HEALTH secretary Alan Milburn reaffirmed his commitment to boosting hospices' funding yesterday. At last year's Labour Party conference, the Darlington MP announced an extra £50m for hospices, by 2004. Yesterday, in the Commons, he repeated his pledge
UNCERTAINTY is bad news for any economy. It is the most telling factor in discouraging investment. Whether Britain has more to gain with or without the euro is the subject of some heated debate. However, the longer we wait before making a firm commitment
Manchester United yesterday joined forces with the New York Yankees in a marketing deal which will strengthen their bid for global domination, but the club insisted they will remain loyal to their roots. The alliance will enable United to exploit the
SIXTY families were evacuated by police in Yarm last night as the Tees breached flood defences in several places. The residents, from two blocks of flats in Castle Dyke Wynd next to the river, were taken by coach to nearby Conyers School for the night
AN artist, who has already earned a national reputation for his work, is to take to the international stage. Mackenzie Thorpe, of Richmond, has outgrown some of the London galleries where his paintings have been shown in the past. As a result of his growing
TWENTY five community groups in former County Durham mining areas are sharing £44,000 from a new regeneration fund. The grants are the first from the new Coalfields Community Chest, run by the County Durham Foundation. The chest is funded with £438,017
WHEN this column was young, that is to say younger still, the Monday afternoon venue was always the Red Lion, over the road from the office. It was labelled the Liquid Luncheon Club, its undoubted star Coun Peter Jones, prominent businessman and chairman
A HAND-held computer, designed to be waterproof and shockproof, may revolutionise the approach to technology. The pioneering high-powered machine, capable of running all Windows applications, is the brainchild of Tees Valley firm CTEC. The company has
A SHORTAGE of teachers in the region could prove dire if the problem is not addressed within the next five years, it was claimed last night. As the Government continued to come under fire over teacher numbers, it emerged that the North-East and North
IN THE recent House of Commons debate on hunting, all 75 Scottish MPs cast their votes. As it happened, they were all against hunting. But that's not the point. The Bill they were voting on was to ban hunting in England and Wales. Whether hunting continues
Sunderland boss Peter Reid has earmarked Bolton supersub Michael Ricketts as a potential long-term replacement for Niall Quinn. Ricketts, 22, has scored 17 goals in 27 appearances this season for Wanderers - 10 of them after coming off the bench. His
THE name is Lawson, Edna Lawson. The North-East pensioner has gone undercover in true James Bond fashion - not to save the world from a madman, but to prevent the elderly being intimidated by high-pressure salesmen. The keen amateur actress with the Westovian
THE Government is considering radical regeneration proposals to unlock £2bn for shattered Teesside steel communities, The Northern Echo can reveal. Regeneration chiefs have put together a package of measures since last week's announcement by Corus that
THOUSANDS of weary commuters using the London Underground each day are successfully being persuaded to come to Yorkshire for their holidays. The Yorkshire Tourist Board (YTB) said that its advertising campaign in Underground stations has resulted in a
ONE of the most impressive sports centres in the North-East will be opened in Newcastle's West End this week. The £6.2m Centre of Sport, at West Gate Community College, has been funded by Sport England North East, Newcastle's Local Education Authority
A NEW initiative aims to increase the survival rate of stroke victims. Researchers at Newcastle University have been awarded a £90,000 grant by the Stroke Association to look at ways of identifying victims more quickly, enabling them to get treatment
ONE of the North-East's last communities of red squirrels has come under threat. Environmentalists have discovered that rival grey squirrels are moving into the Hamsterley and Low Westwood area, of North-West Durham. Now, County Durham environmentalist
A TEESSIDE mayor and mayoress are preparing for the civic event of the year - and it could turn into a kissing marathon. Councillor Arthur Dobson, the Mayor of Redcar and Cleveland, and his wife Iris are determined to show their appreciation for people
A phone line set up to handle crime queries has been inundated with calls. PC Nick Edgar, of Cleveland police, set up the confidential help line to give people in South Bank and Grangetown the chance to leave taped messages on matters that concern them
VANDALS are threatening the future of another park in a County Durham district. Derwentside District Council faced a storm of protest last year when it closed 11 parks because of vandalism. Now managers of a £130,000 millennium green project in progress
TOWNS in the North-East have been named as some of the best and worst in the country for pollution. A report by the Department of Environment, Transport and the Regions revealed the extent of pollution in the country. Regional quality of life counts added
THE first steps have been taken to close three residential special schools. Stockton Borough Council's cabinet has agreed to a controversial proposal to close Westlands residential school, in Eltham Crescent, Thornaby, and Bishopsmills and Saltergill
A TEESSIDE MP will be hosting a question-and-answer session tomorrow, giving pensioners the chance to question a Government minister. Ashok Kumar, the MP for Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland, has invited York MP and Social Security Minister Hugh
A TEENAGER has died and another was left injured after a head-on crash between motorbikes. Sixteen-year-old Gary Snowdon, of Ash Crescent, in Seaham's Parkside estate, died after his trials bike was in collision with another off-road bike being ridden
A MAN'S romantic dream has come true, after he was given grants to preserve a castle bought as a wedding present for his wife. When Niall Hardie-Hammond was looking for a gift for his bride-to-be, Caroline, last year, he came across Scargill Castle, near
A COUPLE have some sound advice for newlyweds wanting to emulate their successful married life - never go to sleep on an argument. Mary and Walter Halladay, of Patterdale Close, Crook, believe these words of wisdom have helped them pull together through
SATELLITE broadcaster British Sky Broadcasting has met its year-end target of five million digital subscribers ahead of schedule. As of Tuesday, a total of 5.3 million people had signed up for BSkyB's direct to home (DTH) package, rather than through
A COUPLE who have travelled the world together have celebrated 50 years of marriage. Frances and Ronnie Stout, of Frances Terrace, Bishop Auckland, who celebrated their golden wedding at the weekend, also enjoyed a second honeymoon in the summer in Hawaii
plans have been unveiled to create a direct rail link to Sunderland's Stadium of Light. Club chairman Bob Murray believes that one of the two Metro stations due to open near the 48,000-seat stadium can be made capable of accommodating Inter City carriages
CAT owners on low incomes in Durham are being offered the chance to have their pets neutered for free. The country's largest feline charity, Cats Protection, is offering vouchers that cover the cost of the operations. They will be available next week,
ARTHUR SCARGILL ARTHUR Scargill stood for Parliament at the last election and lost his deposit. No doubt he will suffer the same fate at the next election when he will oppose Peter Mandelson. He can probably afford to lose the money. I feel sorry for
AN environmental group has rethought its plans for improving the river Gaunless after the waterway put a dampener on the proceedings. Groundwork drew up plans to create a wildlife habitat along the banks of the River Gaunless, in 1999. Now most the funding
FIVE councils across the North-East and North Yorkshire have been awarded Beacon Status for developing pioneering approaches to essential local services. The councils have been given the honour for projects tackling regeneration through culture, sport
OLDER people on Teesside are being invited to make friends by joining a new group. The Association of Retired and Persons Over 50 organisation (ARP/O50), is launching a social activity group in Redcar. Called the friendship centre, it will hold its first
A GROUP of budding entrepreneurs are hoping their project to make and sell bird feeders will take off. Students at Park View Community School, in Chester-le-Street, are running their own business - everything from product design to making the feeders,
ON Tuesday night I was a panelist at an Any Questions evening hosted by the Durham Agricultural Discussion Society. Farmers from Tow Law, Wearhead and Dalton Piercy had waded through snowdrifts to reach Durham City and discuss the issues of the day. Naturally
THE Co-op was formed in the middle of the 19th Century when little groups of workers in their local communities clubbed together to run shops and share the profits. Surely, then, as we stand on the dawn of the 21st Century age of globalisation which will
A NURSE who worked alongside disgraced surgeon Richard Neale has broken ranks to reveal new evidence of incompetence which led to women patients suffering at his hands. The nurse's account was last night described as "a significant step" in the campaign
Darlington Director of Football Luke Raine last night pledged that Quakers will bounce back from their latest set-back. Quakers plunged further into the depths of despair with a terrible performance in the LDV Vans Trophy at Port Vale on Tuesday, prompting
Kieron Dyer was top of the agenda as Sven-Goran Eriksson picked the brains of former England coach Bobby Robson yesterday. The new England coach visited Newcastle's training for a lengthy meeting with Robson. It's believed that Eriksson received an update
WHEN Joe Hughes runs on to the football pitch, there is little sign of the illness that has blighted his life. Since the age of four, he's been living with cystic fibrosis - a disease that can stunt growth, leave sufferers gasping for air and makes exercise
THE future does not appear so bright for mobile phone group Orange, just days away from its planned flotation on the London and Paris stock exchanges. Parent company France Telecom yesterday slashed its expected share price by 17 per cent, in a bid to
LOW-GRADE all-weather Flat racing is by no stretch of the imagination everyone's cup of tea but as the rain continues to decimate the National Hunt fixtures, the importance of keeping the show on the road at the likes of Wolverhampton is all too apparent
A TELEPHONE prankster's joke backfired when he dialled 999 to tell police: "You are the weakest link, goodbye." Durham Police officers did not see the funny side when the call came into the control room at the force's Aykley Heads headquarters. They traced
A COUPLE who have switched from the motor trade to the hotel business are planning to sink £200,000 into their new venture. John and Carolyn Wheeler bought Helme Park Hall Country House Hotel, at Fir Tree, near Crook, in December. The couple plan to spend
TONY Blair yesterday issued a fresh appeal to Corus to think again over huge cutbacks which will throw more than 1,000 steelworkers in the North-East out of work. But the move came as relations between Corus chairman Sir Brian Moffat and the region's
A gunman was shot outside the White House yesterday after he refused to surrender to secret service agents. President George W Bush was in the executive office at the time but never in danger, said officials. Foreign Secretary Robin Cook had left the
NAOMI Campbell is right. She IS entitled to some privacy. Gosh, I never thought I'd say that... The model - not, shall we say, renowned for her sweet good nature - is suing a paper which pictured her outside a clinic and wrote about her being treated
A CAMERA crew has been gathering views of residents in Coundon and Leeholme. Government funding was recently secured by Coundon Residents' Association and Wear Valley District Council to commission a study to find out what issues were important to people
MORTGAGE bank Abbey National has rebuffed Lloyds TSB's near £20bn conditional offer, saying the terms of the proposed deal "remain inadequate". The bank said its board had met to consider the pre-conditional offer, announced on January 31, and noted the
MARGARET Gamblin is the latest winner of The Northern Echo's free petrol for a year competition. The name of Mrs Gamblin, of Staindrop Crescent, Darlington, was picked out of the hat after she collected and sent in tokens printed in the newspaper. She
EFFORTS to improve the safety of schoolchildren have been given a boost. Hartlepool Borough Council has been awarded a £90,000 government grant to fund a school travel plan coordinator for the next three years. The successful applicant, expected to start
SOME of the most important pieces of cricketing history went under the hammer last night as legendary fast bowler Fred Trueman put his collection of memorabilia up for auction. The fearsome fast bowler, who became the first player to take 300 Test wickets
WORK on the main feature of a regeneration project, opening in April, is about to begin. Over recent months, paths, fencing and excavation works have taken place at Grangetown's Millennium Green. Its focal point, a stone circle made up of 12 slate standing
YORKSHIRE made a profit last year of £30,000 compared to a surplus the previous year of £111,000, it was revealed in the statement of accounts. And treasurer Peter Townend will warn the annual meeting at Headingley's indoor cricket school on March 3 that
FOUR club athletes were on school or college duty for their county at the Inter Counties Schools Cross Country Championships held at Kirby Stephen on Saturday February 3rd. The four were all representing County Durham. They were all hoping to finished
DURHAM County Council has moved to try to stop mobile telephone masts being sited in the grounds of schools. The council's executive committee has approved a policy introducing a presumption against leasing school land to mobile telephone operators. But
A PENSIONER taken to hospital after a traffic accident found her handbag was missing from the scene. The 81-year-old woman was taken to hospital for a check-up after the accident involving a taxi in St Paul's Road, Hartlepool, shortly before noon, yesterday
A GOVERNMENT strategy to reverse the decline of poor neighbourhoods will be discussed at a free lecture this evening. The University of Teesside is hosting the talk, called Still gilding the ghetto?, following the launch of the Government's National Strategy
ENGLAND coach Sven-Goran Eriksson learned little from his Riverside scouting mission as the spectre of Wimbledon loomed large again on Middlesbrough. The Dons, Boro's conquerors in the third round of this season's Worthington Cup, will be lying in wait
NEWCASTLE Falcons are hoping to get the green light this week to develop facilities Rob Andrew believes will be as good as good as anything in Europe. After years of resistance from Newcastle City Council, the club are optimistic that their latest plan
CELEBRATING their diamond wedding, Norman and Florence Passfield recalled how their professional paths had frequently crossed. For as a Justice of the Peace, Florence had assumed her place on the bench at Peterlee Magistrates' Court, while journalist
FOUR wannabe male pop stars from North-West Durham are needed to form a group called Westend designed to rival superstars Westlife. In a move to rival the hit TV show Popstars, local music business impresarios want young men who fancy their chances of
POLICE are trying to trace a 13-year-old girl who went missing from her home 11 days ago. Zo Hullah was last seen at her home, in Harrogate, on January 26, when she left to go to school. Zo has gone missing in the past, but never for more than three days
THE chief executive of the board of Northern Arts is to stay in the post for another five-year term. Andrew Dixon has been involved in fundraising and advice for many of the region's most ambitious projects, including Sunderland's National Glass Centre
THE riddle behind a charity shop camera has been solved - thanks to The Northern Echo. As reported yesterday, Darlington woman Sylvia Elliott discovered a part-used roll of film in a camera she bought at a Northallerton charity shop. When developed, one
THE Army has found itself locked in battle with protestors trying to prevent the Ministry of Defence (MoD) acquiring common land on North Pennine moors. Farmers have been grazing sheep on the hills near Warcop, Cumbria, for centuries, co-operating with
A FURNITURE company has abandoned plans to move out of Durham City and is instead relocating around the corner. Durham Pine had planned to leave its store in North Road and move its operation to an existing base a few miles away at Sherburn Hill. But
