THERE are a lot of things wrong with the town I grew up in - in fact there's not a lot right with it. And when I tell you that town is Newton Aycliffe, you might well agree. Just don't have a pop at it within earshot of me. The
A MAN arrested in connection with the death of a young father has tonight been charged with causing grievous bodily harm. The 21-year-old man from Chilton, County Durham, handed himself in to Newton Aycliffe police station with his family on
AN eleven-year-old boy had to be rescued when he slid down a sand dune and injured his back. The boy, who was with his father, slipped about half-way down the sandy incline at the back of Hartlepool Golf Course at about 5.20pm today. Firefighters from
A concert will be held in a primary school on Saturday at 7.30pm. The Master Singers will perform at Startforth Primary School, near Barnard Castle. Admission is by ticket only. Tickets cost 7.50 including a glass of wine. For more details call 01833
DURHAM are used to being tied up in knots by Mushtaq Ahmed when they play Sussex, but his retirement did nothing to ease their suffering against spin in the Friends Provident Trophy tie at Riverside. The little-known youngsters Rory Hamilton-Brown
VET Matt Yarnall has come up trumps for his animal charges after taking part in the London Marathon. The 26-year-old from Northallerton completed the gruelling course in a time of three hours and 26 minutes. And in doing so he raised more than £1,100
FORMER Widnes, Whitehaven and Salford boss Steve McCormack is back in rugby league after being appointed as head coach of Co-operative Championship club Gateshead Thunder. McCormack, who was sacked by Widnes in February, will take up his duties tomorrow
A youth group in Teesdale will present a showcase of their talents at the Witham Hall in Barnard Castle. Young people from Teesdale Community Resources will perform on Friday, May 15 at 7pm. Tickets cost 2.50 for adults or 1.25 for children. For more
A science teacher has received praise from her colleagues for the work she does at her school. Sarah Burns, of Bishop Barrington School Sports With Mathematics College in Bishop Auckland was recently chosen to attend a selection conference at Wembley
THE Yorkshire Dales National Park could be extended to cover an even wider area towards its fellow authority in the Lake District. The Dales became a National Park in 1954 and currently covers some 680 square miles straddling the central Pennines in
SUNDERLAND women's football team restored some pride in North-East football this afternoon when they produced a battling performance in the FA Cup final. Sunderland went down 2-1 to the favourites from London. Goals from Katie Chapman and
A 22-STONE woman had to be freed by firefighters after getting stuck in her bathtub for five hours. Chubby Rosemarie Batey slipped over in the shower and became wedged there unable to climb out. She was stuck until her son, who was asleep
A NEW service has been launched to help people in the Hambleton district who have been hit hard by the recessions. The debt advice service has been set up where a specialist can offer free, independent and impartial advice. The district
ALAN Shearer insists that saving Newcastle from the drop is not an impossible job. The former England captain is yet to taste victory in five Barclays Premier League matches since taking temporary charge of the side in a desperate bid to save the club
NEWCASTLE centre Jamie Noon has confirmed he will be leaving the Falcons this summer to join a French club, widely reported to be Brive. Noon, who turns 30 on Saturday, is the latest player to quit the Guinness Premiership in favour of a move across
THE people of the Bedale area are being given the chance to have a say in its future. They are being asked to highlight their priorities for the community to help guide future policy. The Bedale and Villages Community Plan Forum wants
Regulars to the Middle House, will recognise this quite brilliant adaptation, of steel erectors, working thousands of feet in the air, in 1930s Chicago. Joe Kirby was telling me that it’s used at the start of all his firms’ safety videos, to demonstrate
Teenagers who attend a writing group run by Durham County Council’s Clayport Library are helping a local nursing home’s own reading group. Not only do they write for the older people but they also go to Hallgarth Nursing Home to read to them. The
IKNOW you’ve got soul, soul man, soul food, lemon soul (sic)? Right, now that the name-game is out of the way, we can begin. Almost every review of Kia’s quirky new model I have read in recent weeks has begun with a pithy play on the car’s moniker
SUPERMINI estates are a rare breed these days, but Peugeot prides itself on offering an estate version of every major model in its extensive range. The Outdoor version of the 207 SW is even more unusual. It is not just the range-topping trim
WEST TEXAS country singer-songwriter Kimmie Rhodes made her third appearance in a year in the area when she played The Cluny, in Newcastle – and again performed an excellent gig. Husband Joe Gracey (bass) and son, lead guitarist Gabe Rhodes,
ONE of the ironies of ghost stories is that we love to be scared by them, but they’re so difficult to do well on stage. The only successful ones on stage that readily spring to mind are The Woman in Black and Dickens’ The Signalman.
RE correspondent D Reed’s seemingly innocuous comment about the province of Alberta using a Northumberland beach in its advertising campaign, claiming that it couldn’t have been a Canadian beach because there “weren’t any seal cubs being bludgeoned
EAST London-born screen tough guy Ray Winstone doesn’t seem like the kind of actor who’d find anything scary. But he admits he had a few qualms about taking on his latest TV role, in the drama Compulsion, because of the sex scenes. “There were
For a musical play about her family, actress Karen Foreman is appealing for recollections of Darlington days that are now on the edge of living memory. THE missing pieces of North-East-born actress and playwright Karen Lynne Foreman’s life have
EVERY day the papers cover issues that many of us have analysed many times over the years and presented the evidence of that to a variety of people. Few seek to understand the situations and those who do simply feel frustrated by the lack of regard
IT was most interesting to read your article regarding the restored organ at Barnard Castle School (Echo, April 28). It was even more interesting to note that there will be three concerts to celebrate its return to glory. However, what about the first
IT was a pleasure to visit The Stanley Jefferson, the JD Wetherspoon’s pub in Bishop Auckland, last Wednesday, along with my two closest friends. We were served by a very helpful and pleasant young man, Chris, who was also capable of communicating
RE Ralph Musgrave’s recent letter inferring that speeding drivers are safer than those who obey the law (HAS, April 27). I think the Transport Research Institute (Stirling University) is reasonably reliable in such matters and their research shows
LAST year, I was one of the many objectors to the monstrosity, the so-called “pavement cafe”, outside the King’s Head Hotel, Richmond. Residents were surprised it was ever allowed. I am pleased to say the new structure is far more presentable
ON the day that our troops began the withdrawal from Basra, and respects were shown to the memory of those brave men and women who gave their lives in the line of duty in Iraq, it speaks volumes that there was neither sight nor sound from one Tony
EVERY cloud has a silver lining – and every bad news story is good news for someone. Take swine flu, for example. It’s a deadly serious business, despite the flippancy of The Sun’s front page headline last week, on the day it was confirmed that
YOU know you’re in trouble as Prime Minister when Cabinet colleagues have to rush out statements insisting they still have complete faith in you. It’s like a football manager receiving the dreaded vote of confidence from his chairman. It’s meaningless
WHAT a wonderful recital we enjoyed at North Billingham Methodist Church last Tuesday. Ben Thapa – one time member of G4 and now carving out a very successful career in opera and concert – sang to an enraptured audience. Let’s face it, we don’
PLEASE, could David Lacey (HAS, April 29) justify his comments that our Government has destroyed our economy, education, law and order systems and Armed Forces, etc. Certainly, on education the Labour Government has done much to reverse the adversity
I WISH David Lacey (HAS, April 29) would read my letters properly instead of inserting his own prejudices into my contributions. He thinks I was wrong to say Gordon Brown has not been very lucky. Surely, whatever your political affiliation
AMID all the doom and gloom and trouble and strife surrounding us today in our country, and the world in general, what a pleasant surprise it was last Tuesday to walk into West Cornforth library and see two, four-week-old lambs in a playpen and
Dr Ciaran O’Keefe is a rarity – a parapsychologist who goes ghost-hunting on TV. He tells Steve Pratt about his haunting experiences and reveals some of the tricks of the spirit world THE verbal appeal “Is anybody there?” is followed by three loud
DESERT Creek showed a good level of ability as a juvenile and looks certain to make his presence felt on his return to action at Windsor. The son of Refuse To Bend was not unfancied for his racecourse introduction at this venue last October
Swalwell stayed on song in the Wellstream Northumberland and Tyneside Senior League, with a win over Leadgate taking them nine points clear at the top of the division. Shotley Bridge moved into second place after beating Tynedale with a late recovery
In the 3D Sports Durham Coast League, Castle Eden, Murton and Ryhope each won for a second week and now share the leadership. Peterlee crashed out for just 57 at home to the Castle with Alan Unsworth (5-18) on the spot. Ryhope’s James Taylor grabbed
THE first century makers of the new season produced the top talking points as the sun made batting conditions ideal in the Warmseal Durham Senior League. Bobby Steel smashed an unbeaten 124 from the Felling bowlers on his debut with Philadelphia,
A DAUNTING season appears to face the two Teesside clubs who are finding life tough in the early Dukes NEPL skirmishes. Struggling at the foot of the table after only two games, Stockton and Norton must wonder when they will enjoy a change of
THERE’S nothing more painful than to become the “whipping boys” of the league’s premier division while the professional signed some time ago is stuck in Pakistan awaiting a visa to enter the country. But the delay is threatening to derail Thornaby
Yorkshire v Gloucestershire (Friends Provident Trophy) JACQUES RUDOLPH unleashed an outstanding century and fell just two balls short of carrying his bat for the whole 50 overs, but it still wasn’t enough to avoid defeat against Gloucestershire
Durham v Surrey (Friends Provident Trophy) JUBILANT Durham snatched their first win of the season from the jaws of defeat yesterday when Ian Blackwell took wickets with the last two balls against Surrey. The showboats looked to be sailing home
A SEARCH for historic sporting memorabilia has kicked off with an appeal for a missing school badge. Northallerton College is celebrating its 100th anniversary on its Grammar School Lane site and is appealing for former pupils who may have any old sporting
DARLINGTON Mowden Park can be confident of a swift return to level four status next season if they survive the summer unscathed and reproduce their form of the last month. Saturday’s 32-15 win against Preston Grasshoppers made it three wins,
RICKY Sbragia last night admitted his Sunderland players were suffering from a “fear factor” because of their precarious position on the edge of the relegation zone. With Newcastle and Middlesbrough both losing this weekend, the Black Cats kicked
STUDENTS are getting on-line much easier - thanks to a £100,000 school investment programme. Northallerton College - currently celebrating its centenary year - has taken delivery of its latest IT hardware, increasing the number of computers
Middlesbrough 0 Manchester United 2 GARETH SOUTHGATE is determined to shield his players from the nerve shredding build-up to what he admitted will be “possibly the last throw of the dice” at St James’ Park next Monday. The Middlesbrough manager
JIMMY Gopperth says talks to secure an early release from his North Harbour contract are still ongoing after signing a three-year deal with English club Newcastle Falcons. The Falcons are hoping to have their new recruit in Newcastle in time for pre-season
A NEW wall hanging that hooks up images of County Durham is about to make its official debut. Hooky and proggy mat makers from Durham Clayport Matters will exhibit the metre-square hanging at Durham County Council’s Clayport Library on June 1 and Bowburn
FORMER Darlington manager Dave Penney has refused to deny his interest in taking some of his former Quakers with him to Oldham. But he has played down reports that he wants to fill his new squad with former Darlington players. Players at cash-strapped
BEN Clark admits a summer of reflection is on the cards The Hartlepool United midfielder was part of Saturday’s end of season whacking at Bristol Rovers, a result he admits was an embarrassment. Pools have stayed in League One for another season
Bristol Rovers 4 Hartlepool United 1 FOR weeks Chris Turner had been saying he expected the outcome of the season to go down to the final game. What he couldn’t have envisaged, however, was just how abysmal it would prove. Hartlepool
FACILITIES at the cricket club where England captain Paul Collingwood learned to play are ‘inadequate’ for today’s players, its chairman has revealed. Shotley Bridge Cricket Club, near Consett, County Durham, has just two showers for 22 players and
Liverpool 3 Newcastle 0 WHEN Michael Owen left Liverpool for Real Madrid five summers ago, his decision was made with a dream of winning the Champions League in mind – not helping to condemn Newcastle United to the Championship. In a desperate
Sunderland 0 Everton 2 PRIOR to yesterday’s game at the Stadium of Light, Sunderland’s reserve team received the Premier Reserve League North trophy. In the 90 minutes that followed, however, the club’s senior squad failed to take a giant
THE region’s oldest set of church bells will be carefully removed for refurbishment this week. Experts will begin the painstaking process of removing the 300-year-old bells from the tower of St Nicholas’ Church, high above Durham’s Market Place
PEOPLE turned out in their thousands at the weekend to sample some of the best food the region has to offer. The eighth Dales Festival of Food and Drink, in Leyburn, North Yorkshire, was blessed with blue skies and sunshine. The site was buzzing
TWO brothers at the centre of an unholy row over the running of a cathedral bookshop have been told to leave within a year. Critics said Phil and Mark Brewer ravaged the Durham Cathedral bookshop, once described as the best theological bookshop
MACABRE treasure hunters have been using metal detectors to search for souvenirs from the scene of a jet crash more than 50 years ago. An RAF Sabre fighter, from Linton-on-Ouse, near York, plunged into Hood Hill, near Sutton Bank, on the North
LONG waits for treatment for war veterans suffering from mental health problems should be a thing of the past, a leading psychologist says. Nine months after the launch of a pilot scheme in the North-East and North Yorkshire, former servicemen
FOOTBALL legend Paul Gascoigne pulled on his boots for the first time in more than three years to help a cash-strapped North-East club. Despite rumours that he had pulled out of the match at the last minute due to injury, the former England
A BIKE-RIDING lout who dislocated the jaw of a police officer as he fought to stop her arresting him has been jailed for 15 months. Stuart Lawson fled through Darlington town centre after the assault, but was tracked by security cameras and caught
A MAN wanted in connection with a suspicious death handed himself in to police yesterday. The 21-year-old walked into Newton Aycliffe police station, in County Durham, with members of his family yesterday afternoon and was arrested. The man, from
TEACHERS are to strike over plans to replace their school with a privately-sponsored academy as part of a flagship Government initiative, The Northern Echo can reveal. Members of the National Association of Schoolmasters Union of Women Teachers
THE boundaries of two national parks could be extended, after the Government's conservation agency announced today it was re-starting work to identify possible new areas for protection. Natural England said there were large areas between the Lake District
