ASHOK Kumar was revealed as the North East's most expensive MP for the third year running tonight. But the Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland MP defended his allowances claims of £161,049. He said: "I make no apology for keeping my constituents
HIGH winds today forced the closure of a multi storey car park and street on Teesside after loosening two crane gantries. The Captain Cook Square car park (formerly Bentnall Street car park) in the centre of Middlesbrough has had to be closed while Brentnall
MIDDLESBROUGH remains one of the worst places to live in the country, according to research by a TV company. The town is again included after it was named by last year's Channel 4 programme as a UK blackspot. The rankings will be revealed in full tonight
Discover 80 of the world's best cocktails and the bars that made them famous. Imagine sipping a sophisticated Bellini whilst watching the gondolas glide by on Venice's Grand Canal, or swinging the night away in Seoul with the sounds of Nat King Cole
TWO people have been released on police bail after officers seized nearly five tonnes of bootleg fireworks at a North-East farm. A man and a woman, both aged 47, will return to Gateshead police station on December 13. The haul of illegal fireworks was
England manager Steve McClaren has today confirmed that he will be attending the Local Heroes Awards 2006. Former Middlesbrough manager McClaren has been a guest previously at The Northern Echo's spectacular celebration of grass roots sport. And he
A COUNCIL has called on boardroom officials to attend an emergency meeting as the future of Redcar Racecourse hangs in the balance. Redcar and Cleveland councillor Dave Fitzpatrick put forward a motion calling for the board of directors to enter private
Darlington today expect to re-sign Matt Clarke on loan from Bradford City who will go straight into the side to face Hartlepool United on Saturday. With Evan Horwood injured and Craig James still suspended, caretaker manager Martin Gray has moved to
This week's wine is a chateau bottled blend of grapes which gives it a ruby red colour of medium depth with a complex bouquet of red fruits. It's strong tasting, medium bodied and 13% alcohol. This is a dry wine well structured and made to go with food
A COUNCIL helpline has been inundated with calls since new bin collections were introduced. About 12,000 homes in Richmondshire began alternate weekly collections last week and now have recyclable waste collected one week and non-recyclable the next.
DANCE, drumming and drama will celebrate various cultures as part of an event during One World Week. Newtown Community Resource Centre, in Stockton, host the day on Saturday. Between 11am and 4pm, there will be a Fairtrade stall, exhibitions and refreshments
TO mark the 278th anniversary of Captain Cook's birth at East Marton village, the Captain Cook Birthplace Museum is holding a craft workshop from 11am to 3pm tomorrow. Anna Bates will be leading the workshop in making a lei, which is a Hawaian floral
WELL-KNOWN North Yorkshire horse breeder and exhibitor Emily Ward has celebrated her 100th birthday. Mrs Ward, who now lives in Beechwood Place Nursing Home, Malton, was renowned in the horse world for decades for her hunters and with her sister, the
A YOUNG choir which is to perform on BBC TV's Songs of Praise will sing in Thirsk. Quay Voices is to perform a concert at St Mary's Church, Kirkgate. Made up of singers aged 13 to 19 it has a mixed repertoire ranging from Inca melodies to John Lennon.
THE friendship between two First World War poets is charted in a play at a market town theatre this weekend. Not About Heroes is performed at the Georgian Theatre Royal, Richmond, on Saturday, from 7.30pm. The production is by the 1812 Theatre Company
A NIGHT of family entertainment is on the bill at a fundraising event in aid of the Great North Air Ambulance, on Saturday. North-East Talent Enterprises will stage a mix of songs from the 70s and 80s, with an emphasis on Abba, plus a raffle and tombola
A TALENTED footballer and cricketer from North Yorkshire has died suddenly from a suspected heart complaint. Chris Woodhead, 24, played the sports for the two teams at Heslerton, and cricket for Sherburn, near Scarborough. His parents, Bob and Andrea
ORGANISERS of the Bonfire Night display at Bedale have joined police in condemning those who caused alarm by setting off a massive firework. The shell of the 3ft tall mortar-like display firework, called The Invasion of the Martians, was taken to the
SPINE-CHILLING performances are promised at a Halloween Howler next week. The People's Theatre of Hartlepool will be staging a macabre evening of mystery. Vampires, murderers, ghosts and ghouls will take centre stage at The Studio, in Tower Street, Hartlepool
CRIMEFIGHTERS are urging householders to be extra vigilant as the nights draw in. Hambleton is one of the safest districts in the country with only 101 domestic burglaries
A WOMAN who worked in the laundry of a Victorian workhouse and returned when it became a children's home, has celebrated her 100th birthday - on the same site. Mabel Allanson is a resident of an old people's home at Whitby Road, Pickering was built
BOLLYWOOD is the theme for a sparkling fireworks show to be held in Teesside. This is the Year of World Class Culture in the UK, and Bonfire Night in Hartlepool is taking on an international theme from the East. On Saturday, November 4, in Seaton Carew
VOLUNTEERS worked round the clock to ensure the show went on for a Hartlepool theatre company. The Footlights Youth Theatre decided to quit its rehearsal space when landlords put up the rent. That left the group looking for a new home, but alternative
A £60,000 extension has been completed at a GP surgery in Spennymoor. The extension, at the Oxford Road GP practice, creates four extra consulting rooms, offices and a larger waiting room. There are now plans to offer specialist clinics in gynaecology
SARAH FELLS, a member of Castle Players, will be giving one of the readings at a concert for the Feast of St Nicholas, at Durham Cathedral, on December 8, in aid of Marie Curie Cancer Care, St Cuthbert's Hospice and Macmillan Cancer Support. A bus will
ODDSOCKS theatre company will present Twelfth Night at the Saltburn Community and Arts Theatre, Albion Terrace, on January 2 and 3, at 7.30pm. Tickets, priced £9.50, or £6.50 concessions, are available on 01773-540962.
TODDLERS celebrated the big 40 yesterday with a party. Sedgefield Mayor Dudley Waters joined children, parents and volunteers at Sedgefield Methodist Church Play Group for its 40th anniversary party. The group was formed by parents Dorothy Dagleish, Margaret
A MAN smashed through the door of his former partner's house with a sledgehammer, a court heard. Ian Mark Schofield went to the home of his former partner, who is the mother of his son, Donna Baker, after hearing that her new partner had been taking his
AUDITORS have praised the service that helps vulnerable people in County Durham live at home - and said it could get better. The Audit Commission, which checks whether public money is spent economically, efficiently and effectively, awarded the service
The Butterwick Hospice in Bishop Auckland is to hold a Christmas craft fair. There will be Christmas gifts, a chance to have a photograph taken with Santa, and a chocolate fountain. The fair will be held in Hall Garth Golf and County Club Hotel, Coatham
A HIGHLY-REGARDED neighbourhood manager is preparing to turn a troubled estate around. Reducing crime further and developing ways to improve the environment are the biggest challenges facing Kellie Hopkins. She has been appointed manager of Neighbourhood
STUDENTS will be clearing rubbish from the riverbanks in Durham at the weekend, with help from the city council. Neighbourhood wardens will work with the university charity, Student Community Action, on Saturday on a litter-pick. The event is to mark
RESIDENTS are determined to make a difference to their surroundings on Teesside. Local people yesterday answered an appeal from community centre staff to help with a clean up of Stockton's Ragworth housing estate - particularly around the neighbourhood
AUDITORS have praised the service that helps vulnerable people in County Durham live at home - and said it could get better. The Audit Commission, which checks whether public money is spent economically, efficiently and effectively, awarded the service
PEOPLE are being urged to light up their homes to frighten off criminals. Burglars canvassed in a survey said they prefer to work in darkness - preferably in houses which are unoccupied - and they hate security lighting. Cleveland Police said the findings
A TEENAGER lost part of her ear in a nightclub attack, a court heard yesterday. Lucy Shaw is alleged to have bitten 16-year-old Leanne Smith during the bar brawl in Stockton, on Bonfire Night last year. Miss Shaw, 19, of Bannockburn Way, Billingham,
THE Mayor of Durham, Councillor Jeff Lodge, has launched the run-up to the city's annual Grand Duck Race. The event, organised by the Durham University Charities Kommittee (Duck), and sponsored by Northumbrian Water, begins at Elvet Bridge, in Durham
TWO seminars are to be held in a rural area explaining to carers how they can protect their homes against the cost of funding long-term care. They follow a similar session, which was hosted by the Durham Dales Action for Carers group in Barnard Castle
BISHOP Auckland residents who called for a rapid solution to their parking problems were disappointed to be offered only a survey by a highways boss. At least two dozen people from the Victoria Avenue and Bondgate areas, Cockton Hill, Escomb Road and
A HOTEL owner is staging an exhibition of quilts. The Amish quilts were bought by Barbara-Anne Johnson, who spent seven years working in the US in Michigan, where there is a large Amish community. They will be on display on Sunday, at the Morritt Arms
PLANNERS have given the go-ahead to a housing development in a rural village. It was approved following a site visit by Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council's planning committee last week. They voted six to five in favour of the plan for Wharton Place
A GROUP of North-East youngsters has given its seal of approval to councillors who represent them on a county council. Investing in Children (IIC) membership was conferred on five of Durham county councillors by the young people yesterday. The recipients
GREEN-fingered enthusiasts have enjoyed a great response to their latest fundraising efforts. Generous residents gave fundraisers cash to help boost the coffers of Thirsk in Bloom. Leading the fundraisers was Dorothy Reveley, who collected £120 in a
YOUNGSTERS are making audio dramas for other children to enjoy. The talentSTAR community interest company, which provides opportunities for young performers and training in skills and crafts such as video, is working on the project at its headquarters
MORE than 1,500 Durham homes and businesses are to get a better gas supply. A £150,000 project to bring more gas to the south of the city has been planned by the owner of the region's gas mains, Northern Gas Networks. It will involve laying about 700
A MAN appeared in court after he bit a policeman's finger. Mark Mayhew, 24, was outside the Weardale pub, in Spennymoor, when police responded to reports of anti-social behaviour. "When officers arrived they saw a group of men, who they went to speak
YOUNG performers are finding their wings at classes designed to develop their stage skills. Durham Cygnets drama and theatre arts group is holding half-term workshops for aspiring actors, singers and dancers. With more than 30 years' experience working
TOILETS and shower facilities are to be built at a railway station under the terms of a new lease. The deal, between Harrogate Borough Council and Hornbeam Park Development Company, will also see a newsagents' kiosk built at Hornbeam Park station in Harrogate
A THEATRE which chalked up a financial loss of more than £200,000 six months ago is back in the black. Figures published by Harrogate Theatre show a surplus of £10,000 for the past six months. In May, the theatre announced a financial shortfall of Â
CHILDREN under five are to be given a healthy eating boost through a new scheme. The county's primary care trust has drawn up guidelines for health visitors, early year providers such as Sure Start and nursery schools, nursery nurses and midwives. The
Weardale Railway Locomotive Preservation Group and Timothy Hackworth Model Railway Group will hold a model railway exhibition, at Stanhope Town Hall, on November 4 and 5, from 10am to 4pm. Entry is £2.50 adults, £2 concessions, £1.50 children.
VILLAGERS in and around Willington are being urged to have their say on the area's future at a meeting next week.Willington Community Partnership is holding a meeting to launch a town plan, and is urging residents to submit their comments so their views
Solutions ACROSS 1 Ashpit. AS+H+PIT 5 Assembly. (anag.) 9 Have it made. (two meanings) 10 Send. (two meanings) 11 Blue Nile. BLUE NILE (line anag.) 12 Tartan. TAR+TAN 13 Abide. AB+IDE (die anag.) 15 Petersham. (anag.) 18 Bridewell
Cryptic Clues ACROSS 1 Since the fifth of March mine is in a hollow under the fireplace (6) 5 Bless Amy Duff in a gathering for religious observance (8) 9 Being in a good financial position, get something produced (4,2,4) 10 Propel forward (4)
MPs will be keeping their heads down tomorrow when the annual league table revealing who costs the taxpayer most in allowances and expenses is published. We will find out, for example, whether Ashok Kumar has achieved the hat-trick of posting the highest
SUPPORT was growing last night for The Northern Echo's campaign to overturn a decision to restrict vital NHS dementia drugs. The paper has joined the Alzheimer's Society to fight a ruling by NHS drugs watchdog the National Institute for Health and Clinical
BAD BEHAVIOUR: REPORTS of teenage drunkenness, violence and anti-social behaviour feature frequently in the press and surely deter many people from venturing into Middlesbrough for an evening out, particularly at weekends. But if they do decide to risk
YOUNG performers are being given the chance to win a scholarship worth hundreds of pounds in an exclusive competition to find the region's next Billy Elliot. The Northern Echo is offering a talented youngster expert dance tuition worth £450, courtesy
THE sights and sounds of Asian dance and music will provide the backdrop to a cultural lifestyle event. An Asian Lifestyle day is being held at Darlington Arts Centre, on Sunday, November 5, from 1pm until 6pm. There will be dance and music, Asian food
TESCO: JOHN McNally's description of Darlington as an economic area is reasonably accurate (Echo, Oct 23), but to compare the town with Beverley, East Yorkshire, that is about a third the size, is wrong. Beverley is not at a hub of industry and route
THE question of greatness is a thorny issue for sportswriters to address. When does a merely very good performer become an all-time great, and is greatness in one sport comparable to greatness in another? In most of the eulogies that accompanied Michael
STUDENTS from Darlington rounded off Local Democracy week with a Peas, Politics and Pudding event on Sunday. A series of activities, organised by Darlington Borough Council, took place throughout the week to encourage young people to have their say. The
Serge has bought a painting. A very distinctive painting. It is white, totally white. A 5ft by 4ft white canvas with, if you look very carefully, white stripes. When his friend Marc learns that he paid 200,000 francs for it, he does what many of us would
MPs will today demand that councils are given "London-style" powers to decide bus fares and routes to end the chaos caused by 20 years of private operators. A powerful all-party committee will condemn the system of deregulation that allows the private
DEVELOPER Terrace Hill is to build three offices on a £350m award-winning business park on Teesside. The firm has had its plans approved for a 55,000sq ft office development on the Teesdale Business Park, in Stockton. Martin Vickerman, Terrace Hill property
RESIDENTS of two neighbouring villages fear a "missing link" in a proposed motorway scheme will make traffic problems worse for their communities, a public inquiry was told yesterday. Officials from the Highways Agency were questioned by a member of Middleton
MORE than £2.3bn worth of investment has been poured into Nissan's Sunderland factory over the past 20 years, making it Britain's largest and most successful car plant. By way of thanks, the Government yesterday awarded an honorary knighthood to Nissan's
TRIBUTES have been paid to a Second World War veteran who twice escaped captors and was decorated for his heroics. For decades, Alf Longstaff, of Middlestone Moor, County Durham, kept the true horrors he faced from his family. But in the years before
SPECIALIST engineering firm Analox is planning to double its workforce to 90 once it moves into new headquarters. Analox Sensor Technology, based in Stokesley, North Yorkshire, which manufactures instruments to measure air quality, has now started work
KARL BURKE'S King Marju (4.50) can reign supreme in Lingfield's Weatherbys Bank Handicap this afternoon. Trained throughout 2005 by Peter Chapple-Hyam, King Marju made a promising enough start for his new Middleham handler when picking up some decent
THE region's only pilot scheme to encourage young people to take exercise has been hailed as a success. Active Choice, which has now ended, was set up three years ago to get County Dur-ham youngsters that were turned off by school sports to discover exercise
CONSULTANCY firm White Young Green (WYG) has been awarded work on a £120m project by neighbouring Tees Valley engineering company Siemens VAI UK. WYG has been appointed by Siemens to provide civil engineering expertise for a blast furnace scheme in Taichung
THE daughter of a well-known Darlington business man and Darlington Football Club director has celebrated her 100th birthday. Muriel Million, who has lived all her life in Darlington, received a card from the Queen to mark her birthday. Mrs Million is
AN investigation is under way into the cause of an accident which left a North-East man dead and another seriously injured. The accident, on the A66 near Appleby, in Cumbria, at 10.30am, on Tuesday, involved two Army low-loaders, two Argos lorries, an
GLENN Roeder last night hailed the character of some of his most criticised players after they returned to the starting line-up and helped Newcastle reach the fourth round of the Carling Cup. The likes of Titus Bramble, Celestine Babayaro and Nicky Butt
POLICE have recovered a massive haul of illegal fireworks, drugs and £140,000 cash from a North-East farm. Officers found between four and five tonnes of bootleg explosives when they searched the warehouse at Ricklees farm, in Spen Road, Greenside, near
YOUNGSTERS in Darlington showed their community spirit by helping out at an elderly people's home. Eight volunteers, aged between 16 and 24, weeded the gardens and planted shrubs at Elderwood Nursing Home, Westmoreland Street, Darlington, to mark Make
CHILDREN in Hurworth are following a ship around the Mediterranean. HMS Hurworth, a ship named after the village near Darlington, has been in Gibraltar, Malta, Crete, Kos, France, and Italy over the past four months. Hurworth Primary School receives a
AN elderly woman was left without electricity overnight after a meter engineer said he could not fix a fault. The problem was due to be resolved last night, after The Northern Echo intervened. The woman, in her 80s, who does not want to be named, paid
YOUNGSTERS in a Darlington rock band were the headline act at a music showcase. Dial 9 For Juice took top billing at the London College of Music showcase, having achieved the North-East's highest score in their music exam. The showcase, which took place
THE UK dairy industry is in danger of "bleeding to death", a farmers' leader has warned. Martin Burtt, chairman of the North-East Dairy Board of the National Farmers' Union (NFU), was speaking at the launch of a campaign to win a better milk price for
DARLINGTON Borough councillors have claimed almost £10,000 in out-of-borough expenses in the past 18 months, The Northern Echo can reveal. The figures, acquired under the Freedom of Information act, include more than £1,000 of hotel expenses in York
TODAY'S revelation in The Northern Echo that hundreds of police officers may have to be axed by Durham Constabulary will come as shocking news across the county and the wider region. It will also reverberate around the country because if Durham - a force
IN June, Durham Police's chief constable, Jon Stoddart, travelled to London to beg the Government for extra money. Mr Stoddart said his force would face serious financial difficulties in the next few years if it did not receive help from the Government
MY brothers and sisters and I have been secretly producing a four page tabloid-style spoof newspaper, the Gortree Gazette (our family home in Ireland is called Gortree) to surprise our mother, Hattie, for her 80th birthday next week. While the front page
Viv Hardwick talks to Sunderland-born pop star and musician Dave Stewart about his decision to launch a band that didn't really exist. SUNDERLAND-born Eurythmics star Dave Stewart is clearly having enormous fun with the idea he once belonged to a band
Royal Shakespeare Company actor Adam Rayner has survived a blow to the head which required six stitches to make his debut on Tyneside as the firebrand Tybalt in Romeo and Juliet. He talks to Viv Hardwick about dancing way into the Newcastle season. RISING
Playing villains like Lucius Malfoy in the Harry Potter films typecast Jason Isaacs as a baddie. So it was something of a change - and a pleasant one, he tells Steve Pratt - to play a good guy in the BBC1 thriller, The State Within. Jason Isaacs has been
Reunited with North-East born director Ridley-Scott for his lastest film, A Good Year, Russell Crowe talks to Steve Pratt about being grumpy old men, how fatherhood has changed his ways and buying pasties on a family visit to York. Russell Crowe says
Teesside University graduate Simon Brown tells Steve Pratt how he was thrown in the deep end when he had to create realistic computer-generated water for the film Ice Age 2. Water - we all know what it looks like and what it feels like. All of which made
Residents of Weatherfield have a new way of entertaining themselves, as demonstrated in Coronation Street (ITV1). Welcome to Dunkin' David, which is like that apple-bobbing game in which you have to pluck apples from a barrel of water using only your
ONE Life: Getting Away With Murder (BBC1); Natural World: On The Trail Of Tarka (BBC1): It's only a small word but one Ann Ming waited 17 years for her daughter Julie's killer to say - Guilty. The moving ONE Life documentary followed the Teesside woman
A JURY will today hear of the circumstances surrounding the death of a toddler when the boy's parents go on trial accused of his killing.Details of the case against Gemma Fennelly and Mark Bate will emerge when their trial resumes at Teesside Crown Court
ONCE they were the backbone of the coal industry. Often spending months underground, they hauled carts filled with the precious fuel to the surface and pulled timber props needed to keep the mines safe.The last pit ponies retired in 1994, bringing to
WORKERS on Teesside are locked in a pay dispute with their employer after changes to toxic alarm procedures caused chaos at Wilton Power Station. Unions have held a number of meetings with Shaw Engineering in a bid to resolve a pay claim, which affects
Newcastle United 3, Portsmouth 0 AFTER three days in which the talk on Tyneside has been about the possible end of Freddy Shepherd's reign at Newcastle, it was somewhat ironic that rain of a different nature dominated the game that could yet spark a
Needleworker Kitty Weedon knew straight away there was something special about a dustsheet being used by workmen in her home Grimy and paint-spattered, the sheet was lying on the floor during alterations until Mrs Weedon, from Bellerby, North Yorkshire
Martin Gray earned a reputation for being a physical midfielder during his playing days, but the caretaker manager says he is not relying entirely on his fearless instinct to motivate Darlington's players for Saturday's derby clash.Quakers travel to Hartlepool
THREE hundred police officers could be lost in cuts to prevent the Prime Minister's local force sliding £10m into debt, The Northern Echo can reveal today.The crisis cuts are equivalent to nearly one in five officers employed by Durham Constabulary.Last
JONATHAN Woodgate has attributed Middlesbrough's recent revival to the dedication of the club's coaching staff and claimed his team-mates are inspired to emulate the unstinting efforts of their trainers.Sunday's last-gasp success over Newcastle made it
A SENIOR NHS manager recognised nationally for his work helping people overcome drug and alcohol problems has stepped down after an investigation found he was regularly drunk at work.It concluded there was evidence David Cliff, head of County Durham's
SNACK maker United Biscuits (UB) yesterday pledged to bring more jobs and investment to Teesside as it agreed to a £1.6bn takeover deal.The owner of brands such as McVitie's and Jacob's, which employs more than 1,000 people in the region, has been bought
As a BAFTA award-winning sound recordist, Chris Watson has tracked wildlife across the world. He tells Lindsay Jennings why it pays to have experts on hand. THE game-filled plains of the Masai Mara in Kenya were cloaked in darkness. Sound recordist Chris
Dedicated volunteers are giving up their time to help people in their community learn about healthy eating. Sheila Weber drops in at the popular cookery club. 'YUK', said the children when mum served up couscous. They were alarmed at this foreign invasion
