Archive

  • Measures to prevent used car rip-offs

    MORE measures are to be introduced to prevent consumers getting bad deals when buying used cars, the Government has announced.This follows an investigation by the Government-appointed Used Car Commission into problems reported by consumers about the second-hand

  • Poyet expresses unhappiness at a lack of defensive options

    GUSTAVO POYET has issued a thinly-veiled criticism of Sunderland’s recruitment team by claiming that he was presented with insufficient defenders when the transfer window closed in August. Poyet pushed through the signing of free agent Anthony

  • New bike joy for brave Tilly following heartless theft

    A LITTLE girl who lost her hands to meningitis has a new bike thanks to the generosity of local traders.Tilly Lockey, eight, of Blackhill, Consett, County Durham, needs costly prosthetic hands to cope with everyday tasks after being afflicted with the

  • Charlie McCann of Betvictor.com on the weekend racing

    THERE’S some wonderful jumps action from Aintree this weekend, where the feature race is the Monet’s Garden Old Roan Chase. Uxizandre (3.00) can make a winning reappearance at the scene of his finest hour having won a Grade 1 Novices&rsquo

  • Pupils showcase their First World War studies

    PUPILS at a Chester-le-Street school have been delving into the past to learn about the First World War. Youngsters at Roseberry Primary and Nursery School, Pelton, secured a £5,100 grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund to help them research the

  • Pensioners treated to an afternoon of poetry and music

    RESIDENTS and staff at a care home enjoyed an afternoon of top tapping rhythm and rhyming when they were treated to a story-telling and music-making performance by a top-class entertainer.Singer and performer Wendy Holmes, from ARC - The Stockton Arts

  • North Yorkshire veteran takes part in historic vigil

    A NORTH Yorkshire veteran paralysed from the neck down was among those chosen to take part in an historic watch at The Cenotaph in Central London.Felix Agbotsu, 31, from Northallerton served as a gunner in the Royal Artillery for two years and completed

  • Hague backs £2m scanner appeal

    FORMER Foreign Secretary William Hague has added his support to an ambitious bid to raise £2m to provide a MRI scanner to a North Yorkshire hospital.The Richmond MP visited the Friarage Hospital in Northallerton after the appeal passed the half-way

  • Volunteers plant thousands of trees

    VOLUNTEERS have been digging deep in their efforts to preserve the environment.Forty volunteers from the Yorkshire branch of faith group Sant Nirankari Mission have planted almost 3,000 trees at Myton-on-Swale near Boroughbridge.The project was part of

  • Minister to intervene in balcony death controversy

    A FOREIGN Office minister will intervene in a 14-year controversy over the death of a North-East man in Greece – after describing its Government’s behaviour as “incredulous”.Hugo Swire vowed to lobby the Greek ambassador in London

  • Out of hours service moved from Catterick to Northallerton

    A HOSPITAL GP out of hours service has today (Friday) been forced to close due to safety fears following a fire assessment found emergency lighting to be substandard.The service, run out of the Duchess of Kent Barracks in Catterick Garrison, has temporarily

  • Rotary chairman's trek for polio charities

    A LEADING Rotarian is spending half a day walking 30 miles to help the fight against polio.Durham Rotary Club president David Yates is trekking around the grounds of the Maiden Castle sports complex on the city’s outskirts today (Friday, October

  • Dentist nominated for industry award

    A DENTIST has made it to the final round of a prestigious industry awards.Claire Lawson invested around £300,000 to open CTL Dental in Newbiggin, Richmond, at the end of last year, and has seen her business grow thanks to its offering a full out-of-hours

  • Region urged to back WW1 centenary Poppy Appeal

    THE North-East is being urged to support this year’s First World War centenary Poppy Appeal.The Royal British Legion today (Friday, October 24) launched its annual fund-raising campaign by unveiling a giant poppy at the Angel of the North, GatesheadTeenager

  • Hambleton sport heroes honoured in award ceremony

    LOCAL sporting heroes have been recognised for their commitment and passion.More than 140 people attended the Tour de France themed Hambleton Sports Awards, which included a speech from Danny Hart, 2011 downhill mountain bike world champion.Hambleton

  • Labour retains Evenwood seat

    EVENWOOD has chosen its new county councillor.Heather Smith, who lives in the village, was elected on Thursday night after more than 1,400 people took to the polls to cast their vote.She was one of five candidates and she attracted 546 votes, a majority

  • Pools play-off squad set for reunion

    HARTLEPOOL UNITED’S play-off squad of the 2004/05 season are getting back together for a reunion to mark the tenth anniversary of their League One play-off final. Pools lost 4-2 to Sheffield Wednesday at Cardiff’s Millennium Stadium in May

  • Pounds from property firm will help cancer charity

    A PROPERTY agent that has supported Macmillan for the last six years is donating £10 to the charity from each sale it makes.Venture Properties, which has five branches including in Darlington, Crook and Durham, has raised more than £9,000

  • MP calls for revival of town's hospital

    HARTLEPOOL MP Iain Wright has called on health bosses to breath new life into his local hospital after plans to build a super-hospital at Wynyard were put on hold.In recent years acute medical and surgical services have been transferred from the University

  • Rent hikes are a 'kick in the teeth' for the army

    MILITARY personnel at Catterick Garrison and elsewhere face big rent hikes because they are paying far less than civilians, ministers have warned.Charges will rise by up to £30 a month after the Ministry of Defence (MoD) concluded that about 55

  • Funeral service commemorates soldiers who died in conflict

    A FUNERAL director is helping people to remember those who have lost their lives during conflict by offering free poppy crosses to customers.Speckmans Funeral Service has set up a dedicated area in their premises in Front Street, Wingate, County Durham

  • Strike a light! Matchstick mystery baffles civic leaders

    IF folklore is anything to go by, this impressive matchstick model of three enduring Darlington town centre landmarks was created by a German prisoner of war.What is for definite is that the miniaturised version of the Victorian covered market, old town

  • Think like a burglar, advice from police

    AN INCREASE in the number of burglaries has prompted a police force to urge people to ‘Think like a burglar’ this winter.Burglaries in Cleveland have risen by almost nine per cent between financial year ending 2014 and the same period ending

  • Patchwork pays tribute to Sedgefield's war heroes

    A FAMILY history society has commemorated the centenary of the First World War by honouring the fallen in fabric and thread.Sedgefield Family History Group in County Durham is taking part in a national project to create a series of patchwork quilts paying

  • The best bets in North-East football this weekend

    Newcastle finally picked up their first league win last week, grabbing the only goal at home to Leicester, but bookies don’t believe the Magpies will kick on as a result. They’re Paddy Power’s 4/1 outsiders to make it back-to-back victories

  • Start a business with a fiver

    PRIMARY school entrepreneurs have taken up Sir Richard Branson’s challenge to each turn £5 into a flourishing business.The Year five and six pupils at Red Hall Primary School in Darlington are taking part in Virgin Money’s Make £

  • Students' chance to talk politics

    AS part of a campaign to increase youth engagement with politics, a Darlington sixth form is hosting workshops where two students will win the chance to share their ideas at a national event in Parliament.The interactive workshops at Queen Elizabeth (

  • Darlington chosen for pilot parks project

    A VOLUNTEERISM organisation is supporting a project aimed at developing new ways of sustaining and developing parks. Darlington Cares is backing Rethinking Parks, a £1m fund to find and support organisations and partnerships to develop implement

  • Sedgefield MP takes diabetes challenge

    AN MP has joined forces with the star of a popular television medical drama to encourage people to take a quick and easy diabetes test.Sedgefield MP Phil Wilson took the test, which is available for free at many pharmacies, at the Silver Star Diabetes

  • Tow Law man sentenced for racism

    A MAN who got drunk before racially abusing a pizza shop owner and smashing the takeaway counter is ashamed of his actions, a court heard.Mark Stockdale was intoxicated when he went to Pizza Home, in Tow Law, just before 9pm on Sunday, September 21.Magistrates

  • On-line tribute to the dead

    A UNIQUE memorial to the fallen of a whole community which became the first online tribute in Britain is being updated and improved to mark the centenary of the First World War.Steve Metcalfe created the online memorial in 1996, in the early days of the

  • Appeal as teenager goes missing

    POLICE are asking members of the public to look out for a teenage girl who has gone missing from her home. Kiera Meldrum, 15, was reported missing from the Humberside area on October 20 and is believed to be in the York area. She is described

  • Arrest made in Trimdon Village attempted robbery investigation

    A MAN has been arrested in connection to an attempted robbery in which a homeowner was threatened with violence.Two men forced their way into a property in Meadow Road in Trimdon Village just after 7.30pm on Monday, October 13.The men demanded money and

  • Butcher and farmer duo scoop prestigious title

    A BUTCHER and a farmer who have been showing poultry for more than two decades are celebrating after landing a coveted supreme champion title.Poultry breeders Barrie Alcock, of Great Ayton, and Ingleby Greenhow butcher John Fawcett overcame competition

  • Construction firm's Middlehaven work

    A CONSTRUCTION firm has been appointed to create a Teesside retail park.Barr Construction is working as main contractor on Middlesbrough’s Gateway Middlehaven Retail Park.The company secured the project from developer Terrace Hill, which is behind

  • Councillors urged to reject proposal for motorcyclists' den

    PLANS to turn a storage unit into a meeting place for bikers look set to be rejected amid fears over noise.Durham County Council’s north area planning committee will be recommended on Thursday (October 30) to refuse a planning application to change

  • Butchers shop celebrating 60 years in business

    A BUTCHERS shop has been rolling back the years to celebrate 60 years in business.Blackwell's Butchers is offering customers a taste of forgotten cuts of meat such as scrag of lamb and pork cheek and jowl as it winds back the clock to 1954.The award

  • Concerns raised over winter bridge repaint

    COUNCILLORS have been told a decision to spend an additional £2.6m on essential repairs to Newport Bridge was taken using urgency powers.Stockton borough's full council meeting heard how the cost of the repair work had spiralled from £

  • Look ahead to Look A Head charity dinner

    A FUNDRAISING dinner hosted by BBC Breakfast presenter Steph McGovern is being held in aid of a local charity.The Look A Head Cancer Campaign is organising the event which improves awareness of head and neck cancer across Teesside, Durham and North Yorkshire

  • West look to consolidate their leading position

    League leaders West Auckland can finish off a good week if they beat Bedlington at the Seagrave Stadium on Saturday. West go into the game with a three point lead after beating Morpeth on Tuesday, and in the same midweek, Bedlington dropped to

  • Wonderful, weird but still familiar

    IT'S not often you see a 17th Century Spanish-style church designed by an Italian, built by Japanese craftsmen on a Portuguese colony which is now a Special Administrative Region of China. Welcome to Macau.But the wonderful weirdness doesn't stop

  • Theatre Review: Cinderella, Newcastle Theatre Royal

    IT IS easy to understand why Northern Ballet has just been named Best Company at the inaugural Taglioni European Ballet Awards in Berlin. The quality of their dancing, their creativity in launching new ballets each year and the sheer wow-factor of their

  • Italy inspector

    Alex Polizzi’s Secret Italy (Channel 5, 9pm) THE only hotel inspections here will be that of an indulged travelog presenter as Alex Polizzi reveals hers lifelong love of Italy, providing viewers with a personal and revealing guide to this beautiful

  • We need to learn to talk about grief

    LYNDA Bellingham was pretty in pink, frail but fantastic, brave and laughing in her last interview. And so near death that the interview she recorded just two weeks ago was shown after she’d died. Gulp. It made her plans for one last Christmas

  • Unlawful cycling

    AFTER reading the very sad story of Brian Coates (Echo, Oct 22) who suffered brain damage as a result of falling in Skinnergate after either being hit by a bicycle or startled by one being ridden by some boys, isn’t it time that action was taken to

  • Dangerous dogs

    HOW long will we have to read of dogs being out of control and of innocent people being mutilated before something is to be done to stop this happening (Echo, Oct 22)? All dogs can bite and are capable of turning for no good reason on even their

  • Ukip's beliefs

    J HALL (HAS, Oct 23) makes so many inaccurate statements about Ukip that I hope through your columns to correct some of them. Looking through our policies announced at our recent conference, I can’t find a single one that proposes privatisation

  • Good immigration

    JUST like Ukip during this year’s European election campaign, Peter Mullen (Echo, Oct 21) supports his alarmist views on immigration with quotes from a 2009 London Evening Standard article by former government adviser, Andrew Neather, which supposedly

  • Fraudulent telephone calls

    IT WAS interesting to read John Hill’s letter (HAS, Oct 22) on seemingly fraudulent telephone calls made with the intention of making the person called believe that he/she has a fault on his/her computer. I once received such a phone call where

  • Community bus service offers help to residents in Darlington

    THE organisers of a minibus service that provides vital transport for people living in isolated areas are calling on Darlington residents to get involved in the scheme.Since its launch, the Tees Valley Transport Brokerage Project has provided more than

  • Angel cartoon to print and colour

    Free file to download, print and colour in. The file is in pdf format that requires Adobe Acrobat Reader. Click here to download the pdf.

  • Colour of success leaves Sunderland feeling blue

    I WORKED at the Psychology Department at Durham University for 47 years as a technician, but I attended lots of lectures and one topic was the psychology of colour. Colour is very important in our lives and I wonder if the 8-0 drubbing of Sunderland at

  • A decade standing still

    RUMOURS of plans to merge North Tees and Hartlepool hospitals into a new superhospital have been swirling about since 2004 when Tony Blair, whose Sedgefield constituents would have used the facility, was asked about them.On January 20, 2007, the plans

  • Combing the terraces for an insult

    WHILE preparing tomorrow's Memories about the linen industry that once thrived on the banks of the Tees, all I could see in the back of my mind was the irrepressibly cheery face of comic Michael McIntyre.This raised my hackles because I couldn'

  • Legal highs 'a threat' to recovering addicts

    The use of ‘legal highs’, cheaper and more available than illegal drugs, is on the increase in the North-East. Health and Education Editor Barry Nelson looks at the implications ‘Legal highs’ are unregulated substances marked as not for human consumption

  • VIDEO: Lamela wonder goal hailed

    ERIK Lamela's outrageous rabona strike was one of the best goals head coach Mauricio Pochettino has ever seen and may well prove the defining moment in his Tottenham career. The club-record £30m signing was labelled a flop in some quarters after

  • GDP up 0.7 per cent but recovery is slowing

    THE pace of the UK recovery slowed in the third quarter of the year as manufacturing posted its weakest performance since the start of 2013, official figures showed today.Britain's gross domestic product (GDP) grew as expected by 0.7 per cent, the

  • Fire on Tyne and Wear Metro carriage, which filled with smoke

    COMMUTERS were evacuated after fire broke out on a train on the Tyne and Wear Metro network today. Passengers spotted the blaze beneath the rear carriage of a service on a stretch of the line between Hadrian Road and Howden stations, in North Tyneside

  • Darlington boutique owner launches new beauty clinic

    THE owner of a designer boutique has given her career a makeover and opened a beauty clinic.Pat Copeland, who runs Joseph M, in Grange Road, Darlington, has launched The White Room in the town’s Northumberland Street.The clinic offers a range of

  • Koeman wants Saints to start better

    Southampton might boast the Barclays Premier League's meanest defence, but that did not stop boss Ronald Koeman forcing his squad to sit through a video bloopers reel this week.Saints thumped Sunderland 8-0 in their biggest win since 1921 at St Mary

  • Steel unions call for rethink on Tata sell-off

    UNIONS have voiced concern about Tata Steel’s plans to sell part of its business which employs hundreds of North-East workers and warned of possible industrial action over pensions. The Long Products division employs 750 across the North-East and

  • Hair today, gone tomorrow

    AT the age of 52, I am having to face up to the reality that I don’t have as much hair as I used to. The vast curly mop that once had me likened to Leo Sayer (although I much preferred the occasional reference to David Essex) isn’t quite what it

  • Rodgers admits Balotelli has work to do

    LIVERPOOL manager Brendan Rodgers admits Mario Balotelli has plenty of work to do to prove he is good enough to be at the club. The Reds boss believes it will be difficult for the Italy international to achieve his potential if he cannot find a

  • Royal visitor hears about firm's ambitious growth plans

    HIS Royal Highness the Duke of Kent this week checked on progress at an innovative North-East engineer that plans to treble staff numbers in the next four years. Nano-porous solutions (n-psl), an IMI Precision Engineering company based in Gateshead, formed

  • Groves to fight Douglin

    GEORGE Groves has been added to the bumper undercard of the Nathan Cleverly-Tony Bellew rematch in Liverpool next month as he bids to strengthen his claims for another world title shot. The Londoner (20-2, 15KOs) bounced back from his two losses

  • Dowson returns for Darlington

    Darlington will finally welcome David Dowson back into the squad when they face Burscough at Heritage Park tomorrow.Top-of-the-table Quakers’ bid to extend their winning run to eight matches will be boosted by Dowson’s return after being sidelined

  • Bach backs new bidding procedure

    The International Olympic Committee has outlined its first steps to reduce the often prohibitive cost of bidding for and staging the Games. The IOC has been stung by the lack of interest in bidding for the 2022 Winter Olympics - Oslo withdrew its

  • Murray out to do it his way at Victoria Park

    PAUL MURRAY has been entrusted with the task of lifting fortunes at Hartlepool United, after taking over as manager yesterday. The 38-year-old played the last of his 497 Football League games for Pools in 2013, leaving under John Hughes to sign

  • Ex-Reds criticise Balotelli buy

    Former Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher does not believe Mario Balotelli will remain with the club next season, and has labelled the controversial forward a panic buy. Balotelli joined the Reds from AC Milan for £16m over the summer but has offered

  • Police name woman killed in Middlesbrough collision

    FLORAL tributes have been laid at the site where a grandmother died following a collision with a car last night. Linda Warren, 60, from the Middlesbrough area, died after a collision with a black Hyundai vehicle around 6.35pm outside the Premier

  • Karanka insists Boro can cope without captain Grant

    AITOR Karanka is confident Middlesbrough can cope without Grant Leadbitter tomorrow and will not accept the captain’s absence as an excuse for a bad result against Watford.Leadbitter has started all but one of Boro’s league games so far, but

  • "Players must produce nine out of ten performances" - Ainsley

    Spennymoor manager Jason Ainsley says that Moors must be at their very best to defeat Conference Premier visitors AFC Telford in the fourth qualifying round of the FA Cup on Saturday afternoon, and reach the first round proper for the first time in

  • "I might never have another chance" - Lewis

    Spennymoor midfielder Lewis Dodds says that he might never have another chance to reach the first round proper of the FA Cup. Dodds lines up in the centre of midfield on Saturday against AFC Telford knowing that this might be his last chance to

  • Forrest: "Players must have correct mental attitude."

    Shildon manager Gary Forrest says that his players must display their usual FA Cup commitment if they are to reach the first round proper by beating Norton United in Stoke on Trent on Saturday. The Railwaymen, the lowest ranked club still left

  • Billy facing race to be fit

    Shildon striker Billy Greulich-Smith is confident that he will win his race to be fit for Saturday’s big FA Cup tie at Norton United. The former Hartlepool player picked up an achilles injury in their thrilling win at Stourbridge in the last round

  • Brumwell looking for another big performance

    Shildon coach Phil Brumwell is looking for another big FA Cup performance from his inconsistent players today. The Railwaymen go to the Midlands for their tasty last qualifying round clash against Norton United from the Evo-Stik First Division

  • Shildon fans are amazing says Wood

    Shildon striker Ben Wood says that he was “amazed” at the level of support that the Railwaymen received at Stourbridge in the last round – and he is hoping for just as many in Stoke on Trent on Saturday. Shildon made the long journey to the West

  • Making a stand: Oktoberfest showcases regional manufacturing

    AS engineering and manufacturing emerges from the downturn, Business Editor Andy Richardson spoke to delegates and exhibitors at Oktoberfest 2014. FROM apprentices looking for their first job to firms exhibiting products made for blue chip companies,

  • MPs clash over suspended 'super-hospital'

    A FIERCE political row broke out last night after plans to build a £300m new hospital in the region were put on hold until after the General Election.Bosses at North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Foundation Trust said they were “bitterly disappointed

  • Spennymoor couple sentenced for neglecting family dog

    A COUPLE’s failure to seek treatment for their dog’s painful skin condition has been branded “disgusting and despicable” by a magistrate. Mitsy, a Staffordshire bull terrier, was irritated so much by her infected skin that she scratched off large

  • Give every child a Christmas by supporting charity toy appeal

    “GIVE every child in Darlington a Christmas”, is the plea behind a charity toy appeal being launched today.The Darlington Toy Appeal is being launched by The Salvation Army in a bid to give hundreds of disadvantaged children a Christmas present.Last

  • Physio practice hails first apprentice

    A FITNESS and physiotherapy practice has hailed the impact of its first ever apprentice.Platinum Physiotherapy and Personal Training, in Coxhoe, east Durham, took on Jack Duffy last year.Bosses say the 20-year-old, who has completed an advanced apprenticeship

  • Tory MPs accused of plotting against anti-'bedroom tax' bill

    TORY MPs have been accused of a timewasting plot to save the ‘bedroom tax’ – and threatened with an all-night sitting to defeat them. The Bill that would scrap the measure for most people affected has begun its committee stage, with its supporters

  • Brett keeps the Faith

    IT'S been seven long years since US singer songwriter Brett Dennen was last on these shores. He is back touring with British diva Paloma Faith and spoke to Matt Westcott ahead of gigs at the York Barbican on November 1 and Newcastle City Hall on November