MARK Johnston is poised to break Richard Hannon Senior’s record for training the most winners in Britain and the Middleham maestro comes to Redcar’s Caribbean Carnival meeting on Saturday with three runners. Johnston is just a handful short of
A PLAN that outlines how many houses will be built in and around Darlington over the coming decades has attracted more than 1,000 comments during a consultation period. Darlington Borough Council's masterplan for the town includes dozens of policies
A MAN has appeared in court after a 30-year-old was stabbed in a domestic incident. Christopher Fothergill, 34, has been charged with four offences in connection to the stabbing in the Skerne Park area of Darlington. Police were called to reports
AT the age of 23 – Adam Peaty has already claimed a quite ridiculous 12 European golds. They are running out of records in the pool for the Olympic champion and he was at it again on Thursday as Great Britain rounded off a superb week at the Tollcross
THERE was deadline day disappointment on Tyneside, even though Rafael Benitez was delighted to be reunited with Federico Fernandez at Newcastle United. Any faint hopes that Mike Ashley would sanction a late spending spree on deadline day never
RECENT dry weather conditions could have been a contributing factor in the rock fall which killed a nine-year-old girl in Staithes. Villagers living close to the beach have said the cliffs there are notoriously unstable. The youngster suffered
DURHAM and England cricketer Ben Stokes felt “under threat” at all times when he knocked two men unconscious during a fight near a nightclub, a court heard. The all-rounder, 27, is accused of punching two friends, Ryan Hale, 27, and Ryan Ali, 28
MIDDLESBROUGH have not given up on securing an Everton double despite ending the summer transfer window disappointed on Thursday night. Boro were left frustrated on deadline day when a £6m deal with the Toffees for Mo Besic broke down after a breakdown
AUGUST is the silly season, partly because politicians are away from Parliament and off on their holidays. There is probably a lot to be said in favour of the country having a complete break from politics because it can become tiresome. However,
A 45-YEAR-old mine saw its biggest change to date yesterday as it switched to become the world’s first polyhalite mine, securing the future of the 500 jobs there. Boulby Mine in Boulby, east Cleveland, faced uncertainty after reserves of potash
A CHILD has been seriously injured after he was knocked off his bicycle while trying to cross the road. The 12-year-old boy was taken to James Cook Hospital after being hit by a car while trying to cross the A181 between Wheatley Hill and Wingate
A SERIAL plant pincher is being sought in connection with a number of thefts from gardens in a village. The green-fingered thief has stolen everything from a cast iron bench and solar lights, to hanging baskets and a rabbit ornament from gardens
WORKERS at a leading crane manufacturer in Sunderland will be starting a series of strikes tonight in a dispute over an ‘inadequate’ pay offer. The workforce at the Liebherr Sunderland Works will strike from 8pm tonight until midnight tomorrow.
THE seven times great grand daughter of one of the Scottish soldiers who escaped death in Durham in the 17th Century has visited an exhibition telling his story. Jean Paradis, from Naperville, near Chicago in the US, discovered her link to the
THREE men posing as roofers stole a large quantity of cash from the home of an elderly man. Durham police have appealed for information about the theft. A spokeswoman said two men knocked on the door of a property in Bryan Street, Spennymoor,
A PREDATORY rapist who attacked a teenage girl as she walked through a park has been jailed for 15-and-a-half years. Aftab Ahmed, 31, is behind bars after pleading guilty to the rape in Nun's Moor Park, Newcastle, on the evening of March 28 this
A SCHEME to help transform Tees Valley into a leading hydrogen powerhouse has moved a step closed after the project was awarded £220,000 in funding. Under plans being drawn up by Tees Valley Mayor Ben Houchen and the Tees Valley Combined Authority
EMERGENCY services are on the scene of a suspected assault in Thornaby. A spokesperson for Cleveland Police has confirmed the force is investigating a suspected assault on a man in his 20s. The spokesperson could not provide any further details
A "DISTINCTIVE" mobility scooter has been stolen from outside a home in Durham. It was taken from outside and address in Heaviside Place, Gilesgate, overnight between Monday and Tuesday. It is a Pride GO GO elite traveller and has stickers on
I HAVE just driven 1,500 miles back from Spain through France on their wonderful EU funded road system through their beautifully kept countryside. It was a great pleasure with not one problem. Stopping off for the odd quality snack, 40 winks and
WHAT a wonderful summer we are having. Isn’t it marvellous to see temperatures in the 20s and lots of sunshine day after day? Children off school enjoying their holidays and parents taking families to coast and country, even the cooler breezes off
I LIVE in West Auckland, which has a lovely village green, but like most small villages there seems to be an awful lot of litter especially around the seats provided where people seem to eat their food and throw the wrappings on the floor – not all
THIS week, I’ve had my eye on irons. We’re beginning to pack for our holidays, and so clothes are being chased through the washing cycle so that they can be smoothed by our top of the range, durablade, ultraglide steam iron ready to go in the case.
SPONSORED CONTENT WE are all aware that the digital age is here to stay. From renting the latest film to participating in an online distance learning course, there is no doubt that the world of e-commerce has had a massive impact upon our daily
MORE than 650 teenagers marched into a new career with the military when they graduated from the Army Foundation College. The College in Penny Pot Lane, Harrogate, is the Army’s flagship training establishment for 16-17 year olds. Inspecting
A MAN has been arrested in China after stealing five crabs from a seafood restaurant by shoving them down his trousers and trying to make a run for it. The eye-watering attempted theft by a 58-year-old father-of-two took place in the Fujian region
POUNDWORLD UK has been purchased by Dublin retailing family, the Hendersons, who opened Ireland’s original Poundworld store in 1984. David Henderson confirmed their offer had been accepted by administrators Deloitte on Thursday to purchase the best
THOUSANDS of pounds has been stolen from an elderly woman. Two men attended an address on Fulthorpe Road, in Norton, at around 1.30pm on Tuesday, August 7 under the guise of carrying out work on roof tiles. The occupant, a 74-year-old woman
SUNDERLAND manager Jack Ross is working on a deal for Wigan midfielder Max Power - and he would love to land another striker too. Power, 25, is expected on Wearside for a medical after the two clubs agreed a deal. The Black Cats boss, who has
YOUR correspondent, George Dunning, is right when he says, with reference to my recent letter: “Steve Kay obviously doesn’t have any love for the EU flag” (HAS, Aug 7). I detest the EU flag and what it represents: the loss of our nation’s independence
THE Echo’s report of “Millions of litres of water are lost” (Aug 6) is enough to drive one to despair. This tremendous leakage of water was reported on April 28 and to date nothing has yet been done about repairing the leak. If the leak has been
LAUREN LAVERNE has been announced as the new host of BBC Radio 6 Music’s Breakfast Show as part of the station’s schedule shake-up. Sunderland-born Laverne, who currently hosts mid-mornings, will take over from long-running breakfast host Shaun
SEXUAL abuse at two leading Catholic schools over four decades was likely to be "considerably" more widespread than conviction figures reflect, a report has found. Monks at Ampleforth in North Yorkshire and Downside in Somerset hid allegations
DEDICATED cycle lanes and better facilities at work for storage and having a shower would encourage more people to get on a bike, new research shows. A survey of 2,000 adults by retailer Halfords found that more people would cycle to work if roads
THE jury in the Ben Stokes trial has been directed by a judge to find defendant Ryan Hale not guilty of affray. Judge Peter Blair QC, the Recorder of Bristol, ruled that there was insufficient evidence against Mr Hale, 27, in the case. Mr Hale
ROADWORKS on a busy commuter route and main road into town will be set up next week as part of a phased project to resurface the area. The Highways Department will carry out major works on Stockton Road and Haughton Green, in Haughton-le-Skerne
A CCTV image of a man wanted in connection with three assaults has been released by police. Officers received three separate reports of assaults in Newcastle city centre in the early hours of Friday, June 8. At around 3.45am a man was assaulted
THE fatuous Jeremy Corbyn wants to turn England into another people’s republic in spite of the migrants who have moved into an already over-populated England from Ireland, India, Pakistan, Poland and even Scotland. England is populated at about
TRADERS have spoken about how offers on town centre parking have affected the rate of business. Darlington Borough Council implemented new offers on long-stay car parks, which gave shoppers their first two hours free and reduced other car parks
A MAJOR mine in the region is today switching production - bringing an end to more than 45 years of potash mining in east Cleveland. Boulby mine announced earlier this year that traditional potash fertiliser stocks were close to exhaustion and that
FLAMES tore through a motorhome at a junction on the A66 in North Yorkshire. The large campervan was destroyed by the fire on a stretch of the trunk road near Hutton Magna on Wednesday. GUTTED: The motorhome which caught fire on the A66
POLICE are appealing for help in finding a 14-year-old boy who has been missing from his home in Tow Law for more than a week. William Carr failed to turn up at pre-arranged meeting point after spending the day with friends in Durham City on Wednesday
TWO fire crews remain at the scene of an overnight blaze which damaged a disused building on former cement works in Weardale. The fire was reported several hours earlier in the large derelict Lafarge Leisure Centre building, on the old Blue Circle
A TRAILER which has suffered a broken axle is partially blocking a road in Eaglescliffe. Cleveland and Durham Road Policing unit are currently at the scene while the vehicle is safely removed. They said: "We are currently on scene at Yarm Road
A GARAGE worker has gone under the clippers to support a charity close to his heart. Kim Khan, a team member at Evans Halshaw Ford Darlington Braved the Shave at the weekend, raising more than £400 for Macmillan Cancer Support. Brave the Shave
ORGANISERS of a music festival in a picturesque Victorian park have announced the event has been cancelled this year. The team behind Chase Park Festival, which was due to be held at Saltwell Park in Gateshead, has been postponed, with chief spokesman
A NEW play area is now open as part of a neighbourhood regeneration scheme. A community barbecue attracted more than 100 residents from the Minors Crescent area to celebrate the opening of a new Warwick Square play area. Darlington Mayor, Councillor
8:20pm And here's the wrap up on Boro's day in the transfer market
Park vandalism MINDLESS vandalism has caused damage to children’s play area equipment, with the area being sealed off before repairs can be carried out. A plank of wood was kicked or pulled off a tree house in Darlington’s West Park play area, leaving
SCHOOLBOY Tom Hartshorne is dreaming of being a golf star after beating more than 100 adults to win a tournament – at the age of eight. Tom won the Grassholme Goblet at prestigious Rockliffe Hall, near Darlington, with a four under his handicap
STUDENTS will be offered free driving lessons if they enrol at Darlington College this September. The college is re-investing commercial funds to pay for its new Driving Ambition programme. The initiative will see every full time student aged
A CHEESEMAKER from Thirsk has fought off stiff competition to win a top title at a national competition. A soft blue cheese crafted at the family-run Shepherds Purse dairy in North Yorkshire has been named Best English Cheese at the largest cheese
ATTRACTIONS across North Yorkshire have seen a boost in visitor numbers as Yorkshire has outperformed all other English regions in admission increases. According to VisitEngland’s Annual Attractions Survey 2017, published this week, Yorkshire attractions
TWO prominent supporters of a much-loved hospice have joined forces to back one of the charity's most popular fundraising events. This year's Moonlight Memory Walk for the Alice House Hospice, in Hartlepool, is being co-sponsored by patrons J&
GP PRACTICES across Hambleton and Richmondshire are being urged to become “parkrun practices” to help patients improve their fitness and increase social interaction. NHS Hambleton, Richmondshire and Whitby Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) has
A TALK on the history of the English housekeeper will give an insight into the role and responsibilities of the female servant. Following on from the success of Belinda Alexander's talk on English eccentricities and traditions at Kiplin Hall, near
THE final line up has been announced for a major festival being staged in Darlington this autumn. Comedy and live music acts from across the country will take over venues close to the town’s railway station for Last Train Home on Saturday, September
AN MP has cut the ribbon to officially open a new housing development in Stockton. Stockton North MP Alex Cunningham visited the 200-home Jubilee Gardens development and had a look around the new show home, meeting with representatives from Barratt
YOUNGSTERS are enjoying days of summer fun organised by two charities thanks to new funding. The Junction Foundation, based in Redcar, has received £1,500 from the UK Steel Enterprise’s community support fund to help pay for a five-week programme
RESIDENTS in the Stockton area are being reminded to complete and return canvass letters to ensure they are registered to vote in next year's local elections. The forms were posted to all properties in the borough at the beginning of August and
THREE boys have raised more than £200 by washing cars in their village to raise cash for new play park equipment. Sam Denton, 10, and friends Jake Gault and Max McCafferty, all from Crakehall, near Bedale, are taking part in North Yorkshire Police's
IF you’ve encountered someone capable of domestic abuse, you probably wouldn’t know it. Anyone working in the field of helping ‘battered women’ (and men) knows there are many characteristics which make up an abuser, and which form a common thread
A PROPERTY developer who fraudulently took almost £50,000 from victims of the 2015 York floods has been sentenced to 24 months in prison. Owen Danter, 40, of 78 Munstead Way, Welton Brough, East Yorkshire, was the sole director of OTD Development
FEMALE scientists and those from under-represented backgrounds will be able to mentor their senior colleagues as part of a new initiative to boost diversity. Durham University is leading a £600,000 project to boost the representation of women,
THE daughter of a man killed by asbestos is asking for help from his former colleagues as she pursues justice. Raymond Green, once a labourer for the Darlington Insulation Company, died in May 2017, aged 80, after suffering from breathing problems
TWO horsemen from the North-East are riding across France and Belgium dressed as cavalry soldiers to commemorate the final few months of the First World War. This week marks the centenary of the Battle of Amiens, the offensive which proved decisive
A MOTHER whose two boys were killed by her abusive ex-husband, is to become a champion of a North Yorkshire domestic abuse charity. Claire Throssell’s two young boys, aged nine and 12, had been staying with their father on an unsupervised visit
A COMMUNITY group has launched a campaign to help find solutions for people living in poverty. Thrive, an organisation based in Stockton has been working with community groups in Leeds and London to build links with those who have direct experience
A NORTH-EAST family butcher is celebrating a sizzling success, after becoming one of only four in the country to receive two stars for its sausages in this year’s Great Taste awards. Ibbitson’s at Sunderland’s Jackie Whites Market, received its
A SEX offender who failed to hand over electronic devices to police has been given an eight-week jail sentence. In 2015, Roy Dove was jailed for 40 months and made the subject of a Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO) after travelling to the Philippines
A DANGEROUS driver has been warned he could be jailed for two hit-and-run crashes involving another car and a pedestrian. Robin Ferguson will be sentenced at Teesside Crown Court next month once a background report has been compiled by a probation
A MASS participation event next month should prove a walk in the park. The Active Sunderland BIG Walk, on Sunday September 30, offers people of all ages and abilities the chance to enjoy a tranquil hidden corner of rural Wearside. Routes of three
A FREE music festival will be held in a County Durham park tomorrow. Spennymoor Town Council will host its annual Party in the Park Event on Friday night, in the town's Jubilee Park, between 6pm and 11pm. To help get festival-goers in the mood
A SERIES of thought-provoking artworks will appear across sections of the region's landscape later this month as part of an extension to a festival. Giant artworks in central Middlesbrough, a sound installation in Hartlepool’s ancient Headland church
REDCAR is bracing itself for an invasion of pirates at the weekend as the seaside racecourse stages its annual fun-packed Caribbean Carnival meeting. Grown-up pirates entering this year’s adult fancy dress competition on Saturday, August 11, stand
AN 80-year-old widow has raised £10,000 for the hospice which cared for her husband during his final days. Beryl Burnhope, from Consett in County Durham, started raising money for the Willow Burn Hospice three years ago, after her husband Bob stayed
Town meeting A SPECIAL meeting of Sedgefield Town Council will be held in the Council Offices at 6pm on Monday, August 13. Items on the agenda include an update report on the central town green issues and consideration of revised licence variation
A SALON will help camping North-East festival-goers glam up this summer. Hardwick Live, held at Hardwick Hall Hotel, at Sedgefield, has teamed up with Reef Salons to offer a pop-up styling tipi across the festival on Saturday and Sunday, August
A SCHOOL in Newton Aycliffe will open its gates for the final time this month. The existing Vane Road Primary School building will be demolished on the site, which is home to a newly constructed £5.5m facility to open in September. A school spokesperson
CHILDREN from east Durham have been showing off their brass skills at the Great Exhibition of the North. Children from Hesleden and Seaham’s Westlea primary schools took part in a performance by the newly formed East Durham First Brass Band at Sage
A LIGHT aircraft involved in a fatal crash on the Queen’s Sandringham Estate had not been properly maintained, an investigation has found. Two people died when the Piper PA-28 aircraft came down in marshland near Wolferton, Norfolk, on September
ORGANISATIONS doing their best to generate clean energy could be in line for an award. Darlington’s Green Party is currently seeking nominations for the Clean British Energy awards. They hope to recognise and reward companies that are doing what
THE Hartlepool Show is being held in the town later this month. The show, and horticultural festival, takes place at the Rift House Recreation Ground on Saturday and Sunday August 18 and 19 from 11am to 4pm. The event, which is being organised
A RACING yard established in 1987 is set to celebrate its owner gaining the record for most winning trainer. Middleham-based trainer Mark Johnston is getting ever-closer to breaking Sir Richard Hannon’s record of 4,194 winner, and could reach the
A "RARE and distinctive" mountain bike has been stolen during an event in the Yorkshire Dales. North Yorkshire Police are appealing for witnesses and information following the theft of the bike at the Dales Bike Centre in Fremington, near Reeth,
COUNCIL tax payers receiving the 25 per cent single person discount are being targeted in a new review in Richmondshire. Residents currently receiving the discount will be asked to explain their circumstances so the district council can keep its
FIRE crews were called to deal with a blaze in a ground floor flat in Ripon. The crews were called to the three storey building at 11.17pm on Tuesday night and safely extinguished the fire which was believed to have been caused by a faulty dishwasher
A STORAGE firm is set to double its capacity by opening a new facility for an additional 150 container units. Box Clever was set up in Billingham in 2007 as one of the first container storage facilities in the area. The firm has enjoyed steady
A LEADING surgeon specialising in shoulder, keyhole joint replacement surgery has bolstered one hospital’s orthopaedics team. Phil Holland has joined 20 other consultant orthopaedic surgeons at the Nuffield Health Tees Hospital, in Stockton, ahead
STUDENTS from Maryland, USA, are joining together with local youngsters as part of a week-long international youth theatre festival. The project involves around 30 English and American students, aged between 11-18 years, who are being tasked with
YOUNGSTERS are admitted free into Kiplin Hall house and gardens this summer. Children up to the age of 15 have free entry until September 5 to enjoy the play ship, dig in the archaeology trench, play giant games, pond-dip in the woods, table tennis
A PARKING firm is charging cash-strapped police forces across the country up to £75 a time to release possible evidence, The Northern Echo can reveal. North-East MP Alex Cunningham has branded ParkingEye ‘a disgrace’ after learning of the company
A MAN found by police with a lump of high purity cocaine in his pocket made an estimated £7,354 from the supply of the drug, a court was told. That was the figure agreed by both Crown and defence lawyers at a Proceeds of Crime hearing, which followed
A TRAINBUILDER has started work on constructing its new fleet for the East Coast main line. Hitachi Rail Europe has begun manufacturing London North Eastern Railway's (LNER) Azuma trains at its Newton Aycliffe base. Bosses say the 65-strong
THREE men involved in either the theft of jewellery in a burglary or its subsequent pawning for cash will be sentenced later in the month. It follows a guilty plea tendered by defendant Ian Lamb to a charge of converting criminal property, relating
THE number of claims being made for damage caused by potholes is falling in County Durham. More than £500,000 was paid out in compensation by Durham County Council in the five years between 2010 and 2014. But the number of claims being made
THE bleak financial outlook facing the NHS in North Yorkshire and concerns for patients’ services is set to be laid before the new Secretary of State for Health and Social Care. The county’s health watchdog said it would press Matt Hancock for an
THE sudden and unexpected illness which led to the death of a much-loved history teacher left a gaping hole in the lives of those who knew her best. Eleanor Murphy was 34 when she died, just 12 weeks after she had been diagnosed with a rare and
TUCKED away in a remote part of the Yorkshire Dales, high above the village of Booze, Hazel Harker’s farm may an unlikely hotspot for motorsport royalty. But since part of the farmland first started hosting the renowned Scott Trial motocross course
JUDGES of one of the UK’s biggest gardening competitions have been in the region to look at its floral displays. Durham is going up against cities from across the country in the annual Britain in Bloom competition. Judges visited the city on
FAMILIES can follow in the footsteps of miners with a summer of creative drop-in activities in Bishop Auckland. The Mining Art Gallery is this month offering hands-on fun for all ages, themed around what miners did in their spare time. The first
The results of a poll to find the 100 most significant women in history have been released. Lucy Mapstone reports THE pioneering scientist Marie Curie has been voted the woman who has made the most significant impact on world history. In a reader
HUNDREDS of people attended a park’s first community fun day to celebrate the opening of a new play area for children. The event was organised by the Friends of Addison Park (FOAP), in Meadowfield, near Durham. The park has a new infant play
CHILDREN in Bishop Auckland are learning how to prepare healthy meals for themselves and their families. More than 200 youngsters at Cockton Hill Junior School will learn about healthy cooking and nutritional diets thanks to £500 from social landlord
A NEW beauty salon has opened to the public in a former care home-turned hotel. Beauty Training North East has been running courses in the Hotel 52, previously known as Stanfield House, in Stanley, for five months. A new salon offering a range
EXTRA 20mph speed zones have been introduced in Spennymoor to make the area a safer place for children and residents. New advisory signs designed by youngsters have been installed near schools in four locations across the town. The aim of the
