NICKY Peng led the Valentine's Park massacre yesterday as Durham beat Essex by 24 runs to stay top of the Norwich Union League division two. The 18-year-old Newcastle boy lit up a cheerless day in the bleak public park in Ilford by making an unbeaten
A Steward was in hospital last night after being viciously assaulted when England's one-day international against Pakistan at Headingley ended in a pitch invasion. The official, who was knocked to the ground and kicked as he attempted to protect the high-tech
Ben and Ruth Armishaw are convinced their car is haunted. So if they were shivering yesterday, it was not just because of the unseasonably icy winds which had chilled them to their bones during the Beamish Reliability Rally Run, but also the ghostly spirit
NEWCASTLE United star Nolberto Solano is at the centre of a drinks scandal in his native Peru. The winger is facing an early end to his international career after clashing with national coach Julio Cesar Uribe over his drinking. Solano is in the doghouse
RESEARCH into the pioneering Northern Echo editor WT Stead could cement his position as one of the founders of modern journalism. Owen Mulpetre has already completed a disertation on the titan of Victorian newspapers and his campaign against child prostitution
GERMAN football legend Franz Beckenbauer has told England they do not need a national stadium. Former Germany captain Beckenbauer, now the president of Bayern Munich, entered the great Wembley debate by insisting there were enough top quality Premier
KIEREN Fallon put on a late, late show to snatch the William Hill Trophy out of the fire in thrilling fashion on 10-1 shot Orientor at York. Armagnac went for home a furlong out, and with 100 yards to run it looked as if he would hold on, but Fallon brought
A DURHAM drama group is looking forward to staging the first amateur production in the city's new £14m Gala theatre. The state-of-the-art venue, which is being built as part of the £30m Millennium City development, is due to open in December. It will
DO you have any information on the island that was settled by the mutineers from the Mutiny on the Bounty? - Chris Parker, Peterlee. THE island settled by the mutineers of the Bounty is Pitcairn in the south Pacific, although Norfolk Island, 1,500 miles
THE EURO TONY Blair has bowed to pressure and agreed to accept a European Union directive compelling companies to consult their staff over restructuring, job cuts and other issues. The CBI claims that this will allow trade unions to interfere in the day-to-day
The Haunting Gait of Mr Winter Footprints crunching on virgin snow, Stalwartly in North Road Station, Thomas Munroe Winter repeats His steps of mundane occasion. A strange gaunt presence chills the air, A conjured-up apparition, Here because of suicide
DETECTIVES will decide next month whether a disgraced surgeon should face prosecution over the deaths of three patients. North Yorkshire Police have spent more than a year looking into the deaths of three patients who died while in the care of struck-off
A RACE meeting nearly turned to tragedy when a double-decker bus ploughed into a low bridge at the weekend. Seven people were hurt when the vehicle jammed under the bridge, near the County Stand at York Racecourse. All the injured were ferried directly
AN army of foreign teachers is being hired by the region's schools struggling to cope with staff sickness and major recruitment problems. Figures obtained by The Northern Echo reveal that more than 350 teachers are on long-term sick leave from schools
LAWRENCE Dallaglio will make his comeback from a tour-threatening knee injury when the Lions tackle Australia 'A' in Gosford tomorrow. And former England captain Dallaglio was last night left under no illusions about the ''huge challenge'' awaiting him
