Archive
-
Date
Pet grooming service that comes to your door
DOG owners who dread taking their pets for a wash and brush up can take advantage of a mobile pet grooming salon. The Trendy Pets parlour-on-wheels, launched three weeks ago by Carol Scott, is aimed at owners and pets who find visiting a normal salon
-
Date
Tearful Cherie tells of torment
CHERIE Blair broke down in tears last night as she tried to draw a close to the controversy surrounding convicted fraudster Peter Foster's role in buying two flats for her and her husband. The Prime Minister's wife said she was not aware of the full details
-
Date
£7,500 cash aid for fire-hit school
VILLAGERS who rallied to help an arson-hit school have raised £7,000. Hardwick Primary School in Sedgefield was gutted by fire in January last year. Children had to spend several weeks using alternative classrooms in the village before Durham County Council
-
Date
Book for Santa Special
A SPECIAL bus service will run later this week in a bid to ease the difficulties of Christmas shopping for people with mobility problems. The service will take people from across Weardale into Stanhope for a farmers market, craft market and late shopping
-
Date
Carers' centre wins grant for extra post
A NEWTON Aycliffe carers' centre has been awarded a grant of almost £75,000 to employ an extra worker. The grant from the Lottery Community Fund will allow the Princess Royal Trust Sedgefield Locality Carers Centre to employ a mental health carers' support
-
Date
Burglars raid sports club
BURGLARS have made off with cash and cigarettes after breaking into a sports club. They got into the cricket club in Leadgate, near Consett, at about 1.30am on Monday and raided the cigarette machine and a pool table. The same night, the manager of the
-
Date
Newsagent celebrates 50 years of service
A FAMILY newsagent and post office is celebrating 50 years serving the community. Lilian Holmes was there at the beginning, when her mother's business, Stevens, first moved into the shop in Neville Parade, Newton Aycliffe, in 1952. But the origins of
-
Date
Drug user overdosed
A DRUG user was found dead by his brother after overdosing on cocaine and Ecstasy, an inquest heard yesterday. Unemployed David Garnon, 36, was found in the bath at his home in Surtees Street, Darlington, by his younger brother, Anthony, in April. Anthony
-
Date
The damage has been done
IT was a piece of political theatre, unprecedented in British history. Never before has the consort of the Prime Minister been at the centre of such scrutiny to warrant a detailed personal statement. The uniqueness of the occasion was matched by the polish
-
Date
Cherie Blair: Saint or sinner?
In a bravura performance last night, Cherie Blair tried to explain how a convicted conman came to embarrass the Prime Minister. Political Editor Chris Lloyd reports Where did all this start? MRS Blair wanted to buy property in Bristol where her son, Euan
-
Date
Woman who tackled burglar given reward
A WOMAN was given a £300 reward by a judge yesterday for scratching the face of a burglar in her home. A DNA test on skin from under the fingernails of Pauline Blundy, 44, a County Durham teaching assistant, identified burglar Lee Robinson, who was jailed
-
Date
Man offers no explanation for DIY theft
A MAN who stole two security alarms from a DIY store told a court he did not know why he had done it. Neil Craig, 38, from Beechgrove Road in Newcastle pleaded guilty at Darlington magistrates court to stealing a lamp, two security lamps and some bathroom
-
Date
Court hears tape recording in sex attack trial
A FORMER soccer player used a hidden tape recorder to snare a coach who had subjected him to years of sex attacks, a court heard. The player, who cannot be named, claims his former coach, George Ormond, 46, subjected him to five years of abuse when he
-
Date
Mystery of body found in backyard
MYSTERY surrounds the death of a hard-drinking security guard - and even surrounds his correct name. An open verdict was recorded at an inquest into the death of David Lee Mellor, who also used the surname Meller. The 25-year-old could be identified only
-
Date
Star joins scheme's birthday celebration
BORO defender Franck Queudrue was joined by children from Marton, Middlesbrough, in a celebration of a scheme's first year. It has been 12 months since the BT Football First education package was launched in the Willie Maddren Centre, at the club's Riverside
-
Date
Help - my little girl's locked in car
A FRANTIC mother called the fire brigade when her 18-month-old daughter became trapped in her car. Rehana Ashal contacted firefighters yesterday lunch-time, after she inadvertently locked her daughter in her car when she visited a doctor's surgery in
-
Date
Hear All Sides
SCHOOL TABLES - Once more the primary school tables have been printed, again giving a false impression of the scholastic effort of local primary schools. Not a teacher, I have for the last 20 years been involved in local history, visiting schools from
-
Date
Stuff Christmas - be nice all year round
SO what are you doing for Christmas? Probably not what you want. It's not just the work or the expense of Christmas that drives so many people scatty - it's the effort that goes in to keeping everyone happy. That's the really difficult bit. So that instead
-
Date
Air passengers on up and up
NEWCASTLE Airport has reported an increase in overall passenger numbers - demonstrating a steady recovery in the air passenger market. Mike Luddy, Newcastle Airport's marketing director, said: "Our latest passenger statistics show that overall passenger
-
Date
Young entrepreneurs test market
Enterprising youngsters have been taking their first steps up the business ladder. With Christmas just around the corner, entrepreneurs between the ages of 15 and 19 gathered at Durham Town Hall for a trade fair organised by Young Enterprise and supported
-
Date
Family's 'heartfelt loss' of loving son in car crash
AN AMATEUR footballer coached by a prominent North-East mayor has been named as the man killed in a fatal road crash. Scott Stevenson, 18, died from serious head injuries after the Ford Fiesta he was driving hit a central reservation and slammed into
-
Date
From squatters' refuge to a thriving corner
Echo Memories takes a gentle stroll around the shops and hostelries that have flourished and faded in Bakehouse Hill, off Darlington's Market Square, over the past 200 years. DARLINGTON'S Bakehouse Hill was started hundreds of years ago by squatters,
-
Date
Betts backing for Tait
Darlington defender Simon Betts has thrown his support behind Mick Tait's bid to become the next Quakers boss. Middlesbrough-born Betts, like so many of his teammates, is enjoying a new lease of life under Tait and the 29-year-old believes the caretaker
-
Date
Terror at hands of lover from hell
A BOYFRIEND from hell who terrorised a family was jailed for two years yesterday. Health club worker Guy Hellewell admitted putting the Taylor family in fear of violence for two years until his arrest in August this year. Hellewell, 25, traumatised his
-
Date
£200,000 project is aiming to improve computer skills
A £200,000 scheme to improve computer skills is helping people regenerate their communities. The Tees Valley Communities Technologies project, backed by £97,000 of European funding, will help people in Middlesbrough and Redcar improve their IT skills.
-
Date
Pool makes the profitable top six
HARTLEPOOL is the most profitable town in the North-East for the second year running, a survey has revealed. The town comes sixth in a survey of small businesses, moving up one place from last year. Middlesbrough is 27th and Darlington 63rd in findings
-
Date
'Abandoned' wardens victims of their success
THE role of community safety wardens - described as "victims of their own success" at a council meeting yesterday - is to be reassessed. The 41 wardens based in east Cleveland have been employed during the past ten years to deal with anti-social behaviour
-
Date
World of James Herriot visitor attraction takes on festive air
CHRISTMAS has arrived at the former home and surgery of Britain's most famous vet. In keeping with the nostalgic air of the whole James Herriot phenomenon, the emphasis for the celebrations is firmly on the past. The old surgery in Kirkgate, Thirsk, is
-
Date
Stuff Christmas - be nice all year round
SO what are you doing for Christmas? Probably not what you want. It's not just the work or the expense of Christmas that drives so many people scatty - it's the effort that goes in to keeping everyone happy. That's the really difficult bit. So that instead
-
Date
Corrie glamour girl Tracy leads season full of stars
STARS of film, television and a controversial comedy show are heading to the region this spring. Actress Tracy Shaw will take the lead role in The Blue Room, at Darlington's Civic Theatre, in May, it was announced yesterday. The play hit the headlines
-
Date
Last Night's TV
Pros and cons of jailhouse rock: Tomorrow La Scala! (BBC2) - Scalpel Safari (five) THERE were, the director said, pros and cons to a small-scale opera company staging Stephen Sondheim's musical Sweeney Todd inside a maximum security prison. "We're the
-
Date
Residents upset at late-night party plans
Residents on an exclusive housing estate are teed-off at plans to hold late-night parties at a nearby golf club. People living in Wynyard, near Stockton, want to block plans by nearby Wynyard Golf Club to entertain guests up to 1am on Fridays and Saturdays
-
Date
'Watch your presents' call to shoppers
SHOPPERS are being urged to "protect their presents" in a big police operation launched this week. Uniformed and plain clothed officers are taking to the streets in a bid to protect people visiting Bishop Auckland, Crook and Barnard Castle, from town
-
Date
McClaren casts net for new striker to lift Boro
STEVE McCLAREN is searching the globe for a new striker to boost his misfiring Middlesbrough squad. The Boro boss is desperate to bring in fresh blood when the transfer window opens in January, to compete with his under-performing forwards for their first
-
Date
Losing return for Sir Bobby
SIR BOBBY ROBSON was ignored by the Barcelona public - just as his Newcastle defence ignored the Catalan giants to their cost in last night's Champions League Group A clash. The anticipated warm welcome for former Barca manager Robson on his return to
-
Date
Drugs death of Lancet witness
A WOMAN who claimed police gave her drugs in exchange for information and triggered Britain's biggest corruption investigation, died of a heroin overdose, an inquest heard yesterday. The claims made by drug addict Lisa Marie Davies sparked the long-running
-
Date
Warning over policing costs in wake of cash settlement
POLICING bills are likely to rise in North Yorkshire after a "disappointing" cash settlement from the Government. For the second year in a row, council tax payers in the county face a big increase in their police precept just to maintain the same level
-
Date
Wilko and Kev ready for showdown talks
SUNDERLAND striker Kevin Phillips' future on Wearside is in the balance. The club's post-war record goalscorer appeared to wave goodbye to the Stadium of Light faithful when he was substituted in the 3-0 defeat to Manchester City on Monday. And Sunderland
-
Date
Knifeman terror of Coronation Street star
Coronation Street star John Savident thought he was going to die when a man he had met in a gay bar stabbed him in the neck, it was revealed yesterday. Michael Smith boasted of being a "schizo" as he attacked married father-of-two Mr Savident - better
-
Date
Planting for the future
YOUNGSTERS donned their wellington boots and rolled up their sleeves to celebrate National Tree Planting Week. The children from Escomb Primary School, near Bishop Auckland, planted 30 trees in the grounds of their school with the help of Groundwork South
-
Date
Three garages broken into
POLICE have released a description of a man wanted for three garage burglaries in one street. The thief struck overnight on Thursday, November 28 at three adjacent houses in Woody Close, Delves Lane, near Consett. In each case, the raider used a flat
-
Date
Thieves steal stairlifts from factory
THIEVES stole thousands of pounds of goods and tools in a raid on a Derwentside factory. They forced a padlock to break into NE Stairlifts on the Berry Edge Industrial Estate, stealing two Bison Bede Classic stairlifts with a retail value of £1,000 each
-
Date
Protestors win campaign to block phone mast scheme
PLANS to build a phone mast, which provoked more than 500 letters of protest, have been rejected by councillors. Campaigners fighting the proposal by communications company Hutchinson 3G UK to erect a mast at Pelaw Grange, near Chester-le-Street, are
-
Date
New office suite has first tenant
THE National Care Standards Commission has become the first tenant at Darlington's Hopetown Park development. The commission has taken residence in the newly-refurbished Studio 1 at the former Whessoe site. Trevor Robertson, property manager at the commission
-
Date
Gray rallies beleaguered Black Cats
MICHAEL GRAY last night warned Sunderland to pick themselves up from a dreadful run of results or relegation will become reality. The club skipper was substituted during the Black Cats' defeat to Manchester City on Monday - his side's fourth successive
-
Date
Councillors kept in the dark on meetings with executive
Richmondshire councillors have been denied the automatic right to learn the content of formal meetings between their leader and the authority's chief executive. Colburn's Helen Grant asked a full meeting of Richmondshire District Council to back her suggestion
-
Date
Mother and children killed in head-on crash
A mother and two children were killed today in a horrific pre-Christmas road tragedy. The three were pronounced dead at the scene after a head-on collision on the B1253, between Rudston and Boynton, near Bridlington. Three people in the other car were
-
Date
Market supervisor steps down
A POPULAR market supervisor who has worked for Darlington Council for more than 20 years has retired. Frank Hutchinson, 60, supervised the indoor and outdoor markets in the town and was a well-known member of the council's staff. He joined Darlington
-
Date
Fake discs and tapes land man in court
A MAN who produced thousands of counterfeit compact discs and videos said most of them were for his own use, Newton Aycliffe magistrates heard yesterday. Kevin Bowes, 33, of Salisbury Terrace, Darlington, admitted seven specimen charges of fraudulently
-
Date
London architects win competition to design park's visitor centre
A TEAM of London architects has won the competition to design a visitor centre for a nationally important landscape in Sedgefield. Hoger Hare Architects was selected from a shortlist of six practices after two days of assessments and presentations. A
-
Date
Computers gift to help children of Chernobyl
CHILDREN living in Chernobyl, in the Ukraine, could soon be using computers given to them by Durham County Council. The authority has donated 12 of its redundant terminals to schools in the Chernobyl area. The region was part of the former Soviet Union
-
Date
Police aim for crime Bull's-eye
POLICE are using ground-breaking techniques to launch a pre-Christmas crackdown on known criminals. Hundreds of front-line police, detectives and traffic officers in County Durham and Darlington will be involved in a three-week seasonal blitz on crime
-
Date
Motorist is banned
A MAN used another vehicle's tax disc on a car he had bought in a pub, a court heard. Richard Rees, 48, of Barningham Street, Darlington, pleaded guilty at Darlington Magistrates' Court to fraudulent use of a car tax disc, driving with no insurance, no
-
Date
The road ahead for North traffic
A BLUEPRINT to modernise public transport and ease traffic congestion in the North-East - backed by £101m of Government cash - was unveiled yesterday. Transport Secretary Alistair Darling announced his intention to revamp interchanges and bring computer
-
Date
Free advice to villagers
Villagers in the Durham area can get free advice in their communities next week. Durham Citizens Advice Bureau is holding outreach sessions, when people can drop in, or ring 0191-383 2885 for an appointment. One-hour sessions are on Monday, at Arden House
-
Date
Hopes of selling stuggling stores
ADMINSTRATORS acting on behalf on two high street stores hope to sell the companies as a going concern. Footwear chain The Famous Brunswick Warehouse and clothes retailer What Everyone Wants have been placed in the hands of administrators Ernst &
-
Date
Ex-soccer apprentice jailed over heroin
A FORMER football club apprentice who let heroin dealers use his flat was jailed for three years yesterday. Teesside Crown Court was told Colin Leadbeater, 21, was an addict who owed money to the drugs gang and saw it as the only way to pay off his debt
-
Date
Paramedic wins payout for vehicle-fault crash
A PARAMEDIC who crashed when he lost control of his faulty ambulance has won almost £6,000 in damages. Joel Byers smashed into a tree when the Chevrolet ambulance had a total electrical failure, leaving him without brakes and unable to steer. Mr Byers
-
Date
Naked truth about our men (and women) of letters
DIALECT has clearly become a talking point. The John North column was discussing Evenwood area patter a few weeks ago, discoursed subsequently into Yorkshire and Co Durham and might still have been chewing on tomorrow had not its services been required
-
Date
Kabul mission for university team
A TEAM of academics has flown to Afghan-istan in an attempt to help the country rebuild its public administration system. The team, experts in post-war reconstruction and conflict resolution from the University of York, are leading a cabinet seminar in
-
Date
Country park scheme is unveiled
PLANS for a large park development have been unveiled. Gateshead Borough Council's cabinet has approved plans for Wardley Manor Country Park, at the east of Wardley at its border with South Tyneside. Bob Goldsworthy of the Heworth and Pelaw Labour Party
-
Date
Gannett in hunt for Scots publisher
THE American-owned parent company of The Northern Echo and Darlington & Stockton Times is seeking to buy a major Scottish newspaper publisher. The bid by Gannett UK, owner of Newsquest (North East), for the Scottish Media Group's (SMG) newspaper arm
-
Date
Shoppers buy extra treats for children
YOUNGSTERS with special needs will be getting extra Christmas treats this year, thanks to kind-hearted shoppers. The Galleries shopping centre, in Washington, launched its annual Giving Tree appeal yesterday. The scheme sees customers buy an extra present
-
Date
'Wanton violence' man facing jail
A SCAFFOLDING worker's "wanton violence" in Harrogate has left him facing jail. Trevor Stuart Gill, 20, pleaded guilty yesterday to two charges of assault, two of affray and one of damage, on November 1, in the East Parade and Station Parade area and
-
Date
High prices paid for home in moors
IT costs £57,000 more to buy a house in the North York Moors national park than the rest of Britain, a new survey reveals. The park's planning committee was told that it costs an average £244,429 to buy a detached home in the park, compared to £187,835
-
Date
Residents lose fight over housing plan
A meadow in Kirkbymoorside is to be developed for housing despite protests from residents who pleaded that the land should be protected. Members of Ryedale District Council's northern area planning committee approved a scheme by Lindrick Homes to build
-
Date
Landowner loses court battle to block pylons
A LANDOWNER has lost her ten-year battle to block the march of pylons across her land. At the High Court in Leeds yesterday the widow lost her battle against the National Grid and may now face financial ruin due to thousands of pounds worth of costs.
-
Date
Naked truth about our men (and women) of letters
DIALECT has clearly become a talking point. The John North column was discussing Evenwood area patter a few weeks ago, discoursed subsequently into Yorkshire and Co Durham and might still have been chewing on tomorrow had not its services been required
-
Date
North Sea dip for civic pair
A MAYORESS has thrown down a Boxing Day dip challenge to the mayor. Councillor Brenda Foster, Redcar and Cleveland Council's Mayoress, has asked Mayor Eric Jackson to take the plunge for charity. And Coun Jackson says his willing to do it ... but only
-
Date
Flooding leads to a career for Nick
BUILDER Nick Todd is hoping for a deluge of business after launching a flood prevention company. The 42-year-old Hartlepool man specialises in minimising the effects of flooding, and is now selling flood prevention packages to homes and business all over
-
Date
Magnus to prove he's no waste of cash
WHEN leading owner David Johnson shelled out a European record £340,000 for the Leicester-bound ex-French star Magnus (1.35) I don't think he was expecting to discover he might have been sold a pup. But since Magnus crossed the English Channel a year
-
Date
Winning handover
A BOOK swap caught on camera has won a Richmond museum a national award. The National Reading Campaign's Read On initiative aimed to encourage discussion about books by challenging people to come up with pictures of book swaps in unusual locations. The
-
Date
Residents' third year tax break
TAXPAYERS in one area of Cleveland look likely to have a break for the third-year running. At an executive meeting yesterday, Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council's chief executive, Colin Moore, said the authority has once again "a good chance" of not
-
Date
Stakes in the heart of our countryside
In 1928, when Britain began to be wired up for electricity, the architect Clough Williams-Ellis noted: "We are promised a complete grid of high-tension power transmission lines that shall cover these islands as with a net. We are also promised widespread
-
Date
Police try to block cowboy-to-crook network
COWBOY builders are passing information to crooks about vulnerable people who could be possible targets for crime, say police. The County Durham force believes the trade in information is happening in pubs across the area with bogus callers and conmen
-
Date
Trickster steers tax cheat drivers towards the law
A VIGILANTE is driving car tax dodgers into the arms of the law with bogus enforcement notices. Official-looking notices are appearing on the windscreens of untaxed cars parked in Middlesbrough, ordering their owners to report to their nearest police
-
Date
Probe launched into use of fireworks after protest
THE indiscriminate use of fireworks in Darlington is being investigated by a joint council and police team after complaints from the public. Members of the group will study ways in which the law can be used to prevent late-night fireworks parties and
-
Date
Video image clue to hit-and-run driver
POLICE have released a security camera image of a scene just a split second before a young girl was the victim of a serious hit-and-run incident. Schoolgirl Katie Scales is slowly recovering in hospital from severe facial injuries, while the search for
-
Date
Fishermen protest fish quotas
Firing hundreds of distress flares and sounding their horns, fishermen from throughout the East Coast converged on the River Tyne today to protest against proposals for new European quotas they claim threaten their jobs. A flotilla of up to 40 boats carrying
-
Date
Magpies agree to compensate fans
NEWCASTLE United have agreed to pay a hefty compensation bill to around 800 fans forced to miss the Champions League clash with Barcelona after last night's late call-off at a sodden Nou Camp. The rain in Spain washed out Sir Bobby Robson's sentimental
-
Date
Phillips caught speeding as Black Cats struggle
England outcast Kevin Phillips has been fined after he was caught speeding in his £60,000 high-powered sports car. The struggling Sunderland striker has netted the ball just twice this season for his side who are battling relegation. And he faced more
-
Date
Psychiatrist accused of assault due in court
A retired psychiatrist, charged with rape and four cases of indecent assault, will appear before magistrates this week. The charges to the North Yorkshire man are understood to follow an investigation into complaints from a number of his former patients
-
Date
Easing pressure on trip to shops
OFFICE parties, cooking for the family and, perhaps worst of all, Christmas shopping, can all take their toll during the festive period. With just two weeks to go to Christmas, the pressure is on to have everything ready to make it a perfect festive season
-
Date
£45m business park promises
UP to 3,000 jobs could be created by a £45m development that was given the go-ahead by the Government yesterday. Vangarde, the York Business Quarter, will be created on a 30-acre site on the north-eastern outskirts of the city. The work will begin on
