Archive

  • Three escape fireball car

    THREE people had a lucky escape after their car hit a lampost and overturned - landing on its roof 40 metres away. The driver and two passengers managed to scramble free before the Renault Megane burst into flames shortly before 4am today (December 26

  • Ambitious University production

    ONE of the largest scale theatre productions seen at Durham University will take to the stage next month. The university Light Opera Group (Dulog) production of Cole Porter's musical Anything Goes is such an undertaking the whole student cast is returning

  • Government hits back at funding claims

    THE Government has defended its record on funding science, following criticism from Durham University. Last week, the university's Physics Department wrote to John Denham, the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills (DIUS), to express

  • Call to recycle Christmas cards

    A SHOPPING centre is offering customers hunting for sales bargains the chance to recycle their Christmas cards. The Prince Bishops shopping centre, in Durham City, has set up a postbox where shoppers can leave their used cards. Once collected, they

  • Cash seized from convicted money launderer

    ALMOST a quarter of a million pounds has been seized from a convicted money launderer. Magistrates ordered Thomas Bailey, 30, forfeit £210,000. It is the largest amount of cash Northumbria Police have had seized under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002.

  • Walkers in Boxing Day pilgrimage

    HUNDREDS of walkers put their best feet forward today to take part in a traditional Boxing Day pilgrimage. The four mile walk from Ripon Cathedral to Fountains Abbey in North Yorkshire, follows in the footsteps of a group of 12th century Cistercian monks

  • Man's body discovered on Christmas Day

    POLICE are trying to trace the movements of a man whose body was found in an industrial estate on Christmas Day. A dog walker found the 53-year-old man, who has not yet been identified, in the Salters Lane Industrial Estate in Sedgefield. The man, who

  • Investigations continue into factory blaze

    FIRE investigators are due to revisit the scene of a factory fire tomorrow to try to establish the cause of the blaze. Euro Design at Willow Bridge Mills in Dalton, near Thirsk, North Yorkshire, was damaged by the fire, which broke out shortly before

  • Hospitals benefit from fundraising and donations

    ALMOST £3m has been raised for two hospitals in the region through fundraising and donations in the past year. Glenys Marriott, chairwoman of the South Tees Hospital NHS Trust, which runs both the James Cook University Hospital in Middlesbrough and Northallerton's

  • Hartlepool United v Leeds United

    HARTLEPOOL UNITED: Budtz; Nolan, Antwi, Nelson, Elliott; Brown, Liddle, Boland, Humphreys, Barker, Moore. Subs: Sweeney, Bullock, Foley, Robson, Mackay. LEEDS UNITED: Ankergan, Richardson, Marques, Heath, Prutton, Beckford, Westlake, Howson, Kandol,

  • Doris can provide perfect late gift

    DORIS'S GIFT (2.10) could provide the perfect present for race fans who didn't really get what they wanted in Santa's Christmas sack. Alan Swinbank's gelding turns out for Sedgefield's toteexacta Handicap Chase, a contest in which he only has

  • Go with My Way at Kempton

    NATIONAL HUNT devotees have the chance to sit back and enjoy the race of the season so far when the starter lifts the tape for Kempton's glittering King George V1 Chase. Reigning Cheltenham Gold Cup holder and winner of the £200,000 south London

  • Moore looking for some joy against old Leeds team-mates

    IAN Moore is looking forward to a Leeds United reunion at Victoria Park today. Moore will be part of the Hartlepool United attack as they face his former club in front of a sell-out, all-ticket crowd. The striker made 65 appearances for Leeds

  • Viduka sends his own Festive message to Big Sam

    NEWCASTLE United frontman Mark Viduka may have nothing to prove as a striker, but his two goals against Derby County on Sunday will give manager Sam Allardyce a timely reminder of his worth as the Magpies face the second fixture of the Festive

  • Cramp a concern for Woody

    GARETH Southgate has admitted Jonathan Woodgate is growing increasingly "cheesed off" with his latest complaint. The centre-back is struggling to overcome a repetitive cramp problem that has seen him replaced after around an hour in three of the

  • McShane convinced he made right move

    MOST players spend their career trying to win a lucrative move to Manchester United. Paul Mc- Shane, on the other hand, couldn't get out of Old Trafford quickly enough. A failure to break into United's first team meant the 21-year-old was stagnating

  • A Blues print for Boro

    GEORGE Boateng is hoping Middlesbrough can use West Ham's blueprint for away-day success to claim all three points at Birmingham today. Saturday's success at the Riverside made it five wins on their travels in the Premier League this season for

  • Keane shares hatred of defeat with rival Fergie

    ROY Keane goes head to head with one of his managerial mentors this afternoon, and while the Sunderland boss might be a novice compared with Sir Alex Ferguson, the Irishman admits he already shares the Manchester United manager's ferocious fear

  • African teaching adventure beckoning for music student

    A STUDENT is preparing for the trip of a lifetime as she heads off on a volunteering expedition to Malawi. Next month, 18-year-old Katie MacKay, from Guisborough, east Cleveland, will fly to Africa to teach in a primary school for seven months

  • 2007: The year the Rock

    Business correspondent Deborah Johnson looks back on a year of job losses and job creation, and an event that shook the banking system to its foundations - the collapse of Newcastle-based lender Northern Rock JANUARY ■ Brewer Scottish and Newcastle

  • Fighters are big hit in Thailand

    A TEAM of martial arts fighters who were among the first Britons to compete in front of the king of Thailand have invited two Thai boxers to their gym. Michael Dicks, one of Europe's leading Thai boxing stars, was a convincing winner in his bout

  • Providing some comfort and joy

    Claire Burbage visits a community church where volunteers provide a sympathetic ear to the most vulnerable of people STANDING outside in the heart of one of the top five most deprived housing estates in Britain, I hesitate briefly to take

  • Don’t forget your thank yous

    Dear Gran/Uncle/Aunt/Penpal, THANK you for the train/ kite/book/sweets/socks/lovely present. It was super /not bad /just as good as the other three. I have played with it constantly/bust it already/given it to the poor boys. Ah, the joys of the

  • The write stuff

    She tackles controversial subjects and doesn't shy away from sex, but it was never the intention of North-East novelist Marion Husband to shock. She talks to Women's Editor Sarah Foster about her drive to be successful and how she's overcome her shyness

  • Under siege

    TONY Kelly's letter about regulations and red tape (HAS, Dec 15) strikes a chord with which many of us would be in tune. Regulation can stifle and suppress business opportunities and I would support the tenet of his argument that small businesses

  • Chemicals legacy

    RE your story about tests to be carried out on land in and around the former RAF wartime chemical weapons storage site on Bowes Moor, near Barnard Castle, Co Durham (Echo, Dec 19). During my research over the years on Thornaby Airfield, I spoke

  • Colette Mills

    MY heart goes out to former nurse Colette Mills, of Hutton Rudby, near Stokesley, North Yorkshire, who - like many women and a number of men - has experienced first-hand the trauma of breast cancer. Out of her personal funds she is prepared to

  • Nativity plays

    JOHN Severs' letter praising primary schools which decided not to put on Nativity plays this Christmas (HAS, Dec 19) is typical of those who fear to tread in case they offend other religious groups. Does he truly believe other faiths begrudge Christians

  • A proper display for the season

    APROPER tree apart - and never mind a few fallen needles - my home is bereft of Christmas decoration. Holly is firmly excluded, since my wife and I believe all berries should be left for the birds. But we also feel that our Christmas cards, spreading

  • Mono containers

    RE your article naming major factory closures and job losses in the North-East during the past ten years (Echo, Dec 15). I am amazed you omitted a long-standing company that was based at Dragonville, in Durham. This company, Mono Containers, had

  • Figures must be genuine

    BY this time next year, the Government wants to introduce a maximum 18-week wait between a GP making a referral to a hospital and the relevant treatment taking place. It is a laudable ambition by a Government which has made crucial inroads into

  • Spell of duty

    Paula Sansom, from Middleton St George, near Darlington, has worked in disaster zones around the world including Afghanistan, Uganda and, recently, Bangladesh. Owen Amos spoke to her - via a crackly phone line - in Dhaka IT'S 5pm in Dhaka,

  • Team hoping to climb fundraising mountain

    A RESCUE organisation will use its 40th anniversary year for a fundraising push. Swaledale mountain rescue team hopes to raise £95,000 in the next three years to replace its two specially-adapted vehicles. Members have already raised £27,000 since

  • Teachers give lesson in Christmas charity

    A TEACHING agency has bought 10,000 school dinners for youngsters in India - instead of sending Christmas cards and gifts to clients and staff. Principal Teachers, a supply teacher agency in Reeth, North Yorkshire, decided to help the Friends

  • Volunteer spending Christmas in a tent

    A NORTH-EAST woman is spending the festive period in a tent battling freezing temperatures in one of the most isolated places in the world. A normal Christmas for Ruth Richardson, from Ovington, near Barnard Castle, would be spent with her family

  • Elite police squad will target bogus workmen

    GANGS of criminals who pose as workmen to prey on the old and vulnerable will be targeted by an elite police squad after a three-month pilot scheme proved successful. The new team, based at Durham, will be given an 18-month remit after Operation

  • Keep your eye on the ball – the biggest yet

    A CHARITY ball to raise money for needy children is expected to be the biggest yet. The 2008 ChildLine Emerald Ball is being held early next year at the Gateshead Hilton. Proceeds will support Child- Line's free 24-hour confidential helpline for

  • Exhibition proves prison is no bar to creating art

    PRISON life in the region is being examined at an exhibition on show. HMP and Me, at the People's Gallery, at Discovery Museum, in Newcastle, explores life behind bars. It showcases photographs, stories and personal items from North-East prisoners

  • The perfect presents as Christmas Day dawns

    FOUR sets of parents got extra special presents this Christmas. Four babies were born on the maternity ward in Darlington Memorial Hospital, on Christmas morning. The first baby to be born was Rosie Redmond, at 4.40am, who weighed 6lb 13oz. She

  • Sons pay tribute to ‘generous’ mother

    THE son of a woman killed when she was knocked down while using a pedestrian crossing has paid tribute to his "wonderful, kind and generous mother". Audrey Elizabeth Whaley's Christmas presents remained unopened at her home in Stockton, Teesside

  • Hospitals ‘putting targets before care’

    FAMILY doctors have accused North-East hospitals of massaging waiting list figures by refusing to accept patient referrals. The British Medical Association (BMA) has expressed concern at a problem which it says is happening across the country.

  • Flasks of tea for bargain hunters

    SHOPPERS braving the cold on Boxing Day were treated to a bargain and a brew two high street shops this morning. Queueing bargain hunters struggling to keep warm while waiting for the doors to open at Barker & Stonehouse in Middlesbrough and Darlington

  • Falcons slip down the table as bug strikes

    NEWCASTLE Falcons will be grateful that Leeds and Worcester are well adrift in the Guinness Premiership after slipping to the fringe of the relegation places yesterday. Tries from Iain Balshaw and Olivier Azam helped Gloucester remain top after a competent

  • Tactics not to blame for failure

    Coach Peter Moores insists it was England's failure to deliver rather than tactical mistakes which left them thankful to rain for damage limitation in Sri Lanka. Alastair Cook's seventh Test hundred and two heavy downpours, the second of which terminated

  • Mowden run amok to point the way ahead

    MOWDEN Park's transformation since their previous home game was astonishing. Whether it owed more to the reinforcements from Newcastle or a collective response to the management shake-up will become clearer in the new year. Mike Keeligan, the new chairman

  • BBC claims victory in battle for Xmas viewers

    THE BBC has claimed victory in the Christmas TV ratings war. BBC One trounced its rivals with eight of the top nine programmes, its figures showed. The top show with 13.9 million viewers was the second part of EastEnders as Albert Square learned of