DISTRICT councillors in Teesdale have reiterated their support for a directly-elected regional assembly for the North-East - but only just.

The council originally gave the principle of a regional assembly its backing in June last year. But on Thursday of last week, a motion by Coun Richard Bell for Teesdale to oppose the assembly was brought before the full council.

The motion was seconded by Coun Newton Wood, who condemned the proposed assembly as being of no benefit to his constituents, Teesdale, or the county as a whole.

An amendment by Coun Ken Robinson that the district council reaffirmed its support for a regional assembly was subsequently tabled.

A named vote on the amendment went neck and neck and, as it was in alphabetical order and with the vote tied at 11-11 with three abstentions, effectively the casting vote fell to Coun Wood.

To everyone's astonishment, and much amusement, a slightly confused Coun Wood called out "for, for". Coun Wood's attempts to retract and change his vote were in vain due to the council's standing orders. The amendment therefore became the substantive motion and was approved by 14 votes to 12.

Coun William Salvin, who had also supported the original motion not to back the regional assembly, said later: "I think the councillor (Wood) needs counselling."

Somewhere up North

LOCAL knowledge, and actual attendance at an event instead of simply relying on a prepared news release, can make a difference in covering a story.

An interesting sidelight emerges on coverage of the trial run of a supporting frame for the roof of the new Terminal 5 at Heathrow Airport which has taken shape on the industrial estate at the former Dalton airfield near Thirsk.

The D&S Times was joined by most regional media - some of whose fearless reporters incidentally climbed part of the 100ft structure for the benefit of television cameras - in covering the event at the premises of Severfield Rowen, where hard hats and high visibility vests were minimum requirements among the proliferation of dangerous ironmongery.

Not so in the case of a prominent London-based Sunday newspaper, one of the heavyweight publications, which picked up the story at the weekend.

One of Spectator's colleagues reports that nowhere did it mention the local firms involved in the contract, least of all the hard pressed Corus at Redcar, which needs all the help it can get in the present uncertain circumstances.

No attempt was made to explain where Dalton was, even though there is more than one in North Yorkshire, and it was said that the structure was beside the A1 motorway when a glance at a map shows that it is at least half a mile away, although still visible.

As Spectator's colleague remarks - and this is as much the fault of airport operator BAA for suggesting it - motorway drivers have enough hazards to face without looking for a tourist attraction which doesn't exist unless they turn their heads away and look across the fields for it.