Archive

  • For Your Benefit: 'Fathers may be missing out'

    Q When my wife passed away in 2000, my children were 13 and 18. From April 2001, any man in my situation could claim a widower's benefit. I get this now but only learnt about it through a newspaper. How long will this benefit last? A For as long as you

  • Blair cites shining example of fightback by communities

    AN area fighting back from hundreds of job losses was hailed as a shining example by Prime Minister Tony Blair on a trip to the North-East yesterday. Mr Blair visited a business centre in Bishop Auckland, County Durham, to see how a regeneration scheme

  • Nicol out to inspire Seasiders

    It's top versus bottom when Northallerton meet Marske in the Darlington Building Society NYSD Premier League Premier Division this afternoon. The Seasiders will be hoping that new professional Rob Nicol leads them to a first win of the season. They have

  • 15/5/04

    TAXI DRIVERS: I HAVE been driving taxis a long time and when I heard I have to take a driving test to keep the job I have been doing for years, I was livid. Again, Darlington council comes up with the daft idea and no wonder it will be going to court.

  • It's still game on, McCarthy

    SUNDERLAND boss Mick McCarthy last night backed his side to overturn a one-goal deficit in order to reach the First Division play-off final, arguing that a 3-2 defeat to Crystal Palace does not represent a terminal blow to the club's promotion dreams.

  • By gum . . . we'll have plenty to smile about when we grow up

    NORTH-EAST babies were given a helping hand to grow strong healthy teeth as part of a National Smile Week campaign. The Mother and Baby Group at Teesdale Community Health Centre, in Barnard Castle, County Durham, were shown how important it is to look

  • Inquiry call after girl, 16, hangs herself in hospital

    THE family of a troubled 16-year-old girl have called for an inquiry after she killed herself at a North-East hospital. Samantha McCartney, who had a history of self-harm, was taken to Darlington Memorial Hospital in a distressed state by a concerned

  • Soldiers spared jail after fight with locals

    ELEVEN men involved in an outbreak of violence in a town centre street were spared prison yesterday. Six Fijian soldiers undergoing basic Army training at Catterick Garrison, in North Yorkshire, and five men from Darlington were arrested after the disturbance

  • Seven deny community centre arson

    SEVEN young people yesterday denied an arson attack on a North-East community centre. Three girls and four boys, aged from 12 to 17, appeared before Darlington Youth Court facing a joint charge of setting fire to Skerne Park Community Centre, in Darlington

  • Bernard demands a fighting finish

    OLIVIER BERNARD wants to make sure Newcastle United's success-starved supporters are not left nursing a double European blow. The Magpies travel to Liverpool today for what should have been a last day shoot-out for a place in the Champions League. Instead

  • Security concerns push crude oil prices to 21-year high

    OIL prices climbed to their highest level in 21 years last night as dealers expressed concerns about a security breakdown in the Middle East. Markets watched as the cost of a barrel of crude reached $41.50 in New York - higher than at any time during

  • Star prize for young singers

    ASPIRING young pop stars took to the stage for a singing contest on a Darlington estate. The Stars in their Eyes-style competition was organised by Firthmoor and District Community Association and held in the estate's new community centre, Maidendale

  • Theatre date for young ballet dancers

    YOUNG dancers from across the North-East will join the English Youth Ballet on stage next week to perform Sleeping Beauty. One hundred girls and six boys aged eight to 18 will appear in the production at Darlington Civic Theatre on Tuesday and Wednesday

  • Threat to 200 car parts workers

    ONE of the North-East's biggest car parts plants is to close, putting 200 jobs in jeopardy. The Calsonic Kansei factory in Shildon, County Durham, will shut down in the summer. Production of car heaters will move to a sister plant in Washington, Tyne

  • Boyd shooting for the stars

    AS Mick Smith and Billy Horner put the Hartlepool United youth team through their paces on a summer's morning in August 1999, their session was briefly interrupted. Chief scout Tommy Miller wanted a word with a young, fresh-faced teenager named Adam Boyd

  • Wrekin chosen to build £4m one-way system

    CIVIL engineering company Wrekin Construction has won the contract to build a £4m road system in central Stockton. The one-way system should allow easier access to the town centre and the site of Tees Valley Regeneration's Northbank development. Wrekin

  • End of the road for rat runs

    RESIDENTS have won their battle to stop drivers using their roads as rat runs. By using Borrage Lane and High Cleugh, in Ripon, drivers have been avoiding hold-ups at traffic lights near the city centre. But residents have been concerned about speeding

  • Business project moving ahead

    A £2.7M scheme to create a business community is moving progress after overcoming problems securing funding. The county council's Property Grants Scheme aims to boost business development by helping to create quality workspace for new businesses and established

  • Approval expected for resort's park and ride scheme

    A park and ride scheme to cope with Scarborough's summer traffic is expected to be approved by planning officers. The multi-million pound project will include a drive-in restaurant on a site alongside the A64, near Dean's Garden Centre, in Seamer Road

  • 40 years' work goes on display

    THE results of 40 years of painstaking work will be among the highlights of a festival in the Yorkshire Dales later this month. Emily Gardner, an 88-year-old from Aldbrough St John, near Richmond, started making quilts when she was in her 40s. She is

  • Spring entry wins judges' plaudits

    JUDGES of the Yorkshire in Bloom competition have given a market town top marks for its spring entry. Thirsk came first in the small country town category, with judges praising the co-ordinated containers, bulb and tree-planting and shrub pruning. They

  • PBP wins $43m contract

    THE US Government has awarded a North-East power company a $43m contract to help restore Iraq's electricity supply. The recent conflict left the country's power grid severely damaged and experts from PB Power (PBP), in Newcastle, have been called in to

  • Fly-tipping increase fears over landfill tax rise

    OFFICIALS fear fly-tipping will increase in County Durham as the tax on burying waste rises. The landfill tax is to more than double in the next six years, rising from £15 a tonne to £35 in 2010. Councils fear that some operators will try to avoid the

  • Hospital trust on awards shortlist

    AN elite North-East hospital trust which was unexpectedly downgraded has been shortlisted for an award. The Newcastle Hospitals Trust and Harrogate Health Care are in the running for the Sunday Times Hospital of the Year award. The recognition provides

  • Libyan workers' hospital tonic

    WORKERS in Libya have raised £1,000 for a North-East hospice. The employees of Spanish and Libyian company Repsol, in Ubari, in the Sahara Desert, Libya, helped raise the money by sponsoring 56-year-old Patrick Parks, from Redcar, east Cleveland, who

  • MEP sees how Euro cash spent

    COLLEGE staff this week showed a Euro MP how EU funding is helping to train the next generation of skilled workers. Stephen Hughes, MEP, visited the new £6.5m campus of Derwentside College, in Consett that won EU funding for its industrial training unit

  • TV botanist will lead nature walk

    wildlife television presenter David Bellamy will lead youngsters on a tour of environmental projects in the Stanley area today. He is leading a guided walk at 12.40pm around the proposed nature reserve on the former opencast site of Chapman's Well, between

  • Market has that continental flavour

    DARLINGTON MP Alan Milburn got a taste of the continent yesterday when he toured the town's French market. The former Health Secretary met traders running the 16 stalls on High Row and sampled some of the regional French cheeses, olives and pates on offer

  • Milk bar proves a hit with students

    A MILK bar installed at a Darlington school has proved popular with pupils. The bar, which was launched at Branksome Comprehensive School last week, has been doing a brisk trade in glasses of fresh milk, flavoured milk, salads, fruit and bottles of water

  • Couple celebrating wedding milestone

    A COUPLE from Darlington are celebrating their golden wedding anniversary today. Colin and Pat Hardy, of Harrowgate Hill, put the success of the past 50 years down to "a bit of give and take" in their relationship. The couple, who are both 70, first met

  • Teenager locked up for robbery

    A 15-YEAR-OLD who beat a boy and terrified another by threatening him and stealing his bike, was yesterday locked up for six months. The Darlington teenager appeared before the town's youth court for three offences, including a violent attack on a postman

  • Palace's late strike shocks Sunderland

    True to form, Sunderland will have to do things the hard way if they are going to make it into the First Division play-off final on Monday night. The Black Cats will need to claw back a one-goal deficit at the Stadium of Light after losing 3-2 to Crystal

  • Martial arts masters are lined up for showcase

    WORLD-class martial arts champions will be demonstrating their skills today (Saturday). The Sunderland International Festival of Martial Arts aims to showcase the high-energy drama of disciplines such as judo, aikido and jujitsu, while raising funds for

  • Traders in talks to promote 'treasure'

    TRADERS fear shoppers are passing them by even though they are yards from a shopping centre. Businesses in Claypath will call on Durham City Council to put up signs encouraging people to pass their way. The street, which boasts the Gala Theatre and Clayport

  • £2.2m sports centre aims to tackle 'health time bomb'

    A SPORTS hall costing £2.2m is being built to help improve the health and educational prospects of a Teesside community. Details of the project were announced yesterday, only days after The Northern Echo told of a "ticking time bomb" caused by a shortage

  • Firm to supply security doors

    BAYDALE Architectural Systems has won a safety and security contract at the Scottish Parliament building. The company was contracted by Bovis Lendlease to supply bomb-resistant doors. Baydale has already designed and installed thistle-shaped bomb-proof

  • Lover who kept HIV secret gets ten years

    AN African asylum seeker living in the North-East last night became one of the first people in the country to be jailed for knowingly infecting women with HIV. Feston Konzani, who came to Middlesbrough from Malawi in 1998, was sentenced to ten years after

  • Funding help for yard decoration project

    PRE-SCHOOL children are looking forward to decorating their play yard after receiving a cash boost from supermarket staff. Children at Byerley Road Pre-school are settling into their new premises, in The Mission Hall, Shildon. On Thursday, staff from

  • PC recovering after trying to quell riot

    A POLICEMAN was recovering in hospital yesterday after being injured trying to quell a drunken riot. Up to 20 hooligans armed with pickaxe handles, golf clubs, bricks and bottles went on the rampage on York's Chapelfields estate, attacking property and

  • Comment from The Northern Echo: Will Blair be held to account?

    ONCE it became clear that the pictures of British soldiers abusing Iraqi prisoners were fake, it was going to be very difficult for Piers Morgan to remain as editor of The Daily Mirror. Dodgy photographs about Iraq cost him his job. Rather in the same

  • Warning over visits by bogus detective

    POLICE issued a warning to elderly homeowners last night after a bogus detective tried to trick three pensioners out of their money. The man, who claimed to be representing Darlington police, called at the home of a 90-year-old woman in the Whessoe Road

  • Four arrests after raid

    FOUR people have been arrested in a police crackdown on the illegal sex trade. Women aged 53 and 21 and a 27-year-old man were questioned yesterday in connection with the running of a brothel. A 46-year-old man was arrested for soliciting a prostitute

  • Biker crash puts death toll up to six

    THE sixth motorcyclist this year has been killed on a county's roads despite a hard-hitting police campaign to cut the number of biker deaths. The man, named yesterday as Peter John Overend, 37, from Gilberdyke, East Yorkshire, is the fourth biker to

  • Thieves take anchors in £100,000 haul from factory

    A STEELWORKS that is fighting its way back after closure has been devastated by the theft of more than £100,000 of metal. Thieves broke into Weardale Steel, in Wolsingham, County Durham, and made off with raw material and completed products, which they

  • Union calls for action after near misses in N-E skies

    PILOTS' union Balpa has joined calls for action following a series of near misses between passenger planes and military aircraft. It branded parts of the North-East where airspace is controlled neither by national air traffic control nor the military

  • Mr Blair's four-letter albatross

    LEADER or liability? The regulation grey suits that Tony Blair keeps for London business were swapped for a more easy-living blue one that he seems to reserve for the North-East, and yesterday the Blair caravan toured his constituency of Sedgefield. From

  • Troy boy reveals his Achillies' heel

    He's the poster-boy for this summer's biggest blockbuster, but is Brad Pitt the movie star who's yet to star in a hit movie? Steve Pratt examines the evidence. DIRECTOR Wolfgang Petersen never had any doubt about who would be his ideal Troy boy after

  • Robson considers the merits of Bellamy recall

    SIR BOBBY ROBSON is tempted to risk striker Craig Bellamy as embattled Newcastle United desperately seek European salvation against Liverpool at Anfield. A thigh injury to Shola Ameobi has forced manager Robson to consider pitching Bellamy into his first

  • Monkey's heartbreak as family stolen

    A FAMILY of tiny monkeys was stolen from a North-East home yesterday. But the thieves left the mother behind and it is feared the distraught animal may die of a broken heart. Five marmosets - the father and four youngsters - were taken from an enclosure

  • Hall venue for canine capers

    'CANINE capers at Ormesby Hall in Middlesbrough will see dogs being put through their paces in a bid to win prizes including cutest face, waggiest tail and fastest sausage eater. The fun starts at 12.30pm tomorrow when the gardens open and a dog agility

  • How the candidates line up for council elections

    ELECTIONS will be held for Hartlepool Borough Council on Thursday, June 10. The following are the candidates standing for each seat: Brus: Geoffrey Baldwin, BNP. Sheila Griffin, Labour. Christopher John Mckenna, Jean McKenna. John Joseph Mckenna, Conservative

  • Tribute band to tour abroad

    A POPULAR tribute band are to take their music to the former Soviet Union. Classic Clapton - dedicated to Eric "Slowhand'' Clapton - have been invited to play at a festival in the Baltic state of Estonia, which has just joined the EU. The band, fronted

  • Plans for private treatment centres

    NEW privately-run treatment centres are to be built in the region to treat NHS patients. The centres, run by Capio Healthcare UK, will be located at Newcastle and York and complement work in NHS hospitals. In total, eight Capio centres will be built in

  • Frontline officers will not be sacrificed - police chief

    FRONTLINE officers will not be sacrificed to balance the books of Britain's most controversial police force. The chief constable of under-fire Cleveland Police insisted savings which need to be made in light of a £7.3m budget black hole will not hit main

  • How they line up for council elections

    ELECTIONS will be held for Harrogate Borough Council District Council on Thursday, June 10. The following are the candidates standing for each seat: Bishop Monkton: Ian Galloway, Conservative; Sarah-Jane Smith, Liberal Democrat. Boroughbridge: Brian Lumsden

  • Consultants appointed to change the face of estate

    CONSULTANTS have been hired as part of plans to improve a rundown estate. Chester-le-Street District Council has appointed specialists Turley Associates and Douglas Wheeler Associates to prepare a plan of improvements for the Poets' Estate, in Pelton

  • Hampshire hammer Yorkshire into the ground

    After battling hard for two days, Yorkshire suddenly lost their grip against Second Division leaders Hampshire at Headingley yesterday and slumped to defeat by 119 runs. It is the first time Yorkshire have lost a Championship match to Hampshire since

  • Jetting in for charity challenge

    NORTH-EAST coastguards have taken part in a Tornado jet pull to help launch a drive to raise money for Macmillan Cancer Relief. Coastguards from Skinningrove and Staithes, in east Cleveland, Whitby, North Yorkshire and Bridlington, East Yorkshire, along

  • Sainsbury's goes shopping in North-East

    SUPERMARKET group Morrisons yesterday announced plans to sell a number of Safeway stores in the region to rival group Sainsbury's. Darlington's main Safeway store in Victoria Road, and others at Whitehouse Farm, in Stockton, Team Valley and Heaton, in

  • Undercover police op snared drugs trio

    UNDERCOVER police officers watched three men dealing cannabis, a court was told yesterday. Jason Hall was said to be the main player in the operation in Spennymoor, County Durham. Durham Crown Court heard that the home of family man Ronald Eldrett - a

  • Former pop singer delivers more serious note

    FORMER pop singer Feargal Sharkey arrived on a mission to the North-East yesterday to help decide the future of Britain's music industry. As chairman of the newly-created government Live Music Forum, Mr Sharkey attended one of the final sessions of a

  • New sandwich is a hot favourite

    WITH curry replacing fish and chips as the nation's favourite dish, it should come as no surprise that Britain's favourite new sandwich has a distinctly Eastern flavour. Brambles, based in Middlesbrough, won the best new sandwich category at the British

  • Editor sacked over hoax pictures

    Piers Morgan was sacked as the Daily Mirror editor last night as the paper "unreservedly" apologised for publishing faked pictures of British soldiers abusing Iraqis. Mr Morgan's departure came hours after the Queen's Lancashire Regiment (QLR) at the

  • Doctor's charity mission runs past the £40,000 mark

    A DOCTOR'S appeal to raise money for children with diabetes has passed the £40,000 mark, thanks to the fundraising efforts of a town mayor. Dr Bill Lamb aims to provide an insulin pump to all the children in his care who need one. The pump provides a

  • Gosden's double tilt at honours

    JOHN GOSDEN could hold the key to this afternoon's Group 1 Lockinge Stakes at Newbury because both of his runners, Desert Deer and Ikhtyar, are entitled to serious consideration. Although my money is on Desert Deer (2.40), I shall also be having a small

  • Moving with the times

    LIKE the At Your Service column itself, the Church of England is marking a tenth anniversary - exactly a decade since the first women were ordained priest and (if the phrase may be permitted) church people of both sexes had their knickers in a twist about

  • Rescue team given extreme work-out

    WOULD-BE Tarzans and Janes have been given a new challenge to test them in the tree-tops. Aerial Extreme, near Kirklington, near Bedale, has added a skywalk to its rope-built assault course in the sky. To test the equipment, the company invited experts

  • Gymnasts are head over heels after securing national crown

    GYMNASTIC excellence has seen a Middlesbrough primary school finish top of the pile in a national competition. The eight youngsters from Pallister Park Primary beat strong opposition to scoop the Under 11 crown in the British Schools Gymnastic Championship

  • Bid to speed up broadband link for dale

    NEW trials could speed up the arrival of a broadband Internet connection in Weardale, attracting business and creating jobs. Optimists are even dubbing the area "silicon dale", with workers able to communicate across the globe at the touch of a button

  • Sainsbury's goes shopping in North-East

    SUPERMARKET group Morrisons yesterday announced plans to sell a number of Safeway stores in the region to rival group Sainsbury's. Darlington's main Safeway store in Victoria Road, and others at Whitehouse Farm, in Stockton, Team Valley and Heaton, in

  • Man attacked in city park

    Detectives are searching for a youth who assaulted a man walking through a park. The youth approached his 31-year-old victim in Exhibition Park, Newcastle, and demanded money. The victim, who was with a 19-year-old man, refused. The attacker punched him

  • Crackdown on bad driving at shops centre

    A CRACKDOWN has been launched on drivers who park dangerously at a shopping centre. Police last weekend issued 14 tickets at one roundabout outside Gateshead MetroCentre, which is used as a drop-off point for shoppers. Sergeant Alan Parks, of Gateshead

  • He promised them the earth, but gave them life sentences

    PLAYING up to the camera, Feston Konzani is enjoying a night on the town surrounded by girls as he dances in a Teesside nightclub. But by the time this photograph was taken, the 28-year-old had already infected his three victims, referred to in court

  • Forum venue for ballet classic

    THE European Ballet Company is coming to a Teesside town for a production of Sleeping Beauty. Dancers will perform to music by Tchaikovsky at Billingham's Forum Theatre on Sunday, June 6, at 7.30pm. Under the direction of Stanislav Tchassov, former principal

  • GPs' crackdown on foreign 'health tourists'

    Family doctors will be able to charge overseas visitors private healthcare fees under plans announced yesterday to stop so-called "health tourists" getting free treatment on the NHS. Ministers believe there is a significant problem with people travelling

  • Pupils towed off to prison

    PUPILS are getting a taste of the realities of prison life. Darlington company Barrons has lent a caravan to HMP Low Newton, in Durham City, to be used as a mobile mock jail cell. The vehicle, stripped bare to resemble a typical prison cell, has been

  • Threat to 200 car parts workers

    ONE of the North-East's biggest car parts plants is to close, putting 200 jobs in jeopardy. The Calsonic Kansei factory in Shildon, County Durham, will shut down in the summer. Production of car heaters will move to a sister plant in Washington, Tyne

  • Inquest told of bike ride tragedy

    A FATHER and son's day out at an off-road motor sports track ended in tragedy, an inquest was told. Todd Nicolson, 41, visited the track at Sedgefield, County Durham, with teenage son Robert, one of his friends, and neighbour Gene Elliott. Van driver

  • Minister praises scheme to stamp out fuel poverty

    A PIONEERING three-year scheme to help stamp out fuel poverty in Stockton has been declared a success by a government minister. Stockton Warm Zone, which ended in March, was given the seal of approval by MP Nigel Griffiths, the man who heads the UK's

  • Deacon warms up

    OLYMPIC Games hope Jared Deacon steps up his competitive build-up in this weekend's North East Track and Field Championships at Gateshead International Stadium. The 28-year-old Tynesider, who has returned to his home-town club, South Shields, also competes

  • Memorial tribute to hospital

    THE bravery and optimism of a young cancer victim inspired friends and colleagues at a supermarket to raise thousands of pounds in his memory. Tim Jones, of Bishop Auckland, died in April, aged 20, after a 15-month battle against cancer. Before his death

  • Campaign launched to save post office

    A CAMPAIGN has been launched to prevent a post office from closing. Billingham councillors Colin Leckonby and Lynne Apediale have launched a fight to save the post office in the town's Low Grange Avenue after it was earmarked for closure. They are concerned

  • Boxers aiding charity

    A BOXING club is helping the fight against a killer disease by raising £1,000 for a cancer charity. Spennymoor Boxing Academy coach Robert Ellis and club doctor Andrew Herd stepped into the ring at the club's annual show last month to ask for the support

  • Neighbour's call led to capture of burglar

    A BURGLAR was jailed after a woman gave police a running commentary by telephone about the intruder outside her home. The woman spotted drug addict Graham Swales in her neighbour's garden in Saltburn, east Cleveland, but then he turned his attention to

  • Unusual Mayoral double act

    THERE is nothing unusual about two mayors attending the same event. But the dignitaries who attended a junior golf competition Newton Aycliffe this week are husband and wife. It is believed to be the first time a married couple have been mayors of two

  • Judge expects outcry over porn jail sentence

    A JUDGE admitted he expects a public outcry after jailing a man, who kept indecent images of children, for only two years yesterday. The Recorder of Middlesbrough, Judge Peter Fox, QC, told Teesside Crown Court that the distressed cries of children as

  • Students put cultural event into print

    STUDENTS will turn news- hounds for the day next week, to record a school event. Blackfyne School, in Consett, holds its annual Multi-Cultural event on Wednesday. It features 30 speakers from ethnic minority communities, different religious denominations

  • Cooper can't top promotion

    IF NEALE Cooper achieves the dream and leads Hartlepool United into Division One, he jokes that his days could be numbered. The Victoria Park manager is just three games away from steering his team out of Division Two at the first attempt. And if Pool

  • Voters warned of election changes

    THOUSANDS of north Durham residents are being warned their European election votes will be void, unless they follow new procedures. Last year, postal votes for the local elections in Derwentside and Chester-le-Street removed the requirement for the elector

  • Inquiry call after girl, 16, hangs herself in hospital

    THE family of a troubled 16-year-old girl have called for an inquiry after she killed herself at a North-East hospital. Samantha McCartney, who had a history of self-harm, was taken to Darlington Memorial Hospital in a distressed state by a concerned

  • £400m pensions fund in Government U-turn

    WORKERS robbed of their pensions when their company schemes went bust were celebrating last night after a Government U-turn promised them compensation. Pensions Secretary Andrew Smith unveiled a £400m fund to help the estimated 60,000 people who have

  • A World of opportunity for Bycroft

    NEVILLE BYCROFT snapped up a bargain when he purchased World At My Feet (2.15) for a measly 1,600 guineas at Doncaster's 2003 October Sales. The lightning-fast two-year-old won in a common canter at Thirsk for the Malton-based trainer a fortnight ago

  • Troy boy reveals his Achillies' heel

    He's the poster-boy for this summer's biggest blockbuster, but is Brad Pitt the movie star who's yet to star in a hit movie? Steve Pratt examines the evidence. DIRECTOR Wolfgang Petersen never had any doubt about who would be his ideal Troy boy after

  • Lover who kept HIV secret gets ten years

    AN African asylum seeker living in the North-East last night became one of the first people in the country to be jailed for knowingly infecting women with HIV. Feston Konzani, who came to Middlesbrough from Malawi in 1998, was sentenced to ten years after

  • Promotion would cap fairytale season for Pool

    IF NEALE Cooper achieves the dream and leads Hartlepool United into Division One, he jokes that his days could be numbered. The Victoria Park manager is just three games away from steering his team out of Division Two at the first attempt. And if Pool

  • The bitch behind bars

    Many people wanted to see footballer's wife Tanya put in prison, Now they've got their wish as the superbitch gets banged up in Bad Girls. Putting favourite TV characters behind bars is nothing new. Soaps do it all the time, whether it's Deirdre banged

  • Old hand Caddick wins battle with Collingwood

    IT was Andrew Caddick, rather than the centrally-contracted Paul Collingwood, who yesterday staked a claim for a place in the England Test squad to be named today. Caddick has been a regular tormentor of Durham and he removed four batsmen, including Collingwood

  • England role renewed but Boro still the priority

    STEVE McCLAREN last night maintained his coaching stint with England at Euro 2004 won't undermine Middlesbrough's maiden European campaign next season. The Carling Cup-winning boss yesterday answered England's distress call when he agreed to reprise the

  • Plenty on the menu for McClaren and Smith

    MIDDLESBROUGH manager Steve McClaren took mentor Jim Smith for dinner last night amid the furore over the former Newcastle boss's future at Portsmouth. Smith is at the centre of bitter recriminations between Pompey boss Harry Redknapp and chairman Milan

  • England role renewed but Boro still the priority

    STEVE McCLAREN last night maintained his coaching stint with England at Euro 2004 won't undermine Middlesbrough's maiden European campaign next season. The Carling Cup-winning boss yesterday answered England's distress call when he agreed to reprise the

  • At Your Service: Moving with the times

    Sue Giles, vicar of Holy Trinity Church in Stockton, was one of the first women to be ordained ten years ago. LIKE the At Your Service column itself, the Church of England is marking a tenth anniversary - exactly a decade since the first women were ordained

  • Cats with work to do after Johnson strike

    True to form, Sunderland will have to do things the hard way if they are going to make it into the First Division play-off final on Monday night. The Black Cats will need to claw back a one-goal deficit at the Stadium of Light after losing 3-2 to Crystal

  • Russell in Quakers switch

    RELEASED Middlesbrough goalkeeper Sam Russell has agreed to join Darlington on a free transfer. But the switch will not be finalised until Quakers' financial future has been resolved. The 21-year-old has verbally agreed a one-year deal. Despite the club's

  • Testing time ahead in works regeneration plan

    CRUCIAL months are ahead for a former cement works site which could be turned into a national renewable energy centre. Drilling is due to start in July at the former Lafarge plant, in Eastgate, County Durham, where hot rocks discovered deep underground

  • Old hand Caddick wins battle with Collingwood

    IT was Andrew Caddick, rather than the centrally-contracted Paul Collingwood, who yesterday staked a claim for a place in the England Test squad to be named today. Caddick has been a regular tormentor of Durham and he removed four batsmen, including Collingwood

  • Monkey's heartbreak as family stolen

    A FAMILY of tiny monkeys was stolen from a North-East home yesterday. But the thieves left the mother behind and it is feared the distraught animal may die of a broken heart. Five marmosets - the father and four youngsters - were taken from an enclosure

  • Rail museum gets it write with launch of website

    A MUSEUM has launched a website to celebrate 200 years of the railways and to get people interested in writing. The National Railway Museum (NRM), in York, has come up with its own version of the three 'R's - reading, writing and railways - as part of

  • Hartlepool United's play-off record

    It's fair to say that Hartlepool United's play-off record is not the greatest. In six games, two draws is the best they have managed. Skipper Micky Barron has been part of the team on each occasion and, ahead of today's game with Bristol City, he reviewed

  • Man injured in warehouse accident

    A WAREHOUSE worker suffered serious spinal injuries after a vehicle fell on him yesterday. The accident happened at about 8.45am, at Midland Steel Traders, a specialist distributor of mining equipment, in Birtley, near Chester-le-Street, County Durham

  • Football hero helps pupils reach their goal

    FOOTBALL legend Peter Beardsley has given youngsters a team talk to help them achieve their goals. The former Newcastle and England star visited Lord Lawson of Beamish School, in Birtley, near Chester-le-Street. He met year 11 pupils who were about to