TWO servicemen from the North-East have been jailed for their part in a smuggling ring which brought an estimated seven million cigarettes into the country on military flights. Senior Aircraftman Paul Garbutt, of Avon Grove, Billingham, near Stockton
After many months of form filling and anxious waiting Thornaby have been informed that they have been awarded £48,000 by the National Lottery -- and now it's full steam ahead to refurbish Teesdale Park. Thornaby will use the cash to improve the facilities
POLICE are appealing for help to track burglars who stole jewellery and the victim’s car which was parked in the garage. The raid took place on Maple Road, in Richmond, when the burglars broke in sometime between January 30 and 6.40pm on February 3.
CYCLISTS have caused no accidents in Darlington's Pedestrian Heart despite an increase in the amount of people using bikes. The figures are contained in a report which has been circulated to members of Darlington Borough Council's Economy and Environment
A YOUTH project in Willington is moving to new premises to accommodate its growing popularity. The Aspire Youth Project, which was set up by parents, local businesses and Councillor Becky Brunskill a year ago, to provide a retreat for young people is
LOVE will be in the air at Bishop Auckland next weekend as the town holds a Valentine-themed celebration. Stilt walkers, jugglers, balloon-modellers and human statues will add a touch of romance to the Fore Bondgate area of the town on Saturday, February
A SCHEME promoting responsible drinking has been launched in a fourth County Durham town. Licensees in Bishop Auckland signed up to the Best Bar None initiative yesterday, which aims to reduce the risk of alcohol-related crime and disorder and promote
POLICE are warning people in Ferryhill to be vigilant after an increase in scrap-related crime in the area. Lead thefts have been particularly problematic, with assailants stealing lead from outhouses, garages and bay windows of properties.
A KIND hearted gas manager is collecting discarded, kid-sized football shirts to bring joy to the street children of Goa. George Wilkinson from Yarm has asked his colleagues at the region's gas pipeline operator, Northern Gas Networks to hand in their
A MOUNTAIN rescue team have found a man today who has been missing for over 40 hours. The 64-year-old from Kelloe, County Durham was last seen walking out of the University Hospital of North Durham around 8pm on Wednesday. Teesdale and
THE demolition of a derelict building is set to start following a six year battle. Stockton Council pursued the building's owners - Bizzy B Management - through the courts to put an end to Billingham House's unwelcome continued presence in the town.
The first pictures of Volkswagen's revised Tiguan compact 4x4 have been revealed ahead of the car making its public debut at the Geneva Motor Show next month. Sporting a new front end defined by horizontal lines to bring it into line with the latest
COUNCILLORS are paying £25,000 for a new fence to stop flytipping on a site overlooked by the East Coast mainline. The land at Jacques Terrace in Chester-le-Street has been used as an illegal tip for old household appliances and even a caravan.
POLICE are investigating a spate of recent arson attacks on farmland that have caused thousands of pounds worth of damage. The latest fire, near Northallerton, North Yorkshire, on Tuesday evening, saw 160 bales of straw destroyed. They were worth about
A MARTIAL arts club is launching a beginners’ Aikido course in its drive for new members. The Kuraikan Dojo (correct( has been running at the Chester-le-Street Community Centre for about five years and has 18 members The six-session weekly course
IF Doctor Who was looking to upgrade the TARDIS he could do worse than have a look at the Hyundai ix20. Admittedly, it's probably not the first car you might think of when contemplating intergalactic travel, but if your prerequisites include a need to
PEOPLE suffering from lung conditions in the Stockton and North Tees area have a new support group to call on for help. The British Lung Foundation (BLF) has launched a new Breathe Easy group to offer support and information to anyone living with lung
A TALENTED young musician is beginning to make one of the regions most distinguished venues her second home. Emma Armstrong has performed 14 times in front of thousands of people at The Sage in Gateshead. The 14-year-old singer, from Skelton, east Cleveland
THE cards have been tumbling as Operation Tornado continues to sweep up known criminals. The operation is targeting known offenders, with each police district - Middlesbrough, Redcar, Stockton and Hartlepool - compiling a "playing card" list of 13 men
VITAL safety work to remove asbestos from a dilapidated former swimming baths will begin next week. Elvet Baths, off Old Elvet, Durham, has been unused since being replaced by the £12.3m Freeman’s Quay leisure centre in July 2008. It was due to be demolished
YOUTH workers are to take to the streets to try to prevent young people becoming involved in anti-social behaviour. Teams of youth workers wearing high visibility vests will be targeting hot spots in the Consett area on Friday and Saturday nights to
Police launched a search of the Usworth Road area of Hartlepool this morning after a possible sighting of missing Darren Waller. Officers started the operation at around 7.30am after a member of the public reported that they believed someone matching
A CHARITY fundraiser is looking to raise funds to help train guide dogs by running the London Marathon. Andrew Bluck, from Think Interiors, is to take part in the 2011 Virgin London Marathon to raise money for The Guide Dogs for the Blind Association
Shame on parents who are ‘too busy’ to read their children a bedtime story. BURGLAR Bill lives in our house. And Alfie and Annie Rose. Not to mention Postman Pat, Katie Morag, Charlie Bucket, Thomas, Ivor, Matilda, the Pevensies, Jennings,
Law & Order (Channel 5, 10pm); Welcome to Romford (C4, 7.30pm); The Lock Up (BBC3, 8.30pm). IT’S so long since the Law & Order team first started investigating crime – 1990 to be precise. Look at the formula and you can perhaps understand why it’
TODAY'S race meeting at Catterick has been abandoned because of the weather, racecourse bosses have confirmed. The first race of the day was due to get under way at 1.10pm, with the decision to cancel made earlier this morning. It is
LORD Forsyth of Drumlean, an investment bank advisor, defends bankers bonuses with the claim that there will be “50 per cent tax paid” (Echo, Feb 2). One can only wonder what evidence there is for this claim. I would be fairly sure that an army
SINCE the last General Election this new coalition Government has broken promise after promise, so how can we trust it with the NHS? The service came into being in 1948 after Aneurin Bevan fought long and hard to create what has become the envy
AM I missing something in your article, “A common touch” (Echo, Feb 1), about blue-collar comedy? The programmes quoted as “working class” included The Royle Family (all unemployed), Bread (mostly unemployed), Birds of a Feather (both spouses
PUBLIC libraries have for countless years served the people. They help children develop and improve their reading skills, provide the young with access to books and music which help in their school, college and university studies, and also help
LIKE Peter Evans (HAS, Feb 1) I owe my life to the care and skill of the cardiac care team at the James Cook University Hospital, Middlesbrough, and particularly the encouragement and support I received from everyone on Wards 31 and 32. I had
THE proposed change to non-domestic business rates, whereby the local authority would keep the rates it raises from its locality by way of encouraging economic growth, has Councillor Simon Henig, Labour leader of Durham County Council (DCC),
SO Chancellor George Osborne tells the BBC’s Politics Show that no politician likes to raise taxes. Well, he could have fooled me, especially when it comes to VAT. In 1973, Tory Ted Heath introduced VAT at eight per cent. At the 1979 General
IT cannot be right that the European Aviation Safety Authority (Easa) is pressing for an increase in pilots’ working hours – a move that will be working against safety, not for it, endangering the lives of plane passengers and crew. It is good
THE 700 Club homeless hostel charity does valuable work in Darlington, but I feel that following the recent employment tribunal which found against the club, the comments of its founder, the Reverend Dr John Elliston (Echo, Feb 1), are misguided
STRANGE isn’t it. Whenever you see a story of a fire rescue, it’s the person who has been saved who is in the picture. If it’s a pet, human nature being what it is, the picture will be twice as big. It’s quite rare to see the firefighter who rescued
Prime Minister David Cameron’s Big Society plans have come under scrutiny following an employment tribunal’s ruling against a North-East homeless charity. Here, in an open letter to Mr Cameron, those behind the charity state their case. Dear Prime
EGYPTIAN President Hosni Mubarak now needs to show real leadership. He has attempted to pour cold water on the huge demonstrations against his reign by saying that he will leave in September. This appears to be the 82-year-old’s proud tactic to
FEELIN Foxy can make the most of a return to Polytrack and regain winning ways in the bluesq.com On Your iPhone Conditions Stakes at Wolverhampton. The seven-year-old did not appear to appreciate the Fibresand track when beaten into fourth last
HUNDREDS of public sector jobs in the North-East have been secured. Business Secretary Vince Cable yesterday announced that the jobs at the Department of Business Innovation and Skills in Darlington will now not move to Whitehall. The Department
The former England skipper writes exclusively for The Northern Echo during the RBS 6 Nations. WITH the start of the 2011 Rugby World Cup little more than seven months away, the road to New Zealand will well and truly get under way in Cardiff tonight
AS protests over the privatisation of the region’s woodland grows, The Northern Echo can reveal that one 526- hectare forest has been sold to a consultancy company. The Forestry Commission confirmed last night that The Stang, an evergreen forest
SHANE WILLIAMS has identified demanding twin targets in what is set to be his final year of Test rugby – the RBS 6 Nations title and a successful World Cup campaign. Williams plans to retire from the international game in October, having graced
1 Are Rio Ferdinand and John Terry back to being England’s first-choice centre-halves? IN the wake of last summer’s World Cup disappointment, a ground swell of opinion claimed John Terry’s best days were behind him. It certainly looked that
ENGLAND manager Martin Johnson credited Wales for their contribution to a “spicy build-up” ahead of tonight’s RBS 6 Nations showdown. But when the action gets serious at the Millennium Stadium, Johnson believes Warren Gatland’s men will be unable
ENGLAND’S injury-riddled end to their tour of Australia continued yesterday after Paul Collingwood became the fifth player forced to leave early. Collingwood suffered a back spasm while batting in Wednesday’s two-wicket defeat in the sixth one-day
MICK Wadsworth admits his Hartlepool United players are feeling the effects of their winless run. Pools have not secured three points in League One since New Year’s Day – a winless run in league and FA Cup of seven games. But before then they
TONY MOWBRAY is hoping Andrew Taylor will agree a new long-term contract at Middlesbrough next week. Taylor’s current deal is due to expire at the end of the season, and having spent the first half of the campaign on loan at Watford, the 24-yearold
LIVERPOOL’S record signing Andy Carroll insists he is ready for the responsibility which comes with his huge transfer fee and inheriting the club’s number nine shirt. The 22-year-old completed a £35m move – the highest sum paid for a British player
A CLASSROOM within a classroom will help vocational students engineer themselves a successful future. Darlington College has introduced the lecturette in its engineering department to provide a classroom within one of the workshops. Building surveying
AS he prepares to take his side to Blue Square North outfit AFC Telford in the FA Trophy tomorrow, Mark Cooper is hoping Darlington can put their disappointing away form behind them. Quakers have only won twice on their travels this season
Hummersknott School held its snow-delayed awards ceremony last night A SCHOOL'S outstanding achievers were celebrated at an awards ceremony last night. The leavers' presentation evening at Hummersknott School, in Darlington, was due to take place
BRIGHT yellow and red bins have been placed across Darlington thismonth to help residents in the fight against scams that promise easy money. Darlington Borough Council's trading standards team is supporting a national Office of Fair Trading campaign
TRADING standards officials are urging the public for further help in stopping illegal tobacco sales after more than 600,000 packets of smuggled cigarettes were seized in the region. An appeal last year led to a surge in public tipoffs about
SUNDERLAND will make a renewed attempt to sign longterm target Charles N’Zogbia this summer – and are not concerned by Newcastle United’s surprise pursuit of the Wigan winger. Black Cats boss Steve Bruce has been trailing N’Zogbia ever since
GOLFERS turned their clubhouse into a French cafe to host a fundraising comedy performance. Members of Darlington Golf Club, pictured , staged 'Allo 'Allo! over two nights and raised £1,300 for the Help for Heroes campaign. The club
NEWCASTLE UNITED captain Kevin Nolan last night apologised to any fans he angered when he declared his backing for Andy Carroll’s sensational deadline day transfer to Liverpool. Magpies supporters have been critical of Nolan for the way he
MAJOR players in the growing offshore wind farm sector will be outlining supply chain opportunities to firms in the North-East and North Yorkshire next week. Speakers at the UK Crown Estates supply chain event at York Racecourse, on Thursday
A NORTH-EAST company is helping to ensure that Chelsea Football Club has a solid defence from strikes from well outside of the box. Chelsea, complete with lightning-quick new striker Fernando Torres, have signed up Stone Technical Services
NEW car sales fell by 11.5 per cent to 128,811 last month compared with January 2010, new figures showed today. The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders said the decline was in line with its forecast and partly reflected the ending of the car scrappage
A MOMENTOUS day for the region’s car industry saw the first UK shipment of Leaf electric cars arrive at the same dock where North-East built models will leave for European customers in little over two years. The 67 cars, built in Japan, are
THE FTSE fell 16.7 points to 5983.3, yesterday, while Wall Street’s Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped despite strong revenue gains in the US retail sector last month. A three per cent decline for Shell sent it to the bottom of the FTSE, dropping
A FAST-GROWING North Yorkshire tea brand will be displaying its wares at the UK’s largest food and drink trade show. The Mad Hatter Tea Company will be exhibiting at the IFE food and drink trade show at the ExCeL, in London, next month. The
A FARM shop has won a national award. Knitsley Farm Shop, near Consett, County Durham, was voted Best Farm Retail Newcomer in the UK by the Farm and Rural Markets Association (Farma). The shop was opened in November 2008, by Edward and
KEY staff who secure European development aid for the region will retain their jobs, as the Government moves to calm fears that the crucial cash will be lost. Andrew Stunnell, the Local Government Minister, announced that about 30 workers at
A HOSPITAL trust in the North-East has become the first in the country to buy its way out of a controversial private finance deal. Officials from the Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys NHS Foundation Trust, have revealed they now own West Park mental
AN out-of-control dog mauled a man as he was walking his German shepherd dog, leaving him with a fractured ankle and dislocated finger. Malcolm Temke also suffered multiple lacerations on both hands. Last night, he said he was angry after hearing
RESIDENTS are being urged to take to the streets to persuade Darlington Borough Council to save the town's libraries. As part of a national day of action tomorrow (Saturday, February 5), a protest has been organised at Crown Street Library
AN investigation is under way after a chemical leak at a paint factory early yesterday. Hundreds of people were affected by the incident at the 3M factory, on Standard Way Industrial Estate, in Northallerton, North Yorkshire. It is understood
A PRIMARY school was taken back in time yesterday as children and staff celebrated the Forties. After learning about the decade, pupils at Croft Primary School, near Darlington, enjoyed a themed day with costumes and cookery.
PROTESTORS gathered outside a council meeting as the fight continues to save a school from the axe. More than 60 parents, pupils and staff from Eston Park School joined forces to express their anger at Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council’s
A POLICE force which could lose 210 frontline officers over the next four years because of funding cuts is to discuss its finances next week. North Yorkshire Police are also preparing to lose 350 support staff – one in four of its civilian workers
PRIMARY school pupils will this morning (frid) be performing a lion dance at assembly with a dragon they have created to mark the Chinese New Year. Children of Class 2 at New Brancepeth Primary School in New Brancepeth, near Durham, completed
A TOY coffin and hearse have been put in the playroom of a hospice to help children come to terms with funerals. The toys are intended to help children understand the roles the coffin and hearse will play when the time comes for the funeral of
ONE of the North-East’s most iconic entertainment venues is to be restored to its former glory thanks to a £4m revamp. The Globe Theatre, in Stockton, which once welcomed The Beatles and the Rolling Stones, is to reopen next year as a venue for
CAMPAIGNERS behind plans for the North-East’s first free school are today a step closer to their dream. Education Secretary Michael Gove met members of the campaign group, Barwick’s Own Second Secondary School (BO2SS), to discuss the proposals
A HIGH-FLYING university lecturer has resigned from his job at a North-East university in protest at increased tuition fees. Dr Tristan Learoyd, who taught pharmacy at the University of Sunderland, said he refused to be part of a privatised university
Dear Prime Minister, What does the disturbing experience of a small North-East charity for homeless people, now facing closure, say about your Big Society? THIS week, the 700 Club, which provides shelter for homeless people in Darlington
Gillford Park will have their ground inspected tomorrow by the league ahead of their home game with Whickham. The Cumbrians have moved their home games 35 miles down the road to the Cumberland Academy in Whitehaven because of the problems with their
Tow Law manager Ian Davison says that his team is facing a “massive” spell of games beginning today at Billingham Synthonia. Davison admits that he had sunk to one of his lowest points of the season when Lawyers lost 4-1 to Bishop Auckland
THE region's rising stars have been named in a new report. The Institute of Public Policy Research North (ippr north) has produced a list of the 50 brightest and most talented people in the North of England. The list features one's to
A DEAL to build the next generation of high-speed trains in the North-East is edging closer, it is claimed. Civil servants have reportedly drawn up a proposal that would hand the Intercity Express Programme to the Hitachi- led Agility Trains consortium
A HOUSE in east Cleveland was badly damaged by fire last night. Fire crews from Skelton and Guisborough were called to the property in Wilkinson Street, Lingdale, at 5.20pm. The fire was brought under control by 6pm. A spokeswoman
