AROUND 1,500 tonnes of straw was set ablaze at a farm at Stanley Crook last night. The incident was reported to County Durham fire and rescue around 6.15pm and four pumps were sent to the scene on the Stanley Crook and Willington road. Farm machinery
Kevin Austin and Paul Terry have become the latest new Darlington signings at The Northern Echo Arena. The pair have been on trial recently and today each put pen to paper on one-year deals and both played in this evening's friendly at Spennymoor
VERY sad news today that George Flynn, Darlington's inspirational local historian, died at the weekend. He was 81. By chance, one of my very first jobs as a newspaper reporter in Darlington more than 20 years ago was to wander from the Echo's office
A SHOPPING centre’s series of Summer Sundays began with a circus theme at the weekend. The Prince Bishops shopping centre, in Durham, is hosting free themed summer activities on Sundays throughout August. The first, on Sunday, August 1, featured a bungee
FAMILY and friends gathered to pay tribute to fugitive killer Raoul Moat at his funeral today. The private ceremony was being held at the West Road Crematorium, less than a mile from his former home in Newcastle's Fenham Hall Drive. The gunman's family
An amateur boxer who killed a soldier in an unprovoked attack by striking him with a 'knock-out blow' has been jailed for five years. Sergeant Chris Chacksfield, 31, had been enjoying a night out with his wife Adele in Newcastle when the couple
A COACH passenger was left fighting for his life after the vehicle was in collision with a lorry carrying a wide load. The accident took place around 11.15am on the A66, near to Gilling West, North Yorkshire, around five miles west of Scotch
YOUNGSTERS are being given chance to live like Bear Grylls and Ray Mears - and learn how to fend for themselves in the great outdoors. Bushcraft sessions are being staged during the school holidays in 8,600-acre Dalby Forest, near Pickering, for those
YOUNGSTERS are sampling the delights of activities such as fencing as the summer holidays get in full swing. Fencing is just one of a wide range of sports and pastimes being held in the Hambleton area as part of this year’s Hyper Holidays programme
A NEW facility, which families can turn to in times of need, has been opened at one of the region’s major military bases. The new "contact house" at RAF Leeming has been made possible by a donation of more than £6,000 from the Royal Air Force Association
HOW IT IS Like ripples on a pool while living Governed by time unforgiving Looking for joy wheresoever it may be. In the chill of life uncaring Journeying at speed those daring To indulge in idle thoughts
Jamie Wardley’s dramatic sand sculptures are creating a stir in York. Steve Pratt finds out more. JAMIE WARDLEY is playing in the sand. Twenty tonnes of it deposited in the south yard at the National Railway Museum in York. But he’s not making sandcastles
Who Do You Think You Are? (BBC1, 9pm); The Boss Is Coming to Dinner (Five, 6pm); 10 Years Younger: The Challenge (C4, 5pm); 3@three (ITV1, 3pm). SHE’S no stranger to many a BBC drama and has made quite a name for herself as the sultry-sounding
After a decade of gestation, Eighties TV series The A-Team hits the big screen with Liam Neeson as Hannibal Smith, Bradley Cooper as Face, Sharlto Copley as “Howling Mad” Murdock and fighter Quinton “Rampage” Jackson in the Mr T role of BA Baracus
THE NORTH-EAST'S three osprey chicks have taken to the air for the very first time. The Kielder Partnership has revealed that the young birds, named Aqua, Splash and Spray - and only the second osprey family raised in the region since records began
RE the threatened cuts in civilian support staff at Durham Police Authority (Echo, July 24 and 27). When cuts have to be made why does it have to be of civilian staff on low pay? Why are retired policemen/women on large pensions rehired to work
SUPERFIT fundraisers have collected £1,500 by climbing Yorkshire three highest peaks to help a cancer charity. Dan Taylor and his partner Lucy Walters, of Thirsk, took on the Yorkshire Three Peaks Walk in aid of Macmillan Cancer Support. They walked
IT was recently revealed that Prince William will cost the taxpayer an extra £1.4m a year for security because he has decided not to live on base at RAF Valley, Anglesey, North Wales – when he starts a threeyear helicopter pilot training course
IN the great debate about anti-social behaviour and how to tackle it two words are conspicuous by their absence – and it’s hardly surprising because neither is acceptable in today’s polite society – discipline and respect. Basically, a significant
THIS year's Darlington 10k road race is full although there are still limited places available for the junior race. Organisers of the annual Sherwoods Chevrolet Darlington 10k event changed the entry procedure to advance entry only this year
I WAS getting ready to go out the other morning and decided to put on a dress that tells a story. It was bought ten years ago in Viareggio, in northern Tuscany, Italy, on the beach – at 8am. I went there on holiday with my daughter to visit my
CONGRATULATIONS – and thanks – to The Northern Echo on two exemplary pieces of journalism that graphically illustrate the dangers that Government policies pose to the NHS. Political correspondent Rob Merrick’s exposure of the financial fiasco
AS someone who has spent quite a bit of time – certainly more than I would have liked – in hospital in recent years, I have been following the debate on the plans for a new facility at Wynyard, near Stockton, with great interest. While I couldn
I WOULD like to know why, in the debates involving Gordon Brown, David Cameron and Nick Clegg, in the run-up to this year’s General Election, Mr Cameron lost his temper and ranted “That is a lie. That is a lie” when Labour Party literature suggested
STOCKTON Conservative councillor Phillip Broughton’s letter criticising Labour’s legacy (HAS, July 29) was similar to that from Darlington Tory councillor Alan Coultas (HAS, July 19). I will always respond to any correspondence which seeks to
TO all those parents who let their children ride a bike without a crash helmet, or do so themselves, be in no doubt that they are life-savers. Having seen the results of accidents with and without helmets I am convinced of their worth. James
IT is part of a newspaper’s role to criticise and challenge what is happening in the local area. We should pick fault, highlight failings and call for change. But it is just as important for papers such as The Northern Echo to be supportive
BRITAIN’S athletes have cast aside the cloud of despondency that has been hanging over the country ever since England’s pampered footballers failed so dismally at the World Cup. They have restored national pride in magnificent fashion, with a
With Hartlepool only days away from hosting the Tall Ships Races, Dani Webb finds out how the final preparations are coming along. "I CAN’T believe that in just a few days we will be welcoming people from around the world,” says project manager Michelle
The Redcar Bears face the in-form Newcastle Diamonds at the South Tees Motorsport Park, off South Bank Road Middlesbrough, on Thursday evening in Premier League action with tapes up from 7.30pm. The Diamonds secured the Premier Trophy competition last
A LIGHT sprinkling of rain across the Sussex Downs came to the rescue of Midday as Henry Cecil’s filly landed back-to-back renewals of the Blue Square Nassau Stakes at Glorious Goodwood. The 15-8 favourite’s thrilling victory over French raider
MIDNIGHT Martini looks the star turn in the Armstrong Memorial Handicap at Ripon. Tim Easterby’s valuable sprinter is unquestionably the most progressive contender in this line-up and will go very close if running to her mark. The Night Shift
RUBENS BARRICHELLO felt he was lucky to be alive following a hairraising duel with former Ferrari teammate Michael Schumacher. Barrichello laid into the seven-times champion after claiming ten place from Schumacher four laps from home of the
BOLDON are preparing for a double celebration with their two teams continuing the form that could see them both win the championships of their respective leagues. The Durham Senior League leaders are fighting off the challenge of Felling, but
SEBASTIAN VETTEL was left cursing the stewards after failing to win yet another race from pole, with salt rubbed into the wounds as Red Bull team-mate Mark Webber romped to victory in Hungary. Only once from seven pole positions this year has
DEFEATS for Middlesbrough and Guisborough, two of those chasing the championship, and jubilant victories for Thornaby and Billingham, the bottom pair fighting to avoid relegation, set the weekend aside as one to remember for the unexpected.
CHESTER-LE-STREET are back in control as leaders after putting the previous weekend’s first defeat for almost two years well and truly behind them. And victory over Newcastle was made all the more joyful by the unexpected defeat of their closest
DEPLETED Gateshead Harriers finished a struggling sixth in their third British Athletics League meeting at Bromley but go into the final First Division fixture of the season later this month with a five-point cushion in the battle against relegation
GORDON STRACHAN will step up his bid to conclude his summer transfer business this week and former Middlesbrough full-back David Murphy has emerged as a target. But with Dundee United and Rochdale refusing to budge on their seven-figure asking
THERE might not be too many Newcastle United supporters expecting to see Steve Harper dislodged from his role as first choice goalkeeper in the next nine months, but Tim Krul is confident of doing just that. Krul marked last week’s confirmation
HARTLEPOOL United boss Chris Turner urged his strikers to be more clinical in front of goal after he saw his side complete their pre-season preparations with a lively 1-1 draw at York City. Pools missed a host of chances at Bootham Crescent
Newcastle United 2 PSV Eindhoven 2 IF Sir Bobby Robson had been around to witness the postmatch shooting practice which took place in front of the Gallowgate after two of his beloved clubs met, he would have taken note. Newcastle United’s
AFTER committing his longterm future to Sunderland, Kieran Richardson set himself the target of forcing his way into Fabio Capello’s England squad. Richardson penned a new three-year deal before Saturday’s narrow 2-1 victory at Championship
A DEVELOPER which hopes to build homes on a former industrial site has submitted its second application within a year. Ward Bros (Steel) is hoping to overturn a decision made four years ago to refuse a housing project on the land because it was earmarked
GREAT Britain last night completed their most successful European Championships in terms of medals won with silver in the final event, the men’s 4x400metres relay. Conrad Williams, Michael Bingham, Robert Tobin and Martyn Rooney just failed
DARLINGTON striker Chris Senior was on his honeymoon when he received a text message telling him that Simon Davey had quit the club. The player who’d just signed a one-year contract after three-and-a-half successful years with Altrincham would
ENGLAND may be focusing on the possibility of a series whitewash against Pakistan but injured batsman Ian Bell is already setting his sights on the Ashes. Bell broke the fifth metatarsal in his left foot after landing awkwardly in the field
A DAIRY which switched to organic production a decade ago and followed it by adding wetland and meadow areas has seen wildlife return to levels not witnessed in 50 years. Many bird, flower and other wildlife species have returned to a farm in Archdeacon
“EVERYTHING is brilliant in Nidderdale”, read a Yorkshire supporter’s flag in Rotterdam. And the same can be said for the Tykes’ form in this season’s Clydesdale Bank 40, after they went back to the top of Group B with a comfortable win against
MICHAEL DI VENUTO cemented his place in Durham’s one-day side with a valuable half-century and three catches in a comfortable win against Scotland at the Citylets Titwood ground in Glasgow. Despite making 101 not out at Worcester at the end of
ENGLAND’S Ross Fisher proved himself under pressure to win the 3 Irish Open in record-equalling style at Killarney yesterday – despite all that Padraig Harrington threw at him. From three behind, Harrington might have thought a closing seven-under-par
A SCOOTER ride through Spain at the start of summer should have been the ideal way to build up a tan. But former paratrooper Steve Power, 40, and seven of his friends had to endure torrential downpours when they rode from the south to the north
A CONTACT centre company has saved more than £50,000 through a push on cutting energy consumption and improving recycling. Spark Response has been running its Project Focus ecofriendly initiative for 18 months and has achieved an energy reduction
A COMPUTERISED warning system designed for ships by North-East researchers is set to revolutionise the global maritime industry and save it millions of pounds over the coming years. The Posseidon system, a software programme which can continually
BASIC skills that could save the life of a loved one are being taught by a North- East firm. Revive First Aid has been offering the course for sometime, but is reminding people of the importance of first aid in the home after a Bishop Auckland
A NORTH-EAST flooring contractor which was hit hard by the recession is eyeing growth by increasing its workforce and targeting new markets. Reprotec, which has traded for more than 20 years, maintained a small profit last year but saw turnover
MIDDLESBROUGH longjumper Chris Tomlinson celebrated breaking his senior outdoor medal duck at the European Championships by warning his rivals he has yet to unleash the beast within. Tomlinson finally took to the podium at a major championship
JAMES ANDERSON’S love affair with Trent Bridge brought him a first tenwicket match haul as Pakistan were dispatched by the fourth morning of the first npower Test. England’s victory, by 354 runs, was earned most perhaps by Eoin Morgan and Paul
FIVE generations gathered when a former school cook celebrated her 100th birthday on Saturday. Margaret Hutchinson hails originally from Wheatley Hill but now lives in Abbeyvale Care Home, in Blackhall, County Durham. Mrs Hutchinson has
A PILOT scheme that would have introduced speed cameras on a county’s roads for the first time has been effectively shelved amid concerns over how it would be paid for. The plans for a number of mobile speed cameras to be trialled across North
JAMES ANDERSON’S first ten-wicket match haul carried England to victory by 354 runs as Pakistan folded to 80 all out in the first npower Test at Trent Bridge yesterday. Pakistan, needing an improbable 435 to win, began the fourth day on 15 for
SUNDERLAND manager Steve Bruce has weighed in to the debate regarding new limits on Premier League squads that were labelled by Arsene Wenger at the weekend as “disastrous for football.” Bruce refutes Wenger’s claims and has thrown his support
PROUD relatives of a North-East airman who was killed during the Second World War are hoping to learn more about his military career. Edward “Teddy” Curle’s relatives in Spennymoor, County Durham, believe he was mentioned in despatches after recently
A YOUNG man whose ambitions to be a pilot were dashed because of poor eyesight ended up devoting much of his life to correcting the vision of others. As a teenager in East Yorkshire, Jim Haslam wanted to become a pilot with the RAF. But after
A CHART-TOPPING singer will perform at a fundraising event for a four-year-old North-East girl who lost both her hands to meningitis. Diana Vickers will be the star turn at The Diamond Ball being held on September 25 at the Hilton Hotel, Gateshead
HUNDREDS of people from across the North-East came together for a Sikh festival. The Nagar Kirtan was held in Middlesbrough and saw Sikhs take part in a procession from Lorne Street Sikh temple to Centre Square yesterday. There were speeches
FORMER Formula One world champion Nigel Mansell swapped four wheels for two when he cycled through the region at the weekend. Mansell is leading a 1,200- mile, 13-day ride across the country to raise money for UK Youth, a charity of which he
TWO teenagers are spending the week walking Hadrian’s Wall dressed as Roman soldiers. Framwellgate Moor School students Peter Rowan, 15, and Matthew Leathard, 16, set off yesterday and expect to complete the 87-mile route on Saturday. Peter,
NHS bosses are understood to be considering leasing portable buildings to increase A&E capacity after the Government scrapped plans for a new hospital in the region. Officials at the North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Foundation Trust have confirmed
Crowds flocked to an ever-popular international festival, which continues to go from strength to strength. Dani Webb reports on the weekend’s highlights in Stockton – including a magical carnival and parade. THOUSANDS of people lined the
A SCHOOLGIRL reported missing over the weekend has been found. Yasmine Jaafri, 12, from Hartlepool, was reported missing in the early hours of Sunday morning. Police said the disappearance was out of character for the girl not to be
FRESH allegations have been levelled at a former North- East GP who was once accused of murdering his seriously ill patients. Two more families spoke out at the weekend against the disgraced doctor, Howard Martin, who is being investigated by
A NORTH-EAST railway station has been spruced up ahead of the Tall Ships Races this weekend. Friends of Seaton Station spent Saturday putting the finishing touches to a new look for Seaton Carew station, near Hartlepool. The volunteers have carried
A QUICK-THINKING North-East soldier has been credited with saving the Ministry of Defence millions of pounds. Darren Lynch, of Newton Aycliffe, County Durham, tackled a computer virus threatening to infect the entire Royal Military Police (RMP
THE stepdaughter of Ann Heron – who was stabbed to death 20 years ago tomorrow – has issued a heartfelt plea to the killer. On the eve of the anniversary of Mrs Heron’s death, Debbie Simpson hopes her poem will finally persuade the killer to
Two decades after her stepmother was murdered, Debbie Simpson has written an impassioned poem to the killer urging him to give himself up. Paul Cook reports. IT’S 20 years tomorrow since Ann Heron was stabbed to death at her home on the outskirts
