THE top hats and candles may have signalled a very traditional cortege - but for the mourners their grief was as much about the future as the past. Farmers from across the North gathered in Tony Blair's Sedgefield constituency yesterday for a symbolic
TWO burglars preyed on a widow after pretending they needed a plaster. Police have issued an e-fit of one of two men who called at the home of an 88-year-old woman in Spennymoor on Monday evening and stole her pension books and cash. One of the thieves
THE curse of the seventh-wicket stand returned to haunt Durham yesterday at the scene of its most harrowing appearance last season. The 52 added by Karl Krikken and Nathan Dumelow before bad light ended play is some way short of the 258 put on by Dominic
IN Newton Aycliffe nine years ago, I achieved something I am unlikely to repeat, a 20-minute conversation with Tony Blair on election night. I was a trainee reporter with The Northern Echo. The man who then was just plain MP for Sedgefield was a rising
'TWAS nice weather for ducks. Even better weather for Tories. There were some in Yarm High Street yesterday afternoon who were practically jigging raindances around the town hall. It was not the excited anticipation of Michael Portillo's imminent arrival
A WARNING has been issued by trading standards officials urging businesses not to fall for a donation con-trick. The alert follows a call received by a Hartlepool businessman from a firm calling itself Drug Abuse Awareness Campaign, with the address of
MORE than 200 people competed for the prize of being royalty for the day as part of Shildon's carnival preparations. A parade of 30 floats and decorated vehicles will take to the streets on Saturday, starting at the Dabble Duck Industrial Estate, at 11.45am
A GROUP of cricketers swapped their bats for arrows when they took part in a 24-hour darts marathon. Six members of Ushaw Moor Cricket Club participated in the sponsored event, to raise money for Sanderson's Children's Fund. The Newcastle charity, which
STAFF at a car parts factory are learning new skills in their spare time. Washington's Unipres is supporting 32 staff through courses ranging from information technology to Japanese working practices. The initiative is backed by the Automotive Sector
ECONOMIC development chiefs on Tyneside are preparing a business trip to Germany after a previous visit led to a number of contracts for local firms. They have enlisted the help of German student Sylva Tassy, 23, who has just finished her studies in Newcastle
DARLINGTON youngsters such as unfortunate goalkeeper Shaun Harrison experienced the thrills and spills of competitive sport yesterday. Shaun, 11, pictured letting in a penalty when his Reid Street Junior School side took on Raventhorpe Junior School,
DRAMA has been used to show pupils the effects of crime and punishment on young offenders. Groups of first year students from Sunnydale Comprehensive School, Shildon, have been taking part in drama workshops with members of the County Durham Youth Offending
POLICE have condemned the actions of "dangerous and irresponsible" drivers after nearly 60 people were fast-tracked through the legal system as part of a crackdown on speeding. Among the offenders put before courts within three weeks of being arrested
More than a dozen teenagers ended up in hospital after downing a potentially lethal batch of sleeping tablets. The 14 youngsters, who were all from the same school, are understood to have obtained the prescribed drugs after a pupil took them into school
A 38-YEAR-OLD man who had a summer holiday affair with a 13-year-old schoolgirl has been jailed for 12 months. The girl, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was enticed into Brian Telford's clutches with promises of marriage when she got to 16, and
A SCHEME to provide toys for children from less well-off families starts this week. Parents in the Pennywell, Ford and South Hylton areas of Sunderland can borrow toys through a new Toy Library scheme. The free library will be in Pennywell Neighbourhood
A COUNCIL has been criticised after workers broke into a disabled pensioners' backyard. When the man looked out to see three strangers in his yard, he thought at first he was being burgled. The sub-contractors, on a clean-up of streets in central Middlesbrough
A JAILED peace activist has vowed to continue her fight to be allowed to attend an election count to the last possible minute. And supporters of Helen John, running as an independent candidate in Tony Blair's Sedgefield constituency, County Durham, are
Letters from The Northern Echo DARLINGTON STADIUM A LOT of people might agree with the naming of the new ground, well I'm sorry, but I totally disagree with it. Yes, George Reynolds paid off the debts; yes, he saved us from liquidation, but what exactly
THE Office of Fair Trading said it planned to come up with solutions to the competition concerns raised by Belgian brewer Interbrew's takeover of Bass, by next month. The OFT said it would consult on remedies to address the adverse effects of the deal
A THEATRE arts group is celebrating after achieving a 100 per cent examination success. Members of Stagecoach Darlington, who entered the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art examinations, all gained the higher gradings of distinction and honours.
ELECTION night TV is to be a high-tech extravaganza with presenters and pundits suspended in virtual reality as broadcasters deploy video graphics more usually seen in Hollywood blockbusters. Peter Snow's swingometer will have to compete with all manner
ALMOST half of the taxi drivers in Darlington have been physically attacked by passengers, an independent survey has revealed. A report published by Nicole Westmerland, a former Darlington taxi driver, who is a researcher at the International Centre for
ONE of the region's best-known artists, Sheila Mackie, had good and bad news yesterday in her quest to unravel an art mystery. The good news is that the circus painting she donated to the children of her home town, Chester-le-Street, County Durham, in
A JAMES Bond lookalike from Darlington will add to the colour and atmosphere of Stanley's annual fun day. The 007-double, Nick Richmond, will be at the Cancer Research Campaign's flagship event in Stanley from 10am to 4pm on Saturday, June 30. All proceeds
VISITORS to the North York Moors are being offered ideas for walking routes, as National Park bosses try to encourage ramblers to return. Details of walks will be available to passengers on the Moorsbus services, which run to the area every Sunday from
A ROW over an experimental road closure is to be rekindled - with a decision expected on whether the temporary order is to be made permanent. Gypsy Lane, Nunthorpe, straddles the boundary between Redcar and Cleveland and Middlesbrough borough councils
MEMORIES of the greatest days in North-East sporting history are to be celebrated in a TV programme. In 1973, the region came to a halt as Division Two's Sunderland AFC took on the might of Leeds United, then one of the strongest teams in Europe, in the
POLICE officers who investigated an horrific knife attack on a teenager, and civilians who came to the aid of the boy are to be commended for their efforts. Ashley Murray was stabbed 18 times and left for dead by two teenage boys at the Birk Crag beauty
SHOPPERS were in a spin yesterday as the Bubble and Squeak roadshow rolled into town. The mouse from the new Aero TV advert arrived with his entourage in Middlesbrough town centre, where he challenged people to have a go at hula-hooping. Participants
NEWCASTLE Building Society has appointed a new chairman. He is 51-year-old Chris Hilton, a senior partner in law firm Eversheds, and a member of the council of the University of Newcastle. He has taken over from Eric Davey who has retired. Mr Hilton was
A CAMPAIGN group revealed last night that it is to stage a series of demonstrations today at branches of a chemical firm, including one on Teesside. Stop Huntingdon Animal Cruelty (Shac) was set up in protest against the practices of Huntingdon Life Sciences
A SERIES of weekly concerts has been arranged to be held in a Victorian park. The first band to perform in the programme at South Park, Darlington, will be Shildon MSC Band on Sunday. The programme will run until Sunday, August 19, and bands will perform
A watersports centre on the banks of the River Tees has been given a funding boost. Sport England has confirmed it will invest £959,530 towards the facility, which is currently under construction on the north bank of the river, and will benefit the local
SUNSHINE, markets and Stokesley, I recently discovered go together very well. Friday, being market day, seemed a good day to visit the town to see just how accessible things are. The day was fine, spring-like and full of promise. So what had Stokesley
WILLIAM Hague is right. The polls do not matter. In fact, this morning they are utterly meaningless. This morning, when you walk into the polling booths, Conservative, Labour and Liberal Democrat and all the other parties are level pegging on zero. There
Sven Goran Eriksson is fast becoming an English legend after rewriting the record books with a vital 2-0 World Cup win against Greece. The amazingly cool Swede has replaced Hagar the Horrible as the country's most popular Viking after making it five wins
TONY BLAIR and William Hague returned to the region last night, spending the final hours of the election campaign issuing rallying cries to supporters on home ground. And as both men issued impassioned appeals to their respective party faithful in their
DISABLED residents say they are taking their life in their hands going shopping in a North-East high street. They say the pavements of Front Street, in Chester-le-Street, are littered with road signs, rubbish bins, shop adverts and goods, making the journey
THOSE of us educated at the Timothy Hackworth school for the sons of gentlefolk - or at similarly instructive establishments long ago - may remember, word for word, John Masefield's poem called Cargoes. It's the one which talks of the Quinquireme of Nineveh
THE doors are set to open for a new business advice surgery this weekend, aimed at business people who can't spare the time in the week to seek help. The weekly surgeries are taking place at Tedco Business Works in South Shields on Saturday mornings,
THOSE of us educated at the Timothy Hackworth school for the sons of gentlefolk - or at similarly instructive establishments long ago - may remember, word for word, John Masefield's poem called Cargoes. It's the one which talks of the Quinquireme of Nineveh
A MAN appeared in court yesterday following a police seizure of drugs worth £50,000. Thomas Jefferson Davidson, 36, from Copy Lane, Bishop Auckland appeared before Sedgefield Magistrates yesterday afternoon facing five charges of possessing drugs with
WHEN Royston Ffrench notched up a grand total of 77 winners in 1998 it seemed he was a jockey destined for the very top. But such is the fickle nature of owners and trainers the talented lightweight then simply fell out of fashion and he ended last season
BRITAIN'S biggest selling chocolate bar, KitKat, is to get a wrapping make-over for the 21st Century. Nestle Rowntree said yesterday that it had decided to have a break with 66 years of tradition and get rid of the crunchy fingers' famous "foil and wrap
MEMBERS of the public queued up to use the facilities at a new leisure centre. Building work started on the Raich Carter Sports Centre, in Hendon, Sunderland two years ago. It opened its doors for the first time last week and some people waited for more
ORGANISERS of Richmond's biggest annual event have thanked the public for supporting this year's programme, despite the impact of foot-and-mouth disease. The Richmond Meet usually raises thousands of pounds for local charities during a weekend of family
PLANS to build a business park in a North-East town have been given the go-ahead. Up to 2,000 jobs could be created at the park on the outskirts of Darlington. Darlington Borough Council and regional development agency One NorthEast will sign the agreement
BROADCASTER and lecturer John Grundy will have a smashing time today when he launches a new tram shelter at Beamish Museum. One of the shelter's major features is a wall built from the museum's unique collection of local bricks. As part of the opening
STOCKTON Borough Council is taking the lead in tackling barking dogs. A third of noise complaints received by the council concern dogs. To raise awareness of the problem, council officials were in the town centre yesterday, talking to pet owners. Environmental
DESPITE Labour's boasts about increased NHS funding, bosses at the North-East's newest hospital have admitted they are facing financial difficulties. Tom Fitches, acting director of finance at the University Hospital of North Durham, told trust board
A BLACK policeman is suing a North-East force claiming he was publicly humiliated by fellow officers when a woman falsely accused him of rape. The woman, who was a mentally ill drug abuser, told detectives she had been attacked by PC Steven Allen and
SUNSHINE, markets and Stokesley, I recently discovered go together very well. Friday, being market day, seemed a good day to visit the town to see just how accessible things are. The day was fine, spring-like and full of promise. So what had Stokesley
A YOUTH football team is looking for more players to join in time for next season. Woodhouse United, in Bishop Auckland, have under-11 and under-13 teams competing in a five-a-side league at the Oakleaf Leisure Centre, Newton Aycliffe, every Saturday.
MEMBERS of mutual life insurer Friends Provident have voted overwhelmingly in favour of floating the group on the stock market. More than 97 per cent of members have backed the move to list the life insurer on the London Stock Exchange. The demutualisation
RECEIVERS at troubled shipbuilders Cammell Laird have announced a further 93 redundancies as efforts continued to find a buyer for the firm's three yards. PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), called in to rescue Cammell Laird at the beginning of April, said
PROTESTORS from the North-East gathered outside Maff's disease control centre in Newcastle yesterday to demand the closure of all mass foot-and-mouth burial sites throughout the country. About 20 people from Tow Law, near Bishop Auckland, marched with
The Cleveland Police officer whose allegations triggered the suspension of Zero Tolerance policeman Ray Mallon has been dismissed, it emerged last night. Detective Inspector Russ Daglish, together with Detective Constable Brendon Whitehead, were sacked
APPEALS for a commitment to improve safety on school journeys have fallen on deaf ears in all three major political parties. And safety campaigners accused all three of ducking their responsibility for child safety. The Northern Echo asked the three main
A LEADING children's charity last night urged courts to take child pornography seriously after a man who hoarded Internet images was allowed to walk free. The call came after a judge yesterday criticised magistrates for imposing only a fine on John Linsley
DURHAM County Council has revamped its website to bring it even closer to local people. The site, www.durham.gov, which is acknowledged as one of the best public sector sites in the country, has been redesigned after extensive consultation with users.
CRIMINALS are being invited to talk to the police in a bid to crack their habit, as part of an initiative by a North-East police force. The scheme, the first of its kind in the region, will focus on the small minority of regular criminals who are responsible
MEMBERS of Darlington's Citizen's Advice Bureau (CAB) have raised a toast to Volunteers Week. Now in its 16th year, the week is a major event in the UK's volunteering calendar, and the Darlington Citizen's Advice Bureau is taking the opportunity to highlight
A CHARITY is having to dispose of humanitarian aid destined for Eastern Europe because it is too difficult to deliver supplies. Operation Joseph, based in Bishop Auckland, was set up just over three years ago to distribute supplies to poverty-stricken
A SEX attacker is still loose in a North-East town a month after he subjected a woman to an horrific assault. Detectives in Darlington continue to investigate the assault, which took place in the town's Green Lane on May 7. They say there has been an
A SEMINAR about the new technology which is helping old and vulnerable people live more independent lives will take place next week. The national event will be hosted by Durham County Council's social services department at County Hall on Tuesday, June
A JUDGE yesterday criticised magistrates who imposed only a fine on a man who hoarded Internet images of men having sex with children as young as five. A leading children's charity urged courts to take child pornography more seriously after John Linsley
THE former Governor of Hong Kong and a Geordie TV presenter have taken over as a charity's new patrons. St Cuthbert's Care, the region's largest social care charity announced the Right Honourable Chris Patten and Declan Donnelly, of Ant and Dec fame,
POLICE have warned vandals to stay away from a convicted paedophile's home after two of his windows were broken. Stones were thrown at the double-glazed windows of Peter Ainsley's house in Elmway, on the Hilda Park estate in Chester-le-Street. The attack
A CARING cat lover is needed to provide a home for Winnie, a black and white female who may need medication for the rest of her life. The three-year-old was found painfully ill and thin at Winton Bank, near Northallerton, last year and June Levey, of
A GROUP of cricketers swapped their bats for arrows when they took part in a 24-hour darts marathon. Six members of Ushaw Moor Cricket Club participated in the sponsored event, to raise money for Sanderson's Children's Fund. The Newcastle charity, which
