Archive

  • Tail saves Durham after pre-lunch jitters strike

    DURHAM wriggled out of a self-induced mess yesterday and for the fifth time in seven matches are likely to be set a victory target in excess of 300 today. It would have been six had not the final day at Gloucester been ruined by rain, with the one variation

  • Racing in the hoofprints of history

    BRITAIN'S worst racehorse is heading for another milestone in its career this weekend - 100 races without a win. Quixall Crossett will be racing at Southwell, near Nottingham, tomorrow and trainer Ted Caine is hoping it will break its duck and be first

  • Norfeed enters a new field

    AN animal feed company is venturing into new pastures after receiving help from Business Link North Yorkshire. Norfeed UK, which supplies animal feed ingredients to agricultural companies in this country and overseas, is planning to adapt one of its production

  • New man happy at the Pool

    TOMMY Widdrington had no qualms about dropping down the divisions to move to Hartlepool from Port Vale - because he is confident he'll soon be back there. Newcastle-born Widdrington was freed by the Potteries club after two years at Vale Park and despite

  • The Battle of Kohima to be commemorated

    WAR veterans have gathered for an emotional weekend-long reunion to commemorate the Battle of Kohima. Field Marshall Lord Inge - the last holder of the rank of Field Marshall - took the salute and march past by veterans of the Kohima campaign at York

  • Bleak future as railway nightmare rumbles on

    RAIL watchdogs painted a grim picture of the future for Britain's flagship rail route last night after passengers endured two nightmare journeys in as many days. They fear overcrowded trains and delays could become a regular feature of travelling as the

  • McClaren tipped for success

    BRYAN ROBSON last night told Steve McClaren he has the platform for success at Middlesbrough. Robson, who this summer made way for new manager McClaren after seven years as Boro boss, believes the foundations and infrastructure are in place for future

  • Phillips ready to hit back

    ENGLAND striker Kevin Phillips is gearing himself up for the job of blasting Sunderland into Europe next season. The 27-year-old goal ace, whose 30 Premiership strikes won him the European Golden Slipper award two seasons ago, blames missing his club's

  • Wish you were here?

    Hundreds of celebrities who love the North-East could be suffering home sick blues over the next few weeks, thanks to another campaign to keep Newcastle and Gateshead buzzin. Postcards from Home - a set of ten images of north and south of the Tyne will

  • Simpsons wrestling?

    Simpsons Wrestling. Publisher: Electronic Arts. Format: PS1. (£29.99) HOMER Simpson was recently voted the greatest TV personality of all time. The guys at Electronic Arts must have been whooping with joy. The world's biggest software publisher recently

  • Relief for farmers as rules ease

    FARMERS were handed a lifeline last night when officials lifted foot-and-mouth restrictions in County Durham. Middleton-in-Teesdale became the seventh protection zone in the North-East to be lifted, after the area remained disease-free for more than a

  • Coming home for the kids of Fame

    Lucy Sage wrote the biggest cheque of her life the other day. The number of noughts in the sum involved made her so nervous that she admits: "My hand was shaking when I handed it over." That was only the beginning of the 25-year-old actress from Morpeth's

  • Degree of comfort for dad

    THE father of murder victim Sara Cameron yesterday made an emotional trip back to the North-East, where she had been studying, to collect her degree. Roy Cameron also awarded the new Sara Cameron Memorial Prize to student Neil McCallum, in memory of Sara's

  • Safety should be first priority

    IT is high time there was a review of the safety policy in amateur and apprentice races. In the last couple of weeks, both Chester and Pontefract have seen nasty falls in these type of races. These races are important to teach our young jockeys their

  • Child welfare officer sought for part in abduction plot

    A warrant was issued for the arrest of a child welfare campaigner last night after he failed to appear in court to be sentenced for his part in a conspiracy to abduct a child. Stuart Carnie, 37, was due to appear before Newcastle Crown Court along with

  • Mum's 'victory' in row over son's suicide

    A GREIVING mother fighting to prove her soldier son killed himself because of his fear of military police after going AWOL, claims a court martial has proved her right. After 23-year-old Christopher Young stepped into the path of a train, Army officials

  • Police ready for influx of clubbers to city centre

    POLICE are still preparing for a mass invasion of partygoers today despite the cancellation of the Love Parade. More than 250,000 revellers were expected to attend the Radio 1 parade in Newcastle before it was cancelled last weekend because of parking

  • Gender change officer on the beat

    A POLICE force which was once embroiled in a sexist initiation scandal has announced it has employed two transsexual officers. Sergeant Nicola Lamb - who was previously known as Chris - faced the media at a news conference only days after officers were

  • Backdated cash limited to year

    Q I am unemployed without benefit and we manage on my partner's earnings of £560 a month. Are we entitled to any rebate on our rent of £200 a month and council tax of £733 a year? If so can I have it backdated for the three years I have been out of work

  • Shopping on slippery slope

    ONLY eight shopping centres in the region are facing prosperous futures, according to research. Economic analysts have ranked 650 UK shopping centres in the UK on the prospects for the year ahead. The centres were ranked on various factors including rental

  • Seized guns toll goes up to 2,000

    POLICE have seized and destroyed 2,000 guns in the North-East during the past year. The weapons were handed in by members of the public or taken by police officers during operations. Between April last year and March this year, the number of guns seized

  • Darlington's victory weekend

    The scoreline may suggest otherwise, but Darlington eased to victory over Billingham Town on Saturday in a game which saw Neil Maddison make his first appearance for the club. Saturday's game also saw Gary Bennett hand trialist, left-back Simon Betts,

  • Baydale's library job

    A NORTH-East firm is building strong foundations in Ireland after being awarded the contract for a new library extension at a Dublin college. Baydale Architectural Systems, of Newton Aycliffe, County Durham, has received the £200,000 contract for Trinity

  • My cup runneth over with this heady brew

    SAINT Swithun would probably not have lasted very long at the Meteorological Office - about as trustworthy as a piece of second-hand seaweed. He was a ninth Century Bishop of Winchester, renowned in death not only for his association with miraculous cures

  • Brewery bid goes to extra time

    NORTH-EAST pubs group Pubmaster has suffered another rebuff in its £450m battle for Wolverhampton and Dudley Breweries. The Hartlepool-based group announced that it was extending the deadline on its offer last night because fewer than one in ten shareholders

  • Sunderland suffer set back

    Sunderland's pre-season build up suffered a setback at Field Mill on Saturday, with Third Division Mansfield Town destroying Peter Reid's side, which included seven first team regulars. Even the return of mercurial striker Niall Quinn couldn't spur on

  • Nigerian chemical industry trainees arrive

    A PARTY of 30 chemical industry trainees from the African state of Nigeria have arrived in the North-East for a ten-month management training programme. The trainees have been brought to Teesside's Wilton International site by representatives of the Nigeria

  • Robson looks to 'clear the air' over Sinclair bid

    NEWCASTLE boss Bobby Robson was yesterday seeking clear-the-air talks with West Ham counterpart Glenn Roeder after admitting he was "hurt and distressed'' by claims that he tried to unsettle winger Trevor Sinclair. Former Newcastle skipper Roeder rounded

  • Marriage proposal 33,000ft in the air

    PASSENGERS cheered and champagne flowed as romance blossomed at 33,000ft. Blushing 19-year-old Jayne Fuller cried with joy when boyfriend Philip Wood's marriage proposal was relayed over the tannoy during a flight to Turkey. She said: "Everybody on the

  • Sperrevik puts pressure on Pool

    TIM SPERREVIK may have played his way into a Hartlepool United return on Saturday. The striker, signed from Fana 12 months ago, but sent back to his former club for a summer-long loan, showed why Chris Turner was prepared to take a gamble on the front

  • Fans hope black and blue won't be beaten

    THOUSANDS of fans have returned their verdict on Middlesbrough Football Club's new away strip. Their choice, a black and blue striped kit, is expected to be a runaway success, its colours evoking memories of the Boro's 1974 championship run. Supermodel

  • Comment from The Northern Echo - Courage that deserves respect

    NORTH Yorkshire Police and Sergeant Nicola Lamb did a very brave thing yesterday. The force announced publicly that it had assisted one of its officers to have a sex change, and that Sgt Lamb was that officer. Both North Yorkshire Police and Sgt Lamb

  • Jury considers verdict in vice girl death case

    THE jury in the case of a man accused of the killing of a Teesside prostitute has been sent home for the weekend and will resume its deliberations on Monday. Shaun Tuley, 30, of Mannion Court, South Bank, denies murdering Kellie Mallinson, whose asphyxiated

  • Thirsk visitor centre set for new look

    WORK on a £91,000 project to give a market town a new-look tourist information centre (TIC) is expected to get under way later this year. Hambleton District Council has revealed its preferred plans for the re-location of the Thirsk visitor centre and

  • Time to tackle autumn bulbs

    We have just got rid of the old daffodil foliage and it's time to think about planting bulbs. Not the colourful harbingers of spring-like tulips and hyacinths, but some of the interesting and less known bulbs of autumn. Colchicums are one of the most

  • Magpies boast as they win 1-0

    THE last time Belgian opposition visited St James' Park was Newcastle's first night of European football under the stewardship of Kevin Keegan. It was a party night on Tyneside with the Magpies boasting a virtually unassailable 5-0 lead, and an impressive

  • The King and Cinderella

    AS every girl knows, there is no such thing as travelling light. And, as the bellhop struggled manfully with my short-break case, and I witnessed the sheer opulence of the hotel lobby, I breathed a sigh of relief that I had packed so much. The Four Seasons

  • Help needed for Theatre restoration

    AN HISTORIC landmark, unique in the UK, is hoping an army of supporters will swing into action, helping to raise money to cover the cost of ambitious plans to restore it as a living museum. The Heritage Lottery Fund has already pledged more than £500,000

  • Rural economy may lose £30m

    THE North-East's rural economy is set to lose millions of pounds in extra revenue during the traditionally lucrative grouse shooting season. With only three weeks to go until the Glorious Twelfth, the traditional August start of the season, many parts

  • Big names to produce some ups and downs

    The City can expect a rollercoaster few days next week as some of the biggest names on the FTSE-100 Index report results. Banks, pharmaceutical and media companies dominate the week, and there should also be crucial updates on the state of the beleaguered

  • Quakers slip to embarassing defeat

    A Darlington side featuring a mix of trialists, youth team players and a smattering of the first team lost 4-1 at Blyth Spartans last night. An entertaining match, the last of the Absolut Print and Design Trophy featuring Ayr United, saw Blyth create

  • Hear All Sides

    Letters from The Northern Echo ACADEMY OF LIGHT IN recent times, Sunderland AFC have brought an unprecedented level of positive publicity to the City of Sunderland and the greater North-East via their vast improvement in standards on and off the football

  • Newcastle one, Hollywood nil

    COMEDIAN and director Mel Smith says he'd love to return to his North-East roots and make a movie in the region. "I would rather work in Newcastle than Hollywood," admits the chubby funny man whose father's family lived in Tow Law. Smith received many