Archive

  • Scientists given research boost

    ALZHEIMER’S Research UK has increased its investment in North-East scientists as the fight against dementia is stepped up.The investment in the Newcastle Network Centre, based at Newcastle University, is part of increased funding for research across

  • Cameron slams 'barbaric' hostage murder

    DAVID Cameron has condemned as "despicable and barbaric" the apparent slaughter of a second US journalist by Islamic State (IS) extremists - as it emerged that a British hostage is also under threat. The Prime Minister said he would chair a meeting

  • Brain tumour boy's parents freed in Spain

    THE parents of brain tumour patient Ashya King are being released in Spain, according to family members.The five-year-old's brother Danny said Brett and Naghmeh King were being released from prison in Madrid without any charges.Asked how he was feeling

  • Focus on cost for new Ford buyers

    FORD Focus buyers will pay the same price for the new model at entry level as they did for the outgoing car.The cars, available to buy from November, will start from £13,995, with top spec Titanium and Titanium X versions costing just £100

  • Family pet missing for over a week

    A FAMILY has been searching day and night for their beloved golden cocker spaniel who has been missing for over a week.Kevin Dawson and Sarah Clement-Dawson left Fern in boarding kennels at Middleton Tyas, near Scotch Corner, on Friday, August 22 but

  • Main road closed at Sutton Bank

    ONE of the region's steepest roads will be closed for a week from September 8 while repair and maintenance work is carried out.North Yorkshire County Council say the work on the A170 at Sutton Bank, near Thirsk, is essential to keep the road in good

  • Man raped woman while she slept, it is alleged to court

    A MAN raped a woman when she was asleep, it was alleged to a court.Anthony Hillary was also alleged to have filmed the act on his mobile phone, Teesside Crown Court heard.Prosecutor Katy Dunn said: “She [the alleged victim] was asleep and it would

  • 'Hold interest rates', says North-East Shadow MPC

    THE North-East Shadow Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) has delivered a majority verdict to maintain interest rates at their current level.However, one member believes a rise would pay dividends to savers who haven’t benefited from the Bank of England

  • Meet the team who keep cathedral alive

    THE stoneyard of York Minster is preparing to throw open its doors to the public.The stoneyard is part of the Minster’s Works Department – the dedicated team responsible for the maintenance, repair, conservation and restoration of the fabric

  • Pathway project puts reserve visitors on the wildlife trail

    CONSERVATIONISTS hope work on their nature reserve will make it more attractive to the public.Durham Wildlife Trust (DWT) has made significant improvements to the pathways at its Rainton Meadows headquarters, between Durham City and Houghton-le-Spring.At

  • Call for 'England of the regions'

    A CAMPAIGN group has renewed its call for more powers to be devolved to the north.The Hannah Mitchell Foundation, which wants an elected assembly for the north, says as the Scottish independence referendum approaches, the government should introduce an

  • Folk club's Scots-theme night for referendum day

    FOLK club members will pay heed to events in Scotland when they meet later this month.Durham City Folk Club is staging an evening of Scottish folk songs at its gathering on Thursday September 18, the day of the independence referendum north of the Border.Club

  • Vintage vinyl fans to attend collectors' event

    FANS of the classic sound of vinyl records are expected to descend on Richmond this Sunday, September 7.A vinyl record fair is being held at The Station from 9am to 3.30pm – and in the past they have attracted people from all over the region.Dealers

  • Workers face redundancy in foundry closure

    MORE than 60 North-East workers face redundancy at an engineering firm. Esco Corporation is closing its foundry in Guisborough, east Cleveland. The move means 65 workers will lose their jobs. Staff found out in a meeting with management

  • Run to the Hill - singer Matt in Durham gig

    A SINGER-songwriter will promote his first solo album with a North-East gig next month (Friday, October 10).London-born Matt Hill is a worship leader at Audacious Church in Manchester and has recorded several albums with other Christian musicians.Now

  • Union plans rail protests at North stations

    A UNION has organised protests across the North to mark the axing of off-peak rail fares.The action by the RMT union is part of an ongoing campaign to highlight what it claims will be cuts to jobs and services following the refranchising of the Northern

  • Resident's fury at MP's decision to support wind farm

    RESIDENTS are furious that an MP has given her backing to proposals for a wind farm they vehemently object to.Bishop Auckland MP Helen Goodman released a statement yesterday (Monday, September 1) saying the potential positive impact on local communities

  • NHS protest mothers joined by thousands on epic walk

    THOUSANDS of supporters have joined the People’s March for the NHS from Jarrow to London, according to organisers.Eighteen days after 50 marchers, led by a dozen mothers from Darlington, set off from Jarrow - following the historic route of the

  • Back from the bread - family spot gran's image in Naan bread

    IT was a case of nan bread rather than naan bread for curry house diner Anthony Nelson when he spotted the face of his late grandmother on a night out. Gobsmacked Anthony, 22, was enjoying a slap-up meal with his family to celebrate a new job and

  • Teaching assistant "had sex with pupil", court told

    A TEACHING assistant who is alleged to have befriended and had sex with a pupil told him: “This is wrong”.Lisa Richardson is said to have abused the trust placed in her after developing sexual feelings for the vulnerable youngster.She denies

  • Council bid to purchase defunct jail

    MOVES to buy the now-closed Northallerton prison and incorporate it into ambitious development plans for the centre of the town have been approved.Hambleton District Council’s cabinet have given the go-ahead for officers to start negotiations to

  • Teenager hopes to build on past success

    A TEENAGER is hoping to build on his past success in an upcoming dry wall competition.Adam Lowson, of Hamsterley, near Bishop Auckland, is hoping to keep his title in the amateur section of the competition for the second year running.Mr Lowson, 17, was

  • Officer dislocates shoulder trying to arrest a man

    MEMBERS of the public have been praised by police after they helped apprehend a man who dislocated an officer's shoulder.The Cleveland Police officer came across the man on Corporation Road in Middlesbrough on Monday afternoon (September 1) just after

  • MPs' protests fail to derail gene therapy plans

    PROTESTS by a group of MPs have failed to derail plans for a controversial gene therapy, to stop incurable diseases passing to the next generations. Ministers vowed to plough ahead with preparations for the DNA-altering procedure, which is being

  • Middlesbrough announce open training session at the Riverside

    MIDDLESBROUGH have announced they will hold an open training session at the Riverside Stadium this Friday. Aitor Karanka’s squad, minus the players on international duty, will be put through their paces and fans are welcome to come along and watch

  • Masterchef presenter dishes up £1m eating project grant

    CELEBRITY chef John Torode has served up news of a £1m lottery windfall to a healthy eating project for older people. Age UK County Durham’s Come Eat Together has been named the UK’s Best Health project in the National Lottery Awards.The

  • Princess has date in Richmond

    PRINCESS Anne will take the salute when the Royal Corps of Signals holds a Freedom Parade in Richmond’s Market Place on September 11.The Corps’ Colonel-in-Chief, the Princess Royal will also inspect the troops and present awards during the

  • Have your say on polling arrangements in Darlington

    HOUSEHOLDERS across Darlington are being urged to have their say on the polling stations used for elections in the borough. As part of a review being undertaken by Darlington Borough Council, residents can also submit suggestions for alternative

  • House of Fraser deal for Darlington jewellery maker

    A SUCCESSFUL young jewellery designer from Darlington has had her latest stock taken on by a high street brand.Award-winning Jessica Flinn first launched her jewellery range in 2011 and is now supplying an exclusive range of sterling silver designs to

  • Curtain up for film club's new season

    A CLUB dedicated to showcasing non-mainstream, but often highly acclaimed films, returns with its first screening after the summer break at a new venue, on Thursday (September 4).Clayport Film Club’s first feature of the autumn season will be Alexander

  • Durham v Nottinghamshire (day three, tea)

    MICHAEL Lumb’s charmed life prevented Durham from making deep inroads into Nottinghamshire’s pursuit of 375 to win. They were 83 for three at tea with Lumb still there on 39, despite being given a torrid time by Chris Rushworth. With his score

  • Improved rail travel facilities unveiled at train station

    A SCHEME to help to ease road congestion by encouraging more people to use the train has been launched at Bishop Auckland Railway Station. The Durham County Council funded Travel Hub is part of an overall upgrade of the railway station and the

  • Pilots 'showed benefit' of free school meals

    THE key role played by North-East schools in persuading the Government to introduce free school meals for all four to seven-year-olds has been underlined by Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg.As free school meals were extended to a total of 1.89 million

  • Colback to miss England friendly through injury

    NEWCASTLE UNITED midfielder Jack Colback is out of England’s friendly with Norway at Wembley tomorrow night, but will stay with the camp ahead of Monday’s Euro 2016 qualifier against Switzerland. Colback was called up to the senior squad for the

  • Warning over building sector's skills shortage

    A FRESH surge in construction activity has fuelled concerns over a skills shortage as firms keep pace with industry expansion. The Markit/CIPS purchasing managers' index says construction showed a larger-than-expected rise in August to 64.

  • Jed's carers get set for Great North Run

    A PAIR of canine carers have hit on the paw-fect way to celebrate five years at a dog charity – taking part in the Great North run to raise pounds for hounds.Andrew Bainbridge and Paul Cutler started work at Dogs Trust Darlington on the very same

  • Councillors recommended to back old pumping station scheme

    COUNCILLORS are being recommended to approve housing plan at a Victorian water pumping station that will safeguard its future. Dalton Pumping Station, near Murton and the Dalton Park shopping complex, is a Grade II Listed Building that has stood

  • Licence challenge as 'Spag' fails underage booze test

    A POPULAR nightspot has again been caught selling alcohol to underage teens. Bar staff at La Spaghettata twice sold booze to a 16-year-old girl working as part of an undercover police sting. Now Durham Police want the bar to stop serving at

  • Taxi drivers in court after failing to engage meters

    TWO taxi drivers have faced magistrates for driving without their meters switched on.Andrew Stephen Ormerod and Darren Shaun Lambert were handed conditional discharges at Darlington Magistrates Court.In separate hearings, both admitted contravening bylaws

  • Staff celebrate after store put on "saved list"

    A CAMPAIGN by staff to save their jobs has paid off after administrators revealed the Lakeland Leather, in Northallerton, is the first of 18 previously doomed stores to sign a new lease. The shop is the first to be put on Lakelands “saved list”

  • Durham v Nottinghamshire (day three, lunch)

    A HEROIC hundred by Paul Collingwood took Durham to the unexpected heights of 309, setting Nottinghamshire a target of 375 to win. It was a day for batting at Chester-le-Street and under an almost cloudless sky the only gloom for Collingwood at

  • Outsourcing firm's contract joy

    A NORTH-EAST outsourcing firm has secured a five-year deal to work with the UK’s largest energy supplier.Parseq, which offices in Sunderland, says it will handle about 20,000 mail items every month for Centrica.Centrica’s businesses include

  • Chancellor sets Autumn Statement date

    CHANCELLOR George Osborne has revealed the date of his Autumn Statement. The Autumn Statement is the second annual opportunity for the Chancellor to make major announcements on spending and present economic forecasts. It will be delivered on

  • Darlington rugby players join ice bucket challenge craze

    MEMBERS of a rugby club's first-team squad today became the latest to take part in the ALS ice bucket challenge. Players of Darlington Mowden Park's first team took part in the challenge at The Northern Echo Arena, the team's home ground, to join

  • Study will assess effect of working shifts on police officers

    A POLICE federation is joining forces with its counterparts from around the country in order to commission to research into the effects that shifts have on its members. North Yorkshire Police Federation has been joined in the pilot study by several

  • Old rivals renew hostilities on golf course

    FORMER Newcastle United and Sunderland players will go head-to-head on the golf course for charity.The Red and White v Black and White charity golf day will be held at Ramside Golf Club, near Durham City, on Friday, October 3.The SAFC team will be led

  • Bid to trace spitting train drunk

    A DRUNK who spat in the face of a station worker after being ejected from a train is being sought by police.The incident took place at Northallerton station on August 15 after two men were thrown off a train travelling from London because they were drunk

  • Woman, 66, stabbed with pen on Blackpool coach trip

    A COACH trip organiser is recovering at home in the North-East after being stabbed in the arm with a pen during a visit to Blackpool. Cynthia Bell, 66, was sitting alone on the coach when three people, a man and two young women, got on board.

  • Businessman supports 17 youth teams with new kits

    A BUSINESSMAN who moved to Darlington five years ago has sponsored 17 youth football teams to give something back to the local community. Ranj Ali, who owns Class Cuts, on North Road, decided to support the youth teams at Middleton Rangers Football

  • Profit falls at Johnson Cleaners

    DRY cleaning business Johnsons has reported a fall in half-year sales and profits after cutting its number of branches.The business, which has bases in Darlington, Yarm, near Stockton, and Northallerton and Richmond, in North Yorkshire, said revenues

  • Woman, 66, stabbed with pen on Blackpool coach trip

    A COACH trip organiser is recovering at home in the North-East after being stabbed in the arm with a pen during a visit to Blackpool. Cynthia Bell, 66, was sitting alone on the coach when three people, a man and two young women, got on board.

  • Cable firm's wind farm work

    A POWER cable firm is supporting a major energy development.JDR Cable Systems, in Hartlepool, is sending more than 95km of cabling to the Dudgeon Offshore Wind Farm.The farm, off the Norfolk coast, is expected to power more than 400,000 UK homes every

  • Heart donors honoured by transplant patients

    A VERY special group of people who are only alive because of the generosity of others have celebrated the achievements of a North-East heart transplant centre,In a poignant gesture, more than 30 heart transplant patients, from all over the UK and Ireland

  • An Easy upset takes place at Leicester

    FEELING EASY caused an upset when storming from last to first to snatch victory in the Shepshed Fillies’ Nursery Handicap at Leicester. The 12-1 outsider of four, trained by Robert Eddery, came with a rattling late run under Jimmy Quinn to grab

  • Captain leads the fight to break free from drop zone

    PAUL Collingwood’s determination to keep his side in Division One shone through as Durham crucially won the final session of a rollercoaster second day at home to Nottinghamshire. The captain followed his three for 26, his best four-day haul since

  • Lyth serious contender to step up to Test mark

    JASON GILLESPIE has backed Adam Lyth to make the step up to Test cricket if called upon after scoring his fifth LV= County Championship century of the season yesterday to put Yorkshire on course for a Roses win at Emirates Old Trafford. At the

  • Decision time for McGinley

    EUROPEAN captain Paul McGinley will leave personal feelings to one side as he weighs up current form against Ryder Cup experience in making his wild card selections today. The nine automatic qualifiers for McGinley’s team were confirmed on Sunday

  • Time is running out if England are to victor

    PETER MOORES admits time is short for England to make themselves a competitive force at next year’s World Cup. If England fail to win both remaining one-day internationals against India, at Edgbaston today and Headingley on Friday, Alastair Cook

  • Henderson - Rooney is the ideal Three Lions skipper

    JORDAN HENDERSON believes Wayne Rooney is the “ideal choice” to lead a newlook England side forwards as captain. The dust has yet to settle on the national team’s embarrassing World Cup display but attention has already turned to future challenges

  • Murray lines up quarter-final with old foe Djokovic

    ANDY MURRAY recorded his best win since lifting the Wimbledon trophy last year to set up a blockbuster US Open quarter-final against Novak Djokovic. Murray had not beaten a top-10 player since his emotional victory over Djokovic on Centre Court

  • Grealish is ready – Given

    REPUBLIC OF IRELAND veteran Shay Given is convinced starlet Jack Grealish is ready to play senior international football now. The 18-year-old Aston Villa midfielder is currently at the centre of a tug of war between Ireland and England and has

  • Free talk will address inequalities

    THE issue of health inequality in an increasingly unequal UK is the topic of the Wolfson Annual Lecture at Durham University’s Stockton campus later this year.The free public lecture entitled “Health Inequalities and the one per cent&rdquo

  • Students will see £22m improvements

    SUNDERLAND College is about to welcome more than 700 students to its new, improved Bede Campus.Following the final stages of its £22m fit-out, the college will welcome A-Level and vocational students to its new state-of-the-art Visual and Performing

  • United’s Falcao swoop

    MANCHESTER UNITED were closing in on a deal to sign Monaco striker Radamel Falcao on loan last night. The Colombia striker will cost United between £5million and £6million and the club have confirmed they will pay his wages, however, they insist

  • Mentoring firm aims to inspire students

    A NORTH-EAST company has delivered its first classroom mentoring session designed to inspire young people’s workplace ambitions.As the UK faces a skills shortage across many industries, Mentoring Professional Ltd aims to encourage 11 to 16 year-olds

  • History man has new goal

    FOR footballer Christian Burgess, success in the classroom is as important as achievements on the football pitch. Christian graduates from Teesside University later this year with a first class BA (Hons) history, which he completed part-time. He

  • Example tour dates

    SINGER, songwriter, producer, occasional rapper and all round king of the club banger Example (32-year-old Elliot John Gleave), is set to release his new single 10 Million People – the track has been taken from his top ten album Live Life Living which

  • North-East wrestling debut

    TARGET Wrestling, the new revolution in British Wrestling is coming to the O2 Academy, in Newcastle, on Saturday, September 13, with competitors from England, Scotland and Ireland including Saraya Knight, who featured in Channel 4 documentary The Wrestlers

  • Spotlight's on popular prince

    Harry At 30 (ITV, 8pm) MOST of us aren't wild about Harry, but those without anything worth watching on saved shows may well be tempted into catching this tribute to the Prince, who turns 30 on September 15. Prince Henry of Wales, to give him his

  • Growth industry

    FLOWER power personified, Darlington Chrysanthemum and Dahlia Society is celebrating its 75th anniversary. Twice they were champions of Great Britain, 1973 and 1974, still they flourish – bloom, no doubt. It’s a remarkable achievement, grown from

  • Abuse scandal

    ONCE again, a story of child abuse is in the news. How can 1,400 cases go unnoticed? In previous cases involving one child being a victim of domestic abuse, in some cases ending fatally, the social services have been at fault - missing the obvious

  • Roy Hodgson? I’d rather have Cheggers in charge

    I’M pleased Wayne Rooney has been named the new England captain. Apart from Joe Hart, there’s no one with the experience to wear the armband. What alarms me is the squad Roy Hodgson has selected to play Norway this week. While Newcastle fans

  • Border issues

    IF Mr Farage is going to be successful in forcing an EU referendum in the next few months, can we have two questions on our ballot paper here please not just one? When Northern Ireland was created, three counties of Ulster went with the Irish Free

  • No malice

    I HOPE that my recent letter (HAS, August 25) has provided some answers to Kev McStravick’s questions (HAS, August 23). May I remind Mr McStravick that in the letter he was responding to (HAS, August 19), I said that Western meddling had “contributed

  • Transport needs

    I READ with interest your recent article about a conference being held to discuss the transport strategy for the North-East, which is something we desperately need. However, I also noted that of all those involved not one was from Teesside. So

  • Gaza crisis

    KEVIN McStravick talks about innocent women and children remaining in their homes in Gaza (HAS, August 4). It’s a pity they were not allowed to remain in their homes in 1948. Patricia Tricker, Bedale.

  • Nit-picking

    I ENJOY reading of the experiences and diverse opinions of Hear All Sides contributors. I don’t always understand what they are getting at, nor do I always agree. Even so, the letters are usually interesting. I am, however, bored with Pete Winstanley

  • Our failure to resist is a fatal error

    YOU read it here first. I wrote last week: “The West doesn’t do foreign policy. Obama makes slick speeches and Cameron operates PR stunts.” Now it’s official. At the end of last week, Obama announced to the White House press corps that he was to

  • Hope, not hate

    THE scale of child abuse and the culture revealed in Rotherham has shocked the country, and quite rightly so. At Barnardo’s we have been supporting sexually exploited children and campaigning on their behalf for over 20 years. Sadly, the revelations

  • Ashya police had to act

    FEELINGS are clearly running very high over the case of Ashya King, the five-year-old boy who was taken from hospital by his parents. But before we all rush to condemn the police for being “heavy-handed”, we should put their position in context

  • All you need to know ahead of the Great North Run

    THE GREAT North Run is one of the greatest sporting events in the world, regularly attracting the cream of the globe’s distance runners.Part of its beauty is that anyone can take part - from Mo Farah right down to someone who has never conquered

  • 'Hidden gem' to become visitor attraction

    A CENTURIES old former Catholic seminary largely hidden from the public for decades is set to become the region’s newest visitor attraction. Ushaw College was founded near Ushaw Moor, County Durham, as a college for training would-be priests by

  • Spurned lover attacked woman after online dates fizzled out

    A LONELY hearts romeo slashed a woman's throat when she tried to end their brief affair.Tony Griffin became violent when his date told him she just wanted to be friends.He now awaiting sentence after admitting wounding with intent to cause grievous

  • Trade deal 'worth £10bn a year'

    THE Government has responded to criticism of a new trade deal, insisting it will create jobs, increase wages and boost the UK economy by £10bn a year.The European Union and the US have been negotiating for the past year on the Transatlantic Trade

  • Construction firms' 'optimism' for future

    CONSTRUCTION firms in the North-East are more optimistic about the future than a year ago, a report has said.A survey of more than 600 companies revealed 69.5 per cent were feeling increasingly positive, with 61 per cent expecting wages to rise through

  • Rogue Darlington landlord fined over 4ft bedroom

    A ROGUE landlord has been fined more than £30,000 after letting a house that could have killed his tenants and which contained a bedroom with a ceiling less than four feet high. An anonymous tip-off about the Darlington house uncovered potentially

  • 'Cash top-ups' for bosses' pensions

    MORE than half of top company directors are now receiving cash instead of contributions to their pension schemes, a study has revealed. The TUC's annual analysis of retirement deals for senior executives found the switch to cash followed changes