A FREE health information day is being held for the public to find out more about health developments across County Durham. County Durham LINk is hosting the event on Monday, November 7, at East Durham College, from 10.30am to 2.30pm. This is
NEARLY 10,000 more homes and businesses in County Durham now have access to faster broadband, it has been revealed. Barnard Castle, Wellfield and West Auckland are the latest communities to benefit from the roll-out of BT's next generation broadband
A COMMUNITY stalwart has had a bench unveiled in his memory. People in St Helen Auckland donated towards the bench dedicated to John Wilson, who died several years ago from a brain haemorrhage. Mr Wilson, who was in his 50s, helped form the St
PEOPLE living near wasteland which a council wants to turn into a green have hit back at claims they are illegally crossing the area in their vehicles - and say they are the ones who have been preserving it. As previously reported in The Northern
A CONSERVATION project to protect wildlife habitats has been awarded a grant of more than £300,000. The Heritage Lottery Fund has given the North Pennines Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB), which is based in Stanhope, £316,300 for WildWatch
THE number of arrests for metal theft on the railway in the North-East has gone up, according to British Transport Police (BTP). It said that in the six months to October this year police had made 171 arrests – a 27 per cent increase on the 135 that
A FORMER joiner who went on to play the violin in prominent North-East orchestras has celebrated his 100th birthday. Norman Cockbain of Sacriston, County Durham, played for the Northern Sinfonia and the Durham String Orchestra - and in the days before
Craig Liddle is preparing Darlington for their FA Cup tie at home to Hinckley Town after receiving a ringing endorsement from chairman Raj Singh. The former defender is Quakers' caretaker manager for the third time in as many years and will be in charge
SEVEN cars had their windscreen wipers ripped off in what could be a drunken rampage. The wipers were taken from cars parked in the West End of Darlington overnight between Tuesday and Wednesday (Oct 25 and 26). Police received seven
A childless couple who were conned out of their savings by a cruel fraudster speak to Neil Hunter about their agony... and reveal how their dreams have finally come true. THEY thought it was the answer to their prayers – a clean-living
NEWCASTLE might have suffered their first defeat of the season as they crashed out of the Carling Cup in dramatic fashion at Blackburn last night, but Alan Pardew claims his side still left Ewood Park with their heads held high after the most remarkable
CREATIVE children made their own lanterns and then held a parade to celebrate the festival of Diwali. More than 30 children were joined by their parents and Darlington Borough Council's ranger team for the Luminous Lanterns event, in South Park.
A JUDGE allowed a drugdealer to walk free from court even though he said he had doubts about the extent of the man's dealing. Andrew Dodds claimed he bought mephedrone in bulk and sold it only to a small number of friends and fellow users to help
NEWS writing and festive poetry will be among the next sessions for a children's creative writing workshop. Scribblers, a workshop for children aged seven to 11, has announced details of its next four monthly sessions. The group meets at Darlington
Angry Darlington chairman Raj Singh has revealed his frustration at the perception that he had not sufficiently backed former manager Mark Cooper in the transfer market. Cooper left the club on Monday evening after what has been a deeply disappointing
A MAN who died after admitting himself to hospital may have been involved in an altercation earlier in the week. Police are keen to trace the family of Nicholas Rivers, 57, who lived in Lowson Street, Darlington. He went to Darlington Memorial
POLICE have launched an ambitious project to make Durham the UK’s safest city. Force chiefs say Durham is already very safe and among a handful of the country’s safest cities – and that topping the table is a realistic goal. They believe they
A MAN has been arrested after a substance thought to be rat poison was sent in the post to a council worker, The Northern Echo has learnt. The substance was sent in a letter to a member of staff at Durham County Council, together with a threatening
THOUSANDS are expected to descend on a North-East park tomorrow for a charity music and fireworks celebration. Tickets are available “at the door” to see Mobo awardwinning rapper Tinchy Stryder and boy band Blue headline the first TFM Spooky
AN armed police officer has described the moment he opened fire on a man who had earlier threatened to kill his colleagues and had taken aim at him with a crossbow. The marksman, referred to as Officer C, told an inquest jury yesterday it was
SUNDERLAND are continuing to monitor Senegal international Papiss Cisse as they begin to finalise a list of attacking targets ahead of the January transfer window. With the Black Cats having banked a £6m loan fee for Asamoah Gyan in September, Steve
1. Return of exiled players In the last 12 months, Middlesbrough's best two players have been full-back Joe Bennett and attacker Marvin Emnes. Tellingly, neither had much of an involvement at all under Tony Mowbray's predecessor, Gordon Strachan. Strachan
A COUPLE deceived by a bogus surrogate mother today tell how heartache turned to joy when they had their own child a year after being conned out of their savings. In an exclusive interview with The Northern Echo, they describe the baby as “
AS energy bills rise, the winter nights draw in and the country looks set to slip back into recession we should spare a thought for our canine counterparts. While we are running around worrying about which bill to pay first and whether to put
A MAN facing an indefinite prison sentence for a revenge arson attack has a string of previous convictions for terrifying crimes, The Northern Echo can reveal. Christopher Legge could receive what is effectively a life term when he is dealt with
A MAN plundered the finances of his dementiasuffering uncle after he was taken into care. As next of kin, David Gartland was given control of the financial interests for 75-year-old John Gartland when he was admitted to a residential care home
TRIBUTES have been paid to a man who became a North- East legend as a teenage pitman boxer during the Great Depression. William “Chick” Allen, who has died aged 97, could lay claim to be the pitmen’s champion of the region before his 19th birthday
FORMER Olympian Steve Cram yesterday launched plans for another great North running event – a marathon. The former middle-distance world record holder said the event – scheduled to be held on a course yet to be defined in and around Sunderland
A TRANSPORT U-turn which could see some threatened rural bus services saved has been welcomed by teenage campaigners. After bus operator Arriva announced plans to withdraw some routes from Teesdale, friends Caitlin Brennan, Anna Renfrew and Anisha
SAVAGE cuts to the funding of BBC local radio in the region provoked fury at Westminster yesterday. North-East MPs lined up to attack a looming 20 per cent budget cut at BBC Tees, warning that the quality of programmes would inevitably suffer
A MARINE drilling firm has signed a agreement with a remote technology firm to develop robots that can carry out deepwater installation work for offshore wind turbines. Last night Darlington based Blade Offshore Services (BOS) announced it had signed
PHARMACEUTICAL products produced in the North-East helped industry giant GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) beat forecasts with profits of more than £2bn in three months. The results for the quarter to September 30, released yesterday, come as hopes are high that
A PACKAGING company looking to cut 2,000 jobs across its global operations could not rule out its North-East facilities being affected. Employees at SCA Packaging UK, based in Darlington and with operations at Spennymoor, County Durham and Newcastle,
