TERRY VENABLES last night launched the countdown to Middlesbrough's derby clash with Newcastle in two weeks' time by warning Bobby Robson: "You could go down.'' Venables fired the first shot in the build-up to Tyne-Tees hostilities at St. James' Park
WHEN coal was king, Horden was the bright jewel in the crown. In 1930, when 4,428 saints toiled below, they mined 6,758 tons in a day - a European record that stood for 30 years. It was reckoned Britain's biggest village, around 15,000 crowded into colliery
THE foot-and-mouth outbreak is far from contained. In the ten days since the crisis began, the disease has reached all corners of the nation. In these circumstances, we must question the wisdom of relaxing the ban on the movement of livestock. If the
ACTRESS Susannah Doyle had reservations when asked to join the cast of BBC1's Ballykissangel. A very understandable reaction as her father, Tony Doyle, starred in the series as wheeler dealer Brian Quigley, until his death last year. "I was extremely
WOLVERHAMPTON & Dudley, the UK's largest regional pubs and brewing business, has set a deadline for potential suitors looking to buy the group. The company, which employs 140 at its Camerons Lion brewery in Hartlepool along with three others and 1,700
The New Dynamic Duo Though we are past our spring and summer, And well into the autumn of our days, Life to us is still one grand adventure, As we travel on life's varied highways. We find all our days are filled with sunshine, We see not a cloud in the
POLICE are hunting thieves who stole sports shirts worth £120,000 from a lorry parked overnight at a motorway service station. The lorry was at Bowburn Services, on the A1(M) near Durham City, when the raiders struck on Tuesday night. They took 1,000
THE self-confessed killer of pizza delivery girl Julie Hogg may yet face a second trial for her murder after a senior legal body recommended a change in the double jeopardy law. Billy Dunlop, 37, was twice tried and finally acquitted in 1991 of murdering
WHILE anxious to play down the local derby aspect, Darlington player-coach Phil Lancaster is expecting a keen tussle with Darlington Mowden Park today. The teams meet at Blackwell Meadows in a Durham Cup semi-final and Lancaster is confident of closing
A POOL attendant who pulled a drowning man from 13ft of water and saved his life has been given the highest award possible from the Royal Lifesavers' Society. Claire Nicholas, 20, was one of a team of four commended by the organisation after they pulled
THERE was no gloating from Darlington, no whingeing from Mowden - just welcome signs of bridge-building after Saturday's Durham Cup semi-final. Negotiations were under way for Mowden to play one of their outstanding league fixtures in midweek under floodlights
THE foot-and-mouth epidemic showed no signs of abating last night as the number of confirmed UK cases spiralled to 69. In the North-East - one of the country's worst affected areas - five more cases were reported over the weekend. A pig farm at Hamsterley
MUCH of the British public shares William Hague's hostility to further European integration. His avowed aim to save the pound strikes a chord with those who wish to defend our nation's unique identity. Britain needs to decide, and decide quickly, whether
Kimberley, which plays host to today's action is South Africa's one and only sand track. It is a country course in Northern Cape, a mile and a quarter round, with a run-in of less than two furlongs. The make-up of the surface means that the dust billows
This is a good time to plant and restore a hedge. Hedges provide privacy, shelter and offer a fine background for beds and borders. If you are thinking of planting a new hedge, then take action this weekend. Deciduous shrubs such as hornbeam and beech
Sunderland boss Peter Reid is pleading with his players to allow him to celebrate his 250th league game in charge with a victory. Almost six years after taking over the reins, Reid will lead his side into battle in a landmark game against Aston Villa
THE champagne stayed firmly corked in the bottle as world champion Michael Schumacher's victory celebrations in Australia today turned into a muted and sombre affair. Schumacher should have been savouring one of the best victories of his career as he
SUSAN floats down the magnificent staircase of her giant £7m mansion looking like a woman in her element. Glancing at her salon-styled hair, designer suit and Prada heels clicking against rare Italian marble flooring, you might be forgiven for thinking
Britain was put on high alert for terrorist attacks yesterday after a car bomb exploded outside the BBC's London headquarters. The blast in the early hours at BBC Television Centre in west London was part of an ongoing campaign of "murderous attacks"
CAN you tell me the words to the poem which begins Youth's for an hour, beauty's a flower, I don't know who it is by? - C Parker, Peterlee. The poem is by Moira O'Neill and is as follows: Youth's for an hour, Beauty's a flower, But love is the jewel that
HAPLESS Hamilton Ricard embodied the mood of frustration and dejection at the Riverside as Middlesbrough produced a miserable performance which did nothing to ease their relegation fears. Striker Ricard was booed by sections of the crowd when he was substituted
PAT lives each day on a knife-edge. No one is allowed beyond the gate of the family farm, her shopping gets left in the drive, even the postman is banned from entry. While many may regard the threat of foot-and-mouth disease as a fear that beleaguered
The most eagerly-awaited encounter at Elland Road this morning will not be on the pitch, but on the sidelines when Sir Alex Ferguson meets Brian Kidd. Relations between the Manchester United manager and his former right-hand man have been as frosty as
FARMING THE latest crisis of foot-and-mouth disease to hit the farming industry is just one in a long line of disasters in recent years, and will probably not be the last. I, like many people, am saddened at the way farming has turned in the last 20 years
NEWCASTLE'S Jonny Wilkinson will spearhead England's bid to regain the Calcutta Cup today, and admits: ''I know that people expect me to play well.'' Wilkinson was three when Scotland last won at Twickenham, a 22-12 triumph in 1983 orchestrated by their
FILM star Russell Crowe is the man of the moment. He lunged into our lives in Gladiator with his bull-neck, stubbly beard and leather skirt - and left women swooning. Crowe is a testosterone-fuelled, man's man. When he turned up in Britain recently to
Q My husband needs a lot of looking after because of problems with his heart and lungs. I am on Retirement Pension of £67.50. If he succeeds in getting Attendance Allowance can I get a care allowance? A No. Invalid Care Allowance is £4.40 but it can be
DARLINGTON will be heading across the Pennines for their crucial six-pointer at Carlisle this afternoon, bidding to return from Brunton Park with at least one point. The Quakers have made avoiding defeat their number one priority as they make the short
Middlesbrough's Premiership future is looking all the more precarious tonight after the Teessiders failed to beat Charlton Athletic at the Riverside Stadium. Boro might thank themsleves lucky that they came away from this game with a point after Shaun
Darlington did their survival chances the world of good with a 2-0 win against fellow strugglers Carlisle at Brunton Park. Former Leeds starlet Mark Ford opened the scoring for the Quakers with his second goal in as many games, giving Carlisle keeper
THE revival of Whitby's shipbuilding industry took another big step forward at the weekend with the launch of one of the biggest fishing trawlers. The 61ft twin-rig trawler Reliant is the fourth fishing vessel to be built by Parkol Marine Engineering
THE Tees Valley Business Awards proved to be a glittering success for a number of Darlington companies. Conservatory manufacturer Amdega brought back two top awards to the town, including the biggest prize, Tees Valley Company of the Year. The company
THINK of Whitby and the mind naturally turns to sun, sand and sea and probably fish and chips. At less than an hour away from home it is the ideal day trip in the summer, but that is exactly where I have been going wrong. By the time you arrive in Whitby
THE Swiss Army knife is probably the original Gadgetman tool. Created more than a century ago, it remains as useful as ever. When the design was first registered on June 12, 1897, the Swiss Army knife was no survivalist plaything. Created by Charles Elsener
DIGITAL broadcaster Ondigital has been criticised for its decision to charge customers for a weekly television guide. The company has ceased production of its free monthly guide and replaced it with "ON7" television guide. Customers have until March 28
THERE'S something very homely about Sunday services in the North Pennines village of Rookhope. Because, ever since Christmas Eve, residents have been unable to worship in the village church, either because of bad weather or the cost of turning on an expensive
Relatives of the victims of the Selby rail crash gathered at a special service yesterday to commemorate those who died and pray for the injured and for grieving relatives. The 45-minute service was held at the parish church of St Paul in Hensall, North
A MAN is to appear in court today charged with the murder of a North-East university student. The 24-year-old man from the Durham City area will appear before Chester-le-Street magistrates, accused of killing 21-year-old Patrick Brown, an undergraduate
ALAN Shearer must have thought he'd seen it all since bursting on to the scene as a raw 17-year-old down at Southampton. A hat-trick on his debut as a teenager, the first man to score 30 Premier League goals in three successive seasons during the 90s,
HARTLEPOOL United boss Chris Turner last night reflected on Saturday's 1-1 draw at York and admitted: "We let our standards slip". Pool remained in fourth place after the Bootham Crescent encounter, but were left to ponder what might have been after failing
FORGET HG Wells and Dr Who, the answer to the mysteries of time travel may just lie somewhere along the B6278 near Barnard Castle. For one of Britain's leading experts on UFOs and the paranormal has pinpointed the area in Teesdale, County Durham, as a
PROTESTORS have called for an immediate halt to an electricity pylon project in North Yorkshire, after revelations about a link to childhood cancers. The Government Advisory Group on Non-ionising Radiation is expected to admit for the first time this
Kirk Jackson showed his scoring instinct in a dream debut to ease the Quakers' relegation worries. Darlington are now eight points above demoralised bottom-club Carlisle, who were sunk by the 24-year-old's well taken second-half strike and a superb Mark
GOALKEEPER Mark Schwarzer insists Middlesbrough are better equipped to escape relegation than they were in their ill-fated campaign four years ago. Boro's survival bid then was undermined by the deduction of three points and the distraction of Coca-Cola
Marske United manager Charlie Bell believes that his side are the underdogs in today's all Northern League FA Vase quarter-final against Bedlington Terriers. Marske are complete newcomers to this stage, having already surpassed their previous best in
A TOP performing school has been hit by scandal for the second time in recent months, after another pupil was caught with drugs. The student, believed to be a teenage girl, is thought to have been found with cannabis at Hartlepool's English Martyrs School
BOBBY THOMPSON I FOLLOWED with interest the tribute to Bobby Thompson on Tyne Tees Television. It took me back to a time in the early 1950s when I had an audition in Hartlepool for the Teddy Hinge production of 'What Cheor, Geordie' starring the late
A WOMAN holidaymaker has died after a prisoner grabbed the steering wheel of a police car which then careered into two minibuses packed with tourists in Morocco. Judith Jamieson, from Clifton, York, was sitting at the front of the second minibus when
Tiger Woods repeated his opening day 64 to move closer to his first victory of the year in the Dubai Desert Classic. After trailing Dane Thomas Bjorn for most of the second round, the world No 1 produced five back-nine birdies to reach halfway on the
A GUNMAN who shot his best friend in the arm with a home-made firearm was jailed for three-and-a-half years yesterday. Anthony Conlon was left with a gaping flesh wound after best mate Dean Potts, 31, shot him at point blank range. The gun discharged
