Archive

  • Seaham v Shildon match abandoned following spectator's death

    A match between Seaham Red Star and Shildon AFC was abandoned tonight after a spectator collapsed and later died. The Durham Challenge Cup game, which kicked off at 7.30pm, was initially halted to allow an ambulance onto the Seaham Park pitch but

  • Charity encourages people to set goals for 2013

    A CHARITY is encouraging people with a learning disability through their New year, New me campaign in Darlington to set goals for 2013. Last year, Mencap launched their annual New year, New me campaign, which is designed to challenge and inspire

  • Stone model is spitting image of wartime aircraft

    A STONEMASON has spent more than 200 hours painstakingly crafting a model of a Second World War Spitfire aircraft. David France, from Darlington, runs a stonemasonry business and took on the Spitfire project as a commission from a customer.

  • National brass band to play at Teesside church

    The National Methodist Youth Band will give a charity concert at Norton Methodist Church, Norton Road, Norton, near Stockton on Saturday, February 9. Some of the members will also play at the 10.30am Sunday service in the church the following day. 

  • Lottery funding for town's tennis club

    A TENNIS club has received £47,500 from the National Lottery. Guisborough Tennis secured the Olympic legacy funding from Sport England’s Olympic legacy fund. The money will be used to resurface three tennis courts and erect new wire netting

  • Man in court accused of party attack

    A MAN has appeared in court accused of attacking a couple at a house party last weekend. Christopher Nixon, 30, is charged with wounding a man with intent to cause grievous bodily harm and assaulting a woman by beating. A timetable was set for the

  • Football daft comic calls in to his beloved Boro

    A LEADING comic dropped in to his favourite football club today.  Patrick Monahan rubbed shoulders with staff in the boot room in the training ground of his beloved Middlesbrough FC. The national star from Stokesley, North Yorkshire, explained

  • Reward offered after boilers stolen from housing development

    A CONSTRUCTION company is offering a substantial cash reward for information which leads to a successful conviction after boilers were stolen from properties on a housing development in Darlington. Police believe that a series of burglaries took

  • Police launch investigation into finance firm

    DETECTIVES are investigating a finance firm following complaints from some of its clients. The Northumbria Police probe centres on the Washington Mortgage Centre, based at the town's Galleries shopping complex. The business recently closed

  • Railway artist shows off work at train museum

    ART SHOW: Artist Stephen Bainbridge is to show off his work featuring his lifelong love of steam railways at Locomotion: The National Railway Museum at Shildon. He has a special interest in Sir Nigel Gresley and his locomotives. His work is on show

  • Brilliant Bones

    Craft workshops with a difference are taking place at Durham’s Museum of Archaeology this Saturday with ‘Brilliant Bones’ sessions running between 1pm and 3pm. Children aged between five and 11 are invited to take part in the fun and educational

  • Motorist's mother died after crash

    THE guilt a motorist feels after causing the death of his own mother in a car accident is worse than any punishment a judge could impose, a court heard. Josephine Smith died in hospital five days after her son Andrew’s car hit a lorry on the A1

  • Bishop Auckland rec to get £60,000 upgrade

    A BISHOP Auckland recreation ground is undergoing a £60,000 refurbishment thanks to community funding. A range of improvements are being carried out to the pavilion on Bishop Auckland recreation ground, which boasts tennis courts, a bowling green

  • Inquest into swollen river tragedy opens

    AN INQUEST has been opened into the death of a kayaker who died after becoming trapped in debris in a swollen river. Matthew Baird-Parker, 36, was pulled from Arkle Beck, at Reeth, at 1pm on Sunday by firefighters, but died later in the James Cook

  • Folk club set for live music

    RAY THOM will perform for Darlington Folk Club, at the Copper Beech pub, in Neasham Road, Darlington, at 8pm, on Thursday (January 31). Support will be from George Armstrong. Admission costs £5. COUNCIL MEETS: The next meeting of Hurworth Parish

  • Thirsk Town Council agree tax rise to pay for public toilets

    THIRSK residents will be charged an average extra 15p a week to help maintain the town’s public toilets and clock tower. Thirsk Town Council has agreed to raise its council tax demand by around £8,000 to £115,000 to help cover the costs of improving

  • Durham Big Band show comes to Spennymoor

    THE Durham Alumni Big Band is performing at the Spennymoor Settlement Everyman Theatre at 7.30pm on Saturday, February 23. The band will perform classic Big Band tunes, including Count Basie, Woody Herman, Maynard Furguson and Buddy Rich, as well as

  • Leisure scheme on show

    DESIGNS for a £30m leisure scheme planned for Darlington will go on public display this Saturday. The exhibition at the Dolphin Centre will showcase details of the Feethams Leisure scheme, which includes plans for a cinema and hotel, and will provide

  • Man in court accused of machete attack

    A MAN has appeared in court accused of a machete attack on two victims at the same house earlier this month. Jamie Burns, 21, is charged with entering the property, in First Street, Consett, with intent to commit grievous bodily harm, plus two

  • Chance to speak out on public transport concerns

    A ROADSHOW for concerned about public transport provision will be held in Darlington next month. The Community Transport Association (CTA) event will be held at Morton Park, from 10.30am to 3.30pm on Wednesday, February 13. A CTA spokesman

  • North-East MP challenges PM over cash for schools row

    DAVID Cameron was dragged into the controversy over a fresh blow to plans to rebuild crumbling North-East schools when the row was raised in the Commons. The Northern Echo revealed last week that schemes at at least five ageing schools had been

  • Candle-lit cathedral service

    DURHAM Cathedral will be lit up by candles during a special service this weekend (Saturday, February 2). The Candlemas service marks the end of the 40-day celebration of Jesus’ birth through the blessing and lighting of candles, which symbolise

  • Santuary says thanks

    THE owners of an animal sanctuary want to thank those who contributed to nearly £500 worth of donations in just one week. Kay's Hill Animal Sanctuary, near West Auckland, appealed for help earlier this month after being inundated with unwanted

  • No concern over 'shortage' of chief constable candidates

    THE Home Office says it is confident there is no shortage of high calibre candidates for top policing roles – even though two of the region’s chief constables are set to permanently appointed without competition. In the past week both Mike Barton

  • New affordable homes set to be built in Darlington

    MORE than 50 new affordable homes are set to be built in Cockerton as part of a regeneration project. Darlington Borough Council is working with Dunelm Acorn Homes and Esh Group after the Homes and Community Agency granted it £900,000 for the new

  • Darlington school flying high in Government league tables

    A DARLINGTON school is celebrating after its GCSE results ranked it in the top five state schools in the country. Last year, a 95 per cent of students at Carmel College achieved the national benchmark of five A* to C grades at GCSE, making the

  • Hunt for hit-and-run driver intensifies

    THE hunt to find a hit-and-run driver who left a mother-of-two fighting for her life at the side of a road has been stepped up. North Yorkshire Police officers have launched Facebook and Twitter appeals and delivered leaflets to 300 homes in Colburn

  • Chuckle Brothers lined up for panto

    A CHILDREN’S comedy duo have been lined up to star in a North-East panto this year. Paul and Barry Elliott, better known to millions as The Chuckle Brothers, will star in Aladdin, at Darlington Civic Theatre. The brothers have become household

  • Nora's Ark berths at Gala

    MORE than a hundred school pupils have taken to a professional stage for a jazz musical. Durham High School for Girls organised the production of Eli Yamin and Clifford Carlson’s Nora’s Ark and invited six primary schools to join in. The young

  • Gym re-fit will put 'more bums on seats'

    COUNCIL bosses hope the month-long refurbishment of a leisure centre gym will have long-term public health benefits for Darlington residents. Although the gym at the Dolphin Centre will close for a facelift on Monday (February 4), temporary gym

  • The Drifters to play Middlesbrough

    THE DRIFTERS: To mark their 60th anniversary, The Drifters are on tour. The legendary band will appear at Middlesbrough Theatre on Friday, February 15 and Saturday, February 16. Tickets are £22 or £20 for concessions and are available by calling the

  • Burglar escapes with jewellery haul

    POLICE are appealing for information after jewellery and watches were stolen in a burglary. The break-in happened between 10am on Sunday, December 30, and 7.45pm on Monday, January 1, at a house in Crow Lane, Sunderland. The offender broke

  • Date set for Horden shooting inquests

    A DATE has been set for inquests into the deaths of a taxi driver and three members of his family he shot and killed. Michael Atherton, 42, shot his partner Susan McGoldrick, 47, her sister Alison Turnbull, 44, and Alison's daughter Tanya Turnbull

  • Astronomy event at school

    A CHESTER-le-Street school is inviting people to an evening of stargazing. The Hermitage Academy, Waldridge Lane, will host the astronomy extravaganza on Thursday, February 7. Dr Andy Newsam, Director of the National Schools’ Observatory, from

  • Michelin-starred Tom pops up at Durham cafe

    A CHEF from a Michelin-starred restaurant staged a “pop-up” version at a small coffee shop. Tom Anglesea, who heads the kitchen at The Red Lion Freehouse, in Pewsey, Wiltshire, hosted the event at Flat White, a Durham City venue part-owned by his

  • Cyclist tackles the Tour de France - in Middlesbrough

    A KEEN cyclist is taking on the challenge of the Tour de France – without leaving Middlesbrough. Steven King is taking on his long distance challenge at Middlesbrough Cycle Circuit after he came across a notice board asking, “Where will your bike

  • MP calls for freeze on council tax

    A TEESSIDE MP is calling for a freeze on council tax. James Wharton, MP for Stockton South, is asking the town’s council to accept a government grant that could freeze council tax for the coming year. Although the government say that a third

  • New RAF base commander prepares for NATO alert

    THE new station commander of a RAF base is preparing for a call to deploy several hundred personnel to set up an airfield anywhere in the world. Group Captain Steve Reeves, who has taken over at RAF Leeming, near Bedale, said the base has been

  • Sponsorship helps young footballers focus on their goals

    A TEAM of young Darlington footballers will play in eye-catching new strips for the remainder of the season, thanks to a sponsorship deal with an opticians. Mount Pleasant Rangers Junior Football Club under 12’s squad welcomed the partnership with

  • Durham choir to support London stars

    NORTH-EAST amateurs will sing alongside one of the country’s best known gospel choirs later this week (Friday, February 1). Durham Scratch Choir has been chosen to support the London Community Gospel Choir (LCGC) as it brings its 30th Anniversary

  • Coroner appeals for relatives to come forward

    CORONERS APPEAL: Family members of 62-year-old Terence Oates of St Paul’s Court, Stockton are being asked to come forward following his death on Sunday, January 27. There are no suspicious circumstances surrounding the death. Family members are asked

  • Volunteers keep traditional country skill alive

    VOLUNTEERS have practised the craft of hedge-laying, as part of a drive to keep traditional country skills alive and encourage wildlife in urban areas. Thirteen residents have spent three days being taught the centuries old technique by a North

  • Community centre's official opening

    HUB OPENING: People are invited to celebrate the opening of Newport Settlement’s Community Hub tomorrow (Thursday, January 31) from 2pm to 6pm. There will be a variety of entertainment including live music, railway group displays and tours of the building

  • Work to attract new visitors

    A NATURE reserve has completed a wetland upgrade to attract visiting wading birds. Durham Wildlife Trust has created wetland grassland areas at two lakes at its Rainton Meadows site, between Durham City and Houghton-le-Spring. The trust wanted

  • Police set to tackle anti social behaviour in Hartlepool

    POLICE will be out in force to tackle anti-social behaviour in Hartlepool on Friday (February 1). As part of Operation Pledge, a police command vehicle will park up at the town’s Oxford Road between 2pm and midnight. Residents are being invited

  • Young joyrider tried to outrun police

    A MAN who took his father’s car for a joyride and stole £21 worth of petrol before trying to outrun the police has appeared in court. Carl Stones, 20, of Gilmonby Road, Middlesbrough, appeared for sentencing at Teesside Crown Court today (Wednesday

  • Dance date for Durham

    A social dance will be held at the Indoor Bowling Club, in Pity Me, Durham on Saturday, February 9 at 8pm. Admission is £2.50 on the door and further details are available on 0191-386 6921. TRAFFIC LIGHTS: Four-way traffic lights will be installed

  • Railway museum hosts family half-term fun

    VISITORS to a railway museum can view a historic locomotive being restored as part of a series of family half-term activities. Locomotion: The National Railway Museum at Shildon is restoring the A4 Pacific locomotive Dominion of Canada. The

  • Collectors invited to display collections at railway museum

    COLLECTORS are invited to show off their hobby at a special event being held at a railway museum. Locomotion: The National Railway Museum at Shildon is to host a local collectors day. Several local collectors will showcase their own collections

  • Optician invests £400,000 in North-East branch

    A NATIONAL high street chain has spent £400,000 to expand one of its North-East stores.   Specsavers opticians in Stockton has undergone a major expansion in the largest refit invested in any of its branches nationwide. The store, located

  • Arrest over internet abuse of striker Ba

    A MAN has been arrested over the alleged racially abuse of former Newcastle striker Demba Ba on Facebook. Senegalese star Ba, who joined Chelsea this month, was subjected to abuse about his religion. The post was made on a football forum on

  • Boro's fifth round FA Cup tie date

    Middlesbrough have confirmed that their FA Cup fifth round tie with either Chelsea or Brentford will be a midweek fixture. The two London teams are set to play their fourth round replay on the weekend of the next round so Boro have been working

  • Snow today, Gone tomorrow

    Snow just seems to have disappeared in a flash! That's great for me as I travel in from the Durham area. I'm very interested to see that all of my team appear happy and content at the moment - wish I knew what it was as I would bottle it and sell it

  • Join The Soldiers for an evening of uplifting music

    A GROUP of soldiers who made history by being the first group of serving Armed Forces personnel to hit the British music charts will perform in Darlington next month. The Soldiers, who play Darlington Civic Theatre on Monday, February 18, at 7.30pm

  • Community hubs pilot scheme to help isolated residents

    A NETWORK of volunteer-run community centres is being created to provide support for elderly and vulnerable people in isolated areas. The £49,000 North Yorkshire County Council and Rural Action Yorkshire pilot scheme will offer preventative social

  • Online harassment case adjourned

    A WOMAN charged with harassing the family of a girl who disappeared more than 30 years ago has had her case adjourned for the third time. Donna Louise Wright is accused of using social networking site Facebook to harass Katrice Lee's sister, Natasha

  • Gold award for retirement home group

    A DARLINGTON retirement home group has won a national award for the quality of its work. The Abbeyfield (Darlington) Society operates three retirement homes at its Danby Lodge site in Darlington, and was recently awarded the national Abbeyfield

  • Samuel's card has the winning design

    A FARM-BASED nursery near Darlington is celebrating after one of its young students won a national art competition. Each year nurseries and schools from across the UK are invited to enter a competition run by the Mini Me Card Company to design

  • Library users enter the digital age

    READERS are entering the digital age thanks to a new online service available to members of Middlesbrough Libraries. They can access a vast virtual library with a wide range of resources and services free of charge, any time of the day or night

  • Newton Aycliffe charity receives equality and diversity award

    A NEWTON Aycliffe-based charity that helps thousands of people make positive changes to their lives has received an equality and diversity award. Equality North-East awarded Disc (Developing Initiatives Supporting Communities) an Equality Standard

  • Newton Aycliffe care home celebrates 20th birthday

    A CARE home has celebrated 20 years of providing specialist care for elderly residents by holding an anniversary party. Since it opened in January 1993, Aycliffe Care Home in Newton Aycliffe has provided 24 hour care to more than 450 residents.

  • Wensleydale pub receives five stars from AA

    A WENSLEYDALE pub has been awarded the highest classification of five stars from AA after a recent inspection. The Wensleydale Heifer in West Witton, a restaurant and boutique hotel in the Yorkshire Dales, is one of only 61 establishments in the

  • Dogs brought in to track missing Helmsley woman

    POLICE searching for missing a Helmsley woman will be using a dog specifically trained to track a person’s scent. Barbara Colling, 68, has not been seen since Monday morning (January 28), in the area of the B1257 at Abbotts Hag, near the Rievaulx

  • Government dismisses £1.4bn incinerator public inquiry call

    CONTROVERSIAL plans for a £1.4bn waste park and incinerator have moved closer to being launched, after the Government has decided not to hold a public inquiry. The Department of Communities and Local Government has confirmed it will not call in

  • Pilgrimage charity appeals for volunteers

    A CHARITY that takes disadvantaged children to Lourdes at Easter is appealing for volunteer helpers. For nearly 60 years, the Handicap Children’s Pilgrimage Trust (HCPT) has taken children to Lourdes to share a holiday and pilgrimage to the world

  • Could Danny ever become Wearside's golden Graham?

    GIVEN the reception Danny Graham received from a large section of Sunderland supporters on Tuesday night, it's safe to assume what is written below will not please everyone on Wearside. Born in Gateshead, brought up a Newcastle United supporter

  • Government gives £1.4bn waste incinerator go-ahead

    CONTROVERSIAL plans for a £1.4bn waste park and incinerator have moved closer to being launched, after the Government has decided not to hold a public inquiry. The Department of Communities and Local Government has confirmed it will not call in

  • Pupils hold coffee morning for heart charity

    COFFEE MORNING: Pupils at Chilton Primary School and Chilton Community College are jointly fundraising for the British Heart Foundation. The pupils will dress in red for school on Friday (February 1). There is also a Have a Heart coffee morning at

  • Network’s access to legal expertise

    MEMBERS of one of the fastest-growing networks for science and technology businesses in the UK now have access to legal expertise and guidance thanks to a new programme. It comes with North-East law experts Sintons LLP being the latest company

  • Risk of confusion over altered employment law

    THE Government recently announced a number of changes to employment law which will come into force this summer. However, one of the region’s leading employment lawyers believes that the new pieces of legislation are ill-conceived, and could lead

  • Back-to-basics banking offers loan alternative

    THIS week marks the fourth anniversary of the Great British Recession (the first one, that is), and things are not looking great. A triple-dip recession is still a possibility, and austerity measures, rising inflation and eye-watering energy bills

  • Michael Winner: A Film Industry Giant

    I WAS very sorry to read about the death of film director and restaurant critic Michael Winner at the age of 77 (Echo, Jan 22). I remember watching several of Mr Winner’s films at the cinema. Among my favourites were Death Wish, The Games and Lawman

  • Royal Family

    IT’S extraordinary to contemplate that the British taxpayer doles out millions to sustain a Royal Family that is neither accountable or especially popular. The sad truth is, the Windsors have been imposing their de facto dictatorship masquerading

  • HS2

    HOW interesting to hear the objections from Conservative councils saying the HS2 rail project (Echo, Jan 28) will provide no economic benefit and decimate the countryside. It does surprise me that people are not prepared to endure some inconvenience

  • Fraternity

    JIMMY TAYLOR (HAS, Jan 28) may have hit upon the crucial sociological difference between the present day and the immediate post war years. The late 1940s were not a particularly kinder time nor could it be viewed as a time of innocence, coming

  • Rebel Yell

    SUPPORT for any rebel group usually turns out to be misguided and more especially so when they have a large following. The result is most often the creation of a monster that is uncontrollable thereafter. With the situation as it is in Mali

  • Radio Ga Ga

    THE BBC Radio Two programmers have changed the time of the long-standing Sunday evening Half Hour show to Sunday mornings. Thousands of people (especially the elderly, like myself) really enjoy listening to and enjoy singing the hymns. Now

  • Winter Weather

    LAST week I sat listening to my local radio station reading out a list of schools closed due to bad weather. I am in my 70s and cannot recall any school closures in the treacherous winters we had when we went to school. I can remember prior

  • Is the UK better off out of it?

    DAVID CAMERON finally managed last week to deliver his long-anticipated speech on Britain and the EU. Not abroad as he had twice intended, but in the London offices of international investment advisors, Bloomberg LP. Clearly, there was great

  • Smoke signals

    ONE of the UK’s leading genetics experts has issued a warning to smokers about the hidden risks of inhaling cigarette smoke. Professor Sir John Burn, lead clinician for NHS North-East and professor of clinical genetics at Newcastle University, is hoping

  • Room for compassion

    ANYONE with an ounce of compassion will feel sympathy for Julie and Mark Bell, whose heartbreaking story is featured in today’s edition of The Northern Echo. They have lost the daughter they adored and only those who have endured the death of a

  • UCI under fire over Armstrong inquiry

    PRESSURE is mounting on the International Cycling Union’s (UCI) leadership with the governing body plunged into fresh controversy for disbanding its own inquiry into the Lance Armstrong drugs scandal. The independent commission yesterday said neither

  • Could be more good news along the track

    WE may never see the Government’s new high-speed rail line snake through the North-East in our lifetimes, but its impact on local business could be enormous. The Coalition has been hammered for failing to look beyond the next election when it comes

  • The growing pains of raising daughters

    HAVING a 13-year-old daughter who prefers shopping to sport, spends too much time in front of the mirror and would rather read a celebrity magazine than a Harry Potter novel, I can hardly wait to hear parenting advice from renowned child psychologist

  • Consett gym victim was stabbed 16 times

    FURTHER details have emerged of a horrific stabbing at a public gym when a man was allegedly attacked by a stranger. Magistrates were told that the 22-year-old victim suffered 16 wounds in the attack at Belle Vue Leisure Centre, in Consett, County

  • England’s Cole intent on dismissing ‘boring’ tag

    DAN COLE insists England will be fired up for Saturday’s Calcutta Cup showdown with Scotland by a desire to become number one in the world, not by dredging up decades of cross-border antagonism. Former Scotland coach Jim Telfer lit the fuse ahead

  • Graham is poised for a £5.5m move

    DANNY GRAHAM is still expected to sign for Sunderland before tomorrow night’s transfer deadline despite being subjected to a barrage of abuse at the Stadium of Light last night. After the Swansea City striker was introduced as a late substitute

  • How to grab a Gram-o-Gram

    LOOKING for a way to pop the question or serenade your loved one this Valentine’s Day? Vintage DJ Tilly Shaw, from Darlington, has launched a Gram-o-Gram service where she will turn up with an original HMV gramophone and play an old 78 record as a

  • The Hairy Bikers’ Everyday Gourmets (BBC2, 8pm)

    AFTER looking at what Dave Myers and Si King have got up to over the years, it is a wonder they have come up with another culinary matter to tackle. However, they have, and over the next six weeks, they will be dishing up The Hairy Bikers’ Everyday

  • Midsomer Murders (ITV1, 8pm)

    WELL, we’ve witnessed some extraordinary demises in Midsomer Murders, but here’s one that really takes the biscuit – death by cheese. Yes, you read that correctly. And what’s more, the character involved is played by former soap star Martine McCutcheon

  • McDonald - Promotion more important to me than goals

    MIDDLESBROUGH striker Scott McDonald is desperate to finish as the club's top corer this season, but insists securing promotion is more important than personal accolades. McDonald is ahead in the scoring charts with 11 goals in 22 appearances,

  • Eyes Down: The Story of Bingo (BBC4, 9pm)

    THE rise of internet gambling sites may have left some people fearing that the bingo hall is no longer a way for more mature ladies to get together, have a gossip and maybe win a couple of pounds. However, that stereotypical view of bingo ignores

  • Theatre critics

    The Classical Symphony: The Northern Sinfonia, The Sage, Gateshead THE Northern Sinfonia, which is midway through a survey of the romantic symphonies of Brahms and Schumann, took time to reflect on the music of three 18th Century composers who

  • Woman injured following Redcar attack

    A WOMAN was injured after being pushed to the ground in the early hours of Sunday, January 27. She was walking along Oliver Street in Redcar at around 3.30am when she was approached from behind and pushed to the floor.  Nothing was stolen during

  • Thirteen arrested in County Durham drug raids

    POLICE have arrested 13 people for drugs offences in a series of co-ordinated dawn raids. Around 200 officers were involved in the operation, which resulted in 11 men being arrested in County Durham and Wearside and two men in Merseyside. The

  • Watching Brief

    JAMES CORDEN and Mathew Baynton are writing and starring in The Wrong Mans, a new series for BBC2. They play hapless duo Phil Bourne and Sam Pinkett, whose menial existence is turned upside-down by a chance phone call and a case of mistaken identity

  • Quakers poised for return to action

    After almost a month without a game, Darlington are poised for a long-awaited return to action this evening. Freezing conditions have seen four games fall victim to the weather since the win at South Shields on January 5. Although rain is forecast today

  • Hughes leaving his transfer work until late

    JOHN Hughes is leaving any transfer work until the final hours of the deadline. Football League clubs are not restricted to tomorrow's 11pm cut-off point and can make non-contract and loan signings afterwards. But the Hartlepool United boss

  • Government admits no routine testing on imported meat

    ROUTINE tests are not carried out on meat imports once they reach the UK, Defra has admitted to The Northern Echo. Irish authorities this week confirmed that Polish suppliers were responsible for horse meat found in beefburgers on sale in the UK

  • Grieving parents fight 'bedroom tax'

    A FAMILY told it must now pay pay £650 a year to keep a shrine to a deceased child was last night (Tuesday, January 29) hoping the situation could be resolved. Becky Bell, of Hartlepool, died of cancer aged just seven in January last year and since

  • Can you offer Luke and apprenticeship?

    As part of our Foundation for Jobs campaign, this column is devoted to a young person so they can issue a "give-me-a-chance call to local firms. Name: Luke Thompson Age: 18 From: Ferryhill Looking for: An apprenticeship Studing: Electrical

  • Engineering firm launches North-East recruitment drive

    AN offshore engineering company will hold a recruitment drive at a Teesside college. Wood Group PSN, which offers engineering services to the gas and oil industry, is holding an event at Middlesbrough College. The company employs about 29,000

  • Chimney firm celebrates 45th anniversary

    A LEADING global chimney maker founded in the North-East is celebrating 45 years of trade. Schiedel Chimney Systems, based in Washington, Wearside, sells more than 500km of chimneys, flues and chimney liners in the UK every year, as has European

  • Academy launched for energy industry apprentices

    AN academy has been launched to provide training for energy industry apprentices. The Fabricom Offshore Services Academy opens today (Wednesday, January 30) in Newcastle as a hub for design and project engineers. The academy will offer training

  • Tree surgeon Alistair a real high-flyer

    Business is not always about boardrooms, briefings and black coffee. So, in tribute to those who take a more unusual approach to enterprise, Business Writer Steven Hugill examines the unconventional, alternative or downright difficult careers in the

  • Farmers' Market trebles visitor numbers

    A POPULAR farmers market has trebled visitor numbers in just two years. Saltburn Farmers' Market welcomed more than 9,600 people to its last monthly meeting in October, which represents a huge increase from 3,530 visitors in 2010. Organiser

  • Biomedical businesses urged to enter awards

    NORTH-EAST healthcare companies are being urged to enter a regional awards ceremony. The Biomedical Awards, formerly Business for Life, celebrates the success of biomedical firms, and includes categories such as outstanding growth, innovation and

  • Graduates get job opportunities

    A NORTH-EAST business consultancy firm has taken on three graduates. Peak Indicators, in Newcastle, has offered internships to University of Sunderland students Clare Winter, Carley Howell and Steven Wales. Former bank worker Clare, 39, from

  • North East has 'worst insolvency figures in UK'

    THE North-East has the worst insolvency record in the country, according to new figures. A new survey showed 708 firms in the region were declared insolvent in 2012, which was a 15 per cent rise on cases throughout 2011. The increase is the

  • Village meeting to discuss Gainford shop closure

    THE imminent closure of a village store is to be discussed at a parish council meeting next week. A notice has been put up in the shop, at Gainford, near Barnard Castle, blaming the current downfall in the retail sector and stating it could close

  • Comedy club comes to Bishop Auckland

    COMEDY CLUB: The Hilarity bites comedy club will return to Bishop Auckland Town Hall at 7.30pm on Friday, February 15, featuring Duncan Oakley, James Cook and MC Tony Jameson. Tickets cost £8 in advance or £10 on the door, call 03000-269524 to book

  • Witton-le-Wear writer wins national short story award

    A FORMER manager who swapped a women’s prisons for writing paper has triumphed in a national competition with a short story about two women and their volatile mother. Avril Joy has won the first ever Costa Short Story Award with her 3,000 word

  • Coffee morning

    COFFEE MORNING: South Church Methodist Chapel is holding a coffee morning on Wednesday, February 6, between 10am and noon. All donations will go to church funds.

  • Fresh lick of paint for Barnard Castle Cricket Club

    A CRICKET club in Teesdale has been given a fresh lick of paint ready for the new season. Barnard Castle CC took advantage of Colouring the Community, a scheme run by Dulux Decoration Centres to help local groups maintain their facilities.

  • Boris the lurcher is loving life in the last chance saloon

    FOR Boris the lurcher, a Barnard Castle pub really was the last chance saloon. Two efforts to rehome the six-month-old lurcher cross failed – and he only ended up at the Coach and Horses, in Galgate, because the regulars convinced licensee Dave