THE passion of American mining experts for a rare mineral has led to the survival of the last fluorspar mine in the North Pennines. From the tiny mine, perched 60ft up a cliff-face in a derelict quarry, the Americans are extracting tons of the quartz-like
THE final touches are being made to a celebration of community spirit in Hartlepool later this week. There will be a real splash of summer colour at a flower festival in St Patrick's Church in Owton Manor Lane. As well as the dazzling array of blooms,
FOR the second successive season the Riverside provided the perfect pitch for a Hampshire run-chase, allowing the visitors to beat Durham by seven wickets yesterday. What a pity the compliment has not been returned. Losing the toss has been crucial for
A CLUB for Durham pensioners is celebrating sharing in £20,000 given by Barclays bank to Age Concern England. Belmont Over-60s Club has been given £100 to help with the cost of hiring a minibus to take members to and from its fortnightly meetings at Belmont
CRIME-fighters will receive a boost today when a multi-million pound Government scheme to improve CCTV security camera schemes is announced. Altogether, 22 CCTV camera schemes in Chester-le-Street, Peterlee, Sunderland, Gateshead, South Tyneside and Newcastle
Glowing references to a fine collection of trees and shrubs on television lured us towards the Thorp Perrow Arboretum. We fancied a quiet day in the country, so it was important to get it right. The leaflet arrived and we studied it carefully, noting
A NORTH-EAST hotelier is calling on the Government to increase aid to the region's tourism industry in the wake of foot-and-mouth disease. Derek Harvey, manager of the Durham Mariott Royal County Hotel, in Durham City, said the hundreds of thousands of
IT help desk operators, Peterlee. £12,000 to £13,000, 7am to 7pm shifts, Mon-Fri. Must be PC literate, proficient in Windows 95 and Office 95-97, must be able to handle all types of IT queries. Ref: PEV 15364. Health care assistant, Peterlee/Easington
THOUGH readers are doubtless familiar with the 14th chapter of the Gospel according to St Luke - the Parable of the Rich Man's Feast, and similar self-improvement lessons - we may perhaps be permitted to reproduce verse ten: "But when thou art bidden,
A ROW over who pays the bill for the care of the surviving sextuplets born to a Libyan couple at a North-East hospital is to be put on the back burner, say hospital chiefs. Len Fenwick, chief executive of the Newcastle Hospitals NHS Trust, said the emphasis
TWO games, two defeats. A managerial record for Middlesbrough manager Steve McClaren that he will not be wanting. The former Manchester United assistant manager is quickly learning what being in charge of a Premiership club means. Bolton Wanderers overcame
A RAILWAY station on Teesside is to undergo a £500,000 revamp. Thornaby Station, near Stockton, has finally got the go-ahead for improvements, including manned ticket offices, 60 parking spaces and secure bike parks. The refurbishment was put on hold
IN A tale of two cathedral cities, the North-East came out top yesterday. The majesty of Durham Cathedral was acknowledged by the BBC, which shortlisted it for a national vote as one of the five most beautiful buildings in Britain. But Coventry city centre
A LONG-SERVING former North-East soldier is to be given a full military send-off at the home of London's Chelsea Pensioners. County Durham-born John William Fishwick, who lived at the Royal Hospital, home of the Chelsea Pensioners, for the past 18 months
PANTOMIME favourite Berwick Kaler donned his Dame disguise to help his adopted city launch a concerted energy savings drive. The Geordie actor is a fixture at York Theatre Royal, where he has written and starred in their annual pantomime for years. But
A CHAIN of jewellers has opened a shop in Teesside with the company's largest window display. The display, in the newly-opened F.Hinds shop in Stockton, stands at 80ft and shows jewellery, watches, clocks and gifts. It is larger than any of the company's
A FORMER master-spy is facing a jail sentence after he admitted using a police computer to download sickening child pornography from the Internet. Alan Coates became an expert in counter surveillance during more than 30 years work for both the British
A SMALL minority of farmers was accused yesterday of being "criminally negligent" by flouting foot-and-mouth regulations and putting others at risk. More than 70 detailed investigations are under way into alleged breaches of the precautions across North
THREE people died in separate accidents in a day of carnage on North Yorkshire's roads. Last night, police were still trying to contact relatives of two of the victims before publicly identifying them. One man died and his wife and two children were seriously
ELDERLY patients in a North-East town face longer stays in hospital because the closure of two residential care homes has left a shortage of beds in the community. Two care lodges are to close at Trees Park Healthcare, in Middleton St George, near Darlington
COUNCIL bosses in Teesside have stepped in to keep a bus service on the road. Hartlepool Borough Council chiefs have filled a gap in the timetable, caused by the re-routing of a service which threatened to leave parts of the town centre and the outlying
A 17-YEAR-OLD girl was dragged to an open area by two men and raped on Sunday. The victim had become involved in an argument with the men after one of them asked her for a cigarette as she walked home past Silkeys Lane and West Percy Road in North Shields
THANKS to the help of specialist recruitment consultants Contract Construction Services, PETER PHAZEY, 57, is working as an assistant construction manager for Consort Health Care. Consort is currently responsible for constructing the New University Hospital
A FAMILY is suing two parish councils over a playground accident where no safety checks had been carried out for two years. Middleton St George Parish Council only discovered that Darlington council had stopped monitoring the equipment when a swing chain
WE cannot begin to understand the plight of Diane Pretty. Within two years, motor neurone disease has turned a healthy wife and mother into someone who is unable to fend for herself. Nor can we begin to understand the plight of her husband and children
A WIDOW died after taking sleeping tablets on the anniversary of her late husband's birthday, an inquest heard. Yvonne Jelleyman, 89, moved from Germany to live with her daughter, Angela Walker, at Highcliff Edge, in Winston, between Darlington and Barnard
CHILDREN are being asked to test their artistic skills and explain who their favourite carer is and why. The Darlington Early Years Development and Childcare Partnership is running a competition to find out who children admire and respect the most. The
PLANS are well in hand for the annual Sedgefield Drama Festival of One Act Plays hosted by Sedgefield Players. This year the festival will have nine plays and will take place over five evenings at Sedgefield Parish Hall, from September 25, to 29. Three
THE curtain fell yesterday on the career of ballet teacher Margaret Robinson. After more than 20 years, during which she has helped hundreds of girls to improve their dancing skills, the 62-year-old widow has decided to retire. But she is hoping a volunteer
DARLINGTON performed admirably against First Division opponents Sheffield United in last night's Worthington cup first round, but for the third time since 1997, Michael Brown proved to be the scourge of Quakers. The Hartlepool-born midfielder put in a
Thousands of pounds of electrical equipment were stolen from a house in Prior Street, Darlington, on Saturday, between 4.30pm and 11.45pm. The thieves forced a rear door and stole a Sony 28in wide-screen digital television, a video recorder, a Sony PlayStation
A GROUP created to review the operation of council allotments in Darlington has met for the first time. The group, which constists of allotment users, is aimed at improving conditions and giving gardeners a greater say in the running of allotment sites
POP stardom beckons for a trio of North-East singers after they saw an appeal in The Northern Echo to join a new pop group. Gemma Dowson, 19, from Newton Aycliffe, Eve Lowther, 17 and Janine Andrew, 18, both from Billingham, have all been selected for
IT'S enough to make Oz, Dennis and Neville unpack their trowels and stay at home. For the 1980s recession which forced many British brickies to seek work abroad -- as portrayed in the hit TV series Auf Wiedersehen Pet - looks to be a thing of the past
THE old soldier summed it up as he left the cemetery: "He might have had no money in his pocket but he didn't go a pauper." Private Robert Bell was awarded the Military Medal by George VI - one of the highest honours - for a single-handed act of bravery
NICKY Southall has turned up the heat ahead of tonight's Premiership fixture with Middlesbrough by criticising the Riverside club for its big money buys over the years. The Bolton Wanderers winger - brought up on Teesside - was ignored by Boro as a youngster
BRITAIN'S trade deficit with the rest of the world widened to a record £3.2bn in June, official figures have revealed. The figures, released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS), compare with a £2.5bn deficit in May. Philip Shaw, economist at Investec
CLEVELAND POLICE IT IS pleasing that your editorial (Echo, Aug 17) had some balance, but there are points that need clarification. Your readers should be aware that the "revelation" that the force hired barristers to assist with disciplinary cases (Echo
ARCHAEOLOGISTS are investigating a series of mysterious timbers which have been spotted sticking out of the side of a beck in North Yorkshire. The team made up of archaeologists from Tees Archaeology, the North Yorks Moors National Park and English Heritage
A SCHEME being pioneered in the North-East to clamp down on traffic jams, could save taxpayers £37.5m if adopted nationally. Last week, minister John Speller announced that Middlesbrough and the London borough of Camden would pilot a scheme to charge
THE North-East is to become a national leader in management training thanks to a partnership between two of the region's largest training providers. Access Training, based at the Team Valley, Gateshead, and Portman College, of Newcastle, have joined together
A CONSTRUCTION company has secured a £100,000 contract to fit out six new shops. Sunderland-based Kennek Construction will fit out the Storey Carpets shops, including one at Tollbar Road, Ryhope, Wearside. During the past six months the Sunderland shopfitters
PEOPLE living in Hartlepool have been urged to have their say on an important blueprint for the town. The call comes from the town's MP Peter Mandelson, chairman of the Hartlepool Partnership. The partnership is producing the Hartlepool Community Strategy
A TOURIST attraction has become the region's first to scoop a top award reflecting commitment to quality. Hartlepool Historic Quay and Museum has been awarded Visitor Attraction Quality Assurance Service accreditation by the English Tourism Council. It
THE National Front says it is planning to make another bid to hold a march or rally in the North-East. The far-right party was refused permission by Home Secretary David Blunkett to march through Sunderland on Saturday, to protest about asylum seekers
LIFE, the most precious commodity known to man, to be lived to the full, enjoyed to the maximum. It's so simple, so basic and the laws protecting it are so clear. The statute book says no one has the right to take another person's life and our legal system
The Wall - The People's Story by Christopher Hilton (Sutton, hb, £19.99) FOR 28 years the Berlin Wall succeeded in dividing East and West, separating families and friends and forever changing people's lives. Hilton, an author and journalist, has been
SHY 16-year-old Thomas Brown was well-liked among his shipmates - the humble kitchen assistant was the one who doled out the cigarettes and the odd bar of chocolate. But nobody aboard HMS Petard in 1942 dreamt that the ship's 'baby' would be instrumental
AMBITIOUS plans are being drawn up for the future of one of North Yorkshire's market towns - and the entire community is to be drawn into the discussions. The people of Pickering are to be consulted at every stage as the local town council draws up a
EVERY youngster - and quite a few adults - love the antics of Punch and Judy, a seaside tradition that dates back 300 years. Now they and four of their fellow puppets have been given the stamp of approval by the Royal Mail. Punch and Judy, together with
A UNION is taking legal action against a company which manages a council's leisure centres and swimming pools. Public service union, Unison, claims Tees Valley Leisure, which looks after leisure complexes in the Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council area
MORE details about the jobs below are available from the Employment Service Direct on (0845) 606 0234. Electrician, Darlington, £7.60 per hour, 40hrs per week, age 21-plus, must be time-served, experience of sub mains system, steel wire armoured work
STAFF from a green charity in Derwentside got on their bikes to promote the cause of sustainable transport. Stephen McDonald and Kath Ivens, workers with the Acorn Trust, in Delves Lane, rode the 126-mile Coast to Coast cycle route along with trustees
CHILDREN are being asked to test their artistic skills and explain who their favourite carer is and why. The Darlington Early Years Development and Childcare Partnership is running a competition to find out who children admire and respect the most. The
MORE details about the jobs below are available from the Employment Service Direct on (0845) 606 0234. Joiner/stand fitter, Thirsk. £6 to £8ph, 8.30am to 5pm, Mon-Fri, temporary. Must have joinery or shop fitting skills, and clean driving licence. Ref
They'd baked to feed the five thousand, worked all week to make the ground look its month of Sunday's best, anticipated home from home advantage and a place in the sun at Lord's. Come the hour, alas, and Wolviston's National Village Cricket Cup semi-final
CHILDREN who are living with the aftermath of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster have enjoyed a breath of fresh air on a visit to Wear Valley. Ukrainian charity Welleka has joined Crook for Children of Chernobyl to give youngsters still affected by the disaster
FRANKIE DETTORI concentrates on quality rather than quantity nowadays, cherry-picking big-races such as this afternoon's £450,000 Juddmonte International Stakes at York's Ebor Meeting. Dettori's brush with death in a well-publicised plane crash at Newmarket
TRANSPORT group Go-Ahead has expanded its interests in the aviation market with the acquisition of Reed Aviation in a £5.3m deal. The deal will see the Newcastle-based company take control of ground handling operations at six airports in the UK and Ireland
HUNDREDS of bikers from all over Europe descended on the Wear Valley to escort one of their 'brothers' on his final journey today. A mass two-wheeler entourage stretching half-a-mile followed behind the hearse carrying the body of 33-year-old Michael
THE shadow of the axe is hanging over more Teesside jobs after BP announced it was planning to close its polyethylene operations at Wilton, with the loss of more than 80 jobs. Consultations are taking place with the 81 BP employees who work at the plant
ALEN BOKSIC has handed Middlesbrough an injury worry for tonight's visit to newly-promoted Bolton as Steve McClaren urges his shell-shocked side to silence the doubters following Saturday's nightmare 4-0 home defeat by Arsenal. Croatia striker Boksic,
YOUNG thieves and vandals will pay for their crime by tidying up a town centre. Under the scheme in South Shields convicted youngsters aged ten to 17 will sign up to the South Tyneside Offending Team's reparation initiative, which aims to make the town
RESIDENTS are celebrating after saving a pub from demolition. Planning inspector Philip Major says replacing the 19th Century Ladle public house, in Middlesbrough, with a modern pub, a travel inn and a McDonalds would be "unacceptably harmful to the character
HUNDREDS of bikers from all over Europe will be in the North-East today to act as an escort for one of their "brothers" on his final journey. Michael Horner, known by friends as Inch, was killed when his bike collided with a 4x4 vehicle close to Balmoral
BOBBY ROBSON'S European dreams were agonisingly dashed in an eight-goal extravaganza at St. James' Park on Tuesday night. French side Troyes clinched a place in the first round of the UEFA Cup on the away-goal rule, after Newcastle fought back from 4-
A DISABLED Battle of Britain hero ended up being taken away by police after trying to get into his home which is at the centre of a bitter family feud. Highly-decorated former fighter pilot Squadron Leader George Bennions has lived in the house in North
A HEROIN addict turned robber ruined her elderly victim's life, a court heard. Kerry Tullius, 20, admitted robbing Mary Jane Allan in Manor Street, Middlesbrough, by grabbing her handbag. Teesside Crown Court heard that after struggling with her attacker
Glowing references to a fine collection of trees and shrubs on television lured us towards the Thorp Perrow Arboretum. We fancied a quiet day in the country, so it was important to get it right. The leaflet arrived and we studied it carefully, noting
A THUG who smashed a puppy's head with a wooden truncheon has been banned from owning animals for life. Peter Scotter repeatedly battered the 14-week-old Staffordshire Bull terrier pup after it fouled the kitchen floor, Sunderland magistrates court heard
A life-saving service whose funding has been hit by the foot-and-mouth crisis is fighting back by organising its first fun run event. The Swaledale Fell Rescue Organisation (SFRO) is made up entirely of volunteers and relies on fundraising and donations
THE Society of Friends in Darlington has won a planning appeal for the provision of proper car parking at the back of its meeting house. Last November, the council refused to grant planning permission for nine car parking spaces for occasional use at
THERE is a myth which goes like this: for years, standards of public service in England were appalling, but in recent times things have got much better. It's baloney. Things are worse than ever. A couple of examples from painful experience. One day last
NINE extra closed-circuit television (CCTV) security cameras are to be installed in Darlington town centre to help fight crime in the town. They will be situated near Darlington College of Technology and High Northgate. Darlington Borough Council has
PLANS to transform a former nursing home into a block of flats will be considered by councillors tomorrow. Members of Teesdale District Council's development control committee will discuss proposals to turn the former St Peter's House Nursing Home into
A CASH and carry company has been fined for supplying toy caps which burned a boy's hand when he fell on them. Hancocks Cash and Carry was fined £1,000 at Bishop Auckland Magistrates' Court yesterday, for supplying a toy that contained firework caps that
PEOPLE plagued by rowdy behaviour from drinkers are to have their problems eased with the help of a grant from the Home Office. Wear Valley District Council has received a £30,000 grant to install two new closed-circuit television security cameras on
A SUNDIAL has been unveiled in Bishop Middleham to celebrate the millennium. It was designed by Mark Elliott, of Sedgefield Borough Council, with landscaping by JWC Landscaping, and is sited opposite The Fleece pub, in the High Street. It is one of four
A TAXI driver has been ordered to remove display signs from his vehicle by council officials. George Jenkinson and his partner, Michelle, have been warned by Darlington Borough Council that they are breaching the conditions of their Hackney Carriage licence
FLY-tippers have been warned they could face huge fines and possible imprisonment if they dump rubbish outside their homes. The warning came after a complete fitted kitchen was found dumped in a back alley off East Mount Road, Darlington, yesterday. The
RESIDENTS on a Darlington estate are being encouraged to recycle and compost their rubbish under a new initiative. The County Durham Environmental Trust (CDENT) has given £4,500 to a scheme to give people in Firthmoor the chance to install their own home-composting
BIG-HEARTED workers at an Iceland frozen food store in Darlington have broken through the £10,000 barrier in their quest to raise money for the Cancer Research Fund. The Yarm Road branch of the store chain is supporting a family fun day in aid of the
A MAN was punched to the ground and kicked by a gang as he walked home in Darlington in the early hours on Sunday. The man, who has not been named by police, sustained head and face injuries after the unprovoked attack. He was walking along Station Road
ALL the fun of the seaside is coming to Darlington this weekend. Tonnes of sand are being imported into the Market Square to create a beach for the start of the Orange Darlington Festival. Youngsters at The Kids and Co Nursery practised for the big day
HARTLEPOOL United's dreams of upsetting the odds in the Worthington Cup in front of the television cameras were shattered last night with a 2-0 defeat. But Chris Turner's side were no disgrace as they fought Paul Hart's Forest team right up until the
NOLBERTO SOLANO could be heading for the exit door at Newcastle United after refusing to abandon his international career. The winger insists he will play on for Peru despite the threat it poses to his future with United. Manager Bobby Robson has already
A ROW over who pays the bill for the care of the surviving sextuplets born to a Libyan couple at a North-East hospital is to be put on the back burner, say hospital chiefs. Len Fenwick, chief executive of the Newcastle Hospitals NHS Trust, said the emphasis
ENGLAND striker Kevin Phillips will be chasing his 50th goal in just over two seasons in the Premiership when Sunderland face newcomers Fulham at Craven Cottage tomorrow night. The 28-year-old star, who won Europe's Golden Slipper award for his 30 Premiership
MORE details about the jobs below are available from the Employment Service Direct on (0845) 606 0234. MoT tester, Eaglescliffe. Up to £300ph dep on exp, full-time. Must have MoT testing certificate class 4 and be qualified. Must have current, clean driving
A FULL medical report is to be compiled on a teenager who was left fighting for his life after violence flared at a birthday celebration. The report and prognosis will be carried out on Alex Harker before his assailant, 18-year-old Gary Andrew Norman,
BANNATYNE Fitness, the UK's largest independent health club operator, is on course to open the latest club under the "Just Fitness" banner in Coulby Newham, near Middlesbrough. The club, in Stainton Road, is due to open on September 1. The 20,000sq ft
FILM star Edward Fox joined the fight to restore a crumbling North Yorkshire theatre and told campaigners it must not be allowed to bite the dust. Fox and members of his family travelled from his home in the South to back an £11.2m restoration scheme
A major upgrade and refit of a Tesco superstore in Thirsk is nearing completion. The store is being doubled in size in a move which has created 100 jobs in the town, and work on the upgrade is in its final phase, with the official opening due on October
THE North-East is to pioneer a scheme to involve secondary school children in protecting the environment. Ferryhill Comprehensive and Sedgefield Community College, in south Durham, have been chosen to take part in the scheme developed by Global Action
CLEVELAND'S Take Heart Bow Street Walkers' Group has reintroduced its Sunday morning walks following the continued easing of foot-and-mouth restrictions. The walks, all starting at 10.30am, and between five to seven miles, are led by experienced walkers
A FOOTBALL club was in mourning yesterday after one of its players collapsed and died on a night out in his home city. Thomas Staniforth, who was 20, collapsed as he was about to go to a nightclub in York and died on the journey to the city's district
MUSICIANS from across Europe will be in the North-East this week for an international music festival. Following the success of last year's inaugural event, the Musike International Academy will return to Durham City for a series of masterclasses and concerts
