Archive

  • Murray pays tribute to boss

    ELATED chairman Bob Murray has described the satisfaction he has felt from witnessing manager Mick McCarthy re-establish Sunderland as a Premiership club, writes Paul Fraser. The Black Cats have struggled through financial difficulties ever since losing

  • Dinner ladies may strike over cut in working hours

    SCHOOL dinner ladies are threatening industrial action after being told they face a cut in their working hours. Cooks who have been campaigning for equal pay with male manual workers at Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council said their hours are being reduced

  • News in brief

    ORDER BREACHED: Harold Brown, 49, of Dunstan Close, Guisborough, on bail while waiting sentence on a charge of making threats to kill, was given a verbal warning by Teesside magistrates on Saturday for breaching a curfew order. A solicitor said the steelworker

  • Stand-in boss says 'I'm ready'

    MARTIN Scott threw his hat in to the ring after Hartlepool's draw on Saturday by admitting he wants the manager's job. Scott was put in temporary charge of Pool's visit to Bournemouth at the weekend after the club's controversial decision to sack Neale

  • University handed top marks in report

    A NORTH-East university has received top marks for its teaching and management. Inspectors from the Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education spent a week examining the University of Teesside, Middlesbrough, from top to bottom. The team concluded

  • Upset? Fans are just happy the club is back in business

    Having agonisingly missed out on the play-offs by scoring three goals less than Northampton, one could reasonably expect to see bitterly disappointed fans, devastated at coming so close, yet so far from promotion. Perhaps the odd tear might have been

  • Robbie is junior champion

    TEENAGE tae kwon do enthusiast Robbie Bates is celebrating after becoming a junior national champion. The 13-year-old, from Darlington, was victorious at the English Taekwonmudo Academy National Championships, in Sheffield. Competitors represented associations

  • Champions are thwarted

    Durham Coast League: Although only one game failed to start, the remainder all finished early as rain swept down the coast. Champions Murton made the short journey to Easington but after scoring 56 for the loss of one wicket, the weather closed in and

  • Council in pioneering quest to cut carbon dioxide levels

    A DRIVE to reduce carbon dioxide emissions in an attempt to fight climate change has taken a step forward. North Yorkshire County Council has become the first authority in the country to appoint a carbon reduction manager. Kim Williams will head the council's

  • Photo-finish in nailbiting climax to university boat race

    THE ninth annual meeting of the North-East's own university boat race produced a dramatic finish yesterday. Newcastle University snatched a victory over their rivals from Durham - winning the senior event at the Northumbrian Water University Boat Race

  • Inspector refuses caravan site appeal

    A GOVERNMENT inspector has backed a local authority's decision to refuse planning permission for a caravan to be sited near one of the region's busiest roads. Last February, Darlington Borough Council refused Thomas Walker-Coates retrospective planning

  • Property company hits the right note

    A PROPERTY company is investing in a cultural project that will bring a world-renowned opera singer to the region. Two opera concerts, sponsored by Durham's Rivergreen Developments, will take place over the May bank holiday weekend, to raise funds for

  • Rescuers under extreme pressure

    DAREDEVIL sportsmen and woman are causing a major headache for volunteer rescue services across the region by thoughtlessly putting themselves at risk. Rescuers say they have seen an increasing number of call-outs over the past few years, due in part

  • Cobblers put the boot in to Quakers' play-off aspirations

    THE bearer of bad news, a dismissive wave was all David Hodgson could afford to his players when Neil Wainwright's last-minute goal sparked a frenzied pitch invasion. Cruelly, news had somehow filtered down to the Quakers bench that Kidderminster were

  • Durham Diary: Why Riverside is Durham's home sweet home

    CONTINUING developments at Riverside are likely to make Durham even more reluctant to up sticks, but two remarkable hours at Stockton on Saturday provided a wonderful advert for outground cricket. Andy Caddick was threatening to continue Friday evening's

  • Dunston finally defeated

    Albany Northern League: Dunston's quest to go unbeaten through a league season was ended when they lost their final Northern League game 2-0 at Bedlington on Saturday. It was sweet revenge for Bedlington who lost to champions Dunston on penalties in the

  • It's easy for four-midable Brandon

    Readers Durham County League: Brandon, the only side with a 100 per cent record, made it four wins out of four with an emphatic victory over Langley Park on Saturday. The game was all over inside 32 overs after the home side were sent back for just 43

  • Ecstasy causes loss of memory say experts

    THE persistent use of ecstasy leads to a loss of everyday memory, according to researchers at a North-East university. In the study, conducted by experts at Northumbria University, in Newcastle, 23 regular users of the drug were compared to 30 people

  • New boys are put to the sword

    Foster's Northumberland and Tyneside Senior League: Leadgate, who went close last season, could again be strong candidates for the championship and they maintained their promising early-season form defeating newly-promoted Burnopfield with ease on Saturday

  • History on Pool's side as Scott plots the downfall of Rovers

    HARTLEPOOL's draw at Bournemouth on Saturday means they now go head-to-head with Tranmere Rovers in the League One play-off semi-final on Friday and with history heavily stacked in their favour. Pool have failed to gain promotion through the play-off

  • Seventh heaven is no surprise for Zenden

    CALL it the arrogance of a Dutchman if you like but midfielder Bolo Zenden knew before a ball had even been kicked on Saturday that Middlesbrough were going to reclaim seventh spot from Tottenham. And, courtesy of George Boateng's early strike, Boro did

  • Behaviour unit a success

    AN anti-social behaviour unit in the North-East has been hailed a success in its fight against nuisance behaviour. The unit, in Newcastle, working with its partners, has investigated about 500 reports of low-level anti-social behaviour since November

  • Knowing when your number's up

    I came across a woman at work the other day who had studied numerology and she was working out people's personalities by converting their names into numbers and analyising their meanings. People were crowding round her, desperate for a bit of confirmation

  • Life in the slow lane for Dessie

    During his glowing ten-year career, Desert Orchid won 34 races, including a record four King George VI Chases. Now, at the grand age of 26, he still enjoys making celebrity appearances - and his holidays at a North Yorksire farm. Lindsay Jennings visits

  • Launch of music training initiative

    THE North-East's premier music venue has launched a training initiative to provide music leaders in the region with access to professional development opportunities and to attract newcomers. MusicLeader North East, unveiled at the Sage Gateshead at the

  • Town biography

    A book is going online in Darlington this week, detailing the lives of famous people linked to the town. Darlington receives 273 mentions in the online Dictionary of National Biography. Entries include information on the renowned former editor of The

  • Launch of music training initiative

    THE North-East's premier music venue has launched a training initiative to provide music leaders in the region with access to professional development opportunities and to attract newcomers. MusicLeader North East, unveiled at the Sage Gateshead at the

  • Funding for first aiders

    OIL company Esso has made a £250 donation to a group of first aiders on Teesside. The money will help pay for ambulances and equipment used by St John Ambulance volunteers when they attend race meetings and equestrian events in the area. The grant was

  • Part-time lecturer wins national title

    A FORMER student who returned to her old college as a lecturer has been honoured. Textile lecturer Caroline Forknall, who teaches at Cleveland College of Art and Design, Middlesbrough, is North-East winner of New Horizons, a national award celebrating

  • Police search for hit and run driver

    Police are hunting a motorist who drove along a pavement, after mounting the kerb, hitting a 25-year-old man. The car, a Peugeot 306, drove on without stopping, leaving the pedestrian with a broken right leg, cuts and bruises, in Normanby High Street,

  • Council in pioneering quest to cut carbon dioxide levels

    A DRIVE to reduce carbon dioxide emissions in an attempt to fight climate change has taken a step forward. North Yorkshire County Council has become the first authority in the country to appoint a carbon reduction manager. Kim Williams will head the council's

  • New role forces cathedral fundraiser to step down

    A WOMAN who has been a driving force behind Ripon Cathedral's efforts to raise millions of pounds to secure its future has been forced to step down because of a wider role in tourism. Because of her recent appointment as chairman of Yorkshire Tourist

  • Quest to help toddlers

    A SCHEME which aims to give disabled toddlers the best start in life came under the spotlight at its launch yesterday. Professionals from health, social services and education joined parents and carers to see how Middlesbrough's Early Support programme

  • Housing plan threatens factory expansion

    A MAJOR employer has warned that a proposed housing development will threaten its future expansion plans. Westler Foods, at Amotherby, near Malton, employs 250 people and is the country's leading manufacturer of hot dogs. The company has recently invested

  • Residents warned of major road works

    A STRETCH of trunk road will be closed for seven weeks for essential drainage improvements and resurfacing work. Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council's highways partner, Alfred McAlpine, begins the £130,000 project on the A173 Barnes Farm to Skelton road

  • May the force be with you

    ONE of Darth Vader's Imperial Stormtroopers visited a Teesside shop at the weekend. The Chips video store chain is hoping to cash in on the release of the latest Star Wars film later this month with the sale of new video games. The stormtrooper visited

  • Nursing strategy unveiled in region

    NURSES have produced a strategy to improve nursing services in north Durham. The strategy, Nursing Matters in Derwentside, will be launched by Professor Christine Beasley, the chief nursing officer for England and Wales, at the Derwent Manor Hotel in

  • Tips to help trace your family tree

    A BEGINNER'S guide to tracing family history is on offer at a County Durham library next week. Former teacher Val Kirkley will be at Durham County Council's Clayport Library on Saturday to guide people on how to start gathering information and how to

  • Dinner ladies may strike over cut in working hours

    SCHOOL dinner ladies are threatening industrial action after being told they face a cut in their working hours. Cooks who have been campaigning for equal pay with male manual workers at Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council said their hours are being reduced

  • May the force be with you

    ONE of Darth Vader's Imperial Stormtroopers visited a Teesside shop at the weekend. The Chips video store chain is hoping to cash in on the release of the latest Star Wars film later this month with the sale of new video games. The stormtrooper visited

  • Cook it? He had to catch it first . . .

    CONTESTANTS on TV's Hell's Kitchen might think they have it tough - but at least they don't have to go out and catch the food. Newcastle City Council chef Julian Holland had to go out to sea and reel in 15lb of cod to qualify for a place in an annual

  • Partnership unites opera and business

    A PROPERTY company is hitting the right notes by investing in a cultural project that will bring a world-renowned opera singer to the region. The two opera concerts, sponsored by Durham-based Rivergreen Developments, will take place over the May bank

  • Pupils put spotlight on environment

    YOUNGSTERS at a primary school have enlisted the help of an environmental consultant to get to know how the garden grows. Children from Kelloe Primary School, Durham, have teamed up with Durham County Council countryside ranger Saul Fajerman to bring

  • Fancy that! we're all European today

    HUNDREDS of youngsters celebrated Europe Day by donning fancy dress. About 300 children from 32 County Durham schools took part in the celebration, at Durham County Council's headquarters. The event focused on Denmark, with emphasis on the work of Hans

  • Councils in appeal for foster parents

    COUNCILS across Teesside are appealing for people to be foster parents. The national Fostering Network estimates there is a need for 10,000 additional foster carers across the British Isles. Middlesbrough and Redcar and Cleveland councils say locally,

  • Woman killed herself after disfiguring attack

    A woman killed herself, still traumatised by a disfiguring attack nine years before. Caroline Thornton had been left for dead after being attacked in her garden by a former neighbour. She had cheek and mouth bones and teeth surgically removed because

  • Rare sports cars go on show

    RARE Morgan sports cars from throughout the North-East will be on display and in thrilling action at an open air museum at the weekend. The Morgan Sports Car Club meets at Beamish Museum, near Stanley, where more than 50 of the cars - from a very early

  • 09/05/05

    IT'S NO SECRET: I WENT to vote in Trimdon in the Sedgefield constituency. The lady wrote my voting number - which is directed to me personally - on the counterfoil of the voting slip. I challenged this is as they could then in future determine how I had

  • Tykes on course for success despite weather intervention

    Yorkshire lined themselves up for victory over Northamptonshire at Headingley yesterday, despite rain reducing play to just 23 deliveries after the action-packed morning session. Excellent bowling by the four seamers left Northants reeling on 115 for

  • Retirement apartments set to be given go-ahead

    Plans to demolish a well-known leisure centre to make way for dozens of new retirement apartments look set to be given the go-ahead on Wednesday. Developer McCarthy and Stone is seeking permission from Darlington Borough Council to tear down the Larchfield

  • Police investigate man's road death

    POLICE are investigating after a pedestrian was hit by a car and killed on a country road. The man, who has not yet been named, was walking along the B1257, a quarter of a mile north of Malton, North Yorkshire, when the accident happened at 12.15am yesterday

  • Anglers battling it out as reservoir

    ANGLERS from across the country converged on a North-East reservoir at the weekend to compete for prestigious trophies and titles. About 120 fly fishers cast lines for rainbow and blue trout at Northumbrian Water's Derwent Reservoir, near Consett, in

  • RA get title celebrations underway

    Wearside League: They celebrated at Brinkburn Road on Saturday night when the victorious team returned from the Nissan Sports Centre in Sunderland where an emphatic victory not only earned Darlington RA the championship but promotion to the Albany Northern

  • League calls time so it's back to parks for Speedy

    Backtrack bids farewell to Martin Robinson . . . the Football League's oldest assistant referee, once described as a 'one-eyed salamander practising demented semaphore signals', who retires on Sunday. FLAGGING but utterly inexhaustible, the Football League's

  • Fans plan for Moors' comeback

    UniBond League: After 60 people attended a meeting on Friday night Spennymoor United fans have decided to launch a new club run by a supporters' trust. The meeting, organised by a group of local businessmen at the Brewery Field, talked about plans for

  • On TV

    Musicality: The Winners' Story (C4) Playing It Straight (C4) AFTER receiving a standing ovation in their London West End stage debut, the five winners of Musicality faced a reality check. Winning a C4 talent competition was all very well but the five

  • Britt's stage appearance

    FILM actress Britt Ekland is to star in a comedy at a North-East theatre. The star will appear in Just Desserts, at Darlington Civic Theatre, from tomorrow to Saturday. Appearing alongside her is Malandra Burrows, who starred in Emmerdale for 17 years

  • Norton put on a better showing

    Foster's ECB North-East Regional Premier League: All six games ended as draws as most were affected to varying degrees by the weather. Norton though must have been pleased at their vastly improved batting performance against Sunderland. A week earlier

  • Comment from The Northern Echo: Sometimes you just can't win

    NOW that the dust is beginning to settle on the General Election, it is not surprising that the main focus of attention is how long Tony Blair will hang on as Prime Minister. Labour backbench MPs, sensing that Gordon Brown's day as party leader is just

  • Angels of the Home Front

    Age has not dimmed the spirits of the 100 or so former Aycliffe Angels called back to the site of their 1940s war efforts for one final tribute yesterday. Now in their 80s, the women are just a few of the 17,000 female workers at Aycliffe's Royal Ordnance

  • Envious glances cast by Souness' underachievers

    WHEN the fixture list was drawn up at the start of the season, Newcastle's final away game at Everton always looked like pitting a Champions League contender against a side struggling to stay afloat in the wrong half of the Premiership. That is how turned

  • UK tourism chief heads north for whistlestop tour of region

    THE UK's tourism chief, Lord Colin Marshall, is to visit some of the North-East's top attractions during a whistlestop tour of the region today. Lord Marshall is chairman of VisitBritain - the body that markets Britain to the rest of the world. He is

  • Policeman 'was prime suspect in search for Ripper hoaxer'

    THE prime suspect for a hoax that allowed the Yorkshire Ripper to carry on killing was a policeman, the man behind the hunt for Peter Sutcliffe has revealed. In 1978 and 1979, Wearside Jack, as he became known, sent police three letters and an audio tape

  • Headteacher is suspended after report

    THE headteacher of a school at the centre of Britain's first education federation has been suspended after a report revealed serious concerns about bullying, truancy and pupils' behaviour. Karen Pemberton was suspended from her position at the helm of

  • Man killed in early morning accident on A1

    A man died in an accident which closed of a stretch of motorway near Darlington this morning. It happened when a car and an HGV collided on the northbound carriageway of the A1(M) between the Sedgefield and Newton Aycliffe exits. One of the occupants

  • At last we know whatever happened to the Likely Lads

    THE burning question "Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads?" has been answered by one of the classic show's stars - but fans will never get to see it played out on screen. The last TV episode of the Tyneside-based show was recorded in 1974 but, despite

  • Museum's tense wait for arts prize result

    A MUSEUM shortlisted for the country's largest single arts prize faces a tense wait for the result after showing round the final two members of a judging panel. Locomotion: The National Railway Museum, at Shildon, County Durham, is one of four candidates

  • No resting on laurels for McCarthy and co

    WITH hardly any time for the dust to settle on Sunderland's Championship title celebrations yesterday, manager Mick McCarthy and chairman Bob Murray are set for a meeting to discuss a plan of action for a pre-season build-up to Premiership football. McCarthy

  • Coming out fighting for the Crusades

    North-East born movie director Ridley Scott's latest Crusades epic, Kingdom Of Heaven, caused controversy even before filming was complete. He tells Steve Pratt that, as a Doubting Thomas, he was the best man for the job. Going to the pictures as a youngster

  • Chaos as convoy reverses down A19

    TWO low-loaders caused traffic chaos on the A19 yesterday when they came across an unexpected low bridge - and had no option but to reverse one-and-a-half miles back down one of the region's busiest roads. The drivers crept along the road for about an

  • Hopeful Dods wishing for a change of luck

    DARLINGTON-BASED Michael Dods hasn't started this season in the manner he did last but he's still been among the winners and his Son Of Thunder is an interesting runner in the Evening Gazette Handicap over a mile at Redcar this afternoon. A dual winner

  • Unlucky Lyons are left to rue the weather

    Foster's Durham Senior League: All six matches were severely affected by rain. Champions Burnmoor laboured throughout their innings against Hetton Lyons who will be counting themselves unlucky that the heavy rain intervened. After losing Barry Dews in

  • Hall hosts art exhibition

    WATERCOLOURS from a popular artist have gone on show at a stately home. An exhibition of about 50 paintings by George "Griff" Griffiths opened in the Grantham Room at Newby Hall, near Ripon on Saturday. Mr Griffiths is a professional artist and illustrator

  • Uncertain future of school that drew back from brink

    THREE years ago, Eastbourne School seemed a lost cause. With woeful academic performances, high levels of truancy and a slating from Ofsted, it could not have sunk much lower. In 2002, barely 20 per cent of its pupils achieved five GCSEs at grades A*

  • Pacino stars in team talk

    David Hodgson has long been acknowledged to be a good motivator of his players but for Saturday's must-win game, when a passion-filled team-talk to spark his players into action was needed, he allowed someone else to take centre stage . . . Al Pacino.

  • Bramble's form counts for nothing

    TITUS Bramble last night admitted that the personal strides he has made this season count for nothing when set against Newcastle's giant step backwards. While the Magpies have tumbled down the Premiership table this term, Bramble has enjoyed his most

  • 'Get your daughter to school - or you're going to prison'

    THE mother of a teenage truant has been told she faces jail if her daughter fails to regularly attend school. Ann Madden, also known as Lesley Fountain, was given the warning after a court was told her 15-year-old daughter ignored repeated requests to

  • David Copperfield, West Yorkshire Playhouse, Leeds

    THIS stage version of Charles Dickens' novel is like watching one of those old BBC Sunday teatime classic serials - it's well-crafted, nicely acted and just a little bit dull. Adaptor and director Giles Havergal has skilfully turned the book into a piece

  • McClaren believes Jimmy's eyes can help Boro see Europe again

    GARETH SOUTHGATE may be the inspirational captain driving the team on but manager Steve McClaren has revealed another more unlikely factor contributing to Middlesbrough's climb to within touching distance of a European place - the eyes of Jimmy Floyd

  • Mountain biker injured in hillside fall

    A MOUNTAIN biker had to be airlifted to hospital yesterday after suffering horrific injuries in a fall on a remote hillside. The woman, in her 30s, was hurt after crashing over her handlebars and landing on her head as she navigated a steep hill in Wensleydale

  • Biography sees town in the limelight

    AN important book is going online in Darlington this week, detailing the lives of famous people linked to the town. Darlington receives 273 mentions in the online Dictionary of National Biography. Entries include information on the renowned former editor

  • Centre ready to host boccia tournament

    AN unusual sports tournament is coming to Darlington later this month. On Wednesday, May 18, ten teams will compete in a boccia competition at the town's Dolphin Centre. Boccia - pronounced Botcha - is similar to Italian bowls, with the aim to score as

  • Recycling centre likely after wildlife concerns allayed

    PLANS for a huge expansion of a waste and recycling centre in Darlington look likely to be approved after concerns about the impact on wildlife were allayed. The borough council is seeking permission to increase the size of the Drinkfield civic amenity

  • Musicians battle it out at festival

    BRASS bands, choirs and aspiring young musicians from across the region will come together this weekend for a music festival. The 81st Consett Music Festival will be held at Blackfyne Community School, Consett, on Friday and Saturday and on the weekend

  • Bafta for N-E teacher

    A NORTH-EAST drama teacher has become the proud joint owner of a Bafta through her involvement in an interactive learning programme. Sarah Davison, from Chester-le-Street, features in the Roman section of the Headline History programme as a female gladiator

  • Armstrong set to quit North-East

    DARLINGTON striker Alun Armstrong looks set for a summer move to Colchester United. Quakers boss David Hodgson revealed at the weekend that Armstrong has received an offer to play for the League One side next season. The 30-year-old's eight-month spell

  • Residents claim developments not needed

    Residents have claimed a series of new developments in their village are nothing more than an expensive "white elephant". People living in Staithes say a new office building is not needed and a new car park in a grassed field has already seen cars being

  • Normanby Hall beat rain and rivals as Zahid stars

    Darlington Building Society NYSD Premier League Division One: Three sides managed to beat the weather and their opponents but in three fixtures there was hardly any play. Normanby Hall, though, completed their game and an enterprising innings from Mohamed

  • Head suspended after school report shock

    THE headteacher of a school at the centre of Britain's first education federation has been suspended after a shock report revealed serious concerns about bullying, truancy and pupils' behaviour. Karen Pemberton was suspended from her position at Eastbourne

  • Traction engines steam to rally

    STEAM heavyweights from across the region trundled into an open air museum for an annual traction engine rally at the weekend. Nine engines were on display at the Beamish Museum near Stanley, County Durham, dating from 1900 to the 1920s. Among the examples

  • The region remembers

    AWAY from the big parades and the civic services, communities across the region came together over the weekend to mark the day the guns fell silent over Europe. Crown Street library, in Darlington, put original copies of The Northern Echo from VE Day

  • Teacher in line for top honour

    A TEACHER who is weeks away from retirement has made the shortlist for a national award. Ann Hammett, a business studies teacher and pastoral head at Emmanuel College, in Gateshead, was nominated for the Secondary Teacher of the Year accolade by a student

  • Crowds continue to grow at game fair

    RURAL traditions are being kept alive at an annual game fair which attracted thousands country pursuits lovers at the weekend. The Teesdale Game Fair was the biggest staged at Witton Castle, near Bishop Auckland, since the foot-and-mouth outbreak in 2001

  • Crowds continue to grow at game fair

    RURAL traditions are being kept alive at an annual game fair which attracted thousands country pursuits lovers at the weekend. The Teesdale Game Fair was the biggest staged at Witton Castle, near Bishop Auckland, since the foot-and-mouth outbreak in 2001

  • Hearing impaired advice on offer

    PEOPLE in Darlington who are deaf or have hearing impairments are being urged to find out what help and advice is available to them. Darlington Borough Council's social services team can offer advice on state benefits and personal aids, and also runs

  • Behaviour unit a success

    AN anti-social behaviour unit in the North-East has been hailed a success in its fight against nuisance behaviour. The unit, in Newcastle, working with its partners, has investigated about 500 reports of low-level anti-social behaviour since November

  • Team leads way in cross country

    A TEAM from Barnard Castle Preparatory School were front runners in an inter-schools cross country competition. The six young athletes - Freddie McBaine, aged nine, from Houghton-le-Side, Caroline Simpson, nine, from Witton-le-Wear, Finlay Tait, 11, from

  • Team leads way in cross country

    A TEAM from Barnard Castle Preparatory School were front runners in an inter-schools cross country competition. The six young athletes - Freddie McBaine, aged nine, from Houghton-le-Side, Caroline Simpson, nine, from Witton-le-Wear, Finlay Tait, 11, from

  • Young farmers build up skills at activity centre

    YOUNG farmers have been learning new skills as part of a two-day event designed to encourage club members to take an active role in running the organisation. The event, organised by the Yorkshire Federation of Young Farmers Clubs, attracted members from

  • Confirmation services

    THE Bishop of Durham, the Right Reverend Tom Wright is to conduct a confirmation service at St Michael's Church, Heighington, near Darlington, later this year. The service, which is also for other churches in the area, is the first of its kind to be held

  • Centre drastically reduces number of school exclusions

    A centre has brought a dramatic cut in exclusions at 12 Bishop Auckland schools. Since the You Can Centre opened on the South Church Industrial Estate in January, fixed term exclusions among schools in the Bishop Auckland Excellence Cluster have dropped

  • Recruiting teams tell of Army life

    ARMY recruiting teams visit Bishop Auckland this week with information on sporting and training opportunities for south Durham youngsters. Soldiers from the Royal Logistics Corps, will be in Bishop Auckland market place today and tomorrow, answering questions

  • Student to fly flag for UK skills

    A TALENTED computing student from a North-East university is to represent the UK in the World Skills Challenge in Helsinki later this month. Anthony Robinson, of the University of Sunderland, was chosen from hundreds of people across Britain to take part

  • Army brings career advice to town

    ARMY recruiting teams are visiting County Durham this week as part of a campaign to tell young people about career opportunities with the Army. Representatives of the Light Dragoon Guards will be in Durham all week, where they will be talking about the

  • Youngsters celebrate with black belts

    SEVEN Teesside teenagers are celebrating today after achieving black belt status in martial arts. The seven karate enthusiasts, aged between 13 and 16, have been going to twice weekly Shotohan karate sessions for two years. They have been coached by Brian

  • Life in the slow lane for Dessie

    HIS legendary grey head lifts slightly before he continues nonchalantly to eat grass. Desert Orchid is fully aware of the visitors who are calling his name, encouraging him to come over to the gate for a mint or two. But the retired steeplechaser has

  • Rescuers under extreme pressure

    DAREDEVIL sportsmen and woman are causing a major headache for volunteer rescue services across the region by thoughtlessly putting themselves at risk. Rescuers say they have seen an increasing number of call-outs over the past few years, due in part

  • Retired headteacher opens doors to new children's centre

    A PROJECT aimed at supporting youngsters and their parents has reached a milestone. The Whitecliffe Children's Centre at Carlin How, was officially opened at the weekend - the third of six children's centres planned for the Redcar and Cleveland Borough

  • Second complaint lodged over road safety concerns

    RESIDENTS fighting for a lower speed limit on the busy dual carriageway through their village have lodged a second complaint about the council in charge of highways. Chester Moor Community Group is awaiting the outcome of its complaint to the Local Government

  • Jobs created as store re-opens

    FIFTY jobs have been created with the re-launch of a supermarket in east Cleveland. The workers have been recruited by supermarket chain Morrisons, which has opened its new store in Guisborough, at what was a former Safeway. The doors to the Westgate

  • Normanby Hall beat rain and rivals as Zahid stars

    Three sides managed to beat the weather and their opponents but in three fixtures there was hardly any play. Normanby Hall, though, completed their game and an enterprising innings from Mohamed Zahid swept them to a six-wicket victory in just 22.3 overs

  • 'Countryside vote ousted Labour MP'

    CONSERVATIVE Robert Goodwill said he believed support from rural voters was behind his defeat of Labour's Lawrie Quinn in the marginal seat of Scarborough and Whitby. Tony Blair's appearance in Scarborough on the eve of the election was not enough to

  • Daughters' tribute to a VE Day victim

    WHILE the world celebrated the end of fighting, a VE Day tragedy was unfolding for two little North-East girls and their mother. Sixty years on, sisters Celia Turnbull and Pamela Harper, chose the VE Day anniversary weekend to say a final farewell to

  • Conway away from rivals after great start

    FORTEC Motorsport driver Mike Conway took opening honours in yesterday's Formula Three meet at Croft after a great start from second place on the grid. After a second and a third place at Donington Park two weeks ago, Conway is now the new Championship

  • Party time for Black Cats

    BY staging Britain's biggest free music festival at Herrington Country Park over the last two days, Radio One had already ensured this would be "One Big Weekend" for Sunderland. But, by lifting the Championship trophy at the Stadium of Light yesterday

  • Tributes to silver band president

    TRIBUTES have been paid to a respected silver band president. Marian Bythell, of Ghyllbeck, Gunnerside, died on April 30, aged 86. Mrs Bythell had been president of Muker Silver Band for a number of years after taking on the role from her late husband

  • That's showbiz ...a tough life

    Musicality: The Winners' Story (C4); Playing It Straight (C4): AFTER receiving a standing ovation in their London West End stage debut, the five winners of Musicality faced a reality check. Winning a C4 talent competition was all very well but the five

  • UK tourism chief heads north for whistlestop tour of region

    THE UK's tourism chief, Lord Colin Marshall, is to visit some of the North-East's top attractions during a whistlestop tour of the region today. Lord Marshall is chairman of VisitBritain - the body that markets Britain to the rest of the world. He is

  • Showers hamper progress towards charge for victory

    THERE will be free admission at Stockton today to see Durham attempt to make it three wins out of three in the County Championship. They were badly hampered by showers yesterday, and only 30 overs were played with Somerset progressing to 219 for eight

  • Dunlop on the right track

    JOHN Dunlop introduced a pair of Classic contenders as he took both the main events on Lingfield's trials card. The Sussex trainer, who knows exactly what it takes to win the Derby and the Oaks, turned over the favourites in both the Letheby & Christopher