Archive

  • M W Darwin & Sons

    THE DALES FURNITURE HALL, BEDALE. Favoured with instructions from local estates and vendors, will sell by public auction in the above salerooms, on FRIDAY, MARCH 10, 2006 at 10.30 a.m. prompt. ANTIQUE & MODERN FURNITURE, QUALITY LOUNGE SUITES &

  • Addisons Auctioneers

    Expert House Clearance - Valuations for Probate and Insurance The Garden Sale Saturday, 18th March at 1pm Viewing Friday, 17th March, 9.30am-4.30pm & Sale Day Entries are now being accepted for this sale. Deadline for entries Monday, 13th March

  • Missing mum: fears grow

    FEARS are growing for a mother-of-three who has been missing for more than two weeks. Siobhan Day-Preston, 38, was staying at a refuge in Darlington when she went missing on February 21. She was last seen by a child at the refuge at about 5.30pm. None

  • Scanner provides giant leap for North-East medical studies

    OVERNIGHT, the North-East has become one of the best-equipped centres for medical research involving advanced MRI technology. Yesterday's opening of the £5m Centre for Magnetic Resonance Studies puts Newcastle at the forefront of research into conditions

  • Gardener who killed wife 'had no memory of attack'

    A MAN who battered his cheating wife to death told police he had no memory of the attack, a court heard yesterday. Michael Luke recalled the confrontation he had with his wife, Johanna, in the moments before she suffered multiple head injuries at their

  • No better man to take us back up, says Kyle

    KEVIN Kyle last night slammed the "pointless" dismissal of manager Mick McCarthy and claimed chairman Bob Murray has removed Sunderland's best chance of a rapid return to the Premiership. McCarthy was dismissed yesterday with his side firmly rooted to

  • Council move is narrowly approved

    FOUR years of arguments over Richmondshire District Council's proposed relocation came to a head last night when the authority finally made a decision. By the narrowest of votes, councillors opted to build new offices in Colburn. The casting vote of the

  • Conference will focus on cutting costs for industry

    A CONFERENCE is being held this month to help businesses cut costs. With recent increases in energy, fuel and raw material prices, margins are being squeezed, particularly in the region's manufacturing sector, which makes up a quarter of the North-East's

  • Expansion in the region leads the way

    Businesses in the North- East are planning to grow, with small firms leading the way on expansion plans, research showed. Nine out of ten businesses questioned are planning to grow during the next two years, according to the Enterprise Survey, conducted

  • Flag maker targets niche markets

    CHEAPER imports from China have forced a North-East flag manufacturer to diversify the business to survive. AA Flags, in Consett, County Durham, has moved into niche markets because it can no longer compete on price. Mandy Scott, who founded the business

  • Feedback on out-of-hours health service sought

    HEALTH bosses are asking for the public's feedback on the out of hours service, which was launched in April 2004. The Darlington Patient & Public Involvement Forum (PPIF) has been working with Darlington Primary Care Trust (PCT) to evaluate the service

  • Pioneering food course is something to sing about

    A PIONEERING food course for care home caterers is to be rolled out across the country. The latest group of 36 cooks has completed the Focus on Food course run by Darlington College, bringing the number of people now trained to 150. The project is run

  • Raiders grab specialist kit at pet store

    SPECIALIST equipment appears to have been targeted by burglars during a break-in at a pet store. Staff at Delves Pet Warehouse in Delves Lane, Consett, County Durham, discovered the break-in on opening the premises yesterday. Intruders smashed a rear

  • 'Wave dodgers risking their lives'

    THE coastguard has repeated a warning over the dangers of wave dodging after thrill seekers risked their lives during strong spring tides. Despite the waves hurling rocks into a seafront car park at Saltburn, east Cleveland, spectators are balancing on

  • Call for authority's ICT system to be moved

    COUNCILLORS are being asked to approve plans to move an authority's creaking computer system to purpose-built headquarters. Durham County Council - one of the largest 200 users of ICT in the country and the largest local authority in the region - is considering

  • Well, fancy that - students go walking to raise funds

    STUDENTS donned fancy dress costumes and walked along the River Tees to raise cash for a college project. The 12 students from Stockton Riverside College set off from Tees Barrage and walked to the Transporter Bridge and back last Friday, dressed as a

  • Roadshow to help smokers trying to kick habit

    A CAMPAIGN to encourage more people in North Yorkshire to stub out their cigarettes is highlighted again tomorrow. No Smoking Day events supported by Hambleton and Richmondshire Primary Care Trust will be held simultaneously in the Town Hall, in High

  • Under-11 team kicks off league season in style

    A JUNIOR football team has scored a home win after agreeing a new sponsorship deal with a house builder. Haslam Homes has stepped in to help out Pelton FC Under-11s. The players are now sporting a new blue and white strip for the club's first season in

  • Lack of cash no excuse for Mick's disasterous spending

    WHEN Roy Keane walked out of the Republic of Ireland camp in the run-up to the 2002 World Cup, he felt compelled to deliver a withering assessment of Mick McCarthy's managerial capabilities. "You were a crap player and you're a crap manager," blasted

  • Oiling the wheels of fear

    As the UN's nuclear watchdog agency hopes to reach an international agreement this week over Iran's nuclear ambitions, Dr Glen Reynolds explains why we're on the brink of another round of military mayhem. THIS month, Iran is aiming to shift its dealing

  • Staff appeal for pet food to assist RSPCA

    PET-LOVING staff at a building society office are doing their bit for animal charity the RSPCA. Members of the public are being urged to back the month-long appeal being run at the Cheltenham and Gloucester branch in Durham. Anyone visiting the premises

  • Pupils learn new skills

    PUPILS at a school in Teesdale are proving themselves to be fighting fit following the introduction of another popular lunch time activity club. Teesdale Comprehensive School, in Barnard Castle, introduced the martial arts club after requests from students

  • 90-year-old is robbed of cash

    POLICE have again warned elderly people to be on their guard against bogus officials. It follows an incident in Aiskew, near Bedale, when a pensioner was conned into letting thieves into his house. The 90-year-old allowed two men, both in their 20s, into

  • Woman with knife and snooker cue -acting out of character'

    A MIDDLESBROUGH woman has pleaded guilty to brandishing a 9in kitchen knife and a snooker cue following a neighbourhood dispute. Joy Laver, of Saltersgill Avenue, was given a 12-month conditional discharge after magistrates accepted she had acted out

  • Walker airlifted to hospital

    A WALKER had to be airlifted to hospital after she suffered an epileptic fit and fell 8ft down a hillside. The woman was walking in an isolated area of the Cleveland Way at Bankfoot, near Ingleby Greenhow, in east Cleveland, at about noon on Sunday when

  • Plea to find racist killer

    A COMMUNITY leader has condemned the person responsible for the death of a young man in what appears to have been a racially-motivated attack. Henry Williams, chairman of the South Tyneside Racial Equality Forum, spoke out following Lee Phipps' murder

  • Proposals for office park are welcomed

    A PROPOSED office park that could create more than 500 jobs has been welcomed by community leaders. Gladman Developments has applied for planning permission for 11 office blocks at Colburn Business Park, in Colburn, North Yorkshire. No companies have

  • Awards recognise hard work of council staff

    THE contribution of two hard-working local authority employees has been officially recognised. Darren Hall and Amanda Coates, who both work for Richmondshire District Council, had their dedication honoured when they were presented with Excellence In Performance

  • New lease of life for campaign hospital

    A COTTAGE hospital twice saved from threats of closure is enjoying a new lease of life. Builders are paving the way for a welcoming reception area for patients at Ripon Community Hospital. The hospital, in Firby Lane, near the city centre, twice faced

  • Neighbours 'stunned' at mountain deaths

    Colleagues and neighbours were stunned today at the deaths of three British climbers on a Spanish mountain. Survivor Stephen Riddiough, 30, tried in vain to get help for his father Colin, 46, neighbour Paul Dick, 56, and John Plews, 30, who were trapped

  • Search under way for 2006 village of the year

    THE search is on to find the Calor Village of the Year in the western area of North Yorkshire. The competition, run each year by the York-based Yorkshire Rural Community Council (YRCC), aims to be a catalyst to bring communities together and to build

  • Woman's killer illness is beaten by Viagra

    A NORTH-EAST woman who was told she needed a heart and lung transplant has been saved - by daily doses of sex drug Viagra. Until now, Viagra has been better known as a treatment of erectile dysfunction in men. But scientists have demonstrated that the

  • Ward fumes as Power pulls out five days before fight

    DARLINGTON boxer Issac 'Argie' Ward says he has the current British bantamweight champion Martin Power running scared after he pulled out of Friday's title contest last night. Ward was due to fight the undisputed title holder at York Hall, Bethnal Green

  • Shot-shy strikers have cost McCarthy dear

    IF Mick McCarthy wants to know where it's all gone wrong this season then a cursory glance in the striker department should find him all the answers he needs. In the summer he spent £2.9m of his transfer kitty on Jonathan Stead from Blackburn Rovers and

  • Southgate solace for Downing

    GARETH Southgate has reassured Stewart Downing he has plenty of time to fulfil his international ambitions, even if he is overlooked by Sven Goran Eriksson for this summer's World Cup finals. The 21-year-old was omitted from the England squad ahead of

  • Gap in the Wall filled at last

    FILLING a gap at the Hole in the Wall, Olympic athlete George Butterfield was finally, formally, remembered this week at the pub where he was landlord. Though the Backtrack column had played some small part in his belated recognition, the credit belonged

  • As big test looms, Wake sums up image of Accies

    Hamilton Academical Brian Wake was living up to his team's erudite image yesterday - sitting a maths exam just three days before the biggest match of his career. Stockton lad and former Tow Law player, Brian scored twice in the Accies' 4-2 win at Dundee

  • Takeover 'makes UK look weak'

    INDUSTRIAL gases group BOC yesterday became the latest manufacturer to fall into foreign hands after accepting an £8.2bn bid from a German group. The FTSE 100-listed company, which has a base on Teesside, has agreed to join forces with Linde to create

  • Defender taking Stock of his loan situation

    AFTER stepping out of the football wilderness with Darlington, Robbie Stockdale hopes his return to the North-East will help place himself in the transfer shop window. The former Middlesbrough defender is unhappy with the lack of first-team opportunities

  • Calls for removal of club board

    FORMER Sunderland boss Howard Wilkinson has led a chorus of prominent footballing figures calling for the removal of the club's board following yesterday's dismissal of manager Mick McCarthy. McCarthy's three-year reign at the Stadium of Light came to

  • Ward fumes as Power pulls out five days before fight

    DARLINGTON boxer Issac 'Argie' Ward says he has the current British bantamweight champion Martin Power running scared after he pulled out of Friday's title contest last night. Ward was due to fight the undisputed title holder at York Hall, Bethnal Green

  • Burton's Bytes

    FIFA STREET 2 Publisher: Electronic Arts Formats: PS2, Xbox Price: £39.99 Family friendly? 3+ IF EVER a game didn't deserve a sequel then it has to be Fifa Street, a woeful football game that tried so hard to be cool but just came across like your granddad

  • Teesside economy is falling behind

    TEESSIDE is falling dramatically behind the rest of England in economic performance, a crucial report to the Government will reveal today. Of the country's 56 urban areas, only Blackburn has a lower gross value added (GVA) per head since 1995, the State

  • A threat we must take seriously

    The excited - nay, hysterical - newsreader told us that Crash had "won out over" Brokeback Mountain at the Oscar ceremonies. I wonder what happened to the modest little word "beat"? Both films have been lauded to the skies, which is fair enough - for

  • Executel calls up a ringer to work on telecoms team

    TELECOMS company Executel has appointed a project installation engineer. TONY ROBSON, 24, from Sunniside, Newcastle, will be installing Voice Over Internet Protocol telephones in the region. Having started his career in the family business, The Robson

  • Winner can splash cash at store

    ANOTHER reader of The Northern Echo will be shelling out on her shopping after tasting success in our Scratch & Match competition. Rosalind Bull, 67, from Darlington, won £50 shopping vouchers for Aldi Darlington. She scooped her prize after matching

  • Dentist leaves NHS in protest

    A DARLINGTON dentist has blamed NHS contracts as the reason why he has gone private. Simon Holguin, a partner in the Victoria Dental Practice, has said the new contracts will not provide the necessary level of care for his 4,000 patients. Whereas in the

  • Casting off the crinolines

    In living history re-enactment, Gillian Stapleton makes the link between fashion and votes for women. On the eve of International Women's Day, she talks to Women's Editor Sarah Foster. IMAGINE a typical Edwardian lady, her gown a bell shape flowing from

  • Simon tunes in to TFM

    RADIO station TFM has appointed SIMON MONK as programme director. The 33-year-old began his career as breakfast show producer at Red Rose Rock FM and Red Rose Gold. Cath Ellington, managing director of 96.6 TFM, said: "Simon is one of the most exciting

  • Pure Innovation takes Dermasalve into new markets

    A SKINCARE company set up by North-East entrepreneurs has broken into the £34.2bn facial skincare market with the launch of four products. Dermasalve, set up by Durham GP Dr Mark Randle, backed by serial entrepreneur Karl Watkin, floated on the stock

  • Laminate worktop company buys rival

    LAMINATE worktop maker Wilsonart has acquired a rival company for an undisclosed sum. Wilsonart, in Shildon, County Durham, has bought Orama Holdings, which has factories in Derbyshire and Wetherby, West Yorkshire. The deal doubles the size of Wilsonart's

  • Biggest showbiz night of the year gatecrashed by politics

    IT was the night that Hollywood displayed a political conscience. For once, the Oscars will be remembered as much for the political signals being sent out as the glitter and glamour of the red carpet. Race, homosexuality, terrorism and the oil business

  • Britons ill-equipped for mountain snowstorm - police

    Three British climbers found dead on one of Europes highest mountains appeared ill-equipped for their expedition, police said today. The bodies of Colin Riddiough, Paul Dick and John Plews, all from Cleveland, were discovered on the Mulhacen in southern

  • On TV

    Raising doubts about DNA The Twin Inside Me: Extraordinary People (five) Dalziel And Pascoe (BBC1) AS soon as Lydia Fairchild had given birth, DNA and blood samples were taken from both her and her baby by a witness to the delivery room. When the results

  • Crime writers reveal secrets

    FOUR female crime writers revealed the dark secrets of their trade to would-be authors. More than 20 people attended the talk yesterday at Darlington's Crown Street Library given by the four novelists, known as The Lady-killers. They talked about their

  • Rebel councillor considering switch to Independent group

    A COUNCIL'S former Labour leader has hinted he may go Independent after being cold-shouldered by party bosses The Labour regional party has rejected Middlesbrough councillor Ken Walker's appeal against indefinite suspension from the borough council's

  • Private dental scheme is offered to patients

    A VILLAGE dental practice has sent out letters offering its customers the option of private care. The Middleton St George dental practice has introduced its own membership scheme which will give patients priority appointments and a greater choice of dental

  • Council opens up to fairtrade

    DARLINGTON could become a Fairtrade town by the end of the year. Fairtrade gives people the chance to buy products which were bought directly from farmers in the Third World at better prices. Darlington Borough Council is trying to ensure Fairtrade coffee

  • Pensioner takes her time with rhyme

    AFTER producing two poetry books in two years, a retired midwife waited 22 years to deliver her latest volume. Pensioner Isabel Price has been writing the 21 poems in her new collection Beliefs and Memories for at least 15 years and is pleased they are

  • Photographer on top of world

    A DARLINGTON photographer endured a cold snap on his latest shoot. David Glen Walker, from Recognition PR, photographed two Arctic explorers during their rigorous training programme in North Canada. Mr Walker was commissioned to document Conrad Dickinson

  • Black Cats could turn to McLeish or Newell

    WITH the search to find Mick McCarthy's successor underway, vice-chairman John Fickling last night insisted that the Sunderland manager's job remains one of the best in English football. After being summoned to the Stadium of Light yesterday morning by

  • Giant leap for medical studies

    OVERNIGHT, the North-East has become one of the best-equipped centres for medical research involving advanced MRI technology. Yesterday's opening of the £5m Centre for Magnetic Resonance Studies puts Newcastle at the forefront of research into conditions

  • Rag week launched

    A DARLINGTON hospice is teaming up with the town's schools and colleges to arrange its own student charity week. St Teresa's Hospice is holding is first Raising and Giving (Rag) Week to raise money for its care services. The event will run from March

  • MP tours new sports hall

    BISHOP Auckland MP Helen Goodman was impressed with the sporting activities on offer to students as she was taken on a tour of a school's £1.6m sports hall. Ms Goodman visited Bishop Barrington School in Bishop Auckland, and watched pupils taking part

  • Opinions on new site sought

    VISITORS to Darlington's household waste and recycling centre are to be asked what they think of the newly refurbished facility. Canvassers will be at the site on Saturday and Sunday, asking people what they think of the improvements. The site, run by

  • Pensioner takes her time with rhyme

    AFTER producing two poetry books in two years, a retired midwife waited 22 years to deliver her latest volume. Pensioner Isabel Price has been writing the 21 poems in her new collection Beliefs and Memories for at least 15 years and is pleased they are

  • Council studies new home for crash-prone computers

    COUNCILLORS are being asked to approve plans to move a local authority's creaking computer system to a purpose-built headquarters. Durham County Council, among the 200 largest users of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in the country, is

  • Louise is 3,000th to enrole at centre

    A BUSY working mother who found time to take up her first computer course became a college learning centre's 3,000th student. Louise Northgreaves, who has three children and lives in Bishop Auckland, is taking a City and Guilds Start IT course at Bishop

  • Paintings by art lecturer

    AN exhibition of the work by an acclaimed lecturer and artist has gone on show at her former university. Margaret Shaw, a former lecturer in fine art at King's College, Durham, died in 1982, at the age of 62. She studied with well-known English painters

  • Concert gives rugby players a new challenge to tackle

    WHENEVER they take to the pitch, members of one of the region's most successful school rugby teams make sure they are always singing from the same hymn sheet. Five members of the first XV at Durham Chorister School don't just sing when they're winning

  • Calls for removal of club board

    FORMER Sunderland boss Howard Wilkinson has led a chorus of prominent footballing figures calling for the removal of the club's board following yesterday's dismissal of manager Mick McCarthy. McCarthy's three-year reign at the Stadium of Light came to

  • Jack's logo to go nationwide

    YOUNG artist Jack McAlpine will see his handiwork displayed across the country after his design was chosen as Stockton's logo for the Britain in Bloom competition. The Hartburn Primary School pupil impressed the council so much with his creation, it will

  • Rebel councillor considering switch to Independent group

    A COUNCIL'S former Labour leader has hinted he may go Independent after being cold-shouldered by party bosses The Labour regional party has rejected Middlesbrough councillor Ken Walker's appeal against indefinite suspension from the borough council's

  • Nursery opened by care home company

    A NURSERY has opened near Durham City, the first in the region to be run by a national chain of residential care homes. More than 40 children have been registered to attend Bowburn Guardian Angels Nursery, and eventually it will take 88 children. The

  • Man who fouled play area blames change in his diet

    A MAN caught defecating in a children's play area said that it had happened because of a change in his diet, a court heard. Neil Cutter, 33, of Marske, east Cleveland, admitted a charge of outraging public decency after he was caught in the act last December

  • Midnight Football starts on Saturday

    A LATE-NIGHT football competition is to return next week, following the success of a similar event last year. The Game On football competition, nicknamed Midnight Football, was set up to provide bored youngsters with an alternative to hanging around on

  • £25,000 worth of art for park

    A £25,000 art project to tidy up an area of open land is taking shape. People in Stokesley are being asked to have their say on initial designs for the scheme, which will be based on land between The Stripe and Neasham Lane. County Durham artist Phil

  • Metro links up with bus

    PEOPLE who use the Metro system regularly can now use environmentally-friendly buses as part of a new package. Metro Saver Zone One pass holders can travel on the yellow QuayLink buses for free. Metro operator Nexus has funded the offer at a cost of £15,000

  • Survey highlights people's fear of crime

    ALMOST half of residents who responded to a survey on crime and anti-social behaviour said they feel unsafe walking in built-up areas at night in a rural part of County Durham. A postal survey, carried out by Wear and Tees Community Safety Partnership

  • New puffin crossing

    A puffin crossing is being installed to help churchgoers in Darlington. The crossing will replace a pedestrian crossing in North Road. It is being installed near to the junction with Holwick Road and Aquinas Court to help people going to St Thomas Aquinas

  • Gingerbread Geordies

    WITH less than 100 days to go before the World Cup opens in Germany, Geordie gingerbread men are heading to Berlin. Bakers Greggs have produced a limited edition of the footballing gingerbread men - complete with black and white stripes - to promote the

  • Hollywood superstars to film on N-E beach

    A SEASIDE town could be transformed into the set of a Hollywood blockbuster starring Keira Knightley and Jude Law. The Northern Echo can reveal that film director Joe Wright plans to use Redcar beach, in east Cleveland, to shoot scenes for his latest

  • Feedback on out-of-hours health service sought

    HEALTH bosses are asking for the public's feedback on the out of hours service, which was launched in April 2004. The Darlington Patient and Public Involvement Forum (PPIF) has been working with Darlington Primary Care Trust (PCT) to evaluate the service

  • Pair guilty of animal cruelty

    A MAN and woman pleaded guilty to five charges of animal neglect and cruelty when they appeared before magistrates yesterday. Martin Aldworth and Denise Johnson admitted causing unnecessary suffering to birds and rabbits which they kept on allotments

  • Tribute to 74-year-old community stalwart

    A COMMUNITY stalwart has been recognised for raising spirits on the Teesside estate she has lived on since it was built. Anastasia Hall, known to everyone as Anas, had a 74th birthday surprise when she arrived at the Park End Community Centre, Middlesbrough

  • Woman's thanks for ice rescue

    A WOMAN who nearly drowned when she fell into a frozen pond, last night thanked the rescuers who saved her life. Elizabeth Jones said she knew she had had a lucky escape after becoming stranded in the icy pond on the outskirts of Bishop Middleham, County

  • Site visit over plan for 69 homes

    A DECISION on whether to give the go-ahead to proposals for a major housing development in Northallerton could be made later this week. Developers George Wimpey want to build 69 new homes in Springwell Lane, on a site formerly occupied by North Yorkshire

  • Delight over village hall storeroom

    A VILLAGE hall on the edge of the Yorkshire Dales now has a storeroom in keeping with its surroundings. Cash from Yorventure has allowed the trustees of the village hall at Hudswell, near Richmond, to rebuild the storeroom in traditional materials. The

  • Brave son in doomed bid to save climbers

    A SON risked his life in a bid to save his father and two other trapped North-East mountaineers by walking through a snowstorm for help - but rescuers arrived too late. The four British climbers, from the Brotton area of east Cleveland, became stranded

  • Hartlepool have new date for Colchester trip

    HARTLEPOOL United last night announced another new date for their trip to Colchester, following Football League intervention. The League One game was due to take place on February 18, but the Us' FA Cup run meant it couldn't go ahead. Colchester last

  • Flintoff rewarded with captaincy for rest of tour

    Andrew Flintoff will captain England throughout the remainder of the tour of India, although coach Duncan Fletcher concedes the extra responsibility may be too much in the longer term. Flintoff, 28, impressed when leading a revamped England side in the

  • School Closure Debate: Nearly all staff oppose merger

    SEVENTY-FIVE out of 76 members of staff at a Darlington area school have vowed that they will never work in a new academy. A petition signed by Hurworth School teachers, teaching assistants, office workers and catering staff, comes as a response to controversial

  • Arngrove Northern League

    Durham City are hoping for a bigger than average crowd for their ANL home game with Brandon tonight. The club has pledged to donate all its gate receipts and generous match sponsorship from Archibalds to the benefit fund for the dependants of former Horden

  • Yorke takes swipe at Souness arrogance

    DWIGHT Yorke has rounded on Graeme Souness, labelling the former Magpies boss 'arrogant'. The ex-Manchester United and Blackburn Rovers striker also claimed the Scot fails to form relationships with his best players, and was always ready to blame them

  • Warning over poor quality driveway resurfacing

    GANGS of cowboy builders are taking advantage of residents by carrying out poor quality work. Trading Standards teams in Hartlepool have received complaints about poor foundations for new driveways, thin and poor quality surfacing that wears easily and

  • Brave son in doomed bid to save climbers

    A SON risked his life in a bid to save his father and two other trapped North-East mountaineers by walking through a snowstorm for help - but rescuers arrived too late. The four British climbers, believed to be from the Brotton area of east Cleveland,

  • Comment from The Northern Echo: Still the man for the job

    THE second of the North-East's big three football managers has fallen. Mick McCarthy, boss of bottom-placed Sunderland, has gone. McCarthy has paid the ultimate price for assembling a team that is demonstrably not Premiership class - a failing that has

  • Fancy that - Queen donates pigeon to charity auction

    THE country's top pigeon fancier - Her Majesty the Queen - has donated a bird from her royal loft to help raise money at a North-East charity auction. The coup has been pulled off by Joe Davies, whose late father, John, a lifelong pigeon enthusiast, died

  • Nothing to kick up a fuss about

    FIFA STREET 2, Publisher: Electronic Arts, Formats: PS2, Xbox, Price: £39.99. Family friendly? 3+. IF EVER a game didn't deserve a sequel then it has to be Fifa Street, a woeful football game that tried so hard to be cool but just came across like your

  • Executel calls up a ringer to work on telecoms team

    TELECOMS company Executel has appointed a project installation engineer. TONY ROBSON, 24, from Sunniside, Newcastle, will be installing Voice Over Internet Protocol telephones in the region. Having started his career in the family business, The Robson

  • Job centre to open on enterprise park

    A LONG-awaited job centre will open next week in Barnard Castle. The JobCentre Plus service at Enterprise House, on the Harmire Enterprise Park, will begin next week. The centre will be open every Tuesday and Thursday but will be staffed for telephone

  • All change at the top for Crutes

    CRUTES Law Firm, based in Newcastle, Teesside and Carlisle, has appointed HELEN AGER as managing partner and DAVID DREWE as chairman. Ms Ager has been a partner with Crutes since 1997 and leads the dispute resolution department. Mr Drewe has been a partner

  • Hollywood superstars to film on N-E beach

    A SEASIDE town could be transformed into the set of a Hollywood blockbuster starring Keira Knightley and Jude Law. The Northern Echo can reveal that film director Joe Wright plans to use Redcar beach, in east Cleveland, to shoot scenes for his latest

  • Boro fans are warned 'beware of Roma thugs'

    Football hooligans known as the "ultras" may target Middlesbrough fans in Rome for the UEFA Cup tie with Roma, police fear. Italian police are providing a convoy of buses to spare North-East supporters the 15-minute trip from central Rome to the Olympic

  • Lender smashes profits record

    HSBC smashed the record for annual profits by a UK bank yesterday when it announced earnings of £11.91bn for last year. The figure was 11 per cent higher than the previous year after its core businesses in the UK, US and Hong Kong produced "robust performances

  • Eating Owt: New brooms

    PEOPLE write in about all sorts of things. Columns in the past few months have included notes on the Bumblies, on the etymology of the term "square meal", on the youthful use of "yooz" and - much the most prolifically - on the sex life of Edward VII.

  • Test: Protecting fine architecture

    Greater London has the highest concentration of listed buildings in the country, with 603 in Barnet alone. Many of these can now be seen on a web site launched by English Heritage called Images of England (www.imagesofengland.org.uk) which aims to