IN A CLASS populated by look-alikes, SEAT's Leon is a breath of fresh air. The third model in the company's ongoing reinvention of the entire SEAT line-up, the Leon is the sportiest variant yet of the MPVwith-attitude style first seen on the Toledo
THE small hatchback market might not be the most exciting segment but is it crucial to car manufacturers. These are real cars for real people and have to perform all manner of ordinary duties for all shapes, sizes and preferences. It's no easy task
AUDI'S recent win at the Sebring 12-hour race didn't exactly set the sports pages of English newspapers buzzing recently. Maybe that's because the race was held in America. Maybe it was because Audi has won the event, held on a Florida airfield, every
EVERY street used to have a busybody. The sort of woman - it was invariably a woman - who knew everyone's business, who knew who was sleeping with whom, who hadn't paid the rent, which teenage girls were pregnant, and even who the father was. And if she
Yorkshire begin their newly-named Liverpool Victoria Championship programme against Nottinghamshire at Trent Bridge today with Tim Bresnan already having earned the respect of the titleholders. While Yorkshire were gently warming up against Leeds-Bradford
Passengers flying long-haul routes with British Airways have been hit with an increased fuel levy to cover sky-high oil prices. British Airways has put up its surcharge on tickets from £30 to £35 on a one-way flight - the sixth increase since introducing
FEW have played as little football as Darrell Clarke this season, but few could have felt his anguish after the spectre of relegation for Hartlepool United loomed large. Losing 2-1 to a scrappy last-minute goal at MK Dons on Monday put Pool second bottom
AN inquest heard yesterday how a 61-year-old woman refused to be taken to hospital after being found injured at the bottom of the stairs in her home. But only five days later, Carole Mytton, of The School House, Great Usworth, Washington, Wearside, died
POLICE FACTS: DAVID T Colling, of Bishop Auckland (HAS, Apr 15), needs a bit of a reality check himself. As a serving officer with a North-East force, let me respond to his claims. Pampered by politicos? Oh yes, that'll be all the extra paperwork we now
SPIRALLING energy costs are crippling British industry and threatening thousands of jobs, a senior union leader will warn today. Derek Simpson, general secretary of Amicus, will call on the Government to give a clear indication of its policy following
FARMING co-operative Farmway has started to sell biodiesel on three of its forecourts in the North-East. The Darlington company has launched the "eco-diesel" brand at garages in Bowburn, County Durham, Coatham Munderville, near Darlington, and Morpeth
A TEACHER groped a schoolgirl during and after a tutorial and made sexual remarks about her body, a court heard yesterday. Joseph Kerr was helping the 15-year-old with a dance routine for her GCSE performing arts exam when he is alleged to have assaulted
POLICING in England and Wales is facing its biggest shake-up for many decades and, while everyone agrees there should be change, the extent of those changes has provoked unprecedented disagreement. In the past few months many police forces, police authorities
Shelton Martis is expected to prevent Darlington from suffering a defensive crisis by returning to the side for Saturday's crunch clash with Bury. Matty Appleby has been providing cover in Martis' two-game absence with a calf injury but he is now suspended
SIR Alex Ferguson last night hailed Alan Shearer as the ultimate British centre-forward and forgave the Newcastle striker for famously turning down the chance to sign for Manchester United. Ferguson tried to sign Shearer in the summer of 1996 but, instead
TESTS have been carried out on a dead swan found in a North-East park. The Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) were called to Preston Park in Stockton on Saturday night after a number of passers-by noticed the dead bird by the
STANDARD Life members are in line for average windfalls of about £1,700 after the insurer released details of its plans to demutualise. The Edinburgh-based group revealed the better-than-expected figure in an 80-page pack being sent to 2.4 million eligible
A badger was trapped in a snare for up to 24 hours at a narrow strip of woods in a Weardale forest. The snare was anchored to a loose branch at woodland near Intake Lane, Frosterley, and the animal was found entangled in undergrowth with its stomach and
A FUN day provided a boost for a group which supports bereaved families who have lost children. Local fundraising co-ordinators for the charity Stillbirth and Neonatal Death Society (Sands) pulled out all the stops organ- ising an action-packed day of
A girl suffering from an incurable disease affecting only one in a million children owes her life to her mother's maternal instinct. Sophie Perren was snatched from the brink of death by doctors when she succumbed to a blood condition, which left her
A WOMAN was fighting for her life yesterday after being struck by a taxi. The 45-year-old suffered head injuries during the collision, in Mosley Street, Newcastle, at 12.20am on Sunday. She was taken to Newcastle General Hospital, where her condition
TWO masked men walked into a shop in Newcastle and threatened a member of staff at the till with a machete. It happened at about 8.30am on Saturday at Nisa Stores, in Walker Road, Newcastle. The men escaped with cash and cigarettes, but the amount of
A MULTI-MILLION pound project to get people in Darlington out of their cars and on their bicycles has had mixed results. One set of research has shown that the Town on the Move project, run by Darlington Borough Council, has increased the number of children
WORK to demolish a former football ground is progressing rapidly and should be completed by the end of May. As this picture shows, just the skeleton of the old East Stand at Darlington's former Feethams ground now remains. There are plans to develop a
COMMUNITY stalwarts have been recognised by Middlesbrough Council for helping make their environment a better and safer place. The four, all regional winners in the Home Office's Taking a Stand awards, met council chairman, Councillor Steve Bloundele,
EVERY street used to have a busybody. The sort of woman - it was invariably a woman - who knew everyone's business, who knew who was sleeping with whom, who hadn't paid the rent, which teenage girls were pregnant, and even who the father was. And if she
MR Alex Kapranos, lead singer of the Glaswegian band Franz Ferdinand, may never have expected to appear in one of these columns nor we, indeed, to have embraced him. Saveloys are to blame. We've been chewing on them these past few weeks, wondering where
THE mellow sounds of a flute and harp duet will entertain library visitors in a series of performances next month. The Aurora Duo can be heard in concert at libraries across County Durham in the week of May 22. Their mini-tour begins at Barnard Castle
A SPORTING tradition is to be revived this weekend with the return of a regatta to the River Wear. Chester-le-Street Rowing Regatta takes place on Saturday for the first time in 14 years, with hundreds of oarsmen and women due to compete in a day-long
HUNDREDS of youngsters battled it out in an Olympic-style competition on Teesside. Young Olympians from Middlesbrough competed on the pitches, courts and racetrack with friends from across the North of England when more than 120 students from the Emmanuel
THE refurbishment of a Darlington motor dealership has been completed following its devastation by fire last year. Williamson Motors, in Chesnut Street, suffered £800,000 worth of damage when fire ripped through the workshop last September, after a car
A HOSPICE has launched a campaign to raise £3m to fund an ambitious expansion plan over the next two years. Willowburn Hospice, which is based at the former Maiden Law Hospital, near Stanley, wants to dramatically upgrade its facilities. Its current building
THE owner of a nightclub that police say has been at the centre of a "staggering" number of incidents wants it to stay open later. The Keys pub opens in Yarm High Street until 2.30am, but the owner wants an extension until 3.30am. However, Cleveland Police
DURHAM'S new captain Dale Benkenstein is happy to start the season at Canterbury today because he learnt last season that run-scoring tends to be easier in the south. "The key to early season is getting enough runs on the board, and I noticed last year
FREDDY Shepherd will appoint Glenn Roeder as Newcastle's next permanent manager if Martin O'Neill pulls out of the race to succeed Graeme Souness. Roeder, who has led the Magpies to nine wins from 14 games during his temporary stewardship of the club,
A COUPLE who took their three-week old baby to a live music festival in the region were arrested hours later after he suffered brain injuries from being shaken, a court was told yesterday. The prosecution alleges that Liam Richards and his sister, Daisy
Tragic Stacey Norton was run over and killed as she demonstrated her "funky chicken" dance on a busy dual carriageway. Danielle Cole watched in horror as Stacey, 18, was struck by a taxi. Fun-loving Stacey made her pals laugh with the routine which involved
DETECTIVES are hunting two sex attackers who targeted a young woman during the Easter weekend. The 20-year-old victim was walking home from a family get-together in the Grove Hill area of Middlesbrough, on Monday night, when she was attacked. She was
STANDARD Life members are in line for average windfalls of about £1,700 after the insurer released details of its plans to demutualise. The Edinburgh-based group revealed the better-than-expected figure in an 80-page pack being sent to 2.4 million eligible
WITH four of the nine runners going to post in Newmarket's European Free Handicap hailing from our region, the near £16,000 first prize is there to be plucked from right under the noses of the resident southern big guns. Such numerical strength is most
The UK car industry suffered another huge blow yesterday when French group Peugeot-Citroen announced the shock closure of a factory, with the loss of 2,300 jobs. The company blamed high production and logistical costs for the decision to end production
DARLINGTON Football Club has honoured one of its goalscoring legends with life membership of the club. Harry Clarke, who scored 117 goals for the Quakers between 1943 and 1953, will attend all games at the 96.6 TFM Darlington Arena as a guest of the club
WORKERS whose firms are taken over by US multinational companies are likely to see a significant rise in their salary within two years of the acquisition, researchers said. On average, skilled workers can expect to see their earnings increase by eight
A ROW erupted last night over disparaging comments made by a North-East sports commentator about Newcastle United legend Alan Shearer on the day of the club's derby match with Sunderland. In the Sunderland AFC official programme for the crunch game against
OFFICIALS last night defended a trade mission to Dubai in the face of claims the trip would be a waste of taxpayers' money. A delegation from County Durham will fly to Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates, later this week to try to win trade for local companies
NEXT to England's thrilling Ashes victory, the sporting event that captured the nation's imagination last summer was the spectacular emergence of the tennis star Andrew Murray. His progress to what became a titanic five-set third-round encounter caused
COMMUNICATIONS firm Executel yesterday reported a record increase in turnover for the past six months and is on target to smash through the £10m mark by 2008. The Gateshead company said turnover had topped £2.9m in the six months since September, up 30
TOMMY Miller has admitted there is only one way for Sunderland's shell-shocked players to atone for Monday's devastating derby collapse against Newcastle - beating Champions League hopefuls Arsenal to end a 40-month wait for a Premiership home win. While
A KNIFEMAN who lay in wait for a stranger to leave a bar before plunging a blade into his face was jailed for four years yesterday. Neil Longstaff could give no explanation as to why he singled out 25-year-old Jamie Boothe and attacked him with a knife
PEOPLE with disabilities will no longer have to wait to be assessed for help they need at home. Darlington Borough Council's occupational therapy team has cleared its 18-month waiting list to ensure residents can be given appointments more quickly. The
YOUNG arsonists are putting their lives at risk playing a deadly game with fire. Troublemakers have set fire to Eston Hills on Teesside 13 times so far this month alone. The latest incident was on Monday night when 5,000 sq m of forest and vegetation
A REGISTERED sex offender who failed to notify police of his change of address was jailed for six months yesterday. John Potts is required to inform the authorities of where he is living because of his status on the sex offenders' register. The 38-year-old
A 47-YEAR-OLD man was found at the bottom of a stairwell yesterday after apparently tumbling to his death. The Darlington man, believed to be a local homeless person, was found by passers-by in Parkgate, near the town's railway station, at 3.15pm. Police
VISITORS to the market town of Thirsk will now be able to get a deeper understanding of the town's history. New interpretation boards have been erected on Castle Garth and were unveiled by the regional director of English Heritage, Maddy Jago. The boards
POLICE are treating a fire at a cash and carry warehouse as arson. The fire broke out at Batley's warehouse, on the Drum Industrial Estate, at Chester-le-Street, County Durham, between midnight and 1am on Good Friday. The fire started in rubbish stored
A dog survived after plunging 60ft over cliffs as he chased a flock of birds. Five-year-old Jack Russell Pepper set off after the flock, which was roosting on the edge of cliffs on the coast near Sunderland. When the birds took off and flew out to sea
AN exhibition that brings together landscapes and interiors in one show opens at a North-East gallery today. Artists Tom Rowan, from Esh Winning, and Kim Graham, from Spennymoor, are staging a joint exhibition at the Print Room, of the DLI Museum and
TRIBUTES have been paid to a popular North-East council official who has died in a diving accident in western Scotland. Planning officer Fabian Gray, who worked for Stockton Borough Council, had been on a diving expedition at the Sound of Mull. He had
ONE Bank Holiday is over but another is just around the corner and for the people of North Yorkshire, that means the return of a long-running local tradition. The Northallerton May Fair, complete with carousels and candy floss, opens on the evening of
STUDENTS have joined forces to raise £300 for the Yorkshire Air Ambulance. Millennium Volunteers (MVs) linked to Northallerton College organised a series of fundraising events, along with youngsters from The Dales School, Morton-on-Swale. They included
IT is hard not to have sympathy with North-East businessman John Elliott. In our view, Mr Elliott is exactly what the North-East needs more of - a colourful, passionate character as well as an entrepreneur who has made his company, Ebac, a world-leader
MR Alex Kapranos, lead singer of the Glaswegian band Franz Ferdinand, may never have expected to appear in one of these columns nor we, indeed, to have embraced him. Saveloys are to blame. We've been chewing on them these past few weeks, wondering where
THE health-giving benefits of drinking lots of water are beyond doubt. But trying to sell water has proved a big headache for North-East watercooler manufacturer Ebac, after its plans for a television advertising campaign got a cool reception from regulators
Before 1849, the Guildhall and chamber served as Durham Town Hall, but the mayor, William Henderson, wanted something bigger and better. In the 19th Century, towns across Britain were building enormous town halls as striking symbols of their emerging
MIDDLESBROUGH'S players will fly to Romania this morning ahead of the biggest seven days in the club's 130-year history with midfielder Doriva claiming they are setting their sights on nothing less than a unique cup double. Boro face Steaua Bucharest
A NORTH-East branch of a high street bank has been voted the best in the country by customers. Staff at NatWest's Barnard Castle branch, in County Durham, are celebrating receiving a Customer Driven Branch Award, given by the bank to branches that deliver
MORE than 60 shops and buildings in Darlington town centre were left without power for several hours today, after a fault with an underground electricity cable. A section of High Row between Post House Wynd and Bondgate - including Clarks Yard and Buxtons
The UK car industry suffered another huge blow yesterday when French group Peugeot-Citroen announced the shock closure of a factory, with the loss of 2,300 jobs. The company blamed high production and logistical costs for the decision to end production
Ex-England footballer Lee Bowyer received a 42 day ban and a £650 fine after admitting speeding at nearly 100mph. The Newcastle United midfielder pleaded guilty to speeding at 99mph on the A1 near Morpeth in Northumberland last year. The 29-year-old changed
A COUPLE who took their three-week old baby to a live music festival in the region were arrested hours later after he suffered brain injuries from being shaken, a court was told yesterday. The prosecution alleges that Liam Richards and his sister, Daisy
Tax Free was sent off at 33-1 on his belated three-year-old debut, an indication the stable didn't seem to fancy his chances. But horses are renowned for making fools of all of us - Tax Free didn't know he was that price at Thirsk in April and duly
Timing is everything in the tipping game and since Steel Blue kicked off last year on the impossible mark of 95, he was a non-starter for 2005. The previous year, Richard Whitaker's speedster had, however, been included due to his appealing rating
The ten-to-follow has sadly become nine, owing to the death of Shalapour. Third-home for John Oxx in the 2005 Irish Derby, great things were expected of the classy colt, who recently joined Mark Johnston, but the dreams turned to dust when Shalapour
Not too long ago, Malton trainer Julie Camacho threatened to pack up training, but thank heavens the talented Malton handler kept her licence, showcased in no uncertain terms by Rio Riva's moneyspinning 2005 campaign. Consistency was Rio Riva's hallmark
Breeding counts for plenty in thoroughbreds and they don't come armed with much superior pedigrees than Nakheel, a son of the allconquering champion sire, Sadler's Wells, out of Matiya, winner of the Irish 1,000 Guineas. Nakheel picked up his debut
Although propelled to fame by the Group 1 exploits of his juveniles in 2005, Kevin Ryan produced plenty of other winners from the ranks of the older horses, including the four-year-old, My Paris. On the go throughout the season, he never stopped improving
Even though Hiddensee had a rather up-and-down three-yearold campaign, he was always going to be very high on my list of horses to follow for 2006. Two things were crucial in the judgement of this issue, firstly the fact he raced all of last season
IT'S not often Mark Johnston's team misses a trick, but just maybe Crosspeace should have been upped in trip earlier on last year. Crosspiece's campaign ended on a massive high when winning his final race by 14 lengths on an initial try over a mile-and-a-half
Canny Keith Reveley makes full use of the ammunition at his disposal, cleverly placing horses to score both on the Flat and over jumps in the same season. Hernandos Boy is a case in point, because after a series of near misses he got his head in front
GENERALLY speaking, Robin Bastiman, based at Cowthorpe near Wetherby, has his back to the wall trying to turn sows' ears into silk purses. For once though, Bordeslescott proved the exception to the rule. A splendid quartet of sprint victories last
