SUNDERLAND Football Club vice-chairman John Fickling was honoured by his hometown university yesterday. Mr Fickling received an honorary fellowship from the University of Sunderland for his outstanding contribution to the region, particularly during his
AN annual golf championship has raised more than £2,000 for charity. Mayor of Durham, Councillor John Lightley, teed off the annual Mayor's Golf Day last week. In all, 30 teams took to the fairways to raise money for the Mayor's Appeal, which this year
DUNELM Youth under-16s football team is recruiting players for its forthcoming season in the Russell Foster League Division One. Anyone interested should contact Gary Walker, on 0191-384 0655.
A VAGRANT with a chronic alcohol problem has been banned from entering Middlesbrough town centre after a long campaign of causing misery. Already the subject of an interim anti-social behaviour order (Asbo), John Worton spent the past three weeks in custody
A CHILDREN'S charity was the winner when celebrities joined businessmen for a golf day. Up to £9,000 was raised for the TFM Make a Child Smile appeal at the event at Wynyard Golf Club. A team from Stockton double-glazing firm Almark Ltd, whose celebrity
A PRIMARY care trust is inviting residents and patients to apply for the role of chairman by July 28. The chairman of the Durham Dales Primary Care Trust, Anne Beeton, is stepping down in the autumn so the trust is now looking for a successor. Mrs Beeton
A MASKED youth was being hunted last night after the attempted mugging of an elderly woman. The woman was walking along a footpath beside the Applegarth car park in Northallerton when she was approached by the youth, at about 12.15pm yesterday. He took
COUNCILLORS say a considerable amount of money needs to be spent on upgrading children's playgrounds on the Yorkshire coast. A working party of Scarborough councillors spent three days visiting 80 sites throughout the borough. The information is to be
CONTROVERSIAL plans to turn most of a village into a conservation area have led to a furious debate among residents. Most agree that the historic character of Wombleton, near Helmsley, should be preserved, but some say conservation status will simply
A GROUP of young visually impaired people have won a host of rosettes at a gymkhana. Nine students from Henshaws College, in Harrogate, enjoyed an afternoon of equestrian activities at the town's Follifoot Disabled Riding Stables. Events included horse
RENOWNED photographer Keith Moss has decided to set up home in the North-East. One of the UK's leading fine art photographers, Mr Moss has chosen Brotton, near Saltburn, as his new base. The Keith Moss Gallery, in High Street Brotton, is now open to the
A FISH and chip shop can put seating outside its premises after an appeal was made the office of the Deputy Prime Minister. The appeal was made after Wear Valley District Council refused retrospective planning permission for the seating outside the shop
PUPILS from Wear Valley primary schools played in a tournament in memory of a policeman who died of cancer. The tribute tournament at Willington Cricket Club, was in memory of PC Michael Wright, of Stanhope, who died in 1999, aged 43. The father-of-four
Former Sunderland and Darlington footballer Gary Bennett will draw the prize raffle at the second annual Caterpillar Peterlee and Sunderland AFC Foundation Family Fun Day at the Stadium of Light, tomorrow, from 10am until 3pm.
"There was a desperate need for a hospice", and so more than 20 years ago, Mary Hawgood set out to get one. On Thursday, she presented a cheque for £32,000, raised during her year as Mayor of Durham, as Tony Kearney reports.... THE first time Mary Hawgood
A DRUG dealer jailed for his part in a conspiracy involving more than £250,000 has been told to pay back some of the money. Jonathon Moorby, 35, of Pembroke Drive, Ingleby Barwick, near Stockton, was jailed for seven years after he was sentenced at Teesside
A MAN involved in the widespread theft of packages from Royal Mail delivery vans was yesterday jailed for two years. James Gibb and co-accused Kevin O'Grady followed vans as they set off on rounds and struck after the drivers parked to make deliveries
A GAMBLER who falsely claimed £18,000 worth of benefits to support her addiction was spared jail yesterday. Lillian Dick worked as a cleaner for four years while continuing to receive incapacity benefit. Newcastle Crown Court heard how Dick, 47, spent
STUDENTS who have helped to a make a difference in their school and community have been rewarded. Six pupils from Hummersknott School and Language College were presented with Diana, Princess of Wales awards, which acknowledge outstanding achievement and
YOUNG people in and around Darlington are being encouraged to take part in a host of activities this summer. Darlington Borough Council's youth service is staging its Summer Jam events at Eastbourne Project Centre, starting on Monday, July 25. A range
Abi Titmuss, the former nurse who rose from anonymity as John Leslie's girlfriend to become a celebrity pin-up, has now penned a new book. She talks to Hannah Stephenson about fame, fortune and fantasies, as well as revealing more about Lee Sharpe, her
GOVERNORS last night voted to close Hurworth School in a move that has devastated parents and villagers. The decision on the future of the village school, near Darlington, came after a heated meeting that lasted more than three hours. The result is a
HARRY Potter fans queued for hours last night to be the first in Darlington to get their hands on a copy of his latest adventure. The town's Ottakars bookstore opened at midnight to allow youngsters to buy Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince as soon
THOUSANDS of people will take their clothes off as part of a mass strip in the name of art in the North-East tomorrow. Exhibitionists will flock to the Quaysides at Newcastle and Gateshead from 4am for the "installation" with American artist Spencer Tunick
REPORTS that the manufacturing sector is on the brink of a recession were last night dismissed by industry leaders in the region. Figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed that output was flat during May and had fallen by 0.9 per cent
A THIRD strike at a chilled food factory in the region has been averted. Staff at Country Style Foods, in Stockton, have voted for an overtime ban and work-to-rule. But Alan Milne, of the Bakers' Food and Allied Workers Union (BFAWU), has not ruled out
ENGINEERING services group Amec's Darlington division has won a £22m contract with the National Grid. The contract is to refurbish and upgrade overhead power lines in South Yorkshire, Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire. Amec, one of Darlington's largest employers
NEARLY 200 of the region's businesses have thrown their weight behind The Northern Echo's Support our Port campaign. Members of the region's largest business network, The North East Chamber of Commerce (NECC), were asked to give their support to the campaign
A dealer who set up his kitchen as a "shop" to sell heroin was jailed yesterday. Norman Robinson, 48, was out on licence from a nine-year prison sentence when he started dishing out the deadly drug from his home at Fuller Road, Sunderland. When police
ONE of Britain's longest surviving heart transplant recipients has celebrated a quarter century of "new life". Joe Burnside, 75, from Darlington, was one of the first heart patients to be given a second chance by surgeons. Last weekend, he and his wife
WE support the train bosses who plan to use shock tactics in schools to keep children off the railway lines. They will paint a frightening picture as they describe what happens to a body when it is struck by a train. We hope that by shocking youngsters
THE Rev Chris Wardale has celebrated 25 years of usually happy, always dedicated and sometimes eventful priesthood, his long time partner Malcolm Macourt - and Malcolm's elderly parents, Billy Macourt himself a former archdeacon - foursquare in attendance
Writers of gruesome crime thrillers, says Frances Fyfield, need to have a sense of humour. This makes sense after a long day thinking up ways of murdering and maiming people in grisly ways. You must need a bit of light relief. That helps explain why gatherings
Q Our combined State Pensions are £145.95 a week and my husband has a works pension of £222 a month. We both receive mobility benefits and care allowance. We have no savings and pay £860 a year council tax. Our daughter lives with us but, as she is in
A succession of disasters heralded Tyne Tees Television's move from its City Road studios in Newcastle to Gateshead but, for the time being at least, the team is enjoying being part of "the most modern TV operation in Europe". The studio where the music
SUN down, clear sky, the heat of the day slowly fading away, the last of the birdsong petering out, the stillness of the warm night settling in and everyone settling down to sleep. This week's wonderfully warm evenings have driven me into the garden with
CROFT circuit will play host to around 30,000 visitors this weekend as rounds 13,14, and 15 of the British Touring Car Championships descend on the region. Among the racers at the track near Darlington will be home favourite Jason Plato, who will be aiming
THE opportunity to play golf with a former Ryder Cup captain was not to be missed. It would be either Sam Torrance or Mark James, I was told, and not fancying being downwind of one of Sam's roll-ups I wasn't too disappointed when it turned out to be James
RIPON'S undulating nature seems to suit Namat (4.05), poised to complete a three-timer by taking the feature race at the course this afternoon, the Bell-Ringer Handicap. Some horses roll around like drunks on the hills and hollows of the home straight
SUMMER signing Martin Woods has been challenged to become a top player after scoring a wonder-goal on his first appearance in a Sunderland shirt. Woods, expected to play a part against the Vancounver Whitecaps later today, grabbed the winner in the first
GRAEME STORM is relishing the prospect of another two rounds at the 134th Open Championship at St Andrews after a nail-biting night north of the border. The Hartlepool golfer joined Yorkshire's Simon Dyson in the weekend's play after sneaking above the
DAVID HODGSON will step up his efforts to land Swansea City striker Paul Connor this weekend after completing a triple summer swoop yesterday. Hodgson has turned his attentions to Bishop Auckland-born Connor after securing the services of Sam Russell,
Allan Worthy last night sensationally quit Chester-le-Street and will make his debut for Gateshead Fell in this morning's game at Benwell Hill. Rumour has been rife all week of a disagreement at Ropery Lane after Worthy, who captained the Cestrians, and
It was the roar Jack Nicklaus will remember most. A long, throaty, sustained rumble of affection, so loud that truly it might have alerted shipping off the Firth of Forth as Nicklaus walked up the 18th green at St Andrews to complete the last competitive
One of the London suicide bombers was strolling the corridors of the House of Commons a year before he blew himself up, it was revealed last night. Mohammad Sidique Khan, who killed himself and six commuters on a Tube train near Edgware Road, attended
NEARLY 200 of the region's businesses have thrown their weight behind The Northern Echo's Support our Port campaign. Members of the region's largest business network, The North East Chamber of Commerce (NECC), were asked to give their support to the campaign
CANCER sufferer Neville Carter wanted to make sure everyone had a good time at his wake so he organised it himself - and turned up for a drink. The 53-year-old was diagnosed with terminal cancer four weeks ago. He then set about organising a party for
GEORGE BOATENG feared Middlesbrough's answer to Arjen Robben was about to turn his back on Teesside this summer. The Dutchm midfielder is relieved that winger Stewart Downing has verbally agreed to pledge his future to Boro and sign a new five-year deal
SERVICES for people suffering from diabetes in a north Durham community have been praised by patients, according to a new study. The report is based upon a survey carried out among diabetic patients by the Patient and Public Involvement (PPI) Forum for
SUNDERLAND Football Club vice-chairman John Fickling was honoured by his hometown university yesterday. He received an honorary fellowship from the University of Sunderland for his outstanding contribution to the region, particularly during his time at
POLICE have issued an appeal for information after a fire which destroyed an empty pub. The blaze at the Rock Bar, in Station Road, Easington Colliery, caused massive disruption, as roads were closed to traffic because the building became so unsafe it
THE work of a scientific artist has pride of place in a university exhibition. Much of Steve Sproates' work features in a display which opened this week at Durham University's Ogden Centre for Fundamental Physics, as part of its programme aimed at bringing
YOUNG east Durham pupils helped notch up a world record when they took part in the first Tesco Great School Run. Children aged between seven and eleven at Shotton Primary School were among thousands of other schoolchildren in the country to go under starters
A GAMBLER who falsely claimed £18,000 worth of benefits to support her addiction was spared jail yesterday. Lillian Dick worked as a cleaner for four years while continuing to receive incapacity benefit. Newcastle Crown Court heard how Dick, 47, spent
THE sights and sounds of Napoleonic warfare will come to a North-East castle this month. The 68th Durham Light Infantry (DLI) display team will set up camp at Raby Castle, near Staindrop, County Durham, on Sunday, July 24, for a re-enactment of life as
AFTER seeing the efforts of his local council to improve recycling facilities. Derek Robinson, from Norton, Stockton, penned the poem calling on local residents to help the council recycle household waste. Steve Nelson, Stockton Borough Council's cabinet
THREE professional artists are drawing up ideas for artwork at the heart of a new-look town centre. Bridget Jones, Dominic Fond and Walter Jack are developing ideas for a piece of public art that will feature in the second phase of the redevelopment of
THIEVES who raided a garage escaped with a moped, a trail bike and a mountain bike. The theft occurred between Wednesday night and Thursday morning at an address in Clevegate, Nunthorpe, Middlesbrough. A silver moped, registration number MF52LYK, a bright
THREE trainees have given up part of their holidays to help a group of sick and disabled people travel to Lourdes. The TTE Management and Technical Training apprentices used their own money to help a group of adventurous disabled people reach their pilgrimage
A PLAN by a village pub to keep a walk-in refrigerator unit has sparked a residents' petition and objections from the parish council. Residents say that until recently the Bay Horse pub in Main Street, Kirk Deighton, was a traditional village pub serving
A PARISH council has joined forces with residents to protest against plans to expand a riding school. Objections were sparked by a planning application for changes at the Jodhpurs Riding School, in Tockwith, near York. On behalf of the school, Margarate
ORGANISERS of the seventh annual Thirsk festival have declared it one of the best yet. The festival, which ran for nine days, featured music, concerts, a funfair, art and film exhibitions, sideshows, stalls and a grand gala. It has been organised by Thirsk
ANGRY villagers berated members of a troubled parish council yesterday as they left a stormy meeting. Stanhope Parish Council passed a vote of no confidence in chairman Tom Martin before agreeing to sack clerk Val Ward. Councillors Richard Mews and Angela
TWO Bishop Auckland College students were rewarded for their success in overcoming odds to achieve qualifications. Brazilian Zilda Dasilva and father-of-four Ferguson Matthews were among the winners at a County Durham Adult Learners Awards ceremony hosted
AN independent school has been praised in a recent inspection. The Independent Schools Inspectorate has described Barnard Castle School as having many strengths and no major weaknesses. Ten inspectors visited the school in March. They sat in on 135 lessons
A ROBBER who targeted a hairdressers armed with a kitchen knife was jailed for four years yesterday. John Carr, 43, lunged at a stylist and warned "give me the money and I won't use the knife" after entering Reds Hair Design on the Racecourse Estate,
A TOWN has become so popular with tourists that urgent action needs to be taken to solve traffic problems, say councillors. A two-pronged approach to problems in Whitby, North Yorkshire, has been agreed by the county council after Councillor Dorothy Clegg
VISITORS to an archaeology museum will be invited to touch and feel artefacts for a limited time. As part of National Archaeology Week, visitors to Durham's Old Fulling Mill Museum can handle ageing items from its collections. Several of the museum's
THE Chapterhouse Theatre Company will perform Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew on Wednesday, July 27, and A Midsummer Night's Dream on Wednesday, August 17, at Durham Castle. Both plays start at 7.30pm. Tickets are £14 for adults, and £10 for concessions
FRESH from her exploits in the Trafalgar 200 celebrations, the spectacular Grand Turk has arrived off the North coast. The ship, which appeared in TV's Hornblower, most recently featured as HMS Victory in the Trafalgar display. She has arrived in Scarborough
A FORMER chiropodist is planning a trip to Africa to find out more about the work of a charity providing livestock to poverty-stricken farmers. Simon Tate, 44, of Leyburn, North Yorkshire, recently became the regional co-ordinator for the Send
A TEENAGE student had to re-live the night two of her closest friends died in her car when their parents brought a private prosecution against her. Jane Bramley, 19, offered to take three friends for a drive to help them cope with the nerves of their
A BAN has been imposed on new speed cameras while Ministers decide whether to tighten the rules on where they can be set up. Applications for extra cameras in the North-East have been frozen until the Department for Transport (DFT) receives the results
A MAN has admitted his part in a murder in which the victim was tied up, beaten and stabbed repeatedly. Michael Peart appeared at Teesside Crown Court yesterday, where he pleaded guilty to the murder of 36-year-old Keith Philpott, from Billingham, between
Foster's Durham Senior League: Hetton Lyons' resolve will be tested this afternoon when they entertain Burnmoor. The current champions have gradually moved up the league and are fourth, writes Bob Gidney. Burnmoor will come up against former player Des
Durham Coast League: Silksworth could be on the move, but their first priority is to halt Murton's charge towards the championship. Next Sunday, an extraordinary general meeting will be held in the clubhouse at 7pm to decide whether to take up an offer
Darlington Building Society NYSD Premier League Premier Division: Stalwart Denis Wing is confident Billingham Synthonia can avoid an immediate return to Division One, writes Malcolm Pratt. Synners gained promotion to the Premier Division last September
SEVEN hours before Hurworth School governors made their decision, nearly 100 protestors had gathered at Darlington football club to lobby their MP, Tony Blair, to support their campaign. As they arrived at the stadium, the mainly female protestors, bearing
VISITORS to Darlington enjoyed a tea dance in the town centre yesterday. The event was part of the Darlington Festival 05 and guests had the chance to listen to music, enter competitions, dances and enjoy strawberry cream teas. Councillor Lee Vasey, Darlington
One of the London suicide bombers was strolling the corridors of the House of Commons a year before he blew himself up, it was revealed last night. Mohammad Sidique Khan, who killed himself and six commuters on a Tube train near Edgware Road, attended
A woman who faked her CV landed a job as an NHS radiographer. Martha Kirkwood-Rhinds worked in Teesside hospitals for nearly a year in the £38,000 job before being exposed. Yesterday, the 27-year-old, of Rudyard Avenue, Roseworth, Stockton, was jailed
Britain's top Muslims united last night to condemn the suicide bombings in London. Twenty-two leaders and scholars from across Britain gathered at the Islamic Cultural Centre in central London for the unprecedented meeting. Moulana Shahid Raza, head Imam
TONY Blair visited two of his favourite watering holes yesterday, but instead of enjoying a quiet drink he was learning about two local initiatives. At Trimdon Labour Club, in Trimdon village, County Durham, he met a dozen young people from Easington
AN arsonist who set fire to the homes of four elderly people as they slept has been jailed for ten years. Neil Oates, 23, set fire to wheelie bins and pushed them against the front doors of bungalows belonging to the pensioners, leaving them trapped inside
ORGANISERS of the Durham County Show believe this weekend's event will be the biggest and best since it moved to its new permanent home. Crowds have grown year-on-year since the traditional rural gathering transferred to Herrington Country Park, a restored
THIS year's Great Yorkshire Show was the biggest ever. The attendance at the three-day event was higher than at any time in the show's 167 years. Between the gates opening on Tuesday morning and closing on Thursday night, 134,810 people passed through
Confused Premiership star Julio Arca had team-mates in stitches when he started a training session at midnight. Sunderland's Argentine wing wizard forgot about the eight-hour time difference as his side began their Canadian pre-season tour. So the alarm
TRAIN bosses are to use shock tactics in schools to cut rail crime in the North-East. The education programme has already reduced rail crime and anti-social behaviour in other parts of the North. Now it is to be used in schools across the North-East.
CANCER sufferer Neville Carter wanted to make sure everyone had a good time at his wake so he organised it himself - and turned up for a drink. The 53-year-old was diagnosed with terminal cancer four weeks ago. He then set about organising a party for
THE waiting last night was sheer torture. At one stage I believed I was going to make the cut, then it looked like I wasn't and, by the close of play, I had again - not that I'm complaining! After all now I can look forward to playing the final two rounds
JUST when I thought Tyneside-set 55 Degrees North (BBC1, Sunday) was the best weekend cop show along came the almost-unnoticed Detective Murdoch Mysteries (UKTV Gold, Saturday) to tempt us back into the realm of Victorian murder. The hero is bicycle-owning
CALL FOR CALM: FAITH communities meet in a variety of ways in order to promote better understanding and to work together for a better society for all. As the Faith and Black Minority Ethnic members of the Yorkshire and Humber Assembly we jointly condemn
A FOOTBALL club will be the first in the North-East to install a big screen in its stadium. Darlington FC will install a 48sq metre screen -the biggest in the Football League -in the north-east corner of the Williamson Motors Stadium. It will offer fans
POLICE yesterday said the search for missing 19-year-old Jenny Nicholl would go on unabated. Officers have carried out an extensive search of woodland in the Holly Hill area of Richmond, North Yorkshire, but have so far drawn a blank. Every force in the
NEWCASTLE head to Slovakia for tomorrow's Intertoto Cup third-round first-leg tie against FK ZTS Dubnica with manager Graeme Souness insisting the Premier League is his priority. Souness believes the much-maligned competition is an unnecessary distraction
GEORGE BOATENG feared Middlesbrough's answer to Arjen Robben was about to turn his back on Teesside this summer. The Dutchm midfielder is relieved that winger Stewart Downing has verbally agreed to pledge his future to Boro and sign a new five-year deal
A SINGLE goal proved Hartlepool United's downfall on their second and final game of their Dutch tour last night. After a 1-0 win over Top Oss on Tuesday, Pool went down by the same scoreline to Den Bosch. Relegated from the Dutch top flight last season
NEWCASTLE head to Slovakia for tomorrow's Intertoto Cup third-round first-leg tie against FK ZTS Dubnica with manager Graeme Souness insisting the Premier League is his priority. Souness believes the much-maligned competition is an unnecessary distraction
DAVID HODGSON will step up his efforts to land Swansea City striker Paul Connor this weekend after completing a triple summer swoop yesterday. Hodgson has turned his attentions to Bishop Auckland-born Connor after securing the services of Sam Russell,
A woman who faked her CV landed a job as an NHS radiographer, a court was told yesterday. Martha Kirkwood-Rhinds worked in Teesside hospitals for almost a year in the £38,000 job before being exposed. Yesterday, the 27-year-old, of Rudyard Avenue, Roseworth
ENGINEERING services group Amec's Darlington division has won a £22m contract with the National Grid. The contract is to refurbish and upgrade overhead power lines in South Yorkshire, Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire. Amec, one of Darlington's largest employers
Dogs do smile. Ask Benson. The welcome note in our Woodland Lodge in the Lake District showed a photograph of a Labrador and inside said: "Welcome to Bassenthwaite Lakeside Lodges. My name is Hendrix and I belong to Chris, the park manager. "We hope you
WHEN ex-nurse-turned-lads-mag-babe Abi Titmuss heard of last week's terrorist attack in London, her first instinct was to go to the hospital where she used to work to help with the casualties. "A lot of patients from the bombing were taken to the emergency
