NEVERLAND is coming to the North-East for Easter with Peter Pan and his friends hosting two chocolate treasure trails in aid of a hospice. The Butterwick Hospice Chocolate Walk is back for Easter 2018 with a magical new theme based around J.M.
A MAN whose dog was found dead with severe head injuries and set on fire has been given a community order. The body of a three-year-old Shih Tzu named Charlie was found in woods behind Mead Walk in Walker, Newcastle, last March.At a trial, in November
JOE WHEATLEY has committed himself to Quakers. The highly-rated midfielder has tonight signed a new contract, putting an end to doubts over his future at the club. The former Middlesbrough youth team player has played a big part in Darlington
EARLIER this week Teesside MP Simon Clarke co-authoured a piece in which he argued that Brexit offered the region a golden chance to rebuild its reputation as a global manufacturing hotbed. “The opportunities are huge and can restore the North
THE dynamism of North-East firms sets them apart from other UK companies in the space sector, according to a national industry leader. Stuart Martin, chief executive of the Satellite Applications Catapult, was one of several speakers from across
A DOG who used to sniff out warzone bombs became "stoned" when his nose led him to a suspected bag of cannabis. Former Army dog, Kujo, was on a walk with his owner Jill Hirst near their home in Middleton-in-Teesdale, when he disappeared to investigate
A £7.4M science and technology park development has officially opened. Business leaders and dignitaries gathered to celebrate the Explorer facilities at NetPark, in Sedgefield, County Durham. The development will house facilities such as laboratories
A PETROCHEMICAL industry organisation boss has resigned from his role. Iain Wright will step down as chief executive at the North-East Process Industry Cluster (Nepic) later this year. The former Hartlepool Labour MP, who replaced the retiring
Have you heard about the West End musical hit based on the life of the County Durham teenage transvestite? Everybody’s talking about it, says Jenny Needham It was a hit West End musical based on the life a County Durham schoolboy who wanted to
As Elizabeth George celebrates 30 years of her popular Inspector Lynley series, she tells Hannah Stephenson why there's life still in the detective duo Award-winning American author Elizabeth George has a lot to celebrate, as her popular Thomas
WHERE do you live? Where are you from? Does it matter if the name of where you live, or where you hail from, changes over time? The launch of the Enjoy Tees Valley tourist promotional campaign has stirred this debate up again. The split in comments
A SECRET crime-fighting facility for specialists to tackle serious and organised crime in the North-East has been opened. Activities such as child sexual exploitation, human trafficking, modern day slavery, drug-related crimes, cyber-crime and
RAJ SINGH remains on track to take over Hartlepool United, even if the attempts to get things tied up in time for new players to be brought in to boost the fight for survival have been unsuccessful. Despite the two legal teams involved in overseeing
TRIBUTES have been paid to war veteran, Eddie Straight, who took part in the Allied Invasion, the Liberation of Belsen and the Burma campaign, who has died at the age of 97. He passed away peacefully on Tuesday, March 20 at a retirement home in
A BOY, aged seven, has broken the world record for the number of claps in a minute. Seven Wade, from Florida, managed 1,080 claps, beating the old record of 1,020.
NEWCASTLE UNITED will not find out when they will be travelling to Wembley to face Tottenham until early April.That news has come on the day when it has been confirmed the Magpies’ game at Everton has been selected to be shown live by Sky Sports.Newcastle
MILLIONS of pounds will be spent promoting the North York Moors as it is revealed that tourism generates £8billion to Yorkshire’s economy.Over the next ten years, £5million is being spent to promote the moors, with £1million being spent over the next
Joaquin Phoenix rises to the challenge of playing Jesus of Nazareth in new biblical biopic Mary Magdalene. The actor talks to Georgia Humphreys about the film’s timeliness and his own faith IT seems no role is impossible for Joaquin Phoenix. The
Greg thinks he’s happily married – until wife Marie sets the reset button on her life and leaves. Christopher Eccleston and Paula Malcomson tell Georgia Humphreys about Come Home Greg Farrell thinks he's happily married - until wife Marie sets
A BANNED driver did not wait to speak to a traffic officer who summoned him to pull over in what he said was his brother’s car, a court heard. The officer spotted Lee Yeoman trying to apply his seat belt at the wheel of a Peugeot 206 in Front Street
THE sound of the Deep South will return to Darlington this month as popular bands line up to play for a club audience.The Darlington New Orleans Jazz Club will host a band that has toured the world to perform the genre born in the United States.Trombonist
TOUR de France organisers are planning to deny Chris Froome a place in this year's race if his salbutamol case has not been resolved, Press Association Sport understands. The four-time Tour champion returned an adverse finding for the asthma drug
THERE can’t have been many people on our planet who haven’t heard of the brilliant physicist Professor Stephen Hawking.Rather fewer will have heard of stand-up comedian and TV presenter Jim Bowen, who died on the same day.Which is why Bowen, host of the
THINK you have seen the last of the snow, think again.We could yet see more of the white over the coming Easter break.While nothing is certain, the Met Office is predicting a spell of colder weather towards the end of the month and into April.Looking
A YOUNG table tennis player came out of a tough weekend of national competition determined to up his game.Jake Haygarth played in The National Cup at Grantham on Saturday and Sunday, where the top ten English players at under 12 and under 15 competed
A HOUSEBUILDER is giving away packs of flower bulbs in Barnard Castle to mark Spring.David Wilson Homes, is offering the free packs of gladioli bulbs at their Five Acres development sales office, until April 2. Gladioli grow to between two to six feet
COLLEGE students turned back the clock with a visual display of talent to help mark the centenary of votes for women.A project between Darlington College students focused on the struggle for women’s rights over the past 100 years and the battle for gender
THE man behind one of Darlington’s oldest family-run restaurants has died. Frederick Stehr, who used to run Crombies restaurant and guest house on Tubwell Row, passed away earlier this month. Mr Stehr took over the business in 1978 with his
TURNING around an often asked question of the public by (Darlington) Councillor (Nick) Wallis - “I wonder how many councillors are library users?” I truly believe that the library is an institution that comes and goes throughout one’s life. If
IT really grieves me when I see unoccupied houses standing permanently empty, in some cases they are really desirable properties. There are literally tens of thousands of these properties throughout the country and I can’t understand why this is allowed
BEING a regular traveller along Darlington’s Clifton Road, I have seen wagons at the cattle market parked at right angles across double yellow lines blocking one side of the road. Traffic wardens regularly patrol the area but seem to turn a blind
REGARDING recent correspondence about public toilets in Durham city: there are actually three of them - all unreliable, out-of-the-way and largely inaccessible.I was therefore utterly appalled to read Jennifer Morgan’s moving account in HAS (Mar, 17)
WORK has started on a woodland creation scheme that will see millions of trees planted in the North York Moors National Park. The scheme is being funded by Sirius Minerals, the company behind the development of Woodsmith Mine near Whitby, and will
THIS week, the Facebook bubble burst. The more savvy users had always had that niggling doubt at the back of their minds that this company just knew too much about us. And this week secretive data tech company Cambridge Analytica has been in
AS Michael Green suggests (HAS, Mar 19) I have taken time to visit the site that was formerly the home of Blackwell Grange Golf Club. I was greeted with a scene of pure destruction with tree trunks piled up like bodies and the stumps left sticking out
I READ with interest the letters to HAS, regarding the anomalies within the council tax method of funding local government. I started my local government career as a rates-payers rep. for Spennymoor. Rates were replaced by the community charge, dubbed
POLICE have released an image of a man they want to trace after an assault in Newcastle.At about 1.15am on Wednesday, February 7, a glass was thrown across the dance floor of House of Smith on Collingwood Street hitting a 20-year-old man on the head.Emergency
PEOPLE are being given the opportunity to have their name added to the wings of the iconic Vulcan XH558, as part of celebrations to commemorate the 25th anniversary of its final RAF Flight in 1993. In a fitting tribute to one of the RAF’s longest-serving
A TOWERING, skeletal structure of gantries, ladders and girders dominates the stage and creates a vivid sense of the dry dock and shipyard that sits at the centre of Sting’s much anticipated musical, writes Laurence Sach. 59 Productions is responsible
RUDYARD KIPLING’S beloved tale The Jungle Book has been brought to life in a magical musical extravaganza and will visit Newcastle Theatre Royal 27-31 March 2018. This exciting new production re-imagines Kipling’s famous 1894 story with a glorious
Big acts get a big top as Alexandra Burke among first acts named for Tyneside’s LGBT festival MUSIC fans attending of one of the UK’s largest, free LGBT festivals are invited to fix their Broken Heels and Don’t Stop Movin’ for the first announcement
FORMER Newcastle and Leeds midfielder Lee Bowyer has been named caretaker manager of Charlton after manager Karl Robinson left by mutual consent, the Sky Bet League One club have announced. Bowyer, who started his professional career with the Addicks
A SCHOOL dance festival has received a spectacular sprinkling of fairy dust thanks to the magical powers of Disney On Ice. The Gateshead Schools Dance Festival took place this week at the Sage Gateshead, which is organised by the Gateshead School
Malcolm Warne spices up a dining experience with a haunting tale of the supernatural LAST week we celebrated the survival of a village pub: this week we're talking about a country which closed back in 2012 and never re-opened. At least it didn't
Best known for her smash-hit Kids In America, green-fingered Kim Wilde has cultivated an obsession with little green men on her latest album, Here Come The Aliens. The synth-pop sweetheart talks to Joe Nerssessian WHEN Kim Wilde was filmed drunkenly
Certificate: 15 Running Time: 98 mins Star Rating: 3/5 SEEING is deceiving in Steven Soderbergh's hallucinogenic mind trip for a traumatised data analyst, who sees the menacing face of a stalker everywhere she turns. Scripted by Johan Bernstein
EILEEN'S Groundhog Day-style storyline finally comes to a head after months of her suspecting Pat may or may not be a killer (Coronation Street, ITV). Despite everyone else yelling their views on the rogue builder, and assorted locals going missing
OPERA North make their eagerly-awaited annual return to Newcastle's Theatre Royal with a season themed Fatal Passion. The three operas are Madama Butterfly, Don Giovanni and Un Ballo in Maschera (A Masked Ball), portraying desire, betrayal and
THERESA May has been urged to explain to British workers why the new post-Brexit blue passport will be made in France. The contract to manufacture the document, which Brexiteers see as a symbol of the UK's regained independence, is set to be awarded
THE largest gaming venue in the North-East is hosting a FIFA 18 knockout tournament on Saturday. Competitors will be able to prove who is king at the football video game and have a chance to win 2200 FIFA points. Harry Knott, who manages Harry
THE family of a pensioner killed in a town centre bus crash do not want the driver to be jailed, it has emerged. The revelation came on the third day of Michael Gilbert's trial when the prosecution offered no evidence on charges of causing death
TEAM VALLEY-based SOS Group is supporting a North East charity’s challenge to promote free cancer patient transport. Brian Burnie, founder of Daft as a Brush Cancer Patient Care, is undertaking a 7,000 mile walk to raise awareness of the charity
ROMAN gods, goddesses, myths and legends are the inspiration for Segedunum Roman Fort’s Easter break family activities. The attraction, just two minutes’ walk from Wallsend Metro station, has well established Marvellous Monday family events held
THE UK’s favourite singing show, The X Factor, is back and on the lookout for the next big breakout music stars with the audition team back on the road, scouring the country for budding hopefuls to take part in series 15 of the hit music show.And this
AS part of a 13-week consultation on its draft Strategic Transport Plan for the North, Transport for the North will be inviting people’s views at an event in Scarborough next Tuesday. Senior Transport for the North representatives will be visiting
AGE UK North Tyneside is celebrating after being awarded £167,868 of National Lottery funding to help older people in North Tyneside stay active when their life circumstances change.Age UK North Tyneside is one of a number of partners that Sport England
HC-ONE’S Fleming Court Care Home in Jesmond, is celebrating the success of its resident liaison officer, Marion McAndrew, who received a Kindness in Care Award for her work. The Kindness in Care Awards programme was launched by HC-One, a health
AN ambitious £60m programme to transform the cultural life of Sunderland will be launched to build on the momentum of Wearside’s City of Culture bid – on the same day the city’s new home for contemporary visual art will be opened. Sunderland Culture
A MAN has died in a crash this morning between a lorry and a van. At about 5.15am on Thursday morning, there was a two-vehicle crash on the A69 eastbound carriageway, just past the Throckley junction. A Transit van had been involved in a collision
STARS of the stage Danny Adams and Clive Webb have been given the ultimate accolade by becoming the 2018 inductees to the Panto Hall of Fame.The father-and-son comedy duo join the likes of Christopher Biggins, John Barrowman and Andy Ford in the Panto
A POPULAR pub is set to close. After 15 years Alastair and Claire Ross have decided to close The Oak Tree Inn in Hutton Magna, between Scotch Corner and Barnard Castle. Their last day will be Sunday, May 6. The couple came north, from London
MOVES to restore a town’s famous landmark to its former glory have been launched.For years the avenue of cherry trees lining the main A684 road out of Northallerton and Romanby towards Bedale has been a source of great pride for the community, creating
DARLINGTON manager Tommy Wright and assistant Alan White are the main speakers at a fans’ forum on Friday evening. It takes place at the Blackwell Grange Hotel beginning at 7pm, and the pair will chat about the season so far, their plans for the
HENRY McLAREN, a Durham County cricketer in the 1970s, rings after last week’s Backtrack recorded the likely demise of Lands CC, near Cockfield. “Your column usually gives me a lift, this morning it’s really depressed me,” he says. “More and more
NORTH Yorkshire County Council is hoping to generate more income to protect frontline services with the creation of a new commercial legal company.The newly formed company, First North Law, is designed to offer a wide range of specialist legal services
A MILESTONE has been reached by a charity set up to support servicemen and women affected by Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). A series of fundraising events has enabled Sapper Support to commission and erect a memorial at the national arboretum
ONE of the region’s police forces has become the only one in the country to be given the top rating for effectiveness. Durham Police has been rated outstanding by Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services (HMICFRS)
WORLD Down Syndrome Day, which took place yesterday, aims to raise awareness of the condition, and highlight how people with it play a vital role in their communities.It takes place every year on the 21st day of the third month, a date selected to signify
NEIGHBOURING villages will come together this weekend to witness the rededication of a war memorial following its restoration. A soldier statue was reinstated on the First World War memorial at Tursdale, County Durham, last month following a huge
CHURCHES in the region have been asked to remember the world’s seafarers on Sea Sunday.The world’s oldest maritime welfare charity is asking churches in Durham to remember the world’s seafarers in a special service.Congregations from around the world
BOSSES at an adventure play centre have insisted food was not to blame for a number of children falling ill last weekend. Parents raised concerns with Play Factory in Thornaby after their children, who attended a party at the centre on Saturday
A MAGISTRATE is retiring after serving communities across the North-East for 30 years.Former electrician David Balls, who is from Newton Hall, Durham, first became a Justice of the Peace at the age of 40.Now, with his 70th birthday approaching, he is
The leader of an influential health watchdog has accused NHS bosses of operating a postcode lottery, saying plans to build a mental health hospital in a town appeared to have been overtaken by a move to build another in a neighbouring district.Councillor
FIGURES released by dog-racing’s governing body have revealed that more than 1,000 animals died or were killed last year.The data, released by the Greyhound Board of Great Britain, shows 257 dogs were euthanised at track side on ‘humane grounds’, 348
A SCHOOLBOY with Down Syndrome who brightened the lives of his teachers and classmates has inspired them to "be different for a day".Seven-year-old Jack Waldock is the first and only pupil at St Andrew's Primary School, in Bishop Auckland
A BANNED teenage driver claimed he was a passenger after police ended a car chase by deploying a tyre-deflating device, a court heard.Macauley Huntley was at the wheel of a Skoda Fabia which came to police attention after emerging from Hawthorn Services
A PUPPY has been seized from a woman who flouted a life-time ban on keeping animals.The 14-week old puppy was rescued from a Whitby home in a joint operation between the RSPCA and police.The householder, a 27-year-old woman, was convicted at Cleveland
A BIKER died after he lost control of his machine and crashed into a telegraph pole, an inquest heard. Carl Fowell, 51, was riding his Honda CBR 600RR along the A170 towards Sproxton on August 31, 2017, when he left the road and hit the pole.
A TEAM of energetic students were joined by an international athlete as they took part in a The Nation’s Sport Relief Billion Steps Challenge.Sport and Fitness students from Redcar and Cleveland College were joined by GB distance runner Matty Hynes, who
A MARINE life centre has named its giant crabs after asking residents to nominate family members prone to moments of crabby behaviour. Sea Life Scarborough says it received a lot of responses after asking people to nominate their favourite moody teenagers
A HOT air balloon festival is set to take place for the second time in May. Balloon InDurham returns to the city from Friday, May 25 to Monday, May 28. Adam Death, from event organiser Durham Business Improvement District (Bid), said: “Last year Balloons
A CHARITY supporting veterans from the North-East have been given £100,000 for a project supporting ex-forces personnel back to work. Durham based charity Finchale, was given the grant from ABF The Soldiers’ Charity to provide support for 70 veterans.
A SPECIALIST charity is working to a shoe retailer to help them train staff and create a personalised service for families affected by autism.Daisy Chain has joined forces Charles Clinkard to help them develop an autism-friendly environment.The company
VISITORS at a North-East museum will be able to learn to ride a penny farthing this weekend as one of a range of pedal-powered inventions and contraptions on display.Beamish Museum, near Chester-le-Street, is gearing up its first ever Pedal and Bus Power
A WOMEN’S running group is celebrating its second birthday with the graduation of some of its members. Sisters R Doing It holds weekly running sessions for women across Darlington and Teeside, led by coaches Emma Campbell-Critchley and Wendy Thompson.Monday
LANDOWNERS near Sedgefield are seeking permission to develop a greenfield site into a pig farm housing almost 2,000 animals at a time.SR and BA Harris of, Sprucely Farm, between Sedgefield and Bishop Middleham, have submitted two applications to construct
TEENAGE girls from Newton Aycliffe have banded together to help children and families affected by cancer.Six youngsters from Us Girls Sedgefield, who meet weekly at Newton Aycliffe Leisure Centre, have teamed up with the Solan Connor Fawcett Family Cancer
DARLINGTON goalkeeper Aynsley Pears is on international duty in Poland today, but will return in time for Quakers’ game at Telford on Saturday.The 19-year-old, on loan from Middlesbrough, has been in excellent form during his time with Darlington, keeping
THOUGH it remains the permanent way, the Railroad to Wembley was temporarily abandoned last Saturday. There’s a limit to how many times the beaten track from Darlington to Thornaby may be traversed without a déjà vu view. We catch the X66 bus instead
AN MP has received assurances that a mine in his constituency will only be considered as a nuclear dumping ground if there is support from the community.Plans to re-open a North-East mine to store hazardous waste were last raised in 2011 when NPL Estates
POTENTIAL councillors are being asked to stand for a new authority due to be created next month.The City of Durham Parish Council is due to be created on April 1, with the first election scheduled for Thursday, May 3. Anyone wishing to stand can now request
THE victim of a cruel torturer has been offered future protection, in the form of a court order forbidding his tormentor approaching him or making contact.Arron Stephenson was jailed for five years at Durham Crown Court, last month, after admitting wounding
A TALENTED young rallycross driver was speeding in the moments before he was involved in a fatal crash, an inquest heard. Jordan Bowes, 19, was driving his Audi along the B1257 towards Great Broughton when he lost control on an S-bend and crashed
TEENAGERS from County Durham will take part in a Hollywood training camp after being scouted at a national show. Adara Nattrass, 16, Georgia Thelwell, 15, and Lisa Robinson, 17, were picked from a crowd as they performed at Move It, at London’s
A BOLD sculpture specially designed to be visible from space has been installed at the new gateway of a leading North-East science park.The entire structure, created by inflating and stretching stainless steel, has been designed to provide a “dynamic
BUS users who enjoy watching spectacular North Yorkshire scenery whizzing past the window of their bus are urged to vote for their favourite route.The hunt is on to find Britain’s Most Scenic Bus Route and a shortlist of some of the most stunning journeys
A MAJOR trunk road is becoming a 'mountain of litter', with some stretches of the A66 not being cleared since October, a councillor is claiming. Everything from a pink Wendy House door to a car bumper can be spotted strewn along the verges of the
COUNTY Durham and Darlington Fire and Rescue Service are launching several initiatives to increase the number of females in the brigade. Across the region, the percentage of females in the service is 4.5 per cent which has prompted the service
TENDERS have been issued to secure new contractors at the former Vaux brewery site on Wearside.Construction work was halted in January this year following the collapse of Carillion Construction, the company appointed to complete the site’s first building
A CARE home has been rated as outstanding following an official inspection.Longlast, in Stockton, which provides care and support for people living with learning disabilities, was inspected by the Care Quality Commission and improved from a previous rating
A NORTH-East hospital has become the first in the UK to implant a new device for patients suffering with so-called "suicide headaches".A team of doctors and neurosurgeons at the James Cook University Hospital, in Middlesbrough, have become pioneers
