AS Echo Memories has been telling for the past three weeks, the Robson family gave Faverdale Hall in Darlington a strong link with botany, and there is still a botanical connection to the Faverdale estate. A field near the new roundabout on the road leading
THE National Glass Centre in Sunderland is hosting a wedding exhibition today to help brides-to-be plan their big day. More than 22 of the region's top names will be exhibiting their services, including Chantilly Bride, Lumley Castle, Dainty Supplies,
A PRODUCTION of Mozart's Cosi Fan Tutte will be helping to pump funds into one of the region's theatrical treasures tomorrow night. The Georgian Theatre Royal in Richmond, North Yorkshire, is thought to be the best preserved working playhouse of the era
WETHERBY'S winter National Hunt programme kicks off with a cracking seven-race card featuring the £13,000 Bobby Renton Chase. Renton, who sadly never achieved his life-long ambition to train a Grand National winner, would have been proud of the excellent
DETAILS of how a Government crime fighting fund will be shared out across the North-East, have been revealed. The region is to receive a total of £248,000 targeted to improve the security of shops in run down areas. Though specific spending details will
AN environmental charity has teamed up with landscape gardeners to create a new garden for a community's elderly residents. The Acorn Trust and Brambledown Landscapes will be-gin work at Alder Crescent, White-le-Head, near Stanley, County Durham, this
A DRIVE-through restaurant could be built near the new Tesco supermarket in the Dragonville area of Durham. Kingslodge Developments Ltd is seeking outline planning permission from Durham City Council for the outlet and a non-food store on land at the
A GROUP of cyclists are making last-minute preparations for a charity ride to raise money for breast cancer research. This month is Breast Cancer Awareness Month and 40 employees and friends of the Abbey National in Newcastle, are taking part in a 15-
FIVE years after opening a haven for wildlife on an opencast coal site, the Banks Group mining company has guaranteed its future with a £30,000 "dowry". The money will be invested to pay for the upkeep of the Oakenshaw Wildlife Reserve, created out of
A TEN-YEAR plan, which aims to protect and enhance wildlife habitats across the Yorkshire Dales, is under scrutiny today, 12 months after it was launched. Partners including the National Park Authority, English Nature and North Yorkshire County Council
CAMPAIGNERS for a "yes" vote in a mayoral referendum are quietly confident. The 23,000 voting papers returned by the end of last week in Middlesbrough are thought to have already swelled to 30,000. A vote "yes" campaigner estimated last night 32,000 voting
HOORAY for Hilary. Hilary Armstrong, MP for North West Durham and Chief Whip, is featured in this month's Cosmopolitan magazine, looking very swish, with six of her senior female Labour colleagues. "The Magnificent Seven" the Times calls them. And, says
THE terrible events of September 11 and their aftermath can be summed up in a phrase that could be the plot of a far-fetched Hollywood movie: man in mountain cave brings civilised world to its knees. A sequel, now upon us, is even more bizarre: man in
ENVIRONMENT watchdogs have been asked to come up with hard cash to support an ambitious conservation programme launched by TV botanist David Bellamy earlier this month. The Swale and Ure Washlands Project has announced integrated plans for sand and gravel
A concert by the Harlem Gospel Choir, from New York, is going ahead as planned at Newcastle Opera House tomorrow. Rumours that the event had been cancelled in the wake of the New York terrorist attack were untrue, said spokesman Jim Semmence. "There were
AN air freshener manufacturer has vowed to change the design on its cans, which shows jets flying over New York, after complaints that it was in poor taste. Melrose Homecare's Cocktails range shows planes flying erratically over the city's skyline on
A MAN has died after being hit by a heavy goods vehicle. The victim, who is not being named but is believed to be in his late 20s, was walking towards the A174 Marton Interchange with the B1365 Hemlington Lane, in Middlesbrough, when the incident occurred
A LEAKED document has revealed the tensions within Government over the handling of any future inquiry into the Richard Neale scandal. Campaigners who want a full public inquiry into affair say the document from the office of chief medical officer Professor
FOUR men accused of murdering a Hartlepool pipe fitter appeared in court yesterday. The men, all from Hartlepool, are charged with murdering Phillip McGibbon, early on Sunday, October 7. Mr McGibbon, of Linnet Road, Throston, Hartlepool, died of severe
TORMENTED relatives have spoken of their grief at losing a baby and his father within a year of each other. Even at eight-months-old, Lewis Archer bore a striking resemblance to his 20-year-old father. But on Thursday of last week, Lewis' mother, Lorraine
A WEBSITE designed to capture young people's views on democracy and how to fight apathy is being developed in North Yorkshire. The project is run by the county council's community education team, Connecting Youth Culture as part of Local Democracy Week
LIFE at a Royal Mail delivery office in the region was returning to normal following an anthrax scare. All 250 staff at the depot at Cannon Park Way, in Middlesbrough, were evacuated for around 50 minutes after a package leaking white powder arrived.
SPORTING and musical groups are among dozens throughout North Yorkshire to benefit from more than £100,000 of Lottery hand-outs. Community organisations across the region are celebrating after they were given grants by the National Lottery Awards for
DARLINGTON Council chiefs have issued an "unreserved apology" to residents who were affected by a controversial planning decision. Residents of Brinkburn Drive, Darlington, complained that their concerns about the height of new housing was not considered
THREE employees of Hambleton District Council have retired after a combined 92 years' service. The efforts of John Hall, John Gregory and John Watson were praised by council chairman John Prest. "The contribution to the council by these three men is hard
POLICE in the North-East are bidding for Home Office cash to buy new equipment for the region's crime-fighting helicopter and plane. The Northumbria, Durham and Cleveland forces, which use the aircraft, want to update them with the latest technology and
A ROAD rage victim was recovering yesterday after an attack on Teesside on Monday evening. The 43-year-old man was driving a white Izeco van on the A689 slip road, near Wolviston, at 6.30pm, when he was shunted from behind by two men in a blue Discovery
A FREE compact disc has been launched to give workers advice on how to stay healthy. Yesterday, the Workplace Health Alliance, which is funded by Teesside Health Action Zone, launched the First Steps to Health disc, at the Wilton chemicals site. Designed
A TOWN'S past skulduggery has won it an award. Smuggling was once big business at Saltburn, a culture and tradition which stretched back 300 years. Contraband is no longer being shipped into the coastal community, but the story of the town's involvement
THE JACKSONS Landing factory outlet centre at Hartlepool Marina is undergoing a facelift. Work on turning the centre into a 60,000sqft Designer Room store will begin this weekend. The new venture will be known as The Designer Room "When de Keyser took
A NEW breed of medical students have begun their studies in the region. Drawn from a wider social pool than traditional trainee doctors, the first medical intake at the new University of Durham Stockton Campus, are set to become the doctors of tomorrow
FIRE tore through a foundry early yesterday morning, destroying high voltage cables. Firefighters from all over Teesside were called in to tackle the blaze, at Clydesdale Forge in Hartlepool. It is believed an electrical fault sparked the blaze, which
WORK on a long-awaited £1.6m bypass to ease traffic congestion in the centre of Crook is due to start next summer. Durham County Council's executive committee has given approval for officers to draw up a planning application, acquire land and make side
SENDING patients abroad to ease the misery of hospital waiting lists has been branded a "short fix" by doctors in the North-East. Health Secretary Alan Milburn announced today that the first "test" patients from Portsmouth, East Kent and West Sussex/East
THE first Muslim Holy Day since September 11 has just passed. After a week of bombing Afghanistan back into the Stone Age, from which it has arguably never progressed, the Muslim and non-Muslim world is right to ask itself: "And what is to be done?" The
BRITAIN'S first anti-stalking service has been launched by a North-East mental health trust. The brainchild of forensic psychiatrist Dr Rajesh Nadkarni, the Stalking Consultation Service is being offered to a wide range of organisations involved in managing
CARE home residents gathered at a public meeting to beg their county council not to take their home from them. More than 50 people gathered at the Civic Hall, in Shildon, to protest against the proposed closure of the town's only nursing home. Deputy
ONE of the British Army's most historic regiments will undertake a ten-day tour of the North-East later this month. The 1st Battalion, The Light Infantry will undertake a series of public displays from Monday to November 2. The visit is designed to raise
A TRINKET box donated by the Queen Mother raised more than £280 for charity when it was sold at auction. The box was one of the items which went under the hammer last week, raising more than £1,600 towards funding for a community centre in South Hylton
A RANGE of events to celebrate the birth of Captain Cook are taking place. Teesside's most famous son will be remembered in a l week of activities, from Saturday until October 28, in Hartlepool, Stockton, Middlesbrough, Great Ayton, Marske, Staithes and
Police investigating the murder of 16-year-old Leanne Tiernan have arrested a 45-year-old man. Leanne went missing from her home in Bramley, Leeds, in November last year following a shopping trip. Her body was discovered at a beauty spot in Lindley Wood
A NURSE who claims she was nicknamed "Mad Mary" by a bullying ward sister has launched a £50,000 legal battle with a North-East NHS Trust. Mary Lanigan, 51, says her life was left in ruins after a 12-month campaign of bullying and abuse. She is suing
HEALTH chiefs at North Tees have come under fire from consultants over plans to move orthopaedic services from Stockton to Hartlepool. Five orthopaedic consultants have written to Joan Rogers, chief executive of the North Tees and Hartlepool NHS trust
A UNIVERSITY student told a court yesterday how he watched a friend die in a pool of blood. Andrew Zepher, a third year undergraduate at Durham's New College, had spent the evening in Newcastle with student Patrick Brown on the night he met his death.
MIDDLESBROUGH are set to lose out to Leeds in the race to sign Derby midfielder Seth Johnson. Leeds had a £7m bid - rising to £9m with appearances - accepted yesterday and the former England Under-21 international is expected to sign today. Boro boss
PRESSURE was growing last night for the Government to do a U-turn and hold a public inquiry into the foot-and-mouth crisis. Angry farmers are preparing to go to court unless ministers agree to a full open hearing. If the Government refuses, legal proceedings
A MAN was left unable to eat solid food for nearly two months after a fight over people skipping a nightclub queue, a court heard. Yoshinori Hardy was left with his jaw broken in two places after the incident outside Hartlepool's 42nd Street nightclub
FARMERS' wives have added a touch of glamour to the traditional image of life in the country - by baring almost all for a risque calendar. The women decided to take the unusual form of action to aid the rural economy following the devastating effects
A FACTORY shop manager forged a cleaner's signature to obtain staff discount on goods, a court heard yesterday. Pamela Hindmoor was entitled to discount on items from The Factory Shop, in Crook, County Durham, but needed documentation counter-signed by
A MAN who shut an emaciated dog in a cupboard for hours at a time without natural light, ventilation or heating was banned from keeping animals for three years by a court yesterday. Matthew Lee Childs, 19, pleaded guilty to causing unnecessary suffering
A SUDDEN death golden goal by Bury striker Jon Newby - in a game sponsored by funeral directors Mason & Martin - killed off Hartlepool's hopes of progressing in the LDV Vans Trophy last night. With penalties looming after 114 minutes of goalless action
YOUNGSTERS were given a taste of hospital life as part of a careers event on Monday. About 60 year ten and 11 pupils, from six local schools, were invited to the education centre at The James Cook University Hospital, in Middlesbrough, to sample careers
An Army major at the centre of a police investigation into allegations that he cheated on television's Who Wants To Be Millionaire? last night strongly denied claims of an insurance fiddle. The new accusations against Charles Ingram come after makers
A GROUP of young history students will join the region's efforts to have its railway heritage commemorated later this month. The pupils at Haughton Community School, Darlington, will be looking at the town's rail history in their latest project. The results
A FOOTBALL dream is coming true for a North-East schoolboy whose promising career was cut short by a freak accident. Only three years ago there were fears that Andrew Burgess might never walk again. But thanks to Darlington Football Club's chairman, George
A FOOTBALL dream is coming true for a North-East schoolboy whose promising career was cut short by a freak accident. Only three years ago there were fears that Andrew Burgess might never walk again. But thanks to Darlington Football Club's chairman, George
FIVE hundred boys and girls from across County Durham have been trying their hand at rugby. The youngsters, playing in mixed teams of seven, touched down at Durham University's Graham Sports Centre at Maiden Castle for the seventh annual Tag Rugby Festival
A NORTH Yorkshire local authority has not yet decided on advice it should publish, if floods threaten the area again this winter. After last November's deluge, Richmondshire District Council felt some sort of guidance was necessary. Its original objective
A UNIVERSITY has launched a new bursary scheme to attract students from the North-East. The bursaries are designed to help potential Durham University students throughout the region, particularly those who come from families who have little or no history
IRON and steel has coursed through the arteries of Teesside for more than 160 years. Teesside steel helped to make the world a smaller place by producing the building blocks for new railways, arterial roads, ships, bridges and harbours. The global economy
A TEESSIDE poet will be among the voices being heard in an international festival. Bob Beagrie, from Middlesbrough, will join Paul Summers, of Newcastle and poets from throughout Europe at the International Crossing Border Festival, in the Netherlands
TECHNOLOGY will be taken to the heart of 35 more North-East communities after an expansion in UK Online centres. With access to new technology and the Internet, the centres aim to help people who have limited IT skills or no computers at home. Nearly
WORK on a long-awaited £1.6m bypass that will ease traffic congestion in the centre of Crook is due to start next summer. Durham County Council's executive committee has given approval for officers to draw up a planning application, acquire land and make
VINTAGE tractor enthusiast Brian Robson decided to put his precious collection to use by taking to the roads for a sponsored trundle. The 50-year-old farmer, from Staindrop, County Durham, led a convoy of 33 tractors through villages and back roads of
DURHAM City strengthened its links with the Far East during a visit by a Japanese consul. Tsutome Hiraoka met the mayor, Councillor George Cowper and other leading figures from the council and university, in the city yesterday. Mr Hiraoka said: "I am
A FARMER is to be prosecuted for not spending enough time working in his fields. Len Webster, who runs a bed-and-breakfast business at Chestnut Farm, Great Busby, near Stokesley, North Yorkshire, will on Friday of next week become the first person to
A NEW selection of books is available at one of Hartlepool's branch libraries. Staff at Throston Grange library have selected the books, and many of the authors are literary award winners. The books will be circulated throughout Hartlepool libraries.
THE man heading a County Durham town's five-year bid to have its railway history recognised as a World Heritage Site has resigned from his post. Dr Stuart Nichols has been heritage manager at the Darlington Railway Centre and Museum for less than 18 months
CROOK-based handler Howard Johnson was back among the winners at Sedgefield yesterday when Lord Capitaine ran away with the feature event on the card, the Teesside Handicap Chase. "We thought a lot about him when he won his two novices the season before
A SPECIAL army convoy left Teesside yesterday. On board the three Royal Logistics Corps trucks were six ancient rowing boats. The Victorian craft were once rowed on the lake at Albert Park which is being given a £4.4m makeover. The lake has been drained
A COMPUTER firm which attracted hundreds of complaints for selling substandard goods has folded. Fiche and Chips, a Teesside company selling reconditioned computers, is in the hands of liquidator Deloitte and Touche. A meeting has been organised at Middlesbrough's
NEARLY 200 elderly people in Hartlepool will get a free pack of security goods for the winter. The residents, in the Rift House West area, will receive a package including a burglar alarm, a dusk-to-dawn security light, a rape alarm, smoke alarm, and
A DALES festival enjoys its second wind from tomorrow, thanks to the vagaries of the foot-and-mouth epidemic. Half of Swaledale Festival's summer programme had to be cancelled this year because of the restrictions imposed to control the disease. However
YOUNGSTER Jamie Withers' green thinking has landed him the top prize in an environmental poster contest. Jamie, a pupil at St Aidan's High School in Harrogate, won the competition organised by the borough council and sponsored by the Brentwood Design
HOTLY-disputed plans to cut free school transport for hundreds of youngsters in Darlington have finally been ditched. The plans to change the distance pupils must live from a school to qualify for free transport from two miles to three caused uproar among
A WOMAN claimed she had been subjected to a brutal sex attack by her ex-husband "to get him in trouble with the police", a court heard. Valerie Walton waited more than four hours before admitting the allegation against her ex-husband Kevin was a sham,
A LIFETIME'S fear of flying has meant that Michael Whieldon has never been abroad for his holidays. Vertigo has made sure the factory worker always keeps his feet firmly on the ground, until recently. The 31-year-old decided to conquer his fear and take
DURHAM City residents have an opportunity to have their say in the way the district is governed. Durham City Council is holding a series of Area Forums to encourage people to get involved in what goes on in their neighbourhood. The meetings are an important
A WOMAN'S place is still in the home - at least as far as the advertising industry is concerned, according to a university lecturer. Despite decades of gains in the workplace, which have seen women narrow the pay-gap with men, Sunderland University academic
POLICE investigating the murder of teenager Leanne Tiernan were today continuing to question a 45-year-old man. The man was arrested yesterday by West Yorkshire Police and is being questioned at a Leeds police station. Leanne, 16, went missing from her
A TEESSIDE butcher's turkey delights have clinched him a national award. Martin Blackwell, of Blackwell's in Norton, near Stockton, won a first at the Turkey Products of the Year award. Judges awarded him first prize in the best catering product category
THE ruling Labour Party in Durham has voted against an elected mayor running the city. Durham City Council will hold a postal ballot next month to see if residents support the idea of a mayor with wide-ranging powers, who would be chosen by the people
HORSE owners who allow their animals to wander on to council land will have to pay to get them back. Wear Valley District Council has set up a horse catching service and will work with police to round up strays. Between last October and June, there were
THE cellmate of a man who died of a heroin overdose in Durham Prison told an inquest yesterday how he desperately tried to save the life of his new friend. North Durham coroner Andrew Tweddle tried to ascertain how David Gray, 30, of Newcastle had obtained
Reliant Cars Ltd, which achieved infamy with its much-mocked Robin three-wheeler, was today lending its support to Britain's worst racehorse. Quixall Crossett, the bay gelding which has failed to win any of its previous 100 outings, was attempting to
CUSTOMS officials have seized 2.3m cigarettes concealed in drums of cable. The drums, containing Sovereign Classic cigarettes, arrived at Teesport from Helsinki, and are believed to have originated in Eastern Europe. They were recovered on Tuesday, and
BOSSES at a controversial hospital have mounted a public relations campaign to boost staff morale and reassure patients. Copies of a glossy, A3-sized four page leaflet are being distributed to staff and left in patient areas at the University Hospital
Northerners are the biggest complainers when it comes to shoddy goods and services, according to a survey out today. The National Complaints Culture Survey, published by global training consultants TMI, shows that more than half the consumers in England
A NEW shop is helping to reduce the cost of nappies and pyjamas for children. Affordable Children's Essentials, at Thorney Close Action and Enterprise Centre, Sunderland, supplies goods at almost cost price. It is funded by the Sure Start initiative,
PREPARATIONS have begun for this year's Royal British Legion Poppy Appeal. It will be launched by the Mayor of Darlington, Councillor Isobel Hartley next Wednesday, in the town hall. The appeal runs from October 27 to November 10 in the town and surrounding
PEOPLE in County Durham are being offered the chance to get their teeth into the national debate on food production and safety. Durham City is hosting a seminar, sponsored by the Food Standards Agency (FSA), on Saturday. The event is part of the Government's
DARLINGTON'S biggest residential-only regeneration site - where more than 350 houses have been demolished - has been put up for sale. Darlington Borough Council is marketing the 32-acre site, which once made up a quarter of the Firthmoor estate, to developers
MORE than £4,000 was split between four charities last night, the proceeds of two concerts held earlier this year. Music For Darlington's Last Night of the Proms event, and its sister concert, the Promenade for Youth, are held each year in aid of worthy
A PENSIONER from Billingham died as he tried to flee his burning home this morning. Neighbours phoned firefighters as they watched a blaze rip through the 74-year-old's home in Cotswold Crescent, Billingham, just before 5am. The intense fire, which started
ORGANISERS of a fireworks extravaganza are preparing for an out-of-this-world event, with a space-age theme. Every year, thousands of people turn out for Darlington Borough Council's bonfire night display in the town's South Park. One of the world's leading
SHAREHOLDERS in business-to-business Internet group J2C have reacted with anger to news that three directors have sold their stakes in the group. Chief executive Karl Watkin, non executive director Luke Johnson and former Labour Euro MP Alan Donnelly
MONTHS of hard work have paid off for four young web wizards. The pupils, from Haughton Community School have won The Northern Echo's Web Power competition, run in conjunction with Northern Electric. The school has won £5,000 towards its electricity bill
HOUSEBUILDER Bellway has sounded an optimistic note about its future after breaking through the £100m profit barrier. The Newcastle group reported a 12 per cent rise in selling prices and a slight increase in the number of homes sold in the year to July
WHERE there's muck there's brass - and villagers in North Yorkshire have reason to be grateful to the old saying. Another key improvement to the War Memorial Institute at Scorton, near Richmond, has been paid for with cash from the landfill tax credit
POLICE called to a car parked in a North Yorkshire market town were told a man had locked himself in the boot and had not been seen or heard for half an hour, a court was told yesterday. Officers became concerned for David McAra, 28, when his mother and
POLICE have recovered a large quantity of fireworks which were being stored in a dangerous place. Officers from Middlesbrough police district support unit used a magistrate's search warrant to enter a house in Pallister Park, which they suspected of containing
REGULARS have been toasting a £436,000 boost which will see computers join pool tables and darts boards in pubs across North Yorkshire. The county council has won the cash to create pub-based learning centres aimed at serving people who have no other
RAINBOW Guides at Ingleby Barwick celebrated the unit's tenth birthday with an open afternoon and fair. Stalls including crafts, a tombola, toys, cakes and refreshments were on offer at the event, in the St Francis of Assisi Church. Rainbows are the youngest
TEACHERS have come with a novel way of encouraging pupils to take their parents into school - by cancelling all lessons for a day. King James 1 Community College, at Bishop Auckland, is inviting parents along tomorrow for a 20-minute appointment with
A YOUNG man in Nottingham often praised the baking of an old family friend. So taken was she with his compliments, she whispered the secrets of her culinary success in his ear. Soon afterwards, the young man moved to County Durham and set himself up in
BY happy coincidence, Barbara Laurie's latest book on Bishop Auckland has a piece in it on Lingford's bell. During the Second World War, the company adopted a ship - HMS Tartar, chosen, apparently, because tartar was one of the ingredients in one of the
Beat bobby Kevin Woodcock is aiming to put a spoke in the wheels of criminals by going on motor patrol. His new 125cc motor bike helps him move quickly around his rural patch covering Evenwood, Toft Hill and Etherley, from his base at Bishop Auckland
A teenage recruit to the Green Howards has more power behind him than most. For 17-year-old Private Graham Winter is the under-23 Power Lifting European Champion, and already holds two world records. Graham, from the Skerne Park area of Darlington, has
A NEW selection of books is available at one of Hartlepool's branch libraries. Staff at Throston Grange library have selected the books, and many of the authors are literary award winners. The books will be circulated throughout Hartlepool libraries.
POLICE and scientists urged people not to panic last night as the fear of anthrax gripped the world. Suspect packages triggered a series of alerts in Britain yesterday with police investigating reports of anthrax attacks across the country - although
Darlington came back from a goal behind to reach the second round of the LDV Vans Trophy against Macclesfield last night. Quakers went behind to a very controversial early penalty, but a rare goal from Phil Brumwell brought them level and Dave Ridler
HEALTH chiefs at North Tees have come under fire from consultants over plans to move orthopaedic services from Stockton to Hartlepool. Five orthopaedic consultants have written to Joan Rogers, chief executive of the North Tees and Hartlepool NHS trust
THE family of a tormented student have told how she died because she was carrying the troubles of the world on her shoulders. University student Claire Lynn, 26, worried about the plight of refugees and the increasing list of trouble spots across the
WHEN former Labour MP Roland Boyes was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease he pledged to raise funds for research into the condition. Yesterday, his courageous determination culminated in the opening of a specialised unit at Newcastle General Hospital.
Heavily-armed special forces AC-130 Spectre gunships were in action for the first time yesterday, attacking Taliban military bases. The lumbering AC-130 - adapted from the Hercules transport aircraft - is typically used to support special forces troops
ENGLAND international Kevin Phillips has added his support to strike-partner Niall Quinn's plea for fans to back Sunderland boss Peter Reid. The manager is trying to strengthen a side which has slipped to tenth place in the Premiership after gleaning
A DETECTIVE inspector from Cleveland has been cleared of allowing burglars to escape justice. Detective Inspector Neil O'Byrne was accused of failing to prepare files on a gang of Redcar burglars because he "couldn't be bothered with the paperwork". Yesterday
A MAN was left with serious head injuries, including a blood clot, after being kicked and stamped on in an assault, a court heard. Witnesses said Colin Weatherall was so badly beaten that what looked like the imprint of the sole of a shoe was left on
A PUBLIC inquiry into a controversial village housing development will be held later this year. Durham City Council rejected plans by Wimpey Homes and Bryant Homes to build 193 houses on fields at Rainton Gate, near West Rainton. A scheme to build 229
TWO mothers have produced a guide to Hartlepool for parents and carers of children under eight. Heather Alabaster and Susie Macdonald have produced the free Clever Clogs guide for Hartlepool, following on from similar guides for Durham, Darlington and
A SCHOOL for youngsters with special educational needs is celebrating success in a national Internet competition. Beaumont Hill School, in Darlington, entered the Technology College Trust's multi-lingual website award and won £500 in the regional heat
A PUBLIC meeting has given a clear message that it wants a slice of a North Yorkshire city's regeneration cash spent on a combined cinema and theatre. A public consultation gathering gave its overwhelming verdict on the future of Ripon's cultural life
ON matters of overriding public interest it is the Government's duty to hold public inquiries. They are the only means by which fair, objective and independent investigations can be done, and seen to be done. They are a vital tool in the mechanics of
A MAN caught with a cache of offensive weapons has had his sentence cut. Robert Allen Henderson, of Hilton Road, Barnard Castle, was jailed for 18 months in May, by Maidstone Crown Court. The 27-year-old had been stopped by police as he returned from
THE latest teenage recruit to the Green Howards has more power behind him than most. For 17-year-old Private Graham Winter is an under-23 Power Lifting European Champion, and already holds two world records. Graham, who comes from the Skerne Park area
UNDERCOVER policewomen who posed as a raunchy hen party put two cocaine dealers behind bars yesterday. The nine skimpily-clad officers, including one who posed as a bride wearing a veil covered in condoms, were not wired for the operation in a Hartlepool
The Government still appears to be dragging its heels on safety measures to prevent deaths from the Silent Killer gas, carbon monoxide. The Northern Echo yesterday stepped up its campaign for Government action, with a special supplement highlighting the
CONSERVATIVE PARTY UNLIKE Iain Duncan Smith, I'm not outraged by the Monday Club and the fact that it supports voluntary repatriation and capital punishment. I'm saddened by the insistence that Monday Clubbers are fascists and should be expelled. I am
THE long wait to find out this year's winner of The Northern Echo-sponsored Lifetime of Achievement Award is drawing to a close. On Thursday of next week, the business community of the Tees Valley will gather at the Tall Trees, in Yarm, for the Business
TELECOMS group BT has announced plans to shut Concert - its joint venture with US giant AT&T - in a move which will see up to 2,300 jobs lost. The long-awaited unwinding of the heavily loss-making arm will bring to an end a four-year joint venture
A PANTO director plans to ignore the old showbiz adage about never working with animals. Ray Spencer hopes to find a small horse or pony to add a touch of authenticity to his seasonal production at a South Tyneside theatre. He has written Cinderella for
