NEW copies of the Yellow Pages have been distributed across parts of North Yorkshire over the past few days - but the local authority is urging residents not to bin their old directories. Richmondshire District Council's environment unit has established
MORE details about the jobs below are available from the Employment Service Direct on (0845) 606 0234. Telesales person, Northallerton. £12,000 to £14,000pa, 10am to 6pm, Mon-Fri. No experience necessary as training given. Ref: NOE 15494. Engineering
A LONG-held dream is coming alive amid a burst of colour in the heart of North Yorkshire. For the first time in 90 years, orchids are once again in bloom at a restored orchid house in Helmsley's Walled Garden. The garden once served the Duncombe estate
YOUNGSTERS got a taste of Army life on Saturday when they visited a squadron of soldiers in Middlesbrough. The platoon of 25 pupils from Thorntree Primary School spent the day at the Hollis VC Armoury, Coulby Newham, with the 104 Pioneer Squadron Royal
A FATHER protested his innocence when detectives quizzed him about trying to have sex with a teenage babysitter, a court was told yesterday. Wayne Armin, 32, repeated he was 98 per cent sure that he had not done anything wrong. But the 15-year-old said
DERELICT buildings are making way for a city centre green haven. Shoppers and workers will be able to relax and enjoy the peace when a public square and lawn are created in High Street West, Sunderland. Yesterday, bulldozers began knocking down the city
AN RSPCA inspector has told of her horror at the case of a dog left to lie in a shed with a broken back for a week. Yesterday Consett Magistrates' Court, in County Durham, heard how the greyhound bitch was found after neighbours, haunted by its yelping
A 30-year-old man accused of murdering a South Korean woman and leaving her body in a suitcase in North Yorkshire was sent to the Old Bailey yesterday. Kyu Soo Kim, of Holborn, London, appeared at Thames magistrates court charged with the murder of 21
THE Government was last night facing renewed calls for a full public inquiry after a report condemned its handling of the foot-and-mouth crisis. Delivering a damning verdict, the National Farmers Union (NFU) said the disaster was caused by a "catalogue
A TEENAGER accused of murdering a North Yorkshire man as he walked home from his village pub, made his first appearance at York Crown Court yesterday. James William Payling, 18, of Kirkgate, Ripon, who did not indicate a plea, was remanded in custody
BIN It (2.20) should clean up at Fontwell today. Charlie Mann's mare has a double penalty to defy in the Crandon Park Novices' Hurdle, but that shouldn't stop the six-year-old making it three wins from her last four starts. Bin It's most recent victory
A DRIVER reached speeds of 125mph while being chased by police, a court heard. Officers in an unmarked car tried to stop David Nowlin in his BMW after he left a Darlington petrol station owing 28 pence. Peter Sabiston, prosecuting, told Teesside Crown
POLICE arrested more than 300 people in a month-long crackdown on festive season crime. The county's force launched Operation Bull's Eye at the end of November to help tackle a rise in house break-ins. More than 1,100 officers, backed by CID units and
A SURVIVOR of the Holocaust shared his memories yesterday with youngsters who are studying the atrocities. George Lobel, 75, of Newcastle, gave a talk to 12 and 13-year-olds at West Redcar Community School, Teesside, who are studying different aspects
PIGEONS which are causing problems for people living in a North-East street are being culled by the local authority. People living along Alfred Street in Redcar, Teesside, said the road, their cars and homes are constantly covered in the birds' mess,
A 23-year-old man, who has not been named, had part of his nose bitten off in an attack as he walked home from a club in Sunderland at the weekend. A police spokesman said he was attacked near Idols, in High Street West, Sunderland, between 2.30am and
RED TAPE has left police chiefs £900,000 out of pocket after the Government failed to pay for the cost of the Selby train disaster inquiry. Nearly a year after the crash on the East Coast Main Line which killed ten people, North Yorkshire Police chiefs
A TELEVISION soap opera has helped a charity win a financial lifeline of £190,000. Survive, based in York, supports adult women survivors of childhood sexual abuse, and demand for counselling has shot up since Eastenders featured an abuse plotline. As
WAR ON TERRORISM I WAS pleased to read (HAS, Jan 17) that Hugh Pender was deplored by the destruction of the twin towers. For one moment, I mistakenly thought he had removed his blinkers and ventured out into the real world, but, alas, I was wrong because
IT can't have happened before one of the world's top boy bands on the same bill as a ventriloquist, a couple of television gameshow hosts, a North-East colliery band, and one of Britain's leading stage actors giving a recital from the works of Dickens
THE row over a bungled maths paper deepened last night as it was revealed the exam board at fault knew about mistakes in a crucial question hours before thousands of pupils, many in the North, sat down to tackle it. A school in Hong Kong first raised
CARL CORT is on course to make his Newcastle United comeback in the next month. The £7m striker hasn't played since the end of last season after being hit by ankle and knee problems. But United boss Bobby Robson is ready to fix a behind-closed-doors game
AN inquest opened and adjourned yesterday into the deaths of two men electrocuted at roadworks. Fred Cook, 38, and Anthony John Crimmins, 33, were killed by a 20,000-volt shock on the A66, east of Bowes, County Durham, when a lighting rig touched a power
A MAN who robbed his victim of hundreds of pounds after attacking him in a public toilet was jailed for six years yesterday. John Fox saw the man in Stockton High Street and followed him into the toilets where he demanded money, Teesside Crown Court heard
A former nursery nurse yesterday denied claims she had been in a bath with a male colleague and children who had been in their care. Dawn Reed also said she had never seen colleague Christopher Lillie exposing himself at the nursery, or other places.
AN inquest was opened yesterday into the death of a 24-year-old Middlesbrough man. Mark O'Hagan, an unemployed labourer was found dead at his home, in Wellington Street, on Saturday. His father, Brian O'Hagan, 51, of Wake Street, North Ormesby, gave evidence
WOMEN in Hartlepool are being offered the chance to take part in a free course looking at first aid for babies and children. Two one-day courses are planned for either later this month or early next month. Free childcare will be provided. The courses
THREE teenage girls fled from a pervert who exposed himself and carried out a sex act in a town park. The youngsters were in Darlington's North Park, next to the cemetery, off Thompson Street West, on Friday lunch-time, when the man dropped his trousers
ONE of the largest reclamation projects in Europe moved a step closer yesterday with the announcement of a preferred contractor to complete the new flagship office for regional development agency One NorthEast. John Mowlem and Company has been appointed
EXTRA cash is to be spent making further improvements to Darlington's cinema. The Odeon, in Northgate - formerly the ABC - underwent a £117,000 facelift at the end of last year, opening on New Year's Day under its new name. The revamp involved new seating
Insight into the life of a poet KEVIN Cadwallender, poet-in-residence for Durham County Council, will be appearing at Bishop Auckland Town Hall tomorrow. Mr Cadwallender, who comes from Sunderland, will discuss how he became a writer, his other careers
A MOTHER says she is at the end of her tether after battling with the council over her damp flat for more than two years. Paula Green claims a doctor has even written to Richmondshire District Council, urging the authority to find another home for her
A PASSER-by came to the rescue of a pizza delivery man during a robbery on Saturday night. Police said the Good Samaritan's intervention in Half Moon Lane, Spennymoor, probably saved the 47-year-old victim from serious injury. The driver was doing a midnight
A PROJECT has been launched to encourage people to stay fit by tending to their runner beans and cabbages. Groundwork East Durham has started a scheme to promote the health benefits of allotment gardening, with the first site opened in Fishburn yesterday
A YOUNG swimming star recorded two personal bests during her international debut at the weekend. Stephanie Proud, 13, of Durham, made history by becoming the youngest person to represent Britain in the Fina Swimming World Cup, in Paris. She recorded a
Two disgraced police officers who were forced to quit following allegations they had a sex romp with a sixth form schoolgirl while on duty, will not be appealing against the decision. PCs Michael Hendy and Marc Watson, both officers in Barnard Castle,
THERE was a period of about a fortnight after September 11 when the chattering classes and the left-wing establishment stopped chattering and crawled back into the woodwork. I have, unfortunately, often found myself at these people's dinner parties -
REAL ale enthusiasts who voted a North-East village pub one of the best in Britain, have uncorked a true treasure of a watering hole. Tucked away in the small community of Middlestone, near Spennymoor, County Durham, The Ship is named today as national
PARENTS have vowed to "pester" councillors in a bid to overturn a decision to close a primary school. On Thursday, councillors from Stockton Borough Council agreed to shut Tedder Primary School, in Thornaby, and to move pupils to two other nearby schools
HUNDREDS of homes are to benefit from better security after an anti-burglary initiative. The Hartlepool Community Safety Partnership has joined forces with the West End Residents Association to offer 700 free door and window alarms to people living in
THEY were all slimming consultants, but rather than inspiring the people in their classes with their slender figures, they were actually putting on weight. Darlington sisters Mandy Drake and June MacFarlane know at first-hand the problems dieters face
DISCIPLINARY hearings against two members of staff at a controversial children's home are expected to start today. Peter Harll, 40, and a female colleague at the Aycliffe Young People's Centre, in County Durham, were suspended following a drink-drive
MOTORISTS face a safety lottery when driving in icy conditions, a survey has revealed. The survey, by the RAC, revealed how levels of gritting varied wildly across the country. The RAC said that in some cases there was little onus on local authorities
A MAN avoided a jail sentence yesterday after admitting petrol bombing a car in an act of revenge. Paul Drury, 21, went to the home of a man he thought had unfairly sacked a friend, where he smashed the window of his car, tossing the petrol bomb on to
Shopfloor workers hold a third 24-hour strike in a dispute at a dump truck factory today, with union officials and management still far apart. More than 500 workers at the Caterpillar plant in Peterlee, County Durham have held strikes on successive Tuesdays
Malaria, the tropical disease which claims up to a million lives a year worldwide, threatens to overwhelm considerable parts of the UK, a leading North-east academic has warned. British shores are now under threat of the disease for two months each summer
EXAMINATION board officials last night pledged to give special consideration to pupils who sat a maths paper which contained a mistake. On Friday, hundreds of students sat the AS-level maths exam set by the Edexcel board. But it was noticed that figures
A TEENAGER admitted causing a man's death by dangerous driving, a court heard yesterday. The 16-year-old, who cannot be named for legal reasons, denied a charge of manslaughter at Teesside Crown Court, but pleaded guilty to causing the death of Philip
TWO youngsters could win the chance to be dignitaries for the day, thanks to a competition. Darlington Borough Council is looking for a junior mayor and mayoress to take over official duties. To win the chance to wear the mayoral chain, youngsters must
RAIL users are facing chaos across the region tomorrow as a 48-hour strike is expected to knock hundreds of scheduled services off track. Arriva Trains Northern (ATN) has announced the action will take most of its 1,600 daily services out of action and
PLANS for a floodlit multi-sports facility in Hartlepool look likely to go ahead. In March last year, outline planning permission was granted for a multi-sport service, skating facility, parking, as well as for alterations and extensions to the changing
GATESHEAD Council wants residents to attend a meeting on Friday to see how decisions affecting them are made. Last year, Gateshead Council decided to change the content and format of meetings, to encourage more local people to attend. Speakers at future
TENANTS of council homes in the Stockton area are being urged to have their say on the future management of their homes. The Electoral Reform Society is carrying out a postal survey and vote on behalf of Stockton Borough Council to enable tenants to comment
A SCHEME to protect bus drivers from angry passengers is proving a success, say its organisers. Bus drivers in east Cleveland have been given mobile phones to give them a direct line to the police in case of problems with troublemakers. The move follows
FRUSTRATED residents who were promised a meeting to try and solve parking problems are still waiting for a date to be set. The Darlington Housing Association tenants in Wycombe Street, in the centre of Darlington, have complained for years that shoppers
MORE details about the jobs below are available from the Employment Service Direct on (0845) 606 0234. Stable yard person, Wolviston. 7.30am to 3.30pm Mon-Fri, 7.30am to 2pm Sat. Experience in similar role is preferred but not essential as training given
NEW measures have been put in place for storing fridges and freezers after regulations were introduced to increase environmental protection. Rules that came into force at the start of the year mean that local authorities will no longer be able to collect
POLICE were inspecting security camera footage yesterday in a bid to track down vandals who broke into a signal box and changed trackside lights to green. The culprits broke into the unmanned Longbeck signal box, in Marske, east Cleveland, on Sunday,
ALMOST a year after a funding crisis put its future in doubt, Darlington Citizen's Advice Bureau (CAB) is continuing to serve the town. Last March, the core funding of the service from Darlington Borough Council was cut by 50 per cent. After the decision
MORE details about the jobs below are available from the Employment Service Direct on (0845) 606 0234. Office clerk, Seaham. £8,000pa dep on age and exp, 37.5hrs pw, 9am to 5.30pm, Mon-Fri. Required for laboratory. Must have clerical background with good
CONCEDING goals at the beginning and end of the second half, Darlington were left to regret not finishing off Peterborough six days earlier as the Posh secured a money-spinning FA Cup tie with Newcastle last night. At 2-0 up last Tuesday, Quakers looked
DARLINGTON'S hopes of hosting one of the biggest games in its history lay in tatters last night after a 2-0 defeat by Peterborough. North-East fans' dream of seeing Newcastle come to Feethams in the FA Cup evaporated as the Quakers failed to overcome
A TEENAGER admitted causing a man's death by dangerous driving, a court heard yesterday. The 16-year-old, who cannot be named for legal reasons, denied a charge of manslaughter at Teesside Crown Court, but pleaded guilty to causing the death of Philip
A HUSBAND and wife whose two-year benefits fraud netted them nearly £3,000 escaped going to jail yesterday. Andrew Skilbeck, 36, who runs the Jolly Giant Snack Bar, in Stonefall Avenue, Harrogate and his wife Karen, 38, each pleaded guilty to three joint
EDUCATION officials want to consult the public again about the age at which primary schools will admit children to full-time education. The City of York Council wants to reconsider whether schools should admit children at the beginning of the term in
POLICE want to track down a lorry-driving Good Samaritan in an effort to piece together the events of a fatal crash. One man died in the crash on the A658 at Follifoot, near Harrogate, at about 7.30am last Wednesday. Police would like to trace a lorry
A FARMER'S dreams of the glory of Rome are a step closer to reality today. County Durham farmer Nick Greenwell has learnt that money has been made available to investigate the possibility of digging up the remains of a Roman town buried under his land
A CONMAN who posed as a priest to rob a 94-year-old woman of £30 has been jailed for seven years. Great-grandmother Isabella Brown was pushed to the ground by Steven Gray during the attack last July. Newcastle Crown Court heard that Gray, 29, from The
MIDFIELDER Mark Tinkler will miss Hartlepool's trip to Carlisle on February 2. Tinkler suffered his fifth booking of the season in the defeat at Mansfield on Saturday and his absence means Pool will be hoping that Tommy Widdrington quickly recovers from
Raiders target eight houses EIGHT houses were targeted in a burglary spree in Darlington on Saturday night. Items taken included jewellery, ornaments, PlayStation computer console games and a TV. The raiders were unable to gain entry at two homes. Anyone
THE daughter of former Middlesbrough FC manager Bryan Robson was recovering at home last night after being attacked while out with friends. Police described the assault, in which Claire Louise Robson, 21, was butted in the face outside a taxi office,
A TEENAGER who slashed a man's face with a kitchen knife while on bail for another savage attack, has been jailed for six years. In the first attack, Thomas Brown was savagely beaten by Carl Walker in his home, last March 24, after he refused to hand
YESTERDAY this country agreed to give £200m to faraway Afghanistan and we paid the first instalment of our £2m gift to the distant Democratic Republic of Congo. Most of us, if we're honest, only know where Afghanistan is because of the aftermath of September
After 100 days of bombing, the international community is now turning its attention to rebuilding Afghanistan. Nick Morrison looks at how to repair a country ravaged by 20 years of conflict. ITS once-thriving cotton industry saw Afghanistan export all
SUPERFIT Bridgitte Swales has hit a personal high after outrunning international rugby star Rob Andrew in a charity race. Newcastle-born Ms Swales, who has 12 years' experience in the fitness industry, won the fundraising event at the city's Grey's Monument
THE new interim chairman of postal group Consignia will today be pitched in at the deep end as talks begin to stave off threatened strike action by staff. Allan Leighton, the 48-year-old former head of supermarket chain Asda, will hold the non-executive
RECORD buy Ugo Ehiogu last night revealed that £7m target Dwight Yorke is willing to join Middlesbrough and urged chairman Steve Gibson to come up with the money. Ehiogu forged a close friendship with Manchester United striker Yorke in their days together
STAMPS, envelopes and even groceries could soon be available from a North Yorkshire village pub. Landlady at the Travellers' Rest in Skeeby, Sue Powell, was as disappointed as the rest of the community when the shop and post office further along the main
FILTRONIC bosses remain upbeat despite the continued poor performance of its key Newton Aycliffe facility. The electronics firm published its interim results yesterday. Results for the first six months at the end of last November showed that group sales
Visitors to the Gateshead Metrocentre donated more than £10,000 in cash and hundreds of gifts to chosen charities over the festive period. Among events and displays were a Marie Curie Cancer Care Lights to Remember tree and gift wrapping service, performances
VOLUNTEERS are being sought to help with a tree-planting campaign at Helwith, near Richmond, this weekend. The plantings will take place on the Barningham Estate and are necessary to replace some older trees and create new habitats for wildlife. Volunteers
Measures aimed at reviving the economic fortunes of a market town have been outlined by council officials. More than £1m is to be invested in Thirsk over the next three years after it was chosen for the Market Towns Initiative run by the Countryside Agency
NORTHUMBRIA Police mounted officers are proving the effectiveness of horse power when it comes to fighting crime. The section has always been widely used for street patrols, crowd control at football matches, escort duty and search and rescue work over
PENSIONERS with mental health problems will now be able to enjoy their sensory garden even more thanks to a charity donation. William Salvin, the Northern representative for the charitable trust, The Country Landowners' Association, presented a cheque
A reformed gangster walked out of prison yesterday to start a new life as a best-selling novelist. Paul Ferris, 38, had completed a seven-year sentence at Frankland jail, County Durham, for gun-running. Despite indications from his friend, Reg McKay,
THE choice of a tropical leisure pool or a straightforward swimming baths is about to be put to the people of Redcar. Campaign group Grasp - Get Redcar A Swimming Pool - was set up a few months ago by people tired of having to travel to Saltburn or Guisborough
A PASSER-by came to the rescue of a pizza delivery man during a robbery on Saturday night. Police said yesterday that the good Samaritan's intervention, in Half Moon Lane, Spennymoor, probably saved the 47-year-old victim from serious injury. The driver
STOCKTON and Billingham College has been praised as "outstanding" in some areas by schools inspectors. The college of further education was said by Ofsted and the Adult Learning Inspectorate to have good leadership and management, with the quality of
PLANS are under way to transform a derelict recreation ground - untouched for more than 40 years - into a community sports area. Residents in Evenwood, near Bishop Auckland, have been consulted on the planned development of the Randolph Recreation Ground
THE two newly-formed colleges at the University of Durham's Stockton campus are gearing up for major events. Students at the Stockton campus are settling into their new colleges, known as George Stephenson and John Snow, and organising events similar
SO MANY anxious parents want separate measles, mumps and rubella injections that a private clinic is laying on an unplanned third session in the region. More than 850 families have booked to have their children immunised since it was revealed last week
IT IS an accepted fact of life, and not just an attempt to stir the pot in the first paragraph, that most eating places in Darlington are either ethnic or awful. Some effortlessly manage to be both at once. The Hole in the Wall, square facing the Market
LIKE the third round of the FA Cup, the fourth of the Carlsberg VA Vase - the last 32 - is annually special to followers of the "non-league" game. It's when the draw becomes national and explains why the column, on the 11.35 from Waterloo on Saturday
A FIGHT over smoking in a pizza shop led to a woman biting off the tip of another woman's finger, a court heard yesterday. Michala Dawn Rookes, 36, of Milton Street, Saltburn, has pleaded not guilty to causing grievous bodily harm with intent to Louise
COUNTY councillors are making a last ditch effort to save four courthouses threatened with closure as part of a cost-cutting drive. Magistrates' courts in Richmond, Whitby, Pickering and Selby face the axe as part of proposals to save £300,000 a year.
POLICE arrested more than 300 people in a month-long crackdown on festive season crime. The county's force launched Operation Bullseye at the end of November to help tackle an increase in house break-ins. More than 1,100 front-line officers, backed by
A 38-year-old woman needed hospital treatment after the passenger of a white Ford Escort snatched her handbag. The woman was walking with a friend in Shrewsbury Street, Hartlepool, on Sunday, when the car pulled up alongside and the front-seat passenger
NORTH-EAST Gulf War veterans fear that a deadly brain disease that has struck down five of their comrades could be the tip of the iceberg. The Ministry of Defence has confirmed that five British servicemen who saw action in the 1991 conflict have contracted
Help sought for adventure park VOLUNTEERS are needed to help shape the future of a Hartlepool tourist attraction. Summerhill is a 100-acre adventure park being transformed for outdoor sports and conservation. Attractions include mountain biking, horse
PUBLICAN'S daughter Ada Ward knows how to enjoy a good party - and that's exactly what she did to mark her 100th birthday yesterday. The centenarian of Hutton Rudby, near Yarm, swapped pints for champagne as she celebrated with friends and family at Carter
A NORTH-EAST company has been appointed by a Danish shipping giant to promote its new £70m investment in passenger services from the Tyne. DFDS Seaways' choice of O'Mahoney Public Relations, of Newcastle, reflects the growing importance of its Newcastle
