VILLAGERS are being given the opportunity to examine proposals to revitalise their shopping centre. Residents and traders are taking the chance to express their views on plans for a £400,000 upgrade of the commercial centre of Shiney Row, on Wearside.
FALCON power is helping to attract young rugby talent in the North-East. Members of the region's premier team, Newcastle Falcons, are passing on coaching tips to youngsters on local development programmes. Among the clubs helping to develop the Falcons
AMATEUR photographers are being urged to capture the regeneration of their community on film. About £45m of Single Regeneration Budget (SRB) money is being spent on run-down and poor areas in County Durham. The funding is going to hundreds of environmental
PEOPLE have been invited to try their hand at making a sculpture next month. The 18th annual Gateshead Family Sculpture Day is being held at Saltwell Park, in Gateshead, from 11am to 4pm, on Sunday, October 5, with people of all ages encouraged to go
TV presenter Donna Air is celebrating the birth of a daughter. The baby, who has not yet been named, made her entrance into the world at the St John and Elizabeth private hospital, in London, on Thursday afternoon, weighing 7lb 6oz. Air and her boyfriend
PATIENTS and staff are invited to attend the annual meeting of the North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Trust. The meeting will take place at 12.30pm, on Friday, in the boardroom at the University Hospital of Hartlepool. It will highlight the work carried out
THE price of progress is that Darlington Mowden Park will place a bigger premium on next Saturday's first national league derby than on what is now an annual flirtation with the Powergen Cup. When they had to win the Durham Cup to get into the national
TORRENTIAL rain failed to deter 14,000 people from visiting the 131st Stokesley Show at the weekend. Organisers were delighted with the increased number of entrants, especially in the sheep and cattle sections, and the return of the goat section and sheep
LISTENERS to a trial local radio station proved their generosity at the weekend during a charity auction. Durham Local Radio (DLR) is entering the last week of a near month-long run which is part of its bid to win a broadcasting licence for the city and
LEADING tour operators from across the country were in North Yorkshire over the weekend for a showcase event. Ripon in Wonderland, so named because of Lewis Carroll's links with the city, was a tour designed to encourage new visitors to come to the area
A TRIAL traffic order which has helped to cut congestion on a busy route into a city centre is to be made permanent. Experimental restrictions were introduced in June last year to clamp down on nuisance parking and waiting on Gilesgate Bank, which brings
STATE-registered di- etician Tessa Aston has joined a palliative care team set up to help people who are terminally ill. Tessa's new post at the Hambleton and Richmondshire Primary Care Trust has been funded by Macmillan Cancer Relief for three years.
EVERTON boss David Moyes last night dismissed as "nonsense'' an apparent claim by Middlesbrough counterpart Steve McClaren that his side were guilty of unsporting conduct in a heated encounter. McClaren rounded on Moyes in an unseemly touchline spat,
A DARLINGTON community group has been given a £1,200 boost to continue its work. The Skerne Park Community Enterprise Association was awarded the grant by the Abbey National Charitable Foundation. The windfall will be used to carry on the services which
A PLAN by millionaire businessman Duncan Bannatyne to expand a Darlington hotel is being recommended for approval by council officers, despite objections. The Grade II-listed Grange Hotel, in the town's Southend Avenue, was acquired by the chairman of
A PENSIONER is going to extraordinary lengths to prevent developers eyeing up an historic part of Darlington. Shirley Ashmore's work is also attracting international attention. She has painstakingly traced the history of Westbrook Villas, an area with
A YOUNG cat with a serious heart defect needs a caring home where she can live out the rest of her life in comfort. Vets fear that one-year-old Fluffy might only have two years to live. She is being cared for at a foster home found by Cats Protection
A YOUNG cat with a serious heart defect needs a caring home where she can live out the rest of her life in comfort. Vets fear that one-year-old Fluffy might only have two years to live. She is being cared for at a foster home found by Cats Protection
HARRY Potter fans were given a taste of steam train travel in the style of their hero's journeys to Hogwarts at the weekend. Darlington Railway Museum was offering rides on the Peckett Engine - a fully working steam locomotive. The steam train rides have
BISHOP Auckland people are supporting a new attempt to set up a town council as local government reforms draw nearer. Volunteers are touring the town collecting the 1,000 names needed to show the community favours the move, which requires approval from
THE weather could have been kinder, but Eggleston Show still managed to draw the crowds at the weekend. Despite a constant drizzle, visitors to one of the last agricultural shows of the season enjoyed the many attractions. The marquees and tents were
WATER company chiefs hope to gain approval for plans to increase the height of a village pumping station. Northumbrian Water is seeking permission from Darlington Borough Council to lift the height of the Piercebridge station from 1.2metres to 2metres
Water company manager David Pattinson has scored a hat-trick of successes at a village leek show. For the third consecutive year he took first prize at the Westgate Village Show, in Weardale, at the weekend, with an entry measuring 135.54 cubic inches
WAYNE ROONEY triggered an ugly touchline confrontation between rival managers Steve McClaren and David Moyes on an afternoon of high controversy at the Riverside. Everton striker Rooney tumbled in the box in the last minute and stayed down as if injured
A LIFE-saving leukaemia charity wants people from the North-East to help them raise cash by riding horses in Mongolia. The Anthony Nolan Trust will be taking up to 30 volunteers to trek through the Gorkhi-Terelj National Park in July next year. It will
SIR BOBBY ROBSON is hoping key Newcastle United striker Craig Bellamy will be fit enough to come though two games in 48 hours this week. Newcastle face Dutch side NAC Breda on Wednesday in the first round of the UEFA Cup before making the trip to Arsenal
BBC: THE idea that a national radio and television service can claim impartiality whilst maintaining a cosy relationship with the government of the day (HAS, Sept 17) is surely a novel one. In many countries, notably in the third world, it is rare to
Darlington manager Mick Tait is this morning counting the cost of his side's battling 2-2 draw at Torquay. The Quakers chief will learn the full extent of Neil Wainwright's ankle injury, picked up in the first minute at Plainmoor. The former Sunderland
GIANT turbines will begin to take to the North-East sky-line as part of a major wind power project in the next few weeks. Wind farm developer Powergen Renewables is mounting a total of seven 100-metre tall turbines at three rural sites in County Durham
Great Ayton are champions of the Division One of the Darlington Building Society NYSD Premier League after only two games went ahead on the final day of the season. Predictably, their match at Guisborough and Wolviston's fixture with Middlesbrough at
THE Government must "change or die" in the wake of last week's by-election blow, Home Secretary David Blunkett has warned. He cautioned that its current difficulties were imperilling the prospect of a third successive General Election victory, and that
WE all do it - open a wardrobe full of clothes, spend ages rooting around, try things on, discard a few outfits and then moan: "I've got nothing to wear." But sometimes, it's just impossible to find the right clothes for a particular occasion. Fortunately
EVEN the Brazilians, the purest purveyors of the beautiful game, recognise that silk must be complemented by steel. For every Romario or Bebeto in the 1990s, there was a Dunga; in the last World Cup, a pragmatic rather than romantic approach eventually
THE annual death toll of motorcyclists on the roads of North Yorkshire has reached its highest figure ever. A man, believed to be in his 20s, became the 26th to die this year after a head-on collision with a car on Friday evening. The statistic is the
NEALE Cooper's demeanour come 5pm on Saturday said it all. Gone was the beaming smile and gushing praise that followed two memorable wins in five memorable days in the history of Hartlepool United. It takes something out of the ordinary to knock the stuffing
HEARTBEAT star Derek Fowlds was almost back on the beat when he when he performed the honours at the opening of a community office. The actor plays a retired police sergeant-turned-publican in the hit series filmed at Goathland on the North York Moors
FIRE chiefs are to abandon the traditional "brigade" title in favour of the term "service" to better reflect their changing role. Durham's chief fire officer George Herbert is recommending that members of the county fire authority approve the amended
A TRAFFIC officer who used a legal loophole to avoid a speeding fine has been chosen to promote a road safety campaign. News that PC David Burlingham is helping promote North Yorkshire police's Bike Week campaign, which includes warning riders to curb
MORE than 30 firefighters from the North-East and North Yorkshire who died on active service have been included on a national memorial. Members of the Firefighters Memorial Trust spent 16 years trying to find the details of every fireman who died on duty
If Yorkshire want dazzling strokeplay to be part and parcel of Championship cricket at Headingley then they should insist that umpire Jeremy Lloyds stands in every game! The former Somerset and Gloucestershire all-rounder was on duty in 2001 when Darren
TALK about making life hard. Not content with the easy life, Darlington seem hell bent on giving themselves more work than they really need. There was a certain sense of deja-vu down by the English Riviera at the weekend, as, for the second time in four
A FAMILY arrived in Greece yesterday hoping it will be third time lucky in their bid for justice following the holiday death of their son. But Pam and George Cummings, of Chester-le-Street, fear it will not be the last time they travel to Rhodes in the
THE Durham members' end-of-season party on Saturday night was cancelled through lack of interest, but a healthy crowd turned up at Riverside yesterday to witness the season's last rites. They were not disappointed as Shoaib Akhtar steamed in as though
Young bloods Joe Sayers and Nick Thornicroft showed star quality at Headingley yesterday - but they could not stop Yorkshire Phoenix losing by three wickets to Gloucestershire Gladiators on the final day of the season. Yorkshire were relegated before
A COMEDIAN who once streaked across Wembley to raise cash for charity was quick off the mark to help the elderly victim of a burglary. Chris McGlade not only returned most of the money which had been stolen from the victim, but also brought a beautician
Cleadon SC continue to confound the critics and are establishing themselves as genuine contenders for the championship. Their latest success came against newcomers Gateshead Reserves and although only one goal divided the pair, Cleadon were delighted
BBC THE idea that a national radio and television service can claim impartiality whilst maintaining a cosy relationship with the government of the day (HAS, Sept 17) is surely a novel one. In many countries, notably in the third world, it is rare to find
GOLDEN girl Paula Radcliffe crowned a record-breaking day for the Great North Run by running the fastest half- marathon in history yesterday. Radcliffe led from start to finish to add the half- marathon record to the marathon record she set in London
Far from empowering their sisters, the stars of Sex And The City are leaving women in a neurotic fudge about what to wear to work every morning. A survey has found that Carrie Bradshaw and her fellow fashionistas have left the majority of women questioning
A FUNDRAISING event to help a North-East couple care for their injured daughter in Greece has raised £3,700. Ashleigh Stephens, 13, from Brinsley Court, Coundon, County Durham, is undergoing extensive surgery in Athens after being thrown from the back
As Energy Efficiency Week gets underway, Christen Pears finds out how far one couple have gone to make their home more environmentally friendly. WHILE most people have a satellite dish on the side of their houses, Alice Wood has a solar panel. There's
DURHAM Wildlife Trust is looking for people to play Father Christmas during December to help raise money for its conservation and education work. The trust manages a wildlife garden at Strikes Garden Centre, in Lambton Park, Chester-le-Street, and runs
THE days of putting down jumpers for goal posts are over for football-mad youngsters at a village primary school. Players at Esh Laude RC Primary School, in Esh, near Durham, were yesterday using new goals mounted at the village playing field. The youngsters
THE gipsy tradition of "horse flashing" at Yarm Fair has been saved following the decision to lift a ban imposed last year. Gipsies have ridden their horses along High Street for centuries to show off the animals prior to the sales. The Cleveland Police
THIRSK market place could be turned into a winter wonderland for Christmas next year. Plans have been unveiled to transform the area by creating a skating rink, snow slope, craft marquees and food halls. It is estimated that the scheme to attract more
AN evening of entertainment is planned to highlight issues affecting Hartlepool. Interactive displays and stage performances are included in the annual general meeting of The Hartlepool Partnership. The partnership was set up in 1999 to bring together
COUNCILLORS will this week discuss the progress of a bid that aims to develop footballing opportunities at a recreation ground. Earlier this year, Hartlepool Borough Council agreed a draft plan for Grayfields after talks with local residents and sporting
A SEASIDE town is to open its first cinema. Saltburn Community and Arts Association has borrowed equipment from Northern Film and Media but is hoping to obtain funding for a permanent cinema at the Saltburn Community Theatre, in Windsor Road. Arts developer
CYCLISTS raising money for veterinary charities are due to make a stop-off in Thirsk today. The nine riders, all taking part in the Tour de Vets, will call at the World of James Herriot visitor centre half-way through a 420-mile ride between London and
HOPES of improvements to one of the busiest trunk roads in North Yorkshire have been given a boost. Consultants have completed an in-depth study into the A64 on behalf of a group of regional partners. They concluded there was a case for improvements which
A SIX-FOOT squirrel helped promote the message about road safety. Safety Squirrel, Middlesbrough's road safety mascot, took part in the launch of Brake Road Safety Week in Captain Cook's Square, on Saturday. The annual event emphasises the need for safe
YOUNGSTERS are using their artistic skills to persuade people to not drop litter. Children and teenagers were given the challenge of designing posters to encourage residents and visitors to Guisborough to keep the town tidy. The competition was organised
TORRENTIAL rain failed to deter 14,000 people from visiting the 131st Stokesley Show at the weekend. Organisers were delighted with the increased number of entrants, especially in the sheep and cattle sections, and the return of the goat section and sheep
PATIENTS and staff are invited to attend the annual meeting of the North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Trust. The meeting will take place at 12.30pm, on Friday, in the boardroom at the University Hospital of Hartlepool. It will highlight the work carried out
RECORD crowds at this year's Middleham Stables Open Day raised the event's best ever amount for good causes. Eleven charities have benefited from more than £20,000 that was raised. Richmond MP and former Tory party leader William Hague presented the cheques
CHARGES for rodent control are to be scrapped by Hambleton district councillors. Their decision, which comes into force immediately, follows fears that the charges have deterred people from seeking help. The controversial £25 charge was introduced on
PROPOSALS to build two care homes in Darlington are to go before borough councillors for consideration this week. St Martins Care has submitted plans to Darlington Borough Council, seeking permission for the development on the site of the vacant Lawns
AMATEUR photographers are being invited to capture the regeneration of their community on film. About £45m of Single Regeneration Budget money is being spent on run-down areas in County Durham for environmental, educational and community-based projects
THREE district councils are joining forces to share services, in a measure which is expected to offer significant savings. Durham city, Easington and Sedgefield councils will outline the partnership project later this week. Under the title the South East
THE weather could have been kinder, but Eggleston Show still managed to draw the crowds at the weekend. Despite a constant drizzle, visitors to one of the last agricultural shows of the season enjoyed the many attractions. The marquees and tents were
A SEARCH and rescue team is looking for young people to join its cadet group. Teesdale and Weardale Search and Rescue Team is one of the few mountain rescue teams in the country which runs a cadet group. Cadets, who must be aged between 16 and 18, take
Bishop Middleham CE Aided Primary School is celebrating a £5,000 grant from the National Lottery's Awards for All programme. "The school is delighted to receive the award, which will allow the provision of after-school fitness opportunities," said headteacher
Margery And Gladys (ITV1): Tony Robinson's Romans (C4): FIRST, Rosemary And Thyme. Now, Margery And Gladys. Do I detect a trend here - one for taking two senior actresses and pairing them up as TV odd couples? You can just hear producers thinking: "That
I HAVE returned from my all too brief tropical sojourn. To be precise though, I was in a sub-tropical destination. I was chasing big game in the rocky outcrops and arid scrubs in South Africa's Kruger game reserve. Every day was filled with a million
THE North-East is missing out on nearly £400m each year because of tax breaks and subsidies given to the aviation industry, Friends of the Earth claimed last night. The environmental group called on the Government to make the industry pay its own way
SUPERWOMAN Paula Radcliffe devastated her rivals as she set a new world half marathon best time in yesterday's BUPA Great North Run. The 29-year-old clocked 65 mins 40 secs - four seconds quicker than the previous best, run on a faster course in Lisbon
A PLAN by millionaire businessman Duncan Bannatyne to expand a Darlington hotel is being recommended for approval by council officers, despite objections. The Grade II-listed Grange Hotel, in the town's Southend Avenue, was acquired by the chairman of
SUPERWOMAN Paula Radcliffe devastated her rivals as she set a new world half marathon best time in yesterday's BUPA Great North Run. The 29-year-old clocked 65 mins 40 secs - four seconds quicker than the previous best, run on a faster course in Lisbon
BLAYDON'S winning start to the season ended with an 11-7 defeat in their Powergen Cup second round tie at Tynedale. It was a bruising derby and the dubious reward for Tynedale is a trip to Nuneaton, who topped National Three North last season and won
TENS of thousands of fun runners can look back on the 2003 Great North Run with added pride after taking part in a record-breaking feat. Paula Radcliffe's world best time for the half-marathon was described as "the cherry on the cake" by delighted organisers
Margery And Gladys (ITV1): Tony Robinson's Romans (C4): FIRST, Rosemary And Thyme. Now, Margery And Gladys. Do I detect a trend here - one for taking two senior actresses and pairing them up as TV odd couples? You can just hear producers thinking: "That
DURHAM Wildlife Trust is looking for people to play Father Christmas during December to help raise money for its conservation and education work. The trust manages a wildlife garden at Strikes Garden Centre, in Lambton Park, Chester-le-Street, and runs
BRYAN SMART had to sit and suffer while his horses weren't running too well during mid-summer, but patience is a great virtue when it comes to training thoroughbreds and thankfully the winners are once again beginning flow for the Sutton Bank-based handler
THE price of progress is that Darlington Mowden Park will place a bigger premium on next Saturday's first national league derby than on what is now an annual flirtation with the Powergen Cup. When they had to win the Durham Cup to get into the national
YOUNGSTERS are using their artistic skills to persuade people to not drop litter. Children and teenagers were given the challenge of designing posters to encourage residents and visitors to Guisborough to keep the town tidy. The competition was organised
BRYAN SMART had to sit and suffer while his horses weren't running too well during mid-summer, but patience is a great virtue when it comes to training thoroughbreds and thankfully the winners are once again beginning flow for the Sutton Bank-based handler
CREW members from the international "mercy ship" M/V Anastasis will tomorrow receive a civic greeting as part of their stay in the North-East. The international lifesavers have been playing host to thousands of schoolchildren and other visitors since
BY any standard, the Liberal Democrats' victory at the Brent East by-election was a notable political achievement. For Ian Duncan Smith to describe the success as a "strategic blunder" smacks of a Conservative leader clutching at straws to salvage some
IT'S not very often that the atmosphere in a North village is crackling with tension - but that was before Fame Academy. When the BBC's show is on the air, there's barely a TV in the North York Moors community of Castleton that is not tuned to the gruelling
FORESTRY officials are sprucing up Europe's largest man-made woodland to provide a protected haven for the endangered red squirrel in the North-East. Plans to plant stretches of oak trees to contrast the vast expanse of conifers in the 155,000-acre Kielder
Following the success of What Not To Wear, style gurus Trinny and Susannah are back with a new book. Women's Editor Christen Pears reports. WE all do it - open a wardrobe full of clothes, spend ages rooting around, try things on, discard a few outfits
THE Government was last night facing unprecedented demands to order a public judicial inquiry into scores of non-combat deaths at British Army bases. Families of soldiers found dead from gunshot wounds at Deepcut Barracks joined relatives whose loved
THOUSANDS of pounds are expected to be raised for a North-East hospice following a charity golf day. Twenty-three teams took part in the event at Blackwell Grange, Darlington, supporting the town's St Teresa's Hospice. It was the second time the competition
THE Government must "change or die" in the wake of last week's by-election blow, Home Secretary David Blunkett has warned. He cautioned that its current difficulties were imperilling the prospect of a third successive General Election victory, and that
A kitchen firm has been chosen to help world-renowned designer Bruce Oldfield create an exclusive housing development. Grange Interiors has been appointed to supply kitchens for the £17m Carlton Terrace project, which involves restoring 14 Georgian and
HARTLEPOOL United are hoping for a rare event tomorrow night - a Victoria Park sell-out. Despite all the successes of recent years, Pool have never put the house full signs up at home and the club is seeking a packed stadium when West Brom visit in the
Captain Anthony McGrath made no excuses and pulled no punches when bad light and then rain put paid to Yorkshire's chances of beating Gloucestershire at Headingley on Saturday and condemned them to another season in division two. Victory would have brought
ARMY medics proved they don't take their charity role lying down as they took to the streets to raise funds in memory of a soldier murdered in Iraq. They really put their backs into their work, pushing a bed between two hospitals 25kms apart. Medical
MART POOM poked fun at Sunderland's misfiring strikers last night after his amazing equalising goal at Pride Park. Poom, 31, has scored more goals than Michael Proctor this season following his stoppage-time header that salvaged a point for Sunderland
Their own swimming pool and sports hall, and outdoor activities to boot - do young offenders get an easy ride? In the second in a series of special reports, Nick Morrison looks at what life is like for young people in custody. 'IF you compare it to prison
THE first flying doctor helicopter service to operate outside London is about to go live in the region. A team of doctors from James Cook University Hospital in Middlesbrough has joined forces with the Great North Air Ambulance Service. If the service
A CONVOY of motorcyclists turned up to The National Canine Defence League (NCDL) with some welcome aid. Thirty bikers from the Hartlepool Misfits motorcycle group spent two months collecting donations of pet food, dog treats and toys from homes and businesses
A VICTORY for Sir Bobby Robson on the weekend of his fourth anniversary at St. James' Park would have been the perfect way to kickstart Newcastle United's campaign. Instead, a battling Bolton Wanderers were the typical party-poopers and Newcastle's alarming
