PATIENTS are being urged not to make unnecessary doctor appointments to ease the load on overworked GPs. Doctors at the Woodbridge Practice in Thornaby are under increased pressure and it is believed some patients, who abuse the system, are making the
NOMINATIONS are being taken for an awards ceremony to celebrate adult learning. The newly-created Learning and Skills Council County Durham is urging learners to enter and get their achievements recognised. Adult Learners Week will take place from May
ONE of the world's top performers in a controversial sport is due to appear in the region. Shootwrestler Erik Paulson, from the US, will be at Shildon Martial Arts Centre, County Durham, next month, when he will give a four-hour seminar on the martial
National winning jockey Richard Guest and trainer Norman Mason have gone online to help celebrate their win with Red Marauder. Following the success of the 11-year-old gelding's win at the weekend, the pair are preparing to answer readers' questions at
FOOT-AND-MOUTH tightened its hold on North Yorkshire yesterday with two more confirmed outbreaks in the Dales - taking the county's total to 13. The disease was confirmed on farms at Leyburn and Aysgarth and checks are now taking place on all neighbouring
YOUNGSTERS in Ferryhill had reason to celebrate Easter early this year. More than 60 children between five and 12 entered the Ferryhill Easter cake design competition, organised by Three Rivers Housing Group and baker Greggs. Supported by local schools
SUNDERLAND manager Peter Reid admitted last night: "We can't score goals for love nor money." But the Wearside boss was not too disappointed with sharing the spoils with Middlesbrough in a hard-fought derby game. Reid said: "It is a point and it is a
NEWCASTLE United boss Bobby Robson is aiming to bring a slice of Turkish delight to St. James' Park this summer. Robson has identified £8m-rated Inter Milan striker Hakan Sukur as his top target. The purse strings are being relaxed by United chairman
Britain's first "metric martyr" Steven Thoburn is to stand against Peter Mandelson at the General Election. The Sunderland market trader, who was yesterday convicted of selling his fruit and veg only in pounds and ounces, will represent the Imperial Weights
NEVER before has so much attention been focused on a simple bunch of bananas. In fact they became, in the words of a district judge yesterday, probably the most famous bunch of bananas in legal history. At 25p a pound, the sale of the fruit on imperial
MOTORISTS are being warned to expect disruptions on Thursday as a massive loader passes through the region, on its way to the Cleveland Potash Mine in Boulby, east Cleveland. The low loader is carrying a giant belt filter measuring 25m long by 4.2m wide
A DRIVER was four times over the drink-drive limit when she was involved in an early morning crash which resulted in the death of her uncle, a court heard. John Flynn, 88, who died two weeks after suffering severe head injuries in the collision, was a
CRIMINAL proceedings against public figures are always fraught with danger. The overriding principal of justice has to be fairness. Juries must look at the defendants and the evidence presented before them with absolute objectivity and without prejudice
FOCUSED Micky Barron insists Hartlepool United's players won't be affected by the Football League inqury into Chesterfield's financial affairs. The runaway Third Division leaders face a three-day investigation at Hillsborough from today, with the possibility
THE Marie Curie Cancer Care charity has praised the generosity of County Durham people who dug deep to support its 2001 Daffodil Campaign. The most raised was £1,680 in Durham City, where the fundraising was supported by Pittington Brass Band and the
THE popular television programme Who Wants to be a Millionaire wasn't always a quiz show - first it was the title of a song in the hit musical High Society. Chester-le-Street Operatic Society is producing the show in November and is appealing for new
THE millionaire Grand National-winning horse owner hopes to resolve a planning dispute which has left his family living in a one-bedroomed flat. Norman Mason, the owner-trainer of Red Marauder, was refused planning permission to upgrade the farmhouse
Darlington assistant manager Mick Tait wants his players to keep their unbeaten run going at home to Shrewsbury tonight - and virtually assure safety. Quakers go into the game six points clear of bottom club Torquay, and victory against the Shrews could
A new estate agent has opened for business in Darlington. Deal is a wholly owned subsidiary of Darlington Building Society. Based in the society's Tubwell Row branch, it offers customers a town centre location where their properties can be displayed.
MILLIGAN'S, the North-East's largest independent family-run bakery which runs 42 shops, restaurants and cafes in the region, has expanded its operations into Harrogate. Milligan's Bakery, based on the Newburn Industrial Estate in Newcastle, has invested
BEDE plc, a leader in the design and manufacture of specialist x-ray instruments, has announced its first results since floating on the London Stock Exchange in November. The Durham business recorded a pre-tax profit of £25,000 in the year to December
PRIME Time Recruitment's move to Hartlepool will boost demand for skilled workers across the region. Prime Time will become the first national agency to bring its expertise to the town. The Hartlepool branch will network job opportunities alongside its
FURIOUS workers say the axeing of 400 free car parking spaces in Darlington has left them with a parking headache. Darlington Borough Council introduced long-stay parking charges at seven of its car parks last month. The authority said it wanted to encourage
Leeds footballers Lee Bowyer and Jonathan Woodgate will face a new GBH trial. The two players - accused of beating up an Asian student - will be retried before a High Court judge back at Hull Crown Court on October 8. Bowyer and Woodgate will go back
FORMER Great Britain middle-distance international Terry West is ready to turn his back on a year of injury heartache. The 32-year-old Tyneside teacher has recovered from a persistent ankle problem and hopes to make a comeback in next month's North-East
PROTOCOL can make his previous track experience count in the opening mile-and-a-quarter Apprentice Handicap at Pontefract today. Sue Lamyman's seven-year-old has tried his luck both over jumps at Fakenham and on the level at Southwell's all-weather track
MARSKE bypass will not be made into a dual carriageway, despite a 25-year campaign for the upgrade. Although only one carriageway has been built, the road was designated as a dual carriageway, and Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council needed a court order
MEMBERS of a firefighting shift disbanded by fire chiefs because they had become a "law unto themselves" have lost their claims of unfair dismissal. Michael Coakley and Marshal Ramshaw, both 50, claimed at an industrial tribunal earlier this year, that
NATURALISTS believe the foot-and-mouth outbreak which has hit the region's livestock will have little effect on wild animals. So far, the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (Maff) has ruled out a cull of wild animals in affected areas such as
AN expert on the Holocaust will give a talk before the screening of an emotional documentary on Thursday night. The Oscar-winning film Into The Arms of Stranger will be shown this afternoon and on Thursday at The Arc, in Stockton, Teesside. The documentary
North-East plant contractor Owen Pugh (Site Services) has pledged to continue a project designed to reintroduce a rare butterfly to a quarry near South Shields. The company bought the quarry at Marsden last year and decided to continue funding plans to
NATURALISTS are bracing themselves for the worst after the carcass of one the most destructive species in the British countryside was found in Cleveland. The muntjac deer, renowned for devastating wildflower populations, has been spreading through the
HUNDREDS of pubs across the region face closure as a result of the foot-and-mouth crisis. Figures published by the Brewers and Licensed Retailers' Association (BLRA) reveal that one in ten pubs across Britain are either closing or recording a dip in takings
A FOOTBALL fan is seeking a meeting with his favourite club after successfully appealing against a ban from all grounds in the country. Frank Wheatley was ejected from Sunderland AFC's Stadium of Light for allegedly shouting anti-semitic abuse during
A THREE and a half month long search for a missing pensioner has ended with the tragic discovery of a body. Remains found at a plant hire yard on Todd Point Road, Redcar, have been identified as those of 82-year-old George Winter, who was last seen at
Project engineer. £6ph, 8am to 5pm, Mon-Thur, 1pm finish Fri. Must have experience in mechanical engineering, injection moulding beneficial. Ref: BIG 11171. Call centre operator, Hartlepool. £4ph, 8am to 5pm or 7.30am to 4.30pm, Mon-Fri. Must speak German
SACKED surgeon Neil Hebblethwaite has won his appeal against his dismissal, despite the original finding of misconduct being upheld. The specialist, who worked at The Friarage Hospital, Northallerton, North Yorkshire, was sacked from his post as a consultant
A FIRM from the North-East is at the heart of plans to create Europe's first artificial reef by sinking a Royal Navy battleship off the coast of Cornwall. The Consett firm of consultants, MIS Environmental, was asked to look into the effects on marine
THE generosity of Darlington people will mean hundreds of families will receive an Easter surprise this week. Hundreds of Easter eggs have been collected following an appeal supported by Alpha Radio 103.2, the Asda store chain, car dealer CD Bramall and
WITH his smart suit, sober tie, stern expression, Graham Thompson is every bit the picture of the boring accountant - and he's the first to admit it. It's plain to see, but then extraordinary things lurk beneath many a thing deemed plain. In Graham's
A SCHOOL for children with special needs is planning to link up with youngsters in Africa. The link will be part of an environmental Internet competition. Beaumont Hill School, in Darlington, is one of the schools which has already entered the Web Power
WHEN new PC Karen Bowman joined Durham Constabulary she created force history. She completed what is believed to be the first mother and son combination to serve simultaneously in the Durham force, when she started work at Chester-le-Street. Karen's son
COMPUTER software which can pinpoint crime hotspots has been launched in Newton Aycliffe. The system, introduced after a £38,000 award from the Home Office's crime reduction programme, is being made available in the Durham Constabulary area. The software
FIFTEEN hospitals in the region with poor hygiene standards have cleaned up their act in time to escape being named and shamed as part of a clean-up campaign. Government inspectors checked cleanliness standards at more than 600 hospitals in England last
MORE details about the jobs below are available from the Employment Service Direct on (0845) 606 0234. Tele canvassers, Darlington. £5ph plus bonuses, full and part-time. Must have experience and good customer service skills. Ref: DAE 25553. Sales assistant
VILLAGERS are launching a safety campaign against speeding drivers. Already this year, musicians Meg and John Childs have seen four accidents outside their house in North Close, Kirk Merrington, near Spennymoor. They say motorists drive too fast along
AN environmental pressure group is calling on the public to join its crusade to save green areas in an unprotected part of the region. English Environment believes areas of Teesside should be designated as green belt areas to prevent major developments
EXTRA funding is needed to help one of the region's prisons improve drug rehabilitation, according to its board of visitors. In its annual report, the board of visitors for Holme House Prison, Stockton, has called for money to be made available to help
MORE details about the jobs below are available from the Employment Service Direct on (0845) 606 0234. Administrator, Peterlee. £5.50ph, 20hrs pw, Mon-Fri. Must have keyboard skills. Experience in office environment and clean driving licence required.
TWO communication companies are being accused of being miserly in rural east Cleveland. Janet Borrow, 58, of Shepherd Court, Boosbeck, says because ntl hasn't laid cables in four east Cleveland villages, BT is charging excessive amounts for people to
A JURY begins the second day of its deliberations in a North-East murder trial today. Yesterday, the jury spent more than five hours considering their verdict in the case of Roy Campbell, who is standing trial at Teesside Crown Court accused of murdering
TEACHERS are due to abandon their industrial action over staff shortages to enter talks with the Government and local authorities. The National Union of Teachers (NUT) announced yesterday that it had attained "sufficient clarification" of offers of overtime
A SEA cadets unit is hoping to rope in as many people as possible for its latest fundraising challenge. The Chester-le-Street, County Durham, branch is joining cadets throughout the country in accepting a Guinness Book of Records challenge to tie as many
YOU'RE in the throes of passion when you suddenly remember you're wearing those huge reinforced-nylon knickers that kept your tummy firmly sucked in over dinner. Do you, a) excuse yourself and hastily change into the leopard print thongs you keep for
FEARS over the planting of genetically modified crops in the region will be aired at a meeting with industry experts tomorrow. Within the next few weeks, modified oil seed rape is to be planted at Oakenshaw, near Willington, County Durham. Aventis CropScience
BUDDING young sports stars are heading for one of the world's most famous footballing cities to take part in a competition. Forty-four pupils from Richmond School leave for Milan, on Thursday, to compete against youth teams from across Europe. The players
AN It's a Knockout-style challenge is coming to Newcastle in aid of charity. The event will take place on Sunday, July 29, at the Civil Service Sports Ground, in aid of Breathe North, the British Lung Foundation. Hundreds of people will be able to take
POLICE have issued a warning to bus companies taking children to school after a major operation revealed serious faults on vehicles. Operation Coachman was carried out at schools across North Yorkshire during the past month - and produced several alarming
A CHARITY worker who champions people with disabilities has received an MBE. David Barker, 36, of Durham, received the award from Sir Paul Nicholson, the Lord Lieutenant of County Durham in a ceremony at County Hall yesterday. He had been invited to Buckingham
ANIMAL rights campaigners intent on closing down a research laboratory targeted the North-East works of one of its customers at the weekend. Four members of Stop Huntingdon Animal Cruelty (Shac) spent 20 minutes in GlaxoSmithKline's plant, at Barnard
EXTRA funding announced by the Government will lead to segregation of the sexes at a psychiatric hospital. Men and women patients at 103-year-old St Luke's Hospital, Middlesbrough, sleep in separate dormitories, but share the same day and dining room
COUNCILLORS will today decide whether to fund extra protection for two streets plagued by burglaries. Most of the houses in Bruntoft Road and Dowson Road, in Hartlepool, are council-owned and back on to an area of green land next to the Hartlepool-to-Sunderland
MUSEUM staff have been pulling out all the stops to re-open in time for the Easter weekend following a flood. The DLI Museum and Durham Art Gallery at Aykley Heads in Durham City was forced to close last weekend following an overnight leak from a faulty
CHRISTIAN KAREMBEU dealt a self-inflicted blow to Middlesbrough's relegation fight when he was sent off in a tempestuous Tees-Wear clash at the Riverside Stadium last night. The World Cup-winning Frenchman lost his cool with Sunderland substitute Darren
A TERRITORIAL Army soldier from Bishop Auckland has been honoured in recognition of his outstanding service to the reserve forces. Captain Philip Rolfe, a member of 102 Battalion REME (V), has received the Lord Lieutenant's Certificate. In addition to
ROLAND Hopper will never forget his 11th birthday party - after an armed police team arrested him as he cut his cake. He had been playing with 12 friends at his home in Red House, Sunderland, as he celebrated his big day. But as he showed off the new
FARMERS are being asked to wait just a few more days before a clearer picture emerges of how long the foot-and-mouth epidemic will continue its hold over Britain. Agriculture minister Nick Brown also urged them to cooperate fully with the Government's
TOURISM TO help the tourist industry in places like the Lake District, the Government should reopen the fells and high tops to walkers. There are no sheep on the hills at this time of year as they are all in the enclosed low lying fields for lambing and
MAFF officials have yet to decide whether animals buried at a second farm will have to be exhumed - but a spokesman said yesterday it was "unlikely". Ministry officials must decide whether 1,100 carcasses at High Hedley Hope Farm, near Lanchester, County
ECONOMIC development chiefs on South Tyneside are using the latest technology to attract more job-creating companies from all over the world. A CD-Rom now guides viewers on a virtual tour of what the borough has to offer in terms of business accommodation
A THIEF died after jumping into a river to escape a police plane he thought was giving chase. An inquest at County Hall in Durham heard how 21-year-old John Fisher, of Moorlands, in Gilesgate, went missing in the early hours of Monday, February 12 after
GREGGS the bakers have created ten jobs with the opening of a branch in Richmond. The North Yorkshire shop is the most southerly shop for the Greggs of Gosforth division, which covers an area from Berwick across to Hexham in the west, a total of 108 shops
THE Learning and Skills Council (LSC) for the Tees Valley has been awarded £118.3m to spend on post-16 education over the next year. The LSC will immediately embark on a programme of "bite-size" courses to attract adults into learning for the first time
UNDERTAKER John Miller was certainly dead lucky when he scooped £5.4m on the Lottery at the weekend. It was second time lucky for John, 28, who won the Lottery after finding out his wife, Karen, is about to give birth to twins. He believes the win is
NORTH-EAST chemical company Ineos Acrylics has won an award for the way it minimises its impact on the environment. The Billingham firm, which makes materials for acrylic-based products, received the internationally recognised ISO 14001 registration.
IT was meant to be a love-nest by the sea, but is now the subject of a bitter dispute. The former Heartbeat star, known to TV around the worldviewers as loveable rogue Claude Greengrass, has placed a legal notice in an evening newspaper in Scarborough
A COUPLE have been banned from keeping animals for ten years after allowing their two pets to suffer. Dogs owned by Keith and Mary Calvert were found to be infested with fleas and mange when the couple took them to vet Paul Wilson in 1999. At an earlier
POLICE investigating a sudden death at the weekend, uncovered drugs worth up to £45,000 and thousands of pounds in cash. Officers were called to a house in Wynyard Mews, Hartlepool, on Saturday where they found the body of 27-year-old Michael Owen in
A NEW caf restaurant has opened thanks to help from UK Land Estates. Rosa Lena's is on the ground floor of Nexus House, on the corner of St James Boulevard and Westgate Road, in Newcastle. The Mediterranean-style caf restaurant serves Greek and Italian
CONSTRUCTION company M&M Plasline is looking good after winning contracts worth £1.25m in recent weeks. Expertise in school work and the restoration and refurbishment of listed buildings has contributed to making the Bishop Auckland firm a major player
CONTINUING economic growth in the construction industry will provide thousands of jobs in the North-East over the next five years according to a report from the Construction Industry Training Board (CITB). The report, Construction Employment and Training
THE lead developer at Teesdale Business Park, Terrace Hill, is continuing to create a business address among the most sought-after in the North-East. A progress report from North-East director, Philip Leech, covers the development of another top-specification
A MOTORCYCLIST will stand trial today accused of causing the death of a school caretaker by driving dangerously. Hartlepool father-of-two Kevin Lynn, 42, died in an accident on the mountain section of the Isle of Man TT racecourse, last June 2. Fellow
SOUTH Cleveland Hospital is to be renamed the James Cook University Hospital in honour of one of the region's most famous sons. The name change will mark a £139m revamp to transform the existing site in Marton Road, Middlesbrough, into an ultra-modern
VILLAGERS are to protest over a mass burial pit on the edge of their community. Families at Tow Law, County Durham, plan to gather outside an identified foot-and-mouth disposal site this afternoon, to vent their fury at plans to dump 120,000 carcasses
LOCAL people are finding jobs - for other residents. More than 50 people living in west Middlesbrough - the subject of a New Deal for Communities (NDC) multi-million pound facelift - have found a job through the "The great thing about "Our jobs and training
THE first scheme aimed at stamping out anti-social behaviour in the North-East was formally launched in Middlesbrough yesterday. The Acceptable Behaviour Campaign was launched by Cleveland Police in South Bank aimed at stopping would-be troublemakers
A TELECOMMUNICATIONS firm with a strong base in the North-East may have become the first in the UK to put a mandatory block on Internet porn. Last night, Home Secretary Jack Straw "broadly welcomed'' ntl's initiative in introducing a filter system -denying
THE region's very own line-dancing superstar has been sharing some of her secrets with youngsters in North Yorkshire. World champion Rachael McEnaney was the first European to beat the Americans at their own game when she took the title earlier this year
A TINA Turner lookalike was on hand yesterday to help with a final fundraising boost. Grandmother Maureen Wake and her friends and family are the Copycats, who transform themselves into a variety of stars, including Tina Turner and Dolly Parton, and mime
A SCHOOL extension was opened by its youngest pupil yesterday. One-month-old Georgia Postgate was helped by her mother, Debra, to cut the ribbon for an extension to St Joseph's RC Primary School, in Rosecroft Lane, Loftus. The extension was established
STAFF at Durham's cinema fear the city could be left without a picture house if plans to convert it to an Australian theme-nightspot are approved. Regent Inns, of London, is seeking planning permission to turn the independent Robins in North Road into
MORE details about the jobs below are available from the Employment Service Direct on (0845) 606 0234. Telephone receptionist, Northallerton. £35 per day, weekly paid, Mon-Fri 8.30am to 5pm. experience an advantage. Ref: NOE 13305. Electricians, Northallerton-based
MORE details about the jobs below are available from the Employment Service Direct on (0845) 606 0234. Project engineer. £6ph, 8am to 5pm, Mon-Thur, 1pm finish Fri. Must have experience in mechanical engineering, injection moulding beneficial. Ref: BIG
IT COULD hardly have been more British. It poured down, we carried a copy of the Daily Telegraph - the Guardian, somehow, would not have been so stiff upper lip - and the chattering classes had gathered in cheerful congregation to talk, as Dr Johnson
For reasons which need not detain us, Hartlepool United chief scout Tommy Miller was the other night headed for Cove Rangers - somewhere on Scotland's storm-tossed northern extremities - when word arrived that the match was off. Instead he took in Montrose
TELECOMS group Orange has claimed to be the UK's fastest growing operator after ringing up 1.2 million new customers in the past three months. The group, which was floated by parent France Telecom earlier this year, said it now had 11 million UK customers
