THREE teachers who have had their own brush with stardom will launch a performing arts academy this summer. Alison Dixon, Peter Simpson and John Melvin will run Planet Arts at Greenfield School Community and Arts College, in Newton Aycliffe, County Durham
HEALTH care across the South Tees Hospitals NHS Trust could soon be moving in a different direction. As part of Government plans the Trust, which runs The James Cook University Hospital in Middlesbrough and the Friarage Hospital in Northallerton, has
A WOMAN who ran a North-East petrol station for almost 30 years has died, aged 100. Beth Driver, who ran the Rose Tree Filling Station alongside the River Wear Bridge on the A177 in Shincliffe from 1935 to 1963, passed away peacefully at the Hallgarth
POLICE have teamed up with a school in an ongoing drive against anti-social behaviour in County Durham. The initiative at Roseberry Sports and Community College in Pelton, near Chester-le-Street, included a series of workshops. Police now hope to roll
AN innovative project designed to combat anti-social behaviour in an area of Darlington is to be rolled out to a second community. The Westside Project ran at Branksome School for more than six months to provide youngsters with Friday night entertainment
HARTLEPOOL'S Graeme Storm will have to make do with being in the money at the Scottish Open after a second successive 72 at Loch Lomond on Saturday was followed up with a final round 74. The event was won by Gregory Havret, who clinched a cheque for
RESCUE services were called last night to investigate reports of a man jumping off a bridge. The Coastguard paged Tynemouth Volunteer Life Brigade at about 11.15pm after receiving a report from Northumbria Police of a man who may have jumped off the
AN occupational therapist has been suspended for a year after he used a workplace computer to visit sexually explicit websites. The Conduct and Competence Committee of the Health Professions Council heard that Niall Salmon, a senior occupational therapist
A FORMER soldier who beat a landlord unconscious after being ejected from his pub has been jailed. Dean Anthony Rowell attacked publican Charles Anthony Storey when he was thrown out of The Travellers' Rest, in Crook, County Durham, for being disruptive
POLICE are appealing for witnesses after a man was beaten up for the alcohol he was carrying. The incident happened outside a newsagent on North Road in Darlington at about 8.30pm on Friday evening. The man was kicked and punched and his attacker made
A MURDER inquiry has been launched after a man was found dead in a North-East street earlier today. Police were called to Tasmen Road, Thorney Close, Sunderland, just after 5am, after receiving reports that a man in his early 40s had been attacked.
DREAMS can come true, as cancer-stricken student Phil Watson has just discovered. Since he was a boy, Phil, from Knaresborough, has dreamed of just one thing - becoming an RAF fighter pilot. But five years ago, he received devastating news and
REGARDING the recent declaration of the New Seven Wonders of the World in Lisbon after a worldwide vote, I guess the following would be the Tees Valley seven wonders, in created and natural categories. Any other versions? Created: 1, Stockton
THE problem with George Bush and Iraq is that it is not a war but an obsession. He just can't let it go. He even brainwashed Tony Blair. What we have is not just a civil war, but another Vietnam. I'm sure, in the end, Mr Bush will have a total
AS pupils studying for their GCSE and A-levels await the results of months of hard work, many who aim for the next few years of academia must contemplate the right degree course that will ultimately lead to a career of their choice they can realistically
THE announcement of 1,000 jobs at the proposed Amazon Park, in Heighington Lane, is another sign that our economy in Newton Aycliffe is doing well. What a contrast to the Nineties when business confidence was rock bottom. With thousands unemployed
I CAN endorse Tim Stahl's commendation of the York Early Music Festivals (HAS, July 4) from personal experience. Marvellous. Similarly, the BBC3 Early Music Show on Saturday and Sunday lunchtimes, 1pm to 2pm, a regular slot. However, I believe
IT is disturbing that Gordon Brown is using the pretence that the recent EU summit will not grant significant new powers to the EU. How ironic that EU leaders have blown this con-trick by gleefully asserting that it is 90 to 99 per cent the same
I WATCHED the tennis at Wimbledon on and off most of last week, including the men's final on Sunday.Young men and women playing for hundreds of thousands of pounds. The football season is not far off when, again, millions of pounds will be passed
Couple inspired by daughter's cancer battle join 3,000 in Diabetes UK Great North Walk ACOUPLE who lost their young daughter to leukaemia are to complete the Great North Walk in her memory this weekend. Mike and Claire Wren will join more than
N&SA JFC will be holding their annual junior football tournament on Sunday 22 July at Norton (Teesside) Sports Complex sponsored by Kebbell Homes. Play starts at 10.30 am and with 168 teams, it should be another great day of junior football. Parking
RETAILERS are hoping to benefit from a campaign which aims to curb instances of anti-social behaviour in shops. Led by shop and distribution workers union, USDAW, the Freedom from Fear campaign promotes respect among communities for the shops that serve
Sam Allardyce yesterday confessed he was a relieved man after Michael Owen committed himself to Newcastle United - but insisted the club is more than just a one-man show. The United striker finally nailed his colours to the Magpies mast on Thursday to
RURAL dwellers have set up a charitable trust to ensure that elderly neighbours can remain in their own homes for longer. Older people in Upper Eskdale, on the North York Moors, faced moving miles away from friends and relatives to an urban environment
TWO football-mad college students are bidding au revoir to the North-East as they prepare to spend the rest of the summer on the French Riviera. Tony Coe and Alan Oliver, who are studying sports coaching and activity leadership, have lined up a labour
TEACHERS, pupils and parents who used pedal power to get to school yesterday were rewarded with bacon sandwiches. Le Cateau Primary School, at Catterick Garrison, wants to encourage more people to cycle, and arranged a day of bike games and activities
Chris Tomlinson is not the only British athlete hoping to make a major breakthrough at next month's World Championships. Scott Wilson profiles five other rising stars hoping to make an impact in Osaka. CRAIG PICKERING (100m) He might just be 20, but
NEWCASTLE are weighing up a £5.5m double swoop for French full-backs Franck Queudrue and Rod Fanni. United boss Sam Allardyce is ready to give former Middlesbrough left back Queudrue a chance to return to the North-East and make Nice right back Fanni
MIDDLESBROUGH play the first of two pre-season games in Austria later today and by the time they return to Teesside next week manager Gareth Southgate hopes to be in a position to add to his squad. Despite agreeing a £6m fee with Manchester United for
A BOY threw a can of soft drink at policeman who was arresting his brother for burglary, a court heard yesterday. But the boy's solicitor claimed he had not meant to hit the officer. Jane Scott, mitigating, said he had thrown the open, full can into the
EXPERTS on respiratory problems will be in Asda stores in Thornaby and Portrack Lane, Stockton, on Thursday to provide advice. The aim is to raise awareness of respiratory conditions, such as asthma, and how these can be prevented and managed. The team
PUPILS at a North Yorkshire school are celebrating after scooping more than £10,000 for a wildlife garden. Sowerby Primary School, near Thirsk, received the funding boost to develop a Wildlife Inspired Special Project. In total, the school received Â
After breaking the British long jump record last weekend, Chris Tomlinson will be one of this country's leading medal hopes at August's World Championships. But, as he prepares to compete in tomorrow's Norwich Union Grand Prix at Sheffield, the Teessider
A GROUP of primary school pupils have been given the chance to quiz council staff in charge of the borough's CCTV system. Year six pupils from Springfield Primary School visited the CCTV control room at Darlington Town Hall. The children were shown how
John Myatt was involved in the biggest art con of the 20th Century. As he brings his legitimate fakes to North Yorkshire, he tells Linsday Jennings what lured him into a life of crime. TO hear John Myatt's life story, it sounds as if it belongs in the
David Beckham last night insisted he had not arrived in Los Angeles to wind down his footballing career. Beckham was speaking after receiving a rapturous welcome on his first day as a Los Angeles Galaxy player as he was officially presented to fans at
A FEMALE fast-food restaurant worker punched a colleague in the face after an argument over a boy who also worked there, a court heard yesterday. The female victim, who was a friend of her attacker, was left with a chipped tooth and jaw injury. The altercation
SINGER Ashley Stirling, from Chester-le-Street, will be one of the youngest artists to perform a solo session at the annual Northern Proms, when she performs today. As part of the Junior Proms, the 16-year-old will sing two sessions, featuring several
DURHAM Citizens Advice Bureau is holding a village advice session on Wednesday, in Pittington village hall, between 10am and 11am. No appointment is needed.
North-East veteran Brian Rushworth showed his younger rivals the way home in the Hylton Castle multi-terrain race in Sunderland. The 44-year-old Sunderland Harrier, twice UK Masters cross country champion, trailed Morpeth Harrier Terry Wall until the
SIXTH form students at a Darlington school invited elderly neighbours to a party designed to promote understanding between different age groups. Pupils at Polam Hall School invited more than 30 people from The Darlington Town Mission and charity Age Concern
A WEBSITE which will enable people to swap skills is to launch in Darlington. People can register a skill on the www.swapaskill.com for free and be matched to other people who may need their talents. Skills on offer include landscape gardening, marketing
A NETWORK Rail employee has been arrested on suspicion of manslaughter over this year's Cumbria train derailment in which an elderly woman died. The 46-year-old man was arrested on Wednesday in connection with the investigation into the crash at Grayrigg
An England Lions failure for Andrew Strauss was offset by the promise of centurion Tim Bresnan and Joe Denly against India at Chelmsford yesterday. With the first Test looming next week, it was the continuation of Strauss' patchy form which was perhaps
A WHEELCHAIR-BOUND husband-beater, who stabbed her partner in the neck as he slept, was locked up indefinitely after a judge ruled yesterday she was a danger to any man she formed a relationship with. Grey-haired Heather Bristow, 51, was told she would
Ministers were accused of "dumbing down" exams yesterday as it emerged that up to half of GCSE English marks would be awarded for basic skills such as punctuation. The move comes as the Government tries to address concerns about school-leavers' readiness
A VILLAGE named as the best in the country will celebrate the achievement with a festival. Heighington, between Darlington and Newton Aycliffe, was named as England's most perfect village in a BBC 4 history series. Residents have organised celebrations
SWIFT PRINCESS (2.35) holds every prospect of living up to her name by swooping to conquer in Nottingham's Les Stone Memorial Handicap, writes COLIN WOODS (JANUS). Karl Burke's filly, a daughter of that cracking sprint sire, Namid, possesses stacks more
CHEMICAL company Huntsman Corporation has agreed to merge with a US company, rejecting its initial acceptance of an offer from Dutch rival Basell. Huntsman, which employs about 650 people on Teesside, has announced it has terminated its merger agreement
PRIVATE equity firm Terra Firma yesterday gave EMI shareholders an extra week to accept its £2.4bn offer for the troubled music label after receiving support from less than four per cent of investors. Shareholders in EMI - home to stars including Lily
DECISIONS over the spending of money in the National Health Service are bound to throw up controversies. This is public money and it is right that the public is told where it goes at a time when the NHS is unable to provide patients in England with life-saving
WOE betide any suicidal jockeys going off too fast at York this afternoon because the cloying mud of the rain-stricken Knavesmire will surely reduce the lactic acid-filled limbs of their mounts to jelly. Tony Hamilton will hopefully have the job sorted
X-RAY technology firm Bede saw its share price jump 20 per cent yesterday morning as it hinted at a possible takeover. The troubled plc, which recently reported losses quarterly losses of £1.4m, said it was in "preliminary discussions
A WOMAN left distraught after being dumped by her girlfriend waged a three-week campaign of terror against her former partner, a court heard yesterday. Emma Vaughan repeatedly stalked Kelly Chambers and twice beat her up in the street after tracking her
Yorkshire are leading a campaign to get the England and Wales Cricket Board to reverse their decision to allow Worcestershire and Kent to replay their LV Championship match which was abandoned without a ball being bowled this week. Chief executive Stewart
THE climax to a four-day carnival will see a variety of events taking place in a Teesdale village today. Staindrop has held a talent contest, a treasure hunt and several sports competitions and, this afternoon, villagers will be out in their numbers for
England are expected to keep faith with out-of-form Andrew Strauss for the next phase of their Test summer when they take on India in the first match of the three-Test npower series next week. The selectors have already announced one squad full of shocks
STAFF and pupils at a 100-year-old school have been praised by education inspectors. Ofsted inspectors visited Dean Bank Primary and Nursery School, in Dean Bank, Ferryhill, which celebrates its centenary this year. The report concluded it is "a good
THIEVES who stole two dogs from an upper Teesdale house last month have returned to the same property to steal another pair. On June 29, two Patterdale terriers, a dog and a bitch, were taken from a home in Lunedale, and have still yet to be found. Last
The Football Association and anti-racism campaigners have rounded on UEFA for fines imposed following the hot-tempered clash between England and Serbia at the European Under-21 Championships. The Serbian FA have been ordered to pay £16,500 for racist
LINCOLN City could be ready to offer Julian Joachim a route out of Darlington. Quakers chairman George Houghton this week revealed that the future of the £100,000 striker was up in the air, citing Joachim's refusal to move to the area. A poor return
A fascinating piece of history has been uncovered during the decorating at a cottage at Westholme, Winston. Several layers of wallpaper were stripped away before the original lining paper was found - and it turned out to be pages from an edition of the
Hospital staff who could not get to work because of torrential flooding will have to take unpaid leave or holiday to cover for the time they missed, health chiefs confirmed yesterday. Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust defended the decision
Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez took his summer spending to an estimated £37m with the addition of Holland forward Ryan Babel but admitted it might not be enough to wrest the Premier League title from Manchester United. With Babel arriving for £11.5m
HURWORTH SCHOOL WRITING as a parent, rather than parish councillor or school governor, I wish to add my perspective to Hurworth School chief executive Eamonn Farrar's discussions with Hurworth Parish Council (Echo, July 12). Mr Farrar was asking if the
A WORKINGMEN'S club has applied to build a smoking shelter. Harrowgate Hill Workingmen's Club, in Salters Lane North, Darlington, has applied to Darlington Borough Council to build the shelter. The shelter will form a roofed patio area in the club car
REAL Ale enthusiasts from Belgium are heading to meet counterparts in Darlington for an annual festival. Twenty-three members of Zythos, the Belgian equivalent of the Campaign for Real Ale (Camra) will attend the Rhythm 'n' Brews festival in September
GREEN-fingered residents of a market town have been rewarded in a tidy gardens competition. Richmond Town Council awarded the Pattison Shield for the most improved garden to John and Maura Deighton, of High Pottergate. The Ravensworth Shield, in the caravan
A CONTROVERSIAL school sports pitch, which split the opinion of villagers when it was going through the planning process, was officially opened yesterday. Proposals for the floodlit multi-use games area at Middleton Tyas school, near Scotch Corner, met
A POLITICAL row has broken out after a parish councillor accused a community partnership of being sponsored by the Liberal Democrats. Hurworth Parish councillor George Lawman made the accusation at Tuesday night's parish council meeting. Councillor Ian
A FORMER Guide commissioner who gave 17 years to the Girl Guide movement has died. Elizabeth Harding, who was 77 and lived with her husband, Stanley, in Witton-le-Wear, County Durham, was born in Sunderland, where her father, Thomas Donkin, was borough
A YOUNG farmer is at the centre of a scheme to attract young people to agriculture. David Martin features in a National Farmers' Union (NFU) campaign to inspire youngsters to consider the opportunities in agri-businesses, stressing they do not need a
WATER-LOGGED farmers have been given the go-ahead to use set-aside land, but must inform the Rural Payments Agency (RPA). Angus Collingwood-Cameron, North-East director of the Country Land and Business Association, welcomed the decision of the RPA and
A CLUB for pensioners is about to call it a day after 30 years because of dwindling membership. Belmont Community Association Over-60s Club is calling an meeting in Belmont Community Centre, Durham, on Wednesday, July 25, at 6.30pm for 6.45pm, to take
SHE may look like a stalwart of the Women's Institute, but Professor Dolores Umbridge is no jam and Jerusalem kind of woman. ake her smile. Her requests, no matter how unfair or unreasonable, are always accompanied by a smile. A killer smile. Not that
DURHAM County Council is considering co-sponsoring a number of academies to maintain some control over the part-privately funded state schools. Academies are newly built independent schools, usually partly funded by businesses, charities or religious
HISTORY is made this weekend as a unique double programme takes place. For the first time a new rule has been invoked that sees the matches originally scheduled for June 23 moved en masse for completion tomorrow. Burnmoor and Whitburn will still occupy
Today's programme is akin to a new beginning - some teams in the Premier League have hardly bowled a ball in league action over the last month. With only a point separating the two leading sides, it makes for an intriguing run in, as clubs start the first
Last weekend's double header saw the title race turned on its head following two starkly contrasting performances by Esh Winning. Esh had slowly clawed back Kimblesworth's lead with some outstanding performances, including a humbling of the champions,
Ten games to go and the pressure at the top is intense as several sides play musical chairs with the leadership. And there is every possibility that today's games will add to the intensity as the top three sides all play away, while fourth plays fifth
AFTER the final double-header last weekend, there is still no clear pattern emerging in the race for the title. Castle Eden emerged still in pole position, but a measure of the effects the rain has had is that they top the table by eight points, having
Following a month of wholesale fixture disruption, and the completion of the second and last double programme, the leading positions in the top division are remarkably similar to the way they were at the beginning of June. Northallerton and Middlesbrough
FOOTBALLERS aged eight to 14 can hone their skills at informal coaching sessions. The events have been arranged by Harrogate Borough Council. Booking is not necessary and each session, from 10am to 3pm, costs £3. Sessions will run at Jennyfield Community
A school has invested £13,000 in helping its pupils get fit. The fitness room at Harrogate Ladies' College will help girls attain a high level of fitness, in preparation for team games and to promote good health. The school had a ten-station multi-gym
THE man credited with launching one of the UK's most popular authors in the US has gone one step further. In 1972, Alfred Ames wrote a rave review about All Creatures Great and Small, the US edition of the first book written by Thirsk vet Alf Wight under
THE ideal show for TV's Strictly Dance Fever winner has got to be Fame, which will bring a 52-seater busload of his Darlington fans to Newcastle's Theatre Royal next Friday. Still triumphantly touring after ten years, the story of New York's High School
THREE North Yorkshire schools have won recognition for their work in the arts. Thirsk School and Sixth Form College, Tockwith CE Primary and Roecliffe CE Primary have achieved the Artsmark Gold award in recognition of improved arts provision. Artsmark
Roman Catholic St Patrick's on Flint Hill, has always been popular with its congregation. After a fire they rallied around to rebuild a church that is - against today's trend - very much thriving. IN the familiar, if idly erroneous, belief that there
PARENTS and children have held a leaving party for a volunteer who has run their village playgroup for more than 30 years.Mary Price is to step down from leading the Acton Road playgroup, in Esh Winning, next week - 35 years after she first helped out
A CONTROVERSIAL school sports pitch, which split the opinion of villagers when it was going through the planning process, was officially opened yesterday.Proposals for the floodlit multi-use games area at Middleton Tyas school, near Scotch Corner, North
AFTER agreeing to pay £5m for Michael Chopra and offering around £8m for Hearts goalkeeper Craig Gordon, Roy Keane has done little to appease the notion that the English transfer market has gone mad.Everton manager David Moyes yesterday branded much
CHILDREN and parents who campaigned for a play area on their doorstep have been given the go-ahead by council planners.The Thistleflat Community Action Group was supported by pupils from Crook primary schools in the campaign to get the £109,000 playground
A NEIGHBOUR of a mother accused of murdering her four-year-old daughter told a jury how she reported her to Social Services officials because she was angry at constantly seeing the youngster at her bedroom window looking sad.Leticia Wright died last November
WIDESPREAD anger about a planning strategy threatening thousands of jobs is being listened to in Whitehall, a minister insisted yesterday.Communities Secretary Hazel Blears, visiting a thriving community project in Ferryhill, acknowledged the backlash
A GARDENER'S world is no bed of roses when a shed has been erected in the wrong place.Allotment keeper David Mee is embroiled in a vegetable patch row after he took over a plot run by Saltburn, Marske and New Marske Parish Council.After spending weeks
TEACHER Jim McCaffrey got the send-off he would have wanted as Morris men performed at his funeral yesterday.Mr McCaffrey, 60, of Gilesgate, Durham City, died in Newcastle's Freeman Hospital last Saturday, July 7, of complications related to diabetes.
PROPOSALS for an 11 per cent increase in the cost of primary school meals will create havoc for poorer families, councillors have warned.The move has been called in for scrutiny by opposition county councillors.County councillors who back the rise from
TEENAGERS will find it increasingly difficult to buy their drink after off-licences and shops in Guisborough signed up to an under-21 alcohol ban.Cleveland Police are aiming to clamp down on alcohol-fuelled anti-social behaviour and the premises have
A YOUNG climber who trekked up Mount Kilimanjaro in memory of her father has spoken of her elation when she reached the top.Amy Hartford was inspired to climb Africa's highest mountain, in Tanzania, to raise funds for the Butterwick Hospice after dedicated
'THE canvas stretchers were laid near, and the bearers stood ready for their mournful duty," reported The Northern Echo 125 years ago. "In a little while the cage ascended, and the eager crowd gazed curiously at the shaftsman, seated on the top of the
MORE than 250 children from across the region got an impression of life as a slave yesterday. The 274 youngsters, most aged 11 to 14, laid side-by-side on a life-sized diagram of an Atlantic slave trade ship, re-creating the cramped conditions endured
A COUNCILLOR has urged Hurworth Parish Council to talk with the secondary school about its "Education Village" proposals.Councillor Malcolm Dunstone, who represents Hurworth on Darlington Borough Council, said it would be negative not to consider them.Eamonn
ALMOST 1,000 residents have signed a petition calling for bus links to be re-established between two villages.There is no bus service between Burnopfield and Rowlands Gill following the shake-up of various routes over the past year.But people travel between
A HORDE of mechanical monsters are on the loose - grappling with trees and helping re-shape 2,500 acres of woodland.And the Forestry Commission is offering the public a rare chance to view their high-tech harvesting machines in action at Sneaton Forest
A PLAN to improve the lives of older residents of Darlington has been unveiled.The older people's strategy aims to establish a long-term vision for the over-50s in the town who, by 2017, will make up more than 40 per cent of Darlington's population, according
JUST hours after Sunderland's new signing Michael Chopra promised to brush off the controversy surrounding his arrival by vowing to win over the hearts and minds of supporters, manager Roy Keane was told he is on the verge of another £5m-plus signing
ORGANISERS of a contest to promote entrepreneurial spirit among schoolchildren hope it will be expanded.Next year's Future Business Magnates, which is sponsored by The Northern Echo, could involve schools across north Durham, and not just those in and
Surrey v Durham (County Championship) : Day Four AFTER self-destructing in the first session of the match at The Oval last Sunday, Durham left it until after lunch before shooting themselves in the foot against Sussex at Horsham yesterday.In fairness
GARDENERS have found themselves in a growing battle to contain a giant water lily, which is threatening to climb out of its 15ft tank.Staff at Durham's Botanic Garden are having to cut back the huge plant, a native of South America, to stop it mounting
STOLEN goods worth more than £100,000 were recovered by police in Teesdale during May and last month. Police launched Operation Ellisville to combat rural property crime during one of the busiest times in Teesdale; with the Meet weekend and other carnivals
IT is hoped that there will be more sport for disabled people in Teesdale following a successful taster day.Sporting activities for physically disabled people and people with learning difficulties was held at Teesdale Leisure Centre, in Barnard Castle
THE bride was a vision, the groom looked dapper and the church was packed with friends.But, the service, on Thursday, at St Paul's Church, in Spennymoor, was far from traditional and involved five-year-olds from Ox Close Primary School. The mock wedding
CREEPY-CRAWLIES and six-legged beasts were the order of the day at a Darlington primary school.Key stage one pupils at Mount Pleasant School celebrated the end of the school year with an Ugly Bug Ball. Pupils dressed up as a variety of mini-beasts in
THE calming influence of peer massage has helped erase school room stress for more than 300 youngsters.Children from schools across Teesside, working in pairs, have been taught to massage, through clothing, the back, arms, shoulders and head of fellow
A COUNCIL worker marked his retirement with a final tidy-up of a car park.Harry Chilton retired after 37 years in a variety of roles with Richmondshire District Council. He has been a grave digger, a mobile toilet cleaner, a grounds maintenance worker
STUDENTS at Durham Community Business College have been line-dancing Russian style, with lessons from visiting experts.Year seven students from the college joined a group of visiting Russian dancers to take part in the traditional routines.The dancers
Northern rail operator GNER has unveiled the latest addition to its fleet - a simulator to teach drivers. Lauren Pyrah went for a spin LET'S face it, driving a train looks pretty easy. How hard can it really be? It's not like you would have to worry
PUPILS from a deprived area of the region found out where their food comes from when they visited a working farm.The six and seven-year-olds got to see, pet and feed farm animals as well as explore a medieval village, visit a Bronze Age burial ground
THE deadline for contributions for a book celebrating a Darlington street has been extended.Residents wanting to contribute original prose, poetry and images to Darlington trader Beryl Hankin's book called Spirit of High Row have until Wednesday, August
A Dickens scholar by default, Steve Pratt indulges his curiosity with a visit to the newly-opened Dickens World at Chatham Maritime in Kent. JENNY, introduced as "a lady of the night", expressed her desire to take me on the ride of the lifetime but with
HEALTH officials last night defended a decision to send a North-East delegation on an £84,000 mission to Japan - to find new ways of "increasing efficiency". Families of patients denied drugs on the NHS, as well as two GPs, have criticised the trip
POLICE have arrested two suspected drug dealers after seizing cocaine from a house.Officers recovered the drug, with a street value of at least £7,000, in the raid on Thursday.Drugs paraphernalia and a significant amount of money were also seized from
HOME Office bosses confirmed yesterday that a Government department set up to prevent a repeat of the Soham murders will open in the North-East. The Independent Safeguarding Authority (ISA), which will protect children and vulnerable adults, will open
ORGANISERS of the region's largest annual farm and country event are celebrating another successful year. Tens of thousands of visitors went to the Great Yorkshire Showground, in Harrogate, between Tuesday and Thursday for the three-day event, run by
THOUSANDS of people will throng the streets of Durham City today for the 123rd Durham Miners' Gala.About 70 banners - including newcomers Deaf Hill, Silksworth, Greenside and Kelloe - will be paraded through the city centre to the Racecourse, accompanied
