SHOPKEEPERS who break the law and sell in imperial measures have the overwhelming support of the British public - with particular backing from women. In a clear signal that European-driven legislation is out of touch with the wishes of the British people
PLANS by transport campaigners to continue using a yard at Leeming Bar for storing and maintaining buses are being opposed by Aiskew parish councillors. The Leases Road site has been criticised for looking like a scrapyard, containing old double-decker
Q: WHERE does confetti originate and why do we throw it at newly-weds? - A Hagger, Newton Hall, Durham. A: THE word confetti is the Italian plural of confetto and it is traditionally thrown during carnivals in Italy and America. The English words confectionery
A STUDENT will spend his summer in San Francisco thanks to his success in a design contest. Teesside University student Simon Richie, 21, won £1,000 in the Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufacture and Commerce student design awards. His
MARTIAL arts experts from around the world will descend on Peterlee, County Durham, for a Capoeira festival this weekend. The trendy sport of Capoeira combines dance, music and acrobatics and first arrived in Britain in the early 1990s. Students from
THERE is no such thing as a fair electoral system. Imperfections exist, no matter what voting procedures are adopted. While there are many less than satisfactory features in the British first-past-the-post system, one virtue is that it invariably finds
CARERS in Derwentside will soon benefit from a new support centre set up with the help of an £8,000 grant. The Lloyds TSB Foundation has given the cash to Carers Support Derwentside to help pay the salary of Donna Brown, who will run a new resource unit
A UNIVERSITY has joined forces with four further education colleges to help ease students into academic life. The University of Sunderland has joined forces with East Durham and Houghall, South Tyneside, Hartlepool and Tyneside colleges to offer people
A PAPERBOY who had his bike stolen can complete his rounds in comfort again thanks to a football club. Gary Baldwin, 14, was forced to walk half a mile every day from the C and B News Shop, in North Ormesby, following the theft. When staff at the BT Cellnet
A DARLINGTON organisation is helping the borough's employers to tap into an unused workforce. Advance Employment was set up by Darlington Borough Council and The WM Morrison Enterprise Trust to help people with disabilities to find paid employment. Since
A NORTH-EAST student has been awarded a special medal for excellence. Glynis Craggs, who is a student at Darlington College of Technology's Catterick campus, received the City and Guilds Medal for Excellence. She was nominated for her work and dedication
A HOSPICE is planning a week of activities to mark the Year of the Volunteer. Teesside Hospice's celebration of the national event began on Friday, with a balloon launch in which each balloon represented a volunteer. In the afternoon, East Cleveland volunteers
EUROPE A FEW months ago, Nissan secured a nice £40m hand-out from the Government by using moral blackmail. The threat of job losses and production of the new Almera going to a different country were the main reasons given. Now, we have yet again an attempt
THE might of the Roman Empire has returned to haunt a village football team desperate to find a new pitch. Bowes Football Club fears the legionnaires who arrived to garrison the site of their village, near Barnard Castle, County Durham, almost 2000 years
A COOL company is basking in success following its busiest spell in 50 years. The Cleveland Refrigeration Company, at Middlesbrough's Lawson Industrial Estate, has trebled in size in less than three years, growing by 47 per cent last year. The firm supplies
A COMMUNITY centre has embarked on a publicity drive to attract more women through its doors. Five thousand leaflets are being distributed throughout the area by the South Bank Women's Centre. Centre manager, Sue Anderson, said: "What we want to let people
EMPTY units in shopping centres built in the 1960s and 1970s have reached an abnormally high level, a study has revealed. The report, which looks at the shopping centre market since 1965, highlights the difficulties that property companies in the region
YOUNGSTERS experienced the ups and downs of cycling during a hilly ride at the weekend. Mountain biking enthusiasts, including Derek Bell, 12, and Glenn Dack, 13, above, gathered at Summerhill, in Hartlepool, on Saturday for a Cyclo Day for under-18s,
DR Harash Narang headed a convoy of tractors which passed through Byker yesterday as he pushed his campaign to unseat Agriculture Minister Nick Brown. Dr Narang, who is standing against Mr Brown in Newcastle East, has been a stern critic of Mr Brown's
SHARP-EYED wildlife lovers are being invited to help an organisation boost otter numbers in County Durham's rivers. The creatures almost vanished from the area about twenty years ago, after their numbers declined dramatically in the 1950s. Now the Northumbrian
Bryan Robson's reign as Middlesbrough manager could be brought to an end today after seven years. Robson has been in lengthy talks with chairman Steve Gibson and club officials since the end of the season. And the club are now ready to make an announcement
Saqlain Mushtaq accepted his opportunity to make amends for his winter disappointments by bowling Pakistan to a sensational victory over England in a fitting finale to the compelling second Test. But the victory was tinged with controversy as four of
NEW measures to curb crime and vandalism are being developed following the latest outbreak of trouble in a run-down area. During recent weeks, residents of west Middlesbrough have suffered arson attacks and ramraids by a group of youths. In the latest
CRICKETERS are enjoying a clearer view of the game, thanks to advice from an expert in sports vision. Alastair Wade, of optometrists Steven and Wade, is now responsible for monitoring the eye health of the 20-strong squad at Durham County Cricket Club
It was a year ago today that I arrived to find the village of South Church rising from a sheet of water. Emergency services and soldiers were helping to evacuate residents, including the elderly from two nursing homes. It was clear that the community,
A FOSTER care scheme which offers carers fees of up to £16,000 a year is creating nationwide interest. The Social Services initiative in Sunderland began two years ago. Debbie Gaskin, manager of the fostering team, said: "We are asking carers not only
AN 82-year-old man is in hospital after fracturing his hip in a road collision. The crash happened at 5.20pm on Saturday, as the Middlesbrough pensioner was driving on the A66, near Darlington. At the Long newton turn-off, his Ford Escort collided with
RISING North-East rock talent Pete Shoulder is hoping a one-off London gig could pave the way to the big time. The 17-year-old guitarist, singer and songwriter, from Chester-le-Street, County Durham, is performing today at a club in the centre of the
CHARITIES and organisations throughout the region have received a boost from a police force. Each year, the Durham Police Motorcycles group stages a family fun day, called Bikewise, to raise money for charity. The beneficiaries this year were St Teresa's
EXPERTS have artificially aged the voice of Yorkshire Ripper hoaxer Wearside Jack. Scientists hope his aged voice, which they claim to have traced to Castletown, Sunderland, will help to trap the hoaxer more than 20 years after he hampered the Ripper
A THIEF stole a bag containing a cheque book from a house while the owner was at home. The man, wearing dark clothing, was seen running from the house in Commercial Street, Willington, between 1.40pm and 1.45pm on Saturday. Detectives in Crook want to
THE last of 2,000 Catholics who embarked on a pilgrimage arrived home last night, after a trip fraught with difficulty. Catholics from throughout the Middlesbrough diocese, stretching from the River Tees to the Humber, and the North Sea to the Pennines
WHEN it comes to voting for Tony Blair, let me try to spread a little apathy. For a start, there's more reality in Big Brother than there has been throughout Blair's election campaign. It's all been spin and smoke and mirrors, deceitful propaganda and
A CHURCH in need of cash for rebuilding work has come up with a novel way to fill its collection boxes. St Mary's Church, in Thirsk, is looking for people to sponsor stones to make up a £15,000 shortfall. The rector, the Reverend Eric Norris, said: "There
THIEVES have stolen hundreds of bags of clothing destined for a charity for the disabled. Managers at the Stanley branch of Scope, which helps sufferers of cerebral palsy, have asked the public for help after the third attack by thieves. The two culprits
PUB regulars waited patiently for their pints while landlady Katherine Furmidge finished her new first-class delivery for villagers - a post office behind the counter. The Crown Inn, at Grewelthorpe, near Ripon, stepped into the breach as home for the
CONCERNS have been raised by councillors over a proposed housing development on a former hospital site. Outline planning permission for 233 houses on the site of the former Aycliffe Hospital, School Aycliffe, has been granted by Darlington Borough Council
A NORTH-EAST business club has become one of the fastest-growing organisations of its kind in the country. Darlington Business Club is celebrating after securing European funding worth £22,500 over the past two years. The funding has enabled it to offer
APPROVAL has been granted for a £420,000 business centre expansion, which is expected to create 20 jobs in an unemployment blackspot. The new business units would be added to the multi-million pound business development at Villa Real, in Consett. Funding
THE man who has led the region's biggest local authority for the past 12 years, earning the unofficial title of Mr County Durham, has called time on his political career. At the age of 65, Don Robson, former teacher and professional footballer, has decided
THE noise of battle and the genteel art of patchwork making may seem light years apart, but one North-East museum has brought them together for one weekend. Beamish Museum is to stage a 1913 military camp with demonstrations of horseback "skill at arms
LOCAL people are being urged to help piece together the history of Crook. Crook and District Local History Society is assembling material on shopping past and present in the town, for an electronic equivalent of a regional Domesday Book. The society is
A RECYCLING project at BP Wilton raised more than £750 for a local charity. Instead of scrapping them, the company sold three portable cabins to local businesses, which were delivered at no charge by haulage contractors, P Hoggart Haulage. The sales generated
THE Darlington on-line centres project will be headed by Sally Hall, 38, from Sunderland. She has worked in information technology for ten years, and has eight years of experience with a training company, giving her the expertise in the main areas needed
A HOST of new "bite size" courses at a north Durham centre will give students plenty to get their teeth into. Stanley's Return to Learn Centre is offering a number of short sessions, of one or two hours, to give people the chance to sample different subjects
AN initiative has been launched to combat domestic violence in Darlington. The Darlington Domestic Violence Forum has joined forces with the local authority and Durham police to unveil the Get on Board bus advertising campaign. The campaign, which will
The region's largest scale model show came to South Shields at the weekend. Thousands of models were on display at the two-day event in Temple Park Centre. Organised by the International Plastic Modellers' Society, the show included senior and junior
MILITARY postman Ian Nottingham is in training to make special deliveries that will take him as far afield as Poland and Cyprus. This summer, Private Nottingham and his part-time postal and courier regiment will be working harder than ever to make sure
A BEAUTY spot has staged its first rock concert. The Levellers entertained music fans at Dalby Forest, which has become an eco-friendly concert venue. The Forestry Commission had prepared an amphitheatre in the forest, near Pickering, North Yorkshire.
This has not been a very good week as far as the farming side is concerned. Foot-and-mouth unfortunately struck nearby in a farm at Summerhouse, which resulted in its stock and surrounding stock being slaughtered on Tuesday. Although our stock did not
The survival horror genre has taken on a new dimension with a new Gallic game which is guaranteed to give you nightmares REVIEWS Alone In the Dark 4: The New Nightmare (Infogrames) Format: PlayStation, PSOne. (£29.99) THE Japanese may like the world to
A WILDLIFE group is looking for volunteers to carry out essential work at one of its smallest nature reserves. The Yorkshire Wildlife Trust is planning to pull up thistles from the Jeffrey Bog nature reserve, near Malton, as they pose a threat to native
ABOUT 6,000 people saw Durham University row their way to glory in the North's own university boat race. The banks of the River Tyne were crammed with spectators catching a glimpse of a thrilling climax to the fifth annual Northumbrian Water Boat Race
A NEWLY-formed community group will benefit from a £120,000 scheme that could mark a turnaround in fortunes for the area. At the end of last month, about 50 residents of the Bankfields estate, in Eston, Teesside, signed an agreement to form a community
SHOPPERS squared up to a real-life computer game character for a water shoot-out at the weekend. A human double of PlayStation girl Lara Croft was the star guest at Asda, in Billingham, on Saturday. She soaked customers - and got her fair share of drenching
A SCHEME which has helped hundreds of elderly, disabled and underprivileged people adapt and repair their homes is celebrating five years of success. Care and Repair Easington, one of the first Home Improvement Agencies set up in County Durham, celebrated
IT'S getting on 15 years since the Little 'Un, as then he almost was, last lunched with us in the brewery country around Masham, in North Yorkshire. He was barely two at the time, innocently persuaded to try some futuristic orange cake that was up to
THE first local project in a scheme to put the region's history on the worldwide web is under way. Tomorrow's History is a project coordinated by the North-East Museums, Archives and Libraries Council (Nemlac) to celebrate the richness of the region's
A MAN had a lucky escape after his bed caught fire as he slept off a drinking binge. A neighbour alerted the fire brigade at about 3.10am on Saturday when he saw smoke coming from a house in High Street West, Coatham, Redcar. Firefighters arrived to find
HOURS of dedicated bird watching have gone into a new publication which should prove popular with ornithologists and other nature lovers in County Durham. A Summer Atlas of the Breeding Birds of County Durham, should also prove a useful guide for planning
AN Eaglescliffe schoolgirl has been highly commended in a national handwriting competition. Gino Cara, eight, was one of 180,000 children to enter the Parker Prize National Schools Handwriting Competition. Gino, a pupil at The Links Primary School, Eaglescliffe
HEAVENLY performers will help mark a milestone in an ancient building's history. Middlesbrough-born singer Suzannah Clarke and harpist Kate Wilson, who call themselves the Angels of the North, will present a concert of jazz, songs from the shows and light
A MAJOR reorganisation at the Northern arm of electrical distributors Newey and Eyre has led to the creation of 20 jobs. The job creation has been sparked by the building of a 40,000sq ft central distribution depot in Stockton, as well as the opening
AN appeal has been launched for items from the 1940s to help museum visitors take a trip back in time. Staff at Darlington Railway Centre and Museum are planning to give the annual September railway festival a 1940s theme, and want to borrow items for
ROYLE Family actor Ricky Tomlinson yesterday gave his support to Arthur Scargill who is attempting to unseat Peter Mandelson in Hartlepool, and called on the left to unite. The actor who plays the foul-mouth couch-potato Jim Royle in the hit comedy series
BILLY Liar is probably the best-known fictional fibber of all time, and his creator, Keith Waterhouse, is one of the stars of the Durham Literature Festival, which launches next week. To celebrate writer and columnist Mr Waterhouse's appearance at the
A SUPERMARKET is hoping to revive the great British cuppa and tired parents with tea hit squads. The English are renowned for their love affair with tea, but according to the latest National Food Survey, published by the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries
A REMARKABLE golf match, which had to be completed in the middle of the night, ended in amazing fashion - with a hole-in-one. John Hutchinson hit the shot-in-a-million to win a pairs game which finished at nearly 10pm in the pitch black and in the pouring
TELEVISION writer and animal campaigner Carla Lane has sent a personal message of support to protestors opposing a foot-and-mouth burial site at Tow Law, County Durham. The writer of series such as Bread, Ms Lane believes the long-term effects of the
A lorry driver who killed six people when he ploughed into three vehicles on the hard shoulder of a motorway was last night beginning a six-year jail sentence. Brian France, 55, had either fallen asleep or was reading work documents when his Sainsbury's
RESIDENTS of Tony Blair's Sedgefield constituency have shown overwhelming support for a North-East Assembly, a poll has revealed. While the Prime Minister remains lukewarm to the idea of directly-elected regional parliaments, more than 70 per cent of
CANDIDATES for the seats of Darlington, City of Durham, Sedgefield and Bishop Auckland have been invited to a hustings meeting at Hallgarth Hall Hotel at Coatham Mundeville, near Darlington, tomorrow. The meeting is organised by the local branch of the
A STUDENT at the University of Teesside has a vision that will transform Middlesbrough station. Belinda Wigerfelt's ideas are part of the final year project for her BA (Hons) degree in Interior Architecture and Design. Belinda, 25, originally from Helsinborg
A PLEA for records of a village war memorial has been issued by a parish council, in a bid to have the monument listed. Clifford Herrington, parish clerk at Newsham, near Richmond, is hoping to trace documentation from the unveiling of the memorial in
A project to build Britain's first mainline steam locomotive in 40 years has been rocked by allegations that it may never take to the tracks because of safety concerns. Now the trustees overseeing the £1.7m scheme are expected to face a confidence vote
Twenty floats have so far been confirmed as taking part in the opening of the Love Parade in Newcastle this summer. Radio One will have two floats at the event on June 21, while clubs like Cream, Gatecrasher and Shindig will also join the line-up
DOCTORS are fighting to save the life of a seven-month-old baby. Just eight days after his birth, doctors diagnosed Louis Simm with a rare form of cancer. A malignant tumour has wrapped itself around his liver, and his parents will find out next week
A MEMORIAL sculpture offering a place of remembrance for parents whose children were stillborn or died at a young age has been unveiled. The stone carving in the Stonefall Cemetery, Harrogate, North Yorkshire, was created by artist Andy Banks after a
THE parents of an autistic youngster are hoping a fun day will help them complete their 18-month fundraising mission. Paul and Sandi Collins staged an open day at Redcar Leisure Centre to try to raise the outstanding cash needed to send their son to America
A bus driver had a lucky escape after being pinned to her seat by a piece of wood after a road accident. The woman, who has not been named, had to be cut free by firefighters after the accident at 9.28pm on Saturday. She was driving the bus, with two
PARENTS living near a mass foot-and-mouth burial site were forced to lock their children indoors as the putrid smell of rotten flesh enveloped their homes. Families living in Tow Law, County Durham, say weekend rain caused flooding at the controversial
THE Conservatives, Liberal Democrats and Green Party are battling to end Derek Foster's 22-year reign as Labour MP, in Bishop Auckland, on Thursday. Mr Foster's fight to retain the seat is based around his hopes for Labour to build upon the positive things
A LIBERAL Democrat peer is visiting the region today to drum up support. Lord Trevor Smith, a professor of politics, from Yorkshire, will be visiting Durham, Newcastle and Northumberland. Accompanied by Carol Woods, LibDem candidate for Durham City, Lord
tearaway Spiderboy has vowed to turn his back on crime, after the birth of his son. Tommy Laws, 21, was released from prison just days ago and said his son, Tom Jnr, has changed his life. Laws, whose girlfriend Michelle Suniga, 18, gave birth in January
TWO talented Darlington joinery students showed they are top of the class in a recent youth construction competition. Lee Fawcett and Simon Dale were awarded first and second places in the regional heat of the Skillbuild Youth in Construction competition
OIL company BP has blamed the high cost of refurbishment for its decision to close a Darlington petrol station. The Drovers' Filling Station, in Woodland Road, will close on June 28. because BP is unwilling to replace underground storage tanks. Barbara
A SUMMER scheme has been created to help school leavers in Darlington. The Department for Education and Employment scheme aims to give youngsters the chance to develop team working and life skills, and build their confidence. More than 50 young people
MORE North Yorkshire businesses than ever are likely to be exporting in the next few years, thanks to the success of a European-funded initiative. So far, more than 175 firms have shown a commitment to exporting by joining a series of initiatives run
A £3m scheme to revamp a shopping centre will help it compete with the region's major shopping centres, according to a leading councillor. Royal and Sun Alliance, which owns Middlesbrough's Hill Street Centre, has announced it is to spend the cash on
AN East Cleveland museum will be glowing thanks to a donation from a local company. The Tom Leonard Mining Museum in Skinningrove has recreated the underground experience that miners across East Cleveland would have endured more than 100 years ago. Candlelight
NINE drop-in centres aimed at improving people's information technology skills are being launched to help deprived areas of Darlington. Almost half a million pounds of funding has been agreed to allow the first six centres to be set up. Additional money
POLICE are hunting two youths who punched a teenager before mugging him under a bridge. The attack happened at about 6.30pm on Friday, when the 15-year-old was passing under the flyover bridge on Walkworth Road, Billingham, Teesside, outside the King's
ONE of the smallest dog training clubs in the country has proved that size does not matter when it comes to Crufts. Members of Barnard Castle Dog Training Club impressed the crowds and the cameras during their time at the world's biggest dog show. Televised
A FORGOTTEN model of a wartime plane has been rescued to mark the release of the film Pearl Harbour. It was almost 20 years ago that Paul Hewson, chairman of the Hartlepool Model Flying Club, set to work on a giant model of a Second World War Japanese
AN injury to a railway station worker sparked a roof-top rescue. A 34-year-old man working on guttering at York station on Friday is believed to have dislocated his hip and had to be rescued by firefighters and paramedics using a turntable ladder and
A RURAL taxi standards scheme has proved so successful that it is now to be extended to other areas. An initiative to raise standards in taxi customer service has been piloted in the Wear Valley and Sedgefield areas of County Durham. A number of drivers
MOLLYCODDLED moggies can enjoy the purrfect holiday in the comfort of their owner's home. Animal lover June Buxton has set up a cat-sitting business that ensures home-loving felines don't have to live in a cattery when their owners go away. Comfy Cats
