PROPERTIES in County Durham and North Yorkshire have been raided in the first ever criminal investigation into boiler room scams. Police joined forces with the Financial Services Authority to search properties thought to have been used to run or support
Middleton Rangers U14's 8 V Stokesley "B" 1 Table toppers Middleton played their best football of the season in this convincing 8-1 victory. The scoring started when Rangers top scorer Taylor Cardus ran on to a cross and slammed the ball in to
Middleton Rangers U13 'A' 2 Thirsk Falcons 3 Middleton lost in the league in a very competitive close game,going a goal up within the first five minutes through a terrific interception dribble and shot by Luke Allenby.Further chances were spurned
NEWCASTLE UNITED have agreed to allow Lee Clark to join former Magpies manager Glenn Roeder at Norwich City. Clark has signed a two-and-a-half-year deal and has become assistant manager at Carrow Road, where Roeder took over earlier this week. The 35
THE third annual prestigious Future Business Magnates competition got underway in Durham today. Year eight pupils from nine schools in north Durham are taking part in the challenge to come up with the best money-making scheme. Teams of eight-12
IT WOULD be fair to say David Gedge has been in denial for the best part of 20 years - more or less in fact since the release of The Wedding Present s seminal debut album George Best. The reason? Well, he has consistently denied in the subsequent years
A VAN driver who killed four members of the same family in a crash on the A1 was today jailed for seven years. Scott Easton had slept for just a few hours before he got behind the wheel of his Ford Transit for a work shift. Teesside Crown Court
SOLUTIONS ACROSS 7 Elliptic. E+LL+I+PT+I+C 9 Agreed. A+GREED 10 Tale. (tail hom.) 11 Ill fortune. IL+L+FORTUNE 12 Recall. RE+C+ALL 14 Artistry. ARTIS+TRY (Rita's anag.) 15 Select. SE(LE)CT 17 Edward. E+D+WARD (draw rev.) 20 Panorama
CRYPTIC CLUES ACROSS 7 English students have individual training at one Catholic comprehensive (8) 9 Had the same opinion of a deadly sin (6) 10 Heard final part of story (4) 11 Bad luck when the Italian initially lost a large amount of money (
A BIKER who kept a pump action shotgun under his bed for 15 years has been jailed. Police found the illegal weapon at the home of William Armstrong, a stage technician at biker events, during a drugs raid on August 16, Durham Crown Court heard. Armstrong
Iberian wines this week. The first is from the Costers del Segre D.O. of Spain. It has a complex nose of plums stewed fruits and tobacco. On the palate there's coconut and toast with a little pepper. It's 13 per cent alcohol with a long finish. This
DUTCH film-maker Theo van Gogh was murdered three years ago and his producers are honouring him by remaking three of his original films in English with Hollywood stars. Interview is the first, featuring Sienna Miller as a famous US soap star, Katya
IN his last film, Hard Candy, director David Slade offered the leg-crossing drama of a young girl threatening castration on the older man she suspected of stalking her. In the incredibly blood-splattered 30 Days Of Night, he offers a different kind
TEN years after Elizabeth breathed new life into the dull old historical epic genre comes a sequel of sorts with Cate Blanchett back as the Virgin Queen and Shekhar Kapur in the director's chair. The result certainly looks stunning, Blanchett is
Hartlepool face FA charge HARTLEPOOL United and Brighton were yesterday charged by the Football Association following last weekend's stormy clash at Victoria Park. The charge, of failing to ensure their players and/or officials conducted themselves
THE OFFICE of Fair Trading has launched a campaign in the North-East highlighting different ways people can save for Christmas. The Save Xmas publicity drive follows the collapse of the Farepak hamper company last year, when 11,000 people in the region
SAM ALLARDYCE has given coach Lee Clark permission to talk to Norwich City about becoming Glenn Roeder's new assistant. Roeder was appointed the new manager at Carrow Road earlier this week and he has contacted St James' Park about taking Clark to Norfolk
Former double Formula One world champion Fernando Alonso has left McLaren. Alonso, who won the world title in 2005 and 2006, is now free to sign for another team next season after being released by the team. "Since I was a boy I had always wanted to
MIDDLESBROUGH striker Dong-Gook Lee has been banned from playing for his country for one year after breaking a team curfew in the summer. As revealed in The Northern Echo on Thursday, the South Korean has been at the centre of a scandal in his homeland
HE IS among that small and select band of professional footballers - the bubble-permed Sunderland, the Argentine Villa, the southcentred Jermaine Darlington - to have had the same name as a Football League club. Smaller and fewer yet, Jimmy
YOUNG mothers have come together to bring Christmas cheer to poverty-stricken children in Romania. A group of new and expectant mothers recently signed up as Millennium Volunteers in Northallerton. Members have been collecting items suitable for
THE leader of a council has come under attack after announcing plans to honour the great and good of her district. Councillor Melva Steckles, the leader of Richmondshire District Council, unveiled the plans for the 2007 Citizenship Awards at a
TRIBUTES have been paid to a former Ryedale District Council chairwoman who died at the weekend. Pamela Anderson, 67, died at home in Swinton, near Malton, on Sunday. A popular figure, she joined the district council in 1999 as a Conservative
TWO teenagers wrote, composed and choreographed a stage act in their half-term holiday after they were invited to perform at a cultural festival in Norway. Daniella Wood and Sophie Holden, both 15, incorporated playing instruments, juggling and
A THIRD of stray dogs in Richmondshire have no form of identification and could end up being put down, a warden says. Don Kemp, the district council's dog warden, urged owners to have their pets microchipped after the latest stray found on the
PLANS to stage an international football festival next year will be launched at a ceilidh. The fundraising event - nicknamed the Soccer Ball - is to take place at Consett Civic Centre on Friday, November 23. The project is part of the Consett
STAFF at a supermarket will be able to claim up to £650 a year as part of a company discount scheme. The 231 people who work at Morrisons, in Consett, will have a share in a £150,000 annual benefit from Monday. Staff discount cards will enable
MEMORIES of lost loved ones will light up a Christmas tree, as a hospice launches its annual Light up a Life appeal. Anyone who has lost a relative or friend is invited to dedicate a light on the 12ft tree, which will stand outside St Cuthbert's
A SOCIAL club has helped raised thousands of pounds for a charity through a series of events. Organiser Tom Jackson, of Bede Lodge Social Club, of Framwellgate Moor, Durham, yesterday presented a cheque for £3,450 to Valerie Maggiore, of the
A SHORTLIST of six has been announced in the search for a community's citizen of the year. On Tuesday, the Mayor of Durham will announce the winner of the second annual Durham Community Citizen Award, during a reception at the Gala Theatre. The
A VOTE has been called to consider closing a community centre which has served Durham for more than half a century. Members of Alington House Community Association will decide the future of 4 North Bailey, their home since 1948, at a meeting called
MUSIC lovers will strike up the band this weekend to celebrate the birthday of one of the oldest cornet players in the country. Former quarryman Clyde Woodhall joined the brass band in Stanhope when he was 12. On Sunday, 68 years on, he will be
WEARDALE youngsters have gained a martial arts group's highest grading results in more than five years. Students from the Wolsingham Kim Chung Do Taekwondo group were graded, with four of them receiving double promotions, meaning they skip a
THERE were spooky goings on at a hair salon when staff dressed up for Halloween to raise money for charity. Staff from Hair Haus and Beauty, in Newgate Street, Bishop Auckland donned witch, skeleton and monster outfits to raise money for Breakthrough
RESIDENTS of a village have criticised Durham County Council after delays to improvement works left them without a bus shelter. Etherley Parish Council must wait longer than anticipated after work at Toft Hill stopped. The developments at Toft
A NATIONAL campaign to help people quit smoking visited venues across Teesside yesterday. Organisers behind The Big Quit campaign were at Asda Billingham, Asda Thornaby and The Life Store, in Middlesbrough, offering motivational support and
COUNCILLORS have agreed to further negotiations with Hartlepool United Football Club over its Victoria Park ground. A committee, chaired by Councillor Robbie Payne, met yesterday to consider a request from the club to buy the ground. Councillor
PEOPLE in Middlesbrough are being urged to sign up to an innovative messaging system to help make communities and homes safer. The council is one of the first in the country to use the webbased multi-media technology, called Communi-K. It is
PLANS for improvements at two Middlesbrough schools will be unveiled next week. Beverley and Tollesby schools are part of the Building Schools for the Future project and there will be an exhibition of the plans on Wednesday, at Tollesby School
PRIMARY school pupils will add a touch of colour to a Billingham park when they help to plant 8,000 flower bulbs. About 75 children from Roseberry Infant and Pentland Primary schools will help to plant a mix of snowdrop and crocus bulbs at John
MAYOR OF STOCKTON MARGARET Waggott stated that Stockton Borough Council's constitution specifically provides that, each year, the longest-serving councillor who has not previously served as mayor and agrees to their name being put forward will
YOUNGSTERS at a Hartlepool primary school have been named as the town's European champions. Nineteen schools recently put their language skills to the test as part of a European Day of Languages. The theme for the competition was Taste and Talk
A RUN-DOWN area in Teesside which is being rejuvenated could be in line for a grant of up to £80,000 to help open up an area of green space to the public. The Wild about Whinney Banks project, which aims to revitalise Whinney Banks pond and
Darlington bring in David Andrew at scrum half for his first start of the season away to North One leaders Kendal as they continue to be disrupted by injury and unavailability. The half backs who made promising debuts last week, Charles Catterall and
A MAN has been killed in a motorbike crash near Chester-le-Street, County Durham. Michael Murray, 40, was riding a Suzuki GSXR 750 on the B1284 near Lumley Thicks when he was killed, shortly after 3.30pm yesterday. Mr Murray is thought to have been
Darlington Mowden Park face a mid-table battle at home to promoted Caldy in National Three North with the Cheshire club lying one place above them. The visitors' goal-kicker is Simon Mason, who was with Newcastle while a student in the mid90s and has
Darlington Mowden Park 39 - 7 Caldy WHOEVER else Mowden Park select from their multitude of back row men, Phil Dawson is certain of his place after proving he can play in any of the three positions. At 21, the 6ft 4in Newcastle Academy product had
Darlington 3 Huddersfield 22 Darlington slipped back to the bottom, despite continuing their improvement in a 22-3 home defeat by unbeaten Huddersfield. Disrupted by losing centre Andrew Pugh after 17 minutes, flanker Andy Tonkin nine minutes later
After last week's hat-trick, Dawson is not available for Darlington Mowden Park's home match against Preston Grasshoppers. Tony Begovich takes over at blind side and fellow New Zealander Sean Buckley begins his comeback on the bench, with Danny Brown
The first of Darlington's two Australian signings, lock Frank Jennings, has arrived from Darwin and will be on the bench for today's North One match at Hull. Skipper Lee Richardson is struggling with a thigh strain so Aquila Tutora stands by to play
Hull 51 Darlington 11 Darlington lost 51-11 at Hull after leading 11-0, the consolation being that the three other clubs on two points also lost. Newly-arrived Australian lock Frank Jennings injured a medial ligament in the warm-up and will be
EIGHT real-life heroes have been rewarded for their courage and quick-thinking. Five police officers and three members of the public were presented with certificates from three separate national bodies for their actions at a series of incidents
A SECONDARY school has been awarded £550,000 to revamp its sporting facilities both for pupils and local residents. The Football Foundation has given the money to Hummersknott School, in Darlington, towards new football fields, a floodlit allweather
Rafe Spall admits to Steve Pratt that acting with his father, Timothy, on A Room With A View on ITV was the best career decision hes made so far RAFE Spall was 15 when he turned to his dad and said I want to be an actor. His famous actor father
AN old mate visits one of Soapland's newest residents to give him a shock not a present in EastEnders (BBC1). Terry's arrival makes former jailbird Jase Dyer more nervous than when he dropped the soap in the showers in prison. Jase wants to make
The three-piece indie band from Wakefield maintain their impressive output in 2007 with this double A-side featuring cracking album track Our Bovine Public.
The Brighton-based threesome are old school post punkers with the impressive intention of announcing in advance "you should be dancing". Loud, aggressive and full of distortion pedal sound, this is a band summed up by the track Life Is A Blast.
THE former school of actor Stan Laurel has been saved following a campaign to preserve the fireravaged building. Members of Durham County Council's cabinet met yesterday to discuss the future of the 143- year-old former King James I Grammar School
Any 'classical sensation' allegedly created on Facebook in five minutes isn't the most appealing of starts. I like the story that the four tenors just happened to click by singing together at a house party. Stephen Bowman, Jules Knight, Dominic Tighe
So what's not to like about this chummy outfit born out of Blink-182 in 2005? The San Diego-based band, fronted by Tom DeLonge, released single Everything's Magic this week. Formulaic songs and a slick sound without a distinctive edge may not quite
JAZZACTION and the Tees Music Alliance will launch Stockton's Jazz Club at the Georgian Theatre, Green Dragon Yard (just off the High Street), from Sunday. Those who know the venue already appreciate the intimate and friendly atmosphere which it
AN experienced scuba diver died from drowning despite being pulled from the sea alive, an inquest heard. Helen Fleming, 47, of Acle Meadows, Newton Aycliffe, County Durham, got into difficulty approaching the shore on the island of Tenerife, while
PLANS are under way for one of the region's biggest fireworks events. Thousands of people are expected to visit South Park, in Darlington, tomorrow for the town's annual display. The event is being supported by Shepherd Construction and radio
MY week starts with a big bang tonight, when I'll be playing at a special birthday concert for Vin Garbutt at Gateshead's Sage. It's a real honour for me, as I've held Vin in the highest regard since I first saw him in the early 1970s, since which
WHAT'S ON Saturday lunchtime The Happy Chappies are at Darlington Arts Centre, 01324-486555, Saturday evening the Kirk Lightsey Trio at Caedmon Hall, Gateshead, 0191-433-8420, and Wednesday Zoe Gilbey at Bishop Auckland Town Hall, 01388-602610
Geoff's award for creature comforts THE animals on Geoff Spence's dairy farm are giving new meaning to the term spoilt cow. The creatures of comfort groom themselves on automatic brushes and enjoy home-made high-energy drinks. Now his care and
WHAT'S ON Pianist Imogen Cooper appears with the Northern Sinfonia at The Sage Gateshead at 7.30pm on Thursday. The programme includes Mozart's Piano Concertos 24 and 25l. Box office: 0191443-4661. REVIEWS Shostakovich : Martha Argerich (EMI
A FATHER-OF-THREE has spoken of the moment his family were swept into a rising river. Ashley Hastings, 44, had been enjoying a family day out when his wife, Susan, and his seven-year- old daughter, Evie, were washed into the River Wharfe near Skipton
CHEMICALS company ICI yesterday said its profits had risen by 18 per cent in the past three months. The company, which will be bought by Dutch firm Azko Nobel in an £8bn deal, said its profits for the third quarter were £177m. Turnover also rose
GREEN support services company Eaga yesterday announced it had spent about £15m on two acquisitions to help meet growth targets. The Newcastle firm said it had bought insulation companies George Howe Limited, of Durham, and Horrocks Group, to reinforce
HIGH-FLYERS in the North- East have the opportunity to fast-track their careers through a competition to win a scholarship at the region's leading business school. Durham Business School (DBS) has launched a search to find three people working
A SPECIALIST healthcare provider that began in the North- East 20 years ago has become one of the biggest firms in the sector, with a turnover of £50m and a workforce of 1,000. Castlebeck has a portfolio of 13 independent hospitals and 27 care
BUSINESS communications specialist Knowledge IT has marked the second stage of its £5m investment programme with the opening of a disaster support centre. The company opened the £1.3m North Tyneside Data and Business Recovery Centre in Silverlink
ABOUT 100 staff at collapsed tyre manufacturer C-Tyres have lost their jobs, it was confirmed last night. The employees, who have not been able to work at the County Durham factory for almost two weeks, will receive redundancy letters this morning
Why stick to apples and pears, when there are other wonderful fruits that thrive in our climate? MY mother often rings me up with a task, or a piece of detective work to undertake. Last week it was to see if I could find out about the pineapple
Brief Encounter, West Yorkshire Playhouse HEAR the title Brief Encounter and what comes to mind? Trevor Howard and Celia Johnson keeping terribly, terribly stiff upper lips as they fight their mutual attraction amid the steamfilled platforms of
Will Work For Nuts (five, 7.30pm) The Green Green Grass (BBC1, 8.30pm) NOW I've seen everything. Notably, a bee race and goldfish playing football, followed by a spot of squirrel fishing. And next week, pigs might fly. Scoff not, I've seen all
DARLINGTON have received a double boost ahead of tomorrow's game at Hereford with Tim Ryan and Julian Joachim both returning to training. They have missed the last two matches, with hamstring and knee injuries respectively. But both trained yesterday
LAWRENCE Dallaglio has apologised for his attack on England head coach Brian Ashton. The Wasps and England backrow was scathing of the preparations for the recent World Cup in his new autobiography, claiming the squad felt like a pub team'' and
IT'S reassuring to know that there's still a market for the written word. Even if the fact that there are only 52 shopping days to Christmas means this is the ideal time for promoting new books, publishers must be confident that people want to
Babies who are forced to smoke One in four babies born in the North-East have mothers who smoke during pregnancy. Health Editor Barry Nelson discovers how this puts hundreds of young lives at risk "BABIES die because their mothers smoke. That is a
MATHEW Tait is back at outside centre for Newcastle Falcons' EDF Energy Cup clash at home to Newport Gwent Dragons tomorrow (5.30pm). The 21-year-old World Cup star replaces Tim Visser, with the only other change coming at scrum half as Lee Dickson
WITH three potential right-backs ruled out of Monday's game at Manchester City, Roy Keane is considering handing 18-year-old novice Michael Kay a daunting debut at the City of Manchester Stadium. Greg Halford and Paul Mc- Shane are both suspended
HE might have swapped a possible Carling Cup winners' medal for a probable relegation fight, but Jeremie Aliadiere insists he has no regrets about leaving Arsenal for Middlesbrough. Aliadiere was glued to his television set on Wednesday night as
HOWEVER did we cope before Lakeland came up with all the gadgets we never knew we needed? Magic balls, swizzle sticks, spider catchers, orange peelers, magic thread and banana guards. Their catalogues and shops are a wonderland of things you could
THE Premier League and Football Association last night admitted there is no easy way to cut down the number of matches played. Gordon Taylor, chief executive of the Professional Footballers Association, believes England's international ambitions
A SURVEY released this morning says that one in four people is so baffled by official advice on healthy eating that they ignore it. This is an amazing statistic because it means that three-quarters of people actually understand the advice we are
Ruth Campbell gets an insight into life behind the scenes of the groundbreaking Tyne Tees TV Tube music programme as a new exhibition opens to mark its 25th anniversary JOOLS Holland is standing in the rain outside the Tyne Tees studios in City Road
BUILDINGS aren't just to live in or look at. They define the societies that create them. When we go to Durham Cathedral, we marvel at how faith and ingenuity helped people overcome primitive technologies to create a miracle in stone. When we pay
AS we are all aware, the silly season for letting off fireworks is with us. Every night we hear the bangs from fireworks being let off, and even during some days. Local councils have been advertising their own displays, but I would welcome an answer
I HOPE the recent "Hope Not Hate" campaign supported by The Northern Echo will take Keith Jarrett, immediate past president of the National Black Police Association (NBPA), to task over his racially divisive comments that more ethnic minorities
MICHAEL OWEN last night warned off potential suitors planning a new year move for his services by reiterating a desire to prove himself at Newcastle United. With former England coach Sven-Goran Eriksson keen to take Owen to Manchester City, uncertainty
I WAS saddened to read of the injuries sustained in a footpath fall in Durham City by 79-year-old Marjorie Whalley (Echo, some editions, Oct 26) and hope she soon recovers. It is easy for Roger Elphick, head of highway management services at Durham
A MAJOR environmental misconception is to regard sewage, raw or semi-treated, as obnoxious waste to be disposed of as quickly as possible. In fact, it should be viewed as a valuable resource and managed accordingly. Indeed, the possibilities are
IN his column, "Pacifism - it's simply immoral" (Echo, Oct 30), Peter Mullen seems to be saying this: Although war may be unpleasant, it is not only permissible, but actually our duty, to fight a just war. He quotes Matthew 10:34 in support of
FURTHER to your article exposing the decision of Durham county, Wear Valley district and Bishop Auckland town councils to continue to do nothing about the parking blight and traffic flow problems of the town centre area (Echo, some editions, Oct
WHAT a harrowing account by Bernadette Thompson in your feature, "The right choice?", about the 40-year-old Abortion Act (Echo, Oct 26). Of course the pro-abortion doctor lied to her. Four weeks after conception the heart starts beating; at eight
THE Government has spent half a billion pounds to improve literacy in the country's primary schools with virtually no impact on children's reading ability, according to a major study published today. Instead, an influential North-East academic warned
A MAN found guilty of sexually abusing a child for two years more than 30 years ago has been spared jail.Alan Pollard, who was living in Mendip Close, Peterlee, at the time, visited the boy regularly at his family home in another area of County Durham.Pollard
England Test captain Michael Vaughan believes Andrew Flintoff is in the ''last chance saloon'' as far as his England career is concerned after undergoing a fourth ankle operation. Flintoff has embarked on another rehabilitation programme and is convinced
AN ambulance driver was charged with wasting police time after he called 999 to say he had been run down by a JCB, a court heard.Darlington magistrates heard yesterday that an air ambulance, two police cars, two fire engines, and a road ambulance were
SANTA'S reindeer face being grounded this Christmas - by bluetongue disease.Rudolph, Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen and friends were all lined up to pull Santa to grottoes across the region next month.But Government restrictions on the movement of animals
