FORMER champion jockey Jamie Spencer made a journey to Redcar pay off at the start of the month and he’s back at the seaside track for just one eye-catching ride on Tuesday (May 30). Spencer was in the winner’s enclosure on May 4 on board George
VOTERS will have the chance to quiz Darlington’s parliamentary candidates during a live online event which The Northern Echo is hosting tonight. The candidates, who are all standing to be Darlington’s MP in next month’s General Election, will be
SEARCHES are continuing in the Whitby area for a missing County Durham who is understood to be in a distressed state of mind. Julie Gamsby, 59, from Neale Street, Ferryhill, was reported missing by her worried husband on Saturday after she failed
A BY-ELECTION is taking place next month to fill a vacancy caused by the election of a new Mayor.Stockton Borough Council is holding the election to fill a space in the Yarm ward on Thursday, June 22.A new councillor will be elected to serve the ward
A CAR club has been launched to try and make it easier for visitors arriving in Durham. People arriving in Durham by train will now be able to access easier onward transport as a result of a new partnership with Enterprise Car Club.Virgin Trains East
THOUSANDS of people have taken part in a city’s biggest ever Pride event. On what could have been a grey Bank Holiday Monday, the streets of Durham were filled with rainbow flags – as well as rainbow umbrellas – sequinned costumes and brightly coloured
RESURFACING work is set to close one of the shortest streets in a city for two months this summer.Durham County Council is carrying out the work on Owengate, Durham, between July 24 and September 22.Despite being less than 100 metres long, the historic
THE organisers of popular community events have thanked their communities for demonstrating their support, despite poor weather.Crowds refused to let the rain dampen their spirits as they turned out for the 125th Richmond Meet, the Barnard Castle Meet
BUSINESS leaders have come together with a recently elector mayor to raise money for charity.More than sixty individuals, including Tees Valley mayor Ben Houchen, representing dozens of organisations from across the area took the opportunity to support
A HIGH profile member of the Labour Party was in the region this weekend to show her support in one the party’s historically safe seats. Yvette Cooper visited Bishop Auckland MP Helen Goodman and her Labour campaigners in Spennymoor on Sunday to
COUNCIL chiefs are taking to the road in an effort to get more people to join the care profession.The Make Care Matter roadshows begin in Ripon market place next Thursday when council care workers will put out deckchairs, between 9am and 4pm, and invite
A MAN is set to fulfil his wife’s last wish for him to see his favourite rock star when he visits the region - despite only discovering her dream after she had died.Karen King contacted The Northern Echo earlier this year to see if there was any way of
ORGANISERS of a balloon festival are hailing the inaugural event a success despite bad weather leaving some disappointed. Balloons InDurham, which took place between Friday and Sunday, saw dozens of the craft take to the skies above the city on
BRIARDALE, trained in North Yorkshire by James Bethell, is bound for Royal Ascot after turning a competitive-looking Zetland Gold Cup into a procession at Redcar today. The five-year-old bay gelding trounced the field, with Paul Hanagan bringing
RUNNERS are being asked to tackle fundraising at the gallop with an annual horse race with a difference.Volunteers are being invited to man the front of a pantomime horse as well as its rear to raise welcome funds for St Teresa’s Hospice in Darlington.The
A BUSINESSMAN has said his life has been destroyed by a former colleague who almost drove a luxury travel company to the wall due to his gambling debts.Steven White claims he was left with £90,000 worth of debt by the actions of Glyn Adams – the man who
THE man at the helm of a global communications and advertising agency stopped by at a County Durham school to inspire youngsters.Greenfield Community College, in Newton Aycliffe, this month welcomed Robert Senior, worldwide chief executive officer of
THE ruling party at the region’s largest authority has achieved gender parity for the first time – albeit briefly. Following local authority elections earlier this month, the Labour party at Durham County Council had 37 female councillors and 37 male
A “NON-STATUS” migrant who burgled a student property could not be sent back to his home country as he had no documentation to say where he had come from in the first place, a court was told.Haile Ghebre, who originally hails from Eritrea, was said to
TURNING 50 is a landmark birthday but Carl Sugden has no party planned - instead he is tackling a gruelling challenge to raise money for two charities.Carl, head teacher at King James’ School in Knaresborough, has set himself a "Challenge 17"
A SEARCH is underway for a missing person after clothes were found on a beach in Seaham this morning. Hartlepool RNLI carried out a search of an area between Horden and Seaham at 11am this morning, but were stood down after nothing was found after
STUDENTS are getting ready for their final production before leaving college.Performing arts students at New College Durham are putting on a show of musical Sweeney Todd from June 6-8.Lewis Pattison, 18, from Durham, is taking on the lead role before
ONE of the ancient gateways to York will be repeatedly closed to traffic this summer to allow for major restoration work on the historic structure.The project at Micklegate Bar is part of a £1.5m scheme to preserve and protect the city's medieval
SOME of the biggest names in North-East football are to play at a match in memory of a former non-league player.Former Newcastle United stars Steve Harper, Steve Howey, Darren Peacock, Keith Gillespie, Jamie McClen, and Paul Robinson will be joined by
POLICE have issued a fresh appeal to find a pensioner who has been missing since Thursday. A CCTV image has been released of 75-year-old James Hannan getting off a bus in Scarborough at 2.45pm on Thursday, May 25 - the day he went missing from
DOZENS of pet owners have attended an event to have the welfare of their animals checked.The RSPCA Middlesbrough South Tees and District Branch organised the event, which saw 75 pets brought into White Cross Vets in Middlesbrough.43 dogs, 28 cats and
NEWCASTLE FALCONS flanker Mark Wilson has been named in England’s squad for next month’s two-test tour to Argentina. The back rower shone from the bench in Sunday’s 28-14 win over the Barbarians, and has earned his place on the plane for a trip
TWO new world records have been set for the prices reached by artwork at a Dales auction house.Works by John Ridgewell and Cecil Rochfort D’Oyly John went under the hammer for record prices at Tennants of Leyburn's auction of Modern and Contemporary
A DURHAM school has received a special visit from pupils from Russia.Silver Tree Primary School in Ushaw Moor welcomed pupils from Primary School 1521 in Moscow.The two schools have been partner schools for several years after they were put in contact
PETER Pan fans can journey to Neverland and fly like their hero next month.A recording of Sally Cookson's inventive stage production of Peter Pan, filmed live at the National Theatre in London, will be screened at The Witham in Barnard Castle on Saturday
AN 'EXTRAORDINARY' piece of North Yorkshire architecture has scooped a prestigious award.Rievaulx Abbey Visitor Centre and Museum, near Helmsley has been awarded one of the Royal Institute of British Architects’ (RIBA) Regional Awards for Yorkshire.Rievaulx
NEW acts have been confirmed at a popular summer event in Thirsk.Thirsk Picnic in the Park takes place on July 8 in the grounds of Thirsk Hall and features a Michael Jackson Tribute act and Lareena’s Adele Tribute Show.Casual Sax, a female-fronted six
THE suspension last week of general election campaigning in the wake of the Manchester attack could hardly have come at a more crucial time for Jeremy Corbyn and Labour. They were suddenly halted in their tracks as they were creeping up on the
AFTER 16 years maintaining a colourful floral island at the centre of a Wensleydale village its custodian has now enlisted some help.To celebrate the millennium, Bainbridge Parish Council converted an overgrown area in the centre of the village into a
A MANAGER brought in to help the county town of North Yorkshire sell itself in the face of mounting competition from out of town outlets and the internet has taken up her post.Julia Chance is the new manager of Northallerton Business Improvement District
SPECIAL tourism signs to Wensleydale have been erected on the A1 motorway in time for the holiday season.The signs to the dale are now in place at Junction 51 at Leeming Bar following a campaign by local councillors, business leaders and MP Rishi Sunak.The
LIFE-saving volunteers who rescued a man from a river have been given an award for their efforts.Three members of the Tynemouth Volunteer Life Brigade (TVLB) were involved in the rescue of a man who was clinging to a perry buoy in the River Tyne in July
PRIMARY school pupils were given an unusual surprise recently when a helicopter landed in their playing field.The youngsters from Cockton Hill Junior and Infants School, in Bishop Auckland, were allowed to explore the Wild Cat Aircraft thanks to a visit
AN award-winning entrepreneur has urged more businesses to set up funds for good causes after presenting a financial boost to a mental health charity.Sara Davies MBE, who grew up in Coundon, County Durham, launched Crafter’s Companion from her bedroom
UP to £250,000 will be ploughed into the community if plans for a new housing development on the outskirts of Bishop Auckland are given the go ahead.Developer Kenley Holdings wants to build up to 150 two, three and four bedroom homes, together with some
A BEVVY of North Yorkshire hostelries have made the shortlist to find the county's best boozer.Welcome to Yorkshire have launched their annual Yorkshire’s Favourite Pub competition and due to an unprecedented number of entries this year, the shortlist
TEENAGERS caught playing with air rifles have sparked a police safety warning to parents and youngsters in a bid to keep the public safe. Officers in Spennymoor, County Durham, are urging people to look up rules over air weapons in response to
WORK is progressing on the long-term restoration of an area of woodland washed away in landslips in extreme wet weather conditions.Essential work to secure a section of Pelaw Wood, overlooking the River Wear in Durham, have been continuing in the four
A NATIONAL discount chain is set to become the latest business to move out of Bishop Auckland town centre.Home Bargains, based in Newgate Street, will close on Friday, June 30.It is believed the staff will be transferred to its other store on the out-of-town
THE family of terminally ill Bradley Lowery has accepted an apology from internet site the Ladbible after it incorrectly posted a story saying the boy had died. The site is investigating how the article came to be published and has made a £20,000
NEWCASTLE UNITED are hoping to pull off a double transfer coup as they line up deals for Barcelona starlet Carles Alena and Crystal Palace winger Andros Townsend. Having already signed Christian Atsu in a £6.2m deal from Chelsea, Rafael Benitez
A DEDICATED gardener's final wish has been fulfilled.Passionate about horticulture, Joan Drewe organised an open garden event at her cottage near Middleton-in-Teesdale in County Durham to raise funds for one of her favourite charities.Sadly, the 87
RURAL affairs, the decline of heavy industry and the continued regeneration of a diverse Parliamentary seat provides the election candidates with plenty to think about.Those three key areas are among the wide variety of concerns affecting residents of
CRIMINAL proceedings have been dropped against three men accused of robbing a pensioner of his life savings.Following an application to Durham Crown Court, the Crown Prosecution Service discontinued the cases against Christopher Barnett, Jason Hackett
A MAN has died while taking part in a vintage tractor rally in Weardale, County Durham. Durham Police are appealing for witnesses to the accident – which happened at Bollihope Common on the B6278, south of Stanhope. It happened at 11.30am on
CRAIG HARRISON is out to being a smile back to Hartlepool United.Following the misery of relegation at the end of the season amid the morose reign of former boss Dave Jones which led to the drop, Pools have turned to Harrison to revive the club. Pools
CRAIG HARRISON admits football was, for a while, the last thing on his mind. Hartlepool United fans could be forgiven for feeling the same.But the new Pools boss fell back in love with the beautiful game and never looked back; he hopes battle-weary supporters
SUNDERLAND are hoping to hold a formal interview with Derek McInnes in the next 48 hours as their hunt for a new manager steps up a gear. Black Cats chief executive Martin Bain spent last week assessing his options in the wake of David Moyes’ departure
GARRY MONK and Nigel Pearson are set for a head-to-head battle as Middlesbrough chairman Steve Gibson prepares to step up the club’s search for a new head coach. Boro will consider the credentials of Huddersfield Town boss David Wagner if the Terriers
CAMPAIGNERS have expressed concern that tougher penalties for using mobile phones behind the wheel are not deterring motorists after new figures show thousands are still doing it.Almost 6,000 drivers were caught – 181 across the North-East and North Yorkshire
