POLICE are investigating death threats sent to a North-East MP from a right-wing splinter group. Dr Ashok Kumar, Labour MP for Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland, is one of a number of black, Asian and Jewish MPs who have received threatening letters
Shildon manager Ray Gowan was annoyed his team conceded two late goals in their victory at Guisborough on Saturday. Shildon won 3-2 to put them third in the table, ten points behind leaders Durham with three games in hand, but Gowan thought the margin
Tim Henman insists he is ''looking forward to getting started'' at the Australian Open as he continues his quest for a first Grand Slam title. The British No 1 missed out on the event due to injury last year and begins his campaign in Melbourne against
A MARKET trader has landed himself in trouble over a tongue-in-cheek sign that advertised £2 balaclavas as "ideal for banks, post offices and building societies". Alan Rutherford says police officers warned him to take down the sign from his stall on
After months of jockeying for position, the race for the White House starts in earnest today. Nick Morrison looks at who could be lining up against George Bush - and what it will take to beat the President. AT 6.30pm tonight, Central Time - half-past
Ferryhill Athletic, who have been at the bottom of the table for most of the season, are now within sight of Washington Nissan UK after winning the only game to be played in the league on Saturday. It was a close call though but an only goal 17 minutes
SCRUM half Richard Holborough was the star in Mowden Park's eighth successive win as he scored two of the three tries and made the other against Dudley Kingswinford. The speedy former Yorkshire Under 21s player ensured a comfortable win against opponents
A MARKET trader has landed himself in trouble over a tongue-in-cheek sign that advertised £2 balaclavas as "ideal for banks, post offices and building societies". Alan Rutherford says police officers warned him to take down the sign from his stall on
A COUNCIL embarrassed by a law that forced it to demand a farmer take down a Yorkshire flag flying over his property has decided to campaign for a change in the regulations. Andrew Wainwright, of Sproxton Hall Farm, near Helmsley, North Yorkshire, used
The £3 billion takeover of Safeway by Morrisons will go before shareholders of both supermarket groups on February 11, it was announced today. News of the schedule came as a different approach to price discounting caused like-for-like sales at Safeway
Martin Johnson could be involved in England's 2007 World Cup campaign - as part of the coaching staff. Although England's defence of the Webb Ellis Trophy is more than three years away, retired skipper Johnson would appear an obvious candidate to join
AN elite team of North-East scientists has made a breakthrough in child cancer care. The group's findings could result in more effective drugs and a much higher cure rate for childhood cancers. The team, part of the Northern Institute for Cancer Research
IT'S been a profitable few days for Jim Provett; life changing in fact. Hartlepool United's goalkeeper became a father for the first time on Thursday, signed a new contract on Friday and kept a clean sheet at Tranmere on Saturday. It's been a memorable
Nicky Henderson, who has about a one-in-three strike-rate at Doncaster since the start of the 1999/2000 National Hunt season, looks the trainer to follow at the South Yorkshire Venue today. The Lambourn handler can be on the mark with King Eider in the
A 26-year-old man died despite paramedics' efforts to revive him after he was found collapsed at a house in Kings-way, Houghton-le-Spring, on Wearside, on Friday night. Police are investigating but last night said there were no suspicious circumstances
VOLUNTEERS are needed to keep a treadmill running for ten hours. Individuals or teams can sign up for stints on the exercise machine, which will begin running at Chester-le-Street Leisure Centre at 9am on Thursday, February 22, and must be kept running
AN allotment shop funded through coffee mornings and grants was officially opened at the weekend in Guisborough. The Mayor of Guisborough, Councillor Anne Franklin, opened Guisborough Allotment Society's shop in Wilton Lane, which will be run by volunteers
CLEVELAND Retired Men's Association will host a talk on water aid in Malawi on Wednesday, January 28, in the Royal British Legion Club, Redcar. Doors open at 9.30am, coffee is served from 9.45am and the speaker starts at 10.30am.
SHOPPERS dug deep into their pockets on Saturday to help save Darlington's crisis-hit football club. More than £1,100 was collected by Darlington Supporters' Trust from shoppers in the town's Cornmill Centre. Administrators have warned the club will fold
A DARLINGTON dance school is celebrating after achieving outstanding results in the latest round of examinations. Pupils at the Tiffany School of Dance took the Royal Academy of Dance examinations in November and two sets of sisters did particularly well
FIRE service and police investigators will spend today searching the wreckage of a derelict working men's club that burned down yesterday. People in Oakenshaw, near Willington, looked on as seven fire crews fought the blaze in the centre of the village
A GROUP designed to give young people a voice in Sedgefield village has been established. Sedgefield town, Sedgefield borough and Durham county councils, in conjunction with several other bodies, have been encouraging activities with the involvement of
A SCIENCE technician had a double celebration on Friday as he retired from his job on his 60th birthday, after 39 years at a secondary school . Senior science technician, Brian Roberts began work at Carmel RC Technology College in Darlington on his 21st
PEOPLE who have embarked on projects to improve the environment in County Durham are being urged to enter a competition. The County Durham Environment Award aims to reward projects from wildlife gardens to building restoration. It is open to schools,
THREE community groups in Teesdale and Wear Valley have benefited from grants totalling £22,500. The 2D volunteer bureau, Woodhouse Close Church, near Bishop Auckland, and the Bowes pre-school playgroup have received grants from the Lloyds TSB Foundation
A VALUABLE rural support service has been able to expand its premises thanks to a local resident's patience in selling a house. The Upper Teesdale Agricultural Support Service (Utass), based in Horsemarket, Middleton-in-Teesdale, is now in the process
People in Thirsk have an extra incentive to fight the flab. Staff at the town's swimming pool are offering prizes to customers who do the best job of shedding the excesses of Christmas. To win three months' silver membership at Thirsk Baths Lifestyle
POLICE have launched a crackdown on youth crime in an area of Darlington following dozens of complaints from residents. Large gangs of teenagers roaming the streets of Harrowgate Hill have angered residents, who say they are sometimes afraid to leave
LIFE in ancient Greece is explored through the work of its potters and vase painters in an exhibition in Durham. Durham University's Old Fulling Mill Museum of Archaeology is hosting a display of vases from the reserve collection at Harrogate Museum.
PEOPLE protesting against a £60m development on the coast have been promised a meeting. More than 150 residents next to the site of the proposed Coatham Enclosure, off Majuba Road, in Redcar, have signed a petition against plans for an extreme-sports
SALONS across the region will be cutting and styling hair to raise money for charity next month. Hairdressers who work at Toni and Guy salons in the North-East will open on Sunday, February 1, and will donate proceeds to charity. The Toni and Guy Charitable
THE North East Chamber of Commerce (NECC) is calling for road improvements across the region to begin earlier than scheduled. In a report, it has raised concern over the completion date of the upgrading of the A1 south through County Durham and Yorkshire
ONE of Northallerton's oldest shops has closed its doors for the last time. J Cleminson, which opened in the town in 1884, has sold all manner of hardware goods for the past 120 years. But its owner says the shop cannot compete with others, such as Woolworths
A COUNCIL'S plan to move to a multi-million pound headquarters could hinge on the debate over regional assemblies. Consultation is under way on the future shape of local government across North Yorkshire, with several options under scrutiny by Westminster's
A DARLINGTON drama group has put its own spin on the classic children's tale Pinocchio to help deliver a serious message. St Augustine's Repertory Society, known as Stars, is performing the slightly re-worked play at St Augustine's Parish Centre, in Larchfield
A CHARITY in Teesside is £1,000 better off thanks to the generosity of local freemasons. Michael Manning, from the County Durham branch of the Freemasons, presented the cheque to Roger Kingdon, from the Cleveland Alzheimer's Residential Centre, in Thornaby
PUPILS and staff at a Stockton school have been praised by education inspectors. The team from Ofsted said Grangefield School was an increasingly effective and good school, which was well-led and managed in a clear-sighted and forward-looking way. They
A SCHOOL in Hartlepool is hoping to receive planning permission for a perimeter fence needed to prevent crime and anti-social behaviour. Brierton School staff said their site was insecure and that trespassers could walk on unchecked. They also said there
A CAMPAIGN to persuade pupils to swap the tuck shop for a fruit stall will be launched today. Consett Junior School is setting up a fruit bar with the backing of Derwentside Primary Care Trust (PCT), as part of its Why5? campaign. The initiative aims
COMMUTERS, football fans and concert-goers face severe disruption today following the start of a strike on the Tyne and Wear Metro. Trains stopped running last night as a 24-hour strike by members of the RMT and Amicus unions began at 7pm. The strike
ONE of Northallerton's oldest shops has closed its doors for the last time. J Cleminson, which opened in the town in 1884, has sold all manner of hardware goods for the past 120 years. But its owner says the shop cannot compete with others, such as Woolworths
Spennymoor slipped further behind the promotion places losing 2-0 at title chasing Droylsden on Saturday. Moors are now in 17th place in the Premier Division table, two points behind the top thirteen, who are automatically guaranteed a spot in the reshaped
POLICE have confirmed preliminary plans for Chelsea Football Club's visit to Scarborough this weekend. The seaside minnows earned the right to take on the Premiership's millionaires with a win over Southend in the third round of the FA Cup last week,
FIVE per cent of North-East people who changed jobs during the past five years have found their new job through the Internet, according to research by the British Market Research Bureau. However, while the Internet is an increasingly popular way of finding
THE latest answer to how women over 30 can end their dreadful sentence of singledom can be found in Rachel Greenwald's book called The Program: Fifteen Steps to Finding a Husband After 30. In her publicity hype, we are told that she went to Harvard Business
An electronic road sign company is to create 17 extra jobs with a move to new premises. VMS Limited, which makes and installs digital road and rail signs, is moving from Team Valley to a new 35,000 square foot premises in Monkton Business Park. The company
LIFE in ancient Greece is explored through the work of its potters and vase painters in an exhibition in Durham. Durham University's Old Fulling Mill Museum of Archaeology is hosting a display of vases from the reserve collection at Harrogate Museum.
A FRIENDSHIP forged with the captain and crew of a tall ship led to the voyage of a lifetime for a group of coastguards. Members of the Skinningrove coastguards have become regular visitors while the Grand Turk has been moored at Whitby, North Yorkshire
NEALE Cooper revealed some fine tuning on the training ground is paying a dividend. Cooper's Hartlepool United have conceded a single goal in three away games - in the FA Cup at Sunderland on January 3 - after leaking four at QPR in December. Pool have
DEFENDER Chris Riggott last night admitted that Middlesbrough were "terrible'' in Saturday's chaotic 3-3 draw with relegation-threatened Leicester. Riggott, who joined Boro from Derby almost a year ago, was recalled at centre-back after skipper Gareth
BUILDERS across the North-East will have the chance to be included in the Government's Quality Mark accredited list of tradesmen. Three events are being held across the region at which builders will have the chance to find out more about the scheme. It
A COUNCIL is pushing ahead with plans to combat greenhouse gases by working with the public to become more environmentally friendly. Middlesbrough produces 800,000 tonnes of greenhouse gas each year, and the borough council wants to cut that figure by
BLAYDON are unhappy about being asked by Newcastle Falcons to release the son of former Scotland lock Alan Tomes to play for Darlington Mowden Park. Sean Tomes, like his father a 6ft 7in lock, is in the Newcastle Academy, most of whose players are registered
THE family of a North-East nature lover who was shot in the back as he sketched wildlife in India have been told he may have been killed over money. Illustrator David Green, 53, was found dead in a forest by a tourist late on Thursday night in the northern
A HUNT was underway last night for a schoolgirl after she disappeared with her 41-year-old fairground worker boyfriend. Zara Thornber, 15, from Harrogate, North Yorkshire, struck up a relationship with tattooed Michael Page when the touring fair came
COUNCILS are being urged to help a Government campaign for better-designed buildings. Regional development agency One NorthEast, Northern Architecture and the Government's Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment (Cabe) wants councils to
A MOTHER whose enthusiasm inspired a North-East community to raise thousands of pounds towards creating Britain's first respite centre for autistic children has died aged 35. Lesley Hanson's motivation to help the families of children with special needs
AN eighties pop icon is urging up-and-coming North-East bands to take part in an event aiming to showcase the region's talent. The all-day event is scheduled to take place at The Gate complex, in Newcastle, on Saturday, February 22. Tyneside-born Andy
THE family of a North-East nature lover who was shot in the back as he sketched wildlife in India have been told he may have been killed over money. Illustrator David Green, 53, was found dead in a forest by a tourist late on Thursday night in the northern
A BITING tackle only three minutes after his introduction as a substitute was evidence of Massimo Maccarone's determination to silence his Riverside detractors. John Curtis was on the receiving end of the Italian striker's rash challenge and referee Barry
AN elite team of North-East scientists has made a breakthrough in child cancer care. The group's findings could result in more effective drugs and a much higher cure rate for childhood cancers. The team, part of the Northern Institute for Cancer Research
A 15-year-old girl, missing for three days with her 41-year-old boyfriend, was reunited with her family yesterday. Harrogate schoolgirl Zara Thornber, vanished on Thursday after she was seen with fairground worker, Michael Page. The two met when Mr Page
THE North East Chamber of Commerce (NECC) is calling for road improvements across the region to begin earlier than scheduled. In a report, it has raised concern over the completion date of the upgrading of the A1 south through County Durham and Yorkshire
Angelina Maddison was badly burned as a child when a chip pan fell on top of her. She talks to Women's Editor Christen Pears about living with disfigurement. ANGELINA Maddison was walking down the street when a stranger approached and stopped her. "Come
THE North-East's first hospice for terminally ill babies and young children is ready to open its doors to patients. Final checks to ensure that the building for Zoe's Place, in Normanby, Middlesbrough, conforms to national care standards have been carried
A woman discovered the body of her boyfriend who was murdered in a brutal and apparently motiveless attack in his own home, police said today. Detectives have launched a murder investigation after Colin Johnson suffered multiple injuries at the house
VETERAN Newcastle United midfielder Gary Speed has no thoughts of retirement after admitting: "I feel I could play for ever.'' Speed, 35 in September, recently passed 500 career League appearances and is close to becoming the first player to clock up
LATE buses introduced to reduce early hours trouble among city centre revellers have been axed. Operator Go North-East said the five weekend services from Durham City were not used enough. The Durham Night Bus was launched in July and ran for the final
THE Bishop of Durham led North-East churchgoers in prayers marking the anniversary of one of the most tragic acts of the First World War. Exactly 87 years ago yesterday, three Durham Light Infantrymen faced a dawn firing squad in a French farmyard, shamed
The Government today ordered a major review of the structure of the railways to prevent "further suffering" to passengers. Announcing the shake up, Transport Secretary Alistair Darling said the way rail was privatised had led to ''fragmentation, excessive
Too many drivers are being jailed for motoring offences, the head of the Prison Service has warned. Martin Narey said yesterday the prison system was in danger of being overrun by motoring offenders and other petty criminals as the courts imposed increasing
JOB-HUNTERS are being invited to a recruitment and information day tomorrow. Hartlepool company TMD Friction, which manufactures brake pads for the automative industry on the Oakesway Industrial Estate, has 12 vacancies. It aims to fill the posts through
POLICE have confirmed preliminary plans for Chelsea Football Club's visit to Scarborough this weekend. The seaside minnows earned the right to take on the Premiership's millionaires with a win over Southend in the third round of the FA Cup last week,
QUESTIONS will be asked in the House of Commons today about the handling of an inquiry into the conduct of a psychiatrist jailed for a series of sexual offences. Former York consultant Michael Haslam, 69, was jailed last month for seven years after he
EUROPE: THE danger of a single European currency is clearly shown by the decision of the European Commission to take legal action against the EU's governments, for allowing France and Germany to break the rules governing the euro. With a single currency
RELEGATION dogfights are nothing new to Darlington defender Matt Clarke. Last season the 23-year-old played his part in helping Quakers out of a potential relegation scrap. However, the giant Yorkshireman was not so fortunate with Halifax a year earlier
A CAR involved in a hit-and-run accident which left a 14-year-old girl dead had been stolen from its North-East owner, it was revealed yesterday. The teenager had just got off a bus near Faringdon, Oxfordshire, at 3.30pm on Friday when a car and van collided
Football And Freedom: This World (BBC2); Grass (BBC2): THE This World documentary followed two South African teenagers as they attempted to take the football fast track to fame and fortune. But the film was less about soccer than the changing social and
EUROPE THE danger of a single European currency is clearly shown by the decision of the European Commission to take legal action against the EU's governments, for allowing France and Germany to break the rules governing the euro. With a single currency
Billingham Synthonia were knocked out of the FA Vase in highly controversial circumstances at Congleton on Saturday, on a day when all the North-East representatives crashed out. Synners lost to a hotly disputed penalty just five minutes from the end
A VIVID account is to be given of the blood-thirsty Border Reiver raiders and their pillaging of isolated communities across the North. The story of the Reivers, or Riding Families, and their cross-border raids over several hundred years, will be told
A shake of the head and a glance at the watch. Darlington manager David Hodgson had a feeling it was going to be yet another one of those days. For 89 minutes on Saturday it appeared so. Hodgson's one-nil specialists were heading for another narrow defeat
EIGHT months after a serious food poisoning outbreak which hospitalised 13 people, experts are no nearer to identifying the precise cause. Most of the 138 cases of salmonella poisoning reported in May and June last year could be traced back to the former
A MUSEUM is promising visitors the chance to delve deeper into the region's Viking past at an exhibition that will open later this month. Unearthed, at York's Jorvik Centre, will give people the chance to see, find and interpret facts from skeletal remains
MOTORISTS have some justification for feeling that they are revenue punchbags. On top of our petrol being highly-taxed, in recent times speed cameras have sprung up in the most unlikely places to relieve the unwitting motorist of £60. The complaint from
IT was typical of the quiet illustrator David Green that he never drove. The long-haired conservationist, who had respect for all living creatures, was afraid that he might run something over, even an insect, and kill it. Speaking from the house in Darlington
A Nazi war trophy once owned by Herman Goering is to be sold to pay off the debts of a blackmailer. The £2m chalice was previously at the centre of a bizarre blackmail plot hatched by Derick Smith, who wanted to retrieve it from a former friend. Smith
A MOTHER whose enthusiasm inspired a North-East community to raise thousands of pounds towards creating Britain's first respite centre for autistic children has died aged 35. Lesley Hanson's motivation to help the families of children with special needs
LIKE her big-screen counterpart Babe, Smokey Sue the sow proved that pigs really do care when fire broke out in the barn where she had just given birth. Showing a mother's natural instinct to protect her offspring, she herded her nine piglets away from
The Government was today signalling a major shake-up of the running of the railways. Transport Secretary Alistair Darling was announcing to the House of Commons that the Department for Transport was starting a review of the rail structure. To be completed
WORK is almost complete on a village hall that has been given a new lease of life following a fundraising campaign supported by residents. Sandhutton and Breckenbrough village hall committee raised more than £8,000 to provide double-glazed windows and
A TEENAGER who led a health fact-finding visit to Japan has been honoured for her work to help fellow youngsters. Emma Lawson, 18, of Brandon, was named the Prince's Trust Young Achiever of the Year by the trust's regional branch. She is now looking forward
COMMUTERS, football fans and concert-goers face severe disruption today following the start of a strike on the Tyne and Wear Metro. Trains stopped running last night as a 24-hour strike by members of the RMT and Amicus unions began at 7pm. The strike
THE holder of a bank account was shocked to discover his £28,600 savings had been withdrawn by a conman. Durham Crown Court heard the money was transferred to an account set up in his name using a false passport and a bogus power bill. All the funds were
A SINGLE council covering North Yorkshire could save taxpayers between £10m and £21m compared with other options under scrutiny, according to the latest report presented to senior county councillors. The Boundary Committee for England is considering redrawing
A HUNT was underway last night for a schoolgirl after she disappeared with her 41-year-old fairground worker boyfriend. Zara Thornber, 15, from Harrogate, North Yorkshire, struck up a relationship with tattooed Michael Page when the touring fair came
THREE objections have been received concerning an application to build a heart unit at Darlington Memorial Hospital. South Durham Health Care NHS Trust has already received outline planning permission for the cardio-angiography unit in the grounds of
TEN students at Queen Elizabeth Sixth Form College, in Darlington, have been offered places at Oxford and Cambridge. Emily Holdstock, Abi Millar, Alistair Peach, Michael Raymond and Heather Rickaby have received conditional offers from Cambridge. The
AN emergency road closure has been placed in Loys Lane, Loftus, east Cleveland, until further notice because of the dangerous condition of a cemetery wall. Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council said that repair work meant that the road would be closed
A ROOKIE parachutist came down to earth with a bump when he was blown off course during his first jump. The unnamed 17-year-old landed on the roof of a factory, then fell 30ft on to tarmac, as the descent ended in near-disaster. He suffered injuries to
THE first of a series of housing company offices has been opened. The Sunderland Housing Group took over the city council's 36,000 houses in 2001 and has pledged a £500m modernisation programme and a £200m building programme. It has also built offices
A VISITOR attraction in Hartlepool has been designated as a Local Nature Reserve (LNR). Summerhill, which is being developed by Hartlepool Borough Council for sports, other recreational pursuits and conservation, attracts about 45,000 visitors every year
THE future of health services in a north Durham town will be decided at a meeting next week. Derwentside Primary Care Trust (PCT) is investing hundreds of thousands of pounds redeveloping Stanley Health Centre to provide GP services for the town. It aims
PERMISSION has been refused for five two-storey homes partially within a conservation area in east Cleveland. Sixty people signed a petition against an application to build on land west of East Lodge Gardens in Plantation Road, Kirkleatham, near Redcar
A CAR involved in a hit-and-run accident which left a 14-year-old girl dead had been stolen from its North-East owner, it was revealed yesterday. The teenager had just got off a bus near Faringdon, Oxfordshire, at 3.30pm on Friday when a car and van collided
COUNCIL houses on a once-troubled estate are to be knocked together to meet the demand for homes for larger families. Four two-bedroom council homes on the Moorside estate, in Consett, will be converted into two four-bedroom properties in a pilot scheme
