Archive

  • Plans for coalfield community regeneration

    MULTI-MILLION pound proposals for the regeneration of a former coalfield community are to go on show next week. A pioneering "network village" development of homes and businesses has been earmarked for the site of the former Murton colliery in East Durham

  • Men arrested after stabbing incident

    POLICE have arrested two people after a man was stabbed and sprayed with a noxious substance. The incident happened at about 8.30pm in the Coatworth Road area of Gateshead. Armed police who attended the scene arrested two men, both aged 43, on suspicion

  • Woman banned from keeping dogs

    A WOMAN has been banned from keeping dogs for a year after admitting causing unnecessary suffering to her two pets. Farrah Bethany Baylis pleaded guilty to abandoning Harvey, a tan rottweiler, and Prince, a black and tan German shepherd, at Northallerton

  • Serial fraudster spared jail

    A SERIAL fraudster who tried to empty a woman's bank accounts by claiming her identity has been spared jail. Sarah Tumilty, 32, was already on bail for fraud offences when she attempted to dupe bank staff by claiming she was 62-year-old Doreen Moss,

  • Classics on parade

    THE Classic Racing Motorcycle Club (CRMC) is holding the final rounds of its 2007 motorcycle road racing championships at Croft Circuit next weekend. All CRMC classes will be running their usual two championship races on Saturday and then have a single

  • Players wanted for N&SA Ladies Team

    After finishing 4th in the league and cup finalists last season, Norton & Stockton Ancients Ladies team are looking for new players to strengthen their squad. You must be aged 16 or over by 31 August. Please call Kevin on 07804 090385.

  • Physio could face jail

    A HOSPITAL physiotherapist could be jailed for a campaign of domestic violence against his then partner. Nigel Bondswell, 43, who worked at South Tyneside District Hospital, yesterday admitted six charges of common assault against the same woman, who

  • Air rage passenger jailed

    A VIOLENT aircraft passenger who terrified holidaymakers by fighting cabin crew in an air-rage attack at 33,000ft was jailed for 12 months today. Stephen Robinson, 53, from Darlington, attacked a steward on a packed Boeing 757 from Antalya in Turkey

  • Mustard makes winning start with England

    PHIL Mustard enjoyed a successful international debut as England warmed up for their forthcoming one-day tour of Sri Lanka with an 80-run win over a Sri Lanka Board XI. The Durham wicketkeeper scored 17 with the bat and took two catches with the gloves

  • Poles steal 69 bottles of perfume from airport shop

    TWO Polish men stole more than £2,000 of goods from an airport shop after losing money in a perfume scam, a court heard today. Kamil Lagan and Bartomiej Wilzcab had flown to Britain to meet an internet contact to sell a consignment of perfume they had

  • Promoting safety skills for 1,100 youngsters

    AN annual training scheme to make youngsters more aware of personal safety gets under way next week. More than 1,100 ten and 11-year-olds, from Hartlepool's primary schools, will attend the Crucial Crew event at the British Energy Training Centre, at

  • Facelift for estate after poor rating by residents

    A HOUSING estate given the thumbs-down by residents is to receive a multi-million-pound facelift. Part of The Closes, at Redcar, will be bulldozed as the layout of the development is remodelled, to deter, rather than attract, the yobs who menace the area

  • Traders' loss may be stallholders' gain

    STALLHOLDERS under threat of eviction by developers may be given new units when a historic building is overhauled. The fresh produce sellers in Stockton's Castlegate Centre may be able to relocate when the grade-II listed Shambles building, across the

  • Meetings to explain new collections for waste

    DROP-IN information sessions are to be held to coincide with the expansion of a recycling initiative. Eight events are to be held in Hartlepool to enable residents to find out more about the council's alternate weekly collections (AWC) scheme. Two-thirds

  • Pupils launch car-exclusion zone

    CHILDREN have created permanent signs to mark a car exclusion zone around their school. Pupils at Durham Gilesgate Primary School, in Durham City, have designed signs marking the boundary of a five-minute walking zone set up around the school. Nine bright

  • Residents' fury as community centre granted music licence

    RESIDENTS living close to a village community centre say their quality of life will suffer, after the facility was granted a licence for musical, drama and dance events. The Randolph Centre, in Evenwood, near Barnard Castle, has been successful in its

  • Drivers warned not to park on slip road verges

    MOTORISTS have been warned not to park alongside an approach route to a city's railway station on safety grounds. Commuters returning to their cars on verges off the road, leading from Framwelgate Peth to Durham Station, found notices attached, on Wednesday

  • Youngsters to debate their key concerns

    YOUNG people take over a council chamber in a third annual "State of the City"' debate today. Designed as a youth consultation, and considered the largest of its kind in Europe when launched in 2005, it is organised by Sunderland Youth Parliament and

  • Concerns over request for longer pub opening hours

    A REQUEST by a town centre pub to stay open until 3.30am has been greeted with concern by its neighbours. The owners of The Fleece, in Victoria Road, Richmond, have applied to extend the pub's opening hours on Friday and Saturdays, plus Christmas Eve,

  • Samaritans seeking volunteers

    LOCAL Samaritans have launched a recruitment drive for volunteers willing to give up their own time to help people in despair. The Northallerton and the Dales branch in Crosby Road, Northallerton has 70 volunteers but wants to recruit another 16 for the

  • Tributes are paid to former parish clerk, aged 83

    TRIBUTES have been paid to a villager who served as a parish clerk for more than 30 years. Hugh Bennison, of Bolton Road, Scorton, near Richmond, died earlier this month from dementia and prostate cancer, aged 83. One of nine children, Mr

  • Chance to air views on future of building

    THE Mayor of Northallerton has confirmed that a proposal has been drawn up over the possible demolition of a historic building. John Prest, who is also chairman of the Northallerton and Romanby joint burial committee, is inviting residents to air their

  • Spate of burglaries paid for teenager's drugs habit

    A TEENAGER who carried out a spate of burglaries to feed his drink and drugs habit has been sentenced to two years youth custody. Shane Grainger targeted schools and small businesses in Stokesley over a four-month period, Teesside Crown

  • Council's guidance on petitions

    A TOWN council has drawn up advice for residents on how to compile an effective petition. Ferryhill Town Council hopes the guidelines will help groups and members of the public to demonstrate a clear view of local opinion. Questionnaires should now include

  • Producers' market will have a fruity theme

    A FARMERS' market in Barnard Castle will have a fruity theme, as eggs, chocolate and, above all, apples collide next month. The producers' market, held on the cobbles, in Barnard Castle, on the first Saturday of every month, will next take place on Apple

  • String of burglaries paid for drugs habit

    A TEENAGER who carried out a string of burglaries to feed his drink and drug habit has been sentenced to two years youth custody. Shane Grainger plagued schools and small businesses in Stokesley over a four-month period, Teesside Crown Court heard. The

  • Youngsters' chance to hone skills

    YOUNGSTERS can boost their skills in football and other sports with the help of professional coaches at a skills centre. A Football Association (FA) Skills Centre has opened at Spennymoor Leisure Centre, offering coaching to five to 11-year-old girls

  • Operatic society mourns respected president

    A TALENTED pianist and vocalist, war veteran and former farmer has died at the age of 89. Mourners will today congregate for the funeral of Harold Rewcastle Herdman, more commonly known as Sam, who was president of Darlington Operatic Society. Kevin Murray

  • Firm under fire over plans for mini-store

    A supermarket chain has been accused of trying to wear the people down in its bid to establish a store in an area of Darlington. Tesco has already had two applications for the proposed mini-store on North Road rejected by borough councillors. And now,

  • Praise for pedestrian town centre

    THE pedestrianisation of Darlington town centre has been praised by the business, public and voluntary sectors. Darlington Partnership gave a formal vote of thanks to the borough council for the £8.5m project at its latest meeting. The vote comes as

  • Father and son accused of beating

    A FATHER and son appeared in court yesterday charged with beating a man in a hospital car park. Christopher Simon Keith, 20, of West Crescent, Darlington, admitted causing fear or provocation of violence when he appeared at Darlington Magistrates' Court

  • Teenager avoids being locked up over drugs possession

    A TEENAGER has narrowly missed being given a custodial sentence after admitting possessing drugs with intent to supply. A judge, who described Michael Todd as naive, told him he was the first person he had not imprisoned for the offence. Teesside Crown

  • Refurbishment funds secure future for 'home of colliery art'

    THE future of a historic community building - known as the home of colliery art - will be safeguarded by a £250,000 refurbishment. The Spennymoor Settlement Association has secured funds to preserve original features of the town's grade II-listed Everyman

  • £6,000 boost for annual feast first held in 16th Century

    THE opening event of a town's annual festival has received a £6,000 boost as preparations get under way. This year's Houghton Feast will feature a colourful starting ceremony designed by the local people, backed by grant aid. Funding from Sunderland

  • Seventies football star at charity dinner

    A FOOTBALL legend of the Sevenies is to be guest speaker at a sportsman's dinner. Former Leicester City striker Frank Worthington will at the dinner, at Consett Civic Centre, on Thursday, November 1, at 7pm to raise funds for Consett Football Club. After

  • Coupe Rolls to go into production next summer

    PRODUCTION of a new coupe version of the Rolls-Royce will begin next summer, it was announced today. The two-door, four-seat model will be built at BMWs Rolls-Royce plant at Goodwood, West Sussex. Likely to cost about £240,000, the coupe will be based

  • What a night...

    SOME may say that community spirit does not exist any more, but it certainly did for our Breast Cancer Care fundraising event at Middlestone Moor Club on September 15. Our dance team from Asda, Spennymoor, had been rehearsing in the club for many

  • John's world

    READING the Teletext a few days ago, it told me someone was going to investigate allegations that a new breed of politicians is pursuing their own interests before those of the country and the British people. Really? That's what they do. Isn't

  • Gordon Brown

    AS Gordon Brown faces media speculation over the timing of a General Election, the money market has the jitters. He also faces new outbreaks of foot-and-mouth, blue tongue disease and the destabilising of Northern Rock. I hear, too, that we have

  • Yob culture

    RE the debate about whether the Thatcher government of the 1980s was responsible for the creation of the modern yob. I will be 55 next birthday and don't want to go back to the Thatcher years. The current Labour Government is too much like the

  • EU referendum

    SPEAKING at their annual conference, Labour's Foreign Minister, David Miliband once again denies the people of the UK a vote on the European Union constitutional treaty. Conservative William Hague is right to keep the pressure on for a democratic

  • Army thanks

    CROOK Corps of the Salvation Army would like to say thank you to the people of Stanhope, Frosterley, Wolsingham, Hunwick, Howden-le- Wear, North Bitchburn, High Grange and Crook for their generosity as we collected door-todoor for the Salvation

  • William Hague

    THE question was raised recently about whether William Hague should come back as the Conservative Party leader (HAS, Sept 22). I hope he does, but unlike last time when he was a young leader and did not get rid of the dead wood already there.

  • Supermarket prices

    WE have learned that some supermarkets - despite their denials - have provisionally been found guilty by the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) of colluding to keep the price of dairy goods artificially high, costing customers £270m on milk, cheese and

  • Plutonium warning

    YOU reported that the UK has stockpiled enough highly toxic plutonium to make more than 16,000 nuclear bombs and that this stockpile is so serious the Government must urgently launch a strategy for its disposal or long-term use (Echo, Sept 22).

  • Sunderland rocked by Anderson injury blow

    SUNDERLAND have been rocked by a fresh injury blow after centre-half Russell Anderson was ruled out for up to three months following ankle surgery. The Scotland international, who has made just two appearances for the Black Cats since making a £100,000

  • Teenage girl killed in road accident

    A TEENAGER has been killed in a car accident on Teesside today. The 19-year-old girl was flung from a car as it spun out of control and crashed into trees on the edge of Eaglescliffe. The girl, who has not been named, was a passenger in a Citroen AX

  • Parents make emotional appeal for student's return

    THE parents of a student who has been missing since last weekend made an emotional appeal for his return today. Robert Davies, 20, was described as a kind-hearted person who loved going out with his friends. The chemistry student had just returned to

  • Keane warns banned Etuhu he must learn quickly

    AFTER becoming the first player in the Premier League to pick up five yellow cards, Sunderland's Dickson Etuhu has been urged to become more street-wise or risk spending further time sat in the stands. The £1.5m signing has been an ever-present since

  • Veterans up for the fight

    Phil Vickery and Lawrence Dallaglio have the medals and the MBEs which prove they know what it takes to win the World Cup. The old warhorses of 2003 will be on the bench in the Pool A eliminator against Tonga at the Parc des Princes and from there they

  • Penney ponders changes

    Fresh from losing their first league game of the season, Darlington manager Dave Penney is threatening to make changes for tomorrow's visit of Peterborough United. Quakers remain top of the table, despite last week's defeat at MK Dons when Darlington

  • Rashid's triple crown

    Ottis Gibson picked up virtually every award he was eligible for - and most of those outside his compass in 2007 have gone to Yorkshire's 19-year-old leg-spin prodigy, Adil Rashid. Named young cricketer of the year first by the Cricket Writers' Club and

  • Tykes falter after promising start to Gough's first year

    It was the dream start for new captain, Darren Gough, and his resurgent Yorkshire team of three wins from the first four Championship matches - and it would have been four victories had Hampshire's ninth wicket pair not blocked it out for 14 tense overs

  • Collingwood confident after recovery

    Paul Collingwood is confident England's emerging one-day side have the capabilities to rise to one of the biggest challenges of their careers in their limited overs series against Sri Lanka. No England side have ever won a series on this island and of

  • September 28, 2007

    THERE was a bizarre story a while ago about Tonga's ex-Newcastle Falcon Epi Taione changing his name to Paddy Power to help promote an Irish bookmaker. There now seems to be more power in one of Taione's bulging thighs than in the entire Irish team, who

  • Wine tycoon confirms bid for crisis-hit Northern Rock

    A SPANISH wine tycoon last night fired the first shots in the race to take over crisis-hit Northern Rock by confirming he had offered to buy ten per cent of its shares. Jose Maria Ruiz-Mateos is said to be acting on behalf of a group of Spanish investors

  • Gas detector alarms 'still not replaced'

    A COUNCIL has conceded it is yet to install more than a thousand carbon monoxide detectors in the homes of elderly tenants. The Northern Echo reported in August how some elderly and infirm Durham City Council tenants had been waiting months for devices

  • Academy enlists recruits

    A SALES academy set up in the region to help plug an impending skills shortage has enlisted its first recruits. About ten salespeople from the North-East have signed up to the Sales Training Academy, which aims to help develop the skills and abilities

  • Print specialist accolade

    RETAIL print specialist The Simpson Group has become the first business of its kind in the UK to achieve a new industry standard. The company, based in Washington, Wearside, has become the first point-of-purchase printer to receive

  • No place for more secrecy

    NEXT week, councillors will be asked to approve plans to hold an inquiry into a scandal which allowed workers at a North-East leisure centre to be exposed to potentially deadly asbestos. We have already welcomed the proposal to carry out the investigation

  • Internet company wins deal to work on £2.3m centre

    INTERNET company Knowledge IT has struck a deal with Northern Defence Industries (NDI) to provide the largest infrastructure overhaul in its history. The contract, worth £100,000, will see Washington-based Knowledge IT work on NDI's new £2.3m Marine

  • BA places multi-billion pound order for planes

    BRITISH Airways (BA) placed its largest order for new planes for nearly ten years yesterday in a multi-billion pound deal which includes the new Airbus A380 superjumbo. The order is good news for Rolls-Royce, whose engines will power the

  • Huntsman to meet unions over pay dispute

    UNIONS are to meet bosses from chemicals group Huntsman next week in the hope of resolving a dispute over pay. The GMB and Unite unions are concerned that about 200 workers at the Huntsman Tioxide Greatham Works, near Hartlepool, are missing out on bonus

  • Contractor reveals £5m deals and a full order book

    BUILDING and civil engineering contractor Wharton Engineering has won contracts worth more than £5m in the past two months, the company has revealed. The volume of work from the three deals is so great, the Darlington company said its order book for

  • Guitarist assaulted on stage by angry F1 fan

    A FORMULA One fan jumped on stage and assaulted a guitarist because he could not hear his television over the noise of the rock band playing. Kevin Mills, 38, pushed his way through hundreds of music fans and climbed on stage at a community carnival.

  • Hannon to Reel in victory

    Reel Gift can present trainer Richard Hannon with back-to-back victories in the Watership Down Stud Sales Race at Ascot. Hannon lifted the richly-endowed contest with subsequent Group One scorer Indian Ink last year and although not quite of that calibre

  • Being dropped the catalyst for Gibson's outstanding year

    IT is not quite beyond dispute that Ottis Gibson will be voted Durham's Player of the Year because in any other season Phil Mustard, Dale Benkenstein and Michael Di Venuto would have done enough to win it. But as Gibson already has the Professional Cricketers

  • Greatest day in history of Durham

    Cricket writer Tim Wellock looks back on a glorious 2007 for Durham in which they lifted their first silverware on a memorable day at Lord's last month, were just pipped for the county championship, and won promotion to Pro 40 Division One. They also

  • Political bear baiting

    'PRIME Minister, is there anything else you would care to tell us about?" These were the words with which an obsequious TV host of the 1950s ended a cosy, but hopelessly uninformative interview with the PM of the time. It couldn't happen now. The age

  • The season Durham were champs for a day

    DURHAM'S annus mirabilis ended with player of the season, Ottis Gibson, observing: "It's great to be champions for a day." After completing their record seventh championship win of the season, they were indeed top for 24 hours until Sussex overhauled

  • Free advice to farmers affected by virus crisis

    A FIRM of rural specialists is offering free advice to the region's beleaguered farmers. Staff at George F White have received an increasing number of calls from farmers with severe cash-flow problems caused by the foot-and-mouth restrictions on the all-important

  • Triumph emerged from 2004 disaster

    THE seeds of Durham's outstanding season were sown very much in adversity towards the end of a disastrous 2004 campaign. It was yet another season in which the batsmen clearly did not relish playing at home, so a decision was taken that as soon as it

  • Crimean heroes are stars of exhibition

    MEMORIES of courage above and beyond the call of duty have been rekindled in the build up to a military milestone. This year is the 150th anniversary of the presentation of the Green Howards' first two Victoria Crosses, the highest award for gallantry

  • Flight of fancy

    Flight Of The Conchords (BBC4, 11pm) Unreported World (C4, 7.35pm) The Conchords, alias Bret McKenzie and Jemaine Clement, are two guys from New Zealand trying to make it as a band in New York. It may take some time, judging by their efforts in the first

  • Attack of the germ-busters

    SUPERMARKET shelves are full of boxes of wipes in their re-sealable pouches. Wipes for walls, windows, floors, loos, baths, kitchens. Use once and throw away. No rinsing, washing and storing up of germs. Goodbye cloth and can of cleaner. And what on earth

  • Doctor's brave account of life with a genetic timebomb

    Couples in the North-East will soon be among the first to benefit from a fast new way of checking for cancer-causing genes. Health Editor Barry Nelson meets an eminent children's specialist who is fighting her own battle with inherited cancer. Doctor

  • Takeaway owner could face prison

    THE owner of a Chinese takeaway has been warned he could be facing prison after health inspectors closed his shop when they discovered it in a filthy condition.When the First Dawn takeaway, in Middlesbrough, was inspected in March, it was in such an appalling

  • Museum prepares star exhibit for a 12-month tour of Japan

    A DELICATE operation to prepare a one-armed mummy for a 12-month journey to the other side of the world was yesterday in its final stages.Museum staff are packing up a 2,300-year-old Egyptian mummy, which has been one of the star exhibits at the Oriental

  • Aid worker defies war and floods to continue mission

    A WOMAN from the North-East has vowed to continue her charity work in Uganda despite rising floods that have claimed the lives of more than 50 people. Elspeth Robinson, from Darlington, is visiting the country to help poverty-stricken families improve

  • Soldier skiing to British first

    A SOLDIER from the North-East is leading a team on a British first when they attempt to climb one of the world's highest mountains - before skiing down from the summit.Warrant Officer Graeme Taylor will lead a team of 17 soldiers, chosen from 170, up

  • Growing to the big band beat

    PRIZE gardener Paul Rochester has proved he knows his onions when it comes to producing a bumper crop.But it needed some help from Forties' big-band great Glenn Miller to put his produce In the Mood for success.The machine operator from Seaham, County

  • Joy as daffodil rescued from the brink of extinction

    A RARE daffodil, saved from extinction by a dedicated band of flower lovers, has finally been given pride of place on home soil.After a seven-year search, a handful of bulbs of the elusive Weardale Perfection were planted in a churchyard in Wolsingham

  • College campus gets its own sexual health clinic

    A SEXUAL health clinic has been launched at a North-East college in an effort to prevent unwanted pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases.Darlington College, working in partnership with Darlington Primary Care Trust, the Denmark Street Practice

  • Youths stoning cars risk tragedy

    MINDLESS youngsters are playing a potentially fatal game by throwing stones at passing cars.Cabbie Geoff Charlton, who had the windscreen of his taxi cracked, is one of ten motorists to have reported such incidents to police in the past month.The 61-year-old

  • England boss gets ready to tackle Great North Run

    ENGLAND manager Steve McClaren cannot wait to run alongside some of the world's best distance runners, including Paula Radcliffe, when he takes part in Sunday's BUPA Great North Run. The former Middlesbrough boss will be one of 50,000 participants of

  • Hamilton sets the pace in Japan

    WORLD Championship leader Lewis Hamilton set the fastest time in practice to take the early initiative in what looks set to be a hard-fought Japanese Grand Prix. The morning session had been a story of Ferrari dominance as Kimi Raikkonen topped the timesheets

  • Darlington Mayor - Voters say 'NO'

    DARLINGTON will continue with its present political set-up after people voted against an elected mayor. A total of 19,217 cast their votes in yesterday's election - equating to 24.65 per cent of the electorate. Of those, 11,226 people voted 'no', to

  • Council by-elections: Results

    THE Conservatives gained a council seat from Labour in Sunderland sending out a warning to Prime Minister Gordon Brown as he decides whether or not to call a General Election. With the results in from eight out of nine of yesterday's council by-elections

  • Men who murdered for £80 jailed for life

    TWO men are starting life sentences for the murder of a North-East man after a judge told them "drug warfare" would not be tolerated.Richard Petty, 34, from Billingham, near Stockton, was stabbed to death over £80, Teesside Crown Court heard yesterday.Mark

  • Residents say fortnightly collections are rubbish

    WEEKLY bin collections are to be re-introduced in a North-East borough after complaints from residents.Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council has agreed to an eight-week trial period next year following consultation and negative feedback from householders

  • Storm stars as row over McGinley fades

    Ryder Cup captain Nick Faldo and Paul McGinley both stated yesterday that they did not want to say any more on the Irishman's decision to resign as an assistant. McGinley stood down on Wednesday with both of them putting the emphasis on his wish to concentrate

  • Borough awaits verdict on future of local government

    A VAUXHALL Corsa makes a fairly modest election "battle bus" but it could still prove to be the key weapon in the fight to win votes for an elected mayor for Darlington. Yesterday, the unassuming supermini cruised the streets; a man with a megaphone urging

  • Asbestos inquiry must be in public

    AN inquiry into one of the worst health and safety breaches the region has ever seen could be held behind closed doors, it emerged yesterday.Staff who may have been affected by asbestos at Woodhouse Close Leisure Complex, in Bishop Auckland, County Durham

  • Taylor backs calls for change in offside rule

    ANDREW Taylor has urged the footballing authorities to re-examine the offside rule in order to prevent a repeat of the controversy that blighted Middlesbrough's Carling Cup defeat at Tottenham on Wednesday night. The Teessiders became embroiled in the

  • England will rise to challenge, says boss

    England boss Brian Ashton has ''total confidence'' in his players to keep alive their World Cup dream tonight and book a knockout clash against Australia. The showdown in Marseille next Saturday will not materialise unless England topple tournament surprise

  • Allardyce tells frustrated Given not to expect favours

    SHAY GIVEN has been told not to expect any favours from Sam Allardyce, despite the Newcastle United manager's admission that selecting the Irishman would be the easiest thing to do. For only the second time in his ten years at St James' Park, Given is

  • Able willing and ready to begin warship recycling

    THE future of plans to scrap rusting US warships in the North-East will be decided next week.After years of wrangling, inquiries and legal battles, Able UK may be about to receive the go-ahead to begin dismantling warships in Hartlepool.The scheme has