Archive

  • Deaths of prisoners not linked say police

    A PRISONER found dead in his cell at a North-East jail was awaiting trial accused of trying to kill his girlfriend. Terence Gaskell, 33, was found hanging from a ligature made from torn towelling attached to a bunk during a check at his locked cell at

  • It's all White for new boy

    NEW-BOY Stuart Whitehead last night suggested Darlington are about to prove they are in a false position in the Third Division. The centre-back shone on his debut in Quakers' 1-0 win over Bristol Rovers on Saturday and he is already convinced there will

  • Tinies learn the rules of the road

    CHILDREN in Northallerton were in the driving seat for a road safety lesson last week. Youngsters who go to the town's Looby Lou's nursery were treated to the arrival of a police car on Thursday as the session got under way. One of the children's father

  • Gardening - A feast on the hoof

    I AM one of those people who doesn't really like to bother with breakfast first thing in the morning. My mother used to call me a camel, as I could carry on happily without refuelling for quite some time. However, I know that you are supposed to eat quite

  • Mums need to be heard too

    COULD you stop doing that please... I said, could you stop doing that... Will you please stop... I said stop that, right now!" Shouting is apparently bad for your children. According to a Danish expert it's just another form of child abuse. Well, that's

  • Who's the plonker now, then?

    THE Nutters, as we were saying a couple of columns back, are a remarkably good-natured bunch resigned - like the Crappers - to having picked surnames' short straw. They may be relieved, nonetheless, to learn that it means nothing more than oxen keeper

  • Spy cameras cut station crime by half

    CAR crime at Bank Top Station in Darlington has been slashed by 50 per cent in just two years thanks to CCTV cameras. Great North Eastern Railways (GNER) has released figures showing that car crime has been dramatically reduced since the cameras were

  • Town traders join forces

    TRADERS in Ferryhill have joined forces in an effort to secure the future of the town centre. The first-ever Ferryhill Traders' Forum has been formed to help attract funding to improve the facilities and encourage more visitors. A questionnaire will now

  • Sisters sow seeds of floral enterprise

    AN ambitious 16-year-old has gone into business with her older sister. Caroline Jones and her sister Julianne, 23, have set up a florist's shop in West Auckland. Fabulous Flowers, in Front Street, which opened last week, offers services for everthing

  • Talent blossoms

    Sedgefield and District Rose Society's annual show was held in the Golden Lion Inn. Naomi Challans won the Dave Franks Trophy for best junior exhibit and Ann Oliver won the W W Turnbull Cup for most points in the floral art classes and the Eyles Bowl

  • Gadfly: Who's a plonker now, then?

    THE Nutters, as we were saying a couple of columns back, are a remarkably good-natured bunch resigned - like the Crappers - to having picked surnames' short straw. They may be relieved, nonetheless, to learn that it means nothing more than oxen keeper

  • Oh baby, 999 man's skills put to the test

    SARAH Perry is no stranger to child care - she and partner Steve have between them a brood which has now reached ten. But, despite that, when little Shannon Louise arrived on the scene, 32-year-old Sarah could not help but feel history was repeating itself

  • Village pioneer community plan

    A COMMUNITY'S efforts to take its destiny into its own hands take another vital step this month. The Catterick area's Community Works project has confirmed it has located a temporary office and expects to have a headquarters operating by the end of the

  • Harmison's big Ashes booster

    STEPHEN Harmison's Ashes dreams received a major boost yesterday when Darren Gough admitted he could miss the first two Test matches in Australia through injury. Harmison and Glamorgan's Simon Jones were jostling for one position in the England team,

  • Rethink on power for the regions

    THE Tories last night backtracked on whether elected regional assemblies would have a future under a Conservative government. Despite official condemnation of the Government's devolution plans as "a nightmare", it emerged last night that the Tories were

  • Community group faces

    THE fate of a threatened community centre could be known next week. The popular centre in Middleton St George is on the verge of closure because of a serious cash shortage. Darlington Borough Council recently withdrew a £4,500 grant, which has left the

  • Man who led Barratt back from brink

    WITHIN the housebuilding sector and the City of London there was huge respect for Frank Eaton, a reputation not matched by his low profile in the North-East. For over a decade he led one of the region's biggest companies, and one of Britain's biggest

  • Strike threat prompts safety message

    THE Fire Brigades Union launched a national safety campaign yesterday in a bid to highlight the possible risk faced by businesses and industry if firefighters go on strike. The result of a ballot on industrial action is expected on Saturday, October 18

  • Sharon Griffiths: Mums need to be heard too

    COULD you stop doing that please... I said, could you stop doing that... Will you please stop... I said stop that, right now!" Shouting is apparently bad for your children. According to a Danish expert it's just another form of child abuse. Well, that's

  • Gallagher the cat hitches 350-mile ride

    A CAT with a wanderlust, which has been missing for four weeks, has finally turned up - 350 miles away from his home. The Burmese, called Gallagher, was spotted by teenager Bernice Foster wandering around Dundas Street in Stockton on Sunday. She called

  • Nemeth issues a warning to England over Slovakia test

    MIDDLESBROUGH striker Szilard Nemeth has warned England that Slovakia are ready to blow an instant hole in their Euro 2004 campaign. Nemeth will be in opposition to Boro manager Steve McClaren, assistant coach to England boss Sven-Goran Eriksson, in partisan

  • Police op aims to drive out boy racers

    POLICE have launched an operation to rid a market town of boy racers. The move comes after months of complaints from residents about dangerous driving, unacceptable noise, litter, harassment and anti- social behaviour in Bishop Auckland's Forebondgate

  • Decision is made but name stays under wraps

    THE wait will soon be over for the recipient of this year's Newcomer to Business Award. The Northern Echo-sponsored award will be presented to the winner at the sixth annual Business Show in front of more than 350 businessmen and women. The judging panel

  • Bishop's garden hosts walk for health launch

    A TEN-MINUTE trek around the Bishop of Durham's garden launched a three-year council campaign to get thousands of Wear Valley people on the move. The Wear Walking for Health initiative is promoting the benefits of exercise for people of all ages around

  • Man attacked on night out

    A NIGHT on the town ended in agony for a local man. The 35-year-old man received severe head and facial injuries, including a smashed jaw, when he was attacked in Station Road, Redcar. His broken jaw has been wired up and he also had facial plates inserted

  • Calming environment provides place to learn about space

    CHILDREN at a Teesside school can now take a trip into space every time they enter their computer room. The IT room at Holmwood Special School, in Easterside, Middlesbrough, has been transformed into a spaceship, complete with pictures of planets, ultra-violet

  • We overstayed our welcomes, says Robson

    BRYAN ROBSON, one of Peter Reid's closest friends in football, last night admitted that they had both overstayed their welcomes in the North-East. Like Robson, who was forced out of Middlesbrough in the summer of 2001, Reid has been discarded by Sunderland

  • News in brief: Quakers help 350 years on

    THE QUAKERS of Thirsk are inviting people to a talk at the Meeting House in Kirkgate to mark the 350th anniversary of their group's founding. Quakers are still much involved in helping those in need and Joyce Pickard will be there tomorrow at 7.30pm to

  • Reward for his rich vein

    A PENSIONER who has helped save dozens of lives, was invited to a ceremony to mark his achievements. Dennis Askew, of Beilby Close, Bedale, has given blood 75 times during the past 25 years, and his thought for others was rewarded when he was presented

  • Political academic in spotlight

    A CRITIC of American foreign policy is to deliver his latest lecture to a worldwide audience through video link - and a North-East university will be tuning in. Professor Noam Chomsky's talk about the deteriorating situation in the Middle East will be

  • Turf cutting is step nearer £5.5m hospice

    THE £5.5m dream of building a replacement for St Catherine's Hospice, at Scarborough, has moved a step nearer reality with a turf-cutting ceremony. The Mayor of Scarborough, Councillor Sheila Kettlewell, led the civic party at the event - but Coronation

  • Celebration of apples in store

    A CELEBRATION of the humble apple will be taking place in Chester-le-Street. To mark National Apple Day, Durham Wildlife Trust is organising a celebration of the common fruit to highlight its benefit for wildlife. The event takes place in the wildlife

  • Land protection case heads to European Court

    CAMPAIGNERS will take their fight to overturn plans to build a college on a recreation site to the European Court next week. Eileen Appleby and Pam Beresford, of the Washington First Forum, will travel to Strasbourg for a hearing to decide if the forum's

  • College is among UK's best

    NORTH Yorkshire college has won approval as one of the best in the country when it comes to recruiting and supervising modern apprentices. The training and learning department at Northallerton College was examined by a team from the Adult Learning Inspectorate

  • Fresh attack on football club

    Willington Football Club, which has been plagued by vandals throughout the year, suffered a fresh attack last night. Vandals broke the fence behind the stand and broke open the six junction boxes for the floodlights and ripped out wires. The damage caused

  • Question time

    HOUSEHOLDS and businesses across north Hartlepool are being urged to support a survey to assess the impact of a multi-million pound regeneration scheme. Questionnaires are being sent to 800 households and all 200 businesses in the West View, Central Estate

  • Football club and college in link-up to nurture talent

    A SCHEME to train youngsters to be footballers while they study for academic qualifications has been launched in Darlington. A group of teenagers, aged 16 to 19, have joined the Goals initiative at Darlington College of Technology, which is being run

  • Miner's timepiece puzzle is resolved

    THE puzzle of a pocket watch presented to a colliery worker more than 80 years ago has been solved. The watch, which was given to Ferryhill Town Council, is inscribed with the name Newark D Hume and was presented to him by officials and workmen of the

  • No doubt cast over celebration

    TEESSIDE'S most famous son is to be celebrated in song and fun - despite a question mark hanging over his principal achievement. The discovery of the remains of a 1650s Portuguese ship buried in sand on Queensland's Fraser Island could mean Iberian sailors

  • Regeneration views sought from people

    PEOPLE in Stanley are being urged to attend a public meeting on plans to regenerate the town centre. The event is in Stanley Civic Hall tomorrow, from 6.30pm to 8.30pm. Proposals for breathing new life into the area include suggestions for the site of

  • Young engineer is steam driven

    A TEESSIDE college graduate is working hard to keep a steam collection on track. Paul Middleton is a key member of the maintenance crew with the North Yorkshire Moors Railway, and thanks to Middlesbrough College on Teesside and the Engineering and Marine

  • Bitter note as company goes into liquidation

    A PROMOTIONS company at the centre of a financial row following two outdoor concerts in North Yorkshire has gone into liquidation. Ian Martin Events, based at Norton, near Malton, North Yorkshire, produced and promoted the Last Night of the Proms show

  • The cup filleth over for Sadie the Bra Lady

    A BUSINESSWOMAN is expanding her famous lingerie empire by opening a new shop. Sadie Ayton, known around the North-East as Sadie the Bra Lady, hopes to have her shop open by Christmas and is also taking her business on to the Internet. Sadie has turned

  • Bringing the story of railways to life

    AN actor has told of his high hopes for a scheme to bring key events in the development of the railways to life. Robin Ellwood is to appear at Darlington Railway Centre and Museum after enthusiasts secured a £14,000 Heritage Lottery Fund grant to set

  • Gardens tidy-up boon for old

    A NEW scheme aims to stop pensioners in Gateshead becoming crime victims by tidying up their gardens. The British Gas Help the Aged Partnership and Anchor Staying Put, Gateshead, have joined forces to reduce the number of older people being preyed on

  • Friends launch campaign for Turkish child

    FOUR friends have launched a fundraising campaign to help a Turkish child who suffered serious injuries in a house fire. The friends, who all live in the Bishop Auckland area, met the toddler's family two years ago while they were on holiday in Gumbat

  • News in brief: Mallon opens health centre

    MAYOR of Middlesbrough, Ray Mallon, will reopen a health centre vacated by doctors and revamped at a cost of £125,000 as a mental health resource centre, on Friday. Staff who were previously based in offices above a fish and chip shop say the Lakeside

  • Disused factory may be developed

    A DISUSED factory where the world-famous Harrogate Toffee was once produced is set to be knocked down - at the third time of asking. Developers eyeing the site in Back Chatsworth Grove, vacant since the toffee firm moved across town to Camwal Road, Starbeck

  • Motors man appointed to county role

    A LEADING figure in the motor industry for almost 30 years has been appointed Vice Lord-Lieutenant of County Durham Lord Lieutenant Sir Paul Nicholson appointed Alasdair MacConachie as his right hand man in the largely ceremonial role following the retirement

  • Country leadership training is on offer

    YOUNG people are being given the opportunity of "gold star training" in countryside management. The National Park Authority is offering its first apprenticeships to people between the ages of 16 and 24 who are seriously interested in working on and learning

  • Witnesses sought for sex attack on bridge

    A WOMAN was indecently assaulted as weekend shoppers passed by. It happened after the woman, in her early twenties, left her boyfriend in Lau's buffet restaurant in North Road, Durham City, to get some fresh air, on Saturday, shortly after 4pm. She was

  • Hear All Sides: John Major

    JOHN Major refers to his affair with Edwina Currie as "the most shameful act of my life". Wrong. That was in October 1992, when Mr Major signed the Maastricht Treaty. This act was not only shameful, but also treacherous. This document did immense damage

  • Mallon's crime busting pledge

    FORMER police chief Ray Mallon today vowed to cut crime by 15% in Middlesbrough over the next year. Mr Mallon launched a series of measures to "replace fear with hope' - his much vaunted crime strategy drawn up since be came Mayor earlier this year.'

  • Vanessa's fine frame shows

    A TEENAGER with specs appeal has won through to the regional final of an optician's modelling contest. Vanessa Raw, 18, was chosen from several entrants as the Durham Specsavers' Look of 2002 North of England finalist. She will attend the competition's

  • Forums allow public to voice concerns

    PEOPLE in Durham are being invited to have their say on city council services next week. The council's area forums, which were created to encourage to get involved in local affairs, meet next Wednesday and Thursday. Councillor Jimmy Turnbull, who is responsible

  • News in brief: Mallon opens health centre

    MAYOR of Middlesbrough, Ray Mallon, will reopen a health centre vacated by doctors and revamped at a cost of £125,000 as a mental health resource centre, on Friday. Staff who were previously based in offices above a fish and chip shop say the Lakeside

  • Top class Lightning poised to strike at Lingfield

    LINGFIELD'S artificial polytrack surface is proving a big hit with most trainers and as a consequence some much classier horses are appearing at the Surrey track. Take for instance Dubai Lightning (1.30), a blue-blooded youngster owned by Sheikh Mohammed

  • Echo backs families' fight for Army deaths inquiry

    THE family of a soldier found shot dead in mysterious circumstances have launched a campaign to force the Government to hold a public inquiry into his death. Geoff and Diane Gray, formerly of Seaham, County Durham, are travelling to Westminster later

  • New Labour, Victorian values

    ALMOST 1,000 people, many virtually on the Prime Minister's doorstep, are thrown on to the scrap heap and Mr Blair appears almost to shrug it off. He also delivers a little lecture: "Tough luck. Great shame. But that's just how things are today." I paraphrase

  • Friends have fun to swell Ben's fund

    AN AUCTION of 'young and willing men' was held in Darlington at the weekend to raise money for an injured teenager. Friends of Ben Woods, of Hurworth, took part in the fundraising event at the Turks Head in Bondgate, on Sunday. The 17-year-old lost his

  • Region getting older

    THE number of elderly people in England's largest county is set to soar to unprecedented levels in the next 20 years. By the year 2022 it is estimated that the number of 60 to 69-year-olds in North Yorkshire will have jumped by 35 per cent. And in some

  • Slice of the action

    More than 5,000 Darlington schoolchildren had the chance to tuck into a free breakfast last week as part of Walk to School Week. Warburtons bakers donated 460 loaves of bread which were shared between 24 schools where they were offered with spread and

  • Pupils boost appeal

    CHILDREN have boosted a charity by presenting a cheque for more than £200. Reid Street Primary School pupils in Darlington, raised £221 for Guide Dogs for the Blind through a Shades for a Day event. Pupils paid £1 to wear sunglasses for lessons towards

  • McCarthy and Quinn tipped to form Green Dream Team

    REPUBLIC of Ireland manager Mick McCarthy was emerging as favourite last night to take over at Sunderland in a potential Green Dream Team with club veteran Niall Quinn. The Republic of Ireland boss, who has worked with Quinn and several other Sunderland

  • Gibson blueprint is the way forward for Murray

    IN happier times, when the biggest worry at Sunderland was fitting all their fans into the Stadium of Light rather than how to fill the 13,000 empty seats for Premiership games, Bob Murray made a grand promise. "If Peter Reid ever left this club," Murray

  • Course pioneers autism support

    DIFFICULTIES in coping with autistic children are being addressed by the only university course of its kind in the North-East. Northumbria University, in Newcastle, is running a specialist course to give people the confidence and ability to understand

  • Estate's racist thugs drive out terrified asylum seekers

    A FAMILY of asylum seekers have fled from the North-East after being subjected to racist abuse from council estate yobs. The family, including a four-year-old girl and an 18-month-old boy, left Stockton's Hardwick estate under the cover of darkness this

  • Speed monitor scheme to be extended across town

    A SCHEME to cut speeding on Darlington's roads is being extended. A speed visor, which measures the velocity of approaching traffic and lets drivers know if they are speeding, has been operating recently in Fitzwilliam Drive and West Auckland Road. It

  • Gallows drama of police killers

    "LOSING all control of themselves when found guilty, Siddle and Lowson conducted themselves in a most extraordinary and abominable manner, leaving room for no pity to be extended to them," reported The Northern Echo. "Foiled in their assertion of innocence

  • News in brief: Thieves hijack woman's car

    A WOMAN in her forties was grabbed from her blue Toyota Corolla, on Park Avenue, Concord, in Washington, just before 7pm on Monday, by two people wearing masks. They escaped in the vehicle, containing money and personal belongings. It was found abandoned

  • Women's business network celebrates successful first year

    A SUPPORT system set up to help Darlington business women get a better deal is celebrating its first anniversary. The Darlington Women into Business Network was created to help women set up their own businesses and make them a success. The network now

  • Fun time for youngsters as the lotto comes up trumps

    YOUNGSTERS are looking forward to plenty of fun in the future, thanks to a major Lottery windfall which will provide their villages with new sports and play facilities. More than £50,000 has been awarded to the communities of Nawton and Beadlam near Helmsley

  • Phone law welcomed

    A NEW law to deter mobile phone thieves has been welcomed by senior police in County Durham. The Mobile Telephones (Re-programming) Act came into force on Saturday which should make all handsets obsolete once the victim has reported their phone lost or

  • Echo Memories: Gallows drama of police killers

    "LOSING all control of themselves when found guilty, Siddle and Lowson conducted themselves in a most extraordinary and abominable manner, leaving room for no pity to be extended to them," reported The Northern Echo. "Foiled in their assertion of innocence

  • Magistrates' court cases

    THE case of two men accused of stealing tobacco, alcohol and £346 cash from a property in Middleton St George was sent to Teesside Crown Court by Darlington magistrates yesterday. Paul Healey, 30, of Dryburn Road, Hardwick, Stockton, and Philip John Thomas

  • Jail for man who shot rival in back

    A gunman who blasted his victim in the back as he fled after a row was jailed for ten years yesterday. Andrew Etchells, 24, turned the double-barrel sawn-off shotgun on 19-year-old Stephen Scott during a row in the street on February 2. Newcastle Crown

  • Family delighted at safe return of missing pet

    THREE puppies have been reunited with their mother after an appeal in The Northern Echo for her safe return. Joanne Cliff, of Front Street, West Auckland, turned to the newspaper for help after her Bedlington terrier Molly disappeared. Mrs Cliff said

  • Council crowned international floral champions

    A LOCAL authority has won an international award for its environmental management and enhancement of residents' lives. Newcastle has triumphed in the Nations in Bloom finals, in Stuttgart, Germany. The victory follows last year's winning performance in

  • Men deny assaulting gay 'flirt' in nightclub

    A gay-bashing victim told a court yesterday that he may have been targeted because he was a flirt. Shaven-headed David Hopwood said that he could not remember the attack in a seaside nightclub that put him in hospital for three days. Witnesses told police

  • Echo nets radio star

    Former Radio Cleveland presenter Alan Wright is launching a column in The Northern Echo. The radio star, who worked at the station for almost 30 years until last month, is writing for The Northern Echo's website, www.thisisthenortheast. co.uk. The first

  • Pigeons are slaughtered

    A TEENAGER has been left broken hearted after about a dozen of his pigeons were tortured and killed after a break-in at the family's allotment. The 14-year-old had fed his birds early on Thursday evening at the Chester Road allotments in Hartlepool, but

  • Man took own life after fake attempts

    A MAN hanged himself just weeks after pretending to take two overdoses, a coroner's court heard yesterday. Colin Hull, 45, of Eden Crescent, Darlington, was found at his home by his brother-in-law John Futers last week. The court heard that Mr Hull, a

  • News in brief: Man in court on sex charges

    A MAN has made his first appearance at crown court accused of videotaping himself raping a child. John Thomas Mather, 57, is facing a total of six charges - two of rape, unlawful sexual intercourse, indecent assault, making indecent photographs of a child

  • Arrests follow drug raids

    FOUR people have been arrested following drugs raids in Middlesbrough. Heroin and methadone were seized from seven addresses as part of the ongoing Dealer a Day campaign. A 36-year-old man has been charged with possession with intent to supply crack cocaine

  • Comment: The political price of peace

    THE Northern Ireland peace process is extremely delicate and fraught with difficulties and dangers. Everything is deadly complicated. However, there should be one simple starting point for Unionists and Republicans: do you want peace? Peace, the ultimate

  • Daily flights to Amsterdam increased

    THE number of flights from Newcastle Airport to Amsterdam is to increase later this month. From Sunday, October 27, flights will rise from six to seven each weekday - the increase coming in the wake of substantial passenger demand to fly with KLMuk. More

  • 5,000 jobs pledge by British Gas

    BRITISH Gas is to create an extra 2,000 jobs to help tackle an expected shortage of engineers, the company announced today. And nearly 400 of them are expected to be taken on in the North-East. The gas company had previously unveiled plans to hire 3,000

  • Art display shows British birds in true colours

    BRITISH birds can be seen in full colour at a National Trust hall this month. A stunning exhibition at Nunnington Hall near Helmsley captures the beauty of our island's birds in watercolour. Sixteen paintings will be on display until Sunday, November

  • TV sitcom star eyes place in Pool team

    ROYLE family actor Ralf Little has revealed he is considering quitting showbusiness - for a chance to win a place in the football squad at Hartlepool United. The 22-year-old, who plays idle teenager Anthony, wants to trade showbiz glitz for the unglamorous

  • Magpies' finances well in the black

    SUCCESS on the pitch has helped Newcastle United financially as its operating profit almost tripled. In the financial year to July, the club's pre-expenses profit was £15.3m and it recorded a pre-tax profit of £1.89m, following last year's loss of more

  • Charge against ex-leader dropped

    A charge of witness intimidation against Rod Hills, the former leader of City of York Council, has been dropped. The 56-year-old councillor had been due to appear before the city's magistrates yesterday on allegations that he intimidated local woman Lorraine

  • Police call for fireworks curb

    POLICE on Teesside have followed up their call for a ban on airguns with a plea to curb fireworks. Officers in Stockton want a clampdown on over-the-counter sales before Bonfire Night following a spate of injuries. Thornaby police chief, Inspector Colin

  • Auf Wiedersehen's Moxey is summoned to the bridge

    ACTOR Christopher Fairbank was transported with delight on his arrival at a North-East school. The actor, best known as Scouser Moxey, in the TV comedy drama Auf Wiedersehen Pet, arrived as guest of honour at Hall Garth School, Middlesbrough, to find

  • Making drama out of a crisis

    A PLAY which tells the story of a community torn apart by last year's foot-and-mouth crisis continues its tour of North Yorkshire tonight. New Life, written by Maureen Lawrence and performed by Yorkshire theatre company Blaize, can be seen at Kettlesing

  • Magnificent seven bid for building awards

    SEVEN buildings in North Yorkshire have been short-listed for awards at a ceremony taking place in Leeds on Friday. Church Farmhouse at Caldwell near Richmond , and Dolphin House in Askrigg, Wensleydale, have been nominated for the annual Royal Institution

  • Tory skates in for fish stocks campaign

    An MEP has changed his name to Skate in a bid to draw attention to the plight of Britain's fisheries industry. Conservative Edward McMillan-Skate, MEP for Yorkshire and Humberside, has produced a guide listing 40 species of endangered fish. He fears that

  • Plea for help to make 3D history film

    AN appeal has been launched to give a town's history a three-dimensional setting. Iron stone struck in the hills above Eston sparked a boom time for Teesside in the 19th Century. Eston-born film maker Craig Hornby has teamed up with the University of

  • News in brief: Thieves hijack woman's car

    A WOMAN in her forties was grabbed from her blue Toyota Corolla, on Park Avenue, Concord, in Washington, just before 7pm on Monday, by two people wearing masks. They escaped in the vehicle, containing money and personal belongings. It was found abandoned

  • Centre for disabled is hit by fresh vandal attack

    A CENTRE for the disabled has been covered in graffiti in the latest in a series of vandal attacks. The windows and panels of Durham County Council-run Stanley Day Centre were daubed with chalk on Monday night. The centre, in Wear Road, has been a target

  • Police hunt for attacker

    POLICE have issued an electronically produced image of a man who is suspected of assaulting a woman early on Sunday. The 41-year-old victim was left shocked and injured after being grabbed by the neck and pulled to the ground by her attacker just before

  • Big names sign up to mayor's appeal

    WORLD leaders and an Hollywood actor have given their backing to a North-East mayor's charity fundraising efforts. Former US president Bill Clinton and British Prime Minister Tony Blair signed up to a charity idea pioneered by the Mayor of Sedgefield,

  • Did you hear the one about the carp that drank like a fish?

    THERE were plenty of jokes about drinking like a fish when Koi carp lovers held their annual get-together in a brewery. The North-East Koi Club held its annual meeting in the Lancastrian Suite of the Federation Brewery, in Gateshead, the famed supplier

  • News in brief: Thieves hijack woman's car

    A WOMAN in her forties was grabbed from her blue Toyota Corolla, on Park Avenue, Concord, in Washington, just before 7pm on Monday, by two people wearing masks. They escaped in the vehicle, containing money and personal belongings. It was found abandoned

  • Criminals be warned

    A TOTAL of 55 people have been arrested in east Cleveland as part of a major on-going police operation. Police have also detected about 350 crimes and say one man taken into custody last week admitted dozens of burglaries of sheds and garages. Detective

  • Adopting children is 'scary' but rewarding

    A COUPLE have told of their experience of adoption in an effort to persuade other parents in east Cleveland to consider taking on abandoned or troubled children. The couple, who asked not to be named, adopted a boy, six, and a girl, four, and said the

  • Fatality driver's sentence stands

    A YOUTH who killed a stranger when he took a car out for a spin hours after getting behind the wheel for the first time failed to win a cut in his sentence yesterday. Carl Foster, of Dallas Court, Hemlington, near Middlesbrough, pleaded guilty at Teesside

  • New homes unveiled

    AN innovative scheme to offer affordable homes in a village where property prices have soared has been opened by one of the most respected figures in the building industry. Sir Michael Duncan, who is chairman of the Arup Trustee companies, presented door

  • Compensation help plea by home owners

    FAMILIES whose homes are to be demolished have called on councillors to support their campaign for compensation all the way to Whitehall. Wear Valley District Council's housing committee voted in favour of the demolition of houses on two Bishop Auckland

  • Driver tells of terror after gunman blasts windscreen

    A VAN driver last night spoke of his horror as a teenage gunman shot at him as he drove over a busy viaduct. Michael Barker said he feels "lucky to be alive" after the bullet shattered his windscreen, showering his face with glass. The 31-year-old, from

  • No rush for new head

    THE headteacher of Eastbourne Comprehensive School, in Darlington, will not be replaced immediately, according to education officials. Parents were shocked to discover earlier this week that the school's headteacher Richard Appleton and chairman of governors

  • "I wasn't up to any monkey business"

    A FORMER football club mascot who stunned politics in a North-East town when he was voted in as mayor, has apologised after he was spotted at a saucy strip show. Mayor of Hartlepool Stuart Drummond, who was Hartlepool United's H'Angus the Monkey - attending

  • Carving out machine-gun history

    A REMARKABLE piece of craftsmanship will be on display at an award-winning museum. The replica of a Tommy gun, carved from a single piece of hardwood, has recently been given to Eden Camp, a modern history theme museum near Malton, North Yorkshire. The

  • Prime site goes for £3m

    A PRIME site on one of the region's major industrial estates has changed hands for nearly £3m. Phoenix Road, on the Crowther Industrial Estate, in Washington, has been bought by Spencer Holdings, a Liverpool company, which is believed to have purchased

  • Gadget issued to pensioners aims to combat bogus callers

    A GADGET to help alert pensioners to bogus callers has been launched by community crime fighters. Police and community organisations in east Durham have pooled resources to introduce the electronic device, known as a Memo Minder, to the homes of pensioners

  • Museum shop immortalised

    PEOPLE can buy a piece of North-East history now that a Co-op supermarket dating from 1913 has turned into a collectable miniature. The Co-op at Beamish is one of the open air museum's most popular exhibits. The store existed in Annfield Plain near Stanley

  • Quality accolades awarded to schools

    FOUR schools have earned quality awards for their out-of- school activities. Seaham Deneside Junior School, Easington Community School, Deerness Valley Comprehensive and King James I Community College, Bishop Auckland, received the Quality in Study Support

  • Quality accolades for out-of-school activities

    FOUR County Durham schools have won a high ranking quality award for their out-of- school activities. Seaham Deneside Junior School, Easington Community School, Deerness Valley Comprehensive and King James I Community College, Bishop Auckland, received

  • Major revamp for Aycliffe now in doubt

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