TRAINEE police dogs were put through their paces in the Cornmill shopping centre on Friday (February 21), to the amusement of shoppers.

The dogs were given the job of sniffing out trouble from members of the public exiting the centre’s escalators. A small crowd gathered to watch the exercise as it unfolded.

WAR TIME: A series of events organised or hosted by The Bridge, centre for visual arts in Darlington, gets underway this weekend. Remembering Our War 1914 to 1918, a series of interactive sessions to commemorate the centenary of the First World War. They will take place on Saturday (February 22), from 10 to noon, at The Bridge; 1pm to 4pm at Crown Street Library and 4.45pm to 6.45pm in Central Hall in the Dolphin Centre. The sessions will give people the chance to meet local characters, handle original objects and listen to stories about life during the First World War.

ROAD BLOCKED: A broken down VW Passat caused headaches for motorists on Darlington’s inner ring road on Thursday (Febraury 20) morning. The vehicle got stuck on Stonebridge roundabout shortly after 10am. Police attended and helped keep traffic moving.

WATCH MEETING: Jim Maddan, national chairman of Neighbourhood Watch attended a meeting of Darlington Neighbourhood Watch Association on Thursday (February 20). Chairwoman Sandra Phipps thanked Mr Maddan for an informative talk and for travelling from London for the meeting.

COUNCIL MEETS: A full meeting of Darlington Borough Council will be held on Thursday (February 27), at 6pm. Members are expected to give final approval to the 2014/15 budget, which includes spending cuts of almost £14m.

ROAD WORKS: Multi-way temporary traffic lights will be installed in Whessoe Road, at the junction with Longfield Road, on Tuesday (February 25) until Friday, to enable BT to install an equipment cabinet.