Archive

A GEORDIE has become the new Prime Minister of Thailand. Abhisit Vejjajiva, 44, was born in Newcastle to wealthy Thai parents and attended Eton followed by Oxford University, before becoming his country's third premier in recent months.

A PENSIONER brutally mugged for her Christmas savings is back home in time for the festive season. Lillian Young, 81, says all she wants for Christmas is her 'two front teeth' after her dentures were smashed in the attack. She also issued

THE trial which led to the killer of Rhys Jones being jailed for life has shone a spotlight on a most depressing and terrifying part of society. It has given us an insight into a world of lawless teenage gangs, ruling estates with guns and

POLICE are appealing for information after a woman had her purse snatched early one evening as she was out with her young son. The 34-year-old, from Shildon, was in town shopping when she was targeted just before 5pm on Monday, December 8. PC Andy

While action packed Pamela Suhadolnik serves up fish and chips from her shop Chipmates in Haughton, she is planning her next adventure! Pamela has recently returned from a November cycling trip in Cuba with the charity Women for Women. Along with

A NORTH-EAST teacher has been suspended from teaching for lying over court proceedings that her employers already knew about. On Monday Janet Adams was found guilty of unacceptable professional conduct during her time at Ferryhill Business

A NATIONAL award has been delivered to a team of midwives from the James Cook University Hospital. Staff from the Marton Suite at the Middlesbrough hospital won team of the year at the British Journal of Midwifery Practice Awards 2008. The event, held

A DOG owner has been fined after her Staffordshire Bull Terrier savaged a Jack Russell in Billingham. The wounded animal suffered a severe bite to his right eye which required veterinary treatment following the attack on Campus Field on Neasham Avenue

BARNARD Castle’s Mayor has paid tribute to the volunteers who worked hard to ensure a memorable Christmas festival in the town. The Christmas celebration took place on Saturday, December 6 and at a Barnard Castle Town Council meeting last night John

FESTIVE opening hours and services have been confirmed by Sedgefield Borough Council. The council offices, on Green Lane, Spennymoor, will be closed from Wednesday December 24 and reopen on Monday December 29. The offices are then closed from 1pm on

COMMUNITY heroes who have gone the extra mile for their town were honoured at a ceremony in Richmond this week. The Investors in Richmond Awards were held in the town hall on Monday, and were presented by town mayor Coun Judith Steggles. Those honoured

AN author who undertook an epic journey across the musical towns of the southern states of America has been in town to launch his new book. George Miller wrote - This is the Way to Amarillo: A Musical Odyssey Across the USA - after spending six weeks

RESIDENTS who say they are being denied the use of a popular dog-walking area have sworn to flout new rules banning dogs from their local football pitch. For the past 40 years residents have been able to walk their dogs on the Earl’s Orchard football

SIX area supervisors have been tackling a planting challenge and the results across Redcar and Cleveland should be blooming marvellous in the spring. Each team has planted 500 daffodil bulbs in an area of their choice, with the locations varying from

A south Durham community gym has re-opened after being refurbished. The Trex Gym on Ironworks Road in Tow Law now boasts a recline cycle machine, a cross trainer and is awaiting delivery of dumbbell weights. It is open on Mondays 9.30am till 11am and

People in and around Ovington feeing the need to shed a few pounds after the festive season will have the chance. Starting on Thursday January 15th, Pat Thompson will be running Shape and Tone sessions in the village hall. Described as an opportunity

Christmas Services at St Helen’s Church, St Helen Auckland are on Christmas Eve when a Midnight Mass starts at 11.30pm. On Christmas Day Family Mass is at 9.30am. St Andrew’s in South Church, has a Christingle Service on Christmas Eve at 6pm, followed

YOUNGSTERS from a Bishop Auckland school used nursery rhymes as part of their tradional nativity play. Children from Cockton Hill Infant School have been rehearsing the performance for weeks before playing to around 30 parents, carers and teachers last

MP Hugh Bayley has been barred from one of his constituency pubs - because he voted in favour of the smoking ban. Landlord Robin Watson has even put up posters in his pub telling York’s Labour MP he’s not welcome inside. Mr Watson, who runs the Shoulder

A PLAQUE to commemorate the renovation work on Redcar's historic town clock has been officially unveiled. Redcar and Cleveland Council’s Mayor Coun Mike Findley and Redcar historian, Vera Robinson MBE, chair of the Friends of Redcar Town Clock performed

A LIBRARY that was created using an £8,000 donation from Andrew Carnegie celebrated its 100th birthday yesterday. Annfield Plain Library, on North Road in Catchgate, near Stanley, opened on December 16, 1908. It was down to the generosity of the Scottish-American

ROAD safety chiefs are urging motorists to take extra care when driving this winter - and offering practical help in doing so. They are staging a series of winter driving roadshows to help people be prepared for the bad conditions. Over

A COMPETITION to find Darlington's best amateur photographer has been launched. Darlington Media Group and The Northern Echo have teamed up for the Big Snap 2009 competition, with prizes worth £400 up for grabs. Building on the successes of the previous

A MOTORCYCLE stuntman has made a special Christmas delivery to a hospital. Yamaha stunt rider Dave Coates dressed as Santa Claus to donate a cheque for £250 to Darlington Memorial Hospital. Mr Coates and PC Gary Ward, from Durham Police, presented the

Wind farms could be given a dramatic facelift to turn the turbines into works of modern art. Artist Alec Finlay, who was appointed artist in residence at the New and Renewable Energy Centre in Northumberland, has designed some artistic additions to spruce

BURGLARS may have thought they had all the ingredients for the perfect crime, but the plan turned into a recipe for disaster when they inadvertently stole a giant haul of gravy granules and egg noodles. Thieves struck at the Elddis transport depot, on

A MOTHER who washed her killer son's blood stained clothes after he took part in a brutal murder has been spared jail. Marcus Miller, 18, was one of three youths who killed vulnerable Brent Martin "for sport". The 23-year-old's attackers

YOUNG people are being given the chance to talk to professionals about issues affecting their lives and - to access confidential support if necessary. Topics such as drugs and alcohol, sexual health, bullying, the law and many more will be covered throughout

DOCTORS are throwing their weight behind a campaign to reduce the amount of medicines that go to waste. NHS North Yorkshire and York launched a campaign in October to encourage people across the county not to order medicines they don't need or have stopped

PLANS to transform a cluttered town square into a thriving pedestrian hub have moved a step closer, after councillors agreed to contribute £10,000 towards the project. Changes to land in front of the town hall, in Northallerton, North Yorkshire, would

A GROUP of Explorer Scouts are making final preparations for the globe-trotting trip of a lifetime. The eight teenagers, from Alverton Explorer Scouts in Northallerton, have spent two years raising money for the three-week trip to Australia. Flying

YOUNGSTERS, councillors and council staff have joined forces to help bring a splash of colour to Colburn next spring. Last month Richmondshire Local Strategic Partnership (LSP) launched a new initiative, Working Together in Colburn, with the

AMBITIOUS plans to create a 12-mile long park along the banks of the River Wear have moved a significant step forward with the appointment of a new manager to oversee the project. Durham City Vision has appointed Ann Deary as the new manager of Necklace

PUPILS from north Durham primary schools officially opened a supermarket in their community after it had been given a facelift. Children from Leadgate Junior School and Leadgate Infant School took on star status to perform the ribbon cutting ceremony

AN old library is to be converted into modern community facility with a lottery grant of almost £167,000. The new centre in Birtley, near Chester-le-Street, will house office accommodation for charities and community groups, meeting rooms, an ICT training

YOUNG actors helped to cheer up a miserable snowman in a nativity play with a difference. Croft Primary School's annual Christmas production this week was the story of the Disgruntled Snowman. More than 45 key stage one children performed the play before

BLACKBURN Rovers have today sacked their manager Paul Ince. Rovers had lost their last six league games and after a board meeting the announcement was made that the former England international has been "relieved of his duties". Ince

PEOPLE are being urged to nominate their unsung heroes for an annual awards ceremony. Nominations have been open for the Best of Darlington Awards for two weeks, with the first nominations being sent in. This years awards include the new category Putting

TOWN centre businesses in Darlington have been given a chaplaincy service once a week. Malcolm Coates, who represents all the town centre churches, has taken on the new role. Mr Coates, who is a member of the Bondgate Methodist Church, works with the

A COMPULSIVE gambler who lost £2m failed today in a renewed court bid to win compensation against bookmaker William Hill for allowing him to carry on betting. Graham Calvert, 29, a greyhound trainer from Houghton-le-Spring, Tyne and Wear, claimed the

The world seems a nicer place this morning - all because of a lonely goat. I went 2-1 up in the Headline Game on TFM radio thanks to a story about a billy goat being abandoned outside a pet shop at the MetroCentre. The headline was "Billy No Mates"

ENERGY regulator Ofgem today called for speedier action from suppliers to slash unfair pricing from energy bills. The regulator said firms were on track to slash more than £500m from bills, but it is not happy with the pace of progress. Ofgem wants

BE PREPARED Put the decorations up Light the Christmas tree Hang the stockings on the bed For Santa Claus to see. Leave him something on a plate Cos he might be feeling hungry And don’t you stay up late You’ll wake up tired and grumpy But don

‘WHO Would Win a Fight Between Muhammad Ali and Bruce Lee?” the girls asked when this book arrived. “Who would want to read a book about that?” Answer: men. This is the sports equivalent of all those once-clever, now-boring titles that cover the

TO be found here is possibly the best poem inspired by the Tyne Bridge. Note “inspired by” not “about”. For though the poetry of Newcastle-born Robyn Bolam pulses with her northern roots, it is genuinely universal. Most moving in this selection

TURN the clock back to the gentler 1950s with this re-issued guide from a famous postwar series. The opening page gives the flavour: “The traveller in search of the picturesque will find everything he desires in the way of mountain and valley

AS you descend to Brough from Stainmore, a wonderful expanse of countryside opens up. Pastures, meadows, woods, the classic chequerwork of the English landscape. Sandwiched between the Pennines and the Lakes, the Eden valley is seldom visited for

IF you belong to the generation who missed out on being taught grammar at school, put this book on top of your Christmas wish list. If you were taught, then put it on your wish list too. Everyone should have this book, in fact. In just under 200

THIS is a hilarious, quirkily-illustrated guide to the alleged “50 best pubs in the country”. The authors have crawled the streets of Britain to find characterful pubs “stuck on craggy islands, psychotic inner city pitstops and even a bar in a converted

THE opening item is a report from 1856 of a prosecution for polluting a stream with “night soil”. The last is an account of a House of Commons debate last July about badger control. In between is a wealth of fascinating material from The Guardian

THE Gala presents its first in-house pantomime, Aladdin, and it’s a welcome return to uncomplicated fun and laughter. There are no socalled celebrities, just a company of excellent actors bringing good humour and Christmas cheer with a dollop

NOT about war at all – at least not about fighting. Illustrated by his own quirky drawings, this diary kept by a Glasgow shipping clerk records life on the home front during the First World War. But war events are logged as virtual footnotes

THE Welsh stars are back with a tour to mark their whole musical history tied together with the band’s new compilation album, Decade In The Sun. Kelly Jones led his band of merry men onto the Newcastle stage, flew into Vegas Two Times and within

If you’re on the hunt for a Christmas dinner that ticks all the boxes for taste, amount and value, look no further than the Black Horse in Tudhoe. SINCE it is Christmas, when strange and wonderful things happen, let us just for once move the

Horizon: Where’s My Robot? (BBC2, 9pm); Sleepwalkers: Secrets Of The Night (ITV1, 9pm) DANNY Wallace has had a dream for years – of meeting a clever, useful robot designed to help and entertain him. A mechanical being created by human beings

Cupcakes are not just delicious... in these gloomy times they could well be inspirational. Sharon Griffiths meets a woman of many parts who is baking her way to a new future. ANGIE Townsend’s kitchen is overflowing with flour and sprinkles and

As the store falls victim to the recession, Helen Cannam explains why she’ll miss Woolies AT the bottom of the pile of plain white soup plates in our kitchen cupboard lies the dragon bowl. It’s a very ordinary bowl, except that all around it cavort

I AM a big fan of botanist David Bellamy. As a young child in the early Eighties, I used to watch his popular TV programme, Bellamy’s Backyard Safari, which showed Professor Bellamy being chased by huge creepycrawlies after discovering what lurks

TAKE a DNA sample from every newborn baby and anyone who comes here to settle. End of story. Mike Wilson, Middleton St George, near Darlington.

I DO not agree with JM Gowland (HAS, Dec 10) that environmental protests are mindless. The action taken by protestors at Stansted Airport recently gave publicity to the need to curb air travel, which is potentially a great contributor to the carbon

THE news that there is a national shortage of NHS staff who can deal with the highest level of cases puts the Bishop Auckland General Hospital accident and emergency situation in perspective. If teams able to deal with such cases are dispersed

Alan Hill, 83, has been Willington Cricket Club’s groundsman for 44 years – despite living 13 miles away in Chester-le-Street. In the latest of our Local Heroes series, Owen Amos asks what keeps him going. ALAN Hill started as a surveyor at Brancepeth

IN his letter about the Government’s “booze battle” Dave Quinn (HAS, Dec 11) wrote: “This is the same Government which introduced all-day opening…” It’s more accurate to say that this is the Government that repealed a ban on all-day opening introduced

IT really is too late to be doing anything meaningful as regards climate change. The real nettle that nobody wants to grasp is the simple fact that, by 2050, there will be another three billion people at the party – all requiring energy and other

ONE of your News in Brief items (Echo, Dec 11) reported that the worst TV advert of the year, as per industry magazine Campaign, was that for Gillette featuring tennis champion Roger Federer, golfer Tiger Woods and footballer Thierry Henry. The

IT cannot be wrong, within certain guidelines, to have the free choice to die with dignity at a time and place of your choosing when a person is suffering a debilitating, terminal illness. I do, however, think it is wrong to broadcast euthanasia

THERE are demands for a change in the law concerning euthanasia following recent cases in which critically-ill or severely-handicapped people have opted for assisted suicide at the Dignitas clinic in Switzerland. As British law stands at present,

WHAT should we make of the fact that X Factor judge Simon Cowell is apparently now more famous than God among children under ten? Are the current generation of youngsters really such a bunch of television- obsessed couch potatoes that a multi-millionaire

TEENAGER Rory McIlroy has clung on to 50th place in the world rankings a week before the top 50 qualify for next April’s US Masters. The Northern Ireland 19- year-old missed the halfway cut in the Alfred Dunhill Championship in South Africa and

CHRIS HOY has admitted the lure of cycling in front of a passionate home crowd at the London 2012 Olympics prevented him from retiring at the top of his sport. Hoy, named BBC sports personality of the year on Sunday night, won three gold medals

ANY Currency has a string of seconds to his name but can set the record straight in the Countryside Alliance Family Day 2nd Jan Maiden Hurdle at Folkestone. Martin Keighley’s fiveyear- old ran a stormer in defeat latest, chasing home David Pipe

SACHIN TENDULKAR turned his thoughts immediately to the victims of the Mumbai terrorist attacks, after completing an emotional century to secure victory for India in the opening Test against England. Nearly three weeks after India was rocked

DARLINGTON aim to create history this evening by reaching the northern final of the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy for the first time in their history. They play at Rotherham United in the northern semifinal where a win would leave them just a two-legged

WORLD Snooker launched an investigation after Stephen Maguire’s UK Championship win over Jamie Burnett was overshadowed by reports of irregular betting patterns. Bookmakers suspended activity on the first-round match in Telford after a flurry

A wonderful picture gallery of his home town and of its celebrated football club, Michael Manuel’s DVD and CD on the history of Crook – on and off the playing field – was launched on Saturday night. Michael, for 50 years a hairdresser in those

JUST two months ago Shaun Reay was ready to turn his back on football after enduring personal disappointment during his short time with Darlington. Tonight the 19-year-old hopes his renewed love for the game will gather further strength by helping

RICKY SBRAGIA could still be in temporary charge of Sunderland on Boxing Day, as chairman Niall Quinn continues to bide his time in his attempt to ensure he hires the right manager. It is 12 days since Roy Keane walked away from Sunderland and

PORTSMOUTH manager Tony Adams has told his team they must ‘‘find the right balance’’ if they are to stop leaking goals. Pompey were thrashed 3-0 at home by struggling Newcastle on Sunday, bringing their five-match unbeaten run to an abrupt halt

ENGLAND boss Fabio Capello has hinted at midfielder James Milner being the next Aston Villa youngster to be called into his squad. Gabriel Agbonlahor and Ashley Young have taken the plaudits as Villa challenge for a place in the top four of the

MICHAEL OWEN will sit down with Joe Kinnear this morning to discuss his Newcastle United future after it emerged the new contract offer he was finally handed yesterday amounted to a £25,000-a-week pay cut. And with Tottenham, Everton and Manchester

GARETH SOUTHGATE has been urged to do everything he can to keep Stewart Downing and Tuncay Sanli – even if it means the Middlesbrough manager’s New Year restructuring plans have to be put on hold. With Tottenham once again looking to prise Downing

SIX years after his last game in sole charge of Hartlepool United, Chris Turner is back in control of team affairs again. Danny Wilson was yesterday surprisingly sacked by chairman Ken Hodcroft, after a run of six games without a win left Pools in

WHEN it comes to managers, Increased Oil Recovery – the owners of Hartlepool United – don’t do it the simple way. Chairman Ken Hodcroft caught everyone, boss Danny Wilson included, out yesterday when he relieved the manager of his duties. And

ENGLAND’S hopes of securing a famous victory over India were halted by Sachin Tendulkar’s determination to lift the spirits of a nation by masterminding one of the greatest run chases in Test history. Starting the final day on a worn wicket with

PEOPLE have been packing old shoeboxes full of Christmas gifts for disadvantaged children in other countries. They include pupils from Bishop Barrington Sports and Maths College, in Bishop Auckland, who sent almost 100 boxes to Serbia. They

PRIMARY schools pupils rounded off a year-long woodland project by helping to create a tree plantation. Year six children from Middleton-in-Teesdale Primary School, in County Durham, put the finishing touches to a woodland programme by replacing

SUSPECTED thieves tore across a seaside caravan park in a stolen van before crashing into a lamppost. Two men jumped out of the Ford Transit following the smash, with police chasing on foot. One person was arrested at the scene. Last

A BRUTAL restraint technique used before the suicide of a 14-year-old boy at a North-East secure unit will be outlawed, the Government announced yesterday. But ministers immediately came under fire for allowing other paininflicting methods – which

PUB equipment group Brulines has made its second acquisition in three months. The announcement that the Stockton company will buy Vianet out of administration comes only weeks after Brulines revealed it will be actively pursuing growth and acquisitions

THE campaign to bring 6,000 jobs to the North-East and generate £1.35bn for the regional economy has taken its fight to Brussels. Buy North-East, run by The Northern Echo and the North- East Chamber of Commerce, has submitted a dossier of information

AN online search company has overcome recruitment problems to enjoy two record-breaking months of sales. Despite yesterday posting a loss for the six months to September, turnover had improved on the previous year for Infoserve, which employs

A GROUNDBREAKING website which puts a twist on property swapping schemes is giving the ailing housing market an injection of activity. Property-Matchmaker.com matches houses being sold by estate agents and builders. The website has a number of

NOF Energy celebrated the cream of the oil, gas and energy sectors at its annual awards ceremony. Hosted by BBC Look North presenter Wendy Gibson, the event, at the Hardwick Hall Hotel near Darlington, showcased many success stories and rewarded

ENERGY efficiency organisation GoWarm has invested £15,000 to change the face of doorstep assessments. For several months, assessors have trialled handheld computers, which will replace a paperwork system. Results will be input into the terminal

A BILLY goat has been abandoned outside a pet store in the rain. The animal was found tied to a post by a baffled member of staff when she turned up for her night shift. The sight was so unusual that she initially thought the goat, nicknamed

TWO lottery winners have helped a local hospice by donating a prize hamper. Paul and Sue Watson, from Cockerton, Darlington, won £1.2m on the lottery in January last year. The pair, who run a greengrocers, handed over the hamper to Jane Bradshaw

A FATHER who says his son owes his life to a team of nurses has said thank you with an early Christmas present – a spin in his Tucano aircraft. Squadron Leader John Wilkinson, from Bagby, near Thirsk, North Yorkshire, is a pilot at RAF Linton-on-Ouse

A MAN who tried to smother his elderly mother to claim an inheritance was yesterday jailed for five years. Barry Armstrong-Smith, 47, and his partner, Marion Herrington, 43, attempted to murder frail Anne Smith, then 81, at the bungalow they shared

A HOSPITAL-BASED science programme for young people in the North-East could be introduced nationally. The William Harvey Project is a two-year programme aimed at 14 to 16-year-olds, which is designed to encourage science-based further learning

THOUSANDS of pounds worth of drugs have been recovered in operations across Teesside. On Friday, at about 12.10pm, £2,000 worth of what is suspected to be heroin and crack cocaine were seized after a Vauxhall Astra was stopped in Cargo Fleet

THE jury in the trial of a murdered two-year-old boy was told last night to decide if it was his mother or babysitter who inflicted the fatal blows. Andrew Robertson, prosecuting, told Teesside Crown Court that he believed babysitter Suzanne Holdsworth

Last year, The Northern Echo’s Owen Amos spent an afternoon as a lollipop man in Darlington . . . and survived WHY don’t people become lollipop men and women any more? It may – as some suggested – be the benefits trap. But, after spending

CHILDREN are being put at risk by a shortage of lollipop men and women, safety campaigners say. Councils in the North-East and North Yorkshire have more than 100 vacancies for school crossing patrollers. The shortage has been partly

A MAN with smelly feet and a woman with period pains who both dialled 999 for help are among those causing problems for the emergency services. Call handlers on Teesside also had to deal with a woman who needed prescription glasses for her

A MYSTERY British band who have racked up a string of hit singles and albums will play a secret gig in the North-East this weekend. Organisers of the show are not allowed to reveal who the mystery guests are, but told The Northern Echo they were

GRIEVING sisters were heartbroken to find that their mother’s grave had been vandalised just hours after her funeral. Carol Chambers’ three daughters had waited nearly five months to bury their mother because of a police investigation into

ONE of the people taken in by bogus barrister Ian Clegg’s tales said last night he had forgiven him, despite his “evil” lies. The man, who asked not to be identified, said he and many other members of the congregation at St Hilda’s Church in

A COMPULSIVE liar who pretended to be a qualified barrister and represented people in court wearing a wig he had bought on eBay has been jailed for two years. Ian Clegg, 32, bought a barrister’s wig and gown from the auction website and told

A MAN from the North-East who disappeared more than a week ago in Dubai has been found in a critical condition in hospital. Stephen McKeown, 25, from Middlesbrough, is believed to have been involved in a hit-and-run incident shortly after leaving

A POLICE authority is performing well in managing its resources and providing value for money. The verdict on Durham Police Authority was delivered by the Audit Commission, following an inspection earlier this year. The commission said the authority

LIFEBOAT volunteers from Sunderland RNLI were launched to help two crew aboard a six metre fishing boat which suffered electrical failure. Their emergency VHF Radio call was answered by Humber Coastguard Marine Rescue Coordination Centre at Bridlington