A fair-trade wine this week from South America, which has a dark cherry-red colour and a bouquet of minted cherries and blackcurrants. It has a lovely tight structure and sweet ripe fruit. It's 14 per cent alcohol with soft tannins and a slightly plumy
Solutions ACROSS 1 Moderato. MOD+ERA+TO 5 Bonded. B(OND)ED (Don anag.) 9 Scorched. SCOR(CH)E+D 10 Stalin. STA(L)IN 12 Ocean. O+C+E+A+N 13 Enamoured. ENAM+OUR+ED (name anag.) 14 New Statesman. NEW+STATESMAN 18 San Francisco. S+
Cryptic Clues ACROSS 1 Rocker's adversary takes time to get musical instruction (8) 5 Adhered to plot in which Don reforms (6) 9 Slightly burned account found outside church by Penny (8) 10 Shame surrounds pupil of former Russian leader (6) 12
A 34-year-old man and 30-year-old woman were last night charged in connection with illegal trafficking of people to the UK for work in the care industry and are expected to appear before Teesside Magistrates Court on Monday, February 5. They face charges
A NORTH Yorkshire police officer has been dismissed as complaints against the force rise. The un-named officer faced ten complaints and he was dismissed from service by a disciplinary tribunal. The North Yorkshire force has had a general rise in the
THE prospective gambling bonanza in the North-East has been met with cautious words from spiritual leaders in the region. The Catholic church has urged caution following yesterday's announcement from the Casino Advisory Panel (CAP) revealed Middlesbrough
IT will be business as usual for a North-East greengrocer and his wife - despite scooping a £1.1m lottery windfall. And rather than splashing out on champagne and designer clothes, the first thing jackpot winners Paul and Sue Watson will treat themselves
FOURTEEN school pupils have been contaminated by asbestos dust after classroom ceiling tiles collapsed. One member of staff at Harrogate High School, North Yorkshire, and a Yorkshire Ambulance Service crew have also been contaminated. Ambulance staff
THIEVES have stolen three rare mopeds worth a total of £15,500 from a shed in Stockton. The crooks are believed to have taken the bikes sometime on Tuesday night or early Wednesday morning at an address in Ragpath Lane. The first moped, a Lambretta
A MAN who set himself on fire after apparently rowing with his mother has died. Neighbours watched in horror as 33-year-old David McCarthy doused himself in petrol and then staggered burning from the home in Moorland Avenue, Bedlington, Northumberland
SOUTH Korean superstar Dong Gook Lee arrived at Middlesbrough's training ground today after signing for Gareth Southgate's Premiership outfit from Pohang Steelers. Full story in tomorrow's Northern Echo.
A MOTORIST ploughed into a family after chasing them in his car following a row outside a football ground. Jonathon Konya was sent sprawling when Douglas Harrison drove his Citroen Xsara at him near The Riverside in Middlesbrough. Mr Konya's teenage
A CRAZED drug user who bit a paramedic as she tried to strap him to a stretcher has been jailed for 15 months. Kenneth Gray sank his teeth into Sandra Bethell's hand as she and a colleague attempted to restrain the 33-year-old. The ambulance crew had
DETECTIVES are hunting a bogus caller who stole bank cards from workers on a County Durham industrial estate then fleeced them of hundreds of pounds. The conman talked his way into offices on Green Lane Industrial Estate, in Spennymoor, on Tuesday morning
POLICE have appealed for help in tracing a satellite navigation system stolen from an ambulance. A police spokesman said the vehicle was parked at the back of Newcastle General Hospital on Wednesday when thieves broke in sometime between 4am and 7am
A SHAMELESS couple have been hit with an ASBO after they were caught having sex in a park. Samantha Robinson and Graham Snowball romped in Gateshead's Saltwell Park, in full view of passers-by, including a girl of seven. They continued having
THE Chief Constable of North Yorkshire, Della Cannings, has announced her retirement from the force. The shock announcement came in a joint statement issued by the police authority and Ms Cannings herself. The statement gave no reasons for the decision
COUNCILLORS have given £2,860 to an organisation that encourages people to become more active. The award was made by the county council to Active Hambleton Community Sports Network, which wants to establish five groups bringing together interested agencies
A DRUG addict who was twice caught by police with plastic eggs filled with heroin was yesterday jailed for 15 months. Christopher Goodall was caught the first time after trying to throw his stash of drugs into a garden as officers approached. About £150
YOUNG people looking for a taste of fame can audition for parts in a show this summer. The Dionysis Theatre Company is about to recruit performers for its forthcoming presentation of Fame - The Musical. The show will be performed at The Gala, in Durham
A DURHAM shopping centre has revamped its website to make it easier for blind and partially sighted people to use. The Prince Bishops Centre believes it is one of the first shopping complexes in the country to design a site - www.princebishops.co.uk -
ONE of the newest countryside sites in County Durham is looking for a name. Durham County Council's countryside rangers are hoping local people will attend a community event on Sunday, February 18, and help choose a name for the Aykley Heads site, in
NORTH Yorkshire County Council is likely to raise its share of council tax bills by 4.9 per cent in each of the next two years as Government grants become tighter. The warning was given to the Hambleton area committee of the council by senior officers
A SCHOOL'S pupils put their best foot forward by ditching their shoes for trainers for charity. Boys and girls aged from three to 11, at Bow, Durham School held the event in aid of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution's third SOS day. At the school
A SENIOR Age Concern official has made an outspoken attack on plans to cut the post office network. Chief executive Dave Punshon said he believed between 50 and 100 post offices were likely to close on Teesside alone. Last month, the Government announced
THE owner of a motorcycle training school fears he could face complaints about noise if planners allow homes to be built next to his premises. Miller Homes is seeking planning permission from Durham City Council for 208 houses on the former Durham County
A RAPPING robot is spreading the message of recycling and its importance to schoolchildren. Recycler is in Stockton rhyming about the three Rs - reduce, reuse and recycle. Part of a national environment tour, the robot is visiting schools this week to
A FATHER drove a quad bike carrying three children across a main road in an attempt to escape police, a court heard. Kevin Ian Graydon Chapman, 20, of Teesdale Walk, Bishop Auckland, drove the quad straight across a road in the town while carrying two
A CALL has been made for more work among young people aged over 16 as a new youth service takes shape. The 4Youth Service was set up last year after the community education service ended and has two education officers and 11 full-time area youth work
A SPECIALIST team has been enlisted to help close in on conmen who are ripping off homeowners. Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council is appealing for the public's help in tracking down the rogues after complaints over shoddy workmanship, incompleted renovations
CRITICS of plans to move a fire brigade control base out of North Yorkshire fear it will cost lives. In a £1bn move, the Government wants to replace all 46 UK fire control rooms with nine regional centres. In the scheme, North Yorkshire's base would
A NEW pharmacy has introduced a range of more than 50 homeopathic remedies. Rowlands, in John Fowler Way, West Park, Darlington, opened in November to offer its customers an extended range of treatments and products. Manager and resident pharmacist Kath
ONE of the last independent co-operative societies in the country is putting the finishing touches to a major store development in a County Durham dale. At the same time, Penrith Co-operative Society is hoping that more
THREE villagers came to the rescue of their community association to save it from threatened dissolution. Hurworth residents George Lawman, David Baker and Ian White have all volunteered to sit as the new trustees of Hurworth Community
RESIDENTS in Hurworth have complained to the council because a new pavement near a school is too slippy. The pavements in Roundhill Road, near Hurworth Primary School, have recently been relaid, but the new smooth surface offers less grip. Some
TENNIS fans Cora and Derek Reeves are a love match made in heaven after 60 years as husband and wife. The couple, who live in West View, Darlington, celebrate their diamond wedding anniversary tomorrow. Derek, 84, was secretary of New Blackwell Lawn Tennis
REAL ale will be available at a Darlington pub as part of an overhaul of the business. Stuart Price has taken over as bar manager at The Cricketers Hotel, in Parkgate, and is planning a range of changes. Mr Price has been in the post for about two months
DOZENS of villagers were left disappointed after a council officer failed to address a meeting about improvements to houses, following a bizarre mix-up. St Helen Auckland Residents' Association's committee was shocked when its Selby Close Community Centre
A WOMAN had to chase a refuse wagon down the street after it failed to collect her elderly mother's rubbish up for the second week in a row. Irene Johnson, 83, of Boston Close, Darlington, is on the assisted collection scheme, meaning her rubbish
GARETH Southgate last night endorsed the inclusion of Jonathan Woodgate and his Portsmouth counterpart Sol Campell in Steve McClaren's England squad named on Friday for the next week's friendly with Spain. The centre backs were in opposition last night
Darlington last night played a behind closed doors friendly which gave manager Dave Penney chance to cast his eye over three triallists, including Consett striker Michael MacKay. The forward enjoyed a goalscoring outing for the reserves at Doncaster Rovers
A motorist who crashed into an elderly couple's car, claiming the life of a woman, probably lost control of his vehicle because it had a deflated tyre, an inquest heard. Grace Hutchinson, 69, of Chestnut Avenue, in Spennymoor, died of multiple injuries
MASSIMO Maccarone's four-and-a-half year spell at Middlesbrough ended yesterday with the Teessiders taking a £8.15m loss on their record signing. The former Italy international joined Siena on a free transfer after rejecting the chance to stay in the
A key buzzword of today is 'globalisation'. A concept of the world as a single economic entity, it is invoked to justify, nay welcome, foreign ownership of British businesses and public services. I take the reactionary view that, when the chips are down
Strictly Lady Sumo (C4) CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (five) Wild Caribbean (BBC2) THERE can be few sights more frightening than seeing Sumo Steve jumping around wearing nothing but one of those nappy-type thongs worn by sumo wrestlers. It made the
FOR reasons which may need little explanation, this column has nothing to do with the annual Superbrain quiz - the results of which were announced in last Saturday's paper. The overall winner was John Deller, 54, from Shinclife, near Durham. "The question
MIMA MIDDLESBROUGH councillors just have to waste public money, don't they? They obviously can't help it. That at any rate was the impression to be had from the item on ITV news (Jan 26) about the town's new "art gallery" (mima - Middlesbrough Institute
A MAN returned £1,300 in coins his former employer used to pay him after a judge ruled he should be given a cheque. Fred Raine, 61, received a crate containing thousands of coins after a long-running wrangle with Malcolm Lee, of Lee's Coaches, of Langley
THE 723 single-decker stood skewed and hideously twisted. The refuse wagon, its front brutally mangled, lay overturned in its shadow. Devastation and tragedy had come to the A167, on the outskirts of Darlington. A shredded tyre, torn metal, shattered
THE winners of the first ever World Cup have been left without goal nets and an expensive grass cutter following a theft at their ground. West Auckland Town FC, who beat Juventus to win the Sir Thomas Lipton Trophy in 1909, had their Darlington Road ground
TROOPS from the region have uncovered a major haul of weapons during a night-time raid in Iraq. More than 400 mortar rounds, plus bomb-making equipment and rockets, were discovered by soldiers from the 1st Battalion, the Yorkshire Regiment. The operation
THE MINER (1.50) would be an appropriately-named winner at Newcastle this afternoon, given the course has a long and honourable association with the coal industry. Sandy Forster's gelding is a bit of a quirky character, but nothing was travelling better
BUSINESSES in the region enjoyed a boom in sales and orders during the second half of last year, but struggled to convert demand into profits, research has revealed. Nearly half of businesses surveyed in the North East reported an increase in turnover
FIVE companies in the region have been recognised for their work in closing the gender pay gap and improving the work-life balance for women. Regional development agency One NorthEast, lender Northern Rock, Cleveland Fire Brigade, Regional Enterprise
THOUSANDS of Corus workers will have set their alarms early this morning to learn the identity of their new employer. When The Northern Echo went to print last night, Tata Steel and CSN were still locked in a private £5bn bidding war for the steelmaker
THE weird and wacky world of crazy inventions is featured in a touring exhibition that is coming to the region this weekend. Ingenious Contraptions, which opens at the Museum of Hartlepool on Saturday, features a bizarre collection of inventions from
A COUPLE caught up in the Asian tsunami will celebrate the first birthday of their son tomorrow. Greg and Louise Harrand, both 33, were on their honeymoon on the Thai island of Ko Phi Phi when the 12ft wave struck on Boxing Day, 2004. Mrs Harrand was
When Jonny Wilkinson runs out in an England jersey on Saturday for the first time in more than three years he promises he will be better than ever. Better than the player who racked up 817 points for his country in 52 matches. Better, according to England
SKIPPER Andrew Flintoff is a man on a mission, hell-bent on halting England's dismal form Down Under by finally getting one over on the Aussies on Friday. Flintoff saw his battle-weary side crash to yet another defeat, this time by 58 runs at the hands
THE woman responsible for marketing the UK's most successful technology company will be speaking at a business event next week. Sage's marketing director Carol Brannigan will describe how the Newcastle company plans to increase its success in the digital
THE cash-for-honours inquiry took a dramatic twist last night as Prime Minister Tony Blair's personal fundraiser, Lord Levy, was arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to pervert the course of justice. The development - less than two weeks after the arrest
NEWCASTLE United manager Glenn Roeder last night urged new loan signing Oguchi Onyewu to prove he is worth a permanent deal by the end of his short spell at the club. The big American centre-half completed his loan move from Belgian side Standard Liege
DWELLINGS dating back to the Iron Age and Roman eras have been uncovered during work on a major road improvement scheme in the region. The half-dozen round houses, including paddocks and fields, were uncovered along the A66 during work to create a dual
ONCE the formalities of a Parliamentary vote are concluded, a range of casinos will be built across the country and the morality of the Government's encouragement of a national gambling bonanza will be open to intense scrutiny. Gambling can be fun but
THE Government last night unleashed a gambling bonanza as the North-East hit the jackpot with approval for a major new casino.In a long awaited announcement the Casino Advisory Panel (CAP) revealed Middlesbrough as one of eight areas across the UK to
POLICE last night arrested two North-East company directors as part of an investigation into human trafficking. A team of officers from the Cleveland force has been involved in a worldwide probe into organised trafficking of refugees since July 2005.
THOUSANDS of Corus workers will have set their alarms early this morning to learn the identity of their new employer. When The Northern Echo went to print last night, Tata Steel and CSN were still locked in a private £5bn bidding war for the steelmaker
ROY Keane has claimed that Crystal Palace's negative approach in last night's goalless draw at the Stadium of Light was an indication of how far Sunderland have come under his tutelage. Goalkeeper Darren Ward had just one save to make all evening as Eagles
A NORTH-EAST town has become the only place in the country to see a drop in house prices over the past year. The average house in Darlington has seen a price drop of 0.4 per cent - or £458 - while the North-East as a whole has seen the lowest rise in
BUSINESSES in the region enjoyed a boom in sales and orders during the second half of last year, but struggled to convert demand into profits, research has revealed. Nearly half of businesses surveyed in the North East reported an increase in turnover
Portsmouth 0 Middlesbrough 0 WITH Middlesbrough chosen yesterday as a venue for one of the country's new large casinos, it seemed somewhat ironic that its football club decided to show a complete lack of a gambling instinct for 85 minutes last night.Their
Sunderland 0 Crystal Palace 0 LAST weekend, Roy Keane was surprised to discover that a number of his players were afraid of heights when he took them on an army-style assault course in North Yorkshire.Last night, as Sunderland failed to break down a
ONE man died and another was seriously injured yesterday in a crash involving a bus and a refuse wagon.The accident, which was described by witnesses as horrific, happened at 11.40am when the bus and wagon were involved in a head-on collision.Two vans
There are conflicting attitudes to ageing... and the best one is probably just to ignore it and get on with it. SO HOW old do you think you are? Probably nowhere near your real age. But the world is divided into those who think young - and the rest who
A Government decision not to allow exemptions to new anti-discrimination laws - meaning Catholic adoption agencies must consider gay couples as prospective parents - has ignited a debate over religious conscience versus homosexuals' rights. Two members
INDIAN company Tata Steel is set to become the world's fifth-biggest steelmaker after winning a bidding auction battle for Corus Group. It has agreed to pay £5.75 billion pounds for the company, seeing off its only other rival Brazil's Companhia Siderurgica
A MAN is in a critical condition in hospital after suffering serious burns during an incident to which police were called. The 33-year-old was involved in an incident shortly after 8.30pm last night in Moorland Avenue in Bedlington. A spokeswoman for
Sunderland 0 Crystal Palace 0 ROY Keane and Sunderland endured a frustrating evening at the Stadium of Light as Crystal Palace held on for a barely-deserved draw. The home side were chasing their fourth league win in a row to continue their promotion
Portsmouth 0 Boro 0 A COMMANDING performance by Middlesbrough defender Jonathan Woodgate thwarted Portsmouth's attempts to move fifth in the Premiership. The game ended goalless at Fratton Park, thanks in the main to the oft-injured on-loan Real Madrid
UNISON officials representing ambulance staff last night recommended that its members accept an interim offer of £35 for each meal break disturbed by an emergency call. Following talks with ambulance bosses, Unison is to hold a ballot of its members
