NEWCASTLE Falcons are gambling on restoring Epi Taione to the back row for tomorrow's visit of fellow Zurich Premiership strugglers Bath. Both teams are on 14 points, four ahead of Bristol, and after losing to the bottom two clubs in the last two weeks
WE'LL be bombing Iraq by Christmas; your house'll burn down and no one will lift a finger; Osama bin Laden still haunts us with his ghostlike bearded face; the Royal Family is on the verge of abolishing itself; you can't even head a football without dying
IT was one of those dreary, damp and cold Friday afternoons. The type of day when the weather prevents you from getting on with any of the gardening jobs that need doing. We (myself and trainees) had been out in the rain all morning and were suffering
'Oh well, we can concentrate on the league now' are words often muttered in the wake of cup exits. While managers up and down the country will be using the old clich as their trump card this morning caretaker boss Mick Tait can contemplate a second round
JURGEN MACHO has no intentions of giving up his Sunderland first team shirt without a fight. The Austrian produced a superb display of goalkeeping to deny second-place Liverpool the victory they needed to reclaim top spot from Arsenal yesterday. Sunderland's
EYEBROWS were raised in the summer when Middlesbrough boss Steve McClaren allowed veteran midfielders Paul Ince and Robbie Mustoe to leave. But after another impressive display from the pair's replacements - George Boateng and Geremi - at Chelsea even
CALLS are being made for safety measures to be implemented at the scene of a fatal car crash. A man died on Wednesday night when his van collided head-on with a car and burst into flames on a bend on the A67 near Teesside Airport. Farmers whose homes
DESPITE almost 19 successful years in football with Arsenal, Manchester City, Sunderland and the Republic of Ireland, it is the image of Niall Quinn as the genial giant who gave away £1m to charity that seems the one destined to endure. In truth, at 6ft
Bishop Auckland manager Brian Honour is struggling to raise a full squad for Bishops' tie at Birtley in the Durham Challenge Cup. Honour could be missing as many as seven regulars for the trip to the Wearside League club. He is definitely without four
SUPER VETS Rob Hand and Sheila Allen will be determined to put the North-East on the map in today's big Home Countries and Irish Veterans Cross Country Championships in Ballymena. Durham City general practitioner Hand, the reigning UK Veterans cross country
As the Last Post sounded, the old soldier died with his boots on at a Rememberance Day service last Sunday. NORMAN Foster had grown old, as those who are left grow old. On Sunday, as on every Remembrance Day since his demobilisation, he stood with his
After years of ill health, Moors Murderer Myra Hindley died yesterday aged 60. Christen Pears looks back at her crimes and her stuggle for freedom. AFTER 36 years in jail, Myra Hindley must have been looking forward to the possibility of release, but
ELVIS Presley was spotted in Darlington yesterday as charity fundraisers dressed up for Children in Need. Students from Darlington College of Technology wore their clothes inside out and collected bucketfuls of cash from town centre shoppers. One student
PUPILS at a Darlington school held a Harry Potter day to raise money yesterday. Children and teachers from Red Hall Primary School dressed in capes and hats for the day and raised more than £100. Children paid 50p to go dressed as Harry Potter, Hermione
People in the region are being invited to join a day-trip to Glasgow to help raise funds for charity. The Teesdale branch of Cancer Research UK is hoping to raise funds for cancer sufferers in the region through the coach trip, on Tuesday, December 10
The head of the US missile defence project is to visit the UK base which is key to its success. Defence chiefs have played down the significance of General Ronald Kadish's trip to the RAF Fylingdales early warning radar station, in North Yorkshire. But
A former British Airways worker was found guilty of drug dealing yesterday. David Newnham, 56, was caught with heroin, morphine, Ecstasy, amphetamines, cannabis resin, tem-azepam and diazepam when police raided his home. He claimed that it was for his
COUNCIL chiefs have defended their funding of buses on a toll road. Durham County Council introduced the country's first congestion charge in October on Durham City's peninsula, which includes the castle, cathedral and university colleges. Unless they
AN Iraqi asylum seeker was released on bail yesterday after appearing in court accused in connection with the death of a 79-year-old cyclist. Kawa Ali Said Abdullah, 20, gave himself up to Cleveland Police officers in Stockton, on Thursday. He is accused
North-East business is "innovative and upbeat", according to one of the most powerful economists in the country. Despite widespread manufacturing job losses, the region has become a success story in other areas, said Marian Bell, one of four external
A MUCH-DELAYED attempt to bring the biggest vessel ever to sail into the Tyne has been postponed once more. Just hours before Bonga, a 300,000-tonne floating oil platform, was due to enter the river, the operation was called off. Hundreds of people were
HENRIETTA Knight's lightly-weighted gelding Perfect Fellow (2.50) has a great chance of smashing Martin Pipe and Tony McCoy's domination of Cheltenham's prestigious Thomas Pink Gold Cup. Pipe, responsible for the hot-favourite, Chicuelo, has won the £100,000
FORMER Tory leader William Hague has backed the right of health campaigner Graham Maloney to attend the Richard Neale inquiry. The businessman, who advises the group set up to represent victims of the surgeon, will not be allowed in when the hearing begins
THE only thing Hartlepool and the sleepy Cornish fishing village of Padstow have in common is fish. But, if an ambitious plan by the local council gets under way, they may have something else in common - a resident celebrity chef. Hartlepool Borough Council
FIREFIGHTERS could have responded to a blaze which engulfed a barn, in half the time it took military personnel, it was claimed yesterday. Ian Moore, pay co-ordinator for Durham and Darlington Fire Brigades Union, said cover provided by the Army during
Q My Income Support claim was turned down last year but, after I wrote to you, they gave me £21 a week. They had forgotten to include the severe disability premium in my assessment. Should this have been backdated? I have asked the DSS but with no success
Redcar Town are alive and kicking. That's the message from the club despite speculation that they would fold after failing to field a side last Saturday. Today they visit Teesside Athletic in the North Riding County Cup. "It has been a traumatic couple
The North-East rags trade is operating on borrowed time and will be obsolete within the next few years, it was declared last night. News that 420 workers had lost their jobs at the Dewhirst clothing factory in Ashington, Northumberland, yesterday added
THERE are fears that unborn children could have been exposed to danger after a suspected rubella outbreak in the region. Doctors on Teesside have confirmed that a group of nursery school children are being tested for rubella, or German measles. The suspected
SUNDERLAND will snap up highly-rated Derby County goalkeeper Mart Poom on loan this weekend. The Estonian international has been lined up for a two-month loan deal, as Black Cats boss Howard Wilkinson tries to ease his goalkeeping crisis. Third choice
Colin West left Roots Hall to celebrate his recent 40th birthday with family and friends a little hoarse, but satisfied by his team's battling performance and thankful for the fact that they would be in the second round draw. The future of West, Hartlepool
COLIN WEST'S short spell in charge at Hartlepool United could come to an end after today's game at Southend United. Caretaker boss West was understood to have agreed to take over at Pool permanently and he had already lined up close friend John Cornforth
After years of ill heatlth, Moors Murderer Myra Hindley died yesterday aged 60. Christen Pears looks back at her crimes and her stuggle for freedom. AFTER 36 years in jail, Myra Hindley must have been looking forward to the possibility of release, but
THE lifeboat George Elmy was agonisingly close to dry land when it disappeared before the eyes of the anxious crowds gathered on the harbourside. According to Seaham coastguard Paul Thompson, it had set sail in what many local people still describe as
The league may be Darlington's number one priority but come 3pm this afternoon caretaker boss Mick Tait will be putting all thoughts of the Third Division to one side as they hit the FA Cup trail at Wrexham. "The FA Cup is something special," said Tait
IT'S a measure of Newcastle's re-emergence as a major force both at home and abroad that Sir Bobby Robson finds himself in a predicament all too familiar to the likes of Sir Alex Ferguson and Arsene Wenger. International weeks have long been the bane
A FLEET of modern fire engines remained unused across the region as military firefighters battled blazes in 50-year-old Green Goddesses, it was confirmed last night. Now pressure is growing to use the reserve tenders in the event of an eight-day strike
THE Sugababes, arguably British popular music's hottest girl band, turned up the volume - and the temperature on a chilly night in the North-East - as the Children in Need party got off to a rocking start. Last night's free concert at Middlesbrough's
WRITER Andrew Davies is being mischievious again. "Shall I tell you?," he wonders, then supplies the answer himself: "Yes, I will". The juicy titbit of information concerns a planned film version of George Eliot's novel Daniel Deronda for which he was
ALEN BOKSIC has been told he is playing for his future at Middlesbrough. The Croatian's contract runs out at the end of the season and Hadjuk Split are interested in taking the striker back to his homeland. Boksic, who is hoping to start against Chelsea
NEARLY 300 Shildon schoolchildren turned themselves into their favourite stars to raise more than £120. Sporting heroes and TV and pop stars turned out at St John's Primary and Nursery School, in Shildon, where pupils dressed as characters such as Gareth
GUIDE dog owners have been offered extra help to travel with Arriva Trains Northern. The train company, which operates services across the region, has signed up to the Guide Dog Travel Charter, which was recently launched by the Guide Dogs for the Blind
NEW members were appointed to the boards of regional development agencies (RDA) yesterday. The new names, including four on the board of One NorthEast, were announced by Minister for Employment and the Regions, Alan Johnson. The extra members include
TODAY'S front page picture of Myra Hindley is one of the most notorious in the country's history. One glance at it and her eyes drag you back - you know you are staring into the face of evil. For a younger generation which has grown up on a diet of despicable
POLICE are investigating to determine whether a man jumped, or was pushed, from a third floor window in a block of flats. The unemployed 22-year-old, who has not been named, was found lying on a path at Stanley, County Durham, by a passer-by. Both legs
BRITAIN'S firefighters returned to work last night after a 48-hour pay strike - but time appeared to be running out to avoid an eight-day walkout. Seven people died in house fires while the 50,000 firemen and women were on picket lines and the military
A 63-year-old man was jailed for ten years yesterday after admitting serious sex offences. Stanley Hall, of Durham Road, Redcar, pleaded guilty to five charges, when he appeared at Teesside Crown Court. Deborah Sherwin, prosecuting, said Hall at first
I AM a trained nurse. I trained for over three years - not six months. Nurses, in general, work well over the average per week, and there's no resting between call outs. I went into nursing with my eyes open, knowing I was going into a profession that
THERE was high emotion as the gates of a North-East maternity hospital closed for the final time last night. The last two new mothers at Guisborough Maternity Unit left in the early afternoon, leaving a small team of midwives to prepare for the closure
BOY wizard Harry Potter cast his spell on the region once again yesterday as movie fans flocked to his second big screen adventure. Cinemas across the region faced a stampede as The Chamber of Secrets - the eagerly awaited follow-up to last year's smash
A NORTH-EAST teenager has been named the winner of Channel 4's Model Behaviour contest. Camilla Priest, 19, from Sunderland, was named in last night's show as the winner of the televised contest, along with South African-born Nathan Roberts. The pair
TWO academics who went on to earn fame and fortune in the wider world returned to their North-East roots to be honoured by their former university. Ex-Durham student Dr Peter Ogden and former astronomy professor Richard Ellis received honorary degrees
STUNT pilot Pete Barnes is to miss the star-studded premiere of the latest James Bond movie - because he is working for the Great North Air Ambulance charity. Londoner Mr Barnes played the part of a Cuban air ambulance pilot called Lopez in the blockbuster
A North-East town has the world's highest concentration of a little-known but fairly common disease. Dystonia is a neurological condition - caused by a chemical imbalance - that causes involuntary body movements, including sometimes painful muscle spasms
The popularity of model trains and racing cars has proved its enduring quality for Hornby, whose recent revival has shown no signs of running out of steam. The model maker's chief executive Frank Martin said the group had enjoyed excellent sales growth
BUSINESSES in the region are being challenged to back efforts to protect wildlife. The North East Biodiversity Forum, supported by English Nature, has organised North-East Business Biodiversity Week, starting on Monday, the first regional event of its
GREY ABBEY has the class to grab tomorrow's feature race at Haydock, the £50,000 three-mile Edward Hanmer Chase. There are few finer sights in jump racing than witnessing a pack of seasoned chasers winging over Haydock's notoriously stiff steeplechase
A DEVOUT churchgoer was yesterday found guilty of eight charges of rape and 13 of indecent assault on six young girls. David Courtney, of Mill Lane, Billingham, denied the charges during his trial at Teesside Crown Court. The disabled 61-year-old, and
A BANNED driver yesterday admitted killing a motorist and seriously injuring his passenger when he crashed a stolen car while fleeing a burglary. Daniel Reay, 23, caused the death of Mofiz Ullah, 68, while dangerously driving a stolen Saab in St Mark's
Tow Law manager Graeme Forster is hoping to sign defender Richie Watson today as his injury hit side prepares for the trip to battling Peterlee. Forster moved for the Spennymoor player after Lawyers were beaten in midweek at Murton in the Durham Challenge
A SIX-year-old boy pushes a shopping trolley, stuffed full of paper, towards the bushes. Egged on by the older youths around him, he takes out a lighter, carefully sets the paper alight, and runs off to join the gang. The young arsonist was involved in
