FIRECREWS were called to a hotel in Market Place, Hawes, North Yorkshire on Thursday night. Staff at the hotel, the name of which was not released by the fire service, called the emergency services around 7.45pm saying there was a fire in a
AN elderly man had to be cut free from his car after it was involved in a three-vehicle accident on Thursday night. The accident happened around 5.30pm on Dishforth Road, Sharrow, near Ripon, North Yorkshire. A woman driver in another of the cars, which
Horden are hoping for a good turn out in a friendly they have arranged next week. Horden boss Brian Honour, a Hartlepool legend, has arranged a friendly against their big brother neighbours on Tuesday night, kick off 7pm. Pools are without a midweek
Middlesbrough Council’s Welfare Rights Unit, in partnership with NHS Middlesbrough, is undertaking a targeted take-up drive for all Blue Badge holders aged under 65 who don’t already receive the mobility component of Disability Living Allowance
SUNDERLAND have recalled midfielder Jack Colback from his loan spell at Ipswich as manager Steve Bruce faces a fresh injury crisis.The 21-year-old was due to remain with the Portman Road club until later this month, but could go straight into the
THE widow of a bomb disposal expert wept as his body was repatriated to the UK today. Warrant Officer Class 2 Charlie Wood's wife, Heather, stood at the side of the road in Wootton Bassett wearing his medals with pride. She placed red
EMERGENCY services were called to deal with a suspect package at a distribution centre today. A total of 24 firefighters, along with police officers, were called to DHL on the Team Valley Trading Estate in Gateshead at 7.45am. A Tyne and Wear fire and
A JURY took just half-an-hour today to clear a man of raping a middle-aged mother in her County Durham home. Keith Robertson was unanimously acquitted at the end of a three-day trial he has faced at Teesside Crown Court this week. Mr Robertson - who
Eleven more people have died from flu across the UK, taking the total to 50, the Health Protection Agency said this afternoon. Of these, 45 died with swine flu and five with another strain, flu type B. The deaths are mostly among children and young
Police have named the driver of a Peugeot 306 who died in a collision with an HGV on the A66 at Gilling West on Monday. Daniel Green, 20, from Gilling West, suffered serious injuries in the incident and was pronounced dead at the scene.
MIDDLESBROUGH’S schools could be better off to the tune of more than £1 million – and parents hold the key. They won’t have to face a grilling by telly quizmaster Chris Tarrant – a simple bit of form filling could hold the key to the cash windfall
Dance City is aiming for North-East performers to shine right across the UK. Viv Hardwick reports. ANTONY Baker’s inaugural season as director of Newcastle’s Dance City has seen the venue attracting new audiences to watch world-class work. He says
The world’s top magician Jason Latimer from the US is the headline act for this year’s South Tyneside International Magic Festival. ONE of the world’s most celebrated magicians will be headlining the South Tyneside International Magic Festival
Wearside-born Adam Maxwell has found that the ebook market is ideal for his short stories and detective novels. Viv Hardwick reports. A N award-winning North- East creative writer is celebrating after downloads of his eBooks exceeded 25,000
Danny Boyle talks with Steve Pratt about the challenge of turning Aron Ralston’s survival story into a movie. OSCAR-winning director Danny Boyle knew from the outset which sequence in his new film 127 Hours would be the most talked about
Stars: Colin Firth, Geoffrey Rush, Helena Bonham Carter, Guy Pearce, Michael Gambon, Derek Jacobi, Timothy Spall, Jennifer Ehle Running time: 118 mins Rating: ★★★★★ DENIED a best actor Oscar last year for his turn as a gay lecturer in A Single
Stars: Russell Crowe, Elizabeth Banks, Ty Simpkins, Jason Beghe, Olivia Wilde, Aisha Hinds, Daniel Stern, Brian Dennehy, Helen Carey Running time: 133 mins Rating: ★★★ THAT Oscar-winning writer-director Paul Haggis should chose to follow
Stars: James Franco, Amber Tamblyn, Kate Mara Running time: 93 mins Rating: ★★★★ SO what’s 127 Hours about? That man who cut off his own arm with a penknife. The subject from Danny Boyle, Oscar-winning director of Slumdog Millionaire
Four out of the 16 skaters are set to leave the show in the first two weeks of Dancing on Ice 2011. This newlook format means that North-East star Denise Welch feels under pressure. At 52, the skater partnered by Matt Evers, is the second oldest
Newcastle 02 Academy, February 12 Full event listings on pages 50/51/52 Exciting time: California band Good Charlotte Gary Mullen, Sunderland Empire, Saturday THE sixth, the Kerrang! Relentless Energy Drink Tour will be hitting the road in February
TWENTY people are down to audition with more applying each day for the X-Factor-style chance to perform Teesside fire fighter and musician Ed Parrish’s charity single. Six entrants from Sunday’s audition at Liberty’s in Middlesbrough will go
WHAT’S ON: The Northern Sinfonia, Mozart and Schubert quintets, The Sage Gateshead, 8pm, Wednesday. Box office: 0191-443-4661. REVIEWS: Cecilia Bartoli: Sospiri (Decca 4782558) Mezzo-soprano Bartoli has championed the rediscovery of some of the more
CD REVIEWS Eric Harland/Voyager: Live by night (Space Time Records BG1031) Drummer Eric Harland has already established a tremendous reputation having appeared with many great jazz musicians including Dave Holland and McCoy Tyner.
MENTION the coal miner’s daughter and every country fan thinks of Loretta Lynn. This year, the big sister of Crystal Gayle is celebrating the 50th anniversary of her debut single, I’m A Honkytonk Girl. Already a Grammy Lifetime Achiever and member
THE new year kicks off with some great music around the local clubs, with plenty more on the way in the months ahead. Tonight, singer-songwriter Penny McLaren-Walker is at Darlington Arts Centre, and then on Saturday, Washington’s Davy Lamp
Singer Kimberly Wyatt rose to fame as a member of girl group The Pussycat Dolls, but left to pursue solo projects. She released a top five single, Candy, with rapper Aggro Santos and became a judge on Sky 1’s dance show Got To Dance. She is now set
In part two of his round-up of music in 2010, Andy Welch talks festivals, the Fab Four and the Robbie reunion with Take That. WHILE the first half of 2010 was ruled by GaGa and a bunch of newbies, the summer was once again given over to the usual
The Girl Who Played With Fire (15) 124 mins, Momentum Pictures Home Entertainment, DVD £17.99/Blu-ray £19.99) CRUSADNG journalist Mikael Blomkvist (Michael Nyqvist) has not heard from computer hacker Lisbeth Salander (Noomi Rapace) for a year. He
HANDY Andy Sugden takes his role as Katie’s old flame too literally. He’s so hot for his blonde ex that he spontaneously combusts and before you can say “hot stuff”, Victoria Cottage is on fire. At least, that’s one of the theories being considered
THERE is a constant hum and chirrup of computers, phones and iPods in our house. All too often, when they’re not updating their Facebook status, or checking out those of their friends, the teenagers will be glued to a PlayStation game. Either
North-East naturalist Ian Bond’s greatest wish this new year is to hear the cry of an owl outside his bedroom window. I’M going to miss Heartbeat. Not for the nostalgic Sixties sound-track, much as the ageing hippy in me rises to it, nor for its
THE socialists fought the fascists in Spain, on the streets of Britain and in Germany. Even before the second World War had begun, socialists were among those sent as prisoners to the Nazi concentration camps. Had the socialists not warned the
The Sinking Of The Laconia (BBC2, 9pm); The Good Wife (More4, 9pm); Not Going Out (BBC1, 9.30pm). THE name of writer Alan Bleasdale, who gave us Boys From The Blackstuff and GBH, has been absent from TV credits for some time. He’s back tonight
DURHAM City Vision? Before Christmas I think someone should have gone to Spec Savers. My recent seasonal visit to our beloved, devastated, city centre made me wonder if neighbouring councils had put into motion a cunning plot to drive people away
IT’S a shame that Peter Mullen in his diatribe about the modern versions of the Bible (Echo, Jan 3) did not include the whole of verse one from Corinthians Chapter three, because it illustrates perfectly why the translations into modern day English
MANKIND has no effect on the planet, according to Andrew Stephenson (HAS, Jan 4). I see many effects of human activity on the planet. You don’t need to look too hard – unless you already have blinkers on. Deforestation, pollution, overfishing,
DARLINGTON householders have been extremely lucky. I cannot praise the binmen, the milkman and the paperboy too much. They have never missed a collection or a delivery throughout the snow. I live in a cul-de-sac where the snow was never moved
THE VAT increase is likely to have a variable effect on those with moderate incomes. Some will economise. For instance, more people may cycle rather than use a car on short trips. Others will use credit cards more than they did and could accumulate
I THOUGHT I was alone in not applauding the speech made by Prince William in support of England’s bid to host the 2018 World Cup. That is, until I watched a recent episode of Russell Howard’s Good News. It was wonderful to see a presenter with
THE failure to continue making the A66 trans-pennine route completely dual carriageway, instead of a bit here and a bit there, is a disgrace. Only a couple of days ago we had another fatal accident on this dangerous stretch of road. When you consider
WHAT makes a good actor? Not always someone constantly in the limelight, yet so often the ability to perform lies with the image projected by celebrity. But there is a natural stream of talent that avoids stardom. The actor Pete Postlethwaite
In a new book, military historian John Sadler follows the campaigns of Second World War in the words of Durham Light Infantry’s ‘citizen soldiers’ and, he tells Steve Pratt, investigates a slur on the regiment’s reputation. MILITARY historian
IN these cash-strapped times, every person and every organisation is looking to maximise the return on their assets. The Church Commissioners hope to cash in on the Zurbaran paintings that have hung in Auckland Castle for 260 years. Liquidating
Pop go the Movies is a superb high energy musical performance based on blockbuster hits from the stage and screen. Performances will be taken from We Will Rock You, Grease, Saturday Night Fever, Dream Girls, Mamma Mia, Slumdog Millionaire,
WLADIMIR KLITSCHKO should feel ashamed for opting to fight Dereck Chisora rather than set up a unification bout with David Haye, according to the latter’s manager and trainer Adam Booth. Haye, the WBA champion, has been engaged in protracted
BENTLEY evidently enjoys a trip to Southwell and he can make short shrift of a 6lb penalty at the Nottinghamshire venue. The Brian Baugh-trained seven-year-old revelled in a course-and-distance cakewalk last month and should really be following
Graeme McDowell and Hunter Mahan will renew their Ryder Cup rivalry when the 2011 US Tour gets under way in Hawaii today. McDowell famously beat Mahan in the final singles match at Celtic Manor in October, securing a one-point victory for the
DURHAM all-rounder Paul Collingwood is aiming to go out on a high after announcing his retirement from Test cricket. Collingwood, 34, made public his decision to call it a day ahead of today’s play in the fifth Ashes Test in Sydney, with England
TOP seed and world number one Rafael Nadal shrugged off the effects of a fever and a calamitous second set to battle past Lukas Lacko and book his place in the quarterfinals of the Exxonmobil Open in Doha. Nadal looked to be heading for an
Blackburn Rovers 3 Liverpool 1 A DEPRESSED Liverpool manager Roy Hodgson refused to answer questions about his future after his side slipped to an embarrassing 3-1 defeat at Blackburn. Two goals from Benjani Mwaruwari, who had not started since
NOT many Australian selectors would dare to drop Shane Warne, but it appears the nation’s TV executives take a different view. The final episode of the legendary leg-spinner’s chat show, Warnie, has been removed from the schedule amid the general
ALASTAIR COOK and Ian Bell were both beset by moments of controversy on their way to the hundreds which put England within sight of Ashes history. Cook’s 189 took his series tally to 766 – Wally Hammond is the only Englishman to have made more
MATTHEW BATES wants his “ugly” defensive sidekick to stick around at Middlesbrough after forming a partnership of huge promise at the Riverside Stadium. Stoke City are now believed to be the leading contenders to sign David Wheater this month
DARLINGTON target Marc Bridge-Wilkinson could yet have a future at Carlisle United. The 31-year-old has been a huge success while on loan to Quakers from Carlisle since mid-October. His long-range strike in Monday’s 3-1 win over Barrow was
NEWCASTLE’S 5-0 victory over West Ham last night – the third time the Magpies have hit five goals at St James’ Park this season – came on the same day they confirmed the arrival of Ben Arfa on a permanent basis. Ben Arfa, not expected to return
A BRUTALLY honest Steve Bruce last night blamed himself after Sunderland midfielder David Meyler suffered a second cruciate knee ligament injury in the space of eight months. Meyler’s departure on a stretcher, which preceded a hamstring injury
Newcastle United 5 West Ham United 0 IF Sunday was about proving Newcastle United were not a one-man team, then last night showed they can actually cope in the absence of both of their first-choice strikers. Perhaps a comprehensive 5
Aston Villa 0 Sunderland 1 SUNDERLAND picked up only their second away win of the season at Villa Park last night, but the fear is that they might well have lost something even more valuable in the process. Phil Bardsley’s ferocious
ALAN PARDEW last night reiterated that Newcastle United will not be selling Andy Carroll this month before cheekily claiming that Tottenham could now turn to hattrick hero Leon Best instead. On the day it emerged Tottenham have made formal
A MULTI-MILLION pound bypass that looked likely to be affected by public spending cuts may yet be thrown a lifeline. Plans for the A684 Bedale, Aiskew and Leeming Bar bypass, in North Yorkshire, were put on hold last year, pending the outcome
CITY development company 1NG is leading a bid to win a slice of the Government’s £1.4bn Regional Growth Fund (RGF) to help construct the biggest purpose-built conferencing centre in the North. The proposed International Conference and Exhibition
HEAVY vehicle manufacturer Caterpillar expects to take on about 100 staff at its County Durham plant as it continues to recover from the economic downturn. The company axed 400 of its 1,000-plus workers two years ago in response to falling
A MOTORIST who has been on the run from police since he caused a serious accident will start a 20-month prison sentence when he is finally caught. Polish national Arkadiusz Margol was convicted in his absence by a jury yesterday after a dangerous
A TELEMARKETING firm is preparing to triple the size of its workforce and double turnover after landing several high-profile contracts in its first year of operation. Touchstone Leads, based in Shildon, County Durham, was launched nearly a year
DISMAL high street trading during the pre-Christmas freeze has prompted music chain HMV to close 60 stores, as fashion retailer Next blamed December’s weather conditions for £22m in lost sales. However, upmarket supermarket chain Waitrose is
A MAN from the North-East is staging a protest outside the offices of the US company which he blames for the breakdown of his marriage and loss of access to his son. Mark Heslehurst, originally from Middlesbrough, began his vigil outside French-owned
THE jewellery business launched by the wife and daughter of a North-East entrepreneur has gone into liquidation. Lebeado Ltd, which specialised in beads and jewellery-making equipment, and was set up by Karl Watkins’ wife, Jill, and daughter,
THE Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) has labelled this week’s VAT increase a “hammer blow” to firms in the region, as it urged the Chancellor to introduce measures that will help hard-hit traders. An FSB survey showed that three quarters
A FIRM is encouraging mobile phone users to recoup some money after Christmas by cashing in their unwanted handsets. Web design agency Edward Robertson, which has offices in Darlington and Newcastle, set up mobile phone comparison site, sellmyoldmobile
A SOLDIER was left with a fractured vertebrae in his neck when he was beaten up outside a nightclub, a court heard yesterday. Christopher Briggs was attacked after becoming involved in an argument with a woman in Stockton town centre in June
TV presenter Ben Fogle, president of the Campaign for National Parks (CNP), is appealing for public donations in the wake of spending cuts. The nature programme presenter is highlighting a fighting fund set up to champion national parks, which
A BURGLAR who raided his brother’s home was yesterday granted his wish when he asked to be locked up to prove he was sorry. Shawn Bingham was sent to a young offenders’ institution for ten months for breaking into the flat in Blackbush Walk
A COUPLE who first met in 1956 before being separated for 50 years have finally tied the knot. Jack Ward and Margaret Henderson dated each other for eight months 54 years ago, after meeting at Chester Ballroom, Chester-le-Street. But their
AN inquiry was under way last night into the unexplained death of a resident at a privately-owned hostel. The body of the 57-year-old man, named locally as Raymond Iley, was found by a member of his family at Albert Care Home, in Front Street
A WELL-KNOWN Yorkshireman who worked with youth clubs for more than 40 years has died. Cyril Bailey, 85, served the youth club movement for 41 years, 30 of them as organising secretary of the North Riding Association of Youth Clubs. His job
AN overweight woman was spurred to lose five stone after she was diagnosed with a serious medical condition. Sarah Davison, of Redcar, east Cleveland, lost 70lb after she was told she had the potentially life-threatening condition sleep apnoea
A COUNCILLOR has accused fellow members of mounting a vendetta against him after being ordered to apologise for comments he made. Councillor Newton Wood was accused of breaching Barnard Castle Town Council’s code of conduct during two meetings
A PENSIONER says he felt humiliated and embarrassed when he was asked to leave a cinema session exclusively for mothers and babies. Film buff Alan Cunningham, 70, thought the 10.30am 3-D screening of Gulliver’s Travels at the Odeon, MetroCentre,
AN alleged sex attacker has told a jury that he was stunned when he was accused of raping a woman in her home. Keith Robertson said moments earlier he had been drinking and kissing his accuser and making plans to see her again. The 51-year-old
THE art best appreciated by pub-goers is that of pulling a good pint. However, regulars at the Bay Horse Inn have also come to admire another formidable skill developed by landlady Sue Wass. For the former stable groom is also a self-taught
Crook manager Brian Maitland said that he was very proud of his players after giving First Division Norton a scare in their Durham Challenge Cup final last night. Crook were starting to think of extra time with the score 1-1 going into the
A WOMAN has admitted behaving in a lewd and indecent manner after being caught on CCTV apparently performing a sex act on a stranger. Dawn Sharpe agreed to be bound over when she appeared before Teesside Magistrate’s Court yesterday.
Green tea could prevent cancer, says North study SCIENTISTS in the region have found evidence that drinking green tea could help prevent dementia and cancer. The study, published today in Phytomedicine, demonstrated how the ancient Chinese remedy
a former special forces soldier who was dubbed “the man who came back from the dead” after surviving being shot in the head. Darlington-born David Patrick Collins, 56, died in hospital on Christmas Eve following a seven-month battle with pancreatic
A former binman from the North-East will represent Romania in this year’s Eurovision Song Contest. Jim Entwistle speaks to karaoke singer turned pop star David Bryan. WHEN David Bryan was working on the bins around Shildon, Ferryhill and Bishop
THE Church Commissioners are pressing ahead with the sale of a historic set of paintings and are yet to make a decision about the fate of Auckland Castle. The commissioners, who look after the Church of England’s assets, were at the castle
THE rising number of swine flu patients is swamping available beds at the region’s only specialist unit to treat critically- ill victims of the virus. The warning, from the doctor in charge of the unit, coincided with confirmation that the surge
