Whitby Town 3 Darlington 0 GRAEME ARMSTRONG made his much anticipated comeback after injury as an otherwise depleted Darlington side lost their last pre-season match 3-0 at Whitby Town. Six trialists were in a starting XI that included only
DICK ADVOCAAT remains hopeful that Sunderland will make another couple of additions before the transfer window closes, with French midfielder Yann M’Vila now topping the club’s list of targets. The Black Cats rounded off their pre-season programme
HARTLEPOOL United’s pre-season preparations ended with a single goal defeat to Chesterfield. Pools, after being thumped at home by Scunthorpe and then shipping five at Gateshead last weekend, were much improved against League One opponents.
ALMOST 200 children and young people have attended sports camps over the last fortnight.Durham Gilesgate Youth and Community Association has been holding its annual summer sports camps at its base off Bradford Crescent, Gilesgate, Durham City.One course
DURHAM’S Police and Crime Commissioner has confirmed he will not be signing a petition to legalise cannabis as activists declare war on prohibition.PCC Ron Hogg made international headlines last week after telling The Northern Echo that Durham Police
JUST think - only another 56 days to go before new Magpies boss Steve McClaren faces the real Hazard. On this occasion, Eden’s little Belgian brother Thorgan Hazard proved the difference, slotting home in the 65th minute to hand Borussia Monchengladbach
JEREMAIN LENS claimed his first goal in a Sunderland shirt as the Black Cats rounded off their pre-season programme with an impressive 1-0 win over German side Hannover. Dick Advocaat’s side outplayed their Bundesliga opponents for the majority
DESIGNS for the revamp of a city park are to go on public display.Wharton Park, in Durham City, is currently undergoing a £3m Lottery-funded refurbishment.Designs for part of the project will be on show at the former tourist information centre in Millennium
A SPLASH of colour help people to remember their loved ones while supporting the work of Teesside Hospice.The charity's annual Sunflower Appeal dedication campaign has been officially launched and throughout the month of August beautifully crafted sunflowers
PEOPLE living in the Lustrum Beck area of Stockton are invited to a drop-in session next week to learn more about the next stage of a £3m flood defence scheme.Stockton Borough Council and the Environment Agency (EA) are preparing to start work on the
IT WAS a quiet week at Witton Castle Lakes, no doubt due the much increased activity on the rivers. We welcomed 50 visiting anglers, and with the lakes fishing better this week, they returned a decent rod average of 3 fish. Once again bags were kept
STEWART DOWNING made a satisfying return to the Riverside Stadium this afternoon as Middlesbrough ended their pre-season schedule with a narrow 1-0 victory over Spanish side Getafe. The former West Ham playmaker, after completing a £7m move from
YOUNES KABOUL will make his first Sunderland start alongside Sebastian Coates as the Black Cats round off their pre-season programme with a game at Hannover this afternoon. With Dick Advocaat finalising his plans ahead of next weekend's opening
WORK has begun on a new £10m state-of-the-art venue at the home of the Great Yorkshire Show.The Yorkshire Agricultural Society has begun the demolition of Exhibition Hall 1 at the Yorkshire showground in Harrogate.It will make way for the new building
STEWART DOWNING will make his first appearance at the Riverside in more than six years in Middlesbrough’s final pre-season friendly against Getafe today. The former West Ham man, who moved from Upton Park in a £7m deal earlier this month, looks
AN eighth teenager was arrested this morning in connection with the investigation into the murder of Shane Tunney. A 16-year-old boy from the Norton area was arrested on suspicion of murder and robbery. Police said tonight he had been questioned
A YOUTH music charity has said it wants to give more money to help boost children’s music-making in the region.Youth Music, a leading national music charity for young people, has this week awarded grants to three North-East music organisations, bringing
A COURT trial date has been agreed in a case of an alleged racially-motivated assault on a disabled man waiting for a bus.John Keller was arrested in the wake of the unprovoked attack on the victim, who is said to be of mixed race, while also having physical
HUNDREDS of sleeping bags are needed to protect the region’s most vulnerable people from the cold. The Salvation Army (SA) in Darlington has launched its annual summer sleeping bag appeal in a bid to keep the town warm this winter. Organisers
A HEROIN-USER turned street dealer to pay for his own habit and make some money on the side, a court heard.David Anthony Barker’s activities came to light as a result of a report to police of three men fighting in the street on Woodhouse Close Estate,
POLICE have confirmed missing Middlesbrough man, Brian Smith, has been found safe and well in London. Cleveland Police thanked people for their efforts in tracing the 44-year-old.
A FULLY functioning merry-go-round provided the centrepiece for a spectacular performance at the Stockton International Riverside Festival last night. Carousel, performed on Stockton High Street by the Southpaw Dance Company, was billed as an edgy
A TEENAGER has had a long hair chopped off to raise money for a charity close to her heart.Katie Merritt, from Consett, had her long locks cut in public at the bandstand in Consett Park to raise funds for Parkinson's UK.The 16-year-old, a student of Consett
A MAN who made repeated sexual advances to a 14-year-old girl was yesterday (Friday July 31) jailed for three years and four months. Adam Blackett, who came into contact with the girl following a “friend request” on social media, in the autumn
AN aspiring councillor has called for tougher action against criminals - with punishments ranging from full frontal lobotomies for burglars to public floggings for fraudsters.In an open letter, Ken Robson rejected the restorative justice approach favoured
The feature event on the last day of Glorious Goodwood is the Group One Nassau Stakes for fillies over ten furlongs. Seven of the nine runners represent the classic generation and I think Legatissimo (3.10) can reverse Pretty Polly form with Diamondsandrubies
BIKERS have launched a crowd-funding campaign to take Durham County Council to court over the closure of a country lane.The Trail Riders Fellowship (TRF) objected earlier this year when the authority banned motor vehicles from Hexham Lane, Wolsingham.It
A FORMER soldier has walked free from court after driving four miles the wrong way down the A1 before smashing head on into another car. Karl Ashley Glease - who suffered horrendous injuries - ignored the warnings of oncoming drivers as they frantically
RONNIE MOORE will today find out just how much his defence has learned from its mistakes.Hartlepool United play their final pre-season friendly, when Chesterfield visit Victoria Park. Last weekend, Pools lost 5-3 at Gateshead, the defeat coming after
KEVIN BURGESS describes himself as a natural leader and is eager to take the armband should captain Gary Brown leave Darlington before the start of the season. Brown remains on the transfer list, a fortnight after announcing he wishes to leave
ANDREW GALE would like to see an FA Cup-style straight knockout format in the Royal London one-day Cup, including some club sides, as a way of easing the hectic schedule for county teams.The Yorkshire skipper says his side’s run of seven group matches
I’m at Thirsk this afternoon for five rides, with the last at 4.10pm, before heading to Hamilton for the 7.15pm and the first of four mounts. I have two hours and 40 minutes to get there before I need to weigh out. It’s going to be tight and any hold-ups
Hornby Park is set to host some of the major teams in club cricket over the next two days with Seaton Carew meeting NYSD leaders Richmondshire this afternoon, and tomorrow welcoming NEPL giants Chester-le-Street, alongside Yorkshire Premier League table-toppers
Dawdon continue their quest for Durham Cricket League title glory with a home game against Crook Town which will no doubt rekindle memories of that staggering match back in late May when the two sides first met. On that day Dawdon made 198, and Crook
STEVE McCLAREN can’t wait to build up a rapport with Newcastle United’s supporters, starting when he takes charge of his first game at St James’ Park this afternoon. After a pre-season schedule which has taken in Tyneside, the American north west
STEWART DOWNING thinks Middlesbrough will be in a stronger position to push for promotion back to the Premier League this time around – particularly once Aitor Karanka has finished his summer recruitment drive. Downing is Boro’s marquee signing
SUNDERLAND might be working on a replacement for Connor Wickham, but one of Dick Advocaat’s earlier summer signings has described the relief he feels after securing a future on Wearside.South American defender Sebastian Coates spent last season on loan
THE NORTH-EAST'S biggest council, facing cuts of more than £250m, is reducing its chief executive salary by £15,000 a year.With George Garlick due to retire from Durham County Council in January, the Labour-led authority has decided to cut the annual
MORE than1,000 students are following A-level Citizenship courses, including many at Queen Elizabeth Sixth Form College in Darlington, as part of their overall GCE A-level programme.This is to be welcomed by all those who want to see a ‘politically, economically
AN interactive website has been launched in a bid to raise awareness of rural crime. FarmWatcherUK, a County Durham based online community, takes alerts from regional and national police forces and broadcasts them quickly through social media networks
WHEN will our farcical judicial system realise that giving someone a ten year custodial sentence in 2009 for killing two innocent people should mean ten years not months (Echo, July 29)? If Anthony Whittaker had still been behind bars he would
I WAS fascinated by a series on the BBC regarding the work carried out at Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children. That was medicine at its finest. The doctors and consultants are the best in the world. Sadly some of the poorly children didn't
WHEN I first read the article ‘Loving Hungry Holiday Club’ ( Echo, July 29) I was quite shocked that young children were going hungry over the prime holiday time. However, upon also watching local news on television recently and seeing the inside
WITH the cost of benefits high on the political agenda, I would like to raise a couple of questions. Firstly, why do recipients on mobility payments get a free top-of-the-range car every three years? The bill for this must run into millions of
THERE have been several letters of late praising Darlington Borough Council for the town's wild flower meadows. So let's add a bit of praise for the same thing in the Bishop Auckland area. The West Auckland bypass is now bordered by cornflowers
WHY is it that whenever David Cameron opens his mouth he puts his foot in it? He recently demonised perfectly decent Muslim communities up and down the land. He talked about ‘British values’ but we should remember how many innocent people we
