POLICE have offered support to referee Michael Oliver and his wife Lucy after they were targeted on social media following Real Madrid's Champions League showdown with Juventus last Wednesday. Ashington-born Oliver awarded Real a stoppage-time
MOTORISTS faced a headache after the closure of major roads as firefighters tackle a factory fire. The A1 was also closed earlier, but has since reopened, as firefighters continue to deal with a factory blaze in Blaydon Gateshead. The Chain
A WOMAN who broke into her parents' home and set fire to a safe to try to steal money was accused of "a monstrous breach of trust" as she was jailed for more than three years. Jenna Partlett had looted the house and had bags of belongings ready
REECE STYCHE has netted Darlington a £20,000 cash bonus as well as a star-studded friendly match to be played at Blackwell Meadows after winning an online vote for the best goal celebration in non-league football this season. After Styche scored
FAMILIES who enjoyed a farm fun day at Witton Castle, near Bishop Auckland, on Sunday helped raise more than £1,000 for The Butterwick Hospice. Hospice fundraiser Milly Toner thanked events management students from Leeds Beckett University who worked
POLICE are hoping to solve the mystery of what happened to a teenager who vanished without trace 20 years ago this week. Donna Keogh was just 17 years old when she disappeared from her home in Middlesbrough in 1998. Despite numerous investigations
AFTER a long, cold, wet winter, there’s nothing better that watching a game in some warm sunshine. When the t-shirts come out it’s a sure sign the season is coming to an end. There had been signs that the end is nigh. Last week’s home defeat to
COURAGEOUS customers at a North Yorkshire social club have been praised - after they restrained a weapon-wielding man.Malcolm Paul Johnson assaulted a customer in a social club on East Parade, Harrogate, last February. He left the club but later returned
A DRIVER lost two teeth after being punched in the face and robbed while waiting at traffic lights recently. The 59-year-old was injured after being attacked by callous thieves who opened his car door and demanded cash while he waited at a junction
ONE of the region’s most historic landmarks basked in sunshine today as spring finally appeared to have sprung – as forecasters were predicting this week would bring the hottest day of the year so far.Around 100,000 daffodil heads have come into bloom
MIDDLESBROUGH’S return to winning ways could not have arrived at a better time - and should provide the catalyst for an end-of-season boost of confidence to secure a play-off spot. With ten points separating fifth place Boro from Aston Villa above
POLICE were called to reports of a fight at a village pub last night but discovered it was just a disagreement over football between two customers. Officers were called to the alleged disturbance inside The Bay Horse pub at Evenwood at 4.30pm on
AN OLD chapel could be brought back into use following a clear-up project to enable a County Durham man to bury his mother next to her late husband. No one had been buried at St Nicholas’ Church, in Providence Row, Durham, for more than 30 years
AS CHEESE goes, brie is as quintessentially French as Gitanes and Gauloises but one Yorkshire creamery is putting a Wensleydale twist on the popular delicacy. The Wensleydale Creamery at Hawes has now added a Yorkshire Brie to its portfolio of
ONE of the region's top police officers is stepping down after almost 32 years of distinguished service. North Yorkshire's award-winning Chief Constable Dave Jones is retiring from policing - and paid tribute to his colleagues for making the county
AN investigation has been launched after a fatal house fire in County Durham at the weekend. Officers from Durham Constabulary were called to reports of a house fire at an address in Medomsley, near Consett, in the early hours of Sunday morning
OFFICIALS at a social club have insisted they run a tight ship after it came underfire following a fight nearby.The secretary and stewardess of Tindale Crescent Workingmen's Club and Institute, near Bishop Auckland, spoke out three men were convicted
A TEENAGE girl reported missing from home has been found. Police in County Durham were becoming increasingly concerned for Mia Burrows' wellbeing. The 15-year-old was reported missing from the Consett area. However, this afternoon police
JD Wetherspoon is closing down its Twitter, Instagram and Facebook accounts for all its 900 pubs and head office with immediate effect following the trolling of MPs and others. The pub chain said the move also takes account of recent concerns over
VICTORIAN female cyclists developed convertible skirts to tackle social barriers, according to an academic.A number of inventive women designed garments to combat restrictive ideas about how they should act and travel in public, sociology expert Dr Kat
BRITAIN will bask in sunshine and warm temperatures this week as the country looks set to see the hottest day of the year so far.As the UK experiences its first taste of spring, just weeks after snow swept across many areas, the mercury could rise to
I AGREE with your editorial about the attitude of Darlington Borough Council over the applications for major housing developments (Echo, Apr 10). I presented two cases to the last Planning Applications Committee about why two major planning applications
WITH planning granted for 750 homes in Harrowgate Hill and Coatham Mundeville areas of Darlington, we could also need a supermarket and a community with bungalows for the retired with all the needs to look after them. And new roads to contain the
REECE STYCHE has netted Darlington FC a £20,000 cash bonus after winning a national competition. The Quakers have been awarded the figure for being deemed from a shortlist of ten to have had the best celebration this season. After Styche scored
SCOTT Mills tweeted about this story from eight years ago yesterday, so for all those asking about it, here it is. A NATIONAL radio DJ was caught up in a pub brawl after a train mishap left him stranded in a North-East town. BBC Radio 1’s Scott
A SOCIAL landlord is holding an open day to showcase immediately available properties. County Durham Housing Group is opening the doors to a two-bedroom property in Eden Close in Coundon to highlight the variety of affordable homes on offer.The event
A WEEK-LONG crackdown on speeding drivers will take place across Cleveland and Durham from Monday. Officers will raise awareness by highlighting the risks of speeding to drivers and encourage them to obey speed limits and drive at speeds safe for
THE definition of a village in my dictionary is a small group of houses in a country area, so why are planners and builders trying to get rid of villages by building more houses in them? Soon there will be no choice between town and country, and all of
THE situation in Durham City, either side of Milburngate Bridge, is a public disgrace.I know of no other city, let alone one as beautiful and historic as Durham, where the authorities would permit such grotesque trashing of the environment.True, all the
CLEVELAND Police and Crime Commissioner, Barry Coppinger, has just hit council tax payers with an inflation-busting 5.59 per cent increase, and he still demands more Government money for his force.But, Cleveland Police still has nearly 1,300 officers,
IT was disappointing to read of the poor service Peter Jefferies received from energy supplier, E-On (HAS, Apr 11).My experience with E-On was entirely different and I like to praise a power company when the need arises.I was advised through an e-mail
POLICE and mountain rescue volunteers helped a 70-year-old man who collapsed while walking on the Pennine Way on Sunday. The walker collapsed on top of a hill in heavy rain at Kirkcarrion, near Middleton-in-Teesdale, at about 3.30pm. Police
YOUR leading article and Chris Lloyd’s column in Friday’s paper (Echo, Apr 13) both centre on litter and rubbish, and plastic in particular, which are shaming our nation and spoiling our countryside and towns.As the leading article says, visitors from
WITNESSES are being sought after a woman was sexually assaulted in the early hours of the morning. The victim, a woman in her 20s, reported that she had been attacked by a man at some time between 3.05am and 6.20am in Whitby on Sunday, April 15
THREE people escaped from a burning home following an alleged early-morning arson attack. Police are investigating the fire, after being called to the home in Sunderland at 4.17am on Sunday, April 8. A Volkswagen Scirocco parked on the property
CHRIS Evans has announced on his BBC Radio 2 show that his wife Natasha is expecting twins.He said on his programme: "I'm looking forward to lots of curries and cravings."Evans added he had tried to break the news to his five-year-old son
A MOTORCYCLIST has died after crashing into a barrier. The 70-year-old was out on his bike yesterday afternoon with a group of riders when he hit a barrier on the A171 at Birk Brow, near Guisborough and suffered serious head injuries. He was
MIDDLESBROUGH’S push for the Premier League might have been given the lift it needed at just the right time, with Cristiano Ronaldo and Superman leading them out of a potentially damaging stutter. After winning just one of their previous five matches
‘IRRESPONSIBLE’ pranksters have transformed a park fountain into a huge bubble bath - sparking fears it could harm wildlife. The fountain in South Marine Park, South Shields, is likely to be out of action for some time after jokers filled it with
AN inmate caught with Spice at a jail struggling to cope with the psychoactive drug has walked free from court – sparking outrage with prison officer chiefs. A judge said he would have sent Shaun Birch back to custody if the offence had not been
A COUNCILLOR has launched a campaign to highlight dog fouling in the neighbourhood he serves after receiving several complaints from residents. The Clean it Up campaign, headed by Darlington’s Eastbourne ward councillor, Kevin Nicholson, has highlighted
THIEVES stole a set of alloy wheels from a property in Consett.Police are now appealing for information about the theft, which occurred in Bertha Street, on February 26.Officers have released CCTV images of the suspects and appealed for help to identify
A SINGING group has been awarded a grant of more than £3,000 to provide musical activities in the community. Sing Together was set up by volunteers for people with dementia or Parkinson’s disease and their carers. Music has been proven to unlock memories
A ONE-PERSON show exploring the effects of kindness and cruelty is to tour North Yorkshire libraries.Poet and performer Andy Craven-Griffiths ran workshops in libraries in the county earlier in the year to gather stories of kindness from people of ages
A PUBLIC meeting is to be held in a village in North Yorkshire, where a row over school-run parking has shattered the community’s usually tranquillity. On Thursday Carlton-in-Cleveland Parish Council will be holding its annual village meeting and
LAMBS dying and crops being ruined has been the disastrous result of one of the wettest springs many farmers can remember for decades. Relentless rain throughout March and early April has left swathes of farmland saturated and the unseasonably
IT’S hard to imagine managing director Paul Drake knee-deep in scampi entrails for a glamorous £4.50 an hour. However, Mr Drake really did start from the bottom up, moving from gutting fish to making cottage cheese, which was apparently the best
LEE Cattermole is frustrated that Sunderland have hit form too late to prevent a likely drop to League One. The Black Cats skipper headed what looked like the winning goal at Reading, only to see his side concede another late equaliser to make
CHRIS Coleman has told Sunderland’s players to put thoughts of relegation out of their minds, after they failed to take three points yet again.The latest setback, a 2-2 draw at Reading, roots the Black Cats to the foot of the Championship with three games
A MUGGER attacked a 94-year-old walking with a stick and grabbed her shopping bags – escaping with her ready-meal dinner, some biscuits and a chocolate bar. Joseph Swan blamed an allergic reaction to his anxiety medication and begged a judge for
A PHENOMENAL First World War fundraising campaign which saw a community donate the modern day equivalent of £32m in three days was commemorated on its centenary. Between April 11 and 13, 1918, the battled-scarred Tank 141 Egbert visited Bishop
A 12-YEAR-OLD girl with a curved spine is a step closer to having the pioneering treatment she needs thanks to a community fundraiser. Lauren Rennie, from Ushaw Moor, near Durham, was born with a 54 degree bend in her spine and is due to have vertebral
A NEW College Durham student who has cerebral palsy and is a wheelchair user, wants more organisations and local authorities to invest in better disability access.Eighteen-year-old Chloe Hammond, who studies media at the college, said: “I have to plan
PATRICK BAMFORD could be available to face Derby County in this Saturday’s promotion tussle with Derby County, when Middlesbrough will be looking to build on Saturday’s much-needed victory which put their play-off push back on track. The Riverside
A MAN tired of encountering discarded bags of dog faeces on his favourite footpath is urging pet owners to be more responsible.Derek Parker, from Bishop Auckland, counted 15 bags of dog waste in a 100-yard stretch of the old railway line between the Kynren
MACMILLAN Cancer Support’s Mobile Information and Support Service will be visiting Durham tomorrow, with cancer information specialists on hand to answer any questions.The team will be in Durham Market Place from 9am until 4pm and encourages anyone with
A FATHER-OF-THREE is taking a starring role in a national blood cancer campaign highlighting issues faced by patients watching and waiting for treatment. Paul Walmsley, from Sacriston, near Durham, was diagnosed with chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL
A TURBO-CHARGED car modified for high performance was involved in a short-lived, but dangerous pursuit, a court heard. Police officers in an unmarked force car spotted uninsured driver Mark Wallace on his mobile phone at the wheel of a SEAT Leon
THERESA May’s support for air strikes in Syria was gesture politics at its most cynical. Britain likes to present itself as a moral guardian of international affairs, and rightly pours scorn on mavericks such as Putin when they show disregard for
MIDDLESBROUGH para-athlete Jade Jones capped off her remarkable Commonweath Games by being chosen to represent Team England in the closing ceremony. Ms Jones claimed bronze in the T54 marathon just a week after becoming England’s first ever female
WILL he? Or won’t he get the Hartlepool United job. Only time will tell if the new group in power at the National League strugglers, Raj Singh, Jeff Stelling and Craig Hignett, will put their faith in Matthew Bates to revive this ailing club.
A BISHOP Auckland pub is set to have a new lease of life after work began on a major £337,000 refurbishment.The Station pub, in Newgate Street, is being transformed by Heineken-owned Star Pubs & Bars and new licensee and businesswoman, Cheryl Jeffrey.
