GOGO Penguin have one of the most original names and their music is pretty original too.The Manchester trio blend classical with dance and electronica among others and are receiving rave reviews. In fact, there album V2.0 was proclaimed one of the Mercury
COREY Savory and Thomas Vernon are a pair of thugs. They are also clearly a pair of actors. They kicked and punched a man repeatedly as he lay on the ground, leaving him with permanent scarring. Then, during a hearing at Teesside Crown Court
COREY Savory and Thomas Vernon are a pair of thugs. They are also clearly a pair of actors. They kicked and punched a man repeatedly as he lay on the ground, leaving him with permanent scarring. Then, during a hearing at Teesside Crown Court
LABOUR suffered a "bloody nose" after it lost control of a North-East council in the wake of several high profile resignations.The party did not select the leader of Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council, Councillor George Dunning, to fight for
A WOMAN who credits her long life to the love and support of her family has celebrated her 100th birthday.Hilda Pepperday, from Romanby, Northallerton, marked the special occasion on Thursday, February 12, with a surprise party thrown by friends and family.She
The Mentalist (C5, 10pm) IT’S BEEN like The Mental-lust at times, but the scruffily successful police consultant Patrick Jane (Simon Baker) has finally got together with Detective Teresa Lisbon (Robin Tunney) in one of the best murder-mystery series
AN award-winning takeaway is offering customers their weight in chips if they can guess the height of the Redcar Beacon - in chips.Oliver’s Fish ‘n’ Chips is offering the weighty prize as part of a fun competition to mark National Chip Week, which takes
MUSEUM visitors can take part in a First World War training camp during the half term holiday.From Saturday (February 14) to Sunday, February 22, Beamish, near Stanley in County Durham, will stage drills and sports challenges in The Pit Village camp,
POLICE have named the 11-year-old child who was killed after being struck by a bus in Newcastle. Nathan McStay of Benwell, Newcastle, died after the collision with a Stagecoach number 38 bus in Wickham View Road, Newcastle, at 3.39pm yesterday
DETECTIVES are continuing to investigate a fire that forced the closure of a north Durham primary school – as education chiefs pledged to reopen it in the new term. Parents and children were devastated by a fire at Burnside Primary School on Mendip Terrace
AN MP has warned of a “riot” in North Yorkshire after the Government was accused of breaking a promise to ban fracking in National Parks. An amended Bill paves the way for horizontal drilling for shale gas under protected sites from wells put up
A COUPLE who were engaged to be married five weeks after meeting at a dance have celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary.Ken and Jean Young, of West Auckland, tied the knot at St Helen’s Church, St Helen Auckland, on February 12, 1955, and held their
TWO yobs celebrated after being given suspended jail sentences for kicking and punching a man as he lay on the ground. Corey Savory and Thomas Vernon grinned, held their arms aloft and gave thumbs up gestures as they left Teesside Crown Court.
JOHN TERRY has convinced League One striker James Hanson that he can leave Sunderland’s defenders battered and bruised in Sunday’s FA Cup fifth round tie at Bradford City.Hanson tormented Premier League leaders Chelsea at Stamford Bridge in the previous
COUNTY Durham and Darlington Fire Authority members have unanimously agreed to increase their council tax level by 1.95 per cent from April 1.They also set their budget at £28.618m - a 2.5 per cent reduction from the current level. The new council tax
ANGEL of the North Katie Cutler has helped a disabled mother-of-three get the mobility scooter she desperately needs. The 21-year-old beautician, who launched the online appeal that netted £330,135 for visually-impaired Gateshead mugging victim
FIREFIGHTERS who left a picket line to save the life of a man who was suffering a heart attack outside their station have been commended for their actions.Mike Johnson, 49, had just finished playing a game of football when he collapsed outside Darlington
A COUNTY Durham woman has become the hundredth patient to sign up for a leading-edge heart valve trial at a North-East hospital.Funded by the National Institute of Healthcare Research, the MAVRIC trial is a £250,000 research project comparing keyhole
STUDENTS are to stage a week of campaigning against human trafficking.Members of the Durham University Stop the Trafficking of People Society will hold the group’s second annual Human Trafficking Awareness Week starting on Monday (February 16).Professor
THE group which runs Auckland Castle has expressed an interest in a 665-year-old silver metal badge found by a metal detectorist.Graeme Thompson, 50, of Darlington, found the small M-shaped object while out as part of a session with the Quaker Acres Metal
POLICE are asking inconsiderate parents who park illegally when dropping off and picking up children to use some common sense. Parents of youngsters at Harrowgate Hill Primary School, in Thompson Street West, Darlington, are regularly parking on double
BUSINESSES and landowners are being given the chance to discover how they can make the most of this year’s new Tour de Yorkshire event.The international cycling race – part of the legacy of last year’s Tour de France – will be crossing the North York
A CONCERNED mother inspired by the Alan Barnes phenomenon has launched an online fundraising campaign to improve riverside safety following three tragic deaths. Janis Penn was dropping her student son off at Durham University when she stumbled
A MOTHER accused of assaulting a schoolboy by smashing a brick into his face wept as she was found not guilty. Samantha Firth-Corner was cleared of causing actual bodily harm to the 15-year-old after a trial at Teesside Crown Court. She sobbed
With new measures aimed at tackling student drinking in effect following a spate of river deaths, reporter Mark Tallentire headed out for student night in Durham City “ARE you sure you’re okay? We could get you a taxi home." “No, I’m fine.
A SCHEME to deter allotment burglars and vandals has been launched in Chester-le-Street. The area’s Allotment Watch initiative is enlisting gardeners to be the police’s eyes and ears and keep report anything suspicious. Allotments are vulnerable to opportunist
ANTI smoking campaigners have cast doubt on claims that bootleg cigarette sales in the region are on the increase. Research backed by the tobacco industry suggests more than a quarter of cigarettes smoked are either illegal or bought abroad- contributing
STAFF at a thriving community centre cafe have taken their training to another level.Five employees and one volunteer at the Firthmoor and District Community Association on Burnside Road are celebrating after achieving their level two certificates in
FEARS were last night growing over potential asset-stripping at a collapsed industrial furniture maker. The Northern Echo previously revealed how NESS Contract Furniture Limited had fallen into administration, with nearly 70 workers losing their
YOUNGSTERS have created a wish-list of ideas which they would like to see in Shildon in an effort to improve the town.The first meeting of the Shildon Ignite group was held this week and 33 youngsters aged 11-years and over attended the session.It was
A LARGE amount of tools were stolen from the boot of a car parked in Darlington and police are urging residents to be vigilant.The car was parked on Barnes Road overnight on January 31 when it was broken into and more than 25 individual tools stolen.These
WORKS to ease congestion and increase capacity on a busy Ingleby Barwick roundabout are set to start.Stockton Borough Council is carrying out the improvements to Quarry Farm roundabout to prevent the build-up of traffic at peak times.The improvements
Calamity Jane, York Grand Opera House WHAT calamity had befallen Jane, I wondered, as the audience were kept waiting before being admitted to the auditorium on the first night at the Grand Opera House? Happily, any technical hitches were quickly
A NORTH-EAST citizens advice bureau is hosting a Bollywood ball charity auction event to mark 75 years of service. The event, hosted by Darlington Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB), will be held from 7pm on Saturday, March 7 at the Dolphin Centre, in Darlington
AN EVENT aimed at supporting those who struggle to afford to hear their homes in winter has been praised by a prospective parliamentary candidate.Age UK’s Cold Homes Week event took place in Northallerton last week and was the charity’s largest public
TWO friends are starting nine-year prison sentences for raping a teenager in an alley after leading her drunk from a nearby nightclub. Craig Whitelaw and Kristofer McLaren were told by a judge that they had used the student "as a plaything" within
PLANS FOR 61 houses on a former allotment site are being recommended for approval.Gleeson Homes wants to build the mixture two, three and four-bedroomed detached, semi-detached and terraced homes on Dovecot Hill, South Church, near Bishop Auckland.Durham
TWO intruders confronted a man in his bedroom demanding money they claimed he owed, a court heard.Christopher Dickinson and Lee Watkins entered the house in Seventh Avenue, Chester-le-Street, at 1am on Sunday, August 3.Durham Crown Court was told they
STUNNING photographs submitted as winning entries to the International Garden Photographer of the Year competition are going on show in North Yorkshire.For the first time the National Trust properties of Nunnington Hall and Rievaulx Terraces, near Helmsley
ARE you ready for the Government of this country changing hands without a General Election, without you – the voters – getting a say in the matter? It sounds extraordinary, but the more I think about the fall-out from the likely muddled result
STUDENTS are wearing hoodies with pride as they uphold a college’s reputation for achieving top results with childcare and education training.The last group of Northallerton College students secured distinction plus in their studies on the CACHE childcare
AITOR KARANKA will be without the injured Dani Ayala for the trip to Arsenal on Sunday, with the Middlesbrough defender expected to be out for up to four weeks. Karanka confirmed his compatriot’s absence at Thursday’s press conference ahead of
GREEN-FINGERED volunteers are wanted to help create a community garden in a Victorian park.As work starts on a £3m restoration of Wharton Park in the centre of Durham, organisers hope to recruit volunteers to create the garden on land where the former
CAMPAIGNERS are celebrating after a coal company abandoned plans to open a large opencast mine on their doorstep. An appeal had been expected after UK Coal Surface Mines was refused permission by Durham County Council’s planning committee for a
CHILDREN are being invited to apply for possibly the best job in the world – Head of Fun at one of Europe’s biggest shopping centres. The Metrocentre in Gateshead wants to recruit an advisor, aged between six and 10, whose jobs will include testing
FROM bake sales and Christmas jumpers to cross country runs, a school is pulling out all the stops to raise hundreds of pounds for local and national causes.Barnard Castle School in County Durham raised £940 from a collection held before Christmas and
A MAN well-known for dedicating years of his life to charity work alongside his wife has celebrated his 100th birthday. Joseph Tarn, together with his wife Vera, were known as “Mr and Mrs Red Cross” for the work they did with the charity in Shildon
AN award-winning tourist attraction is hoping for another record-breaking year when it reopens this weekend after the winter breakIn 2014, Hall Hill Farm, near Lanchester, recorded its highest ever number of visitor numbers in its 34-year history with
ON February 5, it was the 175th birthday of machine gun inventor Sir Hiram Stevens, said that day’s On This Day on page four of The Northern Echo.Ian Forsyth in Durham fired a shot across our bows. You’ve missed off his surname, he said: he was Sir Hiram
SHOPPERS in Bishop Auckland were treated to a surprise dance show to raise awareness of the town’s Prince’s Trust group.The 12 unemployed young people sprang into action with a flash mob on Thursday lunchtime at the entrance to the Newgate Shopping Centre
THE new operator of the East Coast rail franchise has unveiled its senior management team. Inter City Railways, a venture between the Stagecoach Group and Virgin, will be led by managing director David Horne. Mr Horne is joined by Tim Hedley-Jones
A NEW report has highlighted the improvements that literacy charity workers are making to the reading skills of County Durham and Teesside youngsters.Beanstalk is a national charity with a Durham and Tees Valley branch in Newton Aycliffe and its annual
OPEN auditions for parts in an outdoor Easter passion play take place at the weekend.Producers are seeking participants to fill both speaking and non-speaking roles in the traditional passion play, to be staged at Hillside Cemetery, in Houghton-le-Spring
A MULTI-million pound project to transform Durham Cathedral has received a major boost.The Friends of Durham Cathedral have donated a total of £590,000 to the £10m Open Treasure project, which aims to vastly improve the cathedral visitor experience with
A TEAM that promotes sustainable transport in Darlington is celebrating after winning a national award.Darlington’s Local Motion group, which works in partnership with bus company Arriva, was awarded Project Team of the Year at the Smarter Travel Awards
THE closure of a North-East nuclear power station has damaged an energy firm’s profits. EDF Energy says UK profits fell 25 per cent to £649m in 2014. The company said a temporary shut down of reactors at its Hartlepool site, coupled with a
TWO aircraft have landed safely after emergencies were declared on separate flights. This morning’s Jet2 flight from Newcastle to Prague diverted to Leeds/Bradford as a precautionary measures after an “operational issue” on board. A spokesman
TWO drunken men smashed their way into a village pub to steal money because they mistakenly thought the landlord had stolen from a cancer charity, a court heard yesterday. Ricky Jennings, 23, had been drinking in The Fox and Hounds pub in Trimdon
A CRICKET club is to hold its annual fundraising auction next weekend. Tantobie Cricket Club is to hold the auction, which brings in much-needed funds to keep the club going, on Saturday, February 28 in The Commercial Hotel, in Tantobie, near Stanley
TELECOMS company BT says it has raised £1bn as it looks to support a £12bn takeover. The firm says it reached the target by issuing 222 million new shares with institutional investors, as it finalises a deal for network operator EE. BT has
Viv Hardwick discovers how Flavia Cacace is still keen to Dance 'Til Dawn at Sunderland THE world of dance has changed enormously over the past 20 years, mainly thanks to the sexual chemistry of Strictly Come Dancing professionals like
A PENSIONER suffered minor injuries when his car was involved in a collision with a police car responding to an emergency. The 79-year-old was driving a silver Ford Fiesta on Cargo Fleet Lane, Middlesbrough at around 11pm last night (Wednesday,
Rock band Enter Shikari have just released their fourth album, The Mindsweep. Matt Westcott spoke to guitarist Rory Clewlow. The band play Middlesbrough Town Hall on February 22. Ticket details from entershikari.com THE album has been out for a
A VOTE of no confidence will take place this afternoon into the leader of Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council a week after he tore up his Labour party membership. Councillor George Dunning expects to be stripped of his role at this afternoon’s
PETER BARRON returns from a weekend trip to Dublin and calls in at a popular County Durham eating out venue WE'D flown to Dublin for the weekend and were on our way back down the A1 from Newcastle Airport approaching Sunday lunchtime. Having
Peter Duncan talks to Viv Hardwick about finding a new part of his family in Whitby and the stress of being killed every day as Jack Firebrace in touring drama Birdsong PETER Duncan laughs about the idea of dying on stage. He has to, sometimes
AWARD-WINNING solo dancer Aakash Odedra is bringing his new work Murmur, inspired by his experiences of dyslexia, to Dance City, Newcastle, on Temple Street, on Saturday, February 28, 8pm, as part of an international tour. Odedra was diagnosed
Richard Lewis has become one of the country’s leading talents in the creation of high quality children’s theatre, adapting and directing shows from television. Three sell-out Peppa Pig stage productions (including the current tour Peppa Pig’s Big Splash
OK Go - Hungry Ghosts IT'S been four years since Grammy-winning Chicago alternative-rockers OK Go released their last album Of The Blue Colour Of The Sky in 2010. Damian Kulash, Tim Nordwind, Dan Konopka and Andy Ross' fourth album Hungry Ghosts
Film: Fifty Shades Of Grey Certificate: 18 Running Time: 125 mins WITH approximately 500,000 advance ticket sales in the UK... and rising, Sam Taylor-Wood's eagerly anticipated screen version of Fifty Shades Of Grey is poised for a whip-cracking
IT'S billed as a Killer Week in Soapland as the folk in EastEnders (BBC1) hold a 30th anniversary shindig to mark the fact that the nation has been gawping at their disgraceful behaviour for three decades. What a time for Peggy Mitchell, adored former
WHAT’S ON: Tonight, Zoë Rahman, King’s Hall, Newcastle University, 0191-222-8463; Friday, Debra Milne Ensemble, Travellers Rest, Cockerton, 01325-382676. CD Reviews: The Cookers/Time and Time Again (Motéma 233883) This is a super, fourth album
Helen Brown sets the scene for this year's appealing Deer Shed Festival JOHN Grant, Billy Bragg and The Unthanks are the headliners at the 6th annual Deer Shed Festival, which takes place close to the river Swale at Baldersby Park, Topcliffe, over
WHAT’S ON: Royal Northern Sinfonia, conducted by Mario Venzago, at Sage Gateshead, at 7.30pm tonight. Julian Bliss performs Nielsen Clarinet Concerto. Box Office: 0191-443-4661. REVIEWS: Robert Schumann (Naxos 8.573399) The prize-winning young
Film: Love Is Strange Cerificate: 15 Running Time: 94mins Star Rating: 4/5 STRANGE, enervating, toxic, miraculous, unrequited, redemptive: love exerts an irresistible hold on the human heart. Greek philosopher Plato professed love
LAST week I made mention of the upcoming BBC Folk Awards, not realising at that point that I myself would be among the lucky nominees in this year’s list! I’m not alone in representing the region, with Northumbrian native Nancy Kerr also in the
AN industrial furniture manufacturer formed at the end of the Second World War has collapsed with the loss of almost 70 jobs. Administrators are now hoping to find a buyer to rescue County Durham-based Ness Contract Furniture Limited which has
Padiham 1 Darlington 3 Two late goals saw relieved Darlington return to the top of the table with a 3-1 win at struggling Padiham that puts the promotion-chasers in a healthy position. They are now ahead of Salford City thanks to a much better
IF, for any reason, John Harrison feared his time was up on the European Senior Tour after losing his card at the end of 2013, then the last week or so has reminded him of where he belongs. Only this time, when he embarks on a fifth year on the
JONATHAN WOODGATE says he does not deserve to play a prominent role in Middlesbrough’s promotion push, despite producing a stand-out performance on his first start for over five months.Woodgate got the crucial opening goal in Tuesday night’s win over
MARVIN MORGAN has a habit of scoring when he’s involved with Hartlepool United. And now, after getting his share against Pools, he’s doing it for them.Before netting Pools’ winning goal against Northampton on Tuesday night at Victoria Park, he scored
JOHN O’SHEA thinks everyone connected with Sunderland remains united to turn things around for the long term after a frustrating 48 hours for Gus Poyet and the club’s fans.Despite encouraging displays and results against Burnley, Fulham and Swansea City
A DIAMOND couple who make sure they laugh every day are today (Thursday, February 12) celebrating their 60th wedding anniversary.Mary and John Hilton met while working together at the now defunct Belvedere Waste Paper Company, in London, before spending
A POLITICAL row has broken out after an MP was accused of a publicity stunt over a doomed council care home. In a mailshot delivered to homes in Weardale North West Durham Labour MP Pat Glass said she was standing up for the area and had “fought
A MAN who did not seek veterinary treatment for a horse that was so lame it could barely stand has has admitted causing the animal unnecessary suffering. Darlington Magistrates’ Court heard yesterday (Wednesday, February 11) that the stallion,
A PLASTICS firm spawned from an ICI management buyout forms part of the region’s share in a £300m Government cash pot.Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg has this morning (Thursday, February 12) revealed the successful applicants in the sixth round of the
MANUFACTURING bosses are aiming to give a business a new dimension by helping revolutionise the electric vehicle market. Carroll and Meynell Transformers is working on a prototype multi-charger it says will increase the number of vehicles able
THE five Tees Valley councils are to press ahead with plans to establish a combined authority after a majority of the public voted for the move. Sixty five per cent of more than 1,900 responses received during a seven-week long public consultation
As plans for a new combined authority for the Tees Valley move on apace, Stuart Arnold answers the key questions. Q: What is a combined authority? A: Combined authorities are statutory bodies created to formalise joint working and decision-making
JOHN CARVER has called for the authorities to come down hard on a fan who threw a coin at captain Fabricio Coloccini during Newcastle United's 1-1 draw at Selhurst Park. Coloccini was struck in the head as he celebrated Papiss Cisse’s opening goal
LAST WEEKEND saw five Elvet Striders veterans compete in the North East Masters Cross Country Championship in Darlington. The men's team were ably represented by cross country captain Geoff Davis, Mike Hughes and Keith Wesson. Jan Young romped
