A NORTH-EAST businessman who faked his own death to claim the insurance money has been jailed for five years. When customs officers stopped Alan Pike in a car leaving for the Continent, they uncovered a fraud involving theft of £85,000, an attempt to
TALENTED young dancers have raised thousands of pounds for charity by staging a performance that enthralled a packed theatre audience. The Dance Spectacular at Darlington Civic Theatre was produced by the town's Tiffany School of Dance and raised nearly
GRAND CELEBRATION: Saltburn Animal Rescue Association is marking its tenth anniversary on Saturday, May 21, with a pooches picnic at the Cheshire Home, Marske. The event is from 11am until 4pm. Anyone who has adopted a pet during the ten years is welcome
A UNIQUE new sports car will be on show at an annual motor rally in the North-East this weekend. The only Morgan Aeromax car in existence will be at the Morgan Car Meet, at Beamish Museum, County Durham, tomorrow. With a top speed of 160mph, it is worth
Popular Geordie duo Ant and Dec are set to discover that becoming movie stars is harder than doing a Bushtucker Trial on the ITV show they're so good at presenting, I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here. It's difficult enough for one TV entertainer to
AFTER nine attempts, Hartlepool United finally cracked the play-offs last night. Two goals from Adam Boyd gave them a deserved advantage over Tranmere Rovers and they go into Tuesday's second leg at Prenton Park with a healthy advantage. Before this game
The UniBond League play-offs finally begin today - a fortnight after the date they were due to commence. Farsley were angered at being demoted from the champions spot to third place following an FA decision to give three points to all clubs that hadn't
TALKS are taking place that could bring hundreds of jobs to the North-East. The Swan Hunter yard, at Wallsend, North Tyneside, is in advanced discussions with Dutch company NV Ecodock about creating one of a number of shipbreaking centres at the Tyne
Billingham Synthonia and Guisborough meet for the second time within a week and, after last Saturday's near wash-out, the weather looks like holding good for today's Darlington Building Society NYSD Premier League Premier Division encounter to go ahead
It started in the middle of the story and then the first three episodes were made. But, as director George Lucas wraps up the Star Wars saga, Steve Pratt reveals the Force may still be with us. Earlier this year, the cameras rolled as actor Hayden Christensen
MOUNTAINEER Alan Hinkes may be just days away from claiming his place in climbing history. The adventurer, from Northallerton, North Yorkshire, is attempting to become the first Briton to climb all of the world's 8,000m peaks. In doing so, he will become
It started in the middle of the story and then the first three episodes were made. But, as director George Lucas wraps up the Star Wars saga, Steve Pratt reveals the Force may still be with us. Earlier this year, the cameras rolled as actor Hayden Christensen
Nearly two-thirds of patients ignore dentists' advice about cleaning their teeth, according to North-East researchers. Despite the best efforts of dentists, only about one-third of gum disease patients followed the advice they were given on how long to
FOLLOWING a week when Alan Shearer was once again hailed as the next Newcastle United boss by chairman Freddy Shepherd, Graeme Souness believes it is premature to talk about his successor at St James' Park. Souness still has two years to run on the contract
A fresh face in the North-East and the Commons, Helen Goodman is one of 40 new Labour MPs. She kept a diary of her first week as an MP for The Northern Echo. FRIDAY, MAY 6, 4AM THE votes are labelled and stacked up neatly in piles of a thousand on tables
I REMEMBER standing in the playground watching in awe as my mathematically-minded friends twisted and turned and, in a flash of colours as bright as a glimpse of a kingfisher, they completed a Rubik's Cube. I was hopeless. Couldn't even get all the colours
AFTER nine attempts, Hartlepool United finally cracked the play-offs last night. Two goals from Adam Boyd gave them a deserved advantage over Tranmere Rovers and they go into Tuesday's second leg at Prenton Park with a healthy advantage. Before this game
COUNCILLORS have joined customers in calling for a discount electrical store to be closed down after several complaints about its trading practices. The store, which has no name, operates from the former BT shop in Northgate, Darlington, and has been
WE'VE finally done it. Six years after The Northern Echo launched a campaign to cut waiting times for heart patients, we have hit our target. In 1999, we highlighted the disgrace of heart patients dying on the waiting list by launching The Chance To Live
WHILE tomorrow afternoon's eagerly-awaited UEFA Cup showdown between Middlesbrough and Manchester City will be beamed around the world, it is safe to assume that it will not be making headline news in the Ghanaian town of Nkawkaw. Roughly equivalent in
A MAN has been jailed for a year for a frenzied attack in which he slammed a woman's head against the wall and then threw a plank of wood and a knife at a friend who went to her aid. Dean Richardson flew into a rage at his ex-girlfriend, Samantha Waters
It's taken three years to organise and cost £70,000, but a classical event to raise funds the The Children's Foundation is ready for the opening curtain. Viv Hardwick reports. HOLLAND'S widely respected Rotterdam Opera Choir (ROK), plus the soloists Inessa
THE man in charge of policing at the region's biggest agricultural event for several years has been honoured for his work. Nigel Morgan has organised security at the Great Yorkshire Show, in Harrogate, for the past 12 years. He retired after 33 years
THIEVES who raided a community farm escaped with an unusual haul - a flying squirrel, a chipmunk and a guinea pig. But their owners, who suspect they may have been taken by youngsters, are concerned for the animals' welfare. Dave Featherstone, who runs
POLICE have renewed an appeal to help them find a missing teenager from the North-East. Iman Dusabimana, 16, left her home in the Slatyford area of Newcastle on April 4. She left a note saying she was leaving to be with her mother and they were going
WAR veterans will meet tomorrow to mark two important anniversaries. They will attend a service for the 60th anniversary of the VE Day and 90th anniversary of the death of John Simpson Kirkpatrick, who saved 300 men during the first three weeks of the
VILLAGERS have rallied round to buy computer kit that will help patients at a community hospital. Members of Sedgefield Village Neighbourhood Watch donated a printer to Sedgefield Community Hospital for their laptop and digital camera. The computer and
POLICE have launched a crackdown on irresponsible off-road riders in an attempt to improve safety and cut down traffic noise and nuisance. Working with West Middlesbrough Neighbourhood Trust (WMNT), Operation Scooter is tackling the problem of people
A DISABLED couple have been left devastated after their specially-adapted car was stolen. The 48-year-old owner was climbing out of his adapted Mercedes Viano people carrier when a thief got in and drove off. The vehicle also contains the couple's wheelchairs
WORK on the second phase of a regeneration project is now under way. Tees Valley Housing Group has started work on the next stage of the scheme at Ketton Road, in Stockton, to regenerate land overlooking the A177 Durham Road. The first part of the project
LIBERAL Democrat councillors in Spennymoor have pledged to campaign for an extension of a town centre regeneration scheme to include a privately-owned shopping mall. The party's Spennymoor branch will ask the owners of Festival Walk, Masons and Partners
A TROUBLED school could be heading for strike action - despite its boss saying progress was being made in discussions. Vital talks for a federation with Macmillan College were put on hold after staff at the Unity City Academy, in Middlesbrough, refused
A PLAN for a housing development in Benfieldside, Shotley Bridge, near Consett, has been rejected because of road safety fears. Darrass Homes wanted to build six townhouses and two flats on derelict land at the junction of Cutlers Hall Road and Benfieldside
VOLUNTEERS are needed to help with healthy walking initiatives in Teesdale villages. The Walking for Life in Teesdale initiative was launched last month in Barnard Castle with a walk around the Bowes Museum. The event was organised by Teesdale Leisure
A HEROIN addict's pleas to a judge to extend his drug treatment and testing order fell on deaf ears when he appeared at court yesterday. Phillip Murray, 31, was congratulated by a judge at Teesside Crown Court for not re-offending during the course of
THE Queen is going to sit for Rolf Harris for a portrait to celebrate her 80th birthday. The BBC approached Buckingham Palace with the idea for a BBC1 Rolf on Art special. They were told that the Queen would be delighted to sit for the former Animal Hospital
MOTORISTS are being alerted that roadside checks for worn and illegal tyres will take place across North Yorkshire next week. Police are supporting the national Tyre Industry Council Week, which begins on Monday, aimed at increasing awareness of dangerous
PLANS to build a long-awaited sports and leisure centre in the Malton area could cost nearly £3m, according to Ryedale District Council. The authority's director of operations, John Davison, said in a report that providing a dual-use sports facility in
EMERGENCY rescue volunteers have received a new life-saving defibrillator. The lightweight machine for re-starting hearts has been purchased by the Swaledale Mountain Rescue Team. Graham Brown, mountain rescue advanced causality carer, said: "The machines
A VILLAGE has gained a nursery after a family converted part of their house to look after children. The West View Day Nursery, in Middleton St George, was created after the Tarakji family applied to convert the downstairs of their home in Middleton Lane
A NORTH-EAST businessman who faked his own death to claim the insurance money has been jailed for five years. When customs officers stopped Alan Pike in a car leaving for the Continent, they uncovered a fraud involving theft of £85,000, an attempt to
A POULTRY farmer was left shell-shocked after he found a huge egg - with another inside. Glynn Johnston collects about 700 eggs each day from his hens on his farm near Stamfordham, Northumberland. "The egg was enormous," he said. "I had never seen anything
A FORMER factory worker has won a national award after he turned his life around to train as an occupational therapist. Robbie Mallows, 43, of Consett, is this year's National Adult Learners' Week Winner after he was picked ahead of more than 1,300 nominees
A CHURCH, where stonework is slowly crumbling away, is still open for regular worship despite an uncertain future. Its vicar decided to let the public know that services were still being held at St Mary's Anglican Parish Church, in the Cold Bath Road
A COUNCIL is taking legal action to remove 13 travellers and their caravans from a recreation area in Ripon. Members of the public alerted officials at Harrogate Borough Council to the invasion of land known as Hell Wath, off Whitcliffe Lane, on Wednesday
EIGHT youngsters will sail in to Newcastle on Monday after a week on the high seas. The sailors, aged between 14 and 19, have learnt to sail a 92ft Victorian schooner as part of a personal development programme for inner city youths at Fairbridge in Newcastle
BELGIUM is famous for its melt-in-the mouth chocolate and Switzerland for its mountain-shaped Toblerone bars - now the North-East could become renowned for Rolos. Chocolate maker Nestl has come up with an idea to promote the North-East origins of some
FOLLOWING David Barron's sprinters at Thirsk often pays dividends so it would be foolish to ignore the prospects of his latest stable-star, Namid (4.10). Namid proved his early-season, wide-margin, course-and-distance success in maiden company was no
WAR veterans will meet tomorrow to mark two important anniversaries. They will attend a service for the 60th anniversary of the VE Day and 90th anniversary of the death of John Simpson Kirkpatrick, who saved 300 men during the first three weeks of the
UNLESS the heavens open over Newbury and turn the ground to glue, Rakti (2.40) represents the obvious choice for the glittering £200,000 Group 1 Lockinge Stakes. "He's in good form, however I hope the forecast rain doesn't arrive in time," reported Rakti's
IF there is any danger of Durham suffering from vertigo at the top of the second division there was no sign of it at Old Trafford yesterday. After outplaying Lancashire for two days there was still a possibility that Andrew Flintoff could take the game
ALUN ARMSTRONG has revealed how Darlington's failure to reach the play-offs could scupper their hopes of retaining his services next season. Without extra revenue from gate receipts, manager David Hodgson's budget is unlikely to accommodate Armstrong's
FOLLOWING a week when Alan Shearer was once again hailed as the next Newcastle United boss by chairman Freddy Shepherd, Graeme Souness believes it is premature to talk about his successor at St James' Park. Souness still has two years to run on the contract
MAY 8, 2005, 60 years to the glorious day when the lights went on again. The choir, the Am-Hams, sing There'll Always Be An England and We'll Meet Again and The White Cliffs of Dover. Tomorrow, just you wait and see... They also sing All Things Bright
SCEPTICAL parents who decided not to give their children the MMR triple vaccine are being urged to think again as a mumps epidemic gathers pace in the region. The number of new mumps cases in the North-East is running at about 145 a week. This compares
THE parents of a policewoman killed in a high-speed car chase are fighting for recognition of her bravery after she was missed off the National Police Memorial. PC Sandra Edwards, 28, died from her injuries after her police car left the road as she pursued
IT is not clear who thought that the name of the Department of Trade and Industry should be changed to the Department For Productivity, Energy and Industry. Perhaps he or she was related to the person who came up with the idea of rebranding the Royal
DURHAM skipper Mike Hussey would love to leave his side with a 100 per cent championship record from five games when he leaves them for six weeks at the end of May. That means beating Yorkshire at Riverside in the match starting at Riverside next Friday
THE big screen capers of two animated heroes are being recreated for a video game, thanks to a North Yorkshire company. Outsource Media, in Harrogate, is working on a game based on the latest Wallace and Gromit feature, The Curse of the Were Rabbit. Outsource
EVEN the name of the Trafalgar Square TV celebration caused a little, difficulty in my house. "Why is it V45 when it was 60 years ago?" said my wife, missing the relevance to 1945. As it was, the title of A Party To Remember (BBC1, Sunday) certainly lived
A MEMORIAL to the Queen Mother has been unveiled at one of her favourite museums. An armillary sphere, dedicated to the memory of the Queen Mother, was inaugurated at the Bowes Museum, in Barnard Castle, County Durham, yesterday. The Queen Mother, who
A KEY independent recommendation to combat postal voting fraud was rejected by the Government yesterday because of fears that turnout would slump. Ministers threw out the Electoral Commission's call for all voters to register individually after claiming
A GROUP of men who were out celebrating a christening went on to carry out a punishment beating, a court has been told. All five were jailed after a judge at Durham Crown Court told them "it can never be right" for anyone to take the law into their own
MAY 8, 2005, 60 years to the glorious day when the lights went on again. The choir, the Am-Hams, sing There'll Always Be An England and We'll Meet Again and The White Cliffs of Dover. Tomorrow, just you wait and see... They also sing All Things Bright
A COUNCIL is having to pay up to £2,000 a month to protect a £4m park restoration project. The ambitious South Park scheme, which aims to return the Darlington park to its former Victorian glory, has been dogged by vandalism in recent weeks. Youths vandalised
THE first privately-run NHS treatment centre in the region is due to open next month. Patients from Wearside, Tyneside and Northumberland will be able to go to the new Cobalt NHS Treatment Centre, North Tyneside, for a range of treatments. The centre,
FOUR North-East heroes awarded Britain's highest honour have been further immortalised in an on-line exhibition commemorating the end of the Second World War. Derek Seagrim, Richard Annand, James Jackman and Adam Wakenshaw were each decorated with the
A REPEAT burglar with a drink and valium addiction was yesterday jailed for three-and-a-half years. Durham Crown Court heard that 28-year-old Michael Holmes Richardson's latest offences, which included breaking into the home of a woman in her 90s, took
AFTER spending more than seven months of the season occupying a UEFA Cup berth, Middlesbrough manager Steve McClaren last night promised that his big-game experts would not slip out of seventh spot when it mattered the most. While Arsenal and Manchester
A RESIDENT fed up with police station and council office staff parking outside his home has been arrested after putting No Parking stickers on car windows. Sales manager Stuart Johnson, 52, of Castle View, Chester-le-Street, was arrested for allegedly
A WOMAN convicted of attacking her brother with sticks of rhubarb has failed in a bid to reduce a six-year anti-social behaviour order (Asbo) imposed on her by magistrates. Counsel for Margaret Elaine Porter, 51, had argued that the Asbo, designed to
PLANS to create a town council for Stanley moved a step forward yesterday when campaigners delivered a 3,000-name petition to a district authority. North Durham MP Kevan Jones and the Stanley Town Council Steering Group want to separate the town's affairs
AT least 15 cars were damaged in Darlington on Thursday night after a what police believe was a drunken rampage. Police believe a drunk man, or a gang, walked along Vernon Gardens, Mayfair Road, and then North Road smashing windscreens and damaging the
JASON McATEER'S final memory of life at Sunderland was defeat in the play-offs and, after being given a sour taste of life at the home of the Black Cats' lower league east coast neighbours last night, he is on the verge of suffering more heartache at
COUNCIL chiefs dashed the hopes of hundreds of motorists by insisting that they would not be refunded for parking fines. Darlington Borough Council had been examining the legality of its fixed penalty notices after a solicitor spotted a potential loophole
A MAN was told he must not cause any future disturbance in his neighbourhood or he will face prison or eviction. Scott Scales, 25, of Aviemore Court, Darlington, had civil proceedings initiated against him by Darlington Borough Council for allegedly disrupting
Government chief whip Hilary Armstrong opened a job and benefits centre in Crook yesterday. Ms Armstrong, who is also the town's MP, opened a Job Centre Plus office in New Road. Employers were invited to look round the centre, which is the first to open
RARE samples of moon rock and lunar dust have landed at a Middlesbrough school. Students at The King's Academy, in Coulby Newham, have been handling and learning about the samples this week. Because of their rarity, however, news about their arrival had
A NEW fitness studio with a £5,000 piece of equipment from Down Under has opened in Willington High Street. The Fit for You Studio has imported a quad-crossover machine from New Zealand, which uses weights and pulleys to work most of the muscles in the
FUNDRAISER Sylvia Stoneham got in training for a gruelling trek by heading off to her local supermarket. Mrs Stoneham, who works for The Butterwick Hospice, in Bishop Auckland, spent most of Thursday on a treadmill in Asda in Bishop Auckland. She completed
A MAN who racially abused a British man and his Zimbabwean-born wife narrowly escaped a prison sentence yesterday. District Judge Michael Wood, sitting at Newton Aycliffe Magistrates' Court, told Daniel James Storey he was "an extremely fortunate young
THE Association of North-East Councils is backing plans for a direct train service between Sunderland and London. The association, which represents all 25 local authorities in the region, is urging the Office of Rail Regulation to approve a bid by the
THE staff on a maternity ward are adding to the patter of tiny feet after 11 fell pregnant. Six midwives, four doctors and an anaesthetist are helping each other prepare for childbirth. But their joy leaves the maternity unit at North Tyneside Hospital
FIVE North Yorkshire arts festivals are set to benefit from a £60,000 Lottery handout. Twelve artists and arts organisations in the county will share the money, awarded by the Arts Council England. Recipients include the Ryedale Festival, Scarborough
ACTRESS Lesley Joseph yesterday signed up to sponsor a charity worker in his attempt to complete this year's Great North Run. The Birds of a Feather star - currently appearing in Thoroughly Modern Millie at Newcastle's Theatre Royal - has agreed to sponsor
SHOCK tactics are being used in an attempt to cut the number of road accidents on Teesside. A hard-hitting campaign launched by Cleveland Fire Brigade is targeted at 16 to 21 year olds in education and apprentice training schemes who may be about to become
A TEENAGER will undertake a 12-hour sponsored drumathon this weekend. William de Vaal, 17, of East Witton, near Leyburn, will attempt to drum from 9am to 9pm on Saturday, in the youth building at Wensleydale School, Leyburn. Money raised from the event
THREE paddling pools have been saved from closure after earlier fears that new health and safety rules could scupper them. The pools, in Harrogate's Valley Gardens, Borrage Green, Ripon and Bebra Gardens, Knaresborough, will re-open during the Spring
ENGLAND paceman Steve Harmison said a reluctant farewell to Durham yesterday after bowling them into an even bigger lead at the top of division two. His six for 52 in the second innings of the nine-wicket win against Lancashire at Old Trafford were his
POSTAL VOTES: LIKE Dr Alan Bell of Trimdon (HAS, May 9) I too became concerned on receiving my postal vote when I found the number printed on the form I had to sign - in front of a witness - was also printed on the back of the form. I had to put my cross
THE League of Friends for Derwentside Community Hospitals has presented staff at Shotley Bridge Hospital with £10,000 worth of equipment. League members, led by chairwoman Liz Giles, presented the bladder scanner to acting clinical services manager Debra
WHILE fans of Middlesbrough and Manchester City might disagree, tomorrow's Premiership programme is all about the appeal of "car crash football". You don't want to watch the drama and despair of the relegation battle - but you will! From goalkeeper Jimmy
Billingham Synthonia and Guisborough meet for the second time within a week and, after last Saturday's near wash-out, the weather looks like holding good for today's Darlington Building Society NYSD Premier League Premier Division encounter to go ahead
ONLY a week after the General Election, politics was back on the agenda for students on Teesside. Pupils at High Tunstall School, in Hartlepool, are taking part in a vote to elect a head boy and head girl. Yesterday saw the hustings for the election,
SHOPPING centre bosses have hit back at claims that one of Stockton's most famous sons has been forgotten by the town. But the Castlegate Centre admits that its bust commemorating the life of John Walker, inventor of the friction match, actually depicts
CRIMEFIGHTERS are urging people to avoid becoming victims - by locking up their sheds. The Safer Ryedale safety partnership wants people to take action before the annual summer burglary spree on outbuildings. "It's that time of year when burglars target
HUNDREDS of military personnel took part in a gruelling day-long challenge to raise thousands of pounds for charity. Nineteen teams of men and women, including some civilians, chased each other over 182 miles of North Yorkshire's terrain. They ran, cycled
THE latest tactic to combat speeding motorcyclists using the Yorkshire Dales as a racetrack has been announced. Two portable speed matrix boards will be used on roads leading into the Dales to warn bikers they are going too fast. Police say riders who
MICHAEL Bridges has gone from pariah to promotion winner in the last 12 months and, after celebrating his third title win with Sunderland last week, the striker is determined to prove a point in the Premiership. The 26-year-old found himself on the footballing
MICHAEL CHOPRA has been backed to finally live up to the hype that surrounded his teenage years at Newcastle United - starting tomorrow against newly-crowned Premiership champions Chelsea. The former England Under-20 international has so far been unable
England captain Michael Vaughan played his part in laying solid foundations at Grace Road yesterday as Yorkshire went about trying to make the biggest winning score in their history. Leicestershire set them a daunting 404 target and Yorkshire were in
Details were revealed this week about a clinic proposed for Teesdale in 1875. It was due to be the first of its kind in the North and would have got a lot of attention - if it had got off the ground. It was to be a Hydropathic Establishment offering all
WE'VE finally done it. Six years after The Northern Echo launched a campaign to cut waiting times for heart patients, we have hit our target. In 1999, we highlighted the disgrace of heart patients dying on the waiting list by launching The Chance To Live
