HARTLEPOOL United sit six points from League One safety after falling to defeat at Coventry. At a time when they need wins, this was their fourth game without a victory, and they are without a goal in each of them. But defeat came in a controversial
Ashington 0 Darlington 1 Steven Johnson was the hero after scoring the only goal of the game to give Darlington victory at Ashington. The striker came off the bench to score his tenth goal of the season, prodding home from close-range in the
MIDDLESBROUGH’S hopes of reaching the play-offs faded a little more after they suffered a third straight league defeat to Birmingham City at the Riverside Stadium. Nikola Zigic’s goal in the 81st minute separated the sides in a performance Mowbray
A HAVE-A-GO householder who tackled a night-time raider was praised for his bravery by a judge who was condemned for once describing a burglar as courageous. Judge Peter Bowers - criticised last year for his controversial remarks - said Peter Cowley
A LOVE-CHEAT who pressured a schoolgirl into having sex with him near a churchyard is starting prison sentence, as he still denies doing anything wrong. Amateur footballer and supermarket worker David Loveday, 23, from North Yorkshire, showed no
A GROUP of students proved they have found the formula for success by reaching the regional finals of a maths competition. The group of students from Stokesley School recently took part in the annual Year 10 Maths Team challenge competition at
YOUNG public speakers have been given the chance to put their skills to the test in a national poetry reading competition. Students from Queen Elizabeth Sixth Form College in Darlington, took part in Poetry by Heart, a national competition open
AN attack victim collapsed a week after being brutally beaten by a gang because his false tooth had become lodged in his lung, a court heard. Shaun Cooper was one of two people injured in a night of violence in Middlesbrough, which resulted in
AN annual Easter fundraising drive by a Darlington hospice will return this week. The St Teresa’s Hospice Easter Egg Tombola will be held in Queen Street Shopping Centre with more than 100 Easter eggs available to win each day until March 30.
A CREATIVE writing workshop will be held later this month to help people get inspiration and develop their skills. The workshop at The Bridge Centre for Visual Arts, in Darlington, has been organised as part of the Northern Grit exhibition, which
A BURGLAR who ransacked a house while the owners were on holiday was jailed for two years. Mark Hall stole hundreds of pounds worth of jewellery from the property in Marske, east Cleveland. The devastation was discovered by the owners' teenage
A DEBT-RIDDEN cocaine user took money from her mother's account to pay off her dealer, a court heard. Hollie Thomas stole £1,700 by ringing Barclaycard and pretending to be her mother throughout last year. Teesside Crown Court she also took
HUNDREDS of people around the region have gathered this afternoon to protest against the controversial bedroom tax. Protests took place in Durham, Darlington, Newcastle and York, with many bearing homemade banners and signs to voice their opposition
MORE than one hundred young trees have been planted in a nature reserve as part of an initiative to celebrate the Queen’s diamond jubilee. Members of Maidendale Nature and Fishing Reserve were joined by members of the public to plant the trees
CUSTOMER satisfaction with bus services in Darlington has increased by more than five per cent in the last year, according to an independent survey. Bosses at Arriva say they are delighted at the result and have pledged to continue their efforts
DARLINGTON’S links with its twin towns in Europe are to be celebrated with a series of events to mark 60 years of friendship and co-operation. The towns of Amiens, in France, and Mulheim am Ruhr, in Germany, became twins of Darlington in 1953 and
AN event to encourage young people in Crook to get into sport is being held next month. Durham County Council has helped to organise the event, which has been funded by the local area action partnership, to give young people the chance to find
A WEEKLY race that attracts runners of all ages and abilities from across the region celebrated its first birthday at the weekend. Sedgefield Park Run was launched on March 17 last year and, since then, 1,061 individuals have completed the timed
A DARLINGTON swimmer has enjoyed a gold rush after winning every event she entered at a national championships. Jay McCabe entered the National Junior and Youth Disability Championships at Ponds Forge Pool, in Sheffield, days before her 11th birthday
Police have advised householders to buy alarms for their shed or garage after a number of outbuildings were burgled in the Cockerton East area of Darlington. Two people have been arrested after a spate of break-ins in recent weeks. On one occasion
ACORN Residents Association in Newton Aycliffe is organising a disco to celebrate St George’s Day and the birthday of playwright William Shakespeare. The event takes place from 7pm to 10.30pm in the Sycamore Suite at Newton Aycliffe Leisure Centre
A FREE sowing and cutting workshop is taking place at Trimdon Community Garden near Swainby Road, Trimdon Village, from 1.30pm to 3.30pm on Saturday, March 23. For more information contact 079507-64409. VETERAN MEETING: Sedgefield Village Veterans
A FORMER teacher at primary schools in York has been charged with a string of offences involving children. The 31-year-old is facing a total of 23 charges, including sexual activity with a boy under 13. Parents of youngsters at the three York
A TEESDALE teenager is making a big noise in the brass band world. Matthew Littlefair, deputy head boy at Staindrop Academy, has been selected to play with the National Youth Brass Band of Great Britain (NYBBGB). The 16-year-old farmer's son
A LAST ditch bid to ensure rural Teesdale does not miss out on super-fast broadband has been made amid continuing criticism of the way the issue has been handled. Durham County Council is trying to secure £1.53m through the Government's Community
A TEA dance recreating the best of the 1940s dance halls is to be held each month after the success of an annual event. Age UK, in Darlington, has invited a specialist DJ who has a large collection of forties music, including swing, the Charleston
SHOPPERS were given a sweet surprise when Willy Wonka visited a Darlington shopping centre to raise funds for Comic Relief. Staff from the Cornmill Centre, including centre manager Susan Young and members of the centre’s management, security and
One of the most painful moments on a football field has to be that situation where you strike the bottom of your opponent's boot and the top of your foot impacts directly with their studs. It can be as equally painful as the damage lasting with the problem
HATEM BEN ARFA has been told to forget the rest of the season, with manager Alan Pardew confident Newcastle United could still go all the way in the Europa League without the Frenchman. The Magpies were yesterday handed a quarter-final tie with Portuguese
GOLDEN oldie Brian Rushworth, one of the North-East's best-ever cross country runners, will be chasing his sixth title in today's British Masters Cross Country Championships at Herrington Country Park. The Wearside college lecturer, who is competing
THEY have had to overcome a language barrier since being paired at the heart of Newcastle United's back line, but Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa admits his partnership with Steven Taylor is flourishing - thanks to some French car CDs. Taylor and Yanga-Mbiwa produced
HARTLEPOOL United boss John Hughes yesterday insisted his manager of the month award was for everyone connected with Hartlepool United. As Hughes was crowned League One's best for February after leading Pools to four wins and two draws, his skipper Peter
WHEN John Hughes took charge of his first game of Hartlepool United, it was a bit of a reality check. Pools were in desperate form and, any hopes of an instant lift from the new manager were brushed away as easily at Pools were in losing 5-0 to Coventry
FIGHTING against relegation was not what Martin O'Neill had been expecting in his first full season in charge, but the Sunderland manager has admitted that he feared as much back in August. The Black Cats head into tomorrow's visit of Norwich City, who
IT has not been the start to Danny Graham's Sunderland career he would have liked, but his £5m arrival from Swansea City has at least brought the best out of Stephane Sessegnon. The acquisition of Graham on deadline day in January has meant that manager
After a week in which Gary Brown has been reminded of the status he now carries as Quakers' captain, today he'll receive a stark reminder of two of his darkest pre-Darlington days. The centre-back will lead the team out at Ashington as a Darlington side
MIDDLESBROUGH have used a full week on the training ground to air their grievances, take stock - and refocus the efforts on their ailing promotion battle. Back to back defeats at Huddersfield and Bristol City last week lost Boro ground in the race
EVERY primary school will receive an annual grant of around £10,000 to revive sports coaching - three years after the government controversially axed a similar scheme. David Cameron said the move – worth £150m a year across England – would “inspire
THE death knell has sounded for an outward bound centre which has given thousands of children a taste of life in rural County Durham. Durham County Council confirmed this week the Middleton Centre for Outdoor Learning, in Bridge Street, Middleton-in-Teesdale
MPs have raised the alarm over the rising use of force to restrain young offenders in detention - two years after it was blamed for a teenager’s suicide in the North-East. An inquest found that painful techniques used to restrain 14-year-old Adam
