AFTER a full week of setting up stages, tents and a backstage village to house the plethora of production staff and volunteers, Richmond Live is finally ready to rock.Opening tonight (Friday, August 1) at 4.30pm with the first band playing the acoustic
A CAR landed on its roof on the A66, Cross Lanes, at Boldron, County Durham, tonight.(Friday)Fire crews from Barnard Castle and Bishop Auckland were called to the scene to make the vehicle safe. It is not known whether the driver was injured or not.
AHEAD of their penultimate pre-season friendly, Colin Cooper has stressed the need to strengthen his Hartlepool United ranks. Pools go to Bradford today – a younger XI are at Spennymoor on Monday evening – with their League Two opener at Stevenage
THE wonderful fundraising efforts of the Sir Bobby Robson Foundation were celebrated in today’s Northern Echo, and tomorrow we turn our attention to another sporting legend with strong links to our region. Sir Ian Botham, who helped to establish
A CHAMPAGNE reception kick-started a year-long fundraising partnership between cricket legend Sir Ian Botham and a five-star resort.Supporters of the Beefy Charity Foundation gathered at Rockliffe Hall, in Hurworth, near Darlington, to launch the partnership
ONE more win, and the questions about the 2012 Olympics in London can be put to bed forever. Just as Ripon diver Jack Laugher has used these Commonwealth Games to banish bad memories from two years ago, so Hartlepool boxer Savannah Marshall is
A CHOIRMASTER who used his respected church links as "a cloak" to groom and abuse boys was last night (Friday) starting a six-year prison sentence. Robert Lambie, now 77, treated his two victims to days out and made them feel special before persuading
A MILITARY artist will unveil his biggest and most poignant painting to date next week, as a tribute to the heroes of the First World War.For the last nine months, ex-serviceman, John Palliser, of Newton Aycliffe, County Durham, has been working day and
A BUS driver is said to have blacked out moments before a crash between two school buses in County Durham, it emerged tonight. Operator Stanley Travel said today (Friday, August 1) that evidence suggested the driver of its single decker vehicle
A JUNIOR football team is starting the season in style with a brand new kit.The under-12 and under-15 boys teams at Stanley Football Club are being sponsored by the Prince Bishops Community Bank (PBCB).The Stanley-based not-for-profit bank, which is supported
A PROFESSIONAL boxer is one of four men charged with kidnap and false imprisonment.Heavyweight boxer Christopher Michael Burton, 33, of Lyonette Road, Darlington, did not enter a plea to either charge when he appeared before magistrates in Newton Aycliffe
A MAN has been arrested after a woman was found dead in Gateshead.At just before 1.45pm, on Thursday, July 31, police received a report of concern for the woman outside a former care home on Bensham Road.Officers attended the scene along with the ambulance
Spennymoor Town’s game with Darlington later this month will be all-ticket with the same arrangements in place as when the teams met at the Brewery Field during the 2012-13 season. Ticket details were announced today for the fixture, the second
A HAIR salon with a difference set up shop on a town’s high street for one day only when artistic coiffeurs invited unsuspecting passers by to sit in their barber’s chair.'Whose hair dares' by Spanish actors, Osadia, was one of several
A TRADITIONAL agricultural show will return to Sedgefield next week offering everything from livestock competitions and country produce, to novelty dog shows.The 161st Sedgefield Show will take place at the Robert Brown Showfield at West Park on Saturday
MORE than 100 youngsters at a North-East hospital were given cameras to record their experiences for a new television series.The ITV series Kids With Cameras: Diary of a Children’s Ward stars a variety of North-East youngsters who talk to the cameras
A CYCLIST has biked 3,000 miles around the coast of Britain to spread a positive message about nature, freedom and happiness. Kendal Aitken, 45, also raised a few hundred pounds for charity on his round-trip from Saltburn which took him 40 days
A NUMBER of Yorkshire tourist attractions have been praised for being accessible to older travellers.The National Railway Museum, in York, RHS Garden Harlow Carr, near Harrogate, Fountains Abbey, near Ripon, Ampleforth Abbey, near Helmsley and Malton&
A RECORD number of adults and children who have had heart or lung transplants in the North-East are preparing to compete in the British Transplant Games next week.Made up of 36 adults and 12 children - who have all had transplants at the Freeman Hospital
A ROBBER held up a bookmakers at knifepoint before fleeing on foot with a haul of cash.The raid took place at Coral on Knaresborough Road, Harrogate, at about 8pm on Thursday, July 31.Nobody was harmed but the staff member involved was left very shaken
A 94-YEAR-OLD woman has made a special effort to remember just one of the First World War's fallen soldiers from her home town.Irene Green is one of hundreds of people in the borough of Stockton taking part in the 1,245 Sunflower Project.The idea
AN explorer and a Viking warrior were in Redcar to help the town to mark its Yorkshire roots with a special reading of the Yorkshire Declaration of Integrity. Captain James Cook, played by Chris Foote Wood, read it out in modern English while Viking
A LARGE new arrival who is confused about his identity has been welcomed to a bird sanctuary. Percy the dalmatian pelican has been given a new home at Kirkleatham Owl Centre, near Redcar. He was the very last dalmatian pelican to be rehomed
NEWCASTLE UNITED have agreed a loan deal for Argentinian striker Facundo Ferrerya, but Alan Pardew admits the club have shelved their attempts to re-sign Loic Remy. The Magpies flew to Germany today ahead of matches against Malaga and Schalke in
STEAMPUNKS will descend on a North-East town this weekend.In a nod to Darlington’s Victorian heritage, the group of ‘steampunk’ enthusiasts will gather in the town’s market square ahead of a charity masked ball taking place tomorrow
A VILLAGE will commemorate its First World War sacrifices with an exhibition and church service.Members of St Peter’s Church, in Byers Green, near Spennymoor, will stage the three-day event to pay tribute to the men and boys who lost their lives
VILLAGERS are invited to a community fun day in West Cornforth this weekend.The Cornforth Partnership and housing organisation livin will hold the event at West Cornforth Community Centre today (Saturday, August 2), from 11am to 3pm.Helen Winskill, of
The Naussau Stakes is the feature race at Goodwood on Saturday, but the defection earlier in the week of Roger Charlton’s Thistle Bird and the retirement earlier in the season of 2012 winner The Fugue makes it a sub-standard renewal. There is rain
A TATTOO artist who rescued a stray injured dog from the streets in Cyprus has secured a passport to bring the animal home to the UK.Robbie Matthews, 38, of Peterlee, County Durham, took in the starving German Pointer after he stumbled across the dog
POLICE are investigating after litter was found strewn across a river bank in Barnard Castle.Broken bottles and empty cans were left from people camping overnight, as well as clothes and general rubbish.The area, known locally as the beach, near the Demesnes
A SECURITY boss at the heart of a major immigration scam collapsed in the dock after he was jailed for four years.Nigerian born Casmir Ekwuhga, 43, of Hope Gardens, Stockton was found guilty of being part of a conspiracy to provide illegal immigrants
Middlesbrough have confirmed a deal has been agreed to sign Emilio Nsue from Real Mallorca, subject to international clearance. Nsue will become Aitor Karanka’s fourth summer signing after Thomas Mejias, Kike and James Husband. The 24-year-old
A MONTHLY market is inviting shoppers to help celebrate its second birthday.Darlington Sunday People’s Market was launched by volunteers in August 2012 to help rejuvenate the town centre and showcase the region’s independent businesses.It
HARROGATE’S James Willstrop is confident his body will hold up for the final two days of what has proved to be a marathon Commonwealth Games squash competition. Having already claimed a silver medal in the men’s singles on Monday, Willstrop teamed
SUNDERLAND’S Stuart Airey was able to reflect on a successful Commonwealth Games lawn bowls tournament, even though today’s men’s four final ended in defeat. Airey teamed up with Jamie Chestney, John McGuiness and Andy Knapper at Kelvingrove in
A WELFARE team has been praised for helping tenants claim £2m in benefits and grants.Financial advice from Derwentside Homes’ Welfare Rights Team has helped tenants access more than £2m in unclaimed benefits and grants.Residents struggling
THE head of a North Yorkshire car dealership has been voted chief executive of the year by the UK motor industry. Mark Robinson is managing director and founder at Knaresborough-based Vantage Motor Group which runs the Vantage Toyota dealerships
TODAY has been spent, largely, away from Albufeira, watching how Gustavo Poyet puts his players through their paces in the Algarve sunshine. Poyet has still got his men doing double sessions over here and, by invitation, we got a chance to watch
A DARLINGTON woman will leap from a plane this weekend in a bid to improve sexual health in Swaziland.Kirri Fridd, 24, will take part in a charity skydive on Sunday to raise funds for RAID, an independent North-East charity working to raise awareness
THE man responsible for looking after Darlington’s play parks has called on the public to help him tackle the ‘frustrating’ problem of repeated vandalism.Peter Stockdale, Darlington Borough Council’s play area manager, who maintains
A DIAMOND couple who met by accident on a trip to the cinema have celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary. Roy Pybus, 82, and his wife Edna, 80, of Shildon, met at the Arcade Cinema, in Darlington, when they visited it with their own groups of
A MAN has undergone extensive facial surgery after being subjected to a brutal attack in Durham city centre. A Durham Police spokesman said the 34-year-old man from Sunderland was was assaulted outside the Premier Inn, in Freemans Place, Walkergate, at
A PERFORMING arts group has raised more than £1,000 for a charity that helps children with Down syndrome reach their potential. Teenagers from Stare, an entertainment troupe part of Stagecoach Darlington and Yarm, organised a special concert to
ENTERPRISING Women, the UK’s largest national community for female entrepreneurs, is launching a new club in Durham on Thursday September 25. It is estimated that there are almost 1.5 million self-employed women in the UK generating more than £130m
REETH Memorial Hall in Swaledale will host Scottish fiddle player and composer Duncan Chisholm on Thursday, August 14.Recently seen performing to a worldwide audience of several billion as he accompanied Julie Fowlis at the opening ceremony of the 2014
AN AWARD winning hotel owned by former Darlington and Sunderland footballer Marco Gabbiadini and his wife Deborah has been placed up for sale with a price tag of £1.2m.Bishops, in York, has owned by the couple since 2003. The 11-bedroomed hotel
POLICE are appealing for witnesses after a man was assaulted in Catterick Garrison. The 39-year-old local man suffered a bruise and a cut to his left eye, cuts to his lips and a swollen nose, as well as other bruising to his face when he was attacked
BRINGING the Fiat 500 back from the dead was an inspired idea. The cheeky little city car has been Fiat’s best-seller ever since. If only the Italians could wave the same magic wand over their big cars. There hasn’t been a big-selling Fiat in the
A NEW squad of crime-fighters have followed the lead set by policemen of old – by taking to pedal power.A special team of cycle cops have taken to the streets of North Yorkshire and already they are having an impact.The new Cycle Response Team has
A BANK has helped ambitious plans for a new multi-sensory centre for people with learning disabilities move a step closer.The Northallerton-based Pendragon Community Trust has received £3,098 towards the project from the Santander Foundation.The
VOLUNTEERS are celebrating after their dedication helped three of Redcar and Cleveland’s beauty spots retain their Green Flag Status.Following a visit by judges from the Keep Britain Tidy campaign, Flatts Lane Woodland Country Park, Saltburn Valley
A MAN who launched an unprovoked attack on a pub pool player, head butting him and hitting him with a cue, has been jailed.Michael Toll was playing pool in The Royal Hotel, in Stanley, when Steven Linnett, entirely unprovoked, interrupted his game to
A PRISON museum’s Victorian kitchen garden is to be put back to full usage after a local chef designed a menu incorporating its rare produce.Ripon Workhouse Museum gardens, established in 1850, is tended by volunteers using traditional methods and
AMBITIOUS plans to showcase North Yorkshire produce are being put in place in a popular community pub. The George and Dragon, Hudswell, which was saved from closure in 2010 through a community funded co-operative has this week welcomed Stuart Miller
FEARS for the future of Richmondshire’s market towns are growing after plans to further expand a new town centre in Catterick Garrison were approved.Richmondshire District Council planning committee on Tuesday (July 29) moved to permit Lingfield
TWO unemployed men have started a new career after help from a scheme run by a housing association.Dan Gill, 25 and David Williams, 29 both from Consett, are starting new jobs with local firm Lamplas Polymer Engineering.The pair were initially taken on
ATHLETES planning to enter the Hartlepool Big Lime Triathlon can get an insight into what it takes to compete in the endurance event. A “Try a Tri Day” is to be held on Saturday, August 30, cover bike skills, swimming drills, transition skills,
CRICKET fans can expect to be bowled over at the re-appearance of a piece of local history for the first time in 10 years at an upcoming cup final. The 125-year-old Cleveland Cup has been on display in Middlesbrough Town Hall for the last decade
A GARDEN centre has unveiled plans to expand a craft hub aimed at helping people set up new businesses. The first phase of the project at Plant R Ross South Hetton Road, Easington, near Peterlee, has been hailed a success. Assistant manager
TWO jobseekers boosted their skills and job prospects after securing work placements with a building firm. Darren Edwards, of Willington, and Shaun Henderson, from Bishop Auckland, completed two-week placements working on housing projects with
A WEEKEND dedicated to the armed forces has resulted in a £1,500 donation to a Northern Echo appeal for wounded, injured and sick soldiers.Castle Bolton, near Leyburn, pledged entry fees from all visitors on Armed Forces weekend, June 28 to 29,
A CREDIT union has branched out with the help of two Citizens’ Advice Bureaus in order to serve more customers who may be struggling with their finances.Darlington Credit Union was set up in 2009, and in its first year had about 600 members with
A MAN has admitted a charge of being concerned in the production of a Class B drug after several hundred cannabis plants were found in a terraced house.Hung Xuan Nguyen pleaded guilty during a hearing at Newton Aycliffe Magistrates’ Court yesterday
A MAN has been cleared of a string of sexual assaults against children dating back to the 1970s.Edmond John Tudor Hillman, 57, of Newton Aycliffe, County Durham, stood trial at Chichester Crown Court accused of seven counts of indecent assault and one
A TELEVISION star helped bring a touch of glamour to the re-launch of a North-East charity shop.Actress Sue Vincent, best known for her appearances in Shameless and Mount Pleasant, travelled to Darlington for re-opening of the town’s British Heart
NEWCASTLE UNITED are understood to have completed a season-long loan deal for Shakhtar Donetsk striker Facundo Ferrerya. The Magpies have agreed a loan fee with Shakhtar that enables them to take Ferrerya to St James' Park next season, with overseas
He could not speak English when he moved to the region at the age of 14, but Nas Khan is now one of its top businessmen, who has built a village for flood victims in Pakistan. He tells Lucy Richardson how the North-East has shaped him HANDING over
A MONEY advice service to help young people manage their finances is heading for its 1,000th client after just one year.Know Your Money – Keep the Change (KYM) was set up by a partnership including Erimus Housing, to work exclusively with clients
FOR Mike Charlton, Principal of Charltons Estate Agents, it’s a case of deja vu when it comes to selling Blackton Grange, an extensively refurbished former farmhouse high up in the Durham Dales. Blackton Grange, at Baldersdale, lies in the valley
RIPON'S Jack Laugher claimed his second Commonwealth Games gold medal this morning as he teamed up with Chris Mears to win the synchronised 3m springboard event. Having won 1m springboard gold on Wednesday, Laugher claimed a silver in his preferred
WHEN Yorkshire’s moment to shine on the world stage arrived with the peloton, the county more than rose to the occasion. The joie de vivre felt by residents and visitors alike as they celebrated the arrival of the Tour de France’s Grand Depart
WETHERBY RACECOURSE will stage its first ever flat meeting next April, but chief executive Jonjo Sanderson insists there is no intention to abandon jumps racing. Wetherby has been a jumps-only venue throughout its 123-year history, but an application
THE Old Silk Mill, overlooking Lake Semerwater, lies at the centre of many a good yarn, not all of them the storytelling type. Little is known of the property’s history other than it was originally a water mill with an internal water wheel driving
IT’S a privilege to cover an event like the Commonwealth Games because you get the best seat in the house to watch some world-class sport. It was fantastic to be in Hampden Park on Monday to witness the drama and excitement of the men’s and women’s
NIJEL AMOS sprung one of the biggest surprises of the Commonwealth Games by shocking David Rudisha to take 800 metres gold at Hampden Park. The 20-year-old from Botswana, who took Olympic silver behind Rudisha at London 2012, left in the wake of
DURHAM responded in positive fashion yesterday to the warm welcome they were extended in what might once have been seen as enemy territory. The trip north of the Tyne to the 150-year-old South Northumberland club in Gosforth produced a five-wicket
MANUFACTURING grew at the slowest rate in a year in July, but it is continuing to enjoy one of its strongest growth periods for 22 years, a survey has suggested. The Markit/CIPS UK Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) fell to 55.4 from
DURHAM’S one-day skipper Mark Stoneman yesterday welcomed the double boost of runs for himself and a first victory in the Royal London Cup. Stoneman made three and nought in the defeats at Taunton and Canterbury, but a half-century helped his team
MOEEN ALI and James Anderson led England’s surge to a series-levelling 266-run victory with more than two sessions to spare in the third Investec Test against India. Anderson set aside any concerns over the disciplinary proceedings he must face
ALASTAIR COOK hailed a near-perfect performance from England as they recorded their first Test win in almost a year. Victory by 266 runs over India in the third Investec Test at the Ageas Bowl ended a ten-Test run without a win – a run which featured
MIDDLESBROUGH are closing in on a deal for Spanish attacker Emilio Nsue. The 24-year-old is a free agent after being freed by Real Mallorca, for whom he played last season. Nsue has represented Spain at junior level, but has since played internationally
WHAT would Denis Thatcher do? Not hold Margaret’s hand and simper, that’s for sure. Political husbands stay in the background, quietly supportive and largely anonymous and left to get on with their own lives... If only political wives could
MORE than four-fifths of wedding couples now just ask for cash instead of presents. Understandable, I suppose, when most couples have been living together for years and are all stocked up on toasters and towels. Many people of course want to
A GENERATION ago, town centres, playing fields and village greens would be swarming with unaccompanied children enjoying the apparently endless freedom of the long school holidays. Many of them would be accompanied by a tribe of small brothers and
ROYAL Bank of Scotland has repeated its warning of a "material adverse effect" on its business if Scots vote in favour of independence next month.The Edinburgh-based bank, which is 80 per cent owned by the taxpayer, highlighted the potential
The Singer Takes It All (Channel 4, 9pm) AND now, the end is here, and so I face the final curtain… or in this case a conveyor belt while singing and the public voting by mobile phone app to let you continue or depart through the flaps. It sounds
Youth theatre in ColburnTHE Georgian Theatre Royal in Richmond is expanding its highly successful Youth Theatre and introducing new classes at Colburn Leisure Centre.Starting in September, the sessions will be held on Saturday mornings during term time
Home Fires, Enter CIC, Auckland CastleA SILENCE descended during Enter CIC’s musical production, Home Fires, at Auckland Castle in Bishop Auckland, County Durham, this week. Many of those present looked down respectfully, while others, like myself
BUILT in the 1850s, the Great Northern Hotel, in London, enjoyed a reputation as high-class and glamorous in its previous incarnation – the first of the great railway hotels. It gradually fell into neglect and stood derelict for 12 years prior
LEE RIGBY’S life was snuffed out in front of our very eyes in broad daylight in a busy London street . He was hacked to death by two ferocious animals. How filth like this can be awarded £212,613 in legal aid (Echo, July 29) beggars belief.
I AM writing to condemn comments made by Darlington Borough Council leader Bill Dixon regarding the Mayor and Gerald Lee Park (Echo, July 28). Gerald Lee is one of the nicest people on Darlington Borough Council. He was so friendly to me when I
Sunderland are having double training sessions during their ten-day stay in Portugal. The Black Cats players are currently being put through their paces by Gustavo Poyet and his backroom team in the Algarve.
ONE or two letters have appeared in HAS recently, seeking to mitigate Tony Blair’s reprehensible record as British Prime Minister. My own view is that in this role Mr Blair was primarily motivated by American priorities and concerns, rather than
THE double standards displayed by the EU are breathtaking. On one hand Russia, accused of complicity in the shooting down of an aircraft by a rebel group, is being threatened with sanctions. On the other hand, Israel continues its murderous assault
WHAT John Cumberland (HAS, July 29) encountered at his local vet is simply a foretaste of the future when the NHS is fully privatised. It will start with small charges, for GP appointments and some routine treatments, until in the end – much as
WILLIAM HAGUE should take a pay cut, not Baroness Stowell who, as leader of the House of Lords, is being paid less than her male predecessor in order to make up Mr Hague’s pay. Mr Hague stood down as Foreign Secretary to become leader of the Commons
I WAS first tempted over to your fine paper by the superior cricket reporting of Tim Wellock – a fine sports journalist and author. So I was gobsmacked to see him strip Durham of its county status in his write-up on July 30. As a proud County
LABOUR leader Ed Miliband is right – voters should be allowed to question the Prime Minister instead of being ignored. After all Mr Cameron was voted into office on a mandate to represent all of us. N Tate, Harrowgate Village, near Darlington
COMEDY duo Hale and Pace once produced a spoof commercial for Yorkshire Airlines. In under two-and-a-half minutes the sketch ticked off almost every Yorkshire stereotype there is. Ferrets up the trousers, whippets, real ale, outside toilets, drab
MUCH has been made of the fact that the Great War started 100 years ago. Many people have started to research the names of those from their locality who died and served. Schoolchildren are being given priority with funding to do this, and it’s
NINE people have been arrested after police received reports of someone armed with a weapon in Hartlepool this morning. Cleveland Police said seven men and two women have been arrested, all on suspicion of affray. A section of the road around
YESTERDAY was designated by the Football Association as Sir Bobby Robson Day – and it was a fitting tribute to one of County Durham’s best loved sons. On the day marking the fifth anniversary of his death, The Northern Echo did its best to do the
THE rumours of him flying in to the Academy of Light training ground in a helicopter to complete a move from Chelsea a week ago were wrong, apparently. What is true is that Patrick van Aanholt has officially started his Sunderland career and he could
GUSTAVO POYET has told Connor Wickham that he must sign a new contract or Sunderland’s survival hero will be sold to prevent a substantial loss on the club’s most expensive teenage buy. Wickham has so far failed to reach an agreement over a new
A YOUNG woman was blinded when her best friend stamped on her face while wearing "lethal" stilettos, a court was told yesterday (Thursday, July 31). The heel of Melissa Causer's shoe penetrated Sophie Robinson's eyeball and caused "immediate and
VISITOR passes to see the Mynarski Memorial Lancaster at a North-East airport later this month will be available from Monday.A host of attractions have been planned to celebrate the iconic Lancaster’s visit to Durham Tees Valley Airport on August
A DARLINGTON businessman can be revealed today as an accomplished Kurdish artist who fled Saddam Hussein’s brutal regime. Fine artist and sculptor Mariwan Abdullah came to the UK to avoid persecution after his illustrations for a political newspaper
ONE of the region’s smallest museums is hoping to make a big impact with its latest exhibition – a moving tribute to the heroes of the First World War. Earlier this year, The Weardale Museum, at Ireshopeburn in Upper Weardale, County Durham, appealed
TEACHERS are winning the war on bad behaviour in schools, ministers say - with a big drop in pupils suspended in the region.The number of children given a “fixed period exclusion” in the North-East and North Yorkshire has fallen by 24 per
A DANGER driver lost control of his uninsured pick-up truck and ploughed head-on into a tree during a police pursuit, a court heard yesterday (Thursday, July 31). Alexander Hickson raced through residential streets in Darlington at up to 90mph
Events will be held throughout the region over the next few days to mark the 100th anniversary of the outbreak of the First World War. Here you can find out which events are taking place near you. Search the records of hundreds of First World
FROM the cobbled streets and medieval walls of York to the wide sandy beaches of the coast; from the historic monuments that dot the landscape to the cosy pubs and restaurants – there is, quite literally, something for everyone in North Yorkshire.
CLEO Rocos co-starred in the Kenny Everett Television Show on the BBC in the late 1970s and 80s. She has appeared in numerous TV programmes since and has also fronted her one-woman show in Los Angeles. In 2007 she appeared in Celebrity Big Brother.
THE Stockton International Riverside Festival launched last night (Thursday) with Safe House, a large-scale performance by the contemporary arts organisation Metro-Boulot-Dodo. Visual projections formed the backdrop to the show on Trinity Green
AFTER appearing at the Arc in Stockton in one of her first UK shows in 20 years in June of last year, Julia Fordham is back at the venue on Saturday (August 9).Playing a handful of dates in the country, Fordham will be performing tracks from her latest
