A MAN has died after his car collided head-on with another vehicle in a crash earlier today. A navy blue Peugeot 106, believed to have been driven by the man who died, was thought to have crossed into the opposite carriageway on the Coast Road between
ALL eyes will be on Julio Arca as he makes his Middlesbrough debut at Sheffield Wednesday this afternoon, but skipper George Boateng has told fans to expect big things from Boro's other South American this season. With Gareth Southgate splitting his resources
NEWCASTLE hope to make Sol Campbell their second signing of the summer next week after hijacking the England international's proposed move to Marseille. And the Magpies are also closing in on unsettled Tottenham striker Jermain Defoe as they step up their
British comedian Eddy Izzard is comfortable with the way his career is moving into straight acting. As his latest movie opens, he talks to Steve Pratt about his ambition to be in The Simpsons and about wearing dresses. It's rare you chat about wearing
ACADEMIES: WE are told that the semi-independent schools, known as academies, are receiving three times the applicants to places available. This can only mean some means of selection has to be implemented. Although academies are said to be performing
SWAN Hunter's Tyneside shipyard could be transformed into offices, millionaire owner Jaap Kroese revealed last night. Shipbuilding at the yard in Wallsend, North Tyneside, could be consigned to its 145-year history and the land redeveloped to house businesses
THE lion's share of Orange's 10,000 UK employees are based in the North-East. It is one of many telecoms, finance and banking firms which came to the region in the 1990s to set up call centres, lured by low wages, high unemployment and generous grant
A JACK Russell has become a regular with bus drivers after jumping on their vehicles to head down the pub. The terrier, called Ratty, has got a gammy leg so, instead of walking the three miles, he hops on the Number Ten bus. The five-year-old pooch,
VISITORS to the Yorkshire Dales could be stumped when they see village cricketers taking on a Bahraini team, complete with Arab headdresses. Sportsmen from Coverdale were bowled over when they learned that the Gulf state, the latest country admitted to
MOBILE phone group Orange came under fire last night after it announced plans to close a call centre employing 900 people in the region - while creating 300 jobs in India. Orange told staff yesterday it was shutting its contact centre in Peterlee, County
"It's No 1, it's top of the pops." With those words, DJ Jimmy Savile opened the BBC's new pop music show on New Year's Day 1964 and launched a series that became a TV institution which looked like running forever.But times change, viewers grow up and
A female vicar is bringing a spirit of enjoyment to services at a handsome old church.St Anne's Fair had been opened the day previously by Mr Dan Oselton, described as a "local celebrity" and dressed head to toe as a church mouse, jumping from the trees
There is now a considerable gap between the top two sides and third-placed Whitburn, and unless South Shields and Burnmoor have a dip in form it is likely that the title will go the way of one of these two teams. Both are at home today, and have potentially
Seaham Park, hoping to win the championship for the first time in more than 80 years, go into this afternoon's crucial game with Silksworth without two of their leading players. Influential all-rounder Alan Dick and wicket-keeper batsman Andrew Worthy
Esh Winning return to action today in a top four clash with Willington. They had a free day last Saturday and are now down to fourth, 41 points off the top but just five points adrift of second-placed Evenwood and two points behind Willington. "At this
It's an important weekend for the two leading sides who have double programmes. Chester-le-Street, deposed as leaders when they were surprisingly defeated last weekend, this morning visit Sunderland before meeting Hetton Lyons at Ropery Lane tomorrow
With only one point separating the pair, the outcome of today's match of the day between Bishop Auckland and Great Ayton at Kingsway will be crucial to the championship aspirations of both teams. "We are really looking forward to a good game. They just
Swalwell and Leadgate are hoping the Executive Committee will allow them to register replacement professionals after overseas players were recalled by their clubs. Steve Magoffin is leaving Swalwell early to return to Australia while Ambati Rayudu has
Niall Quinn takes his Sunderland side to Carlisle today for his first game as Black Cats' boss. Chief Sports Writer Scott Wilson looks at how the fans' favourite will tackle his first foray into management and how much he will rely on his assistant Bobby
GLENN Roeder's controversial Pro Licence course has already paid dividends by acquainting him with the perfect man to guide Newcastle into the UEFA Cup proper. Yesterday's second qualifying round draw in Nyon paired the Magpies with Latvian minnows FK
Darlington completed their League Two preparations with a 2-0 win at York City last night. Martin Smith and Barry Conlon scored the goals as Quakers overcame their Conference opponents in a physical encounter at Kit Kat Crescent. Former Quakers midfielder
BEN Alnwick will be Sunderland's number one next season after formally withdrawing the transfer request he submitted at the start of the summer. But the 19-year-old goalkeeper is unlikely to be training alongside Steve Harper after Glenn Roeder told the
COME with me on a journey through time, a journey which ranges across wide oceans and bloody battlefields, and comes to an end with a funny, dangly thing hanging stickily around my neck. This week, all in this office have been issued with lanyards. A
The Shipley Art Gallery in Gateshead (www. twmuseums.org.uk/shipley) hosts all sorts of interesting exhibits, and at the moment, the spectacular Shoes: The Agony and the Ecstasy display is a must-see. The display runs until September 3 and should appeal
Malcolm and Sylvia Warne find there's more to Shakespeare Country than tourists. STRATFORD-upon-Avon can hardly be thought of as one of England's lesser-known tourist areas. For foreign visitors, it is top of the list of must-see places that includes
What price a death-defying stunt in today's climate of health and safety fears? Festival artisitic director Frank Wilson responds on behalf of the organisers. ON the eve of staging the UK's best-known free street theatre festival with artists flying high
A SCHOOLBOY who suffered a stroke while undergoing treatment for leukaemia made a determined effort in a charity walk. Daniel Clemmet took part in the annual Great North Walk last weekend despite undergoing intense chemotherapy. The ten-year-old, a pupil
AN artist from the area has been selected to exhibit at a festival in Valencia, Spain. Harrogate-born Ashley Reaks, whose parents live at Wensley, near Leyburn, is one of 30 artists invited to take part in the Raw Arts Festival in October. The event showcases
THE group aimed at increasing participation in sports in the county has a new boss. David Watson has been appointed executive director of North Yorkshire Sport. The group works with councils, schools, primary care trusts and community safety groups to
YOUNGSTERS can enjoy a host of summer events run by the North York Moors National Park. The park has lined up several activities to keep youngsters occupied over the holidays. Bug crafts will be held on Wednesday, when visitors can make a creepy crawly
VILLAGES in rural parts of the region will be "fossilised" unless more affordable housing is built, a leading chartered surveyor has warned. David Coulson also said that the number of second homes and holiday cottages is turning some villages in County
ORGANISERS of the popular Thirsk Festival have hit back at claims the event caused tourists problems. The month-long festival included a fair that was held in the town's Market Place, taking up car parking spaces. Members of Thirsk Town Council criticised
A TAXI rank will be permanently relocated after a temporary move led to a drop in drink-related crime. Cabbies in Catterick Garrison voluntarily moved from pubs in Shute Road six months ago after police said the location was a troublespot for disorder
CHILDREN and toddlers from South Otterington Pre-school Playgroup raised £611 with a toddle last month for Barnardo's. They were joined on their walk at North Yorkshire Police's headquarters by PC Lee Featherstone, who spoke about safety and stranger
DEBT advisors in Richmondshire are helping people who owe a total of £1m. Citizens Advice Bureau workers say the misconception that money problems are rare in the deeply rural area has led to a funding gap. The charity, based in Richmond, has had to
POLICE and the probation service have launched an initiative to crack down on prolific offenders. The Spotlight project, in which help can be drawn from other agencies, will target those responsible for a high number of repeat offences in Scarborough,
A TRANSATLANTIC partnership of teenagers is helping to brighten up a town. The 12 youngsters are spending four afternoons in South Bank, near Middlesbrough, clearing up litter and adding some sparkle with their paintings. The 14 to 16-year-olds from the
RAIL PRIVATISATION: HARRY MEAD is wrong when he states in his column (Echo, July 26) that it is the EU which requires the split between track and trains which was carried out by the Conservatives in their disastrous rail privatisation. This is another
A GROUP of Scouts has set off from Barnard Castle for a two-week trip to Sweden. The group of 27 boys and girls and six leaders will stay with 1,000 other Scouts from all over Europe in a camp south of Stockholm called Grava City. After spending a week
RESIDENTS of a former mining village have enjoyed a day in the sunshine as they celebrated the opening of a play area. The Skerne Play Park Association, in Trimdon, received a grant of £35,103 from the Coalfields Regeneration Trust (CRT) to create a
PEOPLE power has won special status for the open areas of two neighbouring villages. The Kell Gate Green and Stainton Quarry Project in Stainton and Thornton, on the outskirts of Middlesbrough, have become the first project in the Teesside area to be
A WOMAN has told of her terror after a rock was hurled through a bus window. The 56-year-old, who wants to remain anonymous, was travelling on the Arriva 21 service from Darlington town centre to the Firthmoor estate when the attack happened. She said
A SEASIDE town will be a hive of activity today as it prepares to celebrate Yorkshire Day. The events, organised by Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council, take place in Redcar High Street and the seafront. The High Street events, from 10am to 4pm, include
PUPILS learning work skills through a Young Apprenticeship programme have won praise from local employers. A group of 25 youngsters have been combining work placements with studies at Woodham Community Technology College, in Newton Aycliffe. The Young
SCORCHING weather greeted crowds to Borrowby Show. The 58th annual show was held this week for what is expected to be the last time on farmland to the west of the village. Organisers hope next year's event will be held on a purpose-built ground just south
FEARLESS pensioner George Hodgson, whose daring escapades have taken him to dizzy heights, has raised more than £8,500 for cancer charities in only a few weeks. The 83-year-old from Wolsingham, in County Durham, is determined to live life to the full
Just an hour's flight away from the North-East, Norway makes a delightful change for a short trip abroad, as Stuart Arnold finds out. IF you'd asked me before this trip what I would associate with Norway, I would have said three things: the Leeds United
OLD television sets, boxes overflowing with rotting rubbish and discarded cans and bottles are just some of the items recovered from a Teesside nature reserve. As volunteers are continuing a litter-pick, conservation expert Mike Leakey is urging fly-tippers
RESIDENTS have praised council workers who have helped tidy up their neighbourhood. A group of residents in Ascot View residential housing have been delighted with the work carried out by their Darlington Borough Council Street Scene team, led by Carol
INSTEAD of taking children to the seaside, the seaside came to Darlington yesterday. Darlington Borough Council held its annual By The Sea event in the town centre -with sand, Jehthro the stilt-walking pirate, a seaside show, singing Starfish Wives and
A COUNCIL has been criticised by the local government watchdog for failing a village in its bid to create a £1.5m sports complex. Alan Richardson complained to the Ombudsman in 2003 over the way Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council had dealt with the
YOUNG rugby union players were given international-class training by the man whose boot won the 2003 World Cup for England. England star Jonny Wilkinson dropped into a teenagers' training camp at Catterick Garrison, in North Yorkshire. He and teammates
ENGINEERING firm Siemens VAI has been awarded two major contracts together worth hundreds of millions of pounds. The Stockton company will provide the designs for the expansion of a steelworks in Taichung, Taiwan, for Dragon Steel. About 40 employees
GRAND National-winning jockey Richard Guest is to plead not guilty to charges arising from the death of a horse in his care, his legal team confirmed yesterday. The 41-year-old former jockey, now a successful trainer with a racing yard just outside Durham
IT'S a mystery that has left a village well and truly stumped. A 15-year-old laburnum tree has been cut down with a chainsaw outside the Rockliffe Court surgery in Hurworth Place, near Darlington. And no one knows who did it. The tree - a gift from a
Residents of one of south Durham's smallest villages are showing off their gardens to visitors tomorrow. Allotments and champion sweet pea beds are among 14 gardens in the Weardale hamlet of Westgate that are opening for the afternoon to raise money to
A ONE-stop shop which offers vital advice, information and support to people in deprived areas could be forced to close due to lack of funding. Unless a substantial amount of cash can be found, the Signpost information centre in Crook will shut its
AN electrician who tried to act as a peacemaker in a row between a man and woman was beaten so severely he ended up with nerve damage. The 35-year-old victim was beaten unconscious, and police say two other men joined in the assault as he lay helpless
A SUMMER dance in aid of the Royal British Legion will take place in Frosterley Village Hall from 8pm to midnight next Saturday. Tickets are £5, available from the village hall, and include a pie and peas supper and raffle. There will be also be a licensed
A MAN whose young son was accused of robbery intimidated the victim's mother to make her withdraw the allegation, a court heard yesterday. And just before he was due to stand trial charged with the intimidation, Robert Raw falsely claimed to police that
THE "special relationship" which exists between Britain and the United States is a bond which has had clear economic and cultural benefits for this country for many years. But the relationship is under greater scrutiny than it has been for a long time
DEVELOPERS, who went back to the drawing board after consulting villagers over plans for a housing estate and business park, are putting new plans on show. A shop is included for the first time in Banks Developments' revised outline design for homes and
A FORMER royal butler has been jailed for two years for child pornography offences. Nicholas Greaves, 33, of Crescent Avenue, in Whitby, North Yorkshire, had more than 450 indecent photos of children. The former Buckingham Palace under-butler also had
BUILDING work has started on a controversial £1m development in Mickelton. Nine affordable homes are being built at Jubilee House, where Teesdale District Council granted planning permission in April, despite residents' objections. The two and three-bedroomed
A DARLINGTON restaurant is celebrating 45 years in business this month. The Blue Lagoon, in Grange Road, which serves British and continental food, was opened by Cypriot Andreas Kattou in 1961. It is now run by his two sons, Chris, 55, and Peter, 51.
A LEADING North-East nightclub has described suggestions that it is a hotbed of drugs as ridiculous. Club M at Tall Trees, Yarm, near Stockton, has refuted claims by a barrister acting for a drug dealer that it is full of Ecstasy users. Jonnie Walker,
THE funerals of two women who died when they fell from the inflatable Dreamspace artwork will take place early next week. Inquests into the deaths of 69-year-old Anne Collings and Claire Furmedge, 38, were opened yesterday afternoon by Durham Coroner
A COMMUNITY building in Darlington is being systematically destroyed by vandals, members have claimed. The manager of the St George's Bridge Centre, in Whessoe Road, said rubbish by the side of the building has proved too much of a temptation to the vandals
A WOMAN from north Durham is celebrating after winning a cash prize of £25,000. Lynda Eales, 35, of Brandon, Durham, was this week's lucky Postcode Lottery winner. Her husband, Michael, 36, and son, Adam, five, were both with her when the winner's bus
A FORMER Spitfire pilot who helped Lebanon establish an air force has met trainee air crews serving with his old squadron. RAF Linton-on-Ouse, near York, is the home of 72 Squadron, which flew Spitfires during the Battle of Britain, but now leads a more
A FAMILY are trying to raise £12,000 to convert their home for their seriously ill son. Charlie Fletcher, one of twins, was born 14 weeks prematurely at James Cook University Hospital, in Middlesbrough, in January 2004. He weighed 1lb 15oz and, while
A week-long series of charitable projects ended yesterdaywhen more than 5,000 people gathered at a North-East landmark. A total of 108 projects were completed across the region by the NE1 team - a group of more than 1,000 Christian youngsters from across
A MULTIPLE sclerosis sufferer is aiming for a different kind of publicity than she has been used to. Pauline Taylor has been in the headlines in recent months after she was refused access to a legal cannabis-based drug by doctors. Mrs Taylor, 54, from
A SERIES of workshops for teenagers will be held in Darlington to raise awareness of healthy living and sexual health. Darlington's Youth Service and the Primary Care Trust teenage pregnancy team are running the events to mark sexual health week, from
EXCEPTIONAL learners have been rewarded at a ceremony to recognise their achievement. Ten business students who have improved their skills were presented with certificates during a ceremony at Seaham Hall, in east Durham. The outstanding students were
THE mother of a North-East women killed in a terrorist attack in Turkey will face the man charged with her daughter's murder. Helyn Bennett's parents were originally told they would not qualify for Government assistance to travel to the trial. But after
A TAXI boss has been handed a hefty fine after he almost doubled the size of his business without permission. Teesside Magistrates' Court fined Arfan Khan £9,600 over his extension in Thornaby of taxi company Royal Cars. The court heard how Stockton
A TEENAGER has been jailed for his part in dealing drugs from a house where he was lodging. Steven Barron was living with Wayne Horn, in Stockton, when he asked his friend to go into business selling cannabis. Teesside Crown Court heard how Horn refused
More than a million people are expected to flock to high-profile events across the region this weekend - and organisers are keeping their fingers crossed that the glorious weather will continue. The Sunderland International Airshow lost its Saturday flying
THE Middlesbrough branch of the Natwest, in Linthorpe Road, has become the first to achieve 100 per cent customer satisfaction. The bank regularly sends out surveys - the customer satisfaction index - to customers of all its branches across England. The
A SERIES of workshops will be held to raise awareness of healthy living and sexual health to teenagers in Darlington. Darlington's Youth Service and the Primary Care Trust (PCT) Teenage Pregnancy Team are running the week-long event to mark sexual health
RESTAURANT staff have been left sickened after a thief stole cash collected for the family of a father-of-two who died in a road smash. Staff and customers at Valentino's restaurant in Lanchester, County Durham, had raised £500 to help out the young
FEWER than one in ten of children in care in County Durham gain five or more GSCEs at grades A to C, compared with just under half of other teenagers in the county. The figures were revealed in a year-long study into the academic performance of children
AN environmental project developed on an industrial estate is flourishing a year after it was started. The Centenary Field project, by 3M Manufacturing, in Newton Aycliffe, restored a natural woodland and wildflower meadow next to the site. A number of
HEALTH chiefs have agreed to postpone the closure of part of a community hospital after securing funding to keep it open. They had decided to shut the day surgery unit at Shotley Bridge Hospital, near Consett, but performed a U-turn after finding £75,000
Hearts Cry, the only horse to have beaten Japanese superstar Deep Impact in an illustrious 11-race career, looks the value bet at around 3-1 in the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Diamond Stakes over a mile-and-a-half at Ascot this afternoon.In the
Hampshire v Yorkshire (County Championship) : Day Three Yorkshire's mini-revival in the Championship ground to a halt at the Rose Bowl yesterday where Hampshire thrashed them by ten wickets to rekindle fears of relegation. It was a miserable performance
Friends and family gathered for a memorial service to remember the life of a man who died in the boating tragedy in Bahrain four months ago.Christopher Langan, from Darlington, known to family and friends as Kit, was one of 12 Britons to have died when
A SHAMED American airman once regarded as a credit to his country is today beginning a 12-year prison sentence for the rape of three teenage girls.The girls, aged 14, 15 and 17, lived in a North Yorkshire children's home when Staff Sergeant James Gardner
The perceived draw bias towards those drawn low was well and truly knocked on the head when Dunelight and Easy Air, two of only three to race towards the far side in a competitive handicap at Ascot yesterday, filled the first two places, writes Richard
Middlesex v Durham (County Championship) : Day Three THE storm which didn't quite break over Lord's on Thursday evening still managed dramatically to turn the tide of Durham's match against Middlesex.Clearer air yesterday meant the ball didn't swing
Q - The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has told me that I cannot receive Carer's Allowance for looking after my wife. This is because my Incapacity Benefit is higher than the Carer's Allowance they can pay me. Instead, I have something called
