Archive

  • Airport shows way for travel industry revival

    TEESSIDE Airport has shown signs that the airline industry is starting to recover after last year's terrorist attacks on the US. With the airport about to begin another busy summer holiday season, it has already announced an increase in the flights to

  • Eating Owt: Bagels, baguettes and buns

    UNSOUGHT and unsolicited, a 22 carat testimonial: the Uplands Hotel in Crook is terrific. If only it were easier to find; if only they could spell. Wendslydale cheese, indeed. We've mentioned it before, chiefly because of the desert rat heroics in introducing

  • Technology to screen your snacks at the pasty shop

    BAKER Greggs is to install innovative touchscreen technology in its Baker's Oven stores. The Newcastle business plans to install six touchscreens in each of its 130 Baker's Oven branches by next year, following a successful trial in Durham. Interactive

  • Book reveals Shackleton's North-East connection

    A rare first edition book by Antarctic explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton is expected to fetch more than £8,000 at auction next week. The book is so valuable because it is signed by every member of Shackleton's team - including one man from the North-East

  • Last night's TV:

    An everyday story of British spies Spooks (BBC1) INSIDE this new spy series is a serious drama trying to get out. Having employed various former MI5 and CIA operatives to give the series authenticity, the first episode negated that factual basis with

  • Government money will help shops beat crime

    The Government today announced a half-a-million pound boost to help North-East shopkeepers fight crime. The cash targeted at small shops and run-down inner city shopping areas will fund scores of community projects tackling crime and vandalism on the

  • Upland bird study launched

    Britain's biggest ever scientific investigation into the effect of predators on upland birds has been launched in the North-East. An eight year project which will cost £960,000, the results could improve the breeding performance of important wading birds

  • Job Search: Vacancies

    MORE details about the jobs below are available from Jobseeker Direct on (0845) 606 0234. Personal assistant, Northallerton. Circa £16,000pa, dep on exp, 9am to 5pm, Mon-Fri, temp to permanent. Must have excellent IT skills with good knowledge of Word

  • Hunt is on for armed raiders

    DETECTIVES have ruled out a link between armed raids at shops in County Durham villages on Sunday evening. In one incident two masked raiders, armed with a handgun, made off with several thousands pounds worth of jewellery and a small amount of cash from

  • Arsonists and hoaxers warned

    FIREFIGHTERS have issued a warning to arsonists and hoaxers after a small fire at a County Durham school. Three fire engines were taken out of action for an hour at Deaf Hill Primary School, in Trimdon Station, where two youngsters had set fire to a soap

  • Regulars ahead of game

    STAFF and customers at a Bishop Auckland pub have been rewarded for displaying their skills in a national pub games tournament. The team from the Frosterley Inn received Holsten merchandise for winning their area heats against other teams from Pubmaster

  • Time to book a gala spot

    TIME is running out for stallholders to book a place at this year's Ferryhill Summer Gala, to be held in the Market Place on August 10 and 11. The Ferryhill 2000 committee, which organises the event, hopes to build on last year's success. The car park

  • Delegates prepare for parliament role

    ELDERLY people from Tyne and Wear travelled to Blackpool yesterday to take part in the tenth pensioners' parliament. The North-East delegation will join more than 2,500 pensioners from across Britain at the three-day event, which starts today. Keynote

  • Captain Beckham is 'certain' to be fit

    David Beckham last night pledged he would be fit to lead England into the ''Group of Death'' and warned their World Cup rivals that other injuries would not effect Sven-Goran Eriksson's bid for glory in Japan. National skipper Beckham, now back running

  • Student In: Site

    Officers go back to school DSU president Emily Fieran-Reed and education and welfare officer Heather Richardson will visit the Hermitage School, in Chester-le-Street to talk to sixth-form students and staff about life at university and the courses on

  • In support of a good cause

    THE image of modern-day footballers isn't a good one. The public perception of the elite players is that they earn obscene amounts of money, with transfer deals, wage demands and the value of their image rights being at their top of their personal agendas

  • Now you can have flutter on bookies

    INVESTORS will soon be able to gamble on the fortunes of bookmaker William Hill after it unveiled plans to float on the London Stock Exchange. Shares in Britain's second biggest bookmaker should begin trading next month with the company expected to have

  • Artists have fundraising in mind

    ARTwork by people helped by the charity Mind in Darlington will be unveiled this week. The launch of the series of cards and prints has been arranged to coincide with National Mind Week. The artwork will be on show in the Darlington Arts Centre, in Vane

  • Ben Bolivia-bound

    A DARLINGTON sixth-form student is heading for Bolivia as part of a gap year. Ben Tait, 18, a student at Queen Elizabeth Sixth Form College, plans to work in a French ski resort, explore Romania and then go to Bolivia to work with the voluntary group

  • Bing's visit to live on in new pavilion

    A VILLAGE playing field's link with the late Bing Crosby will live on amid plans for a new development. The American crooner put Highside Playing Field Association, which manages a multi-sporting playing area at Kirkby Malzeard, near Ripon, North Yorkshire

  • Bid to get US ambulances off the road

    UNION leaders met ambulance bosses last night to urge them to take their fleet of US-built vehicles off the roads. The appeal came after the rear wheels fell off an ambulance during an emergency call in Sunderland on Friday. It was the fifth accident

  • Chance of title for racer

    DRIVING ace Paul Swift is in with a chance of scooping his first senior title after a run of good results in the British Auto Test Championships. The 22-year-old son of Darlington stunt driver Russ Swift has already taken the junior crown and competed

  • Friendly forests to rescue the reds

    THE click of a computer mouse could give the most significant boost yet to the chances of red squirrels defying the onslaught of their grey cousins in England. A world-first conservation project involving the Forestry Commission, Newcastle University,

  • Ecology park guaranteed ten more years of funding

    A FORMER rubbish tip turned visitor attraction has received guarantees of Government help for the next ten years. Botanist David Bellamy opened Billingham Beck Valley Country Park in July 1991 on the site of what had become a mounting sea of rubbish known

  • Sedgefield Council

    I'VE lived in Sedgefield all my 86 years and have taken a great interest in a recent public meeting regarding a permanent site for travellers. This is not new. For instance, the lane down Racecourse Road is called Gypsy Lane. Had I still been residing

  • Bogus knife sharpeners preying on elderly

    POLICE are warning pensioners to be on their guard following reports of a gang operating in County Durham as bogus knife sharpeners. But they say they are making progress in tackling the problem of bogus callers after two men were arrested for house burglaries

  • Joy for family as missing ponies found

    A FAMILY has been reunited with two Shetland ponies that vanished from their paddock last week. It was feared that the ponies, Pandora and Primrose, may have been stolen from Annabel Burchnall, of Gayles, near Richmond. But after appeals for information

  • News in brief: Crash tragedy victim named

    A woman who was killed when her Nissan Micra was involved in a collision with another vehicle on the A19 near Northallerton, North Yorkshire, has been named. Joanne Elizabeth Devine, 22, of Tawny Close, Eston, Middlesbrough, died in hospital after the

  • Cable car leaves four high and not so dry

    FOUR teenagers had an unexpectedly long trip on a theme park's cable car ride yesterday, when it came to a halt 50ft above the ground. The youngsters were enjoying a day out when they set out on the short trip over Flamingo Land park, near Pickering,

  • Happy birthday, dear bear

    A child's most cherished companion - the teddy bear - celebrates its 100th birthday this year. Sarah Foster meets the owner of the North-East's only specialist shop. HUNDREDS of beady eyes peer down from shelves spanning the four walls of Bear Bottoms

  • Green belt plans spark criticism

    PLANS to build a third of York's green belt housing development at Huntington have been criticised by community leaders. Parish council chairman Eurig Thomas said a further 700 homes and 70 per cent of the city's commercial extension would come to the

  • Finishing touches in hand for fundraising festival

    FINAL preparations are being made for an extravaganza of fun that is expected to raise thousands of pounds for charity. This year's eight-day Thirsk Festival is expected to be the biggest yet, raising vital cash for local good causes. The event is now

  • Odessa theatre group to visit N-E

    ONE of Europe's leading opera companies is visiting the region as part of its first UK tour. More than 100 soloists, chorus members, musicians, technicians and ballet dancers from the Ukrainian National Opera of Odessa will present Verdi's La Traviata

  • Church prejudices carved in stone

    A COUPLE in Bolton have gained permission from a church court to carve a likeness of their daughter on her headstone in a churchyard. Initially, the same church court turned down the parents' requests, but they got the judgement reversed on appeal to

  • Academy plan

    PARENTS can learn more about plans to set up Middlesbrough's second city academy this week. The project will replace Brackenhoe and Coulby Newham schools. John Burns, of the Vardy Foundation, and education director Dr Barbara Comiskey will attend meetings

  • 'It's fantastic being fiftysomething'

    Women in their 50s have more fun and freedom than ever before. Women's Editor Christen Pears reports. SOME grandmothers opt for perms and blue rinses but not Prue Allison. Her shocking pink hair extensions mark her out from the crowd. "I had been feeling

  • Lifestyle: In memory of Stephanie

    Stephanie Pattinson, one of the country's top florists, died last year aged just 41. Now her husband and her protege will pay tribute to her at the Chelsea Flower Show next week, as well as raising the profile of a unique cancer care project in the North-East

  • Inn's regulars are ahead of the game

    STAFF and customers at a Bishop Auckland pub have been rewarded for displaying their skills in a national pub games tournament. The team from the Frosterley Inn received Holsten merchandise for winning their area heats against other teams from Pubmaster

  • Time to book a gala spot

    TIME is running out for stallholders to book a place at this year's Ferryhill Summer Gala, to be held in the Market Place on August 10 and 11. The Ferryhill 2000 committee, which organises the event, hopes to build on last year's success. The car park

  • Gerry calls up a winning idea

    THE winner of a competition encouraging people to dial 999 to report crime, was given a tour of Darlington police station. Eight-year-old Gerry Hart, a pupil of Holy Family RC Primary, was shown what happens when an emergency call comes in and shown around

  • Child cyclist left in road after accident

    A FIVE-YEAR-OLD boy was last night recovering after being knocked off his bicycle and left lying in the road by a hit-and-run motorcyclist. Callum Lewis, who had been cycling in his street when he was hit, was taken to Newcastle's Royal Victoria Infirmary

  • Sanctuary sale

    Weardale Animal Sanctuary is holding a car boot sale at Stanhope Old Hall, on Sunday, from 10.30am to 3pm. Sellers should arrive between 9am and 9.30am.

  • Boy attack bus driver now guilty of assault on mother

    A BUS driver who was suspended after he assaulted a schoolboy has been found guilty of attacking the child's mother. Stagecoach North-East suspended Ivan Greaves, 38, last month after magistrates at Bishop Auckland, County Durham, found him guilty of

  • Traffic on A1 'to rise by 20%'

    TRAFFIC on the northerly reaches of the A1 is set to increase by about 20 per cent over the next nine years. The revelation, contained in a Government report, will increase pressure on ministers to finally upgrade the road to motorway status as part of

  • Arsonists and hoaxers warned

    FIREFIGHTERS have issued a warning to arsonists and hoaxers after a small fire at a County Durham school. Three fire engines were taken out of action for an hour at Deaf Hill Primary School, in Trimdon Station, where two youngsters had set fire to a soap

  • Young athletes boost track fund

    YOUNGSTERS from east Cleveland are jumping for joy after their fundraising efforts helped get an athletics scheme out of the starting blocks. Fifteen children from across east Cleveland took part in the Kirkleatham Fun Run on March 10 and raised almost

  • Calculating success

    THREE Yarm School pupils withstood their opponents' pressure to snatch victory in a maths championship. The school's senior maths team went to Durham Johnstone School for the final of this year's North-East Mathematics Championship. They faced Durham

  • Ten years for sex attacker

    A SERIAL sex attacker who handed himself in to police to confess his crimes has been jailed for ten years. Robert Allen, 31, set out to humiliate women during his campaign and targeted women in the street. Newcastle Crown Court heard how he turned up

  • Nurse will not face charges

    CRIMINAL charges will not be brought against a nurse who was arrested on the suspicion of the manslaughter of a patient. Because of a lack of evidence, the 35-year-old - whose identity has not been revealed - will not be prosecuted in connection with

  • Royal souvenirs go on show to mark Queen's Golden Jubilee

    A RURAL museum is marking two significant anniversaries by staging a major exhibition of royal memorabilia. Scores of royal souvenirs have gone on display at Thirsk Museum as part of the town's celebrations of the Queen's Golden Jubilee this year. The

  • Soldiers jailed for drunken attack

    THREE soldiers were jailed yesterday after kicking a warrant officer 29 times during a drunken attack. The soldiers, from the Royal Highland Fusiliers, had been on a 48-hour drinking binge before the attack, outside a bar at Catterick Garrison, North

  • £1m boost for construction

    THE Construction Industry Training Board (CITB) has secured more than £1m of funding to support the construction sector in the North-East. The grant, provided by the Government Office for the North East from European social funding, will be used for construction

  • News in brief: £1,700 theft raid on house

    ELECTRICAL equipment worth £1,700 was taken from a house in Darlington. The raid happened when thieves forced open a window at the back of the house in Kempton Court, between 6.45pm on Friday and 2.05am on Saturday and stole a Pioneer DVD, CD and video

  • Son unrecognisable after hammer attack

    A devastated mum told yesterday how her son was so badly injured in a hammer attack that she couldn't recognise him. Stephen Farbridge, 26, needed surgery to remove two blood clots on his brain following the assault. Surgeons operated for five hours to

  • Arts festival has autumn encore

    A music and arts festival held in Hartlepool proved to be such a success it is to have a mini-encore later this year. Plans are being drawn up for a celebration of music concert in the Town Hall Theatre, Hartlepool, on November 16. The event builds on

  • Injured cyclist is rescued

    A CYCLIST was rescued from remote moorland after losing control of his mountain bike on a disused railway line. The 42-year-old, from Darlington, injured his shoulder after falling from his bike between Bloworth Crossing and the Lion Inn, at Blakey -

  • Gates safety scheme in spotlight

    OBSERVERS from across the UK will converge on Teesside today to see how one town is literally slamming the door on crime. The success of Middlesbrough's scheme of gating off back alleys, to ensure that only residents, council workers and emergency services

  • Debeve future unclear

    CONTRACT talks with Paul Ince and Robbie Mustoe hold the key to the Middlesbrough future of Frenchman Michael Debeve. The 31-year-old midfielder, who signed a short-term deal with Boro after arriving from Lens in February, is hoping to win an extended

  • Company boss is cleared of factory plunge man's death

    A COMPANY director was cleared yesterday of the manslaughter of one of his workers. The jury at Teesside Crown Court took four hours to return a verdict of not guilty on former councillor John Elders and his company, Factory Cover, in connection with

  • Family man died following punch

    A devoted young dad-to-be died after he was punched by his soccer team mate during the club's Christmas night out, a court heard. Ian Allan, 34, never regained consciousness after he was hit during a fight with a friend at the end of a night's festive

  • Motorcyclists warned after more deaths

    HIGH-SPEED bikers were urged to take more care yesterday after a string of crashes brought death and carnage to the region's roads. Despite a campaign to cut the death toll among motorcyclists in North Yorkshire, two more died in crashes at the weekend

  • Addict most likely murdered for debt

    A drug addict found dead in a Teesside flat was probably murdered for a drugs debt, police revealed yesterday. Robert Parkin, 29, was savagely beaten several times over the course of four or five days before he died from his injuries in a top floor flat

  • Woman reunited with long-lost family

    Overjoyed Mary-Anne Palmer set out to find her long lost dad - and discovered a sister she never knew she had. Mary-Anne is still searching for her father Alfred Ferguson but is catching up on lost time with Pauline Little. The Cambridgeshire sales manager

  • Time for Reid to go, claims Sunderland fanzine

    A leading Sunderland fanzine has called for Peter Reid to quit as manger at the Stadium of Light. In a statement issued by A Love Supreme, they urge the Black Cats boss to resign now and walk away with his head held high after seven years service. Sunderland

  • More misery expected for North-East hockey fans

    NORTH-East ice hockey fans are expected to miss out on a another season of top flight action. Bosses at the Ice Hockey Superleague (ISL) are keen to make an early decision on the immediate future of the Newcastle franchise at its board meeting next Wednesday

  • Charitable Quinn hopes for fans' full backing

    SUNDERLAND crowd favourite Niall Quinn needs a full house at the Stadium of Light tonight to fulfil his dream of raising £1m for children's hospital charities. The 35-year-old striker has toiled tirelessly to make his tribute game against the Republic

  • Rail bridge repair work finally underway

    Vital repair work on one of the region's most dangerous railway bridges will finally get under way next week - seven years after safety concerns were first raised. The decaying bridge barrier at Dalton-on-Tees, near Darlington, has been the scene of at

  • Plane spotter wants to clear his name

    A British plane spotter, who received a three-year jail sentence after being convicted of spying in Greece, is calling for financial support from the Government in the fight to clear his name. Andrew Jenkins is meeting Jack Straw in London later this

  • Sam and Jack at heart of cash drive

    TWO little boys have captured the hearts of a village, which has launched a fundraising campaign in their honour. Catherine Dakers, landlady of The Green pub, in Billy Row, near Crook, launched the drive to raise funds for Newcastle Royal Victoria Infirmary

  • Bypass plea as town faces peak season bridge closure

    AN HISTORIC road bridge is facing a lengthy closure for a second time in three years sparking calls for a by-pass. Major repairs to the County Bridge in Barnard Castle will cause mass disruption at the height of the tourist season it was claimed yesterday

  • News in brief: £1,700 theft raid on house

    ELECTRICAL equipment worth £1,700 was taken from a house in Darlington. The raid happened when thieves forced open a window at the back of the house in Kempton Court, between 6.45pm on Friday and 2.05am on Saturday and stole a Pioneer DVD, CD and video

  • Inquiry launched into beck contamination

    AN investigation is under way after a stream became contaminated with substances from an industrial estate. The inquiry is being carried out by the Environment Agency after kerosene and detergent leaked into a beck in Chilton Wood, near Ferryhill, County

  • Extra homes added to car park site plan

    RENEWED plans to build flats on a car park in Darlington town centre have been submitted to include extra homes. Applicant Howard and Humphrey's, of Richmond, is seeking planning permission to build 15 flats, plus an office, on the site in Clarks Yard

  • Job Search: Vacancies

    MORE details about the jobs below are available from Jobseeker Direct on (0845) 606 0234. Children's project development, Stockton. £18,732pa, 35hrs pw, Mon-Fri. Must be a highly-skilled counsellor with experience of working with children under the age

  • Man in hospital after street attack

    POLICE are appealing for witnesses to a vicious weekend street attack that left a man needing hospital treatment for serious head injuries. The 37-year-old victim, who has not been named, was found by police on grass outside Macrae House, an old people's

  • Race for Life crosses the generation divide

    FOUR generations of one family are joining forces to take part in a 5km charity event. Margaret Moore, 49, is helping to organise the Middlesbrough Race for Life to raise money for Cancer Research UK and decided to take part herself. Her mother, Mary

  • Community garden project under way

    Staff and pupils at Wellfield Community School and Wingate Juniors are teaming up to turn a derelict piece of land between their schools into a community garden to mark the Queen's golden jubilee. The schools said yesterday that the garden also offered

  • Social services department is on the move

    A SOCIAL services department is moving into purpose-built office accommodation. Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council's children and families teams will be the first occupants of Seafield House, Kirkleatham Street, Redcar, when they move in on Friday.

  • Cable operator teams up with Freeserve

    DEBT-laden cable operator ntl, which employs about 600 people on Teesside, has teamed up with Internet service provider Freeserve in a bid to win more UK business. Freeserve has signed a deal to sell its high-speed broadband service over ntl's cable network

  • Worker who stole pensioners' cash spared jail

    A WOMAN stole more than £2,000 from elderly residents to replace money missing from the care home where she worked, a court heard. Suzanne Scott-Parnaby took sums of between £32 and £769 from five residents, as well as amounts belonging to Beeches Care

  • The future is safer in our hands

    Last week Middlesborough MP Stuart Bell argued that a North-East Assembly would not command support in Teesside and Darlington. Today David Walsh, leader of Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council, says why an assembly is good news for the Tees Valley. JOHN

  • The Mayor too young to vote

    What do a monkey, a former policeman and a teenager have in comon? They have all been elected mayor. Lucia Charnock speaks to the country's first Young Mayor. THINK of a teenager involved in politics, and a vision of a young William Hague is likely to

  • Woman's pub visit 'ended in rape'

    A MAN raped a woman in her home after flying into a rage when he found toiletries belonging to her ex-husband, a court was told yesterday. John Ellison, 32, of Sunniside, Tow Law, County Dur-ham, has gone on trial at Teesside Crown Court accused of raping

  • Tragic mother's friends plan boost for hospices

    RELATIVES and friends of a woman whose death led to her daughters meeting the Queen are organising a charity night in celebration of her life. Jane Ashley, 37, of Darlington, lost her year-long battle with cancer two days before the death of the Queen

  • Healthy eating scheme gives pensioners food for thought

    A SCHEME to try to improve the eating habits of the region's older people has been launched. Researchers want to find 300 people aged between 65 and 85 willing to join new food clubs, which will be used to pass on information about healthy eating. Some

  • Rattigan revival turns the clock back to post-war Britain

    AN amateur dramatic company is taking to the stage this week with a 1950s drama. Deep Blue Sea, by Terence Rattigan, opened at the Royalty Theatre, in Sunderland's Chester Road area, yesterday. Martin Wallwork, of the Royalty company, said: "It centres

  • Beware knife-sharpening con, police urge pensioners

    POLICE are warning pensioners to be on their guard following reports of a gang operating as bogus knife sharpeners. But they say they are making progress in tackling the problem of bogus callers after two men were arrested for house burglaries in north-west

  • Ninth award for ready-built apartments

    A BUILDING manufactured by York Portakabin subsidiary Yorkon has won a 2002 Civic Trust award, bringing the number of awards for the project to nine. The Murray Grove Apartments scheme, in Hackney, London, was designed by Cartwright Pickard Architects

  • On course for safer driving

    NERVOUS drivers hoping to improve their road skills can enrol on a new course in Darlington. Darlington Advanced Motorists, affiliated to the Institute of Advanced Motoring, runs regular safe driving courses for anyone wanting to improve their ability

  • Chilling out where climate is tougher than competition

    RISK assessment specialists Risktec Solutions has won two major health and safety contracts in two of the world's most inhospitable regions. The Billingham business is providing health, safety and environment (HSE) risk assessment services for the operation

  • News in brief: Appeal after man robbed

    DETECTIVES hope the public will be able to help them track down three men responsible for a street robbery in Ripon. A 37-year-old man was walking along the city's Kings Road when he was approached by a man asking for assistance. As they talked, another

  • Safety call sounded over smoke alarms

    PEOPLE are being urged to stay safety-conscious and fit a smoke alarm. The issue was raised at a meeting of Stockton Home Safety Association, chaired by Councillor Ann McCoy. "It is crucial that people realise just how important smoke alarms are when

  • Women take the lead roles in show series

    WOMEN will take centre stage at a North-East theatre in a series of shows starring some of the UK's leading celebrities. Durham's Gala Theatre will host Bonnie Langford, Jenny Seagrove, Germaine Greer and Honor Blackman during a series dedicated to female

  • Role-rehearsal soldiers get top brass visit

    THE Commander-in-Chief of Land Command, General Sir Mike Jackson, was among the officers who watched soldiers preparing for a military exercise at Catterick Garrison. 19 Mechanised Brigade is among the units on their way to Canada later this year - and

  • Entries sought for walling competition

    A COMPETITION to find the best dry stone waller in Yorkshire has been launched by the county's branch of the Country Land and Business Association (CLA). The bi-annual contest, launched in 2000, sees judges cast their eyes over a specific length of wall

  • Hunt for clues in body puzzle

    FORENSIC tests at a flat where a homeless man's body was found were expected to be finished last night. The body of Robert Parkin, 29, known to his friends as Swampy, was found in a top-floor flat in Shaftesbury Street, Stockton, on Thursday. Police said

  • Police search as foot-and-mouth farmer vanishes

    POLICE have launched a search for a well-known North-East farmer who has been missing since last week. Frank Johnson, 55, has not contacted his family since he left his home at West Shipley Farm, near Hamsterley, County Durham, for a meeting on Friday

  • Beware knife-sharpening con, police urge pensioners

    POLICE are warning pensioners to be on their guard following reports of a gang operating in County Durham as bogus knife sharpeners. But they claim they are making progress in tackling the problem of bogus callers after two men were arrested for house

  • Nicola stays the course to help hospital funds

    Nicola Newbould presents Dr Chandler and Sister Wilson from the haematology unit at the James Cook University Hospital, Middlesbrough, with a cheque for £3,650. The 32-year-old sales manager with Teesside butcher's, Newbould's, raised the money when she

  • Dealer rallies to youth team's aid

    A YOUTH football club hit by theft has received a boost from a car dealership. Kit, footballs, a first aid kit and even goal posts were stolen from a van used by Billingham side Oakdene FC the night before a match. Steve Chisholm, general sales manager

  • Arts group receives an Ovation

    A VOLUNTARY group which gives vulnerable members of the community the chance to get involved with major arts projects has been rewarded for its work. Rural Arts North Yorkshire (Rany), based in Thirsk, was given an Ovation Award for its work in opening

  • It's only computer wizardry, pet

    COUNCIL bosses yesterday reassured anxious callers about a national landmark which has been slowly disappearing on TV screens. Middlesbrough Council was contacted by numerous people about the fate of the Transporter Bridge, which is being slowly dismantled

  • Disabled schoolboy joins charity swim challenge

    A SCHOOLBOY has pledged to take part in a national charity swim challenge, despite being unable to walk or stand unaided. Daniel Huxley, who has cerebral palsy, is to take part in the Sharron Davies 2002 National Mile Swim Challenge in aid of ChildLine

  • Race for Life crosses the generation divide

    FOUR generations of one family are joining forces to take part in a 5km charity event. Margaret Moore, 49, is helping to organise the Middlesbrough Race for Life to raise money for Cancer Research UK and decided to take part herself. Her mother, Mary

  • Orchard project launch looming

    A BID to rejuvenate a redundant Dales orchard as a community facility will be launched later this month. Reeth Community Orchard Group is already celebrating a successful application for a Barclays SiteSavers Award worth £5,000. However, the formal launch

  • Seven jobs created as old quarry reopens

    A MOORLAND quarry from which stone was used to build 1,000-year-old Whitby Abbey is to be reopened. Behind the venture at Aislaby Moor, near Whitby, North Yorkshire, are Paul and Carolyn Craven, owners of Esdale Stone, in the nearby village of Sleights

  • Report shows drop in complaints against police

    THERE has been a drop in the number of complaints against Cleveland Police. Statistics revealed a 19 per cent decrease in the number of allegations, from 322 to 260, in the year to April. Allegations of oppressive conduct and harassment dropped from 20

  • Village's Good lucking landmark

    IT may not appear in any tourism guides, but a homemade tower in Ryedale is fast becoming one of North Yorkshire's more bizarre attractions. More than 25,000 used horseshoes have been turned into a metallic structure that has become a landmark in the

  • Abduction teenager is locked up

    A TEENAGER who carried an unconscious schoolgirl to a derelict flat, where she was gang-raped, has been locked up for 18 months. Ruman Abu, 17, said he was trying to help the 15-year-old when he carried her from one flat to another. But, after a trial

  • Roadshow spells out the dangers of building sites

    A NATIONAL programme that teaches children about the dangers of building sites is being piloted for the first time in schools across the North-East. Catastrophe Countdown has been devised by the Construction Industry Training Board and County Durham Education

  • Book signing fixtures fixed for footie fan

    A FOOTBALL fan whose first book is to be made into a film will sign copies of the autobiography in two pubs. Paul Hodgson, a lifelong Darlington FC supporter who was left disabled after contracting meningitis as a child, wrote Flipper's Side about his

  • News in brief: Travel for free on vital buses

    The Vital Village Bus Link will be launched today to let teenagers from the villages of West Rainton, Pittington, Sherburn and Shadforth join in after-school activities at Belmont Comprehensive School. Pupils will be able to take part in the activities

  • News in brief: Soldiers take charity plunge

    A GROUP of soldiers is looking for volunteers to join them in a charity abseil today. The 34 (Northern) Signal Regiment of the Territorial Army will descend from Holy Trinity Church tower in North Ormesby, Middlesbrough, between 1pm and 4pm. It costs

  • Beauty: Transformation time, for a hotel and its guests

    Following an £8m refurbishment, Gisborough Hall Hotel has opened its own beauty salon. Women's Editor Christen Pears enjoys a morning of pampering. LYING face down on a couch, the tension in my back being kneaded away and gentle music lulling me to sleep

  • Dyer gets a weekend deadline for Cup hopes

    DEFIANT Kieron Dyer has been set a weekend deadline to rescue his World Cup dream. The Newcastle United midfielder is refusing to give up the fight as he undergoes intensive treatment on the knee ligament injury he suffered when he was the victim of a

  • How did sacked GP get care home job?

    A DISGRACED North-East GP faces an inquiry into how he landed a top job with a care home chain run by a former medical colleague. Ashok Bhagat, 52, from School Aycliffe, County Durham, was only sacked from the post with one of the biggest private nursing

  • Job Search: Vacancies

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