A FOOTBALL-mad youngster who regularly finds himself on the sidelines for wearing glasses, will soon be unstoppable on the pitch thanks to an opticians. Durham City Blacks player, Jamie Clifford, 11, frequently finds himself travelling to fixtures only
SCHOOLBOY Peter James got one of the biggest shocks of his life when he went to investigate the mysterious object in his family's vegetable patch. The six-year-old had spotted the strange bundle at the bottom of his garden when he looked out of his bedroom
SVEN-GORAN Eriksson and Tord Grip have been busy men since England's last encounter. And, after much deliberating since the 2-2 draw with Macedonia in October, when Eriksson announces his squad for this week's friendly with Australia tonight there will
THERE is a suspicion that the United States and Britain have already decided they will launch a military offensive against Iraq, whatever other countries may think. Some critics of President Bush and our Prime Minister suggest they will resort to any
POP music has an amazing talent for creating controversy and publicity - the two go hand-in-hand like a pair of young Russian lesbians. And, if you haven't noticed, a pair of young Russian lesbians are No 1 in the charts. The BBC is refusing to play their
THE Tory who organised the campaign against an elected parliament in Wales visited the North-East yesterday to call for it to vote against a regional assembly. Wales voted by just 0.3 per cent to have its own assembly and, said Jonathan Evans, it now
THE winner of Superbrain 2003, the North-East's toughest trivia quiz, is a 22-year-old toolmaker. Neil Teasdale, of Ferryhill, County Durham, got 342.5 points out of a possible 350 and was adjudged the winner of The Northern Echo's traditional competition
ANTI-WAR protestors stormed the Labour Party's northern headquarters yesterday as Prime Minister Tony Blair visited the region. About 30 demonstrators filled the lobby of the building in North Shields, North Tyneside, protesting against the Government's
A PUB company launched from scratch in 1999 featured highly in the UK licensed trade's top awards ceremony. New Century Inns, which owns 40 ale houses in the North-East and Yorkshire, collected a silver in the Pub Company of the Year 2003 Awards (11 to
A MAN armed with a machete and an air pistol "behaved like a madman" in a drunken disturbance after a row with his girlfriend. John Hewitt, who had been drinking heavily before the incident, threatened a neighbour who had previously banned him from the
Two games is a long time in football. Just ask Darlington caretaker boss Mick Tait. Not so long ago talk of a last-ditch play-off push was looking like a good outside bet for a carefree Quakers side, brimming with confidence and giving the Division's
Once the playground of the rich and the royal, the countryside is finally being opened up for everyone to enjoy. Former rights of way officer Owen Unsworth looks at how a 1,000-year ended in victory THERE was a time when a walk in the country could be
IT was a simple letter of complaint fired off to the Office for the Supervision of Solicitors (OSS) which led to the downfall of the highly-respected Jeremy Cave. A relative of the late Donald Dowson was stunned by the £6,000 bill he received from Cave
MIKE Newell admits a touch of advice and assistance from within can go a long way in his first managerial post. Newell was this week presented with the Nationwide manager of the month award for January on the back of an unbeaten run of seven games. Pool's
THE glitterati of North-East business turned out in force for the unveiling of a network of expertise given the task of increasing wealth for the region. Sir Richard Branson topped a star-studded bill of speakers and guests at the launch of the Entrepreneurs
HOWARD WILKINSON would be well advised to keep the history books under lock and key if he wants to cling to a scintilla of hope that Sunderland will escape relegation. You don't need to thumb too far back through the tomes of time to see that the Wearsiders
JERMAINE JENAS is expected to cap a remarkable year which has seen him transformed from First Division midfielder to Premiership superstar by being named in the England squad tonight for their friendly with Australia. After a meteoric rise since moving
SIR BOBBY ROBSON revealed his lasting heartache last night at missing out on the chance to succeed George Graham as Arsenal manager. As Robson prepared his Newcastle United team for their most important Premiership fixture of the season so far, against
AN unusual building in the heart of one of the region's cities is to take on new life as a weekly antiques market to rival London's Portobello Road. The majestic Vane Tempest Hall, in Durham City, has had a chequered history dating back to the 1860s since
THE Army confirmed yesterday that more troops from the region are already in the Gulf, or on their way, as Britain and the US continued to prepare for war with Iraq. There were tears and prayers on a parade ground in Catterick Garrison, North Yorkshire
MICHAEL RICKETTS is ready to turn up the heat on under-fire Liverpool boss Gerard Houllier when he makes his Middlesbrough bow at Anfield today. Striker Ricketts is poised to partner fellow Boro debutant Malcolm Christie as manager Steve McClaren unleashes
A MAN who waved an unloaded imitation gun in the street was jailed for nine months yesterday. Teesside Crown Court heard that Jamie Cook, 22, was attacked by yobs after he moved into a flat. He had bought the gun, which fired ballbearings, from an Army
THE Government was accused last night of misleading Parliament and the public by using "evidence" against Saddam Hussein that was lifted from a Californian student's outdated thesis. Downing Street conceded it had made a mistake in failing to acknowledge
VETERAN rockers Status Quo are going green. The band have confirmed they will be rockin' all over the forest later this year. They have announced a series of concerts at forest venues in June - including one in Dalby Forest, near Pickering, North Yorkshire
FATHER and son combination Ted and Ruby Walsh are a potent force when they team for big races such as the £120,000 Tote Gold Trophy. A race in which their representative Atlantic Rhapsody (3.05) holds an excellent each-way chance. Ted does the training
FORGIVE Frantic Tan (2.55) his diabolical display at Chepstow this week and the eleven-year-old gelding must have a terrific chance of winning the inaugural running of the North Yorkshire Grand National at Catterick this afternoon. Frantic Tan simply
FORMER council boss Rodney Hills has been questioned by police over the death of his wife more than two years ago, it emerged yesterday. The sensational new twist to the long-running controversy surrounding Councillor Hills was revealed by the college
A NEW fertility centre which aims to treat up to a thousand families a year has opened in the region. The Cromwell IVF and Fertility Centre is based at the private Woodlands Hospital on the edge of Darlington. It replaces the Cromwell unit at the Washington
PASSENGER numbers at Teesside International Airport in January were up 20 per cent on the previous year. A total of 39,340 flyers passed through the airport last month compared with 32,621 in January 2002. The announcement came as the airport management
Though goodness knows it's had its own martial moments, Catterick Village should not be confused with its more bellicose neighbour up on the Garrison. Once a Great North Road staging post, long bypassed, it is now a peaceful, still cobbled village in
LATE withdrawals have seriously weakened the North-East's hopes of winning the senior men's team title in today's UK CAU Inter Counties Cross Country Championships at Nottingham. The region - third last year - will be without the services of Dominic Bannister
Life in Soapland can be a risky business. If ratings drop, or the scriptwriters run out of ideas for your character, you could face an untimely death. MARK Fowler will climb astride his motorbike and ride off into the sunset in BBC1's EastEnders next
Some of the biggest names on the London market will report next week. Barclays will start the banks' reporting season on Thursday with full-year results likely to set a downbeat tone. NatWest Stockbrokers is predicting pre-tax profits of £3.60bn, a slight
Researchers are going to bat for England's cricket team and their conclusions could not have come at a better time. Mark Foster reports FOR a research project, the timing could not have been better - but when it comes to putting it into practice will
Devolution campaigners have begun pressing for Yorkshire to be in the first wave of regions holding votes on elected mini-Parliaments. Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott is assessing the level of interest in England for elected regional assemblies. He
FOUR years of hard campaigning finally paid off for the Royal Nation Institute for the Deaf (RNID) yesterday. Health Secretary Alan Milburn chose his Darlington constituency to announce a £94m investment to modernise hearing aid services throughout the
ASYLUM SEEKERS - JUST over two years ago, a Ugandan woman was accused of selling goods from her grocery shop to rebel forces. Two soldiers beat her son almost to death in front of her, and took him away. He has not been heard of since. She herself was
North Yorkshire coroner Jeremy Cave abused the trust of his closest friends and neighbours when he stole from the estates of six dead people. Lindsay Jennings reports on the criminal path the solicitor took to keep up his comfortable lifestyle WITH his
WELL, I am confused. I can't even begin to wonder what the plants are making of it. Earlier this week, the weather was so dry and mild that I even managed to cut my lawn. What a difference that made to the garden. It was just a tip mow, but it took away
BRAZILIAN defender Emerson Thome insists he is the man to lead crisis club Sunderland's desperate fight against relegation. Thome is set to make his first Premiership appearance since New Year's Day last year, when the rock-bottom Wearsiders today tackle
MOROCCO defender Talal el Karkouri has spoken of his anger at Sunderland's dramatic decline - before he has even kicked a ball for the Black Cats. El Karkouri, signed on loan from Paris St. Germain until the end of the season, is in the squad for the
CORONER Jeremy Cave was behind bars last night after being jailed for stealing from the estates of dead clients. The corrupt North Yorkshire solicitor swindled £155,000 over a period of ten years, overcharging relatives by as much as 250 per cent as he
