A FORMER boxer was stabbed to death by a younger man who wanted to take his title as the most feared fighter in their neighbourhood, a court heard today. Renowned hard-man Peter Hoe is said to have been murdered by rival David Reed, 29, and his brother
Sunderland's £7m deal to land David Nugent appears to be floundering. Both Sunderland and Portsmouth have been after the Preston man's signature. He has also attracted interest from Aston Villa. Read the full story in The Northern Echo tomorrow.
HUNDREDS of pubs and clubs were visited by footsore council health officials yesterday to hammer home the national ban on smoking in enclosed public places. As officers prepared to visit up to 100 licensed premises across east Cleveland, yesterday, Councillor
AN ELDERLY man has died in hospital nine days after being injured in an alleged hit and run accident. Andrew Davidson was seriously injured as he walked his dog in Barley Mill Road, Bridgehill, Consett, County Durham on June 23. The 85-year-old, from
HEAVY horses were back at work in the North-East yesterday (MON), as a council looked to the past to protect its countryside for the future. Sally and Painter, two Dalecroft Cobbs, were set to work bashing bracken, to prevent the invasive plant taking
Police in Glasgow have arrested two more people in the wake of the firebomb attack on Glasgow Airport.
Thrill seekers got the scare of a lifetime when they were dangled upside down 50 feet from the ground on a malfunctioning fairground ride. Power cut out on the attraction, called The Tango, at Newcastle's 'Hoppings' annual funfair, leaving frightened
LITTLE Rosie Wright has paid back a debt of thanks to the paramedic who helped save her life almost a year ago. The four-year-old followed mum Penny's instructions and thanked Jane Peacock when she met her for the first time since the horrific
Reviewed by pupils from Durham High School for Girls The Road of the Dead follows the recipe for a good book; it's descriptive, the story isn't revealed straight away, it keeps you gripped the whole way through and it's very realistic. We all enjoyed
Reviewed by pupils from Durham High School for Girls The most positive comment we had to make about Road of Bones was about the quality of the descriptive writing; Anne Fine really has painted a very clear picture of the cold, unforgiving life in Russia
Reviewed by pupils from Durham High School for Girls The first time you read this book it is quite easy to get confused but if you read it for a second time it's much easier to follow the plot. It is a hard book to get into at first because the action
Reviewed by pupils from Durham High School for Girls Just in Case is an easy read, the chapters are short but Meg Rosoff gives you plenty to think about. The technique of using fate as one of the narrators is very effective it's just what you would
Reviewed by pupils from Durham High School for Girls The cover of Beast is deceptive, it looks as though it's a book for younger children, we liked the cover and as you read the book you realise that it's a clever choice. The main characters were well
Reviewed by pupils from Durham High School for Girls This book was a real surprise. We loved the spooky front cover. The story started slowly with a good opening but it quickly gained pace. There were some things that we found confusing; it could
Victoria Bridge, Stockton spanning the Tees between Stockton (Co Durham) and Thornaby (Yorkshire) taken by Mark Fletcher.
This is the view of Historial old Hartlepool, the Headland from Seaton Carew taken by Christina Murray.
NOW that Tony Blair no longer has to pretend to like the people of Sedgefield and will no longer have relative legal immunity as Prime Minister or as an MP, further questioning from the police may bring him to a more appropriate stand in a court
1. If you take an Oriental person and spin him around several times, does he become disoriented? 2. If people from Poland are called Poles, why aren't people from Holland called Holes? 3. Do infants enjoy infancy as much as adults enjoy adultery
IT is odd for Pete Winstanley to advocate social cohesion given his strong support recently for ethnic diversity (HAS, June 28). Some recent research shows that ethnic diversity leads to reduced social cohesion, reduced levels of civic responsibility
WHAT really is the truth behind the Israel-Palestine conflict? Most of us traditionally regard Israel as a perfectly civilised country and are happy with arms exports there. The Palestinians, on the other hand, we think of as murderous, blood-crazed
THE results for the recent unofficial referendum on the proposed unitary council for County Durham may show a majority against the proposal, but the figure of 119,439 still only represents 30 per cent of the total electorate and could hardly be
ASHOK Kumar's eulogy of Gordon Brown (Echo, June 27) is full of empty words and contradictions. He admits that New Labour has been "obsessed with spin and media manipulation", with "an insatiable desire for good headlines at any cost". He also
WELL, the country has seen the biggest conman in British politics put on his last show and what a show - planted questions and verbal back-slapping from Blairites and what passes for the official opposition just joined the line. Tony Blair has
Lewis Hamilton cemented his status as Britian's latest sporting superstar at the French Grand Prix yesterday. But, as Chief Sports Writer Scott Wilson explains, his biggest challeges could come off the racetrack. RON Dennis can remember the moment as
In her latest novel, the writer Janet MacLeod Trotter explores the Tyneside fascist movement just before the Second World War. She talks to Women's Editor Sarah Foster about her passion for the past and why her work is more politcal than the books by
'AND that is that. The end." The final words of the Prime Minister to the House of Commons last Wednesday will go down in history. They were echoed at The Northern Echo as we looked back on an unforgettable ten years as the Prime Minister's local paper
Bad Girls star Victoria Bush admits her farce stage debut is a baptism of fire, but reveals to Viv Hardwick that she couldn't be learning the comedy ropes from a better group of co-stars. IS farce still as hilarious if the writer is Ray Cooney's son,
A LAND deal has cleared the way the way for children in Crook to get a long-awaited new school. Plans to replace 154-year-old St Cuthbert's Primary School, on Church Hill, had been on hold since 2004 when people living in the area and Durham County Council
PROTESTORS are celebrating after a plan to build flats on the site of a fire-ravaged nursing home was thrown out by councillors. Redcar and Cleveland Borough councillors have backed the hundreds who signed a petition by again rejecting plans to build
VILLAGE residents have been called to a public meeting to discuss ways of protecting land they call their green from travellers. Caravans are regular summer visitors to open grassland at the centre of Witton Park, where groups of travelling families often
RESIDENTS of a seaside town would rather have an empty shop than a hot food takeaway. More than 200 people signed a petition presented to Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council objecting to plans to turn a former antiques shop into a takeaway in the High
ARSON investigators are probing a fire at a two-storey, first-floor flat in Loftus, near Saltburn. There was heat and smoke damage to the first and second floors of the flat, in West Road, and a side door was destroyed. Severe smoke and water damage was
NURSES from a hospital ward which closed on Friday are reporting for work this morning without jobs to go to. The 11-strong team from ward nine at Bishop Auckland General Hospital have been told they cannot be allocated new posts because they have lodged
In the Northern Rock ECB North-East Regional Premier League every match started for the first time in three weeks, but none of them got far enough to make much impact on the league positions. South Northumberland trimmed two points from Sunderland's
TWO games defied the weather and two others were only called off in the later stages, despite a third successive weekend when the rain ruined another programme. The games which went all the way helped Normanby Hall and Darlington move closer to safety
In the 3-D Sports Durham Coast League, Silksworth plunged bottom club Peterlee into further trouble when they won in a hurry by nine wickets and avoided the storm clouds. Their visitors were hustled out for just 74 with Stephen Wright (4-23) and Chris
DURHAM have applied for more tickets for the Friends Provident Trophy final on August 18 after members snapped up the initial allocation of 4,500. Remaining tickets were due to go on sale to the general public today, but the members quickly took advantage
A DISTRICT councillor claims moving a cattle market is the only way to breathe new life into a town's economy. Malton Mart could be transformed into shops and houses under proposals unveiled by Fitzwilliam Estates two weeks ago. No date has yet been set
Juniper Girl gave trainer Michael Bell a scare after her run at Royal Ascot last week but all turned out well as she took the John Smith's Northumberland Plate at Newcastle. Connections feared the four-year-old had suffered a leg injury when finishing
A HERB grower has won its bid for permission to import and process goods on site, despite local objections. Hambleton District Council has approved a retrospective application by Sandhutton Growers Ltd, in Sandhutton, near Thirsk, to allow the firm to
THE circus will come to town for this year's Durham Summer Festival, which is expected to draw thousands of visitors to the city centre. Marketing Durham, which is organising the event, hopes to build on the popularity of last year's festival - which
A VOLUNTARY group has been set up to support people living with lung disease. Lisa Kitson, a specialist respiratory nurse, has created the Breathe Easy Group, based in Northallerton, with the help of the British Lung Foundation. The group is open to patients
CENTRAL PARK RE the recently-announced £200m Central Park development scheme for Darlington (Echo, June 27 and 28). I sometimes wonder who is running Darlington. Is it the newly-elected borough council, the unelected Regional Assembly or Tees Valley
A SENIOR Newcastle delegation will return to Barcelona later today to step up the club's pursuit of Brazilian midfielder Edmilson, but Sam Allardyce has already achieved one of his major summer objectives following a final confirmation that Michael Owen
A COUNCIL has published a corporate plan to provide a roadmap of past achievements and future goals. Chester-le-Street District Council's third such plan builds on positive feedback from the Audit Commission in its judgement of the council's progress
Prospective new Manchester City owner Thaksin Shinawatra has gone on the offensive against the Thai government and its agencies. The former prime minister is furious at what he sees as an on-going attempt to discredit him and his family. His lawyers revealed
Pubs owner Greene King will be in the spotlight this week during a quiet few days for company results and updates. The company should deliver a solid set of profits figures when the Abbot Ale and Old Speckled Hen brewer produces full-year results tomorrow
AYEGBENI Yakubu will seek showdown talks with Middlesbrough manager Gareth Southgate later today as he continues to edge closer to the Riverside exit door. Yakubu is due to return to Boro's Rockliffe Park training ground this morning for the opening day
COMEDIAN Bobby Pattinson will perform a show to raise funds for the Durham Miners' Gala. Mr Pattinson, who has close family ties with the gala, will put on the show at the Gala Theatre, Durham, on Thursday, July 12. He said: "I have chosen to give money
A RENOWNED group of Chinese artists are bringing their creations to the region. On Saturday, the exhibition, called Direct Observation will open at the Oriental Museum in Durham and will run until September. The artists have exhibited in the US, Japan
DURHAM'S Michael Di Venuto will be out for four to six weeks, leaving him very short of cricket before the Friends Provident Trophy final at Lord's on August 18. The Tasmanian had two operations over the weekend on the ring finger of his left hand, which
MOTORISTS in Bishop Auckland have been warned to keep expensive satellite navigation systems out of sight when they park. Cars have been targeted in the town centre and at least ten systems have been stolen since March. Beat officer PC Neil Prentiss said
LOCAL authority representatives from across the North-East will be put under scrutiny by members of the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) today. It is hoped the event, at Ramside Hall, in Durham, will begin a debate on how companies can be better supported
Ferrari yesterday fired a warning shot to Lewis Hamilton who now heads into next Sunday's British Grand Prix savouring one of the greatest feelings of his career. Kimi Raikkonen and Felipe Massa scored Ferrari's first one-two for 15 grands prix as the
ORGANISED criminals who prey on the vulnerable are in for a tougher time in Darlington as the community unites to fight back. Rogue builders, unscrupulous salesmen and bogus officials are known to share information about residents who they consider to
MANUFACTURERS' organisation EEF Northern is today urging the Bank of England not to raise interest rates again this month. EEF Northern has backed the bank's decision to increase rates four times since last August to bring inflation closer to the two
THE man trying to buy Newcastle United is on the brink of another acquisition after making an offer for boxing equipment brand Everlast. Sports World boss Mike Ashley's Sports Direct International offered £74.8m for Everlast on Friday night, as the UK
McLaren boss Ron Dennis hailed Fernando Alonso as ''the man of the race'' following the French Grand Prix in which the reigning world champion admitted he risked everything. Alonso scrapped throughout the entire 70 laps at Magny-Cours to claim two precious
A SPORTSMAN has won the first round of his battle to avoid being deported to war-torn Sudan. Athlete Rabah Yousif, 20, who lives in Thornaby, says his life will be in danger if he fails to win an appeal to stay in the UK. Last week, his legal team won
Wimbledon referee Andrew Jarrett yesterday insisted the championships were far from ''desperation stakes'' despite being badly disrupted by rain. Only one day in the first week was rain free, with two singles matches completed on Saturday in the women's
Dan Kiernan was celebrating last week. Having decided to place bets on 18 separate matches at Wimbledon, he discovered to his surprise that the flutter had paid dividends of £1,500. Yet that's about as close as the 27-year old from Consett will get
RESIDENTS of a seaside town would rather have an empty shop than a hot food takeaway. More than 200 people signed a petition presented to Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council objecting to plans to turn a former antiques shop into a takeaway in the High
Sex, Lies and Hypnosis (five, 10pm), Shrink Rap (C4 11.05pm) IT escapes me where the title of Sex, Lies and Hypnosis comes from. There was a definite lack of hanky panky and fibbing going on. I can only assume it was an attempt by producers of this rather
YOUNG football fans will be able to see their heroes free next season, thanks to an initiative between Hartlepool United and Hartlepool Borough Council. The School and Football Enterprise (Safe) scheme gives groups of youngsters the chance to watch one
Defending champion Roger Federer was yesterday handed a bye to the quarter-finals of Wimbledon when fourth-round opponent Tommy Haas was forced to pull out through injury. Haas, the injury-plagued 13th seed, suffered a torn abdominal muscle in his four-set
A JUBILANT Graeme Storm last night claimed he had produced the "best round of his life" after a closing 66 earned him his first European Tour title at the French Open. Eight years after lifting the British amateur title - and four years after he was forced
TWO teams from one college have won through to the finals of a horticultural competition. Advanced and intermediate teams from Askham Bryan College, near York, will take part in the UK Landscaping Skills contest. The intermediate team, for students with
A CAMPAIGN to encourage Darlington businesses to donate to good causes in the town is celebrating a record year. The Darlington Champions programme has awarded more than £250,000 in the past 12 months to boost community projects in the town. A total
TOURISM businesses from across North Yorkshire will gather this week to share ideas. The county's Moors and Coast Tourism Partnership will hold its annual meeting at the Forest and Vale Hotel, in Pickering, on Wednesday. Guest speaker Deborah Hindley,
A FREE festival of sport is to be held in Stokesley this summer. Youngsters from the age of six will be able to take part in taster sessions in a variety of sports and be supervised by professional coaches. The event, on August 10, will take place at
NIALL Quinn has insisted that commitment to the cause will continue to be one of the key demands made of anybody joining Sunderland this summer. With West Brom duo Paul McShane and Paul Robinson having travelled to Wearside for talks on Saturday, Black
A FATHER-of-three snapped after months of torment at the hands of yobs, donning a gas mask and brandishing a highwayman's pistol and a bottle of lighter fluid in a bid to scare them. Before Andrew Clark set about his vigilante mission, he told how he
England's new generation of seam bowlers spearheaded a comprehensive victory over West Indies after the failure of their middle order threatened another one-day disappointment. Desperate to start the new era under Peter Moores and Paul Collingwood with
GLASS jigsaw pieces designed and made by a North-East student make up a sculpture being presented to the region's most enterprising group. The sculpture, by Sunderland University student Jessica Smith, will be presented on Friday to the Bishop Auckland
THUNDERSTORMS and heavy downpours brought more flooding disruption to the region yesterday. Emergency services in North Yorkshire were kept busy all day as they responded to lightning strikes and calls from householders whose homes had been flooded. Flash
THE teenager who threw a party that trashed her house while her parents were away on holiday is to feature on national television. ITV's Tonight With Trevor Macdonald will screen an item on the party at the home of Rachael Bell, 17, in Woodstone Village
THESE are exciting times for Darlington. Only last week £200m redevelopment plans for a 70-acre site between Haughton Road and Yarm Road were revealed. Work is also proceeding on a major £100m shopping and entertainment complex in the town centre. And
HEARTBREAK Productions Open Air Theatre is presenting Cry Blue Murder, a crime spoof, at Brancepeth Castle, Brancepeth Village, Durham City. The performance is on Sunday, starting at 7.30pm. Tickets cost £12.50, with £6 concessions. For information,
A SUMMER sports development programme for youngsters is expecting a bumper turnout this year. The scheme, organised by Leisureworks - formerly Derwentside Leisure - will run from Monday, July 23, until Friday, August 31, for youngsters aged four to 16
A SCHOOL hit by tragedies is to install a living memorial following the deaths of four pupils and a teacher.Finishing touches are being put to a garden of remembrance at Billingham Campus School.It has been planned in memory of pupils Andrew Nattrass,
IT was a case of hair today, gone tomorrow for Stockton mother Christine Kilcullen.The 45-year-old had her head shaved at the weekend, raising £2,000 for medical research into the condition which killed her son, David, in April.Mrs Kilcullen lost her
THE world's oldest emergency call service - which handles more than a million calls from the North-East each year - has celebrated its 70th birthday.BT's 999 emergency service - which handles more than 2,700 calls a day from the region, was launched on
VILLAGERS broke out the champagne to toast the success of a long-running campaign to lower the speed limit on a busy road.People at Chester Moor battled for years to persuade Durham County Council to cut the 70mph limit on the A167 dual carriageway between
A TODDLER in the region has helped to pilot a new treatment to aid suffers of a medical deformity.Tom Beighton, of Northallerton, suffers from the medical problem of plagiocephaly.The deformity is better known as flat head syndrome and afflicts an estimated
PUPILS and staff at a primary school have marked the end of a week-long centenary celebration with a concert.Dean Bank Primary School, Ferryhill, is marking 100 years of education in Dean Bank.As well as the concert, which featured performances from every
VINTAGE and classic vehicles settled happily into a new venue at the weekend - starting what could become an annual event.The Durham County Vintage Collectors Society teamed up with Ferryhill Town Council to stage their first two-day rally at Mainsforth
DARLINGTON Football Club has scored a hit with the town's schoolchildren following the launch of a soccer-themed education programme. The first batch of youngsters has been enjoying lessons at the £125,000 Understand Centre education facility, which the
A RED tape wrangle has prompted the cancellation of one of the region's oldest and most popular summer attractions.More than 70,000 people visited last year's Durham County Show - but organisers say the two-day agricultural event has become a victim of
CAMPAIGNERS fighting to save a wood were celebrating their High Court victory last night.The Trees and Wildlife Action Group won a judgement against the Forestry Commission to prevent the felling of 7,000 trees in Newbottle Wood, which is part of the
A HERITAGE group is fighting to save the former school of comic legend Stan Laurel, which was ravaged by fire in March.Bishop Auckland Civic Society, in County Durham, says it is deeply concerned about the state of the former Bishop Auckland Grammar School
HUNDREDS of children are celebrating after North-East schools marked a milestone on the road to living healthier lifestyles.Nearly 340 pupils from 78 schools in Darlington and County Durham attended the first annual Healthy Schools Programme celebration.More
A CHARITY fun day held in Stanley since 1990 went out on a high, despite suffering from the weather.The Stanley branch of Cancer Research UK has decided to cancel the annual event, but the last one, on Saturday, proved to be one of the best despite heavy
THE race for Tony Blair's Sedgefield seat went public at the weekend, with only one runner declared so far for the July 19 vote.Conservative Graham Robb became the first to launch his campaign on Saturday, in his home village of Middleton St George, with
GOING to work on an egg might not be politically correct in some circles - but Chris Tarran could not be happier.The 54 year-old former transport manager quit his 60,000 mile-a-year job three years ago to take up farming.Today, he and his wife, Diane,
A ROWING regatta for novices proved a success despite being threatened with heavy rain.Durham Amateur Rowing Club held its 28th Allcomers Regatta on the River Wear in the city on Saturday, attracting would-be rowers from businesses and organisations throughout
IT may have rained on the parade, but organisers say the 25th Darlington Community Carnival was the best yet.The carnival precession paraded through Darlington's newly-completed Pedestrian Heart on Saturday to commemorate the opening of the £7m redevelopment
THE man who revolutionised one of the region's colleges will step down as principal later this week, and says he is "proud" of his achievements.David Heaton, principal of Queen Elizabeth Sixth Form College, in Darlington, will retire on Friday after 16
A MAN who has made more than 30 trips abroad to deliver ambulances to poverty-stricken communities has been honoured by his local MP.John Shackleton, from Harrogate, North Yorkshire, was invited to a tea party on the terrace of the House of Commons by
POLICE are hoping a final, incomplete diary entry could touch someone's sympathy - and lead them to a killer.Bill Hendry, 75, was hit by a vehicle while out walking near his home in Knaresborough with his much-loved dog Abby.The driver sped off leaving
RESOLUTE steelmen and their families defied the weather to enjoy their traditional gala."We thought the bad weather we had all week and the forecast for the weekend might put people off and stop them coming, but we are happy with the numbers that have
Yorkshire v Durham (Twenty20 Cup) WHILE the copious amounts of alcohol consumed by a crowd of 4,229 will have helped to swell Yorkshire's coffers, the team's nine-wicket win against Durham on Saturday night came in a contest which was about as pointless
THE Government will this week present wide-ranging proposals for constitutional reform to the House of Commons, Prime Minister Gordon Brown confirmed yesterday.The reforms are expected to involve Mr Brown giving up royal prerogatives traditionally exercised
A QUICK-fingered brigade of knitters have raised more than £600 by spending an afternoon frantically working their needles.The sponsored knit was to raise money for Holy Trinity Church, in Eggleston, near Barnard Castle.The six women did half-hour shifts
STUDENTS from a Darlington college have been invited to London after being commended for their leadership skills.Queen Elizabeth Sixth Form College students have been shortlisted for the Leading the Learner Voice Awards, promoting and developing leadership
A MUSEUM in the North-East has won a major national award.Beamish Museum won Best UK Attraction for Group Visits - Long Visit at the 2007 Group Travel Awards.It was ahead of runner-up The Eden Project and finalists including The Alnwick Garden, Alton
A CHARITY which supports the development of mental health services in Malawi has been given £2,500 raised at a garden party.The event was organised by mental health clinicians and hosted by the chairman of the North Yorkshire and York Primary Care Trust
ICE cream and shades were the order of the day, as schoolchildren ignored the rain and put on their sunglasses to raise money for charity.The 78 nursery children at Hartburn Primary School had great fun taking part in the Guide Dogs for the Blind's Shades
THERE WAS a touch of the Dunkirk spirit about tireless hospital campaigner Joan Elders when rain put paid to a fundraising event.Forecasts of nothing but showers at the weekend caused organisers to postpone their planned strawberry fair for the Stead
THE Royal Mail will be hit by a fresh strike today in a row over transferring services from post offices to WH Smith stores.Hundreds of members of the Communication Workers Union will take industrial action from 6am to noon in protest at plans to close
A BEAUTY therapy student is to compete for the title of Miss World after being crowned Miss England.Georgia Horsley, 20, of Norton, near Malton, North Yorkshire, beat 90 girls in the three-day competition in Leicester to take the title on Saturday night.Her
THOUSANDS of lives could be saved in the North-East as a result of the smoking ban in public places which became law at the weekend.The North-East traditionally has had higher smoking rates than other parts of the country and suffers more from diseases
DOZENS of licensed premises across the region have yet to gain permission for smoking shelters, despite the new ban on lighting up that came into force over the weekend.Many local authorities have experienced a late flurry of planning applications for
REGIONAL breeders enjoyed success at this year's Royal Highland Show at Edinburgh.Rigel Pedigree, of Middleton-on-Leven, near Yarm, near Stockton, did well in the Salers cattle classes. Rigel Mithril, their heifer born last year, was first in her class
A SCHOOL celebrating its centenary has a new playground.The grounds at St Patrick's RC Primary School, Dipton, were developed at a cost of £7,000 as part of the £3m RBS Supergrounds programme, launched in 2004 by the Royal Bank of Scotland and managed
ANTI-TERROR police were holding five people last night amid fears that a wave of terror attacks could be imminent.Police and intelligence services were left trying to catch up after the failed car bombings in London and an attack at Glasgow airport. The
IT was a scene more suited to Rio de Janeiro or Notting Hill, but a carnival swept through the streets of a North-East town at the weekend to mark a historic day.Crowds lined the streets as dancers, drummers and street entertainers performed to celebrate
IN a region that was known across the world for shipbuilding, where its maritime heritage continues to be celebrated, it is fitting that a major part of the North-East's future economic development could lie in a shipping project.The £300m development
A NINE-YEAR-OLD girl died in a road accident in North Yorkshire, on Saturday. The girl was a passenger in a Toyota Avensis, which collided head on with a Citroen Xara Picasso at about 9pm. Police said the blue Toyota was travelling towards Colne, near
THE closing date for entries into this year's Diabetes UK Great North Walk is fast approaching.Thousands of people have already signed up to take part in the charity hike - the largest annual walking event in the country.This year's walk will feature
