A MAN was fighting for his life last night after being stabbed in the street. He was taken to hospital, where surgeons operated to stem internal bleeding. His condition was described as still critical after the surgery. After he was found by a driver,
A TAXI driver may never work again after being left traumatised by robbers who slashed his face. The unnamed 46-year-old was described as being distraught following the attack. His boss, Stan Patterson, of ETS Cars, in Billingham, Teesside, said yesterday
FA CUP talisman Tommy Smith has admitted that Sunderland won't know what to do with themselves this week as they prepare for Sunday's semi-final against Millwall at Old Trafford. The Black Cats have a welcome break from action after a gruelling schedule
Sir Peter Ustinov, one of the most extraordinary theatrical figures of the 20th century, has died. It was announced this morning that Sir Peter died in Switzerland on Sunday. This multi-lingual genius was known as a director, producer, playwright and
Shotton have announced they intend to fold at the end of the season because of a lack of manpower and finance. Shotton, who are currently bottom of the Second Division, were one of the founder members of the Second Division back in 1982 and have stayed
LIZA Goddard is heading the cast at Darlington's Civic Theatre this week, in W Somerset Maugham's comedy The Constant Wife. Also appearing will be Steven Pinder, Susan Penhaligon, Natalie Walter, Virginia Stride, Robin Browne and Robert East. The play
FORMER Great Britain international Stewy Bell was a comfortable winner of his club's Chester-le-Street 10K at the Riverside yesterday - after letting a group of runners shoot off into an early lead. The 36-year-old prolific road racer was content to bide
I HAVE had a bit of an exciting adventure this week. Some time ago I received an invitation to attend the press preview at the Royal Horticultural Headquarters of some of the top garden designs for this year's Chelsea Flower Show. My immediate reaction
EMERGENCY services put their skills to the test at the weekend during a training exercise. Passers-by could have been forgiven for mistaking the scene, in which a train had collided with a car, was real as three people appeared to be cut from the wreckage
KENNY Dalglish has sent a message of hope to supporters of Darlington Football Club: "I'm ready to do all I can to help." The Northern Echo revealed on Saturday that the former Newcastle United and Liverpool manager is being lined up to add weight to
AIR model enthusiasts flocked to a show at the weekend to see displays of indoor and outdoor flying. Also on offer at the Spring Model Show, at York Racecourse, was the chance to buy and sell parts, equipment and models. People travelled from as far away
TERRORISM: ONE year on and there is a single question to be asked about the invasion of Iraq. Has it advanced our chances of winning the War on Terror - the reason George Bush and Tony Blair gave for toppling Saddam? Few, except for diehards in the Pentagon
Oh please! Would someone tell Trudie Styler that we don't want any more details about what her and husband Sting get up in bed. Years ago she told us how Tantric sex meant the couple could go at it for hours and now she has shocked an American DJ with
Yorkshire are close to concluding a 15-year staging agreement with the England and Wales Cricket Board for Test matches at Headingley, chief executive Colin Graves told members at the club's annual meeting over the weekend. And their was more good news
PROUD grandmother Susanha Ballan has welcomed her 114th grandchild into the family. The 88-year-old, from Bishop Auckland, has ten children, 40 grandchildren, 70 great-grandchildren and four great-great-grandchildren. Baby Annaleaha is not only the 114th
A PIONEERING food co-operative has been launched in Cockfield. It is the first of its type in County Durham and allows people to buy bags of fruit and vegetables at affordable prices. The bags cost £2 each and the produce comes from local growers and
PRIMARY school pupils who are trying to build a wildlife garden have appealed to the community to help stop vandals. Children at Copeland Road Primary School, West Auckland, formed an Eco-Club two and a half years ago and have been enthusiastically recycling
A PUPPY which is recovering from an horrific leg injury will soon be in need of a new home. The four-month-old cross- breed bitch was handed in at Darlington police station by people who gave false details. When dog warden John Martin arrived to have
AN event to help improve communities in Darlington has challenged decision-makers in the town to look again at facilities for young people. The event on Saturday presented projects by the Community Cohesion Team undertaken with young people in the town
TRANSPORT Secretary Alistair Darling is in the North-East today. He is opening the improved Gateshead Metro-Bus Interchange and will visit a security camera system in Stockton that is helping to cut crime on buses. Mr Darling is expected to make an announcement
A NURSERY celebrated in style after being praised by two national bodies. The National Day Nurseries Association (NDNA) and the Office for Standards in Education (Ofsted) both gave plaudits to the childcare centre at Darlington College's Catterick campus
MAGISTRATES have been criticised over fines imposed on an off-licence which sold alcohol to a 15-year-old girl. Councillor Barry Coppinger, Middlesbrough Council's executive member for public protection, said he was "angered and disappointed" over penalties
A CARDBOARD wall was built in Durham at the weekend to symbolise the barrier being erected by Israel in the Palestinian territories. Peace campaigners staged a protest against the construction of what Israel terms "the security fence" within Palestinian
A BUS company is investigating after complaints about the reliability of three of its services. The Harrogate and District company is looking at service frequencies on two Harrogate-Knaresborough routes and the Harrogate-Leeds via Wetherby service. A
THE long-awaited restoration of a disused former cokeworks site is expected to begin later this year. A summer date is to be earmarked for the start of reclamation of contaminated land, more than 20 years after the closure of Lambton Cokeworks. Tenders
THE North York Moors Chamber Orchestra is touring over Easter. Founded by conductor Xenophon Kelsey ten years ago, it will present Mendelssohn's Octet for Strings and Stravinsky's Octet for Wind. The tour begins at Emmanuel Church, Saltburn, on Monday
A NATIONAL Lottery grant totalling nearly £157,000 has been handed to a group aiming to tackle rural isolation. Ryedale Counselling Service (RCS), under the umbrella organisation of Ryedale Voluntary Action, has been awarded the Community Fund money to
MUD-LOVING Rotuma (3.10) must have a decent each-way chance in the feature race at Newcastle today, the £8,500 Gary Robson Memorial Handicap. A mile-and-a-quarter in soft ground are the two critical factors required for Rotuma to show his best form and
PUPILS at a city's schools have been asked their views about how to redress the educational achievement imbalance between boys and girls. With girls continuing to outperform their male classmates in terms of exam results, the Government is urging LEAs
THE long-awaited restoration of a disused former cokeworks site is expected to begin later this year. A summer date is to be earmarked for the start of reclamation of contaminated land, more than 20 years after the closure of Lambton Cokeworks. Tenders
A UNIVERSITY at a loss for a place to stage its graduation ceremonies this year has settled for a venue with a sense of occasion - a football stadium. The terraces of Sunderland's Stadium of Light will host the University of Sunderland's graduation ceremonies
A MAYOR is calling for recognition for a town's sons killed on wartime munitions convoys. Ships' crews were recruited in Middlesbrough during the Second World War for dangerous supply voyages to Russia. The slow-moving freighters loaded with ammunition
A DARLINGTON museum has received an award for tourism. The Darlington Railway Centre and Museum has been awarded the accreditation by the English Tourism Council. The accreditation, known as VAQAS (Visitor Quality Assurance Service) recognises the museum
FOR a time, actress Sophie Ward was the most famous "out" lesbian in Britain. When the married mother-of-two turned up with her partner at the premiere of the film Evita, photographs of them knocked its star Madonna off the front pages. That the daughter
PROPERTY prices are set to rise even higher than experts originally predicted - with the region seeing the strongest growth. Property website Hometrack had expected property in England to increase in price by four per cent in 2004, but it has now doubled
DEVELOPERS have resubmitted plans for blocks of flats which originally attracted 540 letters of objection. Residents had argued that the 20 two-storey flats at Wheatlands Farm, Redcar, would not blend in with the surrounding area. The planning application
DURHAM City Council has launched a guide about how residents can get involved with its work. The guide for tenants and owner-occupiers across the district gives information about how they can have an input into decision making. The guide was launched
A GIRLS' football team is celebrating after winning a tournament involving 800 youngsters from across County Durham. Members of the year seven side from Easington Community School won all eight of their matches in the competition, conceding only two goals
FOR a side looking to book themselves on some exotic European excursions next year, Newcastle United have developed a nasty case of travel sickness. A 1-0 defeat at Bolton's Reebok Stadium extended the Magpies' winless away run to ten Premiership games
DISABLED councillors are to be protected from discrimination under Government proposals. A new clause in the draft Disability Discrimination Bill would extend the Disability Discrimination Act to cover discrimination by local authorities against their
SPIRALLING compensation claims are soaking up nearly all the extra money local authorities received for road maintenance last year, figures show. The number of claims against local authorities in England has doubled in the past ten years, according to
Bishop Auckland's defensive frailties let them down again in a 1-1 draw at Belper. Bishops looked set for three valuable promotion points until a defensive clanger gave Belper an equaliser, a result which leaves Bishops still sweating on a top 13 promotion
THERE was no respite for Hartlepool United after the most miserable of weeks at Victoria Park. Days after the death of former chairman Harold Hornsey and a little over a week after club stalwart Frankie Baggs passed away, Pool slumped to a sad home defeat
A report into the financial crisis gripping a North-East police force has been delayed. The Audit Commission was hoping to finish its investigation this week and release details about the £7.3m black hole in the Cleveland Police budget. But now it could
NEWCASTLE Falcons have confirmed that Fijian winger Rupeni Caucaunibuca was one of the players Rob Andrew and Jonny Wilkinson went to see on their visit to New Zealand last week. The player known as Caucau, one of the stars of the World Cup, is currently
NEALE Cooper bemoaned a lack of fight in his side as they fell to a surprise defeat to Brentford. Pool were two goals down after half an hour as the visitors' work ethic and commitment put Pool on the back foot. And Cooper admitted: "We never started
A TAXI driver may never work again after being left traumatised by robbers who slashed his face. The unnamed 46-year-old was described as being distraught following the attack. His boss, Stan Patterson, of ETS Cars, in Billingham, Teesside, said yesterday
APPROPRIATELY, and in his typically blunt Yorkshire way, Mick McCarthy has warned those ready to party at Old Trafford on Sunday that Sunderland have so far achieved "sweet FA''. It may be an FA Cup semi-final, and one against the only other club he has
WORKERS left without redundancy pay after their American-owned factories went into receivership, are in the US hoping to confront a company boss today. The GMB union claims the 850 staff laid off when Viasystems went into receivership, with the closure
PEOPLE living in communities labelled "mean" in a survey of charity donation across the country sprang to their defence yesterday. Four North-East towns emerged among the ten least generous places in a survey of the amount given to charity per household
He got away with having three separate families because he compartmentalised his life so effectively,'' muses Lady Annabel Goldsmith as she remembers the complex love life of her late husband, the flamboyant billionaire financier Sir James Goldsmith.
SPIRALLING compensation claims are soaking up nearly all the extra money local authorities received for road maintenance last year, figures show. The number of claims against local authorities in England has doubled in the past ten years, according to
TERRITORIAL Army soldiers were put to the test at the weekend in gruelling military skills competition. Exercise Martial Merlin is the highlight of the military training year and nearly 200 soldiers from the North-East and Yorkshire competed at Catterick
ORGANISERS have pledged to continue holding youth discos despite chaotic scenes when 200 teenagers were turned away from an event in the North-East. The disco attracted 600 youngsters to Darlington's Dolphin Centre on Friday night, but only 400 could
DETECTIVES hunting the killer of a man found dead three years ago have made a fresh appeal for information. Bachelor David Williamson, 58, was discovered with fatal head injuries in a lane just a few hundred yards from his home in Sutton-on-the-Forest
FOOTBALL fans have been warned about a massive on-line black market for FA Cup semi-final tickets. Sunderland will take on Millwall at Old Trafford, Manchester, on Sunday but, despite the fact tickets are only just being issued to season ticket holders
THE Bomb Disposal Unit was called out to deal with two separate incidents in the region yesterday. The first was a suspicious parcel, the size of a small ice cream container. It was found by two men walking in woods behind Hemlington Row, Crook, County
North-East film fans in the have given a mixed response to Mel Gibson's controversial film, The Passion of The Christ. Cinemagoers in the region are flocking to see the epic retelling of the suffering and crucifixion of Jesus. The opening matinee at the
TEACHER training in the North-East has been boosted after two schools were given Training School status. Education Secretary Charles Clarke selected Hummersknott School and Community Language College, Darlington, and Framwellgate School, Durham, among
MEMBERS of the North York Moors Chamber Orchestra will be touring the area over Easter. The orchestra is made up of some of Britain's best young players, aged from 16 to 23, including students from music colleges and universities, as well as specialist
Stokesley SC plundered another five goals on Saturday to reach the final of the Sunderland Shipowners' Cup. They have now scored no fewer than 17 in their last three games. Windscale were the latest side to feel their scoring power as they succumbed to
JAZZ fans filled a North-East venue on Friday to hear tunes from two bands. The event, featuring Highstreet Anywhere and the Cherie Gears Quintet, was organised by The Northern Echo's music website, Revolution. All tickets had been reserved before the
BLIND faith can often disguise a true reflection of events. Misleading as they are, football managers are the biggest culprits of assuming a somewhat political stance, where it is paramount to make the right noise, rather than the real noise. There are
APPROPRIATELY, and in his typically blunt Yorkshire way, Mick McCarthy has warned those ready to party at Old Trafford on Sunday that Sunderland have so far achieved "sweet FA''. It may be an FA Cup semi-final, and one against the only other club he has
WHEN the vicar asked if any children wanted to come down to the altar to collect a bunch of flowers for mum on Mother's Day, there was an almighty (but polite) stampede. Five minutes later the happy little herd came skipping back down the aisle, gapped
MY "forever single" friend shocked us all last summer by announcing that she was getting married. She had been the last bastion of hope for me and while the world was pairing up and settling down, we would both sneer at the lot of them and then go out
CANOE polo is not one of best known sports in the region, but one woman is gearing up to compete in this summer's world championships in Japan. Ellie Bridgstock, 25, from Tunstall, near Richmond, North Yorkshire, is hoping to be selected for the Great
SHOPPERS at the Asda store in Bishop Auckland have helped to raise £1,000 for the Great North Air Ambulance. John Bowman, Janet Richardson and Angela Cleminson from the store presented a cheque for the money to the charity's fundraising manager, Pippa
RECYCLING aluminium drinks cans could lead to more native trees being planted in County Durham during the coming months. The landscape of the county could benefit from the offer of one tree to be planted for every tonne of aluminium cans recycled by the
COUNCIL leaders will meet today to discuss the future of a village swimming pool. Campaigners have vowed to do whatever it takes to keep Wolsingham swimming pool open after Wear Valley District Council announced that it was pulling out of a sharing scheme
I Met Osama Bin Laden (BBC2); Heartbeat (ITV1): HE loves riding horses. He's lost count of the number of children he has. He reads poetry. He needs to drink a lot of water because of a kidney disease. He's also the man who changed the world by inspiring
FIVE pupils from Eastbourne Comprehensive School, in Darlington, have spent five days learning about life in the Parachute Regiment. The year ten students travelled to Colchester for their experience and found life with the Paras to be tough. They spent
COUNCIL house tenants in Darlington are suffering an abnormal level of ant infestations. Darlington Borough Council has been inundated with complaints, but the pest control unit does not know why there is such an extraordinary number of infestations.
A SCHOOL is enjoying a double celebration after a new £1.4m classroom block was opened and students triumphed in a national legal competition. Richmond MP William Hague took time out from his 43rd birthday celebrations to officially open the extension
A HAIRDRESSER has proved she can cut it with the best. Stylist Rebecca Golightly, 25-year-old owner of the Nancy Darcy salon in Skelton, east Cleveland, has won a coveted place on the Clynol Protg team. One of only six hopefuls to be chosen from a record
A GENEROUS community effort has helped to boost the funds of a cancer relief charity, while providing an entertaining night for local people. Musicians and other performers gave their services free of charge for the event staged in Lanchester. Well-known
The miners' strike of 1984-5 involved the police in a way no other industrial dispute has ever done, with battles betwen police and pickets becoming a staple of the television news. Nick Morrison speaks to some of those who manned the thin blue line.
A MOVE could be made to standardise roadside shrines across parts of the region, if councillors agree at a meeting next week. Richmondshire district council leader John Blackie is worried that the increase in makeshift memorials at scenes of fatal accidents
SIX young Middlesbrough fans will learn today if they are to be models. The Carling Cup winners are looking for six hopefuls - four girls and two boys - to model a range of strips so supporters can choose the club's new away kit. The winning Boro Babes
WORK has started on a building project in the Yorkshire Dales designed to help address the shortage of low-cost homes. Soaring prices have put many properties out of reach of people born and brought up in the area, with a growing number snapped up as
YOUNG golfers are being invited to take up an apprenticeship in the sport to help them play the ball, "straight down the middle". Children up to the age of 12 are being invited to try their hand at golf at an introductory session at the weekend. The first
A TEENAGER battling leukaemia hopes to be one of the first to jump off Middlesbrough's Transporter Bridge and slide 800ft down a wire. Lindsey Wood, 19, of Ingleby Barwick, who has acute lymphastic leukaemia, has already abseiled down the Tyne Bridge.
A FORMER police chief and his wife have died in a house fire. Sunderland-born William Farley, 87, and his wife, Marjorie, 86, were killed in a fire in their home in Avenue Road, Abergavenny, last Thursday. During his career, Mr Farley worked his way up
SIX young Middlesbrough fans will learn today if they are to be models. The Carling Cup winners are looking for six hopefuls - four girls and two boys - to model a range of strips so supporters can choose the club's new away kit. The winning Boro Babes
A SCHOOL is enjoying a double celebration after a new £1.4m classroom block was opened and students triumphed in a national legal competition. Richmond MP William Hague took time out from his 43rd birthday celebrations on Friday to officially open the
SVEN-Goran Eriksson has signed a contract to be England's football coach until 2008 and we are all supposed to be grateful that the mess has been cleared up. Perhaps we should. After all, Euro 2004 is just a few months away and off-field distractions
IMAGINATIVE new websites promoting a Teesside town have been launched. The websites, called the Community Portal and Digital Hartlepool, were unveiled in Hartlepool last week. The Community Portal, which is also known as Hartlepoolnow, will go live this
A POLICE operation to clamp down on driving offenders in east Cleveland was such a success that further checks are soon to be made. Operation Clampdown targeted vehicles known to the police using information about people driving while banned, without
A PROJECT to redevelop a seaside district has been put on hold. Plans to build a fish restaurant, bistro, shops and apartments on Hartlepool's Headland, have been drawn up by the borough council. The project, for an area of land next to Kafiga Landings
GARDENERS are being urged to hand over a range of banned pesticides. The European Union decided last summer to halt the sale of more than 80 garden pesticide products, containing six specific chemicals. Hartlepool Borough Council is appealing to the town's
She once stole the headlines from Madonna by turning up to a film premier with her girlfriend, but these days Sophie Ward is content to cause a stir on stage, she tells Steve Pratt. FOR a time, actress Sophie Ward was the most famous "out" lesbian in
CRAIG LIDDLE believes Saturday's draw with promotion-chasing Torquay is proof that Darlington can compete with the best in Division Three. A week after taking a point at leaders Doncaster, Quakers moved five points clear of the relegation zone with a
Some of the region's top racing trainers open their stable doors to the public on Good Friday. The Middleham Open Event claimed its biggest crowd last year, when warm, sunny weather tempted thousands to enjoy a glimpse behind the scenes at yards around
A COMMUNITY hall had to be evacuated and two women taken to hospital after a carbon monoxide leak. The women collapsed as a bingo caller called time on a game at Neville Community Centre, in Newton Aycliffe, County Durham, on Friday night. Bingo caller
A PERMANENT reminder of a community's wartime hero was unveiled in a short ceremony yesterday. Durham Light Infantry (DLI) stretcher-bearer Thomas Young was awarded the Victoria Cross (VC) for his bravery in rescuing nine comrades during trench warfare
COUNTRY music fans staged a protest outside BBC studios in the region following the axing of a much-loved programme from the airwaves. About 40 people from clubs across the North-East lined the pavement outside the BBC's broadcasting centre in Fenham,
MIDDLESBROUGH'S Gareth Southgate wanted to concentrate on talking club football after his latest England call-up. The Boro star, along with Danny Mills, has been named in Sven-Goran Eriksson's squad to face Sweden in Gothenburg on Wednesday night - a
A village's 65-year-wait for a bypass finally ended yesterday. Government Minister Alistair Darling confirmed that work on the £9m bypass for Chilton in County Durham, first mooted in 1939, will start this May. The Secretary of State for Transport made
AFTER the recklessness of Middlesbrough's defending seven days earlier, it was a welcome return to business as usual for Gareth Southgate et al at Goodison Park. With Ugo Ehiogu a late withdrawal having picked up a foot injury during training on Friday
SIR Bobby Robson last night ignited another club versus country row with Wales boss Mark Hughes by pulling striker Craig Bellamy out of the squad to face Hungary on Wednesday. Bellamy, who has been suffering from a niggling hamstring injury for the last
AN MP yesterday paid tribute to a rugby club when he presented awards at a youth festival. Hugh Bayley, MP for the City of York, was at York Rugby Union Football Club to present the prizes at the club's fourth annual rugby youth festival, at the city's
THE Last Waltz has been played and the dance floor is now empty as a community centre closes its doors for the final time. The Elite Hall, in Crook, County Durham, has been at the heart of the small town for almost 100 years. Built by the Royal British
A SENIOR doctor has admitted the region faces a potential shortfall in blood supplies when new restrictions begin within days. The comments by Dr Hazel Tinegate, a consultant working at the regional blood unit in Newcastle, underline the importance of
TELEVISION soap stars yesterday showed off their football skills for charity. The TV All Stars team featuring stars from Coronation Street, Hollyoaks, Holby City and Brookside, travelled to Catterick Garrison, in North Yorkshire, to take on a Garrison
THE campaign to keep the Flying Scotsman locomotive in the UK has won the backing of Virgin boss Sir Richard Branson. He has pledged a substantial amount of money to the appeal by the National Railway Museum, in York, to stop the legendary steam locomotive
THE North-East Theatre Organ Association is staging Wurlitzer theatre organ concerts featuring Nicholas Martin on Saturday, April 17, at 7pm, and Sunday April 18, at 2.30pm, in the New Victoria Centre, Howden-le-Wear. Tickets are available on (01388)
Newcastle United's St James' Park was today unveiled as the backdrop to a new Hollywood movie. The ground has been chosen ahead of other Premiership rivals for a starring role in the forthcoming blockbuster GOAL! The football-themed film will be a trilogy
