Shildon had to be satisfied with a point from their trip to Morpeth tonight. Shildon went close with a Carl Jones header early on, and then Lee Scroggins dribbled through the Morpeth defence and fired just wide, while at the other end Lewis Graham
AS Nick Clegg launched the Liberal Democrats’ manifesto today, it was impossible to hide from the fact that he will be best remembered for the broken promise on university tuition fees which he made in his party’s manifesto of five years ago. Whatever
AIMEE Willmott insists her British Swimming Championships assault is far from dead and buried despite falling short of the 400m freestyle podium.Willmott took her place in a stellar 400m freestyle final line-up alongside the likes of Olympians Jazz Carlin
THE community spirit of a late Sedgefield woman inspired an afternoon tea event in aid of her favourite charity.Sedgefield Inner Wheel hosted the event at Ceddesfeld Hall, in Sedgefield village, today (Wednesday, April 15) in memory of Joyce Lowe.Mrs
THE death of Irish crooner Ronnie Carroll was reported this week and prompted a memory from Darlington and Stockton Times deputy editor and Darlington Football Club fan Andy Brown. During one of the Quakers' recurring cash crises, this time in the
WATCHING Nick Clegg launch the Liberal Democrat manifesto, the fascinating aspect was not what he said – but that he launched it at all. Who would have bet – given five years of abuse, including having dog poo shoved through his letter box – that
SUNDERLAND are looking up the Premier League table rather than down it as they plan to finish strongly this season.Victory against Newcastle last weekend was followed up with an insipid display against Crystal Palace, where a 4-1 defeat left the Black
LEMON tops, Oscar-style selfies and talk of devolution were on the menu when Ed Balls visited Teesside to show his support to two female prospective Labour MPs.Anna Turley in Redcar and Louise Baldock in the hotly-contested Stockton South constituency
AN invitation to be guest speaker at the Ladies Luncheon Club at Rudding Park Hotel, near Harrogate, this week was an opportunity to not only raise some more money for the Butterwick Children's Hospice but to underline the importance of campaigning
A COMMUNITY physiotherapist could be lose her job after she was found guilty of drink driving.Shirelle Wade, 30, pleaded guilty after she was found more than three times over the limit in her car in Howden-le-Wear on March 28.This morning (April 15),
A NEW North Yorkshire beauty pageant has been launched to support a children’s cancer charity.The Miss North Yorkshire competition will run in association with Candlelighters, a children’s cancer charity based in Yorkshire, with a final in York on July
A MAN has appeared in court accused of assaulting his girlfriend.Gary Thomas Longstaff pushed his girlfriend and grabbed hold of her chin and neck before throwing her iPhone across the room, smashing its screen and damaging a window blind.Magistrates
YOUNGSTERS at a Darlington school are climbing high thanks to new equipment. Children at the Federation of Abbey Schools were overjoyed when they returned from their Easter break to find climbing walls installed. Two ‘traverse’ walls have been
CHILTON residents are celebrating after one of their county councillors dished up £5,000 to upgrade their church hall’s old kitchen.Community members gathered for a celebratory lunch at St Aidan’s Church Hall yesterday (April 14) to make use of the new
HERE are some election myths: one, that it's a two horse race between the Tories and Labour. Of course, both the Tories and Labour would love you to believe this; it makes their jobs so much easier. If you think that the opinion polls back
GOOD luck to SSI on Redcar in Teesside (Echo, Apr 15). Steel has always been, and always will be, a cyclical business. However, conditions have been exceptionally difficult for SSI over the past three years here on Teesside. We’re grateful
I AM an 80-year-old ex-RAF serviceman. I spent many years in the tropics before the full effects of damage caused by the sun were realised. Work was carried out on large expanses of concrete. We wore no hats as they do not mix well with jet engines
AS an owner-occupier I think every householder should have the right to buy. To achieve it we need an adequate housing stock and decent wages. To subsidise tenants of social housing so they can better afford the houses they live in is the wrong
THE Tories have launched their manifesto with a promise to allow people to buy their homes at a discounted price from housing associations (Echo, Apr 15). It left me wondering which other landlords should be instructed to sell their properties
NO one can dispute that Dryburn House is an eyesore on our attractive Durham Hospital site. I suggest that spending a couple of million on it would bring it up to an acceptable standard to give the extra accommodation seriously needed by existing
THE lamprey, regarded as among the most primitive of all living vertebrates, but has proved a favourite with gourmets for centuries.Studies of fossil remains from more than 300 million years ago have concluded lampreys, which measure from 25cm to 40 cm
CONSERVATION work on an historic bridge has been halted after a rare and jawless blood-sucking fish was discovered spawning beneath it.North Yorkshire County Council said the work on grade II listed Thornton Bridge, over the River Swale at Helperby, near
YOU have got to wonder about the mentality of some parents and whether they have half a brain cell between them. I am referring to the tragic case of seven-year-old Carwyn Scott-Howel who plunged to his death down a cliff after becoming separated
THE Liberal Democrats have vowed to “deliver” an ambitious strategy to transform Northern rail links - despite its multi-billion pound price tag.Nick Clegg’s party also promised “devolution on demand” for local authorities, a legal right to force Whitehall
MY children are more or less grown up now so I don't have a lot to do with Spongebob SquarePants. Nevertheless, I need to apologise to five-year-old Oliver Dillon, who is a Spongebob fan and was disappointed by The Northern Echo recently. Oliver
MORE than £3m has been allocated to students in the North-East to allow those from under-represented groups to do a master’s degree.A total of 610 students in the region will receive a £10,000 postgraduate scholarship award, aimed at supporting those
COUNCIL computers should block access to websites glorifying self-harm, a report says. The recommendation is contained in a report on self-harm among children and young people from Durham County Council’s Children and Young People’s Overview and Scrutiny
WORK has started on a £380,000 cricket pavilion to replace a run-down facility.The project at the Mainsforth Sports Complex, at Ferryhill, will see a dated building that was erected in the early 1980s replaced.Workmen moved on to the site in January and
FAST food outlets are treating employees like slaves, according to campaigners.A global day of action saw people across the world take to the streets to highlight the plight of workers in the fast food industry, many of whom are on zero hour contracts.Campaigners
JOHN CARVER has criticised Moussa Sissoko for failing to lead by example after his red card in Newcastle United's defeat to Liverpool on Monday evening. Sissoko skippered the side in the absence of Fabricio Coloccini at Anfield, but his dismissal
BUSINESSES in the North-East are being urged to protect themselves against the growing menace of cyber crime.As trade is increasingly conducted via the internet, hackers and fraudsters are targeting vulnerable firms.The police’s North East Serious Operations
TORY hopeful Rebecca Coulson probably knew she was entering the lion’s den at the City of Durham health hustings.One of five of the seven candidates for the City of Durham seat to turn up at Durham Town Hall on Tuesday night, Mrs Coulson faced hostile
POLICE are appealing for witnesses following a hit-and-run collision in Sunderland. A police spokesman said, a dark-coloured Land Rover Discovery collided with a black Renault Clio in Borough Road at about 8.10pm on Sunday, April 12. The Land Rover failed
A REAL life Rapunzel hopes to raise more than £1,600 after donating 25cm of her hair to make wigs for children suffering with cancer.Eight-year-old Erin Robinson, from Thornaby, had her long locks chopped for the Little Princess Trust.The charity provides
A WOMAN who left her daughter with a head wound after throwing a metal drinks coaster at her has been fined.Beverley Duffy, of Gurney Street, Darlington, was at home with her grown-up daughter when the argument broke out at 9.30pm on March 20.Joanne Hesse
A CABLE cleat maker, founded by an RAF bomber pilot, has secured a deal to continue supporting a National Grid project. Ellis is sending clamps to the Woodhead Tunnel, a former rail route running from south Yorkshire to the Peak District National
FOUNDATION for Jobs, the youth employment project launched by a partnership including The Northern Echo, has worked with nearly 5,000 young people in its first three years. The national award-winning scheme, launched in 2012, runs activities for
THE owner of a pizza takeaway has been ordered to pay almost £2,000 after failing to keep it clean, protect foods from risk of contamination risk and manage waste. Environmental Health Officers visited Luciano’s Pizzeria in Linthorpe Road, Middlesbrough
The Liberal Democrats have outlined five key areas in their 2015 General Election manifesto. TAXES The Lib Dems will continue with efforts to boost the income tax personal allowance - in which no tax is charged - to at least £12,500 by 2020
FARMERS can receive updates on rural matters at an event being organised by the Campaign for the Farmed Environment (CFE)next week.Cross-compliance and updates on the Basic Payment scheme will be on the agenda at the event at the George Hotel, in Piercebridge
A Mad World My Masters: Darlington Civic TheatreWRITTEN by Thomas Middleton in the 17th Century, much of the dialogue has been retained which means some concentration is required, particularly at the beginning when the characters are being introduced.
Nigel Farage set out plans for an early referendum on withdrawal from the EU, a radical reduction in immigration, increased spending on defence and an £18 billion tax giveaway as he launched the Ukip manifesto under the slogan Believe In Britain.
The winning numbers for the Great North Air Ambulance weekly lottery for Wednesday April 15, 2015 are: £200 39851, Houghton-le-Spring; £100 6009, Hexham; £50 2245, Yarm; £50 27451, Hexham; £25 34766, York; £25 41380, York; £25 3893, Redcar; £25 8088,
NICK Clegg has launched a Liberal Democrat manifesto which he described as "an insurance policy against a government lurching off to the extremes" after the May 7 General Election. For more local and national election coverage, click here
A UKIP election candidate offered to organise a gay pride march in Darlington after denying avoiding hustings around environmental and LGBT issues. A furious row broke out last weekend when UKIP Darlington falsely claimed their candidate David
FRIENDS of a mental health patient who died after crashing an ambulance he had stolen into a double-decker bus have called for a full inquiry into the incident. It has emerged Michael South was being transported between hospitals by private ambulance
FENCING off a city’s riverbanks in an effort to halt a spate of tragic drownings would be very expensive and ineffective, an independent review has concluded. However, safety chiefs refused to rule out erecting barriers or gates along the River
EMERGENCY services have sealed off part of a North-East town and evacuated a school following a major fire. Fire crews say the blaze, near to the Dean and Chapter pub, in Ferryhill, is now out. However, they have closed the road as the building
MORE than 100 of a county’s children were judged to be at risk of sexual exploitation in one year, it emerged today (Wednesday, April 15). A total of 124 young people across County Durham were ‘referred under child protection procedures’ having
A COMEDY 17th Century play by a friend and collaborator of Shakespeare is being staged at a North-East theatre this week.Thomas Middleston was a contemporary of the Bard and worked with him on two of his tragedies – The Changeling and Women Beware Women.Middleton
NORTH-EAST engineering consultants will play a key role in a new £50m BP deal that has been won by Amec Foster Wheeler. Staff at the firm’s Tees Valley Centre at Lingfield Point business park in Darlington will be using their expertise to assist
CONTROVERSIAL expansion plans have been withdrawn by Stockton Town Football Club.The club submitted new plans to develop an artificial turf pitch with floodlighting and pathways at its base on Stockton’s Bishopton Road West.A second application sought
A FREELANCE artist from Thirsk is the latest to have her work displayed at Northallerton’s Civic Centre. Katrina Addison graduated in fine art in 2001at De Montfort University in Leicester and has worked in various schools around Yorkshire and
AN irate householder is calling for an amnesty from roadworks for the main road outside his home which he claims is the most dug up road in Britain.Dave Brown says the past two years have been a constant round of one way traffic light systems and works
SHADOW chancellor Ed Balls is in the region today. View more photos from Ed Balls' visit to the region Mr Balls was showing support for Labour's election candidates in two key battleground seats. He was in Redcar with Anna Turley
POLICE investigating the murder of Tipu Sultan are releasing new CCTV images of two men on a motorcycle that detectives believe may be responsible for his death. CCTV footage taken from Lumley Avenue and Lake Avenue, South Shields, show the motorcycle
AN 18-year-old man killed in a crash on the A66 last night was friends with tragic Kyle Hull, the teenager who died after falling through a roof at Darlington Auction Mart. Family of mart fall teenager Kyle Hull hope some good can come from
FIVE general election candidates fighting for votes in the Bishop Auckland constituency will line up at a hustings event. Spennymoor Area Action Association has organised the event at Spennymoor Town Hall, on Friday, April 17, doors open at 6.30pm
TWO men were injured in a violent disturbance in Pickering. The incident happened in Smiddy Hill between midnight and 2am on Easter Sunday, and involved a large group of adults. Two men in their 20s were taken to Scarborough District Hospital, treated
Twelve Angry Men, York Grand Opera HouseCOURTROOM dramas can’t fail to grip an audience with that element of shock and surprise constantly round the corner – and Twelve Angry Men is a classic of the genre that, in this touring production, is guilty m’
SNOOKER   WORTHINGTON C.I.U. League The scene is set for a grandstand finish to the First Division after Cockton Hill A upset the odds by beating the visiting league leaders, Hunwick A by the odd point. Paul Atkinson
A LETTER from the the owners of the Titanic to the family of a dead officer from North Yorkshire asking for a large sum of money to return his dead body to England has been uncovered 103 years on from the tragedy. The letter, dated May 7, 1912
POOL   BISHOP AUCKLAND League Shildon Elm Road boosted their league standing when they moved up to equal fifth spot after only dropping two points at the Cumberland, who slipped to the foot of the table. Billy Barker
GAMES   CROOK TRI Angular League The inaugural three man team event involving one player playing darts, one dominoes and one pool was held at two venues, Crook Crown and Willington Cottles. The results
DOMINOES   CROOK & District League Results: New Market 4 Willington Queen’s 3; Crook Queen’s 4 Travellers B 3; Mill B 4 King’s Head 3; Surtees 3 White Swan 4; Travellers A 2 Mill A 5; Crown B 5 Crown A 2; Australian
DARTS   COUNTY SUPER League Stanhope Bonny Moor Hen retained their second place in the table after they won by three points at Consett Station Club. The decisive winning margin was created at the start of the match when
A SEX offender convicted four times for flouting orders to control his behaviour was spared prison because it would be "kicking the can down the road".Judge Neil Davey, QC, told Lee Rogers that supervision from probation officers and a treatment
WORK starts next week (April 20) on improvement measures to prevent future outbreaks of flooding for residents living near a small water course.Northumbrian Water is investing £1.5m to enhance flood defences near the Rainton Burn, in Houghton-le-Spring.It
A COUNSELLOR who worked with vulnerable youngsters - including abuse victims - is today exposed as a paedophile who himself preyed on children and swapped indecent pictures. The secret double life of Robert Fothergill, who worked with children
Eddie Straight, 94, remembers the day he helped liberate the horrifying Nazi concentration camp of Belsen exactly 70 years ago today and his life changed forever. Chris Webber talks to the old soldier IT is the smell of Belsen, the sheer stink
JOHN JACKSON Memorial Trophy Semi Final Hardwick Social Club progressed to the final of the John Jackson Memorial Trophy with a 4-1 home win against Thornaby Meerkats with two goals from Kallum Hannah and one each for Stephen Roberts and James Risborough
A FAMILY from Durham have spoken of their ‘devastation’ after the sudden death of their school teacher daughter in a car accident while she was on holiday in Mexico. The accident happened as Alix Bussey, 23, was coming towards the end of her ten-night
TONY Blair last week told an audience in County Durham that David Cameron's pledge to hold a referendum on Britain's EU membership would cause economic chaos. Was the former Sedgefield MP correct? Mr Cameron said his predecessor was ignoring
ASTRONOMERS believe they might have observed the first potential signs of dark matter interacting with a force other than gravity. An international team of scientists, led by researchers at Durham University, made the discovery using the Hubble
LAST month, a photographer in China captured on film the extremely endangered ili pika, a tiny, teddy bear-like mammal that has not been spotted in more than two decades.This week I have been on the hunt for an even rarer beast – a North-East business
IT’S not too much of a cliché to say the North-East’s once proud clothes-making industry was left hanging by a thread. Companies, for years the trusted employers of thousands of people, disappeared from the landscape. From the 1980s onwards
THE weekend just gone marks the start of my golf season, yes, I am a fair weather golfer, writes Gary Welford, an investment manager at Brewin Dolphin in Newcastle. The Masters, held at Augusta, is the first major golf tournament of 2015 and whatever
THE NORTH Sea oil and gas industry faces an exodus of talent as George Osborne has failed to offer the troubled sector sufficient support, a new study has said. Research by industry website Rigzone found 71 per cent of respondents across the UK are thinking
IF the herculean effort to return production to the former British Steel site at Redcar was the ultimate business back-from-the-dead story, then the battle to keep the fledgling operation on its feet has been almost as dramatic. The tears of joy
DURHAM got their LV County Championship season off to a flying start with a seven-wicket win inside three days at Taunton yesterday and coach Jon Lewis said: “It was a complete performance.“Paul Collingwood, Scott Borthwick and Chris Rushworth will take
A PUB owner has admitted nine food hygiene breaches after 25 customers were struck down with gastroenteritis. The Sutton Arms was inspected after several families, who dined at the pub in Elton, near Stockton, were struck down with the illness
SUNDERLAND officials will target Real Madrid assistant Paul Clement this summer as they look to appoint a permanent head coach. The Black Cats hierarchy will not be making any formal moves to appoint Gus Poyet’s successor until the end of the season
NORTH YORKSHIRE diver Jack Laugher cannot wait to double up as the World Series returns to Britain at the start of next month. Laugher underlined his status as a potential medal contender at next year’s Rio Olympics when he claimed the 3m springboard
REMY CABELLA has angrily denied that Newcastle United’s players have already called time on their season despite Monday’s 2-0 reverse at Liverpool making it five defeats in a row. The Magpies have only claimed two victories since Alan Pardew departed
ONE in three GPs in the North-East and North Yorkshire are considering retirement within the next five years, according to a shock new survey.The figures confirm the worst fears of North-East doctors’ leaders.There are also major concerns that nearly
A CAR parts manufacturer suffered seven separate power cuts as a result of attacks on the electricity network by metal thieves. The experience of Nifco, in Eaglescliffe, Teesside, was highlighted by independent charity Crimestoppers which, together
