RESEARCHERS have recorded a large increase in the number of North-East psychiatric patients given electric shock treatment. Figures obtained from the Northumberland, Tyne and Wear NHS Trust under the Freedom of Information Act show there were 3,383 instances
A BRAVE mother is just days away from a charity skydive to mark the anniversary of her son's death in a parachuting accident. Christine Wilson is gearing up for the jump in memory of her airman son Andrew, who fell to his death in June 2004 following
MORE than £100m could be spent on transforming a North-East town into "a traditional English seaside resort for the 21st Century". The iconic centrepiece of the leisure-led scheme, produced by newly-formed charity, Red Carpet Development, would be a
A PHOTOGRAPHIC and slideshow exhibition showing historic images of a County Durham village starts this month. Forever Paradise features Witton Park through the ages, and takes place Thursday to Saturday every week in June at The Discovery Centre in North
University. The word makes me want to run a mile, my whole body just shudders at the very utterance of it and yet for the past two years it is all I am hearing no matter how loud I turn up my Busted CD! I don't know why, perhaps it is because it is such
A TENNIS team from a boys' school is celebrating, after winning a national tournament. The B team of the independent Aysgarth School at Newton-le-Willows, near Bedale, North Yorkshire, won the national under 13s prep schools tennis tournament. The team
A NORTH-EAST MP swapped politics for painting when he dropped into a housing group fun day. Iain Wright, MP for Hartlepool, visited Hartlepool Housing's Phoenix Centre and Children's Centre on the Central Estate to promote the importance of being a good
POLICE are investigating after a blaze destroyed a barn in Guisborough in the early hours of this morning. Firefighters from Guisborough and Skelton were called out to the barn on Silverton Road at about 1.30am. Five tonnes of hay were also destroyed
POLICE have recovered 404 cannabis plants with an estimated street value of £216,000. A police spokesman said a warrant was executed at Cloverdale Gardens, High Heaton, Newcastle, where cannabis plants were found in all the main rooms of the house, at
A NINETEEN-YEAR-OLD man has been killed in the after he was struck by a car as he waited for friends to give him a lift home. The man, from Spennymoor in County Durham, was pronounced dead at the scene following the accident on the A688 road outside
NORTHUMBRIAN Water has been fined £15,000 over procedures at a Teesside treatment plant. The company pleaded guilty at Teesside Magistrates Court yesterday to failing to provide a discharge sample, and two charges of failing to comply with the limits
This film has certainly not got the recognition and credit it deserves within the media! It is as funny as Knocked Up and Superbad yet was only shown on the little screens with a very small audience! This hilarious movie follows Peter Bretter to Hawaii
FORMER Conservative MP Michael Bates has been confirmed as the North-East's newest life peer. He will be known as Lord Bates of Langbaurgh in the County of North Yorkshire when he takes his seat in the House of Lords later this summer. Lord Bates, who
TREK TWO sisters will take their ponies on a 120-mile trek across the North Pennines in aid of the Great North Air Ambulance. Bridget Pickthall and Sara Hartley will ride from Brompton, Northallerton, to Hincaster, south of Kendal, Cumbria.
PEOPLE are being urged to provide information that could help save 28 public telephones in rural areas. BT has written to Richmondshire District Council, announcing plans to remove phone boxes it says are little used. It plans to post notices
A SCHOOL had eight cakes to celebrate its 40th anniversary. Six had been provided by catering staff at South Pelaw Infants School, in Chester-le- Street, and two were delivered from the Hilton Hotel, in Gateshead. Headteacher Dorothy Hales said
A CINEMA showing signs of wear and tear is to be refurbished, with improving viewer comfort the top priority. The Blue Room, in Durham's Gala Theatre and Cinema, was designed as a multi-purpose performance space, but has only been used for screening
FRIGHTENED residents of an estate have signed a petition in a bid to stop yobs blighting the area. Families living in the Wrensfield area of Stockton say gangs gather in the streets, smashed glass is left on playing fields by underage drinkers
MOTHERS and their children celebrated the success of a pioneering parenting programme by planting trees. The Mellow Parenting course is designed to bring families in Redcar and Cleveland together with the help of a range of activities, including
A MAN with the longest record a judge had ever seen was jailed for 12 months yesterday. Homeless Michael Williams, 52, had 229 previous convictions for more than 400 offences, including 20 breaches of anti-social behaviour orders (Asbo), about
Tim Wellock finds the perfect retreat in the North Yorkshire countryside for golfers and their widows WING Commander Guy Gibson could probably have done with a bit of holistic total body care when he was planning the Dambusters raid while stationed
Cannon and Ball are in ad-lib comedy heaven with a national tour of the farce Big Bad Mouse HIS last visit to the region nearly cost him his driving licence, but comic Bobby Ball is back on the road again with two tours to the North-East. The first
ACTOR Lloyd McGuire was putting money into a parking meter in York the other day when someone came up to him and said accusingly: "You're Bob from Teachers." He couldn't deny it, it's true. Four series of the C4 comedy-drama, set in a secondary
Making church services interesting for younger people isn't always easy, but retired minister Tom Duerden manages it with a football IT was Mr W C Fields who famously enjoined against working with children and animals, a caveat clearly lost on the
I WOULD like to draw attention to two recent news items. Firstly, there was a football match played in Moscow in which Chelsea lost to Manchester United on penalties. A Chelsea player, John Terry, missed one of the penalties. Shame. The ensuing
THE Conservative Party has outlined plans for the jobless which would make them do work-based activities. Am I to assume these plans also include MPs' family members who receive, in some cases, £40,000 a year for working at Westminster, yet do
WHY are prices rising in stores and shops? The most simple and obvious answer must be the rise in fuel price for transportation to retail outlets. Retailers are charged more for delivery and, to offset these charges, it obviously follows that they
I HESITATED before taking up my pen to express my views on the very sad story - and your very forthright Comment column (Echo, both May 26) - about those thousands of wheelie bins stored at great and unnecessary expense in a farmer's field near
OBJECTIONS to a wind farm planned for farmland close to the village of Bishopton, near Stockton, by the RAF, Civil Aviation Authority and local people brings into focus the whole need of sources of energy. If every application for such sites was
RECENT research shows that many people are worried about how society is going to treat them once they turn 65. Older people are too often dismissed by the rest of society and are frequently the butt of jokes and disparaging remarks. While age
HUGH Pender claims anyone who thinks that electing a Tory government is the solution to our problems is living in cloud cuckoo land (HAS, May 20). It is Mr Pender who is living in cloud cuckoo land, blinkered and wearing ear defenders. He makes
WRITING plays can be a hazardous business. To get my play Riot written and on stage saw me trekking through the wild mountains of Yemen, combatting local resistance in South Shields, and sweet-talking people that the subject matter wasn't too sensitive
Ringmaster Norman Barrett was literally born into the circus. As he celebrates 60 years of life under the big top, he tells Steve Pratt how TV shows like Britain's Got Talent are helping his profession. VETERAN ringmaster Norman Barrett didn't follow
WHAT sort of role models do footballers provide young children? There are the pampered, preening type of players who have more money than sense and who have lost respect for authority and the ordinary people who pay their wages. They are poor
CHARLIE Hodgson will find himself on familiar territory this weekend - seeking the keys for long-term occupancy of number 10. Hodgson starts an England game for the first time since November 2006 when he lines up in tomorrow's non-cap fixture
RECORD-BREAKING Wearside pole-vaulter Mark Christie hopes conditions will favour a personal-best clearance in tomorrow's Bedford International Games as he prepares for international duty in Belgium. The 23-year-old Sale Harrier set a North-East
TEAM-MATES Harry Vaulkhard and Alan Taylor are aiming to become local heroes when they compete in the latest round of the HiQ MSA British Touring Car Championship at Croft Circuit this weekend. This will be the first time that Vaulkhard, from
UNITED States led Great Britain and Ireland 4-2 at the end of the first day of the 35th Curtis Cup on the Old Course at St Andrews. The Americans, who have not lost the biennial women's amateur match since 1996, won both the morning foursomes
TWO of the North-East's leading Olympic hopes have been in impressive form as they continue their build-up to this summer's Games in Beijing. Sedgefield boxer Bradley Saunders, a confirmed participant in this year's Olympics, saw off current world
The Northern Echo has expanded its racing team with Niall Hannity joining to write an Inside Racing column every Monday. Chief Sports Writer Scott Wilson met the former jockey and assistant trainer to find out what lies in store. WHEN it comes
DAVID BARRON could do with a high-profile horse to advertise his talents and How's She Cuttin' is the just the type to put him back on the map. The Thirsk-based trainer has been short of firepower just lately, but he has won some big sprints at
KENWYNE Jones is fit to face England tomorrow and the Sunderland striker has revealed he and his Trinidad and Tobago team-mates have a score to settle. Jones was part of the Trinidad side that suffered defeat at the hands of England in the group
In the third of his reports from Trinidad & Tobago ahead of tomorrow's international with England, Chief Sports Writer Scott Wilson discovers a country that has fallen in love with Sunderland. QUEEN'S Park Savannah is the largest public space
SWALWELL continue to ride high at the top of the table but it looks like Ryton have the power to push the champions all the way. The pair recorded Bank Holiday doubles, but Ryton demonstrated their potential by knocking Swalwell out of the Division
THE season really takes off this weekend as the first double programme of the year takes place over the next two days. There are some cracking matches lined up, with probably the pick of the bunch being at Murton tomorrow when the leaders entertain
DURHAM star Mark Davies is returning to the Darlington Building Society NYSD League after signing as Normanby Hall's English qualified professional. He played as Richmondshire's pro a couple of years ago and with the mid-season lull in the County
NORTON are enjoying the delights of playing their cricket in the top half of the league after suffering the traumas of flirting with the wooden spoon in 2007. Their progress is no better personified than in the form of young batting star Jonny
HD ACKERMAN was in sight of his fourth LV County Championship century of the season as Glamorganfs decision to put Leicestershire into bat backfired on them at Grace Road. After a delayed start to the Division Two clash, Glamorganfs bowlers
AS THE dust settled on a dramatic Bank Holiday double programme it was Philadelphia who emerged as the surprise new leaders after taking a bumper 59 points from their two matches. Following on from their win the previous week this made it three
SHILDON Railway sit on top of the league and following Esh Winning's surprise defeat last weekend they now possess the only remaining 100 per cent record. But it was a desperately near thing. In their only game of the Bank Holiday programme
AARON Redmond did all he could yesterday to get New Zealand back on track after their second-innings capitulation in the second Test - and is confident the tourists will continue to bounce back. The Kiwis, who looked set for victory over England
Yorkshire v Lancashire (County Championship) : Day One YORKSHIRE are locked in a war of attrition with Roses rivals Lancashire after an intriguing opening day of the County Championship clash at Headingley yesterday. The White Rose fought their
his one-day call-upTIM Ambrose has been given the opportunity to establish himself as England's wicketkeeper in all formats of the game after a surprise call-up for the one-day series against New Zealand. The 25-year-old wicketkeeper was the
Sussex v Durham (County Championship) : Day One WHAT should have been a great day for the Harmison brothers was tarnished by three dropped catches and Durham slumping to eight for three in reply to Sussex's 214 at Hove yesterday. Durham had the
Czech Republic 3 Scotland 1 GEORGE Burley slumped to his first defeat as Scotland manager and admitted he needs his best players at his disposal. But the national coach declared last night's friendly against the Czech Republic in Prague, as a
DARLINGTON-born James Morrison made his international debut for Scotland yesterday - five-and-a-half years after he was sporting an England shirt on the front of The Northern Echo's Local Heroes supplement. Morrison, who made 97 appearances for
FIFA are on a collision course with the European Union as they look set to press ahead with plans to impose their controversial 'sixplus- five' proposal designed to limit teams' use of foreign players. President Sepp Blatter has said he hopes
GEORGE Boateng last night distanced himself from remarks suggesting his Middlesbrough career was at an end, and claimed he was ready to spend another season at the Riverside. Boateng will enter the final year of his current contract next month
KEVIN Keegan is resigned to losing out on Richard Dunne after Tottenham Hotspur last night emerged as favourites to land the unsettled Manchester City defender. Dunne's decision to turn down a long-term deal at Eastlands has alerted a number
DARLINGTON have begun their summer rebuilding by signing released Middlesbrough midfielder Jason Kennedy. After nine players departed the club last week, the midfielder is Quakersf first signing since the end of the season. He finished the campaign
STEVEN GERRARD admitted he is desperate'' for Gareth Barry to join him at Liverpool as the Aston Villa skipper prepares to lead England for the first time in tomorrow night's international with Trinidad and Tobago in Port of Spain. Barry is
A BRIDGE spanning a river in the North-East has been given a new lease of life after a multi-million pound engineering project. A vintage bus yesterday became the first official vehicle over the High Level Bridge, between Gateshead and Newcastle,
A NORTH-EAST couple could be extradited to the US to face drugs charges after the move was approved by the Scottish justice minister, it was confirmed last night. Brian Howes, 44, and his wife, Kerry Ann Shanks, 30, who previously lived in Middlesbrough
DRAGONS' DEN entrepreneur Duncan Bannatyne is known for taking fast action when he sees an opportunity, so he introduced a charity scheme to his 3,000 employees only two weeks after hearing about it. A lack of awareness among the business community
ZERO-EMISSION vehicle maker The Tanfield Group's Stateside expansion ambitions were boosted yesterday with the endorsement of a major US broker, and said the firm could potentially earn hundreds of millions of pounds from the continent. New
VILLAGERS are campaigning to stop a small airfield becoming an international airport. Bagby Residents Against Airport Expansion (Braae) fear the public are oblivious to Bagby Airfield's plans to expand. They said it could become the next Leeds-Bradford
A WRITER has been honoured with a lifetime achievement award. Peter Walker, who writes the Countryman's Diary column under the name of Nicholas Rhea for the Darlington and Stockton Times, a sister paper of The Northern Echo, received the accolade
RESEARCHERS into ageing have unveiled their vision of how the North-East will pioneer a radical way of treating elderly people. The ultimate aim is to provide a centre where illnesses and conditions can be tackled by specialist doctors and nurses
MEMBERS of The Northern Echo's promotions team have been out in the region this week dressed as daffodils to remind readers that the paper is going green. Wednesday is World Environment Day, and for one issue only, The Northern Echo will be printed
A FIRM that has been part of life in a North-East village for 140 years has ceased operations, a company director revealed in court. Leslie Graham confirmed that Weardale Castings and Engineering, in Wolsingham, County Durham, stopped production
THE parents of two Army recruits who died at the controversial Deepcut barracks have collaborated on a play about their children's violent deaths. Private Geoff Gray, from Seaham, east Durham, and Private James Collinson, both 17, were among four
NORTHERN Rock plans to cut more than half of its customer service staff by next year, while boosting the number of people working for its debt management arm. According to a leaked internal memo, the number of customer service staff will be
THE council responsible for one of the region's worst asbestos health and safety breaches has been criticised for failing to name the people responsible. Staff at a County Durham sports centre were exposed to the cancer-causing substances for
County Durham Freemasons this week presented a cheque for £10,000 to the air ambulance. It was also recently presented with a cheque for £50,000 by the Yorkshire Freemasons. The charity has to raise £1.2m a year for each of its three helicopters
A PENSIONER with Alzheimer's disease was slapped in the face by a care home manager after he lashed out at another member of staff, a court heard. Valerie Ann Davies went to the aid of staff who were struggling to bathe a "flustered and upset"
POPULAR animated characters Wallace and Gromit visited a North-East hospice to hand over a £10,000 cheque. The Wrong Trousers stars arrived in their Wallace and Gromitmobile to spend time at Butterwick House Children's Hospice, in Stockton
A TYRE fitter is in pole position to showcase his skills after being selected to change wheels for British Touring Car Championship drivers at Croft Circuit, near Darlington, this weekend. Jordon Smith, a tyre technician from Northallerton, North
A FINANCIAL advisor promised to invest vast amounts of money for families as they approached retirement but used it to try to save his struggling business. Brian Norlund was branded "arrogant" by a judge for refusing to accept his companies were
A MAN had corrosive liquid thrown into his face over a £20 debt, a court was told yesterday. Martin McPolin, 45, owed the money to Neil Broadfoot, 34, who sent threatening text messages to him and his partner Anne McQuilter. But when she went to Broadfoot's
A HOSPITAL has donated more than £650,000 in grants to good causes in the North-East. The exact amount distributed by Christ's Hospital in Sherburn, County Durham, during the last financial year was £656,132. The hospital, also known as Sherburn Hospital
England's Robert Dinwiddie did not realise until yesterday that against his name in the European Tour media guide flies a Welsh flag. The 25-year-old from Barnard Castle is taking it as a lucky omen. After a second-round 65 he is challenging for a first
FORMER professional footballers renewed local rivalries, but amid the calmer surrounds of the golf course yesterday. Twenty-four ex-players from England's six most northerly senior sides showed their competitive instincts have not waned, even if their
No sooner had Andy Murray walked off the red dust of Roland Garros at the French Open, beaten in the third round 6-3 6-7 6-3 7-5 by Spain's Nicolas Almagro, than he was predicting glory on the green, green grass of home. Murray believes he is ready to
A BANNED driver was jailed yesterday for giving a friend's name when police caught him behind the wheel. Anthony Johnson's action led to his friend Gareth Renton being prosecuted for not producing his driving documents to the police. Mr Renton suspected
