Q Could you please settle a discussion in our local pub. Where did Witton Park, a village outside Bishop Auckland, get its name from? - R.Hutchinson, Arundel Close, Bishop Auckland A WITTON is a relatively common place name and usually dates back to Anglo-Saxon
Darlington have turned down a provisional offer of £500,000 for promising teenage winger Adam Rundle from Fulham. As Darlington prepare to welcome Faustino Asprilla to Feethams, Quakers are also bracing themselves for the departure of 18-year-old Rundle
A VILLAGE's annual horticultural show can go ahead this year thanks to a hospital's support. Organisers of the Middleton St George Allotment and Garden Association Show received £300 from Middleton St George Hospital and Care Homes. The money will go
FAMILIES turned seafarers at the weekend for an annual boating regatta. The Roker Regatta, which is almost 100 years old, took place on Saturday and yesterday, off the Sunderland coastline. It continues today with a quiz on the river before the event
SOAP stars swapped scripts for cricket pads yesterday to play in a charity match for Children in Need. Fans of television and cricket mingled at Darlington Cricket Club's Feethams ground to see members of the Emmerdale cast take on a team from BBC Radio
THEY SAID IT by Steven Baker EVERTON owner Bill Kenwright: "We don't want to put too much pressure on Wayne Rooney - but he's the best young player I've ever seen." EVERTON manager David Moyes, speaking after his side drew 2-2 with Tottenham Hotspur:
FOUR supermarket workers are to take part in a marathon cycle trip for charity. Steven Emmerson, Martin Jackson, Paul MacKintosh and Robert Hughill have already proved they will go the distance for a worthy cause by earlier this year cycling 85 miles
The Reverend David McKenzie has become chaplain to St Hilda's Priory, Sneaton Castle, Whitby - headquarters of The Order of the Holy Paraclete - after 28 years serving as a clergyman in the RAF. Mr McKenzie who comes from Norton, near Stockton, has also
SLIMMERS have raised £1,660 for a children's hospice by taking part in a sponsored walk. Kath Moss and her colleagues from Weightwatchers presented a cheque to David Poffley, fundraiser for the Butterwick Children's Hospice, in Stockton. More than 100
Sharon Griffiths visits the only open air public swimming pool in County Durham and finds it awash with families having fun THE DAY is a bit grey with a hint of rain in the air but at the open air swimming pool in Stanhope, nobody minds at all. Small
FIREFIGHTERS showed they were in peak condition when they climbed the equivalent of Mount Everest at the weekend. Durham and Darlington Fire and Rescue Team colleagues Phil Preston and Craig Farrage used two step machines for the challenge in Durham Market
A television ghost hunting team claim they have found the identity of the spirit haunting a North-East lighthouse - and she has a very famous aunt Paul White reports IN 1838, Grace Darling earned her reputation as the country's most celebrated maritime
LIFE down on the farm is being celebrated this bank holiday - with a toast to the history of the humble porker. The Ryedale Folk Museum at Hutton-le-Hole on the North York Moors has put together a variety of displays connected with pigs. "Pigs have been
A COUPLE who met on a blind date are celebrating 65 years of wedded bliss. When Lena Appleby, 87, was first introduced to her husband, Don, also 87, she vowed never to see him again because he was wearing boots. But during their first date boating in
AS FAR as the purchase of Massimo Maccarone is concerned it seems to be a case of money well spent. But there was very little the £8.15m club record buy could do about the incredible way his new side let slip a two-goal lead in the closing stages against
AN anniversary event will be held at an ancient North-East burial site next month. To mark the 125th anniversary of the first archaeological dig at the Copt Hill site, in Houghton-le-Spring, Wearside, an information day and picnic will be held alongside
TWO decaying outbuildings which once formed part of a maternity hospital are to be demolished. The buildings to the rear of The Mount, in Yafforth Road, Northallerton, were previously used by the hospital. FT Construction group has submitted plans to
ADVENTUROUS youngsters have been making the most of their summer holidays at an activity camp. Almost 200 youngsters from Durham Army Cadet Force took part in an annual trip to Warcop, in Cumbria, where 32 activities were on offer. Among the things they
FORMER North Yorkshire police chief Jack Wright has died at the age of 75. He spent most of his 30 years' service in the police at Scarborough, rising to the rank of superintendent. Six weeks ago Mr Wright had a pacemaker fitted after suffering several
YOUNGSTERS have used their computer skills to create a community website. During an eight-week course, which started in July, five young people from County Durham helped the Durham Association of Youth and Community Organisations (Dayco) create its own
A NORTH-EAST museum is holding a flower festival to mark an important date in its history. Bowes Museum, in Barnard Castle, County Durham, is celebrating the 150th wedding anniversary of museum founders John and Josephine Bowes. The event, which ends
A NORTH-EAST scheme for sustainable communities will serve as a model at this week's international summit in South Africa. More than 60,000 delegates from more than 175 nations are attending the United Nations' World Summit on Sustainable Development,
A BOOK charting the history of a remarkable Army battalion is to receive a national award. County Durham Books, the publishing arm of Durham County Council, will receive The Alan Ball Local History Award 2002 for The Gateshead Gurkhas, by former headteacher
A VILLAGE fun day which attracted large crowds at the weekend could become an annual event. The summer fair at Mainsforth Sports Complex, Ferryhill Station, was established in 2000, but was called off last year because of the foot-and-mouth outbreak.
HUSBAND Joe Tindale has proved three is not a crowd after giving his blessing to his wife's new boyfriend. Joe was forced to go into residential care after suffering a series of strokes, leaving his devoted wife of 30 years, Mary, home alone. But Mary
HUSBAND Joe Tindale has proved three is not a crowd after giving his blessing to his wife's new boyfriend. Joe was forced to go into residential care after suffering a series of strokes, leaving his devoted wife of 30 years, Mary, home alone. But Mary
A HOLIDAY guide with a difference has been drawn up by Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council's trading standards officers. The free leaflet gives advice on what to look out for before you book a holiday, basic sun safety and what to do if things go wrong
Assistant editor Chris Lloyd tallies up the scoreboard for the Bishop of Durham who announced his retirement while watching the Test at Headingley AFTER the googling eyes and wildly waving hands of David Jenkins whipping up a storm, Durham, like any slip
ONE of the world's most powerful helicopters is among the star turns of this year's Yorkshire Air Show. Thousands of people have been descending on Elvington, near York, for the huge celebration of all matters to do with aviation. And among the star turns
SCARBOROUGH Building Society, one of the oldest in the world, has announced that its assets are up 3.5 per cent, to £1.23bn. Chairman Geoff Winn revealed in his annual report that gross lending is now £235m, while savers' balances have reached £790m.
SECURITY camera pictures have been released showing a man wanted in connection with a raid on a shop. The man walked into the Right Choice Store, in North Road, Darlington, and went to the service counter. But security cameras then recorded him get down
Several of a party of eight late night revellers trapped in a lift, were given first aid by firefighters called to the rescue. One of the group in the lift - which stuck below the ground floor of Melsonby Court, Billingham - was semi-conscious and was
UNDER-PRESSURE Sunderland boss Peter Reid is ready to make a last-ditch attempt to lure Robbie Keane away from Leeds - and is setting up a £2m deal for Liverpool midfielder Patrik Berger. Reid, desperate to land a striker before this weekend's transfer
The Peter Sellers Story: As He Filmed It (BBC2); Bedtime (BBC1) LIKE having to sit and look at other people's snaps, watching their holiday films can become tedious. It helps, as in this case, if you are famous and those caught on camera include Princess
THREE of the UK's first bee-eater chicks in almost 50 years made their maiden flight at the weekend - but another one has died. Four chicks have been reared by a pair which nested in Bishop Middleham Quarry Nature Reserve, in County Durham, the first
THERE were more than 6,000 reasons for Headingley to lose its Test status to Durham's Riverside yesterday as England battled to avoid defeat to India. With the eyes of the cricketing world on Leeds, Yorkshire fans delivered an embarrassing snub to England's
Darlington's downfall a week ago was an inability to convert one of numerous scoring chances. Saturday's match at Rochdale told a similar tale, but the game was certainly not a repeat performance. Against Oxford, Quakers were not attractive to watch and
Football chairman George Reynolds pulled off one of the biggest shocks in the region's sporting history last night by announcing the imminent signing of Columbian international Faustino Asprilla. Asprilla could become a Darlington FC player as early as
THE group behind a training scheme for youngsters in North Yorkshire has pledged to continue its work, even if it loses support from North Yorkshire County Council (NYCC). The authority is considering whether it should withdraw from providing apprenticeship
SKIPPER Michael Gray last night promised manager Peter Reid that his Sunderland players will ensure he carries on shouting the odds at the Stadium of Light. Saturday's unfortunate 1-0 home defeat by Everton piled on the agony for under-fire Reid, who
POLICE continued to be on alert last night as rumours of rival gangs hitting the streets of a North-East town continued to circulate. As the weekend ran smoothly, with little or no sign of trouble across the borough, police officers in Darlington continued
FORMER Magpies boss Kevin Keegan is backing Sir Bobby Robson's men to surprise some of the European big guns in the Champions League. Despite seeing his new charges turn Newcastle over 1-0 on Saturday, Man. City manager Keegan still expects Newcastle
MICKY Barron is backing Hartlepool United to put the disappointment of nine days ago to bed this afternoon. Pool entertain Hull, aiming to get back to winning ways at home after suffering a miserable time against Macclesfield nine days back. Pool lost
AS he took the ball in his gangly stride 30 yards from the Everton goal with no defenders blocking his path, Kevin Kyle could already see the headlines. "Kyle saves Sunderland," they might have read, as the striker looked to mark his full Premiership
A MYSTERY worthy of the X-Files is unfolding after a teenage girl sparked an out-of-this-world alert. University scientists and the national media are in a frenzy over whether Siobhan Cowton saw a meteorite come crashing to earth in her North Yorkshire
VERY few people take the middle ground when it comes to caravans - they either love them or loathe them. Depending on your point of view they are either a go-anywhere passport to happy holiday freedom or lumbering menaces second only to tractors when
SACKED clothing factory workers hoping to share £250,000 compensation will have to wait until next year to find out if they will get the cash. Former employees of the Susie Radin factory, in Crook, County Durham, celebrated in May after an employment
THE Prime Minister led the tributes last night to the Bishop of Durham, who announced his retirement on Radio 4's Test Match Special. The Right Reverend Michael Turnbull, 66, revealed his decision during the lunch interval of the Headingley test on Saturday
WHEN it comes to tactical know-how Kevin Keegan has found himself regularly on the receiving end of some far from fair criticism. It started at Newcastle when his free-flowing attractive football was seen as 'gung-ho' in some quarters, and left him open
A SPECIALIST centre to cater for older mentally ill people is to be opened in Darlington. The £4m unit is to be part of an expansion to the newly-planned hospital at West Park, Faverdale. County Durham and Darlington Priority Services NHS Trust, which
AS surprising as a Caddick straight six, the cricket-loving Bishop of Durham announced his retirement during the lunch interval of the Headingley Test on Saturday. And from the moment his departure was revealed to Christopher Martin-Jenkins on Test Match
A STRATEGY is being prepared to tackle car parking and traffic problems in two Teesdale towns. Durham County Council is treating the strategies in Barnard Castle and Middleton-in-Teesdale as high priority and regards them as crucial in efforts to rejuvenate
A row erupted yesterday when the Food Standards Agency revealed plans to alter the way Scotland's most famous national dish is made. It wants to ban the use of sheep intestines in haggis because of the theoretical risk of BSE. The Scottish National Party
HOLIDAY crowds have been getting to grips with some truly ancient history at the largest festival of geology ever held in Europe. Earth Alert 2002, which ends this evening, has had thousands of people flocking to the Spa Complex in Scarborough, North
A 19-YEAR-OLD is in a stable condition after the car he was travelling in left the road and hit a tree. The teenager, from Willington, near Crook, underwent surgery in Darlington's Memorial Hospital on Friday for serious cuts to his neck. He was a passenger
THE richest bird in Britain has flown its coop and left behind a fortune in a businesswoman's will. Loulou the parrot has gone missing and devastated North-East owner Diane Miller is anxious to get it back. The 4ft macaw has been made a beneficiary in
A BOOK charting the history of a remarkable Army battalion is to receive a national award. County Durham Books, the publishing arm of Durham County Council, will receive The Alan Ball Local History Award 2002 for The Gateshead Gurkhas, by former headteacher
ONE of North Yorkshire's biggest housing estates has been awarded two £100,000 grants. The funding is designed to improve the quality of life for 9,000 residents on Scarborough's Eastfield estate. The Opportunities Centre in the estate's High Street is
A TEENAGE ice hockey player who was praised in The Northern Echo's Local Heroes awards last year has been showing his skills with the region's top club. Michael Allinson was only 14 when he was selected to go to Canada with the England under-16s last
A GROUP promoting morality without religion is staging an exhibition about its work. North-East Humanists will mount the exhibition in the foyer of Newcastle Central Library from tomorrow, for two weeks. It will include information about the group, a
ARCHAEOLOGIST Graeme Stobbs will lead tours around remnants of Hadrian's Wall next month. Mr Stobbs will be on hand from noon on Sunday, September 8, to guide visitors around Chester's Roman Fort, near Chollerford, Northumberland. He will be retracing
CONSULTATION meetings are to take place to develop a strategy for helping homeless people in the Hambleton area of North Yorkshire. It follows the district council's success in winning a £10,000 grant from the Government to tackle the problem. New legislation
AN annual show which has raised thousands of pounds for charities across North Yorkshire could be forced to fold - unless more pianists are found. Since 1979, Northallerton Amateur Variety Company has staged a pantomime in the town, with more than £60,000
IN a grisly scene in Victorian London a blade flashes and another victim falls to the ground. No, it's not the set for yet another blockbuster set in the movie-friendly North-East. It was a popular annual exhibition which drew the crowds at the weekend
A COLLEGE is celebrating its talent for tree handling after taking part in a country show. East Durham and Houghall Community College's arbour staff and students put together an impressive display of tree climbing, relaying, rescue and dismantling at
THEATRE fans have brought cinema back to a town which lost its only picture-house 40 years ago. Volunteers from an amateur theatrical group and a local charity have joined forces to make the silver screen's return to Knaresborough a reality. The cinema
GARDENERS are expected to flock to an annual flower and vegetable show next month. Last year's Horden Parish Flower and Vegetable Show attracted 298 entries in 33 categories from 51 exhibitors. The show runs from 10am to 10pm on Friday, September 6, and
A CHARITY which works with the disabled is back on Teesside after solving funding problems. Northern Pinetree Trust, which helps people with disabilities develop their own business, was forced to withdraw its services on Teesside 18 months ago following
MEMORIES will come flooding back for older car enthusiasts when a motor show with a difference comes to town. For younger generations who have grown up with hatchbacks and in-town run-arounds, the size of the old petrol guzzlers lining up for the American
A PENSIONER was badly injured in an accident involving a reversing car. The unnamed 75-year-old woman sustained serious head injuries in Bolckow Street at the rear of Marks and Spencer, Middlesbrough, where she was on foot. A Cleveland Police spokesman
COMMUNITY groups and organisations across South Durham are celebrating more than £54,000 in grants to develop their work. Cash payouts of between £500 and £5,000 have been made in the latest round of grants from the National Lottery-funded Awards For
A WELL-KNOWN civic campaigner died suddenly after returning home from a night out at his local pub. Tom Law died at Durham's University Hospital of North Durham, early last Tuesday after taking ill at his home in the Gilesgate area of the city. It is
STAFF from North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Trust have returned from providing medical assistance to athletes competing in the Commonwealth Games. Orthopaedic consultant surgeon Cathy Lennox and physiotherapist Denise Jones were part of a voluntary team
AFTER the deluge . . . the drying out. Organisers are hoping the Stockton Summer Show will live up to its name today following a disastrous start when heavy rain deterred visitors to the Preston Park showfield, near Stockton. Forty horse boxes had to
Echo columnist and At Your Service writer Mike Amos gives his own appreciation of the departing Bishop THE day after his consecration as Bishop of Durham, the morning after the carry on at the Cathedral, Michael Turnbull led the morning service at the
LIFE beside the seaside is proving a huge attraction, with a new survey showing that coastal property prices have soared in the past seven years. But North-East resorts are lagging far behind, with Seaham, in County Durham, still the least expensive coastal
JEFFREY Archer's picture (Echo, Aug 20) shows a man still full of himself. This neither shocks nor surprises me. Why? There is no knocking down the Archers of this world down. Parasites there always will be in this world of ours and there will be many
A CHILDREN'S charity is more than £3,400 better off thanks to a prize-winning industry team. The team of workers from DuPont Polyester Technologies' plant at Wilton centre, near Redcar, won a design competition between around 400 DuPont employers from
Nissan's new European prototype Micra is currently being put through its paces by North-East learner drivers. The revamped Micra, which is tipped to overtake the BMW Mini in popularity stakes, is not expected to go on sale anywhere in Europe until at
YOU won't find Chris Turner joining the campaign for an extra Bank Holiday or two to be added to the working calendar. The Hartlepool United has had enough of Bank Holiday travelling this weekend to last a lifetime. On the busiest weekend of the year
When teenage singer Zoe Birkett stepped on stage at Stockton's Riverside Festival, all eyes were on the stunning newsprint corset she was wearing. It was created by young Teesside designer Kate Fearnley, who, just a few months after starting her own company
No story involving Faustino Asprilla can be written without the term 'controversial Colombian' being included. A man who once missed a training session with the Colombian national team so he could buy a horse is no ordinary man. He's no ordinary footballer
AN interim payment has now been made in what is expected to be the biggest claim ever made in the history of car insurance in Britain. About £3m has been paid out in response to GNER's claim following the Selby rail disaster, in which ten people died
CLAIMS that scores of striking conductors defied their union to return to work at the weekend have been denied by union leaders. Following claims by Arriva that up to 70 conductors left the picket lines in the latest 24-hour stoppage of the long-running
CHRISTMAS is set to arrive four months earlier for a town's vandal-hit traders. Shopkeepers in Eston, near Middlesbrough, have had to endure vandalism, arson attacks and break-ins over several months. Now, a town centre redevelopment is to go ahead, with
SUPERMARKET staff and a group of singers came out on top in an It's a Knockout-style event held as part of a fundraising fun day in aid of St Teresa's Hospice, in Darlington. A team from Asda won the morning session of Knockout 2002, while Darlington
KIEREN FALLON'S chances of retaining the jockey's championship are about to take a severe knock with the prospect of a long suspension looming. Due to a whole series of minor riding misdemeanours, Fallon has unfortunately fallen foul of Portman Square's
EFFORTS to give an "eyesore'' building a new lease of life has been rejected by a Government planning inspector. Inspector Kathleen Wood-ling has been criticised over her refusal to allow the conversion of a boarded-up seaside bar and restaurant into
SOME of Britain's fastest men and women on water chose Teesside for a showdown of the sexes at the weekend. The Tees Barrage, Stockton, saw the final round in this year's British Jet Ski Championships and the British Waterways Trophy Challenge. British
FRENCH defender Sylvain Distin has been hailed as the new 'Phillipe Albert' by Manchester City boss Kevin Keegan. The former Paris St. Germain player - who spent last season on loan at Newcastle before opting to join City - was on the receiving end of
DURHAM skipper Jon Lewis is to have an operation on his groin tomorrow and will miss the final three weeks of a frustrating season. After being ruled out of the debacle against Glamorgan he hoped to return against his former county, Essex, but was confined
WITH a cruel irony it was Everton, of all clubs, who inflicted a defeat which left Peter Reid wondering whether the fates had finally conspired against him in his fight to survive at Sunderland. If Reid's redoubtable reputation as a midfield warrior was
GEORGE Boateng cut a dejected figure as he left the pitch after Middlesbrough's draw with Fulham. The 26-year-old midfielder walked off holding his shirt up to his eyes, despondent at the way his side had let slip a two-goal lead against Jean Tigana's
THOUSANDS of people turned out for the first two days of the Orange Darlington Festival over the weekend for a feast of music and street entertainment. And thousands more are expected for the closing night of the event this evening, headlined by tribute
A COUNCIL may stop providing meals on wheels following the introduction of rules which will make fewer people eligible to receive them. Since 1974, Durham City Council and Durham County Council have jointly distributed meals to elderly and disabled people
