CONGRATULATIONS to Yorkshire on winning their first cricket championship since 1968. Given the region's current sporting record - one that has Newcastle's failure in the InterToto Cup as its most recent entry - this idea of success is something of a novelty
The time has come to start the harvesting of many maincrop vegetables and fruits. Only vegetables like leeks, celery, Brussels sprouts and parsnips are left undisturbed for the winter months. These all benefit from frosting. Clamping, although a very
THE more things change the more they stay the same. Boro have a new management team but they will again find that recovering from a poor start can be a long haul. A sending off and a booking for Ugo Ehiogu sounds familiar, as does Sunderland's Kevin Phillips
MORE than 100 extra police have been drafted into Hartlepool to prevent trouble at today's derby match against Darlington. Officers say they are stepping up security and there will be a strong police presence before and after the game at Hartlepool's
A company is investigating how a deaf and dumb teenager came to be locked in a Metro train in a dark depot. Vicky Cheung, 18, was terrified when the driver of a late-night train failed to spot he still had a passenger on board when he ended the service
TRADERS will return from the long weekend to a relatively packed week of results, with updates from Psion, Schroders and betting-to-hotels group Hilton. Anglo-Dutch software and computer services group CMG has seen its shares suffer along with the rest
LUCKY Lottie the dog had a miracle escape after plunging 50ft down a cliff face when she jumped over a wall. The two-and-a-half-year-old black mongrel escaped with just a few cuts after falling from the top of a cliff in Whitby, North Yorkshire. Owner
THE provisional liquidators of Independent Insurance have set up a company to pay outstanding claims for the collapsed insurance group, it was announced last night. The so-called "run-off" company, Aurora Corporate Services, will pay insurance claims
THIS year's Darlington Orange Festival starts today with a host of wild and wacky entertainment planned for the Bank Holiday weekend. The event aims to bring street theatre and musical entertainment to people who do not usually get the chance to see it
THREE A-level students were so shocked by the poverty they witnessed on a trip to Belarus that they raised money for a group from the former Soviet state to holiday in England. Mark Tallon, and friends Gavin Arnold and Doug Tailby, all aged 18, visited
POLICE and trading standards officers are warning people of a con suggesting they are beneficiaries of a will. Letters are believed to have gone out to thousands of Teessiders with the surname Adams from the Essex firm Temple Law. They state that the
Letters from The Northern Echo EUTHANASIA DIANE Pretty is an inspiration to us all (Echo, Aug 21). The mother-of-two has been diagnosed with one of the worst chronic diseases known to mankind and her life must be an absolute living hell. Diane's determination
VILLAGERS in a community famed for lending its name to an apple have got the "pip" over a new homes plan. The small community of Little Ribston, the first English home of the Ribston Pippin apple, near Knaresborough, has tabled a 38-strong petition objecting
A BOOK left in dusty old box in a charity shop could shed light on a family's history. The dark green book on the history of the Durham Light Infantry (DLI), was handed in to the Mayor's Charity Shop, in Darlington, last week. It was among a pile of books
COUNCIL house tenants in east Durham have been warned that time is running out to claim cash from a Government "keep warm'' fund. The Warm Front scheme, which offers insulation grants of £1,000 is about to be changed and those living in council properties
TWO wannabe pop stars from the North-East have been signed up by an American record label to form a girl band. Jayne Sharkey, 19, from Middlesbrough and Kimberley Wardle, 17, from Billingham, were spotted on stage at TFM's Feel the Noise music event at
WHILST it is doubtless true - as St Matthew observes - that wherever two or three are gathered together so Christ will be there also, ten or 12 looks better on the team picture. This column's only beneficial effect, indeed - particularly among smaller
THE row over the North-East detective who escaped a speeding ticket after being flashed by roadside cameras intensified last night when it emerged two drivers had tried the same defence. While one was convicted, the other saw the charge dropped. Businessman
NORTH-EAST-based trio Jonathan Greening, Mark Wilson and Andy Griffin have been included in David Platt's latest England Under-21 squad. But there is no place in the trimmed 24-man list, to face Germany in Freiburg on August 31 and Albania at the Riverside
SCHOOLBOY Robbie McDougal is about to be beamed into millions of homes - singing a solo on TV's Songs of Praise. The 12-year-old, from Northallerton, North Yorkshire, is head chorister of Grimsby Parish Church, the only one in the country to have its
A FORMER head lad yesterday lost his bid to prove a racehorse trainer had been negligent in asking him to ride a horse which threw him and left him unable to work. Robert Atkinson sued his former employer, Denys Smith, who has a yard at Bishop Auckland
The Teesside branch of the National Childbirth Trust is holding a picnic party at Great Broughton Sports Club, on Saturday, September 1, between 11am and 3pm. Admission to the event is free, and there will be a bouncy castle, face painting, games and
ROTHMANS owner British American Tobacco (BAT) has launched legal challenge to a new European Union directive which, it says, threatens hundreds of North-East jobs. The company, which maintains operations in Darlington and Peterlee, believes the EU does
A BRILLIANT piece of fielding by Gary Pratt spared Durham's blushes yesterday when they were threatening to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. After starting the third day at Hove 316 ahead with five wickets left, they added only 20 runs and reached
RIVAL football fans were last night urged to heed calls for peace at tomorrow's first North-East Premiership derby match of the season. Extra police cover has been drafted in to maintain the peace as Tyne-Wear rivals Newcastle United and Sunderland meet
A BMX rider from the region performed a difficult trick to take gold at an international competition. Stephen Murray, 21, of Tynemouth, was competing in the Xtreme Games, in Pennsylvania, US, when he performed a double backflip on his bike. It was the
BELEAGUERED Saltburn could do nothing but watch as their dreams of staying in the top flight of the Teesside and District Union were torn apart by Bishop Auckland. Saltburn, who had already played all their fixtures, followed Darlington into Division
All our luck came at once at Musselburgh on Thursday when Salsa came home clear of his rivals. He was in second place, three lengths behind the leader Scarrattoo with a furlong to go when the saddle slipped on the latter and rider Graham Gibbons was unseated
REVIEWS : Sonic Adventure 2. Published by: Sega. Format: Dreamcast GD-ROM. Price: £29.99 ONE of video gaming's most enduring icons, Sonic the Hedgehog, celebrates his tenth birthday this summer. It seems barely yesterday that the outlandish blue spikey-haired
DISABLED people may soon benefit from special pedestrian crossings at Kirkbymoorside. The town council heard that North Yorkshire County Council's highways department has earmarked £5,000 to provide crossings for disabled people. Suggested sites in the
CHILDREN who have shown bravery, kindness and initiative are to be celebrated with an award. The Asda supermarket in Bishop Auckland has chosen five nominations for its Kids Local Hero award, for youngsters who have made a difference to their community
COUNCIL houses will receive £155m worth of improvements planned by their new owner after residents endorsed a transfer. In a ballot conducted by Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council, 89 per cent of tenants voted to transfer the ownership and management
FOCUSED Hartlepool United manager Chris Turner won't be dragged into the derby hype this afternoon. Turner has engineered a low profile among his players ahead of this afternoon's Victoria Park clash with Darlington. And with a trip to Leyton Orient to
RECORD signing Ugo Ehiogu believes Middlesbrough are in desperate need of three points at Everton this afternoon. Ehiogu, who has played in both of Boro's opening two defeats against Arsenal and Bolton Wanderers, insists they need to start winning before
POLICE investigating the alleged poisoning of servicemen during military research are to pass a file to the Crown Prosecution Service, it emerged yesterday. The inquiry into experiments at Porton Down, Wiltshire, which are thought to have killed a North-East
WHILST it is doubtless true - as St Matthew observes - that wherever two or three are gathered together so Christ will be there also, ten or 12 looks better on the team picture. This column's only beneficial effect, indeed - particularly among smaller
WOOLWORTHS has added to the woes of Internet company Baltimore Technologies after details of the retailer's stock market listing emerged yesterday. The high street firm, which is due to be spun off from Kingfisher on Tuesday, is taking Baltimore's place
CHURCH leaders have been accused of cutting corners by getting lay people to do the work of priests to save cash. The move is part of efforts to develop the role of lay members in the Durham diocese of the Church of England by, working alongside ordained
RICHARD HANNON'S horses have struggled to prevail at the highest level this season, but there's still time for Tamburlaine (2.50) to put things right by taking this afternoon's £80,000 Group 2 Celebration Mile at Goodwood. The East Everleigh-based trainer
GROUPS of "street children" descended on Darlington's Cornmill Shopping Centre yesterday to shine people's shoes for money. The youngsters were volunteers from the Darlington and Newton Aycliffe YMCA's Millennium Volunteers project. They took up their
TWO more men have appeared in court charged with the murder of a father of six, and one was released on bail. Kalvant Singh, 41, was found dead in the yard of a house in Errol Street, Middlesbrough, on August 6. Thomas Petch, 22, of Parkhouse Farm, Dunsdale
A DISGRACED surgeon was last night thrown out of the medical profession, following a series of blunders during hysterectomy and circumcision operations. Peter Silverstone, 58, left two baby boys in agony after failing to anaesthetise them properly, the
Q My father, aged 84, pays rent of £39 and council tax of £20. Is he paying too much as he only has a state pension of £74.55 a week, coal money of £3.72 a week, a miner's pension of £140.40 a month and £3,000 savings? AIt is not clear how regularly he
THE more things change the more they stay the same. Boro have a new management team but they will again find that recovering from a poor start can be a long haul. A sending off and a booking for Ugo Ehiogu sounds familiar, as does Sunderland's Kevin Phillips
AN appeal has been made in the North-East by police concerned for the welfare of a missing man from the South-West. Matthew John McGlone was last seen in his home town of Plymouth, in Devon, on August 12. His Ford Focus car was found in the car park at
REVIEWS : Sonic Adventure 2. Published by: Sega. Format: Dreamcast GD-ROM. Price: £29.99 ONE of video gaming's most enduring icons, Sonic the Hedgehog, celebrates his tenth birthday this summer. It seems barely yesterday that the outlandish blue spikey-haired
PUPILS in Redcar and Cleveland have maintained a good standard with their GCSE results. The provisional figure for the percentage of the year group achieving five or more A* to C grades at GCSE is 43 per cent, compared with last year's 45 per cent. Maths
Darlington overcame arch rivals Hartlepool United 2-1 at Victoria Park on Saturday. Quakers striker Danny Mellanby grabbed his side the winner three minutes before half-time despite heavy pressure from the hosts in the second half. Midfielder Mark Tinkler
NURSES from the Philippines will start work on Teesside on Monday after a failure to recruit UK staff. The North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Trust recruited 59 Filipino nurses in May. The first nine finished their two-week induction yesterday. Despite high
THE site of a former school in Darlington is to be sold to a housing developer. The former Joseph Pease School, at the rear of Queen Elizabeth Sixth Form College, in Vane Terrace, will be sold to Barratt Homes to help the college fund a £2.6m extension
PENALTY-SAVING derby hero Thomas Sorensen goes into tomorrow's big game determined to make amends to his Sunderland teammates for the nightmare mistake at Fulham in midweek. The Wearsiders looked set to claim a point at Craven Cottage when the normally
Boro boss Steve McClaren continued his woeful start in charge on Teesside with his third straight defeat. The new man in charge decided to switch formations with the sweeper system reinstalled after two straight defeats. But the move proved ineffective
PEOPLE who have protested for four years about anti-social behaviour in a local park could see action taken soon to resolve the problem. The nuisance at the park owned by Home Housing, in Newton Aycliffe, has been caused by teenagers using a football
A PIONEERING publishing company is gearing up for expansion with the creation of new jobs. Yarm's ATI Publications achieved a major breakthrough in 1999 when it launched the first buyer's guide to the world-wide flag and banner industry. The result of
COMEDIAN Seymour Mace has won a place in the final of an Edinburgh Fringe Festival comedy competition, despite losing in an earlier heat. The former street performer, from Jarrow, Tyneside, impressed judges enough for them to allot him one of two wild
Darlington make the short journey to Hartlepool today with a double mission - to double the season's points to tally to six and to make amends for last season's poor performances against their fierce rivals. There is no denying Pool deserved to win last
PAUL INCE leads Middlesbrough into today's game at Everton fearing the worst for his Riverside future and revealing his sadness over the decline of old mate Paul Gascoigne. Geordie Gazza, who moved to Goodison Park last summer on a free transfer after
THE going has got easier for walkers at a lakeside beauty spot in the heart of a North Yorkshire forest. The Forestry Commission has teamed up with the North York Moors National Park and Whitby Disablement Action Group to create a new and easy route for
PLANS to convert a former nursing home into luxury flats have been blocked by councillors. Members of Teesdale District Council's development control committee feared the residential development at St Peter's House, next to the A67, at Gainford, between
TRAFFIC lights at a danger junction could help ease congestion on a major approach to a North Yorkshire town. Councillors are being asked to approve the spending of £150,000 to improve the A61 Leeds Road junction with Pannal Bank and Follifoot Road at
A SURVEY of a small North Yorkshire village revealed the presence of 17 different types of butterfly. The findings are reported in the local newsletter for Hutton Rudby, near Yarm, which is edited by environmental consultant Christopher Lowe, who lives
A TRIO of young dancers have been stepping out at a summer school to celebrate their recent examination success. The girls are members of the Tiffany School of Dance, in Darlington, which has been holding a summer school over the past week. Catherine
TWO teenagers from the same school are celebrating after gaining an amazing 12 A* grades in their GCSEs. They also had one of the top five marks in the country for four different subjects. Joel Beavers and Paul Cannon, both 16, collected their results
A GROUP of youngsters got together to master the skill needed for whitewater rafting yesterday. More than 500 young people from across County Durham have taken part in a summer of fun activities which included taking part in canoeing and whitewater rafting
A COUPLE from County Durham are poised to become TV celebrities in the US, thanks to their success on a diet made famous by former Spice Girl Geri Halliwell. Ken and Glynis Spearen, from School Aycliffe, have lost 45lb in eight weeks on the Atkins low
FARMERS in the North-East suffered a double blow last night as the nightmare of foot-and-mouth returned to the region. Nearly three months after the last reported case in County Durham and Northumberland, ministry officials announced that animals at Taylor
AN ANIMAL rescue centre is making an impassioned plea to cat lovers to help re-home some of its feline guests. Eldon Hope Animal Rescue, in Newton Aycliffe, is currently full to capacity and desperately needs to find loving homes for the cats there. Alex
ALAN SHEARER has assured Newcastle United manager Bobby Robson that he won't risk his career for the sake of derby revenge against Sunderland. Skipper Shearer, out for five months following make-or-break surgery to cure tendinitis in his left knee, can
Risk assessment measures developed by a North-East council to prevent another Selby-type rail tragedy could form the basis of a national blueprint. Engineers from Durham County Council this week met Railtrack officials to consider further work which may
ALL our luck came at once at Musselburgh on Thursday when Salsa came home clear of his rivals. He was in second place, three lengths behind the leader Scarrattoo with a furlong to go when the saddle slipped on the latter and rider Graham Gibbons was unseated
IT reads like the anguished diary of a bullied schoolboy. Being flicked in the genitals with a towel, having pencils forced between crushed fingers, being rubbed down with a cat's bottom. In some ways, it sounds comical. But when these acts of torture
A MAN accused of raping a teenage girl was sought out and attacked by a group of her friends, a court heard. They set off vigilante-style in search of Gary Lines, 30, after his 15-year-old victim was seen in a highly distressed state shortly after the
TWO close friends will go head-to-head when Hartlepool United and Darlington get the first North-East derby of the season underway this afternoon. When the teams walk out at Victoria Park to the rival chants of both sets of supporters, there will be another
