A COUNCIL driver who died in a horrific crash was today named as James Dominic O'Hara. Mr O'Hara, known as Jim, died on Tuesday (Jan 30) when his refuse wagon was involved in a collision with a bus on the A167 between Darlington and junction 59 of the
A TEENAGE boy from the North-East has been found hanged in his home. Thirteen-year-old Daniel Clark was found dead in his Sunderland house on Saturday morning. His devastated family have been staying with relations and too traumatised to return. Tributes
PLANS for a multi-million pound shopping and leisure complex in Darlington town centre have been approved after the Secretary of State decided not to intervene in the planning application. Darlington Council's planning committee heard the plans for the
POLICE are seeking a conman who duped a pensioner into paying almost £100 for some fish. The salesman called at the home of a man in his 80s in St Leonard's Crescent, Thornley, at about 10.15am on Tuesday offering the householder fresh fish for
ANGRY traders have raised more than 200 objections against a traffic ban on an access road into a business park. Business owners from the Gallowfields Trading Estate, in Richmond, are furious about measures to stop vehicles turning left into the park
WOMEN across the region are being offered advice to help them set up in business on their own. Encouraging Women into Enterprise (Ewe) has been launched to support women from diverse backgrounds into self-employment. The North-East has the lowest proportion
GARDEN centre chain Peter Barratt's hopes to push turnover up to £20m following its latest acquisition. The Gateshead company, which employs more than 300 people across the region, has bought Vista Garden Centre, in Beverley, near Hull, for an undisclosed
SHARES in green power company Helius Energy soared by 54 per cent during its first day of trading on the Alternative Investment Market (Aim) yesterday. The figure climbed from 26p a share at the start of the morning to close last night at 40p a share
NEARLY 8,000 manufacturing jobs were lost in the past month, according to research released today. The British Chambers of Commerce said the figures showed the fragile state of the sector. Director general David Frost said this year was looking ominous
I DROPPED lots of hints about what I wanted for my birthday last week. My husband is a bit hit-and-miss when it comes to presents and I was taking no chances. True, this is the man who once gave me a breathtakingly beautiful, understated diamond pendant
A THEATRE company is to present its first pantomime in Derwentside. The Shoestring Theatre Company is performing Cinderella at Stanley Community Centre, in Tyne Road. The classic fairytale will be brought to life with vibrant colours and traditional,
SAFER communities partnerships are joining forces to sample people's perceptions about crime and the fear it instills. Partnerships across the western policing area of North Yorkshire, which includes the Harrogate and Richmondshire districts, are each
PUBLIC FUNDING NOT even when Maggie Thatcher was saving the country from the ravages of an incompetent Labour government (the last one, not this one) could I bring myself to vote Tory, but if they promise - really promise - to put an end to the postcode
WHAT have Chinese bears, Wycombe Wanderers Football Club and Chalky, a sadly- deceased Jack Russell dog from Croydon, got in common? The answer is they are all the subjects of parliamentary motions, tabled by MPs to alert the Government to issues of great
CHARITY volunteers raised £500 with two days of supermarket bag packing. Members of Chopsticks, in Northallerton, collected the money at the town's Sainsbury's store earlier this month. The charity, which provides work opportunities for people with learning
THE success of a temporary, self-imposed ban on booze sales to under-21s has resulted in five off- licences making it a permanent agreement. In August, Bells at Sainsbury's, the Co-op, Redmar stores, Pritchards and Watsons, all in Marske, took part in
DISTRICT councillors in North Yorkshire will be asked to approve a rise in council tax when they meet later this month. The full council of Hambleton District Council's will consider recommendations from its cabinet which, if agreed, will mean an increase
TEENAGERS from across Europe are heading to County Durham to discuss issues of equality later this month. Young people, aged 15 to 18, from Teesdale Community Resources, Barnard Castle, will take part in the week-long project at Consett YMCA, along with
THEATRE lovers have gathered to celebrate a new season of shows. More than 70 people attended the launch of the spring programme at the Georgian Theatre Royal, in Richmond. Among the guests were supporters of the North Yorkshire venue and visiting theatrical
THE history of seaside entertainment has been recorded in a exhibition which is coming to the area later this month. We Do Like to Be Beside the Seaside has been put together by four groups of young people who researched the traditional pierrot troupes
IN all forms of management, there is a balance to be found in striving for improvements without asking too much and damaging morale in the process. That is the dilemma the Government faces in its management of schools so it can fulfill its pledge to make
DURHAM businesses have been rewarded for their efforts to help keep the city tidy. Firms that signed up for the annual Tidy Business Standards scheme received bronze certificates from Mayor Jeff Lodge. The scheme is run by Durham City Council with Encams
A public garden could be opened in Crook next month after backers received £2,500. The Church Hill Allotment Association has started work on the sensory garden and members said a £2,500 grant from Wear Valley District Council will mean it will be completed
VILLAGERS will be told next week that work to fill and landscape a former quarry near their homes is to be finished up to five months later than scheduled. Work at Todhills Landfill site, in Newfield, near Bishop Auckland, was due to be completed by
A BISHOP Auckland hair salon has been voted the best in a nationwide chain for the care it gives its clients. The Saks salon, in Newgate Street, won the Kerastase Signature de Service at a ceremony in London. The team was visited by a mystery shopper,
COUNT COUGAR (1.20) is weighted to complete a quick-fire hat-trick in the opening five-furlong dash at Southwell. The Easingwold-based sprinter returns to the course just 48 hours after out-gunning a decent field over six furlongs in the hands of today's
COUNCIL SPENDING COUNCILLOR Jim Higgin (HAS, Page 4, Jan 26) claims the £54m to be spent by Sedgefield Borough Council will be "at no cost to the local tax payers" and that the money will come from the sale of land and Government grants. The only source
YOUNG footballers have been handed a £900 legacy in memory of a retired businessman and sports fan. The family of the late Harry Coulthard, who died last month, have given money donated by friends and relatives to Bishop Auckland St Mary's FC, where
YOUNG ambulance cadets will be able to practise first aid with new equipment, thanks to a grant. Cadets from the Willington, Tow Law and District Division of the St John Ambulance received £500 from the Youth Opportunities Fund. The group applied for
FAMILIES left in the dark when a street lamp was removed two weeks ago have been promised it will be back by the weekend. Residents in West End, Wolsingham, complained to Durham County Council and electricity supplier NEDL that they had waited too long
TEENAGERS from across Europe will head to County Durham to discuss equality later this month. Young people aged 15 to 18 from Teesdale Community Resources, Barnard Castle, will take part in the week-long project at Consett YMCA along with 42 young people
A PUBLICAN'S son is facing an assault charge after chasing two suspected burglars from his family's pub. Lee Ellis discovered two strangers in the bar area of his parents' pub, the Quinns Inn, in Spennymoor, at about 7.20am yesterday. When they were disturbed
MORE than 200 young people took part in a health awareness event at Bishop Auckland College. Students queued to have their body mass, height, weight and blood pressure taken and receive information and advice on sexual health. There were also free nail
KARAOKE singers helped a family say a £2,750 thank you to hospital staff who saved a baby's life. A singing competition in Bar 56, in Hope Street, Crook, rounded off weeks of fundraising organised by customer Bob Wright. The cash is for Newcastle's Royal
LIB-DEMS I THANK Councillor Nick Wallis for reminding us (HAS, Page 4, Jan 29) that the people of Newcastle have voted in two consecutive elections for a Liberal Democrat council. The message to the voters of Darlington is that even in Labour's former
A CHINESE restaurant has been allowed to keep its licence to sell alcohol despite a number of incidents that had been reported to police. Soho Restaurant, in Northgate, Darlington, was granted a new licence, but with a number of conditions. Darlington
A MARKET town has suffered a spate of thefts and damage to pipes - which vandals have been using to throw mud at buildings, cars and people. Chester-le-Street community Inspector Paul Anderson said children were targeting household waste water pipes,
A YOUTH choir from the US hopes to strike a chord with local singers during a North-East performance. The chamber singers, backed by the wind ensemble, from Hood River Valley High School, in Oregon state, will appear in concert at Elvet Methodist Church
PARISHIONERS will be asked if they want their church to be rebuilt. All Saints and Salutation Church, in Blackwell, Darlington, could be rebuilt or be given a makeover. The church was built in 1937 as a temporary measure until a larger building could
AN ALCOHOLIC who was arrested for abusing staff at a Darlington supermarket by shouting "I'm going to kill you" also spat at a policeman. Robert Fortune, of Corporation Road, Darlington, told police officers who stopped him for being drunk and disorderly
THE history of seaside entertainment has been recorded in a exhibition which is coming to the region later this month. We Do Like to Be Beside the Seaside has been put together by four groups of young people who researched the traditional Pierrot troupes
A CRICKETER who played for his local club team alongside many famous Test stars has died aged 86. Jimmy Mitchell was a big-hitting batsman for Barnard Castle when it was joined by several England players who were stationed at nearby Army camps in the
AN AVERAGE of two racial incidents are reported by Darlington schools every week. Next week, members of Darlington Borough Council's lifelong learning scrutiny committee will hear that 77 racial incidents were reported in the school year 2005-6 - up on
NINE men were being held last night over an alleged terrorist plot to carry out an Iraqi-style kidnapping of a British Muslim soldier. Eight were arrested in a series of dawn raids in Birmingham, with the ninth arr-ested late in the afternoon on a motorway
BOOK lovers are invited to a new reading group in West View Library in Hartlepool. It will hold its first meeting next Thursday, at 2pm. For further details, call the library manager on 01429-268288.
A PUBLICAN'S son is facing an assault charge after chasing two suspected burglars from his family's pub. Lee Ellis discovered two strangers in the bar area of his parents' pub, the Quinns Inn, in Spennymoor, at about 7.20am yesterday. When they were disturbed
NEWCASTLE United will spend the next three months playing with just two fully-fit strikers after manager Glenn Roeder refused to dredge the Premiership's bargain basement on the final day of the transfer window. After his leading attacking target, Frederic
A POLICE officer told how she came face-to-face with killer David Bradley when he dumped his arsenal of weapons in front of her. Sergeant Karen Murtagh was at work in Newcastle's West End station when former soldier Bradley, 41, walked in. A front desk
A DEVELOPER has been given permission to demolish a Stockton furniture store and replace it with a shop and 36 student flats. Stockton Borough Council's planning committee yesterday approved the plans to bulldoze the two-storey Dovecote sale rooms, at
MIDDLESBROUGH'S modern new police station opens to the public tonight. The building, which was opened last week by Home Secretary John Reid, is leading the way for Cleveland Police force in the town. From 7pm, it will be open 24 hours a day for the public
A SNIPER who shoots metal air-gun pellets at cars remains at large and targeting vehicles. The gunman has struck 50 times, near the bridge over the A693 at Greencroft, on the outskirts of Stanley. Last year, police said someone could be killed. But despite
PUPILS at Yarm at Raventhorpe School, Darlington, took a school trip to the Life Centre, in Newcastle, last week. The year one and year three pupils conducted experiments about natural and man-made materials, and tested materials for hardness. The governing
AN international airline is holding a recruitment drive in the North-East for cabin crew, The Dubai-based Emirates will hold an open day event at Jury's Hotel, St James's Gate, Scotswood Road, Newcastle, on Saturday. It coincides with Emirates' announcement
PEOPLE living in a Darlington neighbourhood are setting up a residents' association to fight runoured plans by Tesco to open a store there. Tesco recently bought a derelict petrol station in Harrowgate Hill and rumours have started that the site is being
A HOSPITAL has agreed to help refurbish a community centre in a Darlington village. Affinity Health Care, which runs Middleton St George Hospital, will help fund the refurbishment of the village hall, which is part of an ongoing scheme to transform the
So You Think You Can Nurse? (five); Jamie's Chef (C4); Party Animals (BBC2): JANET Street Porter handed the baby back to its mother with the comment, "Thank you for letting me do that, I don't think there's any lasting damage". She'd just bathed the
THE fate of a tourist information centre will be decided on Monday. Volunteers running Northallerton Tourist Information Point (TIP) will meet to decide what will happen to it. Until recently, it was funded by Hambleton District Council, but budget problems
THE latest instalment of Middlesbrough Environment City's Turn To Compost initiative is about training volunteers in home and community composting. The scheme can offer accredited training in home and community composting and will involve a ten-week
WHEN Jonny Wilkinson last played for England, a boy band called Busted were top of the singles charts with the second of their five number ones. That the injury-plagued fly-half has outlasted the pop group speaks volumes for his strength of character,
HEALTH bosses have backed controversial plans to close inpatient facilities at a hospital leukaemia unit. The decision to centralise inpatient haematology services in south Durham will result in the creation of a purpose-built in- patient unit at Bishop
A GREENGROCER and his wife who won £1.1m on the Lottery have decided to make an unusual first purchase.Rather than splashing out on champagne and designer clothes, the first thing down-to-earth lottery winners Paul and Sue Watson will treat themselves
SECURITY is to be beefed up at an industrial estate in a bid to combat crime.A network of up to 13 CCTV cameras, costing £181,000, is to be installed on the Longhill Industrial Estate, in Hartlepool, to tackle problems from burglary to arson.Hartlepool
POLICE have appealed for help in finding an 83-year-old woman who has been missing since the beginning of the week.A police spokesman said Beatrice Johnson was last seen at her home address, in Gosforth, in a nightdress, at 8.30pm on Monday. She is under
ONE of the region's highest-profile police officers has stunned colleagues by announcing retirement.Della Cannings, the Chief Constable of North Yorkshire Police, made the announcement yesterday.Speculation still surrounds the reason for her decision
A BISHOP Auckland woman who was shamed into losing weight after seeing her picture in The Northern Echo's sister paper The Darlington and Stockton Times, is to help others shed their unwanted pounds. Alison Cusick and her partner Andy, were shocked into
A STUDENT is taking a giant leap to raise money for breast cancer research.AS-level student Emma Price, from Darlington, is preparing for a 10,000ft tandem parachute jump in Durham, on Sunday, February 11, in aid of Breakthrough Breast Cancer.The 16-year-old
A GOVERNMENT minister has told a North MP that the medical profession has not gone far enough to reform the way it disciplines incompetent or dishonest doctors.Campaigners in the region who have called for the General Medical Council (GMC) to be scrapped
A NEASHAM grandmother surprised a regional charity with a £500 gift on her 80th birthday.Friends and family at Nancy Wood's party were asked to make a donation to the Great North Air Ambulance in lieu of presents. Mrs Wood's daughter, Daphne Taylor, said
GEORGE Burnip was injured and Lee Rogers believed they would be blown up at any second, after an everyday bus journey turned to disaster on the A167 near Darlington on Tuesday. Both men stayed in the wreckage to save the driver. Owen Amos heard their
A POPULAR community building has been transformed following a three-year refurbishment costing nearly £60,000.The exterior of the church-run Chantry Hall, in North End, Bedale, remains unchanged, but internally the building has been transformed to make
The use of tactics thought to be involved in the latest alleged plot would be a highly significant development, experts said yesterday.Terror analyst Professor Paul Rogers, of the University of Bradford, said it would be crucial to establish whether the
A ROCK band is reforming for charity 15 years after their last gig.Montezuma's Revenge pioneered the "Bog Rock" sound in Wear Valley during the late Eighties and early Nineties, before splitting in 1992.They have decided to reform for a gig to raise money
PUPILS raised the roof with a mass African chant to celebrate their school winning specialist status.Sandhill View School, in Grindon Lane, Sunderland, has been given specialist performing arts status by the Government. It boasts facilities including
BUDDING actors are enjoying their moment in the spotlight, sharing the stage with professionals in a West End musical.North-East youngsters have been recruited to form the chorus during the run of Joseph and His Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat in the region.It
Muslims make up a small but significant part of Britain's Armed Forces.Although the numbers are tiny - less than 0.2 per cent of the total - they provide visible support for the assertion that the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are not wars against Islam.Lance
A TEESDALE hall is holding a charity auction to raise money towards a development project.The Witham Hall, in Barnard Castle will hold the event on Saturday, March 3.Auctioneer Simon Nixon, from Addisons Chartered Surveyors, who will be in charge of the
A DARLINGTON post office has delivered 200 letters of protest to the town hall after councillors voted to stop customers parking in the street.Staff at the Ken Warne shop have vowed to fight the new restrictions in Cleveland Terrace, which they believe
JAMES Brown admits there's only one aim among the Hartlepool United squad this season - promotion.Pools are one place and one point off the top three after a 13-game unbeaten run.They go to Swindon on Saturday, before long-time leaders Walsall visit Victoria
NO ONE was quite certain what they would find when the doors to the large storage containers holding Vince Landa's worldly goods swung open to reveal their secrets yesterday.A faintly musty smell hung in the atmosphere and a few motes of dust swirled
A HOTEL turned the clock back to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Country Land and Business Association (CLA).The Royal York Hotel, formerly the Station Hotel, was the venue for the first meeting of the Yorkshire Land and Property Defence Association
A TEXTILE artist is preparing for an international exhibition.Julie Triston, of High Stables, Dipton, was invited to display her work at the Mall Galleries, in London, at an event organised by the Opus School of Textile Art.The exhibition, called Prism
Ministers were warned last night that their education reforms have stalled as figures showed a record rise in the number of schools failed by Ofsted.By the end of December, inspectors had put 171 primary schools in special measures, Ofsted's lowest category
A TERRIER has been hailed a hero after he saved a missing pensioner's life.Jim Cowan, 82, was recovering last night after he was found in woodland by two-year-old Patterdale terrier Taz.Mr Cowan had gone missing from his home in Coverham, near Middleham
PUPILS donned rubber gloves and cleaned up the area around their school yesterday. The youngsters, from Marton Grove Primary School, in Middlesbrough, aged seven to 11, collected litter and spruced up their local environment as part of their commitment
HE might only have been a Black Cat for six short months but Tobias Hysen insists the current Sunderland squad is far stronger than the one he joined in August.The final day of the January transfer window proved unusually quiet in terms of new arrivals
Striker Gregg Blundell finally became a Darlington player last night in a five-figure move from Chester City. Quakers manager Dave Penney wanted the forward earlier in the month but Darlington's offer, believed to be in the region of £25,000, was turned
The Tata Steel purchase of Corus is the biggest company acquisition by an Indian firm. Tata Steel is comparatively small when set against Corus and was ranked only 56th in the list of world steelmakers, with an annual output of 5.3 million tonnes, before
Corus is in Indian hands, and its 2,900 Teesside workers could be forgiven for wondering what it will mean to them. Aside from the windfalls many with shares in the Anglo-Dutch company will receive, the answer is "not much", at least initially, with Tata
GARETH Southgate last night predicted that Middlesbrough new boy Dong Gook Lee would make a massive impression in the Premiership, and claimed his club's only January signing was "the number one name in South Korea". Lee will become the fourth South Korean
Newcastle United 3, Aston Villa 1. Going into last night's match with Aston Villa, the talk on Tyneside was of the numerous transfer targets that had failed to arrive at Newcastle during last month's transfer window.But after a stirring 3-1 win that
ALMOST three years after his last England outing, Jonathan Woodgate's international exile will end tomorrow.Steve McClaren names his squad for next week's friendly with Spain, and last night he gave his broadest hint yet that there's every chance the
The improbably named Kicking Cuddy was just one of the many watering holes in the in the former pit villag of Coxhoe, where residents now prefer to get their kicks in cafes, tanning parlours and places of worship. IN THE belief, he says, that everything
He may have been reluctant to write about serial killers, but Newcastle-born Martyn Waites is being feted as the new Ian Rankin. He tells Lindsay Jennings why he hates Agatha Christie stories. IT was a friend of author Martyn Waites who demonstrated
A BRAVE bus passenger has told how he ignored his own injuries to save the driver from the mangled wreckage of an horrific bus crash.George Burnip, 30, helped drag the driver out of the wreckage of the 723 bus, which was travelling from Darlington to
STEELMAKER Corus was last night in Indian hands after Tata Steel won the race to take over the company.A three-month bidding war finally ended when Tata had an offer at 608p a share accepted by Britain's Takeover Panel, valuing Corus at £5.75bn.The deal
