Soccer Aid 2012 (ITV1, 10.35pm) Euro’s Most Shocking Moments (BBC3, 10pm) LATER this year, England will take on the rest of Europe at football in the Euro 2012 tournament. But before that, they’re going to be playing against the rest of the world
PORT bosses in the North-East vowed to fight on after a rival city was given the go-ahead to run money-spinning cruises - and potentially pinch business. The Port of Tyne has fought a long-running battle to prevent Liverpool City Council's bid to launch
A once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to take pictures in the heart of Africa was snapped up by young photographer Lucinda Grange. Rachel Meek reports on what she discovered about their passion for football EXTREME photographer Lucinda Grange
A PENSIONER was airlifed to hospital with head and arm injuries after being hit by a car in a rush-hour collision. Emergency services were called to the incident in Grange Road, Darlington, at about 4.15pm this evening. The 72-year-old
A SOLDIER who was awarded the highest military honour for bravery has helped inspire a group of youngsters preparing for a charity cycle ride. Lance Corporal Johnson Beharry VC visited two schools in Darlington yesterday. A group of 16 students
NEWCASTLE UNITED have completed their first signing of the summer in the shape of Frenchman Romain Amalfitano. Amalfitano, a versatile midfielder, has signed a three-year deal on Tyneside after successfully passing a medical over the last 48 hours.
IAN Blackwell dragged Durham back into the match when they were being put to the sword on a sunny afternoon. Somerset were flying along on 199 for three when three wickets suddenly went down for ten runs, Blackwell taking the first two and
A BRICKLAYER has received a shot in the arm after competing for his country in athletics. Darlington College apprentice Scott Lincoln has just competed for England and Great Britain in his chosen sport of shot put. The 19-year-old, of Brompton, Northallerton
THE game of cricket lost a very good friend with the recent passing of John “Jack” Ayre. If you took away the professionals and the overseas players, you would go a long way to find a quicker and more accurate bowler than Jack Ayre in this part
DAISIES Cafe, in Duke Street, Darlington (Echo, May 19), is the kind of project that Darlington Association on Disability (DAD) should be supporting. However, the training on offer for people with learning difficulties is only suitable for people
ALL of my adult life I have been metrically literate. I have never considered this much of an achievement, because it simply works in multiples of ten. I read Peter Troy’s letter (HAS, May 19) and find that I belong to an elite. If this is correct
IF, as reported, Tony Blair is returning to front line politics then we should also dust off Gordon Brown. You can’t have Laurel without Hardy. M Hawkins, Durham.
I WRITE to thank Charlie Kay (HAS, May 21) for so adequately reflecting my views on the actions of the Coalition. I was particularly struck by the comparison Mr Kay made between key members of the cabinet and their animal counterparts from George
PLEASE VJ Connor, do not get Christopher Wardell’s hopes for retirement up too much (HAS, May 19). Under the Government’s plans to extend the retirement he will be lucky if he spends a mere two years of his sixties in retirement. More likely he
IT was amusing to see the Business Secretary Vince Cable’s photo with hand over mouth pledging to help get the North-East back to its “glory days as the workshop of Britain” on the front page of The Northern Echo (May 21). Is Mr Cable going to
SIR Richard Branson already has a waiting list of takers for a trip into space. In a Virgin spaceship the three-hour or so flight might cost around £125,000. Others, too, are poised for this particular space race. But where would the tourist spaceships
DOES any one remember when we were all told to reduce our carbon footprint? Don’t use your car unless it is necessary, take holidays at home to save the planet, do whatever you can to stop global warming etc? Many of us who were dismissed as
IT is an exciting coup for the North- East that Team GB’s football squads are to stay at Rockliffe Hall, near Darlington, as they prepare for the Olympic Games. Less than three years after the hotel, spa and golf complex was built by Middlesbrough
WE now know that the first child born to the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge will succeed to the throne whether it is a boy or a girl – and that is entirely right. Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg told the Commons yesterday that if William and Kate
Iconic North-East artist Mackenzie Thorpe is backing a remarkable project that uses football images to stimulate the memories of dementia sufferers. Health and education editor Barry Nelson reports THE Football Reminiscence programme was founded
JAMIE Harrison struck with his ninth ball in first-class cricket today when he swung one in to have Arul Suppiah lbw. When he made his senior debut in the CB 40 match against Somerset ten days ago the left-arm bowler took two wickets in his first seven
A RETIRED fire chief has told how a crowded pub froze in horror after a man tumbled backwards off a balcony, leaving him fighting for his life. North Yorkshire Police said the man, from the Langley Park area of Durham, yesterday remained “very
HARTLEPOOL'S Tall Ships Race has won best tourism event of the year at the national Visit England Awards for Excellence. The event, in 2010, boosted the town's profile and brought an estimated £26.5m into the local economy. Hartlepool
A SPONSORED walk to buy life-saving equipment has raised over £1,000. Kind-hearted estate agent Rachael Elliott helped after hearing about the plight of a young boy. She joined others to walk 16 miles from the Royal Victoria Infirmary in Newcastle to
SCOTTISH Vespers looks very hard to oppose in the News International Maiden Stakes at Lingfield. Sir Michael Stoute’s three-year-old went into many a notebook as a future winner of at least a race like this when third at Windsor last month.
NEWCASTLE have re-signed centre Tane Tu’ipulotu on a two-year deal from Japanese club Yamaha Jubilo. Tu’ipulotu, the former Junior All Black, is the Falcons’ fourth signing this week following the arrivals of Rory Lawson, Carlo del Fava and
THE high noon start at Taunton yesterday saw the Durham batsmen come out will all guns blazing and after gaining one batting point from their first five games they picked up four. Some of the big guns, however, blazed a little too fiercely as
TWO battle-ready Army helicopters came to the rescue of residents who faced a 1,800ft obstacle to jubilee preparations. The jubilee beacon being created on a hilltop in North Yorkshire will be one of about 4,000 around the country lit in honour
CLEANERS and other workers on the Tyne and Wear Metro have voted to go on strike in two separate disputes over pay and the alleged victimisation of a union member. The Rail Maritime and Transport union said operational staff had been offered
POLICE have launched dawn raids targeting the homes of people suspected of being in the County Durham drug trade. Officers from across the region visited houses in the Ferryhill and Spennymoor areas early this morning. Six people were arrested, one
The Oslo vocal ensemble Trio Mediaeval were joined by trumpeter and electronics wizard Arve Henriksen in a spellbinding performance spanning the ages and several genres at The Sage Gateshead. The concert, featuring a unique blend of medieval sacred
HEALTH Secretary Andrew Lansley last night appeared to perform a major U-turn over future NHS funding reforms after it was revealed his proposals would leave the North- East at a massive disadvantage. The move follows research by Durham
AN ELDERLY woman died in hospital after a feeding tube was inserted into her lung rather than her stomach, an inquest heard. Margaret Mary Burton, 90, died from lung infections three days after the mistake at the University Hospital of North
FINAL preparations are taking place for what is expected to be one of the biggest demonstrations ever held in North Yorkshire’s county town. Many hundreds, and possibly thousands, of people are expected to converge on Northallerton, on Saturday
THE sister of a woman who strangled her two-year-old son has described the heartbreaking moment she heard what had happened in a telephone call. Julie Stout recalled the moment her sister said she had killed her son, Christy, and heard her kissing
A WEBSITE developer from the region has written an open letter to Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, calling for young people to be better educated about digital privacy. Simon Crisp, director of a web design company in Darlington, says a “Facebook
A NORTH-EAST luxury fivestar hotel will host the Team GB men’s and women’s football squads this summer as they prepare for the Olympic Games. Middlesbrough’s Riverside Stadium will host Great Britain’s only warm-up matches ahead of the Olympic
Mitchell Starc, Yorkshire's new recruit, has revealed he did not start his cricketing career looking to terrorise batsmen with his languid style of left-arm fast bowling. For the 22-year-old from Sydney wanted to be a wicketkeeper, with the aim of emulating
EVERTON have made a formal approach to Sunderland in an attempt to sign Kieran Richardson this summer. Toffees officials have inquired about the possibility of landing Richardson, who is about to enter the final 12 months of his current deal
PAUL Drinkhall is determined to use this summer's Olympics to prove how far British table tennis has come in the last few years. Drinkhall, who hails from Loftus in east Cleveland, was one of six British table tennis players selected to compete
ALAN PARDEW thinks it will be 'impossible' for Newcastle United to repeat this season's heroics in the Premier League if their intentions of reaching the latter stages of the Europa League are fulfilled. Pardew, still celebrating the rare
BRISTOL CITY lead a clutch of clubs interested in signing Gary Liddle following the midfielder's decision to leave Hartlepool United. After six years at Victoria Park, Liddle thinks it is time to try something new and the possibility of a move
AN HISTORIC foundry business has recruited more skilled workers and unveiled a major cash injection to support its latest export drive. Bonds, the family-owned North-East group, has won a major order to supply a pump manufacturer in Japan.
ALMOST 2,000 jobs could be created in the North-East off-shore renewable power supply chain if new laws clarify and stabilise the energy market, an industry figure has said. New wind farms require large initial capital outlay, but have relatively
THE husband of a former rail company accounts manager denied having anything to do with alleged fraud committed by his wife, a court heard. Corina Elaine Heslop is accused of paying eight British American Railway Services (Bars) cheques, for
AN eight-year-old girl who had a special bond with her great-grandmother has organised a four-mile fundraising walk for a dementia charity in her memory. Alice Harwood, from Darlington, will tackle the walk in her home town on Monday, June 4,
AN attempt by a farmer to create a fertiliser plant for recycling food waste has met with opposition from people living near the site who fear its environmental impact. AWSM Farms, in Hutton Magna, Teesdale, has lodged a planning application
GUERRILLA knitters have struck again – this time leaving jubilee-inspired woollen corgis and the Queen under cover of darkness. In a stark similarity to the Saltburn Yarn Bombers – a team of knitters who anonymously decorated Saltburn pier
A LAWYER, a barrister and a solicitor have resumed a struggle over the future use of a grass airstrip. At the opening of the second public inquiry in 15 months into Bagby Airfield, near Thirsk, North Yorkshire, barrister Giles Cannock said
TRIBUTES were last night paid to a volunteer guard who died working on a heritage railway line. Former policeman Robert Lund, 65, from Beverley, East Yorkshire, died after he was crushed between two carriages operating on the famous North Yorkshire
THE Northern League are preparing to accommodate Darlington ahead of Friday's Football Association announcement about which league the club will be playing in next season. The FA are still to confirm Darlington's punishment for failing to exit
