Archive

  • Recognition for loyal workforce

    TWO men who joined a North-East welding and plant repair business more than 20 years ago have been recognised for their loyalty. Howard Reay, from Fatfield, Washington, Wearside, joined brothers Keith and Gary Miller as a fitter at their Miller UK business

  • Dylan Cuminskey

    Estate agency Kimmitt and Roberts has appointed DYLAN CUMINSKEY as manager at its office in Houghton-le-Spring, near Sunderland. He joins from a Newcastle estate agency and, during the past 12 years, has gained experience in the property, financial and

  • On TV last night

    Shock Docs: My 100,000 Lovers (five) KIM did the maths. As a working girl, she did ten to 15 jobs a day ("most of the clients weren't full sex - hand jobs, oral, spank bot-bots"). Add her extra-marital affairs and the boys she had before marriage, and

  • Williams tuning up for growth

    Musical instrument retailer Williams is hoping turnover will be more than £10m this year after it acquired another five stores. The company, based in Darlington, recently bought stores in Leeds, Sheffield, Hull, Lincoln and Nottingham when its main rival

  • Firm eyes city

    FURNITURE specialist BoConcept is looking to the North-East as it expands and opens more franchise stores. The company, which has stores in towns and cities across the world, has seen turnover rise 37 per cent in the past quarter, with an increase in

  • Confessions of a not-so-perfect cleric

    Obviously, the most important world issue before us today is not whether millions will snuff it with bird flu. And why should we worry that Iran is developing nuclear weapons and negotiating with the Russians and North Koreans about obtaining long-range

  • Recruitment agency uses the web to promote N-E

    A RECRUITMENT agency is promoting the benefits of the North-East through its new website. Middlesbrough marketing agency and recruitment supplier Pearsons is promoting the region's assets through its Talent North-East site. Hundreds of people considering

  • Youths arrested in Billingham office blaze

    Three youths have been arrested in connection with a major fire that blew potentially lethal smoke across a town. Two boys and a girl were arrested in connection to the blaze at the old ICI offices on Bellasis Avenue, Billingham, at teatime last Wednesday

  • Darren Suleman

    Insurer Northern Counties has appointed DARREN SULEMAN as a claims manager. Mr Suleman is a claims specialist with more than 17 years experience. Mark Burdett, of Northern Counties, which is based in Gateshead, said: "Our aim has always been to provide

  • Audley is back

    Audley Harrison insists he has not surrendered his independence by agreeing to fight for his big critic Frank Warren when he meets Danny Williams. Tackling the man who beat Mike Tyson on Warren's 25th anniversary show as a promoter is simply a business

  • Progress in recycling - but there's a cost to taxpayers

    RECYCLING in County Durham has shown a massive increase since traditional household waste tips were upgraded - but at an increased cost to the taxpayer. A new report to Durham County Council's cabinet later this month will reveal that recycling soared

  • Ignorance no excuse for wayward Xavier

    IT might seem like a harsh line to adopt but, when it comes to drug offences in sport, ignorance can never be an acceptable excuse. Middlesbrough defender Abel Xavier will release a press statement this morning in which he will protest his innocence following

  • The Eating Owt column

    SINCE Friday marks the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Trafalgar, today's column was dutifully to have been themed. A look in on the relaunched Lord Nelson in Gainford, a bite on Collingwood Street in Newcastle, dinner at the Cumby Arms in Heighington

  • Joel Kerr

    JOEL KERR has become one of the youngest people to be elected to the board of a funeral standards watchdog. Mr Kerr, who owns Joel D Kerr Funerals, in York Road, Hartlepool, has been voted on to the executive committee of the National Society of Allied

  • Warning over ambulance cover as paramedics are suspended

    A DOZEN paramedics have been suspended from their jobs without pay, in a move that has provoked fury among union leaders. Ambulance chiefs have been accused of being high-handed - and even of putting lives at risk. The staff have been put on ten-day suspensions

  • Four jailed after heroin worth £123,000 seized

    MEMBERS of a family caught taking heroin to Teesside from Sheffield were jailed for a total of 23 years yesterday. Teesside Crown Court was told that the police seized £85,000 and more than a kilo of heroin worth an estimated £123,000 from one of their

  • Footballer fined over incident with cyclist

    A NORTH-EAST football star has been fined by a court after knocking down a cyclist while behind the wheel of his Range Rover. Middlesbrough's Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink - who is a former Leeds United and Chelsea player - was on a shopping trip when he knocked

  • Martin Shields

    Project and cost consultancy Faithful and Gould, which has offices in Newcastle and on Teesside, has appointed MARTIN SHIELDS as senior project manager. Mr Shields has ten years' experience and joins from a rival North-East cost consultancy, where he

  • Injury-hit Pool make changes for LDV Trophy

    HARTLEPOOL United are likely to make changes tonight in the first round of the LDV Vans Trophy. Pool travel to Scunthorpe and, with a number of players carrying knocks from the weekend defeat at Nottingham Forest, boss Martin Scott is ready to give his

  • Police conduct early morning drugs raid

    A Columbian appeared in court in connection with a massive police drugs bust. Columbian National Osmiro Colonia Mendez, 37, appeared before JPs charged with conspiracy to supply drugs. As part of a Northumbria Police drug sting code named Operation Banjo

  • Windfall for policy holders

    ABOUT 2.4 million members of Standard Life are in line for windfalls after the insurer confirmed its plans to float on the London Stock Exchange next year. The majority of with-profits policy holders will receive free shares in exchange for giving up

  • Patrick joins the team at Clive Owen and Company

    Clive Owen and Co chartered accountancy and business advisor has appointed PATRICK KELLY as assistant manager at its Durham office. Mr Kelly qualified as a chartered tax advisor in 1991 and has experience of working with owner-managed businesses and small

  • £1m for crimefighting as deficit becomes a surplus

    A FINANCIAL turnaround in the fortunes for Cleveland Police has allowed it to inject £1m into tackling violent crime. The force, which has recovered from a £7m budget deficit, intends to invest the money in frontline policing. A number of special operations

  • Hodgson offers players a shot at redemption

    DAVID HODGSON will be seeking a positive response from his players at Kidderminster Harriers tonight. Darlington begin the LDV Vans trophy trail at the Aggborough Stadium, with Hodgson still reeling from Saturday's 1-0 defeat at Bury. The performance

  • Fears over Uefa place as star fails drug test

    MIDDLESBROUGH footballer Abel Xavier faces both the sack from his club and a lengthy worldwide ban from the game after failing a drugs test. The 32-year-old full-back, who joined Boro on a one-year deal at the start of the season, was selected for a random

  • Sex offenders break rules on registering

    TWO sex offenders are hauled back to court every week in the North-East and North Yorkshire for failing to register properly with the police, it was revealed yesterday. In a 12-month period, 105 offenders were convicted or cautioned for not registering

  • Jamie Hughes

    JAMIE HUGHES has joined the Village Hotel and Leisure Club Newcastle as leisure club manager. The 27-year-old began his career at a golf and country club on work experience from school at the age of 15. He then studied for an HND in leisure management

  • Mike Hartley

    The Centre of Excellence for Life Sciences, which is expanding the region's life science and healthcare sectors, has appointed MIKE HARTLEY as projects director. Mr Hartley has 19 years of manufacturing and electronic engineering experience. His knowledge

  • Man jailed for sex attack on schoolgirl

    A sex attacker who subjected a schoolgirl to a terrifying ordeal was jailed for three years yesterday. Thomas Harle, 37, molested the underage teenager on March 20. Newcastle Crown Court was told how Harle, who had no previous convictions, put his hand

  • Murder inquiry follows fall

    Detectives hunting the killer of a Middlesbrough man have called on revellers to come forward with vital information. The murder investigation was launched after David Cutts, of, Nimbus Close, Marton Manor, was declared brain dead and his life support

  • Grabbing a share of the online spend

    SEVEN per cent of the £4bn retail sales in the UK is spent online, according to analyst group IDC. However, there are more sales generated as a consequence of consumers researching their purchases online and then visiting the store to make the purchase

  • The annual double whammy strikes

    The business community routinely expects the Government to bring new employment laws into force on two occasions each year - April 1 (honestly) and October 1. During the past couple of years, the landscape has been radically altered on these dates as

  • White and Perry could face 3-month ban

    England and Lions prop Julian White faces a lengthy ban when he appears before Rugby Football Union disciplinary chiefs tonight. The Leicester forward was sent off for fighting with Newcastle lock Andy Perry during a stormy Guinness Premiership clash

  • Benefits cheat is handed an ultimatum

    A WOMAN who claimed thousands of pounds in benefits as a single mother when she was married to a professional footballer has been granted another reprieve. Kathryn Elaine Ibbetson was earlier this year given six months to pay back the benefits, which

  • Why working together is a Wise move

    The 333-acre farm in Little Stainton, near Darlington, has been in Ms Wise's family since 1881 and she has experienced first-hand the difficulties that face the industry. Despite being close to retirement, her father, Mike, still runs the business, while

  • Christmas may be coming, but where are the shoppers?

    SIXTY-EIGHT shopping days to Christmas. If you enjoy shopping, that is 68 days of thrills and excitement. But for some of us, the realistic figure is nearer 60 days until we have to go shopping. Which is a matter of some concern to stores. They are probably

  • Souness hoping for a Solano return

    NEWCASTLE United are hoping Nolberto Solano can come back to haunt Mick McCarthy on Sunday. With Lee Bowyer joining the Magpies long sick-list after picking up a knee injury at Wigan on Saturday, Newcastle boss Graeme Souness will be holding a roll call

  • Justin is honoured by Lord

    A TEENAGER aiming for a commission in the RAF has been made a Lord Lieutenant Cadet for North Yorkshire and will hold the post for a year. Each year, the Lord Lieutenant of the county, Lord Crathorne, selects the top cadet from each of the sea, army and

  • Burglar left trail of DNA evidence

    A BURGLAR who left a trail of DNA evidence at the scene of his crimes has appeared in court. On three occasions, Craig Thompson Raper, 22, of Peabody Street, Darlington, left DNA evidence which enabled police to identify him after he burgled properties

  • How to get wild about countryside

    A GUIDE has been published with a host of ideas for enjoying the countryside in and around Teesside. The latest Wild About Hartlepool countryside events programme leaflet covers the winter to spring period. The leaflet, which is produced by Hartlepool

  • Plea to elderly to carry alarm buttons

    DOZENS of elderly people are not carrying push-button alarms given to them for use in emergencies. A survey published yesterday showed that out of 417 senior citizens supplied with the alarms in Teesdale and Weardale, 18 per cent do not carry them regularly

  • Half of electric blankets unsafe

    pensioners could be risking their lives by using dangerous electric blankets this winter, Darlington trading standards chiefs warned yesterday. They issued the warning after more than half of the blankets in a safety check across the town were deemed

  • Concorde traveller claimed benefits

    AN aircraft enthusiast who paid thousands of pounds to be one of the last passengers on the Concorde was a benefit fraudster. Magistrates were told that unemployed Malcolm Bingley had used some of his inheritance cash to pay for a holiday to New York

  • Youngsters get a glimpse of Army life

    CADETS from Bishop Auckland, Spennymoor and Willington were put through their paces during a two-day event to give young people a taste of Army life. The 4th Regiment Recruiting Team Royal challenged the teenagers to a series of tasks, including assault

  • Council's plea over Co-op closure

    COUNCIL leaders dismayed at a threat to Bishop Auckland's only department store are asking the owners to choose the area for an alternative development. Wear Valley District Council plans to lobby the Manchester-based Co-op group to ask them to pilot

  • Recycling up more than half - but costs also on the rise

    RECYCLING in County Durham has shown a massive increase since traditional household waste tips were upgraded - but at an increased cost to the taxpayer. A new report, to be put to Durham County Council's cabinet later this month, will reveal that recycling

  • Cities 'on verge of population explosion'

    CITY centres across the North-East are on the verge of a population explosion, according to a report released today. The report, compiled by property company Knight Frank, is predicting a mass return to the city centres over the next decade. The study

  • Golf day tees up vital cash for hospital

    BIG-hearted staff at a heating company clubbed together to help a worthwhile cause. Employees of H Clarke and Sons, in Northallerton, took to the greens for a charity golf day at Romanby Golf Club, enjoying a few rounds of golf and helping the Friarage

  • Warning on waste disposal

    ENVIRONMENTAL protection officers are reminding local businesses of their responsibilities after a firm was fined for two waste charges. On Friday, Stevens Industrial Services, of Littleburn Industrial Estate, Langley Moor, Durham City, was fined £400

  • Rob Moses

    ROB MOSES, from Sunderland, is the newest member of the management team at The Gate leisure complex in Newcastle, joining as operations manager. He was previously security manager at The Bridges shopping centre, in Sunderland, also owned by Land Securities

  • Lectures to explore the body and arts

    CRIME writer PD James and sculptor Antony Gormley are among the guest speakers lined up for a series of public lectures exploring the relationship between the body and the arts. Flesh and Blood: The Body And The Arts is a series of 14 free evening talks

  • Blinking heck, I've hit the Millennium Bridge

    A helmsman watched in horror as his yacht crashed into the "blinking eye" Millennium Bridge. A crowd of spectators on the bridge saw the helmsman of the Cork 1720 Sportsboat as he lost his bearings - during a two-hour circular race on the River Tyne -

  • Views sought on future of community

    VILLAGERS in Osmotherley are being urged to put pen to paper as part of a major survey of the parish. The community's Parish Plan has been launched with the delivery of a questionnaire to all the local households in the community. Everyone over the age

  • Teenager wins new car in competition

    EVEN though he's not old enough to drive, teenager Mark Wilkes was thrilled to win a new car in a magazine competition. The 16-year-old from Fishburn, east Cleveland, can't wait for his birthday later this month when he can drive the Seat Ibiza he won

  • Progress in recycling - but there's a cost to taxpayers

    RECYCLING in County Durham has shown a massive increase since traditional household waste tips were upgraded - but at an increased cost to the taxpayer. A new report to Durham County Council's cabinet later this month will reveal that recycling soared

  • Crackdown launched on unpaid fines

    OFFENDERS who fail to pay fines imposed by the courts are being targeted in a major crackdown which will see them pursued "relentlessly". Those who have ignored court penalties are being warned they face arrest unless they come forward immediately. In

  • You won't be charged at court

    VISITORS are being offered an unusual behind-the-scenes look at one of County Durham's busiest courts this weekend. Peterlee Magistrates' Court is inviting the public to visit on Saturday, to mark Inside Justice Week. Between 10am and 4pm, people will

  • Club funds pay for electric beds

    A WELCOME donation has ensured young patients are resting more comfortably after major surgery. Beechwood and Easterside Social Club, in Middlesbrough, raised more than £5,000 for ward 22 at the town's James Cook University Hospital, giving staff the

  • Police check flat in hunt for Jenny

    POLICE hunting for missing shop worker Jenny Nicholl have searched a flat in her home town for clues. It is understood that items were taken away from the property in Richmond, North Yorkshire, to be examined by forensic experts. The development comes

  • Mowbray's men shrug off their European hangover

    On Saturday to Hibs v Kilmarnock, the former managed by Middlesbrough legend Tony Mowbray and the visitors boasting the sonorously named Danny Invincible, an Aussie formerly at Swindon. Roald Dahl would have loved him. Admission was £18 and ultimately

  • Watch out for bogus recruits

    LAW firm Latimer Hinks is warning businesses to check their recruitment procedures to avoid being hit by the latest discrimination scam. Nick Poole, a partner at the Darlington law firm, said one of the lesser known threats to businesses was that of people

  • Campaigners encouraged in fight to stop schools merger

    CAMPAIGNERS fighting plans to create a £25m privately-sponsored city in Darlington were told last night that they had a strong argument. Borough council chiefs are pursuing Government funding that could allow the controversial development to bring Hurworth

  • Boro star faces sack over failed drugs test

    MIDDLESBROUGH footballer Abel Xavier faces both the sack from his club and a lengthy worldwide ban from the game after failing a drugs test. The 32-year-old full-back, who joined Boro on a one-year deal at the start of the season, was selected for a random

  • Seeking clues to murder at nightspot

    A MURDER hunt was launched last night after a man died following an incident at a North-East nightspot. David Cutts, who was from the Marton Manor area of Middlesbrough, had been admitted to the town's James Cook University Hospital in a coma, on Sunday

  • Will fortune favour the brave?

    It's been more of a marathon than a sprint, but the race for the Conservative leadership finally gets to the voting stages today. Nick Morrison looks at who is in with a chance - and asks whether it matters who leads the Tory Party. ONE is a scion of

  • Ward Hadaway completes £28m contract

    LAW firm Ward Hadaway has completed a £28m deal for waste company Shanks. The North-East firm advised Shanks Group plc in the sale of its UK hazardous waste operations - Hazwaste Activities - to Onyx Environmental. Ward Hadaway beat competition from law

  • Maternity leave 'is a business risk'

    ONE in four companies see maternity and paternity regulation as a business risk, research has shown. And in the North-East, 27 per cent of companies saw maternity leave as a threat to their business, the study by Axa Insurance revealed. Smaller businesses

  • Yakubu is happy with lone role

    AIYEGBENI Yakubu has backed Steve McClaren's decision to play him as a solitary striker in Saturday's bore draw with Portsmouth, despite admitting that Middlesbrough improved when re-inforcements arrived after the break. Despite playing against a Pompey

  • Green Howards hero to be greeted by King of Norway

    A SECOND World War hero - the last remaining member of his unit - is to be honoured by Royalty next week. Former Green Howards soldier Frederick Leach will be at Buckingham Palace on October 25 to meet the King of Norway, who is colonel-in-chief of the

  • Karen Taylor

    Construction recruitment specialist Protech Human Resourcing has appointed KAREN TAYLOR as a recruitment consultant in its Protech Architecture operation. The 28-year-old has four years' construction recruitment experience in the UK and Australia. She

  • Mandy Hoyle and Ian Hall

    Patterson Ford has appointed two service advisors to work at its head office in Newcastle. MANDY HOYLE and IAN HALL have experience in administration and mechanics. Mr Hall joined Patterson after working with Land Rover as a service advisor. Before that

  • Comment from The Northern Echo: The appeal of honesty

    IT is generally accepted - even among politicians - that public confidence in politics is at its lowest ebb. And that comes down to trust. People find it harder and harder to put their faith in politicians because of the spin culture they have cultivated

  • Bill Marley

    Ross's Pickles has promoted BILL MARLEY to operations director a year after he joined the company. Mr Marley, of Hartlepool, joined Ross's after a 30-year career with a number of multinational companies, including Black and Decker, Neyr UK and MFI. He

  • Secrets of a Stylist: Vamp it up Victorian Style

    HOLD onto your handbags...black lace is back in fashion and fortunately, we're not talking about that horrendous 'Agadoo' tune. This month I'm going to guide you through one of the most popular trends on the High Street this season: Victoriana. As usual

  • Appetite grows for gourmet dinners

    A food company set up by the founders of the Phileas Fogg snack range is expecting to achieve a turnover of £25m in the next three to five years, and create up to 300 jobs. Since Tanfield Food Company launched its Look What We Found brand of gourmet meals

  • Ward Hadaway recruits three of a kind

    LAW firm Ward Hadaway has appointed pensions law expert TUSHAR BHATE to lead its pensions team. The former police officer is recommended by Chambers - the legal industry's directory of experts - and is an acknowledged authority on pensions law. He has

  • Body of crushed man lay in machine overnight

    A FACTORY worker was found crushed to death inside an industrial machine yesterday - after his body had lain undiscovered for up to 24 hours. Health and safety chiefs were last night investigating how Michael Joyce had become trapped inside the equipment

  • Company is bringing the North and South together

    INFORMATION technology companies in the North-East are winning new business thanks to a drive to develop closer links with the South-East. A marketing campaign run by Tyne and Wear Development Company is helping to boost the region's digital sector by

  • Leather Wedge has the pace to change Johnson's luck

    County Durham trainer Bob Johnson hasn't had much to smile about in recent times but The Leather Wedge can change his luck by taking the betfredpoker.com Handicap over five furlongs at Southwell today. The speedy six-year-old, who won over this course

  • 18/10/05

    BIRD FLU: AVIAN flu may be on the way, but does the media have to go into Corporal Jones mode: "Don't Panic. Don't Panic."? Or, more accurately, Private Fraser's attitude: "We're all doomed, I tell you, doomed!"? If this had been the attitude, there would

  • HIV jab threat

    WORRIED retailers have been urged not to panic after shopping centre bosses were taken in by a hoax chain letter warning of attacks with HIV needles. About 70 tenants at the Castlegate Shopping Centre in Stockton, including retailers, market traders and

  • Brown sees his future with Cats

    BY DECEMBER, Chris Brown will have gone to Hull and back in search of Premiership football, and last night Sunderland's forgotten striker insisted he was still confident of making his mark on the top-flight. While the rest of his Black Cats team-mates

  • Region at the forefront of imaging technology

    IT hardly needs to be noted that the brain is a complicated organ. But brain surgeons now have a new tool thanks to scientists at a Teesside company, who have created a virtual reality, three-dimensional scanner that can help neurosurgeons carry out complex

  • Teenager jailed for failing to complete community order

    A TEENAGER who told magistrates he could not guarantee he would complete a community order has been jailed. Mark Hutchinson, 19, from Langdale Avenue, Crook, County Durham, yesterday admitted failing to comply with a community order at Newton Aycliffe

  • Ashes hero caught at 97mph on way home

    ENGLAND'S Ashes hero Steve Harmison was clocked by police travelling at the speed he can bowl a cricket ball - 97mph. The world's top ranked test bowler was caught by a police traffic car on the A1(M), in North Yorkshire as he was heading north at Boroughbridge

  • Bumpy road ahead for VW as Bernhard seeks more savings

    VOLKSWAGEN has been an economic bellwether of German industrial might for nearly 50 years. It created the first "people's car" in the Beetle and went on to even greater things in the 1970s, churning out hit after hit, culminating in the iconic Golf, a

  • Authorities denounce plans to cut primary care trusts

    SEVEN local authorities have banded together to denounce NHS plans to reduce the number of primary care trusts in the region. If controversial proposals go ahead, four large sub- regional primary care trusts (PCTs) would replace 15 PCTs in the North-East

  • Man faces animal cruelty charges

    A man accused of one of the region's worst animal cruelty cases was in court yesterday. Lee Howard arrived at Bishop Auckland Magistrates' Court, shielding his face with a jacket as he walked from a car. He faces charges relating to the deaths of 29 animals

  • Agility wins contract with parcel carrier

    LOGISTICS software company Agility Systems has won its first major contract in an emerging technology. It is also in talks with a group to install its software across the US and Europe, The Northern Echo has learned. Darlington-based Agility, which was

  • Father cleared of son's murder

    A father accused of murdering his son has been cleared. Robert Stacey, 52, was said to have battered 19-year-old Scott Pritchard to death during an attack in January last year. Scott was found dead at the back gate of his home in Lindsay Close, Hendon

  • Workers relive ordeal when colleague was buried alive

    BUILDING workers yesterday relived the horror of seeing their friend buried alive - and not being able to save him. Ground work supervisor Neil Dunston, 41, of Davison Street, Lingdale, east Cleveland, was killed as a trench wall collapsed on top of him

  • Surveyors predict rise in prices

    CHARTERED surveyors are predicting a rise in house prices for the first time in 18 months. The latest figures from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) show that the number of surveyors reporting price falls for last month dropped again

  • Workers relive ordeal when colleague was buried alive

    BUILDING workers yesterday relived the horror of seeing their friend buried alive - and not being able to save him. Ground work supervisor Neil Dunston, 41, of Davison Street, Lingdale, east Cleveland, was killed as a trench wall collapsed on top of him

  • Namesakes in need of a home

    STAFF at a Darlington dogs home have found themselves overwhelmed with cartoon characters. Several of the 120 dogs at the town's Dogs Trust have names taken from cartoons, including Pluto, Goofy, Scooby and Snoopy. Pluto is a rottweiler puppy, Goofy is

  • A glimpse of politics

    PUPILS from schools across Darlington will get a taste of political life today in an event for Local Democracy Week. Every primary school in the town will send two children and a teacher to take part in a Darlington Borough Council lifelong learning scrutiny

  • School roadshow

    Students at Darlington's Queen Elizabeth Sixth Form College have been paid a visit by the Government-funded Aimhigher roadshow. Groups of students studying vocational A-levels met graduates to discuss their experiences at university as part of the roadshow

  • Poet prompts pupils' work

    STUDENTS were given tuition from the top when an award-winning poet took up residence in their school. Adisa, a former New Performance Poet of the Year, has taken up a three-day post at Hurworth School Maths and Computing College, near Darlington. Pupils

  • Uncertain future facing pub as owners confirm plans to sell up

    ONE of the region's most historic pubs is in the process of being sold. Enterprise Inns confirmed last night that it was selling The Ship Inn, in Guisborough, east Cleveland, but said it could not promise that it would remain a pub. The Northern Echo

  • Pantomime already sold out

    TICKETS have already sold out for one of the region's first pantomimes of the new season, featuring a big cast of strange characters in Aladdin. The show, on Thursday, October 27, is being presented by the Craft Works and Green Explorers group, which

  • It's pedal power for police

    A NEIGHBOURHOOD policing team is going back to basics - after taking delivery of a bicycle to help officers get around the patch quickly and easily. The idea of a police bike for the Stokesley team came from Hambleton Community Safety Partnership's theme

  • Arson attack leaves owner counting the heavy costs

    A LANDLORD is facing a substantial repair bill after arsonists set one of his properties alight. The terrace house in Sydney Street, Stockton, was severely damaged by smoke and heat after flames swept through the upstairs in the early hours yesterday.

  • Teens to assist police in crackdown on underage drinking

    TEENAGERS will be calling at off-licences in the Chester-le-Street area over the next few weeks in a police clampdown on underage drinking and rowdy behaviour. A group of volunteers, all aged under 18, will be attempting to buy alcohol from some of the

  • Patrols set up in village to reduce dog fouling

    DOG owners in an east Durham village are being urged to clean up after their pets or face fines. Environmental wardens are targeting Blackhall to reduce the number of dog fouling incidents. The problem is particularly difficult in the West Avenue area

  • Ashes hero caught at 97mph on way home

    ENGLAND'S Ashes hero Steve Harmison was clocked by police travelling at the speed he can bowl a cricket ball - 97mph. The world's top ranked test bowler was caught by a police traffic car as he was heading north at Boroughbridge, on the A1(M), in North

  • Xavier is a colourful character on and off field

    Adam Murray profiles Abel Xavier, the Middlesbrough defender who failed a drugs test after the UEFA cup tie in Xanthi. THE term colourful is often over-used in football to describe the more eccentric individuals who inhabit the game, but it was made for

  • Climbing the property ladder may not be as easy as it looks

    There seem to be endless television programmes about becoming rich through property development, and with interest rates at their lowest point for many years, some see property as a sure way to make easy money. Trust a solicitor to put a dampener on things

  • Staff hit charity goal

    STAFF at a supermarket were tickled pink after surpassing their fundraising target for charity this year. Asda Spennymoor set a target of raising £6,000 for the Breast Cancer Care Tickled Pink campaign, and have reached £6,126. Funraising events included

  • Body of crushed man lay in machine overnight

    A FACTORY worker was found crushed to death inside an industrial machine yesterday - after his body had lain undiscovered for up to 24 hours. Health and safety chiefs were last night investigating how Michael Joyce had become trapped inside the equipment

  • Bespoke crimefighting tactics

    A NEIGHBOURHOOD policing team are going back to basics after taking delivery of a bicycle to help officers get around the patch quickly and easily. The idea of a police bike for the Stokesley team came from Hambleton Community Safety Partnership's theme

  • Sports awards for youngsters

    SPORTS stars of the future are being helped on their way by their local authority. Thirty-two talented young people have each received £150 towards training and travelling expenses from Hambleton District Council. Each was also presented with a card giving

  • MS sufferer is told: needle treatment can continue

    A multiple sclerosis (MS) sufferer who feared that the health service was going to withdraw her complementary therapy has been told it can continue. Jane Hope, 36, from Bishop Auckland, County Durham, has been having regular acupuncture on the NHS for

  • Watchdog seeking wider powers

    A WATCHDOG organisation is seeking wider powers to investigate complaints against local authorities and to bring them to account for their actions. Michael King, deputy local government ombudsman for the North-East, told the annual meeting of Darlington

  • Coroner hails man's bravery during tragedy

    A CORONER is to recommend a man for a bravery award after hearing how he tried to rescue a friend from drowning. North Yorkshire East Coroner Michael Oakley was told that Jeffery Muse, a 31-year-old jet worker and actor, had jumped into Whitby harbour

  • Missing Jenny: Police search flat

    POLICE hunting for missing shop worker Jenny Nicholl have searched a flat in her home town for clues. It is understood that items were taken away from the property in Richmond, North Yorkshire, to be examined by forensic experts. The development comes