A BEST-selling children's author is refusing to go to New York to publicise his latest novel after a dream warning that he would be shot dead during a book signing. Graham Taylor, 47, of Scalby, near Scarborough, has enjoyed huge success with his first
Michael Vaughan at last found the sort of batting form he has been searching for as he completed his maiden totesport League century for Yorkshire Phoenix against Kent Spitfires at Headingley. The England captain's unbeaten 116 was exactly what Vaughan
MUSIC fans at a Darlington club enjoyed a trip around the globe this weekend as part of World Music Day. The free event saw live music of all types and origins played together in the same venue. Fans enjoyed steel drums, flamenco and Spanish guitar and
COUNCIL bosses have given themselves a pat on the back - after judging that they provide good value for money. The self-assessment by Darlington Borough Council will be audited externally before it is submitted to the Audit Commission. A draft of the
TWO old school friends suffered a setback on the first day of an 8,000-mile trip to Outer Mongolia in a rusty old banger. Despite breaking down before leaving the UK, James Hammond and Mark Swindells hope the 1992 Fiat Panda will make it across 13 countries
A CALL to cut car parking charges in Ryedale has been made after a council's £261,000 windfall. Ryedale District Council's policy and resources committee will tonight debate what to do with the increased money from car park charges and recycling grants
THE new medical director of Darlington Primary Care Trust starts work today. Dr Hilton Dixon has been a GP at the Denmark Street Surgery, in Darlington, since 1979. He is well known to people in the town and said he was looking forward to getting his
AN overgrown allotment has been transformed into a Parisian park. Volunteers raised £1,500 to convert the abandoned plot in York into a pitch for the French game boules. Fifteen local residents transformed the area by removing rubbish and undergrowth.
ICE hockey fans are urging people to back their campaign for a new rink to be built in Durham City. The County Durham Ice Foundation has launched a petition to hand to Durham City Council, which is currently consulting on future development in the city
ENVELOPES commemorating Durham's adopted warship are being sold to raise money for the city's hospice. They have been produced by hospital pathology laboratory worker Hazel Ramsay, who sailed on HMS Invincible from London to the Tyne. The envelopes, known
POLICE made ten arrests and seized more than 50 vehicles in a countywide operation using car number plate reading technology. Sixty-eight untaxed and uninsured vehicles were taken off North Yorkshire's roads in the joint operation by police and the DVLA
A CAMPAIGN to combat sneak burglars has been launched with the help of a new crimebuster in the Tees Valley. Promotional character Willie Walkin joined Hartlepool Mayor Stuart Drummond to unveil the new initiative, which aims to slash burglaries. About
UNDERCOVER council officials have made a breakthrough in the hunt for thieves who steal identities. Scavengers have recently slashed their way through hundreds of bin bags in Middlesbrough, rooting through rubbish, looking for personal documents to be
THIS summer's good growing weather is likely to see records broken at tomorrow's Egton Bridge Old Gooseberry Society Show, on the North York Moors. The show, which dates back to 1800, is one of only four still surviving in Britain and is the oldest. Competitors
WORK has started on the refurbishment of the Marks & Spencer store in Harrogate town centre. The 72,000sq ft store, between Oxford Street and Cambridge Street, is being redesigned and the work is due to finish in early November. It includes new lighting
HAVING slipped 10lbs down the ratings Steel Blue (3.20) might be worth a second look in Ripon's feature race, the £17,500 Armstrong Handicap. Trainer Richard Whitaker's sprinter is no stranger to success at the track, picking up a similarly valuable event
The entire North-East programme was washed out on Saturday, writes Malcolm Pratt. It was the first time in years that every fixture was cancelled and few games have been called off this season because the weather overall has been good. Although points
DARLINGTON manager David Hodgson is backing Dutch defender Shelton Martis to make a big impression at the Williamson Motors Stadium. Martis will this week sign a six-month deal with Quakers. Hodgson secured the services of the 22-year-old, whose first
THEY say that love is blind - and it certainly was for a Newton Aycliffe couple who celebrated 50 years of marriage on Saturday. Bill and June Hopper, of Walker Lane, met on a blind date in Spennymoor in 1951, when Bill turned up instead of his friend
A 12-tonne harvester will be one of the attractions at Hamsterley Forest, near Barnard Castle, County Durham, on Wednesday, August 10. Forester Mark Herbertson will lead a tour from the visitor centre at 12.30pm. Boots or wellies are required and places
THE appeal to build an in-patient unit at St Cuthbert's Hospice in Durham has received a boost from a high street store chain. Catalogue shop Argos is backing the hospice movement nationally over the next two years, and money raised locally from the link-up
TWO teenage sisters have been arrested in connection with the alleged wounding of a 59-year-old man following an appeal for information in The Northern Echo. Earlier last month, police appealed for information after a man was kicked, bitten and punched
The entire North-East programme was washed out on Saturday, writes Malcolm Pratt. It was the first time in years that every fixture was cancelled and few games have been called off this season because the weather overall has been good. Although points
THE miserable weather could not dampen the spirits of almost 2,000 music lovers determined to enjoy the Northern Proms at Durham County Cricket Club's ground. Saturday night's event, at the club's Riverside Ground in Chester-le-Street, featured North-East
A WOMAN dressed as a bear staged a lone protest against an animal circus at the weekend. The demonstrator, who would give her name only as the Teesdale Bear, made a stand against Peter Jolly's Circus, which was visiting Barnard Castle, County Durham.
A SURVEY of more than 2,000 people recently showed that Saturday, July 30 was Britain's choice for the "best day of the year". Try telling that to Mick McCarthy. The Black Cats boss spent it watching his side lose to lower-league opposition for the second
NISSAN bosses pledged there would be no disruption to car manufacturing after a fire at Europe's most productive car plant. Officials at the Sunderland factory dismissed the blaze as a "small incident'' last night. More than 40 firefighters from across
A REDUNDANT cement works could regain its place at the heart of a North Pennines community if ambitious plans for an eco-village come to fruition. Full details of the project have been unveiled for the first time and today a newsletter will be delivered
IT all started with a kitchen sink. I had just finished installing a new one at my home when I noticed a spare length of pipe. I decided to put it to good use as an improvised didgeridoo and it worked fairly well. But there was something missing - it
SUPPORTERS of the Weardale heritage railway have given a warm welcome to the key role mapped out for the line in the regeneration plan for Weardale. They believe it offers a great opportunity for the railway to become "a golden thread" in the successful
Any motorist involved in an accident or road traffic offence will be breath-tested as part of a new campaign to crack down on drink drivers. Traffic police have set up regular check points across County Durham and Darlington to catch those over the limit
As the suicide bombings in London challenge our perception of religious and cultural harmony, the Rev Paul Walker looks at what it means to be a British Muslim. At one time the issue of culture and religion was easy to grasp. This was a Christian nation
BUDGET airline bmibaby is launching a new service from Durham Tees Valley Airport to London Gatwick. The flights already operated by the company from the airport at Middleton St George, near Darlington, include Alicante, Cork, Jersey, Malaga, Palma and
THE miserable weather could not dampen the spirits of almost 2,000 music lovers determined to enjoy the Northern Proms at Durham County Cricket Club's ground. Saturday night's event, at the club's Riverside Ground in Chester-le-Street, featured North-East
CAMPAIGNERS in Prime Minister Tony Blair's Sedgefield constituency have lost their fight against a wind farm they say could blight their lives. Energy firm EDF has won its appeal against Durham City Council's refusal of permission to erect four 76-metre
STEVE McClaren is quietly confident George Boateng will escape a costly Premiership ban, despite the midfielder's dismissal against Sporting Lisbon on Friday night. Boateng was shown a straight red card in the first half of the Teessiders' 4-0 defeat
KARTER Tristram Oman can put one hand on a prestigious European title this weekend. The 24-year-old, who lives near Stockton, has already won two rounds of the European Mojo Rotax Challenge for HRS Motorsport, based at the Warden Law Motorsports Centre
TRAIN operator GNER has been criticised for lobbying against rival plans to bring new services to the region. Sunderland South MP Chris Mullin said if GNER did not like the threat of competition from Grand Central Railway (GCR), which wants to operate
His children's books have made him a multi-millionaire, but for straight-talking former vicar Graham Tayor, life hasn't changed too much - apart from meetings with a Hollywood film producer and unnerving premonitions he tells Linsay Jennings. THE entrance
SMOKING: JIM Rishworth, in defence of tobacco smokers, seems to indicate that I think my car (and millions of others) do not emit exhaust fumes (HAS, July 18). I have never said that. I have always averred that cigarette smoke kills far more people than
Kate Hudson believes completely in the supernatural, so filming the creepy thriller The Skeleton Key was an eerie though exhilarating experience, she tells Steve Pratt. RETURNING to work so soon after having her first baby was hard and tiring, but Kate
THE case of a woman jailed for offences including throwing rhubarb at her brother is highlighted in a dossier on the misuse of anti-social behaviour orders (Asbos). Pressure group ASBO Concern has sent a report containing more than 100 controversial Asbo
Frankenstein (C4); Coast (BBC2): Think how upsetting it must be for a mad scientist to create life only to discover that the creature he's made looks like a member of a boy band having a very bad hair day. That's what happens when you cast a former member
BARRY Johnson has taken the lead in the 2005 MSA National Gravel Championship after an exciting battle at the Swansea Bay National Rally. The Shildon rally driver finished second to Julian Reynolds at the weekend, but with the latter not registered to
BEING a cynical lot, the other scribes in Taunton's ramshackle press box scoffed when I announced that Durham's sixth championship win meant promotion was in the bag. The fact is that in three of the last four seasons five wins have been enough to clinch
AN initiative to beat identity thieves who rake through bin bags to gather personal details is in line for a top award. Middlesbrough Council has distributed hundreds of cut-price document shredders to people living in areas of the town targeted by the
ROBBIE Elliott has welcomed new signing Craig Moore to Newcastle United - despite his arrival pushing him further down the pecking order. Moore has put pen to a deal which will keep him at the club until the summer of 2007. United had originally offered
A DOG show with a difference was held in the region at the weekend. Barking was banned at Stufts, a competition for stuffed toy dogs, at the Corner Centre, in Scarborough, North Yorkshire, on Saturday. There were more than 100 entries dressed up in costumes
A REDUNDANT cement works could regain its place at the heart of a North Pennines community if ambitious plans for an eco-village come to fruition. Full details of the project have been unveiled for the first time and today a newsletter will be delivered
THE discovery of a man in a makeshift den after a huge search of the countryside is being linked to the disappearance of teenager Jenny Nicholl. Mountain rescue volunteers with tracker dogs were brought in to search countryside around Hudswell, near Richmond
A NORTH-EAST racecourse will be the venue this week for a contest with a difference. Sedgefield Race Course, in County Durham, will host a wife-carrying race, with the first prize being £250 - and the runner's wife's weight in beer. The woman being carried
A NORTH-EAST council is leading the fight against tobacco-related diseases by banning smoking outdoors. Derwentside District Council, in County Durham, claims it is the first authority in the country to try to tackle outdoor smoking by banning cigarettes
SAD CASE: RE: the story 'Mother's fury over teacher's Fatso jibe' (Echo, July 22). This must be truly distressing to the teacher who has offered an apology after 'losing it' a bit in relation to the youngster who, the report mentions, had disrupted lessons
THE parents of a mother who drowned in the sea along with her two children have thanked rescuers who tried in vain to save the family. Kim Barrett, 32, and her children, Aimee Greenwood, 13, and Luke Greenwood, 11, died in a freak accident in Scarborough
For sports writer Tim Wellock, a visit to Cally Palace in Dumfries and Galloway, South West Scotland, evoked memories of his youth. A round on the pristine golf course proved just as memorable. A COMBINATION of nostalgia and curiosity prompted me to overcome
TRAINED by Sharon Watt, a horse called Now Then Sid - bit of a temperamental beggar, so they reckon - won the four o'clock at Sedgefield on Monday, a comfortable 6-1. Oh So Brave had won the 2.30. Had that been one of Sharon's as well, the story would
A SURVEY of more than 2,000 people recently showed that Saturday, July 30 was Britain's choice for the "best day of the year". Try telling that to Mick McCarthy. The Black Cats boss spent it watching his side lose to lower-league opposition for the second
SUPPORTERS of the Weardale heritage railway have given a warm welcome to the key role mapped out for the line in the regeneration plan for Weardale. They believe it offers a great opportunity for the railway to become "a golden thread" in the successful
THERE must come a point at which criminals who continue to re-offend give up their right ever to be freed. British-born paedophile Robert Excell should fall into that category. Excell has spent 37 of the past 39 years in Australia's prison system for
POLICE will today dig up a Second World War air raid shelter in the search for a former miner who has been missing for three years. Edward Donnelly was 53 when he vanished from his home in Fynway, Sacriston, County Durham, on March 25, 2002. Today, police
ATHLETES from the region have helped Britain win the 15th World Transplant Games. At least six North-East competitors were among the 72 medal winners in Canada, helping Britain come first with 199 medals, ahead of the US, second on 142, and Australia,
TWIN sisters scored university degrees in identical subjects. Khaleda and Reema Ayyash, from Darlington, graduated with honours degrees in medicine from the University of Leicester. The twins, 21, both want to go on to study for PhDs, but plan different
THE 17th Sunderland Airshow went ahead yesterday despite rain and cloud forcing the organisers to cancel their flying programme on Saturday. The weather put a damper on several events across the region over the weekend, but Europe's biggest free airshow
THE football league's oldest fan will have no excuse to miss a match next season - he has been given a free season ticket and his own parking space. Reg Barnett, who is 101, has supported Darlington Football Club for 60 years. When the club found out
DEAN Whitehead has urged his fellow Sunderland midfielders to take some of the pressure off the club's shot-shy strikers by finding the back of the net themselves. Saturday's 1-0 defeat at Sheffield United means the Black Cats have now gone 280 minutes
CASTLETON'S Ryan Champion and co-driver Craig Thorley from York continue to lead the Mitsubishi Ralliart Evolution Challenge with just two rounds remaining, despite having a difficult Swansea Bay Rally at the weekend. The 30-year-old Yorkshireman started
THE discovery of a man in a makeshift den after a huge search of the countryside is being linked to the disappearance of teenager Jenny Nicholl. Mountain rescue volunteers with tracker dogs were brought in to search countryside around Hudswell, near Richmond
My mum and I were in Starbucks the other day, sipping cups of coffee, when she suddenly lunged for the table. I looked to see what she was doing and it turned out she was trying to conceal her keyring from public view. The picture on the keyring, which
PUPILS returning to a school in September look likely to be taught in the hall because of overcrowding. Green Hammerton Church of England Primary School, near Boroughbridge, had only 28 pupils five years ago. But when the new school year starts in September
POLICE are appealing for witnesses after a man was beaten and robbed by a gang of teenage thugs. A 25-year-old man was walking along Gresham Road in Middlesbrough, close to the junction with Romney Street, at about 10.45pm on Friday when he was set upon
A BUDDING rugby squad has been given a helping hand. Nigel Rooney, from Barnard Castle School, has been appointed director of sport at Raventhorpe School, in Carmel Road North, Darlington. Until now, the school has concentrated on swimming, but Mr Rooney
A HUGE model plane created by pupils at a Newton Aycliffe school managed to butter up judges enough to win them a national competition. Youngsters from Byerley Park Primary School were regional winners of the national competition to build an Utterly Butterly
A support group for people feeling lonely, anxious or depressed meets tomorrow. Stoneham Outreach Services will meet at Bishop Auckland Methodist Church Centre, opposite the General Hospital, between 10am and noon and again from 2pm until 4pm.
TEAMS took part in a bowls tournament yesterday as the rain held off. Quaker Bowl, in Darlington, was won by Wendy and Dave Bowes, who play for Middleton St George, and Mike Baines, who bowls for Cummins. The trio shared a first prize of £200 and a silver
TEAMS took part in a bowls tournament yesterday as the rain held off. Quaker Bowl, in Darlington, was won by Wendy and Dave Bowes, who play for Middleton St George, and Mike Baines, who bowls for Cummins. The trio shared a first prize of £200 and a silver
GARDENER Frank Walton was smiling in the rain after picking up four first prizes and two seconds for his sweet peas at the Gateshead Summer Flower Show at the weekend. He attributed much of his success to his wife Lyn's hairdryer, which he used to dry
A YOUNG mother who lost an eye after being glassed has criticised prison officials for releasing her attacker after only five months. Michelle Passmore, 22, is to be released on a tag in September after serving less than half of an 18-month sentence for
A second man has appeared in court charged with the murder of Dean Pike. The 11-year-old died and his pregnant mother, Janine Dodd, 29, was injured in a blaze at their home in Sunderland, in June. Terry Majinusz, 44, of North Bridge Street, Sunderland
A BUDDING rugby squad has been given a helping hand. Nigel Rooney, from Barnard Castle School, has been appointed director of sport at Raventhorpe School, in Carmel Road North, Darlington. Until now, the school has concentrated on swimming, but Mr Rooney
A FILM-MAKER is appealing for historical footage to help create a record of the £3.9m restoration of Darlington's South Park. Michael Bell, who runs Inky Productions, in Darlington, has been filming the restoration of the park since it began earlier this
AN MP says plans to invest £1.3bn across the UK to improve quality of life for local people and help create cleaner public spaces will benefit the area. Helen Goodman, Labour member for Bishop Auckland, welcomed the proposals from the Office of the Deputy
A RURAL post office will close next month because there is no-one to run it. The Fir Tree Post Office, in Witton Road, Crook, will shut on Tuesday, September 20, following the resignation of the sub-postmaster. Post Office Ltd is looking for someone to
AN innovative scheme has earned a national award for improving the safety of motorcyclists around the country. The Handle It Or Lose It campaign, established by Stockton Borough Council, has been awarded the Prince Michael of Kent International Road Safety
YOUNG footballers are having to travel to a college four miles away to train because of a council's green initiative. Bowburn Boys FC, which runs teams for six to 12-year-olds including girls, is having problems because grass on a former cricket pitch
A PROPOSAL to enclose a garden in a Teesdale village has hit a brick wall. The proposal is to erect a 1.7 metre high stone wall to separate the curtilage of a property in Gilmour Garth, Cotherstone, from the road, and to build a stone and timber conservatory
A FEAST of family fun has been lined up in Teesside for the summer holidays. There is a host of free activities for families at the Museum of Hartlepool and Hartlepool Art Gallery, to tie in with the town's Sea Britain celebrations and the museum's Monsters
TWO police officers were hurt after their car crashed into a bungalow while answering a 999 call. The accident happened at 2.15am on Sunday on Hedgefield Bank, Ryton, near Gateshead, when the Ford Focus patrol vehicle hit the bungalow, causing extensive
A COUNCIL accused of maladministration has admitted that a shortage of staff is affecting a service it is providing. Carol Blenkinsopp, of Langley Grove, Bishop Auckland, has lodged a complaint with Wear Valley District Council on behalf of several residents
A LIBRARY is giving youngsters the chance to learn what life was like as an evacuee during the Second World War. The free three-day event at Durham's Clayport Library, Millennium Place, Claypath, is part of Durham County Council's celebrations to mark
A NANNY goat that sailed on the Endeavour with Captain James Cook will take centrestage for a children's book. Families in Middlesbrough are being given the chance to get involved in the project to produce the storybook with the help of local artist Bub
MEMBERS of a residents' group are being advised that the time of their next meeting has been changed, following the death of a popular forum member. The North Neighbourhood Consultative Forum meeting in Hartlepool has been changed following the death
THE ACCLAIMED violinist and conductor Thomas Zehetmair has renewed his contract with the Northern Sinfonia. Zehetmair made his announcement following a well-received performance at the BBC Proms, in the Royal Albert Hall, in London, at the weekend. He
POLICE are targeting thieves who break into cars parked in residential areas. Northumbria Police said there had been a 30 per cent fall in thefts from vehicles from April 1 to July 23 in Sunderland. A few areas, however, bucked the trend with an increase
AN MP says plans to invest £1.3bn across the UK to improve quality of life for local people and help create cleaner public spaces will benefit the area. Helen Goodman, Labour member for Bishop Auckland, welcomed the proposals from the Office of the Deputy
THE 17th Sunderland Airshow went ahead yesterday despite rain and cloud forcing the organisers to cancel their flying programme on Saturday. The weather put a damper on several events across the region over the weekend, but Europe's biggest free airshow
A council department which came under fire has welcomed the results of a national audit that places it among the best in the country. Darlington Borough Council's youth service was criticised for failing teenagers after a negative Ofsted report that rated
UNLUCKY ducks had their annual race cancelled at the weekend - because of the wet weather. Organisers of the event, in Saltburn, east Cleveland, said that although the 200 ducks would have loved the torrential rain, spectators might not have been so enthusiastic
FUNDRAISERS at a Royal Air Force base pulled together to raise money for charity. Teams from the RAF, Army and coastguard were amongst those who pulled one of RAF Leeming's 20-tonne F3 Tornado fighter jets for 100m. The event at the North Yorkshire base
A NORTH-EAST landmark will reach a milestone this week in its restoration and development as a visitor attraction. On Wednesday, the second of two guns - a 4.7 inch calibre turret gun weighing about 20 tonnes - will be lifted on to the Heugh Gun Battery
HUNDREDS of pubs and clubs could lose their right to serve alcohol if they miss a deadline to apply for new drinking licences. A snapshot survey by The Northern Echo has found that a majority of licensed premises and individuals have yet to lodge applications
A CAMPAIGN has been launched to save the church organ played at the wedding of world famous North Yorkshire vet James Herriot. The pipe organ at St Mary's Church, in Thirsk, will become redundant unless it is given a £100,000 overhaul. The organ was installed
For the latest news, sport and entertainment, log on to The Northern Echo's website at www.thisisthenortheast. co.uk * There are still a few days left to enter The Northern Echo's text survey, which is gathering information on people's attitudes towards
A PAY dispute which could have led to hundreds of bus drivers going on strike has been settled, it was confirmed last night. The Transport and General Workers Union said agreement had been reached with Stagecoach NorthEast on a new deal which its members
MARTIN Scott isn't fazed about losing his final warm-up game of pre-season. Hartlepool lost 4-0 to a Newcastle XI on Friday night and, with only a game at Durham City remaining - Pool will send a young side tomorrow night - Scott's pre-season preparations
ONE of the first day-care centres in England for pampered pooches could soon open in the North-East. A canine company plans to create a luxury nursery in Darlington, which would see dogs relaxing in a chill-out area and being coached by behaviour experts
POLICE will today dig up a Second World War air raid shelter in the search for a former miner who has been missing for three years. Edward Donnelly was 53 when he vanished from his home in Fynway, Sacriston, County Durham, on March 25, 2002. Today, police
A STUDY involving North-East children has underlined how food supplements can boost concentration and improve behaviour. It follows the world's first major trial of a supplement containing a blend of pure fish oil and evening primrose oil in County Durham
TEENAGERS can prepare for the future this month at a careers conference and activities programme. Stockton Council's Youth Service, in partnership with Connexions Tees Valley, is operating this year's U Project, aimed specifically at Year 11 school-leavers
