Archive

  • Stolen dump truck crashes into garage

    THIEVES lost control of a stolen dumper truck and smashed it into a woman's garage in Ferryhill. The machine plunged into the site of Ann Bell's garage after it careered off Skipton Road around midnight on Saturday. The garage has only recently been rebuilt

  • Young people sought for sea adventure

    SEA-LOVING young people are needed to complete the crew of a historic vessel for prestigious races. The James Cook, the North-East's sail training vessel, requires extra recruits for the Cutty Sark Tall Ships' Races, in July and August. Its first race

  • Trapped children freed

    TWO children were released by firefighters after they became stuck in separate incidents. A two-year-old boy had to be helped at Sidney Street, Fence Houses, near Chester-le-Street, County Durham, after he got his finger stuck in a toy truck. He was released

  • Youngsters line up to battle for games glory

    THOUSANDS of young people will converge on Gateshead to take part in the third Tyne and Wear Youth Games. More than 1,300 youngsters, aged between eight and 16, have competed in a series of area heats to win places at the youth games final, which will

  • Football club's ball bonus

    YOUNG football fans are celebrating a National Lottery windfall which has helped to set up their junior club. Coundon, near Bishop Auckland, has never been lacking in football talent. The home of former Newcastle player Alan Shoulder produces many keen

  • Farming research centre to be established in North-East

    A RESEARCH centre to improve organic farming production is to be set up in the North-East, it was revealed yesterday. Supermarket chain Tesco announced it is to fund research at Newcastle University over the next five years - thought to be the biggest

  • Joint fire and police station ruling due

    A FINAL decision on plans for a joint police and fire station to be built in a market town is expected this week. Emergency services chiefs have submitted proposals to Hambleton District Council for the dual-purpose station in Bedale. The fire station

  • Top authors lined up for books festival

    TOP writers will address audiences at the Durham Literature Festival later this month, at Bishop Auckland Town Hall. The festival starts on June 19, at 7.30pm, with Biting Back, the launch of an anthology of work by North-East writers. Contributors, including

  • Climber finds himself in top company

    KEEN Climber Neville Price will always remember his 45th birthday as one of the high points of his life. Mr Price, a detective constable based at Newton Aycliffe, County Durham, achieved his ambition of reaching the summit of Britain's highest peak, Ben

  • Opposition to 150 homes plan

    MORE objections have been voiced over a proposed housing development in Stockton. Thousands of signatures have already been handed to the borough council opposing plans to build 150 houses, offices, e-commerce centres, call centres, a hotel, health club

  • Eating Owt

    IT IS not easy to imagine how staff at Glaxo Pharmaceuticals managed without the Red Well Inn, so greatly has it seemed of late to be just what the doctor ordered. The two have long been on opposite sides of the road in Barnard Castle, the pub both a

  • Clergyman disappointed over cash bid

    A RECTOR has criticised English Heritage for not backing him in his fight to save three historic stained glass windows. The Reverend Ralph Shaw, rector of St Stephen's Church, Mile End Road, South Shields, applied for £40,000 to move the windows from

  • Venture Scouts receive top awards

    A GROUP of Venture Scouts has won one of the top awards in scouting. Craig Robson, Emma Thompson, David Barker and Michael Clough, from the 5th Durham Venture Scout Unit, have gained the Queen's Scout Award. They received their awards at a ceremony at

  • Thieves leave ferrets to die

    CRUEL thieves left 18 baby ferrets to die after stealing their mothers from an allotment. The night-time raiders struck at a cabin in the Burn Valley area of Hartlepool, leaving the defenceless animals in cages without their mothers. Ten of the babies

  • Probe into work on new steam loco

    INDEPENDENT inspectors are to examine a landmark steam locomotive project amid fears work carried out so far is not up to standard. Anxiety over the future of the £1.7m scheme has forced the trustees overseeing the work to consider ways of giving the

  • Morgan owners spread their wings

    HUNDREDS of classic car enthusiasts turned up at Beamish Museum to appreciate the best of British yesterday. About 50 Morgan cars, all hand-made in this country, were on display at the County Durham museum in a rally organised by the Morgan Car Club.

  • Lifeline for transplant

    CHILDREN awaiting heart transplants are to be thrown a lifeline by one of the region's top heart transplant hospitals. A Government-funded research scheme will provide a machine that can keep children's hearts pumping for as long as three months while

  • Maddison still expected to move to Feethams

    DARLINGTON expect to complete the signing of Neil Maddison this week. There were reports at the weekend that Maddison might not be coming to Feethams after his agent said that other clubs were still interested in him, but Quakers are confident that the

  • Boro's move all above board

    MIDDLESBROUGH last night denied making an illegal approach to Manchester United for Steve McClaren, who is officially scheduled to take over at the Riverside Stadium this morning. Chief executive Keith Lamb described as 'inaccurate' reports that United

  • The mouse saga that's set to run and run

    AFTER a six-year mousehunt and a four-day courtroom battle, a rare pearl-encrusted rodent, which experts from a North-East museum believed was its stolen star exhibit, is back in police custody. Now Bowes Museum, near Barnard Castle, could face an expensive

  • Magpies' hopes pinned on leisure scheme

    NEWCASTLE United Football Club hopes to build a multi-million pound leisure, retail complex and luxury hotel at its St James' Park stadium. Details of the plan, which would change the face of a large part of the city centre, emerged yesterday. The complex

  • McVeigh, martyr

    TIMOTHY McVeigh's piercing stare, impassive face, close-cropped hair and chilling words have made him a US icon of evil. Even strapped to a couch, staring death in the face, he showed no fear, unlike the witnesses brought in to watch his death, with whom

  • Pizza delivery man robbed

    A PIZZA delivery man was threatened at knifepoint by three muggers and forced to hand over cash at the weekend. The mugging took place at Gleneagles Road, Sunderland, at about 3am on Saturday. The thugs asked for a light for a cigarette as the worker

  • Heads' horror over faulty exam marks

    HEADTEACHERS have expressed their "horror" after learning that thousands of children's national test papers sent for remarking come back with higher grades. The Northern Echo can reveal that up to 75 per cent of maths papers resubmitted to the Assessment

  • Village welcomes back the Albion - junior style

    BEFORE the war they were formidable, after it no pushovers. Now Eldon Albion, one of Co Durham's best known football teams, is being revived. Instead of the old Albion, however, the new club - which plays its first game today - will be an under 11 side

  • All aboard the learning train at work and at home

    staff training is a real family affair at TMD Friction, in Hartlepool . More than 30 workers and their partners are getting to grips with IT. The brake pads manufacturer has supported a major learning initiative through the Automotive Sector Strategic

  • Mountain rescuers on hand for mishap

    A LUCKY chance meant a mountain rescue team from a North Yorkshire air base was in the right place when a group of climbers got into difficulties in Scotland over the weekend. The crew from RAF Leeming were on a training mission on a mountain, The Cobbler

  • Couple are rescued after blaze on yacht

    A couple were rescued by the coastguard when their yacht caught fire off the North-East coast. The pair put out a Mayday call and waited for the coastguard when their 28ft yacht, Kingfisher, caught fire half-a-mile off Hartlepool. An electrical fault

  • Famous city hotel to expand

    DURHAM City's most famous hotel is in the process of expanding. Work has begun on 11 new bedrooms at the Durham Marriott Royal County Hotel. When the work is finished in the summer, it will take the number of bedrooms at the hotel to 150. The £500,000

  • Soccer stars line up to aid charity

    SOCCER bad boy Frank McAvennie teamed up with television cherubs Ant and Dec for a charity football match yesterday. Declan Donnelly and Anthony McPartlin joined former Newcastle United stars, who came out of retirement for the game at Gateshead Stadium

  • Green Howard admits killing

    A NORTH-EAST soldier has admitted killing a black railway worker outside a nightclub and seriously injuring his friend. Private Wayne King, 20, from Middlesbrough, admitted the manslaughter of Glyne Agard, 34, following a brawl outside the club in Westbury

  • Actor pops in

    Soap heartthrob Gary Lucy, who plays Luke in Hollyoaks is coming to Teesside. The actor will be at the Zanzibar nightclub in Stockton, on Friday, June 29. Entry to the club is free before 10.30pm and a bus will take would-be clubbers from Bierrex in Albert

  • Midfield team-mates net a football close-season double

    THERE was a rare double for Hartlepool United at the weekend when two star players took part in perfect matches. Midfielders Ian Clark and Mark Tinkler swapped the football pitch for the church aisle on Saturday as they both tied the knot. Ian and his

  • Sue switches from fashion to new image with e-comeleon

    ADVANCED imaging company e-comeleon has appointed an image co-ordinator. SUE TUNNEY will be responsible for monitoring image trends to identify new ideas in pattern, design and art which can be transferred into new products such as mobile phone covers

  • People urged to consider foster career

    A COUNCIL is urging potential foster carers to come forward to look after youngsters, as part of a national campaign. North Yorkshire County Council is backing Foster Care Fortnight, which runs until Sunday, and is focusing on what motivates people to

  • Window appeal unites village

    A CHURCH is celebrating a turnaround in fortunes after successfully uniting the community to support it. St Margaret's, in Brotton, east Cleveland, was plagued by vandalism when the Reverend Bruce Harrison took over as rector 18 months ago. New floodlights

  • Hungary for tourism

    DERWENTSIDE tourism experts have just returned from central Europe after assessing their bid to attract more holidaymakers to the region. Representatives from Ray Hopper Associates (RHA), in Consett, visited Szolnok County, in north-east Hungary, to look

  • Garden to be created in grounds of hospital

    A MULTI-SENSORY garden is being created in the grounds of a Durham hospital for elderly patients with mental problems. The garden, next to Holmdale Villa at Earls House Hospital, will stimulate patients' senses, such as sight and smell, which help bring

  • £1,000 charity boost

    LEISURE club staff who took part in an aerobics challenge have raised more than £1,000 for a children's charity. The group, from Stockton's Springs Health and Leisure Club, raised £1,072 for the Starlight Children's Foundation, which raises money to brighten

  • Excluded pupils ready to tread theatre boards

    A MULTI-MEDIA theatre production, Base Jump, will premier at Newcastle Playhouse on June 13-14 with a cast drawn from 12 young people excluded from County Durham schools. A nine-strong team of professionals linked to North Durham's Cap-a-Pie Theatre Company

  • Pupils stage maritime fantasy adventure

    CHILDREN from a North Yorkshire primary school will be telling the tale of the House That Sailed Away this week - but it has nothing to do with last year's floods. The play, to be staged at Helmsley Primary School, has a cast of more than 150 - many of

  • Ken planning dizzy charity challenge

    CHURCH treasurer Ken Braithwaite is taking fundraising to new heights. Later this month, he will step out for charity by walking across the 180ft transporter bridge, at Middlesbrough. Mr Braithwaite will be raising money for his church in Chopgate, as

  • Lowry's town hall sells for £256,750

    A PORTRAIT of a North-east landmark created by L S Lowry has been sold at auction. The picture by the "matchstick men" painter, called The Town Hall, Middlesbrough, sold for £256,750 - more than £50,000 above its estimated price. The painting was one

  • Fire crews save scrapyard man

    A MAN was rescued from a burning scrapyard after he tried to rescue two dogs from the flames. Firefighters managed to drag the man and one of the dogs from the flames at DHQ Motors, Hepburn Gardens, Felling, Gateshead, on Saturday morning. Forty scrap

  • National title hope for crime fighters

    A NEIGHBOURHOOD Watch association is stepping up its fight against crime in a bid to gain a national title. Darlington's Skerne Park group, formed in 1998, has developed a crime-fighting initiative for ADT National Neighbourhood Watch Week, from June

  • Scouts in rethink to stop steady decline in recruits

    A STEEP decline in members has forced the Scouts to rethink its strategy. The organisation, founded in 1897 by Lord Baden Powell, hopes to ditch its old-fashioned image. Nationally, membership has fallen from 190,101 in 1998 to 171,205 last year. In Darlington

  • Bed and breakfast backed

    A BED and breakfast's expansion plans have been backed by city councillors. A two-storey extension providing eight beds at the Farnley Tower Hotel, The Avenue, Durham City, has been approved by the city council's development control committee. The building

  • City celebrates another award

    TWO cities in the region have proved that they are still tops when it comes to tourism. York has been named the best holiday destination outside London in this year's Thomas Cook Travel Awards. Newcastle recorded a creditable tenth in the same awards.

  • Volunteers win thanks

    SPECIAL thank you cards were presented to hard-working charity volunteers by their mayor. The mayor of Durham, Councillor John Cowper, presented the cards to volunteers at the Cancer Research Campaign shop, in Silver Street, Durham City. Coun Cowper said

  • Village youngsters get place to play

    VILLAGE youngsters are to get a safe place to play, thanks to muck being turned into brass. A fund set up under the landfill tax credit scheme has provided £37,000 to help create a play area at Rainton, near Thirsk. The village is near the Great North

  • Sturgeon's sale sparks interest

    AN unusual catch was on offer to fish lovers in the region at the weekend. A sturgeon was on sale on Teesside after fisherman Philip Walsh caught it in the North Sea. The fish are so rare in UK waters that, by law, Mr Walsh had to offer it to Buckingham

  • Keep on truckin' arcade-style

    REVIEWS 18 Wheeler American Pro Trucker. Publisher: Sega. Format: Dreamcast. (£29.99) NO matter how great the graphics achieved by home consoles, for some people, the only place to play video games is the arcade. Recently, consoles have closed the gap

  • Row over vote access

    CONDITIONS at a North-East polling station for Thursday's General Election have been criticised by disabled voters. Bill Wade, from Bridge Street, Bishop Auckland, visited the polling station in the County Durham town's Market Place and found the building

  • Burning questions

    Q: I HAVE just read of the proposal to operate a River Bus between the mouth of the Tyne to Blaydon and Newburn. I wondered if there had been any developments to the plan to construct a canal from Carlisle to the mouth of the Tyne to link up with continental

  • Football club's support is a comfort to epileptic toddler

    A CHILD who suffers from a rare form of epilepsy has been given new hope by a football club. From six months old, Sam Robinson, now aged 19 months, has suffered from severe myoclonic epilepsy. As a result of the rare illness, which affects no other children

  • Boxers' bonus

    THE gloves are on for a Sunderland kick boxing club, thanks to Northumbria Police Charities Committee. Spartan Kick Boxing Club, in Hylton Castle, has been awarded more than £550 by the committee, which will be used to buy six sparring gloves and six

  • Festival is victim of virus outbreak

    A DECISION to cancel a music festival which last year attracted 10,000 people has been criticised. Derwentside District Council decided to cancel the Allensford Festival, held every August at Consett, following advice from Ministry of Agriculture (Maff

  • Carnival fun despite rain

    PEOPLE in Shildon displayed a very British streak to enjoy the town's carnival despite atrocious weather. The carnival was resurrected last year by the town's chamber of trade, and proved popular. This year, hundreds of people lined the streets to watch

  • Prank-call DJ aims to top charts with disc

    CENTURY FM DJ Paul "Goffy" Gough is hoping to top the region's charts for the second time, with a another compilation of his best wind-up telephone calls. The breakfast show presenter is famous for his prank calls, in which he winds up unsuspecting people

  • Dedication recognised

    A NORTH-EAST youngster has been nominated as a national hero for caring for her mother. Natasha Coleman, 11, has been looking after her mother, Julie, since she suffered chronic renal failure. The schoolgirl, from Redcar, east Cleveland, helps around

  • Student's language first

    THE first certificate has been awarded to a student in English for speakers of other languages at Stockton Borough Council adult education service. Wided Mhir came to Stockton four years ago from her native Tunisia after failing to pass her high school

  • Surprise as Harriet is back and Vaz departs

    PRIME Minister Tony Blair put the finishing touches to his Whitehall shake-up and ministerial reshuffle last night - with surprise appointments and resignations. As expected, Keith Vaz left his position as Europe Minister due to ill health, but also in

  • Concern over plan to expand spy base

    A US spy base in the region appears set for a major expansion. Hundreds of National Security Agency personnel, stationed in Germany, are understood to be on their way to Menwith Hill, overlooking Harrogate, North Yorkshire. Their role will be to intercept

  • Deaf parachutist aims to be first in the frame

    A NORTH-EAST man is a step closer to becoming Britain's first deaf parachute-video-grapher. Alan Dobson has been parachute jumping since 1998 and was inspired to learn photography after seeing photographs on display at Peterlee Prachute Club. He joined

  • Letters

    FOOT-AND-MOUTH IS the dreadful, worrying situation at Tow Law, caused by the incompetence of MAFF, where people's and especially children's health is at risk, another prime example of the north-south divide? I think so. Would this travesty have been allowed

  • The Iron Duke would have been proud

    IT would have been more than enough to warm the heart of the man whose famous victory it was created to celebrate. For the young men and women participating in the Durham Regatta were following in a tradition going back to the years after the Duke of

  • Fire and police to share station

    ONE of the first combined police and fire stations coiuld be opened soon in the region. Plans to extend Loftus fire station, in east Cleveland, to house the police, have been submitted to Redcar and Cleveland council for approval. The office, in Corporation

  • Young archaeologists dig up clues to city's past

    CHILDREN in the North-East dug for history at the weekend and found a some important clues about the past. About 16 eight to 14-year-olds from across the North-East took part in an archaeology dig in the grounds of Durham University, at the heart of the

  • Fair celebrates 800th anniversary of town's royal charter

    EIGHT hundred years of North-East history were celebrated at the weekend. The Hartlepool local history fair took place in the borough hall on Saturday - eight centuries after the town was granted its royal charter. Residents could find out about the town's

  • Fundraisers take the plunge

    THIRTY people took part in an abseil at Sedgefield St Edmund's Church, County Durham, on Saturday, to raise funds for the Friends of St Edmund's and the Butterwick Hospice. With the Army youth team from Catterick, North Yorkshire, in charge, the north

  • Junior footballers double up for trophy success

    A village is celebrating a double success after taking on the might of the amateur football world in a competition. Both the Under-13 and the Under-12 New Marske junior football teams lifted the cup in two North of England tournaments, featuring teams

  • Asbestos death ruling

    A TRAIN engineer who would cut asbestos string with his teeth died of lung disease an inquest heard. Brian Ascough, 66, died on June 5 from mesothelioma, a tumour of the lung lining, after spending years working with asbestos. Coroner Kenneth Howe heard

  • Barker Conquest is no Secret

    IN-FORM Scorton handler David Barker has a great chance of maintaining his recent purple patch courtesy of Secret Conquest (3.15) in the Anderson Barrowcliff Fillies' Handicap at Redcar today. Barker's stable has been firing on all cylinders lately, the

  • Parents seek support for story sacks initiative

    NOTHING can beat the simple pleasure for a child of a story well told. That is why parents in a community plan to apply for cash to buy story sacks, such as those used by pre-school children at South Moor Library at the weekend. Parent groups and librarians

  • Construction apprentices target figure for year is agreed

    THE Construction Industry Training Board (CITB), working in partnership with the Learning and Skills Councils, has agreed on the number of apprentices it needs to fill the skills gap in the North-East and Cumbria this year. There are approximately 540

  • Cuddly toys help younger generation

    TWO big black teddy bears came to the aid of sick children in County Durham at the weekend. They were donated to the paediatric ward at Durham University Hospital by the staff of the Orange shop, in Silver Street in the city, who were celebrating the

  • Flooding fear on new houses site

    FEARS over flooding have been raised about a site where 24 homes are being planned near a city centre. Ripon City Council is not objecting to development of the Bryant Homes properties, at the former Ripon Land Rover site, in Borrage Lane, on the main

  • Village divided on bid to convert pub to home

    PLANS to turn a village's only pub into a home have brought protests from the parish council. Six letters of support for the conversion of The Countryman Inn, at Winksley, near Ripon, have been submitted by villagers, caravan owners and Winksley Cricket

  • Daredevils

    A GROUP of fundraisers took their lives in their hands to collect money for charity. Supporters of the Royal National Institute for the Blind abseiled from Gurney House, Middlesbrough, yesterday to raise the cash. More than 160 people took the plunge

  • Failure of hospital discharge policies is revealed

    TOO many hospital patients are being sent home too soon, with the burden falling on their families, a survey shows. According to the Carers National Association (CNA) hospital discharge is often poorly planned, wrongly timed and badly handed. The situation

  • Restoring hall 'may cost up to £11m'

    INFLATION could send the bill for the restoration of a cherished North-East landmark soaring over the £11m mark, it was revealed yesterday. The initial estimate for the restoration of Harrogate's Royal Hall - needed because of crumbling concrete affecting

  • Pudding racers rise tothe occassion

    THE competitors are hand-picked for agility and speed, and the drivers are selected for their good looks, but this event has none of the glamour of the Canadian Grand Prix. It is Yorkshire Pudding racing. Every year, competitors hope to batter each other

  • Boy hurt in road accident

    A TEENAGER is recovering in hospital after being hit by a motorbike. The boy, who has not been named by police, was with a group of friends on Cargo Fleet Lane, Middlesbrough, when the accident happened. It is believed the boy ran into the path of the

  • Princess prepares for Gala day

    A GALA princess has been named to spearhead a village's annual day of fun and games. Eleven-year-old Megan Hall has been selected by her classmates for the role at Hurworth Grange's Annual Gala Day next Sunday. Megan, a pupil at Hurworth Primary School

  • It looks like last orders for village's pub

    PLANNERS want more talks with architects behind the conversion of a village pub into flats - although it seems its days as a licensed premises are definitely over. A meeting in Richmond this week accepted the principle of new homes on the site of The

  • Organisers plan biggest city festival

    THE organisers of the Durham Summer Festival say this year's extended four-day event promises to be the biggest and best yet. The city centre will offer a wide range of attractions and entertainment from Thursday, July 5, to Sunday, July 8. The event

  • Villagers unite for gala day

    AN east Durham village is planning a gala open day to help bring its community together. The Thornley steering group has organised the event, which will be held on Saturday, between 10am and 2pm. The event, in Youll House, will include free face-painting

  • Drive to help care for carers

    CARERS who neglect their health are the focus of a Derwentside publicity drive. Stanley Carers Group will have information stalls in the Clifford Road Health Centre and the Tanfield View Surgery, on Wednesday. Information will include details of the group

  • Blaze couple hail hero friends

    A WOMAN was pulled from her blazing home as neighbours carried out a dramatic rescue to reach her yesterday. Firefighters then rescued a man from the house at South View Terrace at Annfield Plain, near Stanley, County Durham. A dog, named Penny, was also

  • Young voters go to polls

    VOTING patterns in a mock election at a Darlington school reflected those in their area's real constituency battle. Haughton Community School participated in a mock General Election last Thursday, the day the nation went to the polls. Year seven, eight

  • Community woodland blossoms in forest

    MORE than 40,000 native trees and wildflowers have been planted and sown to form a community woodland in the Great North Forest. The £225,000 planting project, creating St Bede's and Bright Lea woods, between Birtley and Ouston, has been funded by the

  • We say...

    THE Government, in its drive to improve the standards of education, has relied heavily on assessments and school league tables. That has added to the bureaucratic burden complained of in a profession beset with low morale and recruitment problems. So,

  • Hilary to relish challenge of Chief Whip role

    RISING Labour star Hilary Armstrong spoke last night of her joy at being catapulted into Tony Blair's new Cabinet. The North-West Durham MP is the surprise card in Tony Blair's reshuffle after being awarded the post of Chief Whip, responsible for maintaining

  • Fishing vessel pair plucked to safety

    A RECUE helicopter, lifeboat and two other vessels answered a Mayday call to save the men of ship taking in water at the weekend. The skipper of a 28ft fishing vessel, the Baltic, reported that his boat was going down fast about four miles from Holy Island

  • Home plea as bullies make boy's life misery

    A GRANDMOTHER has told how her 12-year-old grandson has been made a "prisoner in his own home" and been put in hospital after repeated attacks by bullies. Nora Gilmore, of Seaham, County Durham, is asking her local council to rehouse her and her grandchild

  • Band gets £1,000 bonus

    Ferryhill Town Council has given a £1,000 cheque to support the work of the highly successful Ferryhill Town Band. Town council executive officer Jamie Corrigan said: "We are very proud of what they've achieved." The council also gave £800 to Ferryhill

  • Fears as terns switch home

    A FLOCK of rare birds have made their home on a popular stretch of North-East beach. The little terns have chosen the beach at Seaton Carew, near Hartlepool, as their home rather than a specially-protected area of nearby South Gare . Volunteers from the

  • Safer cycling course

    A CYCLING course for primary school pupils has begun in Darlington. The On Road Cycle Training course, organised by Darlington Borough Council's road safety officer, Norma Sheppard, is being held at 13 schools in the borough. The six-week course will

  • School enjoys sports success

    YOUNGSTERS at a Darlington primary school are celebrating double sporting success. Rise Carr Primary School are Darlington Primary Schools Football League champions and came second in a tennis tournament on the same day. It was the first time the school