A CARE worker had sex with a 14-year-old disabled girl he was entrusted to look after, a court heard yesterday. Jamie Craggs, 23, worked at a North-East residential home when he preyed on the vulnerable youngster, who suffers from a muscle-wasting disease
The Apprentice (BBC2) Taggart (ITV1) Week five and Sir Alan Sugar must be getting worried. None of the would-be entrepreneurs being tested in The Apprentice are showing much sign of business acumen. They've proved a shambolic bunch during previous tasks
THE days when gendarmes patrolled the streets of a North-East village will be recalled in a book to be published before the month's out. Named after the Queen of the Belgians, Elisabethville itself became Little Belgium - a colony of 6,000 people, of
IN the end then, not a vintage Six Nations but an intriguing one nonetheless. There were the usual winners and losers although, bizarrely, the losers proved to be one of the biggest winners and the eventual champions still finished the tournament with
DARLINGTON'S play-off hopes may be hanging by a thread but, with tonight's transfer deadline looming, manager David Hodgson is preparing for one final assault on League Two. While many fans have written off a top-seven finish after Saturday's demoralising
England's very own ring of fire burnt India on the final day at the Wankhede Stadium to seal a share of the Test series. Andrew Flintoff's patched-up side won by 212 runs after one-and-a-quarter hours of mayhem inspired by a lunchtime singsong. The match
Chancellor Brown's Budget had very little to do with fiscal policies and everything to do with squaring up to David Cameron for the election encounter to come. Chris Lloyd sums up yesterday's political punch-up. TRADITIONALLY, a budget is about setting
BUSINESS leaders are supporting a campaign to bring top-class international cricket to the North. The North East Chamber of Commerce's Durham committee, which has 700 members, has backed Durham County Cricket Club's Sign The Bat appeal. The club launched
MOUNTAINEER Doug Scott has dropped in on a Darlington school. Mr Scott visited Hummersknott School and Language College to meet 40 students and five staff who are planning an expedition to the Himalayas in February 2007. Mr Scott visited the school and
A GROUP set up to help ease tensions between travellers and Teesdale residents is hoping for a "peaceful summer". The Travellers Working Group met recently to discuss arrangements ahead of the forthcoming Appleby Fair. The horse fair, which is held in
A County Durham school that has been ranked as the area's top priority for rebuilding has been issued with a "notice to improve" following an inspection by education watchdog Ofsted. Inspectors found that Seaham School of Technology requires "significant
STUDENTS at Polam Hall School are bringing a classic 1980s comedy back to life in a stage show starting tonight. The Little Shop of Horrors show starts at 7.30pm in the Darlington school's Liddiard Hall, with performances at the same time tomorrow and
A BADGER almost decapitated itself in a desperate bid to escape after being caught illegally in a wire snare. Animal welfare officers say it may have suffered an agonising death stretching over several days. RSPCA inspector Mark Gent last night pleaded
STUDENTS at Polam Hall School are bringing a classic 1980s comedy back to life in a stage show starting tonight. The Little Shop of Horrors show starts at 7.30pm in the Darlington school's Liddiard Hall, with performances at the same time tomorrw and
TWO teenagers were yesterday acquitted of attempted burglary when they appeared before magistrates in Newton Aycliffe. Jamie Dann Bradley, 18, of Burnhope, in Newton Aycliffe, and a 16-year-old boy, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, had denied
THE village bobby will soon be back on the beat in North Yorkshire communities. Police in Richmondshire have announced what is described as a major expansion of the neighbourhood policing system. From the beginning of next month, each district ward will
THE funeral of a North-East council's deputy leader will be held on Monday in his home village. The service for Don Ross will be at 2.15pm in St Edmund's Church, Bearpark, near Durham City, and will be followed by private cremation. Councilllor Ross,
A TEENAGER breached an anti-social behaviour order (Asbo) just 12 days before it expired. Zara Jane Hawkins, now 19, was made the subject of the two-year order by South Durham magistrates in July 2003. Conditions were imposed restricting her behaviour
YOUNG people living near an area with one of the highest rates of teenage pregnancy in the Durham Dales area are being offered confidential sexual health information and advice as part of a three month pilot scheme. The project, named SHOW (Sexual Health
THE district auditor has rejected a challenge to call in Sunderland City Council's accounts following a row over its parking scheme. The decision comes in response to an objection by Neil Herron that money raised from penalty charge notices which were
STAFF and pupils at Durham School raised more than £600 for Scope during a non-uniform day. They also held a bring-and-buy sale and collection for the charity, which is close to the heart of the junior department's head of games, Bill Parker. Mr Parker's
STAFF and pupils at Durham School raised more than £600 for Scope during a non-uniform day. They also held a bring-and-buy sale and collection for the charity, which is close to the heart of the junior department's head of games, Bill Parker. Mr Parker's
A TENNIS racket appeal has been launched to make the sport more accessible in disadvantaged areas. Teesside High School, in Eaglescliffe, has become the first school in the region to sign up to an initiative to get more youngsters playing tennis. The
SHOCKED staff at a recycling plant were evacuated when one of them found a live grenade among rubbish. It is believed a member of the public may have left the grenade with recyclable materials for collection. Forty workers were evacuated from the Sita
A Victorian hearse crashed into a car and a set of traffic lights when a horse bolted. The carriage was waiting outside church during a funeral when one of the two horses shook off its bit. It ran off down a main street pulling the hearse behind it, brushed
A MAN caught in breach of his anti-social behaviour order (Asbo) for the fifth time has been jailed. David Harland, 35, was sentenced to seven days in prison after entering an exclusion zone covered by the order. Guisborough magistrates heard Harland,
STEPS have been taken to prevent illegal dumping at an allotment site on Teesside. Steel gates have been erected to try to prevent unauthorised access to an approach road at the rear of Bruntoft Avenue, in Hartlepool, and between 25 and 30 large roadside
A £2M scheme providing hundreds of disadvantaged children with free pre-school learning is to be piloted in east Durham. Durham County Council's Sure Start project has been chosen to run the scheme over the next two years. The council is one of 16 local
Businessmen from Down Under will soon be enjoying food straight from the North of England. Award-winning Thirsk cheesemakers Shepherd's Purse, of Thirsk, North Yorkshire, have landed a contract from Australian airline Qantas. The long-distance carrier
PLAY areas for youngsters across the Hambleton district are to benefit from £200,000 in lottery cash. The money has been ring-fenced by the Big Lottery fund for children's play in the district - if not used, it will go back into general funds. So now
MILLIONS of pounds will soon be up for grabs to community groups across Sedgefield borough to improve their neighbourhood. Sedgefield Borough Council has set aside £5m from the sale of land to housing developers to create a Local Improvement Programme
PIPE builders at one of Britain's oldest organ companies fear they could be driven out of business by new legislation. Organ builders and restorers Harrison and Harrison, of Meadowfield, Durham, are concerned that an EU directive on hazardous substances
A SCHOOL football programme has received accreditation from the country's highest professional governing body. Teesdale Comprehensive, Barnard Castle, received the coveted Football Association's Charter Status in recognition of development and provision
ELECTED MAYORS: WHO would have thought that Councillor Frank Robson (the mayor's husband) would leap to the defence of the current undemocratic system? (HAS, Mar 13). After all, the system ultimately results in a politically biased man (council leader
A BID to create six football pitches on green belt land has been shown the red card by objectors. Knaresborough Celtic Football Club wants to create the pitches on land used for farming, at Thistle Hill, Knaresborough. The plan is being opposed by Follifoot
British hostage Norman Kember and two colleagues have been freed in Iraq. Kember, 74, from north-west London, was seized in Baghdad with two Canadians and an American in November. Canadians James Loney and Harmeet Singh Sooden were also freed in the operation
CONMEN posing as water company employees have stolen cash from elderly residents. Police say there have been six distraction burglaries in the York area in recent days. Men claiming to be from the water company have used a variety of excuses to gain entry
CONVICTED kerb crawlers could be forced to attend atonement classes by courts in the region. Just as courts and police in other parts of the country offer drink-drivers 16-hour courses aimed at stopping re-offending, the Home Office will be asked to back
NINE teams of students from across Tyne and Wear will tonight present their business ideas to a panel of judges in a version of TV show Dragon's Den. The school pupils will present a business plan to the panel as part of the Young Enterprise North-East's
BINMEN are going to be forced to train as grave-diggers and gardeners to cut costs. And grave-diggers may be put to work clearing up dog dirt if the "multi-skilling" scheme goes ahead. More than 100 Darlington Borough Council workers will be affected
MICHELIN-starred chef Jeff Baker is opening a restaurant in North Yorkshire. Mr Baker and business partner Neil Nugent will today launch J Baker's Bistro Moderne, in Fossgate, York. The bistro is based in the premises formally occupied by the Rish restaurant
CONSTRUCTION company and housebuilder Kier Group yesterday announced an increase in half-year pre-tax profits of almost 20 per cent. The company, which has an office in West Cornforth, County Durham, said pre-tax profits rose 19.8 per cent to £28.4m for
PERSIAN POINT (4.55) looks the business in Ayr's Alexander Morton Handicap Chase. Sandy Forster's in-form chestnut crossed the winning line like a fresh horse when picking a similar Catterick race 15 days ago, prompting the possibility of a follow-up
MALE runners are being encouraged to take part in a charity event at one of the region's most historic sites next month. The 10K Cancer Research UK race is being held at Fountains Abbey, near Ripon, North Yorkshire, on Sunday, April 2, but organisers
GORDON BROWN pledged yesterday to make state schools as good as private schools with a £34bn spending spree to open a clear divide between Labour and a Tory party planning tax cuts. In his tenth Budget speech, the Chancellor cheered up Labour MPs engulfed
PIPE DOWN: GAS pipes? I don't believe it, as one TV character would say. In this technological age Darlington Borough Council cannot accurately locate the depth of a simple gas main, not even with a pick and shovel (Echo, Mar 15). This could be the start
AN imminent move in interest rates disappeared off the radar yesterday after minutes showed eight of the nine Bank of England policymakers voted for no change earlier this month. Stephen Nickell was the only member of the Bank's Monetary Policy Committee
TWO teenagers suffered serious head injuries yesterday when the car they were travelling in hit a stone wall and flipped over. The accident took place on the A67 in Piercebridge, near Darlington. A 19-year-old male, from Stockton, had to be cut free from
A PUB operator has been fined by magistrates after admitting that one of its bars sold suspect vodka contaminated with a harmful substance. Teesside Magistrates' Court heard that Trading Standards officers carried out a routine inspection at The Garrick
PERSIAN POINT (4.55) looks the business in Ayr's Alexander Morton Handicap Chase. Sandy Forster's in-form chestnut crossed the winning line like a fresh horse when picking a similar Catterick race 15 days ago, prompting the possibility of a follow-up
ALL three main political parties want to colour themselves green, but yesterday's Budget shows how difficult that will be. Gordon Brown made much of, belatedly, giving pensioners free national bus travel. If he had been really green, it would have been
THOMAS Butler yesterday made a successful return to action, after two months on the sidelines. The winger appeared for an hour in Hartlepool United's 3-2 reserve defeat to Sheffield United, his first action since further damaging a hamstring in the League
Up to 700 jobs may be cut over the next three years at the County Durham and Darlington Acute Hospitals NHS Trust, it emerged today. Hospital bosses blamed changes across the NHS nationally - including the use of the private sector to carry out NHS work
A SUMMER of dramatic change at the Stadium of Light could do more harm than good to Sunderland's chances of bouncing back to the Premiership at the first attempt, according to Tommy Miller. The Black Cats' midfielder was one of 12 signings made by Mick
AN ANGRY Glenn Roeder last night accused Chelsea midfielder Shaun Wright-Phillips of diving to get Robbie Elliott dismissed in the dying seconds of Newcastle's FA Cup quarter-final defeat at Stamford Bridge. While John Terry's fourth-minute winner was
BLUES band Nine Below Zero will play a fundraising gig at Carmel College next week. The event will raise money towards buying another school minibus. The gig takes place on Saturday, April 1, at the Carmel Rhythm Club in the college's John Caden Hall.
YOUNG footballers have been given a place to hone their skills after a council pitched in. Youngsters on Darlington's Red Hall estate have secured a £3,000 grant to level off a playing area to enable a football pitch to be marked out. Red Hall Community
THREE times as many people in Darlington could benefit from a leisure discount system. Darlington Borough Council has revamped its concessions policy to make various activities available to more people. From April, people eligible for the council's Live
A CAMPAIGN is under way to find a new location for the historic cattle market in Darlington. Councillors in the town's Park East ward are calling for public backing in their attempt to re-locate the busy mart on Clifton Road. Restrictions on movement
THE leader of a gang of youths who plague shoppers and store staff has been banned from a town centre. Brian Shoulder is also subject to eight other restrictions as part of an anti-social behaviour order imposed yesterday. North Durham magistrates made
A County Durham school that has been ranked as the area's top priority for rebuilding has been issued with a "notice to improve" following an inspection by education watchdog Ofsted. Inspectors found that Seaham School of Technology requires "significant
SOME of the country's hottest acts are to play at the North-East's biggest annual festival, it was announced yesterday. The line-up for Orange Evolution includes Sunderland-band The Futureheads along with Hard-Fi, Graham Coxon and The Go! Team. The urban
A CAMPAIGN is under way to find a new location for Darlington's cattle market. Councillors in the town's Park East ward are calling for public backing in their attempt to re-locate the busy Clifton Road market. Restrictions on movement of cattle over
NORTHUMBRIA police has become the latest force to warn motorists to be on their guard against the theft of satellite navigation systems. It said it had recorded a recent increase in the number of thefts of the devices and said simple steps could be taken
A MOBILE office has been launched to bring council services closer to residents. The £82,000 one-stop shop was launched by Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council on Monday. The bus will make half-day stops at nine locations across the borough. With modern
TWO friends from Delves Lane, in Consett, have taken the first steps towards an Army career after enlisting together. The soldiers were presented with their attestation oaths of allegiance certificates after signing up to begin their careers in the Royal
THE final piece of land designated for housing in a Middlesbrough suburb has been released for building, despite residents' objections. Developers will now be asked to tender for the three- hectare site off Longbridge, Coulby Newham, after regeneration
THE Royal Shakespeare Company presents an adaptation of The Canterbury Tales, by Geoffrey Chaucer, at the Seaburn Centre, in Sunderland, this week. Set among pilgrims on their way to Canterbury, the production runs until Saturday. It is in two parts,
BINMEN are going to be forced to train as grave-diggers and gardeners to cut costs. And grave-diggers may be put to work clearing up dog dirt if the "multi-skilling" scheme goes ahead. More than 100 Darlington Borough Council workers will be affected
A HOUSING plan for a city centre's "green oasis" has sparked widespread opposition. Campaigners against homes on the site say it is the only significant green site left in central Ripon. The plans, for Sharow View, Allhallowgate, by Leeds Federated Housing
Children studying the days of Henry VIII, Elizabeth I and other figures of the Tudor era are to have a new service provided. An education programme designed for pupils aged from seven to 11 is being launched on April 24 by the Bowes Museum, in Barnard
VILLAGE floral displays have been wrecked days before judges were to give their verdict in a Yorkshire in Bloom contest. Locals had spent hours filling tubs with flowers at Spofforth, near Harrogate, aiming to ensure the community would pick up another
STUDENTS are preparing to deliver their verdicts on the quality of education they are receiving at a comprehensive school, as part of a pioneering scheme. Longfield School, in Darlington, is running a students' survey offering youngsters the chance to
Horse riders won the right yesterday to go on using a track on quiet farmland instead of switching to a dangerous road. A planning inspector decided the route of more than a mile that they have ridden along for years at Lartington, near Barnard Castle
A WORLD arts and culture festival is being held in Middlesbrough to reflect the growing cosmopolitan complexion of Teesside. Families were entertained by music and performances from a mix of new residents with roots in Zimbabwe, the Ivory Coast, Iraq,
POLICE hunting the killers of a 31-year-old man earlier this month are urging anyone in the area at the time of the murder to contact them. Detectives hope to hear from everyone who was in the Cleadon Hills Road area of South Tyneside between 4pm and
A PAINTING depicting a 17th Century auction will go under the hammer next month. A Dutch Auction was painted by Antoon Francois Heyligers. The work is expected to fetch between £4,000 and £6,000 at Tennants, in Leyburn, North Yorkshire, at the auction
This week, Alan Shearer mused that, in football, you "don't always get what you deserve". Last night, as Newcastle lost 1-0 at Chelsea to crash out of the FA Cup, his words adopted a poignantly prophetic tone. Despite the plethora of points that separate
SOME bright spark at school had the inspired idea of telling the kids they could come dressed as literary characters to celebrate World Book Day. My wife happened to mention it as she was going out of the door on her way to work, leaving me to get the
PLANS for a development expected to generate £3m for a North-East racecourse have been approved. The news comes days before one of the most important events in the history of Redcar Racecourse as it prepares to stage the £100,000 William Hill Lincoln
THE owner of an exotic pet shop has seen turnover drop by up to ten per cent after bird flu hit the headlines. Russell Mills, who runs John's Pet Centre in Middlesbrough, said he was seeing a drop in the demand and supply of larger exotic birds such as
GORDON BROWN pledged yesterday to make state schools as good as private schools with a £34bn spending spree to open a clear divide between Labour and a Tory party planning tax cuts. In his tenth Budget speech, the Chancellor cheered up Labour MPs engulfed
A COUNCIL is to begin formal consultations on the closure of three old people's homes amid claims that councillors had already killed off the plan. But the eight members of Durham County Council's cabinet agreed to begin the procedures - needed to comply
REPAIRS to the roof of a huge museum are proving less costly than expected - thanks to the skill of craftsmen who built it over a century ago. When the lead was stripped away it was found that most of the timbers were still in perfect condition and will
'Who's your friend?" I was asked, when - in my mid-thirties - I attended a social function at our local community centre. Friend? I thought. What friend? I'd come to the community centre with my mum. She'd moved nearer to us when my father became seriously
A POLICE force in the North-East has experienced a rise in the number of its female recruits. On average, women officers make up 21 per cent of police forces across the UK. The figure for Cleveland Police already stood at 20 per cent before the September
THE axe has finally fallen on a North-East maternity unit despite a long running campaign to keep the vital service alive. Langbaurgh Primary Care Trust (PCT) first sounded the alarm bells in June last year after discovering that only one in eight eligible
Kelly Sotherton grabbed England's fourth athletics gold in Melbourne in the heptathlon but high-jumper Martyn Bernard complained he had been ''cheated'' out of a fifth. Sotherton was far from happy with her performance but justified her favourite tag
RAIL firm Grand Central was finally on the launchpad today after rail chiefs approved its new train services from the North-East to London. The Office of Rail Regulation (ORR) effectively rubber stamped the companys plans to operate three new daily services
CHEMICALS and materials group Johnson Matthey yesterday said it expected to see good growth in earnings for the year. In a pre-close trading statement, the company, which employs 450 people in the region, said trading in the second half was in line with
STEVE McCLAREN has drawn on his experiences of Manchester United's treble triumph of 1999 in an attempt to avoid a fruitless end to Middlesbrough's assault on a cup double. Boro head to Charlton tonight with McClaren facing an 'enormous selection headache
A UNIVERSITY spin-out company has secured funding worth more than £800,000 to expand. Durham Pipeline Technology, which designs and develops technology for the pipeline industry, has raised £389,000 and secured a further £450,000 from two regional venture
THE family of a disabled man who was beaten to death in an alley in an apparently motiveless attack have begged his killer to tell them why he did it. Stephen Humphries, 53, was so fiercely beaten in the attack, which took place behind the Nags Head pub
DAREDEVIL doctor Alistair Sutcliffe waved goodbye to his patients yesterday as he set off for the roof of the world. The 41-year-old GP set off from his home in Whitby, North Yorkshire, bound for the foothills of the Himalayas and his biggest mountaineering
BUSINESS software group Sage made its first move into the Nordic market yesterday with a multi-million pound deal to buy Norwegian firm Visma. Newcastle-based Sage said it had agreed to buy the software and accounting firm for £334m, marking its biggest
SOME bright spark at school had the inspired idea of telling the kids they could come dressed as literary characters to celebrate World Book Day. My wife happened to mention it as she was going out of the door on her way to work, leaving me to get the
A habitual drug user has been jailed for eight months for stealing computer equipment linked to the man leading the inquiry into the death of Princess Diana. Heroin addict David Forster, 28, pleaded guilty to magistrates in Newcastle before burgling an
Apart from being an adorable family pet, Yogi the chocolate Labrador is smarter than the average dog. . . and a lot more useful to his owner. Health Editor Barry Nelson meets the North-East's latest TV celebrities. DANIEL George still can't believe
In her book My Mother Is A Troll, Helen Limon takes a light-hearted look at how teenage girls perceive their mums. As Mothers' Day approaches, she tells Women's Editor Sarah Foster about her colourful life - and why she doesn't think of herself as a writer
GOOD luck to headteacher David Triggs who is going back to basics to try to turn things around at a troubled North-East school. Mr Triggs has the unenviable task of getting Middlebrough's Unity City Academy on an even keel - a facility that has received
Having worked as a transport manager for 30 years, Allan Robinson now appears in ballets. He tells Women's Editor Sarah Foster why he's swapped his overalls for tights. MEETING Allan Robinson at his Newcastle home, it's clear that he's no wallflower
