YOUNG singers hope to hit the high notes after receiving some expert tuition from their peers at a specialist school. Pupils at Durham Chorister School have visited eight North-East primary schools to offer advice to entrants in a choral singing competition
Serjeant Musgrave's Dance, Oxford Stage Company, York Theatre Royal. THE arrival in York of John Arden's anti-imperialist, anti-war parable Serjeant Musgrave's Dance could not be timed more aptly - opening on the day that President George Bush flew in
IT was that time of year again when she escapes on her annual get-away-from-it-all break with the other mums in our village and us dads are left to fend for ourselves. Off they went to Center Parcs in Sherwood Forest for a whole weekend of wine guzzling
PARENTS have vowed to fight plans to merge two village primary schools as part of a major shake-up of education. Durham County Council announced last week that it was looking to merge Eldon Lane and Dene Valley Primary Schools in a bid to reduce surplus
PARENTS have shown their support for a high-achieving school - which says pupils are being penalised with poor facilities because they are in an affluent area. Officials at Durham Johnston School, in Durham, said it is in dire need of new buildings and
THREE dogs are desperate to find loving homes this Christmas instead of spending the festive season in refuge kennels. Toffee, Kerry and Suzie are all long-term residents at the Dogs Trust Darlington Rehoming Centre, in Sadberge, and staff hope they will
A DARLINGTON school which achieved its best examination results this year celebrated at an awards evening. Pupils and staff from Eastbourne Comprehensive School were praised for their work at the ceremony, held at Queen Elizabeth Sixth Form College. Geoff
A MAN whose ambition was to be a farmer has been banned from keeping animals for ten years. David Lorraines, 19, of St Cuthbert's Walk, Liverton Mines, near Saltburn, east Cleveland, admitted four counts of animal cruelty and one count of failing to dispose
THOUSANDS more rusting ships will need to be scrapped during the next few years - and the North-East could be at the forefront of the dismantling effort. But hopes that the Able UK dismantling yard could be poised to win more work hit immediate problems
PUBLIC-SPIRITED people in Hartlepool are being urged to prove just how much they care for their town. Hartlepool Borough Council officers are looking to recruit a resident representative for the North Neighbourhood Consultative Forum. An election is to
A SEDGEFIELD butcher has won two of the meat industry's top national awards. George Bolam was named personality of the year at the annual Food and Farming Industry Awards at a special lunch in the House of Lords. His business, George Bolam Foods, was
A TEENAGE father-of-one was stabbed to death through the heart while helping protect his best friend, a court heard yesterday. Sean Matson, 20, appeared at Teesside Crown Court charged with murdering Chris Cave, 17, in June. The court heard that Mr Matson
STEVE HARMISON last night vowed to shake off his back injury and play a leading role in England's Test series with Sri Lanka. The Durham paceman is determined to recover before the second Test on December 10, even though he was yesterday ruled out until
A BARNARD Castle man got an early Christmas present when he attended a Home Housing Open Day last week. Keith Archer won £100 after being entered into a draw at the open day, which he attended with his father-in-law, Harry Groome, who is a Home Housing
A VOUCHER scheme has been launched to encourage children to help keep their village tidy. The scheme is part of a three-point attack on litter-louts in Sedgefield village. Councillor Dudley Waters, a retired teacher, visited Sedgefield Community College
OBJECTORS to a controversial mobile phone mast planned just metres from a primary school were celebrating last night after councillors refused the application over health fears. Communications company Orange had applied for planning permission from Darlington
DARLINGTON MP Alan Milburn will open a drinking water treatment works in Darlington today. The Broken Scar works has undergone major improvements over the past four years, at a cost of £22m, without interruption to customers' supplies. The works can treat
THE sights and sounds of the American and English civil wars will be brought to life this weekend. A field on the outskirts of Middlestone Moor, near Spennymoor, will play host to civil war re-enactments, displays and costume exhibitions on Saturday afternoon
CHARLTONS Estate Agents is recruiting staff following the growth of the business. Charltons, which opened its first offices in Darlington nine years ago, has expanded to include branches in Richmond, Catterick Garrison and Barnard Castle. Recruitment
A FORMER Scoutmaster faces jail after he was found guilty of 19 charges of making indecent photos of children. Kelvin Marshall, who used to be a Scout and Cub Scout leader, also had more than 1,000 Internet files of children when police raided his home
VILLAGERS are being urged to enter the Christmas spirit by decorating their homes for the festive period. West Auckland Parish Council has launched a Christmas decoration competition in a bid to brighten up the village this winter. Families and businesses
PENSIONER Nancy Fell was inspired to deck her halls with a bit more than holly three years ago - thanks to The Northern Echo. She was inspired by the paper's Ho Ho Homes decoration competition and since then the 73-year-old has become an avid collector
Eastbourne Comprehensive School's choir have been recording a compact disc. They recorded a mixture of popular and religious music with the help of a professional agency. The songs will be included on a compact disc that pupils can buy for Christmas.
STARS of teen TV soap Hollyoaks performed the switch-on of the seasonal lights in Peterlee town centre, in east Durham, on Tuesday. Elize DuToit, better known on the Channel 4 series as Izzy, and Daniel Hyde, who plays Scott, flicked the switch to light
A GARDENING competition for estate residents has helped create a brighter image. The Home Housing Association's Blooming Marvellous initiative was launched to encourage people on Durham's Sherburn Road Estate - now called The Woodlands - to look after
A YOUNG entrepreneur is being recognised for her business acumen. Gill Chapple, 24, a Durham University graduate, had no experience of the hotel industry when she developed www.bedsearcher.co.uk - an online hotel booking website. Eighteen months later
A MURDER suspect has been arrested at a Caribbean hideaway more than two years after a North-East market trader was thrown to his death from a brothel window. The 37-year-old man from Middlesbrough is due to appear in court in Jamaica today when police
A haemophiliac who has already been infected with a range of life-threatening conditions, including the Aids virus, was challenging a health authority's refusal to fund treatment he regards as ''safe'' today. Peter Longstaff, 45, from West Jesmond, Newcastle
A FORMER Iranian diplomat, recently accused of involvement in a bombing massacre, has finished his studies at Durham University. Extradition proceedings involving Hadi Soleimanpour were officially discontinued by the Home Office last week and he is now
GARETH SOUTHGATE has set his sights on forgetting about his international heartbreak by leading out Middlesbrough against Liverpool on Saturday. The experienced Boro captain had to pull out of the England squad which faced Denmark on Sunday after picking
MEMBERS of a learning library celebrated gaining an award by holding an open day. Bishop Auckland MP Derek Foster presented Spennymoor Learning Library with the Investors In People Award when he attended the event at the town's leisure centre. The learning
TEENAGE violinist Laura Barber is to perform alongside an international pianist. Laura, 17, a pupil at Egglescliffe Sixth Form College, is leader of the Tees Valley Youth Orchestra and will perform with Gulsin Onay. Last week, she scooped the Young Musician
TRIBUTES have been paid to a Darlington referee and father-of-two who died while playing in a five-a-side football match last week. Paul Adamson, 43, of Statham Place, collapsed during the final of the Durham County Referees' annual competition in Carrville
A SWEEPING review of every secondary school in Darlington is to be carried out to tackle the falling number of pupils and decrepit state of some buildings. The assessment will consider how education is to be delivered in the borough's schools in the future
VILLAGERS fighting to save an historic mill chimney have lost their battle after demolition contractors were given the go-ahead to move in. The 150-year-old Wilford's Mill chimney at Brompton, near Northallerton, is to be taken down on safety grounds,
The fate of the Government's controversial Bill to introduce foundation hospitals in the NHS was thrown into doubt last night when peers rejected the proposals for the second time. They voted by 169 to 101 - majority 68 - to insist on the deletion of
NOW the Kat's out of the bag that the Slater sister prefers Alfie to Andy, she's turning her thoughts to the wedding barely a week after her last one. That one didn't happen, of course. You can't help wondering if she'll have any better luck getting Alfie
SIR BOBBY Robson last night paid tribute to Newcastle United's defence in the absence of £9m man Jonathan Woodgate. Woodgate is in contention for a place against Manchester City this weekend after coming through two reserve games unscathed. The 23-year-old
AN ARMY recruiting drive will be taking to the streets in a North-East town next week. The Green Howards regiment, some of whose members will shortly be patrolling parts of Afghanistan, are targeting Middlesbrough for recruits. A recruiting team, made
Wales' bid for a place in the Portuguese sun next summer was shot down in cold blood by the Russians, who had become public enemy number one in Wales this week. Vadim Evseev, the full back involved in the uproar in Moscow on Saturday with Ryan Giggs,
TEENAGE violinist Laura Barber is to perform alongside an international pianist. Laura, 17, a pupil at Egglescliffe Sixth Form College, is leader of the Tees Valley Youth Orchestra and will perform with Gulsin Onay. Last week, she scooped the Young Musician
COULD it really be possible for Adolf Hitler's favourite classical music conductor to remain untainted by the war crimes of 1939-45? Ronald Harwood's intelligent examination of the true-life story of Germany's maestro Wilhelm Furtwangler being brutally
Steve Pratt catches up with two of the many stars from Love Actually. Keira Knightly talks about the enjoyment of melting hearts by playing a marriage scene, while Bill Nighy admits his scene-stealing antics might earn him a No 1 hit single. EVEN tough
THE stage is set for the biggest night of the year in grassroots sport. The Local Heroes Awards 2003 sponsored by npower will be presented tonight at a ceremony in the Tall Trees Hotel, near Yarm. Celebrity guests include Middlesbrough manager Steve McClaren
A FATHER-of-four who turned to food when his wife died has been voted slimmer of the year. Thomas Maw's family and doctor had all tried to persuade the emphysema sufferer to lose weight. The 57-year-old said he began to put on weight four years ago, following
Among all the gimmicks to get people to the movies, Sensurround was on of the most bizarre. Now, this fad from the 70s is making a comeback, as Steve Pratt discovers. FILM-MAKERS have come up with a variety of gimmicks to entice people into the cinema
MYSTERY still surrounds the death of a homeless wanderer, who was killed after he was hit by a lorry as he walked along the A66 in North Yorkshire. An inquest in Richmond yesterday was told 42-year-old Roland Brown died instantly from multiple injuries
Reversals (ITV1): WHEN a suitor told Charlotte that "you are not like other women", he was closer to the truth than he realised. For Charlotte was really Christopher in this gender-bending romantic comedy which united two of TV's busiest and best actors
A TEAM of dedicated fundraisers had patient comfort in mind when they donated over £1,000 to their local hospital. The Northallerton and District Lionesses held various events allowing staff to buy a new aromatherapy couch and oils for the Mowbray Suite
DELEGATES at a summit today will be working towards a plan to deal with the effects of climate change. "The conference will examine what we can do as organisations and as individuals to prepare for climate change and how we can improve the environment
CHURCHES in North Yorkshire have benefited from more than £20,000 to boost their tourism potential. The money has come from various sources, including the National Lottery, the Countryside Agency and Yorkshire Forward. Projects include church trails,
COMIC legend Stan Laurel will feature heavily in a new exhibition to be staged in Bishop Auckland's Discovery Centre. The centre's final exhibition of the year will focus on the history of entertainment in the town. The month-long display, which opens
ELEVEN people have been charged with conspiracy to supply heroin following raids in Northallerton. All 11 appeared at Richmond Magistrates Court last Thursday and Friday and are due to appear before Teesside Crown Court later this week. Four people were
One of world's most famous and powerful men, American President George W. Bush, is due to visit Sedgefield tomorrow. Chatherine Jewitt finds out how the residents of Tony Blair's constituency feel about the visit. OPINIONS over George Bush's state visit
In a third extract from John Burton's new biography, Keith Proud looks a how George Bush tried to prevent Tony Blair from being forced to resign over the war against Iraq. TONY Blair would have quit. If he had lost in the Commons over Iraq in March, he
THREE dogs are desperate to find loving homes this Christmas instead of spending the festive season in refuge kennels. Toffee, Kerry and Suzie are all long-term residents at the Dogs Trust Darlington Rehoming Centre, in Sadberge, and staff hope they will
BUSINESS tycoon Paul Sykes has been given final planning clearance to build a permanent on-site home for a warden to improve security at his wildlife reserve. Mr Sykes, who lives in the Studley Roger area, near Ripon, owns about 300 acres of land and
A FATHER whose son was killed serving in Iraq spoke yesterday of his concern that people were losing sight of the reasons for the war. Lance Corporal Ben Hyde, from Northallerton, was killed along with five other military policemen during an ambush at
VILLAGERS are being urged to enter into the Christmas spirit by decorating their homes for the festive season. West Auckland Parish Council has launched a Christmas decorations competition to brighten up the village. A prize of £50 is on offer to the
YOUNG actors have won acclaim for a recent production of the Shakespeare play Julius Caesar. Members of the Turrets, the youth section of Barnard Castle-based drama group the Castle Players, performed the play at Mickleton Village Hall over two nights
A biker suffered serious injuries after his machine hit a crash barrier and then slid under a lorry. The accident happened at 11.30am in Jarrow Road, Jarrow, South Tyneside. A fire brigade spokesman said the biker appeared to have lost control and careered
A CARING neighbour has won a top award for transforming a piece of waste land into a safe haven for youngsters. Unknown to him, enterprising Terry Dixon was nominated for a Taking a Stand Home Office award, and was chosen from thousands of applicants
A STOLEN bow and arrows could prove fatal if they fall into the wrong hands, say police. The professional longbow and six aluminium arrows were taken from a garage in Fines Park, Annfield Plain, near Stanley, County Durham at about 9pm on Tuesday. PC
First there was Mr Derek, now its Christopher Pizzey. Steve Pratt meets the latest in a long line of sidekicks to the most famous fox on television, and finds an actor who is no stranger to working with furry friends. RATHER than obeying the old showbiz
Scotland's Euro 2004 dreams turned sour in Amsterdam last night when rampant Holland subjected them to their second heaviest beating of all time. Ruud van Nistelrooy helped himself to a hat-trick and Wesley Sneijder claimed the opening goal and three
PRISON officers guarding some of Britain's most notorious killers are to hold a £15,000 Christmas party - at the taxpayer's expense. Bosses at Frankland Jail, near Durham City, have defended the party in the face of criticism from some of their own staff
AN inquest has opened into the death of another inmate in the women's section of a North-East prison. Wendy Booth was found hanged in her cell in the women's centre at Durham Prison, late on November 12. She was confirmed dead at the University Hospital
A COMMUNITY conference to plan a brighter future for young people in Wear Valley will be held this weekend. About 200 people are expected to turn out for the conference at Bishop Auckland College on Saturday. It is the second time an event of this kind
A NORTH-EAST council has been ordered to pay £131,000 to a female social worker who was a victim of sex discrimination. In one of the highest awards of its kind in recent years, Durham County Council was ordered to pay Barbara Miller £80,000 for loss
TWO beat bobbies have proved they are on the ball by netting new strips for young footballers. PC Steve Shotton and PC Nigel Craig, who works from an office at the Hermitage School, in Chester-le-Street, have secured £300 of equipment after applying to
MICHAEL JACKSON was last night urged to turn himself in as officials in the US revealed he faces multiple counts of child molestation. An arrest warrant has been issued for the pop superstar amid reports that a 12 or 13-year-old boy has made an allegation
A CORONER yesterday pleaded with bikers to reduce their speed after presiding over an inquest into the death of a 31-year-old motorcyclist. The hearing was told speed was almost certainly a factor in the death of Mark Lofthouse, from Leyburn, North Yorkshire
BRITAIN'S flagship in the campaign to liberate Iraq - the last aircraft carrier to be build in the North-East - returned to the region yesterday. HMS Ark Royal, built in Wallsend, sailed into River Tyne, where she docked at Tyne Commission Quay, North
MY breakfast has turned in my stomach several times this week at the sight of the morning papers. While feeding my own cherubic little son his Weetabix, I found myself staring at a huge picture of a newborn child, still coated in protective fluids, with
THIS is a noisy, robust, hilarious comedy in Shakespearean style, although it was written by John Fletcher as a sequel to The Taming of the Shrew. Katherine, the 'shrew', is dead and the play opens on the wedding day of Petruchio to his second wife, the
HUGHIE MORRISON'S knack of getting his horses 100 per cent fit on the home gallops should stand Starzaan (2.00) in good stead at Market Rasen today. Morrison's charge has not been seen out for 204 days so the trainer's reputation for giving his horses
BRITAIN'S flagship in the campaign to liberate Iraq - the last aircraft carrier to be build in the North-East - returned to the region yesterday. HMS Ark Royal, built in Wallsend, sailed into River Tyne, where she docked at Tyne Commission Quay, North
AN aerospace company is hoping a recent trade mission to France will boost business sales. Harkers Aerospace, of Stockton, Teesside, visited Bordeaux and Toulouse on a five-day Explorer visit organised by UK Trade and Investment, the Government export
TEENAGERS supporting a project which aims to keep excluded pupils in education are raising money to repair its run-down school. The Creative Campus scheme, run by Theatre Cap-a-Pie, takes youngsters from across the North-East and helps them earn GNVQ
THE region's truants will be swept off the streets and back into schools this month as the latest round of truancy clampdowns is launched. For the next three weeks, teams of police and education officers will patrol the North-East's streets, shopping
A CAMPAIGN is to be launched in east Durham in a bid to help pensioners receive cash which is due to them. The County Durham Partners Against Poverty (CDPAP) group is to run a scheme throughout the last week of November and December to remind older people
TEENAGE drama students are getting ready to take to the high seas for their latest performance. Following the success of last spring's production of The Mikado, pupils and staff at St Patrick's School, Thornaby, are performing Gilbert and Sullivan's The
PRESIDENT George W Bush began his controversial state visit to Britain yesterday with a vow to bring peace and democracy to Iraq and the Middle East. Amid the trappings of pomp and ceremony, President Bush made the only keynote address of his stay, telling
TWO community groups in Redcar and Cleveland have received a £7,393 boost from the National Lottery. Teesside Athletic Junior Football Club and the regeneration group Change received the money from the Awards for All programme. The junior football club
VALE of York MP Anne McIntosh has questioned Home Secretary David Blunkett about local community funding for support police officers. She said that the community ranger project, which pays for security firms to patrol villages, amounted to privatisation
AN artist who says spoon-bender Uri Geller inspired him to carry on with his business, is to present him with a painting as a thank you. Jim Youngson was considering closing his business when thieves stole a van which contained the bulk of his paintings
The trust hoping to lease Richmond's former railway station should be given confidential information about its value, councillors will be told next week. The building was restored thanks to a grant from the National Lottery. Projects submitted to Richmondshire
TEENAGE violinist Laura Barber is to perform alongside an international pianist. Laura, 17, a pupil at Egglescliffe Sixth Form College, is leader of the Tees Valley Youth Orchestra and will perform with Gulsin Onay. Last week, she scooped the Young Musician
AN environmental group which acts as a volunteer guardian of a North Yorkshire wood has launched a £15,000 appeal to fund a restoration scheme. Members of the Hookstone and Crimple Wood Preservation Group want to restore the green pond in the wood, repair
A FRENCH-Algerian rap star is entertaining more than 60 North-East schoolchildren this week in a project designed to inspire creativity and understanding of other cultures. Rapper Kad took two days out of his UK tour to work with children from Greenfield
STUDENTS and staff at Darlington College of Technology are in safe hands, because their health and safety advisor has achieved national recognition for being a leading light in his field. Ian Bradley has been elected to the Fellowship of the Institution
IT was that time of year again when she escapes on her annual get-away-from-it-all break with the other mums in our village and us dads are left to fend for ourselves. Off they went to Center Parcs in Sherwood Forest for a whole weekend of wine guzzling
SENIOR police officers have gone back on the beat to experience operational duties on the front line. More than 40 officers and support staff took to the streets of York to re-acquaint themselves with the challenges faced by patrolling bobbies. The initiative
POLICE are becoming increasingly concerned for the welfare of a single teenage mother who has been missing for more than 48 hours. Kirsty Holland, 17, left her home in James Street South, Murton, east Durham, at 10.30am on Monday saying she was going
THE North-East's biggest water provider has promised an improvement in revenues and profitability as it prepares to raise prices for millions of customers. In its first results following its move to the main list on the London Stock Exchange in September
On the eve of George W Bush's visit to the Sedgefield area, the column finds the perfect pub for the president. WHEN pondering tomorrow's presidential lunch venue, did anyone consider the Bird in Hand - as in two in the Bush - in Trimdon Village? It's
Far From The Madding Crowd, Gala Theatre, Durham. CONDENSING this epic Thomas Hardy novel into a play of a reasonable length must have been quite a task for Ali Gorton, who adapted, designed and directed this production for Middle Ground Theatre Company
THE North-East's biggest water provider has promised an improvement in revenues and profitability as it prepares to raise prices for millions of customers. In its first results following its move to the main list on the London Stock Exchange in September
SUNDERLAND have been fined just £1,500 by the Football Association for a signing they made nearly 18 months ago. Irish midfielder Sean Thornton arrived at the Stadium of Light in July last year after his contract at Tranmere Rovers ran out. Rovers claimed
EDF ENERGY is strengthening its position in the North-East - bucking the recent trend for job losses in the customer services sector. The firm, formerly London Electricity, has announced that its customer services centre at Doxford International Business
THE US military landed in force in Tony Blair's Sedgefield constituency this week in preparation for George Bush's visit. The US president is due to arrive in the county tomorrow surrounded by an unprecedented security operation. He is expected to visit
AN INJURY-TIME goal ensured yesterday's Hartlepool v Darlington derby at Victoria Park ended all square. Quakers' teenage striker John Alexander netted in the closing stages to secure a 2-2 draw in the Pontin's Holiday League Cup preliminary group tie
A PUBLIC entertainment licence that will allow Darlington's Reynolds Arena to stage late-night parties and discos has been granted. The provisional licence will mean the stadium's Bar 66 can hold entertainment for drinkers until midnight, seven days a
WHEN George W Bush was sworn in as President there were fears that the United States would revert to its isolationist instincts. For the first time in generations, the incumbent of the White House had no interest in foreign affairs and had hardly ever
STEVE HARMISON last night vowed to shake off his back injury and play a leading role in England's Test series with Sri Lanka. The Durham paceman is determined to recover before the second Test on December 10, even though he was yesterday ruled out until
EDUCATION chiefs have drawn up a new list of schools due to close or merge as part of a £300m education shake-up. Earlier this year, Durham County Council released a draft plan that mapped the future of more than 300 schools for the next ten to 15 years
NORTH Yorkshire Police have made a record 96 arrests in one day as part of the ongoing crack down on crime, Operation Delivery. People from across the county were arrested for drug-dealing, violence, shop-lifting and burglary on a Wednesday this month
AIRPORTS: WHILE our politicians and leaders have been arguing the case for the renaming of Teesside Airport, considered vital for its future expansion plans, the TUC and trade unions have been lobbying the Government to back plans for a third runway at
TERMINATOR 3: THE RISE OF THE MACHINES (Cert 12, 104 mins). Stars: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Nick Stahl, Claire Danes, Kristianna Loken, David Andrews. MORE than 12 years since Terminator 2: Judgement Day, Arnie's leather clad cyborg travels through time
AN urban street has been rebuilt in a warehouse to help asylum seekers cope with everyday living in the region. SafetyWorks! is an interactive safety centre based in West Fifteen, in Newcastle. The warehouse has been transformed to look like an inner
SUPERMARKET group Sainsbury's has announced that the boss of Marks and Spencer's food department will succeed chief executive Sir Peter Davis. Justin King's immediate challenge will be to revive the company's sales after results showed minimal growth
POLICE last night renewed their appeals for help in tracking down a patient who has been missing for more than a week. John Pedalty has not been seen since he left Darlington Memorial Hospital ten days ago. Police remain convinced he is still in the County
The Circus of Horrors, Forum Theatre, Billingham, until Saturday. EXPECT to be shocked, sickened and sprayed with various fluids - the most macabre circus imaginable is back in town. Doktor Haze, the ghoulish, white-haired old rocker, is still encouraging
LOCAL authorities may be forced to increase council tax bills to make up for any shortfalls in Government funding. Councils are busy analysing budgets after figures were released yesterday showing the amount of provisional grants each authority has been
