Archive
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Tonnes of recycling
MORE than 265 tonnes of recyclable materials have been collected in the first two months of a new scheme in Darlington. The borough council's Time to Recycle project, launched in September, now involves 45,000 households. The project enables homeowners
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O'Brien waits on appeal
THE FA'S video advisory panel will decide whether Newcastle United defender Andy O'Brien has grounds for an appeal against his sending-off in Sunday's 5-0 drubbing at Chelsea. It was confirmed yesterday that United have appealed after referee Paul Durkin
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Boys and their beds
Z is for ZOMBIE. Otherwise known as the undead. Otherwise known as any teenage boy cruelly roused from his bed before the crack of noon. True, there are no doubt young lads who leap lightly and joyfully from their beds and go out to work, or play sport
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Stadium gets late-night licence despite protests
A PUBLIC entertainment licence that will allow Darlington's Reynolds Arena to stage late-night parties and discos was granted yesterday - to the anger of nearby residents. The provisional licence will mean the stadium's Bar 66 can hold entertainment for
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Anglers net cash for new pond
YOUNG anglers have netted £3,000 to help towards the creation of new fishing ponds in Firthmoor. Housebuilders Barratt Homes and Haslam Homes, who are helping to regenerate the area with a new housing project, each donated £1,500 to the nature reserve
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Sheets of fame
Brenda Blethyn turned down a film offer when the scripts arrived from Kay Mellor for TV series Between The Sheets. Now she admits that sex has spilled over from acting to backstage conversations. Steve Pratt reports. THE favourite topic of conversation
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So do we really care about this smut?
POOR Prince Charles. Witnessing his treatment at the hands of the tabloids has been like watching a wounded animal being prodded with a sharp stick by a sadistic youth. We have been told it's "in the public interest". And we are told the unconfirmed gossip
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Pupils show festive enterprise
PUPILS at Polam Hall School for Girls, in Darlington, have been learning about business by setting up companies. Their enterprise will be seen at the school's Christmas fair on Saturday, from 11am to 3pm, when two of the pupils' companies will compete
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Landlady ran village pub without licence
THE landlady of a village pub ran her business without a licence until residents complained about noise, a meeting heard yesterday. Environmental health officers visited Marie Kenny at the Three Tuns pub, in Sadberge, near Darlington, after neighbours
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PTA celebrates boost to funds
A parents and teachers association has received a £4,500 grant from the National Lottery. Preston Park Primary School PTA in Eaglescliffe will use the Lottery Awards for All money to buy equipment for after schools activities. Jo Anderson, of the PTA,
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Social services see more stars
MORE social services departments in the region are improving their performances after a third round of assessments. Three years after the Government introduced star ratings to measure effectiveness of social service departments, more North-East councils
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Fears for patient
POLICE say they are increasingly concerned for the safety of a missing hospital patient. There have been two reported sightings of John Pedalty, 57, from Bishop Auckland, on the A66 in the Darlington area and in Crook. Mr Pedalty walked out of the Lambton
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Group rejects compromise idea to resolve car park row
CAMPAIGNERS have rejected compromise proposals for a temporary car park in Durham. Durham City Council has suggested that The Sands, a city green area, and a former Royal Mail sorting office are both used for parking while development work is carried
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Wild West show
THE Wild West comes to north-west Durham next week. The Lamplight Arts Centre, in Stanley, will be transformed into Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show for South Moor Amateur Operatic Society's production of the musical, Annie Get Your Gun. It tells the story
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Calls for council tax to be scrapped
DURHAM City Council is calling on the Government to scrap the council tax because it is unfair on poorer people. Concern at the level of the tax, particularly the increases set by the county council, has led to the setting up of the Durham Taxpayers Alliance
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One of alleged sexual assaults was fictitious, say police
POLICE investigating two alleged sexual assaults in neighbouring towns in Ryedale now say that one of the attacks was fictitious. A 15-year-old girl had claimed that she was assaulted in the Welham Road area of Norton, at about 10pm on Friday, November
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Councils fare well in rating system
MORE social services departments in the region are getting their act together after a third round of assessments. Three years after the Government introduced star ratings to measure the effectiveness of social service departments, more North-East councils
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Social services see more stars
MORE social services departments in the region are improving their performances after a third round of assessments. Three years after the Government introduced star ratings to measure effectiveness of social service departments, more North-East councils
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Social services see stars as departments improve
MORE social services departments in the region are improving, a third round of assessments shows. Three years after the Government introduced star ratings to measure the effectiveness of social service departments, more North-East councils have attained
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Assessments for region's councils
MORE social services departments in the region are getting their act together after a third round of assessments. Three years after the Government introduced star ratings to measure the effectiveness of social service departments, more North-East councils
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Killer of a king
Viv Hardwick discovers how actor Henry Goodman decided to bring the murderous role of Richard III to the stage and why he feels Shakespears's disabled king deserves respect. The play launches the seven-strong Royal Shakespeare Company's Tyneside season
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Hodgson axe falls on Robson
A day after winger Alan Morgan returned to Blackburn Rovers, striker Glen Robson was last night released by the club. Hodgson has allowed Robson to join Durham City on a free transfer after he was deemed surplus to requirements at the Reynolds Arena,
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Mother's plea for marrow donors
MOTHER-OF-THREE Andrea Nash desperately needs a bone marrow transplant to treat her leukaemia. The 32-year-old from Sunderland is urging as many people as possible to register as potential bone marrow donors at a special recruitment drive on Monday. "
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Small school has wide circle of friends
GREETINGS from around the world have arrived at County Durham's smallest school as the 14 pupils celebrated their part in an international project. Forest-in-Teesdale Primary School, near Barnard Castle, has been linked with schools in Germany, Italy
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Childcare scheme to create 800 new jobs
ALMOST 3,000 childcare places will be created in County Durham over the next three years. At least 800 carers will be recruited as part of a £17m investment that will help parents return to work or take up training. County Durham's Early Years Development
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History exhibition
VISITORS to Bishop Auckland will get their last chance this week to visit a history exhibition. The History of the Romans in County Durham has been on display in the Discovery Centre, Bishop Auckland, since last month and will come to a close on Saturday
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Mayor's tribute to fallen
CROWDS gathered in Darlington to remember the fallen with a service and a wreath laying ceremony. The Rev Christopher Wardale led the service at at Holy Trinity Church, Vane Terrace, before the 50th (Northumbrian) Signal Squadron (Volunteers) led the
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Leisure to play key role in £1bn riverside renaissance
A SPORTS complex and music arena could be built as part of ambitious £1bn regeneration plans. The first outline of proposals, designed to create hundreds of jobs and change the landscape of industrial Teesside, were unveiled yesterday. The sports centre
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Review: Stones In His Pockets, Darlington Civic Theatre
THIS award-winning comedy, by Irish author and actress Marie Jones, has a cast of a dozen or so characters, most of whom are involved in shooting a Hollywood film in a quiet Irish village. Caroline Giovanni is the American star, closely guarded by her
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Bit of an I do
ANOTHER week, another wedding in Soapland, although the joining together in holy matrimony of Roy Cropper and Tracy Preston/Barlow in Coronation Street (ITV1) is one of the strangest in history. The story so far goes something like this. Roy is married
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Fish washed up on river bank
AN INVESTIGATION is under way to find out why 170 fish were found washed up on the banks of the River Wear last week. One possibility is that chlorine escaped from a new water treatment plant in upper Weardale and contaminated the river, poisoning the
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Gentle way to keep fit
VOLUNTEERS have teamed up with their council and other agencies to promote a new sporting activity in Wear Valley. The 2D Volunteer Bureau, Wear Valley District Council, Durham Dales Primary Care Trust, Age Concern and One NorthEast are working in partnership
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Massive pay-out fear for Ghost Fleet firm
THE boss of the North-East yard hoping to scrap condemned US navy ships warned last night: "We'll lose millions if the ghost ships deal is scuppered." His warning came as protestors urged Tony Blair to take the matter up with George Bush when the President
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Learning is child's play at nursery school's £1,000 toy library
NURSERY children now have their own toy library. Nearly £1,000 has been spent on toys and games for the new library at Roseberry Primary School's nursery, in Pelton. Under the SureStart Chester-le-Street initiative, children are allocated a game a week
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Proud fans hail defeated team
A SEA of purple scarves, shirts and even wigs swept over the stand as Shildon supporters celebrated an historic day on Sunday. An army of loyal fans had travelled to support the Railwaymen in their match against the country's oldest club, Notts County
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Centre is open all hours for tennis ace
YOUNG tennis ace Jonathon Gunn is getting a helping hand from his local leisure centre. At 13, he has such potential that managers at the Stokesley centre are allowing him to train with regular users rather than at youngster-only sessions. He has been
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Notes From Planet Zog: Boys and their beds
Z is for ZOMBIE. Otherwise known as the undead. Otherwise known as any teenage boy cruelly roused from his bed before the crack of noon. True, there are no doubt young lads who leap lightly and joyfully from their beds and go out to work, or play sport
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Alarm at Corus closure cash 'pot'
Corus has already earmarked £40m to pay off thousands of workers if its Redcar plant closes, it emerged last night. The news raised fears that steelmaking on Teesside could be dead by 2007. In a frank statement, the Anglo-Dutch manufacturer issued a veiled
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First view of pioneering education village scheme
WORK on the country's first education village is to get under way early next year if plans are approved next week. A detailed planning application for the £35m super-school, which is to be built on the site of Haughton Community College in Darlington,
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Mills cleared by FA over on-field antics
ON-LOAN Middlesbrough right-back Danny Mills has escaped censure over his on-field clash with Wolves duo Lee Naylor and Paul Ince. But the FA yesterday confirmed that the tunnel fracas which followed the fiery encounter at the Riverside Stadium 12 days
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Developments hold promise of economic boom for region
SCHEMES with a value totalling more than £200m that will create thousands of jobs in the Tees Valley are about to get under way. The transformation of the North-East's southern frontier will, it is hoped, act as a catalyst for regional growth. More than
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Durham student will not be extradited
THE Government yesterday refused to authorise extradition proceedings against an Iranian diplomat accused of helping to mastermind the car bombing of a Jewish centre in Argentina. The Home Office said it had not been provided with enough evidence to proceed
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New To Rent
Hulk (12) Stars: Eric Bana, Jennifer Connelly, Sam Elliott, Josh Lucas, Nick Nolte DR Bruce Banner (Bana) is working with his ex-girlfriend and brilliant fellow researcher Betty Ross (Connelly) with cutting edge genetic technology. During a freak accident
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BAE systems signs tanker deal
BAE Systems has signed a deal with US aircraft firm Boeing which could see the British company win work worth more than £2bn in the next 20 years. The agreement to collaborate on the design, development, supply and support of air-to-air refuelling tanker
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Castle to host concert
A CELEBRITY gala concert will be held in Bishop Auckland later this month. Tickets are on sale for the event in Auckland Castle's State Room, on Saturday, November 22. Baritone David Stephenson and mezzo-soprano Alison Hudson will be accompanied by David
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Something of the fight about him . . .
DIG out your drainpipes, locate your leg-warmers and dust down your ra-ra skirt, our politicians are taking us on a trip through the 1980s. The 21st Century was forgotten when Michael Howard's debut at Prime Minister's Questions was dominated by less-than-fond
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Meningitis kills teenager hours after all-clear
A woman whose 19-year-old daughter died from meningitis hours after being sent home from hospital has spoken about the tragedy. Lisa Richardson was given the all clear by doctors who sent her home in the early hours of the morning last week, but collapsed
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School's tribute to soldier
A SCHOOL paid tribute to a former pupil who lost his life while on duty in Iraq earlier this year as part of its annual Armistice Day service. The ceremony at Wolsingham School and Community College was more poignant than ever this year as students and
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Mother's plea for marrow donors
MOTHER-OF-THREE Andrea Nash desperately needs a bone marrow transplant to treat her leukaemia. The 32-year-old from Sunderland is urging as many people as possible to register as potential bone marrow donors at a special recruitment drive on Monday. "
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Theft blow for Aimee
A TEENAGER who suffers from an incurable condition has been left heartbroken by the theft of horse-riding equipment. Aimee Barber, 15, has Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, a rare condition which weakens the skin, ligaments and internal organs. Because of her condition
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Merry monarch
Steve Pratt reports on the BBc's latest costume drama which revises the regal role of Charles II. Rufus Sewell found the king, whose father was beheaded, could be sentimental and tough, good and bad and quite moral... when he wasn't being a little naughty
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Council tax payers to pay for Bush N-E visit
COUNCIL tax payers will help shoulder the huge cost of policing an expected visit by US President George Bush to the North-East, it emerged last night. The Northern Echo has learnt that any security operation will be paid for directly from the Durham
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Learning centre takes step forward
Plans for a school and adult learning centre have taken a step forward. Darlington Borough Council is inviting architectural firms to tender for the design of the Skerne Park Primary School and adult learning centre to be built on the estate. The school
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£100,000 for out-of-school care
DARLINGTON is to receive more than £100,000 for out-of-school childcare. The money is the borough's share of a £2.3m payout in the final round of grants from the New Opportunities Fund. The money will help to create two childcare clubs and expand other
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Building workers find grenade
AN Army bomb disposal team last night blew up an anti-tank grenade found on a seaside construction site. The controlled explosion was carried out on the Mowlem construction site, between Redcar and Marske, east Cleveland. The Second World War grenade
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Fears for patient
POLICE say they are increasingly concerned for the safety of a missing hospital patient. There have been two reported sightings of John Pedalty, 57, from Bishop Auckland, on the A66 in the Darlington area and in Crook. Mr Pedalty walked out of the Lambton
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School has new aids to learning
A SCHOOL has installed latest technology in every classroom to improve learning and monitor attendance. Woodham Community Technology College in Newton Aycliffe was successful last term in gaining a grant from the Department for Education and Science to
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Information points open
A SCHEME to bring information technology to north-west Durham is launched next week. Durham County Council is building 16 community information points in Derwentside. Based in libraries, community centres, schools and village halls, they will offer free
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Wardens making residents feel safer, reveals survey
COMMUNITY wardens are making people in a Teesside town feel safer in their homes, according to a survey. And after receiving the informaton, Hartlepool Borough Council has hailed the £600,000-a-year scheme which is funded by two separate Government bodies
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Maureen is top of the school chefs
COOK Maureen Deans was named as the best school chef in the region yesterday. Ms Deans, 53, who prepares meals at St Joseph's RC Primary School, Jarrow, South Tyneside, won the Local Authorities School Chef of the Year award for the North-East and Scotland
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Artists keep Horticap exhibition in the picture
ARTISTS from across North Yorkshire are drawing together to help raise funds for a local charity. More than 60 artists from York, Harrogate and Knaresborough are submitting work for the ninth Horticap art exhibition, which starts today and runs until
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Eight arrested during drugs raids on houses in region
DRUGS police swooped on Northallerton yesterday morning, raiding five houses and arresting eight people. Sixty officers dressed in riot gear and stab vests surrounded the houses at 8am before breaking down the doors and storming inside. Five men and three
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High-speed trains to stop at market town
A MARKET town is to be added to the Intercity rail route - but warnings have been issued that the town could lose out on trade unless there are more hotels. Virgin Trains has announced that its high-speed trains will stop at Chester-le-Street. But station
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PC's leg broken during wedding fight
A FIGHT between two women at a wedding left a policeman with a broken leg, a court was told yesterday. Teesside Crown Court heard 100 guests were watching the two women fighting outside The Falcon in Harrowgate Lane, Stockton when three officers arrived
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Man with violent past fails in appeal
A MAN with a string of convictions for violence yesterday failed to get a cut in his jail term for biting off part of a man's ear. In the past, Dean Chalmers had threatened two potential witnesses with a sawn-off shotgun, attacked a man with a machete
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Arts students play on memories
PERFORMING arts students at a Stockton college are staging an unusual event at the Arc today. The group from Stockton Riverside College will perform The Wrong Place - Back to the Hippodrome, as a reminder of the Hippodrome which stood on the site of the
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Football fan faces ban over racial chants
A LIFELONG Sunderland football fan could face a permanent ban from the club, after he was convicted of racist chanting. Raymond Holmes, 32, of Parkhurst Road, Sunderland, yesterday pleaded guilty to racial chanting at Sunderland AFC's match against Coventry
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Castle to host concert
A CELEBRITY gala concert will be held in Bishop Auckland later this month. Tickets are on sale for the event in Auckland Castle's State Room, on Saturday, November 22. Baritone David Stephenson and mezzo-soprano Alison Hudson will be accompanied by David
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Health roadshow is popular
THE last in a series of roadshows designed to encourage people to adopt a healthier lifestyle drew an encouraging turnout. About 60 people attended the Your Health roadshow in Shildon this week. It followed similar events in Ferryhill and Newton Aycliffe
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Spotlight on how to manage heritage
THE management of world heritage sites is being discussed by experts in the North-East this week. Durham, with its dual world heritage sites of the cathedral and castle, is seen as a fitting backdrop for the four-day conference. It aims to tackle head-on
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13/11/03
GORDON BROWN: WHILST I agree with some of Stuart Hill's sentiments (HAS, Nov 12) about Gordon Brown, surely his job was made a little easier by that which he inherited. Mr Brown and Tony Blair admitted so themselves in 1997, that they had inherited an
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Bangalore does it better, says NRE
SWITCHING part of the National Rail Enquiries Service (NRE) to India could improve the quality of information provided to customers, its chief executive told MPs yesterday. Chris Scoggins, NRE chief executive, told the Commons Transport Select Committee
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John North: Sinking failing
READY to mix it with the worst of them, the British Government towards the end of World War I ordered 154 concrete hulled ships - tugs and barges - to overcome a shortage of steel. Two of the barges were built on the Tees at Thornaby. Far from a lead
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Dishing the dirt on a filthy house
How Clean Is Your House? (C4): WITH Georgina Taylor's home, it was more How Dirty Is Your House? The answer was very dirty indeed. The place was filthier than the top shelf in a newsagent's. That Georgina is a professional cleaner made the sights and
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Cricket club's fireworks go with a bang
CRICKET club officials have thanked their community for helping a Bonfire Night go with a bang. Annfield Plain Cricket Club, in north-west Durham, staged its second annual Guy Fawkes firework event last week, following a successful trial attempt last
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Planning officers give backing to fishing project
A BID to create a coarse fishing club at a countryside site should be given the go-ahead according to planners. Guy Reed Farms wants to develop the site near the A168 at Asenby, near Thirsk. Earlier, after protests from the Ministry of Defence, a scheme
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Private hospital decides to end its eye laser treatment
ONE of the region's largest private health groups has pulled out of laser eye surgery. After treating about 750 patients during the past five years the Bupa hospital group has discontinued laser eye surgery at their Washington site. Bupa, which is competing
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Campaigners' anger over post closures
TWO Darlington post offices are to be scrapped next month - provoking anger from campaigners who fear pensioners will lose a community lifeline. The Faverdale and North End facilities had been the subject of speculation for several weeks, as a public
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Ironically, wind conditions delay turbines
WORKERS are to begin erecting the country's biggest wind turbines in the North-East. Energy company Powergen is building four windmills the size of London's Big Ben clock tower, on two remote sites in County Durham. They will be the largest and most powerful
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Police dogs put through paces with helicopter airlift exercise
A CANINE flying squad took to the skies this week as part of its police training programme. The exercise is part of a demanding training programme for four German Shepherd dogs from Durham Police Constabulary. It was planned to airlift Jack, Jagger, Dan
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All go for Quo
THE Echo's team of reviewers looks at the first crop of albums and singles seeking that all-important Christmas cash. ALBUMS Status Quo: Riffs (Universal) The word 'riff' was probably made for Status Quo who, if a bit long in the tooth now, still enjoy
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Riches beckon Mr Bountiful
MR BOUNTIFUL must go very close provided the gaps come at the right time in division two of Lingfield's seven-furlong betdirect.co.uk Handicap. With 16 runners going helter-skelter around the track's sharp left-hand bend the resultant scrimmaging often
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Groups cash in on lottery
COMMUNITY groups across County Durham are celebrating cash windfalls after scooping a share of the National Lottery. Almost £10,000 will be donated to groups in the south of the county through the Lottery's Awards for All scheme to benefit people in the
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Dead reckoning surprises Sarah
Planning a wish list of things to do before you die never occured to Sarah Polley, even when it was the plot of her film. She talks to Steve Pratt. A mother-of-two decides not to tell her family that she has only a few months to live. Instead, she makes
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Zenden fears the Bravehearts
MIDDLESBROUGH winger Boudewijn Zenden last night insisted Holland would not make the "stupid" mistake of underestimating Scotland in their Euro 2004 play-off. The Dutch are delighted to have landed a two-legged tie with the Scots rather than the likes
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Comment from The Northern Echo: Sending out wrong signals
THE dangers posed by the ghost ships have never been proved beyond doubt. Equally, the environmental safety of towing the ageing vessels across the Atlantic and dismantling them at Hartlepool was never certain. Able UK will argue that the mere fact the
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Cordell takes over site contracts
A PRIVATE engineering and construction firm has taken over the site contracts of failed firm Hartlepool Fabrications. Cordell Group, of Stockton, took on the firm's site construction operations under the umbrella of its Structures Teesside subsidiary,
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Inquest delayed into death of RAF engineer
AN inquest into the death of a North-East serviceman who took part in secret military chemical warfare tests has been put back to the New Year. Wiltshire and Swindon coroner David Masters is to hear the circumstances of the death of 20-year-old Ronald
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Minister calls for wider access to broadband
GOVERNMENT minister Stephen Timms has called for the whole of the UK to have access to highspeed broadband Internet links by the end of 2005. The Department of Trade and Industry official called on the broadband industry, Government and the regions to
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Winning sides
Viv Harkdick talks to Oscar-winning writer Ronald Harwood about his play Taking Sides, which is also released as a movie this month, and the queue of work awaiting the pen of the respected screenplay creator. HAVING just celebrated his 69th birthday,
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The battle of the sexes
Parents were told yesterday that they would not be able to choose the sex of their babies. Nick Morrison looks at the truth behind sex selection - and asks whether it's really a slippery slope to designer children. THE Ancient Greeks didn't have much
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Artists keep Horticap exhibition in the picture
ARTISTS from across North Yorkshire are drawing together to help raise funds for a local charity. More than 60 artists from York, Harrogate and Knaresborough are submitting work for the ninth Horticap art exhibition, which starts today and runs until
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Sailing into stormy waters
Protestors, politicians and Press greeted the first of the Ghost Ships yesterday. Gavin Havery was among the news scrum. UNDER the dark, grey, heavily skies of Teesside, the nose of the first ship sidled into view. Slowly, the massive grey hulk edged
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£100,000 boost for childcare
DARLINGTON is set to receive more than £100,000 for out-of-school-hours childcare. The cash is the borough's share of a £2.3m payout in the final round of grants from the New Opportunities Fund. The money will help to create two additional childcare clubs
