Archive

  • Home rule prize may be closer than you think

    BY THIS time next year, it is conceivable that the Government in Westminster will be drawing up detailed plans to create democratic, accountable regional government in England for the first time in our history. I believe that the North-East of England

  • Renaissance man gets his comeuppance

    JOHN Prescott has the sort of lived-in, jowly face that casts serious doubts on any plans God may have to use him as a sunbeam. But even he looked more miserable than usual on Thursday as he took the wraps off his grand proposals for an "urban renaissance

  • A case of Sunniside up

    AT one end of the bitter-cold front street, squalls lashing the windows and wind of the route one variety, stood a pub called the Comedian, re-branded by a former landlord who was also a popular workmen's club entertainer. A visitor might be forgiven,

  • A case of Sunniside up

    AT one end of the bitter-cold front street, squalls lashing the windows and wind of the route one variety, stood a pub called the Comedian, re-branded by a former landlord who was also a popular workmen's club entertainer. A visitor might be forgiven,

  • Tough markets cost jobs at Glaxo

    PHARMACEUTICAL giant Glaxo Wellcome is planning to cut around 50 jobs at its Barnard Castle operation. The staff will be lost through a process of voluntary severance and early retirement. The job losses have been forced on the company by the tough global

  • Alarm as more patients go to law

    HEALTH bosses in the region are faced with paying out tens of millions of pounds for botched operations and medical mistakes as alarm grows at the soaring number of legal actions by patients. The warning by NHS managers comes as a storm raged nationwide

  • Bartering over a surplus baby

    JACKIE Brown can't believe it. She spent three years on an emotional roller-coaster undergoing fertility treatment to get the family she had longed for. After seven cycles of in vitro fertilisation (IVF) treatment in Newcastle, she conceived. Today, Jackie

  • Six in court on abduction charge

    A GROUP of people alleged to have played a part in the abduction of a North-East child appeared in court yesterday. Five women and three men, including anti-paedophile campaigner Stuart Carnie, face charges in relation to the alleged kidnapping of the

  • More chaos on the railways

    IT is becoming increasingly impossible to understand the mess that Britain's railways find themselves in. In the immediate aftermath of the Hatfield disaster, Railtrack chief executive Gerald Corbett offered his resignation. It was the right and proper

  • Let's get ready to Rumble

    THE Dreamcast may have enjoyed the shortest honeymoon of any games console launched in recent memory, but those who dismiss Sega's machine out of hand may be writing it off too soon. Sony's PS2 will launch later this month with an impressive line-up of

  • Couple who were left with nothing

    A COUPLE who went to great lengths repairing rare flooring damaged in floods, saw their house inundated with sewage-filled water just five hours after new boards were laid. Sue Robson, from Ramshaw, near Bishop Auckland, said she "pleaded with, begged

  • Town hall hosts musical

    THE 1930s musical Anything Goes, by Cole Porter, opens at Stanley Civic Hall, on Tuesday. A few tickets are still available for the show, performed by South Moor and District Operatic Society, which includes hits Anything Goes, You're The Tops, I Get

  • Liddle boost for Quakers but Nogan is released

    DARLINGTON defender Craig Liddle gave the Quakers a massive boost ahead of today's FA Cup tie with Sudbury by agreeing to stay at Feethams until 2004 - on the day striker Lee Nogan left the club. Liddle's future has constantly been the subject of speculation

  • Families meet to plan action

    TOWNSFOLK in a north Durham community are to hold a conference to discuss ways to improve the area. The people of South Consett, including the Moorside, Grove and Berry Edge estates, will develop an action plan. The conference, organised by community

  • Cathedral struggles to fight off thugs

    EXTRA staff have been drafted in at a cathedral in a bid to curb hooligans who regularly invade and disrupt Sunday services. The move comes only months after a series of vandal attacks on Ripon Cathedral, North Yorkshire, which ran up repair bills of

  • Film star Greg returns to the day job

    A RISING film star has come down to earth with a bump. Greg McLane, 17, was tipped to take the acting world by storm after his performance in Purely Belter alongside Chris Beattie, 16. The film about two young tearaways' desperate bid to raise enough

  • Teenage attackers fractured man's skull

    A GRAPHIC designer was left with a fractured skull and jaw after an attack by four teenagers. Justin McRoy, 21, is afraid to go out at night and has lost his job after the attack on July 3 last year. Newcastle Crown Court heard yesterday how Stuart Little

  • Alfie not so Keane on attack

    Alfie Haaland has accused Roy Keane of wanting it both ways following his scathing attack on Manchester United's corporate fans. Haaland cranked up the tension for today's Manchester derby at Maine Road when he said the Reds captain was wrong to criticise

  • Working out with the stars

    IT'S not every day that your job brings you into contact with Hollywood superstars - and it's even less likely that you'll end up working out with them. But that's exactly what's happened to Mike Gallagher during his career. Mike, 35, recently moved back

  • Jilted lover took woman on seven-hour terror trip

    A JILTED lover kidnapped his former fiancee and took her on a seven-hour terror drive after stalking her for a year, a court was told yesterday. Children's nurse Joanne Castle, 25, feared that she was going to die with Colin Mulcahy, 39, who had left

  • Patience key as England look for timely triumph

    England face a further test of patience as they attempt to press home their advantage and claim an historic victory over Pakistan in the opening Test at the Colonel Gaddafi stadium. Written off as no-hopers before the start of the three-Test series, they

  • Pool bow out of FA Cup

    Scunthorpe United 3 Hartlepool United 1 HARTLEPOOL United's hopes of an FA Cup run were ended at the first hurdle when they went down at Scunthorpe. Chris Turners side went down 3-0 at Glanford Park in Division Three just two weeks ago,but this time they

  • £9bn contract raises hopes at shipyard

    Hopes of the North-East sharing in a £9bn contract to build two Royal Navy aircraft carriers were raised last night. The Defence Procurement Agency confirmed that the Swan Hunter yard, on Tyneside, had been identified as having the potential capacity

  • Force to call for more cash to fund corruption probe

    Bosses of a North-East police force will later this month appeal for government help to meet the costs of a controversial corruption inquiry. Cleveland Police Authority chairman Ken Walker and Chief Constable Barry Shaw will meet Home Office Minister

  • Shearer relives the night he had to think the unthinkable

    ALAN SHEARER has admitted that last season's defeat by arch-rivals Sunderland could have saved his Newcastle career. The United captain will lead the fight for derby honours today against Peter Reid's side at St James' Park, desperate to avenge the 2-

  • Crunch time as Boro go in search of safety zone

    MIDDLESBROUGH boss Bryan Robson is ready for a relegation battle if his side fail to pick up points in crunch home games against Leicester and Bradford. Robson yesterday admitted that third-bottom Boro will be embroiled in a fight for Premiership survival

  • Meet the high rollers on the pay roll

    FOOTBALL hero Alan Shearer and two business entrepreneurs have been revealed as the top three highest earners in the North-East. The wealthy trio are featured in the first breakdown of Britain's top 500 earners. The Sunday Times Pay List, published tomorrow

  • Renaissance man gets his comeuppance

    JOHN Prescott has the sort of lived-in, jowly face that casts serious doubts on any plans God may have to use him as a sunbeam. But even he looked more miserable than usual on Thursday as he took the wraps off his grand proposals for an "urban renaissance

  • Mobility aid for shoppers

    NEW equipment to help people with mobility problems has been provided by Darlington Borough Council. Councillor Nick Wallis, cabinet member for highways and transport, presented two motorised scooters and a motorised wheelchair to the town's Shopmobility

  • Mr Waite I presume?

    TERRY Waite CBE is arguably Britain's bravest man having endured 1,763 days (almost five years) as a hostage in the Lebanon. His ordeal ended in November 1991 with the words "Dr Runcie I presume?" as he met his ex-boss the former Archbishop of Canterbury

  • Mighty Quinn derby hero

    Newcastle United 1 Sunderland 2 Niall Quinn inflicted double derby heartache on Newcastle as Sunderland came from behind to repeat last year's triumph at St. James' Park. On an afternoon of high drama, Newcastle skipper Alan Shearer saw his 83rd-minute

  • Families urged to ignore letter hoax

    COUNCIL tenants in Durham are being urged to ignore a bogus letter asking them to take in strangers. Some residents have been upset and confused after receiving the official-looking letter, saying that a homeless family is being sent to live with them

  • Brighten up Christmas with a voodoo lilly

    AS the weather closes in for the winter we are having to look increasingly indoors for our floral pleasure. While it is true that there are ever-more suitable plants for flowering outdoors at this time of the year, the greatest enjoyment is still derived

  • Magnolife achieves jewel success

    A NEW range of jewellery which can give health benefits to those who wear it has been launched by a Tees Valley business. Magnolife, which is based in Carlton-in-Cleveland, has created a specially designed range of high-quality jewellery which incorporates

  • Protestors to march against hostel

    RESIDENTS are to march on Chester-le-Street Civic Centre to demand councillors act to block plans for a 25-bed bail hostel in the town centre. At a public meeting this week, protestors voted to march from Chester-le-Street Hospital car park, through Front

  • AEEU calls for plan to save jobs

    BRITAIN'S largest metals union, the AEEU, yesterday argued for international co-operation and partnership to rescue the steel industry. Bob Shannon, AEEU National Officer for Metals addressed a meeting of the International Steel Trade Association in London

  • Development could bring 2,000 jobs

    UP to 2,000 jobs could be created with the building of a business park and hotel on the outskirts of Darlington. This forecast has been made by regional development agency One North East. An outline application for the development has been made to Darlington

  • Wacky events across region for BBC appeal

    KIND-HEARTED people from around the region joined in the fundraising fun for Children in Need yesterday. Wacky events took place across the North-East and North Yorkshire to raise thousands of pounds for the annual charity appeal. Students Susan French

  • Gullit didn't know what derby meant - Bobby

    BOBBY ROBSON last night insisted that Ruud Gullit's failure to grasp the magnitude of a Tyne-Wear derby cost him his job at Newcastle. Gullit dropped a bombshell when he axed skipper Alan Shearer as the festering feud between manager and captain came

  • Dunston aim for the stars

    DUNSTON are looking for an improvement when they take on Seaham Red Star at Federation Park today. Manager Bobby Scaife and his assistant Perry Briggs held an inquest with the players after they went out of the Durham Challenge Cup in midweek. "We told

  • Turner hoping cup magic will lift Pool

    HARTLEPOOL United boss Chris Turner is hoping his players will enjoy the magic of the FA Cup today and cast a spell over Scunthorpe United. Pool face a difficult test in the first round with a trip to their third division rivals - a side they lost to

  • Turmoil grows as rail chief quits

    BRITAIN'S crisis-hit rail network lurched into deeper turmoil last night with the shock departure of Railtrack chief executive Gerald Corbett. Only four weeks ago, his resignation was rejected by the company's board in the aftermath of the Hatfield disaster

  • Beatles set to spice up EMI

    NEXT week will be a busy one for half year results, with updates due out from supermarkets, holiday and record groups. Releases from the Spice Girls and a new compilation from the Beatles should help record company EMI to a strong second-half year. However

  • TJ Hughes set for further expansion in North-East

    DISCOUNT retailer TJ Hughes is to open ten new stores, including a branch on Tyneside, part-funded by a share issue which will raise nearly £10m. TJ Hughes will also expand its Liverpool distribution centre as it prepares to take its number of outlets

  • Rivals all set for big game

    MATCH of the Day in today's Canada Life Denny Cup - the all-England four rink inter-club competition - is the clash between previous finalists Hartlepool and Stanley. In some respects the two clubs represent the past and the present of this prestigious

  • Jim's brass band career reaches new high note

    GARAGE boss Jim Thompson is top brass as far as his fellow band members are concerned. For Jim is the longest-serving member of the North-East's Ever Ready band, which recently won the region's championship title for the 24th consecutive time. Jim, who

  • Cummins rues turning down United

    FORMER Middlesbrough and Sunderland striker Stan Cummins is kicking himself over his decision not to sign for Newcastle and join the select band of players to have worn the shirts of the North-East 's "big-three" clubs. For the little Teessider believes

  • Reid is prepared for a Ruud derby awakening

    SUNDERLAND boss Peter Reid doesn't expect the same kind of Tyne-Wear derby boost he got before his last visit to St James' Park when Newcastle manager Ruud Gullit left England striker Alan Shearer out of his starting line-up. The shock omission of the