Archive
-
Date
Council services celebrate excellence awards
THREE of Stockton Borough Council's services have come out tops by achieving a Government award for excellence. Staff at the housing benefits, catering, and investment and enabling services of the housing and contract services department are celebrating
-
Date
Vandals and burglars could force us out, protest traders
SHOPKEEPERS are calling for action to halt thefts and vandalism they say could force them to quit trading. Businesses in Carrville High Street, near Durham City, claim shops and homes are constantly being targeted by thugs and burglars. Some retailers
-
Date
Never mind the weather, we're having a party
COUNTY Durham's 800 registered childminders were given a festive thank-you for their work during the year. The carers and the children they look after were given a Christmas party at County Hall, Durham, at which deputy council leader Bob Pendlebury played
-
Date
Gibson's stinging attack
CHAIRMAN Steve Gibson yesterday launched an astonishing attack on Middlesbrough's controversial former striker Fabrizio Ravanelli. The Italian goalscorer walked out on Boro shortly after they were relegated over three years ago. Now they are struggling
-
Date
Thank you for Hannah's sake
A FAMILY has been overwhelmed by the public response to an appeal to help their little girl face the future with confidence. Yesterday, The Northern Echo revealed that Keith and Allison Maxwell-Jones were striving to raise £20,000 to fund treatment for
-
Date
On the Ice
This week I won't talk about ice hockey. Instead, I want to talk about courage and the courage my father is showing right now. Like you must know, I had to go back to Canada for a while because my father suffered a stroke about a month ago. It is the
-
Date
Modahl vows to fight on after court defeat
DIANE Modahl has vowed to carry on the fight, despite losing her High Court damages action over a ban imposed in the wake of drug-taking allegations. British middle-distance runner Modahl, 34, and her husband Vicente, of Sale, Greater Manchester, said
-
Date
Sprucing up on facts about the origins of your cut tree
CHANCES are the Christmas trees that customers buy from Forestry Commission sites in the North-East this year have travelled hundreds of miles before reaching their destination. And most of them will not even have been grown by the Forestry Commission
-
Date
Letters
ANDY WILLIAMS SORRY to be pedantic, but Chris Lloyd's review of the Beat's greatest hits, in 7 Days (Echo, Dec 7) really annoyed me. He said Can't Get Used To Losing You is an extraordinary lovely song for three men from Birmingham to write. Well, perhaps
-
Date
Pitching in for trade
A WEBSITE carrying details of business opportunities in Europe has proved so successful that North-East firms are being coached in how to pitch for the £125m a day of trade on offer. Europeantenders.com was set up by Business Link County Durham only a
-
Date
Pupils tell Christmas tale
PRIMARY school pupils performed their nativity play to a packed hall yesterday. Every pupil from Sadberge Church of England Primary School, Sadberge, near Darlington, took part in the production. There were two performances in front of parents, family
-
Date
Social services set for smooth break
DURHAM County Council's social services department has pledged to deal quickly with emergencies over Christmas. It has an emergency action plan to ensure a prompt and efficient response even though services will be limited. Emergencies include a patient's
-
Date
85 companies appreciate help
STAFF at a new council-backed business advice centre are celebrating after it was revealed they helped 85 companies in its first year. Advice given by the Derwentside District Council marketing agency has led to seven firms expanding and another 13 moving
-
Date
Pub owner faces the music
A PUB owner was yesterday ordered to pay up or shut up by London's High Court. Stanley Laws, of the Shoulder of Mutton, Low Row, Easington Village, Peterlee, faced legal action for playing music at the premises without a licence and now he faces the threat
-
Date
New look for town pub
A DARLINGTON town centre pub reopens tomorrow night after being temporarily closed for refurbishment work. The Glittering Star, in Stonebridge, will unveil new furnishings, including a Danish oak floor, a new pool table and juke box, when it reopens its
-
Date
Police sued in cell assault claim
A DETAINEE who claims he was assaulted in a police cell is suing a North-East police force for damages. Darren Watson claims that, when he continually buzzed from his cell in Stockton police station for a blanket and a toilet roll, in December 1996, PC
-
Date
Youth centre plan may fail
PLANNERS look likely to refuse youth workers permission to convert a former shop into a youth centre in a north Durham village. Derwentside District Council planning officers say the centre in Front Street, Langley Park, near Durham, would be too noisy
-
Date
Mayor Ken invited to 'see how it's done'
ANYTHING you can do we can do better - was the tongue-in-cheek message from a North-East city leader to London Mayor Ken Livingstone yesterday Newcastle City Council leader Tony Flynn cheekily invited Mr Livingstone to Newcastle for its New Year's Eve
-
Date
Meet the oldest santa in britain - apart from the real one
JOHN Gardner is an expert on Hornby trains, Meccano sets and Dinky cars, because he is Britain's oldest Father Christmas - apart from the real one, of course. It has been almost 50 years since the big-hearted retired police officer first slipped into
-
Date
Action hots up for christmas and new year
THE hot performance of entertainer Wengo Riley is sure to warm up the crowds with his fiery antics in the coming weeks. Fire-eater Wengo is one of a host of international performers who plan to visit Newcastle's first open-air ice rink in the run-up to
-
Date
£450m to get region moving
A MASSIVE Government injection of £458m into the North-East's ailing transport network was announced yesterday. The announcement means the go-ahead for several long-awaited road projects, including a £9m upgrading of the A689 Sedgefield to Wynyard road
-
Date
Search for shoplifter
DETECTIVES are seeking a man seen shoplifting at a Darlington store. Closed-circuit security cameras caught the man stealing a Detor Power portable dehumidifier, worth £84.99, from the Great Mills DIY store in Meynell Road. He picked up the dehumidifier
-
Date
Candidacy joy for North man
A FORMER North-East councillor has been selected to replace ex-Prime Minister Edward Heath as a Conservative General Election candidate. Derek Conway, 47, was chosen as prospective parliamentary candidate for the London borough of Old Bexley and Sidcup
-
Date
Region to 'escape' Vauxhall aftermath
AS 2,000 Vauxhall workers come to terms with the shock news of the closure of the car group's Luton plant, it emerged that the North-East's beleagured car component industry looks set to escape the brunt of supplier job losses. With Vauxhall taking a
-
Date
Claymore set for a four-timer
LEADING National Hunt trainer Malcolm Jefferson briefly switches his attention to the Flat at Southwell this afternoon where Clarinch Claymore (2.10) gets the chance to complete a superlative four-timer. The selection has provided the stable with a much-needed
-
Date
School's head on assault charges
A VILLAGE school headteacher is to appear in court accused of assaulting eight pupils, police said yesterday. Elizabeth Carey, 51, was suspended in October from her post at the rural ten-pupil Milfield School, in Wooler, Northumberland, amid allegations
-
Date
Pharmacist in oxygen supply scam struck off
A PHARMACIST said to have swindled £17,000 in a scam involving oxygen cylinders, for which he was jailed for 21 months, was struck off yesterday Zia Ul Haq, of North Road, Spennymoor, who had also been involved in a prescription fraud with a doctor, was
-
Date
Accused tells jury he was not attacker
A YOUNG man accused of grabbing a schoolgirl from behind as she walked home told a jury yesterday he was not involved in the incident at all. Michael Dodd said he had been out drinking during the day and evening and had bumped into a female in York Road
-
Date
Boys robbed in underpass
TWO 16-year-old boys were robbed in an underpass as they walked home from school. The pupils, from Heworth Grange Comprehensive School, Gateshead, Tyne and Wear, were approached by three youths, aged 17 to 18, in Prince Consort Road, at 5.15pm, on Tuesday
-
Date
Have you got naked ambition?
CAN you cook up a faux-cockney accent, flog cheeky catchphrases to death or rustle up a "wicked" Waldorf salad? If so, you could find yourself opening a new South Tyneside pub as a lookalike for TV's Naked Chef Jamie Oliver. Pukka, at Ocean Road, South
-
Date
Accused gunman 'never met shot man'
A MARTIAL arts instructor accused of killing a man told a court yesterday he had never met the dead man. Anthony Bottrill said that on the evening that Bryan Scott was shot dead on the showground at Kirkleatham, he was probably out running and then reading
-
Date
Callers aid hunt for sex fiend
POLICE say they are delighted with the public's response to a plea to catch a serial sex offender. Yesterday, The Northern Echo reported how Tony Walker, of Stirling Way, Thornaby, on Teesside, saved his girlfriend from a masked prowler who police believe
-
Date
All I want for Christmas is more time
IT is many years since I was outside a nightclub at two o'clock in the morning. But there I was the other night, waiting to collect my daughter from a Christmas party. And, perhaps it is because I am growing into an old fuddy-duddy, but I have to admit
-
Date
Motorcyclist badly hurt in crash at junction
A MAN was transferred to a specialist intensive care unit yesterday following a road accident. The 48-year-old, from Newton Aycliffe, County Durham, was in a stable condition last night in the neurology unit of Middlesbrough General Hospital. He was riding
-
Date
Revamp for eyesore lake
AN eyesore park lake is to receive a five-figure makeover. The Northumbrian Water Environmental Trust has provided £96,000 to clean up the lower lake at Middlesbrough's Albert Park. The facelift, which will be carried out next year, will increase the
-
Date
New year lift for business
THE gloom surrounding manufacturing may finally be lifting, according to figures from the CBI. The CBI's monthly survey of industrial trends showed that manufacturers' expectations for output over the coming four months were at their most positive since
-
Date
Council pays tribute to tenants
LONG-STANDING council tenants have been thanked for their dedication to Stockton Borough Council. Nineteen tenants were chosen to receive awards for the length of time they have lived in council houses, and their relationship with the council. Several
-
Date
Circuit row returns to the spotlight
THE motor-racing circuit at Croft is back in the spotlight at a public meeting. People living nearby have been campaigning for some years for action to limit the amount of noise generated by meetings at the venue, with Richmondshire District Council eventually
-
Date
Referendum on city mayor
A REFERENDUM may be held in Sunderland to see if residents want an elected mayor. The poll will take place sometime next year if 11,000 people - five per cent of the electorate - petition for it. The American-style mayors were proposed by the Government
-
Date
'Keep warm this winter'
Stockton South MP Dari Taylor visited Albert Mayhew, of Yarm, to highlight the trouble pensioners have keeping their homes warm in winter. Ms Taylor is one of 70 MPs throughout Britain who have joined the winter awareness campaign, run by national energy
-
Date
Trust backs festive parties
FOUR community groups in Hartlepool have received an early Christmas present to make their celebrations special. Greggs' Trust has given grants to four groups, to make their Christmas parties more fun. The trust was set up to alleviate poverty and social
-
Date
Getting online with William
The activities of Prince William have been well documented in the media over the past few days and nowhere more so than the Internet. But his high-profile appearances as a volunteer worker in Chile are not reflected in the official online coverage of
-
Date
Wreckers ruin lights display
MONTHS of hard work have been destroyed by vandals who wrecked a man's Christmas lights display. Martin Abbott, of Rush Park, Bishop Auckland, first decided to bring a bit of Christmas cheer to his street three years ago, when he first covered his home
-
Date
Honours are handed out to four life-savers
A CLUB doorman and three police officers will receive official recognition for helping to save the lives of women in two separate incidents. Registered doorman Gary Wood and PC Craig Johnston gave mouth-to-mouth resuscitation and heart massage to a woman
-
Date
Hundreds step forward for charitable dip in icy sea
HARDY souls are once again stepping forward for the annual ritual of taking the plunge in the North Sea on Boxing Day. Traditionally, the biggest December 26 dip on the North-East coast takes place at Seaburn, Sunderland. Organisers at Sunderland Lions
-
Date
Bid for film publicity
RICHMONDSHIRE district is to spend cash on a bid to be in the movies - but has turned down a push to advertise the Dales. The area's business forum was asked this week if it would support an initiative promoting the production of a television commercial
-
Date
Dental firm feeds on success
SUCCESS in European dental and medical markets has seen a US manufacturer getting its teeth into the North-East. Esschem Europe Ltd specialises in developing polymers for the manufacture of dentures, hearing aids and cosmetics, and it is setting up a
-
Date
Deserved success for gutsy student
A NORTH-EAST student has won a national award for the commitment and determination she put into her studies. Suzanne Clark has won a prestigious OCR Recognising Achievement Award for her efforts at Gateshead College. She arrived at the college with no
-
Date
Store's musical interlude
SHOPPERS at the Asda supermarket in Bishop Auckland were treated to carol singing yesterday. Pupils from St John's RC Comprehensive School, Bishop Auckland, entertained people in the town centre with a selection of carols. They also completed a Christmas
-
Date
Farmers' festive treat
A FARMERS' market is promising a host of Christmas treats for shoppers this weekend. Stall holders will be dressing up in festive garb and a charity raffle is also planned for Sunday's event at Sam Turners, Northallerton. Chairman of the Cledale Farmers
-
Date
Tributes after caring surgeon dies aged 87
THE funeral has taken place of a long-serving surgeon who performed thousands of operations in nearly 30 years at Durham's Dryburn Hospital. Robert Petticrew, senior consultant surgeon at Dryburn until his retirement in 1978, died recently at the age
-
Date
Comeleon float will land 350 jobs
TECHNOLOGY firm, Comeleon, was floated yesterday with chief executive Roy Stanley predicting a bright "international" future for the company. The County Durham business hit the alternative investment market of the London Stock Exchange, with early trading
-
Date
Domi declares his faith in Robson
NEWCASTLE have hit back angrily at claims that French defender Didier Domi is set to quit the club because manager Bobby Robson is behind the times. An Internet report on the website Football 365.com, which was picked up by news organisations, claimed
-
Date
Star Trek steams up a Scottie
PLAY It Again Sam is the last tune Joseph O'Shaughnessy wants to hear at the moment. Sam, his black Scottish terrier, is driving him mad with his non-stop howling to classical music, theme tunes, adverts and his favourite programme, Star Trek. His owner
-
Date
Newsquest trainees buck national trend
NEWSQUEST Media Group, which publishes The Northern Echo and its sister paper The Darlington & Stockton Times, is celebrating editorial training successes. Trainee journalists sitting the National Certificate, the newspaper industry's qualification
-
Date
Torrance gives Faldo cup lift
EUROPEAN captain Sam Torrance yesterday told Nick Faldo he stands a great chance of being picked for the Ryder Cup next year. Only the top ten on the Order of Merit after the BMW International Open in Munich in September 2001 qualify automatically for
-
Date
What will Bill do now?
HE is in the final days of his presidency, but Bill Clinton has no intention of spending the remainder of the time with his feet up, admiring the view across the White House lawn. Instead he has chosen to fly across the Atlantic to aid the Northern Ireland
-
Date
Bulk Hogans
BRITAIN'S most bibulous Over 60s club held its Christmas party on Tuesday: free lunch, free beer and a bottle opener from Santa. "Some people like eating, these lads like drinking," said Dave McGee, founder of the feast. Eight years ago Mr McGee opened
-
Date
Firefighters save woman from smoke-filled flat
A WOMAN was rescued by firefighters from a flat filled with acrid smoke. The woman, who is not being named, was semi-conscious, when she was discovered by two firefighters in the bedroom of her flat, in Holmefields Road, Eston, near Middlesbrough, Teesside
-
Date
Man denies groping
A TEENAGER told a court yesterday how a man dragged her into his home and groped her while she was out collecting money. The girl, who cannot be named, called to Phillip Hunter's home on June 29 to collect a weekly payment from him. Newcastle Crown Court
-
Date
Gunshot mystery of skeleton
A man whose skeleton was found in undergrowth had died of gunshot wounds, police revealed last night. Detectives have opened a murder-style inquiry following the results of a detailed post mortem examination on the remains. The fully-clothed skeleton
-
Date
Theatres' spring season is unveiled
A THEATRE and arts centre have started taking bookings for their spring season. The drama Guess Who's Coming to Dinner and musical The Blue Brother are among the highlights of the programme at Darlington Civic Theatre, in County Durham. The town's Arts
-
Date
Brewery workers reach their peak
BREWERY workers were forced to give up the beer themselves recently so they could get into shape and to put their best foot forward for child cancer victims. The 22 staff from Newcastle Breweries climbed the 4,400ft peak of Britain's biggest mountain
-
Date
Unemployed friends launch life-on-the-dole board game
THREE unemployed men hope to hit the jackpot this Christmas - with a board game about life on the dole in the North-East. Social Insecurity, described by its inventors as "Monopoly in reverse", is set in the fictional town of Stonybroke, in Workshyre.
-
Date
Parents get help with the teenage years
PARENTS have been receiving special training in how to look after their children. The Stockton Borough Council-backed scheme offers accredited training, practical support, guidance and advice to parents and guardians of children and young people aged
-
Date
Playing fields in line for upgrade
PLAYING fields at a disused school are to be improved when the buildings are demolished to make way for homes. In 1998, Kemplah Primary School, in Guisborough's Aldenham Road, was closed when it merged with Newstead Primary School because of surplus places
-
Date
Appeal over cottage rejection
A COUPLE have vowed to appeal against a council's decision to block their plans to create a holiday cottage next to a Teesdale museum. Thomas and Margaret Teward, of Dene Road, Barnard Castle, said they were shocked by Teesdale District Council's decision
-
Date
Conquering prejudice
IT can be a cruel world and there are times when it is easy to lose faith in human nature. But it is always worth remembering that there is enough kindness around to restore that faith. Yesterday's edition of The Northern Echo told how the family of a
-
Date
Estate revamp work to start
FAMILIES on an estate in St Helen Auckland are expected to be re-housed by the New Year to make way for demolition work in spring. Between 30 and 40 houses and several garages in Tintern Road, on the Leazes Lane estate, will be bulldozed by Wear Valley
-
Date
McMahon being tracked
Darlington manager Gary Bennett is hoping to complete the signing of striker David McMahon from Newcastle United today. Bennett has been tracking the player for at least a fortnight, and expects him to complete the move before Quakers set off for Leyton
-
Date
Fresh opposition voiced to mobile phone mast
PARISH councillors have once again rejected plans for a controversial mobile telephone mast in a village on the outskirts of Darlington. Telecommunications firm One2One has applied to put a mast up on the western grass verge in Roundhill Road, Hurworth
-
Date
Museum charges to rise
ADMISSION charges are likely to rise by as much as 28 per cent at Beamish Museum next year. Members of the governing committee of the North-East's open air heritage museum, near Stanley, County Durham, are expected to ratify price increases approved by
-
Date
Open verdict recorded on man's heroin death
A CORONER has recorded an open verdict on a man who died after using heroin - even though he said it was likely that someone else injected him. Coroner Michael Oakley told the inquest that, for a verdict of unlawful killing to be recorded, it had to be
-
Date
Consultant backs drink crackdown
A HOSPITAL consultant has talked of the heartbreak of treating drink-drive crash victims. Hartlepool accident and emergency consultant Andrew Simpson said: "It's not only adult drivers but innocent children who die as a result of collisions. Having to
-
Date
No let up in search for 'killer' robber
DETECTIVES have vowed never to give up in the hunt for a robber who ultimately claimed a pensioner's life. Jane Ploughman was attacked just yards from her home, in Jasper Avenue, Seaham, County Durham, a year ago yesterday. The 74-year-old's handbag,
-
Date
Hopeful sign for end to wrangle
A LONG-RUNNING wrangle over the ownership of a sign welcoming visitors to Richmond has reached a conclusion. Guest house owner and Richmond Business and Tourism Association member Trevor Teeley was first to broach the issue with the council. Filthy from
-
Date
Cyclist may hold vital clues in hunt for prostitute's killer
MURDER HUNT detectives want to trace a lone cyclist who may have seen prostitute Vicky Glass before she was killed. The man on the bike was caught on CCTV camera, riding through Middlesbrough town centre on the day the 21-year-old heroin addict was last
-
Date
Wake up to stars of Sleeping Beauty
EASTENDERS Dirty Dan takes to the North-East stage tonight as panto season arrives on Wearside. Actor Craig Fairbrass plays the Duke of Northumberland in Sunderland's Empire Theatre production of Sleeping Beauty. Former Page 3 girl Tracey Coleman adds
-
Date
'Forgotten' estate residents on brink of bus battle win
A FORGOTTEN estate could be on the brink of winning a battle for a bus service of its own. Houses were built at Regents Park in Colburn, near Catterick Garrison, a few years ago, but so far the homes have not been linked to the public transport network
-
Date
Hygiene tests under scrutiny
A COUNCIL says it welcomes a planned inspection by the Foods Standards Agency (FSA). The agency is to carry out an investigation into the way Middlesbrough Borough Council carries out hygiene inspections of food outlets. Councillor Ken Hall, Middlesbrough
-
Date
Row over parish council numbers
A debate on the destiny of parish councils in Richmondshire came to an abrupt end when a councillor stormed out of a meeting. Catterick Councillor Tony Pelton was opposing a recommendation that some parish authorities should lose one or more councillors
-
Date
MP backs shop staff call for Christmas rest
A TEESSIDE MP is backing calls for shop workers not to be forced to work on Christmas Day. Ashok Kumar, MP for Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland, is supporting the move by shop workers' union Usdaw to keep the 25th special for shop and store workers
-
Date
Surgeons boycott waiting list plan
SURGEONS in the Health Secretary's own local hospital trust are boycotting a radical Government-backed bid to slash waiting times. Health bosses are spending more than £1m on sending hundreds of NHS patients from South Durham to the private Cleveland
-
Date
Signs will be pointing the way to pantomime fun
BLIND or deaf people are being given the chance to enjoy a pantomime. Darlington Civic Theatre, which is staging Cinderella, starring Home and Away star Ray Meagher, has designated performances to help the enjoyment of blind or deaf people. There are
-
Date
Car rams into house front
POLICE are appealing for witnesses after a man wearing a ski mask smashed a car into the front of a house. The incident happened at midday on Monday when the man drove a red Ford Escort into the house in Brancepeth Road, Ferryhill, County Durham, before
-
Date
Cathedral treat for music fans
CONTRASTING choral works on a festive theme will be performed in a Christmas concert at Durham Cathedral. The English Philharmonic Orchestra and a line up-of five acclaimed vocal soloists will perform in Friday's seasonal treat for music lovers. Bach's
-
Date
Curator to leave area as Dorman dream realised
A CURATOR who made it her mission to make visiting a town's museums educational and fun is on the move. Hilary Wade has devoted a quarter of a century to making Middlesbrough's museums and galleries more accessible to people. She was behind the development
-
Date
Traders seek compensation for power cut
TRADERS affected by a town centre power cut which wrecked Christmas shopping are seeking compensation. Darlington Chamber of Trade is urging shops to claim for lost business after the town centre was plunged into darkness for more than three hours. The
-
Date
Driving refresher courses
MATURE drivers are being offered a refresher course on recent innovations and regulations. Durham Police are backing the event, arranged by Age Concern, which is open to all motorists aged 50 or over, living in the county. It aims to make people more
