Archive
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Police search as fears grow for missing man
CONCERNS are growing for a man who went missing on Tuesday lunchtime. Terence Stratton, 55, was last seen by his wife, embarking on his usual bike ride through Broughton and Ingleby Greenhow, Teesside. She raised the alarm when he failed to return home
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Building threat to green belt lifted
FEARS for the future of a treasured green belt have been allayed by news that offices will be located elsewhere. Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council has announced that a broad agreement has been reached for it to acquire a vacant foundry site, in Guisborough
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'Name shame' man on child plot charge
A man who plans to name and shame paedophiles on the Internet is due to appear in court charged with conspiring to abduct a North-East child, it emerged last night. Stuart Carnie, 37, from Aberdeen, who runs a volunteer organisation called Caring for
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Burglar targeted mourner's home
A WOMAN returned home after going to her father's funeral to discover the house had been burgled, a court heard. A gold sovereign ring which had belonged to the woman's father was stolen in the burglary in Whinney Banks, Middlesbrough, in July last year
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Police silence
CLEVELAND Police were under pressure last night to say if it would take action against a senior officer, five months after he was criticised by a High Court judge following the collapse of a £500,000 trial. Chief Superintendent Kevin Pitt was ordered
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£110m help for mining communities
AN aid package worth up to £110m, for beleaguered mining communities, was approved yesterday. The package, which has been cleared by the European Commission, is geared to preserving jobs and the fabric of local communities. The coal subsidy will secure
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Police authority defends revelations
THE Police Complaints Authority has defended its decision to reveal details of the latest officer to be charged under Operation Lancet. The PCA, reacting to criticism by the Superintendents' Association, said that public interest in the Lancet inquiry
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Town video has Blair taped
PRIME Minister Tony Blair has recorded the introduction to a Ferryhill town video. Orders are now being taken for the video, which charts the history of the town, and is called Ferryhill - Past, Present and Future. Mr Blair agreed to provide the introduction
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MP pays return visit
HEALTH Secretary and Darlington MP Alan Milburn recently paid a return visit to a project which helps elderly people remain in their own homes. He officially opened the Anchor Staying Put project in October last year. Anchor Staying Put is a home improvement
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Complex factors the tables
The publication today of the school league tables showing the results for the previous school year, creates mixed feelings in schools. You would expect that those who are near the top would be happy with their position. Parents who send their children
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Fresh Start school may face closure
ONE of the country's first "Fresh Start" schools, which could be set for closure, was named as statistically one of the worst schools in the nation in the School Performance League Tables. Firfield Community School, in Newcastle, was placed eleventh worst
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The environmental winners who really made a difference
PRIZES were presented yesterday to the winners of The Northern Echo's community environmental competition. And regional development agency One NorthEast announced its third successive year of sponsorship, allowing Making a Difference to take place next
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Father tells of anger after daughter left to roam streets
A PARENT from north Durham has spoken of his outrage after his 12-year-old daughter was left by leisure club staff to wander the streets of Newcastle's West End for three hours. The revelation follows a similar situation at the same trampoline club, in
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Girls' success 'due to single-sex education'
A HEADTEACHER, whose school is named today as the region's top performer at GCSE level, last night credited the success to single-sex education. Central Newcastle High, in Newcastle, is an independent girls school which has a selection policy. The School
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Publican brews up success in camra autumn awards
A PUBLICAN has impressed real ale drinkers with his perfect pints to win an Autumn Pub of the Season award. Noel Roulston, landlord of the Star and Garter, in Middlesbrough's Southfield Road, received the accolade from the beer lovers' group, Camra. Having
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Nursery nurses seek pay boost
NURSERY nurses in a North-East town are to demonstrate against their low pay. The nurses, from Darlington, are angry with the borough council which, they claim, is not taking their pay and re-grading claims seriously. The nurses work in schools to provide
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Mother defends GM crop damage
A MOTHER who helped to destroy a genetically modified crop of experimental rape seed at a North-East farm defended her actions yesterday. Lorraine Exley told Darlington Magistrates' Court that she was concerned about the effect the crop would have on
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Police authority defends revelations
THE Police Complaints Authority has defended its decision to reveal details of the latest officer to be charged under Operation Lancet. The PCA, reacting to criticism by the Superintendents' Association, said that public interest in the Lancet inquiry
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Carol's a top achiever
TOP achievers at one of the region's universities celebrated their exam success at a prizegiving yesterday. Among those at the ceremony, at the University of Durham, Stockton campus, was human sciences student Carol Taylor, of Billingham, who was awarded
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Funding increase for roads not enough, says council
INCREASED Government funding will not be enough to tackle the backlog of repairs and maintenance on County Durham's roads. The county council has been given £8.8m for the financial year 2001 to 2002 - £3.6m more than it got for the current period, but
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Children tell story of their area for visitors to dome
CHILDREN from County Durham put on a show for visitors to the Millennium Dome. About 80 pupils, from four schools, staged a song and dance performance at the attraction at Greenwich, London, yesterday. An estimated 500 people saw three shows portraying
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Flood-hit residents to get say on £100,000 prevention plans
RESIDENTS of a flood-ravaged village will be given their say on plans for £100,000 prevention measures. Families in the east Cleveland community of Skinningrove, where water levels rose to four feet at the height of the recent floods, will be asked their
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Preparations complete for parade route
FINAL preparations are being made for tomorrow's Orange Darlington Festival Lantern Parade. This year's parade, based on a circus theme, will be the third and final event of the Orange Darlington Festival. There will be plenty to entertain people in the
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Major bridge under scrutiny from divers
DIVERS were carrying out a routine inspection of Croft Bridge, near Darlington, yesterday. The team were checking to make sure there has been no structural damage to the bridge, following the recent heavy rain and floods. A spokesman for North Yorkshire
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Hunt for £6 thieves who hit pensioner
POLICE are hunting for two men who punched an elderly woman in the face to steal £6. The attack happened on Tuesday night, as 85-year-old Amelia Beattie was returning from a trip to Redcar. She got off a bus in Norton High Street, Stockton, at about 4.30pm
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Nurse kneed elderly patient
A NURSE who assaulted an 80-year-old Alzheimer's patient at a care home appeared before a court yesterday. Peter Summerson kneed the elderly man in the groin three times after using a mop handle to restrain him, and pushing him into a chair. Summerson
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Football club to hear ground scheme verdict
A FOOTBALL club will find out today whether it can build a clubhouse. Billingham Town FC wants to erect the building at its ground off Bedford Terrace, in Billingham. Planning permission was granted in 1988 for a clubhouse, but building work started in
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Uphill downhill challenge for duo
TWO Darlington women face the challenge of a lifetime next month when they attempt a gruelling ski descent in support of cancer research. Julie Russell, 29, and Rebecca Williams, 37, who both work at the Dolphin Centre, have taken up a 20,000m ski challenge
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Deadpan Dulcie, the privy counsellor
AMONG the many things for which the column has asked this Christmas - the Oor Wullie annual, a fire engine, Garsdale railway station - is the Bloomsbury Dictionary of Euphemisms. You know, putting it nicely. Since that happy day is still several weeks
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Abusive remark was aimed at detective
A MAN'S ill-feeling towards a detective landed him in court, after a brief abusive remark to the off-duty officer in a pub. Brian Watters, 40, who had previously assaulted Detective Constable Graham Chapman at a pub in Coundon, County Durham, spotted
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Detectives step up hunt to find vice girl's killer
DISTRICTS of a town are being flooded with posters as detectives step up the hunt for the killer of murdered prostitute Vicky Glass. Posters featuring a colour photograph of the 21-year-old heroin addict are going up in and around The Shipmate
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On The Ice
IT was a hectic week for our team. On Friday we had a wasted journey to London to face the Knights as our second leg of the B&H Cup was postponed. The ice was really bad but it was rather suspicious as, one hour after the match was called off, the
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New father is jailed for affray
A NEW father who saw his two-week-old baby for the first time at court was jailed for eight months yesterday. Mark Wright had not seen the infant before he appeared at Teesside Crown Court for trial on Tuesday, because he had been remanded in custody.
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Army medic eases pain of long march
A SOLDIER armed with medical training and a magic sponge helped soothe the pain for fellow soldiers suffering from blisters and fatigue on a gruelling four-day march. Private Darren Shepherd, of the Royal Army Medical Corps, helped to provide the medical
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Quakers re-sign one more
Darlington midfielder Gary Himsworth has become the latest player to sign a new contract. Neil Aspin, Adam Reed, Brian Atkinson and Glenn Naylor all signed two-year deals earlier in the week, and now the former York player, who could be back in the starting
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Lee fear if Gullit stayed
Robert Lee claims Newcastle would be playing in the first division if Ruud Gullit had won the biggest gamble of his controversial managerial career. Gullit, who had dispatched Newcastle ace Lee to the soccer wilderness, stunned football by axing Alan
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Filling that stocking can cost us dearly
WILL it be Secret Message Barbie or that Britney Spears CD? Thunderbirds Tracey Island or a Gameboy Color? Whatever gifts parents buy for their children this Christmas, they should think more about which country they buy them in than the present they
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Machine means sweet dreams for mum
A psychologist yesterday launched an electronic lullaby machine which is every parent's dream. He claims it can calm a howling baby within seconds. Steve Evans, from South Wales, says all parents have to do is play their baby the specially-selected lullabies
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Police chased reversing car
POLICE who chased a reversing car along a country lane for one-and-a-half miles want to talk to a driver who was forced off the road and on to the grass verge. Officers in an unmarked police car were following suspects along Sloshes Lane, from Witton
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Art with a maze in attraction
READERS who struggle with labyrinthine plots may find their worst nightmares realised in a new and novel work of art. Ronald Max Vollmer has created a maze comprising of about 50,000 books, at the Hatton Gallery, at Newcastle University. Visitors are
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Families warned to lock out Christmas raiders
RESIDENTS are being urged to lock doors to keep out burglars during the festive season. Stockton police are concerned about the number of burglaries in the Stockton, Thornaby and Billingham areas, where thieves have not even had to force their way into
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Charity cash tribute to football fan
TWO years after his death, the family and friends of a young cancer victim are showing he is not forgotten by helping to fund the fight against the killer desease. Friends of football fan John Barras supported his mother, Susie, in her efforts to raise
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Man cleared of living off prostitution
A 57-YEAR-OLD man was cleared yesterday of taking money from a prostitute who was living in his home. Colin Craig had been accused of taking money from the teenage girl during a three-week period when she stayed in his house after she left home. But yesterday
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Pensioner in struggle with teenage thief
A PENSIONER was attacked and robbed by a teenage girl in her bungalow. The 71-year-old struggled with the burglar, who had let herself in to the home in Monkwearmouth, Sunderland, Wearside. The pensioner fell to the floor and the teenager, aged about
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Ex-lover's -terror attack
A MOTHER told a court yesterday how she was taken to a deserted beach and beaten by her former lover, who was demanding that she drop court proceedings against him. Leslie Cowe, 28, of Whitton Drive, Spennymoor, County Durham, drove Gail Prest to Hendon
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Man 'used cannabis for back pain'
A FORMER carpet fitter who used cannabis to ease chronic back pain was fined by a judge yesterday. Andrew Collinson had cannabis and six temazepam tablets in his house when police executed a search warrant in September last year. Yesterday, Collinson,
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Store spook who's got staff shivering in the aisles
Ghostly goings-on at a supermarket have left staff terrified. A ghoul has been upsetting workers at Asda in The Galleries, Washington, Tyne and Wear. And to prove employees are not just imagining the spooky presence, he has been filmed on CCTV security
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Warning over bogus water company staff
POLICE are warning elderly people to beware of a team of bogus water company workers believed to be operating in the Sedgefield borough. An 85-year-old woman was robbed after a man tricked his way into her home in Jubilee Road, Shildon, telling her he
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Gola to reach the heights
ROBERT THORNTON, nicknamed "Chocolate" by his weighing room colleagues, has a couple of particularly sweet-looking rides at Ascot. His most solid chance is aboard Gola Cher (2.10), who stands out a mile in the Michael Hatt Memorial Novices' Hurdle, having
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The Echo says...
IT is highly unusual for a judge to be so enraged that he calls a senior police officer before him for a severe reprimand in the public arena. That is what Judge Richard Henriques did when he summoned Chief Superintendent Kevin Pitt to Hull Crown Court
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Youngsters get art introduction
YOUNGSTERS in a former pit village are being given the chance to try different forms of art at a series of workshops. Sessions in pottery, drama, writing and dance are being held in Bearpark, Durham, over the next five weeks, in the village's community
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Charity gets £250,000 Lottery boost to help 'forgotten people'
A CHARITY has received a £250,000 cash injection to throw a lifeline to society's "forgotten" people. The Hope Foundation, which has the slogan compassion in the community, is working with Teesside Tertiary College to teach information technology (IT)
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Bravery award for crash hero
A PLANE crash survivor who saved a girl's life has been awarded a bravery honour. David Wilkinson, of Seaton Carew, near Hartlepool, survived when a plane crashed into the Mediterranean sea in January. David lost six of his friends, but the 46-year-old
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Composer's ready to score a Boro winner
A composer is hoping for a hit with his CD dedicated to a football team. The ups and downs of Middlesbrough Football Club are the inspiration behind a classical music symphony released this week by David Golightly. As a lifelong supporter of the team,
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Allotments referendum criticised by councillors
THE result of a referendum in a battle over a village's allotments will be announced today, although the ballot has been criticised by parish councillors. Richmondshire district Councillor Campbell Dawson organised the vote to settle a row, which has
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Nurse kneed elderly patient
A NURSE who assaulted an 80-year-old Alzheimer's patient at a care home appeared before a court yesterday. Peter Summerson kneed the elderly man in the groin three times after using a mop handle to restrain him, and pushing him into a chair. Summerson
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Man held after armed siege
POLICE were questioning a man last night after a 24-hour armed siege that brought a tiny County Durham village to a standstill. The 38-year-old man, originally from Cumbria, was arrested by armed police in Blackhouse, near Stanley, on Tuesday night. Police
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Search stepped up for missing man
POLICE have stepped up their search for a missing man after his blood-stained car was discovered at the weekend. Anthony Kelly, 67, a retired civil servant from Pelton, near Chester-le-Street, has not been seen since last week. Police are growing increasingly
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'Save us' plea to market's new owner
TRADERS are to appeal to the owners of a shopping centre to save an indoor market - and their jobs. Retailers have been told that Middlesbrough Borough Council is about to sell its leasehold on the town's Hill Street Centre to owners Royal Sun Alliance
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£2.5m cash injection for road and bridge works
MORE than £2.5m is to be spent on road and bridge maintenance in Darlington in the next two years, after a cash boost which exceeded expectations. The announcement, made this week by the Department for the Environment, Transport and the Regions means
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Older women shun thin blue line
OLDER women are shying away from a career with one of the region's police forces. Men are queueing up to join Durham Police, but recruiting experts are puzzled by the fall in the number of female applicants. Mature women are proving particularly reluctant
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Signs point way for cyclists to see coast
THE region could soon have its own Tour de Durham, thanks to a new network of cycle routes. Cyclepath signs are going up all over the county's coastal plain, to mark the final phase of seven new cycle-ways. Completion of the routes is expected by the
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Seamstress says thanks to school
THE cast of a village primary school's nativity play will be wearing new costumes when the show is performed next month. Grateful grandmother and keen seamstress, Margaret Hunter, produced outfits for the 30-strong cast of the festive production at West
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Crackdown announced on fly-tippers
Middlesbrough Borough Council is going to hit fly-tippers in the pocket. Cleansing department officials already search through fly-tippers' waste looking for clues to offenders' addresses. Culprits found out will be charged £300 for having their rubbish
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Motorists encouraged to tackle car radio theft
A SCHEME to stamp out car radio thefts has been launched on Teesside. Cleveland Police decided to take action against the crime after more than 2,500 vehicles were broken into in the area in the past nine months - with only the car stereo being stolen
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Event to promote childcare career
AN event aimed at promoting a career in childcare is being held later this month. The evening, organised by the Hartlepool early years development and childcare partnership, is designed to stimulate interest in employment and training opportunities. A
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Appeal for help on town history
TIME is running out for people in Redcar who want their memories of the area to be included in a book about the town. Publisher Penhaligon Page is publishing a series of books about different areas early next year, and is asking anyone in the Redcar area
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Chance to have say on housing
A RECRUITMENT drive has been launched to encourage residents to have a regular say on housing matters. Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council is spearheading the campaign to attract tenants on to one of four new District Advisory Panels (DAPs). The DAPs
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Keeping up with the big spenders
IMAGINE a world where money is no object, where everything is within your grasp, where you can not only afford everything in the shop, but also buy the place itself. A tiny fraction of the six billion people who inhabit this world don't have to imagine
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Two held after £1,000 cocaine seized in raid
TWO men have been remanded in custody in connection with the biggest find of crack cocaine in Hartlepool, Teesside. A 42-year-old man, from Hartlepool, and a 40-year-old from Gateshead, were arrested with a 37-year-old woman in a police raid on a house
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Tobacco industry workers plan 'day of action' at Westminster
TOBACCO industry workers from across the country will descend on Westminster next week to highlight their fight against new EU proposals on tar levels. The employees of all the major tobacco companies in the UK, including around 100 from the North-East
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Row over ballot in plots dispute
THE result of a referendum over a controversial battle concerning a village's allotments will be announced this afternoon - though the ballot has been criticised by parish councillors. Richmondshire district councillor Campbell Dawson arranged the ballot
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Dancing to the music of our time
SOME people are expert wine-tasters. I am an expert cola taster. Give me diet, ordinary, Pepsi, Virgin or supermarket own brand, and I will name it. My other great skill, refined over years of practice, is spotting John Barry's music and so it was a joy
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The Cyber Space
WITH just 38 days to go until Christmas Day, I can no longer pretend it isn't happening. Even the worldwide web has its fair share of tinsel as online shoppers go into purchasing frenzy. So, to get in the festive mood, have a quick look at these seasonal
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Gwen's now a winner
A GRANDMOTHER, whose booming voice landed her in trouble with bingo bosses, is enjoying a winning streak. Gwen Stapleton, 65, barred herself from Cascade Bingo in Spennymoor, County Durham, last year when fellow players complained about her loud call
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Dozy police dog sacked!
POLICE dog Ross has been hounded out of the force - for being such a daydreamer. The three-year-old German Shepherd has been with Durham Police since he was an eight-week-old pup and has undergone intensive training. But attempts at teaching him to follow
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Boro and Magpies in tug-of-war for Finn
Finnish goal ace Jari Litmanen is being eyed up by both Newcastle and Middlesbrough. Bobby Robson and Boro No 2 Viv Anderson saw the Barcelona star produce moments of brilliance in the Republic of Ireland's 3-0 win at Lansdowne Road on Wednesday night
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Letters
RICHARD BRANSON WHETHER or not Sir Richard Branson (HAS, Nov 13) is a regular reader of The Northern Echo, some doubt surely surrounds the generous amount of space he was given in this column to push his bid for the local train operating franchise. As
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The scrumptious Seventies
BLACK Forest gateau - the favourite dessert of the Seventies - is back on the menu for thousands of diners following public outrage at its relegation from the sweet trolley. With the outrageous clothes and disco music having been revived already, Seventies
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Planners set to give ICI site new lease of life
AROUND 500 jobs could be created in the region if councillors back a scheme to breathe new life into a former ICI complex. The plans by Hornbeam Park Developments would turn the site in Harrogate, North Yorkshire into a complex of industrial and warehouse
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Grant helps growth
AN award-winning chemical company is saying thanks to a unique funding programme established by Business Link County Durham. During the past three years the Trigger Fund has provided Durham Organics, based in Durham City, with £23,000 to take on an additional
