Tony Blair today pledged to consider renewed appeals for formal legal pardons for 306 men shot for desertion during the First World War. And he acknowledged that the nature of their deaths continued to cause a great deal of distress and hurt to people
A second 24-hour strike by bus drivers has been suspended after bosses made a new pay offer. Drivers for Arriva North-East in County Durham and Teesside were due to walk out again on Monday in pursuit of pay parity with colleagues at the firm's Northumbria
This week we have a fortified wine with a deep ruby red colour and raisin and dried fruit bouquet. It has a sweet, rich, fruity bouquet and some tannin and balanced acidity. This is a full-bodied wine of 20% alcohol content and a long rich finish. There
BOB MURRAY has confirmed he will be resigning as chairman of Sunderland Football Club on June 30 - paving the way for Niall Quinn's consortium to take over at the Stadium of Light. Murray's decision to step down from the club relegated from the Premiership
Solutions ACROSS 1 Race. R(A+C)E 3 Earth. (d)EARTH 6 Clam. C+L+AM 11 Montana. MO(NT+A)NA 12 Elector. ELECT+OR 13 Holst. HO(L)ST 14 Title-role. T+IT+LE + ROLE 15 Put across. PUT A+CROSS 18 Label. L+ABEL 20 Sport. S+PORT 21 Spare
A MAN has denied he raped and sexually assaulted a six-year-old girl after kidnapping her from her bath. Peter Ivor Viosey, also known as Peter Smith, is accused of snatching the youngster after creeping into her home on December 27. During her ordeal
A MOTHER says a pervert who tried to snatch her daughter must be caught before he strikes again. Her nine-year-old ran off when approached by the man who said her mother had sent him to collect her from school. The little girl's mother is worried other
Cryptic Clues ACROSS 1 Run swiftly about carrying a club (4) 3 Want string removed from the world (5) 6 Shellfish caught by hand before morning (4) 11 Girl collects books on Australia's Head of State (7) 12 Voter to opt for alternative (7)
A FLORAL art exhibition this weekend will help bring a medieval village church up to date. The 12th Century church of St Edmund's, in Edmundbyers, near Derwent Reservoir, will host a three-day flower festival. The event will start on Friday with a preview
A THEATRE group is offering a mysterious evening of intrigue, jealousy and farce. The People's Theatre of Hartlepool will showcase its latest performances over two evenings this week. The three short plays, written and directed by group members, will
A SCHOOL launched its centenary celebrations this week. A party marked the occasion at St Joseph's RC Primary School, in Loftus, as pupils and parents enjoyed a picnic and activities. The Mayor of Redcar and Cleveland, Councillor Mary Ovens, joined in
UNION leaders say a shortage of properly trained senior firefighters is putting lives at risk. The North Yorkshire branch of the Fire Brigades Union (FBU) is warning of possible strike action over the issue. Bob Blackburn, FBU executive council member
ANOTHER North Yorkshire town is to take part in a mass clean-up campaign. Stokesley will next week become the venue for the third such event in Hambleton. Led by the local community safety partnership, rubbish will be cleared, signs fixed, home safety
DOORSTEP traders are being targeted by a campaign that aims to discourage them from calling. Police and the county council are acting after residents' complaints. They have set up a number of "no cold-calling" zones to help protect against doorstep crime
CAMPAIGNERS fighting plans for a sports and leisure centre say common sense has prevailed after it was recommended for refusal. Residents in Ingleby Barwick and Thornaby said they were delighted planning officials recommended an application for a Mister
AN ambitious church and its parish hall are set for major redevelopment. Friends of St Mary's Church, at the top of The Bank, Barnard Castle, and the Parish Hall Association (PHA) are exploring plans to revamp the interior of the church completely and
A club for disabled swimmers is appealing for more adults to take part in its weekly sessions. Durham Otters Swimming club has been running for more than 25 years in Durham City. The charity, run by volunteers, gives disabled adults and children the
BALL games, a paddling pool, wooded walks and music are all on offer at a creche. Paws A While dog creche has opened in Chilton to help workers and people wanting to go away at the weekends. Doreen Reed set up the business when she left the banking trade
A DEMONSTRATION of flowers to be held this weekend will help bring a medieval village church up to date. The 12th Century church of St Edmund's in the village of Edmundbyers, near the Derwent Reservoir, will be the setting for a three-day festival of
ONE of the country's leading auctioneers is coming to the North-East this month to help raise funds for a hospice. Matthew Festing, of Sotheby's, is to host an antiques evening in Durham City on Wednesday, June 28. The event, which will raise money for
YOUNG boozers across South Durham and Darlington could see their drinks turn blue as police bring in litmus tests for alcohol. Under-age drinkers who cause a nuisance in parks and on the streets are being targeted by police in a bid to cut complaints
TWO men will be sentenced next month for their part in a late-night fracaswhen a man was attacked after leaving a nightclub. Stuart Lee Wright, 22, appeared at Teesside Crown Court yesterday, where he denied a charge of actual bodily harm against Victor
AN advice service that gives people guidance on looking after children has moved. The Children's Information Service, run by Hartlepool Borough Council, has moved from Hartlepool Civic Centre to a larger area at the town's central library, in York Road
A BREWERY owner has been given an original musical score in return for paying homage to a Russian composer. Local brewer Theakston funded a tribute piece for Shostakovich at the Swaledale Festival. To mark its first performance, the tribute's original
A NURSERY set to close as part of a restructuring programme has been graded as outstanding during a recent inspection. The Dean Road Nursery School, in Ferryhill, will close in July, with a nursery opening half-a-mile away at Dean Bank Primary School.
A FLAGSHIP sports and leisure centre planned for the heart of Consett has moved a step closer after receiving Government approval. The £25m development passed a significant hurdle when it was granted approved by Government Office for the North East -
TWO schools met this week to share ideas on the best ways to beat bullying. Staff and pupils from Hummersknott School, in Darlington, visited Staindrop School, near Barnard Castle, to learn how students there had successfully run a holiday club aimed
A DRIVER was jailed yesterday after he tried to outrun a police helicopter and failed. Stephen Swainson, 21, abandoned his Vauxhall Corsa after a 70-mile-an-hour police chase through Middlesbrough and Thornaby but the chopper's heat-seeking camera found
THE parents of a Middlesbrough fan stabbed to death in Holland after watching a Uefa cup match last season were due to come face to face with his alleged killer today. Brendan O'Connor died during an altercation in an alleyway outside a bar in Amsterdam
Michael Owen can still be England's main man this summer, despite those who are already writing him off. Owen looked out of sorts against Paraguay but Sven-Goran Eriksson must persist with a 4-2-2 formation this week, meaning the Newcastle striker
A YOUNG girl nearly electrocuted herself after using a metal tape to touch power cables over a railway line. The 12-year-old was left unconscious by the 25,000 volt shock and suffered injuries to her hands, feet and a neck wound. She was air-lifted
Is there a faerie at the bottom of your garden... Or something a little more sinister? A new book explains how shield yourself from spells. Sheila Weber reports. DID you know that Weardale has more than its fair share of faeries? Or that Yorkshire has
AS my first week in Germany has just about drawn to end, I thought it was high time that I took the bull by the horns and mentioned the unmentionable. It is not an easy subject to broach. It is difficult to find the right words and hard to find the right
The Battle That Made Britain (BBC4) Drop Dead Gorgeous (BBC3) : Today's history lesson is about Bonnie Prince Charlie, who saw himself as a man born to be king. He was, according to The Battle That Made Britain, somewhat hampered in his claim to occupy
JOHN QUINN'S stable has been fairly quiet over the past two weeks, but that situation could take a turn for the better at Beverley this afternoon if as expected Robema (4.10) claims the June Maiden Stakes. The daughter of Cadeaux Genereux was a 40-1 rag
A HORSE was at the centre of a rescue operation involving firefighters and an excavator after it plunged into a pit.Firefighters initially believed they were on their way to rescue a woman after receiving a call that a "female" had fallen into a pit.But
WHILE England's players wilted in the Frankfurt heat last weekend, Craig Moore has claimed that the superior fitness levels of the Australian squad enabled the Socceroos to overcome both the Kaiserslautern sunshine and their Japanese opponents in their
FOUR years ago, in Japan and Korea, the World Cup sprang shock after shock. France lost to Senegal in the opening game, Argentina failed to record a single win in the group phase, South Korea and Turkey made it all the way to the semi-finals.This time
Durham v Kent (County Championship) : Day One IT was a day of action replays as Durham debunked to Stockton for the visit of Kent following the Elton John concert at Riverside on Saturday night.The only Rocket Man they care about in Stockton is George
HARTLEPOOL UNITED last night appointed their new manager - with Danny Wilson given the task of getting the club back into League One. He signed a contract at Victoria Park before jetting off on holiday. The former Sheffield Wednesday, Barnsley and Bristol
THE Niall Quinn-led consortium is still expected to make an offer to control Sunderland by the end of the month, although the need for a bid is becoming more pressing. With the period of due diligence practically closed, Quinn and the wealthy group he
FRIENDS of a football fan, who died in a car accident hours after he celebrated with his heroes, have realised his life-long dream by taking him to the World Cup. A cardboard cutout of Everton supporter Michael Blake, 28, is appearing at venues across
A grandmother has spoken of the moment a man slammed her face into the pavement when she refused to hand over her handbag. It was the second time the 4ft 11in 45-year-old, who weighs only 7st 6lbs, had been attacked for her handbag in five years. The
A MAN who sparked a hoax bomb alert at a chemical plant has been jailed for nine months. Michael Cooke was said to be seeking revenge on a former partner who worked at the ICI Wilton complex, on Teesside, because their relationship had ended. A frustrated
VICTIMS of asbestos-related cancer were celebrating last night after Tony Blair pledged to try to overturn a court ruling that will deny them full compensation. The Prime Minister expressed regret for a shock Law Lords judgement that will drastically
DETECTIVES were last night questioning a woman after a man's body was found at his home. Police and paramedics were called to Bede Avenue, on Sherburn Road Estate, Dur-ham, at 6.40am yesterday after a 999 call from a neighbour. They found the 32-year-old's
SOARING household energy bills sent inflation above the Bank of England's target of two per cent last month. The Consumer Prices Index rate of inflation rose from two per cent in April to 2.2 per cent in May, the Office for National Statistics said -
ENERGY supplier npower has launched a fleet of 168 vans to help carry out meter readings in the North-East and North Yorkshire. The vehicles will be used by MeterPlus meter readers, and will help customers identify meter readers calling at their homes
THE announcement that an independent commissioner is to be appointed to investigate allegations of abuse within the armed forces is a step forward. But it remains to be seen how big a step. Nicholas Blake's inquiry into the deaths of recruits at Deepcut
TWO stories of our time. By chance both are from the Harrogate area. But they widely mirror the way we are. For more than 30 years a resident in the village of Hampsthwaite, now 92, has tended a spare piece of land at the end of her cul-de-sac as a garden
REGIONAL GOVERNMENT : I am glad to see my letters have provoked a lively correspondence, but I am sad to see that so many of my anti-EU, anti-regional critics are still in denial. Regional government exists and has done for decades. In the North-East
ONE of the region's biggest fire brigades is facing a summer of strikes after firefighters vowed to stop front-line service cuts. Cleveland fire crews have accused the fire authority of having "a cavalier attitude" to safety and have given notice they
MOBILE phone equipment maker Filtronic last night confirmed plans to triple the size of its North-East business and create jobs. The company, which employs about 450 people at its factory in Newton Aycliffe, County Durham, is spending £45m on the plant
A JUDGE was "flabbergasted" that lawyers wasted public money prosecuting a rugby player who bruised a rival's head during a match. Judge Beatrice Bolton, who ordered a jury to return not guilty verdicts, said that by the same standards, rugby players
MORE than 30 jobs on Teesside are under threat after supermarket Sainsbury's announced changes to its convenience chain operations. A shake-up of administration, financial and information technology roles will affect the jobs of 34 workers at Sainsbury's
INTERNET firm Onyx said last night it had completed the acquisition of part of Newcastle-based IT services firm Interv8 - and said it planned three more major acquisitions before floating on the stock market. The Interv8 deal will help strengthen the
AN ambulance driver was over the drink-drive limit when he was killed after losing control of his car while hurrying to work, an inquest heard yesterday.Father-of-two Mark Maughan was speeding through a village when his Vauxhall Vectra clipped a parked
Michael Owen can still be England's main man this summer, despite those who are already writing him off.Owen looked out of sorts against Paraguay but Sven-Goran Eriksson must persist with a 4-2-2 formation this week, meaning the Newcastle striker remains
Andrew Evans may have been cleared of assault on a fellow rugby player, but issues still remain about violence on the pitch and the way in which players seek justice. Lindsay Jennings reports. WHEN Ryton Rugby Club squared up against rivals Billingham
Is it always such a good idea to have a 'unisex' approach to everything? Could it be that a little seperation works wonders - for both men and women. SHOULD the WI become the Persons' Institute? Should the Mothers' Union let dads in? Should Brownies
ONE of the region's biggest fire brigades is facing a summer of strike action after fire-fighters pledged to halt front-line service cuts. Cleveland fire crews given notice they will hold a ballot over proposed fire service changes. However, fire
