THE nightshift is just starting in the casualty department of Hartlepool General Hospital and we're trying to record some interviews with doctors. We've come here to ask them about the role alcohol plays in filling up their accident and emergency unit
FISH that slipped through the net during a lake clean-up are being caught by more radical methods. Yesterday and today, Environment Agency staff are converging on Middlesbrough's Albert Park lake to carry out the latest phase of a fish removal scheme.
A mayor is boycotting a farewell service to mark the closure of a university college. The Mayor of Ripon, Councillor Paul Freeman, has turned down his invitation for the service, at the city's cathedral on June 10, to mark the closure of the Ripon campus
STEROID campaigners have warned of hidden dangers lurking in some herbal remedies. The move comes after tests carried out for Which? magazine found creams sold in some Chinese remedy shops were laced with potentially dangerous steroids. Two out of five
Richard Allan saved the lives of two young girls by catching them as they threw themselves from the upstairs window of a blazing house. Rachel Ward, ten, and Sherridene Hodder, ten, might have died but for the safe arms of Mr Allan, 27. He stood below
ABUSE of a North-East lollipop lady has died down since The Northern Echo highlighted her plight. Last week, we reported how June Walker, who works as lollipop lady at Nunthorpe Primary School, near Middlesbrough, was being subjected to abuse by children
A nurse was asked to prepare a desperately-ill girl's medication - but miss out important drugs from the solution. Patricia Dryden, 15, died in October, 1995, after she suffered 25 per cent burns in an explosion in Blyth, Northumberland. Patricia was
A BIG police operation is planned to deal with football hooligans heading for the region this weekend. Officers from across Cleveland, backed up by officers on horseback from Northumbria Police, are being drafted in for Saturday's showdown between Hartlepool
THE North-East's newest theatre will be launched next year with world premieres by top playwrights. The first productions will be staged at Durham City's £14m Gala theatre, part of the £30m Millennium City development, in January, after an official launch
THE ailing US economy cast further gloom over the North-East yesterday. Chemicals and paint giant ICI reported a six per cent fall in first quarter pre-tax profits. The group described trading conditions as "challenging" as profits before tax and exceptionals
EVERTON could throw Newcastle United striker Kevin Gallacher a Premiership lifeline. The 34-year-old Scottish international is out of contract at the end of the season and looking for another year at St. James' Park. He strengthened his case by opening
A NORTH-EAST soldier with a fetish for stealing women's underwear from the wives of Army colleagues was punished by magistrates yesterday. Private William Marriott hoarded women's lingerie in a secret stash at his Army quarters. The 27-year-old also stole
Great Train robber Ronnie Biggs vowed last night to return to Britain from exile in Brazil "at the earliest opportunity" after spending more than 35 years on the run. In his first public statement since sending an e-mail to Scotland Yard proposing his
With spring in the air, and the garden centres offering all sorts of goodies, many people's thoughts are turning to more earth-bound activities than surfing. Even the most green-fingered could find the Internet a useful source of help with a huge selection
PLANS to open a controversial speedway training track near Barnard Castle have been blocked by councillors. The proposal to create the country's first training centre for speedway riders, at Barford Raceway, a former Army camp used as a stock car track
YOUNGSTERS at a village primary are thrilled at the latest addition to their school. The Parent Teacher Association at Melsonby Methodist Primary School, between Darlington and Richmond, was supported by the local community in its efforts to raise the
A PIONEERING scheme has left council workers with no excuses for not doing their bit for the environment. As part of a determined effort to encourage commuters to leave their cars at home, North Yorkshire County Council staff have been given access to
FIREFIGHTERS searched a blazing house for a family they believed was trapped there yesterday morning, but found it empty. A crew from Middlesbrough fire station arrived at the house in Parliament Road, in the town, to discover the living room well alight
WORK on a major refurbishment programme, giving greater privacy to crime suspects, will get under way next week. New consultation rooms are being built at Northallerton, Harrogate and York police stations, allowing people to talk confidentially with their
THIEVES towed away a £10,000 asbestos decontamination caravan from a factory in Crook. The 14ft white glass-fibre unit, described as "a shower on wheels" resembles a catering caravan. It has a Thermac logo on the side and is used by workmen to clean up
BIRDS make their homes in the strangest of places - but few can be quite as secure as an armoured car. A family of thrushes have made their nest in a Ferret armoured car, at the Eden Camp wartime theme museum, at Old Malton, North Yorkshire. Their presence
PEOPLE are to get the chance to give their views on how to improve one of the region's main trunk roads. The Highways Agency is carrying out a public consultation exercise on the A19/A168 from Dishforth, North Yorkshire, to the Tyne Tunnel. The results
HOSPICE staff have developed yellow fever as part of their latest promotion. Four hospices - St Teresa's, in Darlington; Hartlepool and District Hospice, Teesside; St Catherine's Hospice, Scarborough, North Yorkshire; and Teesside Hospice have teamed
A TOURISM group has netted a national award. Representatives of Teesside's Captain Cook Tourism Association won the award for best stand personnel at the British Travel Trade Fair (BTTF), in Birmingham. Dressed as Captain Cook, Naval marines and 18th
DETECTIVES believe they are moving closer to catching a car thief who terrified a pensioner as she waited for her husband in a town centre car park. The masked man struck as the 75-year-old woman was sitting in the couple's R-registered BMW in the Beaumont
TWO firefighters had to be treated for their injuries after fire ripped through a garage stacked with tyres last night. At its height, 50 firefighters were dealing with the blaze at Fast Fit Tyres, in Thomas Street, Langley Park, on the outskirts of Durham
A TOWN centre pub will not be allowed to stay open until 2am, after councillors refused an application for an extension to its entertainments licence. But tenants of the Black Bull Hotel, in Main Street, Ferryhill, say they will appeal against the decision
A TIMELY memorial of the new millennium has been handed to the Mayor of Redcar and Cleveland by the town's Rotary Club. An electric clock, which stands 4.5m high on a plinth at the eastern end of the pedestrianised High Street in Redcar, has been a partnership
A SUPPORT network for disabled youngsters and their families is stepping up a gear. County Durham's Children's Network offers huge benefits to disabled children and their families, but hundreds of people are unaware it exists. The Children's Network was
A MAN who doused a pregnant women in acid three years ago is finally behind bars. Majeeda Akhter's face was eaten away by the acid, and her hands and arms were badly damaged in the attack in Bangladesh, which was provoked by an argument over land. She
A LEADING Asian figure has voiced support for controversial police methods. Mobeen Medhi, chairman of the Islamic Society of Cleveland and the Jamia Mosque, in Middlesbrough, made his comments at a meeting with Councillor Ken Walker, Middlesbrough Borough
A SCHEME by a community's only pre-school playgroup to install a prefab as its headquarters should be refused, say planning officials. The Squiggles playgroup, which uses a nearby cricket pavilion in the village of Spofforth, near Harrogate, wants a building
TWO police officers and a retired sergeant have appeared in court charged over alleged links with an international drugs dealer. Detective Sergeant Ian Weedon, Detective Constable Paul Hardy and retired Detective Sergeant James McSorley were jointly charged
ANGRY protestors say the Army has broken its promises over safeguards at a mass burial pit within hours of the site opening for business. The first truck loaded with slaughtered livestock arrived at the opencast site at Inkerman Road, near Tow Law, County
DURHAM face an early reunion with Greg Blewett today in the battle of the northern group's two unbeaten teams in the Benson & Hedges Cup. The Australian scored 133 against them on his Nottinghamshire debut in last week's championship match at Trent
TERRY VENABLES yesterday insisted it would be "an insult'' to manage Middlesbrough on a part-time basis. Only days after skipper Paul Ince told Venables to dismiss any thoughts of a bit-part role at the Riverside, Boro's head coach nailed suggestions
POSTAL workers in the North-East are demanding extra cash for delivering thousands of political leaflets in the run-up to the General Election. Staff in Cleveland, Darlington and Durham are among the few in the country not to receive a bonus for delivering
TWO leading national shop chains are bidding to become the new tenants of shop premises in Darlington. After more than 150 years on High Row, Dressers closed last month after it and a sister store in Northallerton, North Yorkshire, were sold to developer
A NEW business, which aims to take the stress and pressure out of organising weddings, has been launched in County Durham. Bridalways is now open for business in Middleton St George, near Darlington. Jacky Cooper and Maureen Ferguson, who between them
THE passage of time has a habit of romanticising perceptions of hardened criminals. The process of rehabilitation within public opinion was amply demonstrated by the Kray brothers, who, by the end of their lives, were viewed with reverence in some quarters
THE Government yesterday announced a multi-million pound sweetener for the North-East as Corus finally confirmed the news that 1,100 jobs are to go in the region's steel industry. The steel giant has now formally rejected proposals put together by the
DRIED blood and bits of human flesh were discovered on surgical instruments supplied by Health Secretary Alan Milburn's local hospital, doctors told The Northern Echo last night. One appalled surgeon refused to use surgical equipment which had supposedly
DESPITE the immediate gloom surrounding the loss of 1,100 steel jobs, the long-term future of the North-East economy will be more secure as a result, a leading economist predicted last night. The decision by Corus to shed jobs on Teesside is being viewed
SLEEPLESS nights caused by crying babies could be a thing of the past, thanks to a baby massage technique. Complementary therapist Ann Ball first discovered baby massage two years ago when her son Jack had problems with colic. She said: "Even though I
THE National Trust has cancelled two music events planned for a stately home, following a series of problems. Proms in the Park, and a concert by Jools Holland, were scheduled to take place at Ormesby Hall, Middlesbrough, on June 2 and 3. But in March
POLICE have charged a man for allegedly possessing pornographic images of children. The 23-year-old, from Middlesbrough, was charged yesterday in connection with the nationwide Operation Appal in March. A spokeswoman for Cleveland Police said last night
NINE people faced charges of supplying drugs at a County Durham magistrates' court, yesterday. The group, from Ferryhill and Spennymoor, County Durham, were before Sedgefield magistrates. Glen Paul Burnett, 22, of Ramsey Drive, Ferryhill, was charged
BIRD lovers have been outraged by the slaying of a swan as she sat on her nest. The bird was attacked with a stick, before being left floating on the lake at James Steel Park, Washington, Wearside. It sustained bruising to its back and puncture wounds
FRIDAY evening, 8.30pm. Just two people sup in the Gold Cup, an exceptionally attractive and meticulously kept pub in North Yorkshire, and one's a cuckoo in t'nest, any road. A famous fire fulminates in the bar, candles add gently to the twilight atmosphere
SORRY to name-drop but I was with Tony Blair - that other under-pressure father-of-four - the other day. The Prime Minister came in to The Northern Echo offices to discuss the big issues of the moment: foot-and-mouth, unemployment, education, health,
PIONEERING biomedical research at a North-East university is forging ahead thanks to a £2m grant from a charity named after a home building empire. Roy Leech, chairman of the Sir William Leech Charity, named after his late uncle, presented a cheque for
A NORTH-EAST prison officer has been sacked for wearing Nazi symbols to work, the Prison Service said last night. The officer was reported to jail bosses by shocked colleagues when he clocked on wearing tie pins displaying a Swastika and a German SS badge
PROPOSALS for the future of a scheme to protect the environment are to be taken to the people of Redcar. The Coatham and South Gare project has been working with the community over the past year to develop ideas for the enhancement of the South Gare area
A "FORGOTTEN" village in east Cleveland is standing up for itself in an attempt to get regeneration cash. Following the success of its Neighbourhood Watch and Millennium Committee, a residents' association has been set up in Carlin How. The former mining
