TREADING the high ground is easy at St John's Church, Kirk Merrington - the church has a 72ft tower to add to its already elevated status. And its churchyard also has a gruesome history... IF it is indeed the case that God moves in a mysterious way his
TORE Andre Flo is one of the worst strikers in the Premiership - and that's official. According to OPTA, who put together statistics on the performances of every top-flight player, Flo is ranked 28th out of 32 forwards this season. The £8.2m striker admitted
NIALL QUINN has admitted for the first time he is facing an uncertain future at the Stadium of Light as the Howard Wilkinson revolution gathers pace. Quinn has been helping out on the coaching side since Wilkinson and Steve Cotterill took control at Sunderland
HOWARD WILKINSON has hit the ground running at Sunderland - and sent a shock wave through the ranks. Sergeant Wilko, as he was known in his title-winning days at Leeds, has had his troops out on manoeuvres. Howard's way involves daily double training
STEVE McClaren revealed last night how he has copied Sir Alex Ferguson's blueprint for success by helping Middlesbrough laugh their way to the top. Behind Ferguson's dour exterior, McClaren insists, lurks a "wicked" sense of humour that keeps a smile
HUNDREDS of young soldiers watched as the Duke of York formally opened a state-of-the-art college campus in the region yesterday. Eight hundred camouflage caps were changed for berets with the College cap badge when Prince Andrew inspected the junior
With little prospect of work, many of the Wearmouth miners found themselves relying on income from their redundancy packages, as Linday Jennings reports, in the last of our series looking at the decade since the Durham coalfield pit closures. MINING was
Henry Cecil has had a rather quiet time of it this year, but Burning Sun has a great chance of putting him back on the Group One score sheet in the Emirates Airline Champion Stakes at Newmarket today. There is not a lot of sentiment in racing, but among
VIDEO footage could hold the key to identifying a man who sprayed a dangerous chemical in the face of a clubber, say police. Christopher Armstrong, 26, was sprayed in the left eye with an ammonia-type substance on the dance floor at the Trades nightclub
TRAIN company GNER is urging customers to book now for Christmas and New Year travel. The East Coast Main Line operator is expecting 50,000 reservations over the next month. Spokesman David Mallender said: "Anyone planning to travel in the days before
THE North-East Ambulance Service has been commended after an inspection by the Commission for Health Improvement (CHI). Following an inspection by a team from CHI the Newcastle-based NHS trust, which covers County Durham, Tyneside, Wearside and North-umberland
FORMER Big Brother star Jonny Regan has announced a theatre's Christmas giveaway. The celebrity, who is starring as the Genie in Aladdin, at Newcastle's Theatre Royal this winter, revealed that the theatre is giving away up to 700 tickets for the show
THE tale of a native American who visited Teesside more than a century ago was retold by children from four Middlesbrough schools. Pupils from Hall Garth Comprehensive, Tollesby special, Linthorpe junior and Easterside primary schools performed the Great
A PROCESSION and wreath-laying ceremony to commemorate the achievements of North-East naval hero, Admiral Lord Collingwood, will be held on Trafalgar Day. Born in Newcastle on October 24, 1748, he played a pivotal role as Horatio Nelson's second-in-command
A MOTORCYCLE rider has returned to his County Durham roots as he nears the end of a 22,000-mile marathon charity ride. Multiple sclerosis (MS) sufferer Ralph Dixon and his partner, Fionnuala Living-ston rode out of their home in Sydney, Australia, on
SUNDERLAND City Council has praised residents for the war-time spirit they demonstrated during this week's bomb alert. Phil Barrett, the authority's director of development and regeneration, said the emergency had led to a real example of community spirit
THE voyages of Captain James Cook were brought to life on Teesside yesterday. Using a sextant, similar to the one the 18th Century explorer would have used on his voyages of discovery, museum curator Ian Stubbs and education officer Claire Pounder sized
Unusual traditional North-East dishes go on display at Beamish Museum this weekend. Platters, such as boar's head, pickled pigs feet and baked rabbit in custard, will be laid out by cooks to commemorate a huge feast. The Harvest Home Supper was held every
MORE than 1,000 North-East electronics workers whose jobs were under threat have been given a stay of execution. A question mark has hung over LG Philips plants, in Durham City and Washington, since the leaking of an internal discussion document suggesting
A CONSULTANCY firm born out of the demise of another company has celebrated its first anniversary. In October last year, Quality Software Products (QSP), of Gateshead, was placed in administrative receivership and more than 250 employees were made redundant
THERE was no alternative to the suspension of devolved government in Northern Ireland. The power-sharing executive was about to fall apart amid a welter of recriminations. Without even the pretence of harmony between the political parties, the decision
MORE than 70 jobs could be created in Hartlepool thanks to a £1.8m industrial development. MP Peter Mandelson launched the new scheme on Queens Meadow Business Park yesterday, by breaking a bottle of champagne against a column of one of the units under
ALAN SHEARER can hit another goalscoring milestone today at the club where he won his only Premiership title. The Newcastle United skipper returns to Blackburn Rovers hoping to grab his 300th club goal on the Ewood Park pitch where he made a massive name
THERE are said to be only three sacred cows in Blind Date, the stools, the camera and Cilla Black. So when the show was revamped, it was certain the Liverpudlian legend would still be playing Cupid 'EEE, chuck, where's our Graham? I miss the sound of
IT was supposed to be a celebration, but the champagne may have been left firmly on ice at Alan Shearer's Ponteland pile on Saturday night. With a club career 300th goal up for grabs against his former club then, as Rovers boss Graham Souness agreed '
MICHAEL Hunter topped the bill last night in his WBF Super Bantamweightworld title fight at The Jesters Centre in Hartlepool last night. Undefeated Hartlepool-born Hunter was up against Sweden's Frankie De Milo who has won 14 of his 16 professional fights
FORMER England skipper Alan Shearer last night admitted that he would still love to play on the international stage. But the 32-year-old striker, who hung up his England boots after Euro 2000, indicated he was not about to come out of retirement to help
Spennymoor will give new defender David Goodchild his debut against top-of-the-table Alfreton in the UniBond League First Division this afternoon. Moors boss Tony Lee, fresh from his side's fightback against Droylsden in the Cup in midweek, signed former
Q After reading in your recent column about a man in identical circumstances I realise I should have been getting council tax benefit for nine years up to 2001. Can I get backdated benefit? A Sorry. This benefit can only be backdated for a year and then
STEVE McCLAREN insists there was no dirty dealing when Jesper Blomqvist made a surprise move to Charlton Athletic instead of Middlesbrough. The former Manchester United winger launched a furious broadside at Boro, branding them "unprofessional'', when
LOWLY Boston head to Feethams today in a match that Quakers' assistant manager Mick Tait sees as anything but a six-pointer. Despite Darlington being sixth bottom and struggling to find any consistency this term, Tait believes it is far too early to talk
STEVE Book, a Steve Cotterill disciple when he led Cheltenham Town from the Dr Martens League to the Second Division, last night warned the Sunderland players: "Shape up - or ship out." Book, whose uncle Tony was sacked from his scouting post at Sunderland
AFTER an overwhelming ballot result in favour of industrial action, Nick Morrison looks at the implications of the first national firefighters' strike for 25 years. IT was the day the lights went out over Teesside. A huge plume of black smoke hung over
There must be less discomforting ways to motivate the players other than to rely on the opposition going three up first. If Darlington can perform like they did in the final ten minutes on Saturday for the full duration, the league table may well have
A WOMAN died and her partner was left fighting for his life after their car was in collision with a lorry yesterday. The incident happened shortly after 10am on the A688 at the entrance to the Bowburn services area, Durham. It is believed that the couple
COMPANIES from across the North-East have taken part in a survey examining industrial relations. Staff, including workers at Cleveland Fire Brigade, took part in the Employee Relations Survey 2002. The survey, which spoke to 100 companies, found that
IT seems that Peter Reid's immediate legacy to Sunderland is a squad literally not fit to grace the Premiership. Howard Wilkinson may have run his new charges ragged in his first full week in command at the Stadium of Light. But even the type of punishing
DARLINGTON Borough Council states that 70 per cent of people who responded to consultation letters were in favour of plans to move Alderman Leach School. On the face of it, that looks like a huge majority in favour and that those people in opposition
MILLIONS of years ago, even before dinosaurs roamed the earth, the foundations were being laid for a spectacular landscape which still holds a fascination for the modern world. People travel for miles to marvel at the weird shapes of Brimham Rocks, on
DRIVERS across the region will soon be hitting their brakes more often when 20mph speed limits are imposed on roads. The Government is considering a report which recommends that speed limits in large areas of towns and cities are cut to 20mph. However
MORE than 150 hunting enthusiasts braved biting winds on the North Pennine fells to set off on foot in pursuit of the humble hare. And their departure with a 30-strong pack of beagles from Langdon Beck, in Upper Teesdale, was heralded by two Frenchmen
Rail users in the region face fresh travel chaos today due to a long-running pay dispute. Services across the Northwill be hit when members of the Rail Maritime and Transport union stage a 24 hour walkout against Arriva. The union expects 700 conductors
Harrogate International Centre, which operates the North Yorkshire spa town's conference centre and Royal Hall theatre, has revealed £2m expansion plans. New meeting halls, capable of holding up to 1,600 delegates, are planned in King's Road, between
PRIME Minister Tony Blair told yesterday of his failings as a science student while opening a £20m physics centre in the North-East which is exploring the mysteries of the universe. He said he was a poor physics student at school, because he found the
NEWCASTLE Falcons are exploring how they can strengthen their links with Darlington Mowden Park to the benefit of both clubs. Club owner Dave Thompson and Director of Rugby Rob Andrew have put some proposals to Mowden, who will report back next week.
MORTGAGE lending is expected to stay at high levels for the rest of this year as the housing boom continues, figures suggested yesterday. Gross mortgage lending in September remained high, with £19.7bn advanced, according to figures from the Council of
THE firm of administrators handling the winding up of a North-East steelworks revealed last night it was having serious talks with a prospective buyer. Sheffield-based Poppleton and Appleby said it hoped to make an announcement about the future of the
THE Tyne has emerged as the hot favourite to secure a £100m deal to build a new North Sea oil rig. More than 1,000 jobs could be created if Canadian company Encana decides to award a contract to build a rig for its Buzzard oilfield just north of Aberdeen
A HUGE piece of marine equipment left Teesside this week on board the Jumbo Spirit bound for New York. Made by Engineering Business, The Sea Titan is a 100-tonne underwater trenching and backfilling plough, bought by US contractor Horizon Offshore Contractors
PEOPLE protesting over a pylons scheme are planning a bonfire party - but the effigy they burn on it will not be that of Guy Fawkes. Instead, campaigners plan to make their feelings known by burning the likeness of one of those people they feel are responsible
The owners of a North-East quarry are to make redundancies as part of a restructuring programme. The jobs are to go at Lafarge's Thrislington Quarry and Works, near Ferryhill, County Durham. The company quarries stone for various uses, chiefly burnt lime
AN early Jason Euell strike proved enough to deny high-flying Middlesbrough a return to third in the Premiership on Sunday. The former England Under-21 international struck after just five minutes to end Boro's four-match winning streak. Charlton had
MOTHER-OF-FOUR Dianne Heneghan aims to re-establish herself as one of the region's top cross country athletes in the opening fixture of the Reebok Cross Challenge Series at Sefton Park, Liverpool, today. The former North-East champion, who made her Great
FIREFIGHTERS were last night on course for a series of 48-hour and eight-day strikes after voting overwhelmingly for industrial action. The strikes will start on Tuesday, October 29, and run through to Christmas Eve, the Fire Brigades Union (FBU) announced
SURELY there's no stigma attatched to this defeat for Denis Smith. Disappointment maybe and a sense of what might have been certainly, but losing to Hartlepool United this season is no stain on the character. That's unlike the sense of disbelief Smith
Former Middlesbrough and Sunderland striker Stan Cummins has yet to meet half of his squad as he prepares for his first game in charge at Norton and Stockton Ancients at home to Evenwood in the ANL Second Division today. Cummins has just returned from
NEW Sunderland manager Howard Wilkinson has switched training to the Stadium of Light in a desperate attempt to restore home rule on Wearside. Wilkinson, successor to the sacked Peter Reid, launches his reign with a crucial home game against bottom club
PRIME Minister Tony Blair has added his weight to The Northern Echo's Working for a Future Campaign to stand up for North-East communities hit by employment misery. Speaking exclusively yesterday, he was upbeat about the prospects for the region's manufacturing
STEPHEN Harmison was barely out of nappies when Ian Botham, with two epic, cavalier innings and one inspired spell of pace bowling, wrote his name into Ashes folklore. Botham's Ashes, they call the 1981 series, and the mention of the indefatigable all-rounder's
PAUL SMITH returns to the Hartlepool United starting line-up today for the first time since recovering from a knee injury. Manager Chris Turner is convinced his wing-wizard can get his promotion-chasing side back on track at home to Wrexham. Skilful Smith
IT is a mere two inches long and weighs just a few grammes - but a tiny pearl-encrusted rodent was at the centre of a remarkable celebration yesterday. The saga of the Bowes Mouse, which was stolen eight years ago during a raid, has reached its conclusion
IT'S that time of the year when the gardener swaps the spade for the wooden spoon, the secateurs for the paring knife and the wheelbarrow for the heavy-bottomed saucepan. It's time to prepare for the bitter hunger pangs of winter by stocking up the stores
