A TOWN is offering free swimming lessons as part of celebrations marking the 750th anniversary of its market charter. The "swimtastic" workshops will take place on Saturday, at Bedale Leisure Centre, from 2.30pm to 5pm. "Everyone is welcome from the age
AN artist was so taken by the picture of a long-lost masterpiece that he carved a replica in wood. Beresford Bowes, 72, saw a photograph of the drawing by Michelangelo in The Northern Echo last month. The drawing, Study of a Mourning Woman, was rediscovered
HUNDREDS of youngsters got to meet their TV and fairytale heroes when they flocked to a teddy bears' picnic in Bishop Auckland. Bob The Builder, The Three Bears and Truffle the Clown were just some of the special guests who attended Wear Valley District
DURHAM swept back to the top of the Norwich Union League second division last night when they delighted a crowd of almost 5,000 with a 17-run win against Hampshire under the Riverside floodlights. It was a crucial victory against the third-placed visitors
COUPLES are being encouraged to marry at the headquarters of the North-East's biggest local authority. County Hall, in Durham City, was licensed to hold civil weddings 18 months ago, but is still waiting for the first couple to cross the threshold. There
A FIVE-a-side team took part in a fun run to raise money for a hospital's cardiac unit. Six members of the J&M Beechfield team, which plays in a league at the Oak Leaf Sports Complex, Newton Aycliffe, participated in the 2km fun run attached to the
FORMER Blackburn Rovers forward Graham Fenton is hoping to resurrect his career with Darlington after impressing in the reserves' 0-0 draw at Lincoln yesterday. The Tyneside-born hitman has been training with the Quakers this week and manager Gary Bennett
IT is to be a catch-up column, the sort which from time to time becomes necessary in a lifetime's headless tail chasing. There is much to acknowledge, not least a bottle of Yorkshire Relish and a jar of Hoe's fruit chutney from Christine McFarlane in
CAMPAIGNERS say they are delighted safety measures are to be introduced on a dangerous village road. A 30mph speed limit and a controlled pedestrian crossing are to be installed in School Aycliffe Lane as part of a plan to build 233 houses on the former
HEADteachers have fiercely rejected claims by business leaders that A-level standards are slipping. Today's A-level results have hit a new record with the 18th consecutive annual rise in pass rates up 0.7 per cent to 89.8 per cent. At the same time the
IF you are one of the thousands of students who have got your exam results today and want to take a gap year out, then read on. Gapwork.com, a new firm specialising in finding work abroad, is offering advice to the 200,000 18 to 25-year-olds who will
HUNDREDS of Government officials, who are providing crucial support to the beleaguered farming industry during the foot-and-mouth crisis, are to go on strike next week. Workers across the region at offices of the Department for the Environment, Food and
A MEMORIAL service is to be held for a Methodist minister who dedicated his life to helping the homeless. Walter Wilkinson, from Spennymoor, worked throughout his life to improve conditions for homeless people, providing food and soup kitchens in Tyneside
DOCUMENTS leaked to The Northern Echo show that Cleveland Police have hired a high-profile local barrister at the rate of £200 an hour to help them deal with the aftermath of Operation Lancet. The documents show that the York chambers of Aidan Marron
PUB landlords in Sedgefield have appealed for public lavatories in the village to be reopened. The lavatories were closed by Sedgefield Town Council last June, because of vandalism and problems in finding someone to clean and look after them. Pub landlords
A PRIZE-winning fuchsia will not be going to a show this year because it is too big to fit in a van. Ray O'Brien, president of Durham and Northumberland Fuchsia Society, grew the plant from a cutting 19 years ago and has been taking it to the club's show
TWO walkers from Darlington are organising a sponsored hike to support The Samaritans. New media editor at The Northern Echo, Sheelagh Caygill, and Peter Ballard will lead a small group of walkers on a hike in the Lake District on Saturday, September
THE creation of a graveyard wildlife habitat has been branded insensitive by a woman who says she has to hack a pathway to her brother's grave. Betty Spottiswood says she has to take a sickle with her to clear the way to the grave of her brother, Robert
CRITICAL nursing care in North Yorkshire has taken a leap forward with the opening a £1m intensive care unit. Cricketing legend and local resident Ian Botham performed the honours at the Friarage Hospital, in Northallerton. For him, as well as the staff
BUTCHER Lawrie Vasey, who has served generations of housewives, has retired after more than four decades behind the counter. Mr Vasey, who lives with his wife Sheila on Crook's Watergate Estate, went into butchery after leaving the Royal Air Force, starting
Touring theatre company Jack Drum Arts will be taking its comedy Radio Sheep Dip show to two venues in Teesdale in autumn. Folk singer Jim Woodland will provide the music, with a slide show by photographer Richard Grassick. The show will be performed
England coach Sven Goran Eriksson is refusing to panic after his team were given a Dutch masterclass at White Hart Lane. Holland outclassed their hosts as they cruised to a 2-0 victory which wrecked Eriksson's perfect record of five wins out of five.
Newcastle hitman Alan Shearer has vowed to return from injury to gun down Sunderland in the Tyne-Wear derby on August 26. The former England skipper has pencilled in the date for his return after coming through a private practice match unscathed. But
FOOD giant Nestle is in talks to sell its UK-based ice-cream business in a move which is likely to result in job losses in the region. The group is in discussions with Richmond Foods, the country's largest manufacturer of ice-cream products, about a possible
MONTHS of meticulous planting and pruning will finally end tomorrow as Darlington takes its turn in the Britain in Bloom spotlight. A team of judges will tour the town to assess Darlington's bid for glory in the coveted best city category of the national
TRIBUTES have been paid to a former top football referee and tenants champion who died last week. Peter Baldwin, 71, of Farndale Gardens, Lingdale, East Cleveland enjoyed a football career that spanned 50 years, including 14 years as a league referee.
THE Madagascan hissing cockroach and giant African land snails will be just two of the attractions at the Big Bug Show at Newcastle's Centre for Life beginning this weekend. And the more adventurous visitors will have the chance to partake the dubious
POLICE are hunting a robber who threatened a cashier at Barclays Bank in Middlesbrough. He escaped with an undisclosed amount of cash after the raid on Monday. Cleveland Police said he was about 6ft, thin, with facial stubble. He wore a dark coloured
YOUNG at heart centenarian Audrey Wood celebrated her birthday yesterday with the energy of a woman half her age. Mrs Wood threw a day-long party at her home in Bishop Auckland, where she cooks for herself and does all her own housework. She grew up in
THE RSPCA is to benefit from a charity performance of a new movie. Cats and Dogs is being shown at Warner Village Cinemas, in Newcastle, on Sunday at 10.30am. The proceeds will go to the Newcastle and Northumberland branch of the animal charity. Jim McArdle
THE North-East's newest landmark is already featuring on Christmas cards. Gateshead Millennium Bridge, which is due to open to the public next month, is the subject of a corporate card being sold in aid of the Children's Heart Unit Fund (Chuf) at the
AN exhibition has opened which could give visitors inspirational ideas on how to furnish their homes - entirely out of glass. The Glass Apartment, at the National Glass Centre in Sunderland, showcases the works of internationally renowned artists, architects
A THEATRE company will be taking its audience on a magical trip along the rivers of County Durham this weekend. Jack Drum Arts will be performing their outdoor show Two Thousand Feet, in Hamsterley Forest, on Sunday. The show celebrates the rivers of
SEVEN patriotic brothers have marched into the Guinness Book of Records after more than 62 years. For the Burdon brothers accomplished what must be one of the most poignant entries by all serving together in the armed forces during the Second World War
A RUGBY player accused of stamping on an opponent's head has spoken of his relief after he was cleared of assault. Mark Briggs, 23, walked free from Teesside Crown Court yesterday after he was acquitted of unlawful wounding by a jury on the direction
Sunderland star Don Hutchison has rocked the Black Cats by admitting he could quit the Stadium of Light. The Scotland international says he will have a tough decision to make if another club makes a bid for his services. The 30-year-old midfielder has
A FARMER, whose herd was wiped out by foot-and-mouth disease, has had plans to rebuild his business with a motorbike track scuppered by town planners. Ian Robson was hoping to keep his firm afloat by running a scrambling circuit on his former grazing
A WEBSITE dedicated to cute little rodents has scooped The Northern Echo's monthly CommuniGate competition. All Things Guinea Pig has been awarded the Pick of the Month prize under the CommuniGate project, which has already helped dozens of voluntary
