As Darlington prepare for this afternoon's crunch visit of Division Three basement boys Exeter City, caretaker boss Mick Tait has told his players now is the time to start knuckling down. With ten games to go, Quakers sit just six points above the relegation
A TEENAGER described as a danger to the public was yesterday jailed for eight years for stabbing a woman in the chest as she lay in her bed. The woman, in her 50s, woke to find 18-year-old Ian Byers standing over her, naked, and holding a large kitchen
A TEENAGER who narrowly escaped death when he plunged 100ft from a bridge was back at work yesterday. Carl Morgan, 18, from Sunderland, suffered horrific leg injuries when he fell from Sunderland's Wearmouth Bridge following a night out last August. He
THE jury in the trial of a school bus driver charged with causing a 12-year-old boy's death by dangerous driving inspected the double-decker yesterday. Since the death of Jamie Wells, from Linthorpe, Middlesbrough, the Stagecoach bus had been inspected
THE Bishop of Durham has dressed down for the occasion: Marks & Sparks jumper, slacks, dog collar and pectoral cross with which he periodically fiddles, as if nervous. "A generation gap of some proportion," suggests the Rt Rev Michael Turnbull, arriving
UNION leaders last night condemned the £550,000 pay-off for the chief of troubled steel company Corus as thousands of workers on Teesside awaited news of their fate. Tony Pedder resigned as chief executive as Corus announced huge annual losses of £458m
BARRY SHAW, Britain's longest-serving chief constable, has retired with no regrets about a controversial investigation into allegations of misconduct against officers in the force. Eight officers, including Ray Mallon, the former head of Middlesbrough
LAUGHTER is a powerful sound - never more so than when dark shadows hang over the world. As war against Iraq comes inevitably closer, fear and depression are emotions which are easy to find. In the days ahead large numbers of people are very likely to
THE skills of hearing dogs were showcased at an information day for the hard of hearing. Dogs trained not to bark, but to touch and show their hard-of-hearing owners the source of noises, demonstrated their abilities at a free event in Durham on Thursday
DISABLED people can get around more easily thanks to a scheme to improve access and safety. Sunderland City Council's three-year maintenance programme has already made 94 per cent of signal-controlled crossings more user friendly. By next year, when the
A WILDLIFE haven in Darlington is to be declared a local nature reserve. Brinkburn Pond and surrounding woodland is to be granted the status after consultation between Darlington Borough Council and English Nature. It will mean the authority can apply
PARENTS and children at a village school have thanked everyone who helped relocate them to a new building after arsonists attacked their school. Middleton St George Primary School was attacked two weeks ago and the fire destroyed a number of classrooms
A COUPLE who made perfect partners on and off the dance floor for more than half a century have celebrated their golden wedding anniversary. Margaret and Michael Tennick met at The Rink dance hall in Spennymoor and married two years later. During their
A BUS service linking remote villages in the dales to Darlington made its first journey yesterday. The number 70 service has been introduced to provide better access to Darlington Memorial Hospital and the town centre for people living in villages in
A crimebuster has completed 100 in-depth investigations - at the age of one. In his short life Deric has studied the equivalent of four billion pages of text in the battle against fraud and crime. Deric is the acronym for the Digital Evidence Recovery
A PIONEERING education project has come under the Ofsted spotlight. An inspector yesterday looked into the Enterprise Academy, in Middlesbrough, and its innovative work with young people. Middlesbrough Football Club, a partner in the scheme, is to introduce
THE final phase of a £160,000 street enhancement and regeneration scheme in Barnard Castle could play a big role in boosting trade, business and council leaders said yesterday. Workers will move in on Monday to complete the improvements of Thorngate from
A COUNCIL is pressing a health authority to reopen a maternity unit. A national shortage of midwives forced the South Tees Hospital NHS Trust to close Guisborough Hospital's Maternity Unit as a temporary measure. Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council is
THE University of Teesside's nursery will turn 25 this summer and staff are appealing for past parents, helpers, staff and members to get in touch and join a party in early June. Janet Graham, head of the nursery, is planning the party is also looking
GOVERNMENT ministers are to be told of the sterling work on Teesside of children's charity NCH. Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland MP Ashok Kumar revealed he is to recommend the work the charity is doing, offering support to local children and parents
Bishop Auckland manager Brian Honour has asked the fans to turn out in force for today's crucial home game with Eastwood Town. Bishops go into the game ten points clear of second bottom Eastwood, and Honour says: "This is probably the most important game
FRENCH cement company Lafarge UK has been criticised for ignoring an ultimatum presented to it by North-East businessmen. Disillusioned business leaders in Weardale, County Durham, demanded that the company, which closed its Blue Circle cement works in
THE organiser of a proposed fathers' network group in Darlington is holding a series of information sessions. David Regan, of the Cockerton and Branksome Living Enterprise (Cable), is holding information sessions at the Crown Street library, in Darlington
NOT content with three outstanding wins at the Cheltenham Festival, Jonjo O'Neill bids to round off one of the most successful weeks of his training career by scooping today's £100,000 Midlands Grand National with Kemal's Council (2.20). The John Smith's
THE new landlady of a hotel and residents have won their battle to stop a public footpath going through the car park. The long-running saga of the path has generated mixed feelings in Thirsk, with hotel owner Mary Nelson spearheading the fight to prevent
neighbouring Anglican dioceses have linked up to appoint a director of education to take charge of a combined department. Ripon and Leeds and the diocese of Bradford have announced that Clive Sedgewick, assistant education director of Oxford diocese,
INTREPID fundraisers are preparing for a marathon wheelchair push. Ian Carter from Colburn, near Catterick, will push friend Paul Hodgson in his wheelchair from Darlington Football Club's Feethams ground to Scunthorpe United Football Club's Glandford
TWO villages are getting a new look thanks to facelift schemes costing £93,000. A £55,000 environmental project has started in Shotley Bridge that will include traffic calming measures, and in Witton Gilbert new paving and street lighting is being installed
A PREFERRED site has emerged for the sixth park-and-ride service for one of the region's most congested cities. People in York were consulted on five possible sites for a high-frequency service for motorists using the A59 Harrogate-York road. As a result
A TEENAGE thief tracked a woman for a mile before robbing her at knifepoint for a diamante necklace. The victim, in her late 40s, even hid in a fish and chip shop for ten minutes because she suspected she was being followed as she walking home in Ferryhill
THE Youth Hostel Association's popular holiday centre at Lockton, near Pickering, is to lead the way in energy conservation. Members of the North York Moors National Park Authority have given the go-ahead for 26 ecological features to be installed at
POLICE have put North Yorkshire's equestrian community on alert after a burglary at a stables near Richmond. Tack and tools worth more than a thousand pounds were taken from the premises at Melsonby between Thursday night and Friday morning. A Daihatsu
A TEENAGER who narrowly escaped death when he plunged 100ft from a bridge was back at work yesterday. Carl Morgan, 18, from Sunderland, suffered horrific leg injuries when he fell from Sunderland's Wearmouth Bridge following a night out last August. He
A North-East riverbank development has been generating worldwide inquiries. Akenside's newly-appointed sales consultant, Lynne Machin, has been taking inquiries from prospective purchasers as far afield as Singapore, India and Germany for the project
A DRIVER who made off from a filling station without paying for petrol sparked a one-hour police chase in the region yesterday. The man, driving a black Volvo, fled the Shell service station, in Benton Park Road, Newcastle, at about 10am, heading south
COMPUTER students say they have been left high and dry by the closure of their outreach colleges. Derwentside College is to close two of its IT centres in Chester-le-Street and Langley Park, near Durham, at the end of May, blaming a massive national decline
The Co-op Site Action Group is to hold a protest this morning at the Middlesbrough Co-operative Club in an attempt to try and stop the former sports club being demolished to make way for housing. Last year there was an outcry when the club closed after
A MAN has overcome the effects of a vicious street attack to graduate from university. Philip Martin who was left partially disabled following an unprovoked attack three years ago, is graduating in human resource management from the University of Teesside
PLANNED developments on the North Yorkshire coast could create as many as 2,500 jobs. Ray Williamson, Scarborough's economic development officer, said the jobs could be created at the town's business park during the next decade. He told Scarborough Borough
SOCCER-MAD builders have shown their passion for their club by naming 11 floors of an apartment after their heroes. Builders converting the former BT building in the centre of Newcastle into prestige homes have decided to honour the team after realising
STEVE HARMISON threw down the gauntlet to England cricket bosses last night when he told them: "I deserve a central contract." The Durham paceman reckons his winter efforts Down Under and in South Africa have merited one of the six-month contracts to
Making a drama in which the central character is a premature baby and in which the action takes place in a neo-natal unit proved both emotionally and practically difficult for a Newcastle-based production company. DIRECTOR Sarah Gavron faced both emotional
A DRIVER who made off from a filling station without paying for petrol sparked a one-hour police chase in the region yesterday. The man, driving a black Volvo, fled the Shell service station, in Benton Park Road, Newcastle, at about 10am, heading south
IT was definitely a marriage of convenience. But yesterday the merger of British Steel and Dutch metals group Koninklijke Hoogovens which formed Corus looked likely to be heading for the divorce courts. The two sides were united in a £3.8bn merger in
CHRIS GRIMWOOD has created a calendar for her village - but in place of rolling countryside and quaint houses, her publication features rotting rubbish and smashed windows. Inspired by calendars showing pictures of areas such as Durham City, Mrs Grimwood
DOCTORS who pioneered a revolutionary leukaemia drug have been awarded a grant to see which patients would benefit the most. Experts believe a patient's genetic makeup could influence how well they will respond to the new type of drug. This week, The
ALEX RAE insisted last night that Mick McCarthy can have the same stunning impact on Sunderland that Peter Reid enjoyed, and claimed: "He's a born leader and a winner." Rae, who played alongside and under McCarthy at Millwall before spending more than
Britain's ambassador to the United Nations warned last night that war with Iraq could be only days away. As Britain and the US called an emergency summit in a final diplomatic push to secure a new UN resolution, Sir Jeremy Greenstock said: "I think we
A MAN who preyed on old people posing as a council workman accompanied by his son was yesterday jailed for three years. Michael Joyce, 42, struck at the homes of elderly people in County Durham, Wearside and Tyneside, aided by his son, Anthony, and a
SHOULD we have seen it coming? Certainly, I'll be the first to admit that Helen Baxendale's dramatic departure as Rachel from Cold Feet (ITV1, Sunday) in an horrific road accident came as a complete surprise and made quite a dent in my living room. James
MICK McCARTHY last night warned he will get tough with any Sunderland players who hide in the white-hot cauldron of today's Premiership relegation battle with Bolton Wanderers as he told his team to rid themselves of the fear factor that has gripped their
A CONTROVERSIAL message board outside Darlington Football Club's new stadium has been referred to the local government watchdog. The ombudsman, who investigates council activities, was called in by people living near the stadium. The protestors, who fought
Making a drama in which the central character is a premature baby and in which the action takes place in a neo-natal unit proved both emotionally and practically difficult for a Newcastle-based production company. DIRECTOR Sarah Gavron faced both emotional
STEVE McCLAREN last night put paid to any hopes AC Milan and Juventus may have of luring Massimo Maccarone back to Italy. Middlesbrough boss McClaren snapped Maccarone up for a club record £8.15m last summer when there were no takers on Empoli's asking
THOUSANDS of housing tenants across the region are facing an uncertain future after the Government yesterday took the first step in winding up the company that manages their homes. The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) yesterday presented a petition
A PENSIONER tackled a bogus caller after he attempted to steal a tin of money from her home. The woman was led to believe that the man was from the water board, and after being asked to go upstairs to check her taps she returned to find him with the tin
A North-East riverbank development has been generating worldwide inquiries. Akenside's newly-appointed sales consultant, Lynne Machin, has been taking inquiries from prospective purchasers as far afield as Singapore, India and Germany for the project
AS a schoolboy Jonathan Greening was just like any other young football enthusiast, eager to drag his father to the nearest playing field for an afternoon kick-about with jumpers for goalposts. There Greening's talents were born and would eventually develop
WINTER fuel claimants have just weeks to claim their £200 payment. The deadline for the Government scheme which aims to ease the hardship of the elderly runs out on March 31. Anyone aged 60 or over and claiming benefit is entitled to automatically receive
SHOULD we have seen it coming? Certainly, I'll be the first to admit that Helen Baxendale's dramatic departure as Rachel from Cold Feet (ITV1, Sunday) in an horrific road accident came as a complete surprise and made quite a dent in my living room. James
A MAN arrested outside a licensing meeting at Darlington Town Hall on Wednesday has been released on police bail. John Embleton Cowx, of Shakespeare Road, Darlington, was held by police on suspicion of burglary after he turned up at the town hall to apply
POLICE have confirm-ed that a body pulled from the River Nidd, in North Yorkshire, was that of a 69-year-old woman who had earlier been reported missing by her family. Shirley Dabell, who lived on Harrogate's Jennyfield estate, went out at about 10.30am
MICK McCARTHY has learnt one salutary lesson from the bitter experience of being relegated as a player - that teams are never unfortunate to go down, writes Steven Baker. Jason McAteer last month described Sunderland as the "unluckiest side in the world
RED hair, red noses, baths of baked beans, custard pie fights . . . who said you can't have fun in the name of a good cause? Traditionally, folk in the North-East are among the most generous when it comes to charity. Yesterday's Comic Relief mayhem proved
PRIME Minister Tony Blair and President George Bush cannot morally justify war with Iraq at the moment, the Bishop of Durham warned last night. The Right Reverend Michael Turnbull, delivering a message of support to more than 1,000 anti-war protestors
AN initiative which encourages North-East schoolchildren to be more creative and innovative in the classroom has been chosen to illustrate how the national curriculum could develop. The Foresight North-East team has been working with 13 and 14-year-olds
TWO years to the week since he made his Darlington debut in front of just 3,000 people at Bootham Crescent, Olivier Bernard will today aim to demonstrate again why Sir Bobby Robson fought so hard to secure his services last summer. Bernard heads to Charlton
DELIGHTED council officials revealed yesterday that a cash windfall will be put into projects in Darlington. A programme of improvements worth £300,000 is to be carried out on streets, parks and cemeteries across the town. The money is part of a £2.2m
A CHARITY is celebrating after gaining support from Lloyds TSB. The Darlington branch, in Skinnergate, will be arranging fundraising events for St Teresa's Hospice. The hospice has just secured the money needed to open a full-time care unit. Hospice director
FIVE former nursing assistants have returned to work in medical centres in County Durham after qualifying as nurses. Catherine Lee Cowan gained a Diploma in Social Work and a degree in Learning Disability Nursing and is working in the community team for
CABBIES have accused Darlington Borough Council of wasting their time at a meeting to discuss the shortage of taxi drivers in the town. Council officials and police met taxi chiefs yesterday after concerns were expressed that the shortage could mean drunken
A NURSE has died almost two years after slipping into a coma after taking an unknown quantity of tablets. Kendra Jarrett, 32, was admitted to Darlington Memorial Hospital on March 13, 2001, after her father and sister found her lying unconscious on her
OF all the doom-laden headlines this week as we edge ever closer to the abyss that is war - an abyss so deep we can't see the bottom and have no idea what'll happen to us if we are pitched into it - the one that must have filled anybody who ever went
THE second phase of consultations for a proposed shake up of schools is to begin. But it has already attracted strong opposition, with 3,433 people signing petitions. The first phase of consultations on proposed changes to primary education in the north
RITCHIE Humphreys has joined Mark Tinkler in extending his stay at Hartlepool United. After Tinkler followed the example set by Micky Barron, Chris Westwood and Adam Boyd in signing a new, two-year deal, fans' favourite Humphreys followed suit. Humphreys
TEACHERS accused the Government yesterday of sending out conflicting signals by quashing targets for increasing the number of working-class university students, which had been proposed by one of its own agencies. The Higher Education Funding Council for
A BUS service linking remote villages in the dales to Darlington made its first journey yesterday. The number 70 service has been introduced to provide better access to Darlington Memorial Hospital and the town centre for people living in villages in
YOUNGSTERS across the borough of Stockton have been enjoying natural highs in dance and DJ events with the winners performing at a top music venue. Stockton's Children's Fund joined forces with Stockton Drug Action Team and Redcar and Cleveland Drug Action
AN open evening with a difference takes place next week at Stockton Sixth Form College. A travel stand will be just one of the attractions on Thursday, run by a group of Travel and Tourism Vocational A-Level students who have been organising day trips
THE winner of an unusual charity event being held at a Teesside school was announced yesterday. For three nights, nine teachers from Yarm Preparatory School took part in an I'm A Teacher - Get Me Out Of Here challenge. They had volunteered to be locked
Knaresborough Choral Society will be performing opera favourites at the town's King James School from 7.30pm tonight. Tickets, which cost £7, can be bought from The Bookshop, in the High Street. Further information can be obtained by calling (01423) 864164
PEOPLE living in York will have the choice to vote by post in May's local elections. Anyone on the electoral register can apply for a postal vote without giving a reason or having their application counter-signed.
LIFE will be made easier for horse riders, cyclists and ramblers on a stretch of the Nidderdale Way from today. Nidderdale Countryside Volunteers will be repairing the surface of the bridleway near to Brimham Rocks. They will also be adding latches to
WENSLEYDALE'S leading auction mart has announced what management have described as one of its most significant milestones in its history. The Hawes Auction Mart board used the company's annual meeting to confirm they have agreed a joint venture with chartered
PLANS for an outdoor sports pitch that caused controversy among residents are to be pushed forward after being accepted by the community. Original plans to build a multi-sport, floodlit pitch and youth shelter on grassland near The Wynd in Pelton, Chester-le-Street
A CALL centre released about 400 balloons to mark its support for a children's charity. London Electricity (LE) Group, at Doxford Park, Sunderland, released the balloons as part of a series of similar launches by the firm nationwide, marking the start
IT is hoped more than 80,000 young people from across Teesside will take part in one of the biggest surveys undertaken in the area. The Have Your Say lifestyle questionnaire will cover a wide range of issues from what young people get up to in their spare
A roadshow will be touring Stockton schools next week in an attempt to encourage year nine pupils to take up a place at university. The Aimhigher Roadshow will be at Our Lady and St Bede RC School on Monday, Grangefield School on Tuesday, Northfield School
SPORTING youngsters at a North-East college are to get new kit and improved coaching, after striking a sponsorship deal. The Tyne and Wear Netball Association is the new sponsor for Gateshead College's netball team. In return, the college will raise the
A PRIMARY school pupil's stylish designs are to be turned into a football strip for a fledgling team. Chester-le-Street beat officer PC Steve Shotton set pupils at the town's Newker Primary School the challenge of designing a football strip and badge
THE Darlington annual lantern parade is been given a new image for this year. The parade, involving children from schools in the town, goes through the streets ending in the Market Square and is the highlight of the town's Christmas celebrations. Pupils
THE organiser of a proposed fathers' network group in Darlington is holding a series of information sessions. David Regan, of the Cockerton and Branksome Living Enterprise (Cable), is holding information sessions at the Crown Street library, in Darlington
A POPULAR community caf is to reopen after a public outcry when it closed. The YMCA in Parliament Street, Consett, stopped serving meals last year, in the face of growing competition in the town. But elderly people have demanded the caf be reinstated.
RESIDENTS are to be given their chance to have a say on plans for a facelift of a Teesside community. People in North Ormesby, Middlesbrough, are to be asked what they want in the area, the services they require and how they want them delivered. The £20m
VILLAGERS are opposing plans for a 20-metre phone mast near their homes. More than 300 people in Croxdale and Tudhoe have signed a petition against the plan by Hutchinson 3G to erect the tower, antennas and cabin in Chair Lane, Croxdale. Yesterday, three
CHILDREN in the Thirsk area will have the chance to meet the cast of BBC's Byker Grove today. It is part of a BBC venture called Voices, which aims to give airtime to people. Youngsters who live and go to school in Thirsk will be asked for their views
TWO railway bridges in Parkgate and North Road, Darlington, are to be painted and provided with better lighting as part of a £100,000 project. The entrance ramp leading from Parkgate to Bank Top station will also be improved after members of Darlington
A DRUG-dealing woman who used a child to deliver heroin around a housing estate has been jailed for nearly four years. Police found 34 wraps of heroin in Joanne Beedle's home, in Middlesbrough. She claimed she was forced into dealing by a gang to pay
THOUSANDS of people have joined the NHS Organ Donor Register following a campaign backed by Hambleton District Council. In October, the authority teamed up with UK Transplant, the national authority supporting transplants, to send households in the district
CONTROVERSIAL proposals for a mini-store and food takeaway have been approved despite a last-ditch attempt by protestors to stop the development. People living in Collingwood Street, Coundon, near Bishop Auckland, have failed to convince councillors to
POET and novelist Gervase Phinn will be back in his old stamping ground next month to sign copies of his latest book. The former schools inspector rose to prominence with tales of his work in the Yorkshire Dales. He now combines writing with teaching,
The Co-op Site Action Group is to hold a protest this morning at the Middlesbrough Co-operative Club in an attempt to try and stop the former sports club being demolished to make way for housing. Last year there was an outcry when the club closed after
POLICE made 19 arrests and seized quantities of cannabis and heroin during raids on houses in the North-East this week. A Northumbria Police spokesman said officers from Washington, supported by the dog section, carried out pre-planned raids on 17 houses
PLANS to restore two run-down former pit villages go on show today. Durham County Council has linked up with Derwent-side District Council and English Heritage in an attempt to breathe new life into Annfield Plain and Catchgate, near Stanley. The councils
YOUNG footballers will be defending the region's honour at an international tournament later this year. Consett YMCA is sending its 20-strong squad of under-15s boys to Tubingen, in southern Germany, to compete in a European competition. They will be
A JOB-STARVED town in the North-East is facing another blow to its manufacturing industry as another factory faces closure. The future of 30 workers at Roto Zip UK, in Spennymoor, County Durham, hangs in the balance as bosses in America consider closing
Willington manager Alan Shoulder is looking for another good performance from his bottom of the table side at Northallerton. One of the league's oldest clubs has been in the relegation zone for some months, but two wins in the last three matches has raised
A DETECTIVE was left with serious facial injuries after a vicious attack by youths. Detective Superintendent Dave Jones was punched and kicked in the unprovoked attack, near the Woodham Way roundabaout, Newton Aycliffe, at about 9pm on Thursday, as he
Q As I look after my husband who gets Attendance Allowance, I have been given an "underlying entitlement" to Invalid Care Allowance (ICA). This means I do not actually get it because it is more than my retirement pension. So what's the point? We currently
WAR AGAINST IRAQ: I want to assure the anti-war march through Newcastle on Saturday, March 15, of my prayers and good wishes. I came back recently from a pilgrimage to Egypt, Jordan and Israel. I met scattered groups of contemporary Christians and drew
THE THREATENED penultimate Durham Pine North Eastern Harrier League fixture has been rescued at the eleventh hour by Blackhill Bounders chairwoman Joy Bell. Today's meeting appeared doomed when the organiser walked out of the host club - but veteran runner
A businesswoman has given up her £45,000-a-year job to live in a beach hut with the son of a Fijian tribal chief. Joanne Rymell left her top London job for a round-the-world trip and stumbled across the tiny Pacific island where she met her future husband
A MUSIC teacher was jailed for eight years yesterday for drugging and sexually abusing young boys over a 16-year period. Geoffrey Kitchen whipped, beat and blindfolded many of his victims, in a case described by the judge as one of the most depraved he
AN inquest into the deaths of friends Paul Williams, 38, and Christopher John Howe, 32, who died in a fume-filled car in an apparent double suicide on March 6, was opened and adjourned yesterday. The address of both was given as East Street, Blackhall
A 21-MONTH-OLD girl had to be freed from a shopping trolley at the Asda store in Hartlepool yesterday morning after she got her legs trapped. Firefighters freed the toddler, who was unhurt.
Stories of daring rescues on the high seas flow from Jim Thompson. Chris Webber spends time with the oldest member of one of Redcar's oldest families and hears stories dating back to the days of his ancestor Captain Cook. LET 85-year-old Jim Thompson
THE Teesdale branch of Cancer Research UK, in County Durham, still has tickets available for a three-day two-night trip to Dublin between March 22 and 24. The trip costs £150. The following trip will be to the Classic Bike Show, in Stafford, on April
A ROW over controversial proposals, which chemists fear could force them out of business, intensified yesterday. A report from the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) has suggested a relaxation of the rules on opening pharmacies. If approved, it would lead to
DEVELOPMENT agency Yorkshire Forward has published its regional economic strategy for the county and Humberside. The strategy, backed by the Yorkshire and Humber assembly and the Government, is intended to provide a "route map" for economic development
AN ancient moorland beacon dating back hundreds of years is to be replaced after a campaign by local people. Danby group parish council won planning permission from the North York National Park's authority to put up a beacon above the village, after its
POLICE made 19 arrests and seized quantities of cannabis and heroin during raids on houses in the North-East this week. A Northumbria Police spokesman said officers from Washington, supported by the dog section, carried out pre-planned raids on 17 houses
HUGHIE GALLACHER JNR greeted Tuesday's news that Alan Shearer had equalled his late father's Newcastle United scoring record with a smile and a quick riposte. "Goals for games, Mr Shearer is nowhere near my father," he said, and with that the current
TWO colleagues at a housing office have both become parents within 28 minutes and 28 miles of each other. Paul Mullis and Angela Wood both joined the finance department of Durham Aged Mineworkers' Homes Association in Chester-le-Street, County Durham,
THE wife of a dog walker who was found with fatal injuries in a country lane, appeared in court charged with murder yesterday. Christina Marina Button, 31, of St Mary's Drive, West Rainton, near Durham, appeared at Peterlee Magistrates' Court, alongside
A MAN jailed for robbery, whose conviction was quashed with the help of North-East law students, has won a bid for compensation thanks to another group from the same university. Alex Allan, 42, from Newcastle, who spent six years behind bars for the robbery
TRAGEDY struck when devoted son Ian Stephenson took his mother for a Sunday drive to one of her favourite places. They headed for a North Yorkshire beauty spot where his father's ashes were scattered nine years before. But on the journey along a twisting
