TV funnyman Bobby Ball - clocked doing 97mph on the A1(M) - has escaped a driving ban. "I'm very relived and so grateful, and I will be coming back to Sunderland for panto," he said after appearing before the city's magistrates. The 63-year-old comedian
Over 450 of the worlds top junior squash players from 34 countries around the world travelled to Sheffield this month for the world's top competition, the Tchnifibre British Junior Open. Aycliffe top junior squash player, Sarah Dowson finished in overall
A RESTAURANT owner who served what was billed as the world's hottest curry has died from a heart attack. Abdul Latif, 52, offered his famous hot curry - dubbed Curry Hell - free to any diner who could finish it at his Newcastle restaurant. Mr Latif
California Belles U15s are gearing themselves up for a busy second half of the season, with a busy and full fixture list, and are urgently looking for players. Any girls interested in playing please ring Karen: 01642 or Nicola: 01642 502411
A PRISON-LOVING woman refused to pay for three late-night takeaways in a bid to get herself locked up. Angela Hawkes, 45, ordered from three takeaways including a pizza shop and tandoori house. But when it came to paying for the £50-plus of orders,
TWO teenagers were recovering in hospital today after their car left a road, went down an embankment and ended on a rail line. Although the car came to rest on the East Coast Main Line, near Cramlington station, north of Newcastle, no services were affected
THE badly burnt body of a man has been found in a field in North Yorkshire. The gruesome discovery was made at 1.10pm on Saturday in a field off Wistow Road, Selby, near York. North Yorkshire Police cordoned off the area but the death is not being treated
A DRUGS minder who said that a gang threatened to execute him unless he carried out their orders has been jailed for four years. David Swainston, 23, told police he owed £900 for lost drugs to the gang which they increased to £3,000 for late payment.
A CONVICTED killer remains on the run today after a police search of a main line railway station for the escapee proved fruitless. The Northumbria force responded to a tip-off that 24-year-old convict Lee Nevins may be on a Newcastle-bound train, on
A SUSPECT continued to be questioned by police today after the death of a man believed to have been attacked with a broken bottle. David McCully was found lying in a pool of blood at the junction of Strathmore and Shaftoe roads in Springwell, Sunderland
VIRGIN boss Sir Richard Branson claimed that he was in pole position to take over the stricken Northern Rock bank as the Government prepared to announce fresh cash to support a private takeover. Chancellor Alistair Darling will make a Commons statement
A CITY'S new swimming pool and fitness complex is on course for its scheduled summer opening, and on budget. The baths and general sports development, in Freeman's Place, Durham, was this week named as Freeman's Quay Leisure Centre, by the city council
In a game played in conditions that fully justify the winter break Billingham started the stronger of the two sides and opened the scoring on 9 minutes 0-1. Norton U15 Girls pressed forward but just couldn't manage to convert any of Jess Stockton's unselfish
A NORTH-East academic is part of a four-man science team led by the British Antarctic Survey that is exploring an ancient lake beneath Antarctica's ice sheet. Dr John Woodward, of Witton Gilbert, near Durham City, a Senior Lecturer in Geography in the
BUSINESSES in Richmond and Catterick Garrison could be handed a cash boost of up to £25,000. The funding - from Richmondshire District Council and Yorkshire Forward - has been made available to help stimulate private investment in the Renaissance Market
CELEBRATING 40 years of continuous touring, the internationally renowned Syd Lawrence Orchestra is returning to the North-East. Musicians are continuing to keep the Big Band sounds of Glenn Miller, Count Basie, Tommy Dorsey, Billy May, Frank Sinatra
BRITISH pig farmers have launched a £1.5m national advertising campaign to win a fairer price for their pigs. And they warned that without a rise of at least 20p per kilo by Easter many farmers will not survive. The new campaign includes adverts saying
A COUNCILLOR facing a £60 fine for parking eight inches outside a space is forming a campaign group for disabled drivers in Darlington. Coun Peter Freitag says the Disabled Drivers Action Group (DDAG) will support disabled drivers, campaign for more
