Johnny And Denise - Passport To Paradise (BBC1) I'm Free! Inside The Comedy Closet (C4) THE new entertainment show, lumberingly entitled Johnny And Denise - Passport To Paradise, is a blatant attempt to find the BBC's answer to Ant And Dec's Saturday
A CLEAN-UP is being launched on Teesside today. Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council and Coast and Country Housing is hoping to tidy up Ormesby, Normanby and Eston, and will clear fly-tipped rubbish, litter, overgrown shrubs, weeds, graffiti and drug
AN event that is fast becoming an institution kicked off nine days of varied entertainment. Thirsk Festival, organised by the local Rotary Club, is now in its sixth year and is designed to provide something for everyone. As well as helping to raise the
PATRICK KLUIVERT has dramatically opened the door for Middlesbrough to make a renewed bid for his services. But the Dutchman's U-turn is not likely to tempt Boro into trying for a second time to lure the striker to the Riverside Stadium. Only a few weeks
Hollywood film star Charlie Hunnam wants to save the world - by playing Superman in a new movie. Described as the new Brad Pitt, the North-East born actor who wowed TV viewers with his roles in Byker Grove and Queer as Folk, is one of six actors in the
SIX fathers and grandfathers, one of whom is blind, have been awarded a professional cooking qualification. All six were novice cooks when they embarked on an Open College Network course, funded by the Learning and Skills Council Tees Valley. A basic
GOVERNMENT inspectors found that pupils like one school so much that some do not want to go home when lessons finish. Ofsted inspectors praised the teaching at Errington Primary School, in Marske, and said pupils responded well to lessons and achieved
STUDENTS raced against time in an effort to stage a show in the space of 24 hours. With help from with staff at Northallerton College, they competed against the clock to put on a whirlwind musical production with professional instrumentalists. They gave
CHRIS Thornton has his sights set on some big targets for Lets Roll after the consistent three-year-old gained a deserved success at Redcar yesterday. Newmarket raider Prenup moved smoothly into the lead in the Formica Surfacing Your World Handicap over
YOUNG designers and engineers turned their brain power into horsepower for a school competition. Tanfield School, near Stanley, held a watersports challenge, with students racing mini-boats. The year eight pupils spent a week designing and building the
A PILOT scheme to foster a pioneering spirit in young people will become a long-term project. Enterprise Place was established last year on the Tanfield Lea Industrial Estate near Stanley. The project - believed to be the only one of its kind in the UK
MORE than 20 child welfare organisations will join forces this week for the launch of east Durham's first Children's Planning Forum. Easington Primary Care Trust (PCT) has invited representatives from social care, child care, education, health and voluntary
A KILLER who beat a gifted student to death could be released next month after serving only two-and-a-half years in prison. Labourer Christopher Woolley killed Patrick Brown in an unprovoked attack outside Durham City's railway station, in February 2001
CHRIS Thornton has his sights set on some big targets for Lets Roll after the consistent three-year-old gained a deserved success at Redcar yesterday. Newmarket raider Prenup moved smoothly into the lead in the Formica Surfacing Your World Handicap over
YOUNG designers and engineers turned their brain power into horsepower for a school competition. Tanfield School, near Stanley, held a watersports challenge, with students racing mini-boats. The year eight pupils spent a week designing and building the
A CATERER is hoping that a book he helped create will encourage children to be more environmentally aware. Frederick Stehr, of Elton Parade, Darlington, asked Irish author Glenys O'Connell to write a book about fly-tipping based on one of his ideas. The
THOMAS the Tank Engine puffed his way into Darlington Railway Museum at the weekend, to the delight of thousands of children. The little engine and his pals, Bertie the Bus, Devious Diesel and George the Steamroller, were at the museum in North Road on
GIVING Nation Week has been marked at Teesside Preparatory and High School for Girls, in Eaglescliffe, with a week of fundraising events and a celebration of work by pupils to help in the local and global community. At a ceremony on Friday, MP Dari Taylor
Welcome to Oakdrive Nursing Home. "Today is Tuesday," reads a notice on the wall of a shabby room. "The next meal is dinner" states another, below which a third reveals that tongue salad is on the menu. Elderly residents are nowhere to be seen, which
PEOPLE power has led to a rethink over proposals for traffic calming measures in a market town. Residents said that the scheme would ruin the scenic streetscape of Helmsley. After a public meeting called by the town council, highway chiefs backed down
A SCHEME to cover the market place in Pickering is one of a number of projects in a report about improving the area. A covered way through to Hungate from the Market Place, to extend the central shopping area, should also be pursued, says the report by
A POLICE and fire brigade operation is being launched to catch arsonists responsible for keeping Teesside at the top of a national league table for deliberate fires. The emergency services will pool their knowledge of fires and criminal intelligence to
So miracles do happen, after all. The year of the underdog was taken to an incredible extreme as Greece completed one of the biggest upsets in international football to lift the Euro 2004 trophy. Whereas Porto clinched the Champions League against all
A CHARITY has been awarded almost £35,000 in National Lottery cash to help play schemes in Darlington accommodate children of all abilities. Darlington Association on Disability (Dad) received the money from the New Opportunities Fund. Association manager
HEALTH officials are aiming to reduce the number of emergency hospital admissions for people suffering chronic conditions. The Darlington, Durham Dales, and Sedgefield primary care trusts are investigating ways of providing patients with conditions including
CAMPAIGNERS fighting to save a swimming pool have been thrown a lifeline. More than 90 residents attending a meeting with North Durham MP Hilary Armstrong in Wolsingham Town Hall on Friday, were told a feasibility study had given them a chance of re-opening
BUSINESSES have helped a school realise a dream. Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council chiefs praised companies that helped Bydales School, Marske, achieve Technology College status. Sponsorship from industry has helped the school raise more than £50,000
THE foot-and-mouth crisis has brought an end to cattle classes at a popular North-East agricultural show. Cattle had been an integral part of Lanchester Show, in County Durham, for more than 50 years. But organisers said last night that the epidemic of
AFTER ten games without defeat in any competition, Yorkshire took their foot off the pedal in their one-day friendly with Sri Lanka A at Headingley on Saturday and were beaten by seven wickets. It was a thoroughly deserved win by their enthusiastic and
Working parents with two children at school will spend up to £2,400 on childcare and entertainment during the summer break, according to a study out today. Even before the added cost of a family holiday, parents across Britain will collectively spend
A REWARD of more than £10,000 has been offered to help find the thugs who battered a terminally-ill pensioner in her own home, a senior detective said yesterday. Great-grandmother Mary Richardson, 81, was left with horrendous injuries to her head and
YORKSHIRE Phoenix lost top place in the totesport League Division Two table to Middlesex Crusaders who beat them by 29 runs in an entertaining match reduced by rain to 24-overs-a-side at Headingley yesterday, writes DAVID WARNER. Although Middlesex thrashed
IT was not so much a case of get me to the church - but get the church finished on time for bride Stephanie Myers. Dad Dave Myers was considerably relieved as well as proud to give his daughter away at her wedding. Mr Myers, 50, and his team of builders
Johnny And Denise - Passport To Paradise (BBC1); I'm Free! Inside The Comedy Closet (C4) THE new entertainment show, lumberingly entitled Johnny And Denise - Passport To Paradise, is a blatant attempt to find the BBC's answer to Ant And Dec's Saturday
A RURAL "born again" railway yesterday demonstrated its faith in its future with a multi-million pound public share offer to finance its ambitious plans to expand. The Wensleydale Railway started operations on the old Northallerton to Redmire line just
A WOMAN who saved the life of a little boy by donating her bone marrow is hoping to encourage more people to follow her example and register as donors. Rebecca Hardy, 24, is raising money for the Anthony Nolan Trust in the hope of boosting the profile
THE tension was mounting among the colourfully clad competitors who gathered in Durham City town hall at the weekend. Twenty men and women, all decked out in cheerfully garish outfits, festooned with feathers and metres of lace, nervously awaited the
IT was the night of the 1979 general election and 13-year-old Sharon Hodgson stayed up all night to watch Margaret Thatcher's Conservative party sweep to power. Her mother burst into tears and her cousin decided to emigrate to Australia. "I was aware
DARLINGTON'S Guy Wilks outclassed the field in the Jim Clark Memorial Rally to secure his third successive maximum points haul in the Kwik-Fit Pirelli British Super 1600 Championship. The 23-year-old secured Suzuki's first ever class win on a tarmac surface
AN environmental pressure group is calling on local authorities and the Government to ensure the North-East does not become a dumping ground for toxic waste. Mike Childs, from Friends of the Earth, spoke out yesterday as US company Coastal Caverns Incorporated
FULHAM are set to step up their pursuit of Newcastle midfielder Gary Speed as the Magpies complete the capture of Nicky Butt. Butt will arrive on Tyneside today to discuss personal terms after Newcastle agreed a fee of £3.75m with his current club Manchester
THE man who helped mastermind the regeneration of a neglected town is to pass on his knowledge to the next generation of businessmen. Sir Leslie Elton, the former chief executive of Gateshead Council, has been appointed visiting professor at Newcastle
A BID is being made to resurrect a vanished landmark. The Six Stoupes were a group of standing stones on the top of a prominent height, Birk Brow, just off the A171, near Guisborough, east Cleveland. Over the years vandalism, accidental damage and the
US descendants of a North-East noble house have raised the family banner over its former stronghold for the first time in more than 250 years. A party of 30 Americans have spent two weeks tracing their ancestral roots in the region at Hylton Castle, near
A BRIDLEWAY was closed to the public yesterday due to safety concerns for users. Temporary closure was ordered for the stretch of bridleway between Old Quarrington and Quarrington Hill, near Durham. The bridleway, used by walkers, cyclists and horseriders
A FATHER whose son was killed in a motorbike accident has spoken out against the growing number of roadside shrines to mark scenes of fatal accidents. Councillor Richard Thomas's 30-year-old son, Charlie, was killed in October 1996 on the A169 Pickering
THE tension was mounting among the colourfully clad competitors who gathered in Durham City town hall at the weekend. Twenty men and women, all decked out in cheerfully garish outfits, festooned with feathers and metres of lace, nervously awaited the
CONSERVATION chiefs are launching a bid to permanently ban traffic from three picturesque lanes that have been churned up by off-road vehicles. The lanes on Pockley Moor were temporarily closed last year because of their condition, and the highways authority
THERE'S more to worry about in the Paltrow/Martin/baby Apple household than dirty nappies and sleepless nights. All those pesky photographers want a snap of the beaming, buggy-pushing parents as well. Dad Chris Martin and mum Gwyneth Paltrow seem to have
FORMER Big Brother star Jonny Regan wed his long-term love Joanne Llewellyn at a North-East church yesterday. The 31-year-old former firefighter tied the knot at St William's RC Church, in Trimdon Village, County Durham, followed by a reception behind
A 44-YEAR-OLD Darlington man will appear in court tomorrow following an alleged stabbing at the weekend. He was charged with two counts of wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm after an incident in the town's Brinkburn Road, in the early
YOUNGSTERS will be facing life and death decisions as they deal with the onslaught of a hurricane this week. Pupils from 12 schools across the region will be taking part in a simulated exercise based on the experiences of crisis agencies. They will watch
YOUNGSTERS from across the region will learn about life in the Royal Navy this week. About 200 pupils aged 11 to 16 from North-East schools are taking part in the Royal Navy Challenge, at RMR Newcastle, home of the Royal Marines Reserve. Lieutenant Colonel
THERE will have been plenty of stiff upper lips on display over the weekend as, in defiance of the weather, the British pressed ahead with their traditional summer entertainments. Church fetes, school fairs, garden parties, open days, steam weekends,
TRAINER Michael Dods can do little wrong at present so the fact he sends Flying Tackle (4.30) all the way from Darlington to Bath speaks volumes for the six-year-old sprinter's chances. After three quick-fire doubles in late June, Michael was on the mark
PORTUGUESE side Belenenses last night pledged to do all they could to hold onto Sunderland transfer target Eliseu writes SCOTT WILSON. Black Cats boss Mick McCarthy is understood to be lining up a £250,000 offer for the Portuguese Under-21 international
IT'S strange how just when you think Bob Woolmer has disappeared from the face of cricket he re-emerges in a new guise. The Pakistan coach pitched up at Taunton last Sunday, where Shoaib Akhtar rose Lazarus-like from his sick bed for a lengthy chat. After
Detective series 55 Degree North offers roles for an array of actors from the North-East. ANDREW DUNN (Sergeant Rick Astel). The Newcastle-born actor is recognisable from Victoria Wood's dinnerladies and played Liz McDonald's lover in Coronation Street
Yorkshire's thrilling last ball win over Derbyshire in their opening Twenty-20 Cup match at Derby on Friday continued the amazing away form they have shown this season. The only game they have lost in any competition on their travels was against Nottinghamshire
For the third successive Saturday, the weather wreaked havoc and very few games were completed. Five of the six matches in The Readers Durham County League were abandoned when the second innings had just got underway, the exception at Shildon, who were
CONTROVERSIAL plans for a housing estate on farm land is to be discussed by a parish council. Middridge Parish Council will meet in the village hall tonight, at 6.45pm, where it will discuss the proposals by Theakstons Estates for land at High Thickley
A CHARITY has been awarded almost £35,000 in National Lottery cash to help play schemes in Darlington accommodate children of all abilities. Darlington Association on Disability (Dad) received the money from the New Opportunities Fund. Association manager
SMOKE detectors saved the lives of a family when fire destroyed their home early yesterday. A 19-year-old man was rescued by firefighters wearing breathing apparatus from an attic bedroom at the house in Mount View Close, Scarborough. His mother and seven-year-old
MORE than 1,000 people attended a free fun day yesterday aimed at making people more environmentally aware. The Action Packed Futures event took place in the grounds of the Aykley Heads Estate, in Durham. The main attraction was Weapons of Sound, a band
A PILOT scheme to foster a pioneering spirit in young people will become a long-term project. Enterprise Place was established last year on the Tanfield Lea Industrial Estate near Stanley. The project - believed to be the only one of its kind in the UK
CONTROVERSIAL plans for a housing estate on farm land is to be discussed by a parish council. Middridge Parish Council will meet in the village hall tonight, at 6.45pm, where it will discuss the proposals by Theakstons Estates for land at High Thickley
A CAMPAIGN to stop vandals destroying school property is launched by police in Darlington today. Officers will visit every school and hand out leaflets to more than 15,000 pupils before the summer holidays, asking them to back Darlington Community Safety
A POLICE investigation is under way after a woman was subjected to a sex attack that lasted for about three hours. The woman was grabbed by the throat and thrown into bushes as she walked through a well-known beauty spot in Harrogate in the early hours
VISITORS to a town's carnival braved the elements to enjoy a full day of entertainment. Despite the rain, many turned out to support Crook's Town Carnival on Saturday. A colourful parade that started at Glenholme Youth Club got the day off to a great
PROPOSALS to halve the speed limit in a village that has become a tourist honeypot have been welcomed by teachers and parents. Narrow, winding roads through Rosedale Abbey, near Pickering, are subject to the national speed limit of 60mph. But the county
A BID is being made to resurrect a vanished landmark. The Six Stoupes were a group of standing stones on the top of a prominent height, Birk Brow, just off the A171, near Guisborough, east Cleveland. Over the years vandalism, accidental damage and the
A LEADING international property developer is making a fact-finding visit to the North-East in September - and Prime Minister Tony Blair is expected to meet him. Middlesbrough Mayor Ray Mallon, the man behind the visit, said the much anticipated visit
TWO women whose children were murdered in cases that shocked the nation have told how they continue to draw comfort from each other. Sara Payne and Denise Fergus, the mothers of Sarah Payne and Jamie Bulger, spoke during the annual North of England Victims
A MAN was in intensive care last night after he was stabbed in the face, head, neck and stomach. The 35-year-old was allegedly attacked in the early hours of yesterday at a house in Brinkburn Road, Darlington. A woman made an emergency call from the property
REGIONAL GOVERNMENT: THE Regional Assembly is an opportunity for the people of the region to have a say in the future of the North-East for their children and grandchildren. It is precisely because the three northern regions (Yorkshire, the North West
WHEN 17-year-old Nicola Durkin sent off the application form for a BBC television programme, she had no idea what it would lead to. "I thought it sounded fun. I never thought we'd get a reply," she says. But a few weeks later, she, along with her parents
Northallerton enjoyed better luck with the weather than their rivals and when they were the only side to win on Saturday, moved into second position behind Premier Division leaders Guisborough. They batted the full 50 overs at home to Middlesbrough who
THERE will be a strong contingent from Sunderland in the Durham team to play Sri Lanka A in a one-day match at Riverside today. Academy bowler Chris Rushworth makes his first senior appearance and will be joined by fellow Wearsiders Graeme Bridge, Phil
THREE people, including a 75-year-old pensioner, were seriously ill in hospital last night after being struck down by the potentially fatal bug E.coli. Castle Bank Butchers, in Front Street, Chester-le-Street, County Durham, which is at the centre of
The North-East is to benefit from an initiative designed to tackle low skills levels and improve business productivity. The region is one of only two nationally chosen to pilot a Skills Trial, which brings with it funding entitlements for training to
