As a member of a secretive religious sect, Christine Wallach lived in a protected, insular world - until she and her family were cast out. She tells Lindsay Jennings how living on the 'outside' tore her family apart... and how she finally found peace.
CONSETT maintained their 100 per cent record in the Second Division when they hammered Guisborough 12-1 on Saturday. Consett are top of the table, with new signing Michael Mackay, one of the leading scorers in the First Division at Durham last season,
UP to 30,000 people have died in the powerful earthquake that rocked Pakistan, India and Afghanistan at the weekend. The quake on Saturday wiped out entire villages, severed transportation links and cut power and water supplies. Many of the dead in the
SOMETIMES we are forced to remember that we are human first and foremost. Anything else that we might be - English, British, European, black, white, brown, Christian, Muslim, agnostic - comes very much second and afterwards. The scale of the Pakistani
SCHOOLS and businesses in Darlington are promoting their healthy eating policies thanks to an award scheme. The Healthy Eating Awards were launched by Darlington Borough Council in 2001 with support from the NHS Darlington Primary Care Trust. The aim
THE friends of a North-East theatre are celebrating after a principal bass singer at the English National Opera agreed to become their patron. Graeme Danby, who hails from Consett, in County Durham, has become patron of the town's Empire Theatre. The
A SCIENCE lab on wheels is touring the North-East in a bid to inspire and excite a new generation of physicists and engineers. Students from Greenfield School, in Newton Aycliffe, County Durham, took part in experiments in The Lab in a Lorry on Friday
AN arts festival is to be held to celebrate the history and community spirit of a Wear Valley housing estate. Despite being in one of the most deprived wards in the county, Woodhouse Close Estate, in Bishop Auckland, is home to a loyal and supportive
A CHARITY is appealing for volunteers to be scared senseless this Halloween by joining its next fundraising event. The Royal National Institute of the Blind is holding an eerie outing to Killhope, The North of England Lead Mining Museum, in Weardale,
A PRISONER escaped from a North-East police station at the weekend. A Northumbria Police spokeswoman confirmed last night that the 26-year-old Sunderland man escaped from Southwick police station, in the city, at 4.45am on Saturday. She said no one was
TRANSPORT chiefs are celebrating after a new Metro station was approved. Plans for a £3m station in the Simonside area of South Shields were unanimously approved by South Tyneside councillors. A Nexus spokesman said that while some people in the Wenlock
LIBRARY staff in Darlington are looking for arts and crafts materials to help make this Halloween as scary as possible for young readers. Various Halloween events are planned at the Crown Street library for under 18s, but staff need help to create the
A LIBRARY assistant is planning to test his head for heights to raise money for charity. Chris Holmes wants to raise hundreds of pounds for the Royal National Institute for the Blind (RNIB) when he abseils down the Baltic, in Gateshead, next Sunday. Mr
TRANSPORT chiefs are celebrating after a new Metro station was approved. Plans for a £3m station in the Simonside area of South Shields were unanimously approved by South Tyneside councillors. A Nexus spokesman said that while some people in the Wenlock
A TOWN has thanked valuable members of its community with awards to mark their outstanding contributions. Ferryhill Town Council presented awards of appreciation to former teachers from the town's Rosebank School, which closed in the summer as part of
A NEW series of arts events hits the road in County Durham soon. The Elements Touring Scheme has put together six comedy, theatre, puppetry, dance and children's shows which will give 16 performances at small venues across the region. The tour kicks off
MORRIS dancers joined in the celebrations at a festival for healthy eating at the weekend. As part of the Durham Local Food Celebration, food expert Denise Howe, Durham County Council's primary education advisor, was at Clayport Library, in Durham City
A COUNCIL is warning residents and tenants to beware of bogus callers making doorstep offers of free insulation. Chester-le-Street District Council, in partnership with Scottish Power, operates an insulation scheme offering a grant of up to £450, plus
A COMMUNITY turned out in force at the weekend to celebrate a festival that is nearly 1,000 years old. The Houghton Feast, which has been held since the early 1100s in Houghton-le-Spring, Wearside, began on Friday. It was launched with a spectacular switch-on
A GROUP of students is going to spend Christmas in India helping orphans. Five girls from the lower sixth of St Bede's RC Comprehensive School, in Lanchester, will spend their holidays at the Russ Foundation Girls' Home near Madurai, Tamil Nadu, South
THE possible merger of North Yorkshire Police with neighbouring services would not see resources sucked into areas with higher crime levels, senior officers say. North Yorkshire Police has created a team of officers, called Advance and led by Chief Inspector
CREATIVE writing workshops will be staged at the Lamplight Arts Centre, in Stanley, on Saturday. The morning workshop will reveal more about local writers' groups. It will be led by Jeremy Warr and will focus on how groups work on writing. Those attending
NORTH DURHAM MP Kevan Jones has agreed to become the patron of the Chester-le-Street and District Voluntary Welfare Committee. The committee, a charity which this year celebrates its 30th anniversary, runs a number of projects, including a welfare bus
THE mother of a Middlesbrough man who has spent the past two weeks in hospital with severe head injuries is appealing for help to track down his attackers. Sean Grimes, who was found in a pool of blood in Union Street, Middlesbrough, was taken to James
MORE than 700 young people from the North-East gathered for the biggest camp of its kind in the region at the weekend. Scouts from as far afield as Blyth, Northumberland, and Barnard Castle, County Durham, visited Moor House, Rainton Gate, near Durham
A NEW initiative is being unveiled today to encourage people to pull on their walking boots and step out. Hartlepool Borough Council's sports development team is launching a series of leaflets promoting walks around the town. The 12 leaflets are inside
COUNCILLORS who approved plans to develop four homes which objectors say will ruin a much-loved view have come under fire from a civic watchdog. The scheme to build houses under Knaresborough's much-photographed railway viaduct, on the banks of the River
Two World Association of Kick Boxing Organisations (Wako) title fights will be held in the region. Jamie Marr, from South Shields, and Craig Bulmer, from Sunderland, will compete for the North-Eastern Wako super heavyweight title in five, two-minute rounds
AUSSIE physics teacher Frank Alley has travelled halfway across the world for his latest post only to end up in the town of a former pupil - Middlesbrough goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer. Mr Alley taught science to the Boro star at Colo High School in Sydney
A thief conned his way into a vulnerable man's home and stole his wallet. He called at the disabled's victim's home in Loftus, east Cleveland, and lured him away by pretending to sell vegetables from a nearby van. The thief ran back into the man's home
CONSETT maintained their 100 per cent record in the Second Division when they hammered Guisborough 12-1 on Saturday. Consett are top of the table, with new signing Michael Mackay, one of the leading scorers in the First Division at Durham last season,
AN award-winning bridge used by thousands of university students every day is to be closed for refurbishment for nearly two weeks from today. Kingsgate footbridge, a pedestrian crossing linking New Elvet with South Bailey on Durham's city centre peninsula
VETERAN North-East comedian Bobby Knoxall and his team of entertainers are hoping to raise hundreds of pounds for the family of Dean Pike. Dean, 11, died in a blaze at his home in Mordey Close, Deerness Park, Hendon, Sunderland, in June. His pregnant
UP to 30,000 people have died in the powerful earthquake that rocked Pakistan, India and Afghanistan at the weekend. The quake on Saturday wiped out entire villages, severed transportation links and cut power and water supplies. Many of the dead in the
ID CARDS: A COUPLE of weeks ago I promised to let you know how Hilary Armstrong responded to my urging her to oppose the introduction of identity cards. You won't be surprised, and nor was I, that as Chief Whip she is in favour of them. What I was surprised
As part of The Northern Echo's Lifeblood campaign, which aims to encourage people to give blood, here are details of forthcoming donor sessions in the region. Today Civic Hall, Medomsley Road, Consett, 2pm-7pm Community Association, Tyne Road, Stanley
Andrew Flintoff received a smack on the wrist and the World XI a slap in the face as Australia completed a one-day whitewash in the Super Series. Australia delivered their most clinical victory of the event, by a whopping 156 runs, as they put their Ashes
SOME of football's biggest names beat a team of celebrities in an incident-packed game at St James' Park last night. They met in front of a sell-out 52,000 crowd for The Match programme, which was screened live on Sky One and hosted by Newcastle United
Midsomer Murders (ITV1) I WONDER how they sell any property in the Midsomer area considering its reputation for murder. The odds on getting murdered in this supposedly idyllic area of English countryside must be higher than anywhere else. A house is not
SEVERAL pooches and one moggie answered the call to attend a pet blessing service yesterday. Methodist Minister, the Reverend Heather Taylor held the service at Sherburn Village Methodist Church, near Durham City. She chose yesterday because it was the
A HARD-hitting campaign will warn university and college students of the dangers of carbon monoxide poisoning. The campaign, by British Gas, urges students to demand their landlord shows them a gas safety record - the certificate required by law showing
CHILDREN in the North-East are proving to be some of the country's healthiest young eaters, according to the latest survey. The findings were revealed in a national survey of the eating habits at home of 800 seven to 14-year-olds, published today. When
ENGLAND'S qualification for next summer's World Cup finals was confirmed on Saturday thanks to a performance that combined controlled and creative midfield play with disciplined defending and clinical attacking. The only problem for Sven Goran Eriksson
A COMMUNITY turned out in force at the weekend to celebrate a festival that is nearly 1,000 years old. The Houghton Feast, which has been held since the early 1100s in Houghton-le-Spring, Wearside, began on Friday. It was launched with a spectacular switch-on
One of the most interesting aspects of modern public political campaigning is the advent of cross party campaigns. Longstanding political opponents who have become used to criticising one another suddenly find themselves on the same stage, speaking from
Two men have appeared in court charged with assaulting a Darlington man as he slept. Ian David Hudson, 30, of Minors Crescent, and Michael Atkinson, 19, of Brinkburn Road, both Darlington, appeared at Newton Aycliffe Magistrates Court jointly charged
Northern Foods, which has a factory in the region, today reported a pick-up in sales but warned trading remained tough with outbreaks of bird flu pushing up the cost of chicken. The firm, which makes Goodfella's pizzas and Fox's biscuits, said it had
Two men who tortured and murdered a man with learning disabilities because they wrongly thought he was a paedophile have been jailed. Keith Philpott, 36, could not read or write and had suffered from learning difficulties since he was born prematurely
TRIBUTES were paid last night to the disabled man who was beaten to death in an alley behind a Darlington town centre pub. Stephen Humphries, 53, was described as being a "gentle, lovely" man who had severe learning difficulties that left him unable to
Bishop Auckland's new boss Brian Healy admits he's been thrown in at the deep end, writes Ray Simpson. Healy, a former Bishops player who also turned out as a pro with Torquay and Darlington, will take charge of his first game tomorrow night with Bishops
A 23-YEAR-OLD woman has paid only £1.74 for a luxury cruise after winning a competition in The Northern Echo. Emma Davidson, from Pry Rigg Farm, in Sproxton, near York, won the £2,000 holiday after making the lowest bid for it in a text competition. She
THE first black Archbishop of York has received racist hate mail, including letters daubed in swastikas and packages containing excrement. Ugandan-born Dr John Sentamu, the Church of England's second in command, told The Sunday Times: "I have been a victim
Wetherby-based Robin Bastiman enjoyed his biggest success as a trainer when Borderlescott ploughed through the mud to take the £30,000 Coral Sprint Trophy at York. The 20-1 chance benefited from a positive ride from Royston Ffrench to go clear after hitting
A COMPANY building "chopper" motorbikes has relocated to a North Yorkshire business park. North-East Custom Choppers manufactures custom- made bikes and motorcycle components. It has moved to the Gallowfields Trading Estate, in Richmond, from Northumberland
TOMMY MILLER expects the whole of Sunderland to be on a high this week as the full effect of being back in the Premiership hits Wearside. The Stadium of Light is expecting its biggest crowd of the season so far on Saturday when Manchester United arrive
Confined to a wheelchair and paralysed from the chest down after a motor bike scrambling accident in 1984, Stewart Hume has recorded an historic milestone in a different sport entirely. The former plumber has become the first disabled angler ever to be
FACILITIES for sport and the arts in East Durham are to get a major boost this week with the opening of a £716,000 development at Seaham. Durham County Councillor Alan Fenwick is to open the new multi-sports hall and arts room at Ropery Walk Primary School
War veterans from the North-East are revisiting foreign shores where they saw action to honour fallen comrades, after receiving funding from the Lottery's Heroes Return Awards scheme. Awards announced are enabling Second World War veterans, widows, spouses
Posters telling children what to do if they find a drugs needle are being sent out to schools across the region. The action follows the findings of a survey which revealed a seven per cent increase in the number of syringes found on school grounds. Keep
Darlington's Friday night match-winner Simon Johnson has given his seal of approval to the team's latest formation, which helped to brush aside a poor Macclesfield Town. As well as scoring the only goal of the game from the penalty spot to move Quakers
A YOUNG woman with multiple sclerosis who depends on acupuncture to ease her symptoms has spoken out after the NHS threatened to withdraw funding. For more than 12 years, Jane Hope, from Bishop Auckland, County Durham, has been having regular acupuncture
FACILITIES for sport and the arts in East Durham are to get a major boost this week with the opening of a £716,000 development at Seaham. Durham County Councillor Alan Fenwick is to open the new multi-sports hall and arts room at Ropery Walk Primary School
AT one stage in this match a full 30 seconds elapsed without referee Matthew Daubney blowing his whistle. He appears to be a member of a new breed of younger referees determined to officiate to the letter of the law, and at a time when rugby has a chance
NORTH-EAST actor Robson Green has revealed for the first time that he suffers from dyslexia. The star said he had lost roles in the past because of the reading disability, which went undiagnosed at school. Robson confessed to being envious of their five-year-old
BLAYDON leapfrogged visitors Leicester Lions to move into fourth place in National Three North with a 34-12 win. Tynedale continued their improvement when a 22-7 home win against Macclesfield took them above Darlington Mowden Park, who blotted the North-East
CHILDREN and artists are waiting to hear whether they have broken the world record for the largest sand painting. The 468sq metre depiction of Lord Nelson and his ship HMS Victory was painted on South Bay beach, Scarborough, North Yorkshire, on Saturday
Birtley Town maintained their position at the top of the table but they were taken to the wire by lowly Gateshead Low Fell on Saturday, writes Malcolm Pratt. The visitors, with just one win in seven attempts, looked to have done enough to earn a point
A REMOTE historic building was badly damaged by fire at the weekend. Firefighters from across the region battled throughout Saturday night to save the Grade II listed farmhouse in Teesdale, County Durham. But the roof of the property - thought to be one
HUNDREDS of young people exercised their vocal chords in a ten-hour music marathon to boost a hospice's funds. More than 500 singers and musicians from across Teesside took part in Voices for Hospices, at Billingham's Forum Theatre, yesterday, with proceeds
STUDENTS took part in a theatre workshop to help promote the anti-drink driving message. Pupils from Hurworth School, Maths and Computing College, worked with the APE Theatre Group to perform Too Much Punch for Judy. It recreated the story of Jo Poulton
A TEAM of building society staff took on the challenge of scaling 24 peaks in 24 hours to raise money for charity. Peter Rowley, Jeremy Horner, Robert Murphy, Mark Woodcock, Richard Dyke, Jude Campbell and Dave Baker from Darlington Building Society raised
The Discovery Centre, in Bishop Auckland Market Place, will host a display of orchids from Thursday until October 29. The centre is open Thursday to Saturday, 10am to 3pm.
FAMILIES flocked to an open day in Darlington's oldest park at the weekend. South Park hosted a fun day on Saturday and gave people a chance to see more of the park than they usually would. Guided walks around sites that are being restored took place.
A DEVELOPMENT offering affordable housing has been opened. Six homes have been built by Broadacres Housing Association in Askrigg, Wensleydale, to help people say in the area. The homes were opened by Richmondshire district councillor Yvonne Peacock.
WORLD Mental Health Day will be marked across Teesside with a series of events. Tees and North-East Yorkshire NHS Trust has teamed up with voluntary organisation partners and a local school to offer people the chance to learn more about mental health.
MAKING a will has been made easier thanks to a charity and business partnership. Age Concern Durham County and Freeman Jackson solicitors have teamed up to offer the over-50s of the Bishop Auckland area free legal advice tomorrow, at Rosewood Grange,
RADIO hams from throughout the North-East gathered for their annual rally at the weekend. Great Lumley Amateur Radio and Electronics Society's event attracted more than 200 radio enthusiasts. Held at Great Lumley Community Centre, near Chester-le-Street
A VILLAGE community hall has been saved for future generations thanks to three years of grit and determination. Bishop Middleham Village Hall reopened yesterday after a £70,000 refurbishment to extend and repair the building. And thousands of pounds of
AN MP has stepped into the row surrounding plans for Redcar's Coatham Enclosure. The town's MP, Vera Baird, criticised Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council for not turning up to a meeting to address the issues surrounding a £55m scheme for leisure and
EX-SERVICEMEN and women are snapping up tickets to attend the re-introduction of tea dances on Teesside. Volunteer workers with the charity Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Families Association Forces (SSAFA) have organised a tea dance at the Redcar Bowl
POLICE are hunting a robber who stole a man's wallet after befriending him in a pub. A police spokesman said the suspect, caught on a closed-circuit television camera, struck up a conversation with another customer inside Monty's, in Front Street, Stanley
A NORTH-EAST school has banned sweets from the playground after 19 pupils were injured by a new kind of mint. The youngsters needed medical treatment after gooey green liquid from Polo Liquid Orbs was squirted in their eyes. The incidents at Southmoor
FACILITIES for sport and the arts in East Durham are to get a major boost this week with the opening of a £716,000 development at Seaham. Durham County Councillor Alan Fenwick is to open the new multi-sports hall and arts room at Ropery Walk Primary School
WORK has started on a town centre pool's 60m water flume. The slide at Splash, in Stockton, will include blacked-out sections to enhance the feeling of speed as well as an in-built timer. The pool already has a flume for children but the new one will
ROAD safety chiefs are sponsoring the youngest driver in the British Rally Championship. Dom Mernock, 18, from Harrogate, has made an impressive start in the Stars of the Future section of the contest. The teenager drives a Group A6 Peugeot 206, which
ABOUT 900 North Yorkshire children run away from home or care every year, a study has found. The report published today by the Children's Society claims one in six of the county's runaways are forced to sleep rough. The charity says a shortage of refuges
A photography exhibition inspired by travelling has been unveiled at York Minster. Passing Places, by Sue Tapply, features photographs of journeys from Donegal and Mull to Iona. They show scenes such as a boat beached beside an old drovers' inn and cattle
"WHEN we first started out 30 years ago, the manager of our training pub had worked in Darlington, and he said 'if ever you get the chance to take the Red Lion, you should jump at the chance." The advice was taken seriously by Jim Crackett, and his wife
ONE of Bishop Auckland's oldest and most prominent stores reopened on Thursday after a refurbishment. Woolworths, in Newgate Street, has been in the town for several decades, but closed for a fortnight while the revamp was carried out. A ribbon-cutting
Landlady Susan Stewart opened her pub at the weekend only three days after it was blown apart in an explosion. The front of the Colliery Tavern, Sunderland, was wrecked when a gas blast tore through it. Ms Stewart only survived because she had pulled
Thornaby manager Neal Granycome refused to blame his players after they were beaten 2-1 at Leek Town in the third qualifying round of the FA Cup on Saturday. Thornaby were on course for a shock victory when they led 1-0, but the UniBond Premier Division
Anybody who has worked in an office will have used them. From pushing at an open door to moving the goalposts, they are the jargon of business. But what do they really mean? Nick Morrison looks at a new book that celebrates the absurdity of a brand new
PIONEERING work in cardiac care is to be highlighted by health professionals at a conference in the North-East. Keynote speakers from across England will discuss best practice being carried out in the health service to combat heart disease, which is one
A STUNNING memorial in the grounds of one of the late Queen Mother's favourite North-East museums was officially dedicated to her at the weekend. The Duke of Gloucester performed the dedication of the memorial sundial at Bowes Museum, in Barnard Castle
NORTH-EAST comedy writer and performer Mark Gatiss really is in a league of his own. The 38-year-old from School Aycliffe, County Durham, is set to tour to Scarborough, Sunderland and Newcastle with a panto theatre version of the black comedy, The League
Spring Pursuit, who caught the eye after a break at Ayr last month, is fancied to give a good account under ideal conditions in the Giles Insurance Brokers Handicap over a mile and seven furlongs at the same course this afternoon. After a break of over
AN award-winning bridge used by thousands of university students every day is to be closed for refurbishment for nearly two weeks from today. Kingsgate footbridge, a pedestrian crossing linking New Elvet with South Bailey on Durham's city centre peninsula
MARK VIDUKA issued a quick-fire reminder of his striking prowess to Middlesbrough manager Steve McClaren yesterday by capping a captain's performance for his country with a goal. After a stop-start opening to the campaign there is a growing belief that
A historic city which introduced Britain's first congestion charge could extend the scheme to drive traffic out of its jammed centre, a council leader said today. A £2 charge was introduced three years ago for motorists entering a medieval street in Durham
GRAEME SOUNESS faces an anxious week after learning injured Newcastle United midfielder Emre could be forced into a premature return to action for his country. Emre joined up with the Turkey squad yesterday ahead of the crucial qualifier with Albania
JOHN Terry has insisted that being dropped from Saturday's 1-0 win over Austria will only make Rio Ferdinand even more determined to secure a starting spot in next summer's World Cup finals. Ferdinand, who has made a number of uncharacteristic mistakes
ANIMAL bones found in a Yorkshire Dales cave have overturned theories on the extinction of a British big cat. Experts had believed the lynx disappeared from the nation's countryside more than 4,000 years ago when the climate became wetter and cooler.
A REMOTE historic building was badly damaged by fire at the weekend. Firefighters from across the region battled throughout Saturday night to save the Grade II listed farmhouse in Teesdale, County Durham. But the roof of the property - thought to be one
SECURITY camera systems in licensed premises across a North-East town are "so poor as to be useless", it was claimed last night. The Northern Echo can reveal that all 18 pubs and clubs in Darlington town centre that have closed-circuit television (CCTV
Cheques to the value of nearly £100,000 were dumped on a street in an amazing bank blunder. The bag of cheques had been paid into the branch of the Abbey and should have been taken to the bank's London clearing centre. But instead they'd been left lying
Thieves ransacked a family home as a mother and father tended to their son who had been knocked down by a car. Seven-year-old Callum Wilson was hit while he was playing on his scooter near his home in Gateshead. In the commotion, his parents, Ian and
WHEN Edith Ripley started looking into the past to create a family tree in her spare time she had no idea where her research would lead. In less than two years, the 66-year-old, from Bishop Auckland, County Durham, has traced her ancestors back to the
Two schoolboys seemed to have the world at their feet when they posed with their team a decade ago. Today, one is a houshold name, but for the other, life took a tragic turn. Neil Hunter reports. Lee Fitzgerald was a talented midfielder with the promise
