Darlington 6°c
A Farmers' market and craft fair is being held in Stanhope, Weardale, next Friday, December 15, as part of a Christmas community event.
SIX teenagers are in hospital following a head-on car crash near Chester-le-Street.
COMMUNITIES in Wear Valley can become familiar with computers at new learning centres.
DO YOU remember Doctor Who's annoying pet dog K-9? Back in the 1970s, the concept of a robotic dog was the stuff of science fiction. Today it's science fact.
THE UK travel industry saw more consolidation last week when Thomas Cook was snapped up by German giant C&N, but the City is widely expecting First Choice Holidays to continue on its own expansion trail over the coming year.
NISSAN could be forced to decide where to build its new Micra before hearing the outcome of an investigation into a £40m package of state aid, the European Commission (EC) has revealed.
SUNDERLAND 1, MIDDLESBROUGH 0
RESIDENTS in the Stokesley area are being invited to get into the Christmas spirit with a carol singing event in the town.
YOUNG basketball players secured a resounding victory against a police team.
DISCO divas are being invited to get their skates on for a dance event with a difference.
A wildlife oasis in the middle of an industrial area will be officially opened by Environment Minister Chris Mullin on Monday.
A SCHOOL has dropped its campaign to stay open after receiving assurances about the future.
POLICE in Stockton have launched their Christmas crackdown on thieves and fraudsters who take advantage of the busy spell.
SPEEDING motorists have forced the cancellation of a Christmas show for children in a village on the outskirts of Darlington.
SUNDERLAND residents are being urged not to miss out on their chance to shape key city services.
A CHRISTMAS crackdown on crime in Darlington town centre has won praise from retailers.
A TEESSIDE firm is set to complete a record year by launching another recruitment drive, after seeing its workforce triple in 11 months.
UNDER-AGE drinkers on Tyneside could have a supply line cut as part of a Northumbria Police operation, in the run-up to Christmas.
CRIME experts are urging homeowners to be vigilant this Christmas because thieves could easily ruin the festive celebrations.
DARLINGTON police have issued a warning over a new kind of credit card theft.
A DURHAM school put a festive slant on a national drive to improve youngsters' numeracy.
A DALES market town has won back one of its most popular pubs - more than a year after the brewery called time.
HUNDREDS of pupils from King James I Community College, Bishop Auckland, were honoured at the school's annual prize-giving.
WHEN Coronation Street was created, it was scheduled to last just a few weeks.
RESIDENTS in Hartlepool will be blowing their own trumpets thanks to a cash grant.
WILD boar and kangaroo have helped Yorkshire Game pick up the top regional prize in this year's Parcelforce Worldwide Small Business Awards.
A HEIGHINGTON councillor is calling on Darlington Borough Council's highways department to take more action to prevent flooding in the village.
STADIUM Packing Services is setting the standard by introducing revolutionary new green technology to cut wastage.
IF THEY used the same method to add up television ratings as they do to count American Presidential votes we'd still be waiting to discover if more people watched the birth of the first TV millionaire or the death of Victor Meldrew.
AN exhibition of artworks and writing by East Cleveland youngsters is being held today.
STANLEY the sturgeon is the luckiest fish alive after surviving being caught by a heron and dropped in a back garden.
IN the town where I was born - somewhere, shall we say, on the Darlington to Bishop Auckland railway line - Christmas wasn't so much traditional as cast in Elgin marble.
COUNCIL gardeners in Darlington are preparing to bid for gold at the country's biggest flower show.
A GROUP of Tibetan football fans is to receive an autographed photograph of their favourite player, Alan Shearer.
AN author and broadcaster remembered her North-East roots when she received an accolade from her former university yesterday.
LES Stainthorp, custodian of Whitby Abbey for 27 years, has died at the age of 73.
RESIDENTS have praised a council's housing department.
TRAFFIC was brought to a standstill yesterday as hundreds of mourners paid their respects to a popular teenager killed in a car accident.
HOUSEHOLDERS in the Eastfield area of Scarborough are being canvassed for their views on the future of primary education, resulting from plans to build more than 800 homes.
POLICE in County Durham are giving extra support to people who suffer repeatedly from domestic violence or racist attacks.
THE family of a County Durham barman, who died on a Greek holiday, have finally won a five-month battle to have his kidney returned.
A woman worker at a North-East centre for child offenders told a court yesterday she was indecently assaulted by the youngsters as well as a manager.
TERRY VENABLES breezed into crisis club Middlesbrough yesterday and insisted: "My head is on the line as much as anyone.''
A JAMAICAN faces deportation after being caught with a £100,000 haul of crack cocaine.
MOTORISTS in the region could be at serious risk from structurally unsafe car parks, the AA has revealed.
A MAN died in a freak accident in Brotton High Street last night.
CHRIS Turner is ready to send out his first choice side in Monday's re-arranged LDV Vans Trophy tie with Scunthorpe.
The Prince of Wales yesterday praised the ''wonderful institution'' of Coronation Street as he laughed and joked his way round the set of the soap on the eve of its 40th anniversary.
A YOUTH was cleared yesterday of starting a blaze which left a teacher engulfed in thick black smoke after she was trapped in her office.
A MAN walking his dog had a knife held to his throat by a teenager demanding money, a court heard yesterday.
PLANS to extend an east Cleveland farm have been given the go-ahead by councillors for compassionate reasons.
ROTARY club members are working together to relieve some of the misery for victims of this year's floods.
Q My friend aged 41, has lived with her partner for 18 years but he has recently died. She is too ill to get a job and has not paid National Insurance for 22 years. How does she go on?
It used to be tradition at this time of the year for Victorian garden boys to gather holly tips and evergreen foliage for wreath-making. In the run-up to Christmas, most estate gardeners were directed towards making decorations, especially holly wreaths.
Lawrence Dallaglio has described England rugby union players' unprecedented strike action as ''the most traumatic decision'' of his career.
A MAN, who committed a string of sex attacks on a 14-year-old girl, was warned to expect a substantial prison sentence by a judge yesterday.
NEWCASTLE have put skipper Doddie Weir on the bench for tomorrow's Tetley's Bitter Cup quarter-final at home to London Irish.
NEWCASTLE United boss Bobby Robson is lining up a shock New Year loan swoop for Brazilian superstar Ronaldo.
NEWCASTLE Jesters are hoping heart and determination will help them beat their Sheffield voodoo and take home the Benson and Hedges Cup tonight.
A poison pen letter writer, who brought terror to his neighbourhood, was freed following a plea by his wife.
A drunken burglar staged a roof-top stand-off after he was caught breaking into a Royal Mail sorting office.
STRIKERS at a Tyneside offshore yard are due to return to work on Monday after action which lasted nearly two weeks.
WARY Sunderland manager Peter Reid is tensing himself for a back-lash today.
MOBILE phone giant Orange has pioneered a new system to turn its phones into navigation devices.
Sir Alex Ferguson will stay at Manchester United after he retires as manager.
TEESSIDER Darren Williams is licking his lips at the prospect of lining up against his home-town club this afternoon - but he stresses: "I don't want Middlesbrough to be relegated."
ARTIST Margaret Slater has captured the heart of Christian communities by painting pictures of all the churches in a northern dale on eight goose eggs.
Troubled Second Division club Murton could be looking for a new ground again soon.
Darlington striker Kevin Kyle is aiming to follow in the footsteps of his Stadium of Light hero Niall Quinn.
Darlington manager Gary Bennett is looking for his players to repeat their Worthington Cup heroics as Second Division Luton visit Feethams in the second round of the FA Cup this afternoon.
VILLAGERS who feared their plans for a new sports complex could be ruined by the threat of flooding are hoping the Environment Agency will drop its objections to the project.
CHRISTMAS is a cruel time of year for anyone who wants to lose weight or cut down on calories. Even regular exercisers have to work extra hard to find the motivation, and the energy after all that food, to get to the gym.
YOUNG people leaving care should receive better support thanks to a conference for those who look after them.
CHARITIES are thousands of pounds better off thanks to a big shopping event.
FIREFIGHTERS served up a festive fire safety message with turkey and Christmas pudding yesterday.
A convicted bigamist who narrowly avoided a prison sentence last night vowed: "I'll never marry again."
THE region was on flood alert again last night as the storms which caused havoc in Wales and the West Country moved north across Britain.
PLANS for housing on the outskirts of Durham have run into opposition because a 300-year-old building will have to be demolished.
A YOUNG man earned a reprieve yesterday after a brief taste of custody.
ANOTHER week, another classic example of the Prime Minister upstaging his humble Health Secretary.
