THEY'VE been dubbed the footballing minnows - the soccer underdogs who have battled their way into what promises to be one of the most extraordinary FA Cup matches ever. Humble Harrogate Railway will undoubtedly be stretched to the limit when they welcome
You don't have to be Sherlock Holmes to solve the mystery of why TV tecs are so popular - and that's why ITV has signed a four-year deal winning exclusive rights to all Agatha Christie's novels. FOR many of us, the most baffling thing about Agatha Christie
Two former nursery workers who were falsely accused of child abuse have finally had their names removed from a Government paedophiles list - eight years after they were acquitted by a judge. Dawn Reed and Christopher Lillie were each awarded £200,000
NORTH-EAST cross-country champion Andrew Caine has a final run-out in this afternoon's Elswick Harriers Norman Woodcock Memorial Road Race before deciding whether to defend his regional crown at Chester-le-Street next week. The 25-year-old Tynedale Harrier
FOLLOWING the depressing manner of Middlesbrough's last Premiership outing, perhaps a point against West Ham United should be welcomed. At West Bromwich Albion seven days' earlier Boro were woeful and how they responded was always going to be an indicator
A 54-year-old man has been arrested after a father was killed in front of hundreds of horrified clubbers as he danced with his girlfriend. Mark Thirsk, 40, was battered to death at De Niro's nightclub in Middlesbrough. Cleveland Police, who announced
A NORTH-EAST man killed himself shortly after admitting strangling his girlfriend at her home, an inquest heard yesterday. The hearing into the death of Lesley Anne Elizabeth Petch heard that the man was found hanging in his prison cell before he could
A 48-YEAR-OLD rail worker from the region was last night charged in connection with the "trophy rapist" sex attacks in South-East England. Antoni Imiela, from Appledore, near Ashford, Kent, but originally from Newton Aycliffe, County Durham, was charged
Steelmaking in Weardale was handed a lifeline last night with the news that a 140-year-old business might be saved. Weardale Steel in Wolsingham, County Durham, was facing oblivion after a disastrous takeover left more than 80 workers facing a bleak future
THE countdown has begun for what will be one of the most amazing organ transplants in the region. In four days, father-of-two Derek Marshall, 56, will give his lifelong friend Bill Brough, 54, one of his kidneys. It had been hoped that the two-hour transplant
A MAN on trial for the murder of a homeless drug addict told police that he was his Good Samaritan and not his killer, a court heard yesterday. Brian Lancaster, 32, told detectives that he drove drug addict Robert Parkin, nicknamed Swampy, to hospital
WITH so many top-class two milers taking each other on there'll be no shortage of fireworks in this afternoon's mouth-watering clash for the £100,000 Tingle Creek Chase at Sandown, writes Colin Woods (Janus). It's a race that over the years has been dominated
THE average time from arrest to sentence for persistent young offenders in the region is on the rise, according to new figures. The figures, released by the Lord Chancellor's department, show that in the Cleveland, North Yorkshire and Northumbria police
THE DEATH of a woman motorist in wet conditions on a rural road has prompted new safety measures, an inquest was told. Muriel Taylor died from multiple injuries after her Renault Laguna was in collision with an oncoming Peugeot on the B6288, between Kirk
A NORTH-EAST woman who invented a way of speaking that helped thousands of deaf people has died. Muriel Shepherd won an MBE for her work with the hard of hearing. She also founded the Darlington branch of the British Association of the Hard of Hearing
The Christmas primestock show and sale of cattle and sheep in Darlington this week presented 141 cattle, including 35 bulls, and 927 sheep including 282 cull ewes. DARLINGTON - Thursday: Cattle: judges were W Piper (Houghton-le-Spring) and J. Higginson
A LOVESTRUCK jobseeker stunned an awards ceremony by proposing to his girlfriend when he took to the stage. Romantic Ian Bell, 36, of Horden, east Durham, wanted to make his proposal to Ann Law, 38, also of Horden, something she would never forget. He
SUNDERLAND'S midfield problems worsened last night when it emerged Jason McAteer could be out for another two months and faces the possibility of more surgery on his troublesome hernia problem. After coming close to a first-team return last month following
MINISTER for Work Nick Brown yesterday pledged Government backing to reverse economic decline in an area hit by massive job losses. The Newcastle East MP met partners drawing up a rescue plan for south Durham centred on the town of Spennymoor, where power
THREE members of a criminal gang failed yesterday in an Appeal Court bid to have their convictions overturned. But Paul Ashton, Robert Webber, and Paul Lyons, from Newcastle, all received cuts in their prison sentences. The three were found guilty at
ARGENTINIAN midfielder Carlos Marinelli is pushing for a first-team recall at Middlesbrough following the shattering loss of fractured skull victim Joseph Job. Marinelli has so far failed to fulfil the prophecies which greeted his £1.5m arrival from Boca
TWO writers look set to beat their own box office record when their second play opens in the region in the New Year. North-East duo Ed Waugh and Trevor Wood, were responsible for the horse racing comedy, Good to Firm, which became the first sell-out show
Durham City manager Billy Cruddas has admitted that the loss of central defender Dickie Ord is a massive blow ahead of their FA Vase third round tie with Gedling today. The former Sunderland player announced his retirement from competitive football during
ENSCONCED in a darkened room, surrounded by film reels and watching movies back-to-back all day long - it sounds like a pretty cushy number. But that's not quite the whole picture, according to Stan Glendenning, who yesterday celebrated a quarter of a
DISGRACED surgeon Richard Neale held a behind-closed-doors meeting with inquiry officials yesterday. The meeting, at a York hotel, was the first face-to-face encounter between the former Friarage Hospital surgeon and the team which is investigating how
Taking to the roof of his parish church was no mean feat, even for a vicar who has been compared to Spiderman by his congregation... but it was all in a good cause. WEATHER permitting, it had been suggested, Fr Gary Nicholson would have his picture taken
Willington's new manager Alan Shoulder admits that he's taken on a big challenge as he prepares for his first game in charge at Eppleton. The former Newcastle player takes over at a club which is third from bottom of the table and desperately in need
The bond between guide dog and owner is one of the closest animal-human partnerships. Nick Morrison finds out how a blind man got to know his best friend. IT took about an hour for Gavin Atkins to realise that something was wrong. During that time, two
SIR BOBBY ROBSON yesterday admitted he experienced a worrying feeling of dj vu when Hugo Viana suffered the dislocated shoulder which rules him out for several weeks and deals another blow to Newcastle United's Champions League campaign. The Portuguese
It may not have been the draw everybody had been hoping for but caretaker boss Mick Tait can take some heart that his side will never have a better opportunity of reaching the fourth round. After Saturday's comprehensive 4-1 win over Stevenage, Quakers
Q I earn £320 a month but my job is getting too much for me. I have not always paid a full National Insurance (NI) stamp and wonder if I would get any benefit? A If you are too sick to work you might get Incapacity Benefit at a starting rate of £53.50
A BANNED driver was jailed for ten years yesterday for killing a grandfather as he fled the scene of a burglary in a stolen car. Daniel Reay, 23, had been released from a four-year sentence for just over two months when he crashed a stolen Saab into a
A NURSE has been struck off for abusing and neglecting elderly residents in a care home. Maureen Brown, 57, of Kirklevington, near Yarm, was dismissed from her post at Dalby Court Nursing and Residential Home, in Coulby Newham, near Middlesbrough, two
AN inmate who knifed another inmate over socks was given a life sentence yesterday. Peter Michael Watson, 21, was angered when he was woken at 9.30am by laundry deliverer Andrew Mann, 20, banging on his door at Deerbolt Young Offenders Institution, Barnard
Trainee doctors sent pulses racing with a raunchy striptease for charity last night. Mischievous medics cast off their inhibitions, as well as their clothes, in a daring rendition of the Full Monty at Durham University's Stockton Campus. The show, proved
Harold Evans, the legendary former editor of The Northern Echo, has been voted the greatest of all time in a poll. Mr Evans, who drove forward The Echo's famous campaigning traditions during the 1960s, won the British Journalism Review/Press Gazette poll
A FARMER'S wife who was killed after being struck by a van was picking up litter just yards from her home, her devastated husband said last night. Irene Stephenson, 57, died on Thursday afternoon when she was hit by a blue Vauxhall van on the A67 between
ONE of Britain's most famous regiments has issued an urgent appeal - for a second-hand pair of boots. But it's not just any old footwear the Green Howards are after - they need genuine soldiers' boots from the Crimean War. The regimental museum in Richmond
AN expert on infant sleep patterns has urged North-East parents to carry on sleeping beside their babies, despite a warning from a coroner. West Yorkshire coroner Roger Whittaker raised doubts about the wisdom of the practice after the death of four-week-old
THE North-East is to receive an extra £8m from the Government for community projects which tackle drug abuse. Twelve drug action teams across the region will see their funding increase from the current annual total of £11.7m to £19.7m in 2005/6. The National
FARMERS have pledged support for a new co-operative which, they heard, could help restore prosperity to a depressed dale. A steering group could meet before Christmas in Weardale, County Durham, where major job losses have followed last year's foot-and-mouth
THE Northern Echo apologised yesterday after an advertisement for air guns was inadvertently published. The paper, which has been a consistent campaigner against handguns, has launched an internal investigation into how the advertisement appeared. A decision
A BUSINESSMAN who has recruited more than 20 long-term unemployed people was among those recognised at an awards ceremony. Darshan Gill, the owner of Quality Inspection, has recruited two thirds of his workforce through the Easington Action Team for Jobs
A NORTH-EAST museum has strengthened its cross Channel connections by launching its own range of French wines. The 19th Century Bowes Museum, near Barnard Castle, which was founded by an Englishman John Bowes and his French wife, Josephine, has developed
THE GASPS were of amazement last week, but there were none to accompany Alan Shearer's winner eight minutes from time at Villa Park, although the scenes of joy remained the same. The manner of the winning goal will matter little though to the 32-year-old
A TEESSIDE man was jailed yesterday following an investigation by Customs officers in Glasgow into attempts to smuggle up to 75 million cigarettes. Nashtar Singh, 35, of The Wynd, Wynyard Park, Billingham, who stored and distributed the cigarettes once
ACCORDING to the information in the public domain, it appears Cherie Blair did nothing improper during the purchase of two flats in Bristol. The involvement of a convicted fraudster in the transaction was unwise, or unwitting. But it was not illegal.
A PINT-SIZED pup found it had no head for drink by getting itself stuck in a wine rack. It took five firefighters to free Angel after her family tried for 90 minutes to free the Jack Russell/Springer Spaniel cross. Owner Dawn Robinson, 32, said she and
Warmer climates are hot favourites for easyJet's long-awaited decision on where its new route from Newcastle Airport will be bound for. The news came on the day the airline announced that passengers were flocking to take advantage of low cost flights.
PAUL ROBSON, the brilliant young northern-based conditional rider with an ever-expanding fan club, is re-united with Star Jack (1.40) in the feature race at Wetherby today, the £16,000 Cumbrian Challenge Handicap Chase. Robson rode the socks off some
OVERCOAT weather in Whitburn, where the icy wind howls in from the North Sea and sends dark, brooding clouds scurrying across the skyline. Mechanical diggers transport materials across a building site; the piercing sound of drills cuts through the crisp
NEWCASTLE Falcons have the opportunity to play some relaxed rugby over the next two weeks as they take on Italian club Treviso in the Parker Pen Challenge Cup. While this may well help them return to winning ways following a run of five Premiership defeats
ALAN Shearer fears Dion Dublin will hit his century today and derail the Newcastle United striker's hopes of signing off in style. A fortnight after Shearer scored his 100th Premiership goal for Newcastle, Dublin will try to reach his top-flight ton this
Caretaker boss Mick Tait is hoping the attraction of the FA Cup will bring fans back for this afternoon's second round clash with Stevenage Borough. Quakers narrowly missed out on a mouthwatering fourth round tie with neighbours Newcastle last season
A slip of paper commemorating one of the most important events in British railway history is likely to fetch more than £10,000 at auction later this month. Experts believe the share certificate marking the Stockton and Darlington Railway is the earliest
