A GROUP campaigning to reinstate the Ridings of Yorkshire is holding a public meeting in the region. Leading campaigners for recognition of the area's status as part of Yorkshire will take part in an open discussion at the meeting in Thornaby, on Thursday
BUDDING young farmers have held their own cattle show. Durham School has had a Highland Cattle herd for 21 years and at the weekend it held its first ever mini-show for pupils aged 12 and 13. Parents were invited to see their efforts in getting the animals
Leeds manager David O'Leary now knows miracles do happen as United's Champions League prayers were answered in one of the world's great footballing cathedrals at the San Siro. It was the result both sides wanted as Leeds gained the point they needed to
Sir Alex Ferguson's trust in his players was vindicated as Manchester United secured their place in the next stage of the Champions League, but only after a characteristic heart-stopping moment late on at Old Trafford. There may have been up to £30m in
INTERPRISE 2001, Technologies for the Future, organised by County Durham Development Company (CDDC), promises to be next year's biggest business partnering event in the region. The event will focus on scientific innovation, medical technology, biotechnology
FURIOUS residents planning to block County Durham's first bail hostel say a Home Office report backs up their arguments. There has been outrage since plans were announced last month for a 25-bedroom bail hostel in the centre of Chester-le-Street. Public
The result of the race for the US Presidency was yesterday delayed for at least 24 hours after a night of drama and high farce. After a campaign lasting well over a year and costing hundreds of millions of dollars, the final decision on who will take
A SURGERY will be held tomorrow to gather people's views on Go North East bus services in Sunderland. It will be held on a bus parked in High Street West, opposite Marks and Spencer, from 11am to 2pm. Representatives from the company will be there to
SIR JOHN HALL last night hailed Bobby Robson and the "pensioner power'' which has brought about the regeneration of Newcastle United. Former chairman Sir John, now club president, was the driving force behind the Geordies' re-emergence under Kevin Keegan
FIRST it was Bush's victory; then it was Gore's. Then it was Bush's - Gore even called him to concede defeat. But 76 minutes later Gore called him back and said it ain't over until Florida sings. But with just 1,200 votes separating the two candidates
A man who killed his best friend in a drunken road smash failed in an Appeal Court bid to cut his six-year jail term yesterday. Graham Michael Surtees, 41, of Ridley Court, Stockton, was jailed, and banned from the roads for life, at Teesside Crown Court
HELP could be on its way to a village at the centre of the flooding crisis. Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council held an executive meeting yesterday to see what Government help could be made available to the stricken east Cleveland village of Skinningrove
A LOCAL authority has warned dog owners to keep their animals under control following a savage attack on a woman last week. Environmental health officers at the District of Easington, in east Durham, have asked all owners to make sure they do not let
WITH his attacker convicted, George Reynolds said that London would now be a safer place. Not proud of his own criminal past, George is nevertheless convinced that, in his day, on the wrong side of the law there was a code among lawbreakers. "The old
A SUSPENDED police chief revealed last night he has no plans to quit his job. Detective Superintendent Ray Mallon was suspended from duty as head of Middlesbrough CID, three years ago next month. Suspended as part of the controversial anti-police corruption
A NORTH-EAST inventor claims he could hold the key to preventing flooding in homes. Bus driver Brian Petty, 61, said his "water shield" device had proved 100 per cent successful in stopping flood water from breaching doors, windows and brickwork. Mr Petty
POLICE have reported progress in their search to find a missing North-East teenager. Lisa-Marie Perry, 17, of Lanchester, County Durham, was reported as being spotted in Durham City on Sunday, October 29, following her disappearance the previous Thursday
Craftspeople from the Northumbrian region are staging a two-day exhibition and sale at the Bishop of Durham's home, Auckland Castle. Paintings, clothes, quilting, ceramics, cosmetics, jewellery, wood and ironware are displayed by Eurocrafts on Saturday
POLICE chiefs have warned that a fuel tax convoy could pose a danger to the public, as D-Day dawned on Government efforts to head off the protest. Chancellor Gordon Brown was expected to unveil concessions in his pre-budget statement today, including
Dodmire Junior School, Darlington, has teamed up with The Spice Garden, in the town's Parkgate, to raise funds. Tickets for a three-course meal at the restaurant, next Tuesday or Wednesday, are available from the school for £7.50. A proportion of the
AN emergency operation swung into action yesterday as people desperately tried to hold back the River Gaunless from their homes. The river reached its highest point so far at South Church and West Auckland, near Bishop Auckland and police and fire crews
A FIRE brigade is urging parents to take care to avoid a repeat of an accident in which a child was badly burned. Michael McCorry sustained secondary and superficial burns over his entire body in an explosion in a garden shed, involving a tin of thinners
ONE of the great mysteries surrounding Chesterfield, a large house in the West End of Darlington, is why there should be a large house in the West End of Darlington named after Chesterfield, a town in Derbyshire with a wonky church spire. But it was in
An Aladdin's Cave of collectables goes on sale in Leyburn later this month. Auctioneer Tennants stages its autumn catalogue sale at its Dales centre, from Thursday, November 23, with the contents of a Scottish family seat and a private collection of early
FALLEN comrades from a small County Durham community will be honoured with the unveiling of a plaque more than 50 years after they gave their lives. The names of seven men from Winston, in Teesdale, who were killed during the Second World War, will finally
READERS gasping for the promised column on cigarette cards must again get their pipe; as the waters deepen, it's time once more to call out Reeth Fire Brigade. These columns over the years have had abundant mileage out of Reeth's single fire engine: there
COUNCIL workers have been urged to observe the two-minute silence on Armistice Day this Saturday. Hartlepool Mayor Frank Rogers is calling on people to respect the two-minute silence, which was reinstated in 1995, following a campaign by the Royal British
TRADERS are being urged to back a fundraising campaign to save a Couny Durham town's Christmas lights. Businesses in Bishop Auckland are having to mount an all-out effort to collect their £1,000 contribution to the cost of keeping Newgate Street ablaze
ONLY the desperate efforts of dozens of firefighters operating five separate pumps managed to prevent the County Durham village of Lanchester from serious flooding yesterday. And last night the environment agency was keeping a close eye on the Lanchester
A curate turned part-time barman in his village pub to help a community reach its charity target. Matthew Evans, a 28-year-old clergyman in the Fountains Group of Parishes, near Ripon, North Yorkshire, accepted an invitation from one of his church's neighbours
FOUR times gold medal winner in the Sydney Para-Olympics, athlete Tanni Grey-Thompson will present a string of 'Oscars' to the region's unsung heroes today . She is presenting Sport England's Service to Sport awards, to the backroom men and woman of sport
INSPIRED, tragically, by his accidental slaughter of a hedgehog with a hover mower, a poem by the late Philip Larkin concludes: We should be careful of each other, We should be kind while there is still time. If you know a better epitaph, a more fitting
ROAD closures and diversions will be put in place this weekend as major repairs take place on one of the region's roads. Work on the A179 roundabout at Hart Village, near Hartlepool, will start on Saturday, and is expected to take four days, weather permitting
THE bad weather has caused serious problems for engineers working on some of the region's bridges. Gateshead will have to wait a little longer to be home to the world's first rotating bridge. The wind and rain lasted too long to give engineers a chance
One of North Yorkshire's best-known landmarks, Sutton Bank, near Thirsk, North Yorkshire, is to be closed to traffic for three days this month to allow engineers to carry out safety work to the rock face. The work was identified during an inspection of
SCAFFOLDING has started coming down around Darlington's Civic Theatre. Refurbishments, started over the summer, lasted longer than expected when theatre staff at the Parkgate building decided to carry out as many repairs as possible. Scaffolding is coming
FREDERICK Pridham never owned Chesterfield, but his daughter Pattie remembers that it was rented from a Mr Betts, a local builder. Arthur Henry Betts was the secretary of one of Darlington's foremost builders, RT Snaith and Son, whose grand headquarters
DISABLED readers in Darlington now have a mobile library service they can use in the town centre. Wheelchair users and people who have difficulty climbing steps are unable to use the main library in Crown Street because of problems with access. The mobile
EMERGENCY workers battled to save thousands of people from flooding misery last night as heavy rain lashed the region. The beleaguered city of York was under siege for yet another night after the River Ouse threatened to peak just inches below its record
A North-East fairground has been earmarked for redevelopment. Since 1904, generations of holidaymakers and daytrippers have flocked to the Spanish City, in Whitley Bay, which has even inspired rock songs. Last night, North Tyneside Borough Council was
YOUNG people who have made a contribution to their community will have their efforts recognised at an annual ceremony in Darlington next week. The Positive Young People Awards were started in 1994 by Darlington Borough Council's Community Education Service
ONE of the region's most celebrated museums took a crucial step in its rich history as the new board of trustees met for the first time. The 12 members of the board of trustees of the Bowes Museum, in Barnard Castle, County Durham, met for the first time
MILITANT protestors last night vowed to continue their protests against fuel duty, despite being offered an olive branch by Chancellor Gordon Brown. The organisers of the controversial "Jarrow Crusade", due to set off from the North-East tomorrow, said
WITH evangelical zeal the United States has spent the past half century preaching the virtues of its brand of democracy across the globe. The 2000 Presidential Election has been a dreadful advertisement for its system of government. For a year we have
The final showdown for Darren Clarke, Lee Westwood and Colin Montgomerie starts at Valderrama in Spain today. At stake in the £3.5m American Express world championship is the European No 1 spot held by Montgomerie for the last seven years. But what all
FOLLOWERS of Simon Sherwood's stable should consider tuning into Medium Wave (3.10) for this afternoon's Racing Channel Handicap Chase at Ludlow. Sherwood's raider is trying three-miles for the first time, although based on all previous evidence the new
TWO boys who went fishing in a pond became the victims of a sexual assault, Teesside Crown Court was told. Their attacker, in Fishburn, County Durham, threatened to kill them if they said anything, so they stayed silent for three years, said Shaun Dodds
A THUG is facing jail today for stealing an expensive watch from soccer chief George Reynolds. Tayo Aladesuyi, 23, wrenched the £41,000 Rolex from the multi-millionaire's wrist and tried to prise a diamond ring from his finger during a street mugging.
HEARTBROKEN father-of-three Tony Nellist criticised the justice system yesterday after the drug addict who killed his wife received just four years detention. "He'll only serve two years, but we have a life sentence" said Mr Nellist. "This sentence is
EXPENSIVE items of jewellery, the trappings of the rich and famous, are irresistible to robbers. George Reynolds, the latest rich victim of one of London's several "Rolex Robbers", has pledged to part with the costly valuables which put his family in
BINMAN Paul Georka was cleaning the streets of Hampstead when he heard screams and saw a man being mugged in the street. Paul, 33 who drives a refuse wagon for the London Borough of Camden, was on his nightly rounds and had reached Heath Street when he
Students from Spennymoor School and Ferryhill Comprehensive travelled to Holland on a football tour. Players from years eight, nine and ten stayed in Valkenburg, and played against junior Dutch teams. The under-15s won both their matches, while the under
JUDY, the dieting dalmatian, has failed to knock the spots off her canine rivals in a slimming competition. The nine-year-old bitch was one of the ten regional finalists battling it out in the North-East heat of the Hill's Pet Slimmer of the Year Competition
FOOTBALL ace Kevin Phillips teamed up with a new strike partner to help launch a attraction at a North-East landmark yesterday. The prolific forward has earned England international honours thanks to his successful double act with Irish striker Niall
POLICE fear someone may be shielding the killer who murdered a 21-year-old heroin addict. Vicky Glass, who worked as a prostitute in Middlesbrough to feed her drug craving, was found dead at the weekend. Her naked body was discovered lying near a quiet
A NUMBER of initiatives are being set up to improve Darlington's chances in the floral "oscars". The town's moment of glory came in 1997, when it won a first prize in the Britain in Bloom competition. Darlington has fared less well in recent years, and
A FERRYHILL family are appealing for help to trace their dog, which was scared off by a firework. Angela and Gary Nutter's Bedlington cross, Taz, has not been seen since Sunday evening. Four-year-old Taz is described as a look-a-like of Alfred, the dog
SO now Tesco has to teach its staff the three Rs. The supermarket giant is so alarmed at low levels of literacy that they have carried out a £100,000 pilot project teaching people basic skills. Once the recruits - all currently unemployed - complete the
POLICE have warned residents about a gang of burglars who have been plaguing two neighbourhoods. Police in Derwentside said homes in the Blackhill and Shotley Hill area had been targeted by raiders looking for cash, jewellery, and electrical equipment
A KNIFE slash across a man's throat missed vital organs by millimetres, a court was told. His assailant then kicked him about the head and body before folding up the knife and walking away, a jury at Teesside Crown Court heard. Yesterday, Michael Jones
A MAN at the forefront of a plan to make a North-East town the most disabled-friendly place in Europe has been rewarded for his efforts. Trevor Sterling, of Stockton, has been chosen as a Community Champion by the Scarman Trust for his work as secretary
A LEGAL battle to defend Britain's imperial measurements against the metrification of Brussels opened yesterday before magistrates who will be asked to decide on a matter of constitutional importance. At the centre of the landmark case is fruit and veg
A NEW £250,000 entrance to one of the region's hospitals was opened yesterday. South Durham Health Care NHS Trust chairman Paul Trippett performed the officially opening of the development, at Darlington Memorial Hospital. The reception area will provide
ALMOST 80 houses are set to be demolished in a North-East town in a £200,000 project. Sedgefield Borough Council plans to demolish 77 houses and several garages in Newton Aycliffe and Ferryhill. The houses set for demolition include properties in Linden
THE North-East's mining heritage has been captured on video by a new County Durham production. Puddle Productions was set up at West Rainton, near Durham City, by Maxie Mason and Hilary St John, who spent two years making Brass and Banners. The video
THOUSANDS of victims of house burglaries and their neighbours will be given free security packages under a crime-beating scheme. Compass Watch, launched yesterday by Northumbria Police, will help 2,000 people in the next two years. The scheme, backed
A CELEBRATION of different cultures is being held as part of an exhibition highlighting the effects of racism and intolerance. Anne Frank, A History for Today, opened in Durham Cathedral last weekend, telling the story of Nazi Germany's persecution and
