It has been revealed today that the examination board, Edexcell, has been involved in another exam paper blunder. The exam board which was involved in a number of mix-ups last summer has confirmed that there was a problem with the printing of the government
Turning back the clock EVERYDAY memories of village life in a Yorkshire dale in the 1950s will be portrayed at Harrogate Theatre next week. The theatre's new writer-in-residence, Jonathan Hall, has penned a play - Portrait of a Dale - which is a flashback
OLIVER CROMWELL was not renowned for his love of the royal family. Indeed, so disillusioned was he by the failings of a dynasty he held responsible for national decline, that he had many of the Crown Jewels destroyed when he finally defeated the Royalists
WORLD cup fever really will reach the masses on Sunday morning when one North-East church screens England's opening match. As chaplain to Newcastle United Football Club, it is hardly surprising that the Rev David Tully, vicar of St John's Church in Gateshead
APRIL saw a rise in turnover for Darlington businesses for the first time in three months. This and a fractional increase in confidence levels indicates businesses are continuing to remain positive and determined to succeed, said Peter Armitage, a partner
TWO young men whose Saturday night out in Harrogate ended in arrest were warned by the town's magistrates yesterday to beware the dangerous cocktail of alcohol and testosterone. Court chairman Hugh Simpson told Gary Hutchinson, 18, and Mark Rigby, 19,
A TRANSPORT minister should know that the wrong kind of anything can cause a derailment. Leaves, snow, wind, sun and, in this case, publicity. And so the political career of Stephen John Byers was thrown from the rails. Yesterday's resignation was a surprise
FINE defaulters in the region are being warned of strict new measures being imposed by courts to cut down on payment dodging. In a bid to reduce the level of unpaid fines, County Durham Magistrates Courts Committee has introduced new methods to catch
GOSH, is it really 50 years since I won the toddlers' race at the Sunday School sports to celebrate the Coronation and then gave every child in the road chickenpox? No, of course, it's 49, the Accession and the Coronation coming in different years - years
A RACE Night held by Yarm District Lions Club in March helped raised £1,000 for the Butterwick Hospice. The club also recently presented a cheque for £500 to Helen Irvine, the chairman of the committee of the Stockton Autism Support Group which was set
THE man behind a Jubilee concert planned for an old aircraft hanger has criticised a town council's decision to set up a rival event. Businessman David Scott was yesterday granted a licence for his 2,000-capacity event that will include big-name musicians
FREE Jubilee-themed events are being held all next week at Kirkleatham Hall Museum and Margrove Heritage Centre, near Guisborough At Margrove, from Sunday to Thursday, children can link The Victorians exhibition with games and quizzes. On Monday there
Three men have been jailed for a credit card scam that was traced to a Barclaycard call centre. Two men who worked at the Stockton call centre sold confidential information to a third man which cost Barclaycard £26,500. The workers were caught because
A scheme which has brought cut-price travel to elderly and disabled people is likely to be expanded, council chiefs have confirmed. Concessionary bus fares were first offered to people living in Hambleton in June last year, in a move which local authorities
UNDER-pressure hospital bosses are bringing forward plans to use beds at a neighbouring hospital, it was revealed last night. Health chiefs in County Durham are also planning to make a bid for one of the new "MASH-style" mobile surgical units staffed
Murder In Mind (BBC1) Wildlife On One (BBC1) ANYONE who's tried to fight their way through the bureaucracy of a big bank will sympathise with the plight of Ken Grendle in Regrets, the latest story in this occasional series. His businessman had a cash
TELECOMS company Vodafone has reported pre-tax losses of £13.5bn - equating to £37m a day - but the figures came in at the top end of expectations. The group wrote off £6bn after seeing the value of some investments fall, which, together with other charges
MERCHANT Retail, owners of The Perfume Shop and Joplings department stores, has reported a profits rise for the fourth year in succession. Pre-tax profits for the year to March 31, went up 31 per cent to £10.63m, up from the £8.1m recorded in the previous
THE future of the only college training would-be priests for the Roman Catholic Church in the North of England was under threat last night. St Cuthbert's College, better known as Ushaw College, near Durham, could be axed under proposals outlined by the
A SUCCESSFUL community safety initiative in Gateshead has been awarded a funding boost to enable its work to continue for the next two years. Operation Blizzard, which aims to combat crime and disorder in the southern part of the borough, has attracted
SOCIAL services staff who provide front-line care and support for thousands of people across North Yorkshire have had their efforts recognised. The 44 staff work in a variety of areas, including looking after people in their own homes, day centres and
Raiders target two garages ELECTRICAL equipment has been stolen by burglars from two garages in Darlington. Thieves who burgled a garage in Wilton Drive, on Saturday afternoon, stole a set of golf clubs on a trolley, which was later found dumped, a Black
Libya has promised about £7m compensation to each of the families of the 270 victims of the Lockerbie bombing, the US Government has been told. The reported compensation would amount to £1.8bn - the largest such package of its kind. Negotiations between
India yesterday condemned Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf's speech, which it was hoped would cool the Kashmir crisis, as "disappointing and dangerous". On a day when Pakistan defied international opinion with the test firing of a missile capable
MENTAL HEALTH I WAS dismayed to read the article (Echo, May 22) 'Milestone as first private mental health unit opens at new hospital.' I appreciate the article was about a secure unit, but for the ordinary man in the street with little in-depth knowledge
DURHAM yesterday pulled Nicky Hatch out of the second team game against Lancashire at Stockton to join the senior squad for today's C & G Trophy third round tie against Wales at Cardiff. The choice will lie between Hatch and Marc Symington to take
European officials have produced a report on the appalling state of the UK's food and animal import controls. Farmers claimed last night that the damning dossier showed the Government had done little to prevent future outbreaks of diseases such as foot-and-mouth
Maybe the hot Japanese sun is starting to affect him, for there can be no more logical explanation behind Sven-Goran Eriksson's decision to risk David Beckham against Sweden on Sunday. Eriksson is renowned as a pragmatic coach, a man who has played the
SUNDERLAND yesterday snapped up former Republic of Ireland international Phil Babb on a Bosman free transfer from Sporting Lisbon. And the 31-year-old central defender, who has signed a three-year contract, revealed he jumped at the chance of returning
We asked the council a series of questions to see if the promises made to the community in 2000 are being kept. Condition 1 The development shall be commenced no later than five years after the date of the permission. Condition 2 The stadium is limited
A CLUB-GOER stamped on another man's head and fractured his skull, a court heard yesterday. Darlington man David Wilkinson was jailed for 18 months after admitting grievous bodily harm at Teesside Crown Court. The 22-year-old, of Hewitson Road, was described
A COUNCIL has claimed that it has been unfairly criticised in an independent report on its £527,858 refuse collection service. The Audit Commission gave Teesdale District Council's refuse collection and vehicle management teams only one star because,
THE forgotten grave of a miner who was finally given a burial 24 years after dying in the North-East's worst ever pit disaster has been found by The Northern Echo. Sue Coults had searched for years for the final resting-place of her great grandfather
IT was a murder that earned a place in folklore and inspired the Michael Caine gangster thriller, Get Carter. Fruit machine collector Angus Sibbet was blasted to death and his bullet-ridden body found dumped in the back of a Jaguar. The murder, in South
HARTLEPOOL'S directly elected mayor is doing his best to keep his election promise that he would act to save sports facilities from closure. Stuart Drummond has stepped in to help give the Friarage Sports Hall, at the Headland, a year-long stay of execution
FOR 130 years it was there on its corner site, providing employment for hundreds of men and spreading the name of Darlington around the world. But last week, when Echo Memories turned up to have a look at it, it had gone. A new steel fence barricaded
DESIGN students from the University of Teesside will display their final year work at an exhibition in Middlesbrough next month. The show, at Centre North East, in Albert Road, is open to the public on June 6, 7, 11 and 12 between 10am and 4pm. Su Reid
RON O'Keefe knows a great deal about stained glass after years spent supporting his artist wife as she established a reputation for her glass work. Now, Mr O'Keefe has turned his expertise into a business, setting up North-East Stained Glass Supplies
ITV broadcaster Carlton's failed foray into digital television left it with a bill of £99m, as the company sought to draw a line under a "very difficult period". The charge from the closure of ITV Digital and ITV Sport Channel was blamed, along with the
FORMER Tory leader William Hague could be back in the saddle this weekend. The Richmond MP and his wife, Ffion, have been invited to Catterick Garrison to open a £200,000 equestrian centre on Saturday. Although the military will be using the facilities
A busy rail route was closed today after a lorry crashed on a bridge and ended up hanging precariously over the tracks. The accident happened on the A658 about two miles south of Harrogate, in West Yorkshire, where the road passes over a commuter line
A Morris dancing display will take place today at the Lansdowne Centre, Lansdowne Road, Middlesbrough, to celebrate the jubilee. Middlesbrough speaker Ken Hall will be at the event. It starts at 10.30am. There will also be a disco and quiz on the Queen's
MINOR changes proposed for parliamentary constituency boundaries of Darlington and County Durham will be scrutinised at County Hall next week. The Boundary Commission for England published provisional recommendations for changes to the Darlington seat
FOR some considerable time it has been apparent that it was not a question of whether Stephen Byers would resign, but when. Having for so long survived intense pressure to go, the only surprise is that he chose yesterday for his farewell from the front
A POETRY competition has been launched to celebrate Darlington's community carnival. The competition, run by Darlington Borough Council, is open to schoolchildren in the borough and is aimed at raising environmental awareness. Children are being encouraged
BEACH pollution campaigners will this week learn Northumbrian Water's plans for a sewerage scheme in Marske. Members of Marske Against Raw Sewage and a Klean Environment (Marske) will meet the company on Friday with what they describe as "guarded optimism
THE disgraced Tyneside MP Steven Byers has been replaced as transport secretary by Alistair Darling. Byers quit as transport secretary at a surprise press conference yesterday and Downing Street has anounced this morning that his replacement will be the
A GRIEVING widow is calling for a North-East hospital to be closed until it eradicates the killer bug, MRSA. Irene Suggitt's husband, Clive, died after contracting the antibiotic-resistant virus following an operation at The James Cook University Hospital
TWO farmers caught up in the foot-and-mouth crisis were spared a prison sentence yesterday after admitting beating a man in a drunken attack. It was the first time brothers Ian and Kenneth Clement had been out socialising since their farm had been implicated
YOUNG gymnasts displayed their prowess in a series of testing exercises in true Olympic fashion. Teams of four from eight local primary schools competed in the event, organised by students at Durham Sixth Form Centre. All members of each quartet had to
York City Council was thrown into turmoil yesterday when its long-serving leader was arrested. Rod Hills, one of Labour's high-profile politicians in North Yorkshire, was arrested early yesterday as part of what police called an "on-going inquiry". He
A LOCAL authority is celebrating after it secured sponsorship for the 50,000 parking discs it distributes to motorists each year. In a new initiative from Hambleton District Council, advertising space has been sold on the discs, which must be used in
A CLASSROOM assistant has been charged with dealing Class A drugs after police raids. Donna Dorritt, 21, of Aspen Court in Blackhill, Consett, has been charged with three men who have not been named by police. The four suspects are each accused of supplying
ONE of Darlington's best known family businesses is going global thanks to the rapid growth of its website. Lamb's toy shop, on West Auckland Road, took its first tentative steps onto the information superhighway four years ago. But having averaged about
A FULL line-up of jubilee celebrations is planned in Loftus next week. Events being organised by the town council range from dancing to children's fancy dress and a church service. On Tuesday, there is sequence and old-time dancing at the town hall, from
FISHERMEN at County Durham's last fishing port have found a way of keeping afloat after fears that development plans could threaten their livelihoods. Those remaining at Seaham have formed a co-operative with the support of Business Link County Durham's
THE Government last night sought to allay fears that a human rights victory by a notorious North-East criminal could open the floodgates for murderers given life to seek early release. Dennis Stafford was jailed for the 1967 killing of fruit machine collector
Safety strategy consultation AFTER expressing concern about the omission of lighting plans for the Prebends Bridge area in Durham City Council's Community Safety Strategy for 2002-2005, the president of Durham Students' Union has been invited to contribute
PEOPLE can try their hands at various artistic activities from henna tattooing to circus skills at an arts fair in Chester-le-Street this weekend. Workshops will be taking place throughout the town on Saturday, when Bullion Hall community centre is staging
A financial adviser has appeared in court charged with conning an 80-year-old client out of more than £123,000 of her life savings. Stephen Martyn Butterworth, 54, of Whitebridge, Parkway, Gosforth, Tyneside, is charged with five counts of deception and
PROPOSALS for a sex shop in Darlington's town centre have met with strong opposition. The council has received more than 100 objections to plans by Leeds company Principal Enterprise to open a sex establishment in Bondgate. The shop would be close to
A 21-YEAR-OLD who suffered a stroke through injecting heroin was yesterday jailed for 15 months for stealing from a 93-year-old woman. John Fothergill and a friend offered to wash the woman's windows at her Darlington home and she accepted, Teesside Crown
Niall Quinn yesterday lifted the lid on the mental strain of the Roy Keane saga when he admitted the Republic of Ireland squad is "shattered" just three days before they kick off their World Cup odyssey. The emotional effect of Keanegate was etched across
Fisheries Minister Elliot Morley yesterday played down fears of further job losses in the UK's fishing industry after the European Commission announced a proposed overhaul of the industry. He said the implications of changes to the Common Fisheries Policies
BANK note printer De La Rue has announced plans to buy back up to ten per cent of its shares - worth around £95m - but said it still had a war-chest of £200m for acquisitions. Ian Much, chief executive of the Basingstoke-based group, which employs 150
An anti-obesity pill helps patients achieve a rapid and sustained weight loss, according to research. A 12-month study designed to assess the effectiveness of the drug Xenical followed 430 overweight men and women who had proved responsive to treatment
THIEVES who broke into a house made off with electrical equipment and jewellery worth more than £1,000. The burglary happened between 8.20am and 9.50am on Monday, in Emerson Road, Hurworth. Items stolen included a Sega Dreamcast console and games, a Sony
Nato, the alliance set up more than a half century ago to defend the West from the Soviet Union, formally brought its old enemy out of the cold yesterday as a junior partner. "We have come a long way from confrontation to dialogue, and from confrontation
Beleaguered Stephen Byers was last night in the political wilderness after he finally succumbed to months of mounting pressure and resigned as Transport Secretary. He admitted that his plight had been damaging the Government but defiantly declared: "I
MAYOR of Redcar and Cleveland Eric Jackson will have his work cut out for him in Skinningrove on Tuesday. Councillor Jackson is not only opening the newly refurbished Riverside Building but is also launching a jubilee jamboree. The former village school
DUREX-to-Scholl group SSL has seen its profits slump in the wake of problems over excess stock. SSL, which employs more than 220 staff at a plant in Peterlee officially opened by The Princess Royal last month, cut £56m from sales figures after eliminating
Town's wartime photo appeal Organisers are appealing for people to search lofts and cellars for memorabilia from the wartime bombardment of the Hartlepools. The Friends of the Heugh Gun Battery are asking for items to be donated in time for guided tours
FLY by night as usual, recent columns have been discussing owls and hooting and other matters of a wise and ponderous nature. With an invitation to "top that", therefore, Harry Watson in Darlington wonders: why did the owl howl? Because she hadn't the
FLY by night as usual, recent columns have been discussing owls and hooting and other matters of a wise and ponderous nature. With an invitation to "top that", therefore, Harry Watson in Darlington wonders: why did the owl howl? Because she hadn't the
Labour MP Ronnie Campbell thumped a reveller during a drunken curry house brawl after he was accused of not paying for his meal, a court heard. Campbell, 58, "lost it" after suffering constant rants from drunken diner Denise Longman. He jumped up from
THE Kids From Fame have got nothing on the lads and lasses from Consett if the latest production by Consett Theatre Workshop Junior Group is anything to go by. The well-known theatre group will present Irving Berlin tribute musical The Melody Lingers
SUPERMARKET giant Sainsbury's said its recovery programme was paying off as it posted a 14 per cent jump in annual profits after two years of decline. Chief executive Sir Peter Davis, who took charge of the business two years ago, said the group was making
A three-year plan to cut crime and improve the quality of life for North Yorkshire residents has been unveiled. The community safety strategy was launched in the Ryedale district last month after an extensive survey of residents in the area. Ryedale District
GOSH, is it really 50 years since I won the toddlers' race at the Sunday School sports to celebrate the Coronation and then gave every child in the road chickenpox? No, of course, it's 49, the Accession and the Coronation coming in different years - years
Princess Royal to pay visit The Princess Royal will be guest of honour at an event entitled Voice of the Horse day at Houghall College, Durham. Tickets cost £6 for adults and £3 for under-16s. The event will take place between 10am and 5pm on Wednesday
A CARE home is inviting the whole community to join in with its golden jubilee celebrations. Staff and residents of Northview Lodge Care Home, in Castletown, Sunderland, have organised a garden party complete with tombola, refreshments and stalls to mark
