THE new owners of a nightclub that closed after a soldier was killed by an underage drinker have vowed to put its controversial past behind them. The finishing touches are almost complete at The Hub, formerly known as Escapades, in Darlington
THE new owners of Darlington FC have told fans their club has a bright future which they will control. Up to 200 supporters packed into the Blackwell Grange Hotel, in Darlington, on Friday night to meet the interim board of Darlington FC 1883 (DFC 1883
THIS IS Red Cross week and volunteers are working hard in Darlington to help raise money towards a one million pound nationwide target. As a humanitarian organisation The British Red Cross aims to help people in crisis no matter where or who they are
A YEAR ago, it would have been easier to find Lord Lucan drinking in a pub in the Bigg Market than to come across a Geordie who approved of Alan Pardew being appointed Newcastle United manager. Chris Hughton had done an admirable job in guiding
Newcastle United boss Alan Pardew has been named the Barclays Manager of the Season after a fantastic campaign. Pardew has improved the Magpies' fortunes beyond all expectations during the Barclays Premier League season. Newcastle are currently in
Newcastle boss Alan Pardew has been named Barclays Premiership manager of the season. The 50-year-old is the first Newcastle manager ever to be awarded the accolade, with Newcastle guaranteed a top-five finish, which will be their highest position
A HIGH-TECH company which supplies equipment that enabled billions to watch the Royal Wedding live is set to expand after increasing exports by 38 per cent. County Durham based Canford Group, who manufacture and distribute audio visual equipment to
Rating: 4/5 READING the notes I scribbled during the screening of Dark Shadows are a reminder of the weirdness of trying to turn a late 1960s daytime supernatural soap into a movie for 2012. They read: birthing hips, The Carpenters – woodworkers
Defeat to Manchester City means that guaranteed Champions League qualification is out of Newcastle's hands and the same goes for a top four berth, which may not be enough for a place at Europe's top table. The Magpies are subsequently 9/2 with bet365
PHIL ‘The Power’ Taylor made a visit to the region yesterday to give a darts masterclass to some female players. The 15 times World Champion was at JJB Sports shop in Darlington at midday today to put Darlington District Ladies Darts League through
A CHESTER-le-Street housing association has been highly commended in prestigious national awards. Cestria Community Housing was recognised in the Social Landlord of the Year (Regional) category of the 2012 Housing Excellence Awards. Cestria, which
THIS is how an area of wasteland cleared of housing under a council regeneration scheme is to be redeveloped. An artist’s impression shows how a new health will modernise facilities for Chilton and transform an unsightly area. Durham
POLICE are investigating after part of a van exhaust was stolen from a Barnard Castle compound. The van was parked at sign maker William Smith and Sons, in Queen Street, Barnard Castle, when part of its exhaust system was taken. The burglary took place
A HOSPICE has received more than £5,000 after a year of fundraising at a supermarket. Staff at Sainsbury’s Bishop Auckland collected £5,203.18 in aid of Butterwick Hospice Care which was presented to the charity today. Last year customers voted for
Rating: 4/5 JACK Black and Kyle Gass return with their third album, six years after their previous record and the band’s film Tenacious D In The Pick Of Destiny. Rize Of The Fenix - both the album and title track - follows the same narrative
Rating: 4/5 VETERAN country music star Willie Nelson has gone more mainstream with his latest release, which isn’t a bad move. The 79-year-old joins up with fellow grizzled veteran Merle Haggard on the opening track, A Horse Called Music
Rating: 4/5 FOLLOWING an "indefinite" hiatus in 2005 after becoming disenchanted with music industry politics, Garbage - Shirley Manson, Duke Erikson, Steve Marker and Butch Vig - reformed last year. They are back with an album that
A BUILDING firm has been fined more than £2,000 for using a logo that wrongly claimed the company was a member of a national building organisation. Manor Building Services, based in Manor Road, Darlington, admitted three charges of using the logo of
DECISIONS about potential sites for Gypsy and traveller communities in Darlington will be made as soon as possible, councillors have pledged. After a huge response from residents during a consultation process about six potential sites around the town
Rating: 4/5 IT’S been three years since Gossip have graced us with an LP and given the trio’s previous eclectic offerings, you could be forgiven for not knowing what to expect with their fifth album. Frontwoman Beth Ditto apparently
A MAN was taken to hospital with a broken leg after he was hit by a car while using a zebra crossing. The incident happened on Victoria Road, in Darlington, near the junction with Bedford Street, at 7.45am on Thursday when a 28-year-old man was hit
After a long spell out of the limelight, Keane are back with their much-anticipated fourth album Strangeland. Linda Jobling talks to drummer Richard Hughes about their ‘most personal and honest record yet’ WHAT was the inspiration behind Strangeland
ABOY, a girl and a kiss. What’s wrong with that? They’re just doing what comes naturally. If only the path of true love wasn’t as pockmarked with craters as our road with potholes. Soapland has seen more than its fair – and decent – share of
A MAN was taken to hospital with a broken leg after he was hit by a car while using a zebra crossing. The incident happened on Victoria Road, in Darlington, near the junction with Bedford Street, at 7.45am yesterday when a 28-year-old man was hit by
Episodes (BBC2, 10pm) Piers Morgan’s Life Stories: Dennis Waterman (ITV1, 9pm) A League of Their Own (Sky1, 9pm) IT’S been difficult to avoid Friends star Matt Le Blanc talking about Episodes. He was everywhere, from Graham Norton to The One Show
You don’t have to travel far to find your own rural idyll, says Joe Willis IT’S become a well-rehearsed family joke dating back to a fly-drive trip to the Costa Dorada. “Are we there yet?” asked the boy in the back as we approached Bedale. Now,
I BELIEVE the letter by Archie Currie (HAS, Mar 24) about the Chancellor penalising pensioners to merit resounding support. I agree that we should meet (as the only correspondents on the subject) to discuss forming a “common-sense Pensioners
I AM writing to agree with the letter in HAS by Bob Radcliffe concerning Madeleine McCann (HAS, May 3). My wife and I have holidayed abroad and always taken our children with us no matter where we were going. Our children were older then Madeleine
THE FIRST shipment of steel made at the re-opened Redcar iron and steelworks is being loaded at Teesport. Workers at PD Ports today began the task of transferring 48,000 tonnes of steel slabs onto the Korean vessel MV Blue Fin. Three cranes
THE efficiency of wind power generation is still questionable. Water power is being persistently ignored by the Government and the power generating agencies. Power which drove the industrial revolution because of the rivers is still here today
IT has often been said by those entirely dependent on public participation, bankers and councils in particular that if you’re only willing to pay peanuts, you’ll only get monkeys in return. Here in Durham County Council we have at least 20 executives
I THINK the design of High Row, in Darlington, with so many steps is a hazard, as well as losing space. It would have been more serviceable for the environment with more seating for people to unite in the town centre along with Joseph Pease.
AT last the pressures on teaching staff have been aired (Echo, May 7). The general public have no idea how much time we spend at home and staying after school for an hour or so on the premises ready to deliver lessons. Teachers have so-called
THERE’S a saying that if you knew what the future held, you would never get out of bed in the morning. I was thinking of how true it was this week. I opened the conference organised by Headway Teesside, which supports people who survive brain
I WAS very surprised to read the letter from Joyce Rutter (HAS, Apr 21) and pleased to know that nurse Joan Emmerson of Esh Winning is still remembered. Joan trained as a nurse and a midwife and left a secure position in England to work for Save
I READ Jim Tague’s (HAS, May 3) letter about the tax system with interest. The conclusion from the information given must be either: A) More wealth should be given to the wealthy to be dispersed through patronage in the spirit of the New Feudalism
READERS of The Northern Echo need no advice regarding Rob Meggs’ one dimensional view of all religions. That dimension is incorrect, especially in his portrait of the Pope. Does Pope Benedict habitually surround himself with “yes” men? Not
OUR town centres are struggling to survive in the face of increased competition from retail parks. It’s easy to drive to the likes of the Metrocentre or Teesside Retail Park, have everything close together, and park for free. But town centres are
The Government has changed its mind about the type of fighter aircraft it will buy for the Royal Navy’s new aircraft carriers. Nigel Burton asks what went wrong and if, in a very British way, the Navy may end up with what it needs BRITAIN’S defence
A TEENAGER who was scouted during a fashion show is representing the region in a national beauty pageant. Beth Rutledge, 14, from Gateshead, is in the semi-finals of the Miss Teen Princess UK competition after she was spotted at the Clothes
A WOMAN was killed when her car left the A1 and landed upside down in a field early this morning. The 27-year-old local woman, who has not yet been named, was travelling on the southbound carriageway of the A1 near Catterick when her car skidded
THE threat of a hosepipe ban hitting parts of North Yorkshire has now been lifted, following weeks of heavy rain. The Derwent catchment area in the east of the county was declared a drought zone by the Environment Agency earlier this year. But in
TWO members of police staff who twisted and grabbed the arms of a man in custody to make him answer questions have been ordered to pay him £100 in compensation. David Healer screamed in pain as he was assaulted by police custody sergeant Stephen
A YOUNG woman has died after crashing off the A1 in North Yorkshire this morning and hitting a tree. The accident happened at 5.45am on the southbound carriageway near Catterick. Police said a blue Peugeot 206 car left the carriageway before hitting
POLICE investigating after a 34-year-old woman was taken to hospital with serious injuries in Darlington in the early hours of this morning have now found a man's body. Police were called to an address in Holmwood Grove, in the Harrowgate Hill
THIEVES who raided an industrial unit escaped from the scene with tools worth around £12,000. They targeted Snap On branded tools but left behind a number of other tools made by different manufacturers. The raid happened late last month
For millions of people the summer months are an ordeal of sneezing, blocked noses and gummy eyes. Nigel Burton reports on a North-East company that may have the answer. I USED to look forward to summer. Now I just dread it. Ever since I developed
GERARD Houllier has praised Newcastle manager Alan Pardew for transforming Hatem Ben Arfa's fortunes in the last few months. Ben Arfa was named in France manager Laurent Blanc's provisional list of overseas-based players for Euro 2012 on Wednesday, despite
PROFITS at Nissan rose sharply in the January to March quarter as the carmaker made inroads into fast-growing markets. The company reported a net profit of £585m, up from £232m a year earlier. Nissan said its global sales reached 4.8 million vehicles
JPMorgan Chase, the biggest US bank, has revealed a surprise trading loss of £1.2bn on investments made by its traders. JPMorgan shares fell 6 per cent, with other bank stocks following. Goldman Sachs, Citigroup and Bank of America also suffered heavy
YET another day's rain was no surprise to Durham yesterday, but they were rocked by news that Mitchell Johnson will not be available for the Twenty20 Cup and Ben Stokes needs a knee operation. Stokes was ruled out of the current England Lions
TOWN halls have been ordered to speed up adoptions to rescue children languishing in care after new figures revealed delays of up to two years. Sunderland City Council is the slowest in the region, taking an average of 738 days to complete
WILLIAM HAGUE has added his weight to the fight to save children’s services at a hospital by urging clinicians to consider all alternative solutions. The Richmond MP expressed concern at the distances some patients would have to travel if a
HOMEOWNERS in a former pit village are fearing for their properties after large holes appeared in the ground behind their houses. The holes, the biggest of which is six metres long, two metres wide and 50cm deep, were discovered in the green
WEATHER forecasters are holding out hope that the region could get some respite from the torrential rain that has been lashing the UK. The Met Office said yesterday it was expecting 40mm of rain to fall across the North of England and parts
A NORTH-EAST hospital trust is investing £800,000 in a scheme that will create 40 frontline nursing jobs and improve care for patients. The scheme by County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust is believed to be the first in the region.
UNION leaders last night warned that strikes by public sector workers in the row over pension reform will continue for the rest of the year following a day of protest by tens of thousands of employees including police, prison officers, lecturers
FANS groups are to play a key role in the future management of Darlington Football Club, the new owners have announced. Supporters will be given the chance to invest in a community interest company (CIC) which will hold a stake in Darlington
BENEATH the frustration of missing out on promotion back to the Premier League, the emergence of Curtis Main has given Middlesbrough a healthy bonus ahead of an uncertain summer at the Riverside Stadium. When Main impressed on trial at this stage last
TOWN centre businesses are urging others to join them in supporting plans for a Business Improvement District (BID) in Middlesbrough as ballot papers go out this week. Backers of the BID already include high street giants Marks and Spencer,
A REGENERATION charity is trying out an electric car in a bid to reduce its carbon footprint. Social enterprise Groundwork North-East, which has previously installed a wind turbine and solar panels, is hoping to make business travel for employees
A COUNCIL has been given a formal warning after a snap inspection revealed unsafe management of medicines by care workers was putting vulnerable people at risk. Darlington Borough Council has been told it must urgently improve its Extra Care
A STUDENT whose false rape claim led to an innocent man being arrested and held for nine hours walked free from court yesterday. Hannah Byron, 20, was told by a judge at Teesside Crown Court that she had avoided an immediate jail sentence “
It's fair to say that Yorkshire haven't enjoyed their trip to Bristol this week very much. On Wednesday, they were forced to watch the rain at the County Ground as the first day of their LV=County Championship match with Gloucestershire was abandoned
West Auckland assistant manager Paul Foster takes us through West’s run, all the way from the very first qualifying round way back in September. West started with a 3-1 home win over Cleator Moor from the Wearside League, although they didn’t open
THOUSANDS of spectators are expected to attend an event to mark the arrival of the Olympic torch in the North-East. Details have been announced of a celebration in Durham City on Saturday, June 16, to welcome the Olympic flame. TV personality
A MILK bottle manufacturer has proved it is the creme de la creme of design after scooping an international award for its revolutionary plastic packaging. Nampak Plastics, in Consett, County Durham, won the best dairy packaging innovation category
COMPANIES are being urged to support the North-East's bid for a share of £9.5m to place hundreds of low-carbon commercial vehicles on the roads. Gateshead College's Zero Carbon Futures programme is seeking partners to put together a strong
HOUSEBUILDER Barratt has seen its strongest spring selling period for five years, but the North-East housing market is struggling to show signs of joining the recovery. Newcastle-based Barratt, like other UK housebuilders, has responded to
MARTIN WARD has been backed to claim the first title of his career when he returns to the ring on Sunday, May 20. The County Durham boxer, who has lost one of his first 15 fights as a professional, will be intent on winning the International Masters
FRAIZER CAMPBELL thinks going for gold at this summer's Olympic Games would provide the perfect platform for his Sunderland form to reach new heights in the Premier League next season. Campbell, who has not given up hope of figuring in Euro 2012 for
Tim Krul (Newcastle) At the start of the campaign, Krul was battling with Steve Harper and Fraser Forster for the right to be Newcastle's number one. Nine months on, and the Dutchman has established himself as one of the leading goalkeepers
