Archive
-
Date
Orchard pick of bunch
MICHAEL FENTON, one of the most underrated jockeys, has a terrific chance to lift the £20,000 Cumberland Plate on Morgans Orchard (3.30) at Newcastle this afternoon. Darryll Holland was originally pencilled in to partner the selection but cried off at
-
Date
Union row
Tony Blair is heading for a conference showdown with union leaders over private sector involvement in public services. The two camps were left in no doubt about each other's position after a two-hour meeting at Downing Street. Britain's biggest unions
-
Date
Cash boost is fresh air for diving club
A DIVING club has been given a cash boost by a project breathing new life into the east Durham coastline. Seaham Sub-aqua Club has been given a grant of £1,700 by Turning the Tide's community action fund. The club gives divers of all ages and abilities
-
Date
30% are members of union, says TUC
ABOUT a third of UK workers are in a union. According to a report by the Trade Unions Congress (TUC), based on Government figures, 30 per cent of workers are union members. In the North-East, 39 per cent of employees are union members, the second highest
-
Date
Talks begin to ease job losses at Glaxo site
TALKS are expected to begin this week at a beleaguered North-East drugs plant following an announcement of 400 proposed job cuts at the site. Union representatives will meet with selected members of staff and management at the GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) site
-
Date
Plea for teams to take teddy bears on dublin dash challenge
A WEEKEND of shamrock shenanigans is in store for wacky North-East volunteers taking part in this year's Dublin Dash. The dash, in aid of Marie Curie Cancer Care, happens in September and teams are needed to take part. The problem is that the charity's
-
Date
Sex attack on busy train
A 37-YEAR-OLD woman was indecently assaulted on a train during rush hour. The woman was travelling on the airport train on the Newcastle Metro between Felling and Gateshead when she was attacked at about 8.20am on Tuesday. The carriage was full but police
-
Date
Comment from The Northern Echo - More losers with Camelot
IT is no coincidence that Camelot and Sir Richard Branson's People's Lottery both came up with the figure of £15bn for good causes when they made their bids for the National Lottery. It was, presumably, not a figure which was plucked out of thin air.
-
Date
More jobs go at shipyards
TROUBLED shipbuilder Cammell Laird is to cut another 146 jobs as efforts continue to find buyers for its yards, it was announced yesterday. Receiver PricewaterhouseCoopers said there would be 99 redundancies on Tyneside, 43 at Birkenhead, and four in
-
Date
Patients' group calls for cancer treatment inquiry
A NATIONAL patients' group has called for a public inquiry into the case of a surgeon who failed to give potentially life-saving treatment to 15 bladder cancer sufferers. Yesterday, it emerged that the hospital trust which employed Ron Rhind for the last
-
Date
Man made death threat over 'too noisy' fireworks party
DELUDED Ian Currie threatened to kill an entire family, including a 97-year-old woman, because he thought their millennium fireworks party was too noisy, a court heard yesterday. The 57-year-old, who later slashed one of the revellers across the face
-
Date
Concern over gas regulator's price control plan
HOUSEHOLD gas bills could come down by £15 a year under proposals announced by gas regulator Ofgem. A draft price control plan published by Ofgem would cut the amount Transco, the firm that runs the UK's gas pipelines, can charge gas suppliers. Its revenue
-
Date
Pushing back frontiers
THE frontiers of science will be pushed back in a series of lectures at Newcastle University starting today. The first - on science and ethics of research into genes and behaviour - will be led by Dr Tom Shakespeare, from the university's policy, ethics
-
Date
Name-change after Bass quits brewing
LEISURE and hotels group Bass is to change its name to Six Continents. The former brewing company, which has more than 2,000 restaurants and bars in the UK, must switch its identity following the sale of its brewery business. Six Continents was chosen
-
Date
Boy shot in eye with airgun
A TEENAGER was shot in the eye with an airgun in broad daylight. The 14-year-old was walking along Princess Louise Road in Blyth, Northumberland, at 5pm on Tuesday when someone called out to him. When he looked up, he saw a gun held by someone on the
-
Date
Opposition over second bid to extend club opening hours
HISTORY is repeating itself over a controversial plan to open a nightclub in an east Cleveland village. Kenneth Morley, from The Lodge, Liverton Mines, applied to Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council for a public entertainment licence so that the venue
-
Date
More people to get help with rent
A SCHEME to help more people meet rent and council tax costs is being introduced. The new Discretionary Housing Payment scheme, which takes effect on Monday, lays down a broader scope for offering financial help to people in difficulty. It says that payments
-
Date
Sporting Youngsters do battle for honour of school
CHILDREN from 26 Darlington primary schools battled for athletics honours yesterday. More than 1,100 youngsters gathered at the Eastbourne Sports Complex for the Primary Schools Athletics Tournament. The events were split into two groups, with the schools
-
Date
A Grand night out
FOR the second time in 25 years, we have officially opened the village hall at Redmire, in Wensleydale. Then it cost £10,000, re-born it was £64,000. There have been other changes, too. The school is gone, the shop economises, just two farmers plough
-
Date
Medication fear prompts drive for volunteers
A DALES volunteer agency is looking for drivers to help elderly people stranded without medication. A new scheme has been launched to take prescriptions to elderly and house-bound people in Frosterley, Weardale, who previously collected their medication
-
Date
Man cleared of attack on boy
A man has been cleared of punching and kicking a 15-year-old boy in the head as he lay on the ground after a gang attacked him for cigarettes and food. David Regan, 21, was accused of attacking the youth as he made his way home from a chip shop, in Hebburn
-
Date
Admirable athlete opens inspirational workplace
THE country's top paralympian has opened a learning centre to help other people with disabilities. Gold medal winner Tanni Grey-Thompson OBE cut the ribbon at Remploy's new centre in Hartlepool yesterday. The centre is a joint initiative between Remploy
-
Date
Minister taking flak over promises
THE Government was last night accused of going back on promises made to widows and the families of pitmen struck down by lung disease. Former Energy Minister Peter Hain promised in March that widows would receive an interim payment of £2,000 before their
-
Date
Peer attacks plight of 'prisoner' Mallon
SUSPENDED "supercop" Ray Mallon was last night described as a "prisoner of the police complaints system" by a Government advisor on law and order. The plight of Detective Superintendent Mallon - who has been suspended for three-and-a-half years - was
-
Date
Call for action over police 'medical retirements abuse'
AS many as half the officers retiring from regional police forces are doing so on medical grounds, according to the latest figures. In the 12 months to March this year, 34 of the 60 officers who retired from North Yorkshire Police cited ill health as
-
Date
Cemetery for people . . . and their pets
A MEADOW could soon become the region's first cemetery allowing people to be buried next to their pets. Ebchester farmer Alan Willey is seeking to create an ecological woodland near Consett, County Durham. As a final resting place for humans and small
-
Date
Sex case councillor has charge dropped
A CHARGE against a senior Labour councillor of indecent assault has been dropped, a court heard yesterday. Martyn Locklin had denied the allegation that he assaulted a teenager between April 1991 and June 1992. And yesterday, Judge Peter Fox QC told the
-
Date
On top
Nissan and Toyota's British car plants are the most efficient in Europe, a new study revealed today. Nissan's Sunderland factory topped the productivity chart with 101 cars built per employee, reported the World Markets Research Centre's survey. Employees
-
Date
Council chief to monitor Romanian orphanages
DARLINGTON'S Social Services chief is bound for Romania to asses the country's orphanages. Colin Morris will spend six days from July 7 evaluating the orphanages funded by charitable organisations, including the BBC's Blue Peter appeal. The Darlington
-
Date
Doctorate accolade
FORMER Astronomer Royal Sir Arnold Wolfendale has been given an honorary doctorate by Durham University. A spokesman said: "He served the nation as Astronomer Royal from 1991 to 1995 and, closer to home, he made an enormous impact on the physics department
-
Date
Courts stave off closure as others come under threat
PLANS to close the magistrates courts in Consett and Bishop Auckland have been dropped following strong protests. But County Durham's Magistrates' Courts Committee is now proposing to shut a court at Durham City or Chester-le-Street, which is six miles
-
Date
Karting reward for behaviour
POLICE are backing a project to foster good behaviour and performance among pupils at five comprehensives in the Sunderland area. Ten pupils from each school showing the most consistent improvements are to get free training sessions at Warden Law karting
-
Date
Celebrating town's new French connection
DALES people are making a French connection with a community across the channel. Although Wolsingham, in Weardale, is hundreds of miles from northern France, local people are adding a continental touch to their market place for traditional Bastille Day
-
Date
GNER on track for 20-year franchise
RAIL operator GNER was last night on the verge of winning the ferocious battle to run the East Coast Mainline for the next 20 years. The Northern Echo understands from a senior source within the Strategic Rail Authority that the operator is poised to
-
Date
Much ado about an Elizabethan fun-day
VISITORS will be able to meet William Shakespeare when an historic hall holds its first Elizabethan fun day in its grounds. An actor dressed as the Bard will be roaming the grounds of Washington Old Hall, Washington Village, on Sunday, July 8. The National
-
Date
No cover-up for these racist views
I AM loathe to talk about Nick Griffin, the leader of the British National Party, in this column because I do not want to give him, or his party, free publicity. But after his appearance on BBC2's Newsnight on Tuesday, I feel obliged to point out the
-
Date
Clampdown on rogue traders
MORE than £180,000 is to be spent over the next two years tackling the Arthur Daleys of the North-East. The cash from the Government's £30m Modernisation Fund is aimed at helping trading standards officers clamp down on rogue traders. Authorities in Darlington
-
Date
Euro-dash as Stephen keeps date with rally
FARMER Stephen Cleminson made a desperate dash across Europe after being struck with a life-threatening condition - so he didn't miss a trip in his vintage car. Mr Cleminson thought a family holiday would be the best thing to help his wife and children
-
Date
The coming out of Camilla
TWO tiny kisses, light pecks, on either cheek. Such a familiar sight among London luvvies and the county set. But this time, it sent tremors around the world, seismic rumblings from the countless camera shutters that captured the moment for the world
-
Date
New foot-and-mouth despair
FOOT-AND-MOUTH disease has struck again in the heart of the Yorkshire Dales - more than two months after the last recorded infection. Fears were growing last night that the fresh case could re-infect Wensleydale, still struggling to overcome the epidemic's
-
Date
Pupils link up with police for outdoor trip
A GROUP of Hartlepool youngsters have joined police this week in a trip to the great outdoors. More than 30 pupils from Ward Jackson School spent Wednesday and Thursday night at a Youth Hostel Association hostel, in Scarborough, with PC Alistair Snowdon
-
Date
Normandy re-enactment will be finale of air museum celebration
MUSEUM bosses called in the professionals yesterday to help them prepare for the finale of an airborne extravaganza. The Yorkshire Air Museum plans to stage a re-enactment of D-Day airborne action. Soldiers from 9 Parachute Squadron Royal Engineers, based
-
Date
Adventure for school leavers
SCHOOL leavers across County Durham can take part in outdoor adventure and personal development activities for free this summer. A successful bid to the Department for Education and Skills by Connexions County Durham, a pilot scheme aimed at helping young
-
Date
Clinic to fill void in brain injury care
A CRITICAL lack of provision for brain injury rehabilitation in the region will be relieved by a new neuro-centre, which opened yesterday. The Priory Rehabilitation Centre, in East Durham, will be the first in the North-East, and one of only a handful
-
Date
Woman arrested
A 34-year-old woman from Redcar, in east Cleveland, has been arrested in connection with an attempted robbery at Coatham Fisheries, Queen Street, in the town, on Monday night. The woman was yesterday helping police with their inquiries.
-
Date
Magistrates courts win a reprieve
PLANS to close the magistrates courts at Bishop Auckland and Consett have been dropped after strong protests. But the County Durham's Magistrates Courts Committee is proposing to close a court at Durham City, or Chester-le-Street, six miles from the city
-
Date
Rent debts written off
RENT dodgers have cost taxpayers in a North-East town more than £170,000. Housing chiefs have been forced to write off the huge bill because they cannot get bad debtors to pay up. Members of Middlesbrough Borough Council's cabinet took the decision after
-
Date
Hear All Sides
Letters from The Northern Echo EUROPE SOME people say that Europe is not taking over our lives and even if it is, it's a good thing. They say euro-sceptics are way out of line little islanders. I wonder if the euro-fanatics have noted the latest piece
-
Date
Charity darts players aim to score a million
THREE North-East men are hoping to set a world record this weekend by scoring one million and one points in a 40-hour darts marathon. Tony Mitchell, Glenn Moody and Andy Cree all play for Marske Workingmen's Club in the Cleveland Superleague, and hit
-
Date
How I survived the White Plague
IT may surprise today's young generation, but until the 1950s, it was not unusual for people to lose loved ones from tuberculosis. In post-war years, the National Health Service's mass mobile x-ray unit was a familiar sight as it toured schools, workplaces
-
Date
Dance troupe steps out
A WELSH dance company did its best to bring ballet to the masses, Billy Elliot-style, when it performed in an unlikely North-East venue last night. The Cwmni Ballet Gwent brought ballet to Bishop Auckland, County Durham, with a performance of Romeo and
-
Date
Accidental fire that killed 3 children
A HOUSE fire which killed three young children was so intense investigators could not be sure how it started, an inquest heard yesterday. A discarded cigarette or an electric fire which may have been faulty or accidentally switched on were the most likely
-
Date
Crash woman seriously ill
A MIDDLE-AGED woman was seriously ill in hospital last night after a head-on crash. The accident happened when a Suburu Impreza, was overtaking on the A691 near Leadgate, County Durham, collided with a Citroen AX driven by the 44-year-old woman. The driver
-
Date
Events focus on home violence
THE life and death nature of domestic violence is the focus of a campaign being launched in Derwentside next week. Designed to coincide with a national awareness week, Derwentside Women's Aid will be holding two health awareness days. The first all-day
-
Date
Photographic students' work goes on show
A SELECTION of the best work by a group of photography students goes on display this weekend. A Few Degrees is an exhibition by Sunderland University students at Stockton's Green Dragon Museum, in the focus "This is our opportunity to support the next
-
Date
Church putting on birthday festival
IN the run-up to St Patrick's Church's 100th birthday, on July 25, the community will be invited to celebrate at masses, concerts and a flower festival. Originally designed to serve Catholics in the community of Cannon Street, Middlesbrough, the church
-
Date
A Grand night out
FOR the second time in 25 years, we have officially opened the village hall at Redmire, in Wensleydale. Then it cost £10,000, re-born it was £64,000. There have been other changes, too. The school is gone, the shop economises, just two farmers plough
-
Date
Dying man's gift to town
A DYING man has donated a gift to his home town to mark his love of the sea. Cancer sufferer Geoff Aves, 48, of Sandringham Road in Hartlepool, has handed over a hand-crafted oak seat which has been given pride of place at the Historic Quay. The former
-
Date
Attacker to pay victim's damages
A MAN who twice attacked another in an early-morning street incident in Harrogate was ordered to pay his victim £100 compensation for his injuries when he appeared before the town's magistrates. Benjamin Thomas Graham, 19, pleaded guilty to assaulting
-
Date
Heroic Terry ignores advice and saves friend from blaze
THE heroic actions of a County Durham man saved his best friend's life after a chip pan caught fire while he slept. Terry Lee Winter, 20, was passing Mick Morrow's house in Barnard Avenue, Ludworth, near Wheatley Hill, at about 6pm on Monday when he heard
-
Date
Galactic warriors launch musical raid
INTER-GALACTIC adventurers are descending on a famous beauty spot for a musical event by moonlight. Music fans from across the region will be taking on an out-of-this-world look when they dress as aliens and space travellers for a concert at Fountains
-
Date
Imaging company Comeleon upbeat despite £1.3m loss
ADVANCED imaging company Comeleon plc has put in place the production infrastructure and established the cornerstone agreements that will lead to growth for the business. That was the message from chairman John Pither, as he reported the company's first
-
Date
Boro to test Villa resolve
MIDDLESBROUGH are ready to raise the stakes in the race to land Gareth Southgate by offering £7m for the Aston Villa defender. Tottenham manager Glenn Hoddle, who had Southgate in his charge with England, is also chasing the 30-year-old centre-back. Watford-born
-
Date
Stacking shelves and saving lives
STORES known for their handy locations and long opening hours could soon be earning a reputation for saving lives. From now on, customers of Spar branches in Stokesley and Hutton Rudby, in North Yorkshire, will be treated for heart attacks by the shops
-
Date
Delgado crashes out
Jamie Delgado was blasted out of Wimbledon in straight sets by awesome Andre Agassi today. The British No5 was brutally put to the sword 6-2 6-4 6-3 by the rampant American second seed on Centre Court. Delgado, 24, went on to the most famous tennis court
-
Date
Polluters to clear up own mess
LANDOWNERS, residents and polluters will be forced to clean up their own mess under new proposals. Middlesbrough Borough Council's cabinet has given its backing to a strategy for contaminated land, setting out how the authority intends to bring it up
-
Date
Dinner ladies' joy over £180,000 payout
SCHOOL dinner ladies were toasting a payout of £180,000 yesterday after a six-year legal fight over pay and conditions. About 90 staff, from schools across North Yorkshire, will receive the back pay under an agreement reached between their union, Unison
-
Date
£15m venture capital fund plan
A NEW £15m venture capital fund, targeted at high-growth, small and medium-sized businesses in the North-East is to be launched later this year. Subject to final contract negotiations with the Small Business Service, the fund will be managed by Northern
-
Date
'Cowboy' helps inquiries into pub attack
A MAN nicknamed Tex, who dresses as a cowboy, has handed himself in to police investigating an alleged pub attack. Officers in Hartlepool have been looking for the man in a cowboy outfit since a pub attack on Saturday when a man was glassed in the throat
-
Date
Interest in Quakers continues
DARLINGTON Building Society has renewed its deal to sponsor the town's football club. The coming season will be the last at the Quakers' Feethams ground before it moves to a new ground, under construction, in Neasham Road. George Reynolds, chairman and
-
Date
Correction: Union man
It was reported in The Northern Echo that the late east Durham news reporter Norman Passfield had been a member of the National Institute of Journalists. In fact, Mr Passfield, who lived in Blackhall near Consett, County Durham, was a member of the Chartered
-
Date
Queen Mother's gift will go under hammer for charity
THE Queen Mother and dozens of film and pop stars have joined a North-East fundraising drive. A fantastic array of signed memorabilia and personal objects from dozens of celebrities will be up for grabs at the grand charity auction. The Darlington Dyslexia
-
Date
Butcher jailed for deception
Fraudster Peter Bakewell conned £60,000 in disability benefits while lugging around animal carcasses in his butcher's shop. Bakewell told the benefits agency he needed constant care for his ailing back problem but was spotted lugging heavy carcasses and
-
Date
Guides offer walks for the willing
DISABLED and elderly walkers will be able to explore the countryside thanks to a new guide to routes around Washington. The Washington Walks Pack is the second in a series of Breakfree guides produced by Sunderland City Council's countryside team. It
-
Date
Amazing pictures of friend to stars
IMAGES from a bygone era in the North-East are captured in a collection of 10,000 pictures taken by a North-East photographer. From the 1920s to the 1960s, Frank Bell photographed everything from theatrical shots of the stars of the day appearing at theatres
-
Date
Welsh dance troupe steps out in style
A WELSH dance company did its best to bring ballet to the masses, Billy Elliot-style, when it performed in an unlikely North-East venue last night. The Cwmni Ballet Gwent brought ballet to Bishop Auckland, County Durham, with a performance of Romeo and
-
Date
Inquest told of fatal rollercoaster ride
A STUDENT who died after a rollercoaster accident at one of the region's most popular theme parks had suffered severe head and neck injuries, an inquest heard yesterday. Gemma Savage, 20, died in hospital last Thursday, a day after she was involved in
-
Date
Director faces three-year ban
THE director of a County Durham firm that went into liquidation with debts of more than £43,000 has been disqualified for three years. Anthony Scott Williams, of Bolton, Lancashire, was disqualified from acting as a company director for his conduct in
-
Date
Head quits after exam fiddle
A stressed-out primary headteacher who altered exam papers has resigned from her post, it has emerged. Helen Quick, of Wyndham Primary School in Newcastle, quit after she told the authorities that she had tampered with answers in maths and science papers
-
Date
Man critical after 'attack' at his home
A MAN is seriously ill in hospital after allegedly being assaulted in his home. The 62-year-old was initially thought to have a broken nose but was later found to have internal bleeding. Police and an ambulance crew were called to his home in Galloway
-
Date
No cover-up for these racist views
I AM loathe to talk about Nick Griffin, the leader of the British National Party, in this column because I do not want to give him, or his party, free publicity. But after his appearance on BBC2's Newsnight on Tuesday, I feel obliged to point out the
-
Date
Peng near to perfection as Durham win thriller
A magnificent century by 18-year-old Nicky Peng swept Durham to a stunning seven-wicket victory in the C and G Trophy yesterday. They raced past Hampshire's daunting 50-over total of 262 for five with 9.4 overs to spare to register their first win against
-
Date
Action plan after lost exam papers
A SCHOOL has introduced new procedures to avoid a repeat of a mix-up which led to hundreds of exam papers being destroyed. The English papers of 243 children at Hummersknott School, in Darlington, were mistaken for rubbish and placed in a skip following
