THE £200m chemical plant being built by Huntsman in Teesside will act as a "magnet" for further investment in the region, the man charged with overseeing the business said last night. Chemicals group Huntsman has appointed Mahomed Maiter as vice-president
CHILDREN affected by the Chernobyl disaster are widening their horizons on Teesside. About 22 children from Belarus, one of the areas most affected by the nuclear power accident in the former USSR in 1986, are staying in Tees Valley and were yesterday
A DARLINGTON hair and beauty salon has launched a competition to find models. Eye Candy hair and beauty salon, in Darlington, which has been open for a year, has launched an Are You Eye Candy of Darlington? competition. Young men and women are asked to
VILLAGERS are being urged to oppose plans to reduce opening hours at three rural post offices. The Post Office is considering making branches at Leeming Bar, Crakehall and North Stainley satellites of the main office at Bedale. The offices, run as private
A MAN is fighting for his life after he survived a 70ft fall from a sixth-storey window. The 30-year-old was critically injured after he fell from the window in the block of flats and hit a van parked beneath. It is believed the man had been visiting
RESIDENTS are being given the chance to voice their views about a sculpture planned for their community. People in Wheatley Hill are being invited to voice their opinions on a work of art by local artist Graeme Hopper. Mr Hopper was appointed by Groundwork
A VILLAGE has held four litter picks since March to brighten up the environment. Villagers have collected litter from verges and hedges and some of the main roads in Heighington. More than 150 black bags of rubbish were collected along with several items
FEARS that a village store was to close permanently leaving a rural community without a shop were dismissed last night. People living in Wearhead, Weardale, were worried that they were going to lose the village Co-op store for good after a letter delivered
A PRIMARY school is facing opposition over plans to install "prison-style" perimeter fencing around its boundary. Three residents have submitted objections to Layfield Primary School's proposal for a 2.4m palisade fence around the Everingham Road site
YOUNGSTERS can enjoy live theatre at Guisborough Priory next Thursday. Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council's events team has organised performances of Five Children and IT at 2pm and 7pm. The play is about five children who discover a grumpy fairy living
A YOUTH group's plans for the future have been given a boost with £130,000 in grants. Ryedale Child and Youth Project supports more than 40 clubs working with children and young people. Following three grants, it plans to expand and develop its work.
A TEENAGE shop worker supplemented his pay by stealing from his employers, a court heard yesterday. Mathew Walker, 18, pleaded guilty to theft from the Mills store, in Knaresborough Road, Harrogate, between July last year and May. Geoffrey Rogers, in
MARTIN Scott is hoping Hugh Robertson will be fit for the League One start on Saturday. Hartlepool United, under Scott's leadership, meet Bradford at Victoria Park in a repeat of last season's first game. And, after Robertson bagged the decisive goal
A SAFE containing £800 and two charity boxes have been stolen from a visitor centre. They were taken by intruders who forced their way into the centre at Bowlees, in upper Teesdale, last week. The thieves are thought to have parked at a nearby picnic
ATHLETES both able-bodied and with learning difficulties have tasted success recently. A team of 28 athletes with learning difficulties shone in the recent Special Olympics National Summer Games. The team - all from the Durham County Council area -travelled
A FARMER has been crushed to death on a farm he worked with his father. Michael Rider, 35, who had a 15-month-old son, was working underneath a full grain silo when it collapsed on top of him yesterday. He was pronounced dead at Barnaby Side Farm, Guisborough
A WRITERS group has received high praise for an ambitious project it has just undertaken. Mayor of Durham, John Lightley gave a personal pat on the back to the Valley Writers Group which has been awarded lottery funding of more than £2,500 to investigate
PARENTS and babies are invited to a course which starts next week. Baby massage is thought to aid a baby's digestive system and encourage deeper sleep. A six-week class in the technique starts at the Clayport Library in Durham City on Tuesday. The course
TWO projects to help people with diabetes have been set up. Weekly insulin workshops for people with type two diabetes are to take place from 9am to noon every Tuesday at the Diabetes Centre in the University Hospital of North Durham. Meanwhile, a series
A MARATHON charity motorbike journey by three friends ended in tragedy as they rode through Mongolia. Jon Turner, 26, of Great Whittington, near Corbridge, Tynedale, died when his bike spun out of control in strong winds on a bend in the road. Mr Turner
A COMMUNITY is rallying round to improve a children's play area. The park, in Arena View, Catterick Garrison, contains only two sets of swings, but residents hope to make it a playground to be proud of. Money for more equipment has already started to
SEATON CAREW are celebrating becoming Durham Club champions for the seventh time and the successful triumvirate have put their glory down to continuity. Seaton finished four shots clear of second-placed Eaglescliffe at the weekend on their home course
A MARATHON charity motorbike journey by three friends ended in tragedy as they rode through Mongolia. Jon Turner, 26, of Great Whittington, near Corbridge, Tynedale, died when his bike spun out of control in strong winds on a bend in the road. Mr Turner
MOTORISTS were faced with major delays yesterday after a motorway was closed for nine hours after an accident. A collision between two lorries caused misery for drivers on the A1 northbound in North Yorkshire. The accident happened at Ainderby Quernhow
FEWER North-East teenagers are being admitted to hospital with alcohol poisoning, despite a sharp rise across the rest of the country. A total of 282 under-18s were hospitalised across the region in 2003/4, said the Department of Health. This was a fall
A POLISH ship which had been missing since Saturday after leaving the Tyne as part of the Tall Ships Race has been found. Concern over the safety of the Smialy, with three adults and five youngsters aboard, had been raised after the vessel had been out
POLICE searching for a former miner who has been missing for three years will today continue to search an area of land they have been excavating since Monday. Edward Donnelly was 53 when he vanished from his home in Fynway, Sacriston, County Durham, on
A FOOTBALL fan has been barred from attending matches for two years, for mixing with hardcore hooligans. Police video footage showed Stuart Allan Pinchbeck mixing with known football hooligans at games across the country, over a six-year per-iod. The
A WEDDING turned to tragedy when the best man collapsed at the reception - and died only hours later. The 26-year-old RAF military policeman collapsed as distraught bride Julie Soper and her husband, Michael Morgan, looked on. The couple were married
A FARMER has been crushed to death on a farm he worked with his father. Michael Rider, 35, who had a 15-month-old son, was working underneath a full grain silo when it collapsed on top of him yesterday. He was pronounced dead at Barnaby Side Farm, Guisborough
SIX nail-biting photo finishes in row provided a thrilling afternoon of action for owners, jockeys, and spectators alike at Catterick yesterday. The most valuable contest on the card, the mile-and-six-furlong handicap, presented judge Alastair Stewart
CHILDREN across the North say they do not have enough time and space to play outside, according to a survey published today. The survey has been carried out by charities The Children's Society and the Children's Play Council to coincide with today's Playday
IT is not ideal that the home of Darlington Football Club is to be given its third name in two years. The Reynolds Arena became the Williamson Motors Stadium and now it will become something else. It certainly doesn't help supporters develop a rapport
Apparentley anyone but the Government can see that bringing in 24 hour drinking will only breed more abuse. SO can someone tell me just why exactly we need 24 hour drinking? This week we've heard that young drinkers are increasingly suffering the sort
ATTEMPTING to put together a case for the "deconstructed scone", a Seaham Hall Hotel delicacy which none has yet been able to explain, last week's column also noted that "deconstructed romaine and goats' cheese salad" was available in other posh establishments
THE £20m home of Darlington Football Club is to be given its third name in two years after the Quakers rejected a new offer from their stadium sponsor. The venue has been known as the Williamson Motors Stadium since last August after the Peugeot dealership
A travelling gym is putting residents through their paces in a quest to improve an area with one of the worst health records in the country. The £1.1m Wellness on Wheels (Wow) initiative is taking exercise on the road, reaching villages and towns in Wear
Yorkshire all-rounder Ian Harvey has broken his right thumb and will be out of action for at least two weeks. The Aussie will miss the totesport league game against Scotland in Edinburgh on Sunday and the Championship match with Somerset at Taunton next
A HEROIC policeman last night spoke of how he saved a drowning teenager from a notorious stretch of river in a daring late-night rescue. PC Martyn Butler, who saved the 16-year-old boy after he jumped off Croft Bridge, in Hurworth Place, near Darlington
NICKY Peng is back in the Durham squad for the match against Essex, starting at Southend's Garons Park today, but he may have to stand down for Paul Collingwood. Peng could be considered unlucky to be left out on the good batting pitches at Derby and
A FARMER has been crushed to death on a farm he worked with his father. Michael Rider, 35, who had a 15-month-old son, was working underneath a full grain silo when it collapsed on top of him yesterday. He was pronounced dead at Barnaby Side Farm, Guisborough
SIX nail-biting photo finishes in row provided a thrilling afternoon of action for owners, jockeys, and spectators alike at Catterick yesterday. The most valuable contest on the card, the mile-and-six-furlong handicap, presented judge Alastair Stewart
A FORMER employee of collapsed cruise specialist Sealand Cruising has set up in business. Kelvin Marsh, who was general manager of North Yorkshire-based Sealand until it went into voluntary liquidation in May, has set up an Internet-based travel agency
A £215m deal to buy North-East engineering firm Domnick Hunter was hailed as positive news for its 800-strong UK workforce last night. The firm in Birtley, County Durham, said it had agreed a takeover by industrial products group Parker Hannifin - a company
SUNDERLAND last night ended a busy 24 hours of transfer activity on Wearside by completing the signing of Liverpool forward Anthony Le Tallec on a season's long loan. The Frenchman's arrival came on the same day former Everton defender Alan Stubbs became
A PRINTING firm is celebrating ten years in the business. Digital print and exhibition specialist CMDK, from Newton Aycliffe, started trading from director Mike Donnelly's dining room. The firm moved to a 1,900sq ft factory seven years ago before moving
A FORMER mushroom farmer is hoping to shoot down the competition as he moves into a different business arena. Stuart Eglington has just opened a paintball business at Cumby Plantation, Heighington. And after being inspired by The Northern Echo's No Messin
A 23-YEAR-OLD motorcyclist was killed in a crash with a van on the A688 at Spennymoor yesterday. Phillip Garnett, from Ferryhill, was pronounced dead at the scene by an air ambulance doctor. The accident, involving a Honda 600cc motorbike and a white
AN action group which hopes to save a village school has thanked a Darlington business for its support. Share (Save Hurworth and Rural Education) is opposing plans close Hurworth School and Eastbourne Comprehensive in the town and merge them in a new
A CRACKDOWN on under-age drinking in Teesdale has had a drastic effect in reducing the amount of anti-social behaviour. Adults who have been buying alcohol for youngsters have been targeted by police as part of Operation Capone, which started last month
A VILLAGE has held four litter picks since March to brighten up the environment. Villagers have collected litter from verges and hedges and some of the main roads in Heighington. More than 150 black bags of rubbish were collected along with several items
THE new chief executive of Darlington Borough Council yesterday pledged that addressing youth issues will be one of her key priorities. Ada Burns took up the post after leaving her previous position as neighbourhood renewal director for the London borough
AN appeal over plans to build a house and detached garage in the garden of a house in Milbank Road, Darlington, has been dismissed by a planning inspector. The applicant was seeking to overturn Darlington Borough Council's decision to refuse the scheme
WORKERS are being encouraged to step out during their lunch breaks as part of the national Million Mile Challenge. A series of short walks will be staged around Easington Village this month in response to Sport England's invitation to people across the
THE region can no longer market itself as a low-cost manufacturing base, the head of regional development agency One NorthEast has admitted. Chief executive Alan Clarke denied suggestions that manufacturing was virtually ignored in the agency's economic
A CRACKDOWN on under-age drinking in Teesdale has had a drastic effect in reducing the amount of anti-social behaviour. Adults who have been buying alcohol for youngsters have been targeted by police as part of Operation Capone, which started last month
CAMPAIGNERS were last night celebrating a surprise victory in their fight to save an open space from development. Durham county councillors had been advised to reject an application for a piece of land in Consett, known as Top of the Park, to be registered
A PRINTING firm is celebrating ten years in the business. Digital print and exhibition specialist CMDK, from Newton Aycliffe, started trading from director Mike Donnelly's dining room. The firm moved to a 1,900sq ft factory seven years ago before moving
A FORMER mushroom farmer is hoping to shoot down the competition as he moves into a different business arena. Stuart Eglington has just opened a paintball business at Cumby Plantation, Heighington. And after being inspired by The Northern Echo's No Messin
ATHLETES both able-bodied and with learning difficulties have tasted success recently. A team of 28 athletes with learning difficulties shone in the recent Special Olympics National Summer Games. The team - all from the Durham County Council area -travelled
TEESSIDE teenagers are in a class of their own when it comes to designing a dream leisure centre. A team of year nine girls from St Hild's School, in Hartlepool, have done just that to beat off 125 rival teams in a competition sponsored by the construction
WORK to improve more than 100 council houses has started. The £750,000 Richmondshire District Council programme aims to refurbish 116 homes in the next seven years. The council's housing unit manager, Colin Dales, said: "Council tenants will have their
A POLISH ship which had been missing since Saturday after leaving the Tyne as part of the Tall Ships Race has been found. Concern over the safety of the Smialy, with three adults and five youngsters aboard, had been raised after the vessel had been out
VILLAGERS are being urged to oppose plans to reduce opening hours at three rural post offices. The Post Office is considering making branches at Leeming Bar, Crakehall and North Stainley satellites of the main office at Bedale. The offices, run as private
POLICE are again urging people to store their car keys out of sight after two vehicles were stolen following house break-ins. The cars were stolen in Malton and Norton after the thieves broke into the owners' homes to take the keys. Police said owners
THE region can no longer market itself as a low-cost manufacturing base, the head of regional development agency One NorthEast has admitted. Chief executive Alan Clarke denied suggestions that manufacturing was virtually ignored in the agency's economic
MORE than six decades after she left her home in Teesside to join a religious order, Sister Lucy Stacco still finds endless joy in her life and calling. The 80-year-old shared her 60th jubilee with friends in Crook, looking back on a lifetime of experiences
A MOTORBIKING granny is to abseil down the side of a regional landmark to raise money for charity. Mary Lambert, an 87-year-old from Spittal Tongues, Newcastle, is to abseil 150ft down the Baltic Arts Centre in Gateshead, to raise money for the Royal
A DISQUALIFIED motorist has been remanded in custody after being caught driving at high speeds through Middlesbrough. Shaun Kevin Nixon was in a mile-and-half police chase at speeds of up to 70mph before his arrest in the early hours of Monday, July 25
A VAGRANT has appeared in court after he fell asleep in a police station. John Worton, who was banned last month from entering Middlesbrough town centre, was arrested after an officer recognised the snoozing alcoholic. A probation officer, who told the
A PETTY criminal who could not be bothered to turn up for the rehabilitation course has won a cut in his subsequent prison sentence. Mark Hawkes, 24, of Primrose Hill, Stockton, pleaded guilty to a single count of theft at Teesside Crown Court in July
A RARE insight into the role of propaganda films during the Second World War will be given during an illustrated talk later this month. To coincide with the 60th anniversary of the end of the war, there will be a presentation by local film historian David
BLINDFOLDED soldiers have been helping patients in a special care baby unit. They took part in a hazardous driving competition organised by Private Lisa Tilley to raise funds for the unit, at the Friarage Hospital, in Northallerton. Personnel from the
DAVID Flory has been appointed chief executive of County Durham and Tees Valley Strategic Health Authority. Mr Flory, 45, who is chief executive of Northumberland, Tyne and Wear Strategic Health Authority, took over his new post on Monday, succeeding
A RURAL theatre company set-up by a husband and wife team will stage its first production next week. The Esk Valley Summer Theatre Company was founded by Mark Stratton and his wife, Sheila Carter, in Glaisdale, near Whitby. The group will perform its
A group of MPs was calling for a North-East coroner to be sacked over an alleged backlog of inquests. Latest figures show Teesside Coroner Michael Sheffield has yet to complete 209 inquests, and 47 of them have been outstanding for six months or more.
ENTERTAINERS from across the world put on their costumes and warmed up for one of the region's biggest fringe festivals yesterday. The 18th Stockton Riverside International Festival begins tomorrow and promises to be the biggest yet, with shows at venues
A MOTORBIKING granny is to abseil down the side of a regional landmark to raise money for charity. Mary Lambert, an 87-year-old from Spittal Tongues, Newcastle, is to abseil 150ft down the Baltic Arts Centre in Gateshead, to raise money for the Royal
CRYSTAL PALACE want Middlesbrough's Joseph Job to become Andrew Johnson's long-term strike partner at Selhurst Park. Johnson ended months of speculation yesterday when he signed a new five-year deal with the Eagles, despite the club's relegation from
ANOTHER regeneration boss at a North-East development agency is leaving after being headhunted for a job in the South. Tees Valley Regeneration's head of development Peter James is moving after being offered the top job with the newly-formed Urban Regeneration
NORTH-EAST karting star Tristram Oman has beaten some of the world's leading drivers to clinch the title in the prestigious European Mojo Rotax Challenge. The 24-year-old, who lives near Stockton, came second in the final of Round Three at the A1 Speedworld
POLICE who were doused in lighter fuel by a suicidal man as they saved him from leaping from a bridge are to receive bravery awards. The Royal Humane Society yesterday announced it is to honour six Durham Constabulary officers for their courage in saving
GRAEME Souness was forced back to the drawing board yet again last night after prospective moves for both Michael Owen and Mark Viduka hit the buffers. The Newcastle boss had been hoping to make formal approaches to both Real Madrid and Middlesbrough
A DRIVER who broke her back in a car crash, managed to summon enough strength to lift the vehicle and rescue a friend. Eight-and-a-half stone Kyla Smith, 23, found the strength to lift the car enough so stricken Jonathon Connor could free himself from
PACE judgement will be crucial to Rotuma's prospects at Newcastle's meeting this afternoon. On a major charity fundraising day in aid of the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children, backers of Rotuma should, with luck, be able to put
ON the same day local radio station TFM emerged as front-runners in the renaming of Darlington's Neasham Road stadium, winger Carlos Logan's decision to join the club came as music to manager David Hodgson's ears. Logan has agreed a six-month deal with
SEATON CAREW are celebrating becoming Durham Club champions for the seventh time and the successful triumvirate have put their glory down to continuity. Seaton finished four shots clear of second-placed Eaglescliffe at the weekend on their home course
SO can someone tell me just why exactly we need 24 hour drinking? This week we've heard that young drinkers are increasingly suffering the sort of liver disease only previously seen in old soaks and the George Bests of this world. The number of under
This World: Looking For China Girl (BBC2) CSI: Miami (five) XIN Hua is likely to end up what the Chinese call "a bare branch" - a man without children. A young man looking for a bride in modern day China has as much difficulty as the BBC have had in finding
POLICE investigating the disappearance of a former miner three years ago have concluded a search of a former pit site - without finding anything of significance. Edward Donnelly was 53 when he vanished from his home in Fynway, Sacriston, County Durham
AN inquiry was launched last night into new claims of military abuse after video footage emerged showing the apparent bullying of young recruits. The pictures, filmed by a soldier at the Army's School of Infantry, in Catterick, North Yorkshire, show recruits
The lifeblood of a rich vein of horse racing history in the North-East has been returned following a multi-million pound restoration project. Over the last 15 months Gibside Stables at the National Trust property near Rowlands Gill, Gateshead, has been
THE North-East father of a soldier killed in Iraq spoke yesterday of his fears as his surviving son awaits a posting to Afghanistan. John Miller, of Usworth, Washington, Wearside, revealed his family's agony in the midst of a furore sparked by a Home
When, at the height of Margaret Thatcher's assault on our traditional industries - coal, steel, shipbuilding and the rest - her Trade and Industry Secretary advised the afflicted to "get on their bikes"', we might have branded him the Himmler of the Thatcher
A WOMAN who lost her baby only hours after being jailed threatened to take her own life as she buried her stillborn son yesterday. As handcuffed Katrina Robinson stood at the graveside during baby Terence's funeral, she turned to her father, Leslie, and
Eight million people in Niger and the wider Sahel region are caught in the dual grip of drought and starvation. As aid agencies launch an £8m appeal, Lindsay Jennings asks why did it take so long for the world to react? THE Red Cross distribution truck
THE North-East workforce is the worst paid in England, union figures revealed last night. The region is second from the bottom of an hourly earnings league for the 12 regions of the UK, with full-time workers earning on average £11.08 per hour - £1.67
A MOTHER who allegedly went on a sunshine holiday, leaving her three children at home, appeared in court yesterday to face three counts of child neglect. Kelly Ann Rogerson, 24, from Darlington, is alleged to have gone on a two-week holiday to Turkey
A HOMELESS couple had to buy a new tent yesterday after a borrowed one they have lived in for ten weeks was damaged by stormy weather.. Kevin and Susan Howe have been camping on the banks of the River Tees at Barnard Castle, County Durham, after being
