TEN years ago this week, a day of discontent caused severe disruption as teachers, college lecturers and civil servants took part in the country's biggest wave of strikes for a decade.

Union bosses estimated that 70 per cent of schools in the region were affected by the industrial action, and a survey by The Northern Echo confirmed that about 300 schools in the North-East and North Yorkshire were forced to close for the day.

A further 200 cancelled some classes.

Members of the National Union of Teachers (NUT) were joined in the walkout by lecturers from the University and College Union (UCU).

Civil servants from the Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS) also walked out in a separate dispute over pay.

Staff at the two Land Registry offices in Durham City walked out at lunchtime.

The strike also affected Driving Standards Agency test centres.

All driving tests in Darlington were cancelled, while others centres ran reduced schedules.

Ian Grayson, Newcastle NUT secretary, told a rally in the city: "The reason we have taken this strike is the children. Well-motivated secure teachers, who can afford to live, will provide a good environment for children to learn in."

In other education news, a bid was announced to save more than 20 “failing” secondary schools across the region.

The children’s secretary Ed Balls, brought together council officials, leading councillors and education experts to find ways of improving results fast.

The underachieving schools fell short of a benchmark of 30 per cent of students achieving five A* to C grades at GCSE, including English and Maths.

Tony Blair announced he would sponsor 100 contestants in the Great North Run – at a cost of £50,000.

The former Sedgefield MP aimed to kickstart the fundraising efforts in aid of the Tony Blair Sports Foundation.

Mr Blair unveiled the scheme at Gateshead Indoor Stadium, appearing with Great North Run chairman Brendan Foster, who agreed to set aside the places in this year's half marathon.

Mr Blair said: "The Great North Run is at the very heart of sport in the North-East and is a facilitator for huge sums of money being raised for charity.

"The foundation also aims to be at the heart of sport in the region, so it seemed only natural that our key fundraising effort for 2008 should be based around this fabulous event."

Meanwhile, it was revealed the £1.9m overspend on a Darlington link road was down to management errors by the borough council.

There was no disciplinary action against officers and bosses vowed they would not make the same mistakes again.

The council's chief executive, Ada Burns, said that £1.9m was the maximum the council expects to pay over the budget, and she was confident the final cost would be lower.

Darlington Borough Council announced the previous November that the cost of the Eastern Transport Corridor – the new route linking the A66 to Haughton Road – had rocketed by 15 per cent from £12.5m to £14.4m.