'I LOVE carpets, me." The advertising slogan that made Frank's Factory Carpets a household name across the North-East trips easily off the tongue of Jason Maguire. But to Jason - at 30 the youngest of the three brothers who established the business -
A 12-year-old witness heard a teenager's screams as he was burnt alive in a skip filled with wood and cardboard, a court was told today. The child was unable to save popular schoolboy Michael Temperley, 15, of Oakwood Avenue, Low Fell, Gateshead, Tyne
A FORMER director of a national charity who is crippled with steroid side-effects has made a last-ditch plea to be given a bungalow. Janice Fairbridge, 45, said she must leave her home at South Bank, near Middlesbrough, because her medical condition was
A LARGE haul of counterfeit computer games and software has been seized during an operation at a computer fair. More than 2,000 discs, along with a lap-top computer, were seized by officers from Stockton Borough Council's trading standards and licensing
Easington may be County Durham's most populous district but it has a dearth of decent pubs. The column visits the only two with official endorsement. EASINGTON Council, presiding over the most populous district in County Durham, has a logo of what appears
Easington may be County Durham's most populous district but it has a dearth of decent pubs. The column visits the only two with official endorsement. EASINGTON Council, presiding over the most populous district in County Durham, has a logo of what appears
Duncan bannatyne, one of the region's best-known entrepreneurs, answers readers' questions about making progress in business. QI read an article today talking about the UK's massive pensions shortfall and it has got me thinking about my own financial
MORE than 300 children from Durham primary schools take part in a musical celebration this week. The pupils, from six schools in Derwentside and Chester-le-Street, present a concert of world music to mark the end of an arts initiative in north Durham.
Nighty Night (BBC2) THE doctor doesn't bring good news. "The lump is malignant and we need to start treatment immediately," he tells his patient. "Why me? Why me?," wails a distraught Jill. Her husband Terry leans over, lays his hand comfortingly on her
FIRST job in the bag and Hartlepool United are now allowed to turn their set to achieving their second task of the season. Pool, despite Saturday's defeat to QPR, are on the edge of the play-off zone and take on Stockport at Victoria Park tonight. While
ANGRY neighbours are hoping for a last-minute change of heart over the construction of a children's centre in an east Durham village. Officers will tomorrow recommend that Durham County Council's planning committee gives the go-ahead for an Early Years
A North-East roadie has written a book about life touring with Black Sabbath in the 1970s. Chris Webber talks to him FOR all his easy chair, impeccably tidy home and comfortable middle-aged lifestyle, there is still something of the wild rocker about
AN important painting was cleaned up yesterday as the building that houses it prepared to re-open. The Bard, painted by Hexham artist John Martin in 1817, depicts a key moment in England's conquest of Wales. It tells the semi-mythical story of the destruction
REGIONAL GOVERNMENT: ANY lack of enthusiasm for a regional assembly stems from a lack of awareness of the nature of regional government and what positive benefits it can bring to the people of the North-East. To try and allay Mr Rishworth's fears (HAS
A 15-year-old schoolboy died in a blazing skip after he was locked inside by two friends as a joke, a court heard yesterday. Michael Temperley, of Oakwood Avenue, Low Fell, Gateshead, suffered 30 per cent burns and the effects of smoke inhalation during
A football legend whose own career shows the vital role of small clubs as a nurturing ground for the game's future superstars is calling for all the stops to be pulled out to save The Quakers. Twenty two years ago, when the club was on the verge of extinction
A CRIME prevention group is to consider ways of tackling an annual increase in burglaries during the summer. An analysis of figures has shown that August is the hot-spot month for burglaries in the Sedgefield borough. The statistics were researched by
FARMER David Bentley got a shock when he received an electricity bill for a remote, empty house that is hardly ever visited. Instead of the usual demand for about £15 for a quarter, the latest bill for the property in Lunedale, near Barnard Castle, was
PLANS for a town centre park in Newton Aycliffe could receive a financial boost this week. Great Aycliffe Town Council, which is developing the park on the former Avenue School site, has asked Sedgefield Borough Council to pay towards the £450,000 scheme
A SOLICITOR is looking forward to spending more time with his family when he steps down as a partner in a North-East firm. Bruce Cunningham is retiring as a partner in Hewitts Solicitors, in Bishop Auckland, after 25 years. Mr Cunningham, 55, has run
THREE stolen motorbikes could prove dangerous in the wrong hands, police warned last night. The off-road bikes, together worth £5,400, were taken two weeks ago from a garage in the Summerhill area of Shotley Bridge, near Consett. Two of the bikes were
A MOTORIST who caused a crash in which his love rival's car left the road, was jailed yesterday. Teesside Crown Court heard that Mark Richardson, 30, was suffering from clinical depression after his 14-year relationship with Lisa Foster - the mother of
After 15 years as the public face of the County Durham Development company, marketing diresctor Phil Eadon talks to Business Correspondent Jonathan Jones about his decision to step down THE man behind the success of County Durham technology partnering
THE RECENT decision of the Court of Appeal in Dacas v Brook Street Bureau has thrown up issues for any employer who uses the services of agency staff. This case has cast significant doubt on the widely-held belief that, while there was a possibility that
WORK has begun on a £5m culture centre. The project will transform a former highways depot into a library, Internet caf, office and seminar centre. Forty self-catering flats and gardens will also be created at the building on North Road, Stokesley. The
DANCERS from across the region will carry their country's hopes at an international dance competition in Hollywood. Twenty-eight girls from the North-East will make up nearly half the All-England Dance Team. They will perform routines on different dance
CONTINUED high demand from the building industry has led to the appointment of DAVID BOWMAN as general manager of timber specialist Palgrave Brown, in Darlington. Mr Bowman is a chartered surveyor with an MBA from Durham University and has extensive managerial
THERE'S nothing so good as getting off to a winning start at the Cheltenham Festival and in the shape of Albuhera (2.00) I believe the punters are going to draw first blood in the battle with the bookies. Albuhera (2.00) lines up in the opening two-mile
THEY might have been out of luck on Sunday, but Gary Speed last night admitted that Newcastle are fortunate to still be in with a chance of Champions League qualification at all. The Magpies dropped to fifth in the Premiership table last weekend after
THE imminent closure of Richmond's sports centre has prompted some of the town's councillors to question if the community is to be consulted on the future of the local swimming baths. In January, Richmondshire District Council's community committee voted
Forget Yuppies - the new acronym around town is POPPYs. Privileged, Outgoing, Propertied, Pretty and Young describes the glamorous single women who live their lives in a champagne-fuelled haze. These are the lovelies who have dinner with Prince William
EIGHTY young carers got a day off from their duties and the chance to have some fun. Barnardo's and Durham community organisation Disc organised a fun day at the Glebe Centre, Murton, for carers aged seven to 17 from Durham, Derwentside and Easington.
It's the end of an era - Sex And The City bows out on Friday and women everywhere will be throwing their Manolo Blahnkits at the box. Is there anything that can take its place as must-see TV? THE New York Sex And The City girls are casting aside their
MOTORISTS are being urged to take more care as the number of road accidents spiral on Teesside. Mark Whelan, director of operations with Cleveland Fire Brigade said: "In 2001 we attended 432 road traffic accidents, in 2002 the number increased to 466,
MORE than three decades after a North-East pit shut down, its underground seams and workings are giving modern day miners a view of the region's lost industrial heritage. Opencast workers on a site at Brusselton, near Bishop Auckland, County Durham, are
A SWIMMING pool, which was recently threatened with closure, has been shut temporarily because of problems with its filtration unit. An underground pipe fracture is thought to be the cause of the fault at Guisborough pool. An investigation is under way
TOUGH-TACKLING full-back Stephen Wright has promised to match Stoke tackle for tackle if they repeat their physical approach against Sunderland this evening. Black Cats boss Mick McCarthy accused his side of being "bullied out of the game" when they went
A DAIRY clerk who stole £10,000 from her bosses was too ashamed to tell her family, a court heard yesterday. Lesley Clark, 44, took out a bank loan to repay the money - but it still cost her job of more than 20 years when her crime was uncovered. Teesside
IUSUALLY escape to my bedroom to do my exercises when the early evening news is on the radio. That way I can get food for the body and nourishment for the mind all at once. But Sunday was a long day at church and I was late home. It was after seven when
As the referendum approaches for a decision on a North-East regional assembly, Alistar Arkley, chairman of Tees Valley Partership and New Century Inns, gives his view on devolution. WE know all about being inspired and enthusiastic in the North-East -
Fire fighters had to cut a trapped motorist from the wreckage of his car after it careered into a wall. The 28-year-old broke his neck and collar bone and punctured a lung after losing control of his car - a Toyota - on Acklam Road, Middlesbrough, near
HERO Darren Grant saved the life of a neighbour by leaping behind the wheel of a runaway truck seconds before it ploughed into her home. Quick-thinking Darren was in his bedroom when he spotted the stolen 20-tonne tipper veering towards Jean Philipson's
A mobile police station has taken to the road and its itinerary is being partly decided by e-mails from local people. The 7.5 tonne Ford Iveco doubles as a working police office and an inquiry/information office on the roads of Harrogate and Richmondshire
A SPEEDING driver knocked down and badly injured a pedestrian, a court was told yesterday. Stuart Richardson was lifted on to the bonnet of Azhar Ali's Nissan Primera, breaking the windscreen then carried for a distance before falling on to the road,
A DISTRICT council is to repeat an operation to clean up litter, fly tipping and grafitti. Twenty towns and villages in the Easington district will be spruced up in a combined effort by more than 100 council workers, community volunteers and probation
A COUNCIL is to review its waste collection procedures to try to save money. Teesdale District Council is expected to implement charges for collection of bulky waste and abandon plans for a cash bonus to households which regularly recycle rubbish. The
DARLINGTON boss David Hodgson admits it is looking increasingly unlikely that Middlesbrough striker Danny Graham will be joining the club. The 19-year-old has been told he can move to Quakers on loan by the Teessiders, but only on the condition he is
CONSULTANTS will be chosen soon to draw up a £1bn redevelopment vision for Teesside. The idea of a 15-year master plan to regenerate the river bank wasteland between Middlesbrough and Stockton was launched in November by the respective councils working
THOUSANDS of soccer fans will be asked to stub out their cigarettes this weekend as part of a football first. Football Association officials say the decision to brand Middlesbrough's next Premiership home game as a no smoking event is unprecedented. While
THE North-East was urged last night to step up efforts to win some of the 20,000 civil service jobs being moved out of London. A long-awaited report by Sir Michael Lyons said Whitehall departments had identified thousands of jobs that could be relocated
The traditional link between patients and their local GP will be broken next month when a new way of dealing with out-of-hours medical problems is introduced. Historically, GPs have always been responsible for their patients 24 hours a day. But from April
The chairman of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic bid visited a Teesside watersports centre today. Barbara Cassani met Bob Bond, manager of the Castlegate Quay Watersports Centre in Stockton, and watched a demonstration of canoeing and sailing by
HAD Durham not achieved first-class status, the chances are that Stephen Harmison would never have left Ashington. That's a view supported by Geoff Cook, who has been Durham's Director of Cricket throughout their 12-year first-class history. Although
Nighty Night (BBC2): THE doctor doesn't bring good news. "The lump is malignant and we need to start treatment immediately," he tells his patient. "Why me? Why me?," wails a distraught Jill. Her husband Terry leans over, lays his hand comfortingly on
STEVE McCLAREN is mapping out a blueprint for sustained success at Middlesbrough based on Manchester United's old winning formula. While United might be currently in crisis - Sunday's shattering 4-1 defeat by rivals City all but killed off Sir Alex Ferguson's
A HEROIN addict with a £120-a-day habit was told he would be given one last chance to stop stealing by magistrates yesterday. Dean Coulson, 29, of Pensbury Street, Darlington, pleaded guilty to two counts of theft and one of failing to surrender to bail
THE mother of a persistent teenage truant was fined by magistrates yesterday. The woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, admitted failing to ensure her 16-year-old son went to school. Bishop Auckland Magistrates' Court heard the boy had been absent
MUSIC and media group Chrysalis has launched a company to capitalise on the craze for mobile phone ringtones. The business, Chrysalis Mobile Solutions, has been launched in response to the market demand for ringtones and digital downloads via mobile devices
A DESIGN statement identifying the special character a North Yorkshire tourist hot spot has been approved. The village of Ripley, between Harrogate and Ripon, has over the past 600 years been owned, developed and cared for by the Ingilby family. Today
A TELEVISION actor has been chosen to fight a marginal seat in the next General Election. James Gaddas, of ITV's Bad Girls and who played Vinny Sorrell in Coronation Street, will fight Stockton South for the Conservatives. The constituency has been identified
Police hunting hi-tech thieves plundering North-East bank accounts have announced a major breakthrough. Detectives say bank account holders across the region have lost money to the fake cash machine scam, the latest in Redcar, Hartlepool and Darlington
The threat from Saddam, such as it was, may have gone, but last week's events in Madrid showed that the threat from terrorism is a great, if nor greater than ever. EXACTLY a year ago to the day, Tony Blair stood shoulder to shoulder with President Bush
TRIBUTES have been paid for a Royal Navy rating who has died in a road accident only 24 hours before he was due to join his first submarine. Craig Samuels, 22, of Westwick, near Barnard Castle, County Durham, had recently completed shore training on a
FLOORING company CreateCity - the parent company of household names Frank's Factory Flooring and Maguire's Carpets - has announced it is to launch a wood division. Over the next few months, the business, based in Darlington, will invest an initial £500,000
SHOP staff, who are being terrorised by yobs, are being escorted home by police. Staff say gangs of about 30 youngsters, aged between ten and 16, are throwing petrol bombs and setting fire to shops at the Allandale Shopping Centre, on the Overfields Estate
THE New York Sex And The City girls are casting aside their Manolos and sashaying sexily off into the night. It's the end of an era. And with Seattle's most famous radio psychiatrist Frasier Crane hanging up his mike and the pals of Central Perk departing
A MAN who advertised the services of prostitutes on the Internet has been given a suspended jail sentence after he admitted possessing child pornography. Brian Sullivan, 58, who pleaded guilty to making indecent photos of children, was found by police
'Grrrgh" is the sound usually associated with the Budget. Tomorrow, the buzz word may be GAAR. In a bid to up the Government's tax coffers, the imposition of a General Anti-Avoidance Rule (GAAR) is widely expected. The Treasury's irritation at its inability
Big Lawrie is bigger yet, double breasted suit wrapped around him like a bespoke bivvy blanket, neck subsumed into necessarily broad shoulders, size 12s as Brasso bright as a guardsman's always should be. He's still a smart lad for 67. His accent appears
AN important painting was cleaned up yesterday as the building that houses it prepared to re-open. The Bard, painted by Hexham artist John Martin in 1817, depicts a key moment in England's conquest of Wales. It tells the semimythical story of the destruction
IT makes little sense to have civil service jobs concentrated in London and the South-East. There are few positive benefits to compete with the negative aspects of transport problems, congestion, property prices and the cost of living. Nevertheless, it
