At first listening I thought “Oh, this is not a genre I would usually go for” but surprisingly, it suddenly stuck in my head and now, I can’t get enough! The album kicks off to seem almost slow, up until the first second of the first track-
Darren Mowbray, the brother of Middlesbrough boss Tony, scored twice as Northallerton lifted themselves away from Second Division danger with a 3-0 home win over Crook Town last night. Northallerton scored twice in the first six minutes. Recent signing
Manchester United thrashed Birmingham 5-0 at Old Trafford. It was a walk in the park for a very impressive United side, who dominated the entire match. They took the lead when Dimitar Berbatov was on hand to head the ball over the line after Giggs’s corner
Speculation is mounting about Gillford Park’s fate at the Northern League management committee meeting on Thursday – but it doesn’t look as if they’re going to be kicked out of the league. The Cumbrians have had a long drawn out issue with their landlords
Things seem quiet in Cockfield at the moment and there is very little excitement or craic to write about. So, until there is, I thought I might take the opportunity to publish some old photos of people from the village; it might stir a few memories!
THERE are lots of pictures, like this one, showing engines and crew outside Alpha Place in Saltburn. The first house in one of the first railway resorts was obviously a good place for posing for the early cameras. With a magnifying glass
Lead stolen from business EMPLOYEES of a roofing company arrived at work yesterday to find lead had been stolen from their roof. The metal had been stripped from the business premises of Richardson Roofing, in Coniscliffe Road, Darlington.
PROVISIONAL updated figures for teenage pregnancies in Darlington suggest that rates have dropped below five per cent. However, one councillor has questioned the amount of resources used for what she described as "frustrating progress". A joint
A CELEBRATION is on the menu today for more than 100 parents and babies who have completed a weaning course. Dodmire Children's Centre, in Darlington, is hosting a party for all the young families who completed its course on how to help their child
A SOLDIER'S car crashed through a bush and careered along the road on two wheels before landing on its roof following a police pursuit, a court heard yesterday. Jamie May, 19, was said to be "clearly drunk" when police pulled him and his passenger
STAFF at companies on a Darlington business park have been given a hand to beat the January blues. Lingfield Point business park held a health day called Beat the Blues where staff were given the chance to try out new activities in a bid to stave off
A PANEL which looks after young people in care is to receive a prestigious award. Darlington's Corporate Parenting Panel will become the first authority in the country to receive Investing in Children Membership today (THURS). The award will be presented
CUSTOMERS have been left without a post office after a shop closed unexpectedly in Stockton. The Grange Estate Post Office closed its doors last Friday after its owner ran into financial difficulties. Now the local community is hoping that the Post
A WOMAN was robbed at knife point after stopping to make a phone call in Hartlepool. The 25-year-old was walking towards Catcote Road from the alleyway between Greenock Road and the Manor Care home at around 8pm-8.15pm on Monday when the incident happened
ROADS on Teesside are at their safest since records began in 1991, new figures have revealed. The Cleveland Road Safety Partnership (CRSP) has recorded that all four local authorities saw a reduction in the number of casualties last year. The CRSP authorities
MORE than 550 people attended an exhibition outlining ambitious plans for a new £31 million leisure, business support and community facility in Redcar. The exhibition, which took place in the Central library between January 13 - 15, sought the public's
PASSENGER numbers at Durham Tees Valley Airport have slumped to their lowest for 35 years, The Northern Echo can reveal. Officials at the airport said it has “borne the brunt” of a difficult period for the aviation industry. The Civil Aviation Authority
MORE than 1,000 homes are in line for a revamp as part of a five-year regeneration programme. Cestria Community Housing Properties in and around Chester-le-Street are to get new roof coverings, chimneys and external wall finishes. The social landlord
POLICE have urged motorists to take extra care after a car was stolen from outside its owner’s home. The owner went back into his house, in Belmont, near Durham, and left his car running so it would warm up on a cold morning. When he came back outside
THREE communities are joining forces to fight controversial plans to dig opencast mines on greenbelt land. Councillors and villagers from Pittington, Sherburn and West Rainton and Leamside are teaming up to oppose ATH Resources’ interest in mining two
A NEW accommodation block for junior soldiers has been built that allows troops on deployment in Afghanistan to leave their belongings at their home base. The single living accommodation block at Marne Barracks, in Catterick Garrison, will provide a
SINGERS and musicians of all ages and abilities are invited to join a new music group. Peter Simpson, a music teacher who runs the Finkle Street Music Centre, in Richmond, hopes to bring pleasure back to singing for people who might be too shy or scared
A NEW scheme offering support to young people facing homelessness will be officially launched next week. A series of roadshows to introduce the homelessness prevention scheme will be held across Hambleton and Richmondshire, in conjunction with housing
A CRICKET club is looking for girls who are interested in the sport to form its first girls team. Richmond Cricket Club has received £700 in funding from Sports Unlimited, through Richmondshire District Council to provide an eight week coaching course
POLICE have renewed their warning to cash machine users after a card-cloning device was found in a market town. On Saturday afternoon, two members of the public attempted to use the cash machine at the HSBC Bank, in Market Place, Bedale.
IT is a picture that has taken some time to come together, but now that the region’s second local enterprise partnership (LEP) has been given the go-ahead, we have a sense of the new organisations that will be in charge of revitalising our economy
IHAVE a number of commercial and residential properties that I let out to tenants with a contract or shorthold tenancy agreement. However, one property is let to a family member, and we never had a contract. I now want to sell that property. Can
A SCHOOL for autistic children has taken delivery of a 17-seater mini bus donated by a showbiz charity. The Variety Club Sunshine Coach was handed over to the Barbara Priestman School, Meadowside, Sunderland, by Kevin Ball, youth team coach and former
POLICE stopped more than 35 teenagers and seized alcohol from many of them during following complaints about anti-social behaviour in a former pit village. Officers went to Ouston, near Chester-le-Street, last Friday night (jan21) following complaints
THE youngest person to die in custody in recent times might have taken his own life because he was physically restrained and painfully struck on the nose in the hours before he hanged himself, a psychiatrist told an inquest today. Adam Rickwood
WHAT a gig this was – one of the best-ever put on by the Jumpin’ Hot boys. Young Earle may have been otherwise engaged when he was scheduled to play here in the autumn, but the disappointment was dispelled the moment he struck up. An amazing
THE musical with three classic all-action songs – the title track, Holding Out For A Hero, Let’s Hear It For The Boy, and the cleverest of ballads, Somebody’s Eyes – smashes onto the Tyneside stage this week and makes one of the most determined
The National Television Awards (ITV1, 7.30pm) Will My Crash Diet Kill Me? (C4, 8pm) NCIS (Channel 5, 9pm) THE red carpet may be festooned with British soap stars and not Hollywood movie stars, but The National Television Awards have one
MOSTLY by easyJet, Spennymoor Town FC travelled to Cadbury Heath last Saturday, FA Vase fourth round. As chocaholics and Backtrack column readers will know, Cadbury Heath is not some milk-traded wildlife sanctuary in Birmingham, but a semi-detached
ALL right – I admit it. I was wrong over the grey squirrel. And the red, too, honesty compels me to say. For the past two weeks I have presented the two squirrels virtually as adversaries. My sympathies have been with the grey, the American import
MICHAEL BENNETT is trying to find relatives of a soldier who served with his father. Mr Bennett is researching his father's wartime service. His father was Lt Col Geoffrey Bennett, who was chief signals officer of Force 133 Signals, a unit based in Cairo
THE electric Nissan Leaf, which will be built in Sunderland from 2013, received Europe’s most high-profile motoring award on Monday night. The Japanese car maker’s president, Carlos Ghosn, was presented with the European Car of the Year 2011
PETER BARRON’S column published on January 24 included a reference to the behaviour of Manchester United’s star player, Wayne Rooney. Apparently he swore at Mike Dean, the referee, because he had had the temerity to redcard a teammate. If Rooney
FUTURE support for tourism in the Tees Valley will be outlined this week, following the winding up of the organisation involved in its delivery. VisitTeesvalley closed last week with the loss of nine jobs, after its parent body Tees Valley Unlimited
EARLY adopters of electric vehicles are to be offered subsidised charging points in their homes in exchange for providing vital data on their use. Development agency One North East will provide 55 domestic charging units for homes in the region
THE FTSE 100 Index closed lower yesterday after figures revealed the UK economy shrank in the fourth quarter and delivered a blow to recovery hopes. The FTSE closed 26.1 points lower at 5917.7 after the Office for National Statistics said gross
HOME improvement business Court Homemakers has opened a showroom in Northallerton, North Yorkshire, creating five jobs. The showroom is in a two-storey building that was previously the old station house. The firm, founded in Stockton by Ian
A THAI firm expects to create at least 800 jobs at Teesside Cast Products (TCP), should its purchase of the facility go through. Win Viriyaprapaikit, president of Sahaviriya Steel Industries (SSI), yesterday said he expected to create at least
IN 1963, Doctor Richard Beeching, the chairman of the British Railways Board, produced a report for Ernest Marples, the Tory Minister of Transport, which proposed the closure of 6,000 miles of Britain’s railway network. Included in that 6,000
AN article in The Northern Echo on January 24 highlighted the apparently curious reluctance of the Metropolitan Police to progress its investigation into alleged phone hacking by employees of News Corp. Charitably, some sources have suggested
ON behalf of the Friends of The Forum, could I please thank The Northern Echo for its support during the venue’s fight to stay open last year, and the coverage of last week’s relaunch party, which was a huge success. This Friday, The Ska Beats
HAVING worked as a full-time fisherman for eight years, between 1975 and 1983, and later owned a fish processing business on Oxbridge Trading Estate, in Stockton, I have had a considerable amount of experience in both the catching and processing
I AM not sure that we are going to be much wiser when we get the report of the Chilcot Inquiry. It is clear from the evidence given by Tony Blair that he was prepared to go all the way to support President Bush. He knew that the United Nations
IF my local authority is really interested in saving money could I please apply for a job? Driving around the area, I note traffic lights and more crossing points for pedestrians at the entrance from Wolviston Road into Billingham Town Centre.
LOOKING at the at the coalition’s plans for the NHS and the responsibilities handed to GPs, I was wondering if the Government will be bringing in a new university qualification combining medicine, bookkeeping, accountancy, business marketing,
IN reply to Emma Thomas (HAS, Jan 24), regarding road gritters. She is lucky the gritter goes down her road twice a day. We have lived in this house for 23 years and have never seen a gritter working its way down our street. How do we cope? We
AN overwhelming response to the launch of the inaugural Northern Matchplay Golf Championship means entrants will now be competing for a fabulous golfing trip to Spain, thanks to Northern-based holiday company Golf de la Luz. The new knockout
BANKING giant Barclays is to move away from offering financial planning advice through its retail branches, likely to lead to around 1,000 job losses, it was announced today. The bank said there had been a decline in the commercial viability of the services
Sky Sports presenter Andy Gray was sacked yesterday after a storm of protest over the sexist comments he directed at assistant referee Sian Massey. Northern Echo sports writer Steph Clark feels Sky bosses were right, but former broadcaster Paul
TIM VAUGHAN’S string are showing signs of springing back into life – a fact highlighted by the easy victory of Midnight Diamond in the Roflow Handicap Hurdle at Sedgefield yesterday. Vaughan sent the eight-yearold on a 558-mile round trip from
ENGLAND will head into next month’s World Cup with a bowling attack short on match practice after Graeme Swann’s tour of Australia was yesterday ended prematurely due to a back injury. Swann will fly home today after he was ruled out for the
MARK COOPER branded his team as atrocious after Darlington put in a disappointing display last night, drawing 0-0 at home to Mansfield Town. Although the result stretched Quakers’ unbeaten run to six, scoring opportunities were rare during
A 72-YEAR-OLD man died outside Hartlepool United's football ground last night. Pensioner, Brian Filby, collapsed outside Victoria Park, ahead of the team's match against Notts County. The lifelong fan was taken to the University Hospital
A VILLAGE pub karaoke night hit a low note when violence flared between a singer and an unappreciative member of the audience. Durham Crown Court heard that Thomas Lowther performed several numbers during the Saturday night karaoke at the Black
FORMER Labour Cabinet Minister Alan Milburn last night asked the Conservative- led Government to make social mobility its top social priority. In his first official speech to the House of Commons as social mobility tsar, Mr Milburn said he would
A POPULAR racehorse which has won more than £600,000 in prize money is recovering at a North-East veterinary centre after fighting for his life. Grey steeplechaser Monet’s Garden was brought to the region from his stables in Cumbria to undergo
A MAN accused of murdering his girlfriend by pushing her from a multi-storey car park broke down in tears as he took to the stand yesterday. Teresa Parkin, 29, originally from Colburn, North Yorkshire, died after falling 80ft from the car park
A SOLDIER left a heart-rending message to his girlfriend and asked her to marry him – but dialled the wrong number. The unknown serviceman, who may have been calling from Afghanistan because he talked of a friend being blown up, thought he was
TRIBUTES have been paid to a 12-year-old boy who was killed after he was hit by two cars while crossing a road on his way to school. Alexander John Bradley, known as Alex, was hit by the vehicles shortly before 7.45am on Monday, close to his home
PEOPLE with learning disabilities may be charged for using council services following a proposed review. Darlington Borough Council's adult social care is preparing a review of funding, which includes the use of personal budgets. The proposals
PROVISIONAL updated figures for teenage pregnancies in Darlington suggest that rates have dropped below five per cent. However, one councillor has questioned the amount of resources used for what she described as "frustrating progress". A joint
A MAN was remanded in custody today charged with murdering a devoted community activist in the street. Classroom assistant Gillian Raine, 53, was attacked outside her home in Coleridge Gardens, Dipton, County Durham, on Monday morning as she
MORE than half of all anti-social behaviour orders (asbo) issued by the region’s courts are breached at least once, figures show. A total of 1,223 asbos were handed out between June 2000 and the end of December 2009 in the North-East and North
THE daughters of a man missing for more than two weeks say they are lost without their father. Darren Waller has not been seen by family or friends since about 5.30pm on Sunday, January 9. In front of the media at Hartlepool Police Station
THE price of petrol may be at a record high, but the region still has the cheapest fuel in the country, figures reveal. Figures from the AA show the average price for a litre of unleaded in Yorkshire and Humberside is 127.3p, with diesel at 131.9p
A MAN accused of stabbing his girlfriend’s mother to death is due in court this morning. Gary Simon Richard Thompson, 24, of Moorland View, Castleside, Consett, County Durham, will appear before Peterlee Magistrates’ Court. He is accused of
A WOMAN whose luxury cruise took a turn for the worse when Somali pirates tried to get onboard has praised the ship’s crew. Rosalyn Chidzey, her husband, Bert, 64, and 300 other guests were enjoying a blacktie dinner on The Spirit of Adventure
Is it just me, or is there something deeply ironic in The Sun's editorial comment this morning, headlined: "Sexist football." It goes like this..."Judged by his own comments, Andy Gray cannot accept women as equals and sees them as sex objects
A TWELVE-YEAR-OLD boy at the centre of a transatlantic “tug-of-love” battle is to be given the chance to tell judges whether he wants to be reunited with his elder brother who lives on a different continent. The youngster, who lives in the Darlington
BUDGET cuts have forced the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) to axe its North-East performance season for the first time since 1977. The company’s annual tour to Newcastle has become a highlight of the region’s arts calendar, with theatregoers
SUNDERLAND boss Steve Bruce is willing to negotiate the next two months with Asamoah Gyan as his only available striker. With transfer talks having stalled in the last two days, Bruce is ready to pull the plug on proposed moves for both Stoke
BIRMINGHAM are ready to test Newcastle's resolve by tabling an improved bid for striker Shola Ameobi. Magpies officials turned down a £1.5m offer for the 29-year-old at the start of the week, with boss Alan Pardew keen to retain one of the
KRIS Boyd will reject an opportunity to sign a lucrative contract with Chechen side Terek Grozny, despite Rangers admitting they cannot afford to take him back to Ibrox on loan. With David Wheater and Gary O'Neil having left the Riverside,
THERE is a difficult line to be drawn on banter at work. It would be a crying shame if fun and light-hearted exchanges were removed from workplaces as a result of excessive political correctness. But a line has to be drawn somewhere
Hundreds of Darlington's young people have been recognised for a year of achievements and successes. Accolades were presented to more than 700 people from across the borough at the Vibe Awards, held tonight and Monday evening at Darlington
WHEN Hartlepool United met Notts County last November, the game was flooded off after three minutes, as Victoria Park resembled a swimming pool. Last night, as the sides met again, they kept their heads above water after swimming against the
CAMPAIGNERS are celebrating that a woodland facing the chop to make way for future housing has been indefinitely saved. Families, dog lovers and walkers can continue to enjoy the beautyspot at Longridge Wood in Middlesbrough following the mayor’s decision
Whitley Bay manager Ian Chandler says that his side found their best form last night in their 3-1 local derby win over Bedlington. Whitley scored three times in the first half hour, as they followed up last Saturday’s Vase win at Herne Bay
Shildon are hoping to keep the pressure on the leaders when they entertain Billingham Town in the STL First Division tonight. Shildon dropped back into third last night because of Spennymoor’s win over Bishop Auckland, but manager Gary Forrest feels
