Thornaby manager Ray Morton said that Wednesday’s 14 goal thriller against Guisborough was like “a basketball game.” Both teams threw caution to the wind and served up a treat in the North Riding Senior Cup tie, with Guisborough eventually winning 9-
I don’t normally read parenting books. I overdosed on them when I was pregnant and realised I didn’t have the faintest idea how to change a nappy, burp the baby etc. So I read until I could read no more and craved a bit of escapism from my books
POLICE searching for a 72-year-old man reported missing from home have said this evening that a body has been found in nearby woodland. Kenneth James Froggett (CRCT) was last seen leaving his home in Chester-le-Street, County Durham at 10.30am yesterday
Two men were jailed for life after a man was murdered and dumped in a canal after a drugs feud, it can be reported today. The body of Chen Cai Guan, 38, from Fujian, China, was found at Burn Bridge near Selby, North Yorkshire, on March 20, 2009. He
THE emergency services are at the scene of a collision in County Durham. Two cars are thought to be involved in the accident, which occurred on the A689 at the junction of Hillside Road, in Coundon, just after 5pm today. The fire service are at the
A North/South divide is emerging in the housing market with sales racing ahead in southern regions but remaining sluggish in many parts of the north, figures showed today. The towns which have seen the biggest jump in sales levels in England and Wales
NORTH-East students have reached the final of a national climate change competition. Youngsters from St Leonard’s RC School, in Durham, have tasted early success in energy firm npower’s Climate Cops SOS, an initiative designed to motivate teenagers to
THE family of a five-year-old boy who lost his leg to cancer is holding a fundraising coffee morning this weekend. Carolyn and Jason Mann's son, Joshua, from Middlestone Moor, near Spennymoor, was diagnosed with bone cancer in November 2008 after
THREE artists are showcasing their work at a month-long exhibition in Spennymoor. Fabric, Wood and Art, by Namirla Bankhead, Jack Howard and John Hall, opens today at the town's leisure centre, in High Street. The trio are members of the County
Darlington were looking to expand their six match streak without being beaten at The Northern Echo Arena on Saturday. With a very strong wind and a very cold temperature the tide appeared against them, but with Southport having been beaten on Tuesday
IT was Seaham Harbour to the rescue when North-East ensemble actor Paul Hamilton suddenly found himself thrust into a major Royal Shakespeare Company role for King Lear. His birthplace came in useful when he needed a regional accent to move from
Stars: Sally Hawkins, Bob Hoskins, Miranda Richardson, Rosamund Pike, Daniel Mays, Rupert Graves, Geraldine James, Andrea Riseborough, Jaime Winstone, Richard Schiff Running time: 112 mins Rating: ★★★★ THIS new film from Nigel Cole, the director
Viv Hardwick talks to Kathryn Hunter and Paul Hamilton about the stage accident which caused a commotion as the Royal Shakespeare Company prepared to bring its annual season to Newcastle. TITLE role playing Anthony and Cleopatra star Kathryn Hunter
NISSAN unveiled another new electric car today - as boss Carlos Ghosn predicted one in ten new car sales will be battery-powered. The new Townpod - unveiled at the Paris Motor Show - uses the same battery technology as the Leaf, Nissan's first commercially
Steve Pratt discovers what Jaime Winstone feels about her striking role in Made In Dagenham and how she now knows that acting is in her blood. JAIME Winstone isn’t a daddy’s girl any more. The daughter of screen hard man Ray Winstone feels she’
Wallsend stand-up Gavin Webster tells Viv Hardwick how he ended up as the voice of animals on BBC1 thanks to Jason Manford WHEN it comes to giving creatures a voice then Geordie stand-up Gavin Webster is your man… or bison or zebra. The Wallsend
THE former Mike and the Mechanics performs his own version of the Gerry and the Pacemakers’ 1964 hit. Teaming up with the London Philharmonic Orchestra, Carrack’s softly uttered vocals are perfect on this gentle ballad. This is first single
LAST weekend’s Helmsley Folk Festival was a great success, both on the formal concert stage and in the informal music and singing sessions, and the Arts Centre proved to be the ideal place for a small event like this. There’ll be other one-off
WHAT’S ON Saturday lunchtime West Jesmond Rhythm Kings; Monday evening John Warren’s Splinter Group, both in the Garden Bar at Darlington Arts Centre, 01325-486-555. CD REVIEWS Duke Heitger with Ken Mathieson’s Classic Jazz Orchestra/ Celebrating
WHAT’S ON The Monteverdi Choir conducted by Sir John Eliot Gardiner, the Monteverdi Vespers, Durham Cathedral, 7.30pm, Tuesday. Box office: 0191-443 4661. REVIEWS Vivaldi: Gods, Emperors and Angels (Avie AV2201) Adrian Chandler and his dazzling
ONE of my favourite songs over the last couple of years has to be People Are Crazy, which gave Billy Currington his third Number One Billboard single. His tradition of providing great songs, from entering the country scene around 2003, continues
NEWLY merged mobile phone groups Orange and T-Mobile have announced plans to axe around 1,200 jobs in the UK. The group, which employs thousands of workers in the North-East, is planning to axe jobs following a review of the enlarged business
Top of the charts, gigging with McCartney and now a headline tour to Newcastle. Danny O’Donoghue talks to Viv Hardwick about success with The Script. HAVING just announced a debut headline tour to the MetroRadio Arena, Newcastle, for March next
Newly-wed David Essex looks certain to set new box office records at Darlington Civic Theatre and talks to Viv Hardwick about saving the show by becoming the baddie in Peter Pan. DAVID Essex not only came to the rescue of Darlington Civic Theatre
DR George McGavin has found TV fame late in life, thanks to the BBC1 series, The Lost Land of the Tiger, which ran last week. After more than 20 years at Oxford University’s Department of Zoology, McGavin told a packed audience about his higher-profile
HERE in Soapland we’re used to odd couples, although the least said the better about Wellard’s dalliance with the poodle from the pub. None has seemed quite so strange as what happens in EastEnders (BBC1) as Silly Billy hooks up with Jean, the
Emmerdale (ITV1, 7pm) Coronation Street (ITV1, 8.30pm) DAVID NEILSON pulls a crumpled wodge of A4 paper from his pocket. It’s the script for his latest theatre project – a photocopy of the dialogue of Kent in King Lear. The actor best known as
"TOILET paper is provided, unless we have to confiscate it, which sounds mean, I know. But when they start getting silly and use it to drape round trees or wrap people up in it, we do have to take it away.” We were dropping our son William off
AN 18-year-old churchwarden in a parish with no vicar and an average Sunday congregation of just eight is vowing to fight to keep the church doors open. “I believe the chances of this church surviving are strong,” says Stephen Williams. “It’s
The inspiring story of two youngsters, voluntarily working thousands of miles apart, but both seeking to turn the tide. THE little girl in the photograph is a Filipino called Genevieve. She’s six, has a serious sexual infection transmitted directly
A JUDGE today denied failing to keep her German Shepherd dog under control. Judge Beatrice Bolton, 57, who sits at Newcastle Crown Court and lives at Rothbury, Northumberland, is charged under section 3 of the Dangerous Dogs Act following an alleged
A BEAT surgery for residents living in part of Bishop Auckland takes place on Wednesday. The event, for people in the Woodhouse Close and Etherley Dene areas, is being held at Woodhouse Close Church’s community centre, on Proudfoot Drive, from 10am to
ENTREPRENEURS across the North-East are to benefit from the launch of a scheme designed to promote cooperatives as an alternative to traditional business models. Claims that the financial crisis has eroded public confidence in companies is said
STEEL firm Corus, employing thousands of workers in the North-East, has changed its name to Tata Steel. Corus, which was formed in a merger between British Steel and Dutch firm Hoogovens in 1999, was bought by Indian company Tata Steel in 2007
THE London market fell into the red yesterday in the face of deepening concerns over a European debt crisis, with the banking sector bearing the brunt of the pressure. The FTSE 100 Index closed nine points lower at 5569. Banking stocks were
A DEAL that will see the first gas from a recentlydiscovered field piped directly to Teesside will reinforce the region’s position as a key hub for the industry, it was claimed last night. Teesside Gas and Liquids Processing, a subsidiary of
I WAS dismayed by Brian Corrigan’s letter on the above subject (HAS, Sept 27). Does he not realise the Bengal tiger’s virtual extinction, along with many other creatures, can be laid fair and square at the door of the human race? Does he not realise
HERE are some of the unwanted records of Great Britain at the present time: Highest teenage pregnancies per year (41,000) per population in Western world; Highest liver disease per population for under-25s in Western world; Highest abusers
VISITING an elderly friend in hospital recently, I had my attention drawn to a squirrel (needless to say, a grey squirrel) running up a tree outside the ward window. This led me to offer the opinion that grey squirrels are an alien pest and it
RE Roland Bramham’s letter (HAS, Sept 27) about the Black Rat Rideout of motorcyclists through Richmondshire to raise funds for the charitable branch of the 4th Mechanized Brigade, known as the Black Rats. As one of the bikers who took part in
A FORMER North-East car dealer who now trades in another type of horse power is celebrating his first year in business. Mark Tones opened Gee Gee Couture, a horse and country-wear supplies store, at the site of his family’s car showroom, in Stockton
COUNTY DURHAM businesses and householders are leading the rest of the North- East in the installation of solar panels, according to a Government report that places the county in the top ten per cent of English local authorities promoting green
YOUR article about record salmon numbers ascending the Tyne (Echo, Sept 9) is in sharp contrast to the recent depressing Tees Barrage Report carried out by the Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science on behalf of British Waterways
YOU reported that Hartlepool Borough Council lost £720,000 hosting the Tall Ships Races visit and that the greatest shortfall in anticipated income was in parking (Echo, Sept 28). This comes as no surprise to the considerable number of us who
RE recent correspondence about the bombing of Dresden in the Second World War. As a rear gunner on Lancaster bombers, I recall the high losses (over 50 per cent). Flying over Germany with five tons of bombs and 2,000 gallons of petrol trying to
RE Christ Food-Wood’s tribute to Sir Cyril Smith, the former Liberal and later Liberal Democrat MP for Rochdale from 1972-92, who died earlier this month (HAS, Sept 7). It is a mystery why Sir Cyril was never awarded a peerage. He was an outspoken
I WOULD like to make it clear to Kev McStravick (HAS, Sept 27) that I have never suggested that the US “deserved the massacre of 2,997 innocent victims” and neither has Feisal Abdul Rauf, chairman of the Cordoba Initiative which is behind plans
RE John Barr’s letter about his complaint to the BBC over a comedian telling a joke about bestiality (HAS, Sept 27). He seems to be under the impression that having delicate sensibilities entitles him to deprive others of the opportunity to watch
RE Geoff Howe’s letter about lack of “Royal” approval for the Army (HAS, Sept 23) when we have the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. We also have the RSPCA, but only the NSPCC. It appears that animals are valued above children. Mrs Ann E
IT wasn’t the Iraq War jibe that most clearly betrayed David Miliband’s bitterness about his brother’s leadership victory – but his reaction to a joke about Forrest Gump a few moments earlier. Ed Miliband won a few laughs when he questioned his
THE family of a teenage girl who died suddenly at the weekend have paid tribute to a "bubbly and vivacious girl". Camilla Irvine, from Newton-le-Willows, near Bedale, North Yorkshire, died at a friend's house in Scorton, near Richmond, on Saturday.
OUR story on Monday about the experiences of train passenger Martyn Evans has become a national talking point. Professor Evans, of Durham University, was charged an additional £155 after he bought a ticket from Birmingham to Durham, but opted to
In the debate about education, one subject seems to have been overlooked. Maths teaching has moved on and parents are baffled by their children’s homework. Ruth Campbell talks to an expert about cracking the code of the new arithmetic. IT’S
THE teenage driver who killed a ten-year-old boy in a hit-and-run crash in York has been locked up for two and a half years. John Patrick Smith, 18, had earlier admitted that he was driving the van that hit Sean Hamilton in Holgate, a year ago this
CLUMBER Place continued her excellent run of form by recording her third successive win in the Freebetting With freebetting.co.uk Fillies’ Handicap at soggy Newcastle. Richard Guest’s filly was disappointing in the first half of the season but
PRIMARY schoolchildren will open an affordable housing development tomorrow. Pupils from the reception class at Alderman Leach Primary School will plant a tree to mark the opening of the Railway Housing Association's new development at West Park. The
IAN Poulter admits he “feels like a cash machine” after losing for the second day running in practice for the Ryder Cup at Celtic Manor. Poulter and Ross Fisher lost almost £400 to Padraig Harrington and Luke Donald on Tuesday and matters did
YOU can tell the Ryder Cup is getting close – Europe have been spoken to by two sporting legends and the Americans by a decorated fighter pilot back from Iraq. But Corey Pavin, criticised for wearing a Desert Storm cap during the 1991 match
AN upset Rory McIlroy was given something to smile about at Celtic Manor yesterday – team-mates and caddies wearing wigs that resembled his very distinctive curly hair. Colin Montgomerie revealed that it was decided to make the 21-year-old Northern
A PARISH council has objected to a retrospective application for a bungalow on a farm. Plans have been submitted for the demolition of a barn at Midway Farm, between Middleton St George and Sadberge, and replace it with a bungalow. Two Sadberge
MICK WADSWORTH showed his frustration and despair after seeing his Hartlepool United side whacked once again at home. Pools were beaten 4-0 by Carlisle on Tuesday night, the result the latest in a string of home losses this season. They
NEDUM Onuoha refused to get carried away with Sunderland’s recent strong performances against the cream of the Premier League crop. The Black Cats face Manchester United on Saturday, after last week’s 2-2 draw against Liverpool followed a point
IT is three years since Graeme Storm helped Great Britain & Ireland to Seve Trophy success over the Europeans, but he has always been realistic about his chances of going one better. Even now, despite spending years on the European Tour and
RYAN Taylor admits he is banging on Chris Hughtons door to play first team football and insists he does not just want to be a cup player. So far this season, Taylor has seen his first team opportunities limited with James Perch starting all
GORDON Strachan's position as Middlesbrough manager is safe despite the club's rocky start to the Championship season. Tuesday night's 3-1 defeat at Derby County left the Teessiders just two points clear of the relegation zone with almost a
MORE train passengers have come forward to describe how they were charged extra to travel a shorter distance than they were entitled to. The Northern Echo reported on Monday how Martyn Evans, a Durham University professor, was asked to pay more
THE parents of a boy placed in seclusion at school after he dyed his hair are considering legal action. Teachers at The Wensleydale School, in Leyburn, North Yorkshire, ruled that George Waites, 13, should be taught on his own after he arrived
THE NHS has launched a forum to help the region’s Armed Forces personnel, veterans and their families get better access to health services. The move by the North-East Strategic Health Authority follows the Government’s pledge earlier this year to
A MOTHER has created a lasting legacy to her husband by realising his ambition after his premature death. In 2000, builder Rob Kirkbride bought a plot of land big enough for ten houses near the centre of Hawes, in the Yorkshire Dales. Despite
GOVERNMENT cuts could deal the region a blow it would take decades to recover from, union leaders said yesterday. Trades union chiefs delivered the stark message as Public Services Alliance demonstrations against cutbacks were held in Durham,
DAVID MILIBAND quit frontline politics last night, ending an extraordinary four-day family drama sparked by his younger brother snatching the Labour leadership from his grasp. The defeated candidate released a statement announcing he would not
STRUGGLING schools have been abandoned in the Government’s “reckless rush” to throw extra cash and freedoms at the very best, Labour warned yesterday. Education Secretary Michael Gove came under fire for ripping up a pledge to tackle poor results
HERITAGE groups are trying to establish whether stone railway sleepers on an internet auction site, purportedly from the world’s first passenger railway, are genuine. A man has been cautioned for trying to sell what he claimed were sleepers from
AN inmate has appeared in court charged with attempting to kill two prison officers at a top-security jail. Convicted killer Kevan Atul Kumar Thakrar is accused of stabbing three officers at Frankland Prison, near Durham City, on March 13, leaving
ON a damp, grey day, thousands turned out to welcome troops returning home from a six-month tour of Afghanistan. Soldiers from 21 Engineer Regiment, based at Claro Barracks, in Ripon, marched through the city yesterday. Residents, veterans and
A TINY village has beaten the best in Britain to win the country’s most coveted horticultural award. Stanghow, a windswept east Cleveland village on the edge of the North Yorks Moors, last night struck gold at the Britain In Bloom awards and
A BULLYING care home matron who formed a mock jazz band to intimidate elderly residents could be struck off today. Maureen Sheikh was found guilty of playing practical jokes to intimidate patients and colleagues at St Mary’s nursing home in Chester-le
A SECURITY loophole has cost one of Britain’s biggest supermarket groups thousands of pounds after European fraudsters targeted North-East superstores. Gangs of travelling crooks used cloned credit cards at Sainsbury’s stores after discovering
Only two days now until the Games begin and I am pleased to say that there has been an improvement in the organisation and attitude from the people involved in the Commonwealth Games. Obviously the event has been receiving a lot of negative
