Archive

  • Residents fly the flag for proms event

    LUCKY residents who will get a front seat view of an open air concert have welcomed the event to their neighbourhood. Residents of Sunstar Grove, Middlesbrough, will be able to hear the Proms in the Park concert from their own back gardens and are already

  • Stolen ID may be used for crime

    POWER salesmen who had their identity badges stolen while working on Teesside fear villains will now use them to trick their way into residents' homes. Two direct-sales workers for the domestic energy firm npower, Derek Metcalf and Neil Young, had their

  • What the Echo says...

    A YEAR ago Teesside Airport was in crisis. The North-East's development agency One NorthEast was suggesting that Newcastle Airport should be given priority to develop passenger services in the region. After an outcry, One NorthEast relented and gave both

  • Showcase time

    THE beauty and character of the Yorkshire Dales has been captured on film by one of the region's outstanding photographers. Emma Amsden, of Carperby, near Aysgarth, North Yorkshire, is displaying a series of black and white pictures of the spectacular

  • Green scheme enjoys sweet smell of success

    AN area of wasteland at Seaton Carew has been given a new lease of life. The land at Berwick Street, locally known as The Common, has been transformed from a wilderness into a sensory garden. Old railway sleepers have been used to form three raised flowerbeds

  • NE_Chamber aims to cut red tape

    THE North-East Chamber of Commerce has welcomed Prime Minister Tony Blair's commitment to help reduce the burden of bureaucracy weighing down businesses in the region. "The message clearly getting through is that over-regulation can choke the competitiveness

  • Family joy as Joanne stars on the Street

    THE mother of a North-East actress has told how she has been deluged with calls since her daughter stepped into a starring role in Britain's favourite soap. Joanne Rowden, from Middleton-St-George, near Darlington, County Durham, plays Paula Shipley,

  • Funeral firm fights planning decision

    A FUNERAL director has lodged an appeal after proposals to take over an historic building were turned down by planners. Hambleton District Council rejected plans to convert Register House, in Northallerton, to a funeral parlour, including building an

  • Teenagers organise family day

    TEENAGERS in Chester-le-Street have decided to entertain themselves, and everybody else on their estate, by organising a family fun day. Chester Youth 2000, otherwise known as CY2K, has worked with Investing in Children, Groundwork Durham and Chester

  • Murderer still free

    A CONVICTED murderer was still at large yesterday, two days after giving a prison warder the slip during an outing to a North-East city. Henry William Spedding, 43, was visiting Newcastle in preparation for his release from Acklington Prison, Northumberland

  • Crackdown launched on rubbish dumpers

    PEOPLE who dump rubbish in alleyways could face on-the-spot fines under an extended clean-up scheme. The initiative follows complaints from people living in Middlesbrough's town centre about the amount of litter left in streets and alleys. Middlesbrough

  • Police warn of bogus builders

    POLICE are urging home owners not to be taken in by bogus builders calling at their doors. Detectives in Bishop Auckland fear that fraudsters could be moving in to the Wear Valley and Teesdale areas after operating on Teesside in recent weeks. They call

  • Better days are close - Aspin

    Darlington defender Neil Aspin has told his team-mates that they must be positive for the big kick off at Rochdale tomorrow. As the dust finally settles on another eventful close season at Feethams, a determined Aspin thinks that the players are turning

  • Printer faces jail over forged documents

    A PRINTER suffering hard times is facing jail after being convicted yesterday of controlling hundreds of forged share certificates and bank drafts. The papers were seized from a filing cabinet at Cheviot Printers, in Newcastle's Newbridge Street in April

  • Young star is Reddy to rise up claims hot-shot Quinn

    Niall Quinn yesterday pinpointed a Sunderland youngster who is equipped to make a massive impact this season. Striker Michael Reddy appeared eight times in the Premiership as a substitute last season; now Quinn is convinced that he's about to emerge as

  • Probe after lorry kills A1 maintenance men

    AN investigation is in full swing today after two trainee maintenance men died as they attempted to warn traffic of roadworks. The two men were working at the back of a truck parked on the verge on the A1 in North Yorkshire when they were hit by an articulated

  • Take your partners

    AN international festival of folk music, song and dance is starting in a North-East seaside town tomorrow. The third Saltburn International Festival continues throughout the weekend. Organisers say they have been able to expand the festival programme

  • A time to celebrate with Kissing Time

    IAN MONGAN'S reputation as one of the strongest apprentice jockeys currently riding will be put to the test at Lingfield today aboard Kissing Time (3.30) in the £10,000 Showcase Handicap. Paul Cole's three-year-old signalled a return to the winners' enclosure

  • Community sets out to revive bank

    A DALES community is hoping to complete a major reversal of fortunes by reviving its redundant Barclays Bank building. The remote branch at Reeth, in Swaledale, was one of 172 across the country to be axed earlier this year. Now, consultants employed

  • City to poll on Saddler St. toll

    PEOPLE will be asked their views on plans to charge drivers £2 to use a tiny street at the heart of an historic North-East city. Saddler Street, in the centre of Durham City, would become Britain's first toll road for more than 100 years if proposals

  • 125-tonne load has drivers all at sea

    EARLY morning drivers were all at sea today when a giant ship's rudder was given a police escort for a journey across the region. Police met the 125-tonne load at the Tees Offshore Base in Dockside Road, Middlesbrough at midnight on the first stage of

  • basketball twins reach for the heights of professional game

    BASKETBALL playing twins are dreaming of the dizzy heights of success after winning scholarships to the same American university. Joanne and Julie Stephenson, 20, have their sights set firmly on playing professional basketball in the States. The twins

  • Library stages fun day for anniversary

    TO celebrate the 150th anniversary of public libraries a fun day is being held at Stockton Central Library, from 10.30am to 4pm, on Wednesday. Mystery Victorian objects from when libraries first opened will be on display for children to guess what they

  • Man feared unknown sprayed liquid

    TWO robbers who struck at a newsagent's shop where one of them sprayed the assistant in the face with a liquid were jailed yesterday. Robert Ward and Gary Delve targeted the newsagent's in Linthorpe Road, Middlesbrough, where Ernest Campbell was working

  • Planning row killer will not

    PLANNING row killer Albert Dryden must serve at least another four years of the life sentences imposed after the point-blank gunning down of a senior council officer. The Prison Service confirmed that the 60-year-old former steel worker, convicted of

  • It shouldn't happen to an ambulanceman

    A QUARTER of a century ago, year or two more maybe, I'd slow trained off to Thirsk to meet a vet who'd not just written a book, but injected a bit of life into it. Nice chap, Herriot: talked expansively, signed the review copy, provided a lift back to

  • Real fears for all our futures

    I WAS talking to a pal recently about predators - snakes, sharks, tigers - and it got us thinking about fear. Are they frightened of anything - perhaps other snakes, sharks or tigers? And what about whales. They don't seem frightened of anything, not

  • Addict is locked up for bag snatch

    A ROBBER who snatched the handbag of a woman who had taken pity on him was jailed for more than four years yesterday. Stephen Watson smashed the passenger window of Patricia Lawrenson's car in a Redcar car park after she had offered him her parking ticket

  • Youth gangs -bombing' cars from bridges on busy road

    LIVES are being put at risk by youngsters who have turned a busy stretch of road into a "bomb alley". Drivers in cars and lorries are being targeted by gangs gathering on flyovers and dropping missiles on to traffic passing below. In the past five weeks

  • Experts launch inquiry over fairground accident

    THREE youngsters hurt in a fairground accident are recovering in hospital. The teenagers were injured when a ride at Hartlepool broke free, hurling passengers into the air and hitting a bystander. The youngsters were named as Stacey Moorhead, 14, David

  • Getting on line online

    TRAIN enthusiasts may have plenty of web space devoted to their needs but the North-East's own achievements in rail history have been somewhat neglected - until now. In an attempt to put the Stockton & Darlington Railway back on the world stage where

  • Dogs survive 80ft fall from car park roof

    A DOG has survived an 80ft fall after landing on the roof of a soft-top car. RSPCA inspectors fear the female crossbred collie may have been flung from the top of a multi-storey car park at the Castlegate Shopping Centre, Stockton. It survived with just

  • Is your car journey really necessary?

    AN insidious addiction is sweeping the country, threatening to damage the lives of young and old. It clogs the arteries, it poisons the blood, it is in danger of paralysing the nation. It's as addictive as alcohol, as dangerous as drugs and in the next

  • Litter team's summer hoe-down

    LITTER and weed hit squads have worked so hard over the summer that they have worn out their tools. The temporary teams, deployed by Stockton Borough Council from the beginning of July, have collected 18 tonnes of weeds and litter. Six hoes used by the

  • Bike superstars are a store draw

    MOTORCYCLE fans were given the chance to meet some of the world's best riders yesterday. World Superbike Championship racers Colin Edwards, from America, and Aaron Slight, from New Zealand, were in the region to officially open the showroom of a motorcycle

  • Villagers ready to resurrect carnival

    A SUMMER celebration which has not been staged for more than 30 years will be revived this month. Brandon Carnival stopped in 1968 when the village pit shut. But Brandon Community Hall has decided to mark the Millennium by resurrecting the parade. It

  • Wedding venue blow for hotel

    HOTEL bosses have told couples not to panic over a wedding venue, despite being denied planning permission for its marquee. Hallgarth Golf and Country Club Hotel at Coatham Mundeville, Darlington, was yesterday told its bid to renew permission for the

  • Toyota suppliers must deal in euros

    FEARS were raised for British manufacturers after Japanese car maker Toyota announced it wanted to deal in euros rather than sterling. Saying that its UK operations were suffering "severely" by not being in the European single currency, the car giant

  • Families making life easy for thieves

    HOME owners are making burglary easy by leaving doors and windows open, claim Cleveland Police. Figures show 50 per cent of house burglaries in Middlesbrough are being committed in homes where doors and windows are left unlocked. Since July 1, more than

  • Flats on shops site put on hold

    COUNCILLORS yesterday deferred making a decision on plans for flats to be built at a shopping precinct so they canvisit the site themselves. CM Yuill and the Mowden Park Estate Company has applied for planning permission to redevelop the Mowden shopping

  • Robbers shower victim with glass

    POLICE are searching for a gang of three men following an attack which left a driver showered with glass as they snatched his cash bag. A police spokesman said the attack took place outside News 77 at Arndale Square, in Newcastle, at 10.05am on Friday

  • Prices at the markets

    BARNARD CASTLE. - Wed. Fwd:2 calves, 1,184 sheep. Bull calves to £118. Lambs std to 78.2p av 74.8p; med to 83.3p av 78.6p; heavy to 77.2p av 76.5p, Cast ewes: Mule to 332; Cont to £33; Suff to £28.50; Leics to £31; horned to £11. DARLINGTON. Mon. - Forward

  • D-day for playing field schemes

    DEVELOPERS hoping to build on playing fields at Stanley have until the end of the month to submit their bids. Derwentside District Council has issued the applications deadline for two sites at the Kings Head Fields and Murray Park. The council's planning

  • Crisis in the air

    BOSSES last night claimed Teesside International Airport had a bright future after a crisis meeting shelved plans to revolutionise the way it is run. They talked about introducing more flights and pressing ahead with plans to develop a major freight handling

  • Royal approval for keen fan's meeting with Queen Mother

    ROYALIST Anita Atkinson's passion for the House of Windsor has earned her a meeting with the Queen Mother. The magistrate and mother-of-three from Fir Tree, in County Durham, has a date with the Queen Mother in London on November 1 - thanks to The Northern

  • Club wields the axe on inquiry comic

    A COMEDIAN at the centre of an investigation over cancelled bookings and lost money on Wearside has been dropped from the bill of a comedy club. Mark Rough was due to appear at the Get Serious Comedy Club, at The Royalty pub, Sunderland, on September

  • Protestors' -fears' over football academy

    A PROTEST group has re-opened the debate over Sunderland Football Club's academy plans. Earlier this year the club was granted approval to build a training and youth development centre on narrow green belt land separating the city and neighbouring South

  • Warning signs promised after river tragedy

    WARNING signs will be put up on a dangerous stretch of the River Tees where a schoolboy drowned while playing with friends. Action has been promised after The Northern Echo took up the call of Malcolm Glen, whose 15-year-old son, Christopher, died in

  • Boksic in battle to be fit for Boro's opener

    MIDDLESBROUGH new boy Alen Boksic is in a race to be fit for the start of the season. Boro boss Bryan Robson yesterday unveiled his £2.5m striker then promptly pulled him out of the club's two match trip to Spain. Robson, whose four year pursuit of the

  • It's green for go as plans are unveiled to transform land

    PLANS were unveiled yesterday for a £140,000 project to transform a piece of rough land in Shildon. The land, off Dean Street, will be known as Shildon Millennium Green and will include a wildflower meadow, wetland area and place for people to picnic.

  • Upland farmers get a report on survival

    DIVERSIFICATION is the key to farmers' survival, according to a new report into the future of upland hill farming. The North Yorkshire study recommends increasing farm sizes, a move to organic farming, and greater involvement in conservation schemes.

  • On track for a new world record -doing Locomotion'

    THOUSANDS of North-Easterners will be "doing the Locomotion" in a bid to break a world record. Organisers of Darlington's 175th Anniversary Railway and Arts Festival hope to attract up to 2,000 adults and children to take part in a human locomotion chain

  • Go-ahead for round-the-clock repairs as bridge bill hits £1m

    THE cost of restoring one of the region's oldest bridges has soared to £1m, it was revealed yesterday. The bill for saving the 154-year-old Mercury Bridge, Richmond, emerged as engineers were ordered to work around the clock on the project. North Yorkshire

  • Get locked up and help a good cause

    A POLICE officer is looking for good citizens across the region willing to be locked up in cells for a night. The volunteers will be helping out another emergency service by their efforts. Andy Wills, a sergeant at Guisborough, east Cleveland, is organising

  • Drink-drive father

    A FATHER of three has been jailed after admitting he was drunk when he drove the car in which his best friend died. Kevin Doorwood, 37, died when the car driven by Trevor Nixon sped off the road, rolled into a ditch and hit a tree. Nixon, 31, was breathalysed

  • Frustrating start for Durham in crunch clash

    DURHAM partially eased the frustrations brought on by a 4pm start yesterday on the first day of their relegation tussle with Kent at the Riverside. Put in by Nick Speak, the visitors reached 71 for three in 32 overs, but Durham's joy at the early dismissal

  • Volunteers needed for Oxfam shop growth

    A CHARITY shop has slashed its prices to beat competition from High Street sales. The move has led to soaring trade at the Oxfam shop, in Newport Road, Middlesbrough, which has been redesigned to help customers. Shop manager Marion Cowper said: "Instead

  • Youngsters enjoy £6,000 play equipment

    YOUNGSTERS in Marske are enjoying a new piece of equipment at their play park, which was installed just in time for the holidays. The Wisp playtime unit, which cost £6,000, was installed by Saltburn, Marske and New Marske Parish Council ready for youngsters

  • Children in art summer school

    YOUNG people are being encouraged to get involved in the arts over the summer holidays. Middlesbrough Borough Council's art development team has set up a series of workshops this week with musicians, actors and artists, resulting in a performance on Friday

  • Respite care bungalows are unveiled

    A £300,000 project to provide respite care for people with learning disabilities and their families was opened in Darlington yesterday. Darlington Borough Council and its partners in the project, Three Rivers Housing Association, have built two detached

  • Flower power on video

    MEMBERS of a Darlington flower arrangement club have enjoyed a video of its recent exhibition. South Durham and North Yorkshire Flower Arrangement Club has hailed the success of the Darlington Past and Present flower festival. At its recent meeting, congratulations

  • Slum housing to be demolished

    HUNDREDS of slum houses are earmarked for demolition to make way for new homes. Hartlepool Borough Council is responding to concern from residents about rising crime, linked to large-scale deterioration of terraced homes. Residents complain the price

  • The stories that don't sell papers

    IF THE News of the World and its angry mob of followers really felt strongly about saving children's lives, shouldn't they be targeting those speeding drivers who kill hundreds of youngsters every year? Half a dozen children are abducted and killed by

  • Former pit villages confident of clinching £6m EU funding

    AN extra £6m of European funding could be on its way to coalfield sites in former County Durham villages. The former pit villages of Hetton, Easington Lane, South Hetton, Murton, Haswell, East Rainton and parts of Houghton-le-Spring all look likely to

  • Warning that came too late

    THE death of 15-year-old Christopher Glen will send a shiver down the spines of parents everywhere. Hardly a summer goes by without similar tragedies hitting the headlines. Children are attracted to water, they take risks, and young lives are lost - 341