THE new Conservative-Liberal Democrat government could be "disastrous" for the North-East, the Labour leader of the region's biggest council claimed today. Durham County Council leader Simon Henig said: "I know Conservatives in the south of England are
IT'S very early days, and it would be naive in the extreme to think it is going to be a bed of blue and yellow roses, but Britain's new Government has made a promising start. The coalition has the look of a substantial partnership, designed
A MAN has been arrested in connection with an assault which left a soldier fighting for his life. A 19-year-old, from the Middlesbrough area, handed himself into a police station earlier today. David Grout was taken to James Cook University Hospital
A DISABLED man has expressed his frustration at the lack of buses with wheelchair access operating through his village. Steven Catchpole has to call Arriva in advance to check if a low floor, easy access bus is operating on the route through West Auckland
Ferryhill Town Council has recently introduced a Disc Parking scheme for the Town Centre main car park in response to requests from the local Chamber of Trade. The scheme is to ensure there are free spaces in the Town Centre for drivers who
THE "major problem" of parking on a north Durham high street would be made worse by a proposed office and residential development, a councillor has claimed. Coun Ken Holroyd, a Liberal Democrat county councillor for Belmont, was speaking against JA Properties
AN annual charity football match will raise money for a support group for children with special needs and their families. The third annual Tommy’s Tigers versus Daz’s Dazzlers charity fixture will be held at West Chilton Playing Fields, Chilton
A GLIDER pilot had a narrow escape when he lost height near the A19 and was forced to land in a field. Andy Parish had set off from the Yorkshire Gliding Club, at Sutton Bank, near Thirsk, and had travelled to Carlton Bank. But on his way back he lost
On 8th May 2010 1,400 women participated in Teesside Hospice’s 2010 Starlight Stroll. This year’s sponsored 7 mile walk started from Redcar and Cleveland College and saw women walk from Marske and back. Once again the support has been overwhelming
IT looks as if we are now emerging out the other side of the election, although how long it will be before we are plunged back in is anyone's guess. Only yesterday someone stopped me in the street and asked when they'd be getting their local
DRIVERS are being warned to be on guard after a spate of thefts of fuel in recent days. Thieves have struck in the Stanley area five times since Friday, draining fuel tanks of cars parked on the roadside overnight. They have punctured the tanks and
PEOPLE across North Yorkshire are being asked for their views about how local transport is managed and maintained and how it can be improved. The county council is currently preparing its third Local Transport Plan which will set out the plans and strategies
ELECTION candidates for the Thirsk and Malton seat are to attend a hustings within a church to voice their views. Due to the death of John Boakes, the UKIP candidate for the constituency, the Thirsk and Malton seat is not voted on until Thursday, May
TWO high-profile outdoor rock concerts have sold out more than a month before the bands are due to appear. Keane are to appear in Dalby Forest, near Pickering on June 25, and Simply Red will be performing at the same venue the following day. And both
TWO separate thefts of railway cable caused three hours of late-night disruption to train services. Two sections of cable were stolen from the line between Darlington and Middlesbrough on Monday night. The two incidents were reported to British Transport
Catterick Village’s serenity belies its cramped location between a motorway and an Army camp. Echo Memories discovers that the North Yorkshire village has always been at the heart of the action. STUMBLING into a North Yorkshire village more
THERESA May was today named as Home Secretary in David Cameron's new coalition Government, while Vince Cable will take over as Business Secretary. In the first batch of appointments announced by No 10, Ken Clarke was made the Justice Secretary
SHAMEFUL though it is to steal another critic’s words, a reviewer once summed up the voice of Dougy Mandagi, frontman of The Temper Trap, thus: “He could sing about watering the garden and make your heart melt.” Be advised, this Australian four-piece
Sunderland defender Michael Turner will miss the first two games of next season after the FA extend his one-match ban. The 26-year-old was dismissed on the final day of the season in the Black Cats' 2-1 defeat at Wolves last Sunday for a second bookable
IT’S good to see Richard O’Brien’s masterpiece do another national tour – there’s a new generation to be brought under its spell, and if you haven’t already seen it, do it now. So, would Darlington’s theatregoers make the effort and dress up
THE weather has interrupted proceedings at Headingley for a third day running, with just over 21 overs bowled on the final morning. The students of Loughborough University have reached 103-2 from 47.5 overs at lunch, taken nearly an hour early due to
A MEMORABLE first 40 minutes for Chris Rushworth turned into an eminently forgettable morning session for Durham as an old adversary returned to haunt them. In their early days in first-class cricket Alistair Brown regularly used to plunder
FOUR men have now been arrested and questioned over the failed bid to remove a cash machine from a village store wall. Three men were earlier arrested by police who were alerted to the incident, as it was taking place, by local residents. They were
THREE generations of a family have performed at the Thirsk Royal British Legion Band’s first concert of its 25th year. John and Maureen Worley, their daughter Catherine Morland and her son Luke Morland all played in the concert recently. The Thirsk
THE resurgent housing market has given a boost to war veterans and vulnerable people across the North-East. Househunters in the region have played their part in a fundraising drive by North-East estate agent Rook Matthews Sayer (RMS) to help
ALL aspects of the built environment were recognised at the Constructing Excellence in the North- East (CENE) Awards, which took place over the weekend. The awards dinner brought together contractors and consultants from across the region to
COMPANIES with no traditional involvement in the nuclear sector should be seeking to get a foot in the industry’s door for their future prosperity, a leading energy industry figure has said. George Rafferty, chief executive of Durham City-based
THE UK’s largest care home provider is overhauling its business to attract more selffunded residents after its dependence on local authority and NHS finance led to record losses. Southern Cross Healthcare, based in Darlington, yesterday revealed
CAN you read this? Lucky you. A fifth of all teenagers leaving school this summer would struggle to read this page. They wouldn’t know what a fifth was either. And call it 20 per cent and it might just as well be Greek. So much for education,
The clever men at Oxford Know all there is to be knowed, But they none of them Know one half as much As intelligent Mr Toad Kenneth Grahame THOUGH references of a toadying nature may shortly follow, the real relevance of those lines from The
IN a last salvo to show the country the contempt he holds for democracy, Gordon Brown gives notice of his far-off resignation. Technically, and subject to the events unfolding, this paves the way for another Prime Minister to take office with
HOWEVER cynical people might be about politics and politicians, I know just how hard Durham City’s Labour and Liberal Democrat General Election candidates worked, not just over a few weeks, but over many months. I’m pleased that there was a local
IT was amusing to read Ray Mallon’s column (Echo, May 7) in which he stated he would stick his neck out and predict that the Conservatives would win sufficient seats to form a government following Thursday’s General Election. In keeping with the
AFTER years of advertising in newspapers and on TV asking walkers to be considerate when using public footpaths and ensure they close gates after them, it seems this is still being disregarded by some. Over the May Day bank holiday weekend a gate
RE Tony Kelly’s letter regarding the shrieking hedgehog near Wackerfield (HAS, May 8). I had a similar experience near Stanhope last summer when I passed a motionless, but very noisy hedgehog in daytime hours while walking my dog. It certainly
IN the end, after one of the most protracted General Election dramas in history, it was the only outcome that could offer any real credibility. We said last Saturday morning, as the dust settled on a confused election result, that a Conservative
A MUSIC production duo have been making it big thousands of miles away from home. Composers Steve Fox and Matt Bell, of SoulBasics, based at Darlington's The Forum Music Centre, have released their third single Rest Your Mind. It has been released on
SO – we, the people, have spoken. A trifle incoherently, let’s admit. Still, our voice has been heard. Loud if indistinct, it brought the political process to a chaotic halt. But our voice is not the crucial one in restarting government. Throughout
ONLY recently, a middle-aged woman was refused entry to an Arriva bus because she was carrying a tin of paint and was forced to walk 1½ miles to get home or phone for a taxi. If this is a health and safety issue, then fair enough, but I would
RE your recent letter about unusual birth dates (HAS, May 5). My brother was born 13/07/41 and my elder son was born 13/01/63, making my son 21 years and six months to the day younger than my brother. My sister was born 04/03/47 and my younger
Gavin Cordon looks at the life of Britain’s new Prime Minister, who had to change himself before he could transform his party. FEW modern politicians have enjoyed such a seemingly effortless rise to the top as David Cameron. From gilded youth to
AN investigation was under way last night after a man died when a cherrypicker he was using hit live overhead power lines. The 26-year-old was in the bucket of the machine, helping to build a large chicken shed, when he was electrocuted. Two
A BAND has battled through a tough audition process to reach the finals of a nationwide competition. Sound-waves and Escapades, from Northallerton, North Yorkshire, have made it to the final of the Live and Unsigned competition, which will
A junior sports club is looking forward to the new season when they get to run out in new kit. Newton Aycliffe Sports Club Junior FC Under 13's team has won sponsorship from The Co-operative Funeralcare, which has made a donation towards a
A CARE assistant reported seeing a senior nurse kicking an Alzheimer’s sufferer “like a goalkeeper”, a court was told. Lyndsey Crawford entered a communal lounge at Lindisfarne Nursing Home, in Whitehills Park, Chester-le-Street, as Sebastian
THE multi-million pound restoration of a park was celebrated by the Duke of Gloucester yesterday. His Royal Highness, Prince Richard officially opened Hardwick Park in Sedgefield, County Durham, following its revamp. The country estate has been
THAT master trainer of fillies Henry Cecil suffered a setback at the weekend but you can’t keep a good man down for long so expect him to bounce back with Aviate in the Tattersalls Musidora Stakes at York. While the defeat of Timepiece at Lingfield
HARTLEPOOL have released seven players following the end of the League One season. Julian Cherel, Ben Clark, Mark Cook, Ritchie Jones, Alan Power, Jonny Rowell and Matty Tymon have all been told they will become free agents once their current contracts
CENTURION Rich Pyrah believes the condition of the pitch for the ongoing threeday friendly against Loughborough University at Headingley should be the blueprint for the rest of the summer. Yorkshire captain Andrew Gale said recently that head
PERHAPS Steve Harmison still needs the challenge of international cricket. Bowling at the Nottinghamshire openers at Trent Bridge yesterday he was very ordinary, but when he returned to bowl at Hashim Amla he was clearly fired up. His accuracy
NEWCASTLE Falcons prop Jon Golding has earned a surprise call-up to the senior England squad for this summer’s tour of Australia and New Zealand. Golding is one of nine uncapped players selected by head coach Martin Johnson for a five-match
CHRIS HUGHTON intends to convince Jack Wilshere he should spend next season on loan at Newcastle rather than head back to Bolton for another nine months. The Newcastle boss started working on his transfer options for the summer a few weeks ago
SUNDERLAND striker Darren Bent will spend the next few weeks trying to prove he is worthy of making Fabio Capello’s final cut after being named in a provisional World Cup squad. Bent’s reward for scoring 25 goals in his first season at the
MIDDLESBROUGH could be the only Championship club with four players at the World Cup finals following yesterday’s squad announcements from Australia and New Zealand. Scott McDonald, Rhys Williams and Brad Jones were all included in Pim Verbeek
YOUNGSTERS across the country will see a film about the dangers of legal drugs featuring young North-East actors. The eight-minute video was produced after mephedrone, which gives a similar effect to ecstasy, became a problem in rural County Durham
DAVID CAMERON finally arrived in Downing Street last night after five days of extraordinary wrangling, telling the British public: “Our best days still lie ahead.” The new Prime Minister pledged to lead a “proper and full coalition” with the
Here is the text of David Cameron’s remarks in Downing Street last night. “HER Majesty the Queen has asked me to form a new government and I have accepted. “Before I talk about that new government, let me say something about the one that has just
A FORMER teacher was yesterday warned to expect jail after he admitted cocaine found in his car was to share among friends. The admission was made by Ian Ashby on the basis that he had been using the Class A drug as relief for a long-term back
A PASSION for football runs through Chris Miller’s blood and luckily for him he has a very understanding wife. Only 18 months after they emigrated to Australia, Mr Miller is returning to England just to watch a single match. He has spent more
A FATHER who turned to drug-dealing and stealing after losing his job was yesterday spared prison. David Clark, 33, was said to have been worried by his household’s perilous finances after he was made redundant. Despite having a record with 88
THE memory of Sir Bobby Robson was honoured last night at the premiere of a documentary about one of the highlights of his footballing career. One Night in Turin tells the story of Italia 90, at which England reached the semifinals of the World
A MAN picked up by a taxi after allegedly murdering an 85-year-old grandmother and setting fire to her home seemed anxious and distressed, a court heard. Taxi driver Mohammed Hanif collected the man, who had booked a car under the name of “
DARLINGTON will host North-East neighbours Sunderland at the Northern Echo Arena for a pre-season friendly in July. The Black Cats will come to the Arena for the second year running as part of Darlington’s preparations for the Blue Square Premier
THE scale of the jobs crisis facing the new government was underlined today when new figures showed that unemployment has soared over 2.5 million, the highest total since 1994. The number of people looking for work rose by 53,000 in the quarter to March
DAVID Cameron and Nick Clegg shook hands on the steps of Number 10 Downing Street today before getting down to the business of running the country. The pair went to work hours after finally putting together their historic Tory/Lib Dem coalition government
CRISTIAN RIVEROS became Sunderland’s first signing of the summer yesterday when he penned a three-year deal. Riveros, named in Paraguay’s provisional World Cup squad, put the finishing touches to weeks of negotiations. It brings to an end the
A SOLDIER recently home from a tour of Afghanistan was in a critical condition today after an unprovoked attack in the street, police said. David Grout, 22, of the Royal Signals, who was earlier socialising with relatives, was assaulted near
A NEW scheme aims to tackle underage drinking and associated anti social behaviour. Two outreach workers will be appointed to support young people in the Bishop Auckland and Shildon areas with alcohol related issues. They will visit areas identified
