LOVE has been the sole ingredient in the recipe for a long and happy marriage for diamond couple Leo and Connie Arnell. As they celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary at their home in Trimdon Station yesterday, Mr and Mrs Arnell said that was all they
KARATE youngsters in Spennymoor enjoyed a 100 per cent pass rate at a grading which took place this month. Thirteen students from the Chikara Dojo of Kyokushin karate group gained belts after grading by chief instructor Adam Walker. He had been granted
A pianist who recorded with Sir Elton John was murdered only weeks after moving to Thailand to start a new life. Friends say the superstar described Jimmy Hall, 57, as the best pianist he had worked with. Mr Hall recorded with both Sir Elton and Kiki
VICTORIAN splendour has been restored to a city centre street in a multi-million pound restoration scheme. A year-long project has transformed tired-looking buildings in the heart of a once-bustling part of Sunderland's commercial area. Foyle Street is
LOVE has been the sole ingredient in the recipe for a long and happy marriage for diamond couple Leo and Connie Arnell. As they celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary at their home in Trimdon Station yesterday, Mr and Mrs Arnell said that was all they
A BUSINESS specialist is forecasting a bright new year and future for two young entrepreneurs. James Howell, 25, from Stokesley, North Yorkshire, and 27-year-old Ben Webster, from Saltburn, east Cleveland, have already taken on five members of staff for
RESTAURANT manager Sally Ann McCreadie's traumatic weekend, during which a love affair ended, an exotic holiday had to be cancelled and a friend attempted suicide, led to her arrest for drink-driving, a court heard yesterday. Harrogate magistrates heard
A SLIMMING consultant from the county bumped into a Coronation Street star during a recent awards ceremony. Sarah Wright, who runs Slimming World classes in Catterick Garrison and Leyburn, met actor Bradley Walsh - better known as cheeky charmer Danny
ROTARIANS in Chester-le-Street are offering to collect people's Christmas trees when the festivities are over. The town's Rotary Club will collect real trees from people's homes on Monday, January 9, and take them for recycling. The club is asking for
PLANS for an office and apartment development have been submitted. Harrogate Borough Council has received a planning application for a building at 25 Bondgate Green, Ripon. The proposal is to replace a workshop on the site with a three-storey building
A CIVIC planning watchdog says the special qualities of the Harrogate area should not be degraded by infilling, backland development, excessive alteration and demolition. The comments were made by the town's Civic Society in opposing a planning application
As a teenage wizard, a magical nanny and a pair of Plasticine heroes top last year's film charts, Steve Pratt looks at the good, the bad and the remakes in his guide to the best movies in 2006. What's that zooming through the sky? Is it a bird? Is it
AN emergency plan is in place to help people sleeping rough during the freezing weather. City of York Council says it is ready to act if plummeting temperatures mean lives are at risk. Staff at the Peasholme Resettlement Centre, in York, are monitoring
THE bosses of a novelty teapot firm are hoping that their latest design pours out of the shops. The treacle tin and spoon was made by The Teapottery, in Leyburn. As well as being sold in the company's shops, the teapots were given by sugar firm Tate and
A HERITAGE group formed by angry residents has identified its first campaign. Members say the first aim of Save Our Shire will be to fight Richmondshire District Council's plans to move offices from Richmond to Colburn. Council officers have proposed
A free computer course is on offer to residents of a Teesdale village. Basic computer training, which was promised as part of the Gainford Online project, starts in the new year. The five-week course is at Gainford Village Hall on Mondays, from 2pm to
A city council has promised to consult staff and unions over job losses resulting from the decision to limit council tax rises to two per cent next year. Newcastle City Council said that despite a disappointing Government grant settlement, residents could
RESIDENTS of Sedgefield borough who received bikes for Christmas are being urged to protect them from thieves. Sedgefield Community Safety Partnership will hold four free security marking sessions for new and old bikes throughout next month. Sean Barry
RECENT test results for 11-year-olds showed that Hartlepool pupils have improved more than anywhere else in the country over the past two years. GCSE results in the town for this year were also the best ever. A partnership of Hartlepool Borough Council
WORK on a multi-million pound monastery in the North York Moors National Park will take about two years to complete. The Conventus of Our Lady of Consolation, a community of Benedictine nuns, is selling its home for the past 134 years, Stanbrook Abbey
LIBERAL Democrat leader Charles Kennedy's current difficulties show how much the balance of politics has shifted in the last couple of weeks. It also gives an indication of the battles ahead in the New Year. At the last General Election the electorate
REAL MADRID are to press ahead in their pursuit of Newcastle United winger Albert Luque - with the Magpies amazingly ready to bring up Jonathan Woodgate's name in any negotiations. Newcastle have maintained in recent weeks that they are unwilling to offload
THE region shivered through some of the coldest daytime temperatures for years yesterday. In parts of the North-East saw the thermometer rise no higher than - 7C even by the middle of the day. The freezing conditions were expected to continue overnight
COMMUTERS faced delays on the East Coast Main Line yesterday when the wrong kind of air slowed high-speed trains to only 5mph. Temperatures as low as -10C near the Scottish border left most south-bound services between Edinburgh and London running an
WHILE taking over the KP moniker from Kerry Packer, it is unlikely to have occurred to Kevin Pietersen that he could not have done it so flamboyantly without the changes brought about by the Australian tycoon. Packer, who died this week, aged 68, was
LIFE-SAVING medical equipment valued at £300,000 has been stolen from a hospital. The endoscopes were taken in an early-morning raid on York Hospital. Doctors fear the equipment may have been stolen to order by professional thieves. A stolen staff swipe
HAYDOCK needs a rapid thaw to beat today's 8am inspection, but if by some minor miracle the frost comes out of the ground conditions should suit Woody Valentine (2.10). Woody Valentine showed decent middle-distance form on a soft surface when trained
HAYDOCK needs a rapid thaw to beat today's 8am inspection, but if by some minor miracle the frost comes out of the ground conditions should suit Woody Valentine (2.10). Woody Valentine showed decent middle-distance form on a soft surface when trained
EUROPE: IN September 1939, I remember the faces of my parents as we listened to the prime minister saying that we had declared war on Germany. My reservist father was gone within days. As an eight-year-old, the full meaning of the event was not readily
THE region shivered through some of the coldest daytime temperatures for years yesterday. In parts of the North-East saw the thermometer rise no higher than - 7C even by the middle of the day. The freezing conditions were expected to continue overnight
WHILE taking over the KP moniker from Kerry Packer, it is unlikely to have occurred to Kevin Pietersen that he could not have done it so flamboyantly without the changes brought about by the Australian tycoon. Packer, who died this week, aged 68, was
THE family of a six-year-old girl snatched from her bath by a sex attacker spoke last night of their anguish. They broke their silence as detectives warned parents to keep their children safe amid fears the abductor may strike again. The six-year-old
A WINDfarm helping to power one of the North-East's biggest industrial sites receives national recognition today. Nissan's £2.3m windfarm, at its Wearside motor manufacturing plant, is named among the ten best green energy projects to begin generating
PEOPLE across the North-East and North Yorkshire were yesterday urged to make a "green" start to the new year by recycling their Christmas waste. Recycling centres across the region are getting ready for an influx of Christmas trees after the festive
POLICE on Teesside are launching high-profile patrols to drive out dealers who are offering hard drugs to withdrawal addicts in exchange for their medication. Dealers from throughout the area are going to the Lawson Street Medical Centre in Stockton to
AVIATION company Boeing is the latest corporation to sign a deal with Northern Defence Industries (NDI) to capitalise on the region's engineering expertise. The organisation works on behalf of 200 companies across the North-East to attract defence business
THREE men have been arrested after a dead cat was found in a microwave oven, police said yesterday. The discovery was made at a house on the Blue Hall Estate, Stockton, after a Boxing Day party. A police spokeswomen said that three men had been arrested
Police investigating reports that a six-year-old girl was abducted from her bath, sexually assaulted then dumped naked in a nearby street said yesterday her paedophile attacker was "extremely dangerous". The child, who cannot be named for legal reasons
THOMAS Butler is facing up to a month on the sidelines after damaging a hamstring on Wednesday. The influential Hartlepool United winger pulled up midway through the second half of the home defeat by Southend and boss Martin Scott now has to plan without
SECURITY at the region's two airports will be reviewed after it was revealed that some of Britain's busiest passenger terminals are being left without police protection. Armed guards were drafted in to patrol Newcastle Airport and Durham Tees Valley in
ON-LINE gaming is coming to libraries and youth centres across Stockton next year. Stockton Borough Council's library service is teaming up with CyberChaos Ltd to run the Local Area Network (Lan) gaming sessions every Saturday next month. During the sessions
MARRIED Anthony Mallaby punched his girlfriend twice in the face and harassed her over four months when their relationship broke down, a court heard. The 42-year-old of Yiewsley Drive, Darlington, started an affair with Jacqueline Jackson, whom he had
THE first stages in the £6m redevelopment of a public hall in a County Durham market town could begin in the new year. Trustees of the Witham Hall, in Barnard Castle, County Durham, are hoping they will soon be able to appoint a project manager who would
PLANS to rebuild a leading Durham comprehensive school on one site have cleared another major hurdle. No objections were lodged against the plan for the building on Durham Johnston School's Crossgate Moor campus and Durham County Council has now given
PEOPLE in east Durham are being warned they face being taken to court and fined if they mess up the environment. People who breach laws against fly-tipping and dog fouling will be prosecuted if they are caught by Easington District Council. Three people
A NEW heritage group being formed by angry residents has identified its first campaign. Members say the first aim of Save Our Shire will be to fight a council's plans to move offices from Richmond to Colburn, in North Yorkshire. Council officers have
A FAMILY of five had a lucky escape when a chip pan started a blaze that filled their Middlesbrough home with choking smoke. The fire broke out in the kitchen of the house in Ennerdale Avenue, at about 7pm on Wednesday, when an electric hob was accidentally
AGE Concern is thanking supporters who helped in the running of one of its premises in the past year. Tracey Redford, shop manager at Age Concern's Chester-le-Street shop, said without its "loyal team of volunteers", the charity would not be able to run
A COUNCILLOR has been accused of living in a dream world for suggesting families facing demolition of their homes should be given compensation packages of at least £100,000. A dispute has erupted between Ken Walker, a councillor representing a Middlesbrough
THE first stages in the £6m redevelopment of a public hall in a County Durham market town could begin in the new year. Trustees of the Witham Hall, in Barnard Castle, County Durham, are hoping they will soon be able to appoint a project manager who would
TEMPORARY planning permission to hold an indoor market and table top fair on an east Durham industrial estate looks set to win approval. The John Noble organisation has applied to Easington District Council for approval to stage the events each Sunday
A CHAIN of popular high street fashion stores is looking forward to a prosperous new year after it was taken over. Tucci, which has stores in Gateshead's MetroCentre, Grainger Street, Newcastle, and The Bridges, Sunderland, was taken over by Pencil Snap
NEWCASTLE Falcons will decide after this morning's training whether Jonny Wilkinson is ready to make his latest comeback in Sunday's home Premiership match against Worcester. After a six-week lay-off following a hernia operation Wilkinson was yesterday
It was a year of firsts for the oil industry with fuel prices gushing to record highs at the pumps and on the trading floor. When one investment bank talked of the potential for a "super-spike" in prices to $105 a barrel, traders did not dismiss it out
IF you ever worry that this country is going to hell in a hand cart, then think again. Every week on this page we have plenty of proof otherwise. Every week you send us letters telling us about good shops, kind and caring hospitals, dentists, doctors,
A PASSENGER jet was forced to make an emergency landing at a North-East airport after the pilot reported smoke in the cockpit. The easyJet flight, carrying 127 people from Newcastle Airport to Budapest, Hungary, on Wednesday, was seven minutes into the
HOLIDAY CLUB FOR CHILDREN: Children aged between six and 11 are invited to a new holiday club at St Osmund's Centre, in Gainford, on Monday, January 6, from 2pm to 3.30pm. This will be followed by Young Gainford for six weeks every Monday from 6pm to
A HILLTOP town which was blighted by the foot-and-mouth crisis has welcomed plans for a supermarket, which it hopes will set it on the road to revival. The store and its car park will be built on the site of a former petrol station in the centre of Tow
RESIDENTS in an area at the centre of controversial regeneration plans will be getting their own support team in the new year, thanks to a massive cash injection. Middlesbrough Council is using some of the money to open a community office at Newport Neighbourhood
FOUR nurses and a supermarket have worked together to bring cheer to people spending the festive season on their own. Stephen Bell, Carolyn Fisher, Ken Moore and Angela Freeman, from Tees and North East Yorkshire NHS Trust, have been putting together
TEMPORARY LIGHTS: Motorists are being advised that two-way temporary traffic lights will be in place for one day on January 10 at Thrush Road, Redcar, to enable Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council to carry out street lighting work. CYCLING SCHEME: A
Investors received more than they bargained for during the past year, with a series of high-profile takeovers and flotations. Here is the second part of the UK highlights... July The FTSE 100 Index plunged more than 200 points as traders reacted to explosions
Business Editor Julia Breen looks at what made the headlines in the North-East in the second half of 2005. In July, x-ray equipment manufacturer Bede warned it was shedding a tenth of its workforce after disappointing first-half orders. Mobile phone equipment
CHAMPIONSHIP MANAGER Format: PSP. Publisher: Eidos. Price: £34.99 Family friendly? Yep. IF you were lucky enough to find a PSP hand-held beneath the tree on Christmas Day then Championship Manager will probably be high on your list of "must have" games
CHAMPIONSHIP MANAGER, Format: PSP. Publisher: Eidos. Price: £34.99 Family friendly? Yep. IF you were lucky enough to find a PSP hand-held beneath the tree on Christmas Day then Championship Manager will probably be high on your list of "must have" games
MIDDLESBROUGH face a race against time in their quest to sign Sporting Lisbon's flying winger Rudolph Douala in the January transfer window. All indications are that Douala will be named in Cameroon's African Nations Cup 23-man squad in the new year and
Celebrating the Backtrack column's 20 years of exploring the snickleways of North-East sport, Mike Amos looks back at an eventful 12 months in which a cricketer was felled by a flyaway sight screen, another cricketer was stumped by a 6ft 6in one legged
DETECTIVES have marked the six-month anniversary since the disappearance of shopworker Jenny Nicholl with a declaration that justice will be done. Police said last night that they are determined to catch her killer. Jenny, who was 19 when she disappeared
Recently I was at a road junction close to Middlesbrough Town Hall at 4pm when a young woman carrying Sainsbury's carrier bags full of shopping approached the car. I wound down the window and she asked: "Do you want some business?" "What business?", I
POLICE are appealing for a teenage girl to make contact after she left home on Christmas Eve, apparently to stay with friends. Samantha Spirit, 15, walked out of her grandparents' home in Durham Street, Spennymoor, on Saturday afternoon following an argument
ANIMAL welfare workers are hoping to reunite a dog with its owners after it was rescued from a shaft. The young female Staffordshire bull terrier was discovered on the former Hill's Doors site, in Norton Road, Stockton, last Friday at 1.30pm, by a man
PRIME Minister Tony Blair today takes his place in the top ten long-serving British parliamentary leaders of all time. The Labour leader and MP for Sedgefield, in County Durham, will start the New Year in tenth spot by knocking Herbert Asquith from the
As the end of the year approaches, Shoptalk pays tribute to those who have made a difference to the lives of others. IF you ever worry that this country is going to hell in a hand cart, then think again. Every week on this page we have plenty of proof
The idea may be simple, but a helpline for those with back pain is proving priceless, as Health Editor Barry Nelson finds out. IT seems blindingly obvious now but when Caroline Hodgson set up her Physio Direct helpline to help patients with back pain
WHILE this week's freezing conditions have left the Sunderland first team kicking their heels, Mick McCarthy last night admitted his toughest task since Christmas has been keeping Kevin Kyle off the club's snowbound training ground. Kyle, who has not
A pianist who recorded with Sir Elton John was murdered only weeks after moving to Thailand to start a new life. Friends say the superstar described Jimmy Hall, 57, as the best pianist he had worked with. Mr Hall recorded with both Sir Elton and Kiki
Titanic: Birth Of A Legend (ITV1) Faking It (C4) MY first thought was that ITV had missed the boat with another programme about Titanic. With several feature films and many documentaries about the ship's tragic maiden voyage, could they find anything
POLICE are searching for a 16-year-old girl who is believed to have run away from home to be with a man she met in an Internet chatroom. The family of Francesca Sumner, from Whitby, North Yorkshire, reported her missing after she failed to return from
Darlington expect to sign a goalkeeper on loan today after Bert Bossu was ruled out for up to two months with a broken foot. With Sam Russell still at least three weeks away from fitness, the injury to Bossu, sustained in Wednesday's win over Barnet,
A diabetes patient has walked the length of Hadrian's Wall to raise money for essential medical equipment. Hannah Pierson, 21, from Bolam, near Darlington, embarked on the 84-mile challenge to raise funds for others with the condition. She collected more
KARATE youngsters in Spennymoor enjoyed a 100 per cent pass rate at a grading which took place this month. Thirteen students from the Chikara Dojo of Kyokushin karate group gained belts after grading by chief instructor Adam Walker. He had been granted
A 29-YEAR-OLD man has been banned for two years for drink-driving. Darlington magistrates also imposed a £200 fine on Jamie Welch, of Geneva Road, Darlington, who appeared in court yesterday. He pleaded guilty to driving while under the influence of alcohol
A 30-year-old woman has been given two suspended prison sentences after admitting two counts of child neglect. Samantha Baldwin, of Shelley Road, Darlington, had head-butted one of the two children, who were under the age of 16. Darlington magistrates
A VARIETY of courses is being launched by Kelloe Community Association to be held in the village primary school, in School Avenue, Kelloe, near Durham. The week starting January 16 sees the beginning of ten-week courses on Monday in card crafts, from
A DEVELOPER has won planning permission to build 71 homes on unused land in the centre of an east Durham village. George Wimpey North-East plans to build three, four and five-bedroomed detached two-storey houses and three-storey terrace houses at Cinnamon
