COUNCILLORS have been called to two special meetings to vote on the future of an under-used leisure centre, which is costing council taxpayers nearly £500,000 a year. Drastic cuts are expected at the Spectrum Leisure Complex, Willington, where staff have
VISITORS to one of Teesside's museums this weekend will be given the chance to find out about its behind-the-scenes work, while also taking a peek into their own personal pasts. Stockton Borough Council museums service and the Friends of Preston Park
THE past few days have provided further evidence that, at best, the run-up to Christmas was a mixed time for retailing. Marks & Spencer's third quarter trading statement produced like-for-like sales down by 5.1 per cent. As expected, the major disappointment
A light at the end of the tunnel THE North-East is guilty of shunting its rich railway heritage into the sidings. It should be a proud, gleaming asset. Instead, much of it is rusting, decaying, hidden, and in grave danger of being forgotten. "Treasuring
A MAN accused of selling the eggs of endangered species of birds is to stand trial later this year. Michael Davidson, 57, previously denied three offences relating to the sale of 155 eggs - over an unspecified period - of birds of prey, including golden
FAMILIES learned new skills ranging from nail care to computing at the first session of a Saturday Morning Club. Langbaurgh School, in Middlesbrough, welcomed pupils and their parents to classes aimed at building a sense of community, at the weekend.
LEE McGuire is facing up to the fact that he might never return to his primary school. Lee, 11, is a final year pupil at Hardwick Primary School, in Sedgefield, County Durham. He is one of 170 pupils affected by a blaze which gutted the school on Sunday
A NATIONAL hotel group has promised to turn a North-East coaching inn into one of the best in the region. The new owners of the George Hotel, at Piercebridge, County Durham, have vowed to spend a six-figure sum restoring the centuries-old inn to its former
A MAN denied permission to extend his house has won his appeal against Darlington Borough Council's ruling. Arthur Hird, of North Road, Darlington, applied to the council for permission to build a side extension to his semi-detached house in North Road
MORE details about the jobs below are available from the Employment Service Direct on (0845) 606 0234.Darlington Job Centre Assistant manager: Darlington, nmw, 40 hpw between 5am and 10pm. Must be computer literate with experience of Epos preferred. You
A SECRET children's game has been turned into a ghostly showcase of the life and times of vampires in Teesside. Since last year, a group of artists and writers has been working on Masquerade: The Art of the Vampire, by exploring gothic art, literature
Material planner, Hartlepool. 39 hpw, £12,000-£13,000 pa. Duties to ensure the efficient control of materials to satisfy production and meet optimum stock levels. Ref: HAQ16585. Reprographic technician, Hartlepool. NMW. Full-time. Minimum of two years
NISSAN ALL credit must go to the world-class workforce at Nissan Sunderland for their high productivity and dedication to quality, which in part is achieved by a willingness to do shift work. However, the £40m grant from the British Government must be
VILLAGERS fighting a controversial housing development have hand-delivered a plea for councillors to refuse planning permission. Members of the West Rainton Parish Housing Action Group posted letters through the doors of all 49 Durham City Council members
A MAN appeared before magistrates yesterday, charged with incitement to murder. Robert Marsh, 30, was also charged with incitement to commit grievous bodily harm, witness intimidation and breach of bail. Marsh, who lives at a bail address in Chester-le-Street
NORTHUMBRIAN Water was fined £8,500 yesterday for polluting a beck with waste water containing more than 13 times the amount of permitted iron ore. The company admitted two offences of allowing discharges into Scur Beck, near Lartington, in Teesdale,
A £650,000-a-year scheme aimed at giving young families a better start is to provide support to an area branded Britain's third most deprived. In a national Index of Deprivation, published last year, Thorntree, in Middlesbrough was almost top for unemployment
AS Big Breakfast new boy Paul Tonkinson finds his feet on Channel Four's hit early morning show, he can be sure of a big audience in one part of the world. Paul, 31, hails from North Yorkshire, and he has got his family and friends rising with the dawn
Darlington Director of Football Luke Raine last night revealed that the club is to reconsider its controversial ban on unaccompanied under 18s in the Tin Shed. Chairman George Reynolds had ruled that following the protest on Saturday by a group of supporters
DOG-lovers are being offered a foolproof way of getting their pets back if they stray. The National Canine Defence League is taking its Give A Dog A Life roadshow to the Hambleton district of North Yorkshire next week. The unit offers free micro-chipping
AUTHORS Paul and Shirley Smith are seeking information on Durham City's home during the club's brief time in the Football League. The couple, from Birmingham, are compiling a directory of English and Scottish league grounds, featuring every ground ever
PLANS to improve street lightseem likely to win approval despite misgivings by some local people. Five new lampposts are planned to bring the lighting on Cockpit Hill, Brompton, near Northallerton, up to the levels recommended by British Standards. After
SPORTING students have started a fundraising campaign to help pay for a hockey tour in the Mediterranean. More than 30 students from Northallerton College are planning a tour of Cyprus at Easter and have arranged an all-night "hockeython" event to help
A MAN was jailed after he filmed a girl having sex with his friend before raping her. The woman was at the home of Sukjinder Singh, 30, when she went upstairs with Gurdeep Rai, 19, and had sex with him. But Newcastle Crown Court heard, she soon realised
A NORTH-EAST health care centre has announced it is to pump £4m into a 20-bed psychiatric unit. Trees Park Healthcare, near Teesside Airport, will create 120 jobs over a four-year period as part of its plans to expand its psychiatric facilities. The new
HARTLEPOOL United boss Chris Turner last night admitted the chance to sign Neil Aspin was too good an opportunity to pass. The experienced defender was surprisingly released by Darlington last week with six months of his contract remaining - and Turner
A TEENAGER was splashed with petrol and set alight by a friend in an "incident of folly", a court heard yesterday. Neil Ivin, 31, sprayed petrol over Jonathan Ingleby's clothes as he filled a lawn-mower in a friend's kitchen, saying "Oops, sorry". When
A JOINT bid by two of the region's councils for World Heritage Site status could provide a massive boost to the North-East economy, it has been revealed. A five-year plan expected to cost about £3.5m and aimed at increasing the appeal of Darlington's
HAPPY couple Harry Hammond and Pamela Nixon have found love out of mutual heartbreak. Both faced a bleak future after losing a loved one to child killers. But the pair have triumphed over their family tragedies to find love with each other. Mr Hammond
AMONG the insults flung at nations, none is more misplaced than the familiar jibe that Australia was colonised by convicts, Britain's rejects. Of course it's true. But there's a deeper truth behind the deportations. It is that the supposed undesirables
A JILTED man battered his ex-lover's son to death in revenge when she left him. a court was told yesterday. Computer programmer Robert Green, 44, phoned estranged girlfriend Janice Stott with the threat: "You have taken something special away. Think what's
CHEAP rate travellers are being reassured that new national standards will not disadvantage them. Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council is informing the 14,000 members of its concessionary travel scheme that their benefits will not be jeopardised when
COUNTY Durham pop group Prefab Sprout went From Langley Park to Memphis, according to the title of their album. Now, Durham People's Opera Group is offering budding singers the chance to go from Stanley to Covent Garden. The group will perform its community
YOUNGSTERS are getting the chance to develop their artistic skills at a series of workshops with professional artists. Over the next two weeks 150 pupils from five County Durham schools will take part in the sessions with members of the Bearpark Artists
A PSYCHOLOGY lecturer is suing a college for mental trauma after he returned from sick leave to find bosses had demolished his office with his personal belongings inside. Michael Laidler, 51, told how he suffered "severe mental illness" at the hands of
VILLAGERS yesterday staged a protest outside the school they fear their children will not be allowed to attend. Up to 60 parents gathered outside Coxhoe Primary School to highlight the plight of youngsters who may not get a place in September. As The
FORMER seaman Harry Davison's dream of creating a fantasy wood packed with elves and goblins could yet be scuppered. Mr Davison, a devotee of JRR Tolkien, has already started work on his Elfinwood, set in seven acres on the outskirts of Crook, County
A MIDDLESBROUGH primary school is toasting the region's largest baker after the company donated bread to its breakfast club. About 35 pupils at Archibald Primary School, in Ayresome Green Lane, are enjoying fresh toast each day, thanks to Warburtons.
THREE youngsters took to the streets in protest after hearing their leisure centre is under threat. Clad in campaign T-shirts and armed with petitions, Aran Prior, 12, Sam Ferguson, 12 and sister Emma, eight, braved the wintry weather in Wolsingham and
MONEY seized by police during a drugs raid at the home a 53-year-old man was yesterday ordered to be confiscated. Harry Cochrane, of previous good character, admitted "making a mistake" in agreeing to collect a package containing cannabis blocks from
POLICE have renewed their warning to North-East pensioners to beware of bogus callers following a spate of thefts. Callous thieves, who claim to be from the Water Board, have preyed on a number of elderly people in Hartlepool. Detective Superintendent
AN ash tree could be saved from being felled by councillors concerned about the environment. A resident of Thornaby Road, Thornaby, has applied to Stockton Borough Council for permission to cut down the ash tree, which is protected by a preservation order
THIEVES attacked three cars at a country park in less than an hour at the weekend. In the first attack, the criminals left empty-handed after smashing the front nearside window of a blue Vauxhall Corsa, registration number N369 MFT, at Hardwick Country
STUDENTS will step out on the catwalk later this week to help raise money for a leading cancer charity. The event, featuring youngsters from Durham University, will be held at the university's Van Mildert College on Sunday, at 7pm, to aid the Cancer Research
THE parents of a 14-year-old boy knocked off his bike by a 63-year-old motorist have said the woman's £100 fine was "appallingly inadequate". David and Anita Stacey made the comments after Jean Stoddart was fined £100, ordered to pay £35 costs and had
A MAN was stabbed several times after a fight broke out in the street during the early hours of Sunday. The attack happened at about 2.30am when a white estate car, containing three men, pulled up outside the Crown House JobCentre, in Middlesbrough. The
A FORMER seamstress who was born on the day that the nation mourned the death of Queen Victoria celebrated her 100th birthday yesterday. Gladys Spence was surrounded by more than 20 relatives at the Gardens Nursing Home, in Darlington, and the champagne
A HORSE-lover from the North-East has gained praise from leading lights in the fashion industry. Claire Pinkney, 21, from Tow Law, County Durham, was chosen as the regional winner of the Ariel Model 2001 contest after beating off competition from hundreds
HER emotions stretched to the limits, we have had a call from Mrs Joan Bates. One recent eating experience was "absolutely tremendous", she says - so special she was tempted to keep it secret - the other so "utterly dreadful" that she wrote to the manager
THE winner of The Northern Echo's Champagne Christmas Crossword is a 44-year-old teacher from North Yorkshire. Linton Austen, who lives in Thirsk, was the lucky person who had his correct and fully completed entry drawn out of a hat which contained nearly
AN urgent search for a missing schizophrenic woman was called off yesterday after she was found safe and well in a London hostel. Paula Young, 24, from Etherley, Bishop Auckland, County Durham, went missing on Friday after going to meet an aunt. But her
A WOMAN was wrestled to the ground and robbed as she walked through a churchyard. The victim was heading home through St Stephen's churchyard, Lawe Top, South Shields, when she was grabbed from behind by a man who stole her handbag. The attacker was described
CULINARY students were full of enthusiasm yesterday when they received certificates for their cooking achievements. The special needs students from Darlington College of Technology produced a lunch which they had prepared to honour the occasion. Seven
ALL these blokes writing in the newspapers and coming on television to tell us about their battle with the booze and how hard it is to lay off. I think it's time I came clean with you, dear reader, and told you the whole sordid truth about my own personal
A MAN found lying in a street with serious head injuries, including a fractured jaw, told police he had no idea how he suffered his injuries. The 39-year-old had been out drinking and was found by officers lying in Perth Avenue, Jarrow, South Tyneside
UNDER-fire Darlington chairman George Reynolds last night took the extraordinary step of banning unaccompanied youngsters from supporting their team from the home end. Mr Reynolds was the target of protests from the Feethams' terraces during Saturday's
FORMER Darlington Football Club captain Kevan Smith will be seen in a very different role in a Tyne Tees Television programme tonight. He and his soccer-mad mates are captured on camera having a wild time in The Studs, the latest edition of the popular
MORE details about the jobs below are available from the Employment Service Direct on (0845) 606 0234. kf Ward clerk, Northallerton. £9,290 to £10,643pa pro rata, up to 35hrs pw. Must have ability to work in busy environment. Closing date January 30.
POLICE have renewed their appeal for information surrounding the final hours of an 81-year-old man whose body was pulled from a river. A passer-by spotted the body of Lawrence Holliday, in the River Tees, near the Princess Diana Bridge, at Stockton, on
MORE details about the jobs below are available from the Employment Service Direct on (0845) 606 0234. Senior support worker, Chester-le-Street, £5.35 ph, 37.5 hpw rota tba. Required for residential home. Duties to support residents. Applicants must have
A CONTRACT has been awarded for a £13m facility aimed at cutting waiting times for heart patients in the region. Mowlem Health Solutions and Crown House Engineering have secured the work at South Cleveland Hospital, in Middlesbrough. The cardiothoracic
Quakers' chairman George Reynolds is to face the club's fans during a special online session. Mr Reynolds will field questions from Darlington supporters on this site later this week. He has decided to answer the fans directly after a week of both disappointment
A SOCIAL worker yesterday accused council bosses of ignoring her complaints that she was sexually harassed by her manager. Instead of taking stronger action, they sent her to work in the same building as the man after handing her an advice leaflet, an
A BOROUGH's parish and town councils are to be asked their views on how to monitor standards within their own authorities. The new Local Government Act 2000 makes standards committees responsible for promoting and maintaining high standards of conduct
A COLLEGE is planning its own tribute to Scotland's most famous poet - and hoping to raise money for important equipment. Finchale Training College on the outskirts of Durham, which trains disabled people for work, is holding a Burns supper on Saturday
STUNNED Terry Timms has been forced to put his naughty gnomes under house arrest after police threatened to charge him with indecency offences. The coach driver spotted the cheeky figures while taking tourists through Belgium and brought them home last
FIREFIGHTERS were left with faces as red as their engines yesterday when a blaze broke out at their headquarters and they were forced to call colleagues from a neighbouring station to put it out. Shortly before 8am, a passer-by spotted smoke billowing
DEFENDING champion Andre Agassi stands between Pat Rafter and his dream of playing in the final of what might be his last Australian Open. Agassi was simply sensational today in a 7-5 6-3 6-4 victory over fellow American Todd Martin, who went into the
PETER Mandelson was embroiled in a growing political storm last night over the passport application of an Indian-born businessman who donated £1m to the ill-fated Millennium Dome. The Northern Ireland Secretary and MP for Hartlepool was under fire from
THE Territorial Army (TA) has called up the County Durham office of the North East Chamber of Commerce. The TA has joined forces with the chamber to host an event to promote the benefits to business of employees serving in the TA. It takes place on Tuesday
A WOMAN was given a £100 reward by a judge yesterday for helping to catch a burglar at a neighbour's home. She telephoned the police when she saw the thief breaking a kitchen window in the house in Billingham, Teesside. When police arrived, Stephen Wood
ACTING skipper Robert Lee last night urged striking prospect Shola Ameobi to banish thoughts of an international call-up and concentrate on his career with Newcastle United. The 19-year-old could end up at the centre of a tug-of-war between England and
EXPERIMENTAL work by North-East scientists could save thousands of airline passengers lives, it was claimed yesterday. Scientists based at the Sunderland Enterprise Park are developing genetic tests designed to help people with deep vein thrombosis (DVT
TWENTY-FIVE people from the Grove Hill area of Middlesbrough have completed safety passport courses at the Grove Hill Resource Centre. The course deals with aspects of safety in industrial plant closures and covers subjects such as site health and safety
MIDDLESBROUGH face an idle weekend after last night's ill-fated FA Cup third-round replay between Notts County and Wimbledon was postponed only 45 minutes before kick-off. Boro meet the winners in a round-four tie which has now been rescheduled for a
AN emergency call was sent to the wrong ambulance while a retired miner was left dying in front of his helpless sons. A vehicle was summoned for Edward Parker, 78, but the call went unheard in the unmanned vehicle cab. No check-up call was made to see
HAY sniffing returns to the agenda with the ninth annual Weardale Hay Show being held at the Cross Keys Inn, in Eastgate, County Durham, on Sunday, February 4, at 1pm. The show attracts entries from all over the North, some from Scotland and the odd one
Alex Rae is hoping he will finally get his big break for Scotland in their World Cup qualifier against Belgium in March. Rae, 31, has waited a decade for the opportunity to represent his country at top level. The attacking midfielder knows he will never
HIGH-TECHNOLOGY is being hailed as a major success for its role in the continuing fight against crime in the Hambleton area of North Yorkshire. The spy camera networks in both Northallerton and Thirsk were used in almost 800 incidents over the past year
The way that one thing leads to another, and the A68 used to lead south from Consett only when weather permitted, Friday's column got round to recalling Keith Morton's walk on the wild side. It's more than he can. "These days I can hardly remember that
A PARK and community facility planned for Thornaby looks set to be given the go-ahead. The Five Lamps Organisation has applied to Stockton Borough Council for planning permission to develop an area of public open space around the South Thornaby Community
ARCHAEOLOGISTS discovered the true meaning of life on the edge yesterday, as an emergency effort to salvage buried treasure was launched. English Heritage experts began a rescue operation at Whitby Abbey, in North Yorkshire, where a stretch of the headland
THREE workmen have been arrested after equipment allegedly went missing from the headquarters of Durham County Council. The men, sub-contractors for an outside firm working at County Hall, Durham, were taken to the city's police station on Sunday night
A VICAR has won a bursary to help fund her theology studies. The Reverend Elizabeth Baxter, of Thirsk, North Yorkshire, is joint director of Holy Rood House Centre for Health and Pastoral Care, near Thirsk. She will be studying subjects which she hopes
A four-year-old girl escaped after being hit by a runaway trailer as she sat at a bus stop. Phoebe Clough had been waiting for a bus with her aunt and uncle when the accident happened on Saturday morning. A trailer broke loose from a red vehicle and ploughed
CHINESE university students will see in their New Year with a colourful party on a North-East campus. More than 150 students will celebrate the year of the snake on the eve of Chinese New Year at Sunderland University tonight. The event, in its third
AN experienced stockman fell foul of the law because he failed to keep up with new farming regulations, a court heard yesterday. John Anderson, 67, of The Hill, Newbiggin-in-Teesdale, County Durham, pleaded guilty to sample charges of not registering
EAST Durham council tenants are to be given the chance to voice their housing concerns at an open day. The forum is to be staged at Shotton Community Centre on Monday, from 11am to 3pm, and from 6pm to 8pm. It has been organised to give residents the
A DRINK-driver who escaped a ban by getting three friends to lie for him in court, was jailed for almost three years yesterday. John Parker, 19, was one-and-a-half times over the alcohol limit when police stopped his car in Thirsk, North Yorkshire. But
AN orchestra is to play in the region to raise money for charity next month. Chetham's Symphony Orchestra will play in Durham Cathedral in aid of the Children's Society on Wednesday, February 14. Chetham's School of Music, in Manchester, has an international
A SEX-SWAP teenager murdered his lover when the older man would not fund sex change treatment and an operation, a jury heard yesterday. Karen Lawson, 19, who had changed his name from Mark Lawson by deed poll, told police how he suffocated and strangled
UNION bosses are celebrating victory after safeguarding the jobs of 180 people at a closure-threatened depot. The Communication Workers' Union (CWU) welcomed BT's decision to reprieve the workforce at its depot in North-allerton, North Yorkshire, after
IT is a paradise on Earth, one of the most important wildlife havens on the planet and the wilderness which gave Charles Darwin the ideas for his ground-breaking theory of evolution. Ever since the 19th Century naturalists set foot on the Galapagos Islands
A NORTH-EAST charity boss was sentenced for cheating more than £33,000 from social services yesterday. Cecilia Lawson, a former project manager for mental health organisation, Mind, admitted claiming for housing and council tax benefit for five years
MARKS & Spencer has admitted it has lost touch with its shoppers as it suffered a slump in sales over Christmas. Sales on a like-for-like basis, excluding income from new and refurbished stores, fell by 5.1 per cent in the 16 weeks to January 20 and
A MAN was cut free from his car by fire officers after a collision with a bus yesterday. The accident happened shortly after 3pm, as the blue Peugeot was pulling out of Vulcan Street, St Hilda's, Middlesbrough. It struck the single-deck bus side-on. Fire
THREE men were jailed yesterday after being foiled during a well-planned bid to break into a Post Office over a Bank Holiday weekend. Durham Crown Court heard that the trio targeted the safe at Bishop Auckland Post Office, with contents of about £150,000
