UNLIKE the Church of England, whose leaders serve a life sentence with time off only for bad behaviour, the President of the Methodist Conference spends just a year in office. The system is said to have been a reaction to John Wesley's bossiness. Dr Neil
HOME BOY Adam Boyd has had enough of the A1 and early mornings; Hartlepool United may be about to feel the benefit. Boyd was shipped out on loan to Boston earlier this season, as boss Neale Cooper joined the list of managers left frustrated and bewildered
A VISIT from a TV vet and the launch of an interactive gallery are two of the events planned for an attraction's fifth birthday As part of the anniversary celebrations at The World of James Herriot, Thirsk, North Yorkshire, on Monday, TV vet Trude Mostue
NEWCASTLE Falcons' Jamie Noon will equal a Zurich Premiership record with his 46th consecutive appearance away to Leeds Tykes tomorrow. The 24-year-old centre hasn't missed a game for over two years and will equal the mark set by former Leicester centre
MICK McCarthy last night admitted that Sunderland's Whitburn training ground has been more like a health club than a football club in the run-up to today's Division One clash with Derby. The game will complete a run of eight games in 24 days which have
After winning a Best Actress Oscar, a horror film may seem an odd choice for her next movie, but Halle Berry is keen to continue with the weighty drama, as well as the more glamorous roles. She tells Steve Pratt about dungeons, breaking her arm - and
UNLIKE the Church of England, whose leaders serve a life sentence with time off only for bad behaviour, the President of the Methodist Conference spends just a year in office. The system is said to have been a reaction to John Wesley's bossiness. Dr Neil
RETAILER Boots is scouring the North-East for sites for out-of-town superstores that will create hundreds of jobs. Nationwide, the company is to create 3,000 jobs over the next year as part of a £390m expansion. The health and beauty chain said it would
A TALENT competition aimed at finding some golden oldies has been launched. Age Concern is running the Silver Stars Talent Contest with Yours Magazine and Emap Esprit, in a bid to find comedians, singers, musicians, dancers and entertainers who are over
Q Our weekly State Pensions are £102.54 and £46.81. Our private pensions are £129.43 a month and £163 a quarter for my husband and £71.97 for me. We both have Attendance Allowance (AA) but have never had Carer's Allowance (CA), even though we look after
A DISCO designed to keep youths off the streets of Darlington descended into "bedlam" last night. Hundreds of youngsters, some drunk, tried to force their way into the Dolphin Centre after they were turned away from the event, which was organised by the
A MAN seen performing oral sex on a horse must now suffer the stigma of public derision, a court heard. Kevin Long, 34, was arrested after a woman walking her dog saw him in the act in a field at South Church, Bishop Auckland, County Durham, in December
HISTORY-making Middlesbrough manager Steve McClaren has set his sights on a top-eight Premiership finish. Boro visit relegation-threatened Everton today with McClaren, who led the Teessiders to their first major trophy a month ago when they won the Carling
APART from the Lincoln, there are several other nice prizes to be picked up at Doncaster this afternoon, including the £30,000 Listed Cammidge Trophy. Likely to be heavily involved in the dash-for-the-cash is the dual Portland Handicap winner, Kevin Ryan's
GARY SPEED insists Andy O'Brien's trench warfare spirit is exactly what Newcastle need against Sam Allardyce's Bolton fighters at the Reebok Stadium tomorrow. Republic of Ireland international O'Brien stood in at right-back for the injured Aaron Hughes
INDUSTRIAL action could black out TV screens and leave emergency services facing a communications crisis as broadcast workers launch a dispute over pay and conditions. Workers at NTL's broadcasting arm are planning an indefinite overtime ban in a protest
A PUBLIC arts project inspired by the hidden rivers flowing under a North-East city is a step closer to fruition. Newcastle City Council has agreed the fifth - and final - artist and artwork in its series of public art works in the city. Internationally-renowned
MORE than 780 jobs will be created in the North-East thanks to a £51m investment in new homes. The Neet Partnership, which is behind the development, has pledged to use local contractors to develop 498 homes during the next two to three years. A £29.2m
AN Internet firm that provides on-screen British sign language translation has won its sixth award in just over a year. Newcastle-based SignPost was named best Internet business in the Northumberland and Tyneside Business Awards. It is the first company
A JUDGE has raised concerns about destroyed closed-circuit security television (CCTV) footage which could provide vital evidence in court. Recorder Paul Worsley, a part-time judge, spoke out at Durham Crown Court after footage of an assault carried out
YOUNGSTERS who stayed silent for 15 minutes to help a cancer charity have collected more than £1,000. Children at St John's Primary School, in Shildon, raised £1,126.50 for the Macmillan Cancer Charity after taking part in a Sponsored Hush in February
PUPILS from a Richmond school have been spreading the healthy eating message, selling fruit from a stall at breaktimes. Apples, oranges and kiwi fruit are all proving so popular, queues have been forming every day, with a share of the profits going to
THERE may be a glimmer of hope for two of Harrogate's sports club after a frank exchange of views with the council. Harrogate Rugby Club and Harrogate Town Football Club are facing uncertain futures because of question marks over their grounds. The rugby
A PARACHUTE regiment recruit is to be rewarded for helping police to arrest a suspect fleeing from officers after a struggle. David Darby, 17, who joined Catterick Garrison's Infantry Training Centre a few weeks ago, was walking his dog in a park near
PUPILS from three east Cleveland schools picked up medals at the National Schools Biathlon Championships. The youngsters from Belmont Primary School, Laurence Jackson School and students Prior Pursglove College, in Guisborough, took part in competitions
BIG-HEARTED pub landlords and their customers have raised £2,200 for The Daisy Chain charity by organising a piggy race night. Regulars at The Eagle at Eaglescliffe, near Stockton, donated the money to a charity which aims to open the UK's first respite
RETAILER Boots is scouring the North-East for sites for out-of-town superstores that will create hundreds of jobs. Nationwide, the company is to create 3,000 jobs over the next year as part of a £390m expansion. The health and beauty chain said it would
students will learn about the Second World War from people who lived through it. A-levels pupils from Durham Johnston School will listen to, and record, their reminiscences and stories at an event in the city's DLI Museum and Durham Art Gallery on Monday
A MAN who fled the scene of an accident on Christmas Day which left a woman with back injuries will have to serve a community rehabilitation order. Neil Beck, 21, was told he could have been jailed after admitting driving without due care and attention
A MAN who fled the scene of an accident on Christmas Day which left a woman with back injuries will have to serve a community rehabilitation order. Neil Beck, 21, was told he could have been jailed after admitting driving without due care and attention
PUPILS have seen designs for a Monopoly board based on their town turned into reality. Youngsters from five primary schools in Ferryhill and Chilton took part in a project based on the board game. The work was designed to help the children in the transition
FOUR options will be considered when access to a Richmond industrial estate goes back under the spotlight next week. People with homes around the Gallowfields Trading Estate have become increasingly concerned about the amount of traffic using their roads
THE VIEWS of young people on crime are being passed to officials in County Durham. Politicians will join representatives from the police, health and arts professionals to see the culmination of a ground-breaking collaboration which has involved almost
Band Phil's Gang will play at The Ann Charlton Lodge, in Redcar, on Wednesday, April 7, at 7.30pm, in aid of the East Cleveland branch of the Multiple Sclerosis Society. Tickets cost £2 at the door and there will be free refreshments.
Success on the small screen doesn't always translate into success at the cinema. But will the latest attempt, form the team behind Spaced, fare any better than some illustrious predecessors? A MAN slipping on a banana skin and falling over is funny. TV
TWO North-East men who tried to smuggle more than 2.6 million contraband cigarettes into the country were jailed yesterday. Former fitness boss Carlo Citrone, 38, was locked up for two years and long-time business associate William Howard, 41, was sentenced
A WOMAN is giving up her Easter holiday to fly to Africa where she will work as a volunteer at an infant home. Andrea Bradley, 41, from Flawith, near Easingwold, North Yorkshire, has bought her plane ticket to Malawi and is now fundraising for her trip
A VICAR who had to sell his motorbike to pay for his first book to be published has secured a £2.2m movie deal with a Hollywood film company. Superstars Sean Bean, Donald Sutherland and Michael Caine have all been sounded out to star in the film version
CIRCUS: I WISH to respond to the statements made by the woman who is allowing an animal circus on her land (Echo, Mar 23). Circuses are cruel. This is why local councils do not allow them on their land. Those who fight against animal abuse do so because
THE Government was last night accused of trying to cover up hefty council tax rises by ordering local authorities to issue "misleading" bills. Authorities have been told by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister to calculate their council tax rises by
ON the day that one of the North-East's most successful health campaigns was relaunched, Health Secretary Dr John Reid heaped high praise on a unique partnership. Dr Reid said A Chance To Live perfectly complemented the NHS's increasing emphasis on disease
Canon Kevin Dunn, a 53-year-old from Newcastle-under-Lyme - "the other Newcastle" he said - is to be the new Roman Catholic Bishop of Hexham and Newcastle. He will be responsible for 223,000 Catholics, 215 diocesan priests and almost 200 churches between
DEFIANT Newcastle United star Craig Bellamy last night maintained he is happy with the way he behaves, and declared: "I have nothing to prove to anyone." Bellamy was candid about his much-publicised clash with first-team coach John Carver ahead of Newcastle's
SUPERMARKET chain Morrisons last night announced the full "hit list" of Safeway stores in the region it must sell to meet legal requirements. The company, which acquired Safeway following a lengthy Competition Commission inquiry last year, has been ordered
AUDITIONS are being held for parts in the musical Little Shop of Horrors. Actors, singers and dancers aged eight to 25 are being urged to try out for the Dionysis Theatre Company's show, which will be staged at the Gala Theatre, Durham in August. Workshops
THOUSANDS of people in the region have responded to The Northern Echo's call to embrace healthy living. Five years ago, this newspaper launched a campaign to improve treatment for heart patients. Now, after dramatic improvements in heart services, the
SOME of the North-East's most deprived areas are to benefit from a £25m cash boost announced by Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott. Millions of pounds worth of funding will help regenerate former coalfield areas across the country left devastated by
Six rescued British cavers at the centre of a political dispute were detained and questioned by Mexican immigration officials last night and President Vicente Fox said he was not satisfied with Britain's explanation of their activities. A day after the
BOX office staff are gearing up to put tickets on sale for one of the region's most popular pantomimes. Every year, tickets for the show at York's Theatre Royal go on sale at 9am on April 1. The pantomime attracts nearly 55,000 people a year and fans
After winning a Best Actress Oscar, a horror film may seem an odd choice for her next movie, but Halle Berry is keen to continue with the weighty drama, as well as the more glamorous roles. She tells Steve Pratt about dungeons, brieaking her arm - and
A STATELY home is offering a series of one-day art workshops tutored by a prize winning artist. Ronald Falck is the artist in residence at Castle Howard, near Malton. In the workshops Mr Falck will share his passion for art with students, who will get
SUPERMARKET chain Morrisons last night announced the full "hit list" of Safeway stores in the region it must sell to meet legal requirements. The company, which acquired Safeway following a lengthy Competition Commission inquiry last year, has been ordered
A CHIEF constable was staying silent yesterday after an embarrassing incident when she tried to buy wine from a supermarket. As North Yorkshire boss, Della Cannings may be in command of the largest force and control budgets worth millions - but there
JOEY HUTCHINSON is no longer a stranger to Darlington boss David Hodgson. Back in November, Hodgson returned to a club which barely resembled the one he departed acrimoniously five years earlier, with Craig Liddle, Andy Collett and Martin Gray the sole
CROWD favourite Julio Arca is ready to stay at Sunderland next season - if the club's ambitions match his. The Argentinian's current Stadium of Light contract has one more year to run and Black Cats boss Mick McCarthy has confirmed he will be holding
MYTHS and taboos still persist around domestic violence despite growing awareness on the issue, research has revealed. A study carried out on behalf of the Government showed many women do not expect it to happen to them and are surprised at who is affected
FAMILIES who accused doctors of taking organs from their children and other loved ones without relatives' knowledge yesterday won the right to seek damages. Mr Justice Gage, in the High Court, ruled the practice was unlawful. He said organs had been taken
A SOLICITOR'S career was ruined after her eyeball was pierced by a stiletto heel, a court heard. Alison Honour, 44, has been forced to give up her profession of 22 years, can no longer drive, and suffers post-traumatic stress disorder after the unprovoked
A MAN accused of selling Ecstasy to a teenager who later died has denied ever dealing or taking the drug. Christopher Hartshorn, 20, is said to have dealt the class A drug to 17-year-old Martin Dakers who was celebrating having a new job, on March 14
IT'S so trite to say that Life Begins at 40. Okay, I had a football party and somehow persuaded my four ageing brothers to stir their limbs against the local ladies football team for a five-a-side game. But my wife found the experience quite difficult
Organisers of the Big Live Gig rock festival are moving the event outside. After four sell-out years at the Jersey Farm Hotel, Barnard Castle, County Durham, it will be held in a nearby field, on Sunday, July 18. Tickets are on sale from April 1, price
A TINY BEAKER commemorating the day two crows nested on a revolving weather vane has been sold for £940 at a North-East auction. The silver-rimmed horn beaker was bought by County Durham's Beamish Museum, at the spring sale of Newcastle auctioneers Anderson
A NORTH-EAST council has awarded construction company Sir Robert McAlpine a multi-million pound contract to run its roads network. Officials believe the deal, which may be worth as much as £50m, will lead to improvements in road quality. Redcar and Cleveland
A PRINTING company which saw its factory destroyed in a fire last year has announced plans for a £15m headquarters in the North-East. The owners of Reed Print Group plan to close operations in Newcastle, Gateshead and Sunderland and move 225 staff into
A PLASTICS company is planning to expand its product range after achieving a seven-figure turnover in only its third year of operation. Plastics UK (NPUK), in Sedgefield, County Durham, has forecast a 20 per cent growth in business, taking turnover from
FAMILIES who accused doctors of taking organs from their children and other loved ones without relatives' knowledge yesterday won the right to seek damages. Mr Justice Gage, in the High Court, ruled the practice was unlawful. He said organs had been taken
Band Phil's Gang will play at The Ann Charlton Lodge, in Redcar, on Wednesday, April 7, at 7.30pm, in aid of the East Cleveland branch of the Multiple Sclerosis Society. Tickets cost £2 at the door and there will be free refreshments. Published: 27/03
A REMINDER of two busy weeks that a town will not soon forget has been installed in a museum. More than 22,000 people converged on Middlesbrough to see the replica of explorer Captain James Cook's bark, HMS Endeavour, visit the town, during the annual
A MAN slipping on a banana skin and falling over is funny. TV comedians on the big screen aren't. There are exceptions to the rule but, more often than not, small screen funny men prove as amusing as a road accident blown up larger than life on the big
JOEY HUTCHINSON is no longer a stranger to Darlington boss David Hodgson. Back in November, Hodgson returned to a club which barely resembled the one he departed acrimoniously five years earlier, with Craig Liddle, Andy Collett and Martin Gray the sole
AN explosion caused a fireball to burst out of a manhole cover in Darlington yesterday The cause of the incident, which happened in Duke Street at 8.50am, was unclear last night. Communications company BT said it was caused by a faulty electricity cable
A BUS driver was forced to stop his vehicle after school pupils set fire to paper onboard. The Number 30 Arriva bus service in Darlington was carrying about 15 pupils from Hummersknott School and Language College when the incident happened yesterday,
POLICE have moved to reassure villagers that the extent of anti-social behaviour in their community is not as serious as some people believe. Darlington police say that isolated incidents of smashed windows and bullying in nearby Sadberge should not be
PUPILS at a Darlington school are celebrating their success in the swimming pool. Holy Family RC Primary School was named the overall winner of the small schools swimming gala, held in the town's Dolphin Centre on Thursday. It is the first time the school
TWO girls, aged 12 and 14, have been arrested in connection with an alleged arson attack in Darlington. The youngsters from Skerne Park were arrested in connection with a fire at the community centre on the estate on Tuesday night. The girls were interviewed
FORMER headteacher Mike Harris is back in the classroom, teaching pottery. Since retiring from Middleton-in-Teesdale Primary School last August, Mr Harris has indulged his passion for making pots by teaching the skill to children. Now he has turned his
A CHARITY that helps people with visual impairments is appealing for help to raise money for its work. The County Durham Society for the Blind and Partially Sighted, based in North Road, Durham, needs to make up £7,000 lost when a grant was withdrawn.
Facilities to deter bicycle thieves have been designed by city council's engineers. The cycle stand, created by Sunderland City Council, promises good security, is easy to use and pedestrian-friendly. The first batch will be sited in commercial areas
Former Premiership football referee Alan Wilkie has presented certificates to a group of inmates at Deerbolt Young Offenders' Institution, in Startforth, near Barnard Castle, after they completed a basic referees course, which is the first step to becoming
PARENTS in County Durham are being urged to switch from disposable nappies. Real Nappy Week, which starts on Monday, aims to reduce the eight million throw-away nappies that end up in landfill sites each day. Councils are backing the campaign and holding
HEALTH chiefs have built up a profile of the population within the Hambleton and Richmondshire Primary Care Trust's area. The profile provides statistical data, age and gender structures at primary care trust level, district council level and ward level
Durham City manager Billy Cruddas admits that Dunston are strong favourites for the title - but his team won't give up yet. Durham go into today's home game with Jarrow Roofing two points behind leaders Dunston, having played two games more, and Cruddas
A MAN accused of a vicious street attack which left a father with a broken nose and fractured jaw was cleared yesterday. Paul Williamson, 21, was accused of taking part in a joint attack on 44-year-old John Morton on New Year's Eve 2002. Newcastle Crown
A MULTI-million pound revamp of secondary schools is planned in Middlesbrough. Three school building programmes, costing a total of £90m, will be completed over the next six years. The ambitious plans were unveiled to a meeting of headteachers on Thursday
PUPILS at a County Durham comprehensive will be the first to use US-style yellow school buses as part of a pilot scheme. Three modern 68-seat buses will be used to transport 193 pupils from Sherburn Village to Belmont Comprehensive School, near Durham
A caf bar has opened in Chester-le-Street creating 52 jobs for local people Staff at the £1m Chicago Rock Caf have been learning routines from Grease as well as how to pull a perfect pint. Each member of the bar and waiting team is trained to dance to
DRIVERS are becoming increasingly concerned about a heavily congested road into Darlington. More development work is under way at the West Park site in Faverdale, which means rush-hour traffic delays on the A68 West Auckland Road are getting worse. Drivers
MODEL gliding enthusiasts are to be allowed to extend their flying area at Levisham Moor and the Hole of Horcum. The North York Moors National Park Authority's planning committee has renewed permission for the North Yorkshire Moors Ridge Soaring Club
DRIVERS are becoming increasingly concerned about a heavily congested road into Darlington. More development work is under way at the West Park site in Faverdale, which means rush-hour traffic delays on the A68 West Auckland Road are getting worse. Drivers
COMBATING bullying is top of the curriculum at a Teesside school. More than 300 first year pupils at Guisborough's Laurence Jackson School are to work with staff from the Tees and North East Yorkshire NHS Trust's Langbaurgh child and adolescent mental
CALLS have been made for a leading councillor to resign over a blunder which resulted in hundreds of workers being wrongly told their pay was to be cut. Councillor George Dunning, leader of the Labour group on Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council, challenged
A CONTROVERSIAL cobbler will close his shop for the final time today - after being ordered to leave because of rent arrears. Tony Martin has written a book about his lengthy battle with Durham City Council. It was launched yesterday as he prepared to
FORMER Newcastle and Liverpool manager Kenny Dalglish is being lined up as the figurehead of a planned takeover of Darlington Football Club. The Northern Echo can reveal that Dalglish - a friend of Quakers boss David Hodgson - is seen as the man to add
A SCHOOL football team have copied their Carling Cup winning Middlesbrough FC heroes by winning their own national trophy in Cardiff. The six-a-side boys team from The Avenue Primary School, in Nunthorpe, Middlesbrough, won the Kelloggs Frosties Trophy
FORMER Newcastle and Liverpool manager Kenny Dalglish is being lined up as the figurehead of a planned takeover of Darlington Football Club. The Northern Echo can reveal that Dalglish - a friend of Quakers boss David Hodgson - is seen as the man to add
HISTORY-making Middlesbrough manager Steve McClaren has set his sights on a top-eight Premiership finish. Boro visit relegation-threatened Everton today with McClaren, who led the Teessiders to their first major trophy a month ago when they won the Carling
Less than a year ago Sunderland were relegation certainties and it appeared life in the First Division would be one hard slog as the club prepared to fight their financial demons. Today, as Chief Sports Writer Scott Wilson discovered when he spoke to
Writer, director, performer - Nick Lane is a man of many parts. He talks to Steve Pratt about his new play about the Hunchback of Notre Dame. A CAR accident has helped actor Nick Lane fulfil his ambition of becoming a writer. Seven years ago, he was hurt
WOOLWORTHS' decision to close its Big W out-of-town mega-stores has raised concerns about the futures of scores of North-East workers. The company plans to scrap the warehouse-style superstores and use the sites for smaller so-called destination stores
IT is important not to raise the hopes of Darlington Football Club fans too high. But it is also important to give them hope - and that is exactly what David Hodgson was trying to do by revealing that he is owed a substantial amount of money by the club
AN exhibition representing people from multi-cultural backgrounds is to open in Stockton. Ways of Seeing includes photographs of people and places in Stockton and a CD of folk songs and stories produced with the assistance of Sanity Multimedia Ltd. Portrait
TWO North-East men who tried to smuggle more than 2.6 million contraband cigarettes into the country were jailed yesterday. Former fitness boss Carlo Citrone, 38, was locked up for two years and long-time business associate William Howard, 41, was sentenced
NOWADAYS it generally takes a potential Group class performer to win the Lincoln, which is all the more reason for siding with Alkaadhem (2.45) in the £100,000 Doncaster showpiece. It is an inescapable fact that Arab-owned horses call many of the shots
DEFIANT Newcastle United star Craig Bellamy last night maintained he is happy with the way he behaves, and declared: "I have nothing to prove to anyone." Bellamy was candid about his much-publicised clash with first-team coach John Carver ahead of Newcastle's
A MAN accused of murdering his next-door neighbour in a row about noisy DIY has heard details of the victim's fatal injury. Christopher Hoyland sat motionless in the dock and listened intently as Home Office pathologist Dr James Sunter described the blood
A VICAR who had to sell his motorbike to pay for his first book to be published has secured a £2.2m movie deal with a Hollywood film company. Superstars Sean Bean, Donald Sutherland and Michael Caine have all been sounded out to star in the film version
THE number of entries for a short story competition launched in the region has topped 250 with just days left to the deadline. The Short Story Competition was launched in January, organised by Darlington-based Inscribe Media Ltd, backed by The Northern
A PUBLIC arts project inspired by the hidden rivers flowing under a North-East city is a step closer to fruition. Newcastle City Council has agreed the fifth - and final - artist and artwork in its series of public art works in the city. Internationally-renowned
AUF Wiedersehen Pet star Jimmy Nail won £30,000 libel damages yesterday over false claims about his sexual behaviour and allegations of greed and prima donna tendencies. But the 50-year-old Geordie actor is facing a costs bill estimated at £200,000 because
