Archive

  • Victor Chandler - on day four of Cheltenham

    The Cheltenham Gold Cup is the Blue Riband event of the four-day Festival with dual former winner Kauto Star bidding to become the first horse in history to regain the crown on two occasions. Winner in 2007 and 2009 the horse is now 12 years of age

  • The Quakers still need YOU

    WHEN Darlington Football Club was placed in administration for the third time in a decade, we said it was important for everyone in a position of influence to do everything they could to save the club. Even if the campaign ultimately fell

  • Trouble in store

    WE have a shopping list system in our house. It is managed with an iron fist by my wife and designed to ensure we never run out of anything. It is not rocket science. It simply involves a notebook left on the kitchen worktop and all of us are

  • Artist paints a glamorous picture

    AN artist who has had a pope, a prince and a prime minister sit for him, brought some fleeting jubilee glamour to a market town on Friday. Darren Baker’s portraits hang in St James’s Palace and Downing Street and some of his sitters include Prince Charles

  • Youngsters praised for clearing Spennymoor graffiti

    YOUNGSTERS are helping to tackle eyesore graffiti blighting a village as they work to improve the appearance of their village. Pupils from Fishburn Primary School, near to Ferryhill, painted over graffiti on a wall near a memorial seat. The work was

  • Work starts on £3.4m Spennymoor school project

    DEVELOPERS are starting work on a £3.4m primary school to replace an 87-year-old temporary building. The first turf on the site of the new 120-pupil Kirk Merrington Primary School, near Spennymoor, was cut on March 13. It will replace the wooden school

  • Panto star to return to Empire

    A VETERAN comedian is to stage a theatre’s pantomime later this year following the success of her debut. Leah Bell is to mark her 50th year in showbusiness by producing Cinderella at the Empire Theatre, in Consett. It comes after the success of her

  • Heroism is remembered

    EXTRAORDINARY tales of bravery will be recalled during a talk being held later this month. Author and military expert Matthew Richardson will recount some of the heroic stories of soldiers awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal from the Charge of the

  • Second consultation to start next week

    A TOWN and neighbouring villages campaigning to establish a council of their own could end up with three under new proposals. Durham County Council is expected to start a second consultation over the creation of councils in Crook and Durham City next

  • Vertical pier on the rise

    THE controversial vertical pier on a North-East seafront is taking shape. Standing at 80ft tall, the structure will be the centrepiece of a £30m regeneration project in Redcar that is been developed by Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council. As

  • All aboard the cupcake express

    MOTHERS can enjoy a day of pampering and cupcakes on a heritage railway this weekend. The Weardale Railway, in County Durham, will run special services on Sunday to celebrate Mother’s Day. Children on board the train, dubbed the Cupcake Express

  • Funding for update to IT suite

    A RURAL agricultural support service has received funding to update its computer suite. The Sir Tom Cowie Trust gave more than £6,000 to the Upper Teesdale Agricultural Support Service (Utass), based in Middleton-in-Teesdale, allowing it to refurbish

  • £5.5m school refurb is given approval

    A £5.5m plan to redesign a school won approval yesterday. The money to refurbish Thornaby Academy, formerly Thornaby Community School, will come from the Government and Stockton Borough Council's planning committee unanimously agreed to the remodelling

  • Engineering week inspires children

    CHILDREN played dentists as part of National Science and Engineering Week. The NHS loaned nursery school children at Layfield Primary School, in Ya rm, a dentist's chair and other equipment so they could learn all about the subject. Older children

  • River body confirmed as missing York man

    A BODY found in a river earlier this week was that of missing teenager Jordan Sullivan, police have confirmed. The 19-year-old, from York, was last seen running towards the River Ouse on February 14. A body was recovered from the river, close to where

  • Kimberley bids for title win

    A WOMAN with a passion for selling vintage glamour will model her own jewellery when she competes in a beauty pageant. Kimberley Knowles started making clothes and jewellery at 14, founded her Maddison Ivory label at 16, and opened a stall

  • Sensory show

    MIDDLESBROUGH'S Independent Living Centre is hosting an exhibition of sensory impairment equipment and information. The drop-in event will take place next Thursday, from 10am to 4pm, for people with hearing or sight problems, health professionals

  • Teenage drug dealer is jailed

    A TEENAGE drug dealer was behind bars for his birthday last night after twice being caught by police with hundreds of pounds worth of crack cocaine. Michael Hodgkins admitted when he was arrested the first time that he was short of money because he

  • Replica Cuthbert banner coming home to Durham

    A NEWLY created replica of a sacred banner which for centuries led English armies into battle with the Scots is about to be shown publicly for the first time. The Northumbrian Association has spent four years and £35,000 recreating the Banner of St Cuthbert

  • Last chance to book fish and chip supper

    THE deadline for booking places at a fish and chip supper in Crook arrives tomorrow. Staff from Dale and Valley Homes are holding the event for its tenants at St Catherine’s Community Centre, in Crook, on Wednesday, March 28, from 6pm to 8pm. The informal

  • New role for Paralympian and brewery boss

    BRITAIN’S most successful Paralympian and a brewery boss are among the new deputy lieutenants for the country’s biggest county. Baroness Grey-Thompson of Eaglescliffe won many gold medals and holds numerous world records and is also involved

  • Businesses are told Darlington Football Club needs you now

    TEN businesses are being sought to invest £10,000 each to help save the Quakers as fans are told their club needs them now because next season will be “too late”. The Ten-4-Ten scheme was announced at the Darlington Arena today as administrator

  • Pensioner killed in allotment fire

    AN allotment holder has been killed after a blaze tore through his cabin. The wooden hut was burned to the ground in just 20 minutes as 15ft-high flames ripped through the plot in Rossmere Allotments, Hartlepool, yesterday lunchtime. The victim of the

  • Chris Rea's long and winding road

    CHRIS Rea is travelling from Berlin to Leipzig on the German leg of his European tour when I call him. While I am certain from his description that it is far from the 'Road to Hell', the forests and mountains that act as a backdrop to our time together

  • Budding bakers' chance to impress

    CONFECTIONERS at a bakery have received royal consent to create a cake to celebrate the Queen’s diamond jubilee - and are calling on youngster to help inspire its design. Budding bakers from primary schools across Yorkshire are invited to send their

  • Council meeting abandoned after member walkout

    A COUNCIL meeting had to be abandoned after only dealing with three items on its agenda, despite lasting almost three and a half hours, after a number of councillors walked out. The planning committee at Darlington Borough Council was forced to end

  • Merger should not affect studies

    PUPILS studying for exams will not be disrupted when their school closes ahead of a merger this summer. Tudhoe Grange School and Spennymoor School will be replaced by Whitworth Park School and Sixth Form in September. It will occupy

  • Thousands of pounds up for grabs

    COMMUNITY groups and projects can apply for a share of £60,000 that has been allocated to a grants scheme. The East Durham Rural Corridor Area Action Partnership (AAP) has set aside half of its £120,000 budget for 2012-13 for the Its Up 2 U initiative

  • Europe remains Newcastle’s aim

    NEWCASTLE UNITED winger Gabriel Obertan admits a top-four finish is unlikely after Monday's 2-1 loss to Arsenal, but insists the club's European dream is not over. The last-minute defeat to the Gunners saw Newcastle slip eight points behind Arsene Wenger's

  • Strauss wants Test side to move on

    Captain Andrew Strauss wants to use England's tour of Sri Lanka to draw a line under the side's Test troubles against Pakistan last month. Despite being ranked number one in the world, Strauss' side were whitewashed 3-0 in the United Arab Emirates and

  • DNA could lead to case breakthrough

    POLICE hope recent forensic analysis of the remains of a woman whose death has baffled officers for more than 30 years will finally lead to the case being solved. As part of a cold-case review, the remains of a woman known as the “Sutton Bank

  • Fumes theory over camping tragedy

    POLICE are investigating if fumes from a barbecue killed a North-East council worker and left his wife fighting for her life. Tests for carbon monoxide poisoning will be carried out on the body of 45-year-old Chris Bainbridge, which was discovered

  • Liddle backing for on the spot Bowman

    Craig Liddle last night praised Ryan Bowman for twice putting himself on the spot in Tuesday's dramatic 1-1 draw with Luton Town. Bowman took two penalties in the dying minutes of a frantic finish at The Northern Echo, with the 20-year-old scoring the

  • Victor Chandler - on day three of Cheltenham

    The World Hurdle is Cheltenham's feature today with Big Buck's looking to emulate the mare Quevega and win the same race at the Festival four years on the bounce. The nine-year-old has won his last 15 races since unseating Sam Thomas at the last in the

  • Squad can go all the way - Larsson

    SEB LARSSON insists Sunderland can cope with an extended run in the FA Cup whilst trying to maintain their top-ten position in the Premier League. Sunderland travel to Goodison Park on Saturday lunchtime looking to book their place in the semi-final

  • New family stand for Northallerton

    Second Division Northallerton are reopening their main stand as a family stand for today’s home game against Crook Town. The club is doing its best to involve the local community as much as possible and says: “We think people may be surprised what the

  • 'Playboy' found dead in jail cell

    A SELF-STYLED international playboy jailed for handling a priceless stolen Shakespeare volume has been found dead in prison. Raymond Rickett Scott was pronounced dead at Acklington prison, in Northumberland, at about 8.40am yesterday after

  • A Shakespearean end to an epic tale

    THE epic story of Raymond Scott – truly a tale of Shakespearean proportions – produced a cruelly fitting final scene yesterday: a tragedy. Antiques expert, book dealer, Pot Noodle lover, eccentric, fantasist, alcoholic, liar, fraudster, thief.

  • Former Quakers boss hails rescue attempt

    A QUAKERS legend last night hailed the fundraising drive to save the club as “phenomenal and amazing”, and urged townspeople to dig deep. To mark the end of the first month of fundraising, three-times Darlington FC manager David Hodgson told

  • Teessiders hand trial to Pole

    MIDDLESBROUGH manager Tony Mowbray is running the rule over a Polish trialist this week, but there are fears he is set to miss out on Liverpool's Jonjo Shelvey. Wisla Krakow attacking midfielder Patryk Malecki is understood to be training at Boro's Rockcliffe

  • Calls to save police HQ mast

    A POLICE force’s multi-million pound plans for new headquarters could be derailed by a defunct 1960s radio mast, it has emerged. Durham Police want to shift 480 officers and staff to a purpose- built £14m HQ in Aykley Heads, Durham City. But

  • Larsson confident Cats can pass Toffees test

    SEB LARSSON insists Sunderland can cope with an extended run in the FA Cup whilst trying to maintain their top-ten position in the Premier League. Sunderland travel to Goodison Park on Saturday looking to book their place in the semi-final of the FA

  • Daughter praises right-to-die plan

    THE daughter of a 90-year-old man who was resuscitated because paramedics did not know he wanted to be allowed to die peacefully has welcomed an initiative. It is hoped the Deciding Right project will ensure such incidents will never happen again

  • Clegg defends closure of Remploy factories

    THE Government has again defended its decision to close 36 of Remploy’s 54 factories after it was accused of condemning disabled people to “languish in the dole queue”. The row came as the latest unemployment figures for the North-East showed

  • It could be a Somers day at Cheltenham

    Somersby can provide one of the most compelling headlines of this year's Cheltenham Festival by winning the Ryanair Chase. The much-admired Henrietta Knight has not visited the sacred winner's enclosure since 2004, when Best Mate secured a magnificent

  • Nicky’s four-timer

    NICKY Henderson was crowned the King of the Cheltenham Festival after a fabulous four-timer on day two of the meeting. The Lambourn handler scooped a championship race double when Bobs Worth won the RSA Chase and Finian's Rainbow claimed a dramatic sportingbet.com

  • European dream still alive, says Obertan

    NEWCASTLE UNITED winger Gabriel Obertan admits a top four finish is unlikely after Monday nights defeat to Arsenal, but insists the club's European dream isn't over yet. The last minute defeat to the Gunners saw Newcastle slip eight points behind Arsene

  • Mowbray looking at Polish trialist

    MIDDLESBROUGH manager Tony Mowbray is running the rule over a Polish trialist this week, but there are fears he is set to miss out on Liverpool's Jonjo Shelvey. Wisla Krakow attacking midfielder Patryk Malecki is understood to be training at Boro's

  • Richards makes a splash

    Premier League chairman Sir Dave Richards suffered an unfortunate day at a conference in Qatar yesterday starting when some controversial remarks caused consternation - and ending when he fell into a pool. Richards claimed that FIFA and UEFA had "stolen

  • Quakers match tickets reduced

    Darlington have reduced matchday ticket prices at The Northern Echo Arena. For the final six home games of the campaign matchday tickets will be £15 adults, £10 concessions and £5 children. General manager Jason Lees said: "We'd hope this will encourage

  • Abergavenny put down after fall

    NORTON trainer Brian Ellison was "devastated" after Abergavenny had to be put down following a fall in the Coral Cup at the Cheltenham Festival. The five-year-old is believed to have suffered a broken elbow after crashing out at the third flight of hurdles