A TEENAGE drink-driver thought he had killed his friend in a stolen car crash which also left a mother-to-be and her family injured. Passenger Niall Scott had to be airlifted to hospital after Jason Simmons ploughed into the Renault Megane
Police are taking to golf buggies to target below-par behaviour. For extra officers have been on patrol around Elemore Golf Course in Easington Lane, Sunderland, to tackle anti-social behaviour, in particular motorcycle disorder, after complaints from
A MAN who was attacked in Newcastle yesterday afternoon is described as being in a stable condition. The 48-year-old man from the Bishop Auckland area was rushed to hospital yesterday after suffering serious injuries in an unprovoked assault. Northumbria
HARTLEPOOL got off to a promising opening with a first-day blank at Rochdale. With 12 shots on target, they held the upper hand when it came to attacking and will feel disappointed not to have turned their advantage into victory. They got off to a
An investigation is underway today into a collision between a ferry and a fishing boat that left a teenage fisherman from the North-East lost at sea. Rescue crews last night called off the search for the 16-year-old, who went missing after
NEW signings Evan Horwood and Paul Murrsay made their Hartlepool United debuts at Rochdale. They formed what seemed to be a five-man midfield, as Armann Bjornsson led the forward line on his own. Peter Hartley started at centre-half alongside Sam Collins
GORDON STRACHAN has handed three home debuts to Middlesbrough new-boys against Roy Keane's Ipswich Town this afternoon. Nicky Bailey, the £1.4m buy from Charlton, and the two signings from Rangers, Kris Boyd and Kevin Thomson, have both been
POLICE are hunting a thief who smashed the window of a car with a hammer before ordering its owner to get out and driving off in the vehicle. The incident happened just before 1.30pm on Thursday, when a blue Vauxhall Vectra was parked at the north end
CHRIS Hughton will use today's final pre-season friendly at Rangers as a dress rehearsal for Newcastle's Premier League opener at Manchester United. Hughton has named arguably his strongest starting XI, and provided there are no problems this afternoon
AN uncommonly empty seat in the Middlesbrough press box today – for the first time in 50 years, Ray Robertson won’t be covering Boro’s opening match. It’s because of a family golden wedding, but his hot line’s in cold storage, too. “
Recently awarded two AA Rosettes, the Conservatory Restaurant at The Devonshire Fell hotel, in the Yorkshire Dales, is now among the top dining venues in the north of England. Peta King is invited to sample its new menu. ENGAGING Frenchman
TEN long-distance walks in Scotland and Northern England, including the Cleveland Way, Hadrian’s Wall and the Pennine Way, are succinctly described. But there are no route maps, nor even an indication of the relevant OS maps. The author explains
FROM the general to the particular – in fact 14 “particulars”. That’s the number of walks in this excellent booklet devoted to the former estates of Whitby’s two abbeys – the vanished Saxon and its Norman successor. Overlapping, they stretch about
Viv Hardwick talks to Liza Goddard as she prepares for an Ayckbourn double-act. LIZA GODDARD confesses she agreed to star in Alan Ayckbourn’s 74th play without even knowing what it was about. Life Of Riley started rehearsals this week using
THE Summer Stage Experience, in which a bunch of teenagers under professional guidance put on a big musical in two weeks, goes from strength to strength under directorchoreographer Louise Denison. Guys And Dolls is a big challenge, both musically
KATHERINE DOW BLYTON has been in Coronation Street half a dozen times since first appearing in the ITV soap as Terry Duckworth’s girlfriend 15 years ago. Now she’s back in Corrie playing not one but 11 characters, including such iconic Street
FEW activities have attracted more illustrious devotees than walking. Jane Austen rhapsodised that there was “no felicity superior” to the joy of walking her beloved South Downs. William Wordsworth often found inspiration by pacing a terrace path
TOM Cooper asked: “If Ian Huntley wins his case against the Prison Service for not protecting him from his fellow prisoners does that mean we can all make claims against the police for not protecting us from criminals when we are robbed, etc?”
MASHA Woollard argues that James Bulger killer Jon Venables should still be entitled to the protection of his new identity (HAS, Aug 3) despite having just been convicted of downloading child pornography. Why? No one else convicted of a
Perhaps not in Wesleyan style, but the hymn sandwich may never taste the same again, BY no means without affection, the traditional Methodist service is known as a hymn sandwich. Hymn, prayers, hymn, readings, hymn, sermon, hymn – you get the flavour
ON a walk in Smardale, near Kirkby Stephen, Cumbria, last year we read the Cumbria Wildlife Trust’s information board which gave details of the various flora and fauna that can be seen along the route. We noticed that the Scotch Argus butterfly
THERE has been some debate in HAS recently about the teaching of British history. Writing as someone who has taken many part-time, history-based courses in adult education, a balanced course in the subject would teach both about the periods when
BEING one of the facilitators of the national development project that has gone on to become Unionlearn, the TUC’s training arm, enabled insights to management in a range of organisations. Ninety per cent of organisations had flaws ranging from
HISTORICALLY, our laws were made by the landed gentry, people of property, to protect what they had from the rest of us. The bias toward possessions remains. Regarding sentencing – as discussed in your Comment column (Echo, Aug 3) about the five-year
WITH regard to Christine Wake’s letter (HAS, Aug 4) and others in this column regarding Bishop Auckland Football Club memorabilia I would like to mention that the Durham Amateur Football Trust (Daft) is holding an exhibition, entitled Celebrating
ONE of my very first jobs as a trainee reporter in Darlington in January 1988 was to wander from The Northern Echo’s office in Priestgate over to the Town Hall for the launch of a boring book. The office junior always got what were considered
LIKE most Darlingtonians and incomers alike, I was saddened to learn of the death of leading local historian George Flynn (Echo, some editions, Aug 3). My sympathy goes to his widow, family and many friends. I only met this most knowledgeable
On the 65th anniversary of the dropping of the first atomic bomb, writer William Coles, right, asks if someone who survived both is the luckiest or unluckiest man alive. He tells Steve Pratt why he wanted to write about Mr Two Bomb. THE question
IT is disappointing that the Passionate People, Passionate Places advertising campaign has been frozen. It was run by One North East, the regional development agency, and it worked. It bolstered the region’s image both externally and internally
ENGLAND’S pace attack have Pakistan just where they want them again and last night warned they will not stop until they have won the npower series. Stuart Broad (4-38) and James Anderson (4-20) needed just a little assistance from Steven Finn
DOUBLE Olympic champion Rebecca Adlington believes best friend Jo Jackson has the mental toughness to banish her injury and illness woes and make 2010 a year to remember, not one to forget. The pair have endured differing fortunes this year,
THE once-a-year spectacle of the Shergar Cup takes place this afternoon at Ascot, in which, top-class jockeys from around the world represent their country throughout the sixrace card, with points awarded in each race. For me, it is a great
ENGLAND made the most of heavy cloud cover at Edgbaston to bowl Pakistan out for 72 and then move into a 40-run lead on day one of the second npower Test. After their 80 all out at Trent Bridge six days ago, Pakistan were again in grave danger
DEFENDING champion Alyson Dixon will be chasing a hat-trick of victories in tomorrow’s 23rd Sherwoods Chevrolet Darlington 10K road race. And the 31-year-old Great Britain international could pick up a £150 bonus if she can improve the course
GREAT Britain international Pops Mensah-Bonsu expects the next two years to be a make-or-break period for British basketball. The Ghanaian-born forward is part of the Britain side that will take on Macedonia at Newcastle’s new Sport Central
NATIONALLY, the power struggle at Anfield has caught the eye, but the North-East has had its own takeover talk bubbling along. During the last eight days Hartlepool have been asked to confirm or deny well-placed suggestions that the club’s owners
BOLDON are back to full strength as they begin the six game run-in that could bring them their first Durham Senior League title since 1959. Skipper Chris Ellison and Sean Bradbury both return to the table topping squad for today’s crunch match
THE recent surprise defeats for the leading sides suggest that nothing is certain, but while Chester-le-Street have shown some fallibility they still hold an impressive 45 point lead over South North that should ensure they have sufficient petrol
Kevin Thomson will play his first game under Gordon Strachan today, ten years after first being under his management at Coventry City. Chief Football Writer Paul Fraser finds out how the £2m man ended up on Teesside. WHEN the call came, Kevin Thomson
LAST week’s stunning set of results have opened the door to endless possibilities at either end of the table, with a thrilling climax to the season in prospect. Bishop Auckland, the conquerors of Guisborough, now take a pot at their closest
DURHAM’S bold declaration at Basingstoke was to no avail as Hampshire, captained by Dominic Cork, showed little inclination to take up the challenge. Shane Warne, who preached a positive approach during his time as captain, would have been
YORKSHIRE saved their crucial County Championship match against Nottinghamshire at Headingley yesterday. Despite a nervous batting display for the first two sessions of the final day, Andrew Gale’s team can look back on a job well done as they
AT the start of last season, you could have got odds of more than 100-1 on Blackpool winning promotion from the Championship. Next Saturday, however, Ian Holloway’s side will be tackling Wigan on the opening weekend of the topflight season
SIR Alex Ferguson believes Manchester United come face to face with the biggest obstacle to their quest to reclaim domestic superiority this season when they take on Chelsea in tomorrow’s Community Shield. Although Manchester City have again
CHRIS HUGHTON will spend the weekend reconsidering his transfer targets after learning that Manchester United have decided not to allow attacking midfielder Tom Cleverley to head out on loan. The Magpies are one of a number of clubs to have
ENGLISHMAN Scott Sutter was yesterday pinching himself after his Young Boys side were drawn to play his boyhood idols Tottenham in the Champions League play-off round. Lifelong Spurs fan Sutter will take on the club he used to cheer on at White
KRIS BOYD admits that the chance to escape the fierce Old Firm rivalries that ensured he couldn’t walk the streets of Glasgow without risk of being abused was a motivating factor behind his move from Rangers to Middlesbrough. But today’s visit
CONVINCING potential new players to relocate to the North-East can be problematic, admits Darlington manager Mark Cooper, who makes no secret of the fact he prefers coaching to negotiating. Despite his frank admission, Cooper has been able
AFTER being issued with a relegation warning from every fan he has met during the last six weeks, Chris Turner has told his Hartlepool United players to prove the pessimists wrong. Pools begin their third successive season in League One away
STUART Broad admitted the England attack were grateful for losing the toss after skittling Pakistan out for 72 on day one of the second Test at Edgbaston. After their 80 all out at Trent Bridge seven days ago, Pakistan were again in grave danger
IT might not boast the glamour of the Premier League, and it’s safe to assume the 24 teams involved in it are desperate to be playing in a different division in 12 months time. But when Middlesbrough kick off their Championship campaign against
MIDDLESBROUGH are seeking reassurances over the fitness of Matt Kilgallon before rubber-stamping the defender’s loan move from North-East neighbours Sunderland. Boro begin their second season in the Championship at home to Ipswich Town this afternoon
A PASSIONATE Boro fan who has been watching the team play for 70 years has been named its Supporter of the Season. Grandmother Alice Morgan started attending matches at Midddlesbrough Football Club’s Ayresome Park ground with her father in
A DRUG dealer who tried to trick customers by selling them cocoa powder once boasted to an undercover police officer: “I’ve got some belting dooda.” Gareth Griffiths, 30, claimed to have top-quality heroin, but warned people to be careful injecting
STEAM fans from across the region are enjoying one of the country’s biggest gatherings of traction engines. Pickering Traction Engine Rally features machines from across the country. Among the attractions on show at the North Yorkshire event
LABOUR MPs last night criticised the Government for cutting spending aimed at promoting the North-East as a major tourist destination. Development agency One North East had applied for an exemption so it could go ahead with an advertising campaign
A STEAM locomotive that appeared in the Harry Potter films will feature in a wizard-themed exhibition. The Hogwarts Castle will be one of the main attractions at the Wizard Weekend, at the National Railway Museum, in York, next Saturday and
A GULF War veteran who worked in Iraq after he left the Army has died in a hotel fire. Father-of-three Roy Blair, of Ripon, was one of 29 people who died when fire swept through the five-storey Soma Hotel, in the Kurdistan region, last month
WORKERS who were laid off after the loss of a £250m oil rig contract have won a settlement of more than £400,000 from their former employer, The Northern Echo can reveal. About 130 former employees of Cleveland Bridge pursued a claim against
MIXED messages about the economy and the impact of public spending cuts are forcing retailers to plan ahead for another cautious Christmas, retail experts in the North- East have said. Despite reports of an increase in like-for-like sales in
FORTY years ago, Alan Lax joined a fledgling Teesside company that was starting to make a mark in the plant hire and demolition business. Today, Mr Lax is leaving the business after spending his career at Able UK, working alongside Peter Stephenson
THE search for a teenage fisherman who went missing off the North-East coast after his boat and a passenger ferry collided was called off yesterday. Rescue crews stepped down the search for the 16-year-old – believed to be from North Shields, North
A WOMAN who pulled out a samurai sword during an argument with her partner walked free from court yesterday. Amanda Cliffe was given a community order with six months of supervision after a judge heard she had never been in trouble before. Cliffe
MULTI-BILLION pound plans to transform County Durham into an economic powerhouse have won the backing of one of the region’s most famous businessmen. Millionaire former Newcastle United chairman Sir John Hall said the County Durham Plan opened
A YOUNG impresario will host a music festival next Saturday. Lee Davis, 22, will stage ChesterFest at Riverside Park, Chester-le-Street. The event, on two stages, will feature 18 acts including Mr Davis’ own band – The Liberty Roses. He hopes
The excitement and anticipation is continuing to build as the premier Tall Ships arrived in Hartlepool Marina. Graeme Hetherington sailed out to meet some of the ships as they reached their destination. POOR weather conditions had played
TWELVE hundred runners will line up at the start of tomorrow’s Darlington 10k. Organisers changed the entry requirements this year asking for runners to sign up before the event and have been rewarded with a capacity turnout. Last year, the race
MORE than a quarter of Britain’s best-rated beaches should be stripped of their Blue Flag status, campaigners say. According to research by Surfers Against Sewage (SAS), 34 beaches are unable to comply with a requirement imposed by the Blue
SEVEN multi-million pound school building and upgrade projects that could have faced the axe have been spared, the Government announced last night. Dozens of schools across the region had been told their schemes were not going ahead or were
A CHURCH minister has criticised a council’s decision to impose a no-stopping zone right outside her church – leaving hearses and bridal cars at the mercy of parking attendants. However, Darlington Borough Council has promised to review the situation
