THE wife of the driver who unwittingly triggered the Selby rail disaster broke down last night as she dismissed suggestions he had fallen asleep at the wheel as "rubbish". Gary Hart's Land Rover and trailer careered off a motorway onto the East Coast
ADULT comic Viz is going up-market with a move into the men's lifestyle section of a nationwide chain of stores. The alternative Newcastle publication, which attracted a cult following with such cartoon strips as Biffa Bacon and The Fat Slags, will be
PUB landladies are backing a drive to publicise the help available for domestic violence victims. Members of the Durham Ladies' Auxiliary raised £1,000 for a poster campaign by the Chester-le-Street and Durham Crime and Disorder Partnership. The posters
WHEN it comes to toilet humour a group of North-East pals have plumbed new heights. While Kevin Hudson was enjoying a weekend away with his girlfriend, his friends climbed on to the roof of his semi in Norfolk Close, Seaham, County Durham, and swapped
INCREASES in car parking charges in a town centre are to be limited following public objections. Charges in some of Hartlepool's car parks were set to be doubled after councillors approved a package of measures last year. But following complaints from
WE did a good job last week, when we beat Belfast and should have won in Cardiff, too. I'm really happy about the guys and I had a pretty good scrap on Saturday night with Paul Ferone, of the Belfast Giants. Tonight's a crucial match for us against Fife
IT has been a rather quiet week for the Jesters. We played only one game, against the Fife Flyers from the BNL and we beat them 8-1. I was surprised by the difference in the level between the two leagues. I thought they would prove better opposition.
This week I won't talk about ice hockey. Instead, I want to talk about courage and the courage my father is showing right now. Like you must know, I had to go back to Canada for a while because my father suffered a stroke about a month ago. It is the
IT has been a week with ups and downs for the Jesters. Last Saturday, we faced Sheffield and got beaten 4-1. We can't afford to have any letdowns against a team like the Steelers and it is what happened. In that match, I had my first encounter with Dennis
IT was a quiet week for Newcastle Jesters as we had three days off. I think it was a good thing to have some time away from the rink. When things are not going well it is good to take the time to get ourselves back in good shape both physically and mentally
Like you must know by now, there has been some change this week. Jukka Jalonen stepped down as our coach. He paid the price for our bad form we showed the last two months. I really think he did a good job here and every guy on this team should look at
THREE generations of a family were recovering yesterday after their vehicle was stuck in a snowdrift for nearly 15 hours. Police, council workers and farmers formed a search party to find Michael Collinson, his father, Tom, 68, and son Mark, 12, who became
A WOMAN is to sue a Dutch hospital after the tragic end to the new life abroad that she and her husband had planned. Elivia and John Pickard moved to Holland from North Yorkshire in April 1999 to be closer to friends. But within four months Mr Pickard
ROYLE Family star and former Brookside actor Ricky Tomlinson will be in the region tomorrow, to encourage people to return to education. Known best as couch potato Jim Royle, Mr Tomlinson will be launching Darlington Learning Town's Passport to Learning
FOOT-AND-MOUTH WE have been ramblers for 43 years and, as such, we have always respected the laws of the land. In the face of this foot-and-mouth outbreak, commonsense must prevail as regards walking. I do find some attitudes of younger walkers wholly
AMONG the funny things about Tuesday night was that at Scotch Corner a blizzard was raging - getting quite upset, anyway - whilst 15 miles to the south the sky was clear. Among other funny things, 15 miles to the south, was the appearance - direct from
A UNIVERSITY has launched an investigation into age discrimination in the work place. The University of Teesside, at Middlesbrough, is carrying out a survey of businesses and business practice, funded by the European Social Fund. An appeal is going out
A BID for £1m of National Lottery cash to carry out improvements to a cemetery has won council backing. The scheme for Linthorpe Cemetery, Middlesbrough's oldest burial ground, has been finalised. The project, costing £1,729,000, includes the conversion
INURY-ravaged Newcastle have been dealt a major blow with the news that midfielder Kieron Dyer needs surgery. The 22-year-old underwent a scan on his long-standing shin injury after being forced to withdraw from Sven-Goran Eriksson's England squad for
BUSINESSES in the North are facing crippling losses as the foot-and-mouth outbreak escalates. The farming and food industry alone will lose an estimated three quarters of a billion pounds if the disease is not brought under control in the next three months
THE firm behind a £7m leisure complex is expected to name the "national companies" interested in opening on the site later this month. Developers Terrace Hill were granted outline planning permission earlier this month for the three-storey complex on
MIDDLESBROUGH head coach Terry Venables last night demanded a disciplinary shake-up after writing off England hero Ugo Ehiogu for the next six weeks. Centre-back Ehiogu, who scored England's third goal as Sven-Goran Eriksson's reign was launched with
Darlington manager Gary Bennett yesterday ended a four-month chase by finally signing striker Kirk Jackson from Worksop Town. Quakers have paid an undisclosed fee for 24-year-old Jackson, who has scored over 40 goals this season for Worksop and has helped
PAUL Thirlwell is primed to answer manager Peter Reid's SOS call - if he gets the chance. The 22-year-old midfielder has not made a senior start since September, but feels he is ready to finally get off the substitutes' bench.. "I have been biding my
As metric martyr Steven Thoburn prepared to do battle for pounds and ounces yesterday, it was revealed he had been involved in a dispute of a different kind. The 36-year-old greengrocer arrived at Sunderland County Court to continue a test case about
BOTH Terry Venables and Bobby Robson were in attendance at a freezing Central Avenue, Billingham last night as Newcastle comfortably won a one-sided derby. The two were assessing players ahead of this weekend's games and Robson will have been the happier
THE Forestry Commission has introduced measures to try to ensure that the disease is not passed on from deer in its North-East woods. Permits for shooting deer, which, along with sheep and cattle, can contract the disease, have been suspended for four
IT SEEMS cruelly symbolic that a 6ft tall plastic hamster at this week's Millennium Dome contents sale went for £3,800 to the owner of a farm visitor attraction in Kent. For it gives us a nightmarish glimpse of the sort of countryside of the future many
EXPLORER Group, one of the UK's leading manufacturers of caravans and motor homes, has reported record sales at the Boat, Caravan and Leisure Show, held at the National Exhibition Centre in Birmingham, earlier this month. The Consett company presented
IT was a pretty good weekend on the road. We dominated Bracknell on Saturday and beat them 5-3 despite questionable calls from the referee and we showed a lot of character. It was my birthday on that day and it was nice to score. I also fought their tough
LOOKING back at last weekend, I'm very disappointed that we didn't come away with a result or two. The team played very well in Sheffield on Saturday night and we were unlucky not to win the game in the third period. We dominated the Panthers on Sunday
We were extremely disappointed with the result on Sunday against Sheffield. We played very well as a team for 56 minutes but the last four minutes let us down. We made mental mistakes and Sheffield punished us. Our luck in overtime hasn't been great this
It has been a pretty rough week again. We went to Belfast and lost our two matches there 4 - 1 and 6 -3. I think our confidence level is pretty low right now and we have to find a way to score more goals. When a team struggles like we are at the moment
Finally, some good news for our team! Last week, we defeated the Manchester Storm twice playing really well and showing what we are all about. I think it is great for the Jesters and with ten games left, we have to keep playing the same way for a spot
THIS is a crucial week for our Newcastle Jesters side. We are currently tied with the Nottingham Panthers for the eighth and final spot for the play-offs. It might easily come to our last game of the season to determine our fate. Actually, we will face
A MOTHER has received an apology after she got a letter offering her murdered son education opportunities at the college where his killer studied. Liz Neailey said she felt violently ill when she opened the letter from Newcastle College, which suggested
A MAN died when his car left the A1 in North Yorkshire in atrocious driving conditions early yesterday. The Ford Capri was travelling south from Scotch Corner when it careered off the road and into a fence just north of the A684 interchange, at Leeming
TUBE manufacturer Corespec has completed a £250,000 investment in its premises two years ahead of schedule. The company, located at the Greencroft Industrial Park in Annfield Plain, is already the fourth largest independent tube manufacturer in the UK
CONSTRUCTION group Harrison Developments has substantial funds available to secure further opportunities in the North-East, following a record year. Pre-tax profits for the year to last December rose to £2.74m, reflecting the success of the group's focus
A drama based on real-life tragedy has been taking the anti-drink drive message to young people in Darlington. A professional theatre company brought the play Too Much Punch For Judy to Darlington Technical College yesterday. The visit, which was arranged
THEY have survived an horrendous rail crash which left some of their fellow passengers dead - but now they face a new challenge. As well as their physical wounds, the 70 passengers injured in the Selby tragedy now carry the mental scars from their ordeal
THE Selby disaster was not a rail accident. It was a road traffic accident, in which 13 rail passengers were killed. In the interests of fairness and natural justice, we must pre-judge nothing. It is wrong to point any finger of suspicion at the driver
A MOTHER has praised the police officers who rescued her two children from their blazing home. Barbara Gardner, 27, of Galsworthy Road, Biddick Hall, South Shields, was watching television with her friend, Karen Paul, when a fire broke out in the bathroom
LICENSEES Chris and Sheila Brown have come up with a novel way to encourage custom at their North-East pub. The couple have set up a mini library in the lounge of their premises at the Honest Boy, in Blackfell Village Centre, Washington. A growing list
While the foot-and-mouth crisis is gripping the country, many organisations are using the Internet to keep people informed and provide the most up-to-date advice. All users are catered for - from specialist farming information to general news and advice
IN a mystery worthy of the X-Files, the authorities and astronomical experts were last night at odds over whether an extraterrestrial visitor had crash landed in North Yorkshire. The out-of-this-world alert was sparked when a woman walking her dogs appeared
TEACHER Iain Bennett was expecting a tough challenge when he set off on his Mission Antarctica trip. The 38-year-old was looking forward to sailing round the notorious Cape Horn and spending two weeks helping to clear 1,000 tons of scrap from a Russian
Tonight's A international between England and Scotland has been switched from Newcastle to Leeds. Officials from the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food have expressed concern over Newcastle staging fixtures. The ground is close to a number of
A NORTH-EAST football great is to be given a civic honour following a campaign by local residents. Former Middlesbrough star George Hardwick is to be given the Freedom of the Borough of Redcar and Cleveland along with Redcar historian Vera Robinson. The
PACKAGE holiday group Airtours is to close 120 of its Going Places and Travelworld high street shops. The move, which will reduce the group's number of high street stores to 720, will affect about 550 staff. Richard Carrick, chief executive of the group's
THREE fields in County Durham are among up to 300 sites in the country earmarked for new genetically modified (GM) crop trials in the spring. Oilseed rape is being planted at Oakenshaw, near Willington, and Hutton Magna, between Barnard Castle and Darlington
HOUSEBUILDER Persimmon has enjoyed another record year, with pre-tax profits rising 28 per cent, despite selling fewer houses. The York housebuilder, which has operations across the North-East including Newcastle, reported pre-tax profits up to £104m,
