SIX bodies were tonight recovered after a helicopter crashed 25 miles off Morecambe Bay. One person remains missing. Energy company Centrica - which operates in the Morecambe Bay gas fields - confirmed that contact was lost with the Eurocopter AS365N
THREE families were forced from their homes during the early hours following a suspected arson attack. An unoccupied flat in Simonside Walk, Middlesbrough, was torched at around 3am this morning. Neighbours ensured everyone was out of the building by
TWO petrified men were taken on a joyride around a busy town centre by drunken Andrew Lee - in their own car. A court heard that the pair were sitting on a wall near their car when they were approached by 27-year-old Lee and two other men. They were
ENGLAND are investigating how their detailed plans for bowling in the fourth Ashes Test were leaked to Australian radio station ABC. The tourists suffered another disappointing day with Australia fighting back to claim a 213-run lead on 372 for seven
DRAINAGE WORK: CAN I inform Pamela McGough (HAS, Page 4, Dec 12) that I helped to set up the Eden Residents' Association and have helped officers with casework. The last time I was invited to their meeting was when I reported on the improvements to street
AN area of a village in Teesdale is to be rejuvenated thanks to more than £80,000 worth of investment. The area surrounding the Community Centre in Toft Hill, near West Auckland, will be transformed after receiving four separate funding packages. Sure
DRIVERS are to be forced to slow down on country roads to cut animal deaths. Excess speed was blamed for the deaths of more than 200 sheep last year in the North York Moors National Park. A major blackspot is at Blakey Road ,which crosses the moors between
A VILLAGE pond is being given a £40,000 revamp thanks to a partnership between councillors, traders and children. The pond in Thornton-le-Dale was silted up and trees were blocking natural light. The North York Moors National Park Authority, the parish
TRADERS in a north Durham town centre are being targeted by young vandals who are breaking their windows. The yobs are costing traders in Stanley hundreds of pounds by regularly smashing glass with bricks. Pamela Reddock, owner of Fusions hairdressers
WELCOME support has been given to aid breast cancer relief work in the North-East. Cheques totalling £600 were presented to Durham's Mayor, Councillor Jeff Lodge, by the city's Freemasons to support his chosen charity, Breast Cancer Relief. Coun Lodge
FOOTBALL teams in County Durham are celebrating after winning a tournament. Greencroft Comprehensive School, in Stanley, and Spennymoor School are the newly-crowned County Durham champions following victory in the under-13 finals of The Minute Maid Schools
YOUNGSTERS will be able to take part in a host of activities over the festive holiday at Houghton Sports Centre. On Friday, Sunday, and Tuesday, there will be a fun zone from noon to 2pm. This includes a bouncy castle, plastic play zone, badminton and
EQUALITY and diversity work by Durham County Council has been praised as some of the best in the country. The authority was one of only six authorities to take part in a pilot to be assessed for the Equality Standard for Local Government. A two-day inspection
DRUG addicts in Middlesbrough are being offered a holistic range of treatments to ease the loneliness and isolation that often results in a relapse. Staff at Addaction, based in Elliot Street, are bracing themselves for a busy time from voluntary attendees
BIG-HEARTED staff have clubbed together to donate enough cash and food to fill 30 festive hampers for needy families this Christmas in Middlesbrough. The families have all been put forward by Middlesbrough Council's children, families and learning service
PEOPLE in Easington are being urged to get the right treatment over the festive period. Health services are usually at their busiest over the winter and health chiefs fear some people may be confused about where to go for help with urgent health problems
WICKED women and what makes them tick will be revealed in north Durham next month. The spotlight will fall on Shakespearian women in a new series of courses at Clayport Library, in Durham, starting in January. The courses, run in partnership with Sunderland
TRADING standards officers in Stockton have been named as providing one of the best services in the country. The national figures measure performance across a number of key areas, including consumer and business satisfaction, inspection and compliance
NOT everyone was sitting with their feet up on Christmas Day. At 6.30am, members of Middlesbrough Council's Carelink team reported for duty just like any other day. Linda Burrell is one of the workers who provides a lifeline for elderly and disabled people
Builders carrying out improvements at a city art gallery have unearthed a room hidden from the public for more than 50 years. The discovery was made as workers removed a wall between Leeds Art Gallery and the adjacent central library to open up the Victorian
POLICE have launched an investigation into a man's death on Christmas Day after what appears to have been a freak accident. The 23-year-old had been travelling in the back of a pick-up van, which was also carrying a 13ft farm gate, between midnight and
EQUALITY and diversity work by Durham County Council has been praised as some of the best in the country. The authority was one of only six authorities to take part in a pilot to be assessed for the Equality Standard for Local Government. A two-day
A CHARITY cooking event raised £2,587 for Butterwick Hospice. Matthew Brown and his ten would-be chefs spent months preparing the fundraising meal for 90 guests. Preparation ranged from menu design, evaluating ingredients, as well as tireless attempts
A LEADING councillor has called for tougher measures to stamp out drug dealers in Teesside. Independent councillor Ken Walker, who represents the Gresham area on Middlesbrough Council, wants to see long statutory jail sentences in a bid to deter the dealers
SCHOOLCHILDREN are helping to increase England's woodland by recycling old Yellow Pages directories. Over the next eight weeks, thousands of pupils will be taking part in the Yellow Woods Challenge, working with the Woodland Trust and Hartlepool Borough
A CONSERVATION group in Teesdale has a new eco-friendly piece of equipment that ensures it is not flushing money down the toilet. Teesdale Conservation Volunteers (TCV) used to use a portable cabin toilet at its base in Startforth, near Barnard Castle
A YOUTH theatre group is celebrating two donations that have provided them with important equipment. Willington Youth Theatre received a grant of £5,349 from Awards For All - and a further donation from Durham Land Registry's children's fund. The Awards
A COMPANY managing more than 4,000 council homes is marking central heating boilers with an anti-theft device. Engineers who service boilers for Dale and Valley Homes, which manages Wear Valley's housing stock, is marking them with SmartWater, an invisible
A TEESSIDE dental practice has brushed off the opposition to win its third award in four months. The Smile Spa, in Yarm, has been named the best new practice in the North-East by Dentistry magazine. The award was presented to Dr Susan Andrews and her
Fourth Test Match Melbourne England 159 (A J Strauss 50, S K Warne 5-39) v Australia 372-7 (A Symonds 154 no, M L Hayden 153) AUSTRALIA took a commanding lead on day two of the fourth Ashes Test in Melbourne. Matthew Hayden and Andrew Symonds both hit
At Christmas in 1683, Ferryhill ws the setting for the brutal murder of three children by a crazed axe-murderer. Echo Memories picks up the gruesome tale. "Go back, thou hateful wretch, resume thy cursed knife, I long to view more blood, spare not the
A CHARITY that helps homeless people is appealing for donations of hats, scarves, gloves and socks this winter. First Stop, which gives advice and support to people who find themselves homeless or with housing problems, has asked for people to donate
A SOLDIER who was shot for cowardice during the First World War and pardoned more than 90 years later is to be recognised on a war memorial.Private Harry Farr fought with the 2nd Battalion Yorkshire Regiment and served continuously in France from 1914
LOCAL GOVERNMENT: THE truth - that local government and its wasteful bureaucratic, extravagance, whether it is district or county - is all too apparent when one sees the amount of expenses councillors pay themselves. Durham County Council takes most
THE region's cultural sector will be boosted with £16m of investment. The Arts Council England's North East Cultural Sector Development Initiative (CSDI) has been awarded £6.1m from Europe to invest in skills and business development. Organisations
EASTBOURNE ACADEMY: NEWS that Eastbourne Academy, Darlington, is unlikely be built at the town's Tommy Crooks Park yet again fully justifies the Share (Share Hurworth and Rural Education group) position during the campaign to save Hurworth School. Time
THE girls' swimming team at Darlington's Queen Elizabeth Sixth Form College have won a place in a the finals of a national tournament. Hannah Young, Kirsty Stephenson, Janine Philips and Kirsty Livingstone became North-East champions when they won the
STUDENTS at Queen Elizabeth Sixth Form College raised more than £1,000 for charity after dressing up - in school uniform. Staff and students at the college, which normally has no uniform, paid for the privilege of wearing St Trinian's outfits on one
KEEPING faith with Kinburn (2.05) might not be such a bad idea for this afternoon's near 3¾-mile Welsh Grand National at Chepstow. Backers of Howard Johnson's grey got their fingers badly burnt when he failed to justify his position at the head of the
YOUNGSTERS have entertained members of a senior citizens' club with a selection of Christmas carols and festive songs. Pupils from Polam Hall and St Augustine's schools visited 50plus Age Concern, in Darlington, to entertain the members. Jean Raby,
The Open returns to Carnoustie next year and on a recent visit Tim Wellock found the Scottish links fit to test the best. It is also the perfect base for a golfing break for players of all abilities. IT is difficult to know which was the more immortalized
BARGAIN hunters were determined to make the most of their Christmas money as they went shopping en masse yesterday. Centre managers reported having queues of people outside the shops hours before they opened their doors as people were desperate to take
THE seatbelt legislation which came into effect on September 18 was never going to be easy to implement. Are we now going to arm our police with tape measures so that they can pull suspects from a car, stand them up the side of the vehicle and then work
Richard Dawson, the former England and Yorkshire off-spinner writes exclusively in The Northen Echo. SO Shane Warne is at it again - can anybody say they are surprised? He has put Australia in the driving seat again and proved there's life in the old
Billingham Town hammered their neighbours Billingham Synthonia 8-2 on a prolific day for the top three clubs in the ANL First Division. Town, who are second, went five goals up in the first 25 minutes against the demoralised Synners. Nathan Jameson scored
ROY Keane felt yesterday's win over Leeds United was the perfect response from his players after Friday night's defeat at Crystal Palace. The Blacks Cats boss praised the manner in which his side returned to winning ways after their seven-match unbeaten
A FARMER who illegally burned dead sheep and left the remains lying next to a river has been ordered to pay almost £1,000. The charred remains of six sheep and a lamb belonging to Dennys Richardson Smith, of East Roughlea Farm, near Ferryhill, County
After Thomas (ITV1); Faking It Special (C4); Doctor Who (BBC1): Sick child, cute puppy, dying grandmother, distraught mother - After Thomas sounded like it should be sponsored by Kleenex such was the potential to get the tear glands going. To its credit
A MAN has been arrested in Greece in connection with the death of a North-East father-of-two. The family of Joe Arthur expressed relief after detectives told them a 38-year-old suspect was being questioned. The South African man, who is believed to have
POLICE are failing to enforce legislation on child car booster seats because of practical difficulties with the law, The Northern Echo has learnt. A snapshot survey has revealed that only two fixed penalty notices have been issued to drivers in the region
THE magical world down the back of a sofa has put a children's writer in the running for a leading award.Tim Hopgood, of North Yorkshire, wrote and illustrated the children's book Our Big Blue Sofa.The book has been nominated for a Kate Greenaway Medal
It is perhaps apt that when asked to pose for a photograph with their mobile phones, Marjorie Edgerley, Joyce Burton, Margo Cavill, Marjorie Bateson and Pat Richardson all admit to not having brought theirs.In the mobile age, it is easy to forget how
A DOGS' home has received more unwanted presents this year.Just before Christmas Day, four puppies were left at the Dogs Trust Rehoming Centre, at Hill House Farm, in Sadberge, near Darlington.Four six-week-old Staffordshire bull terriers were left there
Hartlepool United 2, Grimsby Town 0.HARTLEPOOL United's players yesterday comfortably cemented their place in the record books. The 2-0 win over Grimsby Town at Victoria Park equalled the club record of seven successive victories, the last six of which
Everton 0, MIddlesbrough 0.IT was only last Friday when Gareth Southgate revealed Christmas had been cancelled as he plotted Middlesbrough's festive turnaround in fortunes.Now, having claimed four points from an opening two games over the holiday period
Darlington 0, Mansfield Town 2.Darlington have not won a Boxing Day fixture for nine years and, after yesterday's sixth consecutive defeat, supporters must feel as though it's been just as long since they last saw their team win a match.After Dave Penney's
HUNDREDS of hardy souls braved the icy North Sea to take part in traditional Boxing Day dips.A record number of entrants and spectators turned out for the annual dip at Redcar beach.An estimated 5,000 people lined the beach to cheer on more than 300
A YOUNG horse-lover is on the road to be back in the saddle by the spring.Charlotte Purdy's wish to be able to attend riding events across the country should be fulfilled partly thanks to readers of The Northern Echo and Advertiser series.Despite suffering
KASABIAN make hulking great tunes with attitude - and for that their fans love them. There's no plinky-plonk pianos or jaunty choruses here. Instead, what you get is a wall of noise, grinding guitars and massive bass lines backed by sharp electronic beats.On
GLENN Roeder avoided becoming embroiled in a war of words with counterpart Sam Allardyce after the Bolton boss accused Newcastle United players of physically abusing El Hadji Diouf during yesterday's 2-1 defeat. Despite Bolton's often heavy-handed approach
JONATHAN WOODGATE was last night described as the best defender in the country by manager Gareth Southgate. And the boss, after witnessing Woodgate turn in another rock solid defensive performance to keep out Everton, has revealed Boro will have to show
Bolton Wanderers 2 Newcastle United 1 IT'S no coincidence Newcastle United's recent renaissance has coincided with the return to fitness and form of Kieron Dyer and, perhaps it was no surprise the Magpies had their wings clipped and crashed to defeat
THE small village of Bishopton, near Sedgefield, County Durham, was busier than usual on Boxing Day morning.Approaching from Darlington, cars and horseboxes clung to every available piece of muddy grass verge as supporters of the South Durham Hunt turned
This year has proved that more and more older people are getting to grips with technology - and, more importantly, loving every minute of it! RIGHT, you've had your presents, eaten the turkey and scoffed the sweets... time for the thank you letters.
One hundred years ago today, Redcar witnessed one of the most dramatic rescues in the history of its lifeboat service. Claire Burbage reports on the battle to save those on board the Awa Maru. IT was Christmas morning 1906, and the Awa Maru left Antwerp
Sunderland 2 Leeds United 0 LEEDS United may have been handing out gifts all season, but for 65 minutes yesterday, the struggling Yorkshiremen's generosity was wasted at the Stadium of Light.In front of Sunderland's biggest crowd of the season - 40,116
DARLINGTON FC slumped to a sixth successive defeat yesterday after the club was forced to fulfil its fixture with Mansfield Town despite a wave of illness sweeping through the squad. On Christmas Day, the Quakers unsuccessfully tried to have the game
