THE success story behind a volunteering project to encourage North-East children to read is gathering pace. The number of adult volunteers involved in the Busy Readers programme, run by Darlington Cares, has doubled since the start of the year.
THE North-East will once again host some of the country’s leading cyclists tomorrow, with round six of the women’s HSBC UK National Road Series and round seven of the men’s HSBC UK National Road Series both taking place at the Stockton Grand Prix.
THOUSANDS of people have descended onto Darlington's market place and riverside for this year's Festival of Ingenuity. The festival, which is now in its fourth year, has been designed as a free family fun day and an opportunity to showcase Darlington
DURHAM WOMEN have signed Northern Ireland international Megan Bell ahead of their new campaign in the FA Women’s Championship. The 18-year-old midfielder has become the Wildcats’ first summer signing, with the Durham club targeting promotion to
IT was a hat-trick of victories for Kurt Heron, as he retained his crown as king of the Bottoms Up Cup. The annual 5k event, hosted by Washington Running Club in and around Princess Anne Park in the town, was won for the third time in a row by
n the tea train up Wensleydale we find ourselves sitting opposite Dave “Fingers” Morrison, the wicketkeeper with metacarpals like a relief map of the Himalayas. Now 76 and living near Northallerton, he hasn’t played cricket for ten years since successive
MORE than 60 primary school students have tested their maths skills at challenge events hosted at Richmond School and Sixth Form College. The first involved the students getting to grips with creative and robotics design in an interactive Lego Challenge
TRIBUTES are being paid to long serving Yorkshire Dales councillor and campaigner John Blackie, following his death this morning. Cllr Blackie was chairman of Hawes and High Abbotside Parish Council, a district councillor and former leader at Richmondshire
POLICE have issued a warning after four children were found playing close to a quarry. Plain clothed Police Community Support Officer’s (PCSOs) from Newton Aycliffe police found the group sitting very close to the edge of a quarry yesterday evening
A 35-0 win, a great exhibition and memories of the day that ladybirds stopped play We’ve had a Hebridean week on Islay, pronounced as in Smiler or maybe four-minute miler, where football – there are just three teams – proved elusive. This time
A DRUG dealer has been convicted of supplying drugs across Gateshead after being arrested in dawn raids. Jason Dobb, 29, was first arrested in January last year after neighbourhood police officers received intelligence that he was involved in
THE emergency services were called to reports of a fire at a Tesco Express at around 7am on Saturday morning (July 13). The fire reportedly took place towards the back of the building, leading to an evacuation of customers and residents living
Jordan Willis has completed his move to Sunderland and he can’t wait to play in from the Stadium of Light crowd. The defender has signed a two-year deal after leaving Coventry where he graduated from the academy. Willis made over 200 appearances
Welcome to a sensational weekend of sport, with racing right out of the top drawer and the feature event the Group 1 July Cup at Newmarket this afternoon. The classic generation have won three of the last four renewals of this six furlong sprint
TERRY BYWATER has been named in the Great Britain squad for the European Wheelchair Basketball Championships, that will start in Poland at the end of next month. The Redcar veteran, who is a five-time Paralympian, will be competing in his tenth
CRAIG HIGNETT insists looking after Luke Williams is his priority in pre-season. The attacker signed for Pools last August, but suffered a miserable time with injury ruling him out for the season. Three games into pre-season – Pools face Middlesbrough
SUNDERLAND have secured a second Coventry City player to add to Jack Ross’ squad – with an earlier summer recruit admitting he has been instantly impressed by what is on offer at the Academy of Light. The Northern Echo has been told the Black Cats
PLANS to convert a landmark disused pub building into flats for homeless people have been revealed. Former Spennymoor hotel The North Eastern could be transformed into a supported living scheme for people who have fallen on hard times and need help
ONE Night in Dublin will come to Middlesbrough when The Wild Murphys will set up Murphy’s Pub at The Palace Theatre on Friday, July 26. Part of a major UK tour, the Middlesbrough stop-off is especially meaningful to The Wild Murphys, who hail from
AMERICAN military vehicles, vintage ambulances and historic motors are rolling up for the largest one-day classic car rally in the North this month. More than 1,500 vehicles are expected to descend on Newby Hall near Ripon for the 30th Historical
A MUSICAL set by nine talented amigos marked the official launch of a brass festival. The family friendly Durham Brass Festival, which aims to showcase the very best of contemporary brass from across the world, is taking place in venues across
CYCLISTS from Darlington Rotary Club are taking part in their sixth annual charity bike ride across the country. The group set off from Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria, today, and will tackle a challenging 152 miles in three days. On their route they
CRAWLING about in a dark, dank long-forgotten corner of the internet is the answer to everything. A search with the right words is like lifting up an overgrown stone in the long grass and finding an amazing world scurrying about underneath. Memories
PEOPLE are being asked to search their homes for unused items as part of plans to create a heritage museum. Residents in Northallerton are being encouraged to help Hambleton District Council and the Northallerton and Villages Community Forum (NVCF
PARENTS across the North-East are being warned this summer about the risks of giving children alcohol supplies which can harm their health, fuel noisy street sessions and lead to accidents, police action and other unwanted consequences. It comes
TRADITIONAL colliery brass bands and members of former mining communities are gathering as part of an annual celebration of socialism. The 135th Durham Miners’ Gala is underway as tens of thousands of people stream through the streets of the historic
PLANS for the multi-million pound redevelopment of Darlington's Covered Indoor Market have been formally submitted to the council. Market Asset Management, which runs the indoor market on behalf of owners Darlington Borough Council, submitted its
JEREMY CORBYN’S critics will point out that his exclusive article in today’s Northern Echo, published on the day of his appearance at the Durham Miners’ Gala, fails to mention either Brexit or antisemitism, the two topics dominating the national debate
A CHARITY supporting families of sick and premature babies is set to benefit from a charity boxing match in Middlesbrough. 'Punching for Pounds' will take place at Middlesbrough Sports Village tonight, and has been encouraging men from the local
A SCHEME to allow old college friends to catch up with each other has been launched. East Durham College said the new alumni initiative is for former students and staff of its Houghall Campus in Durham. Friends of Houghall provides former students
LIKE many of us, when Angie Metcalfe had her first taste of proper wine she thought it was disgusting. She was working as a nanny in France, and her employer just happened to live on a Pouilly-Fumé-producing vineyard in the Loire Valley. It wasn’t
FROM an inflatable planetarium to meteor making sessions, the mysteries of space travel are being brought to Northallerton library. The University of York’s Astrocampus will touch down in Northallerton on August 7 to coincide with the library's
AN EMERGENCY support network is being provided to hundreds of people across Richmondshire. Residents are being signed up to the District Council’s ‘Lifeline’ service which can provide emergency help though a simple telephone link 24 hours a day,
ENTREPRENEURIAL schoolchildren are celebrating after being crowned business champions in an enterprise challenge. Pupils from Victoria Lane Academy, in Coundon, turned an initial £10 investment into £414 throughout the course of five months and
A MOTHER-OF-TWO has been banned from owning any animals for a decade after allowing her dog to suffer with a broken leg for a month, eventually forcing vets to amputate it. Michaela Alison Durkin, 24, lied to RSPCA inspectors claiming her whippet
CHILDREN of a year four class in West Cornforth Primary School staged a protest against climate change on their school field Walking out of the classrooms, the children could be heard chanting: "What do we want? A clean planet, when do we want it
A COUNCIL is teaming up with a police force to shine a light on young heroes in the community. Spennymoor Town Council, Spennymoor and Ferryhill Police Station and Durham Constabulary want to highlight the positive contribution made by youngsters
A RARE opportunity to go behind the scenes of a firm which modifies Land Rover Defenders will take place on Saturday, July 27. Members of the public are being invited to see Twisted Automotive's workshop in Thirsk, North Yorkshire. The firm
A 'PAUSE' in the development of Darlington Borough Council's draft local plan has been welcomed. The move comes weeks after it was revealed that two 'garden villages' had received government funding to help deliver the projects. Last week the
Writing exclusively for The Northern Echo ahead of Durham Miners' Gala, Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn promises an environmentally-friendly industrial revolution as part of a multi-billion pound programme to tackle the North-South economic divide
JONATHAN WOODGATE has hinted he will prioritise experience when he looks to sign players this summer, after admitting it is important Middlesbrough’s emerging crop of youngsters have some older faces around them. Since taking over from Tony Pulis
FOR best part of 100 years, every town had at least one pop producer. They fizzed up lemon juice. They jazzed up ginger. They mixed up burdock with dandelion. They tantalised the tastebuds with the exotic-sounding sarsaparilla, and they brewed botanically
MARKS & Spencer is returning to Darlington town centre as a food concession within WHSmith. As part of a link-up between the two retailers, M&S Simply Food will be available from WHSmith's Darlington store in the Cornmill Shopping Centre from
