A DARLINGTON primary school is producing a nativity play with a difference this year. Pupils at Alderman Leach Primary School will say every line twice - once in English, and once in Polish. The translation was provided by Marta Wojcik, 22, a Polish
A TAXI driver who was being investigated for alleged child sex offences took his own life, an inquest has ruled. Maurice Fenwick, of Colburn, North Yorkshire, suffered fatal head and chest injuries when his Ford Mondeo hit a road-side tree in May. Recording
POLICE are investigating claims of an attempted child snatch on Teesside. A 12-year-old boy has told detectives he was walking home from a local army cadets meeting when he was grabbed by a masked man, on Thursday night. The youngster says the man told
MASKED raiders forced a businessman from his bathtub at knifepoint before attacking him with a baseball bat and fleeing with money and other property. The break-in happened last night at about 7pm at the unnamed 58-year-old's house on the outskirts of
QUESTION My gsd millie is apparently 4kg under weight my vet says and said it could be pancreatic enzymes causing this, we are going for tests with her. I feed her 600g adult complete plus 1/2 pouch puppy food a day, but she is still very slim.
QUESTION My dog is fed x2 a day (1 mug full each feed) with Omega tasty; he has always been fed with Omega Tasty. A couple of hours after each feed, he vomits once. I have starved him for 24hours and then fed brown rice for another 24 hours and
QUESTION I had a question in regards to balding. My Pit Bull began balding about five or six months ago on her side. I am now noticing that she is beginning to bald in the exact same spot on the other side. She is an inside dog and nothing has
QUESTION My dog has been increasingly lethargic and weak in her hind-quarters. Blood tests have shown liver results 'off the scale' and Cushings Disease. She has just started treatment for the Cushings, but the vet is unsure what to do for her liver
QUESTION Our 6 Month old Collie Nell is having problems with Traffic. I'm not sure if she's scared of it or wants to chase it. What happens is this:- when we take her out for a walk as soon as she sees/hears a car she will drop to the ground and stare
QUESTION Three days ago my dog was quite poorly after having eating some grass that had been sprayed with weed killer. Happily he has recovered from that. However because he was not very mobile during that time, and had been lying on one side, he
QUESTION Levi our bordeaux was taken to the vet on Wednesday with complete paralysis of the face, but also has a ear infection. After doing a little research on ear infections and facial paraysis, I have come across many articles connecting facial
QUESTION Could you please help. I have a nine-month old patterdale male terrier. When I take him for walks as soon as he sees another dog he barks ferociously and tries to unleash himself. if i let him off the leash he runs towards the other dog.
IT is about this time of year that I start sweating. I am not the sort of person who can plan Christmas shopping. It tends to be a last minute thing. I did once try doing it early, but only forgot what I had bought and even worse, couldn't remember where
MONTY Panesar is determined to justify the publicfs faith by using the next three days of cricket to force his way into Englandfs Ashes series thinking. Northamptonshirefs left-arm spinner became such a cult hero with Englandfs fans last summer
DURHAM boxer Bradley Saunders took a step closer to Olympic glory last week after a resounding victory in the ABA finals. Saunders comfortably beat his England international colleague Nathan Brough on points to be crowned ABA senior light welterweight
Newton Aycliffe Sports Club Under-8s reached the final of the Cleveland Youth Fun Festival at the weekend after beating Marton FC Blues 6-1 in the semi-final. Playing at Hall Drive in Middlesbrough, the hosts went ahead with an Adam Rainer penalty which
ISSAC 'Argie' Ward has been handed the opportunity to become Commonwealth champion, writes WILL SCOTT. The Darlington boxer faces Tanzania's Francis Miyeyusho for the privilege of winning the bantamweight crown when the pair meet on Sunday January 28
Last week's decision by the Football Association to 'cherry pick' clubs for the new UniBond First Division has been met with a lukewarm reception from most Northern League clubs. Before the FA made their controversial decision, three clubs had already
Dr Forster still practises. Almost 18 years after the Backtrack column first embraced hapless Hamsteels FC - "No destitute team ever refused admission," we observed, as Dr Barnardo had almost done - its madcap manager features in a book launched this
Darlington Spraire Lads: SPRAIRE Lads Under-9s took on Seaton Carew Juniors of Division One, at home in Challenge Cup Second Round. The game was played in sticky conditions but both teams played some excellent football. The game needed extra-time to
The Northern Echo Darlington Sunday Invitational League, Division One. STADIA played host to Turks Head in what was a crunch match for both as they fight to stay in Division One, and it was the home side that started the brighter with an early goal from
Monty Don - Growing Out Of Trouble (BBC2); Murder In Paradise (C4): Six months into his project to reform young offenders through gardening and Monty Don had planted only one tree - and that was to commemmorate 23-year-old Martin after he died of a
GRASPING for breath is the best way to describe Michael Barrymore's North-East press night as a bad throat destroyed any hope of assessing the comic's ability to perform as Dickens' best-known miser. Dressed for most of the show in a grubby, long white
A GOVERNMENT minister has slammed yobs who pushed a pensioner into a pond and then posted a video of the incident on the internet. Filmed by a friend, a lout grins at the camera before running at the elderly man and shoving him into the water, at South
A MIGRATING bird that held up a Premiership football match was in the stadium as a result of climate change, it was said yesterday. Play between Newcastle United and Reading was interrupted by a woodcock that dropped into St James' Park for a rest, exhausted
AN auction of promises will be held in a village to raise money for a breast cancer suite. Money raised from the event on Tuesday will go towards a dedicated ultrasound machine for the Scott Suite at the Friarage Hospital, Northallerton. The auction,
WAYMARKERS along County Durham's transformed coastline have become targets of vandals. The most recent to be damaged is the commemorative stone unveiled by the Queen at Blackhall Rocks on her Golden Jubilee visit to east Durham in 2002. The markers were
NORTH Yorkshire's tourist industry will benefit from schemes planned by Yorkshire Tourist Board. Chief executive David Andrews said it aimed to boost earnings in the region by five per cent a year from the latest figure of £4.214bn to £5.9bn by 2010
A TEACHER died of a heart attack when he was tackled during a football match. Andy Walker, 40, was playing for Newcastle's City Church in the North-East Christian Fellowship Football League match with Stockton Baptist Church when the tragedy happened.
A new way of treating severe heart attacks is a success but where you live will influence your chance of being treated. Health editor Barry Nelson investigates. IF you live in North Yorkshire and Middlesbrough your chance of recovering after a major heart
AN animal hospital has gained a top accreditation from the industry's regulatory body, the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS). The Prince Bishop Veterinary Hospital, at Leadgate, near Consett, was given high marks in a rigorous inspection of
CCTV coverage in Ripon has been extended thanks to funding from a community safety partnership. A camera that was positioned above Thomas the Bakers has been relocated outside the building. The work was paid for by Harrogate District Safer Communities
A BUILDING society is hoping to put smiles on the faces of sick children with an appeal in conjunction with a cancer charity. Children's cancer charity Clic Sargent has joined Yorkshire Building Society to launch the Granting Smiles appeal. The building
PUPILS have taken part in a mass balloon release to help vulnerable children. More than 800 pupils at Ashville College, Harrogate, released balloons as part of the NSPCC's annual number day. The charity's maths fundraising day is designed to offer children
A CHRISTMAS charity event in Northallerton has raised almost £2,000 for a breast cancer suite. The Lewis and Cooper charity day raised £1,900 for breast cancer patients at the Friarage Hospital's Scott Suite. The event is held each year on the first
A CHARITY that raises essential funds for two hospitals will celebrate its golden anniversary next year. The Friends of the Friarage has thanked those who have volunteered over the past 50 years and those who have offered financial support. The group,
VOLUNTEERS who help tourists enjoy their visits to towns have boosted the funds of two attractions. The 37 people who give up their time to lead guided walks of Richmond and help at tourist information centres in Richmond and Leyburn were thanked by Richmondshire
BACK IN BUSINESS: ON behalf of staff at the Sue Ryder Care shop, Harrogate, I would like to thank local residents who displayed such tremendous support for the charity following the recent fire outside our premises (Echo, Nov 10). We were devastated
FATHER Christmas has not been delivering sacks of presents in one neighbourhood - but inspecting the contents of refuse bags. He is busy trying to identify residents who put out their rubbish bags for collection too early, playing into the hands of vandals
A MAYOR has helped to officially open a footpath and cycleway in Guisborough. The long-awaited trail along a section of Chapel Beck links Walton Terrace and New Road and forms part of the Chapel Beck Vision Plan. The goal of the Chapel Beck Partnership
RESIDENTS have received a setback in a battle to block the sale of three acres of woodland to developers. Longridge Wood, in Coulby Newham, Middlesbrough, was designated as land for house building by Middlesbrough council a quarter of a century ago. Meeting
MEMORIAL MYSTERY: AFTER the Easington Colliery pit explosion of May 29, 1951, a committee was formed from leaders of the various unions to find a way to honour and permanently remember the 83 lives lost. They decided to plant a tree for every life lost
A FOOTBALL club has launched an investigation after it was revealed that three of its players filmed a sex session with a young woman. Details of the incident were published yesterday by a national newspaper, which reported that Sunderland chairman Niall
COUNCILLORS are calling for action to safeguard the future of public toilets in Yarm. For many years, the town's only public conveniences have been located in the town hall, which is owned by Yarm Town Council. They were run and maintained by Stockton
WORK is to start next week on the £30m regeneration of a rundown area of Stockton. Phase one of the scheme, in the Parkfield and Mill Lane area of the town, will begin on Wednesday, when the bulldozers move in to demolish 186 properties and a social
I MET a man this week; a fascinating, inspirational, humble man, who I truly believe can change the world. The biggest plus about being an elected mayor is that you get to meet such a wide cross section of people. So, in the past four years, I have met
NHS dental services are being restored in three North Yorkshire towns, health chiefs have announced. Full-time dental provision is now being offered at the health centre in Sussex Street, Bedale. And health bosses say NHS services will return to Leyburn
NEW ALCO (12.45) holds an outstanding chance of landing the nap selection in this afternoon's feature race at Cheltenham, the extended three-mile-and-one-furlong Listed Handicap Chase. Although it's an extremely competitive contest, don't expect a fancy
COUNCIL CHANGES: IT is disappointing that Durham County Council's ruling Labour Group has rejected the idea of closer working with the county's seven district councils to improve services offered by all. The seven councils provide different services
OLDFIELDS Restaurant is celebrating after being declared retailer of the year in the first Durham shopping awards As well as scooping the overall award, the restaurant, in Claypath, took the award for bar and restaurant of the year. The Durham City Retail
A DERWENTSIDE dinner-lady has received recognition for her work in a national award scheme. Lorraine Marrs, who works at Greencroft School, in Annfield Plain, received a distinction in the Pupil Supervisor of the Year category at the National Awards for
A MAJOR project to develop sporting talent is in danger of losing its main source of funding. The Football Foundation has committed a £1m grant to the plan for a youth football scheme on land at Newbottle, near Houghton-le-Spring. However, conservation
BEANPOLE flanker Eni Gesinde will add a spring to Newcastle Falcons' step in tonight's European Challenge Cup tie away to French club Montauban. The Nigerian-born forward is back in action after knee trouble and hopes the hard work he has put in to add
THERE are more than 3,650 people caring for others in Derwentside, research has revealed. It was carried out by the charity, Carers UK, to coincide with Carers Rights Day, which is today. The aim is have a national day of action to raise awareness of
A DURHAM shopping centre is getting in the festive spirit by supporting charities. The Gates is again hosting the Nevilles Cross Christmas Remembrance Tree, on which shoppers can place a bauble with a tag and message to a loved one lost through cancer
FRIENDS of Redcar Cemetery will be carol singing on Saturday, December 16, at 2pm, in the cemetery. Refreshments will be available.
SUPPORTERS of a seriously ill little boy are close to raising the £12,000 they need to convert his family's home. Charlie Fletcher, from Auckland Park, near Bishop Auckland, has been plagued by illness since he was born 14 weeks prematurely in January
HEALTH SERVICE: I CONSIDER the NHS is the best health service in the world and should remain "free at the point of delivery". It would be foolish to think that such a massive organisation doesn't have problems. However, staff inform me that they are
DEADLINE day is looming in the search to find young people who make a special contribution to society without recognition. There are only three weeks left to make nominations for the Sedgefield Awards for Sensational Youth (Sasy). The scheme was launched
A SELF-HELP project run by young people has been given £150,000, which will enable it to keep going for the next three years. Lottery funding has been awarded to the Unlimited Cafe which was opened three months ago in Barnard Castle, under the umbrella
ALLOTMENT holders stand to benefit from a range of improvements to their gardens following an agreement to manage the site themselves. Since Ferryhill Town Council allowed the Paxton Street Allotment Association to look after the gardens, they have
A COUNCIL has committed itself to the fight to save a hospital ward from closure. Wear Valley District Council has resolved to back the campaign to keep open Bishop Auckland General Hospital's ward three, which NHS bosses are considering shutting early
THOUSANDS of public sector workers from across the region could go on strike in protest against Government cutbacks. More than 27,000 civil servants could stage a walkout next month in support of colleagues in County Durham, Tyneside, Teesside and Northumberland
AN exhibition focusing on the history of prefabricated bungalows has opened. Thirty photographs and a collage to celebrate the longevity of the 36 bungalows in East Meadows, Marske, which were built in 1947, were unveiled at Marske Library on Wednesday
Tony Blair and George Bush last night indicated they would heed a US report calling for a major rethink of strategy in Iraq. Speaking at a joint press conference in Washington, President Bush accepted that a new approach was needed in the troubled country
THE most poignant moment in the immediate aftermath of England's defeat in Adelaide was the hug Freddie Flintoff gave to Paul Collingwood. That one fleeting gesture said much more than: "You didn't deserve this, mate." It spoke of how, through no fault
MORE than half of all adults in the region do no physical exercise, a survey has revealed. The Active People Survey, for Sport England, found that only 45.9 per cent of people in the North-East and 48.2 per cent of people in Yorkshire took part in regular
AN information centre which is threatened with closure will be thrown a six-month financial lifeline. At a meeting on Wednesday night, Wear Valley District Council agreed to give the Signpost centre, in Crook, £3,000 to allow it time to look for long-term
A YOUNG martial art enthusiast who got to the top of the class has been awarded a best of grade trophy. Seven-year-old Luke Mason, from Newton Aycliffe, took the honours sitting his grades with the Kim Chung Do Kwan camp. He was chosen by examiner Master
A JURY has heard that a teenager accused of murdering his landlord has a very limited recollection of events leading to the killing. Martyn Ford remembers only calling for an ambulance after he was told by Michael Gatenby: "Fordy, you've stabbed us."
POLICE have urged drivers to take more care after a spate of road accidents brought chaos to the roads yesterday morning. Fourteen accidents were reported in the Teesside area between 7.30am and 9am, the worst of which was a six-vehicle pile-up on the
DAVE Penney last night rewarded Brian Close with a new contract until the end of the season. But any extended deal for Joey Hutchinson is on hold until the defender proves himself to the Darlington manager. Close has been one of the most improved players
FORMER US President Bill Clinton favours a reduction in troops in Iraq but fears withdrawing them too quickly would cause major instability in the region. Mr Clinton was speaking at a world climate change conference organised by the Postcode Lottery
LANTERNS, fireworks and lasers lit up the sky in Bishop Auckland last night, as the town looked forward to Christmas with a Walk of Light. Hundreds braved the rain to take part in the festival, which was launched with a lantern-lit procession by schoolchildren
IT is right that the preliminary hearings of the Diana inquest are held in public. The Northern Echo believes that all meetings, be they council or court, should be held in the open wherever possible. This is simply because secrecy breeds suspicion. If
WILLIE Boland's influence should not be underestimated after Hartlepool United edged closer to the play-offs. Pools have won three League Two games in a row, two of them away, to move two points off the top seven. Boland was man of the match in Tuesday's
JOBS are being created by civil engineer Henderson Campbell after it was awarded a three-year deal with the Home Office to work on prison construction projects in the region. The Guisbrough company will work on a range of projects throughout the region
TWO leading business figures have been appointed to the board of regional development agency One NorthEast. Ruth Thompson and Paul Callaghan will take up their positions on Thursday, and will hold them for three years. They have been appointed as replacements
OFF-ROAD bike tearaways face an unhappy New Year. Cleveland Police are warning nuisance motorised bikers, who are responsible for 5,000 anti-social complaints on Teesside so far this year, that after months of warnings, the honeymoon is over. If they
CIVIL servants in Darlington are furious about rumoured plans to close the town's tax office. Nearly 90 workers at HM Revenue and Customs at Regent House (HMRC) could be moved to another site under a national review of regional Government departments.
FOR those who think Santa's sleigh is maintained by an eager gang of elves - look away now. The sleigh taking Santa around Darlington this Christmas has been given its MoT and service by a team of mechanics in Chesnut Street. The Darlington Bondgate Round
GAP Estates and Finance has established a business in Middlesbrough. The company has set up in the Marton and Nunthorpe areas of the town, and is offering to sell its first 30 properties for half a per cent commission, plus VAT. The company is run by
MERRYBENT MADNESS?: OVER the past few weeks, I have constantly been reading in The Northern Echo about wards in Darlington (for example, Harrowgate Hill) crying out for CCTV to help combat anti-social behaviour. I fully understand and appreciate how
GIRLS from eight schools took part in the first round of a top tournament in Darlington yesterday. Carmel RC College won the local heats of the Football League Community Cup, held at Darlington Rugby Club. The tournament, for under- 13s girls, is held
ECO-FRIENDLY pupils at a Darlington school have helped their environment by planting 30 trees during a national awareness event. Polam Hall School's junior school council applied for the trees from the Woodland Trust to celebrate National Tree Week. Each
NORTH-EAST entrepreneur Duncan Bannatyne signed copies of his autobiography for Christmas shoppers this week. Mr Bannatyne was in Waterstone's, in High Row, Darlington, to sign Anyone Can Do It. Mr Bannatyne, who is worth £170m and whose chain of health
Darlington Choral Society perform Handel's Messiah at the Dolphin Centre tomorrow, at 7pm. There will be solos from soprano Amy Haworth, mezzo Alison Hudson, tenor Thomas Hobbs and bass Alex Learmonth. Tickets cost £10. Contact Lesley Brown on 01325
INTEREST rates will remain at five per cent, it was announced yesterday - but signs of a booming housing market raised concerns of a rise next year. The Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) left the cost of borrowing unchanged after increases
GIRLS from eight schools took part in the first round of a top tournament in Darlington yesterday.Carmel RC College won the local heats of the Football League Community Cup, held at Darlington Rugby Club.The tournament, for under- 13s girls, is held across
JOBS are being created by civil engineer Henderson Campbell after it was awarded a three-year deal with the Home Office to work on prison construction projects in the region. The Guisbrough company will work on a range of projects throughout the region
A STUDENT from Northallerton has been selected to play for a regional basketball team.Katie Hall, a year eight student at the Allertonshire School, has been selected to play for the Yorkshire Girls' Under-14 Basketball team.She represented the school
THE panto season in Durham has started, with the Gala Theatre celebrating a box office record before curtain up on the first night.Peter Pan sold 18,553 seats before the production began on Wednesday - a ten per cent increase on the number of tickets
THOUSANDS of tenants are to receive a Christmas message from a five-year-old.Sophie Gatenby hit upon the winning design for a Christmas card, which will be sent to Stockton's 11,000 former council tenants.The youngster, who lives on the town's Roseworth
ONE in ten regular blood donors in the region are expected to miss out on a donation over the festive period.That is why the National Blood Service (NBS) is appealing to people in the North-East and North Yorkshire to donate blood in the run-up to Christmas
A WAR veteran has been left stunned after the discovery of the bomber he flew 62 years ago.Warrant officer James Goldsbrough had been on board the Halifax Bomber only 24 hours before it went missing over Poland.When it did not return on the morning of
A TELEVISION finishing school principal who turns lager-swilling ladettes into genteel ladies is going into a young offenders' institution to try to persuade inmates to mend their ways.Gillian Harbord acts as the strict principal of the fictional finishing
A YOUNG martial arts enthusiast who got to the top of the class has been awarded a best of grade trophy.Seven-year-old Luke Mason, from Newton Aycliffe, took the honours sitting his grades with the Kim Chung Do Kwan camp. He was chosen by examiner Master
A RAILWAY carriage pulled into the North Tyne for the first time in 50 years yesterday, as plans take shape to create Europe's first green steam rail line. The 25-ft-long passenger carriage is owned by rail enthusiasts Jim and Kate Rees, of Stanhope,
NIALL Quinn has revealed that Sunderland will be on the look-out for leaders when the transfer window reopens, and admitted Roy Keane inherited a squad that lacked the "character" needed to secure an instant return to the Premiership. While the Black
GARETH Southgate last night praised the FA's disciplinary commission for overturning George Boateng's dismissal at Tottenham, and confirmed that Middlesbrough would also be appealing against a charge of failing to control their players. Boateng was sent
ABOUT 30 jobs were under threat last night after it emerged that a Trimdon-based boat building business had run into financial difficulties. The Northern Echo has learnt that canal boat maker South West Durham Steelcraft is in liquidation, after a prolonged
THE Duke of York travelled to the region yesterday to visit three companies that are leading the way in overseas expansion. In his role as the UK's special representative for International Trade and Investment, he visited three businesses at the forefront
FAREPAK customers in the North-East were celebrating last night after learning that Christmas hampers will be sent to victims of the collapsed savings scheme. The Government announced yesterday that 19,000 of the 23,000 hampers ordered before Farepak's
HE is already enjoying his most successful season ever in English football, but Antoine Sibierski has warned his fellow Newcastle strikers he has no intention of relinquishing his leading scorer tag. Sibierski's headed opener in Wednesday night's 3-2
THIEVES waved at pensioners as they stole cash and jewellery from their sheltered housing complex. Three men took the cash and valuables from four homes in Middleton Tyas, between Darlington and Richmond, North Yorkshire, on Wednesday afternoon. Police
THE North-South divide is finally closing as the economy booms in the North-East, the government revealed yesterday. A Treasury study said growth rates were now higher across the North than in London and the South-East - reversing the trend of many decades
TS1 is a gallery with a difference. It sells cards, calendars, photographs, pictures, soft toys, flower arrangements and Christmas wreaths. You can call in for a coffee, watch the artists at work, give them a commission. The difference is that the artists
The Army has changed its training regime and recruitment criteria to accommodate today's fatter and out of shape youngsters. Olivia Richwald reports from an assault course in Catterick. You could hear them before you saw them... stomp, stomp, stomp..
HOW do you cope if your child goes off the rails? Lindsay Jennings reports on a Barnardo's project which is giving power back to parents. IT began with phone calls from the school. Lynn Evans' daughter, Kirsten, had started playing truant. Aged 11, she
