Property firm Sanderson Townend and Gilbert (ST&G) is backing retailers' calls to create an exclusive shopping area in Darlington. The move by the Teesside firm follows renewed campaigning by shop-owners to give Grange Road and nearby Coniscliffe
A SUCCESSFUL youth volunteer scheme has been extended into County Durham. Chester-le-Street and District CVS and Volunteer Bureau have been invited by the Government to extend the Millennium Volunteers programme which has proved a hit with youngsters
LIBERAL Democrats scored a dramatic gain in the first council voting test since the General Election. Candidate Andrew Tebbutt gained a victory when he took a Morpeth Kirkhill seat from Labour at Castle Morpeth Borough, Northumberland. He polled more
POLICE seized more than a dozen cannabis plants in a midmorning raid on Teesside yesterday. A member of the public tipped off the community police team, based at Melbourne House in Middlesbrough, about the illegal drugs. The police secured a search warrant
USING techniques that have barely changed in centuries, stone carver Dave Willett is bringing to life one of Britain's best-loved creatures. One of the team of expert craftsmen who continually work on York Minster, he is working life and form into a block
THE Government has given a council approval for a multi-million pound boost to its tenants on the same day a union raised doubts about the scheme. Housing Minister Sally Keeble named Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council among 27 authorities to move forward
YOUNGSTERS at a nursery took to the streets yesterday for the culmination of two months of learning about festivals and carnivals. The children of Ferndene Nursery, in Elton Parade, Darlington, have been making masks and dragon boats, learning songs and
SUNDERLAND manager Peter Reid has decided not to pursue his interest in West Ham want-away winger Trevor Sinclair. Reid made an inquiry about the former England Under-21 international and might have made a firm £5m bid for the much-admired player if he
THERE is a saying that truth is stranger than fiction - and the arrival of May the gosling is perhaps a good example. At the moment, he thinks he is a bantam and spends his days following his mother around the yard at the Village Farm, in Brompton-on-Swale
COUNCIL chiefs take to the road this summer in an attempt to compensate for the impact foot-and-mouth disease has had on North Yorkshire. Restrictions imposed to limit the risks of spreading the epidemic have led to the cancellation of dozens of agricultural
IT IS perhaps a paradox that, to seek the solace of the countryside, one should head for the city. But that, in these still benighted days of foot-and-mouth, is exactly how we found an escape route from our rural restrictions. Our therapy for having been
THEY may feature in song, but ornithologists are concerned The Twelve Days of Christmas may soon be the only home for turtle doves in Britain. The summer visitors' numbers are in serious decline in the UK, and research is to begin in the Yorkshire Dales
A DISABILITY group is urging council chiefs to include its members when choosing future polling stations after a damning survey showed major access problems. Darlington Association on Disability (DAD) carried out its investigation when the nation went
THE voice was that of a little boy. "I wasn't there." "It wasn't me." "John did it." He could have been talking about a smashed window, a shattered piece of glass broken by a ball, and his confession was interspersed with sobs. But ten-year-old Robert
A TRAINEE carer remains at a loss to explain why he indecently assaulted an elderly Alzheimer's disease sufferer. Thomas Ashley Harper was sent to a young offenders' institution for two-and-a-half years yesterday, after being convicted of indecent assault
THE Fab Four will grace the stage of a stately home during its annual summer concert. This year's concert at the National Trust property, Ormesby Hall, near Middlesbrough, features the famous Bootleg Beatles, as well as the tribute bands Magic and Platinum
AN outdoor activity centre for people with physical and learning disabilities has extended its respite care facilities. The Calvert Trust, at Kielder Water, in Northumberland, can now increase the number of activity holidays and breaks that it offers.
NEWCASTLE United fans last night received the news they most wanted to hear: Kieron Dyer is staying at St. James' Park. Dyer's agent, Jonathan Barnett, appears to have given United the go-ahead to open talks aimed at extending the England star's contract
PARENTS battling for better facilities for their children have launched their own holiday activity scheme. Residents in St Helen, Auckland, joined forces to provide youngsters in the village with something to do during their summer holidays. Secretary
A YOUNGSTER claimed to have been raped once a month for two years by a former aide to Prime Minister Tony Blair, a court heard yesterday. The young man, who is serving life imprisonment for murder, was giving evidence in the trial of Martyn Locklin, a
COVENTRY striker Craig Bellamy is set to become Newcastle United's first summer signing in a deal believed to be worth £6m. The Welsh international was on Tyneside for talks with the Magpies yesterday and is expected to have further discussions over the
SMALL and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) in the North-East are losing about £50m a year as a result of inefficient energy management, according to British Gas The figures, released as part of an initiative to encourage energy efficiency among SMEs, reveal
THE Government's decision to press ahead with plans to build two giant aircraft carriers could be good news for the North-East. Defence Secretary Geoff Hoon announced yesterday that the Government would press ahead with orders for the sophisticated ships
VOLUNTEERS are needed to help with an annual carnival at Darlington Railway Centre and Museum. Themed on the 1940s, the event takes place on Saturday, September 8, and Sunday, September 9. For children, there will be games, activities and entertainment
Royal Ascot has seen some top class racing this week where horses and jockeys excelled to give us all a great spectacle. Frankie Dettori was seen at his very best when riding a treble on Wednesday aboard Surprise Encounter, Seba and the excellent Fantastic
AN appeal for volunteers to help a musical spectacular go with a swing has been launched on Teesside. Banners have been put up in Middlesbrough, Coulby Newham and Redcar, seeking help for The Sounds of The West End Musicals, in aid of Teesside Hospice
THE University of Sunderland is holding an event to drive home the message that science and technology can be fun. The Science and Technology Innovations Day will take place next Saturday and will include a host of entertainment for the family. This will
IT COULD be years before Guisborough gets a new swimming pool, according to council officials. A campaign has been launched for a new pool because the town's baths need replacing with modern facilities. Most of the residents are backing the proposals
ROMANIA midfielder Laurentiu Rosu has pleaded with Middlesbrough to make his Premiership dreams come true. The 26-year-old is desperate to quit Spanish side Numancia following their relegation from the Primera Liga, and Boro are understood to be weighing
THE killers of toddler James Bulger were finally told last night they are to be freed as campaigners urged: Give them a chance. The Parole Board has ruled that Robert Thompson and Jon Venables, now aged 18, are no longer a danger to the public after spending
A NUMBER of council buildings in Stockton, including the library, could be demolished as part of a scheme to improve efficiency. Stockton Borough Council is to appoint a consultant to investigate the future of its offices and the possibility of opening
A NEAR-NOVICE oarswoman is starting to make a splash in the world of rowing. Hazel Stainforth first took to a racing boat just three years ago, at the age of 50, encouraged by her rowing-mad daughter, Rebekah. She soon joined Rebekah as a member of Durham
TWO bottles of hazardous soy sauce have been confiscated from a North-East Chinese takeaway. Stockton Borough Council food safety officers were checking stocks of soy sauce at Chinese restaurants and takeaways after a warning from the national Food Standards
A TEACHER who faced a court ordeal when three pupils accused him of indecent assault has been reinstated. Peter Hewson, of Church Close, Thirsk, North Yorkshire, had been suspended from his design technology post since July last year, when the girls made
NINE pupils at one of the country's leading Catholic public schools have been suspended after they were caught using drugs. The teenagers could face expulsion from the prestigious Ampleforth College, in North Yorkshire, after an investigation by staff
CAR giant Nissan is looking to zap up to £500,000 a year off the cost of each future model manufactured at its Sunderland car plant. The Japanese car-maker will achieve this by using high-tech laser beams to measure car panels. The state-of-the-art Model
THE backbone of the summer display in most gardens is the flowering shrubs. At this time of the year, many are coming to their peak of perfection, so now is a good time to make a choice for the future. Traditional gardeners will always plan to plant during
PAINTING contractor Nor-Clean has received an insurance payout of more than £500,000, following the receivership of shipbuilder Cammell Laird. The Jarrow company received the payout from credit insurer Euler Trade Indemnity. Euler provides insurance against
CREWE Alexandra boss Dario Gradi is stepping up his hunt for Tommy Miller. The free-scoring midfielder is expected to move up from the Third Division this summer, with the First Division or Premiership the most likely destination. And Gradi - armed with
STEEL unions have launched a campaign for a yes vote in any referendum on the European single currency as the linchpin for saving the beleaguered industry. At a conference of more than 100 delegates from the Iron and Steel Trade Confederation (ISTC) at
A MARKET town is hoping its annual festival will boost the local economy after months of malaise brought on by the foot-and-mouth crisis. Middleham, in the Yorkshire Dales, was virtually a ghost town in early May when the crisis in Wensleydale was at
PENSIONS specialist National Mutual is to be taken over by GE Capital in a deal worth £570m. National Mutual, which announced in March it was reviewing its mutual status, said a new company would be created from the tie-up. About 160,000 National Mutual
A PENSIONER died after he challenged a teenager to a boxing bout. Cliff Maidment, 67, was sent crashing to the ground when the 17-year-old punched him in the face, breaking his nose. The fall fractured his skull, and the ex-Royal Navy sailor died in hospital
TWO police officers involved in tackling a drug-crazed gunman who had threatened to kill his ex-girlfriend have been nominated for an award. Sergeant Andrew Walton and PC Raymond Taylor, from Cleveland Police, will be among 65 police officers from around
THE granddaughter of D-Day hero Stan Hollis is helping youngsters learn more about his regiment's gallant history. Sergeant Amanda Hart helps run the Saltburn detachment of the Cleveland Cadet Force and wears the same cap badge as her late grandfather
PRIME Minister Tony Blair was questioned by sixth form students in his constituency yesterday about government policy on tuition fees, foreign teachers and AS-levels. During an interview with students in Newton Aycliffe, County Durham, Mr Blair hinted
Letters From the Northern Echo DIANA PRINCESS Diana, like everyone else, was not perfect. But is there any reason why she should be repeatedly dragged through the dirt in damaging documentaries? As she was the mother of this country's future king, surely
SHOPPERS at a Darlington supermarket have been test-driving three new types of shopping trolley. Among the pushers at the town's Safeway store was Flora Barrass, from Bishop Auckland, who won a competition in The Northern Echo with a prize of £100 worth
PINT-SIZED hot shot Philip Burford may be smaller than the average player, but he is head and shoulders above the competition when it comes to skill. The ten-year-old, from Darlington, has picked up a rack-full of junior titles, as well as senior, and
COUNCIL official Ben Dellow got on his bike and pedalled 25 miles to work instead of getting in the car. Mr Dellow, travel plans officer at Durham County Council, took two hours to reach County Hall, Durham, from Ryton, near Gateshead. He was one of the
THE grieving family of a talented student who died after a rollercoaster accident told yesterday how they had lost "our bright star". Gemma Louise Savage died in hospital from the injuries she suffered on the Treetop Twister ride at Lightwater Valley,
A DRIVE to help beat arson attacks in Hartlepool will be one of the topics in the spotlight when a fire official meets residents next week. Martyn Emberson, divisional officer of Cleveland Fire Brigade, will be speaking at the Central Area Police and
AS a 19-year-old nuclear physics student at Oxford University, Howard Marks sampled cannabis for the first time. A quite normal step for a student, but this moment was more significant than any like it before, as Marks took his first step towards building
A STUDENT has won an award for a flight suit design she is hoping to manufacture. Northumbria University fashion student Hilary Turnock developed the suit as a way of preventing deep vein thrombosis (dvt) blood clots during long-haul flights. Her creation
WORKERS have criticised BT over the imminent closure of a North-East telephone exchange. It was announced earlier this year that the directory inquiries centre in Darlington, which employs 111 staff, was to shut along with three others across the country
A FAMILY fun-run will launch a day of fundraising entertainment over the August bank holiday. Fairground rides and a falconry display will add to the entertainment at Jubilee Fields, Shildon, on August 26. Runners, who can wear fancy dress, will set off
THE Environment Agency has appointed a new manager for the North-East. Graeme Warren has taken over from Richard Cresswell, who left the role last year. Mr Warren, 39, said: "I do know the area well, having visited frequently on outward-bound holidays
PEOPLE in glass houses should not throw stones, and Mark Daniels had no intention of doing that last night. He was spending the night in a specially-designed loft apartment filled with furniture made from glass. The apartment has been created at the National
DAVID BARRON'S long-distance forays are few and far between, but when the Maunby handler does travel his horses to the likes of Ascot, he always means business. Twice last term Barron's horsebox made a left turn on to the southbound carriageway of the
ministers are being urged to bring an immediate halt to the disposal of animal carcasses at a North-East burial site and compensate locals for their anguish. The calls were made yesterday as Durham County Council, Tow Law Town Council, Derwentside District
SUNDERLAND city centre manager Peter Gouldsbro pitched in to help keep a park spick and span. Mr Gouldsbro, in his first week in the job, took part in a litter pick in Festival Park along with Phil Steele, manager of The Bridges shopping centre, and staff
Q My uncle, aged 80, has just moved into a rented old people's bungalow after having lived with his brother rent free. He is having to pay rent of £51.36 a week and Council Tax of £478 a year. His weekly State Pension is £88.79 and works pension £50.36
A GROUP of sixth-formers developed an innovative project to teach French to primary schoolchildren. The students, from Durham High School for Girls, were awarded £7,000 from Barclays New Futures community programme, to fund the scheme. Twenty-four students
A PRIVATE unit is being opened in the region to improve facilities for people who are recovering from brain injuries. The Priory Rehabilitation Centre, in Peterlee, County Durham, will benefit from a recent agreement between the Department of Health and
Great granDfather Ken Devereux realised his dream. Awarded the Order of the British Empire for services to the veterans, he with five other old soldiers organised a Teesside branch of the Eighth Army Veterans Association about 28 years ago. In an interview
THE murder of James Bulger was evil, gruesome and horrific. We cannot begin to comprehend the level of pain and suffering endured by his family, nor their revilement for his killers. In their situation, we would all probably want to see Robert Thompson
WHEN Durham wicketkeepers drop a straightforward catch it tends to be costly, and so it proved yesterday as they lost by 47 runs to Hampshire at West End. Andrew Pratt has had an outstanding season, but he put down Neil Johnson on 34 and the Zimbabwean
MOVES to allow people attending council meetings to ask questions have been rejected. It had been hoped to introduce question and answer sessions at meetings of Middlesbrough's cabinet and borough council. The man behind the failed move, LibDem group
YOUTHS armed with a firebomb are thought to have started a blaze at a church. Police are appealing for witnesses after the fire was started at the back of a chapel in Washington, Wearside, at 7.40pm on Thursday. The blaze, behind Rickleton Chapel, in
AN employee at a seafront pub/hotel has been accused of pilfering £150,000 from the business. Kara Joy Kennedy was alleged to have taken the money over a seven-year period while working at the Pulman Lodge Hotel, at Seaburn, Sunderland, where she reached
A County Durham action team aiming to help people back into work has come up with a novel way of targeting potential clients. Easington Action Team for Jobs has been out into the area's pubs and clubs, handing out beer mats. The mats, designed by David
A LEAFLET circulating in the region's schools warning about a "tattoo drug" has been dismissed as a hoax by police. Officers say the letter, aimed at parents and purporting to come from the Metropolitan Police, is misleading. The message has been circulating
A MONK will be the guest at a centre for the disabled next week. Wan Gyal, a Bhuddist monk from the Atisha centre, in Darlington, will help visitors to the Landsdowne Centre, Middlesbrough, practice meditation. He will hold two sessions on Wednesday,
PEOPLE can see plans for the revival of a disused railway next weekend. Enthusiasts are trying to reopen the Weardale railway, between Stanhope and Bishop Auckland, County Durham, and members of the Weardale Loco Preservation group have been working to
LITERARY hopefuls from around the country gathered in the North-East for a prize-giving ceremony. The Sid Chaplin Short Story Competition has become a sought-after accolade among aspiring writers since it was launched by Shildon Town Council in memory
You can follow this year's Wimbledon Championships at a new website set up by The Northern Echo. Throughout the next fortnight, the site will provide regular news updates, results, polls and a chance for fans to have their say. Web sports editor Lee Hall
Darlington manager Gary Bennett has ruled out a swoop for former Quakers favourite Marco Gabbiadini. The former Sunderland player, who scored over 50 goals in two seasons for Quakers, moved to Northampton after the play-off final last season, but failed
MAGISTRATES have issued a warrant for the arrest of a company director who has disappeared from his North Yorkshire home. Jeremy Paul White should have been in court at Harrogate yesterday to face two charges brought by the Department of Trade and Industry
THE City can expect wine followed by a dose of coffee next week as blue-chip stocks continue to take a breather from the results arena. Consumer giant Unilever, the only Footsie company scheduled to report next week, is likely to say that interest payments
A PENSIONER died after he challenged a teenager to a boxing bout. Cliff Maidment, 67, was sent crashing to the ground when the 17-year-old punched him in the face, breaking his nose. The fall fractured his skull, and the ex-Royal Navy sailor died in hospital
WORKERS at a North-East construction site have found that a dumper truck has become home to a family of birds. The workers, at the Hobson Smith construction site, in Saltburn, east Cleveland, could not understand why a bird kept following their dumper
ROYAL Ascot has seen some top class racing this week where horses and jockeys excelled to give us all a great spectacle. Frankie Dettori was seen at his very best when riding a treble on Wednesday aboard Surprise Encounter, Seba and the excellent Fantastic
MORE than 400 pupils donned their sporting attire yesterday to take part in a village school sports day. Hurworth Comprehensive, near Darlington, put studies on hold for the day, while youngsters battled it out in a variety of track and field events.
VISITORS to a medieval hall are being invited to test their ingenuity this weekend at the opening of a maze. Crookhall, which is on the outskirts of Durham City, is renowned for its beautiful gardens. Last year, owners Keith and Maggie Bell had a grass
