Yorkshire were winners when David Byas left the club at the end of 2001 after leading them to their first Championship title triumph in 33 years. Now he is back as director of cricket and he goes into the New Year with his sleeves rolled up and fiercely
MAKE the most of tonight - tomorrow you start setting a good example. Our children are getting fatter and unhealthier. So much so, that the Government is going to launch a campaign to improve things. But really, it's up to us. One of the main reasons
JEFF Brazier is the cheeky Essex boyfriend of Big Brother star Jade Goody but he's also determined to carve out his own TV career. The 24-year-old has been on our screens in ITV1's The Christmas Show and will be returning in the New Year to co-present
Roy Keane has virtually ruled out a return to the Republic of Ireland team even though he has nothing but admiration for manager Brian Kerr. The Manchester United captain claims made his decision on medical grounds after a hip operation last year. He
An eight-month-old baby who was critically injured when a car hit his pushchair has died, police said today. Callum Taylor suffered serious head injuries during a family walk at the weekend when a VW Passat hit him near his home in West Cornforth, County
SIR BOBBY ROBSON and captain Alan Shearer last night moved quickly to reassure angry chairman Freddy Shepherd that the players are as hungry for success at Newcastle United as he is. After a dreadful run of Christmas form, Shepherd launched an unprecendented
A report has said the western section of North Yorkshire Police's area is well-led and operates in an efficient and productive way. After detailed scrutiny earlier this year, Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary also concluded the division benefited
HAROLD Evans, Fleet Street legend and former editor of The Northern Echo, receives a knighthood in the New Year's Honours List. The man once voted the greatest newspaper editor of all time picks up the honorary knighthood in the Diplomatic List, for services
HEALTH bosses have been recognised for their commitment to equal opportunities for people with disabilities. The award has gone to the Primary Care Trusts (PCTs) of Derwentside, Durham and Chester-le-Street and Easington under a scheme run by JobCentre
A TEENAGER who harrassed staff and pupils at his former school was remanded in custody yesterday. Jemaine Imeson, 19, is awaiting sentence by Harrogate magistrates after being found guilty of causing a nuisance at Ripon College and harassing three of
FUND manager NEL is celebrating its tenth anniversary by launching two divisions as the first part of its business expansion plans. NEL, which has offices on the Team Valley, in Gateshead, and on Teesside, provides investment risk capital for small and
A four-year-old girl who has spent her life fighting serious illness, including cancer, has been chosen as a mascot for a national charity. Kyra Allen, from east Durham, has fought against illness since the day she was born. She has survived a brain tumour
The Bank of England was the victim of a hoax e-mail yesterday that asked business and the public to download software to protect their accounts. It rushed out an alert after more than 100,000 replies to the e-mail were blocked overnight by its internal
Goalkeeper Mart Poom last night conceded that Sunderland will be stepping into the unknown when Hartlepool United arrive on Wearside this weekend. Division Two Pool make the short trip up the A19 to take on their more glamorous North-East neighbours in
POLICE are appealing for information after an overnight burglary at a home in Bishop Auckland. A house in Waldron Street was broken into between midnight on Monday and 9am yesterday, while the owners were sleeping upstairs. The thief entered the house
A MAN who went to work in the Antarctic had a white Christmas but no presents from home during the festive period. In April, Allan Thomas left his job at Express Creamery, in Northallerton, North Yorkshire, to work at the British Antarctic Survey's immense
DEVELOPMENT PLANS: ALAN Scott (HAS, Dec 20) appears to limit the countryside around Spennymoor to a distance of two miles. The keyword for the future of Spennymoor in the 21st century is diversity. This means not only the vocational abilities of the people
PASSENGERS faced chaos last night after police hunting the Boxing Day murderer of a PC shut York railway station following reports that their chief suspect had been spotted. The East Coast Main Line station was shut for three hours as armed police searched
DARLINGTON Football Club chairman George Reynolds last night threw open the doors of Feethams in a bid to prove that a move back to the old ground was out of the question. The possibility of a return has been mooted after the club was forced into administration
FROM triumph to tragedy, delight to despair, The Northern Echo has faithfully chronicled the big - and the small - issues of 2003. Many of these have been encapsulated in a remark by one of the main protagonists, or even a bystander, with the most striking
Perouse, a much improved performer of late, can land his fourth consecutive success by taking the Tote Exacta RHT Winter Series Showcase Handicap Hurdle over two miles and one furlong at Cheltenham this afternoon. From the in-form Paul Nicholls yard,
A GEM among my Christmas presents was a compact little volume entitled The North Riding of Yorkshire. Published in 1919, it presents, in just 161 pocket-size pages, a remarkably sharp portrait of the most richly historic and beautiful of the three ancient
A CITIZEN'S Advice Bureau (CAB) is taking on more volunteers to deal with people's Christmas debt problems. The early part of the new year is traditionally one of CAB's busiest times, so staff at the Wearside bureau launched a pre-Christmas recruiting
ANGRY traders have been left counting the cost after a busy town centre was hit by two power failures on successive days. The lights went out in parts of Northallerton shortly before 2pm on Monday, leaving a number of High Street businesses without power
PEOPLE in east Cleveland are invited to find out more about learning opportunities for adults on Tuesday, January 6. An event will be held at the Loftus campus of Redcar and Cleveland College, giving people the chance to find out about the courses available
NORTH YORKSHIRE KNIGHTS BACHELOR Stuart Bell, MP (Middlesbrough). Member of Parliament for Middlesbrough. For services to Parliament. ROYAL VICTORIAN MEDAL Andrew Joseph Hitchman. Valet to The Duke of York. OBE John Baragwanath (Thirsk). Team Leader,
A HOMELESS family, who spent Christmas in a guest house, say they are desperate for help to get a place of their own. Heavily pregnant Paula Berryman, her nine-year-old daughter Trudy and partner Richard Morris, moved to Darlington 12 months ago in the
A HAEMOPHILIAC fears he may have contracted variant Creuzfeldt-Jacob disease (vCJD), the human form of BSE, from a blood donation he received in the 1980s. Father-of-three Graham James was told by doctors in 2001 that his blood donor had developed the
A MOTHER who tirelessly nursed her only child back to health after he was diagnosed with leukaemia has tragically died of the same disease herself. Doctors told the family of Vicki Waldie, 43, that the chances of a mother and son getting leukaemia were
SUNDERLAND'S Stadium Of Light is set for the biggest away support in it's six-year history on Saturday, when Hartlepool United arrive on Wearside with almost 10,000 fans. Despite Victoria Park crowds averaging around 5,300 this season, Pool are expected
DAVID Hodgson last night unveiled ambitious plans to develop Darlington Football Club's old Feethams ground into a community sports centre. Former Liverpool and Newcastle manager Kenny Dalglish has been acting as Hodgson's advisor during initial negotiations
A HOUSING workforce has agreed new employment terms with council chiefs that could help secure a maintenance contract. Wear Valley District Council has settled months of contract talks with its housing staff and trade unions ahead of its maintenance service
The Return (ITV1) The Welsh Great Escape (C4) A WOMAN puts on make-up as though she's going somewhere special. Lizzie Hunt is - this is the day she's released from prison after serving ten years for killing her doctor husband with a broken bottle. "All
The Return (ITV1) The Welsh Great Escape (C4): A WOMAN puts on make-up as though she's going somewhere special. Lizzie Hunt is - this is the day she's released from prison after serving ten years for killing her doctor husband with a broken bottle. "All
THREE North-East car dealers who specialise in helping disabled drivers have been named as being among the top in the country. Peter Milestone, who works at JenningsFord, in Carville, Durham, Jill Wilson, who works at the company's Stockton branch and
Darlington manager David Hodgson last night firmly dismissed speculation linking top scorer Barry Conlon with a move away from the club. The big striker is out of contract at the end of the season and a number of clubs are monitoring the players' situation
It's no wonder that our children are overweight when we use the car for even the shortest journeys, so why not lead by example and take your two legs? MAKE the most of tonight - tomorrow you start setting a good example. Our children are getting fatter
THE scale of the financial difficulties faced by troubled electrical chain Northern Retail became clear last night as it moved closer towards being wound up. The firm, based in Gateshead, and its holding company, Shop Electric Group, went into administration
A MAN who went to work in the Antarctic had a white Christmas but no presents from home during the festive period. In April, Allan Thomas left his job at Express Creamery, in Northallerton, North Yorkshire, to work at the British Antarctic Survey's immense
CHURCHES, castles, museums and research schemes are among more than 700 projects which have benefited from £200m in grants. The money was awarded by the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) in North Yorkshire and Humber over the past year. Members of its Yorkshire
A SURPRISE donation of £1,000 has boosted a scheme to improve and extend a market town's biggest public hall. A cheque was handed to the Witham Hall, in Barnard Castle, County Durham, by a local family who wished to support the project. Plans for the
WITH all the attention focussed on the Reynolds Arena, Feethams is in danger of being forgotten. It is an important part of Darlington, placed in trust in 1903 for the people of the town to take part in sport. Since the football club's move to the new
CAMPAIGNERS are claiming victory after the Government reversed its position on controversial proposals that would force small firms to take out insurance. The Government has said that it is planning to exempt more than 300,000 small, limited liability
A NEW vehicle has been added to a council fleet to help the authority hit government targets for waste management. Richmondshire District Council's recycling collection vehicle will be calling at the smaller recycling centres being set up around the area
THE new What's On guide for some of Teesside's premier entertainment venues has been released. The What's On guide for Hartlepool features details of events at the Town Hall Theatre, Art Gallery, Borough Hall, Historic Quay and Museum of Hartlepool for
EXTRA police patrols have been launched to make sure that revellers behave themselves during the New Year celebrations. Sunderland City Police are increasing the patrols to combat over-exuberant drinkers. As part of Northumbria Police's Freeze Out campaign
CRANK callers are being condemned for putting lives at risk by ringing 999 to ask for a taxi and to have their television channel changed. Angry ambulance chiefs revealed details of "emergency" calls which wasted time and resources over a festive period
PASSENGERS faced chaos last night after armed officers hunting the Boxing Day murderer of a police officer shut York railway station following reports that their chief suspect had been spotted. The East Coast Main Line station was closed for three hours
NORTH-EAST firms involved in technology will have the opportunity to showcase their talents in the US next month. The Knowledge Campus, based in Gateshead, is the main sponsor of CoDev 2004, the world's only conference about collaborative product development
PEOPLE in the Gateshead area can recycle Christmas trees at council depots in Campground, Wrekenton, and Cowen Road, Blaydon, until Sunday, January 11. Trees can also be recycled at the Central Nursery, Lobley Hill, between 9.30am and 3pm each weekday
BANK staff have given a hospital garden a Ground Force-style makeover. Each year, Barclays holds its Make a Difference day in which the company gives grants of £500 to staff who wish to help their community. When service advisor Joanne Tough, from Barclays
POLICE are hunting youths who are using a car to target vulnerable people. A 74-year-old Skelton woman, who was unloading shopping from a trolley into a car in the Somerfield car park off Milton Street, in Saltburn, at about 12.10pm on Monday, was targeted
WITH a pedigree herd of Saanen goats roaming between the wooden chalets and the tall pine trees, which reached for the clear blue skies, it sounds like somewhere high in the Swiss Alps. But no. This was Middleton St George, on the outskirts of Darlington
The fugitive gunman wanted for the killing of policeman Ian Broadhurst was arrested at a North-East guesthouse by armed police early today. Marksmen swooped on the Royal Hotel bed and breakfast in Railway Street, Dunston, Tyneside, after a call from a
SMOKERS across the county are being urged to consider giving up this New Year. More than a quarter of people in the area are smokers, but research shows that half are considering giving up. Margaret Hewison, of the North Yorkshire Stop Smoking Service
Perouse, a much improved performer of late, can land his fourth consecutive success by taking the Tote Exacta RHT Winter Series Showcase Handicap Hurdle over two miles and one furlong at Cheltenham this afternoon. From the in-form Paul Nicholls yard,
YOUNG musicians can have another chance to audition for the new Darlington and Dales Youth Orchestra next month. The orchestra has been holding auditions since November, but still needs string, oboe and bassoon players of grade five standard or higher
MIDDLESBROUGH have allowed star midfielder Gaizka Mendieta to swap the North-East frost for the sunshine in Spain. The 29-year-old will miss this Saturday's FA Cup clash with Division Two side Notts County at the Riverside after being given permission
THE driver of a car which collided with a family-of-five whilst they were on an afternoon walk may face further charges after a baby lost his fight for life. Eight-month old Callum Taylor suffered serious head injuries when the Volkswagen Passat hit the
TURNOVER, employment levels and business confidence have remained strong in Darlington, the latest business index shows. The index, compiled by Clive Owen and Co business advisors, shows that Darlington and the North-East is out of step with the rest
SHOPPERS had to wait an extra day to take advantage of some of the post-Christmas sales. A power cut to 1,500 homes in Northallerton, North Yorkshire, on Monday forced many shops in the town centre to close early on one of the busiest days of the year
THE scale of the financial difficulties faced by troubled electrical chain Northern Retail became clear last night as it moved closer towards being wound up. The firm, based in Gateshead, and its holding company, Shop Electric Group, went into administration
HEADTEACHERS have protested against proposals to withdraw three school bus services. Stockton Borough Council is trying to reduce transport costs which run at £454,000 a year, £47,000 over budget. The three schools which could lose their subsidised bus
Darlington manager David Hodgson last night firmly dismissed speculation linking top scorer Barry Conlon with a move away from the club. The big striker is out of contract at the end of the season and a number of clubs are monitoring the players' situation
AN historic railway and a youth centre are among groups to get a cash windfall. The Northern Rock Foundation has announced it will be handing out £4.6m to North-East community groups in the New Year. The foundation, established when the Northern Rock
A TEENAGER has died after falling from cliffs several miles from his home. James Cram, 18, is believed to have left a party at the house of a friend in Murton, east Durham, alone in the early hours of Sunday. When he failed to appear at his home in the
