A 57-year-old man is recovering in hospital after a collision with a bus.

The accident happened in Prince Consort Road, Gateshead, at 2pm on Monday. The single-decker bus was travelling North. The injured man was taken to Newcastle General Hospital with head and chest injuries. The road was closed for about two hours while police carried out investigations. Anyone with information is asked to contact Northumbria Police Motor Patrols South on 0191-454 7555, extension 66391.

QUIET KIDS: Pupils at Consett Infants School and Nursery kept quiet to raise money for charity. The youngsters took part in the Hold Your Tongue Challenge and kept quiet for ten minutes to raise cash for Macmillan Cancer Relief.

PARENT GROUP: A support group for parents of children aged up to eight starts in St Stephen's Church, Holly Hill Gardens East, South Stanley, on Monday, February 24, between 9am and noon. For details, call (01207) 581158 or (01207) 233338.

ALLOTMENT COURSE: Environmental group Groundwork West Durham will hold a conference on allotments in Collingwood College, Durham, on Saturday, March 8, between 9.30am and 1pm. Places are limited to two per allotment site and can be booked by calling (01388) 662666.

PRAYER DAY: Three Derwentside churches are holding services to mark Women's World Day of Prayer, on Friday, March 7. Services take place at 2pm in Christ Church, Consett, where the guest speaker will be the Reverend Linda Potter, and in St Joseph's Hall, Leadgate, at 2pm. Blackhill Methodist Church is the venue for the final service at 7.30pm, when the guest speaker will be Susan Newton.

MEADOWS HIKE: Chester-le-Street Ramblers are staging a walk, led by Audrey Watson, to Rainton Meadows nature reserve, at Chilton Moor, near Houghton-le-Spring, the headquarters of Durham Wildlife Trust, on Sunday. Anyone interested in taking part is asked to meet at Chester-le-Street Civic Centre car park, in Newcastle Road, at 9.30am. For details, call 0191-388 3116.

ART SHOW: A display of oil paintings by Rose Grundy, of Wingate, is at the Discovery Centre, Seaton Holme, in Easington Village, until Thursday, February 27.

DIGITAL TALK: Peter Dixon will give a talk called Totally Digital from Capture to Output, when Pittington Photography Club meets on Monday, at 7.30pm, in Pittington Village Hall. New members are welcome.

SHOPS PLAN: Derwentside District Council is being asked by Project Genesis to grant planning permission for two non-food retail units on land south west of Derwentside College, Front Street, Consett.