A gang of teenage thugs who held up terrified victims at gunpoint were caught by police who saw them bragging on Facebook about the crimes, detectives said today. Calling themselves the NE2 Crew, named after a Newcastle postcode, the dopey
Shildon have been paired with Bishop Auckland in the first round draw of the Durhjam Challenge Cup, to be playedon or before October 23rd. Durham FA have ruled that the prelininary round tie between Gateshead and Brandon must be replayed, apparently
Shildon destroyed Newcastle Benfield’s 100 per cent record with a 4-0 win at Dean Street in the STL Northern League last night. Shildon scored twice in a few minutes in the first half. Sam Garvie headed them in front from a ball across the
A CONCERTED search round remote land near a North-East beauty spot drew a blank in the hunt for a missing woman, today. Police, backed by the force helicopter and search and rescue teams with sniffer dogs, carried out a thorough sift of fields and tracks
On Monday, The Northern Echo carried a story about the experience of train passenger Martyn Evans which has become a national talking point. Professor Evans, of Durham University, was charged an additional £155 after he bought a ticket from
BRITAIN'S first new steam engine in a generation - Darlington's Tornado - will be top-of-the-bill at this weekend's Autumn Steam Gala on the North Yorkshire Moors Railway. Delighted organisers have received confirmation that the Tornado will appear at
A cracking tale this week from Viv Longstaff concerning an old mate and former neighbour of mine (Now there’s a clue!) who was working at Raby Castle! Picture the scene – A normal working day at a stately home, peaceful, tranquil, deer roaming freely
IF I have to travel to London I much prefer to hop on a train than take my car. One of the major selling points of travel by train is the free wi-fi. Provided I have booked a seat I can get my laptop out and put my travel time to productive
DAVID Miliband was the golden boy of New Labour for so long that it began to seem inevitable he would one day lead the party. His announcement today that he is stepping back from frontline politics robs Labour of one of its biggest talents and weakens
DAVID Miliband confirmed today he will not be seeking to serve in his brother's first frontbench team. Here is a full text of his letter to Alan Donnelly, chair of his Constituency Labour Party in South Shields. Dear Alan, For nine years
DEFEATED Labour leadership candidate David Miliband walked away from frontline politics today, announcing that he will not stand for election to his brother Ed's shadow cabinet. In a letter to the chairman of his constituency Labour Party,
ONE of the most ambitious conservation projects ever carried out at the site regarded as the jewel in the crown of the National Trust has now been completed. An entire island has been removed from the ornamental lake at Fountains Abbey and Studley Royal
A POIGNANT reminder of wartime suffering and hope, originally owned by a man who went through both, has been presented to a military museum. Lance Corporal Herbert Addison was serving with the Green Howards in the rearguard action in Belgium in 1940
A MAJOR project is about to be launched to restore a 230-year-old bridge to its original condition. The crossing takes the modern A61 over the River Swale at Skipton-on-Swale, near Thirsk. The listed bridge is of historical and architectural importance
A GROUP of talented young musicians have been selected as the first winners of a new-look battle of the bands competition. The five-piece band Purple Mafia, from Ripon, have taken the “Sound of the Town” title in Northallerton. And as well as the trophy
SOLDIERS returning from Afghanistan were given a heroes welcome by thousands of people who gathered to cheer them home. Troops in the 21 Engineer Regiment, based at Claro Barracks, in Ripon, North Yorkshire, marched through the city onn September
A FAMILY run pub on the North York Moors has been named as the Pub of the Year in England in a prestigious competition. The Black Swan, at Oldstead, close to Thirsk, won the national title in the AA Hospitality Awards 2010. The pub is run by Tom, Anne
LABOUR chief whip Nick Brown today withdrew from the election to retain his position after being asked to stand aside by new leader Ed Miliband. Mr Brown, a key acolyte of former prime minister Gordon Brown, had intended to run in the contest, which
A LITTLE girl has acquired a new pen pal after setting off a helium balloon. When five-year-old Lily Alexander let go of the red balloon with her name and address attached, she never dreamt that someone would find it and write back.
THE motto of Woodhouse Close Modern School when it opened 50 years ago was “tempori parendum”. All of the Bishop Auckland school’s Latin scholars would have known that translates as “we must move with the times”. The times moved so quickly that
ONE Darlington man’s experiences during the Battle of Britain led him to buy the last steam locomotive to run on British Rail. David Porter has lived in the town for the past 15 years but he grew up in Kent. “When I was going to school I used
Memories discovers that for one youngster, the Battle of Britain presented the opportunity for souvenir hunting... THOMAS I’ANSON must have been up early on the morning of September 5, 1940, because he managed to retrieve souvenirs from a couple
WHEN North Shields’ fish gutter Pearl decides that she has had enough and wishes to “retire”, the other lasses, Shelley, Jan and Linda, all come up with various plans to send her off. Pearl would like nothing better than to head off to Royal
SISTERS are doing it for themselves at the Civic for only three days this week, with Dave Simpson’s play about a pole-dancing class. The standard stereotypes are present: the fat lass with the big mouth, the spiteful bitch and the ageing glamour-girl
POLICE are appealing for information about a theft from an allotment in St Helen Auckland. An old orange Howard rotivator was stolen from the Melrose Drive allotments sometime overnight between Sunday, September 12 and Monday, September 13. The
Start Your Own School (BBC2, 7pm) Waterloo Road (BBC1, 8pm) Cowboy Builders (Five, 8pm) DON’T like what state education has to offer in your area? Then why not Start Your Own School. That’s what journalist, author and father-of-four Toby Young
GREEN-FINGERED pupils in Spennymoor have reaped what they sowed by selling their home-grown produce. Members of North Park Primary School's Get Growing, Get Guzzling gardening club raised £200 selling their fruit, vegetables and dishes made from the
A POLICE force’s £200,000 plans to improve security at its rural headquarters could be scrapped as budget cuts bite deep. North Yorkshire Police was looking into proposals to erect a fence along with a lockable gate at its Newby Wiske base, near Northallerton
GRANNIES of the world unite! You have nothing to lose but mashed banana and another chorus of The Wheels on the Bus. Grandparents in Spain are going on strike today – against the government and in protest at the amount of unpaid work they contribute
THE old lady may have been a couple of years out, of course, though the end of the world – if not quite nigh – could be altogether closer than had been supposed. The World’s End was mentioned, a hamlet near Sowerby, Thirsk, in last week’s column
THE Paris motor show will have special significance for Nissan’s Sunderland factory as its two latest models will take pride of place on the Japanese manufacturer’s stand. The show, which starts on Saturday, is one of the most prestigious in
A DAIRY farm has received funds to produce cheese. Village Farm Dairy, in Mordon, near Sedgefield, County Durham, which produces 850,000 litres of milk each year, is to convert a grain shed into a cheese parlour. Milk from the farm’s herd will
AN electric van manufacturer last night appeared to have addressed a sharp fall in its cash reserves after half the shares it issued were bought. Earlier this month, the Tanfield Group said it would release 20 million shares at 10p each, a discount
STRUGGLING schools have been abandoned in the government's "reckless rush" to throw extra cash and freedoms at the very best, Labour warned today. Education Secretary Michael Gove came under fire for ripping up a pledge to tackle poor results
THE head of a 107-year-old family-owned engineering company said the North-East has the greatest potential of any region in the renewable energy sector, after winning work on two of the world’s most groundbreaking tidal power projects. Francis
In a specially prepared hour long presentation she will play for the pupils, invite them to participate in a musical adventure and Miss Lisovskaya will answer questions about her jet-setting life as an international pianist. At the age of
AS a South Shields resident and lifelong Labour supporter (I voted for New Labour while holding my nose) I’d like David Miliband to show his mettle to us, those who actually voted for him – not the capitalist press or the Stalinist bureaucrats
A FAST-GROWING motor group, that earlier this month said it wanted to add more dealerships to its portfolio, has bought two more. The purchases by North- East-based Vertu Motors, that aimed to add at least one dealership to its portfolio every
THE FTSE 100 Index just managed to keep its head above water yesterday after spending much of the session in the red following mixed economic data from the US and concerns over European debt. The London market closed five points higher at 5578
A HOTELIER awarded one of the highest recognitions in the hospitality industry intends to use the accolade to continue to promote the North-East’s £4bn tourism industry. Chris Davy, owner of the award-winning 18th Century Rose and Crown Inn,
I’M really not sure how “red” Ed Miliband is, but as the unions’, rather than the party members’ and MPs’, choice I have to say that I fear for the country if he ever gets a Labour majority in Parliament. He tells us he is not the unions’ lackey
I AM encouraged to hear the new leader of the Labour Party saying the Opposition will consider the Government’s spending cuts rationally and not automatically oppose everything. He will be held to account over this promise. We need to examine
RE John Gill’s letter concerning snares (HAS, Sept 24). These are crude wire nooses set mainly by gamekeepers to protect gamebirds to maximise profits by people willing to pay to shoot them. Snares are cruel, indiscriminate and unnecessary. Many
MICHAEL Baldasera celebrates the commercial spin-offs from the Pope’s visit – scarf sales and tourists’ spending (HAS, Sept 24). Poor Jesus – how far is this nonsense from His message? Might the returned Messiah place Himself under Simon Cowell
ACCORDING to the National Housing Federation the North-East needs more housing. Since the coalition Government has to makes cuts and find money, it’s therefore important that real action be taken to reclaim as much as is possible of the billions
A SHORT break last week took me to the Lake District. I was astonished to discover that discussions are still going on about a plan that had been put forward shortly before my last visit in April. It is for a zip wire from the summit of Fleetwith
ASDA and Sainsbury’s have denied deliberately misleading shoppers after discrepancies were discovered in the pricing of products promoted as “big value” packs. Instead of being more cost effective, watchdogs came across smaller versions of the
Which direction will the new Labour leader Ed Miliband take the party? And what about Red Ed? Political editor Chris Lloyd listened to his debut speech yesterday for clues. THE one colourful thing that people knew about Ed was that he was Red. The
SALEROSA looks one of the sharper arrows again aiming to hit the bullseye at Newcastle. Ann Duffield’s five-year-old was a pretty classy winner at Musselburgh last time, and was worth a great deal more than her official neck verdict over Second
DARLINGTON hope to recruit two players by the time Wrexham visit The Northern Echo Arena on Saturday. Manager Mark Cooper admitted after Monday’s draw at York City that he still wants another striker and will be speaking to a target before the
RORY McIlroy has laughed off suggestions that he had given Tiger Woods extra motivation for the Ryder Cup by claiming anyone on the European team would “fancy their chances” against the world number one. Speaking last month, just days after Woods
FIT-AGAIN Craig Gordon faces a battle for the Sunderland goalkeeper’s jersey after the encouraging performances of Simon Mignolet. Gordon made a successful return to action on Monday evening, playing 90 minutes for the reserves against Aston
CHRIS Hughton has claimed Kevin Nolan is the “key” to his preferred system at Newcastle United, and hinted he will continue to play the midfielder in an attacking midfield role despite Sunday’s 2-1 defeat to Stoke. Nolan has started all six of
LAST October, a two-goal victory over Derby proved insufficient to keep Middlesbrough manager Gareth Southgate in a job. Almost 12 months on, it would be impossible to rule out a defeat to the Rams contributing to Gordon Strachan suffering the
GORDON Strachan last night admitted there was something “fundamentally wrong” with his Middlesbrough side after they slumped to a 3-1 defeat at Derby that piled further pressure on his position as manager. The Rams became the fourth side this
Positive moves will be taken today to curb council publications which have become a commercial threat to local newspapers like The Northern Echo. Regular readers of this blog and my columns will know that I'm not a fan of town hall magazines, which too
A TEENAGER has been warned he faces jail after admitting taking his girlfriend’s father’s car and leading police on a 90mph chase through several villages. Joshua Pattison, from Coundon, near Bishop Auckland, admitted four charges including dangerous
A MAN whose Christmas present was a treacherous swim from the island prison of Alcatraz has completed his challenge. Mark Elliot, from Barnard Castle, was bought the unusual gift by his wife, Kathleen, and the couple travelled to San Francisco
AN inquest into the death of a teenager who died following a party at the weekend was opened and adjourned yesterday. Camilla Irvine, from Newton- le-Willows, near Bedale, North Yorkshire, died on Saturday. Emergency services were called to a
A JUDGE has allowed an internet pervert to walk free from court – despite admitting it will anger the family of his young victims. David Cuthbert, 64, was given a community punishment and ordered to attend a course designed to stop him committing
THE trial of two Iraqis accused of murdering six British military policemen - three from the North-East - in 2003 was adjourned today. It is more than seven years since the Red Caps were killed when a mob of about 400 people attacked a police station
RED-FACED tourism bosses have apologised for printing 50,000 copies of a brochure incorrectly stating that Stan Laurel was born in the North- East. The document, produced by the County Durham tourism office, said he was born in Bishop Auckland
A POPULAR showman and Second World War veteran was remembered and paid tribute to at a service of thanksgiving yesterday. Hundreds of family and friends gathered for the funeral of 95-year-old Stanley Crow, from Northallerton, in North Yorkshire
ED MILIBAND pledged to lead the party of “optimism” yesterday as he swept away a long list of New Labour policies that had led to election defeat. Only three days after dramatically snatching the Labour crown, the 40-year-old leader put himself
SELF-STYLED Action Man Bill Bates is selling his £1.6m pad and may even throw in the odd tank or helicopter if you make him a decent offer. The eccentric millionaire, who made his fortune as a founding director of Comcast Teesside, is selling
A NORTH-EAST youngster who gave loving care to his brother, who died of cerebral palsy, has won a national award. Alex Ellwood, ten, of Templetown, Consett, County Durham, was named most caring child at the star-studded Well Child awards in London
A MAN died of acute alcohol poisoning after downing a pint of vodka in four seconds, an inquest heard. Richard Davies had been drinking with friends when he decided to drink the spirit in one go, despite attempts to stop him. The 29-year-old,
SUPERMARKETS are being accused of illegally misleading the region’s shoppers over the prices of certain products, a report has revealed. The consumer watchdog Which? said its investigation into supermarket pricing “tricks” found buying big value
FAMILIES are calling for a bypass speed limit to be reduced after a head-on crash between a police car and another vehicle yesterday morning. The smash took place on the A688 Bishop Auckland bypass near South Church Road, in County Durham, at
WHEN Hartlepool United lost 5-0 to Sheffield Wednesday last month, they thought their season nadir had been already reached. They were wrong; they managed to play even worse last night in being embarrassed by Carlisle. If anyone felt the Wednesday
Shildon are hoping to reproduce their FA Cup form when they face unbeaten Newcastle Benfield at Dean Street tonight. The Railwaymen dumped Evostik League side Skelmersdale out of the FA Cup last Saturday, and set them up for an away tie at Workington
IN this morning's Memories, David Porter, who has lived in Darlington for the last 15 years, talks of watching Biggin Hill in Kent being bombed during the Battle of Britain 70 years ago. He has written the following article of his vivid
