Minty the pet sheep has gone missing from his home at the King William IV pub in Barton, North Yorkshire. That's the story for tomorrow morning's Headline Game on TFM radio. His young owners Ashley and Liam Postlethwaite are heartbroken because they've
FEARS that a fire had started in a North-East hospital were unfounded tonight. The fire service was called to Darlington Memorial Hospital when an alarm went off in the X-ray department at about 6.50pm. The area was cleared while firefighters investigated
A FORMER police sergeant has been placed on the sex offenders register after admitting sexually assaulting a former colleague. David Roythorne, 52, the former head of Northumbria Police's mounted section, was also given a 12-month conditional discharge
A RAPE suspect shoved his clothes in a washing machine as soon as he returned home in a dishevelled state shortly after the alleged attack, a court has heard. The jury in the trial of Lee Bellwood has also been told by his then-partner that
A MASSIVE backlog of crimes were not logged onto a police computer system due a severe shortage of staff, an employment tribunal has heard. A civilian operator said she had to work under such intolerable pressure to hit targets at Cleveland
NEWCASTLE United last night confirmed that Obafemi Martins will travel to Germany to undergo a hernia operation next Monday. The surgery will be performed by Dr Ulrike Muschaweck and it is hoped the striker will be able to return to action within a couple
YOUNG people in Richmondshire will have the chance to make their voices heard following the creation of a new youth forum. Richmondshire District Youth Council (RDYC) was now has more than twenty members, all aged between 12 and 19, whose job it is to
REGULARS at a North Yorkshire pub are appealing for the return of one of its most popular residents. Minty the sheep, who has lived at the King William pub in Barton, near Richmond, since he was a lamb, went missing overnight on Friday.
MIDDLESBROUGH fans will have the chance to see the next generation of Riverside starlets when Boro host Nottingham Forest in the fourth round of FA Youth Cup next Tuesday. Having won 2-1 at Brentford in the last round, Boro are hoping supporters will
KEVIN Pietersen tonight confirmed he had resigned as England Test and one-day captain. It had been reported since early this morning that Pietersen had vacated the role. Coach Peter Moores, meanwhile, has been sacked by the England and Wales
I read an interesting article in the Daily Mail online, where the woman who wrote the thing, called a tattoo a "tramp stamp". That's so funny and very clever if I do say so myself. I've also heard this expression quite recently on an American TV show.
A FORMER amateur football club manager has unveiled his dream of transforming empty factory land into a £2m sports village. After a lifetime in sport, 54-year-old Ken Houlahan is keen to pass on his passion to youngsters across the south Durham area.
A TEENAGE tearaway who ruined the lives of his father's neighbours has been spared a further spell behind bars - after receiving a short, sharp shock while on remand. Daniel Cook has been awaiting his fate in a young offenders' institution since being
A HISTORY society has organised a varied programme of events and talks for the year. The 2009 programme of the Tudhoe and Spennymoor Local History Society will feature eleven meetings including visits to the National Media Museum at Bradford, Castle
RELATIONSHIP COURSE: Darlington Support Group is to run a course for people who are dealing with the breakdown of a relationship. The classes will offer support and guidance to participants over the course of six weeks, costing £30. The course is to begin
ROAD crossing gaps at an accident blackspot will be closed despite local protests. Nineteen people objected to Darlington Borough Council's plan to close eight crossings on the A68 between Darlington and Heighington. Residents said the changes would
VISITORS to a railway museum can step aboard three of the locomotives on display. Locomotion: the National Railway Museum at Shildon, in County Durham, will hold a Cab It event on Saturday and Sunday (10 January and Sunday 11 January) from 10am to 4pm
INVESTIGATIONS are continuing into a house blaze that claimed the life of a 61-year-old woman. Firefighters wearing breathing apparatus found the woman dead inside the house in Huntington, York, after a neighbour reported smoke billowing from the windows
A VILLAGE'S traditional annual Burns supper will be held later this month to raise funds to keep the community looking its best. The event will be held at Ceddesfeld Hall, in Sedgefield, on Saturday January 24 starting with reception drinks at 7.45pm
DRIVERS who park illegally on double yellow lines have been warned that they will be targeted when council traffic wardens take over enforcement in Darlington. Cabinet members at Darlington Borough Council have agreed that the authority will
A NORTH artist is celebrating the success of her latest business venture - a gallery exhibiting examples of her work. Glassblower Desiree Hope opened the gallery, in her home town of Masham, North Yorkshire, before Christmas. She said her gallery has
VILLAGERS will be sent a special newsletter to ask for their ideas about how to spend a £3,000 prize. Sadberge Parish Council has been awarded the money through the Calor Village of the Year contest. Sadberge was one of the runners-up in the national
AN operation to protect vulnerable businesses in north Durham from criminal gangs over Christmas is being hailed a success by police. ‘Operation Clinkerhill’ was put in place to prevent robbers targeting post offices, travel agents, off-licences and
PARISH councillors who are involved in a fight against three wind farms hope to meet their MP in the near future. Sedgefield MP Phil Wilson was invited to attend a meeting of Sadberge Parish Council on Tuesday to discuss proposals for more than 30 turbines
A STOCKTON community centre has received a £10,000 grant to pay for a refurbishment. The Parkfield Community Recreation and Arts Association has been given the funding by Banks Developments to pay for the kitchen, heating and bathroom work to be carried
NEWCASTLE'S home game with Everton has been put back 24 hours to accommodate coverage on live television. David Moyes' side will now travel to St James' Park on Sunday, February 22 (ko 4pm) for a game that will be shown live on Sky Television. The game
Police are appealing for witnesses after a Yamaha motorcycle collided with a Honda Civic road near to the junction with Bedford Terrace, in Stockton. The incident happened at around 2.40pm, on January 6. The 22-year-old man riding the motorcycle
I'm feeling a bit sad today because I've moved out of the editor's office. No, I haven't resigned or been sacked. I've simply moved into another office in a different part of the newsroom. I'm now sharing a secretary with the managing director and it
PICKHILL pair Chris Wise and Tracey Taylor-West will be vying for a hat-trick of wins in the Cartersport Jack Frost Stages Rally, which takes places at Croft Circuit near Darlington later this month. A total of 90 crews will be taking part in the event
A COMMUNITY centre is offering evening classes for people who want to start the new year by learning something new. The Park View Community Association in Chester-le-Street will hold more than 40 classes at its main site in the town centre and at its
HOUSEHOLDERS in the Hambleton area are being urged to recycle their Yellow Pages through the district council’s collection schemes. New copies of the directory are being delivered across the district and for the first time old ones can be recycled
A MAJOR High Street name has carried out a major investment at a long-established branch in North Yorkshire. Darlington Building Society has carried out an extensive refit of its branch based on the High Street, in Northallerton. The work has seen an
TWO PHOTOGRAPHIC collections are to come together for the first time in a new exhibition opening in County Durham at the weekend. Australian-born Odette England’s Attentional Landscapes and Crash Markers series form her first solo UK exhibition at the
HISTORY is being recreated in unique project to recast a life-size figure of a classical warrior bearing a shield and a thrusting sword. The classical warrior - a "Borghese gladiator" - once stood by what is now the visitor centre of Whitby Abbey. And
PLANS to develop a caravan park near Easingwold have been strongly criticised by locals. An application has been made to change land at Follywood Sand Lane, at Huby, into 39 log cabins with a reception area. The land is currently farmland and Hambleton
My blog has had an extended Christmas holiday – so I'll apologise to its readers. Sorry girlfriend, sorry Mum. Think that just about covers it. I had one of the best Christmases I've had for a while. I'm normally a bit of a Scrooge when it
AN appeal is being made to identify a man who was found dead found near a North Yorkshire railway crossing 16 years ago today. The man was found on a farm railway crossing north of Thirsk station on January 8 1993. It is thought he was hitch-hiking
THE UK’s leading charity for missing and unidentified people today made a renewed appeal for information about a man found dead in North Yorkshire 16 years ago. Missing People, which works with the police, coroners, hospitals and social services to resolve
YOUNGSTERS are being urged to be a nuisance in a bid to improve road safety by making people buckle up. The 95 Alive Partnership campaign is running the Seatbelt Sheriff campaign in a bid to cut the number of road deaths. The scheme
A GAMEKEEPER is organising a charity dinner dance in honour of his wife, who suffers from cancer. Brian Pavey, who lives in Richmond, will host the black tie event on January 24 to raise money for the Richmond Community Hospital where his wife, Eunice
A STUDENT and teacher music group based at a school in Barnard Castle is now being opened up to the public. Teesdale Schools noaddedsugar (corr) meet every Tuesday evening in the new drama studio from 3.45pm until 4.45pm, but that will be extended until
THE region’s economy needs interest rates to remain unchanged, The Northern Echo’s shadow monetary policy committee surprisingly voted yesterday. The Bank of England monetary policy committee meets tomorrow and most commentators expect the
Waterloo Road (BBC1, 8pm) THERE are new pupils to welcome as Waterloo Road begins a new traumatic term. “I’m the head of the school, who are you?” Rachel Mason (Eva Pope) demands of an unruly, youthful newcomer. “Your worst nightmare
DESPITE the economic downturn continuing to force people to rein in their spending and cut back on luxuries, one North-East cosmetic treatment company has found that demand for its procedures is on the increase. Collagenics North-East is defying
SIR Bobby Robson will today open the seventh branch of one of the North- East’s biggest plumbers’ merchant companies. Taps, which is unveiling its newest base in Walker, Newcastle, is making a £5,000 donation to The Sir Bobby Robson Foundation
FURNITURE retailer Barker and Stonehouse has launched an industry-leading scheme in mattress and furniture recycling. The family-run business, which has eight stores across the North, has teamed up with Hartlepool charity Owton Fens Community
A WIND farm has marked a first for the UK renewables industry. The West Durham Wind Farm scheme at Tow Law, the largest of its kind in the North-East, is the first onshore scheme in the UK to use tubular steel-piled foundations as supports for
STAFF at two North-East branches of clothing chain USC are facing an uncertain future with their stores among 15 being run by administrators, it emerged last night. The fashion retailer’s Newcastle and Sunderland stores were not among the 43
I AM an organiser for the War Research Society, which was formed more than 30 years ago by serving police officers and exservicemen. We support a number of causes, including the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, Normandy Widows and Veterans
WHENEVER one reads the words of your columnist Peter Mullen, one should always remember the context. He writes as the chaplain, apologist, and spokesman for the City of London. This is the organisation which has presided over the some of the
I WAS disgusted to see not a single Labour MP on Saturday’s protest in Durham City against the massacres in Gaza (Echo, Jan 5). Moreover, I contacted a friend from Newcastle who informed me there were no Labour MPs on that march either. To be
I CANNOT agree with your Comment column (Echo, Jan 2) that deflation is necessarily a bad thing; it’s all too easy to accept that our prosperity as a nation depends on people buying goods and services that they don’t need with money that they
ROSE Teasdale suggests Hear All Sides doesn’t offer “a diversity of views” (HAS, Jan 1), but then derides regular correspondents for writing about “every conceivable subject under the sun”. Being a bit inconsistent, isn’t she, as well as exaggerating
THE war against terrorism is far from easy. It is a battle against an often unknown but deadly enemy lurking in the shadows. The police and Armed Forces, who are at the sharp end of the fight, have an unenviable and, in many ways, impossible job
If you’re an older woman, don’t panic. There could be a job for you with a well-known time traveller. COULD this be the year of the grown-ups? So far, it’s looking good. For a start, it’s the over- 40s who are best equipped to deal with
Was the Pope a Catholic? Were there wolves in Redcar or pain in Spain? Gadfly puts his first foot in it. CHRISTMAS spent, the Daily Telegraph has been enjoying a jolly little correspondence on what best to call the period between December 25
DAVID Lacey (HAS, Jan 2) compares the Palestinians to a “dysfunctional family”, stealing petrol, water and electricity from its neighbour, Israel. The analogy is absurd and insulting. Israel bombed Gaza’s only power station, as well as other civilian
DIDN’T he know there was a war on? Of course, there are many wars on. There always are and, I have become gloomily convinced, there always will be. The Third World War, generally called the War on Terror, is now well under way. But it is in the
THE Princes Trust team’s mobile office Launchpad visits the Market Place, Bishop Auckland on Friday. Trust representatives will be on hand to provide information and recruit participants from 9.30am to 3.30pm. The next Team Programme for 16 to 25-year-olds
She’s standing down as chairwoman of Rape Crisis this month after five years at the helm. But Nicole Westmarland’s mission to stop violence against women is ongoing, as she tells Julia Breen. THIS is not the kitchen of a feminist. A beautiful range
KEITH Lamb has confirmed Middlesbrough's hardline stance over the future of Stewart Downing. Boro, who have denied turning down a third bid from Tottenham Hotspur for the England international, continue to insist that the winger will be going nowhere
POLICE in North Yorkshire are investigating the suspicious death of a man found with serious head injuries. The unnamed 51-year-old man, from Brompton, Northallerton, died at the Friarage Hospital in the town on January 6. Northallerton CID is investigating
THE son of a murder victim vowed to torture her killer’s mother in a chilling copycat revenge attack, a court was told yesterday. Aaron White was said to have sent the death threat to double-killer Gary Vinter after he was jailed for stabbing
PEOPLE are being invited to view a photographic exhibition being held to mark the demise of a council. Chester-le-Street District Council, which was established in 1974, will cease to exist in April when the new Durham County Council unitary authority
CRIME maps highlighting the number of offences committed in North-East and North Yorkshire neighbourhoods have gone online. The Home Office has instructed all forces in the country to publish maps featuring detailed crime data. All four forces
A CARER stole a cash card from a wheelchair-bound patient and took more than £1,500 from her bank account. Helen Louise Smith stole the card from Irene Gent’s purse after watching her withdraw money from an ATM. Smith, 30, of Arthur Terrace,
COUNCILLORS are being advised to back plans to create sports facilities for young people despite fears it will increase anti social behaviour. Lanchester Parish Council wants to use agricultural land to build a bike track and play area for children
WITH its walls stripped bare of fixtures and fittings, the only familiar sight in one of the last Woolworths to close yesterday was an empty pick’n’mix stand. Shoppers were lured into the Redcar branch, in east Cleveland, by posters advertising
A NEW guidebook celebrating one of a city’s most beautiful churches has been published. The church of St Margaret of Antioch, in Crossgate, Durham, was founded in the 12th century and is still used for Sunday and weekday worship. The last official guide
A BUSINESS woman from north Durham has brought part of her holiday home with her. Natalie Hildon loved Thai massage so much that she has used it to transform her business. It is an ancient holistic therapy aimed at all areas of the body and is tipped
LUCKIER won with any amount in hand on her last start and she could prove well treated in the Panoramic Bar & Restaurant Handicap at Kempton, writes TATTENHAM. The three-year-old ran a fine second at Great Leighs on her penultimate start so it
HARTLEPOOL United have made their move to try and sign Dean Windass. The Hull City striker has been told he can leave the KC Stadium, but Pools can now expect a number of clubs to jump in the race for his services – with Oldham strongly joining
AYR are planning to stage an additional six-race card on Saturday as jumps racing up and down the country continues to be hit by freezing temperatures. The Scottish track has been given the green light to host a National Hunt fixture but the
MANCHESTER City owner Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan has toppled Roman Abramovich to head British football’s rich list. Sheikh Mansour, a member of the royal family of Abu Dhabi, has a personal fortune of £15billion according to the Football
ROSS Wallace has turned down the option of a permanent move to Preston, but the Sunderland midfielder will remain at Deepdale for the remainder of the season before reassessing his position in the summer. Wallace joined Preston on loan in August
GARETH SOUTHGATE has asked about Marlon Harewood’s availability after learning that Aston Villa are in the hunt to sign Emile Heskey from Wigan this month. While any sale of Heskey would lead to Wigan manager Steve Bruce stepping up his interest
OBAFEMI Martins’ agent has branded Newcastle’s medical staff “woeful”, and claimed the striker’s hernia problem was only spotted after he travelled to Italy to see a specialist. After missing the last threeand- a-half weeks with an injury sustained
MIDDLESBROUGH are refusing to back down in their attempts to keep Stewart Downing at the Riverside Stadium by rejecting a third offer within the last ten days that falls just short of his £15m valuation. Despite an insistence from chairman
Train spotting: harmless fun or a threat to national security? Graeme Hetherington reports TRAIN enthusiasts are being targeted by officious authoritarians, according to one of the North-East’s leading railway experts. That’s the view of
DARLINGTON’S pursuit of Liam Hatch received a boost last night when one of their rivals for the striker dropped out of the running. Shrewsbury Town were hopeful of signing the 26-yearold in time to cover for Grant Holt, who this weekend begins
A TEENAGER has been branded a compulsive liar and attention-seeker who invented a rape allegation because she feared losing her boyfriend. The 17-year-old claims she was attacked at knifepoint in her home in Darlington after being woken by an
A MODEL has died from cancer only weeks after a bone marrow transplant. Toni Chorley, 23, from Consett, County Durham, was diagnosed with cancer just as her career as a model was taking off. Aggressive bouts of chemotherapy and radiotherapy were
A COMPANY which provides car parts for the motor industry has become the latest victim of the economic downturn – announcing it is cutting 296 jobs from its production line. Managers at Unipres, in Sunderland, which provides parts predominantly
A COUNCIL is backing the closure of a hospital accident and emergency unit – to the anger of campaigners. Darlington Borough Council has been accused of “totally and utterly forgetting about the people of Bishop Auckland” after backing plans to
THOUSANDS of train spotters are being quizzed as potential terrorists at railway stations across the region, it was revealed yesterday. Police are accusing enthusiasts of carrying out reconnaissance for a terror attack when they are simply
SHOLA Ameobi has signed a three-year extension to his Newcastle contract that will keep him at St James' Park until the summer of 2012. Ameobi, whose previous deal had been due to expire at the end of the current campaign, penned a new deal
ENGLAND captain Kevin Pietersen and coach Peter Moores have both resigned according to reports today. Although the England and Wales Cricket Board have not confirmed either man has stepped down from his position, it appears the rift which has rocked
Not a single point on the hedgehog this morning. The Headline Game on TFM was all about a little boy in Kansas who fought a legal battle for the right to have a pet hedgehog called Little Luke. Our headline was "Point of order" - because it has a hedgehog
