IF you fancy heading out for a walk to get out in the New Year then Stockton Council has the perfect event. On Saturday, 29 January, you are invited to take part in a nine mile walk along the River Tees in the company of a Tees Ranger to find out all
Bedlington striker Anthony Shandran scored his 100th goal for the club as he bagged a hat trick in their 6-2 home win over South Shields, who had defender Duncan O’Brien sent off. Alex Benjamin also scored twice to take his league tally for the season
STL Second Division leaders Newton Aycliffe brushed Birtley aside on a high scoring night in the league and cup. They thumped Birtley 6-1, even though Birtley took an early lead through Marty Roper. Sean Davies headed Aycliffe level from a corner on
Can I wish all my readers, albeit somewhat belatedly, a very Happy New Year. Unfortunately like so many people I succumbed to a bad cold in the days leading up to Christmas. It wasn’t flu when I had it but it understandably developed into such
A DRUG courier who went on the run for more than a decade before handing himself in will have to wait a little longer to discover his fate. Middlesbrough businessman Zaffer Majid was due to be sentenced at Teesside Crown Court earlier today for an offence
YOU won't set many hot laps in those conditions. Ducati has released the first official pictures of Valentino Rossi and team-mate Nicky Hayden with the 2011 Ducati Moto GP challenger. Most launches tend to take place on a race track - not a snow-covered
FUTURE tenants of a £5.6m housing development cut the first sod of earth to mark the start of construction yesterday. People living in Park Avenue Close, Crook, performed the ground-breaking ceremony to begin work on 46 two bedroom apartments and
RESIDENTS were forced to close windows and stay indoors as gas cylinders exploded and smoke from a blazing derelict factory billowed through a town. Large black clouds of smoke drifted over Dalton, near Thirsk, North Yorkshire, as five firecrews
RESIDENTS were forced to close windows and stay indoors as gas cylinders exploded and smoke from a blazing derelict factory billowed through a town. Large black clouds of smoke drifted over Dalton, near to Thirsk, North Yorkshire, as five firecrews
A POWER cut this evening has forced a town hall to shut early and a supermarket to close. Electricity went off in the DL1 area of Darlington, resulting in Darlington Town Hall shutting at 4.45pm and Sainsbury's, in Victoria Road, also closing. It was
A SLIMMING World manager got some TLC from JLC when she cuddled up to comedian Justin Lee Collins at an awards ceremony. Fiona Jones, who runs weight loss groups in Durham, got a hug from the TV funnyman at Slimming World’s annual awards night, held
THE Government is under pressure to reverse a decision which will see a specialist team targeting illegal loan sharks broken up and moved out of the region. Twenty five North-East Labour MPs have collectively written to Consumer Minister Edward Davey
POLICE have this afternoon issued an urgent warning to residents living near the scene of a large fire at a disused factory to stay indoors. Fire crews and police are at the scene of the blaze on Dalton industrial estate near Thirsk, North Yorkshire.
A BOY with a serious lung condition who used his mountain bike for exercise has had it stolen. Adam Cameron, 12, suffers from obliterative broncholitis, a rare condition that results in permanent scarring of the lungs. It has no cure, but can
METAL barriers are to be used for the first time to segregate rival supporters making their way to this weekend's Sunderland v Newcastle derby. The cordon barriers, which can be joined together or hinged to lampposts, form an extended blockade to keep
A WOMAN has issued a reward to help catch thieves who stole a five-foot high stone statue of Venus from her front garden in Durham. Householder Pamela Holtom is offering £50 for information leading to the conviction of those responsible and
ANYWAY, as I was saying before I ran out of time yesterday: Teetotal Cottages in Hurworth. So I was sitting outside in the snow and plucked up courage to approach one of the people whose address is Teetotal Cottages. This is a dangerous tactic
Dunston manager Billy Irwin says that his team wasn’t battered in their victory at Durham City in the Durham Challenge Cup last night. Dunston won 3-2 against the Evostik League side after being a goal down at half time, and Irwin said: “I’ve seen a
Between 11am and 7:30pm on 11th January, a house burglary occurred at Lane Head, Hutton Magna. An unknown quantity of jewellery and small electrical items, including an IPod, were stolen. Police would like to hear from anybody who may
Esh Winning manager Peter Mulcaster says that his side showed both sides to their character in their 3-3 draw with Jarrow Roofing on Tuesday night. Esh looked as if they were on their way to three valuable points when they led 2-0 at half time, but Roofing
A WATER board uniform and ID card which were stolen from a van may be used by people posing as bogus officials, police have warned. A Northumbrian Water van which was parked outside a house on the Low Mown Meadows estate in Crook, County Durham
DO you remember “badge engineering”? The theory went that a manufacturer could boost sales by sticking different badges on the same car. The British car industry used to do it all the time. In the Sixties, you could walk into a dealership and
Gillford Park are finally hoping to stage their first home league game of the season on Saturday. The club is due to appear in front of the Northern League management committee on Thursday night to discuss their situation, following a long drawn-out
TEACHERS and students at a leading independent school are celebrating after topping a new exams league table. Last week, the Government unexpectedly announced that this year’s secondary school league tables, published today, would include the "English
ANNE MOORE is looking for help with research into her family tree and would like to hear from descendants of her great great grandfather. He was William Heppell, who was born in 1809, and died in 1876. He was married to Sarah Magnay. The couple are both
FORD has taken the wraps off its top-secret torture chamber for new cars. Techies working at the Dunton research and engineering centre, can recreate the worst weather imaginable. They can raise the temperature to a sweltering 55 degrees Centigrade
The swine flu epidemic has claimed a 40-year-old man as its latest victim. Heartfelt tributes have been made to Peter Bladen, who died in County Durham where he lived with his wife Sharon. It is unknown how quickly the killer virus took hold of
COMMUNITY arts projects are being invited to bid for up to £500 in funding. Durham County Council is offering the cash in the latest phase of its Arts Development Small Grants scheme. The money is available to community and voluntary organisations,
A COLLEGE is hosting a special Burns Night supper later this month. Joe Keenan, head chef lecturer at East Durham College, said the team at the Peterlee college’s Scene1 restaurant were enjoying preparing for the themed evening. Mr Keenan, who was born
POLICE are appealing for information about a break-in at a secure compound in Old Eldon. The unknown assailants cut a chain securing the entrance gates to the compound, at Eldon Hope Farm, sometime between 4pm on Friday and 9am on Saturday. They entered
Spennymoor manager Jason Ainsley has warned that nothing is decided following Moors’ 2-1 home win over title rivals Shildon at the Brewery Field last night. Moors beat their neighbours thanks to two goals by Adam Johnston, with Gary Brown replying for
Michel Roux’s Service (BBC2, 8pm) TOP chef Michel Roux is coming out of the kitchen for his new BBC2 series. Michel Roux’s Service focuses firmly on front-of-house service. When it comes to great service, it’s the little things that count and,
The Australian cricket team has become the target of many a brickbat since their abject failure in the Ashes. I do not like thee Doctor Fell The reason why, I cannot tell. But this I know, and know full well, I do not like thee Doctor Fell. THE nursery
“BRAVE” people on horseback are still blatantly ignoring the law and hunting with dogs. Every August the hounds are sent into the woods near my house to kill fox cubs. The sound of the frenzy of the dogs makes me feel sick. From mid-September
THE public support for our brave Armed Forces in Afghanistan, and many other parts of the world, is well earned. Not a week goes by without reading a report of how a member of the Armed Forces has been killed or wounded, whilst performing their
IN Belgium, which has a coalition government, politicians have not been able to agree for months on who should be in charge of running the country. Surprisingly the country still runs itself without any problems. It must be bliss. We should all
A RECENT East Coast online offer of £8 single train fare to various destinations (including Durham and Newcastle) seemed tempting, but I was put off by the company’s absurd and inflexible policy towards shortening journeys. I would have liked
I AM not sure if C Riley in his letter (HAS, Jan 10) appreciates that I have a long history of campaigning for new jobs for the North-East. Job creation and confidence in the UK economy is essential. When Labour was elected in 1997, inward investment
I AM afraid that CT Riley (HAS, Jan 11) has fallen hook, line and sinker for the campaign of misinformation being peddled by those vested interests that stand to make billions out of the global warming scam. Although it is unpopular to say so,
FOLLOWING the overwhelming popularity of our Heroes Return Two funding programme, I am delighted to announce the Big Lottery Fund has extended its scheme for a further year, enabling even more Second World War veterans from across the North-East
DURHAM County Council has announced that it is planning to cancel some bus services which require a subsidy (Echo, Jan 10). This will affect anyone living in an outlying village who wants to travel in the evening or on Sundays. Hospital visiting
THERE are many reports of UFO sightings, particularly from pilots and services personnel, yet some people still laugh at the topic. A relative from Manchester told me that he has seen strange white lights in the sky while walking in the Lancashire
A GREY squirrel regularly visits our garden. My wife and I call him Charlie and we do our best to encourage him. If peanuts are not already scattered in anticipation of his arrival, my wife is instantly at the door, throwing out walnuts intended
DISGRACED Barnsley MP Eric Illsley must go. He can no longer claim to represent the public having yesterday admitted diddling them out of £14,000. He is automatically removed from the House of Commons if he is sentenced to a year, or more, in
William Robinson says that The Northern Echo’s most famous 19th Century editor would be concerned about what’s happening on Britain’s streets today. But would any of his ideas and methods work in the 21st Century. JACK STRAW, the former
RONNIE O’SULLIVAN suffered a first-round exit at the Ladbrokes Mobile Masters as Mark Allen battled to a 6-4 win at Wembley Arena. Allen had dominated the early exchanges, leading 3-1 at the mid-session interval but O’Sullivan, currently down
THE fate of Pakistan cricketers Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir will not be known until early next month after an anti-corruption tribunal yesterday chose to delay their verdicts. The three players had spent the past six days at
THE feelgood factor inside the England team following their Ashes triumph has immediately rubbed off on the new arrivals for the upcoming oneday series against Australia according to spinner Michael Yardy. Yardy is one of six new faces who
JAMIE SPENCER looks a really good booking for Soopacal in the Top Football Offers Today At williamhill.com Handicap at Kempton. Lightly raced for a six-yearold having presumably had problems, the Captain Rio gelding ran a cracker on his return
RACING returned to Newcastle for the first time since early November and racegoers were treated to a local winner as Chris Grant’s Star Player returned to form in the S V Rutter Handicap Chase. Now a nine-year-old, he looked a promising sort
GUY WILKS says stepping into the shoes of rival Kris Meeke holds no fear for him. The Darlington rally driver has taken over the Peugeot seat vacated by Meeke after an exciting season in the Intercontinental Rally Challenge with Skoda. Wilks
West Ham United 2 Birmingham City 1 AVRAM Grant laughed off the latest rumours about his West Ham future after a Carling Cup victory over Birmingham gave the club’s board every reason to give him another stay of execution. Speculation is rife
EUROPE’S biggest clubs must comply with UEFA’s “indirect salary cap” or face the music, Michel Platini yesterday warned. UEFA’s latest figures show that financial problems affecting European clubs are getting worse, with spending on player
SCOTT FLINDERS made his return from injury last night, keeping a clean sheet as a Hartlepool United side enjoyed a much-needed run out at Horden. The goalkeeper has not played since mid-September after suffering a thumb ligament injury, but
FABRICIO Coloccini is determined to put Newcastle United’s FA Cup exit at Stevenage behind him and write a new chapter in the club’s history, as the Magpies look to do the double over Sunderland for the first time since 2005-6. The 28-year-old
DAVID BECKHAM completed his first day’s training at Tottenham yesterday, with manager Harry Redknapp still hopeful a loan deal for the former England captain can be resolved. On Monday, the Los Angeles Galaxy midfielder was given the green
Councillors yesterday approved plans to allow the derelict site of one of the best known social clubs in the North-East to be used for a housing development. Gavin Havery examines the continuing decline of the workingmen’s club. DURING the miners’
A NORTH-EAST footwear manufacturer has announced record sales for the third year in succession. Outdoor footwear maker Brasher said its 2010 sales are up 14 per cent year-on-year, partly helped by the severe weather in the past three months
A STATION is to introduce parking spaces that can only be used by commuters who car share. Train operator East Coast has launched the scheme at Darlington station. A number of bays in the station’s car park have been allocated for use only
Jobs fund will not make any more grants A FUND set up to help create jobs in the Tees Valley following the mothballing of a steel plant will not make any further grants, after investing £42m. Lord Mandelson, then Business Secretary, launched
TWO landscape firms have joined forces on a community project to provide a recreation facility for Tees Valley families. Yarm-based Unique Landscaping Building and Maintenance and Marshalls Plc are sponsoring a boules pitch being created by
A BBC reporter will re-charge his batteries in the region today as he attempts to drive an electric car from London to Edinburgh using only public charging points. Today’s leg will take Brian Milligan from York to Wark, in Northumberland, stopping
THE FTSE 100 Index bounced back past the 6000 mark yesterday, but Marks and Spencer shares slumped into the red despite news of a Christmas sales hike. Strong gains for banking stocks after some upbeat broker comment helped the FTSE rise one
THE expertise of a North-East engineering firm is in such high demand it is shipping a mobile training unit to Egypt where it will pass on life-saving skills to a petrochemical company. ProtEx, based in Stokesley, North Yorkshire, is sending
AMERICA’S biggest real estate firm yesterday walked away from a £3bn bid for the owner of the MetroCentre and Eldon Square, in Newcastle, after failing to gain access to its books. Simon Property Group, which owns or has an interest in 393 properties
UP to 80 jobs could be affected by Army proposals to transfer a brigade headquarters, it was said yesterday. Civil servants at Imphal Barracks, in York, the headquarters of 15 Brigade, said they were deeply worried by the plans to move to Catterick
A BACKLOG of parcels at a courier company means shoppers are still waiting for presents to be delivered two weeks after Christmas. The City Link depot in Durham City was reported to have had as many as 35,000 parcels waiting for delivery, although
A LOLLIPOP lady has been shortlisted for a national safety award. Doreen Rodwell was nominated for the Goodyear prize by teachers, children and parents at Finchale Primary School, in Newton Hall, Durham City. Michael McCarthy, the school’s
A MAN who has been on the run from police for more than two months after breaching the terms of his prison release licence has handed himself in. Christopher Alan Hugill, 26, from Richmond, North Yorkshire, was given a four-year prison sentence
THOUSANDS of pubs could be saved from closure thanks to a group of beer drinkers from the region. In an effort to save pubs from falling into the hands of property developers, members of Darlington Campaign for Real Ale came up with a suggestion
A YOUTH group which began its life 28 years ago in a £400 double-decker bus has opened a £4.5m centre. It is hoped Teesdale Community Resources’ centre, The Hub, in Barnard Castle, will attract visitors from across the county and beyond.
MORE than 70 bus services could be stopped or reduced as a result of council plans to slash subsidies, it emerged last night. The Northern Echo revealed yesterday how Durham County Council chiefs want to cut all funding for Sunday services and
A DELIVERY driver who raped a girl of 12 in his car during his nightly rounds was yesterday jailed for four years. Curtis Warren still denies having sex with the girl, despite being convicted after a Teesside Crown Court trial last month. The
LOST dogs could be reunited with their owners more easily thanks to Facebook. Middlesbrough Council’s Dog Warden service has launched its own Facebook page, believed to be the first of its kind. As well as re-homing dogs that remain unclaimed
CHILDREN at a primary school were yesterday among the first to see the region’s newest police helicopter. Mia Bingham, seven, of Hartburn Primary School, Stockton, won the visit for her school as a prize in an annual Cleveland Police art contest
VOLUNTEERS will be raising awareness of the dangers of sleeping rough by spending the night in a churchyard where a homeless man was killed. The group of volunteers, staff and residents of Tees Valley YMCA will bed down in St Cuthbert’s churchyard
Tow Law are hoping to play their first game in nearly two months at home to bottom of the table Ryton tonight. Lawyers, like many other clubs, have been hit by the weather, and only last week thought they were going to end their barren playing
A MEMORIAL celebration will be held to mark the life of a university student who died just before Christmas during a night out in Newcastle. Duncan Gibbon, 21, of Swainby, near Northallerton, North Yorkshire, went missing while celebrating a
TWO arts venues threatened with impending closure have been given a stay of execution. Darlington Civic Theatre will remain open for another year while it is put on the market as a going concern. And the town’s Arts Centre will continue to be
TWO of the region’s largest hospital trusts have cancelled all routine non-urgent surgery because of a surge in admissions caused by the hard winter and the swine flu outbreak. Worst affected is South Tees Hospitals NHS Trust, which includes the
TWO men face lengthy prison sentences after a father-of two was fatally injured in a fight following a family party. A third suspect arrested after Robert Aunger was beaten in the street near his Tees Crescent home in Spennymoor, County Durham
VIOLENT crime will rise when up to 20,000 police jobs are axed because of savage spending cuts, MPs were warned yesterday. The Police Federation pointed to the example of New York City – which recorded more “rapes, murders and robberies” – as
SOME schools in the region spend more than twice as much on their pupils than others, figures show. A number of secondary schools in the North-East and North Yorkshire paid out more than £9,000 per pupil in 2009-10, while others spent less than
by Army proposals to transfer a brigade headquarters, it was said yesterday. Civil servants at Imphal Barracks, in York, the headquarters of 15 Brigade, said they were deeply worried by the plans to move to Catterick Garrison. Many say they would
THOUSANDS of pubs could be saved from closure thanks to a group of beer drinkers from the region. In an effort to save pubs from falling into the hands of property developers, members of Darlington Campaign for Real Ale came up with a suggestion
Darlington demonstrated why they need reinforcements as they made hard work of overcoming bottom-of-the-table Histon. The 3-1 scoreline belies a scrappy performance, the first half being particularly poor, that was somewhat lacking in the energy evident
