Hilary Jones was single and had just undergone gruelling treatment for breast cancer when she met Bruce Wilkie. On Valentine's Day, she tells Lindsay Jennings why the last thing she expected to find was love again - along with a new business venture.
TWO PEDESTRIANS needed hospital treatment after being knocked down by a runaway car. One of the duo, a 23-year-old man, will have to have an operation after sustaining a deep cut to his left knee. A 48-year-old man escaped with heavy bruising after the
England arrived in India yesterday hoping the return of swing king Simon Jones would counter-balance their lack of spin options. Welshman Jones missed the series defeat in Pakistan before Christmas after failing to recover from an ankle operation in time
MARK Viduka has been told his World Cup place is under threat unless he plays regular first-team football between now and the end of the season. The Middlesbrough striker has been conspicuous by his absence since rowing with a group of supporters in the
THE first TV advert promoting the North-East will be beamed into millions of homes across the country tonight in a bid to boost the region's £1bn tourism industry. More than 7.4m viewers are expected to see the commercial, which aims to raise awareness
SMOKERS in the streets of a North-East city are being handed free fireproof pouches to try to persuade them not to leave their dog ends on the ground. Officials reckon that anything up to a million cigarette butts are left on the streets of Durham City
A FEMALE police sergent was stabbed in the head by a paranoid schizophrenic who lured her to a weapon-filled trap. Sergeant Charlotte Barker and PC Natalie Robson thought they were responding to a rape claim when they went to a house in Blind Lane, Houghton-le-Spring
WHEN Punch Taverns took over Hartlepool-based Pubmaster, it almost doubled the size of its estate. However, despite gaining the valuable network of pubs and inns across the North-East, Punch also inherited an expensive problem. Years of under-investment
LAW firm Ward Hadaway has worked with entrepreneur Brad Holbrook to invest in a growing healthcare company. North-East businessman Mr Holbrook, in conjunction with his advisors at Ward Hadaway, has invested in Rostra UK, providing early-stage finance
Q) Having built up my business very successfully in the UK, I want to continue my expansion abroad. In particular, I am looking to grow my customer base by starting to trade in Europe and the Far East. However, I don't know where to start. What advice
NEWCASTLE will be offered first refusal on former centre-half Jonathan Woodgate at the end of the season as Spanish giants Real Madrid look to offload him for a £6m fee. Madrid chairman Florentino Perez has finally agreed to cut his losses on the England
TWO brothers have opened a betting shop in the region. Jim and Norman Fannon have combined their 30 years experience in the industry to open a gambling business in Gateshead. The pair have launched Sports Betting, in Trinity Square, after securing a lease
A COMPANY which has spun out from university research has received a £50,000 cash injection. The money from the North-East Equity Matching Fund (NEEMF) came just months after BioFresh Ltd was given a six-figure sum from private equity investor Jonathan
ENGINEERING and project management firm K Home International is creating up to 20 jobs at its Teesside base as it waits for news on a major new contract. The company, which has a branch office in Dubai where it specialises in project managing major new
For 42 million adults with a total of more than 130 million credit and debt cards in their wallets and handbags, it is tempting to believe a new era in security begins today when chip and Pin becomes the crucial factor in using those cards. From now,
Bodyshock: The 80-Year-Old Children (C4) Ali has thinning hair, arthritis and his brittle bones are becoming weaker and weaker. The sad thing is that this little Indian boy is only seven years old. His parents, Bisul and Rajia, can only watch as the youngster
The Archbishop of Canterbury led the Church's "act of penitence" for its part in the slave trade. No matter that this trade ended two centuries ago and so all the Anglicans involved in it are long safely dead - we are all to blame. This represents an
Blackpool's blue with pollisses and numb with cold. It is not, so far as may be ascertained, because Lancashire Constabulary has heard of the Benfield Bovver Boys but because Labour is holding its Spring Conference at the Winter Gardens. They are there
PLANS have been unveiled to transform a Georgian country estate into a major visitor attraction. The development at Middleton Lodge, near Middleton Tyas, between Richmond and Darlington, would include a conference centre and restaurant. Plans for a lake
A MAJOR conference which aims to bridge the £30bn output gap between north and south will take place next week. The Northern Way Summit will be held in York on Tuesday, February 21. The conference will update 350 delegates on the progress and achievements
A WARNING has gone out to businesses in the region about burning their waste illegally. The Environment Agency says it regularly prosecutes businesses who try to save money by getting round regulations which say trade waste should be properly disposed
VETERANS voiced their fury last night after the Ministry of Defence (MoD) settled with the family of a North-East soldier who died when he was deliberately exposed to a deadly nerve agent more than 50 years ago. Leading Aircraftsman Ronald Maddison, from
BUSINESSES in the region are being urged to offer services for wildlife projects. Durham Wildlife Trust issued the appeal after Northumbrian Water organised, and paid for, two days' hire of heavy machinery for work at Hylton Dene Local Nature Reserve,
MATTY Robson believes Tranmere will see a different Hartlepool United tonight, when the sides meet for the second time in four weeks. After a drab goalless draw at Victoria Park last month, Pool go to Prenton Park for the return. Following four points
AN old vicarage repeatedly targeted by vandals may have to be demolished. Structural engineers are assessing the future of the derelict building following several fires there in a week. The building which stands in Eston Cemetery, off Church Lane, Eston
THE UK's largest pub group, Punch Taverns, is investing £3.7m on refurbishing its North-East pubs this year. Among the pubs to benefit will be the North Briton in Aycliffe Village, near Newton Aycliffe, which will undergo a £295,000 revamp and be renamed
Patterson Motor Group has celebrated record turnover for last year by signing up trainee SARAH LAW. She recently completed an accounting and finance degree and is hoping to put her knowledge to good use in Patterson's leasing division, which helped the
TWO teenagers were beaten with metal poles as they tried to find fuel for their broken-down car, in what police called a "totally unprovoked attack". The victims were walking towards the Shell garage on Woodlands Road, in Darlington, at about 10pm, on
NEWCASTLE and Leeds-based law firm Watson Burton has set up a human resources consultancy. It is the only regional law firm to offer the service. The HR consultancy will be led by specialist Ian Farrand, and will operate as part of the firm's growing
A GROUP of independent wedding photographers are pooling their experience. Image-masters has been formed by North-East wedding photographers Fiona Nicholl, Kenn Elliott, Malcolm Singleton and Helen Dyson to offer a full range of photography styles. They
VODAFONE and Microsoft joined forces yesterday to launch a corporate e-mail service to rival the BlackBerry. Windows Mobile E-mail will enable phone users to receive e-mails from their office-based Microsoft Outlook package and edit Excel and Word attachments
STUBBS THE ZOMBIE Publisher: THQ. Platforms: Xbox, PC/Mac. Price: £29.99. Family friendly? 15+ HAVE you ever stopped to think how tough it must be to become a zombie? Awakened from a peaceful sleep, ravenously hungry, bits falling off you and a terrible
SHY mussels will get a little gentle encouragement when it comes to pulling this Valentine's Day. The lonely, love-starved freshwater pearl mussel is fast disappearing from its stronghold in the North-East and is in serious danger of becoming extinct
DESIGNS have been put forward for the redevelopment of a shop frontage. A previous plan to put planters, cobbles and concrete globes in front of shops on Burnside Road, Firthmoor, was turned down because they did not meet highway standards. Instead, flags
VOTERS go the polls to fill two vacant seats serving neighbouring villages in the same ward on a parish council later this month. The vacancies in the West Ward, on Brandon and Byshottles Parish Council,, in County Durham, arose as a result of the death
ONE of the last amateur drama groups in a County Durham dale is appealing for fresh blood to save it from the final curtain. The Phoenix Players, who rose from the ashes of a burnt-out band hut at Stanhope, in Weardale, 18 years ago, are in danger of
A FAMILY have appealed for their dog to be returned after it was taken from outside a Darlington shop. Liz Hayman yesterday said she was heartbroken that her 13-year-old West Highland White terrier, Holly, was missing. The dog suffers from an enlarged
A COMMUNITY group is drawing up a three-year action plan to build on work done with Single Regeneration Budget funding. Eastbourne Community Partnership Board has drafted a plan to continue work on Darlington's Firthmoor estate. The group will continue
A FATHER pleaded guilty to attacking his next-door neighbours when he appeared in court yesterday. Vincent McGill, of Darlington, admitted assaulting John and Elizabeth Crawford during a disagreement in May last year. The 40-year-old, of Aintree Court
A FARM worker died after taking cannabis and amphetamines, an inquest heard. Stuart Powell, 21, of Rigby Terrace, Aiskew, near Bedale, collapsed at his home in the early hours of October 9 last year. He was taken to the Friarage Hospital, Northallerton
FREE car parking permits for Yorkshire Dales residents are to be withdrawn. From April, residents will be charged £30 a year to park in the national park authority's 11 car parks. The decision was taken yesterday by the authority's finance and resources
A COUNCILLOR is going the extra mile this week to boost the coffers of a mayor's charity appeal. Sedgefield Borough Councillor Vince Crosby is taking part in a gruelling marathon challenge in aid of borough mayor Jackie Piggott's campaign. Cash raised
FIREFIGHTERS tackled a fire on a road tanker transporting 26,000 litres of cooking oil. The driver detected burning as he was coming down Galley Bank, on the A66 close to Bowes, near Barnard Castle, County Durham, shortly before 4pm on Sunday. As the
FORMER Health Secretary Alan Milburn has given activists a huge boost before tonight's House of Commons vote by backing a complete workplace smoking ban. The Darlington MP puzzled anti-smoking campaigners by staying on the sidelines until now. But when
A MAN beat his drinking partner with a chair leg in public after being accused of stealing his CD player. Violence flared between Stephen Wilson and his 37-year-old victim after they had taken part in an open-air drinking session, drinking a bottle of
THE number of complaints made against North Yorkshire Police has fallen for the first time in two years. The force received 84 complaints containing 144 allegations during the last three months of 2005. In a report to the county's police authority, Detective
A HEALTH club is hoping for a net gain after converting its football pitches into tennis courts. Bannatyne's Health Club, in the Belmont area of Durham City, has invested £10,000 to change its five-a-side courts into all-weather floodlit courts. The club
Most people involved in employment tribunal proceedings - whether as a party, witness, advocate or observer - find the experience challenging to some degree. Some find it stressful, others exciting, others nerve-racking, while some find it downright terrifying
The elder bairn has flown the nest at last. He is living in what used to be known as sin but these days answers to Leeds. The two may indeed by synonymous. His bedroom hadn't so much to be cleared out as archaeologically excavated. The Time Team could
Surely that can't be right - the FTSE 100 was at its highest at the peak of the technology bubble? Well, yes, but that doesn't paint the full picture. The FTSE 100 reached 6,930 on December 30, 1999. The index breached 5,800 last week - the first time
TRANSPORT group Stagecoach is to expand its bus fleet after yesterday announcing it will spend £50m on more than 460 vehicles. The company, which operates about 8,000 buses and coaches and carries nearly two million passengers a day, will roll out the
SARA HENRY and ANDREA RICHARDSON GRAHAM have joined lending bank Abbey, in Darlington, as client relationship managers. Both are trained to advise customers on investment, savings and inheritance planning.
LIVE EXPORTS: THE trade in live sheep exports which has been dormant for the last nine months has resumed again this week through the port of Dover. Investigations into live animal transport on the continent have revealed consistent breaking of the rules
MORE than 200 children will take part in an event to teach them about the environment and the impact on their health. The year five pupils from St Joseph's, St John Vianney, Ward Jackson, St Cuthbert's, West View, Greatham and Lynnfield primary schools
last night MPs backed plans for identity cards costing between £6bn and £18bn - despite Tony Blair missing the vote because he was stranded on a South African runway. A bid by opposition parties and rebel Labour MPs to prevent the automatic issuing of
WAS there really any other conclusion Alan Milburn could have come to in his deliberations over whether he should vote for a complete workplace smoking ban? The Darlington MP, who served the Government as Health Secretary, has come off the fence and decided
GREEN IDEAL (4.10) could prove a cut above the opposition in Newcastle's Viking Racing Club Handicap Chase. Had it not been for a series of brutal blunders throughout his career, Green Ideal would surely have much more to show than a total of three lifetime
A FOOTBALL legend is to be guest speaker at a fundraising night next month to help pay for the renovation of a church hall. Former Celtic captain and manager Billy McNeill will be the guest at a sportsman's dinner, at Consett Civic Centre, at 7pm, on
A NEW information service has been set up by disabled people for disabled people on Teesside. Called the Disability Information Resource Service (Dirs), it is the idea of people who use Hartlepool's Havelock Day Centre for people with physical disabilities
CARAVAN and motorhome centre Robsons of Wolsingham, in Weardale, County Durham, has appointed STEVE BOAM as service manager. Mr Boam, who used to run an independent Saab service workshop and has been in the business for 30 years, has an engineering background
MICRO businesses, such as those making crafts, face a major challenge. They may be excellent at their craft but be less focused on actually running their businesses. Because the craft sector is becoming increasingly important, particularly with more tourists
The UK will see rain and strong winds this week as Europe is hit by the remnants of the weather system that brought record-breaking snow storms to New York. The stormy conditions will be experienced by most of the country by Thursday and Friday, bringing
A TEENAGE girl was dragged into an alleyway in a town centre attack on Saturday. Cleveland Police are appealing for information after the 14-year-old was attacked at about 9.30pm, in Guisborough, east Cleveland. The girl was walking to a bus stop, along
YOUNGSTERS can explore nature with a half-term nature ramble. The Junior Nature Walk takes place on Monday, from 10.30am to noon, at the Billingham Beck Valley, on Teesside. Organised by Stockton Borough Council's parks and countryside team, the walk
AN exhibition featuring photographs taken during a charity worker's trip to Africa opens today. Simon Tate, from Leyburn, works as a volunteer for Send a Cow. The charity provides impoverished farmers in East Africa with livestock, support and training
FORMER Health Secretary Alan Milburn has given activists a huge boost before tonight's House of Commons vote by backing a complete workplace smoking ban. The Darlington MP puzzled anti-smoking campaigners by staying on the sidelines until now. But when
From midnight tonight, new rules mean that for most debit and cedit card transactions, consumers will need to know their pin number. Sarah Foster looks at what the change involves and its likely impact. IN Northampton in the summer of 2003, a trial took
Housebuilder McInerney Homes has appointed COLIN NEWBURY as construction manager in the Yorkshire region. With a career spanning more than 18 years in the building industry, he joins the team from Pelham Homes, where he was buildings manager and oversaw
A NEW sports-themed bar is to open in the region on Friday. Owners Gordon and Jonathan Codona have invested £2m in the Sports bar, which will be housed in The Gate complex, in Newcastle. The 6,000sq ft venue will have a VIP area, a large screen for televised
AN architects practice which employs about 100 people in the region is celebrating the success of its first project on the Indian sub-continent. RyderHKS, which has offices in Newcastle, has been involved in a £20m housing project in Bangalore, southern
HOPES for a new North-South high-speed rail link which could reduce travel times between the North-East, London and Scotland are to receive a boost. A study by Rod Eddington, the former chief executive of British Airways into Britain's transport infrastructure
A CORONER yesterday recorded a verdict of unlawful killing on a motorcyclist who was the victim of a hit and run. Ralph Snowdon, 67, from Riccall, near York, died on May 28 last year when his bike was forced off the road by another motorcyclist. The speeding
SOCIAL enterprise company The Eaga Partnership has launched a venture which could net it a share of the £65m building survey market. The Newcastle-based group has taken on the former president of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, Peter Fall
A FAMILY-RUN car dealership yesterday announced a multi-million pound investment after seeing turnover soar to more than £54m. Hodgson Newcastle, which recently opened a £5m Toyota dealership at the MetroCentre, Gateshead, is to plough a further £2.5m
KIERSTEN WASSON is the new programme director of Common Purpose in the Tees Valley. She succeeds Veronique Raingeval, who is moving to Common Purpose International as international development director. The charity offers leadership courses for people
PATIENTLINE chairman Derek Lewis was last night fighting to keep his job after a leading investor hit out at the company's "abysmal" stock market performance. Mr Lewis, who is the former director general of the Prison Service, is under pressure following
A SINGER who set up her own business with £2,500 has seen bookings rise month-on-month. Anna Reay decided to become a professional singer after graduating from Sunderland University with a degree in music. The 24-year-old, who lives in Gateshead, received
Mobilex wants to become one of Europe's leading computer components exporters. With turnover soaring to £130m and profits growing threefold in ten months managing director Steven Bell talks to Deputy Business Editor Kate Bowman about the future. MOBILX
AN organic fruit and vegetable shop has had huge success in its first few weeks of opening. Farmaround Ltd, an organic grocery home delivery service, recently relocated from London to Richmond, North Yorkshire, creating 43 jobs. Two weeks ago, it opened
Law firm Latimer Hinks has stayed in its town centre location despite the current trend of out-of-town practices. Business Editor Julia Breen reports. Latimer Hinks has been settling disputes, wills and property transactions in Darlington since 1872.
AS if Jon Stead's chronic lack of goals was not enough of a problem, Sunderland striker Kevin Kyle has admitted his own Premiership barren run is exacerbating the club's goalscoring crisis. After yet another unsuccessful shift in Sunday's 1-1 draw with
A JUDGE criticised the police and probation service yesterday for allowing a burglar his freedom and told a court: "It beggar's belief." The Recorder of Middlesbrough, Peter Fox, spoke out after Carl Thompson was jailed for seven years for two late-night
Staff in the two divisions of BiB Group, in Darlington, have been awarded certificates of environmental accomplishment from Shred-it, the world's leading document destruction company. The staff have saved the equivalent of 58 trees over the past year
Two appointments have been made to the committee of the Teesside Society of Chartered Accountants. GRAEME BOAGEY and CRAIG McBRIDE are partners at Middlesbrough accountancy firms Chipchase Manners and Gilchrist Tash. Graham Fitzgerald, chairman of the
MURDER victim Audrey Badger made her way home in a taxi with a friend after a party only hours before she was found dead. Mother-of-five Ms Badger, 42, was found in a downstairs room at her home in Thornaby, Teesside, after the party on Friday night.
A NURSE has been accused of putting a patient's glass eye in a fizzy drink and drawing a smiley face on an MRSA victim's hernia. Christine Mitchelson, 53, also allegedly bombarded other nurses with racist jibes on a 28-bed ward of the Royal Victoria Infirmary
DETECTIVES hunting a paedophile who snatched a six-year-old girl from her bath have appealed to a mystery caller who has named a man he believes was involved. The young victim was left naked and shivering in an alley near her North Tyneside home after
Gavin Henson has been warned Wales will not roll out the red carpet now he is available for RBS 6 Nations duty. Henson has completed a 51-day ban which kept him out of the defeat to England and Sunday's victory over Scotland at the Millennium Stadium.
THE British military unit "assisting with inquiries" over video footage of UK soldiers beating Iraqi civilians was last night named as the 1st Battalion Light Infantry. "Investigations are on-going to identify all personnel involved in the video," said
NEWCASTLE Falcons winger Ollie Phillips has praised the "awesome role" played by team-mate Mathew Tait in England's Los Angeles Sevens victory. Tait, who is expected to be named in England's sevens squad for next month's Commonwealth Games in Melbourne
FLEDGLING businesses in the Durham area are being offered a grounding in commerce at free workshops. Enterprise group A4e is running the two-hour sessions, Five Steps for Starting Your Business, each week at its premises on the Tursdale Industrial Estate
FOUR female crime writers will reveal some of the dark secrets to their literary success when they appear at Darlington's Crown Street library. The group, known collectively as The Ladykillers, have conjured up a range of violent crimes in their writing
A FAMILY have appealed for their dog to be returned after it was taken from outside a Darlington shop. Liz Hayman yesterday said she was heartbroken that her 13-year-old West Highland White terrier, Holly, was missing. The dog suffers from an enlarged
PIGEON fanciers at a village club hope a Lottery grant will help their society take flight into the 21st Century. Toft Hill Homing Society hit the jackpot when they landed a £4,073 Awards for All Lottery grant to upgrade equipment. Members say the club
OPPONENTS of controversial plans to build an academy in Darlington want to speak to a group supporting the bid. Leaders of the Save Hurworth and Rural Education (Share) team hope to meet members of the recently-formed Academy Support Group (ASG). The
JUDGES of the first Best of Darlington awards yesterday praised people across the borough for their community spirit. Winners of the awards - the first of their kind to be held in Darlington - were selected by a seven-strong judging panel of community
A TEESSIDE MP is throwing her weight behind a campaign to have more young women receive regular cervical screening tests. Stockton South MP Dari Taylor will lobby parents outside two schools in Thornaby this week, in a bid to persuade them to have frequent
A PLEA to help a cash-strapped children's hospice is being taken to the top. Social Services Minister Liam Byrne is being asked at a meeting in Whitehall tonight for Government help for the Butterwick Hospice for children on Teesside, and to children's
RESIDENTS have given their support to plans to increase the amount of waste recycled in their area. The York and North Yorkshire Waste Management Partnership has conducted a county-wide survey to gauge opinions about the content of a joint waste strategy
BUS company bosses summoned to a public meeting about controversial changes to town centre services have promised to consider running different routes. Residents of Newton Aycliffe had complained about changes made by Arriva to its local services over
YOUNG footballers tackled their most hair-raising challenge yet to raise much-needed funds for charity. Six students at Northallerton College agreed to undergo a sponsored body wax to raise money for the Friarage Hospital. Five of the football team agreed
A REGIMENTAL museum and art gallery is opening its doors to show teachers what it has to offer them. The Durham Light Infantry Museum and Durham Art Gallery is holding a free open day for teachers on Saturday. Teachers, school staff and their families
DARLINGTON will be taking the feelgood factor to promotion rivals Peterborough United tonight and manager David Hodgson can't wait. After Saturday's home draw with play-off seeking Bristol Rovers, Quakers complete a crucial double header at London Road
A METHODIST minister, who has seen the number of chapels in his care shrink from nine to seven in the past year, is moving on. But when he takes over his ministry in the Tyne Valley in August, the Reverend Les Hann will still be responsible for four chapels
A COUNCIL has seized hundreds of novely cigarette lighters - over fears they could appeal to children. The cigarette lighters in the shape of animals, dice, beer tankards, car wheels, cats paws and bullets were seized by Gateshead Council trading standards
A HOSPITAL chef appeared in court yesterday to admit attacking the new man in his former girlfriend's life. Marc Rayner, 26, who works in the kitchens of Harrogate District Hospital, appeared before the town's magistrates to plead guilty to assault on
A MAN accused of breaching an anti-social behaviour order (Asbo) by threatening a Harrogate family was remanded in custody by the town's magistrates yesterday. Richard Hart, 20, pleaded not guilty to the breach of a two-year order made in May 2004 and
STUBBS THE ZOMBIE, Publisher: THQ. Platforms: Xbox, PC/Mac. Price: £29.99. Family friendly? 15+. HAVE you ever stopped to think how tough it must be to become a zombie? Awakened from a peaceful sleep, ravenously hungry, bits falling off you and a terrible
A hotel looked to the Far East in search of a chef to bring a taste of Asia to the region. The Park Hotel, in Tynemouth, North Tyneside, has appointed Indian chef JOSEPH GOMES to add spice to its restaurant menu. He has more than 30 years experience,
A NORTH-East football fan has admitted storming on to a pitch and throwing his season ticket at a manager. But the 33-year-old will have to wait another two-and-a-half weeks before he learns his fate - which could include a banning order. Mark Davison
FEW businesses would run the risk of failing to insure their premises, machinery or vehicles. Yet many never consider protecting their most important asset - their people. The consequences to a business of its top salesperson falling seriously ill, for
GREEN IDEAL (4.10) could prove a cut above the opposition in Newcastle's Viking Racing Club Handicap Chase. Had it not been for a series of brutal blunders throughout his career, Green Ideal would surely have much more to show than a total of three lifetime
A CARPET company's annual charity ball has paid off, raising £13,000 on the night, and with donations still rolling in. The Washington-based Storey Carpets held the event at the Newcastle-Gateshead Hilton, to raise money in aid of the Children's Liver
ALMOST 50 people turned up to for the clean-up event to spruce up the area along the Guisborough Greenway on Sunday. Countryside staff from Guisborough Forest and Walkway were joined by volunteers, young rangers, pupils and parents from Highcliffe Primary
LAST-MINUTE romantics are being offered a service - flowers at the touch of a button. A touch screen kiosk has been installed in The Gates shopping centre, in Durham City, which allows shoppers to order flowers with guaranteed delivery anywhere within
AN environmental group which acted as guardian of an historic woodland celebrated its tenth anniversary - then made a shock announcement that it is disbanding. For many months, Hookstone and Crimple Wood Preservation Group in south Harrogate has been
