Shoaib Akhtar yesterday sent a special word of thanks to Andrew Flintoff for the moment the all-rounder jokingly called him 'Tarzan' - and gave him all the ammunition he needed to tear into England's batsmen. Shoaib is not the 'Lord of the Jungle', rather
WHATEVER verdict was delivered in the case of Dr Howard Martin, there would have been deep sadness. The fact that he has been cleared of murdering three of his patients with morphine overdoses is clearly a cause for celebration for a man who has spent
THE future was looking bleak for North-East shipbuilder Swan Hunter last night as it failed to land a major share of a £4bn contract to help build aircraft carriers for the Royal Navy. As expected, rival shipbuilders VT and Babcock will join BAe Systems
CHILDREN in Seaham are putting the finishing touches to Christmas presents for disadvantaged youngsters. The 11 to 13-year-olds have been making gifts during weekly craft workshops at Seaham Youth Centre. They are putting the final touches to their gifts
A MAN tried to take a car from a locked garage compound after threatening a security guard with a machete. Paul Thompson, 20, of Windsor Terrace, Leadgate, near Consett, broke into locked premises at Pickering Nook Garage, near Burnopfield, County Durham
A PRIME piece of land is going on the market for development and is expected to fetch several million pounds. Gateshead Council is selling land between the Sage music centre and the Baltic art gallery. The authority has yet to announce plans for the site
CHURCH officials last night told of their delight at securing a sponsorship deal for a city academy in Darlington. The Church of England was confirmed as the sponsor for the £25m project, which is intended to bring together the successful Hurworth School
ONE of three apprentices trained by Durham City Council has two reasons to celebrate. Adam Goodall, 20, of Brandon, who was hired when the council re-launched its apprenticeship scheme three years ago, has won an award for outstanding performance on his
A BID to build two detached homes yards from where a huge crater appeared at Ripon in April 1997 has been put on hold by planners. The Life Science Trust applied to Harrogate Borough Council to erect the two homes in the back garden of Ashley House in
THE driving force behind one of Europe's biggest public transport companies is to step down after seven years at the helm, it emerged last night. Bob Davies will retire as chief executive of Sunderland-based Arriva in April. In his time in charge, Arriva
TRAFFIC lights at a busy town centre junction are to be replaced in the New Year. The junction of Romanby Road with the High Street in Northallerton is being refurbished. The original traffic signals at the junction were installed in 1979 and were the
AN employment project has moved into new surroundings following a £370,000 scheme. Redcar and Cleveland Council's Job Connect programme, which is spreading across east Cleveland as part of the council's Route to Employment initiative, has expanded from
Redcar and Cleveland Council's money advice service has dealt with 115 clients with a total debt approaching £1.5m in the past year. Figures showed the average debt per client was just over £13,000, with the main problems being credit/store cards and
THIEVES have cancelled a teenage mother's Christmas after ransacking her home and stealing all her presents. All 19-year-old Emma Wilson has left to give her four-and-a-half-month-old son, Thomas, on Christmas Day is a small Dumbo elephant toy, which
A PUBLIC meeting is being held to enable residents to voice opinions on the shake-up of health care on Teesside. Councillors representing Ingleby Barwick, near Stockton, are urging as many people as possible to attend the meeting tomorrow. It has been
CLEVELAND Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has been given a "good" rating after inspectors praised how quickly it handled its case load. The Government-appointed inspectors scrutinised documents, processes and procedures relating to the work of the CPS
AN engineering firm dating back more than 200 years was snapped up for £700m yesterday by the Dubai-based owner of Madame Tussauds. Doncasters, which employs about 2,900 staff at 13 UK sites, including 200 people in Billingham, Teesside, was bought from
A MAN who bit an off-duty police officer after he was disturbed during a burglary has been jailed for more than three years. Gary Wayne Drummond, 38, grappled with police sergeant Stuart Porritt and bit him twice in a bid to escape. Sean Dodds, prosecuting
A refurbished waste recycling centre in Darlington will be reopened tomorrow. The Whessoe Road tip, run by Premier Waste Management, was closed for two months while a £750,000 Government-funded redevelopment took place. Stephen Harker, Darlington Borough
FOUR taxi drivers were told they would not have their licences renewed at a meeting yesterday. Darlington Borough Council's general licensing committee rejected the applications when it met in the town hall. Joseph Price, 52, of Whitby Way; Brian Foster
CHRISTMAS cards produced by Darlington Borough Council have sold out. The cards, featuring snowy images of the town, were on sale at the Information Darlington centre, in Horsemarket. Since they went on sale, 500 packs of the cards have been sold. The
PUPILS at a Darlington school have been visiting an elderly care home. Over seven weeks, the year 11 Longfield School students have worked with staff at Hundens Lane Barchester Care Home. They have tidied the grounds and done general maintenance work,
IN its 400th year, a school presented awards to star pupils from the class of 2005. King James I Community College, in Bishop Auckland, held an annual prize evening to reward the achievements and hard work of pupils at the school. The school enjoyed a
A PATH is being planned to reduce the danger to children posed by traffic at a secondary school's main entrance. The path would allow pupils to enter Easington Community School, in County Durham, a safe distance from the car park and main road entrance
A FAMILY'S display of Christmas lights, worth hundreds of pounds, has been stolen from their garden. Rick Moat and Sarah Cox, who have two young children, have built up a collection of festive illuminations, which draws visitors from a wide area, at their
A BOOK shop has published the first collection of poems by members of its poetry group. Thirteen members of the group, based at the Ottakar's store in Northallerton, have contributed to A Sudden Clatter of Voices. The poets range from commercially-published
COUNCILLORS in Teesdale have been warned more must be done to help young people stay in the area. Twenty-six youngsters from Teesdale, aged between 14 and 19, quizzed district councillors at an event in the council chamber. But, a youth leader has criticised
CHILDREN in Weardale are to benefit from a scheme that will offer free training for parents and carers. The Early Start programme will target young families in isolated areas, such as the dales, in an initiative which will also help promote stronger community
THE importance of giving was the moral message behind a Christmas performance at a County Durham School. Pre-preparatory children at Barnard Castle School rehearsed for a month for yesterday's performance of Scarecrow's Christmas. Aged four to seven,
A GROUP of school children had a lesson yesterday that was out of this world. Their teacher was spaceman Al Sacco, who flew on the shuttle Columbia in 1995 and conducted more than 200 experiments in zero-gravity. Professor Sacco visited the Centre for
SCHOOLCHILDREN were treated to tales of a wintry adventure when they met a mountaineering expert who has recently returned from Antarctica. Jonathan Bursnall visited the continent as part of the British Antarctic Survey. And this week he stepped back
THE father of murdered shopworker Jenny Nicholl appeared in court yesterday to face child pornography charges. Brian Edwin Nicholl, 49, is accused of 16 counts of making indecent photographs of children between May 18 and June 18 this year. The alleged
THE biggest councils in the region have come out on top in a nationwide performance league table for the second consecutive year. Every local authority in the North-East is rated as "improving well" and seven of them have achieved the highest ranking
A TROUBLESHOOTER has been brought in to reverse the fortunes of an ailing North-East school. Unity City Academy was plunged into turmoil when four governors resigned on the eve of the arrival of another critical report from Ofsted. Government inspectors
A retired GP cleared of murdering three patients with massive drug overdoses is to be investigated over his role in the deaths of another 12 people, police said today. Dr Howard Martin, 71, was cleared by a jury at Teesside Crown Court yesterday of killing
UNEMPLOYMENT rates in the North-East dropped for the first time in several months yesterday as figures showed more people were in work. Across the region, the unemployment rate now stands at 6.6 per cent - still higher than any region outside London.
MIDDLESBROUGH and Nigeria are on collision course over the prospect of striker Aiyegbeni Yakubu being ruled out of Premiership action for over a month. Boro have received an official request from the Nigerian Football Association for Yakubu to join up
A DESIGN company has transformed a historic County Durham pub with a £140,000 refurbishment. Portland Interior Design, based in Jesmond, Newcastle, has revamped the Grade II-listed Grey Horse pub, on Byerley Road, in Shildon. "The Grey Horse is an old
AFTER receiving a vote of confidence from Sunderland's supporters this week, under-fire manager Mick McCarthy is hoping for another major boost ahead of the Boxing Day clash with Bolton. With the luxury of a spare weekend thanks to Liverpool's participation
ARRIVING each day at Teesside Crown Court, Howard Martin looked every bit the picture of the kindly old doctor his defence team painted. With his white hair, gentle weathered features, and sweaters, the 71-year-old epitomised the image of a family GP
TWENTY-FOUR hours after receiving a new liver, little Lennox Nicholson was said to be "doing well" last night. The five-month-old baby, who needed a liver transplant to save his life after developing an incurable bile duct condition, was given a new liver
PIE company Henry Newbould Limited has gone into administration with the loss of more than 200 jobs. The company, which has been operating on Teesside for 150 years, called in administrators on Monday. Its former sister company, Naturally At Newboulds
PETER Ramage has won plenty of plaudits this season, but fellow full-back Robbie Elliott feels his biggest achievement has been to silence the critics waiting to snipe at Newcastle's defence. Despite keeping six clean sheets in the space of eight games
WHEN Durham were afforded first-class status in 1992, chairman Don Robson had two over-riding ambitions. Firstly, he wanted the county to establish itself as a viable and competitive force in domestic English cricket. Secondly, and just as significantly
THE proud parents of X Factor brothers Andy and Carl Pemberton have appealed to people across the North to help their sons win the contest on Saturday by voting for them. Trevor and Genda Pemberton are heading to London today, and Mr Pemberton said: "
A MOTHER broke down as she told an inquest her soldier son killed himself because of the "evil world" he had seen while serving with the Territorial Army in Iraq. Private Mark Dobson, 41, from Darlington, was serving with B Company of the Tyne-Tees Regiment
Nicky Henderson and Mick Fitzgerald stole the show at their local track with a near 11-1 brace courtesy of Restless D'Artaix and Craven. The Seven Barrows team landed their fifth cantorspreadfair.com Juvenile Novices' Hurdle in as many years as Restless
A compassionate doctor will do everything to alleviate a dying patient's pain, but as Health Editor Barry Nelson reports, too much kindness can land them in hot water. FOR thousands of years, newly-qualified physicians all over the world have taken the
Natural World: Wild Harvest (BBC2) Rome (BBC2) YOU don't have to travel to foreign lands to find remarkable wildlife. Natural World discovered plenty in Britain's countryside - or rather those species that haven't been driven out by modern farming methods
DETECTIVES will today reveal new details about the investigation into retired GP Howard Martin who was yesterday cleared of murdering three patients. Durham Constabulary said last night that the investigation into Dr Martin was still going on. The former
It's a question that's been in the news a lot lately. What does it mean to be English? It seems there's a crisis about the English identity, with everyone wondering what exactly Englishness is. It's set me thinking too. I'm English, no question about
Christmas has become a time of dread for casualty staff at a hospital struggling to cope with drink-related injuries. Alcohol is being blamed for more than half of admissions to Sunderland Royal Hospital's accident and emergency unit, a shocking report
THE commanding officer of a North-East soldier killed in a road smash in Cyprus last night led tributes to the 22-year-old. Fusilier Daniel Whinham, from Gateshead, died in the accident which left Lance Corporal Marc Dryburgh, 23, of Ashington, Northumberland
PLAYERS from Darlington Football Club are hoping to march up the league table after regimental preparations for this weekend's match. The Quakers first team squad trained at Catterick Garrison, in North Yorkshire, to coincide with the launch of a scheme
A FURNITURE help scheme that provides household goods to needy people will hold a sale to boost funds. The County Durham Furniture Help Scheme will open for the sale on January 14. Volunteers regularly collect unwanted reusable furniture from homes across
A TEESDALE charity that feared it was going to have to make cutbacks has been handed a lifeline. Durham Dales Action for Carers (DDAC) has been awarded a grant of £105,662 over three years from the Northern Rock Foundation. In January, the charity found
PUPILS at a school dedicated to music and drama are putting on a traditional show this Christmas. Pupils from years seven to 11 at Belmont School Community Arts College in Durham, which has specialist status for music and the performing arts, are staging
A football project which aims to help drug users kick the habit ended in a thrilling tournament. Between 50 and 60 drug service users from Teesside's four Drug Action Teams (DATs) split into eight five-a-side squads and underwent weeks of coaching to
CUSTOMS officers hope to have reduced the supply of cheap black market cigarettes available over Christmas after arresting two suspected smugglers. A man and a woman, who landed at Newcastle Airport from Tenerife early yesterday, were seized after officers
A MAN caught in possession of cocaine claimed it was for his own use, a court heard. Durham Crown Court was told that Lee Patterson, 28, was stopped while driving by police, who recovered the drugs in a search of the vehicle, on September 17 last year
A GIRLS hockey team has returned triumphant from a inter-school tournament. The Wensleydale School under-14 team won the Hambleton and Richmondshire area hockey rally held in Easingwold last month. Eight teams competed in the tournament. The Wensleydale
A £12,000 mobile closed-circuit television system has been brought in by crime fighters in a bid to tackle late-night drunkenness and anti-social behaviour. The security camera is installed in a police van which will travel to incidents all over Hambleton
POLICE are hunting a man who attacked a woman as she waited at a bus stop. The 25-year-old woman was standing outside a dentist's surgery in Bishopton Lane, Stockton, at about 10pm on Wednesday, December 7. A man approached her, grabbed her arm and tried
SCHOOLCHILDREN enjoyed Christmas food on a grand scale yesterday as they were served up a festive treat. Council catering staff produced 1,200 traditional Christmas dinners for youngsters at Hummersknott School and Language College, in Darlington. It
PUPILS and staff at a Darlington school are celebrating after receiving praise from Government inspectors. Mount Pleasant Primary School was rated as good in an Ofsted inspection that looked at all aspects of school life. The report said: "Achievement
A SIXTH form student has landed a junior title at an international judo competition. Jan Gosiewski, from Queen Elizabeth Sixth Form College, in Darlington, also fought in the senior section at the Zuidland Open, in Holland. Jan, who studies maths, physics
POLARISED: I WOULD agree with your leader that the academy debate in Darlington has become dangerously polarised. I have tried to follow the arguments from the beginning, however, and I don't think it is fair to suggest that both sides should bear equal
Christmas has become a time of dread for casualty staff at a hospital struggling to cope with drink-related injuries. Alcohol is being blamed for more than half of admissions to Sunderland Royal Hospital's accident and emergency unit, a shocking report
THE biggest councils in the region have come out on top in a nationwide performance league table for the second consecutive year. Every local authority in the North-East is rated as "improving well" and seven of them have achieved the highest ranking
The Library Theatre Touring Company is to present an adaptation of Kenneth Grahame's The Wind in the Willows at Cotherstone Village Hall on Sunday, January 15. The play, which contains eight songs, is suitable for both young and old. Tickets cost £5.50
A retail development including a DIY warehouse, garden centre and partial demolition of a DIY store has been approved by Harrogate Borough Council's planning committee. Councillors overwhelmingly voted to approve the scheme with only one vote against.
CINEMA will return to a market town next week with the showing of two family films. Miracle on 34th Street and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory will be shown at the Hambleton Forum, in North-allerton, on December 23. The 1994 film Miracle on 34th Street
AN elderly woman required hospital treatment for a broken right wrist and cuts to her head after being knocked down by a car. The 78-year-old woman, who has not been named, was struck by the car as she crossed the High Street, Marske, east Cleveland,
LADY Halifax dropped into a bathroom business this week to have a cup of tea, a slice of tea loaf and receive a charity cheque for £5,700. Abacus Direct, based at Copgrove, near Harrogate, raised the money at a launch event for their designer range, Ben
A FOOTBALL club is celebrating after receiving a grant to improve its facilities. Marske United Under-14s Football Club has been awarded £150 from the BT Community Champions scheme. The scheme is open to employees who have been actively involved in a
There's nothing new about Newbiggin chapel, the world's oldest in continuous use. You even get a good old fashioned hot drink to wet the whistle for hymns. NEWBIGGIN-in-Teesdale stands wintry and whitewashed against a blue-black sky, its historic Methodist
CHRIS RIGGOTT wants to help Middlesbrough secure top spot in UEFA Cup Group D tonight by becoming the club's latest sharpshooter in front of goal. To hear back-up strikers Massimo Maccarone or Szilard Nemeth utter those words would come as no surprise
Only a handful of North-East hospitals featured in today's 'cleanliness chart' published by the Health Commission. The commission revealed the results of visits to 99 NHS and private hospitals to check on standards of cleanliness. Only five hospitals
A PRIME piece of land is going on the market for development and is expected to fetch several million pounds. Gateshead Council is selling land between the Sage music centre and the Baltic art gallery. The authority has yet to announce plans for the site
A NEW university college will be named in memory of North-East Victorian social reformer Josephine Butler. Durham University will name its 16th residential college after the pioneer of women's education, a century after her death. Josephine Butler College
PIE company Henry Newbould Limited has gone into administration with the loss of more than 200 jobs. The company, which has been operating on Teesside for 150 years, called in administrators on Monday. Its former sister company, Naturally At Newboulds
THE driving force behind one of Europe's biggest public transport companies is to step down after seven years at the helm, it emerged last night. Bob Davies will retire as chief executive of Sunderland-based Arriva in April. In his time in charge, Arriva
SKILLED crane drivers and welders across the region are being approached to help with the construction of a multi-billion pound oil processing plant in Canada. The work has been added to the hundreds of positions for qualified steel erectors, electricians
In the last throw of the dice for Britain's presidency of the EU, European leaders meet in Brussels today to try and reach a budget agreement. Nick Morrison looks at the stumbling blocks - and the arguments raging over Britain's rebate and the Common
NEARLY 60 Labour MPs pledged yesterday to fight Tony Blair's controversial plans for "independent" state schools, warning that poorer pupils would be left behind. The rebels - including four North-East backbenchers and ten former ministers - are demanding
IN the midst of all the hospital dramas we've lived through in the past 15 years of parenthood, my wife has been the one who has held it all together. And, believe me, there have been plenty of hospital dramas: from our little girl needing emergency surgery
CONDITIONS have finally come right for Mexican (2.20) at Catterick this afternoon. Micky Hammond's gelding doesn't always find a great deal off the bridle, but when confronted by a sharp, easy track over two miles, plus ground which is neither firm nor
A WOMAN is nursing a broken ankle after she threw herself at a baby's pram to stop it hurtling into traffic on a busy main road. Last night, Rana Coates played down her heroics, saying she did what anyone else would have done to save the baby's life.
The future of Test cricket at Headingley was thrown into doubt yesterday when Leeds City Council again put off a decision to grant Yorkshire a £9m loan to buy the ground. Now, frantic efforts are being made by Yorkshire to get a last-gasp deal before
A PEACE light brought all the way from Bethlehem has arrived at a North-East hospital's chapel. The candle was delivered to the Chapel of the Good Samaritan at the James Cook University Hospital, Middlesbrough, by members of a local Scout group and will
CONSERVATIVE councillors have criticised the creation of two new Press officer posts at Darlington Town Hall. The positions in Darlington Borough Council's public relations department have been advertised with a maximum salary of £26,000 - and will double
DAVID HODGSON is ready to turn to David McGurk if contract talks with Shelton Martis fail to reach a successful conclusion next month. Martis is one of six first-team players, whose deal is up for renewal on January 4 and Hodgson has yet to confirm whether
THE father of murdered shopworker Jenny Nicholl appeared in court yesterday to face child pornography charges. Brian Edwin Nicholl, 49, is accused of 16 counts of making indecent photographs of children between May 18 and June 18 this year. The alleged
IN the midst of all the hospital dramas we've lived through in the past 15 years of parenthood, my wife has been the one who has held it all together. And, believe me, there have been plenty of hospital dramas: from our little girl needing emergency surgery
NIGHT FLYING: WHILE approving of Durham Tees Valley Airport's expansion scheme in principal, the increase in night time flying units recently granted to the airport by Stockton Borough Council does not bode well for those people living on the airport's
A TEACHER hopes to hold the first inter-schools boxing tournament in more than 30 years after re-introducing the sport in his school. Teesdale Comprehensive School, in Barnard Castle, County Durham, has become the first school in the region to start teaching
