Archive

  • Newcastle manager Pardew clarifies Wigan tickets comments

    NEWCASTLE boss Alan Pardew has insisted he never meant to encourage the club's fans to travel to Wigan without tickets. Earlier this week, Pardew urged supporters to turn up in force at the DW Stadium for Saturday's Barclays Premier League fixture in

  • Equipment stolen from hospital radio

    RECORDING equipment was stolen from the charity-run Auckland Radio Hospital at Bishop Auckland Hospital overnight on Tuesday, April 24. Entry to the studio was gained via an insecure window and a Zoom H4 handheld digital audio recorder, worth about

  • Clampdown launched on Bishop Auckland burglaries

    POLICE have launched a crackdown after a surge in burglaries on a Bishop Auckland housing estate. Over the last six weeks there has been 14 dwelling burglaries across the town, eight of which have taken place on Woodhouse Close estate, in particular

  • Roadshow to improve driving skills

    STUDENTS will be taking part in a driving-themed roadshow next week aimed at helping them to improve their driving skills. It is hoped it will encourage them to take part in Durham County Council’s young driver training programme, EXCELerate. From

  • A66 closed near Scotch Corner after lorry crashes into field

    FIRE chiefs say a lorry which crashed and ended up in a field off the A66 at Scotch Corner was not carrying chemicals that would present a danger to the public or the environment. Emergency services attended the accident at around 4pm today and

  • League Cup final moved.

    The Brooks Mileson Northern League Cup final has been moved after both tonight's semi finals were postponed because of waterlogged pitches. The final is due to be played next Thursday at Bishop Auckland, but that has now been switched in order

  • Police name Houghton-le-Spring death crash family

    POLICE have confirmed the names of three members of the same family - including a one-year-old baby - who were killed in an horrific crash between a car and lorry. The victims were travelling in a people carrier that was involved in a head-on

  • Hopes grow of Quakers community takeover

    HOPES are growing that the community takeover of Darlington FC could be imminent after “extremely positive” talks were held with outgoing chairman Raj Singh. Darlington FC 1883 (DFC 1883) interim chairman Denis Pinnegar announced today that

  • Night at the Museum Edwardian-style

    ONE of the region’s top visitor attractions will be open on two evenings next month. Beamish Museum, near Stanley in County Durham, is taking part in the national Museums at Night Festival, which is organised by Culture24 to encourage more people to

  • Home again

    Grandma’s House (BBC2, 10 pm) The Plot to Bring Down Britain’s Planes (C4, 9pm) The Kidnap Diaries (BBC4, 9pm) SIMON AMSTELL has never been the sort of comedian to play it safe. Even when he was the host on C4’s Popworld, his acid-tinged

  • Waking up to the future

    SOME people want to have a wild party to celebrate their 50th birthday with a bang. They want lots of friends around them in a big marquee, with loud music and balloons. Not me. Perhaps I’m getting boring in my advancing years, but I

  • Wheels of fortune

    Colin Smith played for Leeds United under Don Revie until falling foul of the manager’s notorious superstitious streak THIS is how it works. Colin Smith emails with news of his 700-mile sponsored bike ride through France – for a very worthy

  • Helen walks tall

    JUST 18 months after she became the first female referee in the Over 40s League – “to be honest, I think they were just glad to have anyone,” she said after the match at Trimdon – Helen Conley has been appointed an assistant ref in the FA Women

  • Masters of the world – or fools?

    THEY are the untouchable kings of finance, secretly deciding all our economic futures but, this week, they were lambasted as blundering and complacent fools. At long last, the all-powerful credit rating agencies were brought out of the shadows

  • Bob a job

    EARLIER this month the Scouts were out in force collecting funds at the local supermarket. Curious, I asked a mature member of the troop: “Do you still do good turns helping people?” “It all depends,” came the reply. “I need help to sterilise

  • Dog dirt

    THANK you, Christopher Wardell, for your kind and encouraging words (HAS, Apr 17) in reply to my clean up letter. It made me think and wonder how many more misguided people think about your choice of goldfish as a pet. Clearly Mr Wardell must

  • A time for cool heads

    BRITAIN is officially in a double-dip recession for the first time since 1975. The Government’s belief that historically low interest rates and the weak pound would be enough to help the UK economy recover has been proved wrong. The grim figures

  • Council pay

    LOCAL government correspondent Mark Tallentire listed 162 council staff who earn more than £100,000 per annum (Echo, Apr 25). If the wages of those 162 people were reduced by five per cent that would release £810,000 for the North-East and North

  • Remploy

    I HAVE read with interest the HAS letters on Remploy (HAS, Apr 17) and, in particular, the information that Remploy was started in 1947 to provide work for service personnel disabled by war. It is a fact that we have seen many service personnel

  • Travellers

    I AM pleased to read that Bill Dixon, the leader of Darlington Borough Council, is looking for a decision to be made on the provision of Gypsy sites in the town (Echo, Apr 24). Let’s hope the decision is made sooner rather than later so we can

  • St George's Day

    COULD I please take this opportunity to thank those who came out to celebrate St George’s Day (Apr 23). A big thumbs up for The Boot and Shoe, in Darlington, for holding a disco and flying the flags, and also to The Tanners Hall where they have

  • Empire Strikes Back

    S POPE’S letter (HAS, Apr 24) seems to ignore the fact that the god which helped create the British Empire was the gun. We used it to enslave millions of people across the planet, mainly to deprive them of their natural resources. Many Christians

  • Muslims

    RALPH MUSGRAVE tells us that there are 1,500 mosques in Britain (HAS, Apr 25). I hardly think this amounts to proof of the “Islamification” of Europe. There are also 409 synagogues and about 200 gurdwaras in Britain and 47,000 Christian churches

  • Spin this...

    Could more spin doctors be one answer to the Government’s current woes? Stuart Arnold reports IT has not been a good month for the Coalition Government to say the least. Lambasted over Chancellor George Osborne’s “omnishambles” budget in March

  • Croft Circuit gears up for the new season

    CROFT CIRCUIT showcased some of its star attractions this week, as the Darlington track gears up for its maiden four-wheeled meeting of the year. Among those in the spotlight was the Speedworks Toyota Avensis team which will feature in the Dunlop

  • Live report: Surrey v Durham (Day One)

    There is to be no play before lunch at the Oval (sorry the Kia Oval) and, just as at Lord's last week, there is unlikely to be any at all on the first day. The showers are frequent and heavy and although there was an impressive gang of groundstaff

  • Police band's charity concert

    The Durham Constabulary Brass Band will be playing at Dobbies Garden Centre, Durham Road, Birtley, to raise money for Cancer Research UK on Wednesday May 16 at 7.30pm. Tickets cost £6 and are available on the door or in advance from the centre.

  • Land offer for Gypsy family

    AN ENFORCEMENT officer appalled by last year’s mass evictions from the UK’s largest travellers’ site in Essex, is inviting a Gypsy family from the region to live on his land. The 58-year-old grandfather, from Northallerton, North Yorkshire,

  • Bid for new car park

    Plans to build a 53-space car parl on land next to the Bowes Business Park at Lambton Park, near Chester-le-Street, have been submitted to Durham County Council by Lambton Developments Ltd.

  • Rule Brewtannia

    VISITORS to a Northern dale can now enjoy a cuppa – surrounded by royalty. For a new cafe in Stanhope, in Weardale, County Durham, may not boast royal guests in person, but it is decked out in regal memorabilia. The jubilee-themed tea room was

  • Is the double-dip an economic blip?

    “THE worst slump since the 1930s Great Depression,” was how one analyst described the UK’s economy as a double-dip recession was confirmed yesterday. But other economists disagreed, saying a “technical recession” belying the real picture of

  • On the other side of the 'wooden' fence

    How interesting it is to be on the other side of the fence. Over the years, I've published thousands of reviews, whether it be of theatrical performances, music concerts or restaurants. And when, on the odd occasion, there have been

  • Town’s own locomotive on track to return home

    THE first steam locomotive to be built in the region in 50 years could make its way home after plans to upgrade the East Coast Main Line were unveiled. Heritage rail groups in Darlington have welcomed plans for changes to the tracks around Bank

  • Black day for Cameron

    Britain is in a double-dip recession. Political Correspondent Robert Merrick looks back on the Prime Minister’s Black Wednesday DAVID CAMERON suffered a “Black Wednesday” yesterday when Britain plunged back into recession – as an aide’s resignation

  • ‘Fairground worker was thrown from Crazy Frog’

    A TEENAGE fairground attendant suffered a fractured skull after he was thrown from a ride, a court heard. Martin Brown, 19, was knocked unconscious after falling from the Crazy Frog during Barnard Castle Meet. He also suffered a fractured eye

  • Magpies to unveil Sir Bobby statue

    NEWCASTLE UNITED will unveil a statue of former manager Sir Bobby Robson ahead of their final home game of the season against Manchester City. Standing at nine-and-a-half feet tall, the bronze sculpture will stand at the South-West corner of

  • Full steam ahead for Titanic musical

    WT STEAD’S chair took to the stage last night like a duck to water, like a newly-launched ship to the sea. It is 130 years since its owner left Darlington on his voyage through life that ended when he was the most famous British man to go down

  • Durham family set up charity after French death

    THE family of a North-East man found dead in a French country lane is launching a charity to help people whose loved ones died abroad. The mother of Andrew Watt, from Durham City, is working with other bereaved families to form Deaths Abroad

  • Gillespie encouragement for Lyth

    Batsman Adam Lyth is by no means Yorkshire's forgotten man. The fluent left-hander, close to England selection as recently as late 2010, has been consigned to second-team action during the opening weeks of the county campaign. He is

  • Proctor's relief at Middlesbrough's play-off lifeline

    MARK PROCTOR has admitted that Middlesbrough were convinced their play-off hopes were dead after failing to beat Doncaster Rovers last week, but insists that the players are not feeling the pressure ahead of their must-win game at Watford on Saturday

  • Liddle on sidelines for teenagers’ final game

    Darlington are gearing up for their final game of the season on Saturday, but Craig Liddle will be on the sidelines today. The manager travels to Bradford for the youth team's final fixture of the season and it will also be the team's last

  • Durham man jailed for drunken attack on boy

    A DRUNKEN youth with the word “killer” scratched on his chest carried out an unprovoked attack on a teenager on a trip to a beauty spot. Michael Thomas Lynch was yesterday jailed for 12 months for the attack on the 16-yearold, his seventh conviction

  • NHS could save £7m in North-East if cheaper drugs used

    HEALTH bosses have revealed that the North-East NHS could save more than £7m a year if doctors ignored a legal challenge and switched to a cheaper drug to prevent blindness. The drug company Novartis is taking legal action against a number of

  • Thornaby man blamed his teenage son for burglary

    A BURGLARY suspect whose trainer left a dirty print at the crime scene told a court: “It had nothing to do with me – my son had my shoes on.” Paul Taylor blamed his 16-year-old son, Matthew, for the break-in on Teesside. Taylor, 43, admitted later

  • Hague to draw up Northallerton hospital battle plan

    FOREIGN Secretary William Hague is developing a battleplan to stop the proposed downgrading of services at a hospital. The Richmondshire MP has instructed his staff to produce a list of realistic journey times to hospitals in the region, to counter

  • Diseased tree cost Bishop Auckland hospice driver his life

    A HOSPICE volunteer died instantly after the bough of a diseased ash tree hit the patient transport ambulance he was driving, an inquest heard. Durham Coroner Andrew Tweddle is to alert Durham County Council and the landowner to the potential

  • Baby one of three family members to die in horrific crash

    A LORRY driver was arrested last night after three members of the same family – including a one-year-old baby girl – died in a horrific crash. The victims were travelling in a people carrier that was involved in a head-on collision with a lorry

  • Landmark within Di Venuto’s grasp

    MICHAEL Di Venuto needs 15 runs from Durham's match starting at the Oval today to reach the notable landmark of 25,000 in first-class cricket. The only current cricketer ahead of him is Surrey's Mark Ramprakash, who has more than 35,000. Next

  • Swann: England are on the attack

    World-beating England plan to turn "timid" back into "lethal" as they take out the frustrations of their Asian winter on the West Indies. Few can disagree that Andrew Strauss' tourists fell short of their hard-fought number one billing in Test cricket

  • Vaughan rejects Strauss criticism

    Former England captain Michael Vaughan has described conjecture over Andrew Strauss' future in the role as "ridiculous". Vaughan had his say on a vexed topic which has already seen countless pundits and players voice their opinion on whether

  • Lady can be a champ at Beverley

    Lady Macduff should be able to handle a slight drop in trip and notch up another success for Mark Johnston in the Racing UK Handicap at Beverley. Fifth on her debut at Yarmouth behind one-time Guineas hope Aljamaaheer over six furlongs, she was stepped

  • Fomer Armed Forces: be your own boss

    A FORMER airman who set up his own car washing service has thanked the Royal British Legion for a £13,000 development grant as his company celebrates its second birthday. Martyn Ross set up his company after being unable to find a job when he left

  • Catterick calling for Tour pro Jodi

    AFTER the disappointment of missing the first cut of her burgeoning career, Jodi Ewart hopes video calling technology will help to make her a tournament winner in her rookie season on the LPGA Tour. Despite being based more than 4,000 miles

  • Shearer would have loved to go for gold

    HE might have earned 63 caps for England, scoring 30 goals along the way, but Alan Shearer could never boast an appearance for Team GB on his footballing CV. He would have loved the opportunity to go for gold himself and yesterday he admitted

  • Magpies hero wary of Chelsea success

    ALAN SHEARER fears Newcastle United's season of surprise in the Premier League could be spoiled by Chelsea's own remarkable performance in Europe. Shearer was impressed along with the rest of the country by Chelsea's incredible performance

  • Gardner ready to stay at Sunderland

    MARTIN O'NEILL has convinced midfielder Craig Gardner that he should stay on Wearside for a further season despite ongoing interest from West Bromwich Albion. Gardner's future has been the subject of a lot of debate at the Stadium of Light