The closure of a hospital mental health unit brought back painful memories for former patient Carole Gilmour, who underwent controversial electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) there. She talks to Sam Strangeways about her lifelong battle with mental illness
With all the contraception at our disposal, but a huge rise in the number of abortions, it's time for a serious debate on the issue Well, who would have thought that abortion would become an election issue? Michael Howard has been talking to Cosmo - an
CARLIN consumed, Palm proximate, Paste Egg Day almost upon us. Easter's early this year, but the 22nd World Egg Jarping Championship will be held as usual at Peterlee Cricket Club on Easter Monday, March 28. "We're anticipating a huge entry," says organiser
Fur is back on the catwalks and we are being warned it will be on the High Street for Autumn. Many of the models who said in the 90s they would rather go bare than wear fur have suddenly lost their social conscience. While it was cool a decade ago to
A COUNCIL has been criticised for failing to pay for the demolition of a disused building blighted by asbestos, despite holding £10m in cash reserves. Hartlepool Borough Council has so far only agreed to meet half the £120,000 it would cost to knock down
A WIDOW told of her "deep disappointment" last night after a coroner ruled that her husband's death was not contributed to by a hospital's neglect. Sandra Byers, whose late husband Barry died after what should have been a routine gallstones operation,
POLICE are investigating a Roman Catholic parish priest in a highly unusual and intricate case, a church meeting heard last night. Father Michael Higginbottom was withdrawn from St Augustine's Church, in Darlington, in December after information was received
A FORMER councillor was last night behind bars after being convicted of a sex attack. Harry Devine was found guilty by a jury at Durham Crown Court on the seventh day of his retrial on an indecent assault charge. Devine, who represented himself during
THE region's top pro-hunting campaigner has banned the hunt from her land during lambing time after hounds chased a fox through fields. Angela Vaux, North-East chairman of the Countryside Alliance, was understood to be furious after hounds from the Zetland
AS a region with a long stretch of coastline, the North-East is closer - in all respects - to the sea than many other parts of the country. In generations gone by, we made our living from it, trading, building ships and fishing. Generations to come may
THIRTY jobs have been saved by the acquisition of IPM Industries by a Teesside engineering company. Cordell Group, based in Stockton, has acquired IPM Industries, formerly Rotary Equipment Services, of Thornaby, near Stockton, which went into administration
A LOCAL authority has made a donation to help to build a permanent tribute to a North-East war hero. Darlington Borough Council's cabinet yesterday agreed to donate £900 to the Andrew Mynarski VC Concerts Committee. The donation will go towards the cost
A FORMER councillor branded "a danger to young girls" was last night behind bars after being convicted of a sex attack. Harry Devine was found guilty by a jury at Durham Crown Court on the seventh day of his retrial on an indecent assault charge relating
POLICE are investigating a Roman Catholic parish priest in a highly unusual and intricate case, a church meeting heard last night. Father Michael Higginbottom was withdrawn from St Augustine's Church, Darlington, in December, after information was received
LAURENT ROBERT, so often at loggerheads with managers, has given Graeme Souness the thumbs-up after finding what the flamboyant winger describes as the 'best form of my Magpies career'. The Frenchman looked to be heading for the St James' Park exit doors
It is being called the phoney election - the undeclared yet blatant campaigning leading up to the expected polling day of May 5. But the putative general election is phoney for another reason besides the fact that it hasn't been called. Officially its
A COMPANY using fingerprint technology has achieved its sales target for the year in only two months. UK Biometrics, of Gateshead, produces systems that scan and record fingerprints for secure identification. The group has launched its second generation
Matty Appleby last week returned for his third spell at Darlington and with the season approaching the final straight he's hoping for promotion glory in the play-offs at the third attempt. After leaving for Barnsley having being beaten in the Division
CABLE operator ntl said it had seen a strong finish to last year as it reported an 80 per cent fall in losses. The New York-listed group said fourth-quarter revenues last year rose by 5.3 per cent to £531.7m, helped largely by a 7.5 per cent rise in income
CHECKS could to be carried out to ensure a Darlington Borough Council document is written in plain English. The council's cabinet yesterday approved plans for a draft Statement of Community Involvement, which explains how the public can get involved in
For millennia, the High Row was a row of Darlington's poshest houses built high above the Skerne, which tended to flood, and above what became the Great North Road. From the front doors of the houses, a gentle slope rolled down to the river. Animals -
A TEENAGER was recovering in hospital last night after she was knocked down by a car outside her school. The 16-year-old, who has not been named, suffered serious head injuries after she stepped into the path of an oncoming vehicle outside Bishop Barrington
HAIR stylists are through to the North-East finals of a national competition. Saks of Chester-le-Street has had staff shortlisted in two categories of the regional finals of the L'Oreal Colour Trophy. Joanne Clift and Nicola Wilkinson have reached the
HUNDREDS of football-loving girls competed in their own version of the FA Cup. Pupils from junior and secondary schools across the county gathered at Durham University's Graham Sports Centre, at Maiden Castle, Durham City, for Durham County Council's
PLANS for old-style council lengthsmen have met with a mixed response in a rural County Durham district. Teesdale parish councils have said they would like to employ community highway workers, once known as lengthsmen, but they were likely to be too expensive
A HEALTH body set up to represent patients and the public is looking for new members. People with an interest in the delivery of mental health services are being invited to join a new forum set up to increase involvement in decision-making. The Patient
A NEW community house opened this week. The house, in Mansfield Avenue, Thornaby, will host a number of services and agencies including surgeries and advice clinics by councillors, community wardens and housing and benefit officers. A joint venture between
HELP is needed to clean up the roads in a village. The Heighington Parish Litter Group wants people to support its next litter pick on Saturday, April 9. About 20 people, including scouts and cubs, took part in a litter pick earlier this month, collecting
TWO-mile championship races don't come any better than this afternoon's Queen Mother Champion Chase, in which there is nothing to separate the three market principals, Azertyuiop, Well Chief, and Moscow Flyer (3.15). Azertyuiop, a colossus of a racehorse
TRAFFIC was brought to a standstill yesterday as more than 200 mourners walked in a funeral procession as a tribute to a teenage schoolboy who is believed to have frozen to death in the snow. A police car with a blue flashing light led the way slowly
THE public are being urged to have their say on plans to build a new sports centre in Ryedale. A site by Malton School has emerged as the preferred location for the facility and the district council has agreed to further investigations. Residents are
With all the contraception at our disposal, but a huge rise in the number of abortions, it's time for a serious debate on the issue Well, who would have thought that abortion would become an election issue? Michael Howard has been talking to Cosmo - an
THE future of Darlington's historic High Row will go a long way towards being decided today, as councillors prepare to vote on proposals for dramatic change. The borough council's planning committee gathers for what could be a heated meeting on the contentious
IT is currently shrouded in scaffolding but, under the poles and boards that now envelope it, the East Front of York Minster is breathtaking. Work on it began in 1361, and it was completed by the 1420s. It is regarded as one of the finest examples of
Big-spending Graham Wylie received the first Cheltenham Festival dividend from his multi-million-pound bloodstock investment as 20-1 chance Arcalis stormed up the hill to land the Letheby & Christopher Supreme Novices Hurdle. Howard Johnson's charge
COUNCIL chiefs have defended plans to sell off assets and build a new £4m headquarters, amid angry calls for a public inquiry into the move. The fate of two Richmond car parks and five office buildings belonging to Richmondshire District Council will
Chancellor Gordon Brown has targeted first-time buyers in his ninth budget. Mr Brown has doubled the level at which house buyers pay stamp duty to £120,000. The chancellor also said inheritance tax thresholds would rise from £260,000 at present to £300,000
Swan Hunter shipyards will be mothballed later this year, unless an eleventh-hour deal can be struck with the Ministry of Defence (MoD). Swans, which has yards at Port Clarence, in Middlesbrough, and Wallsend, in North Tyneside, is shedding staff as work
ENGLAND coach Duncan Fletcher has told Durham that Stephen Harmison will be available for their first two County Championship matches of the season. They are also hoping to have him for the C & G Trophy second round tie at home to Derbyshire on May
CARLIN consumed, Palm proximate, Paste Egg Day almost upon us. Easter's early this year, but the 22nd World Egg Jarping Championship will be held as usual at Peterlee Cricket Club on Easter Monday, March 28. "We're anticipating a huge entry," says organiser
COUNCIL chiefs have defended plans to sell off assets and build a £4m headquarters, amid angry calls for a public inquiry into the move. The fate of two Richmond car parks and five office buildings belonging to Richmondshire District Council will be decided
SHOPKEEPERS who are losing hundreds of pounds a week to black-market racketeers last night welcomed the publication of a report that highlights the extent of the problem. A committee of MPs has found the illegal trade in hand-rolling tobacco is "out of
MEMBERS of an orchestra have rallied to support an asylum seeker fighting to stay in the UK. Nebez Osman arrived in the UK five years ago after fleeing his native Iraq. During his battle to stay, he learned to play the violin and became a member of Darlington
THE family of the mother and two children who died after being swept away by heavy seas on Sunday spoke yesterday of the "heartbreaking tragedy". They paid tribute to Kim Barrett, 33 and Aimee and Luke Greenwood, from Spen Bank, Leeds. Aimee's body has
IT is not every day that you find one of your ancestors was a convict, transported to Australia for theft in the 19th Century. So when Will Swales discovered that his great, great uncle, Ward Swale, met precisely that fate, he was a little shocked. Yesterday
MICK McCARTHY celebrated his second anniversary in charge at the Stadium of Light with a resounding 5-1 victory. The Sunderland boss has suffered two disappointments in his previous two seasons at the club - a relegation from the Premier League when he
RACING lover Alan Shearer insists progress for Newcastle United in the UEFA Cup this evening would mean more than witnessing any of his horses claim glory at the Cheltenham Festival this week. Shearer, hotly tipped to edge another step closer to Jackie
A NORTH-EAST coroner has called on the Prison Service to conduct an urgent review of systemic failings which contributed to a vulnerable inmate taking his own life. Durham coroner Andrew Tweddle has made a series of recommendations to the Prison Service
An ambulance with an emergency patient on board was pulled over by the police for having a faulty brake light. Noel Gleeson was in chronic pain from a spine problem but was almost within sight of the hospital when the police car pulled over the driver
BOLO ZENDEN admits a decision on his Middlesbrough future is likely to be delayed until the summer - just as it was last year. The ambitious Dutchman only signed a one-year deal in the summer, when he finally agreed to stay with the club after months
The Government was last night urged to tackle the rising costs faced by industry ahead of figures expected to show that more than a million manufacturing jobs have been lost since Labour came to power. A leading business group warned that more skilled
DURHAM Prison governor Mike Newell who struggled to deal with high levels of overcrowding has taken early retirement. It is understood he was unhappy at being stripped of the resources to fulfil his dual role as governor and president of the Prison Governors
TOILETS: What a wonderful council Darlington has. It intends spending millions of pounds on unnecessary alterations to the town centre, when the local cemetery has more publicly owned toilets than the whole area. Besides spending money in shops, people
A MOTHER has said she risks being evicted after having her tax credits stopped. Zoe Clark, 30, of Lanethorpe Road, Darlington, has been told she will not receive any working tax credit for the next four weeks after being overpaid by the Inland Revenue
Precious Babies (ITV1) First Love, Second Chance (ITV1) No Angels (C4) - The process of IVF treatment is stressful and traumatic enough, I'd have thought, without having to bother with cameras following your every move. But the appetite of ordinary people
JITTERY Labour MPs will today look to Chancellor Gordon Brown to rescue their party's faltering election campaign with a vote-winning Budget. Mr Brown was poised to deliver his ninth Budget, amid a widespread belief that the Tories have stolen a march
A FORMER councillor who served as both a city's mayor and chairman of a county council has died. James 'Jim' Mackintosh died, following recent illness, in Dryburn Park Hospital, Durham, on Sunday evening, aged 81. A Royal Marine for 13 years, he worked
A 100-DAY blitz to crack down on anti-social behaviour has been launched. As one of the 50 Together Action Areas set up to tackle nuisance behaviour, Easington District Council has planned a major drive to clean up neighbourhoods. The authority, which
A SCHOOL has been awarded a £107,500 grant to provide a new generation of community sports facilities. Roseberry Sport and Community College, at Pelton, near Chester-le-Street, will create one of the region's leading sports facilities by installing a
tributeS have been paid to a former school headteacher and church organist. Gladys Clough, of St Anne's Crescent, Catterick Village, died on March 5, aged 90. Mrs Clough, who preferred to be called simply G, was the headteacher at Middleton Tyas Primary
PLANNERS have launched a strong attack on North Yorkshire County Council over its lack of progress in getting rid of temporary classroom accommodation. The planners believe 19 years should have been ample opportunity to resolve accommodation problems
A FATHER'S desperate dash to the side of his ill son ended in arrest when he tried to steal a bike to speed up his journey, then bit the owner who tried to prevent his escape. Harrogate magistrates heard yesterday how Jonathan Hullah had been watching
A COUNCIL is taking to the road to ask people how it should spend £78m earmarked for travel and transport improvements. Durham County Council will hold eight public sessions on draft proposals for improvements across the county during the next six years
SCHOOLS were in the international spotlight yesterday when Croatian government ministers and educators visited Teesside. The delegation was in Hartlepool to find out about the town's Gifted and Talented initiative, which involves primary and secondary
TWO pizza shops from the same town have been fined after food safety officers found dirty conditions. Guisborough Magistrates' Court heard how the owners from Benvenuto, in Market Place, and Oscars, in Enfield Place, both Guisborough, pleaded guilty to
A RECOVERING alcoholic who was also trying to rid himself of a heroin addiction died from a drugs overdose. An inquest at Teesside Magistrates' Court heard how Asaf Mansha, 36, had been receiving help to get over his drugs habit and had reduced his daily
A BUSINESS organisation wants to drum up more entrepreneurs in County Durham with the help of an expert. Showman percussionist Claudio kron do Brazil will help people get in the mood for enterprise at a free event today from 5.30pm to 9pm. Support agency
YOUNGSTERS threw the book at racism this week at the launch of a collection of poems against intolerance in football. The book was written by youngsters in Hartlepool as part of a poetry writing project during the week of action against racism in football
STARS from Northern Opera will perform songs from well-known musicals in a Teesdale church on Saturday. Five principal singers - Linda Craig, Ruth Lackenby, Susan Smith, Brian Artist and Brian Jordan - will perform in the Methodist Church, inBarnard Castle
A TOWN council wants more people to enter its annual gardening competition. A review of Barnard Castle Town Council's gardening competition has been carried out and a team of councillors have made it their priority to promote the competition. The competition
Distraught family members today blasted the prison sentence imposed on a drink driver responsible for the deaths of a father and son. Mark Sidney Murray, 22, was jailed for five-and-a-half years after admitting causing the deaths of Malcolm 'Mally' Gellatly
A MAN who has admitted making explosives including petrol, napalm and pipe bombs has been told by a judge he faces a lengthy prison sentence. Philip Prout pleaded guilty at Teesside Crown Court yesterday to making an explosive substance between December
Precious Babies (ITV1) First Love, Second Chance (ITV1) No Angels (C4) THE process of IVF treatment is stressful and traumatic enough, I'd have thought, without having to bother with cameras following your every move. But the appetite of ordinary people
POLICE are seeking to revoke the licence of a floating nightclub after persistent violence and crime and disorder involving cheap drinks promotions. Magistrates in Gateshead are being asked to revoke the licence of the Tuxedo Princess, which is famous
