Archive

  • hair today, going the next

    A HAIRDRESSING duo are hanging up the scissors after more than four decades of cutting hair. Eileen and George Mawson have seen three generations of families through their chairs at Mawson's Hairdressers, in Davis Avenue, St Helen Auckland, County Durham

  • Quest for new national park chief

    A NATIONAL recruitment campaign is to be launched to appoint a new chief executive for the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority. The park authority's urgency committee met on Thursday of last week to consider arrangements following the resignation

  • D&S Times Features: Women on the fast track to a new career

    THE view in front is for your eyes only. You're on your own in the tiny cab. No need to steer as the railway lines do that for you. Driving a train can be a lonely job. But it's one which recently attracted more than 1,000 applications for just 50 vacancies

  • Hounds are at their best for judging

    THE judging of the young hounds of the Hurworth Hunt took place at the kennels, West Rounton. The joint acting masters of the hunt, Mr Peter Dennis and Mr Keith Ballbach, welcomed a substantial crowd of hunt supporters to this annual event. Huntsman Mr

  • Peter Lee bowls in to address Durham question

    QUIZ contestant Peter Lee is looking forward to visiting the North-East town that dashed his hopes of becoming a millionaire. Mr Lee, 66, a retired naval officer from Cardigan, Wales, won £500,000 on ITV's Who Wants To Be A Millionaire in January. The

  • Phone mast 'could ruin future of cricket club'

    A CLEVELAND cricket club fears losing its hard-won junior section if a phone mast scheme gets the go-ahead today. Members of Preston cricket club are worried parents will withdraw youngsters amid health scares over such masts. The match secretary, Mr

  • Boost for summer classes

    A DURHAM school has won cash backing to expand its summer classes. The national charity for after-school provision, Education Extra, has given Framwellgate Comprehensive School £1,700, one of 300 awards totalling £120,00 across the country. The summer

  • Pair stole meat from shop after jail visit

    A COUPLE plundered a store fridge of meat on their way home from a prison visit, a court heard. Gordon McCulloch and Lynn Wilson took £89 worth of gammon and steak from a fridge display at the Co-op, in Newton Hall, Durham, in April. Durham Crown Court

  • Fears for -agitated' man gone missing

    FEARS are growing for the safety of a man who has been missing for more than a week. David Robertson, 44, was last seen on Wednesday, July 5, at Queensway Medical Centre, Billingham, where he had gone to collect his medication. He did not receive his

  • D&S Sport: Winning weekend for Lambert at Olivers Mount

    SCOTTON sidecar driver Greg Lambert was the pick of the local contingent when he took victory in the Formula Two sidecar event around the narrow confines of the Olivers Mount race track on the outskirts of Scarborough last weekend. Along with new passenger

  • Party defends use of soccer thug's home

    THE British National Party has defended the use of a convicted hooligan's home to peddle race-hate literature. The Northern Echo revealed yesterday that Robert Bowman's home, in Darlington, is being used as base by the BNP. Leaflets are being distributed

  • Extra brass for band

    MUSICIANS were given a bit of extra brass to help them take part in a national festival. Northallerton College Band took part in the national final of the Music for Youth Festival in the Royal Festival Hall. And Hambleton District Council donated £162

  • Looking Back in the D&S Times: Cement is better than cobbles

    FROM this newspaper 100 years ago. - Mr F U Simpson's contract for the laying of the whole of Ripon Market Place with cement has been rapidly pushed forward, the whole of the north-west side having been completed. Citizens have had an opportunity of contrasting

  • Historical day with a promising future

    A MAJOR celebration of a town's heritage is aiming to excite renewed interest in preserving it for the future. Northallerton's first History Day takes place on Sunday, the culmination of a week-long millennium festival and the result of months of planning

  • Residents fear bigger store will bring more traffic

    RESIDENTS in Bedale are protesting about a one way system in Wycar area proposed to help cope with extra traffic generated by a supermarket development. Mrs Sue Gilbertson, a local resident says that the one way system is an after thought and a short

  • Coveted plaque unveiled in outside engineer's old London base

    A THIRSK man who helped bring electric light to London has been honoured with a coveted English Heritage plaque. One of the famous blue plaques, recording the work of Colonel Rookes Evelyn Bell Crompton has been unveiled at Kensington Court in the capital

  • Tales from the riverbank about largedragons and vast snakes

    BUDDING young sculptors from Darlington yesterday created their own masterpieces on a riverbank. Children from High Coniscliffe Primary School spent a day with Teesdale Way artist Keith Barratt, creating giant wooden wildlife sculptures, which will go

  • Labour accused of croneyism over 'protocol' for governors

    PLANS to introduce "contracts" for Darlington school governors have come under fire from Conservative councillors. The cabinet proposal was not discussed at Tuesday's ratification committee because it was "called in" by the lifelong learning scrutiny

  • Trapdoor leads to secret room without a view

    MANY hotels can boast a room with a view, but for one hotelier it is just the opposite. The 12th century Manor House Hotel in West Auckland is so steeped in history it has plenty of tales to tell. A former monastery with its own brewery, a hunting lodge

  • Fund set up to help flood victims

    AN independent flood relief fund has been set up to help the people of Skinningrove. The fund will be run separately from the £100,000 emergency sum made available by Redcar and Cleveland council to help villagers cope with the devastation caused by flash-floods

  • Children blamed for fire in centre

    A GROUP of children are lucky to be alive after starting a fire which could have claimed their lives. They broke into a disused youth centre, in Hartlepool, and started a blaze after piling up rubbish and cardboard boxes. It is believed they escaped through

  • Sports centre to be dedicated to Mannion

    FANS of football's golden boy are about to kick off a new £1m sports development as a tribute to their hero. Catherine Bain, the daughter of Boro legend Wilf Mannion, will help launch a six-month building programme on Monday to create an extensive sports

  • D&S Times Leading Article: Study your tables

    THE latest NHS performance indicators are due to be published today. Following on from the school league tables, they attempt to give the public some idea of how their local health trusts and health authorities are performing in relation to their neighbours

  • Chris takes stock of disabled badge problem

    A CRACKDOWN has been launched in Sunderland to stop able-bodied drivers parking in bays reserved for the disabled. Traders, disabled groups and council officials are concerned that some motorists are abusing disabled parking badges when they visit the

  • Hoteliers win seven-year dispute over boundary

    A BITTER seven-year boundary dispute between the owners of a North Yorkshire manor house hotel and their neighbours was yesterday resolved in favour of the hoteliers. Only a fraction of an acre was at stake in the row between David and Anne Johnson, of

  • Miracle pony produces a bundle of mischief

    MINNIE the Shetland pony was at the end of her tether when she arrived at a Yarm veterinary centre with a badly broken leg. Mr Graham Russ, vet and proprietor of Oaklands at High Leven, shook his head when he tried to assess the animal's likely recovery

  • Great Yorkshire goes live on the internet

    THE Great Yorkshire was believed to be the first show in the UK to broadcast the action almost instantly on the internet. Throughout each afternoon, a web cam relayed pictures from the main ring to the web site so that anyone anywhere in the world could

  • Fourth farm market goes on despite trade fears

    THE fourth farmers' market to be held at Sam Turner's in Northallerton will take place on Sunday, despite opposition from market traders in the town. There will be about 18 stalls at Sunday's event, taking place from 10am to 2pm, selling everything from

  • Planning for future at birthplace of railways

    NEW plans have been unveiled for a rail renaissance in the Tees valley. A document launched on Tuesday at the North Road railway museum in Darlington will be used to prepare funding bids for rail improvements throughout the area. It draws together an

  • Teachers pass the quality test

    FIVE primary schools in Hartlepool have earned a seal of approval from a Government agency for providing high standards in education. Barnard Grove, Rossmere, St Aidan's, St Cuthbert's and Ward Jackson received the Quality Mark, from the Basic Skills

  • Thieves target clothes from washing lines

    POLICE are warning householders to keep an eye on their washing after a spate of thefts from lines. Recent incidents include washing stolen in Bessemer Street, in the Dean Bank area of Ferryhill, on Tuesday afternoon. And there was a similar incident

  • Appeal for wartime civilians to put memories on record

    NORTH-East historian and author Harry Moses is trying to recruit an army of volunteers who helped win the Second World War. Harry, from Aycliffe Village, is looking for civilians who contributed to the war effort so their memories can be recorded and

  • Gynaecologist did not have consent for op

    GYNAECOLOGIST Richard Neale confessed yesterday he had carried out a vaginal hysterectomy on a patient without her consent. Mr Neale, 54, admitted that with hindsight he should have checked that the patient, known only as Mrs G, had agreed to a vaginal

  • Poaching row over soccer women

    PREMIERSHIP giants Sunderland FC were yesterday accused of poaching a highly-rated women's football team from a North-East college. Blyth Spartans Kestrels were sponsored by East Durham and Houghall College in its successful promotion campaign last season

  • Rapist is jailed after attack on woman, 71

    A RAPIST who stalked a frail 71-year-old and subjected her to a sickening sex attack has been jailed for life. The terrified pensioner made a desperate 999 call and begged for help after seeing the gloved hand of Brian Holmes as she peered out of her

  • Playgroup to close its doors

    A LONG-established Darlington playgroup is being forced to close due to lack of numbers. Tots from the Northland playgroup, based in the Methodist church in North Road, are having a teddy bears' picnic to mark the last day next Thursday. A small number

  • Beavers reap rewards for hard work

    TWO eight-year-old girls worked hard for three years to earn the highest award in their Beaver colony. Hayley McGlade and Charlotte Whitfield, who both live in Shildon and go to Shildon County Primary School, moved up to Cubs this week with their Dam

  • Scientists hail fly-inspired school study

    YOUNG scientists are taking a leaf out of nature's book in a bid to save the environment from man-made pollution. The humble caddis fly is the key to a pioneering project linking teenage students at King James I Community College, in Bishop Auckland,

  • E-COMMERCE_SUMMIT_PLANNED

    THE North-East is set to hit the world-wide technology map when it hosts its first ever e-commerce security conference later this year. Worldwide market leaders in the field of information security from across the globe will descend on County Durham to

  • Paving the way for private hospital

    THE woman who will oversee the building of an £8m private hospital in County Durham has been appointed. Sue Maycroft will act as liaison for the construction and development of The Woodlands Hospital, in Darlington. Work has already begun on the £8.1m

  • Outburst at lack of council help in pride effort

    TRADERS in Norton say they are being left out on a limb in trying to brighten up their village. They claim Stockton council has done little or nothing to help the village prepare for its first entry in the Northumbria in Bloom contest. They are angry

  • Mallon makes speech debut at charity event

    POLICE chief Ray Mallon last night launched a new career - as an after-dinner speaker. Detective Superintendent Mallon, who was recently cleared of all criminal wrongdoing by the Operation Lancet inquiry, was the speaker at a charity event in aid of the

  • Show jumping: Barker shows winning ways

    THERE was a mammoth entry for the BSJA Area 15 show held courtesy of the Barker family at Pasture House, Thornton-le-Moor, near Northallerton, on July 1 and 2, writes Malcolm Bewsher. The senior Badminton Newcomers produced a 78-starter class and Wembley

  • NYSD cricket: Hickey on fire to keep Darlington in the hunt

    MIDDLESBROUGH and Darlington both kept in touch with the leaders in the Premier Division with victories last weekend, writes Alan Johnson. Darlington travelled to Marske and asked the home side to take first knock. Professional Stewart Hutton and Ricky

  • DNA tests on -more than 1,000' in_Sara killer hunt

    DETECTIVES investigating the murder of a North-East student yesterday unveiled plans for mass DNA testing of men who live nearby. Sara Cameron, 23, a second-year international sports management student at Northumbria University, was suffocated late on

  • Inspectors call and hand out praise for high standards

    A SCHOOL that teaches blind and partially- sighted youngsters with sighted pupils has earned praise from inspectors. An Ofsted team described Belmont Church of England Junior School in Durham as "very effective" and praised the way it helped all pupils

  • Big hopes for

    A POPULAR North-East dance festival is being expanded into a community-wide event. Organisers of the Darlington Dance Festival are seeking to get even more people involved in this year's event, following its success last year. The 2000 festival kicks

  • Prices at the markets

    BARNARD CASTLE. - Wed. Fwd: 902 sheep. Bull calves to £118. Lambs std to 90.3p av 88.5p; med to 93.8p av 89.7p; heavy to 90.3p av 88.6p. Cast ewes: Mule to £24.50; Cont to £24; Suff to £23.50; Cheviot to £22; horned to £14. BISHOP AUCKLAND. - Wed. of

  • Farewell after 23 years

    HEADTEACHER of Billingham Campus, John Finel is to retire in August after 23 years at the school. Mr Finel was first appointed to Brunner School in 1977, and then became the headteacher of Billingham Campus, after amalgamation in 1984. He was always concerned

  • Poet Laureate joins musicians to read his latest works

    HARROGATE takes up where York and Aldborough leave off next week when its 35th festival opens with a rich mix of classical, jazz, brass bands, dance, comedy and open air events, writes Dave Robson. The opening night parade through the town centre is on

  • Students honoured for directing the way To employment

    WORK on a pioneering directory has given adult students a better chance of finding a job. Ten students have been compiling a data base of opportunities for people with special needs to learn, train and get a job in the Hambleton area. And now the students

  • Service praised for drugs fight

    PROBATION staff on Teesside have been praised in an annual report for working with drug-addicted offenders. A report into the service on Teesside shows that more than 7,000 cases were dealt with by probation offices in the past year, an 11 per cent increase

  • Show organisers are expecting huge crowds

    THIS year's Durham County Show promises to be one of the most action-packed yet. With a new venue for the new millennium and a host of weird and wonderful attractions, the 159th annual show is gearing up for a bumper turnout. Thousands of people from

  • -Misery' continues after floods

    VILLAGERS who lost everything in recent flooding in the region are facing more misery from their insurance companies, according to councillors. In total, 20 families were evacuated from their homes following the flash floods in Skinningrove and they will

  • Dedicated Girls are on the ball to net more team success

    THE netball teams throughout the school have enjoyed a lot of success during the past academic year. This season, there were teams in years seven to 11, all of which competed in the Stockton District Netball Leagues. The year nine team won their district

  • Move to combine village schools

    PUPILS aged three to 11 will be taught under one roof if plans to close two village schools win approval. Durham County Council wants to close Brandon junior and infant schools, which share a site in Carr Avenue, and replace them with a new primary school

  • Free course puts happy pigs on the web

    HAPPY Piggy Pork organic pork from Wensleydale is going on sale on the internet. Mr David Kiely and his wife, Anne, have been involved in the Yorkshire carriage museum at Aysgarth for some years now, but recently set up business in organic pork. Now,

  • Auditor asked to intervene in Croft noise case

    THE district auditor has been asked to intervene in Richmondshire District Council's handling of legal action against Croft motor racing circuit. Coun Jane Parlour, who backs a residents' campaign for less noise from the track, branded a decision to seek

  • Talks go ahead over schooling for deaf children

    THE future education of deaf children at one of the region's special schools is under threat from proposed changes by the local authority. Discussions about Beverley School in Saltersgill Avenue, Middlesbrough, will begin at a council meeting on Tuesday

  • E-COMMERCE_SUMMIT_PLANNED

    THE North-East is set to hit the world-wide technology map when the it hosts its first ever e-commerce security conference later this year. Worldwide market leaders in the field of information security from across the globe will descend on County Durham

  • OBE for high quality services

    ONE of the longest serving directors of social services in the country has been honoured. Peter Kemp was recently given an OBE for his services to the people of County Durham. Mr Kemp, who lives in Darlington, is director of social services at Durham

  • Flight tests hold out hope for village's light sleepers

    AVIATION experts on the Isle of Wight are trying to resume trials aimed at giving North-East police aircraft a softly, softly approach. If they are successful residents in Middleton St George, who take the brunt of take-off noise from the Teesside airport

  • Demo day provides local perspective

    A STEADY stream of 350 to 400 farmers took the opportunity to check out the largest demonstration of crop varieties Farmway has ever staged. "We were extremely encouraged by the interest shown, as we have a total of more than 25 acres of trial and demonstration

  • Big magnet used in hunt for weapon

    POLICE still searching for a murder weapon have used magnets strong enough to lift a car to search toxic mud for a murder weapon. Two officers from Cleveland Police searched mud at the Middlehaven dock, close to Middlesbrough FC's Riverside Stadium, yesterday

  • Dales society presses for law change over 4x4s on green lanes

    THE Yorkshire Dales' leading conservation group has launched a campaign to persuade the government to curb four-wheeled drive vehicles on its ancient green lanes. At present a historical legal anomaly allows "wheeled" vehicles to use the picturesque lanes

  • Anna gets motoring to publicise the proms

    A PROMISING musical star became the voice of Proms in the Park yesterday when she gave an impromptu concert in an open-top car. Anna Huntley, a member of Tees Valley Youth Choir, performed outside the Cleveland Centre, in Middlesbrough, to promote the

  • Trading quota will be cheaper

    A NEW electronic system could slash £4m from dairy farmers' costs, it was claimed this week. Based on patented software, milkquota.com allows milk quota to be traded at the touch of a button or by telephone. Andersons, the farm business consultants, have

  • Loftus-under-siege declares: we're still in business

    ROAD signs are going up, appealing to people not to desert Loftus, as it is still open for business. The borough council is backing their bid to keep people coming, despite disruptions to its main road into the town. For the past 18 months, Loftus has

  • Stars make strip launch a success

    NEWCASTLE United stars mingled with members of the Toon Army last night as the club's new away strip was launched at midnight. Hundreds of fans enjoyed three hours of street entertainment, music and a spectacular fireworks display at St James' Park, in

  • Countrymans Diary: In praise of Lakeland's hidden treasure

    THIS week's diary comes from the Lake District, but from a part which is often forgotten or ignored. Most of us either know about, or have visited, the beautiful and spectacular mountainous scenery in the central area, around Derwentwater, Ullswater,

  • savouring excitement of THE big meeting - children's style

    THOUSANDS of east Durham youngsters gathered yesterday for their own version of the Durham Miners' Gala. The five to 11-year-old pupils from 40 schools took part in a massive outdoor festival at Seaham Leisure Centre to celebrate the start of the new

  • Call to Zandra pays off for student

    A FASHION student has been offered a work placement by a top designer after taking the bull by the horns and ringing her up. Alison Bolton, aged 18, who lives at Manfield, has been studying for her A-levels at the Queen Elizabeth sixth form college in

  • Plans submitted for new schools

    STOCKTON Borough Council is seeking planning permission for a 600-place secondary school at Ingleby Barwick. The council is working with the Church of England's York Diocese and consultants PricewaterhouseCoopers to prepare a financial case for the school

  • Spectator's Notes: Where will it all end with the WI?

    FIRST it was naked women, now it's naked men. What is the WI coming to? There he stands, tall, dark and not so bad, wearing nothing but a pinny and a come-hither look, on the front of the current WI catalogue of gifts and books. Is it a WI husband? Though

  • D&S Times Farming Matters: Getting to grips with gripping

    LANDOWNER Mr Ian Wallace has begun a huge restoration project which will plug 96km of moorland grips. The drainage system was heavily promoted by Ministry of Agriculture officials from the 60s to the 80s and grants of up to 70pc were given to landowners

  • Mo's misadventures . . .

    THE childhood misadventures of one of the region's MPs are to be revealed to the nation. Mo Mowlam, the MP for Redcar, is to appear on a new BBC comedy show called You Only Live Once. The show, a spoof on This Is Your Life, invites famous people to remember

  • Plea to support youth projects

    ORGANISERS of a project which has helped reduce youth reoffending on Teesside need more people to support its work. The Justice Support Project, set up in 1993, uses volunteers to help young people move towards a brighter future. Although it originally

  • MP looks at hot topics with pupils

    PUPILS at a Teesside primary school will get the chance to quiz MP Ashok Kumar when he visits their lessons today. The Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland MP will answer questions on racism, prejudice and bullying from the Saltburn Primary School pupils

  • Bendy buses on the way

    IN recent years the North-East has welcomed street cafes, cappuccinos and even foreign footballers, but it is about to become home to that most continental of features - the bendy bus. A new generation of £200,000 European-style superbuses are to make

  • Hooligans rating -justifies stance'

    SUNDERLAND Football Club claims that research rating the club as the third-worst for hooligans in the Premiership is evidence of their tough stance on troublemakers. According to figures released by Scottish Labour MP Jim Murphy, Sunderland came behind

  • Centre gets boost with Lottery cash

    A PLANNED £1.2m community venture yesterday took a giant leap forward by securing £400,000 Lottery funding. The grant is a large piece of the jigsaw which will lead to the completion of a one-stop centre catering for a town residents' needs. The project

  • Parishioners guard cars during Mass

    A PRIEST has set up a voluntary group to patrol his church car park in a bid to stop thieves who are striking during services. Father David Coxon, from St Joseph's Roman Catholic Church, Hartlepool, hopes to prevent thieves from entering church grounds

  • Car seat safety checks in store

    SAFEWAY in Darlington is to offer free car seat safety checks to parents shopping at the store. The store is one of 14 chosen across the country to host a safety roadshow in association with Mother and Baby magazine and car seat manufacturer Britax. Road

  • Dusty doubles hunt

    Pull on a blonde beehive wig and slap on enough eye make-up to give you panda eyes because Newcastle's Tyneside Cinema is seeking Dusty Springfield lookalikes. The best Dusty wins a flight from Newcastle to Paris, courtesy of Gill Airways. The contest

  • Centrepiece of auction was makeweight in £5 deal

    A VINTAGE motorbike thrown in free as part of a £5 deal to secure a spare tyre 50 years ago, is likely to sell for more than £4,000 tomorrow. The 1926 AJS 800 forms part of a rare collection of old motorbikes, which represents the lifetime's passion of

  • Driver, 18, suffocated when car

    A teenage driver suffocated in a muddy pool when he overturned his car and landed in a ditch, an inquest heard yesterday. Kitchen hand Gary Allen, 18, got behind the wheel after a row with his girlfriend over arriving home late from a leaving party at

  • Pony dates

    BCTG.- July 25: Evening dressage competition, open to non-members, tel 01325 332685. Bedale & West of Yore Hunts PC. - Aug 13: ODE at Richmond EC, sae for schedules to Mrs J Raw, West Lodge, Aske, Richmond, N Yorks, DL10 5HB. Bedale Hunt. - Oct 1:

  • Future of market towns up for debate

    THE future of North Yorkshire's market towns is to be debated at an annual convention in September. Ripon is preparing to host some 200 delegates at the campaign group Action for Market Towns' fourth annual gathering. The convention, Market Towns - Turning

  • A small farm triumph

    SMALL proved to be very beautiful for West Rounton farmer Mr Colin Donald and his wife Christine at the Great Yorkshire Show this week. Their 75-acre Mount Pleasant farm, near Northallerton, beat off the challenge of units ten times as big to clinch the

  • Swimming: Thirsk stars make waves

    THIRSK White Horse swimming team has been experiencing success with four of its best swimmers in local, regional and national events. Adam Wood, aged 11, is the North Eastern Counties 100m butterfly champion and is the first major champion to come from

  • Children receive their own -Oscars'

    CHILDREN at north Durham's leading special needs school have celebrated their most important day of the year. It was "Oscar" time for the children at Villa Real school in Consett as teachers awarded them medals for outstanding achievements made during