Archive

A COUNCILLOR has been quizzed by police following complaints about comments posted on an internet forum. Geoff Lilley spent eight hours in custody before being released on bail while further investigations are carried out. The Hartlepool

JAMES Alexander Gordon, inflectious voice of radio football results since 1974, will be 75 next Thursday and is to be wished the happiest of birthdays. Bill Hamilton, the man he succeeded, is but a bairn of 67, still referees a good standard

PETER LOVENKRANDS has been given a lifeline at Newcastle United following Shola Ameobi's fractured cheekbone. Lovenkrands has been handed a starting place on the right of midfield against Arsenal at St James' Park, with skipper Kevin Nolan asked to push

Young defender Dan Burn makes second start of the season in the Darlington side at AFC Telford today.The teenager comes in at centre-back for Adam Quinn who is cup-tied, as is Greg Taylor whose place in midfield is taken by the returning Gary Smith.

SUNDERLAND suffered some stoppage-time heartbreak at the Britannia Stadium as Robert Huth's 93rd-minute winner condemned them to a 3-2 defeat. Huth slid home Jermaine Pennant's free-kick at the back post, but the result was mired in controversy

ADAM Boyd and James Brown form Hartlepool United's strike force for the visit of Colchester, as Pools switch to a 4-4-2 set-up.With goals at a premium for Pools, Mick Wadsworth has changed formation and personnel to try and end the seven-game winless

There was only one change made to the Middlesbrough team which beat Scunthorpe 2-0 in midweek.Jonathan Franks comes in for the injured Marvin Emnes who is suffering from a groin strain. Franks place on the bench was taken by Andy Halliday. Boro: Steele

I WONDER how Dr Gregory House is these days? Is he as grumpy as ever and still solving a seemingly-impossible medical malady each week in US series House? Was Wentworth Miller able to stage a Prison Break and stay a free man? And did anyone find

WATCH out, Silly Sally and Gail the hamster are on the pull in Coronation Street (ITV1). It’s not quite the same as Janine and Whitney over in Walford the other night, but hey, girls just want to have fun and Sally deserves some after discovering

He launched his career by winning the first-ever Pop Idol. Now Will Young has branched out into acting. He talks to Steve Pratt about his new role in Bedlam. WHILE he may be one of the stars of new TV drama Bedlam, don’t be surprised if Will Young

Ski holiday specialist and independent UK tour operator Directski.com has come up with a definitive – and light-hearted – list of what and what not to pack for a ski break. MUST-HAVES iPods, iPads and all things Apple SMALL and portable, the

Love it or hate it, if you’re in a relationship there’s no avoiding Valentine’s Day. Use it as an excuse to take a break with our round-up of romantic getaways. Sarah Marshall reports. BEST FOR... HISTORY LOVERS The Black Swan, Helmsley FEELING every

A North-East England company has set out to celebrate the achievements of the world’s aspiring writers. Certys Limited, of Darlington, which runs the monthly Global Short Story Competition and poetry competitions, says it wants to celebrate

Tim Wellock travels from Northumberland to Cornwall to find anchorage in some famous pubs. I T is doubtful whether pub landlords up and down the country would agree, but there is much to be said for life on the edge. Are there any finer counties

COMPUTERS have made publishers of us all. The traditional route to getting published was first of all to find an agent. The agent would then find a publisher. Even if you were lucky, and they did all that and the publisher had an immediate space

FARMER and television presenter Jimmy Doherty’s latest book is a helpful, accessible guide to becoming self-sufficient. Whether your aspirations are for your own herb garden, vegetable patch or allotment, or you dream of raising livestock, this

THIS first book in a new fantasy series for young people called Iron Fey is very promising. Misfit teenager Meghan Chase believes her life is boring, living as she does on a pig farm with her mother, stepfather and half-brother. Then one day

THIS is the fifth book in Jack Sheffield’s series about life in a small North Yorkshire primary school. He was head teacher of schools in the county in the late Seventies and Eighties and has drawn on his memories of those days in the classroom

MANY of his books have topped the best-seller lists and over the years American author Dean Koontz has amassed an army of devoted readers across the globe. Whether you are a Koontz fan already or new to the man’s work, you won’t be disappointed

She shot to fame in the West End musical Hairspray. Leanne Jones tells Steve Pratt the naked truth about her new stage role. ASK Leanne Jones to describe the characters she plays in stage comedy The Naked Truth and she replies: “She’s a big girl

Tomorrow is Yorkshire Pudding Day when we all celebrate one of the nation’s favourite foods. Sharon Griffiths has the perfect recipes. It melts in the mouth, like the snow in the sunshine As light as a maiden’s first kiss,

The colum does a Tommy Tucker shift and finds the village big enough for two. FOOTBALL followers and, possibly, readers of The Broons will know that there are two Scottish League teams in Dundee. Close rivals, it might be said, because the

SULLEY Muntari will make his Sunderland debut in this afternoon's Premier League away game at Stoke City. The Ghana international, who has joined the Black Cats on loan from Inter Milan, will start at the heart of midfield at the Britannia Stadium.

Officially redundant, though not a lost cause, Stanwick St John church rises to the occasion for a fine service. JUDE is the patron saint of lost causes, and of hopeless cases. He is also patron of the Chicago police department (for reasons

ON January 31 I went to Middlesbrough on a shopping trip. I was pleased to buy all I went for. I was slowly coming down the stairs from the car park due to my arthritis when a lovely young woman coming after me offered her help. She held my

WHILE watching a DVD recently of the original television series of Upstairs Downstairs, the actress Nicola Pagett, who played the part of the MP’s daughter, Elizabeth Bellamy, said in one of the episodes: “The Conservatives look after the privileged

MIDDLESBROUGH Mayor Ray Mallon is right (Echo, Feb 2) – imposing the deepest cuts on the poorest areas is simply wrong. But we knew this from the start, so why spend £15,000 on a report just to tell us what we already know? The question is: what

THANK you to The Northern Echo for bringing a few seconds of joy to my life by publishing the Wednesday lotto winning Thunderball number as 11 (Echo, Feb 3) – making me think I had won a whole £3. What a disappointment to find, after checking

IN his From the Editor’s Chair column (Echo, Jan 31), Peter Barron explained something that I have misunderstood for most of my life – where my father got the term “nig nog” to describe the imaginative writing I did in exercise books as a child

A COMMON theme highlighted in any protest is the inability of those in authority to connect with people. Watching events unfold in Tunisia and Egypt, with other countries in that area of the world with repressive regimes bracing themselves for

NIALL QUINN was in no doubt. Unveiling David Miliband as his new vicechairman at Sunderland FC on Wednesday, he said: “I saw a light come on the second David was leaving the party conference in Manchester (having lost the Labour leadership). I

TWO facts exist about the present spending cuts. Firstly, they are absolutely necessary, Labour’s legacy mandated that. Secondly, we are all going to be affected. Why, then, do certain groups believe themselves to be above these cuts? The reason

ONCE again, the stupidity of our judicial system is highlighted (Echo, Jan 31). Michael Hall, a man with 49 burglary offences on file who had been responsible for a one-man crime spree in Darlington for which he served less than two years, reoffended

I DON’T have much time for politicians of any hue and it seems to me that the coalition Government is already heading off in entirely the wrong direction. However, if there is one Cabinet member who has earned my respect and admiration, it is

A bitter employment tribunal defeat has left a homeless charity facing an uncertain future. Jim Entwistle visits the 700 Club’s Hope House hostel to speak to residents and staff as the threat of closure hangs over the service. EACH room is different

OSCAR Whisky’s Cheltenham Festival target will be decided after he runs in the Welsh Champion Hurdle at Ffos Las today. Not that the six-year-old’s connections are using the race as a prep, as he is owned by Dai Walters, the man who masterminded

WORLD number one Lee Westwood crashed out of the Commercialbank Qatar Masters yesterday as a player ranked 477 places below him became the shock leader. Austrian Markus Brier, who had to return to the European Tour qualifying school last November

NICKY Henderson faces a crucial few hours of action as Champion Hurdle hopes Binocular and Oscar Whisky enjoy their final spins before the Cheltenham Festival. Binocular is without doubt the headline act after his impressive victory in the Christmas

CHELTENHAM clues abound today, especially for the Champion Hurdle, with not one trial but two. At Sandown, last year’s winner of the blue ribbon event, Binocular, has his last run en route to trying to regain his crown, when facing three inferior

NYSD regular Ian West has spent the last five winters in Melbourne, where he has played club cricket. He writes for The Northern Echo from Australia. THE memories of the fabulous Christmas Test here in Melbourne that proved to be the beginning

NIALL QUINN has launched a furious attack on Sunderland supporters who watch the club’s games via an illegal broadcast in a pub rather than attending the Stadium of Light. The Premier League have always campaigned against such broadcasts, which

WE ASKED The Legends: What does Andy Carroll’s departure mean for the rest of Newcastle’s season?MICKY HORSWILL: For the rest of the season it means big trouble. He’s one of the best strikers in the country at the moment and to lose him… well

DARLINGTON boss Mark Cooper admits he is excited by new striker John Campbell and believes that signing the former Newcastle Benfield forward could be a real coup for the Blue Square Bet Premier side. Campbell made his debut in Tuesday’s defeat

POLICE are appealing for witnesses following a number of reports of a man or men in Gateshead with what appeared to be a handgun last night. The reports were received between 8.40pm and 10.30pm from areas in High Street, in Felling, near Gateshead Stadium

Maximilian Haas might be an unknown quantity in England, but chief football writer Paul Fraser has found out why the Middlesbrough new-boy was more well known in Germany. IF Middlesbrough had signed a defender in his mid-20s from a Premier League

KIERAN Richardson has warned his Sunderland teammates to prepare for “one of the hardest games of the season” at Stoke City this afternoon. The Black Cats have never won a Premier League game at the Britannia Stadium, with their last victory

GARY Megson has fulfilled a 25-year ambition after being named Sheffield Wednesday’s new manager. The 51-year-old has been handed a three-and-a-halfyear contract at Hillsborough and replaces Alan Irvine, who was sacked on Thursday following a

SAM Collins admits there is no hiding place for Hartlepool United. Seven games without a win has turned a promising position on January 1 into an edgy one today. Pools meet Colchester United at Victoria Park this afternoon and need to halt the

TO underline just how long Seb Hines has been at Middlesbrough, it is instructive to look back at what else was happening when he made his senior debut against Hull City in January 2007. Seven months earlier, the Teessiders had played in the

TONY Mowbray feels Joe Bennett’s maiden call up to the England Under-21 squad highlights just how far he has come this season. Bennett was named in Stuart Pearce’s party for Tuesday’s friendly with Italy in Empoli earlier this week. The 20-year-old

STEVE Bruce has admitted a European place could help Sunderland attract a viable long-term successor to Darren Bent this summer. Bruce met his scouting team yesterday afternoon to draw up a shortlist of attacking targets to scrutinise in the

LIVERPOOL owner John W Henry has claimed the club did not care what they had to pay for striker Andy Carroll, as long as they emerged with £15m in cash left over after the sale of Fernando Torres to Chelsea. Liverpool have come in for criticism

AFTER losing Andy Carroll to Liverpool on Monday, Alan Pardew is still hopeful of agreeing new, long-term deals to keep Joey Barton and Jose Enrique at the club. Barton has been in negotiations with the Magpies for some time after he indicated

MITCHELL JOHNSON has called for Australia’s summer schedule to be reduced next season after a run of injuries has left them limping into the World Cup. Australia will head into tomorrow’s seventh one-day international against England, the last

AFTER enduring 40 hours in the air on four separate flights, little sleep and an upset body clock, Liam Plunkett could have been forgiven for wondering if international cricket was worth all the trouble. On Tuesday, the Durham paceman was given

JAMES HUDSON is hoping to celebrate his two-year contract extension by helping Newcastle Falcons into the semi-finals of the LV=Cup this weekend. Skipper Hudson signed a new two-year deal yesterday morning, having moved to Kingston Park from

DARLINGTON Mowden Park may be 22 points and nine places better off than today’s opponents Billingham but player-coach Pete Taylor has warned that league positions mean nothing when it comes to a derby. Mowden travel to Billingham with fresh

DEFENDING senior men’s champions Sunderland must pull out all the stops to make up lost ground as the Start Fitness North-East Harrier League reaches a weather-hit halfway stage at Newcastle Town Moor tomorrow. The Wearsiders, who have won the

THE England women’s rubgy team kick-off the defence of their RBS Six Nations title tomorrow, with Darlington Mowdon Sharks’ star Katy McLean ready to lead her side out against Wales. The South Shields-born flyhalf was named as England’s

Wales 19 England 26 ENGLAND justified their tag as RBS 6 Nations title favourites by claiming a first victory in Cardiff since they were crowned 2003 world champions. Martin Johnson’s men ultimately made it a Friday fright night for

NEWCASTLE boss Alan Pardew has confirmed he will try to bring in at least one free agent as he looks to compensate for the loss of Andy Carroll and Shola Ameobi. It has been a testing few days for the Magpies boss, who in the space of a week

SCHOOL pupils with a talent for art have been learning the skills required to cast sculptural works – under the watchful eye of an acclaimed sculptor. Key stage two students from New Brancepeth Primary School, in New Brancepeth, near Durham

AN international fraud suspect wanted by police in County Durham may never be extradited to the UK, it has emerged. Michael Smith is being held in a Thailand prison, but is also being sought by the authorities in the United Arab Emirates (UAE

A CAT doused in petrol and set alight was found howling in pain at her owner’s back door. One-and-a-half-year-old Persian cross Bambie was found by owner Clare Watson after the daytime attack. Clare, 30, was shaken and angry after finding her

A “PARIAH” who took savings from an unwell elderly man after posing as a Good Samaritan was yesterday jailed for three years. Durham Crown Court heard that the health of the victim, 89-year-old Bernard McEleavey, deteriorated after the offence

HUNDREDS of Tata Steel workers are to get a boost in their pay packets before the proposed sale to Thai steel firm Sahaviriya Steel Industries (SSI) is finalised. The steelworkers union Community has negotiated an annual 3.2 per cent pay rise

A HOLIDAY cottage business is hoping to do its bit for the environment after securing council funding to expand. The Bousdale Farm holiday cottage, in Pinchinthorpe, east Cleveland, has received £30,000 from the Rural Development Programme for

A WORLD-CLASS research network which will bring together experts to tackle key challenges facing the marine environment was unveiled yesterday. It is hoped the marineNewcastle network, at Newcastle University, will reinforce its reputation

THE FTSE 100 Index closed up 14 points at 5997.4 yesterday, helped by a strong performance from water companies after signs the UK’s inflationary bubble will boost results. Earlier in the day it had pushed above the 6000- mark, but slipped back

THE career of a senior fire officer and school governor is in tatters after he was unmasked as a pervert with a “disturbing” interest in child pornography. Gary Mason’s collection of sick pictures was unearthed when police searched his home in

LIBRARY users in the region will today take part in a national day of action aimed at halting council cuts to the services. Councils across the country plan to cut library services to make substantial savings in the wake of targets imposed by

A TALENTED young musician is beginning to make one of the region’s 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

HIGH winds have buffeted the region for the past 36 hours, causing disruption for many – with warnings there may be no respite over the weekend. Gusts of up to 70mph led to challenging conditions for drivers, with the Highways Agency urging

YOUNG people have a “real fear” of what the trebling of university tuition fees will mean for their futures, Labour’s Shadow Minister for Higher Education said yesterday. Under changes agreed by the coalition Government last year, universities

THE Shadow Transport Secretary yesterday supported a bid to bring train building back to the birthplace of the railways. Maria Eagle visited Hitachi’s preferred site to deliver the next generation of high speed trains under the Government’s

IT IS clear from the overwhelming public response to The Northern Echo’s Save Our Forests campaign that there is a real sense of outrage over the Government’s plans to sell off England’s 258,000-hectare public forest estate. Since the proposals

THE Government is betraying “the promise of Britain” by making the younger generation the first in more than a century who will grow up to be worse off than their parents, Ed Miliband said on a visit to the North-East yesterday. For the

A LORRY driver jailed yesterday for grooming a 12-year-old girl on Facebook for sex was told by a judge: “You bear no remorse for what you did.” Jason Robinson, 40, went to prison still protesting his innocence and leaving the girl and his elderly

SUPERBRAIN 2011 is chartered surveyor Tony Gold, 56, who won the second Superbrain title in 1986. “I have put on a bit of weight since then and lost some hair,” said Mr Gold, from Sunderland. Superbrain, compiled by David Chisholm, of Newton Aycliffe

THE Forestry Commission has been a model of enlightened woodland management under public ownership, encouraging public access, recreation and biodiversity. It has been able to do this because it balances its remit for timber production with its

THE chairman of a glass company, once lauded by the Government as an inspiration for the region’s green energy revolution, has stepped down after paying millions to the business without telling its board. John Kennair, who was also acting chief

THE leader of the Labour Party has backed The Northern Echo’s Save Our Forests campaign as his shadow environment minister visited one of the forests which may be hit by Government proposals. Ed Miliband and his shadow cabinet were in the region

AN officer told how he was temporarily blinded after a teenager shone a laser pen into the cockpit of a police helicopter, a court heard. The helicopter was scrambled after the 17-year-old shone the laser at a holiday jet with 228 people on

FUGITIVE killer Raoul Moat laughed after twice shooting PC David Rathband in the face having left him for dead, a court heard. The 37-year-old got into the getaway car containing friends Karl Ness and Qhuran Awan and the three later drove past