A man has been arrested in the North-East after his fiancee had her throat slashed in her home in Scotland. Police say 37-year-old Steven McKee was arrested in Newcastle. He is believed to be suffering from self-inflicted injuries and
Residents in a tiny village are fighting back against the decline in rural services by successfully opening a grocery store in a disused phone box. The "store" in Draughton, near Skipton, North Yorkshire, has been up and running for two weeks
Two fire crews were called to deal with a blaze in a kitchen of a house in Staindale Close, Yarm, at 3.30pm this afternoon. Firefighters used one hose reel and two breathing apparatus to extinguish the blaze which badly damaged the kitchen and caused
Police are appealing for witnesses to an attack on an allotment in which a caravan was torched and four hens kept on the site were also killed. A spokesman for Cleveland Police said that the attack on the allotment on East Croft Road, Grangetown, near
A woman had to be treated with oxygen after a fire broke out in an electric box of a pub in Front Street, Wingate, County Durham, shortly after 2pm this afternoon. Two fire crews attended from Peterlee.
Three males and two females were taken to hospital after a two car smash on Peth Bank, Lanchester, near Durham, this afternoon. Emergency services were called at 2.38pm. The casualties were treated at the scene by paramedics before being taken by ambulance
A 29-year-old woman hit by a police car as she crossed the road was today described as being in a stable condition. The police car was on routine patrol when the accident happened at 10.30pm on Thursday on the east-bound carriageway of the
NEWCASTLE suffered a surprise pre-season defeat at the hands of Championship opposition as Chris Martin’s double earned Norwich a deserved victory at Carrow Road. Martin glanced home a second-half header to add to the 38th-minute tap in that opened the
CHRIS Hughton has made a last-minute change to his starting line-up for today's friendly at Norwich City. Slovenian winger Haris Vuckic has been promoted to the side that will kick off at Carrow Road in place of Faroe Islands youngster Joan Edmundsson
NEWCASTLE boss Chris Hughton has handed Faroe Islands youngster Joan Edmundsson an unexpected starting spot at Norwich. The teenage midfielder will start at Carrow Road as the Magpies play their second pre-season fixture this afternoon. Tim Krul starts
A CALL has been made for bikers from across the UK to join up for a mass charity rideout through Richmondshire in aid of troops serving in Afghanistan. Organisers hope more than 12,500 bikers will join the Black Rat Charity Rideout on a 22 mile route
THOUGH goodness knows there’s been stiff competition since, June 29 1950 may have been the darkest day in the crepuscular history of English sport. In the football World Cup we lost 1-0 to the USA, a nation that hitherto had believed that soccer
SALES of tents are booming as families opt for stayat- home holidays and the number of summer festivals introduces even more people to the fun of camping. But how easy is staying in a tent with young children? Haven Holidays, which has 23 touring
Winter may be forgotten, but if you are thinking of an escape from the next one, a great destination is only a three-hour flight away. Jim Entwistle travels to southern Tunisia to see what the region has to offer weather-beaten Brits. THAT warm blast
THE Norfolk Broads have been rebranded as Britain’s Magical Waterland. Local experts regard the current financial climate as a “make or break time” for one of the UK’s most beautiful, but least understood, areas of natural beauty. Simon Middleton
THIS may be an American-based study, but its conclusions are applicable worldwide. The world has to be prepared for the impact of a two billion car threat which could put everybody in gridlock and devastate the environment while also wasting
ANYONE who can win cycling’s Tour de France seven times, beat the big “C” and also conquer the harshest critics, surely deserves this title. He is a supreme competitor in everything he does, but the going was brutal at the top and, as Wilcockson
NOT On My Patch, Lad by Mike Pannett (Hodder and Stoughton, £12.99) NORTH Yorkshire may be “God’s own country” and boast some of the most beautiful scenery in Britain, but it is not a crime-free zone. and Mike Pannett knows the truth of it. Pannett
CUMBRIAN woodcutter’s son Wolf Hadda has it made – successful business, successful marriage – until a knock on the door tears his world apart. The dream turns into a prison nightmare and it takes seven years for psychiatrists to reach his tortured
ALEX Scarrow is one of the UK’s finest exponents of science faction – adroitly blending facts with fiction in fast-paced stories that could easily be tomorrow’s newspaper headlines. Last Light, his devastating account of what could happen if
Prepare for a shocking time when the Circus of Horrors comes to town, warns Viv Hardwick. AFTER 15 outrageous years, the Circus Of Horrors will still find something to shock the audiences at Stockton Riverside Festival next week. Circus
THE timing of the BBC’s newlook Sherlock Holmes series isn’t good. Coming so soon after the successful cinema reboot by director Guy Ritchie, with Robert Downey Jr and Jude Law as the Baker Street detectives, people are bound to ask if BBC1’s Sherlock
Events are running behind, but what’s half an hour when there are 50 golden years to celebrate? THE taxi’s from Thornaby railway station, the driver has no idea where he’s going. “God will show me,” he says and appears on the point of underlining
WHAT is “special” about Britain’s relationship with the US? Perhaps the fact that we are the only European member of Nato ready to sacrifice the lives of our young men in the futile war in Afghanistan. Vicky Willis, Nunthorpe, Middlesbrough.
ON behalf of Children North-East I would like to express thanks to all the people in the region who play The People’s Postcode Lottery. Children North-East is one of the charities which is a regular beneficiary of this lottery and recently we
RE Liberal Democrat county councillor Ben Ord’s reference to him seeking proportional representation for local government, to include cabinet and chairman and vice-chairman positions (HAS, July 21). I served on Sedgefield Borough Council from
THE rise in VAT to 20 per cent is due to go ahead on January 4. While all businesses will have to accept this increase there will also be changes to VAT flat rate, a scheme open to businesses with lower annual turnovers. Under the flat rate scheme
A REGULAR applicant walked into the local unemployment office, marched up to the counter and says: “I hate drawing benefits. I’d rather have a job any day.” The worker answers: “You couldn’t have timed it better. We’ve just got a job in from a
BENEATH the headline “Council Cuts: Where the axe will fall” (Echo, some editions, July 22) we learnt of the first round of cuts totalling £2.6m to be made by Darlington Borough Council. Darlington has one MP covering the whole borough and yet
AT a time when Labour should be increasing its credibility in its heartlands, its members of Durham County Council’s cabinet voted to close seven care homes, including Shafto House, Newton Aycliffe. This ruling undoubtedly makes more than 100
THE final series of the classic comedy, Last of the Summer Wine, starts tomorrow (BBC1, 7.30pm). What a shame it has come to an end after 37 years of making people laugh not only in this country, but all over the world. One thing that is in very
Boy George says people expect the worst but are pleasantly surprised when they meet him. He tells Steve Pratt that this time he’s going to stay out of trouble as he heads to the North-East for a date as a DJ. SEVERAL times Boy George begins a sentence
THE colours of summer are changing as the season goes rolling on. The bright whites and brilliant yellows that greeted the return of warmth a couple of months ago have faded, and more mellow hues are now colouring our road verges and rail sides
GOOD news on the economy in the last couple of years has been as rare as sightings of Lord Lucan. It is, therefore, heartening that Britain’s finances enjoyed the strongest growth for four years between April and June. The 1.1 per cent advance
DARLINGTON boxer Stuart Hall last night won an epic battle to make a successful first defence of his British bantamweight crown defeating arch rival Martin Power at Rainton Meadows Arena, Houghton le Spring. Earlier Nigel Wright of Crook made
COACH Mark Laycock hailed his Sevens stars last night as Newcastle Falcons claimed their first silverware of the season. Victories over Leicester Tigers, Sale Sharks and Leeds Carnegie saw Newcastle win the Welford Road leg of the JP Morgan Asset
LEWIS HAMILTON remains confident despite a practice crash that has put the championship leader on the back foot ahead of tomorrow’s German Grand Prix. Following heavy rain in the morning that left standing water on the Hockenheim track, first
MARK CAVENDISH was able to look over his shoulder as he sprinted to another sensational victory on stage 18 of the Tour de France in Bordeaux yesterday. The 25-year-old HTCColumbia sprinter’s fourth stage win of the 97th Tour and his 14th in
An ambulance service today distanced itself from comments posted on Facebook by one of its senior employees in which he criticised ''lazy'' and ''unproductive'' NHS staff. David Forster, policy and strategy director at Yorkshire Ambulance Service
PAKISTAN opener Imran Farhat defended his team’s decision not to utilise the extra half hour to seal their first Test win in 15 years over Australia at Headingley yesterday. Pakistan needed just 40 runs to claim a series-levelling win when they
Durham’s production line from the academy to first team remains strong. The latest talent to make his mark this summer is Ben Stokes, who started the season in style. The Northern Echo’s cricket writer Tim Wellock caught up with the all-rounder. IF,
MIDDLESBROUGH’S slender lead at the top of the Darlington Building Society NYSD League will be put to the test today when they travel to play Richmondshire. The pressure is on the leaders in a number of ways, but particularly through the fact
THE penultimate day of the Yorkshire Racing Festival at York boasts a cracking sevenrace card, and Mark Johnston can keep the big-race prize in Yorkshire with Lowdown. The feature race, the Sky Bet Dash (3.40), run over six furlongs, has attracted
WHO will be Durham’s Player of the Year this season? Ian Blackwell pipped a number of strong contenders to win the members’ vote last year, but the current campaign is waiting for someone to burst from the pack. At least that’s the impression
NORTON get the chance to put some daylight between themselves and the rest of the Durham Senior League relegation pack today when they travel to play a Marsden team struggling to keep their heads above water. But Jason Huitson and Dave Kennedy
ENGLAND will name their squad for next week’s first Test against Pakistan tomorrow, with Ian Bell the only significant absentee. Bell fractured his fifth metatarsal while fielding in England’s surprise five-run defeat by Bangladesh in a one-day
STUNG by their elimination from both national competitions Chester-le-Street begin the countdown to domestic glory in the Dukes NEPL with a home game against bottom club Tynemouth today. The Cestrians lost their national club crown earlier in
YORKSHIRE were denied a valuable LV=County Championship victory at Essex despite a thrilling run chase at Chelmsford. Led by Jacques Rudolph, who hit a magnificent century, the Tykes fell just short of a mammoth victory target of 369 to see
SUCH is the perversity of this crazy cricket season that a pleasant afternoon prevailed as Durham’s rain-ruined match against Lancashire petered out into a draw. When the teams lock horns again at Old Trafford in just over two weeks they will
LUOL DENG can inspire a developing Team GB roster to reach exciting new heights according to his captain and biggest fan. The NBA superstar linked up with his team-mates earlier this week after an insurance issue with his club, the Chicago
MORPETH Harrier Matthew Nicholson won his first North- East championship when he led a strong field in the Sunderland 5K road race. The 28-year-old Tynesider broke away from the leading pack after 3km and gradually extended his lead to win in
MORPETH Harrier Laura Weightman admits she must conquer her nerves before next week’s World Junior Championships in Canada. Weightman will pull on the Great Britain vest for the first time in Moncton after narrowly missing out on last year’s
Japan’s Mika Miyazato holds a one-shot advantage at the half-way point of the Evian Masters in Evian-les-Bains, France. Miyazato shot six birdies in her five-under-par round of 67, dropping just the one shot at the par-four fourth as she moved
KOREAN KJ Choi will try to end a seven-year drought in Stockholm this weekend – and at the same time prevent Open champion Louis Oosthuizen from making a piece of European Tour history. No winner of the Claret Jug has ever gone on to lift another
JESSICA ENNIS yesterday revealed Linford Christie was inspiring Britain’s athletes to European Championship glory by reading his own poetry. Ennis is the Great Britain and Northern Ireland team captain in Barcelona and was therefore called upon
MERLENE OTTEY is expected to become the oldest athlete ever to compete in the European Championships at the age of 50. The Jamaica-born sprinter, who became a naturalised Slovenian in 2002, has been named in Slovenia’s 4x100 metre relay squad
MICHAEL Chopra has issued a stark warning to Cardiff’s board – sort out the club’s financial mess or I’m leaving. The Bluebirds, who have lost Joe Ledley to Celtic, are currently under a transfer embargo and manager Dave Jones is unable to bolster
NEW France coach Laurent Blanc will be forced to explore his options for next month’s friendly against Norway after suspending all 23 players involved in this summer’s dismal World Cup campaign. Les Bleus’ campaign ended in failure and controversy
DUNDEE UNITED will have to accept less than the £1.2m price tag they have put on winger Craig Conway if he is to join Middlesbrough. Boro, last night boosted by the news that striker Kris Boyd’s injured ankle is nothing more than a bruised fibulam
DAN GOSLING has joined Newcastle United because he envisages the club becoming “an established top-six side” over the course of his fouryear contract. Gosling finally completed his protracted move to Tyneside on Thursday after his former club
Darlington 0 Carlisle United 3 MARK COOPER will give Darlington’s three trialists another opportunity to impress against Whitley Bay on Monday night after accepting the first friendlies of the summer have been difficult. The Quakers
LEE CATTERMOLE is delighted to have been reunited with Titus Bramble this week, and the Sunderland midfielder is confident his former Wigan team-mate will help propel the Black Cats into the upper reaches of the Premier League. Bramble signed
HUNDREDS of salsa dancers have converged on the North-East for a threeday festival of activities. The Danse Salsa event held at Durham University’s Collingwood College, in Durham City, kicked off with a Friday Party last night. Coachloads of
MORE evidence that a special diet may help reduce the symptoms of autism will be unveiled at a conference in the North-East later this year. Researchers from Sunderland have spent the past two years working on a collaborative study with other
A PREDATORY paedophile who repeatedly abused a young girl has been jailed indefinitely. Stuart Cairnes attacked the girl at his home in Middlesbrough and at a caravan he kept in Hartlepool, Teesside Crown Court was told. The 44-year-old
FAMOUS faces including Eric Clapton, Anna Ford and designer Paul Smith are sharing a few of their favourite things with art lovers in County Durham this summer. The trio are among a number of celebrity artists challenged to create a selfportrait
ONE of the region’s most venerable institutions is to stage an exhibition devoted to Viz comics. Newcastle’s Literary and Philosophical Society, the largest independent library outside London, is to hold a summer exhibition devoted to the 30th
AS if driving to Mongolia in an old ambulance was not daunting enough, an intrepid trio yesterday admitted setting off on the epic trip without knowing exactly how to get home. Jim Edgeworth, Marcus Nimmo and Craig Morley are planning to leave
THE groom looked a bit hot under the collar as he waited for his bride to arrive. It may have been the heat, or down to a touch of nerves – after all he was only seven. But Thomas Finlay need not have worried. The limousine carrying his bride
A FIRM providing event management for the Tall Ships Race in Hartlepool next month, as well as the Great North Run, went into administration yesterday, but was immediately bought. There is not expected to be any disruption to the major North-East
THE sponsors of an annual 10k road race will boast a record turnout this year, while youngsters are being encouraged to pull on their running shoes for a 3k route. Fourteen staff from Sherwoods will join 1,200 runners taking part in the Darlington
SCIENTISTS have yet to reach a conclusion on how gun killer Raoul Moat died, his family said yesterday. A pathologist was continuing his examination of the former doorman’s body yesterday after beginning a second post-mortem on Tuesday. Further
THE Queen and members of her family have chartered a ship that recently left a Tees Valley yard for their summer holiday. North-East based ship repair firm A&P Group recently completed a £500,000 refit of the Hebridean Princess at its Middlesbrough
A DRUG-ADDICTED couple began prison sentences yesterday only days after committing their latest crime. Christopher Hope, 23, and 28-year-old Claire Louise Shaw were involved in a confrontation after being disturbed during a burglary at the home
A FOOTBALL freestyler who has appeared on Nike TV adverts showed off his skills in front of a live audience. Colin Nell performed in Middlesbrough’s Centre Square yesterday where he taught youngsters of all ages some basic moves and dexterous
OFFICIALS at a North-East football club have expressed their delight at seeing their new stadium taking shape after an eight-year wait. Construction on Bishop Auckland FC’s 2,000-capacity ground, in Tindale Crescent, County Durham, started in
A MAN who was given the heroin-substitute methadone by a neighbour was found dead the following day, a court heard. Carl Henry called at the home shared by Ernest Walker and partner Stephanie Howe, late on April 4, asking if they could “sort”
A MAN died following a fire at his flat despite the efforts of fire-fighters to save him. The unnamed 59-year-old lived alone in the ground floor housing association accommodation in Forest View, Brandon, near Durham City. He was pronounced
A WOMAN is fighting for her life after being hit by a police car. The vehicle was on routine patrol when it struck the 29-year-old pedestrian on the A174 eastbound carriageway in Redcar, east Cleveland, at about 10.30pm on Thursday.
A TAKEAWAY owner plagued by racist yobs for two years ended up in court for trying to tackle the ringleader of the gang he blamed for his troubles. Xiaogang Shi claimed repeated pleas to police were ignored, so he took the law into his own hands
A SPECTACULAR fireworks display got Sunderland International Airshow off to a flying start last night. For the first time since it was founded in 1988, organisers of the two-day airshow staged a family event on the eve of the big weekend to get
A JUDGE has told a pervert who set up a modelling agency to get close to young girls that he wished he could have locked him up indefinitely to protect the public. James Jerome Brennan was yesterday given a determinate four-year sentence for
ANGRY unions warned of a crime fighting crisis last night after more than 1,100 North- East police workers were sent notices warning of them of looming redundancies. Durham Police has warned its entire civilian workforce, including police community
A NORTH-EAST businessman has been handed a key role deciding how the Government’s flagship £1bn regional growth fund will be distributed. Sir Ian Wrigglesworth, the Port of Tyne chairman and a former Liberal Democrat MP for Teesside Thornaby
DAVID MILIBAND and North-East millionaire Sir John Hall were among those calling for support for new businesses in the region last night. The Labour leadership candidate said entrepreneurs will play a key role in lifting the region from the economic
