Archive

  • On TV

    Whatever Love Means (ITV1) OUR royal family has clearly never seen the movie Love Story but that told us exactly what love means - never having to say you're sorry. But I hope someone has the decency to apologise to our future king and queen for turning

  • Funds for repair work offered

    BUSINESS owners and householders in a conservation area can bid for money to repair the outside of traditional buildings. The Northgate Partnership Scheme has been set up to restore damaged architecture around the Northgate area of Darlington. English

  • Park-and-ride scheme scrapped after land survey

    PARK-and-ride schemes in the Harrogate area will play an important role in future transport plans - but one in Ripon has had to be scrapped. The Ripon site had already been earmarked next to the city centre link road. But a land survey of the site has

  • Recycling scheme boost to charity

    HOUSEHOLDERS who recycle their waste have made a big difference to a children's charity. For every tonne of waste collected from the kerbside boxes in Durham City, Chester-le-Street, Easington and Sedgefield, operators Premier Waste Management donates

  • People warned of belated Christmas present scam

    PEOPLE across Darlington are being warned not to be taken in by the promise of a belated Christmas present. Letters have been sent to hundreds of houses across the town, claiming the recipient has won a digital camera. However, to claim the supposed prize

  • Church to use school for its services

    A CONGREGATION is saying a sad farewell to a 90-year-old church which is crumbling away, despite more than £1m being spent on its upkeep. St Mary's Anglican Parish Church, in the Cold Bath Road area of Harrogate, will close after a service on Sunday,

  • Snow chaos and more to come

    THE first widespread snow of the winter continued to cause chaos across the region yesterday, and people are being warned there is more to come. Forecasters were predicting treacherous driving conditions last night and this morning, with freezing fog

  • Getting a handle on shopping in sales

    SHOPPERS laden with bags during the Christmas sales in Middlesbrough are getting a helping hand from an ingenious device. Shopping bag handles, which clip bags together, will be available during The Mall Monster Sale to help make life easier for customers

  • Police to copy red light zone

    A TOWN'S pioneering approach to tackling kerb crawlers and street prostitution is to be extended nationally in the new year. The Government views Middlesbrough's "zero tolerance approach" as a model for towns and cities nationally. The move will almost

  • Online gaming turns into a serious business

    THE flotations brought back memories of the dotcom boom and the stakes could not have been higher in the City. Online gaming companies rushed to the London market over the summer with valuations running into hundreds of millions of pounds, testing the

  • Pupils keen to help save lives

    PUPILS at a North-East school gave blood to support a cause close to their hearts. Among the boys from Barnard Castle School who donated to the National Blood Service appeal, two had special reasons for taking part. Ryan Grant and Jack Frater's relatives

  • Heritage is top priority, say city residents

    PROTECTING Durham City's heritage is one of the most important issues for residents, according to a major consultation over future development. The Durham City Vision consultation found that 39 per cent of respondents thought that safeguarding the city's

  • Sex discrimination claims over store redundancy pay

    WORKERS who will lose their jobs at a North-East finance centre are being used as an example by union officials to highlight allegations of sexual discrimination on the 30th anniversary of landmark equality laws. The GMB union says that female employees

  • Councillors to vote on plan for shopping development

    COUNCILLORS are due to vote on a controversial town centre shopping development next week. A planning application for a 3,700sq metre development, off Catterick Road, Colburn, has been resubmitted to the district council. An earlier planning application

  • Chance to enjoy reservoir walks

    A WATER company is urging residents wanting to shed a few pounds after the festive period to take a walk around its reservoirs. In an attempt to promote the routes, Yorkshire Water has produced a limited edition calendar featuring photographs of countryside

  • Libraries to host learning sessions

    The public will be able to visit two North-East libraries to seek advice on learning and work next month. Two information assistants will be on hand at the libraries. Kate McCubbin, learning development librarian, said: "If you are an adult over 20 years

  • 16-year-old missing girl back home

    A TEENAGER who went missing while on a shopping errand on Christmas Day returned home yesterday. Two dozen police were involved in house-to-house inquiries on Boxing Day while streets, alleyways and yards around the Middlesbrough home of Sanam Drees were

  • Horror as girl, six, snatched from bath

    DETECTIVES were last night hunting a sex attacker who snatched a six-year-old girl from the bath and subjected her to a terrifying assault before leaving her wandering the streets naked. Police said the girl, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was

  • Here's how the competition judge viewed schools' efforts

    WHAT judge Greg Johnson, of County Durham Development Company, thought of the schools' efforts: BELMONT COMPREHENSIVE SCHOOL: I liked the creative and original idea of presenting the report through the form of a building, as this provides the opportunity

  • Quiet Christmas belies crews' growing workload

    LIFEBOATMEN were keeping their fingers crossed yesterday as predictions of one of their busiest periods of the year looked increasingly likely to be proved wrong. Volunteer crews along the North-East coastline had been bracing themselves for one of their

  • 'How I learned the art of winging it'

    When offered the chance of learning to fly, Julie Breen jumped at it - and found herself in at the deep end. I'M one thousand feet above the North Yorkshire town of Stokesley, looking down at the miniature shops and striped market stall covers, as tiny

  • The legendary Green man

    Robson Green is one of television's most hard-working and successful performers - but he has never forgiven the teacher who ridiculed his acting ambition, he tells Steve Pratt. Robson Green has never forgotten - or forgiven, by the sound of it - the teacher

  • Motivator joy shortlived

    Racing always needs its superstars and in June most of us thought we had found one when Motivator tore around Tattenham Corner on his way to winning the Vodafone Derby by five lengths. Leading home a one-two for his sire Montjeu, his margin over runner-up

  • Quakers hard work key as Barnet frozn out

    After their previous home game was lost to the weather Darlington were determined to ensure last night's game with Barnet got the go-ahead and their hard work proved worthwhile. Goals from Guylain Ndumbu-Nsungu and Simon Johnson sealed a deserved victory

  • Quakers earn their reward

    After their previous home game was lost to the weather Darlington were determined to ensure last night's game with Barnet got the go-ahead and their hard work proved worthwhile. Goals from Guylain Ndumbu-Nsungu and Simon Johnson sealed a deserved victory

  • Pupils win grant to study drug-use in sport

    STUDENTS at a North-East school are to explore the serious issue of drugs in sport after securing a grant from The Royal Society. Pupils at Barnard Castle School, in County Durham, will stage a conference thanks to a £2,500 grant provided by an organisation

  • Dad At Large

    IT was just after 7am on Christmas morning and the kids couldn't wait to get stuck into the small mountain of presents awaiting them on the lounge floor. But before the frenzy of unwrapping began, Mum told them to sit down and handed each of them an envelope

  • Site visit urged in stables wrangle

    A NORTH-EAST councillor is hoping to persuade his fellow members to inspect the site of a controversial horse training school. Raymond Gibson, councillor for Evenwood, in County Durham, is to ask members of Teesdale District Council's planning committee

  • Here's how the competition judge viewed schools' efforts

    WHAT judge Greg Johnson, of County Durham Development Company, thought of the schools' efforts: BELMONT COMPREHENSIVE SCHOOL: I liked the creative and original idea of presenting the report through the form of a building, as this provides the opportunity

  • Nation to copy red light policing

    A TOWN'S pioneering approach to tackling kerb crawlers and street prostitution is to be extended nationally in the new year. The Government views Middlesbrough's "zero tolerance approach" as a model for towns and cities nationally. The move will almost

  • Decision still due on killing appeal

    A DECISION has still not been made on a potential attempt to push for an increase in the sentence given to a teenager's killer. Prosecutors have spent more than three weeks considering an appeal in the case of Paul Knappett. Knappett was this month jailed

  • Lennox making steady progress

    A BABY recovering from a life-saving operation has spent his first Christmas in hospital. But six-month-old Lennox Nicholson is recovering well and is starting to eat his first solid foods. Doctors are happy with the progress of Lennox, who is recovering

  • The past present - and the future

    IT was just after 7am on Christmas morning and the kids couldn't wait to get stuck into the small mountain of presents awaiting them on the lounge floor. But before the frenzy of unwrapping began, Mum told them to sit down and handed each of them an envelope

  • Horse trainer gets an unexpected delivery over christmas

    A HORSE trainer is celebrating the arrival of an unexpected Christmas present. Debbie Hutchinson, of Cropton, near Kirkbymoorside, was surprised to discover her pony, Jane, was due to give birth in the middle of winter. Experts say this is almost unheard

  • Searching roots of family tree

    A TASTER course in searching for family history will be held in the Clayport Library, Durham City, at 2pm on Saturday, January 7. Tutor Anne Hinchliffe, who has worked in family history for 30 years, will explain how to begin a search, with hints on the

  • Four cars torched in attack by vandals

    VANDALS set alight four cars in an east Durham street, causing thousands of pounds worth of damage. Arsonists attacked the vehicles in Tower Court, Easington Lane, shorty after midnight on Boxing Day. Shocked residents woke to the sound of the burning

  • Grandmother's luck changes

    A COUNTY Durham grandmother's luck changed when she entered a prize draw at a Chester-le-Street shopping complex. Ann Finley, of Glenbar, South Pelaw, said she had never won anything until she entered the competition at the InShops mall in the town. But

  • Fire in cables forces families from homes

    FIVE families were evacuated from their east Durham homes when underground cables caught fire on Tuesday night. A resident in Dalton Heights, near Seaham, raised the alarm after a popping sound was heard beneath a metal cover in the street. The cover

  • Support for quitters

    DARLINGTON Borough Council is offering all of its employees help to begin their New Year's resolution to stop smoking. The authority is working with Darlington Primary Care Trust to offer advice to smokers about kicking the habit. There are plans to run

  • Jack overshadows his father at kite sport

    TEN-YEAR-OLD Jack Daykin has swiftly overtaken his father in the sport of kite land boarding. Jack is the uncrowned king of the sport, in which the kite acts as a sail, transferring windpower to the wheels of a kite-board. By manipulating the kite, a

  • Tora steps into business

    LIFE after university could be a walkover for design graduate Tora Haslum. The 27-year-old, who graduated from the University of Tees with a BA (Hons) in industrial design, has been in discussions with two manufacturers about her design for a universal

  • Memorial tournament postponed

    AN annual football tournament in memory of a murdered player could be switched to the summer after being called off yesterday due to bad weather. With six inches of snow covering the pitch at Coundon recreation ground overnight, organisers of the Gary

  • Constant wrong numbers are the pits, say mechanics

    A GARAGE on Teesside can mend cars, but emptying bins, collecting rubbish and sorting out neighbours from hell is not within its expertise. Mechanics at Volmech, Thornaby, are receiving up to 35 calls a day meant for Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council

  • Student sues her father over fees

    A UNIVERSITY student has successfully sued her father to make him contribute towards her tuition fees and living costs in a move that could prompt more children to take legal action. Amy Armstrong, 18, argued that her father, Paul Armstrong, should pay

  • Work to start on estate to replace asbestos houses

    HOMEOWNERS who lost their houses when a council revealed they were riddled with asbestos can look forward to a brighter year as work starts on a new housing development. Work is due to start in the coming months on the site of the former St Andrew's housing

  • Frustration for Cats' fans

    Referee Phil Dowd believed he had 'no choice' but to postpone Sunderland's game at Blackburn last night - despite the decision coming when most of the Black Cats' fans had arrived at Ewood Park, writes JACK LESLIE. The Wearside faithful were forced to

  • New Years' resolution to stay just the same

    WHILE countless resolutions are being made to change in the New Year, Phil Robinson is determined to stay as he is. Once weighing in at 20 stone, the former steelworker shed six stone, and 14 inches from his waist before Christmas. He steadfastly refused

  • Lesley has her own good cause

    AN Avon lady who has given thousands of pounds to many different good causes has now decided that charity must begin at home. Since she started selling cosmetics in 1991, Lesley Davy, from Bishop Auckland, has donated at least £10,000 from her profits

  • Community centre needs to expand due to popularity

    A centre that fulfilled a 50-year-old dream for residents is to be expanded. The Jubilee Fields Community Centre, in Shildon, has proved so popular since it was built in 2001 that volunteers are now seeking planning permission for a two storey extension

  • Job losses mounting - PD Ports offers hope

    Julia Breen looks at what made the headlines in the North-East in 2005. In January, Black and Decker announced it was making a small number of redudancies at its Spennymoor, County Durham, factory. The company shed more than 1,000 jobs there in 2002,

  • Bird club offered a prime look-out

    A HOMELESS bird club could have a new roost in the coming year. Teesmouth Bird Club used to use a First World War coastal look-out point. The club's recorded sightings from its high Hartlepool viewpoint led to it being identified as one of the best sites

  • Couple box clever to win prize in recycling contest

    MARY and David Wigham's green habits brought them an extra bonus this Christmas. The couple, who live on the Ashbrooke Estate at Shotton Colliery scooped a luxury hamper in an environmental draw organised by Easington District Council. The authority staged

  • Horror as girl, six, snatched from bath

    DETECTIVES were last night hunting a sex attacker who snatched a six-year-old girl from the bath and subjected her to a terrifying assault before leaving her wandering the streets naked. Police said the girl, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was

  • More courses than you can shake a stick at in Ayrshire

    IF there is a greater concentration of golf courses anywhere in the world than on the Ayrshire coast heading north from Robbie Burns' birthplace, I am not aware of it. The Glasgow to Ayr railway line passes 20 of them, notably the stretch where it separates

  • Rescue copter is given name

    A HELICOPTER used in mercy missions across the North has been given a name. The Great North Air Ambulance Service's helicopter has been officially named Guardian of the North. Organisers hope that people will identify with the new name and realise the

  • Solar-powered signs in the spotlight

    DAYLIGHT is often in short supply at this time of year, with heavy skies and wintry weather blocking out the sun. But one local authority is hoping there will be enough bright hours in the day to power road signs and light bus shelters. North Yorkshire

  • Hear all Sides

    BLAIR'S LEGACY WHAT would be the real cost of keeping local councillors if the money spent on hotels, travel, perks etc was included? They have joined the middle and upper classes who have been in a money frenzy since the Thatcher days. For the rest of

  • Aid worker heads for mountain villages despite collapsed lung

    A veteran charity worker is putting his own life on the line to help vulnerable people from the killer cold of a Romanian winter. Rod Jones has set off across the mountains of Transylvania to ensure two lorry loads of warm clothing, medicines and a water

  • School charges to top of the entrepreneurs' league

    THE gap has closed in the race to be named winner of a popular business competition for schools. Enterprising youngsters from ten schools are battling it out over the next nine months in the Future Business Magnates contest to find the entrepreneurs of

  • Bowyer hit with three-match ban

    Newcastle midfielder Lee Bowyer will serve a three-match ban after losing his appeal against his dismissal in the 2-0 Boxing Day defeat at Liverpool. Referee Mark Halsey showed Bowyer a straight red card for a challenge on Xabi Alonso which sparked a

  • Girl's abductor 'extremely dangerous'

    Police investigating reports that a six-year-old girl was abducted from her bath, sexually assaulted then dumped naked in a nearby street said today her paedophile attacker was ''extremely dangerous''. The child said she was taken from her home in North

  • Dutch treatment could benefit Boateng

    YESTERDAY'S postponement at Bolton will be of little benefit to Middlesbrough midfielder George Boateng, but the Dutchman has flown to Holland in a bid to reduce the time he spends on the sidelines. Boro, whose Premiership clash at the Reebok Stadium

  • Three held over microwave cat

    Three men have been arrested following the discovery of a dead cat in a microwave, police said today. The gruesome find was made at a house in the Blue Hall Estate, Stockton, Teesside, on Boxing Day, following a party. Cleveland Police took the female

  • Chaos on roads, but delight on hills as weather closes in

    THE first widespread snow of the winter continued to cause chaos across the region yesterday, and people are being warned there is more to come. Forecasters were predicting treacherous driving conditions last night and this morning, with freezing fog

  • School charges to top of the entrepreneurs' league table

    THE gap has closed in the race to be named winner of a popular business competition for schools. Enterprising youngsters from ten schools are battling it out over the next nine months in the Future Business Magnates contest to find the entrepreneurs of

  • Big freeze hits premiership matches

    ALL three of the North-East's Premiership clubs fell victim to the big freeze last night. Thousands of fans were left fuming after Newcastle's home match against Charlton was called off at the last minute - despite the St James' Park pitch being judged

  • More courses than you can shake a stick at in Ayrshire

    IF there is a greater concentration of golf courses anywhere in the world than on the Ayrshire coast heading north from Robbie Burns' birthplace, I am not aware of it. The Glasgow to Ayr railway line passes 20 of them, notably the stretch where it separates

  • Job losses mounting - PD Ports offers hope

    In January, Black & Decker announced it was making a small number of redudancies at its Spennymoor, County Durham, factory. The company shed more than 1,000 jobs there in 2002, leaving only 500. In March, Steelmaker Corus, which employs 3,000 people

  • Flahaven keeps his hands warm to freeze Pool out

    AS temperatures plummeted and games were called off across the country, one man in Hartlepool had the warmest hands in the land last night. Southend goalkeeper Darryl Flahaven's one-man show stopped Hartlepool United in their stride and put his side on

  • Ship starting tour

    A WARSHIP that has been adopted by a community will sail into action next month. HMS Bulwark, County Durham's adopted ship, will leave for her first deployment on January 9 when she embarks on a seven-month tour in the Arabian Gulf. The 20,000-tonne amphibious

  • Danger was to public, Souness

    GRAEME Souness admitted he was "deflated" by the postponement of Newcastle's Premiership home game with Charlton, but claimed the decision to call off the fixture was the right one. A combination of referee Mike Dean, the police and Newcastle's chief

  • Dog rescued from disused factory shaft

    ANIMAL welfare officers are seeking to reunite a female Staffordshire bull terrier with its owners after it had to be rescued from an inspection shaft at a disused factory. Staff from Stockton Borough Council's animal welfare services were called to the

  • Dean unhappy at late decision

    REFEREE Mike Dean last night criticised Newcastle United for waiting until 25 minutes before kick-off before calling off their Premiership home game with Charlton. The Wirral official admitted he had been desperate to give the game the go-ahead after

  • Cruel death: kittens saved

    THE kittens of a cat found dead inside a microwave oven on Boxing Day are being nurtured back to health by volunteers. The five, which are less than a month old, were being fed by their mother before its body was discovered in the house at Stockton. Volunteer