I AM surprised that Helen Goodman MP continues to make the claim that the Bishop Auckland parliamentary constituency has been held by the Labour Party since 1903. I would have thought that after 12 years as the sitting Member she would have known that
IN one of the most bizarre episodes in railway history, the station at Aycliffe was shut down just when it was needed the most. The East Coast main train line runs right through there. Newton Aycliffe has a station on the Bishop Auckland branch
I UNDERSTAND Durham County Council needs to replace old housing stock and subject to public consultation, as their replacements would be built on a brownfield site, I would not object. However, in Spennymoor, where developers are building on greenfield
JEREMY CORBYN began his electoral campaign by addressing his supporters and introducing the usual tired themes: the rich vs the poor, the haves vs have-nots and the establishment vs the excluded. Aligning himself to the politics of class envy,
I’M sick of people knocking Jeremy Corbyn. Julia Breen knocks him even at this late stage of the forthcoming General Election. What right do journalists think they have to try and influence people away from voting Labour because they don't like
WITH little other than pride to play for, takeover talk dominated the day as Darlington signed off for the season at Blackwell Meadows with a bittersweet 1-0 win over AFC Telford United. At the same venue less than 24 hours earlier manager Martin
DOZENS of supporters have shown their support for Darlington’s sitting MP as she launched her campaign to win the seat in June’s General Election. Jenny Chapman was in the town’s South Park to get her campaign underway on Sunday afternoon. The MP
Goals: 0-1: Akinde (65 turned Bates and fired a firm angled shot into the far corner) 0-2: Akinola (71, tapped in from close range after the defence was ripped apart down the flank) Bookings: None Referee: Trevor Kettle (Rutland): Pools
MORE than 800 competitors gathered to test their mettle in the fifth Stockton Duathlon Festival.Crowds lined the route to cheer on the competitors in the run-ride-run race around Stockton’s Riverside on Sunday.With a mix of elite racers and local enthusiasts
FOUR people are being questioned by detectives after the discovery of a man’s body in a house. Police were called to a house in Sunderland late on Saturday night where a man was discovered with “significant injuries”. The man who is in his
A TALENTED young filmmaker enjoyed her first taste of the high life when the pink carpet was rolled out for the premiere of her first film.Beth Ward enjoyed movie star treatment when Vue Darlington showed the first screening of her “Beth in Mexico” film
A BRAVE North-East supermum, who fought an inspirational fight against cancer, typified the spirit of the London Marathon today. Viv Pow, 52, of Hurworth-on-Tees, near Darlington, raised around £4,000 for the Beating Bowel Cancer charity by completing
DEVELOPERS are seeking planning permission for a home from home it has already built – for water voles. The retrospective application to City of York Council for land at Germany Beck, Fulford, comes as the firm hopes to start work on building hundreds
A MOTHER-OF-TWO is urging people get out and about in what she believes is an under explored part of the region.Kirsty Brien, of Cockfield, County Durham, said the vast landscape of Teesdale is accessible to everyone and opportunities to discover what
CELEBRATING the unconventional – the pretty seaside resort of Whitby has once again triumphed with its traditional Goth Weekend. Followers of the alternative lifestyle flocked to the town for the now biannual event – Goths, punks, emos, bikers
A COMPETITION to find images which represent the distinctive character of the North has closed.Selfie by Charles Bell among the final entries for a compelling photography contest which has seen The Northern Echo team up with The Bowes Museum, in Barnard
BLAYDON ensured their National One survival fight will go to the final game away to Old Albanians next Saturday when they won 40-24 at home to Rosslyn Park.They are now relying on Darlington Mowden Park to do them a favour by winning at home to Hull Ionians
HUNDREDS of pets, along with their owners, descended on Darlington’s South Park for a special fundraising event. People took full advantage of the spring sunshine to take part in Bark in the Park and raise vital funds for St Teresa’s Hospice.
PERMISSION is being sought to convert a County Durham nursery which shut down suddenly into an office.Sedgefield’s Cherry Tree Nursery, on North End, closed its doors in April, 2016.An application has now been submitted to turn the former children’s nursery
A LANDLORD has announced plans for one of the biggest housebuilding programmes in its nearly 120-year history.Durham Aged Mineworkers’ Homes Association (DAMHA) is to spend more than £12m to build 106 new affordable homes across County Durham over the
FIRE crews wearing breathing apparatus went inside a burning building to carry out a search after reports that children were trapped inside.Emergency services received reports that youngsters had been seen running from the derelict Smiths Arms pub in
BILLY SNAITH turned the tables on his former stable-mate Daniel Cope on Saturday as he claimed the Northern Area welterweight title, writes Peter Mann. The bitter rivals traded blows over ten rounds at Hardwick Hall, with Snaith deservedly getting
GATESHEAD will finish the National League season in eighth position after their penultimate game ended in a resounding 4-0 win at Boreham Wood. The Heed ended a run of four consecutive defeats as Wes York’s early half-volley provided an ideal start
COLLECTORS of all ages attended the region’s biggest stamp fair held at the weekend.Schoolchildren and more mature collectors joined dealers from around the country at the North-East of England Philatelic Association Stamp Fair and Convention held at
YORK CITY will head into the final weekend of the National League season knowing they have to claim at least a point against play-offs bound Forest Green to have any chance of avoiding the drop. The Minstermen find themselves occupying the final
AN ever-growing sport looks set to become an annual feature in the region after a competition was hailed a success.Mountainboarding, which merges snowboarding with mountain biking, returned to Spectrum Leisure Centre, in Willington, on Saturday, for the
THE population of one of Britain’s most endangered mammals, the once-common dormouse, appears to be increasing in the Yorkshire Dales.The newly-published monitoring report for the reintroduced creatures suggests numbers are up on the previous year.Dormice
LITTER pickers, young and old, turned out in force to tidy up a town ahead of a visit from the Britain in Bloom judges this week.Supporters of the Bishop Auckland and Coundon in Bloom campaign joined the town’s mascot, Bishop the Boar to clean up the
A FITNESS advisor inspired to fundraise more than £100,000 for a children’s cancer charity has been invited to the House of Commons for her dedication to the cause.Gillian Clason, a senior fitness advisor in Darlington’s Bannatyne health club, has completed
SKIPPER Paul Collingwood fell three short of a century as Durham established a first innings lead of 116 on the third day of the Specsavers County Championship match with Gloucestershire at Bristol. Resuming on 270 for four, the visitors were dismissed
Newcastle United will be promoted back to the Premier League, at the first time of asking, if they beat Preston at St James’s Park this evening and that should be motivation enough.With Huddersfield and Reading losing in the Championship on Saturday,
TRADERS fear “unfair competition” from car boot sales could damage High Street businesses in a town already working to limit the impact of a new bypass. Bedale car boot sales are held on Saturdays between April and October on the hall park
AFTERNOON tea and hats in the surroundings of a North Yorkshire historic home have helped raised thousands for charity.The Stokesley and District Marie Curie fundraising group recently organised the elegant event at Rudby Hall near Great Ayton. People
A FAMILY are embarking on a 150-mile bike ride to raise funds for a teenager with muscular dystrophy.Scott Meeking, 14, suffers from Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, a fatal muscle wasting condition which eventually causes the heart and lungs to fail. On
RNLI volunteers were called out to rescue two people in the water after their dinghy capsized on Saturday afternoon. The crew were launched at 1.15pm following the incident near the Heugh Breakwater, off the shore of Hartlepool. A Hartlepool
THE next in a series of free events for dog owners will be early next month thanks to a partnership between Hambleton District Council and Dogs Trust.The events promote the importance of health checks and microchipping – which gives assurance that if
THE summer season will soon be starting to take shape on Redcar seafront as plans are in place for the return of some impressive sand sculptures.Kick off the Summer, an annual event which is organised by community group Friends Of Redcar in partnership
BOURNEMOUTH (4-4-2): Boruc 6; Smith 7, Francis 7, S Cook 7, Daniels 8; Fraser 8 (Stanislas 72), Gosling 6 (L Cook 44, 6), Arter 8, PUGH 9; Afobe 7, King 8 (Mousset 84). Subs (not used): Allsop (gk), Mings, Cargill, Gradel. MIDDLESBROUGH
A FORMER soldier and steelworker has proven his mettle after fighting back to open his own authentic Jamaican restaurant. Mark Hill had overcome the adversity of being shot in action while serving in Iraq to become a steelworker but in 2015 he
STEVE AGNEW is refusing to accept that relegation is inevitable despite Middlesbrough crashing to a humiliating defeat at Bournemouth yesterday. Boro suffered their heaviest loss of the season as they were thrashed 4-0 at the Vitality Stadium,
A YOUNG writer who penned a short story about cancer after losing her favourite teacher to the illness has won a competition.Annabelle Foulds, ten, of Corporation Road Primary School in Darlington, was named the winner of a contest held by author and
A DEVELOPER'S plan to build another 495 homes on the outskirts of a market town have been described as "aggressive and speculative" by opponents to the scheme.Gladman Developments submitted the planning application for the housing scheme
A TEENAGER has taken his first solo flight after being selected to take part in a pilot scheme. James Kirton, 19, from Gilesgate, Durham, has been taking part in the Air Cadet Pilot Scheme, which includes 12 hours of free flying training over two weeks
A DARLINGTON pub has earned its place in a showcase of historic coaching inns turned 21st-century public houses.The George, in Piercebridge, has been celebrated by the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) and will feature in its traveller’s guide to enthusiasts
A YOUNG boy has suffered a broken leg after he was hit by a car on the A66 in Middlesbrough yesterday afternoon. The collision happened at around 4.10pm on the A66 eastbound around 50 metres west of the North Ormesby slip road. The six-year-old
AN uninsured and unlicensed motorist wrote off his friend’s high value car, while over the drink-drive limit, having ignored instructions not to get behind the wheel.Craig Bussay had previously driven the £32,000 Volkswagen Golf without permission and
PLANS for a new housing estate have been recommended for approval despite concerns over increased traffic next to a village school.Developers Prince Bishops Homes are asking for permission to build 24 homes in Sacriston.The proposals are for a 0.5-hectare
LOCOMOTIVES past, present and future came together in a spectacle to quicken the heart of rail enthusiasts and history buffs alike. In a once-in-a-lifetime event, four mighty engines rolled side-by-side along the East Coast main line in a scene that
Spennymoor Town 2 Barwell 0. Spennymoor lifted the runners up trophy in the EvoStik Premier Division with victory over Barwell on Saturday – but more importantly clinched home advantage in the play offs. With Nantwich from Cheshire and
Guisborough are now relying on a reprieve from the FA after they finished third bottom in the ENL first division when they were beaten 3-2 at home by champions South Shields on Saturday. Guisborough’s defeat means that they finish below nearest rivals
A PLAY written and performed by a talented pair of North-East college students has been chosen to be performed at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe.Harry Lidford, 19, and Con Best, 19, began working together while studying drama at Stockton Sixth Form College.The
A WOMAN stole an elderly dementia sufferer’s bank card after walking into her home, claiming to be a carer, a court heard. It was one of three houses entered by Leanne Smith in neighbouring streets in Annfield Plain, near Stanley, on the afternoon
On Saturday Darlington maintained their fourth-placed position with a fourth successive win, Mark Beck scoring the only goal in 1-0 success against AFC Telford United at Blackwell Meadows. Chris Booth caught the best of the action.
IF Darlington finish the season inside the top five they would deserve to contest the play-offs on merit, believes midfielder Phil Turnbull. Quakers are fourth and need only a point from their final match of the season next Saturday at Salford City
JEFF STELLING has quit as Hartlepool United president. In the wake of Pool’s insipid 2-0 home defeat to Barnet, the Sky Sports presenter blasted manager Dave Jones as Pools slipped into the relegation zone. And on Saturday night he informed
