A THREE-YEAR-OLD boy has undergone pioneering surgery to stop his heart pumping blood the wrong way around his body. Alec Hutchinson was born with a rare condition which meant the blood vessels in his heart were plumbed in back to front. The life-threatening
DETECTIVES investigating the death of a teenager at the weekend have named him as 19-year-old Ross Davidson. A post mortem examination has confirmed that the teenager died of head injuries after collapsing in a Newcastle street. Police arrested
A MISSING 14-year-old boy has been found by police officers. Daniel Black, who attends Heworth Hall School, in Gateshead, had been missing since March 18. Police said tonight that, following a phone-call from a member of the public in the Newcastle
A STROKE victim has died just days after thanking the benefactor who came to her rescue by flying her home from a South African hospital. When she celebrated her 74th birthday last week, great-grandmother Maureen Turner, from Eldon Lane, near Bishop
A PIONEERING group of disabled people has been set up to help a police force to improve the service they provide to minority communities. Durham Constabulary has set up the advisory group, made up of people with various disabilities, which could be copied
A DOZEN young sportsmen will help to train the stars of the future after completing coaching qualifications. The twelve teenagers have just completed a year-long sports coaching scheme with Darlington Borough Councils sports development team after they
A DARLINGTON-BASED international firm has won a prestigious European accolade in the first year it has entered the awards. Whessoe Oil & Gas Limited, which has offices in Darlington, Houston and Shanghai, won a Ruben D'Honneur medal at the European Business
A UNIVERSITY has revealed details of a £200m investment programme at its city centre campus. Newcastle University has published a 14-page brochure setting out its plans to revamp its 50-acre campus over the next three years. Major construction work
A ROBBER may have accidentally set himself on fire when he and his accomplices torched their getaway car after raiding a bingo hall. Three masked men wielding baseball bats burst into Gala Bingo, Pallion New Road, Sunderland, at about 7.30pm on Monday
A CHARITY has thanked a green-fingered businessman for helping young people's talents to blossom. Andrew Legge, who co-owns Castle Gardens in Bishop Auckland Market Place, regularly takes on students from the town's Prince's Trust groups. He works with
A MAN has been found in a city centre street with serious head injuries. The 25-year-old man, who has not been named, was found unconscious in the road outside Idols pub, in High Street West, in Sunderland. The victim was discovered at around 3am on
THIEVES have made off with thousands of pounds worth of copper from a wind farm site in County Durham. About 240 metres of cable, worth an estimated £5,000, disappeared from the site, in Trimdon Grange, where currently four turbines are being built.
A MAN who fractured a woman's collarbone when he stepped in to break up a row has been spared jail. Stephen McQuillan went into the ladies toilets at the White Line pub in Hetton le Hole when he heard an argument break out while his girlfriend was inside
A FOOTBALL manager will face his fans next month. Brian Honour, manager of Bishop Auckland FC, will take part in a question and answer session on April 14. The former Darlington and Hartlepool player will be at Bishop Auckland Hospital Club, on Escomb
A NON-COMPETITIVE under 8s football team are in need of coaches, first-aiders and referees. Crook Town Juniors formed not for the prizes but for the love of the game. They plan to expand year-on-year outside of the area's established youth teams and
A GROUP of teenagers from Wear Valley are being sent to a multi-cultural camp in North Germany to mix with other European youngsters. As part of Crook's town twinning with Bad Oeyenhausen in North Germany four young people from Crook and Bishop Auckland
YEAR 7 students from Wolsingham School and Community College have been paving the way for schools across the country by trying out a music project for the new National Curriculum. This was devised by Andrew Fowler, leader of learning for music, who chose
A PIONEERING drive for smarter working practices is proving successful in getting single parents back to work. Every week ten men and women in Bishop Auckland, Spennymoor, Derwentside and Chester-le-Street are starting jobs through a Work Wise North-East
A PUBLIC inquiry into plans for homes on a factory site will take place next month, a council has confirmed. A hearing into the future of the Catkin Way site was adjourned in February after last-minute material was submitted. The hearing had been called
We have a wine this week from Aldi's fine wine range. If Bordeaux is the region for the finest red wines then Pauillac has qualifications for being the best area within it. This is a typical Medoc wine with aromas of toasted oak, blackberry fruit with
THEATRE group students are celebrating a triple success after securing top marks in an examination. Youngsters from Stagecoach Theatre Arts School in Bishop Auckland gained three distinctions in their Trinity College London Musical Theatre examinations
Bishop Auckland MP Helen Goodman will hold a surgery session at Bishop Auckland Town Hall on Friday (march 28th), 5pm to 5.30pm. The session is an opportunity for constituents to raise concerns with their MP in person and seek advice. No appointment
SIR David Attenborough might be better placed to talk about the merits or otherwise of the Wrangler, given that it is the car that time forgot. If it were an animal this Jeep would undoubtedly be a crocodile, for, like the croc, evolution has
A CONSTRUCTION company has stepped in to sponsor one of the most prestigious horse races in the North-East's sporting calendar. Durham City-based Esh Group has announced it is to sponsor this year's Gosforth Park Cup, previously backed for the last 22
HAS there been a betterlooking Alfa Romeo in modern times than the Brera? The sheer gorgeousness of it turns heads in a way not seen since the outrageous SZ coupe more than 20 years ago. Originally designed by the legendary Giorgetto Giugiaro
MANCHESTER United defender Rio Ferdinand will captain England for tomorrow's friendly with France in Paris. Liverpool midfielder Steven Gerrard skippered England in Fabio Capello's first game against Switzerland last month. John Terry was expected
A MAN who supplied drugs to undercover police officers could be spared jail when he is sentenced next week. Craig Addison yesterday pleaded guilty to a string of offences committed between March and August last year. He will return to Teesside Crown
A MOTORIST who caused an horrific head-on crash has pleaded guilty to dangerous driving. Dean Shadforth admitted the charge when he appeared at Teesside Crown Court yesterday. The charge relates to an accident on Brenda Road, Hartlepool, on January
SIR Bobby Robson has got the better of many football opponents during his distinguished career and now he has set himself a major new goal - to fight cancer. Currently battling with the disease himself for a fifth time, the 75-year-old former England
After the frustration of two home postponements but the plus of two away matches to get the rust out of the system - the Redcar 'TLS' Bears take on arch-rivals the Newcastle Diamonds in a Premier Trophy North match at the South Tees Motorsport Park on
Tees Schools Basketball in association with Game Time & Decorative Concrete Solutions, specialists in imprinted concrete paving. The Tees Schools County Cup already has four finalists in place with Egglescliffe Explosion through in Y7, Blakeston Bulls
Teesside basketball in association with Game Time & Decorative Concrete Solutions, specialists in imprinted concrete paving Results Hartlepool Hornets 53-66 Nunthorpe Velocity Easingwold Vikings 58-66 Nunthorpe Velocity Nunthorpe Velocity enjoyed
PRIME Minister Gordon Brown will present commemorative badges to 25 former Bevin Boys today. The Boys, many from the North-East who worked in Britain's coal mines during the Second World War, are being recognised with a special honour to mark their service
Saturday, March 22, 2008 Elite League: Mobilx Newcastle Vipers 3-4 Cardiff Devils Sunday, March 23, 2008 Elite League: Coventry Blaze 2-4 Newcastle Vipers VIPERS completed their regular season fixtures on a high with a third victory of the season
Kimi looked dangerously fast last weekend. Lewis has work to do if he wants to keep pace with the Italian team. Those locking wheel nuts are a bind, too. Does anyone remember Nigel Mansell's misfortune when the nut wouldn't go on - and he left the pits
AN artist has opened his first gallery in the town he has immortalised in many of his paintings. Eric Thompson, who has been painting for more than 27 years, will sell his watercolour works from premises in North Bondgate, in Bishop Auckland.
CHILDREN'S facilities throughout a town could be transformed as a council plans to update all of its play areas. Spennymoor Town Council has started a three-year review of the nine playgrounds it manages. Instead of only repairing or replacing
A CHURCH group hopes its fundraising campaign will burst into life when it hosts a flower festival this summer. Friends of St Edmund's Church, in Sedgefield, want to raise £60,000 to replace interior lighting at the medieval church. It will
STUDENT successes were celebrated when Bishop Auckland College held its annual awards night. College principal Joanna Tait said the awards, held last week, were another highlight in an exciting 12 months for the college. She said: "The college
TALENTED 100-year-old Elaine Cliffe-Whinney will be the toast of the community today, as she marks her centenary with her family. The great-grandmother lives in Stokesley, where she has been known for years for her love of gardening and drama
DOG lovers are invited to a fundraiser to help raise cash for animal welfare charity Blue Cross. Organised by the Canine Connexon dog training school, in Richmond, the event will take place at Tunstall Village Hall on Sunday, April 6, between
TWO landlord agencies have been awarded nearly £13m to build more than 320 houses and improve communities across North Yorkshire and the Tees Valley over the next four years. Erimus Housing and Tees Valley Housing were granted the money by the
A TEENAGE snowboarding sensation has been selected to represent his country in the Great Britain junior snowboarding squad. Sam Turnbull, 16, will work with some of the sport's leading figures and compete at events throughout Europe including
YORKSHIRE Water is to carry out a wide-ranging sewer survey in an effort to avoid a repeat of last year's flooding. Homes and businesses across North Yorkshire were swamped throughout June and July, withthe company later coming under fire when
ACCOUNTING apprentices at Durham Business Club are celebrating after they all passed exams for an internationallyrecognised qualification. The club, which also offers apprenticeships in hairdressing, beauty therapy and business administration,
CONTROVERSIAL plans for houses and offices in the heart of Durham City have run into opposition from a series of statutory bodies. Sport England, English Heritage and the Environment Agency have each lodged objections to an application by Banks
A PIONEERING campaign for smarter working practices is backing a scheme that is helping lone parents back into work. The Work Wise North-East campaign aims to consign nineto- five work days to history, promoting such practices as flexible working
YOUNG people have been celebrating a link with their German counterparts which has lasted for 30 years, cementing ties they hope to keep long into the future. Pupils from Framwellgate School, in Durham City, hosted members of the Vfl Rheinhausen
ELAINE CLIFFE-WHINNEY will be the toast of the community today as she marks her centenary year with her family. The great-grandmother lives independently in the village of Stokesley, where she has been known for years for her love of gardening
LUCY WHITE has reached another milestone in her young life after becoming the 200th person to be fitted with an alert system that monitors her health. The three-year-old, who was born with a serious heart condition and regularly suffers from
STAFF at a jobs and training agency are dipping into their pay packets to help others. More than £30,000 has been given to 150 causes and charities in the past year, through a scheme run by staff at Teessidebased Pertemps People Development
AN up-and-coming rock band featuring a University of Teesside lecturer is celebrating after receiving glowing praise from the national music press. The Eruptors, with part-time business lecturer Alex Gillett, have just released their first
A GROWING housing estate could have a nursery, care home and health centre within a year, after a planning inspector finally gave the proposals the go-ahead. Stockton Borough Council's planning committee was labelled "unreasonable" for rejecting
The column visits idyllicTeesdale village Cotherstone and rediscovers why the Fox and Hounds has managed to stay ahead of the game TOP of the head, it's possible to think of at least three North- East villages - Heighington, Allendale and, two weeks
Big, Bigger, Biggest (Five, 8pm); Hotel Babylon (BBC1, 9pm); Horizon (BBC2, 9pm) WHEN Croydon Airport, near London, was the country's main airport in 1920, pilots were flying by the seat of their pants as they found their way home using landmarks
SPRINGTIME Winter's nearly over, The coalman doesn't call The milkman whistles up the path The paper boys don't fall. The binmen, they look happy As they take away the bags. Even taking gloves off To make their rolled-up fags. The electric
As the perils of fast foods become increasingly apparent and the pendulum begins to swing back to wholesome home-made dishes, Marjorie McIntyre tries her hand at bread making at one of the country's most prestigious cookery schools FREDERICK Belmont
REGARDING D Harrison's letter about the most miserable song or piece of music (HAS, Mar 18). I agree the National Anthem takes some beating, but a close second must be The Old Rugged Cross. M Newell, Aiskew, Bedale, North Yorkshire.
WE have a Scottish Prime Minister, an Italian manager of the England football team, and EU rules and human rights to contend with in running our country. Makes us look like immigrants who cannot rule for ourselves. What can we expect next? N Tate
AS patriotic English people we know our country is the best in the world and always has been: an island of peace, justice, tolerance, fair play and humanity in a capricious and violent world. That's perfectly true, but a little realistic self-appraisal
CANADA'S annual commercial seal hunt will begin again shortly. I recently signed a declaration aimed at enforcing a Europe-wide ban on the trade in seal products. Last year, close to 250,000 harp and hooded seals, the vast majority of them under
I AM depressed about the state of our country. No matter where you look, it is one sorry tale after another. To make matters worse we have witnessed, under a Labour government would you believe, an entry into wars in Iraq and Afghanistan that
I'M sorry to say that Tony Kelly, in calling for a ban on airguns (HAS, Mar 18), has fallen into the trap of believing that if an item is banned in law then it ceases to exist, and that people who break the law will suddenly obey if just one more
I REFER to Middlesbrough South and Cleveland East MP Ashok Kumar's article which emphasised the importance of archaeological finds being preserved for future generations (Echo, Mat 18). In the past ten years, 333,000 similar finds to those featured
NEW Labour has shown again it is not to be trusted. Gurkhas are being denied citizenship of the country they have faithfully served. Gurkhas who served after 1997 are allowed citizenship. Those up to 1997 are not. What twisted mind comes up
CANON Michael Ainsworth, a priest and colleague of mine just a couple of miles from my rectory in the City of London, was recently attacked in his churchyard by three Asian youths. Fr Michael suffered two black eyes, cuts and bruises - so the
Rapid expansion in Burkina Faso's cities has resulted in thousands living in squatter settlements without water or sanitation. In the second of three articles written after a visit to the country, Lauren Pyrah explains how people cope in the
WHEN last year's smoking ban was first mooted, there was widespread scepticism about whether it would work. But it seems to have done. Although there is much debate about the effect it has had on the viability of some pubs and clubs, the ban has
TIGER Woods' astonishing seven-event winning streak came to a quiet end as Australian Geoff Ogilvy won the £4m CA Championship in Miami. Hartlepool's Graeme Storm, in just his second World Golf Championship event, was the best European, four
OSOLOMIO (2.30) has been found an excellent opportunity to resume his winning ways at Sedgefield today. Having collected at the second time of asking over jumps when scoring at Chepstow, Osolomio then had to settle for second spot on his latest
THE wind had woken us during the night, not least because the Lady of This House, having just spent £6,500 on double glazing, insists upon sleeping with the window open. By dawn the storm had little abated, the Vale of York white clad as the
ENGLAND set New Zealand a daunting target of 553 to win after adding 51 quick runs in the first 35 minutes of play in the deciding Test. Resuming the fourth day at McLean Park already 501 runs ahead on 416 for five, the tourists declared on 467
CRAIG Gordon refuses to believe Sunderland were gift-wrapped three points last weekend because Aston Villa had nothing to play for. The Sunderland goalkeeper kept his fourth clean sheet in the last eight games and insists Roy Keane's side were
THIRTEEN-YEAR-OLD Tom Daley has been crowned European champion after winning the ten-metre platform title in Eindhoven. The teenager, who last month became the second-youngest male Olympian in British history when he qualified for Beijing, moved
Darlington 2 Morecambe 2 DARLINGTON fans can be forgiven for feeling a sense of dejavu after seeing their side rescue an unlikely point that keeps automatic promotion hopes alive. Nine days earlier, a Pawel Abbott inspired fightback saw Quakers
Hartlepool United 2 Yeovil Town 0 IN JUST 48 hours, the contrasting nature of Hartlepool United has been there for all to see. While on Saturday they fell to a slack and sloppy defeat at Crewe, yesterday they were untroubled in comfortably seeing
FRANK Lampard has thrown his support behind Chelsea teammate John Terrys candidacy for the England captaincy. The 29-year-old midfielder insists Terry is a monster of a captain and believes the centrehalf has proved his qualities with the armband
THEY have previously struggled to beat sides in the wrong half of the Premier League table', but Gary O'Neil feels Saturday's 1-0 win over basement boys Derby County proves Middlesbrough have learned how to deal with the pressures of favouritism
KEVIN Keegan will make Tottenham defender Michael Dawson his first signing of the summer - provided Newcastle are still playing in the Premier League next season. With Saturday's 2-0 victory over Fulham having eased the Magpies' relegation fears
DAVID Beckham has revealed the low point of his career when he feared he would never play for England again as he prepares to win his 100th cap against France in Paris tomorrow. Beckham gave up the captaincy after the 2006 World Cup finals in
AN unsigned indie band will battle it out for a place in the national finals of a competition which rewards the winner with a lucrative record contract. The Stonedrifters, from Billingham, are the only Teesside band left in the Live and Unsigned
AN Easter motorbike run was hit by the weekend's weather, but the event organiser said it had still been a success. The Coyote Motorcycle Club Easter run, which delivers eggs to disabled people, sick children and pensioners in the Darlington
PEOPLE in the North-East are losing £82m a year due to poor maths calculations, according to a report - but the residents of North Yorkshire are among the most canny. On average, people in the North-East lost £42 last year because they struggle
A GROUP of women, who have inspired others from as far afield as Africa to take up knitting for charity, are staging their first exhibition. The Busy Fingers group, which started meeting three years ago, is putting on a Bumper Jumpers show at
PEOPLE are being put in the picture about the lifestyle in a Northern dale. which has largely remained forgotten over the centuries. A book about the history of Weardale, in County Durham, has unearthed a wealth of secrets about its industry, village
A BUSINESSMAN with an interest in film editing has found himself at the helm of one of the region's quirkiest cinemas. Steve Riddle saved the Arc cinema, in Stockton, from closure after offering to run it as his own. He said directors of the arts
FOR some she was nothing more than a rust bucket - while to others she was, quite literally, a tug of love. But the 300-tonne John H Amos, Britain's last remaining steam example of its kind, is to be hoisted from the water today in a massive
VISITORS to a North-East museum discovered how 19th Century fire brigades tackled a blaze, compared to today's firefighters. Old and new appliances were on display at Locomotion: The National Railway Museum, in Shildon, County Durham, when it
ONE of Europe's great mountain bike races is coming to the North- East, it has been revealed. Kielder Water Forest and Park, in Northumberland, will host the Saab Salomon Avalanche Trophy on May 17 and 18. It is the first time the event has been
WINTRY weather on the earliest Easter for nearly a century has left many of the region's tourist venues counting the cost. Visitor numbers were down at many attractions, with some reporting less than half the number of people through the doors
SHOPKEEPERS could be banned from displaying cigarettes under plans being considered by the Government. The Department of Health said it was launching a consultation later this spring to look at ways to stop children smoking. To reduce the number
CHINESE Olympics officials faced protest by Tibetan activists in Greece yesterday, while dismissing a US warning on surveillance of visitors to Beijing. The US State Department said people visiting China for the Olympics should be mindful that
PERSONALISED floral tributes - including sweets, a horse's head and a plate of fish and chips - have been made for a woman described by her family as the "head of the flock". Following the death of 82-year-old Kathleen Crang, from Darlington, her
A RACECOURSE in the North-East has been named as the most lethal in the country - with 11 horses dying in the past year. Sedgefield Racecourse has been highlighted by charity Animal Aid as part of its Race Horse Death Watch campaign. The County
AN Iraqi woman who visited the North-East as part of a business tour has told how she survived a rocket attack on her return home. Amnah Taher, 35, is the second member of the delegation to claim their lives were put under threat after being
CALLS for an investigation into the conduct of Northern Rock's directors are expected to be rejected today by the Financial Services Authority (FSA). The city watchdog is due to release an internal report into the crisis that led to the first run
A BIRD which made wildlife history when it hatched chicks in the North-East for the very first time has returned to the region. In July 2006 a pair of avocets - which traditionally nest in southern England - hatched two chicks at Washington Wetland Centre
ONE of Europe's great mountain bike races is coming to the North-East. Kielder Water Forest and Park in Northumberland will host one the Saab Salomon Avalanche Trophy 2008 from May 17 to 18. It is the first time the event has been held in England and
A PROJECT to restore a former quarry in a picturesque dale in keeping with the surrounding landscape has been nominated for an award. Lafarge Cement's work to restore its quarry at Weardale, in County Durham, has been put forward for a County Durham
POLICE have arrested two men in connection with a fatal assault on a 19-year-old man at the weekend. The men, both aged 22, are in custody and are helping police with their enquiries. Officers are still looking for a third man. A police spokesman
