A FASHION event featuring Victorian wedding dress designs will help to raise money for a Bishop Auckland hospice. Wedding Belles, at The George pub, Piercebridge, on Thursday is the first of the Butterwick Hospice’e History Wardrobe ladies luncheons
A PILOT scheme to help vulnerable council housing tenants with DIY and gardening starts in Wear Valley next month. Housing management company Dale and Valley Homes has launched the initiative, called Helping Hands, as an extension of its Community Caretakers
AN 18-year-old Weardale musician has earned himself a spot in a national competition aimed at rooting out new talent. James Laidler, from Rookhope, took part in the Live and Unsigned’ event at Newcastle’s Journal Tyne Theatre last week. The singer
A MUSEUM has come top of the class for educational visits by winning a national award. Locomotion: the National Railway Museum at Shildon, in County Durham, landed a Learning Outside the Classroom Quality Badge. Awarded by the Council for Learning
MORE problems could be on the way for Bishop Auckland motorists after improvement works in the Market Place moved on to the next stage. Durham County Council closed the road between the Town Hall and the Market Place shops yesterday, cutting off access
NO incidents of anti social behaviour were reported to police on the night a pilot event was held for young people in Spennymoor. A fiesta event at Spennymoor Leisure Centre, on Friday February 12, was attended by youngsters from throughout the town.
A HOSPICE that cares for thousands of south Durham residents has unveiled a new logo for its 15th anniversary. The Butterwick Hospice at Bishop Auckland has chosen a stylised Butterwick ‘15’ for the logo, which will be used all this year. Its building
A PLANNED refurbishment of a village beauty spot will help preserve it for future generations, said a local councillor. The chairwoman of Middleton St George Parish Council has said that if it is successful in a £180,000 grant application to
A SWEDISH politician has travelled more than 1,000 miles to watch Darlington Football Club. Andreas Trygg, Mayor of Koping, in Central Sweden will take in two games on his trip to the region. Mr Trygg, 34, on Monday visited his Darlington counterpart
A WOMAN had to be airlifted to hospital after being rescued from the sea at Redcar. She was spotted falling in the water near to the cinema on the town's promenade around 4pm today. The RNLI lifeboat was called out to rescue the woman, but a crew member
A TEENAGER accused of slashing bare-knuckle fighter Louis Welch with a machete told a court he was at home alone 55 miles away at the time. Alex Varey, 19, said he was at his parents' home in Lancaster when 40-year-old Mr Welch, from Darlington - known
Tickets for this year’s Great Yorkshire Show go on sale today – with the help of a 17 year old young farmer. As the first tickets for England’s premier agricultural event are snapped up, web browsers from around the world can get a ‘behind the scenes
FIVE people were rescued from a fire in a North-East block of flats. One of the occupants jumped from a first floor flat before the fire brigade got there and a three-year-old girl was passed to a resident who had also jumped to safety. The blaze broke
Gordon Brown has confessed to getting angry and sometimes throwing the newspapers on the floor. If that constitutes being a bully, than I'm guilty too. I regularly get angry when things go wrong and end up throwing the paper on the floor.
POLICE in are asking over 400 residents for their views on the issues of most concern for their neighbourhood. Operation Ways, We Asked, You Said, has been launched in the Moorside area of Consett after several residents and retailers contacted Durham
A FOREIGN student who slipped around 25 foot down the River Wear was rescued by firefighters. A group of students heard the 20-year-old man calling for help and raised the alarm. The emergency services attended the scene at the back of St Oswalds Church
After a successful 2009 Stressholme has relaunched its groups and societies packages for 2010. They offer great value golf and catering packages for groups of 12 and over. Golf North East reported that "it is probably one of the the best municiple
JOAN FULLARD is trying to find her husband's sister. Mrs Fullard was married to William, who died 40 years ago. His sister was Iris Hall, whom Mrs Fullard has not seen since her 60th birthday. Mrs Hall was last known to be living in Shotton Colliery
A BOY of 15 is fighting for his life after he was hit by a car on a busy North-East road. He suffered massive head injuries after he was struck by a Fiat Punto as he was crossed Stockton Road, at Ryhope, Sunderland. The teenager, from Ryhope, who has
A man who threw drug packages ringed with hooks over the walls of a prison so inmates could fish them into their cells is starting his own jail term today. David Redshaw, 38, hurled a bag containing packages of cannabis resin - worth £300 in prison
POLICE are appealing for information after two masked men threatened a terrified young mother to try and get for the combination to a safe. The pair walked through her front door, which was unlocked, at about 10am on Friday, as the 27-year-old was feeding
GORDON Brown will give evidence to the Iraq Inquiry next week, it was announced today. He will be questioned about his time as both chancellor and Prime Minister when he appears as a witness between 10am and 3.30pm on Friday March 5, the inquiry
FIRTHMOOR and District Community Association holds its annual meeting on March 25 at 6pm in Firthmoor Community Centre. The meeting will include an annual report and the election of trustees. People can re-apply to become a member on the night but are
A BOY scout tradition has helped youngsters learn about the dangers and benefits of fire. A controlled camp fire at a Darlington wood highlighted how to use fire responsibly to children at a play session run by Groundwork North-East Play Rangers
A charity Male Leg Wax was held on Friday 19th February at Arden Arms, Atley Hill where 2 members of Catterick Young Farmers had their legs waxed for Swaledale Mountain Rescue Team and Catterick Young Farmers Club Funds. The unlucky lads
A MAJOR manhunt is underway after a teenage girl was attacked and raped as she walked through a field during the early evening. The 18-year-old victim needed medical treatment after the terrifying ordeal on Saturday night which left her "extremely
Bumped into Martina (Tina) Wray today and she was telling me about her new business working with pre-school children. Tina has set up a venture called ‘Popperdopplers’ which, amongst other things, aims to create awareness of a foreign language and
A MANHUNT is underway after a teenage girl was attacked and raped as she walked through a field during the early evening. The 18-year-old victim needed medical treatment after the terrifying ordeal on Saturday night which left her "extremely shaken."
A PAIR of young footballers from Darlington have made the England Colleges squad after impressing in trials. Defender Sam Dunphy and attacker Glenn Donaldson will join up with 20 other players from around the country for forthcoming games. The Queen
SHOPWORKERS waltzed down the aisles to encourage customers to swap conventional brands for Fairtrade products. Staff and shoppers at the Co-operative Food Store, in Fulthorpe Avenue, Darlington, celebrated the start of Fairtrade Fortnight. Workers were
THE Football Association have hit Sunderland manager Steve Bruce with a fine of £2,500 for his critical comments of referee Andre Marriner in December. Bruce has been asked to explain his comments after the defeat at Manchester City, when he was infuriated
NOMINATIONS are now being sought for awards which celebrate Yorkshire’s countryside heroes. The Yorkshire Rural Awards will be presented in May to honour the men and women who have made their mark on the Yorkshire countryside over the last twelve months
THE A19 was closed for about six hours early this morning after an articulated lorry skidded on ice and smashed into a bridge. The lorry struck the A689 bridge, at the Hartlepool turn-off, just before midnight last night. The driver, a 60-year-old man
A MAJOR £5m upgrade scheme will see council house stock across Richmondshire improved over a five year period. Richmondshire District Council has signed a contract with Connaught Partnerships to carry out the work. The contractor will help the council
THE company in charge of running hundreds of controversial private bail hostels has been dropped, Prisons Minister Maria Eagle announced today. Clearsprings was paid £10.3m over the last two years to run more than 200 properties in England
ASHER PIRT is trying to find the family of a South Durham soldier who was killed during the Second World War as part of his research. Mr Pirt is researching the history of General Headquarters Liaison Regiment better known as Phantom. He would like
THE HOT HOUSE Maudie had a hot house, It was her pride and joy The only one still standing In the gardens of Malloy. All the other glass houses Had a visit from Thomas Roy They had been quite smashed
FIRMLY established as a major North-East poet, Andy Croft enjoys the distinction of having lines from one of his poems emblazoned on street signs in Middlesbrough, where he lives. Published in this collection, the poem, Human Estate, looks
NO ONE can accuse the Vane Women of, er, vanity. The dozen or so members of this poetry-writing collective, named after the Vane Terrace location of their Darlington Arts Centre base, are so self-effacing they have done their best to hide their
ARLENE PHILLIPS received one of the biggest cheers of the night as the Strictly Come Dancing tour rolled into town for the third year in a row. The popular judge was back where she belonged after being controversially axed for the hit BBC1
I'VE just been asked if I know where the Peases are now. Someone wants to find one to perform a Pease-related opening. In Darlington, one branch of the Peases went bankrupt in 1902. Although this was finessed away by the Quakers at Barclays
INVITING an evil-smelling, argumentative, demanding and mentally-disabled old woman to park her hideously painted and dilapidated old Bedford van in your front garden for 15 years, isn’t the action of a normal, rational human being. The
Single Married Other (ITV 9pm) AFTER all the action and suspense involved in being part of Spooks, Miranda Raison was on the lookout for something lighter. She found that in the character of model Abbey in ITV1’s new romantic comedy drama Single
EVER wonder why the time of day with the slowest traffic is called rush hour? George Appleby, Clifton, York.
AFTER reading two letters concerning post office queueing (HAS, Feb 17 and 19) I would like to raise the issue of queueing on the telephone which has become everybody’s nightmare. To sit, or stand, holding a telephone, listening to a monotonous
Sharon Griffiths discovers the story of a Northern lad whose calling took him to the slums of Calcutta. JIMMY Parkinson was an unlikely missionary. Growing up in the Durham coalfield, he was a mischievous little boy with no love of school
THE campaign to bring the historic City of Adelaide clipper ship home to Wearside has now reached a critical stage. As part of the campaign, a song by Sunderland musicians Paul Jackson and Pete Dodds, called City of Adelaide, was launched in a
PUPILS and staff are celebrating after their school was praised by inspectors. Finchale Primary School, in Newton Hall, Durham, was graded as "good" following a recent visit by officials from Ofsted. Teaching was said to have "a number of strong features
IT is good that your cleric columnist Peter Mullen is assured of his place in the next world as he certainly grumbles through his strut in this. People annoy him. They talk to each other in railway carriages, frolic in hotel bedrooms, protest
MUST religious believers be dubbed “sheep” and “superstitious primitives” by a contemptuous Robert Meggs (HAS, Feb 16)? What might top American scientist Francis Collins, the Human Genome Project leader and Papal appointee to the Pontifical Academy
I VERY much enjoyed your extensive coverage (Echo, Feb 19) of our Prime Minister and his Cabinet’s visit to the North-East last Thursday. In particular, I thought your political editor, Chris Lloyd, was at his best in painting an amusing pen
ON the eve of singer Stephen Gately’s funeral, the Daily Mail printed a hatefilled, ignorant column by Jan Moir. And the Press Complaints Commission (PCC) has now raised some challenging issues for editors by rejecting a complaint by the Boyzone
Thirty years ago the closure of Consett steelworks ripped the heart out of the community. As history repeats itself on Teesside, Gavin Havery talks to former workers about how the County Durham town got back on its feet. AN aerial photograph of Consett
ALLEGATIONS about the Prime Minister’s bad temper dominated the domestic news agenda this weekend. Such claims could do untold damage so close to a General Election. So, instead of ignoring the furore, the PM was forced onto the defensive. For
WITH the weather setting in again, today’s meeting at Carlisle will have to pass an early morning inspection. Frost and snow throughout the country wiped out all the meetings due to take place yesterday and trainers will be hoping the weather
DARLINGTON allayed fears of relegation from North One East with a comprehensive 22-0 win at home to Hartlepool Rovers. A Joe Osleton try handed them the lead inside four minutes. Prop Bill Smith showed great composure to convert and kick a
Newcastle Falcons 12 London Irish 12 LONDON Irish head coach Toby Booth praised Newcastle for their spirited secondhalf comeback in his side’s 12- 12 Guinness Premiership draw at Kingston Park. Tries from George Stowers and Steffon Armitage looked
SUNDERLAND Harriers scored a third consecutive First Division victory to virtually clinch their tenth Start Fitness North-East Harrier League team championship in 11 years in the penultimate fixture at South Shields. The Wearsiders, having
IAN HULME admitted his priorities always lay on securing a Commonwealth Games place next month after failing to shine at the British Gas Great Britain v Germany swim meet in Swansea. The 25-year-old finished second and fifth in the 100m and
ANDY Murray will play his first match since the Australian Open final today when he takes on Igor Kunitsyn in the first round of the Barclays Dubai Tennis Championships. The British number one has taken almost a month off following his exertions
AMY Williams stayed as ice cool on the podium as she did on the track – her stiff upper lip never quivering in the very best British traditions. But Williams admitted she was still in dreamland following her stunning skeleton Olympic gold.
EARLIER in the season, Silksworth comfortably defeated Ashbrooke Belford House, but the tables were turned on Saturday. Ashbrooke romped to a six goal victory, taking full advantage when their local rivals went down to ten men with the dismissal
DURHAM City’s misery continued when they were beaten 7-0 at home by Bradford Park Avenue on Saturday. City were hit before the game when midfielder Andrew Stephenson was injured in the warm-up, and they were a goal down after 16 minutes against
ENGLAND left Dubai for Bangladesh yesterday having gleaned plenty of positives from their drawn Twenty20 series against Pakistan. But the biggest impact may have been made by a man who took no part in either match. Paul Collingwood, England
I WOULD like to comment on the article [by Frank Johnson on the call for the boycott of the nation-wide free-entry weekly Parkrun races] and Mr Alan Elders complaints (Echo Sport, February 9). I strongly believe that Mr Elders could potentially
WHAT has gone wrong at Sunderland? After such a promising start, we are a few points from the relegation zone. Our problem seems to me that we have no creative players in midfield. Both Cattermole and Cana are ball-winners, but don’t do a lot
I HAVE been a bit harsh on The Northern Echo at times in Sports Hear All Sides, but that piece you did last week headlined Best: We’re the Man United of the Championship (Echo Sport, February 15) was a masterpiece. The Geordies walked right
THE passing years appear to have been unkind to World Cup winner and ex-Newcastle boss Ossie Ardiles. In a recent photograph he appeared to have a remarkable resemblance to the 1970s comic Freddie ‘Parrot Face’ Davis. Freddie appeared
Shildon manager Gary Forrest blasted his side’s poor defending in a 3-3 draw at West Allotment, just days before one of the biggest matches in the club’s history. Shildon have an FA Vase quarter-final tie against Whitley Bay this week, but
I HAVE noticed an alarming tendency by your Chief Sports Writer Scott Wilson, to fill the sports pages with Newcastle United articles. This is always to the detriment of column inches on the North-East’s only Premier League club, Sunderland
HAVING read the opinions of Mr Simpson in Sports Hear All Sides (February 15) I had a quick check on the calendar to check that it was not April 1. I can only assume that Mr Simpson is a close relative of either Ken Hodcroft or Chris Turner,
Wigan Athletic 0 Tottenham Hotspur 3 TOTTENHAM manager Harry Redknapp gave Roman Pavlyuchenko a pat on the back after his first league goals of the season – then told him to start knuckling down. The Russian, who had looked set to return to his
Fulham 2 Birmingham City 1 BOBBY Zamora fired a dramatic late winner as Fulham came from behind to edge a scrappy Premier League clash with Birmingham. Watching England boss Fabio Capello had left before Zamora struck a magnificent free-kick
Manchester City 0 Liverpool 0 MANCHESTER City manager Roberto Mancini admitted he does not know when Carlos Tevez will return from compassionate leave having spoken to the striker three days ago. The Argentina international has been in his homeland
Aston Villa 5 Burnley 2 ASTON Villa boss Martin O’Neill saluted a ‘‘terrific performance’’ from Ashley Young as his side came from behind to overpower Burnley 5-2 at Villa Park. Villa were below par in the opening 45 minutes and fell behind to
STRIKER Tadgh Purcell expressed sympathy for fellow Irishman Richie Byrne after his team-mate’s own goal condemned Darlington to defeat. Quakers were heading for a shock but deserved win over Chesterfield, thanks to two goals from Purcell, who
CHRIS HUGHTON has received plaudits from within the game for keeping Newcastle United ahead in the Championship’s promotion race; now the praise is heading his way from an unfamiliar source – the fans. With the Magpies cruising to a 13th home
DAVID Wheater claims Middlesbrough are paying a heavy price for trying to play too much attractive, passing football. Boro enjoyed plenty of possession at Nottingham Forest on Saturday, but a failure to convert that possession into scoring
GARY Liddle bemoaned a lack of luck in Hartlepool United’s home defeat to Huddersfield. Pools went down 2-0 at Victoria Park, putting them close to the League One drop zone. Starting with Carlisle’s visit tomorrow night, Pools have 15 games
Darlington 2 Chesterfield 3 FOR months Darlington have been desperately hoping for a great escape, and on Saturday they witnessed one as opponents Chesterfield somehow snatched victory from the jaws of defeat. Promotion-chasing Spirerites
Hartlepool United 0 Huddersfield Town 2 JUST in case anyone was in any doubt before, Saturday’s events proved that Hartlepool United are now in a fight to stay in League One. Home defeat number six of the season, this time to Huddersfield
STAFF at a railway museum donned Victorian costume at the weekend to promote plans for a new family room. Locomotion: The National Railway Museum, in Shildon, County Durham, has been given £5,000 to refurbish part of the museum for community
STEVE BRUCE admits that despite owner Ellis Short spending millions of pounds to establish Sunderland in a position of Premier League safety, they are facing a third successive battle against relegation. Saturday’s 2-0 defeat at Arsenal extended
A LANDSCAPED history trail was opened at a former Army camp at the weekend, telling about the part it played in winning the Second World War. Colourful panels along the route record how thousands of troops were trained to use tanks at Stainton
A SERVICE for 1,000 Girl Guides was held at Durham Cathedral yesterday. It was held to mark Girlguiding UK’s Centenary World Thinking Day and was called One World One Beat. Members of Girlguiding Durham South took part as girls and young women
A DRUGS courier stopped with a substance that is virtually unheard of in the region is starting a prison sentence. Peter Murcott was carrying more than £18,000 worth of fluoroamphetamine when his car was pulled over on the A19 in North Yorkshire
A REPORT has revealed that the military is boosting the region’s economy by £600m a year and is attracting new business to the area. A multi-agency team, including the Ministry of Defence (MoD), has studied the impact the military has in North
IT was a case of always the bridesmaid, never the bride for Irene McFadden as she watched her 11 siblings enjoy white weddings. After a whirlwind romance with husband, Robert, 64, she tied the knot in a low-key ceremony in Bishop Auckland’s
PASSENGERS on the Wensleydale Railway have boosted the coffers of Help for Heroes and The Royal British Legion. The Prince William locomotive pulled trains 17 miles, between Leeming Bar and Redmire, in North Yorkshire, yesterday. A minute
TWO friends who set up a cannabis farm to provide themselves and their friends with a ready supply of drugs have walked free from court. A police raid at the home of convicted cultivator Dean Signori revealed that he had been using rooms to
FAMILIES of children who were expecting to get free tickets to the 2012 Olympics opening ceremony have spoken of their disappointment at being unable to claim them. Babies born on December 20, 2005, were told they could have free tickets to
Arsenal 2 Sunderland 0 THE ticket touts loitering outside Arsenal tube station on Saturday were hawking seats in the Emirates for £150 apiece, prompting one passerby to make a comment befitting the North London surroundings: “You what? You
Newcastle United 3 Preston North End 0 AFTER losing Michael Owen, Obafemi Martins and Mark Viduka in the summer, it would have been difficult to imagine four players competing to finish as Newcastle United’s leading scorer this season, each
Nottingham Forest 1 Middlesbrough 0 IN the build up to Saturday’s game at Nottingham Forest, Gordon Strachan became embroiled in an altercation with a supporter after refusing a request for an autograph. Two hours later, he will surely have strengthened
BUSINESSES dependent on tourism will be able to receive advice and support at an open day next month. The event, organised by the Yorkshire Dales and Harrogate and the Yorkshire Moors and Coast tourism partnerships, will take place on March
THE contribution made to charities by UK businesses is being recognised with the launch of the Business Charity Awards. The awards, launched by Third Sector Magazine and the Institute of Fundraising, recognise companies that have shown leadership
A FORMER charity fundraising analyst from County Durham has launched a corporate team-building business. Sean Murphy, of Chester-le-Street, set up Lost Events with business partner Philip Walton last year when he was out of work, and received
Dubbed “possibly the worst team in the country” on national TV hours before their latest loss, Durham City AFC battle on. Reporter Bruce Unwin samples the mood among officials and supporters. DOWN, but not out, that’s the message from defiant
A FOOD delivery business which operates from a North Yorkshire family farm has become the fastest-growing firm of its type in the UK within three years of trading. Riverford Organic delivers more than 3,000 boxes of organic produce across the
THE fire brigade has hit out at vandals suspected of damaging a gas main and setting it alight. Police and fire crews evacuated houses near Whessoe Road, Darlington, on Saturday night after the blaze on nearby industrial wasteland. Firefighters
THE region is facing a week of snow showers and sub-zero temperatures, according to the Met Office. Up to 3cm of snow fell over parts of the region yesterday, and more is expected to follow, with Wednesday being particularly bad. Although
DEDICATED football fans who travelled hundreds of miles by plane, train and car to watch their favourite North-East team, only for the match to be rained off, got the VIP treatment on their return. Darlington supporters Derek and David Lawler
THE daughter of a campaigning centenarian whose wheelchair protest helped save her council care home says new closure proposals are an insult to her mother’s memory. The presence of Mona Cook’s mother, Jane Anne Wren, known as Jenny, at County
THE fiance of a disabled woman who was killed when her electric wheelchair was in collision with a car has told of the heartbreaking split-second he lost the love of his life. Pamela Shields had been on a night out at the Last Orders pub in Gilesgate
A NORTH-EAST Olympic hopeful last night told how he walked away from a highspeed crash when his bobsleigh flipped, trapping him beneath. Royal Marine Corporal John Jackson and team-mate Dan Money had been tipped as a genuine British medal prospect
A TEENAGE boy was taken to hospital with serious head injuries last night after being hit by a car. The 15-year-old pedestrian was injured after being hit by a Fiat Punto, in Sunderland. The accident happened at around 6.30pm on Sunday
