A TRAM system for Tees Valley moved a step closer today when ministers signalled its local authorities would get the go-ahead to form a 'mini-government' Five councils - Darlington, Hartlepool, Middlesbrough, Redcar and Cleveland and Stockton-on-Tees
A WOMAN was in hospital with serious leg injuries tonight after being hit by a bus. Fire-crews were called to Westgate Road in Newcastle at 5.35pm today. A 58-year-old woman from Carlisle, Cumbria, was taken to Newcastle General Hospital with serious
AN INMATE accused of carrying out a prison attack on an al Quaida terrorist appeared in court today. Gary Lee Moody, 22, from Sunderland, is alleged to have thrown boiling oil over Dhiren Barot at Frankland Prison, Durham, on July 13. As a result of
THE LEADER of an inquiry into the asbestos scandal at a North-East council has been appointed. The investigation to establish why officers at Wear Valley District Council ignored an asbestos warning in 2001 is to be led by an independent chairman. Staff
A DARLINGTON mother raised more than £7,000 for cancer charities after completing a sponsored cycle ride across Vietnam. Mum of two Michelle Thompson returned from the 700km challenge last week. "It was incredibly hard, a lot tougher than I ever imagined
A CYCLE path to help students on their school run has been proposed alongside a beck. Darlington Borough Council has put forward plans for the Safe Route to School path in park land at Cocker Beck, in the Cockerton area of Darlington. It will run from
A GERMAN clergyman is on a three-month secondment as part of a link between her church and a North-East diocese. Pastorin Gabriele Voigt, from Lutheran North Elbian Church, in Stellingen, Hamburg, Germany, has been invited to Darlington as part of the
POLICE are searching for a missing North-West man who they believe is in the County Durham area. Daniel Palmer, 26, from Wensley Road, Blackburn was last seen by his family in the Langho area on Friday, 19 October 2007. He is 6ft 2ins tall, of slim
AN 18-YEAR-OLD girl has died following a car crash which left three other teenagers injured. The teenager was the front seat passenger in a Ford Fiesta which collided with a tree on Fellside Road, in Gateshead, at 6.40pm on Tuesday. An 18-year-old
A DRIVING instructor who hid a carrot down his trousers is facing prison after being found found guilty of a string of sex attacks on pupils. Stephen Cooney denied three sexual assaults and two indecent assaults on three different learner drivers in
TWO people have denied murdering a 23-year-old man with learning difficulties. William Hughes, 21, of Washington Road, Sunderland, and a 16-year-old youth, who cannot be named, yesterday pleaded not guilty to the murder of Brent Martin. The 16-year-old's
NORTHUMBRIA Police has recovered around 2,000 cannabis plants with a potential street value of £1m following a series of raids in Newcastle, North Tyneside and Gateshead. This morning more than 100 officers, led by Northumbria Police's Crime Operations
Publisher: Sierra Formats: PSP Price: £29.99 Family friendly? 12+ TAKE on the role of Captain Kurt Wolfe and his SWAT (Special Weapons And Tactics for readers who didn't watch the 1970s TV
Re-live just how bad your musical taste was back in 1982 with this perfect mixture of old and new technology DIGITAL music is great. Compressing CDs into MP3 files makes it a cinch to take your collection with you and the sound quality can be almost
FACED with the threat of losing sales to the iPhone, mobile colossus Nokia has hit back against Apple by launching its own rival to iTunes. The UK Nokia Music Store opened for business last week, offering millions of tracks from major artists,
HIS expression is one of weary resignation, his eyes fixed in a distant stare. The stubble on his face speaks of days in a muddy trench and you can only guess at the unspeakable horrors he has just witnessed. The face adorning the cover of this
THE war against Japan was played out over a vast stage with battles by land sea and air extended over millions of square miles. Names such as Imphal, Kohima, Iwo Jima and Okinawa became as branded into the collective consciousness as the fire
A REMARKABLE anthology that gathers together some of the most vivid, eloquent and moving prose and poetry from those who have witnessed the intensity of war first hand. This collection of writing shows us the courage and innermost thoughts of
IN 1942 young soldier Arthur Dodd was taken prisoner by the German Army and transported to Auschwitz: a name now synonymous with man's darkest hours. This most infamous German death-camp of the Second World War functioned for the extermination
THIS account of the experiences of "ordinary" German and Japanese soldiers and civilians from the Second World War should be made compulsory reading for any blood-thirsty glory hunters. There's precious little glory to be found in the first hand
NORTH-EAST duo Ant and Dec have been snubbed by the British Comedy Awards. The TV duo have not landed a nomination despite winning every year for the past four years. Both the presenters - Ant McPartlin and Declan Donnelly - and the awards have been
A VERY thorough account of Allied prisoners in Europe during the Second World War. The heroics of Colditz, etc., are here, but so too are darker themes, like collusion with the enemy and thieving among the prisoners. In an account of "goonbaiting
UNBORN twins underwent lifesaving surgery - while still inside their mother's womb. Thomas and Nathaniel Spence-Hamblin survived the delicate laser surgery despite their parents being warned their was a 70 per cent chance at least one of them
SUMMER of 1940: Hitler was on his way, or so most Britons believed. In Barton, Cambridgeshire, an "invasion committee" prepared a plan in which the recreation ground would become an emergency cemetery. All bodies were to be labelled, and the burials
BACK to the First World War - and a moving story. All eight Beechey brothers, from Lincolnshire, went to fight. Only three returned. Of the five who died, two have no known grave. Already widowed at the start of the conflict, the devastated mother
SHOOT quick. Shoot low. Shoot cunning. Shoot the enemy while they are rubbing their eyes. Never mind the heat. Never mind the noise. Never mind the dust." Those are the harrowing first words you read upon opening Band of Brigands, a historical account
NOT many Great War generals were lumbered with such bad publicity as Douglas Haig, who was largely written off by his contemporaries as an incompetent nincompoop, a view that still exists today. Gary Mead, however, tries to dispel that view and
CONSIDERING how manager Sam Allardyce made defence a priority when he first took charge at Newcastle United, it is a case of back to the drawing board after five months in charge at St James' Park. Cacapa has been hailed as the answer to many of the
Two points lost or one point gained? The Middlesbrough fans certainly felt it was more of the former as they booed their side off the field at the Riverside but, once the dust settles, this might eventually be viewed as a decent result. A point certainly
BANGKOK and Barnard Castle don't have much in common, but a bit of Thailand could come to Teesdale if a plan to introduce Rickshaws to the market town goes ahead. Teesdale Community Resources (TCR) want to pilot a scheme that would see the three wheeled
ESTATE agent Charltons has appointed a graduate surveyor to its team. Emma Yarrow has joined the company's Darlington office having graduated with an honours degree in building surveying from Northumbria University. She is working towards her
RETAIL group Marks & Spencer posted better-thanexpected profits yesterday but warned of an uncertain economic outlook. The company shrugged off the impact of the poor summer weather and a major store refurbishment programme to post underlying
A BUYER has been found for a biodiesel company in administration and under investigation by the Serious Fraud Office. The business and some of the assets of Worldwide Bio Refineries have been sold to newlyformed company WBR Contracting, The Northern
ENGINEERING companies will today learn how they can win lucrative business as part of a multi-billion-pound contract to build armoured vehicles for the British Army. More than 150 companies are expected to attend the industry day, organised by
STRICKEN bank Northern Rock has seen its mortgage lending levels plummet to damaging lows over the past two months, it emerged yesterday. According to experts, the Newcastle- based bank has seen mortgage lending fall by as much as 80 per cent
POLICE chiefs have urged parents not to buy ball-bearing guns for their children at Christmas. The toy guns bear a striking resemblance to deadly assault rifles and people carrying imitation firearms risk being shot, police said. The appeal follows
YOUNGSTERS and their parents have been taking part in a healthy eating cookery course. The six-week course at Broom Cottages Primary School, Ferryhill, was organised by school catering company Scolarest. It was designed to give children the
A SCHOOL has been praised for offering "outstanding" care and support to pupils following a recent Ofsted inspection. Inspectors visited Bishop Barrington School Sports With Mathematics College, in Bishop Auckland, last month and released the
A BY-ELECTION taking place tomorrow could see a ruling party emerge at a town council that has no majority. Brian Coglan, the independent councillor for Newton Aycliffe's Byerley Park, Horndale and Cobblers Hall ward, resigned through ill-health
RECRUITMENT starts today for 144 jobs in a County Durham town. The Independent Safeguarding Authority (ISA) is a body that is being set up to decide who should be barred from working with children and vulnerable adults. It will use information
A COMMUNITY call centre which will provide jobs for more than a dozen unemployed people opened yesterday. The Coundon Community Call Centre, based at the Coundon and Leeholme Community Partnership, in Tees Walk, will provide employment and training
TALENTED swimmers have missed out on first place in a national competition by one second. Members of the Thirsk White Horse swim team travelled to Sheffield to take part in the annual Teaspoon Gala. They faced swimmers from as far away as Glasgow
WORK will start next week on a £200,000 scheme to upgrade fitness facilities and install new sports equipment at a leisure centre. The gym at Hambleton Leisure Centre, in Northallerton, will be closed for five weeks while the work is carried out
THE Bishop of Ripon and Leeds will take a step back in time this weekend as part of the celebrations for the 150th anniversary of a church. St John's Church, in Bilton Lane, Harrogate, will hold Victorian- themed markets, music events and services
A LANDOWNER could be prosecuted after he failed to close a temporary access road to his farm. Graeme Frankland inherited a planning enforcement notice when he bought West Underbanks Farm, near Richmond, last year, and he agreed to complete the
THE chairman of the committee that organises the annual community bonfire and fireworks display in Bedale is stepping down, having been involved in the event since it started 20 years ago. Fireworks worth almost £10,000 were fired to classical
PRIMARY school children were given lessons in racial tolerance by a teacher and rap performer yesterday. Amer Sheikh, a chemistry teacher at Sunderland's Thornhill School, put on his rap alter ego to stage the roadshow for youngsters in Durham
A BANNED driver almost knocked over a pensioner as he fled from police. Officers followed Steven William Hendry when he was spotted at the wheel of a Renault car, on the A19 in County Durham, on February 12. He left the A19 and accelerated into
A GRANDMOTHER who has done voluntary work in her village for more than 40 years is the second winner of Durham's Community Citizen award. Ethel Cummings, 74, of Ushaw Moor, has been involved with the local jazz band, bingo club, youth club, and
POLICE are appealing for information after a 45-year-old man was attacked as he walked home from the pub. The Spennymoor man was walking along the town's Grayson Road last Friday when he was set upon in an apparently unprovoked attack. At about 8pm
A CHARITY Christmas present appeal has been launched to help disadvantaged families across Derwentside. The Salvation Army in Consett is asking people to donate an unwrapped gift for a child aged up to 16 between November 26 and December 7. The
PLANS to a create a £25m sports village have been put on ice. The village - which would have included a gym, football, tennis and badminton facilities, along with a 25-metre swimming pool - would have been the centrepiece of the regeneration of
A COMPREHENSIVE school has received top marks from education inspectors. Ofsted inspectors found some aspects of schoolwork at Stockton's Ian Ramsey Church of England aided secondary outstanding. Teaching and learning was good, with "exemplary
RESIDENTS are expected to pack a public meeting to discuss the possible amalgamation of two secondary schools on Teesside. Feelings are running high over Stockton Borough Council's proposals to knock down both St Patrick's Roman Catholic Secondary
A COUNCIL is urging people to check their details on the Electoral Register are correct. A form, detailing the number of people who are registered, was sent to every house in the Stockton borough, in August. A poor response has led to reminders
A GROUP of students have entered the world of business for the first time with a new venture that utilises their individual skills and abilities. The 11 A-level students at Prior Pursglove College, in Guisborough, officially launched Something
A NEW carers' centre named in memory of a Middlesbrough Football Club legend opened its doors yesterday. The George Hardwick Foundation opened its third carers' centre in the main entrance to the University Hospital of North Tees, in Stockton.
Some will be happy, some sad, to see them go. Here is a last look at the North- East's last prefab bungalows in Marske HALLOWE'EN night, Marske United v Penrith Town; Arngrove Northern League division two. Former Marske chairman John Hodgson
Remembering past conflicts is very important, but we should not forget those who are fighting for our country now, either SO youve bought your poppy. Youve remembered the glorious dead. But what about the living? As Remembrance Day approaches
I WAS saddened by the reaction to Conservative Parliamentary candidate Nigel Hastilow's opinion that there was something to be learned from Enoch Powell's speech (Echo, Nov 5) as we debate the uncontrolled immigration which is increasingly causing
I SEE Darlington FC supporters ran an online poll and asked the club to lower the EU flag and raise the Union Jack or St George's Cross (Echo, Nov 5). It is good to see support like this, and I hope people realise the dangers of further erosion
ARE we not looking at the issue of allowing councils to charge extra for rubbish collections from the wrong angle? Should they instead be charging the companies which ply us with junk mail day after day, some of which is fairly heavy? If we don't
THERE is a saying in sport - "Good guys don't win prizes" - which Middlesbrough should heed before it's too late. While the Boro are in Premier League freefall and fast becoming relegation favourites, we have a manager who constantly says he is
THERE was a story on TV recently about a teenage soldier who was seriously injured in Basra. The Ministry of Defence offered him compensation of £57,000. Compare this with the expenses claimed by our MPs in addition to their salaries. Darlington
ON Sunday, I took my young blind friend, Kimberley, to the gala night at Darlington Civic Theatre to mark its centenary. What a brilliant night it was, and worth every penny of the entrance fee. They say "Variety" is the spice of life and we were
NOT a fan of Have I Got News For You, I happened to see a few early moments of last week's programme. David Cameron's name soon cropped up. "I would still like to shag him,'' remarked comedienne Jo Brand. Or maybe she said: "I could still shag
IT is hard to know what to make of Gordon Brown. He has gone from a Prime Minister making an assured start to one who appears to have lost his touch. As Chancellor, he was renowned for his ability to please backbenchers by having the confidence
A North-East opera singer barely recognised in her home town has taken North Korea by storm. Owen Amos meets the Pyongyang Poster Girl, who is now bringing the national orchestra of this secretive state to England for the first time OPERA singer
A POLICE force which has suffered a rise in the number of complaints against it wants the public to continue the trend. There were 200 complaints made against Cleveland Police officers and staff for the period July 31 to September 30 this year. This
AN 18th Century mill that made it to the finals of the BBC's Restoration television series will open to the public for the first time at Easter. The North of England Civic Trust, which owns Gayle Mill, near Hawes, North Yorkshire, has restored
A MAN who killed four members of a family after he fell asleep at the wheel has spoken of his regrets. Driver Scott Easton said he wished he could swap places with the lone survivor of the crash, nine-year-old Macauley Gilbert. The schoolboy lost
A TOWN is celebrating the completion of a £2.7m leisure and business centre after five years of planning and fundraising by the community. The Station, created in a Victorian former railway station, is the largest community-backed project carried
A TEENAGER found hanged in his cell at a Young Offenders' Institution had previously tried to strangle himself with his bedsheets, an inquest heard. Gareth Lee Price, from Ferryhill, County Durham, had also been discovered with a noose around his
POLICE are appealing for the public's help to find a man who has been missing for more than a fortnight. Daniel Palmer, 26, has been missing from home since Friday, October 19, but was seen in Darlington on Monday. Police would like to hear from
TIM WALFORD can do little wrong at present, which must bode well for the prospects of his Huntingdon raider, Its Moon (2.05). Tim hit the jackpot a few days ago when a horse he bought 12 months ago for under ten grand, The Grey Berry, fetched
IT has become one of the fashion statements of the season, and Chris Mort expects Mike Ashley to continue to wear his Newcastle shirt with pride when he sits in the Stadium of Light directors' box at the weekend. The previously reclusive Ashley
Darlington 2 Shrewsbury Town 0 DARLINGTON responded to their weekend 5-1 humiliation at Hereford United in the best possible manner last night as their defence returned to its formidable best. Having not won in three games, Quakers earned three
A DISAPPOINTED concertgoer is urging fellow audience members to join him in legal action to get their money back. Fans of Bat Out of Hell star Meat Loaf said the singer walked off stage last Wednesday at the Metro Radio Arena, Newcastle, at the
ON Tuesday last week, neither David France, 71, nor his son Mark, 27, had hit a hole-in-one - despite playing golf for more than 60 years combined. Five days later, they had both managed it, and both on the same course. Mark, a pilot for budget
NewBlood's Halloween gig certainly was a spooky affair on the 25th and again one of the busiest I have seen so far. Indeed, many people were turned away on the door as the venue had reached its maximum capacity. The ghouls on show for this concert were
Liverpool regained their European pride and gave themselves a fighting chance of salvaging their Champions League dreams with a stunning eight-goal display at Anfield. Yossi Benayoun grabbed a hat-trick as Besiktas were over-run in this critical Group
GARETH Southgate has taken his Middlesbrough squad on a two-day team-building session in the Lake District in an attempt to re-focus minds ahead of Sunday's crunch Premier League clash at Bolton.More than a dozen members of Boro's senior squad will take
A LEARNER driver who could not afford her lessons claimed that driving instructor Stephen Cooney told her he would write-off the debt if she had sex with him.She told a jury yesterday that 51-year-old Mr Cooney made the offer as they returned to Teesside
THERE have been plenty of defining moments since Niall Quinn took over as Sunderland chairman last summer, but a victory in the season's opening Wear-Tyne derby would rank alongside anything the Irishman has witnessed from the boardroom at the Stadium
A VICTIM of Lotto rapist Iorworth Hoare appears to have won a landmark legal ruling allowing her to sue the millionaire.The retired teacher, identified only as Mrs A, is on the verge of succeeding in persuading five Law Lords to correct a law barring
Huddersfield Town 2 Hartlepool Utd 0 PRIOR to last night's game some may have believed a Hartlepool victory depended on how successful the club's centre half pairing of Micky Nelson and Ben Clark could be in keeping quiet former Premiership strikers
CHRIS Mort last night laughed off suggestions that Sam Allardyce's position was in jeopardy following back-to-back defeats to Reading and Portsmouth, and claimed the Magpies manager was absolutely integral to Mike Ashley's long-term vision for Newcastle
NICKY Butt has warned his Newcastle team-mates they will be facing 'a team of Roy Keanes' when they travel to the Stadium of Light for the season's opening Wear-Tyne derby on Saturday. Butt will be a frustrated spectator after he picked up his fifth booking
A GROUP is calling for the new unitary authority in County Durham to be given a name that reflects the fact some of its area will include former parts of North Yorkshire.The authority, which will encompass seven district councils, should be given a name
STAFF at a North-East pub have apologised to a young family who were asked the leave the building when they tried to feed their six-day-old baby.The Matthews family stopped in at the Tanners Hall, in Darlington, for a coffee before they went to register
A TEENAGER has died after the car she was travelling in collided with a tree. The 18-year-old was the front seat passenger in a red Ford Fiesta that collided with a tree in Fellside Road, Whickham, Gateshead, at about 6.50pm today. Fire-fighters cut
