THE Government's £60m flu vaccination campaign has become a victim of its own success, with supplies running short and doctors blaming Whitehall for not ordering enough. Nearly 11 million doses of vaccine have been delivered to GP surgeries - more than
WHILE some stress may be good for you, severe stress can be a serious risk to your health, being blamed for physical and psychological damage. Keeping fit is as much about relaxing your mind as working your body, which is good news when you're aching
WE all wish Middlesbrough and their manager Bryan Robson well this afternoon as they try to avoid their eighth successive defeat. It is only natural that, with their team showing relegation form, the fans have been vocal in their criticism; it is also
WORK is under way to prepare for a redevelopment aimed at breathing new life into a former pit community. The first pickaxe fell yesterday on a site which is to undergo a multi-million pound transformation in coming months in the centre of Houghton-le-Spring
NORTHERN Recruitment Group (NRG), which recently bought a 24 per cent stake in Gateshead's Learning Dynamix, has warned its shareholders to expect "half year results lower than expected". Speaking at yesterday's AGM at its Newcastle-base, chairman Hamish
A PUB doorman has won the right to practise his sport after overcoming police refusals for a shotgun licence. Michael Binks, 38, was refused a licence by Durham Chief Constable George Hedges, after concern over two incidents he was involved in while working
KOREAN electronic giants Samsung has revealed details of a major shake-up at its North-East base. The company is closing its operation in Billingham on Teesside and investing £3m in developing its nearby Wynyard HQ. The work will not involve any immediate
THOUGH there are many Methodists who these days enjoy an occasional tipple, and one or two for whom not everything is in moderation, the last time we were at Cockerton Methodist church in Darlington, they'd all just signed the pledge. It was Easter 1998
Arsene Wenger fired the latest shot in his psychological war with Sir Alex Ferguson by claiming that the rest of the Premiership give Manchester United too much respect and ''don't really have a go at them''. The Arsenal manager believes too many teams
BRYAN ROBSON has defended his decision to bring Alen Boksic to Middlesbrough rather than re-sign fans' favourite Juninho. Robson revealed he saved the club £3m by luring Croatian striker Boksic from Lazio in a £2.5m deal after aborting attempts to prise
SUNDERLAND manager Peter Reid is backing top gun Kevin Phillips to blast a way out of his current goal drought. The 27-year-old England international has not scored in open play since his goal at Anfield gave Sunderland a draw with Liverpool two months
The moment the outstretched arms of Sasa Ilic blocked Michael Gray's penalty kick in the Wembley play-off final two years ago held obvious consequences - Charlton were destined for the Premiership and Sunderland had been sunk. The two teams meet again
FICTIONAL wizard Harry Potter was continuing to spin his magic for Bloomsbury Publishing, as its bosses revealed yesterday. The publisher said the best-selling series by JK Rowling was likely to boost its end-of-year figures. The Booker Prize winning
WHAT a week for Fraser Kemp, that New Labour running dog so famously close to Tony Blair's heel. Fraser was already on to a publicity winner with his Ten Minute Rule Bill to replace the ''elitist'' honours system with one simple, egalitarian Order of
Q My 80 year old mother-in-law who lives alone has a basic state pension, attendance allowance and a private pension of £255.15 per calendar month. Can she get help with her weekly rent and Counil tax of £32.08 and £9.80 respectively? A Yes. How much
THE Government last night moved to ensure that a generation of schoolchildren is allowed to carry on spelling scientific terms the time-honoured English way. It has ordered the exam body responsible for national science tests for 11 and 14-year-olds to
HARTLEPOOL United coach Colin West last night paid tribute to Chris Turner - and insisted Pool's upturn in fortunes is down to his former Sunderland teammate. Since Turner was appointed Pool boss in February 1999, Turner has saved Pool from relegation
DARLINGTON skipper Martin Gray believes that a psychological barrier has been overcome as Quakers head for Blackpool today. Quakers' confidence visibly improved last week as they beat Sudbury 6-1 in the first round of the Cup, and Gray thinks that the
A STATUE of George Hardwick, one of Middlesbrough's greatest footballers, was unveiled yesterday on the eve of a crucial game in the reign of manager Bryan Robson. Looking up at the 9ft statue of the man who made 166 appearances for Boro between 1937
A POWERLIFTER who fought back from a broken back to compete for World Championship gold has been crowned as the overall winner of The Northern Echo's Local Heroes Awards. Army Staff Sergeant Steven Grey won the accolade at a ceremony at Darlington Football
HOTEL company Marriott has announced plans to refurbish two of the region's top hotels as part of a multi-million pound rebranding strategy. More than £1.2m will be spent on improving the Swallow Hotel at Seaburn in Sunderland, while £1m will be invested
THE annual booze cruise - or train trip these days - is as much a part of Christmas as turkey and trees. With four weeks to go, now is the time to think about heading to the continent to stock up on beer, wine, champagne and food gifts. By the time you've
CHARLTON ATHLETIC 0 SUNDERLAND 1 SCOTTISH B international Alex Rae erased nightmare memories of a controversial dismissal on his last visit to The Valley three seasons ago by scoring Sunderland's winner in the first top flight clash between the sides
F.A Carling Premiership Middlesbrough 2: Bradford City 2 Newcastle United Vs Liverpool: Playing Sunday Charlton 0: Sunderland 1 Nationwide Division 3 Blackpool 2: Darlington 1 Cardiff City 3: Hartlepool United 2
A £14,000 fine slapped on a lorry driver who handed stowaways to the authorities has ignited fierce criticism of penalties. Tony Davison, 53, of Tow Law, was fined after telling Customs and Excise officers at Dover he suspected illegal immigrants were
AN MP has condemned as "shameful'' a hard up police force's decision to buy luxury foreign cars for two senior officers. Cleveland Police Authority has paid £60,000 for top-of-the-range 5 series BMWs for assistant chief constables Della Cannings and Bryan
TIME is a wonderful thing but we never seem to have enough of it. A new family of watches from Casio Electronics should help make better use of those precious moments. First up is the new Wrist Audio MP3 Player, already being touted by Casio as "quite
A DRIVER suffered horrific burns in a crash between two lorries on the A1(M) in the region yesterday. The man was taken to Middlesbrough General Hospital for treatment to burns to his face, chest and back. A second man suffered slight burns to his wrists
HUNDREDS of workers who lost their jobs when a North-East clothing factory closed are to share more than £250,000. The payout for staff from Praxis, in Ferryhill, County Durham, has been won by the GMB union which claimed the company failed to consult
FERRYHILL Athletic manager Jimmy O'Sullivan is confident of giving fifth-placed Harton and Westoe a good game this afternoon as he attempts to propel his side into the top half of the table. "I am pleased with our form so far and with a number of matches
SUNDERLAND skipper Michael Gray has turned his back on the worst moment of his career - missing the Wembley play-off penalty which sent Charlton Athletic into the Premiership nearly three years ago. "Things like that happen in football and unfortunately
THREE water companies will demonstrate the impact from new regulatory price controls when they report interim figures next week. Pennon Group, United Utilities and Severn Trent are all expected to reveal leakages in pre-tax profits following controls
PROUD and full of the confidence of a leader of men, Chief Marcos Veron of the Brazilian Guarani Indians stood, daubed with the colourful paints of his tribe, before North-East school pupils yesterday. And cried. He cried for the plight of his people
Chelsea coach Claudio Ranieri has been reassured that he is under no pressure despite having so far failed to turn around the Blues' fortunes since his arrival at the club two months ago. Ranieri's predecessor, Gianluca Vialli, was sacked as the club
FERRYHILL Athletic manager Jimmy O'Sullivan is confident of giving fifth-placed Harton and Westoe a good game this afternoon as he attempts to propel his side into the top half of the table. "I am pleased with our form so far and with a number of matches
DUNSTON are hoping for third time lucky against champions Bedlington - to keep the title race open. Dunston tackle Bedlington for the third time this season at Federation Park this afternoon, having lost their earlier league game 4-0 and a midweek league
