DURHAM Miners' Association said tonight it is going to write to Sunderland football club to demand the return of the Wearmouth Miners' Banner in protest at Paulo Di Canio's appointment as head coach. The banner is on permanent display in the Stadium
AMBULANCE service officials tonight released a statement reassuring residents that they have full contingency plans in place to cope with tomorrow's strike action. Members of Unite working for the Yorkshire Ambulance Service are holding a 24-hour
Ahead of the legal aid cuts due to take effect today, family law practitioners have reiterated concerns that vulnerable people will be left without proper legal advice and support during divorce. Resolution, the country’s largest association of family
NEWCASTLE'S development side beat Stoke City for the fourth time this season as they secured a 2-1 success at the Potters' training ground. The Magpies started brightly and after Romain Amalfitano hit the post, Michael Richardson slotted home to
A CASTLE that housed the Bishops of Durham for centuries reopened to the public today (Monday, April 1) following a range of improvements. Hundreds flocked to Auckland Castle at Bishop Auckland, County Durham, to see the changes that have been
A 36-YEAR-OLD woman and a ten-year-old girl have died after being found with serious breathing difficulties on a boat at Lake Windermere, Cumbria Police said tonight. The emergency services were called at around 4pm this afternoon. A police
BIKER INJURED: A man was airlifted to hospital with a fractured leg after falling from his motorcross bike near Sedgefield, County Durham, at 3.30pm today (Monday, April 1). Paramedics from the Great North Air Ambulance gave the man, thought to be
A 55-year-old cyclist was air-lifted to hospital after colliding with a Saab 93 on the A68 at Castleside, near Consett, in County Durham. The Great North Air Ambulance was called out at 12.40pm today (Monday April 1) and the helicopter crew performed
ART GUIDE: An art gallery is holding a series of free events and printed guides to help people get more out of modern art. Mima in Middlesbrough is holding sessions to help people get to grips with the concept and there will be more access to works
ONE of the new clinical commissioning groups that will run NHS services in the region has been given an excellent rating. The Darlington CCG took over the NHS budget for the local area from the primary care trust today (April 1) with full authorisation
A NURSE has won a national award for her work with dementia patients at a North East care home. Debby Lamont, from Richmond, won a BUPA Award for innovation in person centred care for a project that encouraged people with dementia to cook together
A MATURE student is still getting over her shock after winning first place in a national nail art competition – despite having had no formal training. Jane Rigden took the top trophy in the Commercial Nail Art competition in Blackpool, organised
FANS on the streets of Sunderland today (Monday April 1) gave a mixed reaction to the appointment of Paolo Di Canio, with some saying previous political statements made him unsuitable and other arguing it made no difference. Most agreed that saving
A CANCER charity is offering patients the chance to take a break at the seaside to help them cope with the illness. A sea view apartment on the West Cliff at Whitby is available through York Against Cancer who raised £125,000 last year to mark
STREET FIGHT: A man was taken to hospital last night after a street brawl in the North Ormesby area of Middlesbrough. The 20-year-old man was taken to James Cook University Hospital in Middlesbrough suffering with non life-threatening injuries
THERE were totem pole crafts, Maori face painting and war dancing on offer at the Captain Cook Birthplace Museum in Middlesbrough today (Easter Monday). The museum in Stewart Park reopened over the weekend following a £50,000 revamp. Today
Spennymoor came from behind to beat Whitley Bay 3-1 at the Brewery Field yesterday and reduce their deficit on leaders Darlington at the top of the ENL to 26 points with nine games in hand. Whitley were reduced to ten men after just five minutes
NEW Sunderland manager Paolo Di Canio has tonight defended himself against criticism of his controversial past in which he described himself as a fascist. The 44-year-old head coach said comments he made in an interview in 2005 were taken out of
THE chief executive of one of Britain’s busiest airports has said smaller airports such as Durham Tees Valley (DTV) face “an uphill battle to justify their existence”. Paul Kehoe, who runs Birmingham Airport, said the short-lived cheap travel boom
EASTER fun for young and old was on offer at the Gisborough Priory Woodland Gardens today (Monday April 1). An Easter egg trail took visitors all over the gardens, in Guisborough near Middlesbrough, with chocolate eggs for anyone who managed to
TWO snooker players from the North-East have broken a world record for playing in a marathon session. Phillip Marshall, 20, and Ross Terrington, 22, from Consett, County Durham, potted balls continuously for 65 hours, smashing the existing world
THE NHS 111 number went live across the whole of the North-East today (Monday April 1) – although other parts of the UK have seen a delay in the service after a catalogue of errors. The cheaper replacement service for NHS Direct – designed for
A MEMBER of a North-East amateur theatre company has won a leading role as the editor of a national magazine. Julian Cound, a long-serving member of Darlington Operatic Society (OS), has been named editor of Amateur Stage, the UK’s only monthly
A LAMB with five legs was born in the North-East on Easter Sunday. The arrival of Quinto shocked staff at Whitehouse Farm Centre in Morpeth, when she was born along with her two sisters. Her mother, Gloria, had triplets but instead of all being
Paolo Di Canio this afternoon dismissed the controversy over his Right-wing views as "stupid" as the row continued to rage over his appointment at Sunderland. The Italian, who makes no secret of his fascist views, said he was not a racist and dismissed
THE tradition of recording history by passing stories from one generation to the next will be celebrated at two special events in Teesdale this month. Oral history is the practice of passing stories and folklore from generation to generation by
THE charity behind a Darlington-built steam locomotive has unveiled a new support vehicle built with the help of public funding. Tornado, the first main line steam locomotive to be built in Britain for nearly 50 years, has become an iconic sight
A BRASS band has proven it hits all the right notes after qualifying for the finals of a national competition. Trimdon Concert Brass Band has made it to the final heats of the countrywide Brass Band Championships to be staged in Cheltenham in September
Autism affects one in 100 people but remains a widely misunderstood condition. Today, on the eve of World Autism Awareness Day, a North-East mother speaks out about the challenges of raising a severely autistic child. Lizzie Anderson reports. In
A NORTH-EAST chef who co-ordinated the feeding of more than 8,000 British soldiers in Afghanistan has been recognised for his achievements. Regimental Sergeant Major (RSM) Kevin Timney, 42, from Middlesbrough, is the Head Chef for the British Forces
HISTORY enthusiasts have had a beer brewed in their honour. Darlington-based brewery Mithril Ales created ‘The Quaker’ ale to mark the first meeting of the Darlington as it Looked history group. The meeting, which took place on Saturday March
THE police and crime commissioner for County Durham has committed to tackling the small number of repeat offenders in Darlington, many of whom have followed in the footsteps of family members. Ron Hogg said it was more important than ever for the
SIXTHFORMER Matthew Dent experienced life on the shop floor of an engineering factory as part of a scheme to give students a glimpse of what life might hold for them after completing their education. Matthew was the first student from Teesdale
THE organisers of a new shared hub for gymnasts and skaters have appealed to local businesses and skilled workers to donate time and materials to get the scheme up and running. Darlington Gymnastics Club and 4Motion, a new group for wheeled sports
THE mother of a seven-year-old girl who died during major heart surgery at a Leeds hospital is supporting suspension of operations at the unit, as the row rages over the future of specialist children's surgery. Helen Burton felt her daughter, Eve
THE WORLD’S first railway tavern has unveiled a new sign celebrating its heritage. The Railway Tavern, in Darlington, commissioned renowned local artist Ted Parker to create the sign, which now takes pride of place outside the pub. It features
A TEAM of Teesside University graduates and students are helping to spread the word about the recently revived steel industry in Redcar. Two Multimedia Journalism graduates have been given full time jobs working in the Communications Department
SIMON Walton, sent-off in Good Friday’s defeat to MK Dons, starts for Hartlepool United. Pools have appealed his red card, and, with the FA shut for the Easter weekend, it won’t be assessed until reopening tomorrow. Ritchie Humphreys replaces Antony
RESIDENTS in the region are surviving on less food in an effort to keep a roof over their heads, new figures have revealed. A YouGov poll reveals that 30 per cent of people in the North-East and 36 per cent of Yorkshire and Humber residents cut
AN elderly woman is said to be shaken but unharmed after a thief snatched her handbag while she was walking down a residential street. The 74-year-old woman was in Hill Garth, next to Holy Family RC Church, in Cockerton, Darlington, at 12.15pm
STUDENTS at Hummersknott Academy in Darlington are proving that globe-trotting can be educational, after the school took part in more exchange trips than ever. Last year, around one hundred students reaped the benefits of taking part in exchange
FORMER Sunderland AFC chairman Sir Bob Murray is to help disadvantaged students by donating a total of £30,000 in scholarships. Sir Bob, who is now chancellor of Leeds Metropolitan University, wants to help students studying on accountancy courses
A NORTH-EAST university is launching a season of special talks celebrating the Lindisfarne Gospels. This July sees a new exhibition of some of the most important early manuscripts in the world open on Palace Green in Durham - including the Lindisfarne
SIGNING up for a six-week work placement while most of her friends were out enjoying the sun has paid off for a 17-year old student after winning a national award. The Royal Society of Chemistry has recognised the work of Emma Sharman, from Peterlee
NORTH-EAST academic Gabrielle Kent has been named as one of the top 100 women in the games industry by an influential gaming publication. Gabrielle, 37, forged a trailblazing career as one of the few female computer games designers before moving
DETECTIVES in Middlesbrough are investigating after a person was the victim of a “serious assault” in the North Ormesby area last night. An area around Beaumont Road was taped off following the incident at about 10pm and police are understood to
MORE than £6m is to be spent cleaning up the water at Saltburn after the beach dropped from the highest to the lowest category in the good beach guide. Northumbrian Water announced the project after heavy rainfall last year meant pesticide, storm
A TAXPAYERS’ group has criticised schools in the region for spending almost £18,000 over two days on a headteachers’ conference. Despite the growing pressure on school budgets, schools in Redcar and Cleveland spent the money on a single, annual
A CHARITY that provides practical help to people facing financial crisis in the Newton Aycliffe area is appealing for unwanted clothes. Lifeline Community Action, a Christian charity that helps people of all faiths and backgrounds, is looking for
PAINTER and printmaker Bernard Cheese, a regular and keen visitor to the North York Moors has died aged 88. A keen draughtsman he sought out interesting architecture and people and often visited the Moors to paint fishermen’s cottages at Staithes and
PATRICIA Ann Battye of Plantation Terrace, Howden-Le-Wear, is holding an Exhibition of Contemporary Botanical Art in the “Temple of Minerva” Hardwick Hall, Sedgefield from April 24 to June 5. Ms. Battye came to fine art late in life after a design
AN Easter fun event will be held in Addison Park in Meadowfield on April 5 from 1pm-3pm to celebrate the installation of the new play equipment. The official opening of the £60,000 equipment will be carried out by John Muirhead, chairman of the
PUBLISHING SCAM: Businesses in Teesside are being warned not to fall victim to a publishing scam. Stockton Council’s Trading Standards warned about a scam which sees businesses contacted by telephone and offered advertising space in a publication
RESIDENTS in Stockton have until Monday (April 8) to join a money-saving energy cost scheme. The Big Community Switch will see people join together to form a single, powerful buying unit to negotiate cheaper energy costs. Stockton Council’s
AN independent person is being sought by the North York Moors National park authority to promote high ethical standards and conduct. The Park Authority is looking to appoint someone who can advise the authority’s monitoring officer and standards
A NEW monthly community market designed to raise money for local projects has enjoyed its first weekend in business. The Croft village market, organised by the Croft Community Group, welcomed a large number of visitors who enjoyed a variety of
An auction of promises, including the three day hire of a muck spreader, is being held to raise money to ensure the show will go on for North Yorkshire County Show. Last year the event had to be cancelled because of appalling weather conditions
PAOLO Di Canio must clarify his current political beliefs and distance himself from fascism, according to Football Against Racism in Europe director Piara Powar. Di Canio was announced as a replacement for sacked Sunderland boss Martin O'Neill
CHILDREN were able to get up close with baby farm animals as part of a family fun day at a pet store. A double-decker bus packed full of hand-reared sheep, chickens and pigs, as well as lambs and chicks, allowed children and their parents to feed
AN athletics club hoping to build a high quality training track in Sedgefield will officially launch its ambitious fundraising campaign this week. Sedgefield Harriers is holding a series of public consultation events to showcase plans for a synthetic
A BABY lamb stolen from a farm over the Easter weekend has been named 'Lucky' after being returned by police. Two men were spotted by an off-duty police officer carrying a strange-shaped parcel along Durham Road in Sunderland. The men, aged
A NEW facility for people who use British sign language has been added to a council website to provide easier access to information. Darlington Borough Council has added five video clips highlighting a number of key issues around adult social care
FOUR charities will benefit from a school's annual Big Breakfast Bazaar. However, this year's event, the fourth organised by staff and students at Teesdale School, Barnard Castle, will be held in St Mary's Parish Hall, Newgate, for the first time
DARLINGTON residents are being asked to do their bit to help make their town a cleaner and greener place to live. As part of LitterFree Durham’s Big Spring Clean, which runs until May 12, Darlington Borough Council has asked people of all ages
PROOF of age cards will be available at a drop-in session in South Stanley later this month. ID4U cards are a convenient way for young people to prove their age when they wish to buy certain goods and services. The cards also provide retailers
SPONSOR SUPPORT: Springfield Academy football team, based at Education Village, in Darlington, has named MSB Skoda, on McMullen Road, as its new kit sponsor. The company has provided a full squad set of 20 kits. Teacher Zoe Matthewman said: “The children
A PRIVATE company yesterday (Monday April 1) took over the operation of the leisure centres in the Redcar and Cleveland area. Sports and Leisure Management, under its brand name Everyone Active, will run the facilities in Eston, Redcar, Saltburn
A YOUNG boxer is making his mark on the sport a year after taking it up for the first time. Ryan Tennant, 12, from Darlington, won through two rounds of the national Schoolboy Championships, and hopes to carry on rising up the ranks The year eight
POLICE have appointed a new officer to crack serious crime in north Durham. Detective Inspector Gavin Heckles will be responsible for policing in the Derwentside and Chester-le-Street area. The 35-year-old, who joined Durham Constabulary in
SCHOOLCHILDREN have been given a taste of other cultures with a multi-faith day designed to broaden their experiences. Students at Reid Street School, in Darlington, spent the day learning about different national cultures, getting to grips with
PLANS are being finalised for a former steel town’s first ever outdoor music festival. Consett Festival is being held on April 27 and will feature live music, food, including a hog roast, a real ale bar and activities for all of the family.
RESIDENTS are considering seeking a judicial review after a council spurned their plea that planning consent for more than 200 student flats be revoked. Durham County Council gave developer Connislow the go-ahead to build four blocks containing
HOT COALS: Solicitors David Hogg and Malcolm Woolfe, commercial lawyers from Close Thorton, in Darlington, walked 25 feet across hot embers to raise funds for the Stroke Associaton at the Firewalk Challenge, held at the Baltic Quays, in Newcastle.
A COUNDON man has been cleared of committing a series of driving offences after a two-day appeal hearing at Durham Crown Court. Gavin Robinson, of Fraser Court, was found guilty after a trial at Newton Aycliffe Margistrates Court last year of taking
WITH the focus now centred on a midweek trip to Lisbon, French midfielder Yohan Cabaye has urged his team-mates not to forget about domestic matters as Newcastle United look to conquer Europe. The Magpies warmed up for Thursday's Europa League
Manchester City 4 Newcastle United 0 ON the one hand this could be the year when Newcastle United's long wait for silverware finally comes to an end. On the other it could end in complete disaster. Newcastle should still have enough to stay
WHEN Paolo Di Canio moves into his office at the Academy of Light training ground this week, he will no doubt be presented with a DVD of Saturday's 1-0 defeat to Manchester United. If he fast forwards through 89 minutes of utterly featureless forward
IN the wake of his Sunderland side's 1-0 defeat to Manchester United at the weekend, Martin O'Neill was asked to comment on Adam Johnson's failure to live up to the expectations that accompanied him when he moved to Wearside. “There was possibly
Yorkshire are in limbo over the signing of South Africa batsman David Miller as a specialist Twenty20 overseas player for 2013. A deal to see the powerful left-hander return to Headingley for the Friends Life t20 competition has been agreed, but nothing
MORPETH Harriers continued to add to their growing collection of silverware by completing a senior double in the annual Elswick Harriers Road Relays - but their Olympic Games 1500m finalist Laura Weightman found herself out-run by marathon international
IN hindsight, the seeds of Saturday night's dramatic dismissal were sown at Loftus Road. Long after everyone else had left the directors' box in the wake of Sunderland's 3-1 defeat to QPR earlier this month, Ellis Short remained slumped in his seat
WELCOME to the 100 club. For the first time, Darlington have accumulated 100 points in a season and with plenty of games left they could go well beyond that. In the last 17 years only Bedlington Terriers and Spennymoor Town have managed to accumulate
GRANT Connon passed 200 points for the season as he scored the first and converted all four of Darlington Mowden Park's tries in a hard-fought 28-23 win at Leicester Lions. Mowden still look certain to finish third in National Two North as they were
THE immediate future of Hartlepool United won't be decided today, but boss John Hughes is desperate to start plotting a longer-term future. Bottom of League One, Pools go to Stevenage today on the back of seven goalless and winless games. They are
TWENTY-FOUR hours after sacking manager Martin O'Neill, Sunderland moved swiftly to name a successor last night by installing controversial Italian Paolo Di Canio. In a fast-moving couple of days at the Stadium of Light, the club's owner Ellis
THE well-known Teesdale dramatist and campaigner Val Fryer died at her home in Gilmonby last week, after a two-and-a-half year battle against cancer. Born in Bingley, West Yorkshire, she became the first in her family to go to university, reading
PRESSURE is mounting for a full-scale public inquiry into policing of the 1984-85 Miners’ Strike, after North-East veterans of the dispute accused senior officers of a Hillsborough-style cover-up. Former miners, union leaders and politicians from
A TEENAGER is in the running for the country's most prestigious Combined Cadet Force (CCF) RAF award. Cadet Warrant Officer Will Barnes is head of the CCF at Barnard Castle School and has already been awarded one of just 50 RAF annual scholarships
MEET HELEN: MP Helen Goodman will be holding a surgery at Gainford Village Hall on Friday, April 19, starting at 5pm. No appointment is necessary for anyone wishing to speak to her. ANNUAL MEETING: The Gainford Riverside Millennium Green Trust
As a lot of people will have seen in last weeks media, Northern Coal Limited (NCL) is planning an opencast site on Cockfield Fell. It has emerged that the company has already had tentative talks with the relevant authorities including English Heritage
A PERVERT, twice caught with child pornography, has dodged prison for the second time - because he "would suffer badly". Mark Martin was already on a suspended jail sentence for making indecent images when police found more on his mobile phone.
A series of radical plans intended to transform Teesdale's fortunes have been revealed. Following reports of the dale getting the wrong sort of visitor, a new committee has been established with a view to examining the causes of what is seen as
