Archive

  • Police dog finds suspected heroin

    POLICE have uncovered a "substantial amount of powder" during a search by a dog. The substance, believed to be heroin, was found following an incident on Halfield Road in the Heworth area of York at 6.30pm last night. Detective Chief Inspector Helen

  • Man critical after cliff fall

    A 29-YEAR-OLD man is in a critical condition after falling more than 50ft down a cliff. The emergency services were called to Marsden Grotto, in South Shields shortly after 4pm today. The man was airlifted to Newcastle General Hospital with serious

  • Fire crews at house blaze

    FIRE fighters were called to house blaze in Darlington tonight amid reports that people were trapped. By the time crews arrived at Chestnut Drive in the Firthmoor area of the town, all three occupants had been accounted for. The fire was contained to

  • Missing mother traced to London suburb

    POLICE investigating the disappearance of mother Natalie Bracht and her five daughters have traced her to the Harlesden area of London. However, officers believe that she may now have moved on to another part of the capital in her bid to evade being

  • Prisoner in rooftop protest

    POLICE and prison offers are tonight dealing with an incident at Durham Prison. It is thought a prisoner is staging a rooftop protest. A Ministry of Justice spokeswoman confirmed an incident was ongoing but would not give further details until the incident

  • Action plan could mean more costs

    AN extra £2,500 of public money could be wasted on the Wear Valley wheelie bin mountain, which could be left to sit on farmland until July. Councillors who are unable to decide the fate of 15,000 bins being stored for £1,250 every month say they

  • Police surround empty house

    ARMED police surrounded a house in Consett after a two masked men attempted to rob a post office - but found no-one inside. The incident occurred at the Moorside Post Office near Consett around 2.30pm. No one was hurt during the raid and it is not known

  • UFO spotted in NE skies

    BRITISH UFO researchers are to examine a photograph taken of a strange object above a North- East town. Derbyshire man Barry Knaggs found the image when he downloaded pictures he had taken on his digital camera during a visit to Spennymoor, County

  • Race sponsors set to join runners on the startline

    A BUILDING society has been announced as sponsors of a motor circuit-based road race for the second consecutive year. Darlington Building Society has again teamed up with Darlington Harriers and Athletic Club to support the Pitstop 10k. This year's

  • Appeal over nightclub attack

    AN 18-year-old man who had been out celebrating his birthday had to have a metal plate inserted in his jaw after he was attacked on a nightclub dance floor. The man, from Witton Gilbert, County Durham, was celebrating with friends when he was punched

  • Theatre production staged within 48 hours

    MUSICAL children have created a theatre production in just 48 hours as part of an arts workshop. The 48 Musical took place at Darlington's Bondgate Methodist Church Hall during the last two days (Wed 28 and Thurs 29). The workhops, led by community

  • Plan to safeguard picturesque village

    PEOPLE are to be given a say on future development in and around their picture-postcard village. A draft document is being prepared which will act as a guideline for any future development in the Ampleforth area near Helmsley. The conservation area

  • Contractor who attacked partner spared jail

    A CONTRACTOR who twice attacked his partner in the space of a year has been spared jail so he can continue to work and provide for her and their six children. Christopher Blackburn was given a conditional discharge for beating up Julie Harper at their

  • Laverty hoping for big things at Mugello

    THINGS have been looking up recently for Durham-based 250GP rider Eugene Laverty, despite a small crash last time out at Le Mans. Now back on top form Laverty has gelled with his Blusens Aprilia and qualified just 1.8secs from pole at the previous French

  • Charges waived because of disruption

    VISITORS to Ripon are to escape paying car parking fees on two weekends - because of major development works in the city centre. Harrogate Borough Council has agreed to waive charges in all of the city's car parks because of the disruption. The

  • Clubber mistook sinus tablets for ecstasy

    A DEALER who thought he was supplying escstasy to clubbers was actually dishing out sinus medication. Mark Robson, 22, had bought 50 pills to sell to customers at The Groove nightclub in Washington thinking it was the class A drug. But after he was

  • Father jailed for flouting court orders

    A YOUNG father who repeatedly flouted court orders is behind bars after a judge told him: "The time has come when the court says no more'." Reece Jennison was jailed for a total of 12 months after he admitted breaching an anti-social behaviour order

  • Motorists warned over drink-drive dangers

    A SENIOR police officer has fired a warning to motorists ahead of the summer party season: drink-driving will not be tolerated. Adam Briggs, deputy chief constable of North Yorkshire Police, was speaking at the launch of a campaign to stamp out drink-driving

  • Stone-throwing children warned actions could kill

    CHILDREN throwing items at fast moving traffic on a busy South Tyneside road are being warned that their actions could kill. In the last week, police have received five separate reports of groups of teenagers throwing stones and bricks at passing vehicles

  • Hotel manager guilty of spying on couple

    A HOTEL manager has been found guilty of placing a camera in a guest bedroom in order to watch a couple having sex. Clarence Birkbeck denied committing voyeurism at the Castle Court hotel in Redcar last year, but the 67-year-old admitted placing the

  • Public to vote on car-parking charges

    REFERENDUMS are to be held into controversial plans to introduce parking charges across Hambleton for the first time. It has been confirmed that local people in two of the affected towns will be able to make their feelings clear is separate votes next

  • Yorkshire rue lengthy absentee list ahead of Roses clash

    INJURY problems continue to hamper Yorkshire ahead of tomorrow's County Championship clash with Lancashire, with a shortage of bowling options causing a particular headache. England paceman Matthew Hoggard heads the list of absentees from the Roses clash

  • Two-year-old seriously ill after swallowing cannabis

    A TWO-YEAR-OLD girl is in hospital after swallowing what might have been cannabis. Her condition is not yet known but a police source today described the toddler as being "seriously ill. She was taken to the University Hospital of Hartlepool from her

  • Durham Light Infantry memorial tribute to the fallen

    EIGHT soldiers who died during the Second World War have finally come home with the unveiling of a memorial in their honour. The bodies of the eight members of the Durham Light Infantry all lie in graves in the village of Saint Venant in Northern

  • Contracts signed to build healthcare developments

    CONTRACTS have been signed to build two healthcare developments in north Durham. Construction work will commence early next month on a £18m mental health hospital in Durham City and a £12m primary care centre in Stanley. Lanchester Road Hospital

  • Art society focus on bridges and viaducts

    BRIDGES spanning a county are featured in an exhibition of new work by a town's art enthusiasts. One of the subjects given to Chester-le-Street Art Society members this year was the bridges of County Durham. It led to members going to various

  • Under-age drinking blitz hailed a success

    A CAMPAIGN to crack down on under-age drinking in part of north Durham has proved successful. Police have been working with community organisations to reduce the number of young people drinking alcohol illegally. Most cases of anti-social behaviour

  • Students win studio time in battle of bands contest

    A GROUP of music students has won the opportunity to record in a professional studio. Pete Haley, 21, of Middlesbrough, Tom Caffrey, 18, of Whitby and Anthony Leatherland, 17, of Stockton, impressed the judges at the TTE Technical Training Group's

  • Drink-driver led police on terror chase through town

    A DRINK-DRIVER led police on terrifying chase in which he raced through five red lights and almost collided with another car and a pedestrian. Adam Trainor also drove straight at a police officer and swerved at the last moment as he desperately

  • Four-year-old girl knocked down in car park

    POLICE are appealing for witnesses after a four-year-old girl was hit by a car. The little girl, who was left with a bloodied nose and scratches on her back, has described how she thinks she was knocked down by a silver car driven by a woman. The incident

  • Tribute to the fallen whose resting place is in France

    A memorial has been unveiled at a cemetery in Hartlepool as a tribute to Durham Light Infantry soldiers who failed to return from the battlefields of France. Karen Westcott reports.EIGHT soldiers who died during the Second World War have finally

  • Charlie’s dressed to thrill

    Charlie Hardwick tells Steve Pratt that she is ready for a marriage made in hell for TV soap Emmerdale... and even designed her own dress. WHEN the parents of Geordie actress Charlie Hardwick saw their daughter get married, it wasn't quite what

  • Sex chat shockers

    The biggest surprise for Sarah Jessica Parker is the number of strangers who think she is like Carrie and want to discuss their sex lives with her. Steve Pratt reports. SARAH Jessica Parker is keen to point out that she's not at all like Carrie,

  • Falcons legend Burke announces retirement from rugby

    NEWCASTLE Falcons and Australia legend Matthew Burke has announced his retirement from rugby with immediate effect. The 35-year-old full-back has spent the last seven months recovering from a torn anterior cruciate knee ligament, but after a lengthy

  • We've got to raise our game

    Andy Welch talks to Wearsider Lauren Laverne about presenting the latest series of The Culture Show and asking what exactly culture is. THE Culture Show, BBC2's attempt at a non-elitist review of all things artistic, has seen Sunderland's Lauren

  • Prize Bottom

    He's ended up by touring to the North-East in a caravan, but Henry Waddington is looking forward to his Opera North comedy role of Bottom in A Midsummer Night's Dream, he tells Viv Hardwick. THE theatrical cliche 'have you seen my Bottom?' has Henry

  • Pit of all right

    The West End beckons for The Pitman Painters as the Geordie drama enjoys a sell-out run at the National Theatre. Viv Hardwick talks to director Max Roberts about his beloved Live Theatre's run of success A SECOND major Geordie success in the West

  • Top Ten To Rent

    UK DVD/VIDEO RENTAL 1 (5) The Golden Compass 2 (2) Alien Vs Predator 2: Requiem 3 (3) P.S. I Love You 4 (9) Stardust 5 (6) I Am Legend 6 (4) Charlie Wilson's War 7 (8) Run, Fat Boy, Run 8 (1) In The Valley Of Elah 9 (-) The Kingdom 10 (7) Mr

  • Phone fight

    PLACE your bets - who will win the battle between the bookie and the landlord? The feud hots up as cocky bookmaker Dan Dan the Betting Man clashes with Rovers landlord, Steve McDonald and his amazing dancing eyebrows in Coronation Street (ITV1

  • Too clever for their own good

    US dads have to stick together. That's been the philosophy of this column throughout the 17 years I've been writing it. There has always been great comfort in the camaraderie, the shared experiences, the injustice, and the understanding of what

  • Model behaviour

    Originally devised for children, it became enormously popular with young and old. However, Meccano is anything but a set of toys. THEY are the men for whom a supermodel isn't Naomi Campbell but a fully-operational hydraulic shovel, for whom small

  • The Lodger, Cumberland Arms, Newcastle

    THIS Leeds-based fourpiece are in the same league as Maximo Park, The Caesars and Tiny Dancers in that they specialise in delicious, delightful and perfect three-minute rock/pop songs that just grow and grow and grow on the senses. Having produced

  • The Naked Truth, Billingham Forum

    DAVE SIMPSON is an experienced, wellrespected writer who gave us the successful Girlsf Night Out. This latest offering is about a group of women going to pole dancing classes and since the cast includes the generouslyproportioned Lisa Riley, the

  • Slow motion

    Gridlock And Road Rage (C4, 9pm); River Cottage Spring (More 4, 9pm THE motor car leaves a lot to be desired as a system of transport. Peter Marsh, director of the Social Issues Research Centre, points out it's an "individuallyowned, very expensive

  • TV programmes

    I THINK we will all agree that the value received by television licence holders is decreasing. If anyone is in any doubt, last Saturday's BBC 1 programmes will highlight this. Golf from 1pm to 5.30pm and the Eurovision Song Contest from 8pm to 11.15pm

  • Men tried to get 10-year-old girl into their car

    POLICE are looking for two men who approached a 10-year-old girl and offered her a lift. The girl twice refused the offer of a lift from the two men when they approached her on Thursday, May 22 at about 4.10pm at The Green in Tollerton, North Yorkshire

  • Magic trick...

    WHEN I was a child I was always fascinated by magic tricks. Now, many years later, I find myself capable of doing a magic trick of my own. All it involves is taking my faithful Ford Escort to the petrol station and filling it up. So, as if by

  • 'Paperless' billing

    CORRESPONDENT B Dobbing said that he went paperless with BT (HAS, May 24) which is great as it avoids unnecessary paper bills being sent to him. He somewhat surprisingly says that he then proceeded to print out a copy of his paperless bill for

  • Town image

    OVER the years there have been many occasions when the only time that Spennymoor was mentioned within the Press or media was when something bad happened, usually events often connected with drug raids or job losses. However, due to the magnificent

  • Junk mail

    WHETHER it is through the letterbox or email, or by phone, the number of unwanted communications seem to be on the increase. The intrusion is at the least irritating, but for some it has been more distressing. At least emails can be blocked, but

  • TV licenses

    IN response to Rodney Atkinson's letter, headed "Jail benefits" (HAS, May 21), I would like to clarify the TV licence requirements in prisons. In some cases, Crown buildings, where used for official purposes, are not required to have a TV licence

  • Labour baiters

    PEOPLE make me laugh. The public and the media (including The Northern Echo) continually berate Labour, moaning about its policies and the situation it has left us in. Everyone eligible to vote had the chance to do something about it in the local

  • Labour record

    WHAT a shambles this present Government is. How can we be expected to take seriously anyone who lied to get our support to invade Iraq, or anyone who tells us that crime is on the decrease or inflation is running at three per cent? Sorry, but I

  • Labour suspensions

    PERHAPS the fellow trade unionist members of the Labour Party national executive may wish to reconsider their disgraceful decision when they sit in judgement of the democratically-elected County Durham unitary authority councillors and its former

  • Brown may still be safe

    TO panic or not to panic. This is the question for Labour MPs as they contemplate their by-election disaster and decide whether a coup should follow Crewe. But the answer may lie in a further poser - does Gordon Brown resemble the John Major whose

  • To hell and back

    Fifty seven years ago today, more than 80 men and boys were killed in an explosion at Easington Colliery. Tommy Houghton, now 93, the last surviving member of the Rescue Brigade, talks, for the first time, to Marjorie McIntyre about what he saw

  • Go for it, Gordon

    IT IS very easy to attack our beleaguered Prime Minister Gordon Brown at the moment. It is difficult to know quite why he went to see the oilmen in Scotland yesterday. It's as if he expected his presence alone to enable them to discover an untapped

  • Chris Braithwaite, Tom McLaughlan, Rob Charlton

    YOUNG Enterprise North-East has appointed three board members to lead its regional One Day campaign. Chris Braithwaite, chief operating officer of Wellstream International, Tom McLaughlan, director of UK Government relations at Accenture, and Rob

  • Warm welcome for insulation firm recruits

    GOWARM, a Governmentfunded project that helps people to properly insulate their homes, has taken on six members of staff. The organisation is working with a number of local authorities in the North-East to deliver a target of 180,000 assessments

  • Peter Todd, Christopher Turnbull , Ian Smith

    PROJECT manager and cost consultant Faithful and Gould has made three appointments. Peter Todd has taken up the position of senior project manager. Working out of the Newcastle office, he is currently working on the redevelopment of Durham County

  • Pagebet appoints director to run online gambling

    NORTH-EAST based bookmaker Pagebet has appointed a director to run its newly launched online betting service. Mark Irvine has joined the Durham company as director of remote betting. Having been a part of the team that launched Bet365 in 2000

  • Renewable energy plan could earn firms £1m

    ORGANISATIONS in the region could be eligible for as much as £1m as part of an initiative to raise awareness of the benefits of renewable energy technologies. As part of the second phase of the Low Carbon Buildings Programme, the region could

  • ‘Credit crunch hitting small companies’

    SMALL companies in the region are suffering most as the credit crunch begins to hit contracting and civil engineering, the sector's representative body has warned. A UK survey of workloads by the Civil Engineering Contractors Association (CECA

  • Problems at plant affect British Energy earnings

    NUCLEAR power provider British Energy said problems at its North-East plant were a major factor in a sharp decline in earnings for the past year, and could continue to adversely affect the company for months to come. Technical issues in two boiler

  • Emirates celebrates milestone

    AIRLINE Emirates has carried its 100,000th passenger on its service between Newcastle Airport and Dubai. Businessman Michael Reay, a director of North-East company Equine Products, was the lucky passenger and received a prize of two economy

  • ‘Key factor in sales is weather’

    A MOTORHOME and caravan company says the weather is more likely to have an adverse effect on trading than the credit crunch. Discover Leisure yesterday announced pre-tax losses of £1.8m for the six months to March 2, although sales in the market

  • Plato shows age is no barrier to success

    JASON Plato believes age is no bar to success and says the proof is in his results on the track. Newcastle-raised driver Plato is currently second in the HiQ MSA British Touring Car Championship which motors into Croft Circuit, near Darlingtion

  • A flying start on the cards

    BACKERS wishing to hit the ground running at Newcastle this evening could do worse than side with Honimiere (6.30) in the opening two-year-old contest. Alan Swinbank's filly made a promising Musselburgh debut, making late headway to finish on

  • Murray blowing hot in France

    ON A DAY when a gusting wind tricked the world's finest tennis players, Andy Murray rustled up something of a whirlwind of his own. Murray fairly motored into the third round of the French Open with his best performance on clay to date, beating

  • Gough relishing away day

    YORKSHIRE will play Gloucestershire at Bristol next Wednesday in the Friends Provident Trophy quarter-finals after yesterday's North Division washout with Lancashire at Headingley. The Tykes were virtually handed their passage through to the

  • Durham drawn at home to Notts

    DURHAM will be at home to Nottinghamshire in next Wednesday's Friends Provident Trophy quarterfinals, while Yorkshire visit Gloucestershire, writes TIM WELLOCK. After looking destined for an early exit when they lost three of their first four

  • Livingston presumes nothing

    REDCAR modern pentathlete Katy Livingston will attempt to confirm a place at this summer's Olympic Games when she competes in the World Championships in Budapest this afternoon, writes SCOTT WILSON. Livingston, a former member of New Marske

  • Cash-rich Rangers in the hunt for Johnson

    MIDDLESBROUGH will do everything they can to keep Adam Johnson at the Riverside Stadium despite an approach from Rangers for the promising winger. The Scottish Premier League and UEFA Cup runners-up want Johnson to provide the width next season

  • Falcons return for Tait

    DUAL-CODE Lions international Alan Tait has quit his coaching role with Scotland to rejoin Newcastle Falcons. The former centre will focus on defence as well as skills and back line coaching, and Director of Rugby Steve Bates said: gAlan is someone

  • ‘Military made me,’ says Edwards

    England travel to the Caribbean on Sunday to take on a Trinidad & Tobago line-up containing Sunderland duo Carlos Edwards and Kenwyne Jones. Chief Sports Writer Scott Wilson visited Trinidad & Tobago himself this month to investigate the pair's background

  • Terry goal banishes his Moscow misery

    SEVEN days too late for Chelsea's liking, John Terry was presented with an opportunity to score and duly obliged. There were no tears at Wembley last night but in putting England on the road to beating the United States at Wembley, Terry exorcised

  • Capello hails Terry for his immediate recovery

    England 2 USA 0FABIO Capello wished John Terry a happy holiday after the troubled defender banished the misery of Moscow by heading England towards victory over the USA at Wembley last night. Terry's goal just before halftime may not quite make

  • Last chance to send teddies on a sub-zero picnic

    A SUB-ZERO teddy bears' picnic has raised two-thirds of its total target for a North-East hospice. About £20,000 of the £30,000 target sponsorship has been raised for Heather and Geoff Thompson's planned adventure to hold the most northerly teddy

  • Teams will investigate boom in smuggled cigs

    RESEARCH teams at three universities will investigate the region's booming smuggled cigarettes trade. The region is said to be the centre of a multi-million pound trade in smuggled and counterfeit cigarettes, which often affects deprived areas

  • Show director backing bluetongue measures

    THE honorary director of the Great Yorkshire Show has used his car to drive home the message for farmers to vaccinate against bluetongue disease. Bill Cowling's 123 JAB registration plate bears the same initials as the industry-wide Joint campaign

  • Council withdraws eco centre support in U-turn

    A PARISH council has performed a U-turn to join growing opposition to a planned tourist attraction. Outline plans for a renewable energy centre, nicknamed "Eco-Disney", near the small village of Eastgate, in County Durham, were submitted to Wear

  • Radio station under fire for moving out of its home town

    A RADIO station has been criticised for moving presenters and studios out of its home town after less than a year on air. Minster Northallerton FM was set up in June last year to serve up to 40,000 listeners in Northallerton, Bedale and Thirsk,

  • Aid workers with hearts of gold

    AN aid worker from the region will travel to central America next month to meet people whose lives have been adversely affected by the gold mining industry. During a two-week tour of Honduras and Nicaragua, Carol Cross, of Catholic aid agency

  • Man stole alcohol – to get courage for bridge suicide

    A ROBBER stole alcohol from a corner shop to help him find the courage to kill himself after his relationship began to crumble, a court was told yesterday. Jason Richards had prepared a noose at a bridge in Darlington - but was not brave enough

  • ‘Wasted money’ anger as charity does shops U-turn

    A CANCER charity has been accused of wasting money after it announced the closure of two shops that were refurbished at a cost of about £40,000 each. Cancer Research UK will close its Wishes stationery stores in Durham City and Darlington next

  • Organiser of sickening dog fight is jailed

    A MAN has been jailed for six months for organising a sickening dog fight in a North-East back street. James Harland, 21, was also disqualified from owning animals for ten years after pleading guilty to procuring a dog fight, at Teesside Magistrates

  • Charity steps in to help thieves’ disabled victim

    A CHARITY has come to the aid of a blind, disabled girl after thieves destroyed and stole her prized possessions. The thieves ransacked the bedroom of 12-year-old Addeba Hussain on Saturday night, after waiting for the family to leave the home

  • It’s great to have you home, boys

    THE mother of three brothers who went together to fight in Iraq described her relief yesterday at having them all back home safe and sound. Jane Moitt waved goodbye to Private Darren Kilby, 18, and his brothers Corporal Chris Kilby, 21, and

  • We fled for our lives...

    A WOMAN last night spoke of how her family escaped though a broken window after a ferocious fire engulfed their North-East home. Two women, four of their children and a visiting teenage boyfriend fled as flames spread through the house on Bede

  • We’ll not budge on copters, say police

    A POLICE authority chairman last night refused to back down over plans to axe one of two helicopters shared by North-East forces. Councillor Peter Thompson, chairman of Durham Police Authority, also said it was "wholly inappropriate" for his

  • Teenager home following African adventure

    A TEENAGER has returned home after cycling across Africa to raise money for charity. Damian Jason, 19, rode 1,200 miles through rural Namibia and Botswana to help developing communities and conservation projects. Supported by homeless charity

  • Minister backing Gospels bid

    THE campaign to return the Lindisfarne Gospels to the region has received its biggest boost yet after a Cabinet minister pledged his full support. Culture Secretary Andy Burnham will put pressure on the British Library to give back the priceless

  • Group enters talks to sell wheelie bin mountain

    AN end to the Wear Valley wheelie bin saga could be in sight after a council more than 200 miles away revealed it was in talks to buy them. Councillors will meet today to discuss the future of the 15,000 bins being stored on farmland near Crook

  • Hotel boss put secret camera in bedroom

    A HOTEL manager set up a secret camera in a bedroom to watch a couple having sex, a court was told yesterday. Clarence Birkbeck, who admitted to having a "healthy fascination" with sex, denied committing voyeurism at the Castle Court guesthouse

  • Southgate ready to show ruthless streak

    GARETH Southgate has warned his Middlesbrough players not to demand a starting spot when they return for pre-season training this summer - because many of their performances last season did not merit one. Despite spending a club record £12.7m on Afonso

  • Magpies hope French connection reaps rewards

    NEWCASTLE UNITED are casting an eye over the respected Toulon tournament as the club's new scouting system looks to unearth some hidden gems for Kevin Keegan's squad. Members of the Magpies' ever-growing talent-spotting team - including head of recruitment

  • Onions will be back for date with the champions

    DURHAM expect to have Graham Onions back for the four-day match against champions Sussex at Hove, starting on Friday. The England Lions seamer missed the two Friends Provident Trophy ties at the weekend with a sore heel but should be fit for what could