FUNDRAISING to buy rehabilitation equipment for a six-year-old girl is likely to exceed £1,000. Chloe Miller, from Newton Aycliffe, has cerebral palsy and severe sight problems. She is preparing to go into hospital for an operation on both hips and will
A return to the old school of agony aunting might be just what we need... MAYBE Ann Widdecombe's time has come - and it might do us all a bit of good. The former prisons minister, now newly blonde slimmer, novelist and twinkly person, has started a new
THE allegations that there is a well-organised scam involving immigration applications from Romanians and Bulgarians may have grave consequences for the Government. If it is proved that ministers were warned of the matter 18 months ago and chose to do
ENGLAND midfielder Kieron Dyer was the star attraction as a crowd of 750 watched Darlington reserves beat Newcastle United's second string 4-1 at the Reynolds Arena last night. Dyer had not played since aggravating a hamstring problem in the UEFA Cup
TWELVE hours after the black bun and shortie, this column may be found every New Year's Day lunchtime in the bar of Lune Street workmen's club in Saltburn. Though the occasion is no longer accompanied by the Skelton and Brotton Silver Prize Band, their
BLOOD donors across the region have responded well to a call for support to avert a potential crisis in the service. The Northern Echo has launched an appeal to persuade more people to come forward and give blood to offset the loss of donors because of
A CHANCE remark from a headteacher has led to the launch of a learning website, which yesterday won Government approval. Thanks to a moment of inspiration by James Miller, the headteacher of Newcastle Royal Grammar School, students using the Internet
PENSIONERS and the disabled no longer need to renew their concessionary travel passes each year. The permits, which give half-price bus and train travel for Durham County Council, will be valid until further notice. Chester-le-Street District Council
Local history enthusiast Dorothy Rand will be the guest speaker at a meeting of Chester Heritage Group, at Chester-le-Street Library, in Station Road, at 7pm next Wednesday. She will talk about stories connected with her collection of local souvenirs
AT the age of 100, Olive Oxley makes all her own meals and does all her own housework. But yesterday she put her everyday chores on hold to celebrate her birthday milestone at a party with close family and friends. Born in Langley Moor, near Durham, Mrs
A SCHEME offering youngsters a family film on weekends is proving a sell-out. Staff at the Empire Theatre in Consett, which houses the region's largest cinema screen, are having to turn away parents and children from its Saturday Movie Club. With admission
THE £12m Seaham Regeneration Scheme has won an award for the use of EU money. The scheme was one of the flagship projects of the East Durham Task Force's Programme for Action to breathe new life into an area devastated by pit closures and unemployment
A CHARITY providing an advocacy service to vulnerable people has been awarded a £5,000 grant. Hambleton and Richmondshire Advocacy has been awarded the money by the Lloyds TSB Foundation for England and Wales. The charity provides an advocacy service
A WATER company and a pressure group have joined forces to improve the cleanliness of the sea. Yorkshire Water will share information with marine conservation organisation Sons of Neptune to enable the group to carry out wide-ranging studies into the
FAMILIES interested in fostering and adoption are invited to an open evening tomorrow to find out more. Sunderland social services is holding the event at its training centre in Carrmere Road, Leechmere Industrial Estate. Staff will be on hand between
YOUNGSTERS who created musical compositions will produce a CD and perform their works live. The children from five schools in Stockton have written songs with the Write to Read project and are making CDs at the Sanity Multimedia recording studio, at Castlegate
AN exciting development is taking place in the grounds of a Teesside school. Hundreds of willow trees are being planted and woven together by pupils of North Ormesby Primary School, Middlesbrough, with the help of professional willow weavers, to create
TWELVE hours after the black bun and shortie, this column may be found every New Year's Day lunchtime in the bar of Lune Street workmen's club in Saltburn. Though the occasion is no longer accompanied by the Skelton and Brotton Silver Prize Band, their
JEAN WALKER has been making dolls for more than 70 years, and worldwide demand for her creations has left buyers facing a two-year wait. To give everyone a chance to view her exquisite works of art, Ms Walker, 80, from Billingham, is holding an exhibition
SPEEDING drivers are more likely to be caught after plans to buy new equipment were given the go ahead. Police authority members in North Yorkshire have given their approval to buy the portable roadside video recorders. They hope it will make catching
A FRESH bid to extend a caravan site has brought objections from a parish council which says if it went ahead, more people would be living in caravans than in the village. Roecliffe, near Boroughbridge, already has two caravan parks, said the parish council
NEW LABOUR: NEW Labour has seriously damaged our once great country. We have witnessed errors on police, law and order, health service, education, illegal immigration, rail and road services and the gangsters operating in our towns and cities who are
DETECTIVES were last night trying to discover how a young man received injuries that left him fighting for his life. Lee Walker, 22, suffered serious head injuries during a night out with friends in Darlington on Monday. Although what happened is a mystery
A TEACHER told her headmaster she was suffering from leukaemia to avoid having to answer to school inspectors. Year one tutor Dawn Fitzsimons deceived staff and parents at Seaburn Dene Primary School, Sunderland, and missed lessons to attend non-existent
A FOUR-YEAR-OLD boy was praised last night for coming to the rescue of his mother - for the second time. Rhys Jones calmly dialled 999 when pregnant mum Diane lost consciousness at the family home in Newton Aycliffe, County Durham. He then explained to
CLUB captain Jason McAteer last night cursed his own luck and then gave George McCartney his personal blessing to lead Sunderland out in Sunday's FA Cup semi-final. McAteer was handed the skipper's armband by manager Mick McCarthy in the summer but, following
AIRLINE group Bmi halved pre-tax losses to £9.8m last year despite the impact of the Sars virus and the war in Iraq. The group, based at Castle Donington, Derbyshire, said last year was another difficult 12 months. But growth in passenger numbers in the
JERMAINE JENAS has admitted Newcastle are mystified by the dismal away form that is threatening their Champions League ambitions. Midfielder Jenas, who is with England preparing for tonight's friendly against Sweden in Gothenburg, featured in a Magpies
A LUXURY home has been put up for sale in a North-East town with a £1m price tag. The six bedroom house, set in two acres of land, is thought to be the first in Darlington to reach the £1m mark - as the current property boom shows no sign of slowing.
SPORTS enthusiasts planning a community stadium will be meeting next week. Land between St Helen Auckland and West Auckland has been identified for the Prince Bishop Community Stadium, which would provide a track and training centre for minority sports
A NEWTON Aycliffe school is leading the way in a pioneering programme to develop science teaching. Twenty-first Century Science is an initiative designed to make the subject more relevant to children by linking it to everyday life. Woodham Community Technology
A COUNCIL official has called for a shake-up in the way parish councils are run in Teesdale. Kath Toward, clerk to Forest and Frith Parish Council and vice-chairman of the County Durham Branch of the Society of Local Council Clerks, said unless councils
PEOPLE living on a Teesdale estate have decided to purchase their local community centre for £1. But before the deal for the community centre in Stainton Grove, near Barnard Castle, is struck with Teesdale District Council, the hall committee will consider
MORE than 350 children performed in a gymnastics festival at Spennymoor Leisure Centre, which brought together children from 26 schools in the Spennymoor, Tudhoe, Woodham and Sedgefield areas. Children aged five to 16 featured, as well as demonstrations
COLIN COOPER insists he could still be part of the set-up at Middlesbrough next season. The former England defender has joined rivals Sunderland on loan for the rest of this term and is eligible for Sunday's FA Cup semi-final against his former club Millwall
A TEAM of scientists at Durham University has made a breakthrough that it predicts will take the chemical sector by storm. The academics have created a new generation of organic catalysts that can be used in the manufacture of fine chemicals. The culmination
A STUDENT carried out a frenzied knifing spree only hours after he was cleared of raping a woman, a court was told. Less than 24 hours after he was acquitted, Eric Samo struck in Middlesbrough, targeting people at random. Teesside Crown Court heard how
IT'S the fifth time she's visited, but for the town and the crew the excitement has never waned. She may be a replica of the original, but when HM Bark Endeavour returned to her spiritual home of Whitby it was as if the clock had gone back two centuries
UP to 100 clerical jobs are being created as a company attracts contract work to Teesside from across the UK. HBS, which runs Middlesbrough Council's tax collection and housing benefits service, is in growing demand from other town halls across England
A GROUP of hardy ramblers are preparing for a series of treks. Durham Rambling Club has revealed a varied programme of walks across the North-East and North Yorkshire over the coming six months. It features 13 events, with participants given the option
A SOCCER supporter aims to share his love for his Boro idols with a town. Businessman Riaz Hameed discovered a treasure trove of football memorabilia when he bought a Middlesbrough pub to renovate. It is the 30-year-old's aim to have the vast collection
MOBILE phone group Orange is the latest UK employer to send call centre work to India, it was revealed last night. News of the switch has prompted concerns for the security of the 5,500 Orange jobs in the North-East. The company insisted there was no
A return to the old school of agony aunting might be just what we need... MAYBE Ann Widdecombe's time has come - and it might do us all a bit of good. The former prisons minister, now newly blonde slimmer, novelist and twinkly person, has started a new
CONFIDENCE among Darlington employers was boosted by low unemployment figures in February, the latest business index shows. The positive trend in January continued into February with significant increases in turnover and business confidence. Numbers of
A service to help improve young people's confidence and skills has been launched in Northallerton. More than 20 organisations have committed to working together for the launch of Entry into Employment - known as e2e. The scheme gives practical help to
THE North-East suffered a double blow last night with news that one factory is to close and another is to cut jobs. Staff at electrical appliance company Electrolux have been told that 35 jobs are to be lost from the company's cooker factory in Spennymoor
RAPHAEL bids to go one better in the Gods Solution Handicap at Catterick today having finished runner-up in the race 12 months ago. On that occasion Tim Easterby's mare failed by a neck to catch Shanook, but that only tells half the story since she was
Amnesia (ITV1): FORGETTING where you put your glasses or forgetting an appointment are unfortunate lapses of memory. Forgetting what you did with your wife is another thing altogether. All Detective Sergeant Mackenzie has to remember his wife Lucia are
A WARNING has been issued to people working up heights after two farmers died in falls in a fortnight. Only weeks later, two people were also seriously injured after they fell through roofs in the same area. Paul Merrin, 48, from Brenkhouse Farm, Nether
Many farmers across the region will be hit hard when their subsidy system changes, with payments to some in danger of dropping from £16,000 to just £4,000 a year. A plea has been made to the government on behalf of farmers around Barnard Castle, County
Pete Waterman says it's cursed, but that hasn't stopped the National Railway Museum from trying ro bring it to York. Nick Morrison looks at the battle to save the flying Scotsman. IT'S a national treasure, but it isn't encased in any museum. Nor is it
A POLICEMAN is spending one day a week behind bars to help prisoners think about road safety. PC Dave Nixon, Durham Constabulary's road casualty reduction officer, provides a regular course to inmates at Durham Prison. The aim is to make prisoners think
