Archive
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Museum 'battle' ground
ARMY signaller Vicki Wedgwood-Jones gave museum visitors an added attraction when she carried out a training exercise beside a rare exhibit. The 22-year-old troop commander, from Darlington, joined Territorial Army soldiers from 49 Signal Squadron as
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Warning after blanket fires
FIRE officers are urging people to have old electric blankets checked after two blazes on Teesside. In the first incident, the alarm was raised by the occupants of a house at Cargo Fleet Lane, Ormesby, Middlesbrough, after a faulty electric blanket set
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The Monday poem
The day I chose to clean my windows, My plans were temporarily delayed, By the work of a tiny spider, And the web that he had made. Tiny droplets of early dew Clung to his web of lace, Every thread that this mite had woven Was neatly in its place. The
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Hear all sides; Birthing pains of the railways
BIRTH OF THE RAILWAYS THE headline "Leisure scheme steams into rail controversy" (Echo, Nov 20) told of the proposal to rejuvenate the former National Garden Festival site in Gateshead so that it features a railway heritage and education centre. This
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Comment fromThe Northern Echo; Cloning: good and the bad
THE legal and ethical debate surrounding cloning has become the most complex in the medical field. And news that a human embryo has been cloned to supply tissue for transplants means that world legislation to control this mind-boggling but perilous era
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Building for the future
YOUNGSTERS at a Darlington primary school are eagerly awaiting their new classroom. Work started on the classroom at Gurney Pease Primary School, in Dodsworth Street, in September, with Dorman Long Construction using a lightweight £15,000 steel framework
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'It's time to declare us free of disease'
NORTH Yorkshire County Council is pressing the Government for more rapid progress in completing the re-opening of the countryside. A delegation of councillors and MPs from North Yorkshire urged Countryside Minister Alun Michael to set out a clear timetable
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By-law bid to move on vagrant
A BAN on drinking alcohol could be introduced in the market place of a Dales town to give the police the power to deal with a vagrant who has made a bus shelter his daily haunt. Leyburn Town Council claims his presence is deterring others from using the
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New Year party to span the Tyne
THE organisers of Tyneside's New Year celebrations are expecting a record turnout on December 31. Newcastle has joined forces with Gateshead to provide 38,000 places for revellers - 2,000 more than last year. The celebrations will span both sides of the
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Air gun horror leads to call for controls control
COUNCILLORS are calling for tighter controls on air guns after a teenager lost an eye when she was shot. Nicola Diston, 15, of Gateshead, was hit in the left eye by a pellet fired by a gang of yobs who ran off laughing. Now, Gateshead Borough Council
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Pop star seeks romance
Pop star Michelle Heaton has admitted that there is just one thing missing from her life - romance. The 22-year-old has hit the big time with her band, Liberty, but says she is still looking for that special person. Michelle, who most recently dated TV
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Police seize fake discs in house raid
HUNDREDS of pirate films and music albums have been seized in a raid on a house on Tyneside. The DVDs and CDs were found, along with the computer equipment need to make counterfeit copies, at an address on the Springwell Estate, in Gateshead, at the weekend
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Echoes of the old country
Q: BBC2 programme on the Victorians made mention of the first steel-framed buildings in the world being erected at West Hartlepool in 1896. Which building was this? - Peter Elliott, Eaglescliffe. A: The building you mention was built in 1896 by Basil
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Shame of TV licence dodgers
A NORTH-East town has been named as one of the worst areas for TV licence evasion. Almost 2,500 people have been caught using a TV without a licence in Middlesbrough during the past nine months. The town has come ninth in the North's Licensing League
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Rail deal will see move to reduce working week
Train operator GNER says it has struck "a ground-breaking deal" with trade unions. The company, which runs express services between London and Scotland on the East Coast Main Line, says it has forged a partnership with officials of the Rail, Maritime
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Sean completes infantry course
A NORTH-EAST teenager passed out from the Infantry Training Centre in Catterick last week. Sean Allison, 17, who attended St Michael's RC School, in Billingham, Teesside, started his training at Catterick in August after completing a 42-week course in
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Arthritis aid takes public bow
ARTHRITIS sufferers in the region are being invited to hear all about an invention which appears to reduce pain and improve mobility. Patients and doctors in the North-East are already using the battery-powered Ace 2000 machine to manage their symptoms
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Bus campaign earns awards
BUS company Arriva Northumbria and North-East clinched two titles at the Bus Industry awards. Arriva's £1m Going your way campaign was launched in the North-East during the spring and involved an advertising campaign, distribution of 1.5 million information
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Research cash aids fight against cancer
SCIENTISTS in the region are linking up with researchers in Austria as part of a promising new approach to fighting cancer. A team led by Professor Chris Hutchison at Durham University has been given a grant of £139,948 by the Association for International
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Elderly woman is saved by paperboy
A PAPERBOY has saved an elderly woman from freezing to death on her bathroom floor. John Stott, 14, was on his paper round when he noticed that the 79-year-old, who lives on her own, had not collected her newspaper from the door. When he went back the
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Grocers say time is ripe for retirement
JOHN and Pat Tait shed a few tears on their last day behind the counter of the greengrocer's shop which has played such a big part in their lives. The shop has been the family business since 1926, when Mr Tait's grandfather, William, opened his first
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'Lovely jubbly! Del Boy is back for Christmas
Britain's favourite wideboys, Del Boy and Rodney, will lead the Beeb's battle for ratings this Christmas, the BBC announced last night. The Cockney favourites return to the small screen for the first time in five years in three new episodes. The specials
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Fitness centres shut down
A BUSINESSMAN awaiting trial on drugs charges has closed his chain of fitness centres across the North-East. Martin Yates Brown said he had to cease trading because he was unable to pay staff at the Classic World of Fitness chain. Gyms at Darlington,
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The first human embryo is cloned
A human cloning breakthrough last night raised hopes for tackling crippling diseases - and fears that the birth of the first cloned baby was now inevitable. A private research firm in America announced it had made the "milestone" breakthrough of creating
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Gap widens further for stranded West
West Hartlepool conceded more points than ever before when they lost 95-13 at Doncaster on a day when the gulf between top and bottom was emphasised in National Division Three North. All West currently have to look forward to is the December 15 visit
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Young offenders add to war victim appeal
YOUNG offenders have decided to hand over their one treat a week to children worse off than themselves. The 12 to 17-year-olds at Hassockfield Secure Training Centre, Medomsley, near Consett, must earn merit points to be allowed a quota of sweets each
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Parents say thanks for saving their son
A TRAFFIC police officer and his wife returned to a hospital to say thanks for the specialised treatment which saved their son's life. Ian and Joanne Martin Ainsley also took with them a cheque for £500 which they handed to medical and nursing staff at
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Sports complex nets top award
STAFF at a sports complex are celebrating after winning a national award. Coxhoe Leisure Centre, one of five centres run by Durham City Council, scooped the silver award in Club of the Year 2001, a national competition for public sector-run facilities
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Great charity effort
STAFF at a Shildon factory have raised £1,000 for charity after taking part in the Great North Run. Seven members of staff from Calsonic Climate Control were part of a team of more than 600 runners who were raising money for the Imperial Cancer Research
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Major service is honoured
AN officer with the Territorial Army has received an MBE for services to his regiment. Major Ian Heath, who lives near Butterknowle, Bishop Auckland, travelled to Buckingham Palace with his wife Marjorie, to be invested by the Queen. Maj Heath, 55, an
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Ex-rector defends yoga in faith row
A YOGA-practising cleric has hit back at a vicar who banned classes from his church hall because he feared they were not compatible with Christianity. During 14 years as rector of Stanhope, in Weardale, County Durham, the Reverend Charles Lovell taught
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Threat to surgery travel service
A SURGERY transport scheme on the outskirts of Durham City may fold unless more volunteers can be found. The Belmont Transport Project has been running for more than three years, driving mainly elderly and disabled patients from the Belmont, Carrville
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Teens injured in Tyneside attack
One teenager was knocked unconscious and another smashed in the face with a brick during a savage street attack at the weekend. The teenage boys were part of a group of youths who were attacked and mugged by a larger gang of thugs. The group, made up
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Phone defraud claim not true, says BT
Members of the public should not be concerned about claims that they can be defrauded by hoaxers wanting to test their phone lines. The warning, which according to BT spokesman Francis King resurfaces every few months, is in fact an urban myth. It has
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Mowden make Blaydon regret their indiscipline
In A game of more spills than thrills, the final scoreline slightly flattered Blaydon after they scored a converted try at the death. Previously fifth in National Division Three North, one spot below their hosts, Blaydon slipped three places and are now
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Red tape may plunge farming into new crisis
Farmers fear a red tape backlash in the wake of foot-and-mouth could plunge the industry into a new crisis. Foot-and-mouth disease has not been seen in the North-East for more than two months, but the National Farmers' Union (NFU) anticipates it will
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Lowery fumes as West grab late consolation
Bedlington joint manager Tony Lowery slammed his players after they finished the game with just eight men at West Auckland on Saturday. West scored a last minute equaliser to grab a point in a 2-2 draw, but by the end Bedlington trio Graham Hogg, Paul
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Quakers boss rules out a return to Cambridge
Darlington boss Tommy Taylor last night rubbished reports linking him with the vacant mangers' job at former club, Cambridge United. Jon Beck resigned from the Abbey Stadium last week, and the local paper quoted the United chairman as saying Taylor was
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'Shay can become a goalkeeping legend' - Speed
NEWCASTLE midfielder Gary Speed believes Shay Given can become as big a goalkeeping legend for the Republic of Ireland as Neville Southall was with Wales, writes CLIVE HETHERINGTON. Given, showered in superlatives after producing an inspired string of
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Alcock is no pushover for frustrated Quakers
THREE years ago a furious Paolo Di Canio pushed referee Paul Alcock to the ground after a harsh decision led to the Italian being sent off while playing for Sheffield Wednesday against Arsenal. Shoving him in the chest was the least that the Darlington
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Liverpool too strong for Sunderland
A depleted Liverpool side were still too strong for Sunderland as they consolidated their top-of-the-table placing at Anfield. The Reds had former Newcastle United midfielder Dietmer Hamann sent off in the 44th minute for a rash challenge, but Peter Reid's
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Help Santa pack more joy into season
STAFF at a Darlington travel agent's are launching an appeal for Christmas gifts and toys to fill Santa's suitcases. Travelcare at Morrisons stores in North Road and Neasham Road, is collecting the gifts for TFM radio's Give a Child a Christmas appeal
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Whitby Town ready for big match in Plymouth
A North-East football team is travelling travel in Premiership style for its date with destiny. Whitby Town FC, ranked near the bottom of the Unibond Premier League, caused the shock of this year's FA Cup run when it equalised one all with Division Three
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Cash pledge for private housing
AN opposition councillor says money can be found to provide environmental improvements on private housing estates. A proposal by Councillor Ben Ord to increase Sedgefield Borough Council's budget for environmental enhancements was rejected by members.
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Nightclub to re-open with new image
A SPENNYMOOR nightclub is to re-open at the end of the year with a new name and a new image. The Kings Lodge Group, the new owners of the Top Hat, has renamed the club Cube. The group wants to establish the nightspot as a top entertainment destination
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Trio bid farewell to rail museum
THE retirement of an archivist next week will be the first of three departures from a Darlington museum in the next few weeks. Ann Wilson steps down from her post at Darlington Railway Centre and Museum on Friday. Having spent many years at the museum
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Works begin to improve safety on major route
ONE of the North-East's main artery routes is to be made safer thanks to a series of improvements. Work on a section of the A19 close to Elwick, near Hartlepool, started on Friday and is due to finish by Friday, December 21. The £88,000 improvement works
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Pupil designs card for MP
A CHRISTMAS card designed by a North-East youngster will be used by Health Secretary Alan Milburn to send his greetings. The train design, by ten-year-old Mike Lakey, of Darlington, was picked from more than 100 entries in a competition run by Mr Milburn
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Council urged to improve - report
GOVERNMENT inspectors have urged Darlington Borough Council to make improvements to the way it is run, following a report from assessors. Inspectors found weaknesses in the council's approach to social inclusion, sustainability and equal opportunities
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Safety day for women
SELF defence will be demonstrated at a women's safety day on Wednesday. The event, to mark an international day of action to end violence against women, will also have spiritual healing workshops, Christmas crafts and tombola stalls, as well as a taste
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Let there be light - and sound
A LIGHT and sound room to help adults with learning disabilities is to open at the Allensway Centre in Thornaby. The multi-sensory room uses light and sound to improve communication skills, aid relaxation and enhance all the senses. The room cost £14,000
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Hunt for handbag snatch teenagers
POLICE are hunting teenage thieves who reached into a taxi and stole a girl's handbag early on Saturday. The 16-year-old girl, who has not been named, was sitting in a taxi on Grange Road, Middlesbrough, on the junction with Linthorpe Road, when a thief
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Violence fear over bid for late bar
RESIDENTS in Hartlepool are objecting to a nightspot's application to extend its opening hours for public entertainment. Fears have been raised that another late-night bar in the centre would increase the number of street brawls. But managers at The Grand
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Sadie; a lingerie legend
THERE is no elaborate shop front, no fancy fittings, no clever lighting. Sadie The Bra Lady is an unassuming, old-fashioned shop in the high street of a former North-East steel town. But over the last three decades, the eponymous owner, Sadie Ayton, has
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Steps force post office move
NEW government guidelines on disabled access is forcing Yarm Post Office to move from its High Street location to a more suitable site. John Webster, who has run the post office since 1982, said he has little option but to move to Fairfax Court, just
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John keeps top billing for toilets
HAMBLETON'S new loo cleaner is flushed with success after retaining the top rating at toilets in Swainby achieved by his predecessors. John Westcough took over from Len and Hilda Swales, who hung up their loo brushes earlier this year after cleaning the
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Museum backs Euro bid
Tyne and Wear Museums, which runs Tyneside museums such as the Discovery Museum and Segedunum Roman Fort, is backing the Newcastle and Gateshead joint bid to be the European Capital of Culture in 2008. The service has become the 100th member of the Newcastle
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Carols for charity plan
PUB regulars in a North Yorkshire village are to take part in a carol singing event next month. Dave Kinsley, tenant at the Black Bull, Melsonby, near Richmond, has teamed up with regular customer Gary Chilton to organise the sing-along to raise money
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The write side of the law
CRIME writers from across the North came together at the weekend for the first specialist out-of-print detective and science fiction book fair. Among those taking part in the event at Harrogate, North Yorkshire, were Peter Walker, whose police novels
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'We wish you a gloomy Christmas'
A HUMBUG hotel is to offer fun-free Christmas breaks to appeal to Scrooges keen to avoid any festivities this year. Dunsley Hall Country House Hotel, near Whitby, North Yorkshire, is known for its unusual offers, having woken guests on Yorkshire Day by
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Record turnout as brewery turns back clock
ABOUT 6,000 people descended on a small North Yorkshire town for a brewery's fifth annual Victorian Fair. The four-day event at the Black Sheep Brewery, Masham, attracted record numbers this year. Forty local craft stalls were on show, with staff dressed
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Surgeon guessed at anaesthetic doseage
A 20-year-old man died after a routine circumcision operation when a surgeon "guessed" how much anaesthetic to give him, a court heard. General surgeon Pravin Chaturbhai Patel was charged with the manslaughter of Andrew Ryan after he was injected with
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Speed up lifting of restrictions, urge farmers
THE Government was accused of dragging its feet last night as a row broke out over the lifting of foot-and-mouth restrictions. National Farmers' Union chiefs in the North-East said officials were being too cautious in moves to free counties of curbs.
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Growth of retail complex blocked
THE Government has blocked controversial plans for a retail warehouse complex next to Gateshead's MetroCentre. Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott, in his role as Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions, has overturned a planning
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Happy birthday to a loyal Echo reader
RETIRED cobbler Tom Hammond has celebrated his 100th birthday. The lifelong reader of The Northern Echo lived in the same house in Kirbymoorside, North Yorkshire, for 90 years and now lives in a Scarborough nursing home. He ran a shoe repair business
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'North is happy to work with Europe'
NORTH-East campaigners have welcomed a survey's findings that most Britons want to work with Europe on key issues. The NOP poll was undertaken to probe people's view of Europe following the September 11 attacks on America. It reveals that most feel it
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Wargames event has a growing army of supporters
MORE than 500 wargames and model enthusiasts took part in one of the biggest exhibitions of its kind in the North over the weekend. Fans of military models recreated famous battles through the ages in miniature at the show, held at the Stockton Sports
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Council kicks off jailed abuser
A DISGRACED councillor, jailed in July for child sex offences, has formally lost his council seat - for non-attendance of meetings. Martyn Locklin, of Ladybower, Newton Aycliffe, County Durham, was convicted of a string of sex offences following a three-week
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'Save our industry' plea to Brown
BUSINESS leaders last night issued an impassioned appeal to Chancellor Gordon Brown to save the North-East's ailing manufacturing industry. The Chancellor delivers his pre-budget statement tomorrow amid fears of a full blown recession in the region. And
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Tenants on committee
AN initiative to give tenants and residents a bigger say in what happens to their homes has been introduced by Wear Valley District Council. The council has invited two tenants and residents' representatives to join its housing committee. The invitation
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Sign of support for the victims of domestic violence
A LEADING member of the Government signed up to a campaign yesterday which aims to help women Say No To Violence. Hilary Armstrong, MP for North West Durham and chief whip, also released more than 100 balloons in a symbolic gesture against domestic violence
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Anti-drugs fight goes on, pledge police
POLICE have warned they will continue their campaign against a drug problem in a County Durham town following a high-profile raid at the weekend. Five men were arrested during the raid at Hogan's pub, Bishop Auckland, on Friday night. About 80 police
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Wardens proposal to tackle crime in town
STREET wardens may be recruited in an attempt to reduce the drug problem in a County Durham town. A proposal has been put forward to enlist two wardens to operate in Ferryhill Station and the Dean Bank area of Ferryhill. The communities have suffered
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Posters bid to trap attacker
POSTERS are going up across a North-East city urging people to help track down the man who sexually assaulted an 87-year-old widow. Frances Doran was subjected to an ordeal at her flat, in Woodstock Avenue, Grangetown, Sunderland, on the night of Friday
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Art of the everyday
EVERYDAY objects have been turned into objects of art at a new exhibition. Eight North-East artists have used materials such as glass, felt, wood and thread to create art for an exhibition. The exhibition is already attracting big turn-outs to The Old
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Report into loco project costed more than solving problems
A report into a troubled North-East steam loco project has cost £18,000 - three times as much as the cost of putting the problems right, it has been revealed today. Trustees building the first steam locomotive for more than 40 years published the report
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'It was a blatant penalty' says Burley
IPSWICH Town manager George Burley left the Riverside last night wondering how his side had not been awarded a penalty in a drab goalless draw against Middlesbrough. Burley insisted that striker Marcus Bent, signed from Blackburn on Friday, had been pulled
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Boro fans over-charged for cut-price bore draw
MIDDLESBROUGH attracted their biggest crowd of the season with a cut-price ticket deal - but still left the Riverside faithful short-changed. The gathering of 32,586 was over a thousand more than Boro's previous best attendance this term, with many season
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Robson wants Robert to light up the League
METAPHORICALLY speaking, Bobby Robson has told Laurent Robert to put away the cigars and light up the Premiership like Ryan Giggs. Newcastle manager Robson admitted after Saturday's hard-earned victory over struggling Derby that French winger Robert's
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Players fume at 'incompetent referee'
FOLLOWING Saturday's mauling at Scunthorpe, one Darlington fan called radio station, talkSPORT to protest that some of the Darlington team should be transfer-listed for being on the end of a 7-1 hammering. Clearly, 'Graham from Darlington' hadn't considered
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Defender Haas made a meal of it, says Thompson
STAND-in Liverpool manager Phil Thompson was involved in an astonishing touchline bust-up with Sunderland Swiss international full back Bernt Haas after the Reds' ten-man 1-0 victory at Anfield. Liverpool had former Newcastle midfielder Dietmar Hamann
