I am a surf widow. That’s what often happens to us women who have relationships with surfers. My boyfriend lives in Cornwall, and he wouldn’t move to the North East because he says the surf’s not good enough. You can almost taste his disappointment
THE case against a former housemaster at an approved school accused of child abuse was thrown out by a judge today. Roderick Ryall, 68, walked from Teesside Crown Court amid criticism of the way police handled the case. At the end of
THE police officer shot and blinded by crazed gunman Raoul Moat is to be fitted with false eyes. PC David Rathband, 42, left a message on his Twitter page this morning in which he said :"About to leave for Sunderland Royal Hospital to get measured for
AN armed response team was called to a North-East street after reports that a man was threatening to harm himself. Officers surrounded a home on St Andrew’s Terrace, in Bishop Auckland, where the 41-year-old occupant was heard shouting from
A HAPLESS drug dealer was arrested with 2.4kg of cocaine after he accidentally locked himself in his own car at an airport. Dean Gilmore was found trapped in his vehicle at Newcastle Airport in January after his battery went flat, making the central
ORGANISATIONS across the region were today counting the cost of One North East's £32.9m funding cuts. A range of support from business development to festivals across the entire region are affected by the cuts, which were confirmed at an agency board
A NEW scheme to clampdown on shoplifters is proving a success in Guisborough. Shoplink has resulted in a number of arrests in the first couple of months of going live. The system involves stores around the town receiving radio equipment which is used
VISITORS to Eston cemetery are benefiting from improved facilities thanks to council action to address their concerns. Local people contacted Redcar & Cleveland Borough Council earlier this year to call for increased water provision at the 28-acre cemetery
TWELVE artists will display their work in an exhibition this weekend. The Clervaux Trust, based at the Clow Beck Eco Centre, in Jolby Lane, Croft, will hold an exhibition of arts and crafts, which will be for sale. Visitors will also be able to
AN auction to raise money for Darlington's threatened Forum music centre takes place this weekend. The Friends of the Forum, established to secure the future of the Borough Road venue, will host the auction on Sunday. Lots include a stunt ride, an artist's
IT’S ironic that the man who found fame with Dr Hook and started touring again a decade or so ago as the “voice of Dr Hook” has outgrown his back catalogue. Having penned three new albums of original material in the past decade, the amiable
IF you go down to the woods today you really are in for a big surprise. They’ve “planted” 17 trees on stage in the Quarry Theatre at West Yorkshire Playhouse to stand in for the Forest of Arden in Shakespeare’s sunny, funny romantic comedy.
When’s the right time to pay off student debts? SHOULD I pay off my student loan? The halcyon days of interest-free student loans have just ended. And this isn’t all about fresh faced 20-year-olds – if you’re one of the 3.7 million graduates who
EastEnders (BBC1, 8pm)/EastEnders: Kat and Alfie’s Return (BBC3, 8.30pm); Paul O’Grady Live (ITV1, 9pm); The Rob Brydon Show (BBC2,10pm); Eddie Stobart: Trucks and Trailers (Five, 8pm). NO sooner had Peggy Mitchell taken her own advice, “Get outta
THE comments of Tom Cooper and David Lacey, seeking to justify the infamous raid of February 1945 on Dresden (HAS September 21), are a disgrace. At least 30,000 civilians died in the raid, and you can probably double that figure because the population
HOW many people will have woken up on Monday morning thinking about The Great North Run, thinking about what a great event it has become for the region and for individuals? Maybe they vowed to try to take part next year? Congratulations
WHEN Richard Nixon was embroiled in the Watergate scandal, he said: “The buck stops with me. There will be no whitewash in the White House.” Subsequently he did the honourable thing and resigned. Wouldn’t you think the Catholic Church would have
ON Tuesday September 21 the funeral of the Second World War heroine Eileen Nearne took place. During the Second World War individuals such as Eileen went into occupied countries to organise Resistance groups and obtain information which helped
STEVE Bruce joined Sunderland chairman Niall Quinn yesterday in throwing his full support behind defender Titus Bramble, who was arrested on Wednesday on suspicion of rape. The Black Cats’ manager announced that Bramble will feature in Sunderland
CONGRATULATIONS to the good rector (Peter Mullen: “Four memorable decades”, Echo, Sept 22). I, for one, do not always agree with him, but I am grateful for the opportunities to sharpen mind and pen. Long may he continue to stirr certain ways of
WITH regard to recent publicity about a proposed badger cull in relation to the issue of tuberculosis in cattle, I wish to say that a “cull” of badgers already exists. It is snaring which has been carried out for many years, mostly by gamekeepers
IN reply to CH Jackson’s dismay at the scrapping of Dial-a-Ride (HAS, Sept 21) by Darlington Borough Council, I say three cheers to the council. We are going to see a dramatic cut-back in services that the council can provide, so let’s rid ourselves
LIKE many of you, I watched the Great North Run at the weekend. You can’t fail to be impressed by the sheer scale of the event and the professional way it is organised. But – no disrespect to our friends in the north – I attended an event 24 hours
GOVERNMENT ministers have drawn up a list of 177 taxpayer-funded bodies which will be abolished in a bonfire of the quangos, it was reported today. The Cabinet Office list includes the Health Protection Agency, which provides advice on infectious
Here is the full list of public bodies to be abolished, according to the Daily Telegraph. :: Administrative Justice and Tribunal Council :: Advisory Board on the Registration of Homeopathic Products :: Advisory Committee on Dangerous Pathogens ::
THE deal to save Corus Teesside Cast Products is not yet sealed, but everyone who has been involved in the fight to save the Redcar plant should take great heart from the positive comments made this week by Win Viriyaprapaikit. We warmly welcome
The North-East has worked its way into the heart of a man poised to save its steelmaking industry as Business Editor Owen McAteer discovered when he met Win Viriyaprapaikit. AS steelworkers marched to save jobs, they would have been unaware that
SPARKLING Smile can make a swift transition from multiple handicap winner to Listed victor in the Princess Royal Transformers And Rectifiers EBF Harvest Stakes at Ascot. David Lanigan’s charge has been one of the success stories of the year, notching
MIDDLESBROUGH have revealed that they had first refusal on the signing of Charlie Simpson-Daniel but were not inclined to meet his financial requirements. Following his release by Gloucester, the youngest of the four talented brothers from Yarm
The first North-East Golf Show takes on Sunday at Middlesbrough’s Riverside Stadium. The show will be the first in the region offering North-East enthusiasts a golf haven all under one roof. Golfers will be able to interact with the many golf demonstrations
INSTEAD of asking ‘Should England be sending its athletes to the Commonwealth Games in Delhi’, is it better to first pose the question, ‘What are the Commonwealth Games for?’ If the answer is, ‘Nothing much really’, then it is folly to ask
DARLINGTON chairman Raj Singh will be able to sleep a lot easier tonight after his manager Mark Cooper made it known he is fully committed to the club and not interested in quitting Quakers for his former club. Singh rued, in his programme
ALAN Smith claims Wednesday’s thrilling Carling Cup win at Chelsea proves Newcastle have “two first teams”, each equally capable of taking on the best that English football has to offer. Despite resting a host of senior players, Chris Hughton
JAMES Brown and Adam Boyd will both be on the sidelines for Hartlepool United tomorrow. Pools meet Walsall at Victoria Park in need of a first home win of the season, but will have to do it without two – and maybe three – of their strikers.
DURHAM’S Ben Stokes yesterday took another step forward on what is expected to become a glittering England career when he was named in the England Performance squad to go to Australia this winter. Despite a disappointing season for Durham,
STAR batsman Jacques Rudolph has left Yorkshire after four years at Headingley. The 29-year-old South African has had his request to be released from the final year of his contract accepted by the county’s board of directors. And, having scored
ENGLAND’S selectors backed their Ashes hunches about Chris Tremlett and Monty Panesar in the 16-man squad named yesterday to travel to Australia. Tremlett’s height, bounce and reduced fragility and Panesar’s new-found maturity have convinced
KEVIN THOMSON is on course to return to action with Middlesbrough by the of the month after coming through his first training session with the Academy squad yesterday. Thomson has been out of action since fracturing his fibula at Leicester
A NEW chairman is to take over at one of the region’s building societies in the new year. Newcastle Building Society yesterday announced that David Holborn, a member of its board since 2003, will take up the role from January 1. It follows the
STEVE Bruce has confirmed that Lee Cattermole will captain the side at Anfield after completing his second suspension of the season. Cattermole, dismissed at Wigan a fortnight ago, was branded a “born winner” by the Sunderland manager yesterday
A FATHER feared for his daughter’s safety after she was bombarded with 1,000 unwanted texts from an obsessed student a court heard yesterday. Newton Aycliffe Magistrates’ Court heard Christopher Deacon, 21, sent messages to the 17- year-old
LEADING County Durham independent chartered surveyor and property agent Bradley Hall has demonstrated its confidence in the region’s property market by expanding into modern premises and announcing plans to create jobs. During the next three
A SKILLS centre for people who repair damaged vehicles has opened at a North-East college. The £400,000 Auto Skills Centre, run by Gateshead College, will support and deliver the quality kite mark for the vehicle damage and repair industry,
THE North-East’s ambition to become a green energy hub could be set for a major boost after the Government pledged to drag the UK out of the “dunce corner” to meet its renewables target. Darlington firms CTC Marine and Mech-Tool Engineering
A MAJOR North-East employer will today move from its home of more than 30 years. Mining and development company The Banks Group, which has been split between offices in Tow Law and West Cornforth, County Durham, is moving to a purpose-built
THE first Nissan Juke hits the streets of the North-East today as motor dealers in the region report being inundated with orders for the Sunderland- built car. Nissan hopes the Juke, the manufacturer’s first compact crossover car which replaced
A WOMEN’S football team is returning home after a historic visit to one of the world’s most secretive countries. A shared love of the beautiful game made possible a “Friendship Football Tour” by Middlesbrough FC Ladies to North Korea. The communist
A FORMER housemaster at an approved school has described sexual abuse allegations made against him as “absolute and complete rubbish”. Roderick Ryall branded one of his accusers “a man of great imagination” during police interview after his
A MAN from the region is the face of a national fundraising campaign launched by Dame Judi Dench this weekend. Dame Judi is making an appeal on national radio on Sunday on behalf of the British Lung Foundation (BLF) to find the “missing millions
WHEN she was appointed to take over six Methodist chapels in a North-East dale, Sue Peat had to idea she would be making history. For the 39-year-old probationer deacon has become the first woman to minister at High House Chapel, in upper Weardale
A KIDNAP victim was praised by a judge yesterday for the way she bravely handled a terrifying ordeal at the hands of an attacker high on drink and drugs. Michael Davies was desperate for money to pay off debts when he hijacked Victoria Parker
THE family of a murder victim are determined that justice will be served when their daughter’s killer is finally found. For ten years, Vicky Glass’ murder has remained a mystery but her parents have never given up hope. The heroin-addicted prostitute
A MAN who murdered a friend and seriously injured the man’s brother has been told by a judge to expect a life sentence. John Donnison, 23, of no fixed address, yesterday appeared at Newcastle Crown Court, where he admitted murdering Daniel Laidlaw
A TEENAGER was rescued from a garage blaze after his pet dog raised the alarm. Dwayne Twidale said he thought he was going to die after he started a fire while playing with a lighter. The 13-year-old was in the garage when a lit piece of paper
AN explorer will give a talk about bugs at an arts venue next week. TV presenter Dr George McGavin will give the talk at Darlington Arts Centre at 8pm on Tuesday. Dr McGavin, who has been seen on BBC1’s Lost Land of the Tiger this week, is an
THE courage of a North-East soldier who died a hero in Afghanistan has been recognised with a military decoration. Corporal Lee Brownson, 30, of 3 Rifles, has been awarded a posthumous Conspicuous Gallantry Cross (CGC). Cpl Brownson,
A YOUNG North-East soldier who located 25 bombs is among those being recognised for his bravery. Sapper Jonathan Horner, 20, of 28 Engineer Regiment, The Royal Engineers, has been awarded the Queen’s Commendation for Valuable Service for his
A GOLF fanatic has raised thousands of pounds for charity by playing at every course in the North-East. Dave Whiteley ended his golf marathon yesterday by playing 18 holes at Rockliffe Hall Golf Course, near Darlington, with European tour professional
AN Army dog handler died in a volley of grenade fire the day after he was due to return from Afghanistan. Lance Corporal Kenneth Rowe volunteered to stay because he wanted to take part in a planned operation and was worried about a lack of
Neither team dare lose when the bottom two in the STL First Division, Sunderland RCA and Esh Winning, meet on Saturday. Former Sunderland midfielder Martin Smith returns for the RCA, along with striker Richard Logan and midfielder Michael Coghlan. But
A TEETERING tower of sandwiches was created by schoolchildren during a visit to a hotel yesterday. More than 75 children from three primary schools visited the Best Western Derwent Manor Hotel, near Consett, County Durham, and created a five-metre
Who will grab the headlines this weekend in the FA Cup and STL Northern League? Two players have scored four in a league game this season, while more than two dozen have scored a hat trick. If someone scores a hat trick in a cup tie this weekend, then
Newton Aycliffe can move two points behind gameless Division Two leaders Guisborough if they beat Hebburn at Moore Lane. However, they will be missing strikers Danny Mellanby and Warren Byrne, plus central defenders Paul Stout and John Close. Hebburn
A MOTHER dipped her child’s dummy in lager and sambuca during a drinking session in the pub, a court heard. The 20-year-old, from Darlington, who was said to be suffering from depression, also placed a bottle of lager and a vodka-based drink
PATIENTS and visitors at a North-East hospital last night branded a decision to increase car parking charges by 150 per cent as disgraceful. Hospital bosses have defended raising the cost of parking for up to two hours at Bishop Auckland Hospital
Shildon are hoping to grab the imagination with another giantkilling FA Cup win against Skelmersdale at Dean Street. Cup fever is starting to grip the town like it did seven years ago, and manager Gary Forrest says that the Railwaymen must
HUNDREDS more city residents face having to buy permits to park outside their homes. Durham County Council officials are to introduce a controlled parking area (CPA) in the Dryburn area of Framwellgate Moor, Durham – and are considering extending
ARTS venues across the North-East are being warned they face a reduction in funding after autumn’s Government spending review. Arts Council-supported projects are being warned to budget for a ten per cent funding reduction, while councils say
POLICE forces with a high ratio of officers to civilian staff – including two in the North-East – have the best crime detection rates, research shows. The Police Federation of England and Wales says the success of Cleveland and Northumbria
Sorry I am only posting this now, I have just got back from a three day trip around India with my fellow students and was unable to find an internet café. So I am sure you have heard about the bridge to the main venue collapsing and the apparent
