospital
CAPTAIN for the night Darrell Clarke scored twice as a Hartlepool United XI eased to a 4-0 win over Northern League neighbours Billingham Town last night. Pool fielded a side made up of mainly youth and reserve players, with Clarke, Tony Sweeney and Jack
DARLINGTON will make their long-awaited return to home soil tonight, as manager David Hodgson continues to cast an eye over potential signings ahead of the new season. Quakers entertain Bradford City at the New Stadium, where Hodgson is likely to name
An elderly sex offender could have survived the stamping injuries he received to his face when he was attacked in his home, a murder jury heard yesterday. But as well as the stamping to Arnold Hartley's head, he also suffered further trauma to the neck
ONE of the six red kites released into the wild in the North-East last week has paid a flying visit to an urban area. The bird was seen flying over the B&Q DIY store at Scotswood, on Tyneside, just two days after taking its first flight in the Derwent
A RAPIST who threatened to kill his young victim if she revealed they were having sex has been jailed for ten years. John Todd, 50, had been awaiting sentence following his trial at Teesside Crown Court earlier this year when he was found guilty of three
A NEW Euro-MP triggered a storm of protest over women's rights yesterday, within hours of starting work. Investment fund manager Godfrey Bloom, from York, one of the UK Independence Party's new Euro-MPs, was given a place on the European Parliament's
MIDDLESBROUGH have hastened Juninho's exit from the Riverside Stadium by naming him in a reserve side that will travel to York City tonight. Mark Viduka, Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink and Michael Reiziger are all in line to make their debuts at Rotherham as
A PRISONER whose rights were violated when his confidential mail was opened won an important victory at London's Appeal Court yesterday. Jeffrey Shane Watkins, serving a life sentence, complained after legal correspondence was opened without his consent
A TEENAGER told a court yesterday how she watched from the doorway as an elderly sex offender was kicked and stamped to death in his living room. The 16-year-old, who cannot be named, said she was walking through Queen Street, Redcar, east Cleveland,
NEWCASTLE are close to clinching the signature of Patrick Kluivert after waving goodbye to veteran midfielder Gary Speed. Chairman Freddy Shepherd spent most of yesterday in talks with Kluivert's agent Paul Foortse after hammering out a deal with Barcelona
Police hunting a man linked to four brutal murders in North Yorkshire raided a house today in a town close to where the victims were killed. Police swooped on the property in Abbots Road, Selby, as they stepped up their search for prime suspect Mark Hobson
A COMPANY in Darlington has rediscovered an ancient Chinese formula for insect repellent. Citrepel, produced by chemical design and development company Chemian, is based on a Chinese substance called quenling, which means "insect repellent" in Mandarin
DEVELOPERS behind one of the region's business parks are bracing themselves for a surge of interest in the site. The Morton Palms development, on the edge of Darlington, is expected to bring about 1,500 jobs to an area heralded as the "gateway to the
THE vice-chairman of Cleveland Police Authority has welcomed moves by the Government to launch a campaign against serial offenders. Councillor Dave McLuckie has also backed moves to greatly increase funding for community support officers, which he said
Lenders report mortgage surge Conflicting data over the state of the housing market was released yesterday with figures showing that price growth was slowing but mortgage lending booming. The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors said interest rate
TRANSPORT: I WELCOME Alistair Darling's White Paper on the Future of Rail, especially the positive approach to rail freight. The paper states that the growth of rail freight is "an important contribution to the Government's sustainable distribution strategy
ELECTED regional assemblies would be given tough London-style powers over private bus firms by deciding operators, routes and fares. The Government is ready to give the North-East and Yorkshire bodies the right to grant bus franchises to stop private
A MAN who tried to strangle his wife in the shower was jailed for five years yesterday - and banned from contacting her again. Factory worker Martin Lamont's catalogue of cruelty to his wife Kay, 40, included locking her in a cupboard and other demeaning
DETECTIVES investigating the murder of a pensioner last night spoke of their disappointment with the public response to their pleas for help in finding his killer. Fred Fowler, 72, was shot in the Tap and Barrel pub in the Hendon area of Sunderland on
WORK has already started on the realisation of a £500m dream to transform 250 acres of derelict North-East waterfront into an international architectural icon. About £10m is being spent opening up the Middlehaven deserted dockland site in Middlesbrough
A number of organisations have put forward proposals for the Middlehaven area, dating back to the 1980s. * July 1989: British Urban Development appoints consultants to draw up a reclamation scheme for Middlehaven, a 190-acre derelict dockland in Middlesbrough
COUNTDOWN presenter Richard Whiteley's venture into racehorse ownership might well be all set to pay dividends with Twice Nightly (3.50) at Catterick today. Word play and number crunching on the hugely popular afternoon Channel 4 gameshow are Whiteley's
DUMMY run, and all that, recent columns have with fascination contemplated the political career of James Dixon Murray, MP for Spennymoor from 1942-50 and for north west Durham - on an 86.5 per cent turn out - for five years thereafter. Did his maiden
Detectives investigating the horiffic murder of an innocent pensioner who was gunned down by masked raiders arrested a man today on suspicion of murder. The family of innocent pensioner Fred Fowler, 72, were left distraught at his violent death. The devoted
ONE of the most vocal critics of the firm that oversaw Darlington Football Club in administration is to ask his MP to take his complaints to the highest level. Many creditors were left furious by the deal which saved the Quakers because it meant they
FIRST time around, more than 150 years ago, the Weardale Railway required the equivalent of about £3.5m in today's money to get it going. Eight men put up the bulk of it. By and large, they are the usual south Durham suspects, but a couple of different
COUNTDOWN presenter Richard Whiteley's venture into racehorse ownership might well be all set to pay dividends with Twice Nightly (3.50) at Catterick today. Word play and number crunching on the hugely popular afternoon Channel 4 gameshow are Whiteley's
A KITCHEN and bathroom components company has received financial help to obtain new overseas partners and export markets. PWS Distribution, of Newton Aycliffe, County Durham, has signed up to the UK Trade and Investment Your Passport to Export Success
The North-East offices of construction services company WSP have shown healthy order book growth so far this year and are continuing to recruit staff. With the order book standing at just over £3m, a 30 per cent increase on the previous six months, turnover
A County Durham business is now taking hundreds of people on adventure-style holidays around the world. The Overland Club, in Sedgefield, was founded by Ron Smith as a hobby in 1994 and began with one converted safari truck and a single expedition. It
DURHAM return to four-day action at home to Derbyshire today boosted by the news that the Australian Board have given permission for paceman Shaun Tait to join them for six weeks. The 21-year-old South Australian, who is said to be genuinely quick, is
MP WILLIAM Hague performed the honours at the opening of a mental health recovery unit in Northallerton. The former Tory leader officially launched the Sunbeck unit for Hambleton and Richmondshire Primary Care Trust. Part of the trust's mental health
DOCTORS have been offered a 30 per cent pay rise to treat patients out of hours. Scarborough, Whitby and Rydale Primary Care Trust has offered the GPs a new pay and conditions deal to persuade them to work beyond normal surgery times. The move comes after
DEFENCE and aerospace companies from across the region are aiming high at Farnborough International Air Show this week. Among the exhibitors are Northern Defence Industries Limited, a regional focal point for business development opportunities and market
THE husband of a dying woman altered a prescription to get extra medication for her, a court heard yesterday. Mark Wrangham, 36, of Yarm Road, Darlington, changed a prescription to get 400 codeine phosphate tablets instead of 200 for his wife Helen, who
PLANS to tackle issues that have resulted in a town's death rate being worse than the national average are being considered. The average life expectancy in England and Wales is nearly 76, but the figure in Darlington is just over 74. The primary care
A REVOLUTIONARY battery powered van has been given a civic once over. Middlesbrough Mayor Ray Mallon took an electric e-Mercury panel van for a test run yesterday. Councillor Bob Kerr, Middlesbrough Council's executive member for the environment, said
A DISPLAY which charts a city's special relationship with its adopted warship opens today. The exhibition at the Museum and Winter Gardens, in Sunderland, coincides with HMS Ocean receiving the first honorary freedom to be awarded by Sunderland since
PROBLEM residents have been warned that they could face prosecution as police and street wardens join forces to clean up streets close to an £11m visitor attraction. Yesterday, Shildon police met Sedgefield Borough Council's street wardens to launch operation
DETECTIVES investigating the murder of a pensioner last night spoke of their disappointment with the public response to their pleas for help in finding his killer. Fred Fowler, 72, was shot in the Tap and Barrel pub in the Hendon area of Sunderland on
A MAN who stabbed his drug addict friend four times after the pair fought in the street has been jailed for six years. Wayne Armstrong, 29, used a kitchen knife to attack Jeffrey Brown, who later underwent emergency surgery to remove a kidney. Both men
The architect behind the master plan to re-invent Middlesbrough says he is no prima donna. Will Alsop heaps affectionate praise on his mentor, the late Cedric Price, with whom he worked and learnt so much, back in the 1970s. Mr Alsop sees the task of
HOMEOWNERS have been told that children have a right to play on the street. Anti-social behaviour officers at a council have issued the statement to residents complaining about children playing. However, the officers have also offered guidance on how
NEARLY £1m has been granted to a North-East town to revamp a football centre and develop grassroots football. The Football Foundation, the UK's largest sports charity, has given £973,976 to Hartlepool Borough Council. It is the largest grant handed out
A LONG-SERVING market manager who was suspended by his council employers pending an investigation has resigned. Tom Jackson looked after the weekly open-air market in the centre of Barnard Castle, County Durham, and on non-market days worked as a pest
A CARE home manager has admitted stealing cash from elderly residents. Christine Dixon, 51, pleaded guilty to ten charges of theft between May 2002 and July 2003, relating to nine victims living at the St George's home, in Harraton, Washington. Newcastle
AWARDS in memory of a soldier killed in Iraq last year have been presented. Lance Corporal Ben Hyde, a former pupil of Northallerton College, was one of six military police officers killed last summer while training local officers. The Ben Hyde Awards
THE parents of murdered twins Claire and Diane Sanderson last night appealed for help in catching the killer. They made their appeal as it was revealed that the double killing was being linked to the deaths of frail pensioners Joan and James Britton hours
MORTGAGE lender Northern Rock has hailed its half-year figures as great news for the North-East as it stuck by profits forecasts despite being braced for a slowdown in the housing market. The Tyneside-based company, which has an estimated 8.4 per cent
THE team leading the campaign for an elected regional assembly in the North-East has warned the House of Lords against a "cynical" attempt to block the bill that would lead to a referendum on the issue. Following the passage of the referendum orders through
SO which 1960s are we talking about? It's all right for Blair to blame the liberal values of the 1960s for the mess we're in today, but for most of us, the 60s weren't like that at all. Sex, drugs and rock and roll might have been liberating a few lucky
DUMMY run, and all that, recent columns have with fascination contemplated the political career of James Dixon Murray, MP for Spennymoor from 1942-50 and for north west Durham - on an 86.5 per cent turn out - for five years thereafter. Did his maiden
NEW figures on stray dogs have yet again shamed the North-East, already known as the capital for animal cruelty. Nearly 9,000 strays were collected by the region's councils last year with more than 1,000 of them destroyed because their owners could not
SO which 1960s are we talking about? It's all right for Blair to blame the liberal values of the 1960s for the mess we're in today, but for most of us, the 60s weren't like that at all. Sex, drugs and rock and roll might have been liberating a few lucky
THE chief executive of East Coast train operator GNER was honoured by a North-East university yesterday. Christopher Garnett received an honorary Degree in Civil Law from Northumbria University at a ceremony at Newcastle City Hall. Mr Garnett, who did
TWO doctors, spared jail after being found guilty of killing a patient who went into hospital for a knee operation, should never have been convicted, London's Appeal Court was told yesterday. Dr Amit Misra, of Bracknell, Berkshire, who is working for
A RARE moth that was last seen in the North more than 160 years ago has made a re-appearance. Experts believe the orange footman has been lured so far North of its normal territory by warm summers. The moth, which takes its name from its wing colour,
WE live in an age in which underage pregnancies are all too common. It is sad enough that a 14-year-old girl - a mere child herself - should fall pregnant. But when she is so badly let down by the adults responsible for her care, it is distressing in
Sunderland's search for a striker goes on following David Connolly's decision to sign for Leicester City last night. Black Cats' boss Mick McCarthy will renew his efforts to strengthen his forward department when he returns from the club's American tour
Companies in the region have been warned to check up on businesses who offer to dispose of their waste at cheap prices. The Environment Agency says it is increasingly investigating businesses for 'duty of care' offences, which occur when a company pays
A teenager has secured one of his biggest stage roles which he hopes will launch his career as a performer. Adam Welsh will play Jesus in a production of Godspell, at the Gala Theatre, Durham. The 17-year-old, from Spennymoor, County Durham, will lead
IT was joy for Tyneside and disappointment for Teesside as this year's NHS star ratings were published. While it was all smiles at the flagship Newcastle Hospitals Trust, which won its third star back, there was disappointment at South Tees Hospitals
Detectives investigating the horiffic murder of an innocent pensioner who was gunned down by masked raiders arrested a man today on suspicion of murder. The family of innocent pensioner Fred Fowler, 72, were left distraught at his violent death. The devoted
SEVEN acres of the Yorkshire Dales have gone on the market - and local people are taking bets on what price they will eventually reach. The land at Faw Head, in Wensleydale, goes under the hammer in Hawes in a month with a guide price of only £20,000.
STAFF at a flooring company will be put through more intense training programmes to help keep up with the growth of business. Createcity Limited, which has moved its headquarters to the former George Reynolds Industrial Estate, in Shildon, is providing
Steelworkers are proving their voices are anything but rusty by taking part in an open-air opera. The men, who work for Corus on Teesside, were invited to take part in the production by Middlesbrough-born soprano Suzannah Clarke. And, despite all but
Occasionally - very occasionally - New Labour acts in the spirit of Old Labour. To say this is to pay Tony Blair's Thatcher-cloned creation the highest compliment. The new Bill on animal welfare upholds Labour's finest tradition of radical, society-enhancing
Big Brother's Little Brother (C4); The Test (ITV1): IT seemed redundant for BBLB, the daily round-up of Big Brother happenings, to consider what the housemates' clothes reveal. For the latest bunch of insiders have shown themselves, literally, willing
A SIX-week-old baby has become a town's youngest borrower, demonstrating a council's message that you are never to young to join a library. Grandmother Anne Dolan took tiny granddaughter Gracie Angel Dolan along to the re-opening of Easterside Library
Big Brother's Little Brother (C4) The Test (ITV1) IT seemed redundant for BBLB, the daily round-up of Big Brother happenings, to consider what the housemates' clothes reveal. For the latest bunch of insiders have shown themselves, literally, willing to
