A SUMMER programme of family activities, including a circus skills workshop, is ready to be rolled out in the historic setting of a reborn North-East events venue. The series of workshops at Ushaw, on the outskirts of Durham, starts on July 30
SIGNIFICANT travel disruption is expected as improvement works are to be carried out across the East Coast Main Line in August. For the first time in two decades, the East Coast Main Line between London and Newark will be closed to allow Network
AN employee who joined a civil engineering firm as a trainee architect has been named managing director of the firm, fifteen years later. Richard Marsden started as an undergraduate with architect and civil engineering firm, Building Design Northern
THE Ministry of Defence has applied for permission to keep a pre-fabricated accommodation block for 72 soldiers for a further 15 years, despite it originally supposed to have been demolished by 2015. Richmondshire District Council’s planning committee
TWO men who murdered a father-of-two and left his body in a flat for 24 hours have been given life sentences. Luc Barker, 29, and Brian Goldsmith, 47, each used a large knife to fatally wound 31-year-old Gavin Moon following a disturbance in a
A CHARITY leader has announced she will be running to become the Labour Party candidate to challenge Ben Houchen in next year's Tees Valley Mayor elections. Jessie Joe Jacobs, a former chief executive of A Way Out, a charity which aims to tackle
JO Swinson has been elected leader of the Liberal Democrats. Ms Swinson beat former cabinet member Sir Ed Davey to replace Sir Vince Cable at the helm of the Lib Dems. Ms Swinson, an ex-minister, had been the bookies' favourite to take the
NATIONAL park planning bosses have emphasised that caravans will remain welcome in a national park following concerns that they were to be banned as part of a long-term strategy to preserve the landscapes. Paul Fellows, head of strategic policy
THE threat of a heavy downpour did not stop hundreds of people coming out to enjoy a family fun day. Elim Church's annual Summer Community Fun Day took place on Saturday, July 20 in Darlington's North Park. A five-minute shower as the Mayor of
A DALES town was taken back to a bygone age as thousands enjoyed Leyburn’s popular 1940’s Weekend. German officers rubbed shoulders with Land Girls and GIs to the backdrop of the music of Glen Miller and wartime crooners. As well as enjoying
THE Government is "confidently optimistic" about bids to rescue British Steel, North-East politicians and have claimed. Redcar MP Anna Turley took part in the latest weekly update meeting yesterday with Business Secretary Greg Clark. Ms Turley
PLANS to build Europe's tallest observation wheel on the Newcastle Quayside are likely to go ahead after winning the backing of planning chiefs. Newcastle city councillors meeting on Friday will have the final say on whether the 460ft Whey Aye wheel
JACK ROSS will be doing everything he can to ensure Aiden McGeady figures in Sunderland’s final pre-season friendly of the summer with little risk. The Black Cats are short of creativity in the final third and the strikers – without a goal in the
With a blank day of racing in the county, the Go Racing In Yorkshire Summer Festival activity continues with a visit to Jack Berry House on Tuesday. The Open Afternoon starts at 1.30pm and will include a tour of the facilities, artefacts from Malton
MORE than a dozen drivers have been banned from the roads for a combined 28-years as part of North Yorkshire Police's drink drive crackdown. Fifteen drivers arrested in June have already lost their licence after appearing at court. They have
WITH football fans excited about a new season approaching, Cleveland Police is looking back at a season of successful football-related violence prosecutions over the previous year. There are currently 35 banning orders in place at Middlesbrough
POLICE have renewed an appeal to find a missing 15-year-old boy who was last seen two weeks ago. Police are looking for Dillon Day, who was last seen with his brother, Declan on Wednesday, July 10 at around 2pm. It is believed that Dillon was
CHILDREN have been given commemorative bears knitted by women from the community to mark their school's final day. Bowburn Infants and Nursery School, in County Durham, is merging with Bowburn Juniors to form Bowburn Junior School in September,
THE air ambulance was called to the scene of a crash between a car and motorcycle on Monday. A section of Cass House Road in Hemlington, near Middlesbrough, had to be closed in both directions following the crash at around 12.38pm. Police said
POLICE are investigating after more than £117,000 worth of juicers were stolen from an industrial estate on Friday. Police said thieves managed to cut their way into an industrial unit on Harrier Court, Elvington near York, at some point between
Cameron Bancroft has insisted that he is relaxed about his return to the Australia squad ahead of the Ashes this summer. The 26-year-old Durham captain earned a call-up for the 25-man squad for the warm-up match between Australia and Australia A
THE GRANDSON of a pioneering North-East charity’s founder has spoken of his delight at being asked to open its newest retail outlet. The latest Butterwick Hospice charity shop was officially declared open for business by Stephen Ward, the grandson
A COMMUNITY hall which was built after the previous one was destroyed by fire has been officially opened . St John's Hall, in Meadowfield, near Durham, is back in use for the first time since 2012, when it had to close because its heating system
POLICE have made a number of arrests after two men allegedly attacked each other with weapons outside a school. Officers at Cleveland Police are appealing for witnesses following an incident on Eldon Grove in Hartlepool at around 3.30pm on Thursday
STEVE BRUCE is interested in taking former Middlesbrough defender Ben Gibson to Newcastle United. Bruce has long admired Gibson and has been interested in signing him in the past. The new Newcastle head coach’s move to Tyneside, though, has
THOUSANDS of illegal cigarettes and up to 20 kilograms of tobacco have been taken off the streets following a dawn raid in Sunderland. Police executed a joint warrant with HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) earlier this month in the East End of the city
TWO men "deliberately targeted" the office of Helen Goodman MP in a politically motivated attack by throwing bricks through the windows, a judge has said. Colin Dodds and Alan Dent have today been jailed after they were convicted of causing criminal
PLANS to sell a former Wearside colliery site to make way for a multi-million pound retail development have been given the green light. Sunderland City Council’s cabinet agreed to sell eight acres of land at what once was Houghton Colliery, in Newbottle
IT is with great sadness that we at Wensleydale Creamery learned of the passing of Hawes councillor John Blackie (Echo, Jul 18). I first met John in 1992 when he became a local leader in the successful Save the Creamery campaign. Since then, he
NEVER in the history of TV has a man been crucified in the way Jeremy Corbyn has. How many soldiers, both British and Argentine, were buried in the Falklands under Thatcher’s regime and how many British soldiers came home in coffins from Iraq and
I HAVE to express my total disgust at the vile and ill-informed tweet put out by the Countdown host Rachel Riley, comparing the joyous, welcoming crowds at the historic, uplifting Durham Miners’ Gala to the Klu Klux Klan (Echo, Jul 17). The gala
NAZI party rally, Nuremberg 1934. Trump rally, North Carolina 2019. The national language, banners and garb may be different but the demagoguery, the incitement and the lies haven’t changed. The lessons of history are obviously lost on Trump
WE now know that Darlington, which voted to leave the EU by 56.2 per cent to 43.8 per cent on a 71 per cent turnout, has an MP who attended a pro-remain campaign group (Echo, Jul 15). Jenny Chapman advises the public that if we leave the EU without
THOUSANDS of bike lovers had the chance to spend the day watching displays and gravity-defying stunts at an annual family fun day. More than 10,000 people are estimated to have turned out for the 25th annual BikeWise, organised by Durham Police
THE North-East’s 29th and newest parkrun started on Saturday. After months of planning and organising, Herrington Country parkrun is up and running. Some 316 attended the first event – which was won by Craig Gunn of Sunderland Harriers in a
AN aircraft engineer who specialises in making bespoke furniture from parts of planes has started one of his most ambitious projects to date. Stuart Abbott is working on a replica Spitfire created in honour of a teenager who died flying with the
A NEW Chief Fire Officer has taken charge of North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service. Andrew Brodie was recommended to the North Yorkshire Police, Fire and Crime Panel following a rigorous interview process organised by the Commissioner Julia Mulligan
DARLINGTON supporters have shown their faith in new manager Alun Armstrong with the club now on the verge of beating last year’s season tickets sales. The current tally stands at 881, four fewer than last season which turned out to be a dismal
THE custodians of a national park look set to consider ramping up efforts to prevent the destruction of its cultural heritage after becoming overwhelmed by unauthorised works to nationally important buildings. A meeting of the North York Moors National
A NEW scheme has launched to help people in their first six months of employment by providing them with much-needed transport to get to work. The wheels to work scheme has received money from the Great Aycliffe and Middridge Partnership to fund
A BANNED motorist drove at, “grossly excessive speeds, with a complete disregard” for other road users, in a bid to escape capture by police, a court heard. Orrin John Clennell successfully fled police patrol drivers, before abandoning his BMW
A CAMPAIGN by a parochial church council has seen thousands of pounds invested in a 19th century building at the heart of a village community. The Action Andrew project was set up to encourage more people to use the Grade II listed St Andrew's Church
STUDENTS have been urged to ‘say yes’ to opportunity as they strive to achieve contentment in life. Former Barnard Castle School pupil Dylan Emery shared his route to success as a financial journalist and improvised theatre company director with
OBJECTORS who hope to defeat controversial planning applications have been told ‘feelings don’t cut it’ when trying to fend off developers. Instead, protestors should make sure they arm themselves with ‘facts and statistics’ to make sure they can
A SCHOOL has raised funds for an NHS charity appeal as a thank you for the support given to one of its senior staff during her battle with breast cancer. West Rainton Primary School staged a fundraising family picnic in aid of a £1m appeal to create
PLANS for a new primary school in Hambleton's largest housing estate are to be discussed at a planing committee this week. The academy school is being proposed to cater to demand for places at Sowerby Gateway housing estate, and has previously been
KNITTERS who are rolling out the bunting to welcome the UCI world champion riders to Northallerton are appealing for help. Barkers Knit and Natter and Romanby Knit and Stitch are appealing for wool to help them create hundreds of yards of bunting
WHAT does it say about the current state of the Labour Party if Hilary Armstrong, a former chief whip and a respected MP for more than two decades, is no longer deemed fit to be a member? Baroness Armstrong, who was the MP for North West Durham
HEALTH chiefs are still trying to secure about £23m needed to build an emergency care centre at a County Durham hospital. The County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust was granted planning permission for the new emergency centre, which
ASKED how he feels about having to leave his adopted home, Frankie’s eyes well up, tears trickle down his cheeks, and his words are drowned in sadness. Frankie – real name Carim Mohideen – has lost his race against time to stay in this country,
A FORMER jockey working for a successful North-East racehorse trainer has been forced to return to India after a year-long immigration battle described by his employer as “a scandal”. Carim Mohideen, affectionately known as Frankie, has been left
RESIDENTS are in fear of losing their jobs due to inadequate bus services making them late for work, a councillor has claimed. Councillor Jan Cossins told a full meeting of Darlington Borough Council on Thursday that youngsters relying on the town's
LIFE for a six-year-old disabled boy has been made easier by a new specially-designed chair. Riley Kerr, from Willington, County Durham, suffers from autism, epilepsy, spina bifida, and hydrocephalus, and finds it painful to sit in his wheelchair
A MURDER investigation is underway after a man was stabbed to death in Chester-le-Street. Another man is seriously injured in hospital following the incident, which happened just after 2am. Police were called to reports of a stabbing in the
