Archive

A deal to avert a strike by airport baggage handlers has been agreed by union negotiators, the GMB said today. More to follow.

WATER quality in the region has improved again, figures published by the leading independent watchdog reveal today. The Drinking Water Inspectorate's (DWI) 14th annual report shows that tap water quality in the North-East and North Yorkshire has continued

AN anticipated courtroom divorce battle between the Earl and Countess of Strathmore failed to materialise yesterday after the pair came to a private agreement. Glamis Castle - the earl's ancestral home in Scotland and the former home of the late Queen

What goes buzzzz, zzzzub, buzzzz, zzzzub? A bee stuck to a yo-yo. THOUGH the intention is (generally) more benevolent, the column's eternal maunderings around the towns and villages of the North-East - usually between buses - seem sometimes to resemble

The destructive power of West Indies' batting line-up sent hosts England crashing out of the NatWest Triangular Series at Lord's yesterday. Despite compiling 285 for seven - the highest score of the tournament at that point - England slumped to a seven-wicket

HEART patient Walter Rand wanted to show his gratitude to the hospital that helped save his life. So he and his wife Mildred donated £5,000 to the cardiology department of the Friarage Hospital in Northallerton. The Bedale couple, who recently celebrated

THE Government last night defended its record on employment and highlighted figures showing signs of recovery in manufacturing. Chancellor Gordon Brown hit back at a TUC report saying that more than 750,000 jobs in the sector had been lost since Labour

pupils have donated £280 to help to buy medical supplies for Romanian orphans. Member of 9CE at Allertonshire School, Northallerton, presented the money to charity worker John Appleton. Students in the form have been involved in charity work throughout

ENGINEERING company VAI UK has secured a £20m contract with Taiwan's largest steel producer. The contract to rebuild part of China Steel Corporation's plant is the latest in a string of contracts won by VAI this year. The company said the contracts, collectively

SCHOOLS in the North-East are doing more to protect children from bullies than anywhere else in the country, according to ChildLine chair- man Esther Rantzen. The television personality heaped praise on Durham County Council's education authority as it

PHILIP Green and M&S boss Stuart Rose are heading for a showdown in a third and final bid for the Marks & Spencer group. Billionaire entrepreneur Mr Green has agreed with a takeover panel that he must announce a formal offer for M&S by noon

CONTROVERSIAL plans to demolish a leisure centre and theatre and replace them with a supermarket have been backed by the chairman of a regeneration group. Billingham Partnership chairman Kevin Pitt has written to the Government Office North-East reiterating

GROUSE moors which are becoming a last refuge for rare birds and animals earned the approval of a visiting Government Minister yesterday. Ben Bradshaw, the Minister for Nature Conservation and Forestry, viewed Weardale Estate, in County Durham, on a tour

What goes buzzzz, zzzzub, buzzzz, zzzzub? A bee stuck to a yo-yo. THOUGH the intention is (generally) more benevolent, the column's eternal maunderings around the towns and villages of the North-East - usually between buses - seem sometimes to resemble

THIS is the latest artist's impression of the £20m mental health hospital beginning to take shape on the edge of Darlington. Work on the West Park hospital, at Faverdale, is under way and is set to be completed by the end of the year. The hospital, part

YOUNG musicians will join a cast of 500 children for a performance at Birmingham Symphony Hall next week. Pupils from Northallerton College will take part in the Specialist Schools Trust's Summer Showcase on July 15. The event has been organised by the

PEOPLE will have the chance to use a new bus service for free when it is launched on Monday. For the first week of its operations, passengers using the Ripon Roweller service will not be charged. The Ripon Roweller will run six days a week, serving Barker

FOOD industry workers in north Durham have been targeted in a drive to improve cleanliness. Environmental Health officers from Derwentside District Council invited butchers and sandwich-makers to take part in tests in which their fingerprints were taken

FUNDRAISERS in north Durham are celebrating after they were recognised by their parent group. Derwentside Rotary Club, which was set up in February, has received the club charter. It was presented by Rotary's district governor, David Conway. To mark the

NURSERY staff and parents are celebrating after being praised in a report. Bournmoor Nursery, at Bournmoor Primary School, was described as a providing a "warm and welcoming environment". The Ofsted inspectors found that progress and provision in personal

A SCULPTURE made from shopping trolleys is on display at a North-East attraction. The 15ft piece, in the shape of a DNA double helix, is on show at the Life Science Centre, Newcastle. It was created by British artist Abigail Fallis. Commissioned by the

A MAN from Middlesbrough this week became the first person in the town to be arrested for making false allegations of burglary. The man, in his mid-50s, reported a burglary at his home on June 23 and officers attended. They requested a visit from scenes

AS the long summer holidays approach, youngsters across the Hambleton area are being promised plenty of activities to keep them busy. Leisure centres are planning a series of Hyper Holiday activities in Northallerton, Stokesley, Thirsk, Bedale and Easingwold

THREE girls from Teesside High School, in Eaglescliffe, have taken second place in a business competition. Hartlepool girls Gemma Dowen, 17, and Zennie Mahajan, 16, and 17-year-old Emma Peagam, from Hartburn, competed in the Ogden Trust Business Competition

FUNDRAISERS for a Teesside hospital have thanked people who helped raise thousands of pounds for the Holistic Cancer Care Centre. The Bunty Memorial Fund was set up ten years ago in memory of Jonathan "Bunty" Hunt, from Marton, who died from testicular

FORMER director-general of the BBC Greg Dyke is one of several senior figures who will receive honorary awards from a North-East university. Mr Dyke, who will be honoured by the University of Sunderland, has been a senior figure in broadcasting for 20

VILLAGERS are pressing for action to be taken over speeding motorists. The issue has long been raised by parish councillors in Neasham, near Darlington. At this week's parish council meeting, chairman John Weighell said neighbouring Hurworth had once

NEARLY all of North Yorkshire should have the ability to have a broadband internet connection by the end of July next year, BT pledged yesterday. Fifty-four further exchanges are to be broadband enabled in the latest stage of the ongoing investment that

THREE factory workers are setting out on a coast-to-coast cycle challenge this weekend to help make young children's dreams come true. Mike Wigley, 62, Peter Blades, 41 and Kevin Stephenson, 46, who work for Kenmore UK, Crook, will cycle 130 miles to

A COUNCIL is launching a survey of gravestones to see if any are in a dangerous condition. The inspection will be carried out at cemeteries and churchyards controlled by Sunderland City Council. Memorials in immediate danger of collapse will be laid flat

AN education initiative is being launched to make the county more attractive to overseas visitors and boost the holiday trade. Language courses are to be introduced aimed at those involved in the county's tourism industry. Hoteliers, restaurateurs and

SCHOOLCHILDREN in the Middlesbrough and Eston area will be having a splashing time this summer thanks to a free swimming scheme. And pupils from Park End Primary School were the first to dive in. The project is funded by Middlesbrough Primary Care Trust

A GALA evening to mark the 20th anniversary of the 1984 miners' strike was staged in east Durham last night. Held in the Glebe Centre, Murton, the musical extravaganza was presented by a host of local talent who helped to get everyone in the mood for

YOUNG choristers are busy rehearsing for an annual concert. Sixty choristers from the chapel and senior choirs at Queen Mary's School, near Thirsk, will present a mix of classical and contemporary works, at the concert in Ripon Cathedral tonight. They

A COUNCILLOR has been nominated as a representative for the Cleveland Police Authority. Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council's Labour leader Councillor George Dunning, said he was delighted that the Labour group had accepted his proposal to nominate Councillor

WORKERS employed by Cleveland Bridge on the new Wembley Stadium project are threatening to strike to save their jobs. It emerged last night that union officials were trying to dissuade the workforce of almost 250 from beginning unofficial action, possibly

55 Degrees North (BBC1) Rose And Maloney (ITV1) WITNESSES due to testify in court are receiving bunches of flowers with the message WE R WATCHING U. BBC bosses will be hoping that viewers follow their example and pay attention to the new filmed-in-Newcastle

A murder investigation was launched today when the blood-stained body of a woman was found in a bungalow. The woman, in her 30s, was treated by paramedics in the early hours of yesterday but was pronounced dead. Police and ambulance crews attended a bungalow

AFTER nearly 40 years of helping other people, physiotherapist Eileen Polley has brought down the curtain on her career with the NHS. Friends and colleagues celebrated her retirement at a gathering at Northallerton's Children's Centre, in Brompton Road

THE North-East could escape the worst of a forecasted slump in the housing market as the area continues to enjoy a property boom. Financial experts are warning that homes across Britain are now so overvalued that the property bubble is set to burst, though

GODOLPHIN'S policy of keeping their older horses in training can once again prove profitable if as expected the five-year-old Sulamani (2.55) wins this afternoon's £100,000 Princess of Wales's Stakes at Newmarket. Last season Frankie Dettori's globetrotting

A BOWLING club pavilion and a village shop and post office are among 500 schemes to have received community grants from the county council. The grants, ranging from £50 to £20,000 are from the council's seven area committees, which plan to invest £500,000

EVEN on his final day, champion sheep breeder Joe Brown still went round the fields to check his flock. Not even failing health in the months before his death, aged 75, could keep him from his beloved Swaledales. For Mr Brown, one of the region's great

EDUCATION - Let's not get excited. "Being from the North-East and educated in a state school" does not prevent individuals from progressing to the University of Oxford (Echo, Jul 3). But your story suggests it is more likely if they can draw on the social

A MAN accused of being hired to carry out a drive-by assassination told a court yesterday "I have never shot anybody". Arthur Pattinson, 42, is said to have been hired by a family to kill Stanley Creswell but ended up shooting as well one of the men who

MIDDLESBROUGH are ready to make a shock move for Gary Speed as Newcastle move nearer to the capture of Manchester United midfielder Nicky Butt, writes SCOTT WILSON. Newcastle hope to complete Butt's £3.75m move from Old Trafford by the end of the week

55 Degrees North (BBC1), Rose And Maloney (ITV1) - Witnesses due to testify in court are receiving bunches of flowers with the message WE R WATCHING U. BBC bosses will be hoping that viewers follow their example and pay attention to the new filmed-in-Newcastle

VILLAGERS have vowed to fight a controversial housing development which they say will ruin open fields near their homes. People from Middridge, near Newton Aycliffe, also say that the proposals for 270 houses near Spout Lane, Shildon, would be too close

A YACHTSMAN is facing the wrath of the authorities after setting up Britain's first offshore off-licence. Customs and Excise officials have launched an investigation into Philip Berriman's business venture off the North-East coast and warned that he could

Middlesbrough full-back Michael Reiziger has sparked a North-East tug-of-war by insisting that fellow Dutchman Patrick Kluivert would score "a lot of goals" in the Premiership. Both Boro and Newcastle are on the trail of the 28-year-old after he was told

THE thorny issue of Iraq's weapons of mass destruction continues to dog Tony Blair. Acknowledging that they may never be found, the Prime Minister now clings to the hope that evidence may be uncovered to show WMD were hidden, removed or destroyed before

A DILAPIDATED sports stadium in Middlesbrough needs about £600,000 of repairs to bring it up to date. Members of Middlesbrough Council's community safety and leisure scrutiny panel will meet on Tuesday to discuss the way forward for Clairville Stadium

AT first glance, it looks like a badly-bodged bit of brickwork beside the East Coast Mainline. And, if truth be told, such is its state that you would not go much beyond a first glance as you passed by. But a concerned reader has alerted Echo Memories

FUALSA has proved to be a good buy for Northgate, helping send the van hire group's profits into overdrive. Darlington's only plc said its Spanish subsidiary showed continued excellent performance as overall group pre-tax profits rose 22.1 per cent to

POLICE are launching a drive to reduce drink-fuelled violence and disorder across County Durham. High-visibility street patrols and visits to pubs, nightclubs and off-licences will be made through the summer in the campaign which starts tomorrow. The

The Government may think it can coerce us into sharing but when it comes to our cars, we'd prefer to keep them to ourselves. LET'S face it, you'll never get us out of our cars. The Government's latest wheeze to keep some cars off the road is to encourage

WORK has started on a large-scale biodiesel plant that is expected to establish green fuel as a major industry in the region. Biofuels Corporation, which listed on the Alternative Investment Market on June 17 to raise capital for the £21m Teesside plant

BUILDINGS dating back hundreds of years have been given a new lease of life to celebrate the work of one of the region's most famous craftsmen. An old blacksmiths' shop and two sixteenth-century cottages have been converted into an extension to the visitor

MICK McCARTHY could turn to David Connolly in an attempt to bolster Sunderland's firepower ahead of the new season. The striker's employers, West Ham United, are understood to have offered Connolly to the Black Cats for £500,000 in a bid to ease some

model trains worth up to £4,000 have been stolen from a North-East sale room. Detectives said that burglars knew what they were looking for when they broke into Denis Edkins' Auckland Auction Rooms in Bishop Auckland, County Durham, over the weekend.

ENGINEERING company VAI UK has secured a £20m contract with Taiwan's largest steel producer. The contract to rebuild part of China Steel Corporation's plant is the latest in a string of contracts won by VAI this year. The company said the contracts, collectively

Police are investigating an assault on a two-week-old baby boy from Hartlepool. He is currently in the intensive care unit of the James Cook University Hospital, Middlesbrough, where his condition has been described as critical. Police were alerted in

A HAIRDRESSER has followed a family tradition by branching out into fine jewellery. Alan Proctor, who runs a hairdressing business in Middleton St George, near Darlington, has opened a jewellers in Ripon, North Yorkshire, after seeing successful sales

LIVESTOCK entries for this year's Great Yorkshire Show are the highest in the event's history, the organisers have announced. The total number of livestock stands at 3,203, with 1,029 cattle entries, 1,635 sheep, 262 goats and 277 pigs entered. The previous

THE groin injury suffered by Marcus North is worse than first thought and the earliest he might return to the Durham side is Sunday's home match against Yorkshire in the totesport League. He will be replaced by Ian Pattison for tonight's Twenty20 Cup

HUNDREDS of musical instruments are being provided for children in North Yorkshire in an effort to keep the full range of sounds alive for schools. Experts at North Yorkshire County Council fear that without appropriate guidance, children will opt for

HISTORY, art and music will combine to attract thousands of visitors to a People's Carnival. Scarborough Castle will host the family fun day of theatre, art workshops, story-telling and crafts on Saturday. Organisers said it would be bigger and better

Attraction's unbeaten record was brought to an end at Newmarket yesterday as Soviet Song turned in a sparkling performance to put the young pretender in her place. Three times a Group One winner already this season, Middleham-trained Attraction was understandably

The Government may think it can coerce us into sharing but when it comes to our cars, we'd prefer to keep them to ourselves. LET'S face it, you'll never get us out of our cars. The Government's latest wheeze to keep some cars off the road is to encourage

THE curtain went up last night on the final play in the summer repertory season at Darlington Civic Theatre. Ray Cooney's farce Out Of Order opened last night and will run until Saturday. This year was the fifth that Ian Dickens has brought his summer

The Government's five-year education plan will pave the way for reform of the ''ramshackle'' school funding system in England, Education Secretary Charles Clarke signalled today. But he insisted that the plan, being unveiled tomorrow, would not mean the

POLICE are launching a drive to reduce drink-fuelled violence and disorder across County Durham. High-visibility street patrols and visits to pubs, nightclubs and off-licences will be made through the summer in the campaign which starts tomorrow. The

PEOPLE who want to influence the way services are provided for disabled people in east Cleveland are invited to a monthly meeting. The Redcar and Cleveland Disability Access Group, which aims to gain better access for all people, meets on the first Friday

PUPILS from schools across Middlesbrough visited the town's football club yesterday to mark the fifth anniversary of the Middlesbrough FC study support centre. And they received an award from club chairman Steve Gibson for taking part in the Playing for

STUDENTS from Chester-le-Street primary schools will experience many different art forms from around the world. Year six youngsters will attend the Bridging the Gap Festival at Park View School on Friday. Sixty children will be working with year seven

A COMPANY affected by a devastating fire nine months ago will be moving into a £1m-plus site later this year. Work has started on a head office and sales centre for timber importers and supply specialists North Yorkshire Timber. Last October, the company's

YOUNGSTERS are learning the importance of planning fire escape routes in their home. Cleveland Fire Brigade has teamed up with Redcar and Cleveland College to create a short play highlighting the importance of an escape route as part of this year's Crucial

What goes buzzzz, zzzzub, buzzzz, zzzzub? A bee stuck to a yo-yo. THOUGH the intention is (generally) more benevolent, the column's eternal maunderings around the towns and villages of the North-East - usually between buses - seem sometimes to resemble

COUNCILLORS are set to give their support to a long-awaited project to provide a footpath linking two rural villages. Residents of Hurworth and Neasham, near Darlington, had campaigned for years for a safe path between the two communities. Last month,

IN the best tradition of Euro 2004, a school football tournament was decided on penalties yesterday afternoon. Like England's final game in Portugal, the competition at Bishop Auckland College went down to a tense final shoot-out. Coundon St Joseph's

SUPERMARKET chain Safeway was fined £6,500 yesterday for selling out-of-date food at three of its stores. The company was also ordered to pay £1,976 costs by magistrates after admitting eight specimen charges under the 1996 Food Regulations Act. Stockton

YOUNGSTERS will don their shades next week to raise money for charity. Students at The Norton School, Norton, and visiting students from Finland and Spain will wear their sunglasses as part of The Guide Dogs for the Blind Association's Shades for a Day

CHILDREN at a village primary school are celebrating a runaway success in sports. Stanley Crook Primary School, in Stanley village, near Crook, has been awarded the Active Mark Gold Award. Sport England presented the school with the honour in recognition

RAILWAY track experts marked the final day of their convention in the North-East by visiting what are believed to be the last two companies in the town that maintain a historic link with the railway industry. Once the industry employed thousands of men

PLANS to create a trust to run leisure services in the Richmondshire district are to come under public scrutiny for a second time. The council hopes to hand over its leisure facilities to a trust this summer, but the scheme has met with a mixed response

The number of people contracting mumps in the North-East is steadily falling - despite the region having the fifth highest number of reported cases in the UK. There were 578 reported cases of mumps across the country, compared with 331 in the last quarter

A FATHER-of-three accused of raping a 14-year-old girl in his bed told police he had been asleep at the time of the alleged attack. Peter Graveling denies indecently assaulting and raping the teenager at his home in Newton Aycliffe, County Durham, on

PUPILS at a North-East school have been inspired by the death of a friend to concentrate their artistic talents on designing a safety message. Posters warning about the dangers of rope swings have been created by pupils at Monkwearmouth School, Sunderland

NEALE Cooper will have a full squad to take on tour when he steps up Hartlepool United's pre-season programme next week. Pool head for Holland and friendlies with Top Oss and FC Eindhoven and injury victims Micky Barron and Chris Westwood will be fit

A mother made an emotional appeal to help catch the killers of her son yesterday _ six months to the day after he was bludgeoned in an attack just yards from his home. Scott Pritchard, 19, had a foot in a plaster cast and was on crutches, so he would

MICHAEL Reiziger last night revealed that he swapped Barcelona for Middlesbrough in order to win trophies. The Dutch international became Steve McClaren's first summer signing when he put pen to paper on a two-year deal yesterday, with the option of a

A 'born again' rural railway yesterday demonstrated its faith in its future with a multi-million pound public share offer to finance its ambitious plans to expand. The Wensleydale Railway started operations on the old Northallerton to Redmire line just