SIR JOHN Hall revealed plans for his lasting legacy to the North-East last night and revealed doctors have his cancer under control. The business tycoon, who is suffering from incurable cancer, plans to establish a £2m rose garden at Wynyard
THE family of missing chef Claudia Lawrence last night reacted with delight to the news that a £10,000 reward for information has been renewed. Two weeks ago the withdrawal of the reward, offered by charity Crimestoppers, had left them shocked and devastated
A FORMER pub landlady was joined by musical pupils to mark her 102nd birthday. Evie Mason was surrounded by her loved ones to mark her milestone birthday, at the Church View care home, in South Church, Bishop Auckland, yesterday. Pupils from St
THE director of the company which supplied the Tasers used during the Raoul Moat stand-off has died, the firm said tonight. Peter Boatman, the director of operations of Pro-Tect Systems, is understood to have taken his own life. Earlier this week, the
ONE of the main arterial routes through North Yorkshire - which is also one of the county’s biggest accident blackspots - is to be closed for five weeks. Sutton Bank near Thirsk is one of the most spectacular inland cliffs in Britain and up
LOTUS has a new position - forget about cheap sports cars, let's go hell for leather after Ferrari and Lamborghini. The company is ditching its affordable sportsters like the Elise and spending millions on a new range of hypercars. And
NEARLY two million households are set to receive an unexpected windfall because they were overcharged for gas, it emerged today. Energy giant npower - the North-East's biggest energy provider - is paying back more than £74 million to around
A North-East man, attacked in an apparent road rage incident in Ireland, has died. Raymond Bates, 49, from Peterlee, in County Durham, was beaten about the head after a row between two motorists in south Dublin last Sunday night. Garda detectives were
I’m going to tell you a story… OK, perhaps I’ll tell you two. Naming no names of course…to spare my friends’ blushes! Life in Dakar courts the bizarre on a daily basis. At least from an English girl’s point of view. After all, this is a place where
A WOMAN missing for the last five days has been found safe and well in the grounds of a hotel. Police launched a massive search for 58-year-old Kathleen Powner after she went missing on Sunday morning from a bed and breakfast at Caterway Heads
CONSERVATORY company Amdega, which employs 220 people in Faverdale, Darlington, has appointed Mike Willink as chief operating officer. It follows the takeover by private equity group Endless, in August. Mr Willink has had senior roles with Rolls
COAL ships will return to the Tyne after a shipyard secured a major refurbishment contract. A&P is bringing the bulk collier, the 22,447-tonne Lord Hinton, owned by power firm Eon, to its Hebburn-based yard for repair work. Stewart Boak, managing
A BUSINESS offering manicures and pedicures carried out by fish is proving popular in the North-East. Foot Love, the region’s first garra ruffa fish spa, has taken on four staff. Nicole Wood, 19, Kirsty Giles, 21, Lynne Phillipson, 47, and Sarah
SHARON STEAD is trying to find members of the Eden family in Darlington. They include brothers and sister Roger, Phillip and Rachael, whose parents Thomas and Elsie married in 1941. Mrs Stead is an amateur genealogist who would also like photographs
NORTH-EAST businesses and universities have been urged to “be bold” and look towards lucrative markets in the Middle East as a means of bolstering demand, a conference in the region heard yesterday. Senior delegates from UK Trade and Investment
THE FTSE 100 Index finished in the red yesterday, but that did not prevent it enjoying its best September for 13 years. The FTSE, which has added 6.7 per cent over the month, dipped in and out of the red throughout the day and finally closed
As award-winning hairdressers Hooker & Young open a new salon in Darlington, we take a look at what’s inside. HAIR-DRYERS, tongs and hairspray at the ready – the big blow dry is back – and where better to get the look than the swish new Hooker &
AFEW weeks back I was listening to the England-Hungary match on the radio. The visitors had gone 1-0 up and the commentator, in doom-laden tones, announced that if they hung on it would be the greatest night in that nation’s footballing history.
AN Indian call centre company that last night took over a Barclaycard operation in the North-East admitted it had plans to move some of the 700 jobs abroad. A Barclaycard spokesman hailed the five-year agreement with Mumbai-based Firstsource
DOES the admission by the governor of the Bank of England, Mervyn King, at this month’s TUC Congress that the financial sector and policymakers were to blame for the current budget deficit (which we already knew) mean he will have returned to London
I LOVE Nick Clegg. “It won’t be like the 1980s,” he said. How does he know? Where was he in the 1980s? How does he know what it’s like for families to scrape around on Jobseeker’s Allowance? Very shortly, unless there is a public outcry, a lot
IT was an excellent write-up on Second Lieutenant Donald Simpson Bell VC (Echo, Sept 6), from Harrogate, the only English professional footballer to be awarded the Victoria Cross, who was remembered at a ceremony in France earlier this month.
I WRITE to register a deep feeling of dissatisfaction with Darlington Borough Council. My wife is a regular user of the car park opposite Marks and Spencer in the town. She always arrives early and parks in the same space to avoid other users
THE cancer drugs fund which comes into effect today will offer hope to hundreds of patients looking for new treatments to alleviate their suffering. Sadly, the £50m fund will not go far enough. Cancer drugs are at the cutting edge of medical science
SO, as autumn descends, the slow shoots of an economic recovery are starting to break through, Britain has endured one of the worst recessions of its history, and one brought on by speculators, investment houses, banks and, undoubtedly, the last
REJECTED by the British electorate as the author of Labour’s losing General Election manifesto, Ed Miliband has been emphatically rejected by Labour parliamentarians, both domestic and European. He has been further rejected by Labour Party members
AS a freelance wordsmith who until recently obtained plenty of work from quangos, my future looks bleak. If there is anyone out there who has no idea what they are doing, or why, and wants to make it sound as though they do know, please contact
Tony Curtis was the poor kid from the Bronx who became a Hollywood matinee idol, living and loving the movie star life. Steve Pratt charts how he turned his back on crime and found fame in one of cinema’s most famous drag roles. TONY CURTIS was a
TALKS about the possible merger of two of the region's police forces have been shelved, it has been revealed. The police authorities that govern the Durham and Northumberland forces announced this morning that the discussions had been "put
MEMORY’S absence from the Adnams Cheveley Park Stakes at Newmarket leaves the way clear for Maqaasid to bounce back from a recent York reverse. The John Gosden-trained filly was having her first start in the Lowther since winning the Queen Mary
WHEN he delivers his captain’s address at the Ryder Cup closing ceremony on Sunday, Colin Montgomerie’s golfing career will effectively be at an end. There will be an occasional appearance on the European Tour next season, an ill-advised attempt
ALBERTO Contador has blamed beef imported from his native Spain for his positive test for the banned stimulant clenbuterol while he was on his way to winning this year’s Tour de France. The Spaniard, 27, was informed of the failed test on August
TONY Jacklin believes the weather could prove ‘‘a huge factor’’ in the outcome of this year’s Ryder Cup. Winds of around 25 miles per hour are forecast to accompany today’s opening fourballs at Celtic Manor. Fog is then predicted for early tomorrow
LIVERPOOL manager Roy Hodgson felt his side earned a good point despite a disappointing performance in their goalless Europa League draw in Utrecht. His side were on the back foot for much of the game and their clean sheet owed much to goalkeeper
MANCHESTER City survived a late scare to collect a point from their high-profile Europa League clash with Juventus. Roberto Mancini’s men had run out of attacking ideas themselves when veteran forward Alessandro Del Piero strode up to blast a
IAN Poulter, beaten by Tiger Woods in his first ever Ryder Cup match, finally has the chance for revenge at Celtic Manor today. And it is happening because European captain Colin Montgomerie thinks his opposite number Corey Pavin has moved Woods
Darlington have announced the signing of striker Daniel Powell on loan from League One side MK Dons. The 19-year-old forward joins Quakers on an initial month loan goes straight into the squad to face Wrexham at The Northern Echo Arena tomorrow
ANDY Carroll’s chances of a first senior England call-up have increased significantly following his omission from Stuart Pearce’s Under-21 squad. Carroll has been left out of the squad for this month’s European Championships play-off double
STEVE Bruce has revealed young goalkeeper Simon Mignolet has exceeded all expectations since joining the club in the summer but admitted he now faces a dilemma with Craig Gordon ready to make a comeback from injury. Mignolet joined the Black
A BULLISH Gordon Strachan has insisted he is strong enough to cope with the criticism that has been hurled in his direction this week, and claimed he has endured much worse spells during his time as a manager. Strachan’s position was called
LIKE millions of golf fans, Darren Grey will be glued to the screen to watch the Ryder Cup for the next three days. But Mr Grey will do so having already played his own part in winning the Fightmaster Cup – the one-armed equivalent of this
WORK has started on a £1.9m scheme to build affordable homes for older people on a former pub site in Spennymoor. Railway Housing Association is providing 14 homes in the grounds formerly occupied by the Hillingdon pub, which was demolished in August
THE family of a teenager who died suddenly at the weekend have paid tribute to their “bubbly and vivacious girl”. Camilla Irvine, from Newton- le-Willows, near Bedale, North Yorkshire, was found unconscious at a friend’s home in Scorton, near
ROWERS have been told to avoid a stretch of the River Wear – in case bits of a historic bridge fall on them. Officials have advised four clubs to stop rowing under Durham City’s 230-year-old Prebends Bridge, which is on English Heritage’s At Risk
CIVILIANS employed by one of the region’s police forces will work for a private sector company from today in a tenyear deal worth £175m. A contract was signed between Cleveland Police Authority and French company Steria earlier this year to cover
A SPEEDING teenager who left a young boy dying in the road after hitting him with a van was behind bars last night. John Patrick Smith, 18, wept as a judge jailed him for two-and-a-half years for causing the death of Sean Hamilton by careless
A COURIER is to undergo surgery to have his nose rebuilt after it was bitten off by a Great Dane. Stephen McQuiggin, 54, will have another operation by a plastic surgeon this morning following the horrific attack. He was delivering a parcel when
MANY rural households in the region will struggle to heat their homes this winter, say researchers. A survey in rural areas of County Durham found that two thirds of respondents spent more than ten per cent of their household income on heating
HARRIET HARMAN sent home the Labour faithful from a tumultuous party conference, telling them: “It’s been a rollercoaster of emotions.” The deputy leader brought down the curtain on a five-day drama – one that saw Ed Miliband pip his brother David
LABOUR held the vacant Brandon seat on Durham County Council in a by-election yesterday. The party's candidate John Alexander Turnbull, who lives in the village, west of Durham, polled 1,204 votes, giving him a 666 margin of victory over Liberal Democrat
A “BULLYING” nursing home matron who intimidated elderly residents in her care by playing pranks on them can continue to work, officials ruled yesterday. Maureen Sheikh, 61, of Washington, Wearside, was found guilty yesterday by a Nursing and
A £50M fund to buy cutting edge cancer drugs comes into force today giving fresh hope to North-East sufferers – as the Government hinted that more money could be made available. The move has been hailed as a breakthrough by cancer charities which
THE North-East appeared to have escaped relatively unscathed last night following an announcement by the group formed from the merger of Orange and T-Mobile that it was to axe 1,200 jobs in the UK. Everything Everywhere said it was cutting
A HUSBAND and wife have been arrested following allegations that a charity linked to Middlesbrough Football Club has been defrauded of tens of thousands of pounds. Fraud squad investigators from Cleveland Police arrested the couple – a 31-year-old
RAIL firm East Coast could face a backlash over its decision to charge standard-class passengers a fee to use its wireless internet. The company said standardclass passengers, who previously used its wi-fi for free, would still be entitled to
Spennymoor manager Jason Ainsley believes that his team has returned to top form ahead of their big FA Vase first round tie at Bedlington this afternoon. Moors thumped Ashington 6-2 in the league in midweek to erase some of the doubts arising
Former Esh Winning boss Geoff Young has agreed to take charge of his old club today when they travel to Whitley Bay in the STL Northern League. Esh parted company with Adam Furness during the week and appointed Peter Mulcaster in his place,
