THIS week, 15 years ago, a Christian burial site from the Dark Ages was found in the grounds of a school.

Hailed as one of the most significant historical finds in the North-East, 80 skeletons dating between the seventh and ninth century were discovered buried beneath Bishopsmill School in Norton, near Stockton.

Peter Rowe, sites and monuments officer for Tees Archaeology, said: "This is one of the best finds in recent years. We've had other very early Christian burial sites in cathedral towns such as York and Ripon, but this is the furthest north.

"A few years ago, a man found three skeletons under his patio in nearby Bradbury Road. We suspect they were part of the same big cemetery.”

Meanwhile a grandfather was awarded his degree, 57 years late.

Victor Newman, 82, studied a degree in Naval architecture at Durham University and passed all his exams except one in his final year, in 1945, when a resit proved impossible due to the war.

Years on, he finally graduated from King's College, Newcastle, which was part of Durham University until 1963.

Living in Point Piper, New South Wales, Australia, with his family, Mr Newman was delighted to receive his degree.

He said: "I am really pleased I can officially call myself a graduate. I have had great pleasure in showing my grandchildren my degree certificate."

And in County Durham, a ten-year-old girl became the latest victim in a bizarre spate of gangster-style drive-by shootings – with a paintball gun.

She was left shaken and covered in luminous paint after she was shot from a moving car in Stanley.

It was the fourth such paintball attack in the area within a week, prompting police to warn that the pranksters could cause serious injury.

Acting Detective Inspector Vic Deanes, of Derwentside CID, said: "Shooting someone with a paintball gun may seem like a harmless prank, but it is dangerous."