SEDGEFIELD village could be without a parish hall within a year unless urgent action is taken. The hall, in Front Street, is in need of major repairs to bring it into line with statutory regulations. Work which needs doing includes improving the disabled
Civic leaders have spoken of their disappointment after a renowned music festival was cancelled because of fears of terrorism. This year's Harrogate International Youth Music Festival - which would have brought over a thousand performers to towns and
PRESSURE was mounting last night for an urgent investigation into exam boards after yet another fiasco came to light in the region. The Northern Echo can reveal that some pupils at a County Durham college are still waiting for the results of a re-marked
A WOMAN was left badly shaken after a thief stole her car in front of her. The incident happened when the 35-year-old woman, who works as a self-employed courier, was delivering goods in St Mary's Drive, West Rainton. She got out of her red Rover 414
A FEMALE security guard accused of biting off the tip of a woman's finger in a fight over smoking has been cleared by a jury. Michala Dawn Rookes, 36, of Milton Street, Saltburn, east Cleveland, denied causing grievous bodily harm to Louise Ann Evans
A CITY centre pub achieved a licensing breakthrough after being given the go-ahead to open until 1am six nights a week. The Coach and Eight, at Framwelgate Bridge, off North Road, Durham, yesterday overcame objections from residents to secure a licence
ILLEGAL posters appearing in a Ryedale town have prompted an angry response from local councillors. Increasing numbers of fly-posters around Norton have been condemned as unsightly - and civic leaders are calling for action. Town councillor Jim Kench
BUSINESS leaders are hoping an extended spring fair and meet will boost trade in Barnard Castle in the wake of the foot-and-mouth crisis. The annual events were severely affected by last year's epidemic, which had a knock-on effect on trade in the town
MR Thomas Aquinas Taylor, familiar in church and musical circles around Darlington but known more familiarly as Tommy, celebrates his 75th birthday on Sunday April 21. On the same day, the Roman Catholic church of St Thomas Aquinas in the town will mark
FIRE crews fought in vain to save a dog trapped in a burning house yesterday. The 17-month-old Alsatian bitch was overcome by fumes at the house in The Causeway, in the Eastbourne area of Darlington. The occupiers of the house were out at work when the
FAR-REACHING plans for a new North-East wind farm project and hydro-electric power will be unveiled today. Officials hope the Government will select one of the most picturesque parts of the region to become a national renewable centrepiece. Ultimately
AN ACTION group formed after flash floods hit homes in the area has praised the Environment Agency for its efforts in preparing the way for anti-flood schemes. Members of the Skell Residents' Group met in Ripon this week to discuss the latest moves. The
FAMILIES will be able to hear tales of fierce beasts and brave warriors when the first of three Viking storytimes is held at Kirkleatham Museum, Redcar, this weekend. Freelance storyteller Tanya Bentham, of Redcar, transforms into Sif the Storyteller,
COUNTRYSIDE Agency chairman Ewan Cameron has visited North Yorkshire to discuss foot-and-mouth issues. Mr Cameron met farmers, retailers and business people in Thirsk to discuss the impact of the disease in the area and what can be done to help with the
RICHMONDSHIRE Cricket Club will continue to hold its annual Valentine's party in memory of organiser Sue Leyburn. Members agreed to continue with the event on February 16 as a fitting tribute to 51-year-old Mrs Leyburn, who died of cancer last year. The
TYNESIDE Pop Idol reject Aaron Bailey joined a host of celebrities for a charity recording yesterday. The Newcastle train driver, who was voted out of the television contest, was at London's Great Ormond Street Hospital to record a version of the Robbie
POLICE are cracking down on motorbike thefts in east Cleveland, with the opening of two new secure parking areas. Ground anchor points have been installed in car parks in Fountain Street, Guisborough, and Majuba Road, Redcar, which means motorcyclists
DETECTIVES are hunting a man who forced a woman into a car and subjected her to a terrifying sexual assault. The woman, in her thirties, was grabbed from behind and pushed into her Peugeot car before being indecently assaulted in the car park of Hornbeam
Letters from The Northern Echo TALIBAN PRISONERS I AGREE with your editorial (Echo, Jan 18) concerning the prisoners held by the Americans at Guantanamo Bay. These people are either prisoners of war or suspected criminals. Either way, they have rights
A FORMER nursery worker has denied sexually abusing a young boy, which a barrister suggested led to the child acting inappropriately more than two years later. Another former worker at the nursery, Dawn Reed, also denied abusing a little girl. Ms Reed
A SPOKESMAN for Prime Minister Tony Blair provoked outrage last night when he dismissed a financial crisis that has left thousands of North-East families facing hefty council tax increases. Tom Kelly condemned North-East councils' pleas for more Government
A RENOWNED North-East artist used a pioneering live satellite link-up yesterday to defend an unfair dismissal claim by a woman sacked from his North Yorkshire gallery. Mackenzie Thorpe made what is thought to be the first ever live television appearance
A NEW department store could open in Durham City under plans by the owner of a shopping centre. Catalyst Capital has bought the Milburngate Shopping Centre from Coal Pension Properties and is looking to give the complex a boost. The Milburngate suffered
THEY used to do surveys on how various professions were regarded by the public. Doctors used to come out top, but following cases like Harold Shipman, their rating has dropped. Police officers were also once popular, but in my time in the service I know
TRAINER Tony Carroll was in hot water with the Stewards at Leicester on Tuesday when the curiously named NDR'S Cash For Fun managed to win despite never being placed on any of his previous starts. Carroll must now pay a visit to the Jockey Club in London
A FISHERMAN is celebrating after netting a Government grant to pioneer a new way of reducing wildlife deaths. Angling coach Graham Walker's Litterbuggy disposes of waste fishing line and hooks, which prevents birds, hedgehogs and other animals getting
COUNCILLORS voiced their anger yesterday after they were excluded from a series of meetings to discuss transport issues in Barnard Castle. Members of Teesdale District Council's community services committee described their exclusion as undemocratic. Two
TOOLmaker Black and Decker has again sought to reassure staff at its Spennymoor, County Durham, plant over their future amid renewed fears of job losses. The company announced earlier this month that six jobs were being axed in its consumer engineering
A CHARITY has announced the winners of its weekly lottery. The Great North Air Ambulance Service, which has its regional office in Darlington, held the lottery on Wednesday, January 9. The £200 winner was Phyllis Nicholson, of Mickley, North Yorkshire
receive a cultural boon with plans by the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) to premier new plays in Newcastle. Geordie writer Lee Hall, who wrote the screenplay for Billy Elliott, has been commissioned by the RSC to rework the medieval mystery plays, to
A dale was last night reeling from the news that one of its biggest employers is to shut down. Lafarge, the world's biggest cement company, dealt a shattering blow to the economy of Weardale, in County Durham, by announcing that its 40-year-old Blue Circle
A VITAL service for disabled people in Darlington could be cut if more funding is not found. Shopmobility allows disabled people to borrow scooters or wheelchairs without charge. The service was set up in 1993 and has 2,300 registered members, many of
Durham Police are beginning the search for a new chief constable after George Hedges announced he will retire in the autumn. Mr Hedges, 60, who has held the post for five years, plans to end his 43-year career, which started as a cadet in Oxfordshire,
A NOTORIOUS drugs baron who was at the heart of a North-East heroin empire has died of a suspected heart attack in prison. John McPartland was jailed for 12 years in March 1998 after he was caught red-handed with heroin worth £375,000. A Home Office spokesman
Ex-England international soccer star Alan Shearer made a wish come true for a five-year-old boy who suffers from two life-threatening illnesses. The Newcastle United striker has teamed up with the Make-a-Wish Foundation to give Jordan McAdam, who suffers
DETECTIVES are eager to hear from shoppers and office workers heading home from a town centre who may have information about a masked robbery at a travel agents. Two raiders, wielding a kitchen knife and a screwdriver, escaped with several thousands of
PASSENGERS have rated a bus service which takes visitors into the heart of the North York Moors as second to none. In a recent survey, nine out of ten users of the national park authority's Moorsbus scheme said they were satisfied with the service. Tourism
DOTING parents Sonal and Hiten Thaker finally have a baby to treasure after eight miscarriages in 12 years. The couple endured four failed attempts at fertility treatment and lost twins who were nearly full term. After exhausting the possibility of having
Celebrations for the Queen's Golden Jubilee are threatening to become a pale imitation of the Silver anniversary 25 years ago. Nick Morrison asks whether we have fallen out of love with the monarchy. BUNTING strung between the houses, balloons on every
NEWS that a hospital has been given a new lease of life has proved a tonic for patients. There was speculation about the future of the 20-bed South Moor Hospital, near Stanley, last week, after a report suggested a review should take place. But this week
AN inquest into the death of a man whose body was pulled out of the River Skerne earlier this month was opened and adjourned yesterday. John William Johnstone's body was finally identified by fingerprint records after a former girlfriend came forward
A WHISTLING kettle which proved to be mute landed a North-East firm in hot water yesterday. Stephen and Maxine Wilson, of Grantham Avenue, Hartlepool, complained to Trading Standards after they were assured when they bought the kettle that it whistled
A NORTH Yorkshire village has voted to press ahead with a bid to thrash out its blueprint for the future. More than 100 people attended a meeting called by Middleton Tyas Parish Council to discuss the principle of a community plan. By far the majority
ORGANISERS of a city development project are to outline its progress and future plans. Those behind Fresh Thinking, a strategy for Sunderland, are inviting influential people from across the North-East to a meeting, on Thursday, February 28. Colin Sinclair
A FAMILY is appealing for information about a well, which is marking 100 years of use as a business. The spring site, in Seaton, was bought in 1896, and the water production business is believed to have started in the early 1900s. In 1999, it was taken
UNION officials at a strike-hit County Durham dump truck factory meet management today in a further bid to resolve their pay and conditions dispute. Kelvin Wood, works convenor for the engineering union Amicus/AEEU at the Caterpillar plant, in Peterlee
A shopkeeper who claims tobacco smuggling costs him £2m a year is embarking on a cross channel mission to show how the trade is destroying local shops. According to Customs and Excise, the black market is costing the country £4bn a year in lost revenue
DALES communities have been breathing a sigh of relief after winning a battle for a better deal on the roads. In the past, Wensleydale has been given top priority in the winter, with gritters spreading salt along the A684 before heading to other areas
A GIRL from North Yorkshire who went missing from home after arranging to meet a man through an Internet chat room, has been found safe. But further details of her return had not been revealed late last night. Teenager Kathleen Alice Dean, who was described
A CHARITY has announced the winners of its weekly lottery. The Great North Air Ambulance Service, which has its regional office in Darlington, held the lottery on Wednesday, January 9. The £200 winner was Phyllis Nicholson, of Mickley, North Yorkshire
MR Thomas Aquinas Taylor, familiar in church and musical circles around Darlington but known more familiarly as Tommy, celebrates his 75th birthday on Sunday April 21. On the same day, the Roman Catholic church of St Thomas Aquinas in the town will mark
A carnival on Teesside could be scrapped if plans to build houses on its site are approved. Organisers of the Billingham Carnival and Flower show say that if Stockton Borough Council agrees to the plans, there will be no room for their show tent and three
PLANS to handle waste more effectively took a step forward yesterday. Planning officers from Durham County Council presented the draft County Durham Waste Local Plan to the local Agenda 21 round-table meeting. The document, which sets out a long-term
WORK has started on Darlington's newest school, the first to be built by the borough council since it became a unitary authority in 1997. The construction of Firthmoor Primary School, which started yesterday, is to be a key feature in the regeneration
CHILDREN'S TV favourite Bagpuss is coming to Saltburn as part of a tour promoting folk music. Bagpuss, along with friends Madeleine the Rag Doll, Gabriel the Toad, Emily and Professor Yaffle will be visiting the town for a show featuring songs and music
THE country's largest single-site multi-engined combined heat and power plant is coming to the region in a deal worth £11m. Lattice Energy Services has signed a nine-year contract with Cleveland Potash, at Boulby, east Cleveland, to design, construct,
A SQUAD of crimefighters has been established at Middlesbrough in a blitz against burglars. The ten-strong team of officers from the CID and uniform divisions have been tasked with preventing a rise in burglary that is often seen at this time of year.
Cash strapped Durham County Council has been attacked for selling a mothballed Victorian former nursing home "on the cheap". The authority is facing questions over its dealings on Holmfield House in Crook which closed as part of a shake-up of residential
A LANDMARK court ruling could open the floodgates for North-East servicemen suing the Ministry of Defence. High Court judge Mr Justice Keith said on Monday that a bar on former members of the forces suing the Government for alleged negligence was incompatible
A FANTASIST who lived out his SAS dreams by using ponies as target practice for his powerful crossbow was jailed for two years yesterday. Police raided Mark Telford's home after the attack and found that he was making a copy of an M16 assault rifle. Newcastle
MARKS & Spencer's private shareholders are to share in a £2bn cash bonanza under plans which will allow each to decide when they want to take their money. The high street retailer is handing back 20 per cent of its capital to investors as part of
THEY used to do surveys on how various professions were regarded by the public. Doctors used to come out top, but following cases like Harold Shipman, their rating has dropped. Police officers were also once popular, but in my time in the service I know
CRIME figures across the region are set to soar over the coming months - but police chiefs have insisted there is nothing to worry about. In a major shake-up, by the start of April the recording of crime will be based on victims' reports, rather than
A GRANT of almost £110,000 has been given to ten family and single-people households across the region to help them buy their first homes. The Three Rivers Housing Groups introduced the Government grant in the North-East three years ago to give people
A BUSINESSWOMAN, a former nurse and the wife of Durham University's vice-chancellor are among those who will lead six NHS trusts. The County Durham and Darlington primary care trusts, which bring together GPs, nurses and councils to run primary health
Parents are being urged to check for signs of asthma in their children, after a study showed that the potentially fatal disease is still being under-diagnosed in the region. Dr Mohammad Shamssain's call for greater awareness of childhood asthma follows
An exhibition challenging preconceptions of beauty is to open at Newcastle's Laing Art Gallery. The show, Life is Beautiful, features international loans and commissions in a range of media, some of which have never been exhibited. Dr Andrew Patrizio,
THE question of whether boxing should be banned always stirs up intense debate. There are many who view it as a noble sport, others who condemn it as a primitive activity which has no place in modern society. It has created legends who have inspired millions
FOR more than 30 years, the giant chimney at the Blue Circle cement works in Eastgate has dominated the skyline in Upper Weardale. It has been visible recognition that this is still "a working dale", where families, who have seen the demise of lead and
SHOPWORKERS who became close friends in a family-run department store are marking the 25th anniversary of its closure with a reunion next month. Staff from the old Doggarts store, in Crook, are trying to trace former colleagues in time for the party,
FORMER coal communities in the North-East are to share in a £20m national fund to breathe new life into their areas after the European Commission gave the initiative the go-ahead. Among the areas to benefit are Chester-le-Street, Derwentside, Durham,
A PLANNING wrangle over the design of a house on the site of a former granary could be resolved tomorrow. The dispute over the site, in Front Street North, Trimdon, began in 1999, when owner Derek Parkinson applied for permission to demolish the granary
A TEENAGER remained in a serious condition in hospital last night after being hit by a van while crossing a road. Accident investigators are appealing for witnesses to the incident at Central Avenue, in Newton Aycliffe, County Durham, on Tuesday. The
ACTOR Niall Refoy is back on stage at Harrogate Theatre after spending Christmas and the New Year doing what he calls "my proper job" - working in a hospital. While other unemployed actors wait on tables between acting jobs, he works as a nursing assistant
FORGOTTEN man Jermaine Easter was last night backed by Chris Turner to prove his worth. Easter was signed from Wolves almost a year ago with a glowing reputation and a good scoring record at youth level. But the Welshman has failed to make an impact at
POLICE are hunting the ringleader of a gang of teenage thugs who headbutted a teacher. Three youths, aged about 15, tried to enter a rival school and were stopped my members of staff. One youth headbutted a teacher at Nunthorpe School, Middlesbrough,
A CALENDAR depicting Durham landmarks has won an award. Images of Durham, featuring black-and-white photographs by Durham-based Royston Thomas has been recognised in this year's National Business Calendar Awards. The calendar, which was commissioned by
Thousands of rail customers across the region have been affected today as the Rail Maritime and Transport Union started a 48-Hour strike. Arriva Trains Northern has had to cancel all but a handful of today's trains after negotiations between management
