THE worries have been increasing, the gap to the Premier League's bottom three reducing. But did Sunderland fans really think the man they always wanted in charge was going to go? Martin O'Neill has gone. The name which was on so many Black Cats
MARTIN O'NEILL'S 16-month reign as manager of Sunderland Football Club has come to an end after owner Ellis Short decided to replace the Northern Irishman on Saturday night. In a club statement issued from the Stadium of Light, where the Black
SPENNYMOOR Town will appear at Wembley in May after booking their place in the FA Vase final with a 4-1 aggregate win over Guernsey this afternoon. But hopes of an all-Northern League final were dashed when Shildon missed out on a Wembley date
RESIDENTS of a Dales village are adamant their community should not become over-run with second home owners who would suck the life out of the village. Askrigg, Wensleydale, was last week ranked number one in a list of the “top 30 place in Britain
Wolverhampton Wanderers 3 Middlesbrough 2 A GOALFEST at Molineux did not go the way of visitors Middlesbrough as Wolverhampton Wanderers took a vital victory in their bid for safety – further damaging Boro's own claims for the Championship play-offs
DARLINGTON made it 13 wins in a row and broke the 100 point barrier with a superb 7-2 win over Sunderland RCA. A crowd of 1,275 saw the game at Heritage Park with goals from Stephen Thompson (3), David Dowson, Steven Johnson, Amar Purewal and Kerry
Manchester City 4 Newcastle United 0 MANCHESTER CITY handed Newcastle United a huge reminder that there is still work to be done by Alan Pardew to preserve Premier League status this season. The reigning champions, who closed the gap back to
SUNDERLAND'S relegation worries intensified this afternoon as they slipped to a tame 1-0 defeat at the hands of Manchester United. While there was no real surprise at the Black Cats losing to the Premier League leaders, the hosts' failure to create
A PROBE has been launched after a 43-year-old man died in police custody today. The Independent Police Complaints Commission confirmed it is investigating the death at Washington Police Station in Northumbria in the early hours of this morning.
LOCAL youngsters have been given the chance to appear on stage with the professionals for a performance of an Easter pantomime. Rapunzel, the story of the girl with the long, golden hair, will visit Darlington’s Civic Theatre on Easter Monday (
A PERFORMING arts school has organised a three-day workshop to give young people in Darlington the chance to perform the new musical version of Matilda. Darlington Arts Academy will hold the three day workshop between April 11 and 13 at Hummersknott
Welcome to a huge afternoon for all of the North-East sides as the season enters its critical phase. I'm at the Stadium of Light as Sunderland attempt to ease their relegation fears with a win over Manchester United. The Black Cats will start
JAMES McClean returns to Sunderland's starting line-up for today's lunch-time kick-off with Premier League leaders Manchester United. McClean makes his first start for nine matches as Martin O'Neill is forced to shuffle his pack in the absence
A FLUTE worth £800 has been returned to the shop it was stolen from thanks to a police theft prevention campaign. The instrument was stolen from JG Windows music shop on Blackwellgate, in Darlington, but within 48 hours had been traced to Cash
AN award-winning Sunday market hosted a special Easter event to encourage more people to shop locally. The Sunday People’s Market hosted a number of stalls in Darlington on Good Friday, with a number of Easter activities for children and parents
SHE emerged dressed simply, but elegantly, in white blouse and knee-length pencil skirt. A quick hello and then she broke into song. For Emeli Sande - the self-confessed "unlikely pop star" - it's all about the music. North-East born, but
SUNDERLAND chair man has called for a united front as he prepares to launch an investigation into the club's difficult season. Writing in his programme notes ahead of today's Barclays Premier League clash with leaders Manchester United, Short admitted
EASTER FUN: Arts and crafts sessions will take place at Crown Street and Cockerton libraries in Darlington during the Easter holidays. The sessions at Cockerton Library will be held on Wednesday, April 3 and Wednesday, April 10, both at 1.30pm. Places
AN appeal has been launched against a refusal to allow a private Gypsy site on the outskirts of a village on the grounds that there are no facilities nearby for the family. The application for retrospective planning permission, to change the use
CONCERNS that two junior surgeons were in charge of children's congenital heart surgery at Leeds General Infirmary (LGI) prompted the decision to suspend operations there, a key NHS adviser said today. The hospital, which is at the centre of a
POLICE have negotiated an end to an incident a house in Stockton where there had been concern for a 33-year-old man, locked in a room with pet snakes. Armed response officers were called to the location on the Wrensfield Estate, Stockton, around
A MAN was taken to hospital after a fire that severely damaged a terraced house. Firefighters were alerted to the blaze at a two storey property in Jackson Street, Spennymoor, at 3.33am. Two appliances were sent to tackle the fire, thought
IT’S a simple numbers game for Hartlepool United; but the equation just doesn’t add up. Five games left, winless and goalless in seven and eight points from safety. They are leaving League One and heading for League Two. This defeat to MK Dons
THE North-East boxing scene is gearing up for one of its biggest ever weekends as Rainton Meadows Arena prepares for sell-out shows on consecutive nights. Birtley fighter Jon-Lewis Dickinson will make the second defence of his British cruiserweight title
MOUSSA Sissoko will line up against one of his footballing idols this afternoon, but the Newcastle United midfielder insists it would be wrong to draw comparisons between himself and Yaya Toure. Toure will be in the Manchester City ranks as Newcastle
HE has made 15 appearances in the Premier League, played against the likes of Marseille and Spartak Moscow in Europe and won 11 caps for England under-21s. But if Josh McEachran can help Middlesbrough regain a place in the play-off places next month,
ALAN PARDEW will lead Newcastle United to the home of the reigning Premier League champions today warning his players not to believe Roberto Mancini’s claim he has already admitted defeat in retaining the crown. With Manchester United, who head
NOT too long ago, Neil Bausor sat in the back of a Jeep Grand Cherokee, being driven from place to place around the Colombian capital of Bogota, under armed guard and hidden behind blacked out, bullet-proof glass windows. It was before the Middlesbrough
WHATEVER happens in the final eight matches of the season, Tony Mowbray has warned Middlesbrough supporters to expect a number of high-profile departures in the summer. The Teessiders take on Wolves this afternoon looking to salvage a promotion campaign
A DEFENSIVE Martin O'Neill insists every member of his Sunderland squad - including Connor Wickham - has had a chance to impress during a season of frustration on Wearside. Ankle ligament damage has ruled out leading scorer Steven Fletcher for
RELEGATION is not new to Simon Mignolet and he is hoping never to endure it again, especially not this year with Sunderland. Mignolet, an established member of the Belgium squad and hailed as the best goalkeeper of the season by England No 1 Joe
A WENSLEYDALE trader is set to launch a range of pasta sauces after winning praise from judges on a television cookery challenge show. Yara Gremoli, of Low Burton, near Masham, received support from Food Glorious Food judge Tom Parker Bowles for
NORTH-EAST football fans will be on tenterhooks today (SAT) as two Northern League clubs attempt to secure a dream date at Wembley. Ian Noble reports. THE chance to step out on the hallowed turf at Wembley Stadium would be a dream come true for
UP to £100m of vital aid will be taken from the North-East as a Government “bribe” to stop Scotland voting for independence, it has been claimed. The European Union funds – designed to win investment and jobs - have been switched north of the border
A MOTHER has spoken of her shock after her eight-year-old daughter was shot with an air rifle as she played in the street. Demi Solan was with a friend outside her house in Ullswater Close, Spennymoor, County Durham, when she was hit with a pellet
COUNCIL chiefs have rejected fresh complaints over benefit payment delays caused by the shut down of their computer system. Durham County Council’s revenue and benefits department shut down the system last month in order that new council tax bills
