A STUNNING aerial performance got this year's Stockton International Riverside Festival (Sirf) off to a flying start this evening (Thursday, July 30). BoO was an aerial show that had breath-taking trapeze performances on an extraordinary majestic
GLENN MAXWELL hopes his maiden Yorkshire century can spark a run glut for him to further boost their Royal London one-day Cup hopes after yesterday’s thumping win over Worcestershire at New Road.The Australian World Cup winner smashed 111 off 76 balls
VISITORS to Redcar beach saw some unexpected sunbathers when several farmers arrived with some of their cattle to highlight the tumbling cost of milk. Several businesses have joined forces to raise public awareness that diary farmers are facing
RESIDENTS have been promised a specialist council officer to impose rigorous monitoring of a controversial abattoir in the heart of their community. Angry Boosbeck residents have regularly campaigned to Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council to close
TEENAGE Loner Liam Lyburd was found guilty today of plotting a mass murder at a North-East college and he faces life imprisonment when he is sentenced next month. But this is a story which could so easily have had a very different – and tragic
A TEENAGER arrested following the death of a North Yorkshire musician has tonight been charged with murder. Student Liam Paul Miller, who was 20, died of multiple stab wounds on Hamilton Drive, in the Acomb area of York, on Monday night. The
Dressed to thrill at ScarboroughTHE fascinating world of the costume department at the world famous Stephen Joseph Theatre is the subject of the next lunchtime talk at Scarborough Art Gallery.The talk is by SJT Wardrobe Technician Ruth Hill-Beeley, who
MIDDLESBROUGH is bottom of the class as figures for England show almost one in ten of the town’s pupils were suspended from school last year. Schoolchildren in Middlesbrough were suspended 2,080 times during 2013/14 – the highest number of suspensions
Sam Baker at GatesheadTEXAN troubadour Sam Baker returns to the UK in October with country/folk singer Carrie Elkin, and tours to Gateshead's Jumpin' Hot Club at the end of that month.Say Grace, in 2013, established Baker as a songwriter, while the experimental
A MAN has appeared at court charged with burglary, dangerous driving and a spate of car, fuel and shop thefts across the region.Luke Michael Boniface entered no pleas to 16 charges when he appeared at Newton Aycliffe Magistrates’ Court in County Durham
NEWCASTLE UNITED have confirmed that Anderlecht defender Chancel Mbemba is the latest player to have moved to St James' Park. The Magpies have received a Governing Body Endorsement (GBE) for the player at an FA hearing held earlier today and now
Terry's horrible day at YorkYORK’S very own horrid history will take centre stage in the activities for children in this year’s Jorvik Medieval Festival, with Horrible Histories author, Terry Deary, bringing his diabolical descriptions of the Seven Ages
Ian Kelsey and Patrick Robinson, two of TV’s most dashing leading men, are set to star in a new production of The Shawshank Redemption coming to Newcastle Theatre Royal in the autumn, October 19 to 24. Long-running star of BBC’s Doctors Kelsey will play
A CHARITY which strives to bring about positive social change has been shortlisted for a national volunteering award.Willington Community Action (WCA) triumphed over hundreds of organisations from across the North-East in the regional heats of the Lloyds
A NEW library and customer information centre held its official opening today (Thursday, July 30) following a £2.7 million refurbishment.The combined facility sits on the site of the former Art Gallery and council offices in Billingham and was opened
A POACHER who was caught by a farmer in Barnard Castle has been fined after pleading guilty at the eleventh hour.John Paul Critchlow, 18, entered his guilty plea at Darlington Magistrates’ Court today (July 30), minutes before he was meant to go on trial
GUESTS were bowled over at the opening of a lunch club with a difference at the region’s leading cricket ground.Dining By The Boundary is a stylish new lunch club for older people which has opened at the home of Durham County Cricket Club.Director of
ROADS minister Andrew Jones MP has spoken of the importance of the A1 Leeming to Barton upgrade for the region’s economy and in promoting the engineering trade.Mr Jones visited construction sites along the A1 to see how the £380m scheme is set to improve
Deer Shed 6 Festival, Baldersby Park, Topcliffe, North YorkshireTHE sold out event was most definitely a family affair. Young families abounded. Even one of the performers commented he’d never seen so many children at a festival. Rock’n’Roll here means
A MAN has been arrested for "hijacking" a Winnie The Pooh toy car from a supermarket. CCTV footage showed the man sitting on the toy car and driving it out of the store in Belarus. An arrest was made after a police appeal and the guilty man
A TEAM of healthcare workers will take on a demanding challenge this weekend to raise money for charity.Staff based at the Hopewood Park Hospital, in Ryhope, Sunderland will take part in the gruelling Total Warrior challenge in the Lake District on Saturday
RECENLTY-APPOINTED North East Chamber of Commerce President Mike Matthews is using his new post to raise awareness of something he is passionate about – apprenticeships.The Managing Director of Nifco UK met with students of Unity City Academy, Middlesbrough
A RAPIST who attacked a 34-year-old woman in Middlesbrough is being hunted.The incident occurred at around 10.40pm on Tuesday (July 28) when the woman left the Junction Pub, at the junctions of Borough Road and Union Street.The victim was approached by
STUNNING fire gardens, circus troupes, live art and comedy will all be on show from today as Sirf returns to Stockton Town Centre with more than 100 shows. The festival, which runs until Sunday, will celebrate the redevelopment of the area with four days
A MAN has died after falling from a bridge in Newcastle. At 3pm this afternoon police were informed a man had fallen from the High Level Bridge in Newcastle "Emergency services attended and the man was found on the Swing Bridge below. He was
A NORTH-EAST firm that helps fight cancer, terrorism and nuclear pollution has reported rising revenues and plans for an £11m shareholder offering. Kromek, based on the NetPark technology site at Sedgefield, County Durham, showed a 36 per cent rise in
A MOTORCYCLIST has died following a collision with a car on one of the main routes across North Yorkshire. The man, in his 60s, suffered serious injuries in the crash on the A170 near Thirsk and was then pronounced dead at the scene. The accident
POLICE have renewed their appeal to trace missing 68-year-old Peter Bond - after he was spotted in the centre of York. Mr Bond disappeared from the Acklam area of Middlesbrough at around 4pm on Tuesday (July 28) and his family are growing increasingly
A SUPERMARKET will launch its new local charity of the year this weekend.Sainsbury’s in Sedgefield turned to its customers when choosing a community cause to support over the next 12 months.Hundreds voted in store and online and Stray Aid, a Coxhoe based
AS you enter Richmond from Scotch Corner, there is a startling culture clash. A modern petrol filling station, thrown up cheaply, sits cheek-by-jowl with a medieval churchy building. The garage’s garish digital lights flash on a large red plastic display
LONER Liam Lyburd cut himself off from reality and threw himself in to an illicit online world. He had not been outside for months when his house was raided, existed on takeaway food paid for by other people's Paypal accounts and spent entire days
TWO men accused of stealing almost £18,000 pension money from an elderly cancer sufferer insisted they both acted in his best interests.Lee Renton and Mark McCarthy are said to have befriended the 79-year-and collected his pension when he was too unwell
How a reclusive, social misfit acquired powerful Glock semi-automatic handgun and nearly 100 rounds of expanding ammunition without leaving his bedroom was a troubling aspect of the case. So just how did he do it? The loner was an internet
A SHARP shaving barber has made an art out of creating intricate holiday haircuts for boys.The minute the bell rings for the last day of a school term boys start flooding into Alice Gray’s barber shop in Ferryhill, County Durham.For many schools, hair
AN artificial heart pump the size of a golf ball could transform thousands of dying patients' lives, the North-East surgeon who implanted the first in the world has said.Retired father-of-three Harry Chivers, 63, was the first person to have the Miniaturized
YOUNGSTERS will be put in danger if street lights are switched off along the route they walk to school, according to town councillors.Durham County Council plans to reduce lighting along the A167 to cut carbon emissions and save cash but Ferryhill, Great
A FAMILY hit twice by cancer has raised enough money for a charity to send another family on holiday.Carolyn and Jason Mann, of Spennymoor, County Durham, wanted to raise funds for Sara’s Hope Foundation to thank them for support they received when their
THE University of York and North Yorkshire Police are collaborating on an ambitious project to come up with new approaches to dealing with people with mental health problems.The initiative was recently awarded a million pound grant and will aim to change
A FAMILY-run cheese company is reaping the rewards after re-launching a product to mark a fresh start two years ago following family tragedy.Richmond-based The Swaledale Cheese Company, run by brother and sister team Louise and Sam Reed, has picked up
A TEENAGER has been convicted of planning a massacre at his former college after he amassed a fearsome arsenal of weapons. How did Liam Lyburd get his hands on a powerful Glock semi-automatic handgun? Liam Lyburd - the loner who planned mass
SNOOKER   WORTHINGTON CIU Summer League Meadowfield and Hunwick A continue to share the top spot in the First Division after both recorded odd point victories. Fishburn A were the visitors to Meadowfield, where they
QUOITS   ZETLAND LEAGUE                    Croft lost their unbeaten record when the visiting Willow Tree won by three points, but followed that reversal
POOL   BISHOP AUCKLAND League Cockton Hill Club were taken to the deciding Captains’ game before they left the Aclet in the clash between the two new teams in the league this season. The Aclet had two singles wins from
GAMES   CROOK TRI-ANGULAR League Darren Melderis hit two 180’s for the Crown, who only dropped one point at Cottles to move 21 points clear at the top of the darts section. Darts results: Tow Law New
DOMINOES   CROOK & District League First Division results (Captains’ in brackets); Travellers Rest B 5 (1) Mill House B 2; King’s Head B 4 Howden Australian 3 (1); Crown A 3 (1) King’s A 4. Mill House A had a bye.
DARTS   FIRST 9 darter for Dave Dave Prins, who plays for Easington Colliery Club hit his first competitive nine dart finish in his illustrious career. Playing against Paddy Lenagh in the quarter final of the Durham
BOWLS   STELLA LOGAN League Durham Ladies B team failed to upset the league leaders from Lancashire when they took one point from their visit to Bolton. The home team won by 127 shots to 95 to take ten points.
ONE of the UK’s top Michelin starred chefs has joined forces with Middlesbrough College to help them deliver world class training to catering and hospitality students. Frances Atkins, one of just six female Michelin starred chefs in the UK, is
POLICE have hailed a “day of action” tackling anti-social behaviour, shoplifting, littering, rough sleeping and parking problems as a success. Police officers and Police Community Support Officers (PCSOs) from the Durham City Neighbourhood team
THERAPY rooms at a hospice have been given a five-star makeover. New furnishings and a sophisticated sound and light system were unveiled today (Thursday, July 30) at St Cuthbert’s Hospice, in Durham. The refurbishment was paid for with £4,860
IMAGES of two women wanted following an assault in a Newcastle bar have been released. It happened between 1am and 1.30am on Sunday, May 31, when a woman was assaulted inside of Idols Bar, Newgate Street. Officers investigating have now released
LOSING to League One opposition might not be the ideal preparation ten days before the start of the new Premier League season, but Dick Advocaat insists he will not be pressing the panic button despite Sunderland’s 2-0 defeat at Doncaster Rovers.
MORE volunteers are being urged to take part in a theatrical spectacular that promises to bring the history of Britain to life. The Eleven Arches Night Show in Bishop Auckland needs an extra 240 people of all ages to turn the epic-scale stage show
RIVERSIDE footpaths will be closed next month as work gets underway to improve safety on a stretch of river where a teenage student drowned. Work will start in August to improve riverbank safety on a footpath along the banks of the River Wear in
MORE than 1,000 youngsters have been given first-hand advice on the dangers of construction sites - from the builders of a £34m highways project. Representatives of Wills Brothers, who are building the Bedale bypass, visited 12 primary schools
AN EVENING of cycling and fun will get underway next month. The bike4Life project will be launched at Bishop Auckland’s Market Place from 5pm on Wednesday, August 12. The event, organised by Velo29 and Durham County Council, offers a number
A KEEN walker is set to take on a 300 mile charity ‘saunter’ to find the twin to his favourite pub. Ian Thurman, 58, is set to walk from The Strathmore Arms, in Holwick, County Durham, to the only other pub to share the name in the country, in his home
A RECYCLING centre that was set up on a trial basis is to stay open a year longer than planned.There has been such high demand for the mobile recycling centre at Frosterley that Durham County Council has decided to keep it going until August 2016.The
THE annual Borrowby Show was largely spared the downpours that hit less fortunate showgrounds this week and benefited from a new improved layout. The 67th Borrowby Show and Gymkhana had an increased number of sheep entries after last year’s plea
THOSE who find themselves in temporary financial crisis and cannot afford to feed themselves or their family are being offered a way to find help. A new website has been launched giving easy to follow advice for those in difficulty in the Hambleton
SOMETIMES it feels as if we are living in a parallel universe to our children. Technology is moving so fast, I can’t keep up with everything they’re into. And the terminology they use baffles me. I don’t understand Instagram and Snapchat. And when
HAPPIER things were meant to fill the right-hand page of today’s column. Deaths have overtaken them. Three men familiar to Backtrack readers have passed on in the past two weeks, among them the delightful Tom Ward from Hunwick, near Crook.Tom had featured
PELAW Grange Greyhound Stadium is at the top end of Chester-le-Street, alongside the East Coast main railway line and for years was the only dog track in the Good Beer Guide. Last weekend they held a beer festival, a thoroughly enjoyable occasion
A TRAIN manufacturer which is creating more than 700 jobs in the North-East has won the £360m contract to make high speed trains to run between London and Cornwall from 2018. Hitachi, which is about to open a new £82m facility at Newton Aycliffe
ORGANISATIONS and charity groups on Teesside interested in receiving The Hillstreet Bursary Scheme are being reminded that they have just one day left to apply.The bursary scheme has already received more than 50 nominations from local groups, organisations
A MIDDLESBROUGH school is expanding its care provision for early-years children with the opening of a new facility at the start of next term. Park House at Ayresome Primary will provide 15 hours of care and education for eligible two-year-old children
Tickets for Hartlepool United’s trip to York City - the club's first League Two away game of the campaign on Saturday, August 15 - go on sale to season ticket holders at 10am on Monday from the club ticket office. Season ticket holders have until
GREEN-FINGERED children at a farm-based day nursery are getting hands on experience in the garden.High Bank Day Nursery in Stapleton, near Darlington, has launched a weekly gardening club for its pre-school children, who are aged three and four.The club
Former Top Gear hosts Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May have signed a deal for a new motoring show with Amazon. The trio left the hit BBC show after Clarkson was dropped following a fracas with a member of the production staff.
AN ‘innocent hero’ is how detectives described a young man who has died of severe head injuries after trying to save his friend from a beating. And police believe members of the community hold the key to tracking down the killers who they believe
STEVE McCLAREN thinks £14m new-boy Aleksandar Mitrovic has the “devil in him” to do some damage on the Premier League stage after making his first appearance in a Newcastle United shirt. The Serbian striker only started training with the first
A TEENAGER arrested following the death of a young North Yorkshire musician is now in police custody after being released from hospital. Student Liam Paul Miller, who was 20, died of multiple stab wounds after an attack on Hamilton Drive, in the
NORTH Yorkshire was the only area in the North where the elderly can go to enjoy a long, healthy and safe retirement. Devon came out top of the league table compiled by Prudential, which used census data and results from the insurer's own retirement
A MILITARY fanatic who repeatedly exposed himself and performed a sex act in front of his neighbour says he does not believe he caused his victim any distress. Ken Ward, 67, harassed Mandy Dunford in the lanes and fields around their remote properties
A DRIVER had to be cut free by fire fighters after her vehicle left the road and overturned. The accident happened shortly after 7am this morning (July 30) as the Nissan Qashqai was being driven along Pelton Lane, between Newfield and Grange Villa
MIDDLESBROUGH manager Aitor Karanka believes his side are showing signs of being ready for the season ahead after second-half doubles for Kike and the excellent Albert Adomah saw off League One Barnsley. Middlesbrough were the better side throughout
A KIND-hearted cleaner has been praised for re-uniting eight people with their lost mobile phones in just five weeks. Graham Bradley’s recent record came to the attention of his employers, Durham County Council, after he returned a lost driving
AN ‘arrogant’ young driver who caused a head-on crash by crossing a solid white line onto the wrong side of the road claimed his victim should have moved out of his way, a court heard. Kyle Garforth’s “moment of madness” on the A6072 near Shildon
Hebburn manager Scott Oliver is delighted that last season’s top scorer Channon North has agreed to stay at the club. North was the leading scorer in the second division but he has turned down overtures from other clubs in order to stay with Hebburn
A DISABLED pensioner who inspired global sympathy after he was mugged is selling his house that was funded by well-wishers and will move to the Shetland Islands after getting a "calling from God". Committed Christian Alan Barnes has only lived
A NORTH-EAST golf professional has made an incredible return to competitive action after recovering from a rare medical condition which threatened to end his playing days.Kevin Jackson, the head PGA Professional at Ramside Hall Hotel and Golf Club, is
Atlantic: the Wildest Ocean on Earth (BBC2, 9pm) THE dangerous life on the ocean waves is probably best seen when the TV cameras capture a fishing trawler bobbing like a bath toy on massive North Atlantic seas. "It only takes on bad lump of
A MAN who led a fatal kayaking expedition on the River Tees has appeared in court.Andrew Pullan was pulled under the water at Whorlton Lido, near Barnard Castle, after his canoe capsized on the afternoon of Saturday, October 26, 2013.The 47-year-old was
A MAN has told how he was regularly beaten and other children sexually abused during his time as a pupil at a former approved school. The man, from South Shields, said staff at Stanhope Castle approved school had “carte blanche to do whatever they
A HOMELESS man who attacked his mother when she refused to let him stay the night has been spared jail. Shaun O’Connor had repeatedly shown up to her Darlington home on July 13 and shouted for her to let him in - despite being asked to leave several
A YOUNG driver who crashed into a parked car, leaving its passenger fighting for her life, is behind bars. Matthew Dale, 20, lost control of his turbo-charged Vauxhall Corsa and crashed into a Citroen C3 parked outside the Grand Electric Hall pub
JIM TAGUE (HAS, July 26) yet again fails to let the truth get in the way of a good story. Under Harold Wilson living standards went up. It’s worth noting that Wilson kept us out of Vietnam during this period, a noteworthy achievement conveniently
French police are losing the battle to prevent migrants attempting to enter the UK. As the summer holiday season getaway begins Nigel Burton wonders if France is becoming a holiday no-go area THE scale of the crisis facing police at Calais was
A GROUP from the Jim Connell Society travelled from County Neath to the 131st Durham Miners' Gala recently and we were not disappointed. We were picked up in Newcastle on Friday morning and taken to the Miners Hall in Red Hills where we met up
THE year 1976 was a glorious summer. The nation still had access to televised cricket and the wonderful West Indians toured with the Test Matches being played out on parched grounds. I was a manager in a garment manufacturing factory, a job for
I HAVE heard a report of a most alarming nature and I would like to ask a series of questions. Am I right in thinking the MRI Scanner in Darlington Memorial Hospital is owned by a private company? Is it true the NHS pays between £800 to £2,000
CHRIS FOOTE-WOOD needs to get a life. The creation of the Angel of the North is not, in my opinion, a hymn to one man’s ego. The Angel celebrates the fact that Christianity in the North-East of England shaped our religious beliefs throughout
REGARDING Alex Salmon’s prediction that a “second Scottish independence vote is now inevitable” (Ech, July 27). As a one-time hard-line British Unionist I hope he is correct. However, I think there is now a more compelling argument to have
TO me, the lesson from the Lord Sewell story (Echo, July 27) is that everyone should be accountable. I part company from The Northern Echo editorial when it wants to exclude the press. The recent inquiry into the press showed how inadequate
TO celebrate 75 years – actually, it is 76 now – of the Citizen’s Advice Bureau, we have been commissioned to produce a publication on its history in County Durham and would like to flesh this out with real experiences. CAB was founded on the day
