SHAKESPEARE'S A Midsummer Night's Dream will be performed outdoors next week. Chapterhouse Theatre Company has set the play in a 1920s Jeeves and Wooster country house style. The production will take place in the grounds of Hartlepool Sixth Form College
A TRADITIONAL all-male choir from South Africa is heading for the North-East. The AngloGold Choir, will sing in Durham Cathedral on July 9. The 20-strong choir will form part of the annual traditional Durham Miner's Gala. For the visit to Durham, a 30
A large carving of a ewe and lamb may well baffle sheep experts in the North-East. The stone sculpture created by Phil Townsend in his yard at Eggleston, near Barnard Castle, County Durham, is of a Border Leicester, a breed seldom seen in the region.
Artwork produced by children over the past two years has gone on display. The exhibition, Bigger Picture, features work by children from Middlesbrough, Redcar and Cleveland, Stockton, Hartlepool and Darlington in 20 creative partnerships schools in the
A GROUP of soldiers serving in Afghanistan is running 3,670 miles for charity - the equivalent of the distance from their base in Kabul to their regimental headquarters in Richmond. The members of the 1st Battalion The Green Howards are serving with the
THE task couldn't have been simpler. Choose five young players to watch for The Northern Echo's pre-tournament supplement and, if at all possible, make one of them English. Four names jumped into my head straight away. Cristiano Ronaldo was coming off
A music festival that was in doubt is to go ahead and has announced this year's line-up. The 12th Stanley Blues Festival will be held in the former County Durham mining town on Saturday, August 7, from noon to 6.30pm, on the King's Head Field. The free
TRIBUTES have been paid to a popular North-East farmer who died at his home on Saturday following a two-year battle with cancer. John Dent, of Pecknell Farm, Lartington, near Barnard Castle, County Durham, is remembered as a man with a great sense of
ABOUT 400 workers were facing the threat of redundancy for a second time last night after receivers were called into a North-East food company. Freshbake Foods, in Hartlepool, has gone into receivership less than six months after buying the former Hibernia
THOMAS MYHRE would rather play second fiddle to Mart Poom at Sunderland than accept any offers from his native Norway. Goalkeeper Myhre is available on a free transfer, even though he has a year left on his contract. There is plenty of interest from Scandinavia
TO millions of TV viewers, Barry Hollinshead was the son of the infamous Geordie layabout Oz in Auf Wiedersehen Pet. But in reality, Barry went on to follow in his screen father's footsteps, leaving school with few qualifications and ending up in jobs
THE UK's biggest mortgage lender last night doubled its forecast for house price rises before the end of the year, but said it still expected the market to slow. Halifax is predicting property prices will be 16 per cent higher by the end of the year than
We may think our hectic lives are just reality but there's nothing real about rushing around. BACK to the real world. Oh, the misery of coming back from holiday. Last week, we were in Pembrokeshire - God's own patch of west Wales - where the nearest thing
Beleaguered Humberside Chief Constable David Westwood was defiant last night despite the Home Secretary ordering his suspension over the Soham debacle. David Blunkett demanded his removal from active duty after the inquiry into how killer Ian Huntley
MORE than 60 pensioners in the North-East and North Yorkshire have won compensation because they were wrongly denied free long-term care on the NHS. Many patients forced to use their own cash for post-hospital care have had to sell their homes to pay
A GRIEF-STRICKEN couple have been left devastated by thieves who stole two flower baskets hung in memory of their two-year-old daughter. Katie Grant died at her Darlington home last month after a ten-month battle against cancer. Her parents, Justine and
We may think our hectic lives are just reality but there's nothing real about rushing around. BACK to the real world. Oh, the misery of coming back from holiday. Last week, we were in Pembrokeshire - God's own patch of west Wales - where the nearest thing
AS usual at this sun-blessed time of year, last week's holiday was to the Land of Her Father's - and enhanced by the Daily Telegraph story of how Sunderland lifeboat had to rescue a dog which swam out after a ball. (Doubtless it also appeared in these
Dealing with the hassle of an insurance claim led to a new career for a sales professional in the waste management industry. Karl Utley, from Weardale, has been awarded the Area Franchise for the North East of England by national insurance claims specialist
SOME famous faces took to the cricket field to warm up for the opening performance of a comedy. Outside Edge, the second play in the Ian Dickens Productions summer rep season, opened at Darlington Civic Theatre last night. The cast took time out from
A NIGHTCLUB bouncer who thrust a broken bottle into a teacher's eye, leaving him partially blinded, was yesterday jailed for six years. The surgeon who removed trainee teacher Paul Gibson's right eye said it was the worst injury he had seen. Mr Gibson
POLICE have been given new powers to disperse groups of youths who they think are likely to cause trouble. Police officers in Northallerton and Romanby will be the first in North Yorkshire to issue Dispersal Orders. The force applied to use the orders
A MOTHER-OF-FOUR who gave up a career in art to look after her children has been awarded a place at university. Jacquie Dinsdale decided to return to college last September on the Art and Design - Access to Higher Education course at Stockton Riverside
A MEETING is to be held with council tenants after complaints about a scheme to replace run-down homes. Some have claimed that they are unhappy with arrangements which will see them moved into temporary accommodation while new homes are built. The work
TRADERS in a market town have told of their anger after losing another day's business when their electricity supply went off for the third time in a week. Most of one side of Yarm High Street lost power yesterday for nearly 11 hours, resulting in shops
A CELEBRATION of regional, national and international cultural diversity will be staged in the North-East next month. The show, Spotlight at Newcastle City Hall, at 7pm on Saturday, July 3, is to launch the North East Cultural Diversity Arts Forum (Nedcaf
PRIVATE wardens have been drafted in by Hartlepool Borough Council to boost a drive to keep the town clean and tidy. Two enforcement officers, both employed by Manchester-based Animal Wardens, will be working on weekends throughout the summer. Their main
A CONVERTED pub has won a design award from real ale group Camra. The Winter Gardens, a JD Wetherspoon pub in Harrogate, which is part of the Winter Gardens complex, was highly commended in the National Pub Design Awards. Judges for the awards, which
A FORMER Army chef is now cooking up treats of a different kind - using technology to feed the minds of local children. Keith Marshall, 65, retired last August after nearly 30 years cooking for soldiers at Britain's biggest Army base. But as well as food
CHILDREN from five primary schools got a taste of the Olympic dream when they took part in a sports festival yesterday. Tudhoe Grange School hosted a mini-Olympics tournament for 160 children ahead of a borough-wide contest on Friday. To celebrate this
HEALTH issues will be in the spotlight next week as another Wear Valley group takes up the challenge to influence improvements in the district's dismal record. The Wear Valley Community Network is inviting people to a meeting on Wednesday that could affect
A COUNTY Durham children's author is to present prizes to adult learners. Anne Fine, from Barnard Castle, who was Children's Laureate from 2001 to 2003, credits her success to her parents' determination to give her the education they never had. Ms Fine
ANTIQUE fans enjoyed a day out yesterday finding out whether they had a fortune hidden in their attics. Silver teapots were the most common antiques taken to the valuation event at Pinchinthorpe Hall, Guisborough, east Cleveland, with jewellery, pictures
A VIRTUAL reality house is offering people information on how to secure their home, garage and garden against burglars. The crime prevention advice is now available on the Durham Constabulary website. An interactive display shows a cartoon-style house
WORK has started on an additional building at a Middlesbrough visitor attraction. It is being built at Nature's World thanks to an award of £250,000 of funding and has a working title of the Earthship Project. The project will convey the story of re-use
Andrew Smith, Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, yesterday opened the 500th Jobcentre Plus marking a milestone in getting people into employment. The office, in Middlesbrough, represents the halfway stage of a £2.2bn introduction of the service
ARMED robbers escaped with thousands of pounds after holding up a betting shop. Two masked men, one armed with a handgun, burst into the bookmakers in Whiteleas Way, South Shields, South Tyneside, at about 9.20pm on Monday. They threatened the cashier
TEACHERS have hailed a scheme that encourages children to talk more in class as a success. Talk for Learning has been running in 48 primary schools in North Yorkshire for the past 18 months. The scheme, based on national and international research on
TAXI drivers have said that the location of a farmers' market is dangerous and is an accident waiting to happen. Northallerton farmers' market takes place every fourth Wednesday of the month on an area usually taken up by a taxi rank, north of the town
Associated British Ports reported strong sales growth yesterday. The group, which handles about a quarter of the UK's seaborne trade, and is a major rival of Teesport operator PD, said all areas of its business performed well this year. Turnover from
BLONDE STREAK (3.20) is fancied to live up to her name by scooting away with this afternoon's £25,000 Carlisle Bell. Although David Barron's filly has finished in fourth place on both of her outings so far this term, the two runs could not have been more
ONE of the main architects of the plans for the regional assembly will be visiting the region next week - and he wants to take questions about the plans from readers of The Northern Echo. In early November, the people of the North-East and Yorkshire will
NEARLY half of all people with terminal cancer in the region are missing out on benefits, according to a report. Macmillan Cancer Relief estimates that more than £5.7m in disability benefits is going unclaimed in the North-East. The charity is concerned
A TWO-YEAR project to build a medical centre came to an end with the official opening of the new premises. Leyburn Medical Centre, in Brentwood, brings together the town's health services under one roof, with space for GPs, midwives, health visitors and
SCIENTISTS from the region have been given more than £600,000 to help protect patients from potentially life-threatening drug side-effects. Every year, a small number of patients suffer fatal liver damage after taking penicillin or anti-TB drugs. Dr Ann
AS usual at this sun-blessed time of year, last week's holiday was to the Land of Her Father's - and enhanced by the Daily Telegraph story of how Sunderland lifeboat had to rescue a dog which swam out after a ball. (Doubtless it also appeared in these
WE live in an age where people often move from one region to another. It is an age in which police authorities need access to a national database to conduct checks on individuals. It is an age where technology is capable of giving police authorities instant
A JOURNALIST working for The Northern Echo has won a national award while passing her professional examinations. Hannah Chapman, 20, has passed her National Council for the Training of Journalists' national certificate. Out of 227 journalists who sat
A RADIO station is searching for undiscovered musicians to appear on Internet broadcasts. Radio Hartlepool is keen to discover and promote up and coming talent from the town and surrounding areas. Material collected will make up the play-list for a new
A music festival that was in doubt is to go ahead and has announced this year's line-up. The 12th Stanley Blues Festival will be held in the former County Durham mining town on Saturday, August 7, from noon to 6.30pm, on the King's Head Field. The free
A MOTHER has set up a lifestyle management company to help others cope with the mundane daily chores facing every family. Gillian Myres, of Durham Road, Spennymoor, launched the professional organising business to handle a variety of tasks for those who
The Barclay brothers have won the race to buy the Daily and Sunday Telegraph. The pair, who also own The Business and The Scotsman, were victorious on the second occasion after previously having an initial £260m bid blocked by the board of the newspapers
A JUDGE locked up a persistent motoring offender for 20 months and ordered a commendation for the police after watching a video of a high-speed chase along busy roads. Trevor Keenan, 20, was told by Judge Roger Scott at Teesside Crown Court: "As an example
ANOTHER young soldier has been found dead at Europe's biggest Army base - the 14th since 1997. The body of 24-year-old trainee guardsman Andrew Brown was discovered with a gunshot wound at his dormitory in Vimy barracks, Catterick Garrison, North Yorkshire
THOMAS MYHRE would rather play second fiddle to Mart Poom at Sunderland than accept any offers from his native Norway. Goalkeeper Myhre is available on a free transfer, even though he has a year left on his contract. There is plenty of interest from Scandinavia
A PRIMARY school pupil will have the thrill of seeing his art work on display at a village carnival this weekend. Aaron Kirkbride has created a logo that will be used by St Helens Residents' Association when they revive the village carnival. The association
Hartlepool is backing a national campaign to look at the way we live. The Caravan Gallery Architecture Week 2004 is taking place outside Hartlepool Art Gallery. Photographs of architecture and places in the town are on show. Events during the week will
A FARMER who used to breed pigs until the market declined is planning to set up a viewing centre for more than 100 birds of prey on his land. Paul Barkes hopes to attract families from all over the North-East to the raptor centre at Thorpe Farm, in Greta
From a church clock Echo Memories unwinds a tale of clifftop carnage and a carving of Anglo Saxon intrigue. EDWIN was a saint from the North-East, but the poor fellow needs all the patience he can muster because nowadays he is rather overlooked. There
thousands of cricket fans who will flock to next week's international day-night game in the North-East have been warned to set off early. A crowd of 12,000 is expected at Durham County Cricket Club's Riverside ground, in Chester-le-Street, on Tuesday
A 16-YEAR-old travelling showman is taking his family sweet stall into the 21st Century by launching an Internet-based company. Sweets of Yesteryear was set up by James Stokes' grandparents and is a name that has been seen at shows and galas throughout
A man has died after his car collided with a lamp-post on A174, near Ingleby Barwick this morning. Police are uncertain as to whether he will be named today as relatives need to be informed. Police are still at the scene and the road is closed.
A FLORAL tribute in the shape of a pool table was a fitting goodbye to a father and son who died in a car accident. Shaun Gellatly, 28, and his father Mally, 48, played pool together at the Kicking Cuddy Inn, where a wake was held yesterday. Coxhoe villagers
THREE North-East war veterans who were among the first Allied soldiers to land in occupied France on D-Day will feature in a TV documentary this weekend. ITV Tyne Tees commissioned D-Day: 60 Years Later, to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the landings
ABOUT 400 workers were facing the threat of redundancy for a second time last night after receivers were called into a North-East food company. Freshbake Foods, in Hartlepool, has gone into receivership less than six months after buying the former Hibernia
THE organisers of a business event being held later this year have attracted a US company which hopes to build partnerships with organisations in County Durham through business "speed dating". County Durham Development Company has invited the Mississippi
DURHAM will again be spared the ordeal of facing Michael Kasprowicz over the next few days as they take on a Glamorgan team who are without any overseas players at Cardiff. Kasprowicz, who twice took nine wickets in an innings against Durham last season
A WORLD champion visited a North-East school to celebrate its achievements in encouraging girls to play sport. Anna Hemmings, the women's kayaking champion, awarded an Innovation in the Curriculum award to Sedgefield Community College, in County Durham
From a church clock Echo Memories unwinds a tale of clifftop carnage and a carving of Anglo Saxon intrigue. EDWIN was a saint from the North-East, but the poor fellow needs all the patience he can muster because nowadays he is rather overlooked. There
THREE years ago, this column became almost a single-issue column. Rarely a week passed without an item, often the main piece, on the appalling foot-and-mouth crisis. My view was simple. The large-scale destruction of animals, the vast majority in good
THE task couldn't have been simpler. Choose five young players to watch for The Northern Echo's pre-tournament supplement and, if at all possible, make one of them English. Four names jumped into my head straight away. Cristiano Ronaldo was coming off
Police investigating the murder of a man whose remains were found in a remote lay-by more than seven years ago arrested two people today in connection with his death. Parts of Leonard Fulbirg's skeleton were discovered by the side of the A6033 in the
A FARMING family who moved into ice cream and cheese production has been recognised for its work. More than 20 years ago, Brian Moore decided to take Government advice and branch out from traditional farming by making ice cream. It happened when milk
RACISM: WE must not fall for the insidious propaganda of the extreme right. While it is obviously true that there are a few small areas where whites are outnumbered by blacks or Asians, the 2001 census reveals that just six per cent of the UK population
A PUBLIC meeting is being held tonight to try to tackle problems on the Church Lane Estate, at Eston, near Middlesbrough. The Church Lane Residents' Association, which was formed a year ago, has organised the meeting - the group's second, which they hope
PLANS to create a 35-place childcare facility in a dales town could be boosted by a council decision next week. The Upper Dales Child Care Partnership is trying to create the facilities in the Hawsa Hut in the grounds of Hawes Community Primary School
AN extension to a rural primary school is to be dedicated to the memory of its late headteacher. The project to extend Thornton-le-Dale School was the ambition of Colin Babister. He died in September last year, just before he was about to apply to North
A CHARITABLE trust set up to raise money to buy a town's open spaces is half way to meeting its first target. Richmondshire Landscape Trust has to raise £120,000 in the next three years to buy Westfield, Sleegill, South Bank, Jack King's Wood and other
WORK to transform a Georgian listed building into a popular tearoom is under way. The last roof tile has been put in place and the structural work has been completed at 189a Northallerton High Street. The former bank will be the new home of Bettys Caf
POLICE are trying to trace a taxi driver who may have seen a youth being attacked in a North-East city. It happened near the Spa Shop, Chester Road, Sunderland, between 2.15am and 2.30am last Friday. Two men chased the teenager for several hundred yards
TWO libraries yesterday launched schemes to attract young readers. The first Bookstart project opened at Brandon Library, Durham, where in partnership with the SureStart organisation, young readers were invited to sample some of the treats in store over
When Lesley Hanson died, the Teesside charity Daisy Chain lost its inspirational founder. Five months on, her husband Duane tells Christen Pears about her legacy. LESLEY Hanson had a vision. When her son was diagnosed with autism, she began to imagine
SPEED cameras are to be used on a further four roads in Teesside in a bid to reduce the number of accidents. Analysis conducted by Cleveland Safety Camera Partnership has highlighted a high number of accidents on the roads over the past three years. The
THE mystery of why an elderly woman walked into a rough sea and drowned remained unsolved after an inquest. North Yorkshire East Coroner Michael Oakley, recording an open verdict at the Scarborough hearing, said there was no evidence to suggest that 76
The Model, the Poster and 3,000 Women (Ch4): IF, like me, you were a teenage girl in the 80s or 90s, you probably had Adam Perry on your bedroom wall next to pictures of Wham and Duran Duran. But Adam wasn't a pop star and most of his fans didn't even
MORE than 20 people from Teesdale competed in a carpet bowls competition organised to raise the profile of the sport. The Inter-Teesdale Carpet Bowls Competition, held in Eggleston Village Hall, attracted teams from Cotherstone, Butterknowle, Ovington
A TOWN has its own mayor for the first time after councillors created a new post. Members of Shildon Town Council have voted that the position of chairman of the council should be changed to carry the title of mayor. Councillors were told at a meeting
A NEW information line providing advice on children's services, including playgroups and nurseries, has been launched. The free-call Childcare Information Service (CIS), funded by SureStart County Durham and managed by Durham County Council's Social Care
A LOCAL authority has tidied up a cemetery days after a woman took a clean-up campaign into her own hands. Sonja Ross was so sick of the long grass covering the graves of her relatives at St Paul's churchyard, in Quarrington Hill, she decided to cut it
A CLUB has opened to turn young people in County Durham into the stars of tomorrow. Chester-le-Street Youth Centre has gained official Make Space status as part of a campaign to create a nationwide network of contemporary after-school clubs. Youngsters
A CELEBRATION of regional, national and international cultural diversity will be staged in the North-East next month. The show, Spotlight at Newcastle City Hall, at 7pm on Saturday, July 3, is to launch the North East Cultural Diversity Arts Forum (Nedcaf
TWO school pupils are enjoying success in their chosen sports. Georgina Turns, 15 and Dean Spencer, 14, both students at Shotton Hall School, in Peterlee, have made a mark in the sports of tenpin bowling and power boating. Georgina has been selected for
NORTH-EAST police last night said they had already tightened up procedures on the sharing of criminal intelligence in a bid to prevent another case like that of Ian Huntley. In the wake of the Bichard report's findings, which recommended the introduction
SHIRTS signed by former Premiership footballers will be auctioned at a fundraising night next month. Durham County Football Club's end-of-season dinner takes place in the Swallow Three Tuns Hotel, in New Elvet, Durham City, on Friday, July 9. A Newcastle
AN asbestos training centre in Darlington, thought to be the first in the country, has been opened by the town's MP, Alan Milburn. Built by the Trade Association for Asbestos Removal Contractors (Acad), the centre is designed to provide realistic practical
A MAN was struck by a car and thrown over its bonnet after a parking dispute outside a Harrogate fish and chip shop, the town's magistrates heard yesterday. Stephanie Waite, prosecuting, said Philip Bennett spoke to Kenneth Greenhalgh when he parked on
A MAN who hoped to become a police officer has pleaded guilty to an attack on a former friend outside a pub. Alan Owen, 43, a Ministry of Defence security officer at the Army Foundation College, in Harrogate, hoped to join the ministry's police force,
A WOMAN was caught cutting up £1,500 worth of crack cocaine as police launched a concerted effort to clear the streets of Teesside of the scourge of drugs. Drug dealers are being targeted across the Cleveland force area and last night a fleet of vans
NEARLY 30,000 homes and businesses in the North-East will have access to broadband later this month when high-speed Internet technology is installed in telephone exchanges in the region. In January, regional development agency One NorthEast announced
Detectives hunting the murderers of Julie Smailes today began an inch-by inch sweep of garden in Consett. Shortly after 8am a specialist search team, armed with military-issue metal detectors, moved into the back garden of a house in Briardale in Delves
A RADIO company which recently bought local stations across the region was yesterday toasting another acquisition. The Local Radio Company (LRC), which was set up by a group of former bosses at Jazz FM, doubled its stake in Lancashire station Two Boroughs
As part of The Northern Echo's Lifeblood campaign, which encourages more people to give blood, here are details of forthcoming donor sessions: Tomorrow Methodist Church, High Street, Stokesley 2.30pm-7pm King James I College, South Church Road, Bishop
A NORTH-EAST father and son, who disappeared from their horse box business owing customers money, have been accused of ripping off one of their own relatives. The brother of Gary Upson, who ran Just Trucks in Darlington with his son Ryan, said he was
KRAFT Foods last night confirmed that the Terry's chocolate factory in York will close with the loss of 316 jobs. The announcement came after the GMB union issued a statement saying it had been told there were no viable options that would keep the factory
LIVE music and colourful costumes brought the generations together as a town enjoyed its annual festival. Visitors and residents gathered in Crook Market Place for the Crook Community Samba Festival yesterday. The town was a hive of activity after a samba
KRAFT Foods last night confirmed that the Terry's chocolate factory in York will close with the loss of 316 jobs. The announcement came after the GMB union issued a statement saying it had been told there were no viable options that would keep the factory
Three mobile phone giants today won a High Court test case battle for the right to put up a 25-metre mast near three schools, despite health concerns and Government opposition. Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott and Harrogate Borough Council in North
British socialite Jemima Khan and Pakistani cricket legend Imran Khan have divorced, it was confirmed yesterday. The marriage between the daughter of the late billionaire Sir James Goldsmith and the cricketer-turned-politician was formally ended in London
A transport scheme will help more schools discover rural museums in County Durham. Killhope, the North of England Lead Mining Museum, Weardale Museum, Ireshopeburn, and Bowes Museum, in Barnard Castle, have teamed up to provide subsidised coach travel
BACK to the real world. Oh, the misery of coming back from holiday. Last week, we were in Pembrokeshire - God's own patch of west Wales - where the nearest thing we had to a traffic jam was tucking into a high, flower-filled hedgerow to let a rare car
DURHAM will again be spared the ordeal of facing Michael Kasprowicz over the next few days as they take on a Glamorgan team who are without any overseas players at Cardiff. Kasprowicz, who twice took nine wickets in an innings against Durham last season
ANOTHER young soldier has been found dead at Europe's biggest Army base - the 14th since 1997. The body of 24-year-old trainee guardsman Andrew Brown was discovered with a gunshot wound at his dormitory in Vimy barracks, Catterick Garrison, North Yorkshire
MORE than 150 shopkeepers in the region were looking forward to £31,000 windfalls last night after voting overwhelmingly in favour of a £60m takeover. Ninety-seven per cent of nearly 2,000 UK storeholders in the Londis convenience store chain approved
