Archive

  • Dirham can take the honours at Newcastle

    DESPITE the burden of top-weight, Top Dirham (3.00) takes the eye as one of the best bets of the day at Newcastle this afternoon. Mick Easterby's smart miler has hit both post and crossbar so far this season, but now is the time for the six-year-old to

  • Father and son accused

    A FATHER and son appeared before magistrates yesterday to deny abduction charges relating to a 14-year-old girl. Wilfred Stocker, 48, of Station Road, Darlington, pleaded not guilty at South Durham Magistrates' Court to unlawfully taking the teenager

  • PO closure plan facing opposition

    RESIDENTS have voiced their opposition to plans to close a village post office in a swathe of cuts announced recently. The Sunderland Road sub-post office in Horden is among 19 threatened closures in the east Durham and Wearside. Horden Residents' Association

  • Former MP turns his back on 'Blair's doomed Labour'

    A FORMER North-East Labour MP has thrown his weight behind anti-war campaigners because he believes the party is doomed with Tony Blair as its leader. Bob Clay, who used to represent Sunderland North, has turned his back on Labour to support the anti-war

  • Lengthy waiting times faced by L-drivers condemned

    DRIVING school bosses in the region hit out last night over excessive waiting times learner motorists face before sitting their tests. Latest figures show that the Driving Standards Agency (DSA) is nowhere near meeting its national average target of a

  • York want Pearson

    RELEGATED York City will step up their bid to land Darlington midfielder Gary Pearson after missing out on Cambridge's Justin Walker. City boss Chris Brass is expected to turn his attentions to Pearson as an alternative to Walker, who has rejected the

  • Blair unmoved by threat of petrol price protests

    TONY BLAIR yesterday appeared to rule out reversing the latest fuel tax increase despite fears that rising oil prices could spark new mass protests. The Prime Minister's official spokesman insisted the premier would not intervene to halt price rises at

  • Ridley takes County honours

    NEW champion Steven Ridley wants to achieve his 'ultimate goal' after succeeding in the Durham County Third Division Individual Competition. The 22-year-old was in emphatic form at Crook on Saturday when he finished two shots clear of the host club's

  • Groups share £1.6m from bank

    TEN organisations are to share more than £1.6m from the charitable arm of a North-East bank. The Northern Rock Foundation has distributed £7.4m among charities and projects in County Durham and Teesside so far this year. In the latest round of donations

  • Union steps up battle to save jobs

    UNION chiefs are stepping up their campaign against the loss of civil service jobs in the North-East. The Department for Education and Skills (DfES) recently announced that up to 100 jobs were to be shed at the Mowden Hall site, in Darlington, between

  • Man banned from NHS premises

    A 53-year-old man was today banned from entering all NHS premises following a campaign of anti-social behaviour. York Magistrates Court issued an interim anti-social behaviour order (Asbo) against Norman Hutchins. The order prohibits Hutchins from entering

  • Comment from The Northern Echo: Fighting chance for democracy

    TONY Blair described it as a "truly historic day for Iraq" while George Bush said it would send "a clear signal that terrorists can't win". Others have branded the naming of an interim government in Baghdad, after great political wrangling behind the

  • Ridley takes County honours

    NEW champion Steven Ridley wants to achieve his 'ultimate goal' after succeeding in the Durham County Third Division Individual Competition. The 22-year-old was in emphatic form at Crook on Saturday when he finished two shots clear of the host club's

  • Chaos let to theatre's problems

    The troubleshooter hired to save a £14m theatre has revealed the backstage chaos that contributed to disaster. Just days after it was opened by the Queen, the Gala Theatre in Durham collapsed with mounting debts. Durham City Council cancelled the three-year

  • Hostile M&S bid expected in days

    RETAIL entrepreneur Philip Green may have to make a hostile bid for Marks & Spencer following a boardroom shake-up. Stuart Rose, former boss of Top Shop and Dorothy Perkins chain Arcadia, was appointed chief executive of troubled M&S at the weekend

  • Leisure complexes given all-clear

    Two North-East leisure complexes at the centre of a potential health scare have been given the all clear. Woodhouse Close Leisure Centre, in Bishop Auckland, County Durham, and the Spectrum Leisure Centre, in nearby Willington, will re-open today after

  • Ferrie seeking repeat show

    KENNETH FERRIE returns to the scene of his finest hour this week as he bids to continue his rise up the PGA European Tour Order of Merit. The Ashington golfer's first and only win on the Tour came in the Canarias Open de Espana 12 months ago. Ferrie will

  • Market report

    Rising oil prices following the Saudi terror attacks pushed the London market into the red yesterday despite upbeat economic news. Positive manufacturing and retail figures failed to offset the gloom, with the FTSE 100 Index closing down eight points

  • Paying homage to the people's popstar

    IGNORING the front page of Monday's Daily Telegraph - "Howard rages at UKIP gadflies" - we turn first to a more pressing electoral matter. In which county is Darlington? Durham? The fatuously new fangled Tees Valley? Surely boundary change isn't so totally

  • Humanitarian aid worker receives award

    A FORMER North-East woman dedicated to caring for the poor in Latin America has had her work recognised. Clare Dixon, originally from Hartlepool, has been awarded the Chilean Silva Henriquez Medal for her human rights work. The award is the Chilean church's

  • Horror at fun park as worker hit by ride

    FAMILIES looked on in horror yesterday as a ride operator was struck and critically injured by a rollercoaster car at a packed amusement park. The 32-year-old man suffered two broken arms and serious chest and abdominal injuries in the accident at Flamingo

  • Maddison aiming to turn his magic touch to the Brabazon Trophy

    JUST days after becoming the Durham County Boys champion, Tom Maddison has turned his attentions to the Brabazon Trophy. The Castle Eden golfer finished three shots ahead of Blackwell Grange's Adam Bates and last year's winner Paul Oakley (Billingham)

  • New striker Elliott told to hit the goal trail

    NEW signing Stephen Elliott was last night challenged by Sunderland boss Mick McCarthy to keep banging in the goals. Elliott will officially arrive on Wearside on July 1 when his contract with Manchester City has expired. McCarthy is convinced the capture

  • Pair in court over probe into horse fair gunshots

    AMID tight police security, two men appeared in court yesterday charged with offences relating to an alleged shooting incident at a North-East horse fair at the weekend. John Riley, 21, of Lime Tree Avenue, Doncaster, was charged with possession of a

  • Lengthy waiting times faced by L-drivers condemned

    DRIVING school bosses in the region hit out last night over excessive waiting times learner motorists face before sitting their tests. Latest figures show that the Driving Standards Agency (DSA) is nowhere near meeting its national average target of a

  • Man of the hour - Gordon Ramsay

    Forget David Beckham, Orlando Bloom or David Blane - the man of the moment is the very tasty Gordon Ramsay. The short-tempered chef has managed a miraculous transformation from a man only known to the finest diners to a fully fledged TV celebrity. And

  • Hard luck story for Wynyard in Trophy

    CLOSE but not close enough. That old adage certainly rang true for Christopher Mounter and Mike Fenwick in the Lombard Trophy North-East regional final yesterday. Having opened the competition, held at a sun-drenched Seaton Carew for the second consecutive

  • 'A view of the armada and a few dead sailors'

    FOUR days before D-Day, Ken Lodge got a free transfer from the Durham Light Infantry to the Green Howards and joined them in time for some last minute training scrambling down nets into landing craft. He and about six other Durhams were charged with getting

  • Distribution company planning to create jobs

    DISTRIBUTION company Amaro could create up to 350 jobs in the region. The expansion plans will provide a jobs boost for Gateshead as Amaro opens its national headquarters there. To support expansion plans in Yorkshire and the North-West, Amaro is moving

  • Gold landings, then the road to hell

    TWO battalions of Green Howards landed on Gold Beach on D-Day. When the war started, both were recruited largely from Teesside and North Yorkshire, although as they'd suffered losses from Dunkirk through the Middle East to Sicily, the regional element

  • 'The day I decided to die'

    TERRY thought drinking would make him feel better, but it made things ten times worse. Under pressure at work and with an unhappy marriage, Terry began to think about a way out. "I was stressed up, everything was black, I just wanted to die." Things came

  • Boro hope Bolo rejects Magpies - again

    MIDDLESBROUGH are hoping past-experiences will help persuade Bolo Zenden his future lies on Teesside rather than Tyneside. Zenden's agent and father Pierre has spoken this week of his son's wishes to move on, with his career at Chelsea heading for an

  • Cover from the air that made mission possible

    WITHOUT Charlie Maddison, it is possible that Stan Hollis would not have made it back to tell his extraordinary story. June 6, 1944, was just another morning to Charlie. He now lives in Willington, near Crook, County Durham, but back then was a flight

  • Hostile M&S bid expected in days

    RETAIL entrepreneur Philip Green may have to make a hostile bid for Marks & Spencer following a boardroom shake-up. Stuart Rose, former boss of Top Shop and Dorothy Perkins chain Arcadia, was appointed chief executive of troubled M&S at the weekend

  • YV review

    Inside The Mind Of Liza Minnelli (C4) Bollywood Star (C4) INITIALLY, the evidence suggests that Liza Minnelli is following in the footsteps of her mother Judy Garland - not only as a performer but in her private life with drink, drugs and fluctuating

  • Barge is ready for big launch

    AFTER six years hard work, a barge made by the community for the community is finished. The £80,000 boat, named the Angus Ferguson after one of the main fundraisers who died last year, will sail on the River Tees from Stockton. Members of Stockton's Tilery

  • Boro fans more local than rivals

    ONE of the region's football clubs attracts more of its support locally than any other in the Premier League, a survey has found. A total of 88 per cent of Middlesbrough supporters live within one hour's drive of the Riverside Stadium, according to the

  • restaurant launch

    THE owner of a new bar and brasserie will open the restaurant for the first time today. The Circus Bar, in Bake House Hill, Darlington, is the brainchild of Les Mooney, proprietor of Cafe Gulp. With the success of the cafe since it opened four years ago

  • Super city 'would leave rest of North in its wake'

    FEARS that the merger of a city and a town could leave other areas of the North-East behind were stoked by a council leader last night. Development tycoon Sir John Hall is championing the idea of a merged Newcastle and Gateshead. The man behind Gateshead's

  • Racing circuit better by a mile

    A North-East racing circuit has undergone a £50,000 expansion to make it suitable for Formula Three racing. Teesside Karting, near Redcar, east Cleveland, had the longest and fastest karting track in the UK, which has now been extended by 1.2 miles. "

  • Forging links with youth

    A GUIDE to help police officers to engage with young people on their beat has been launched. Teenagers helped to produce the resource pack, called Give Us a Chance, which was launched in County Hall, Durham City, yesterday. It was drawn up as a means

  • Attack victim is 'critical'

    A MAN was in a critical condition in hospital last night after he was attacked at a North-East caravan park over the weekend. The 38-year-old, from Washington, Wearside, became involved in a dispute at Witton Castle Caravan Park, near Bishop Auckland,

  • Boost for tenants at housing group launch

    ALMOST £10m is to be spent on improving council homes in east Durham, it was announced yesterday. The Government funding follows Easington District Council's decision to establish an arms-length company responsible for managing its 10,500 houses. Yesterday

  • Housing first in five-year vision

    THE need for more affordable housing has been put at the top of the agenda by a council as it outlines its key objectives for the next five years. Richmondshire district councillors will discuss the five-year plan at a meeting next week. It lists four

  • Passengers flee bus fire

    A BUS had to be evacuated after it caught fire yesterday. Passengers on the number 33 Arriva bus noticed smoke coming from the rear as it headed past Hart village, near Hartlepool, on the A179. Firefighters were called to extinguish a small fire in the

  • Soldiers got into fight on night out

    TWO soldiers were involved in an altercation with a group of Asian men .hile drinking in a town centre, a court heard yesterday. Kye Revitt, 19, and Barry Hesketh, 21, who are both based at Catterick Garrison, in North Yorkshire, became involved in a

  • Volunteers needed to help in play area

    A SEARCH is on for volunteers to help run a play area used by children while visiting relatives who have been locked up. At least eight men or women are needed for the scheme at Deerbolt Young Offenders' Institution in Barnard Castle, County Durham. Some

  • Inquest told of crash on icy road

    AN engineering entrepreneur died after his Range Rover crashed in treacherous conditions yards from his home, an inquest heard yesterday. David Brown, 78, was thrown out of the window after losing control of the vehicle and crashing through a hedge in

  • Advice for farmers to meet the challenges ahead

    FARMERS are being urged to take part in a series of free workshops being run to highlight the opportunities available in the wake of Common Agricultural Policy reforms. The workshops, which are taking place across North Yorkshire, are being run by National

  • Rehabilitation centre looking for workers

    A REHABILITATION centre which aims to tackle bed-blocking in York has begun looking for staff. The £1.6m centre is being built in the former City of York sheltered housing complex at Clarendon Court, off Haxby Road. The centre will offer 28 beds for patients

  • Court bans drink-driver for two years

    A DRIVER was banned yesterday after admitting being more than two-and-a-half times the legal drink-drive limit. David Dodd, 28, of High Grange, Crook, had been out drinking with his brother before being stopped by police in Darlington, the town's magistrates

  • Right-win activists could face prosectution over leaflets

    Far-right activists could face prosecution, after police concerns that their election campaign leaflets are racist. Northumbria Police today announced it is consulting with the Crown Prosecution Service over the content of the Newcastle Patriot Election

  • Investigation launched as prisoner found hanged

    A PRISONER has been found dead at a North-East jail. William Hunter, 25, from The Mill, in Easington, County Durham, was found hanged in his cell in Durham Prison's health centre last Monday by his cellmate. The jail has been at the centre of concerns

  • Work to start on showpiece art gallery

    BUILDING work begins later this month on a multi-million art gallery for Middlesbrough. Godfrey Worsdale, Middlesbrough's director of museums and galleries, said: "The £19.2m scheme will see the centre of Middlesbrough transformed." Work on the gallery

  • County champion sets sights on The Open

    NOT content with securing the Durham County Championship trophy, Seaton Carew's Hugh Hamilton has turned his attentions to qualifying for The Open. Hamilton was crowned County champion at Eaglescliffe on Sunday after his four round aggregate 291, three

  • 'Manufacturing growing'

    conflicting signs of the state of UK manufacturing have emerged after a survey showed sustained growth in the sector last month. The closely-watched Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply's (CIPS) Purchasing Managers' Index, which draws together

  • Harvey's hamstring leaves Tykes weighing up options

    Yorkshire were facing a huge dilemma yesterday as they awaited medical opinion over how long their Australian all-rounder, Ian Harvey, can be expected to be sidelined with his hamstring injury. Harvey was due a specialist diagnosis at some stage in the

  • How bowling began in park with big bang

    BOWLS appears - at least to the untrained eye - to be such a gentle game: the sedate pace and the long roll; the inoffensive clicks of the woods coming together; the polite smattering of applause from the spectators. Yet in Darlington's South Park the

  • Quakers' financial chiefs hit back

    THE administrators of Darlington Football Club last night vowed to defend themselves against criticism of their conduct during the Quakers' crisis period. Wilson Field were called in at Christmas after Darlington went into administration with reported

  • Man threatened gas salesman

    A gas board salesman was left shocked when a householder pulled out a knife and warned: "Don't smirk at me, I mean it, I'll cut you." The official fled down the path but council house tenant John Bailey went on to terrorise a passer-by when he demanded

  • 02/06/2004

    POSTAL VOTING: ONCE again the Labour-dominated councils of the North-East have turned the region into a laughing stock. The inability to organise a simple postal ballot shows the region in a very bad light, not just here, but right across the whole EU

  • 'Employers are worried about tribunals'

    MORE than 80 per cent of employers in the region are concerned about the costs of being taken to an employment tribunal, researchers have found. Six out of ten are concerned about the damage tribunals could do to their business reputation, according to

  • Teenager saved from sea praises hosepipe rescuers

    A TEENAGER who was swept out to sea has hailed the family friend who rescued him as a hero. Ryan Curran, 13, and David Farrar, 43, were minutes from death after a huge wave knocked the youngster into the North Sea, and Mr Farrar went in after him. The

  • The mad world of Minnelli

    Inside The Mind Of Liza Minnelli (C4); Bollywood Star (C4): INITIALLY, the evidence suggests that Liza Minnelli is following in the footsteps of her mother Judy Garland - not only as a performer but in her private life with drink, drugs and fluctuating

  • Record load for Teesport

    PD Teesport has loaded its largest steel vessel yet at the Teesport Steel Export Terminal. The Bulk Saturn left port with a cargo of nearly 50,000 tonnes of steel - 40,000 of which came from Teesside Cast Products - bound for Pohang, and Korean steelmaker

  • Get set for charity mile challenge

    BRITAIN'S best-known paralympic athlete put the North-East under starter's orders for a charity run yesterday. Tanni Grey Thompson was at Exhibition Park, in Newcastle, to promote the BBC's Fitness First Sport Relief Mile, at the park on Saturday, July

  • Training bonus

    STAFF at a care home near Darlington are celebrating the results of an in-house training programme that has helped increase business turnover by more than 40 per cent in four years. Almost everyone working in Middleton Hall, Middleton-St-George, has completed

  • The unlikely hero on a day of bravery and miracles

    THE tide's out now. The beach is long and wide and empty and silent - apart from the whistle of the wind in the ears. The sea is quiet. A handful of lugworm collectors are silhouetted against the breakers which don't even break, but simply surge gently

  • MP highlights apprenticeships value

    A HIGHLY skilled workforce trained to meet the needs of industry is the key to success on the world stage, Darllington MP Alan Milburn has told North-East businessmen. Speaking at a lunch to highlight the value of Modern Apprenticeships, the former Health

  • Scheme for gun battery drawn up

    A POTENTIAL tourist attraction in the North-East seems likely to be given a boost. An interpretation and development strategy has been developed for the Heugh Gun Battery on Hartlepool's Headland. It will be discussed by members of the borough council's

  • North-East tourism up

    TOURIST attractions in the region reported an increase in the number of visitors during the bank holiday weekend. Staff at Britain's oldest floating warship, HMS Trincomalee, built in 1817 at Hartlepool, reported a 17 per cent increase on the same weekend

  • Why parents should stop the pressure

    LOOK, they're only exams. They're not life or death, make or break events. Sure, they're stressful - but only because we've made them so. In a way, all these helplines, revision guides and phone-ins don't help the problem but add to it, turning it all

  • Ruthless Henman quick to claim last four place

    Tim Henman is a man in a hurry to make history. That's how it looked last night as Henman became the first British man for 41 years to reach the semi-final of the French Open on a day of shocks and showers at Roland Garros. Henman saved his most ruthless

  • Former MP turns his back on 'Blair's doomed Labour'

    A FORMER North-East Labour MP has thrown his weight behind anti-war campaigners because he believes the party is doomed with Tony Blair as its leader. Bob Clay, who used to represent Sunderland North, has turned his back on Labour to support the anti-war

  • Scheme for gun battery drawn up

    A POTENTIAL tourist attraction in the North-East seems likely to be given a boost. An interpretation and development strategy has been developed for the Heugh Gun Battery on Hartlepool's Headland. It will be discussed by members of the borough council's

  • Sharon Griffiths writes...

    LOOK, they're only exams. They're not life or death, make or break events. Sure, they're stressful - but only because we've made them so. In a way, all these helplines, revision guides and phone-ins don't help the problem but add to it, turning it all

  • The Durhams D-Day Diary - Sgt Charles Eagles

    You only make one mistake defusing bombs - and that's your last Part 3: Mines and booby traps: I'LL never forget my first mine. It was the day after D-Day, somewhere on a side road not far from Bayeux. It was a Teller mine, big and nasty. I was in S Company

  • Dirham can take the honours at Newcastle

    DESPITE the burden of top-weight, Top Dirham (3.00) takes the eye as one of the best bets of the day at Newcastle this afternoon. Mick Easterby's smart miler has hit both post and crossbar so far this season, but now is the time for the six-year-old to

  • Fuel protestors set to strike again

    The fuel protestors who brought Britain to a standstill are set to strike again. The hauliers and farmers who rocked Tony Blair four years ago with their blockades have vowed to create havoc once again as prices at the pumps rocket. Campaign leader Andrew

  • Vital role of Gustav the pigeon

    ON Page 3 of The Northern Echo of June 7, 1944, it was reported how the very first word of the invasion had reached the media - by carrier pigeon. Amid radio silence, hundreds of warbirds dodged gunfire and specially-trained Nazi hawks to bring back news

  • Distribution company planning to create jobs

    DISTRIBUTION company Amaro could create up to 350 jobs in the region. The expansion plans will provide a jobs boost for Gateshead as Amaro opens its national headquarters there. To support expansion plans in Yorkshire and the North-West, Amaro is moving

  • Veterans must start season without star performer Riddell

    DURHAM County Veterans are determined to get their season off to the perfect start today - even if they have to do it without top man Bill Riddell. Seaton Carew's Riddell is ruled out of Durham's opening game against Cheshire at Wearside because of personal

  • Bridge protest man in court

    A FATHER charged with causing traffic chaos after a man strapped himself to a busy road bridge has appeared in court. The 33-year-old pleaded not guilty to causing a public nuisance when he appeared before Sunderland magistrates. It follows an incident

  • Market conditions hit Ryanair profits

    Budget airline Ryanair posted its first fall in profits since 1989 yesterday, but said passenger numbers had reached a new high. The Dublin-based no-frills carrier said pre-tax profits in the year to March 31 were down to 228.5m euros (£152.1m) from 264.5m

  • Pensioners urged to claim cash

    PENSIONERS in Wear Valley could be missing out on vital funding because they do not realise their entitlements. County Durham Partners Against Poverty has revealed that 25 per cent of pensioners in receipt of housing and council tax benefit living in

  • Will police force be on name and shame report?

    BOSSES at troubled Cleveland Police are waiting to hear if the force will be among six to be named and shamed as poor, in a report later this month. A fresh assessement of every force by Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC) is expected to

  • Teenager saved from sea praises hosepipe rescuers

    A TEENAGER who was swept out to sea has hailed the family friend who rescued him as a hero. Ryan Curran, 13, and David Farrar, 43, were minutes from death after a huge wave knocked the youngster into the North Sea, and Mr Farrar went in after him. The

  • Gadfly

    IGNORING the front page of Monday's Daily Telegraph - "Howard rages at UKIP gadflies" - we turn first to a more pressing electoral matter. In which county is Darlington? Durham? The fatuously new fangled Tees Valley? Surely boundary change isn't so totally

  • Former MP turns his back on 'Blair's doomed Labour'

    A FORMER North-East Labour MP has thrown his weight behind anti-war campaigners because he believes the party is doomed with Tony Blair as its leader. Bob Clay, who used to represent Sunderland North, has turned his back on Labour to support the anti-war

  • Two arrested over murder investigation

    TWO men have been arrested following the suspected murder of a man in a seaside town. Police were called to a disturbance at Beacon House, a residential tower block in a quiet corner of Whitley Bay, North Tyneside, on Monday night. A 43-year-old man,

  • Support to get jobless back to work

    UNEMPLOYED people are being offered help to get back to work - in a bus. The Middlesbrough Football Club Enterprise Academy Bus will be parked at Safeway, in Redcar, on Friday, helping people discover support available to help them back into employment

  • N-E date for girl band tipped to storm the charts

    A GIRL band tipped to make a splash in the pop music charts is coming to north Durham this weekend. Scottish group Lemonescent will play at Consett's Empire Theatre on Saturday as part of the talentSTAR tour. The five-piece will headline a bill of 25

  • Works of art go on display for shoppers

    SOME of the region's most important art works are on display at a North-East shopping centre. Paintings from the Laing Art Gallery, in Newcastle, have been reproduced on 36 giant banners, that are hanging in the city centre's Eldon Square retail complex

  • Man fights for his life

    A MAN was fighting for his life last night following an attack in the street. The 38-year-old, from Houghton-le-Spring, Wearside, was assaulted as he walked along Front Street, in nearby Fencehouses, at about midnight on Saturday. He suffered serious

  • £1m centre will provide boost for young families

    A £1m centre dedicated to giving young children the best start in life will be launched this month. Staff are this week moving into the new Sure Start Centre in Clifford Road, Stanley. Sure Start is a Government-funded scheme for pre-school children and

  • N-E veterans return to the D-Day beaches

    TWO war veterans from the North-East are to return to the beaches of the D-Day landings. Alexander Kirk Johnson, of Rowlands Gill, near Newcastle, and John Cooper, from Hartlepool, will join 200 other veterans, widows and carers who will return to the

  • Almshouses chapel open to visitors

    VISITORS will be able to view an historic chapel on Sunday afternoons during summer. The chapel at Sir William Turner's Almshouses, in Kirk-leatham, near Redcar, east Cleveland, was built in 1676 and remodelled in 1742. It is in baroque style and contains

  • Motorcyclists may be linked to shooting

    A 14-year-old boy who needed hospital treatment after he was shot in the leg, may have been shot at by two people on a motorbike. The teenager was walking across a public park area, between Marske High Street, in east Cleveland, and the town's football

  • Tributes to a brave little girl

    A GIRL who bravely fought against cancer has lost her battle for life. Two-and-a-half-year-old Katie Grant died peacefully at her home in Darlington on Sunday morning surrounded by her family. Her parents, Justine and Andy, said yesterday: "We are very

  • Celebration as homes bid is rejected

    RESIDENTS are celebrating victory over a housing developer who wanted to build an estate near their homes after the plan was rejected at the second attempt. Last August, Wear Valley District Council refused planning permission for nine houses and associated

  • Lengthy waiting times faced by L-drivers condemned

    DRIVING school bosses in the region hit out last night over excessive waiting times learner motorists face before sitting their tests. Latest figures show that the Driving Standards Agency (DSA) is nowhere near meeting its national average target of a

  • War landmark likely to get £500,000 restoration boost

    PLANS to restore a wartime landmark in Hartlepool and turn it into a tourist attraction may get a £500,000 boost. An interpretation and development strategy has been developed for the Heugh Gun Battery on the town's Headland. It will be discussed by members