HUNDREDS of hardy characters braved icy conditions to take a dip in the North Sea, off the North-East coast, yesterday. In what has become an annual Boxing Day ritual at several locations up and down the coast, sponsored dips were staged to boost the
AS the hunters gathered on the frozen village green, the mood was somewhere between despair and defiance. Hundreds of people had braved the early morning chill to mingle with the horses and hounds at the start of the Zetland Hunt, at Aldbrough St John
CHOOSING gifts for grandchildren can be a nightmare. But a charity which works on conservation in the Yorkshire Dales has come up with the answer - a tree. It costs £10 and lasts a lifetime. What is more, each one planted by the Yorkshire Dales Millennium
THE first of five millennium sculptures for a North-East village was unveiled on Saturday. The impressive limestone carving, which depicts Sedgefield's historic Shrove Tuesday ball game, was revealed for the first time by the Mayor of Sedgefield, Councillor
AN unexpected celebrity guest caused more than a slight stir on the terraces at a North-East football ground on Saturday. Attending her first football match was the notorious Cynthia Payne, who shot to fame when her London bordello was raided in the 1980s
IT sounded oh so simple at first - put on a silly outfit and lark about for an hour or so. However, being a pantomime star was more complicated than that. We were invited by the Arc in Stockton to find out what it was like being a pantomime cow for its
FIFTY duvets have been given to the National Canine Defence League rehoming centre at Sadberge, near Darlington. They were donated by the dry cleaning chain Sketchley, which says they have gone unclaimed by customers for up to a year. Duvets were collected
WHAT a jolly lot you are. The Northern Echo was inundated with nominations for entries into our Ho Ho Homes competition. The contest - run in conjunction with Century FM - to find the brightest festive house in the region, has seen some wonderful entries
POLICE have renewed a stay safe message to people walking home over the festive season after a balaclava-clad attacker grabbed a young woman. The incident happened at about 12.30am on Sunday at the southern end of the High Street, in Northallerton, North
THE manager of an animal rescue centre has scotched the myth that puppies are dumped weeks after they have been given as Christmas presents. Kate Wilson, of the Ramshaw Rescue Centre, near West Auckland, County Durham, said she had seen a pattern for
I'M SITTING listening to the bells of Old Bailey as I set out my predictions for the New Year. January: Tony Blair in a keynote speech for 2001 claims that his promise to "modernise" the country has now been completely fulfilled. As he speaks, Great North
FINDING the skeletal parts of a human hand is not exactly an everyday event - even in the life of North-East farmer Nick Greenwell. But, then again, it isn't anything for him to get too worked up about either. For Nick has the remains of what was once
Brave beau Jason Mirza popped the question to his girlfriend in front of 900 people at a pantomime. The 28-year-old got up on stage to ask nursery nurse Claire Charlton to marry him during a performance of Aladdin. Claire, 25, choked back the tears as
FAMILIES are being urged to offer a home to a foreign student over the New Year break. Host UK was set up in 1987 by the British Council, the Foreign Office and the Victoria League, and branches have sprung up across the UK. The Yorkshire branch has launched
A QUILT exhibition in one of the region's museums has proved so successful that organisers have promised to extend it for a further eight weeks. The Bowes Museum's North Country Quilts exhibition, in Barnard Castle, County Durham, has attracted textile
MISS WORLD AN item of news caught my eye recently (Echo, Dec 18) and that was the untimely death of former Miss World beauty contest winner Rosemarie Frankland. I remember her winning the title in 1961. In that same year she came second in the Miss Universe
A YOUNG man left paralysed below the shoulders after an accident is spending Christmas and New Year at home with his family. Michael Rowe, 21, was injured when gales blew down a tree on top of his car, on the Fishburn to Trimdon road, in County Durham
THE committee of a social club which won a competition in The Northern Echo earlier this year has donated its winnings to a community association. Hurworth Grange Social Club, at Hurworth, near Darlington, took first prize in The Northern Echo's Pub and
FOUR people were taken to hospital following an accident between a car and a minibus. Firefighters had to free one person trapped in the car, which was in collision with the minibus on a road junction in Middlesbrough. The scene of the incident - the
AN elderly woman needed hospital treatment after being given the wrong medication by a care home worker. County Durham Care, which runs East Green Home, in West Auckland, County Durham, launched an investigation after a resident had to be taken to Bishop
FROM an entry of many millions, political correctitude's most miserable manifestation concerns a Beano character called Les Pretend, most kindly described as a romantic. Until deemed inappropriate - like Dennis's dad's slipper, or Lord Snooty's superciliousness
Francois Doumen further expanded the British section of his fan club when First Gold sealed the 50th running of the Pertemps King George VI Chase at Kempton yesterday in spectacular fashion. The 5-2 second-favourite, making his British debut, travelled
A SOLDIER from the North-East spent Christmas in some of Europe's most remote - and coldest - mountains. Private Axl Harman, 25, of Consett, County Durham, was helping to provide vital support to remote mountain communities in Bosnia as part of the British
A gay policeman who was sacked after being labelled a sex offender is planning to win back his job in the force. Dave Jewell, 42, was convicted of molesting a 16-year-old boy in a public toilet earlier this year. But the Court of Appeal has now thrown
A man was left with serious leg injuries by a hit and run driver. Cleveland Police said the 36-year-old victim was struck by what appeared to be a black Vauxhall taxi, which failed to stop. The incident happened in Worsall Road, Yarm, in the early hours
PREHISTORIC monsters and ape-men will be battling it out on stage as part of a new production by a touring theatre group. North Country Theatre will take audiences in County Durham back in time when they perform their production of Conan Doyle's classic
THE young orphan opened his shoebox of presents and pulled out a bar of chocolate - something he had never seen before. However, instead of eating it, he broke it up into squares and ran after the strangers who had given it to him, insisting on sharing
A KNIFE-WIELDING robber was talked into handing back some of his haul by two have-a-go heroes. But police in Crook, County Durham, are still hunting the thief. The robber entered the Victoria Wine store in the town's Hope Street, shortly after 10pm on
ALFRED Wainwright won his place in hiking history with illustrated guides to routes through some of Britain's most picturesque landscapes. Now a section of his coast-to- coast walk is being given legal status, and enshrined as a designated right-of-way
A SAFETY gate proved to be a hazard for a toddler who ended up with his leg trapped in it. John Longstaff, three, was trying to copy his big sister Loareen by vaulting over the device, which was being used to keep out the family puppy. His leg slipped
JANUARY 5, 1995, is a date which Trevor Chaytor will never forget - despite the fact the 38-year-old does not remember what exactly happened that night. One minute he was driving home from a tiring day at work as a bus driver, and the next he woke up
FIVE people have been charged and one released on bail by police after an 18-year-old local youth was attacked, sustaining serious head injuries. The six - two juveniles among them - were quizzed over the weekend in connection with charges of aggravated
OF leftish persuasion, as most readers know, I keep a sharp eye out for any act of New Labour that can be welcomed as advancing the common good - the litmus test of enlightened social policy. Such a moment came back in August when it was revealed that
A BISHOP will notch up a personal first today as he helps hundreds of people celebrate a religious milestone. The Bishop of Ripon and Leeds is leading walkers on the annual pilgrimage from Ripon Cathedral to Fountains Abbey, North Yorkshire, retracing
HOME and Away star Ray Meagher is stepping out of his pantomime role to support needy people in the region this Christmas. Ray, who plays Alf in the Australian soap, is starring as Baron Hardup in a production of Cinderella at Darlington Civic Theatre
TERRY VENABLES last night hit back at Gerard Houllier over claims that he was a "lucky'' winner in yesterday's clash at the Riverside. Liverpool boss Houllier was "stunned'' by his side's failure to collect three points against basement battlers Middlesbrough
A NORTH-EAST builder is facing the prospect of New Year in a Moroccan jail after being convicted of attempting to smuggle £500,000 of cannabis out of the country. Christopher Hull, 44, of Hope Street, Crook, County Durham, hopes to hear this week whether
DARLINGTON'S defending let them down again as they finished a dreadful second at League leaders Chesterfield yesterday. Quakers conceded two poor goals to hand the points to Chesterfield and also end their brief revival. But more disappointing for the
CENSORS would have been "overwhelmed" with complaints from parents if they had allowed the hit North-East movie Billy Elliot to be seen by children under 15, the president of the British Board of Film Classification said yesterday. The decision to award
