YOUNGSTERS at Dryburn Hospital, Durham, will have plenty of cuddly toys to play with this Christmas. Staff and drinkers at six city pubs have raised £1,000 for the children's wards, £400 of which was spent on toys. The other £600 will be spent on equipment
Zara Phillips, the teenage daughter of the Princess Royal, escaped serious injury yesterday when her Land Rover overturned on a country road. It is understood the vehicle clipped a wall and overturned on an unclassified road between Bourton-on-the-Water
Angry Bobby Robson has slapped a pay freeze on Didier Domi and suspended his Newcastle full back for going AWOL. Robson showed little Christmas goodwill yesterday when he rapped "no play, no pay" just 24 hours after hitting his French rebel with a £30,000
Darlington manager Gary Bennett has warned his players that there'll be no excuses when Lincoln City visit Feethams today. Quakers go into the game on level points with Lincoln and needing victory to halt a slide in the league which has seen them collect
George Graham will be pleasantly surprised if Tottenham's new owners throw him a bundle of cash to bring in the players he feels are badly needed at White Hart Lane. But the Spurs manager, who some believe is on borrowed time now that Sir Alan Sugar is
TWO schoolgirls have been found hanged in their homes only days before Christmas. News of the tragedy involving Stacey Wilshaw, 12, from Rugeley, Staffordshire, came less than 24 hours after it was learned that 13-year-old Kayleigh Davies had been found
'TIS the season to be jolly. Tinsel-decorated Christmas trees gaily wink through thousands of festive windows across the region and barely a child can sleep for eager anticipation of Santa's arrival. So let's put aside all cynical thoughts for the next
Jim Culloty is out to prove himself number one when he continues his partnership with Edredon Bleu on his first ride in the £125,000 Pertemps King George VI Chase at Kempton on Boxing Day. Tony McCoy has been teaming up with the champion two-miler when
SUNDERLAND manager Peter Reid bears no grudges against Manchester City, the club which sacked him only four games into a new season, and he believes the Maine Road outfit can battle their way to Premiership safety. But he goes into today's clash looking
Nicky Weaver faces Sunderland today believing he has turned his costly mistake against Ipswich into a positive, writes DAVID ANDERSON. The Manchester City goalkeeper spilled a shot to gift Ipswich their equaliser in Tuesday's Worthington Cup quarter-final
SCOTTISH international Don Hutchison is ready to step into the breach and deputise for suspended goal-ace Kevin Phillips in this afternoon's home game against Manchester City. The 29-year-old striker, who has missed the last four games with a torn hamstring
IN A pleasant North Yorkshire village on Sunday afternoon we celebrated the great miracle of the age, that is to say the correct use of the subjunctive. The open air tableau was called If Christ were born in Cowton. There are three Cowtons at least -
ELECTRICAL retailer Dixons has said its performance over the last six months had been in line with City expectations. The high street chain believed figures for the 28 weeks to November 11, due to be announced next month, will contain few surprises. It
HOTELS and betting chain Hilton has sealed a £235m deal to sell its Ladbrokes Casino business to the bingo operator Gala. The sale will see Gala take control of 29 casinos, including six in London. Hilton said the proceeds would be used to reduce its
SPECIALIST engineering business Darchem has been sold to Royal Bank Private Equity (RBPE) for £28m. Darchem, based at Stillington on Teesside, was formerly owned by the Scottish-based Weir Group, and provides heat and fire protection systems and services
Q I am 78 with a Retirement Pension of £71.59 a week and my late husband's annuity of £33.15 a month. What help can I get with my rent of £46.29 a week and my Council Tax of £500 a year? A According to the Governments rules, you do not have enough to
NO HIDING place: that is a security chief's warning to crooks considering raiding a town or its car parks over the holiday. Billingham town centre and its 900 car parking spaces are now covered by closed circuit television cameras, working 24 hours a
Frustrated motorists and rail passengers faced mounting problems last night as busy roads and packed trains made for a miserable Christmas getaway. Hold-ups had built up on major roads across the country late yesterday while many people found trains completely
CHRISTMAS has been cancelled at Bethlehem. Normally a place for pilgrims, stooping to enter the Church of The Nativity, built on the site of Jesus' birth, Bethlehem is too dangerous a place to be. It has become a no-go area and many of its citizens are
POLICE brought Christmas cheer to elderly victims of crime in the form of festive hampers. Officers from Hartlepool made the deliveries, containing everything from Christmas cakes and puddings, to sherry and tins of ham, after accruing points for the
IT'S been all hands to the pumps at TTE's Wilton International Training Centre, where trainees and TTE staff have been contracted to fabricate stainless steel vessels for the company's new £500,000 process engineering training plant. The project is a
THERE are a number of football fans who would like standing terraces to return to all-seater Premiership grounds and, having listened to those fans, Sports Minister Kate Hoey has suggested a pilot scheme might be possible to see if spectators can stand
Terry Venables yesterday dismissed the sentiment surrounding his return to former club Tottenham and pointed to the massive, four-game test facing Middlesbrough in the next eight days. Venables will be at White Hart Lane today for only the second time
Pop queen Madonna had the world guessing about her marriage to movie director Guy Ritchie last night. Hundreds of journalists from all over the globe have been camped outside the gates of the exclusive Skibo Castle in the secluded Scottish highlands since
HARTLEPOOL United's season is following a familiar path - and hot-shot Tommy Miller has no complaints. Pool are enjoying another pre-Christmas purple patch as they make another push for the play-offs and Miller, who has netted ten goals from midfield
Arsene Wenger will not attempt to sign Robbie Fowler despite his ''love'' of the striker's abilities as he is perfectly happy with the four forwards already at Arsenal. Speculation has continued to surround Fowler's future over the past few weeks as he
Robbie Keane yesterday joined the growing Leeds revolution as boss David O'Leary unveiled a player he believes is ''out of the Alan Shearer mould''. Keane will make his debut in day's Elland Road clash with Aston Villa as Leeds received international
SUPERMARKET chain Sainsbury's has sold its Homebase DIY chain to venture capitalist Schroder Ventures in a deal worth £969m. The agreement sees Schroder pick up the existing Homebase business for £750m, while Sainsbury's will sell 28 sites that are not
THE multi-million pound battle for the East Coast Mainline last night appeared to take a decisive turn, with Sir Richard Branson's Virgin Rail set to be the loser. Both Virgin and current operator GNER have been fighting it out to win the 20-year franchise
CHRISTMAS is a great time of the year. But how do you avoid yet another round of socks and hankie sets? Or even worse, a novelty tie that plays Jingle Bells. Why not settle back for a moment and have a look at some of Gadgetman's Christmas 2000 recommendations
THE family of a North-East woman killed when a reckless driver forced her off a motorway say they will never forgive him. Probation officer David Firbank, who has been jailed for 30 months, pulled on to the A1M without looking, causing Nichola Payne to
A bus company is under investigation amid claims one of its drivers kicked a group of schoolchildren off his coach for singing Christmas carols on their way home. Pupils from Richmond's St Francis Xavier School, North Yorkshire, were in high spirits on
EVENT staffing company Options has won a prestigious contract to supply hospitality staff for the 2001 British Grand Prix at Silverstone. The Darlington-based business provides high quality staff for a wide range of clients, for conferences, exhibitions
SANTA Claus is coming to town - and he looks set bring a white Christmas with him, according to the latest weather forecasts. Meteorologists yesterday promised snow flurries across the North-East and North Yorkshire on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day,
AS the gardening year fades away we look forward to what the New Year brings. It is also a good time to review the past season and to learn from our mistakes and successes. These should quite naturally lead us into our New Year resolutions for the lessons
