Archive
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Baby Lennox home after op to save his life
A baby whose will to live has astonished doctors is back home. Lennox Nicholson's family, friends and neighbours were celebrating last night after doctors gave his parents the all-clear to take him home. The six-month-old, who had only days to live before
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Wendy reveals how search for ancestors helped in personal battle
A WOMAN has published the story of how researching her ancestors has helped overcome depression. Wendy Cleasby's book, Tales from Teesdale, Grassholm and Greena: My Story and Journey, details how she began looking into the stories of her ancestors from
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Living in an aural war zone
On New Year's Day I found a dead hare on the verge at the entrance to my village. I had never observed any hare, alive or dead, in that particular area before. What had brought it there? Perhaps it had been frightened from its "form', its sleeping place
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Quitting rate is highest in North
NEARLY twice as many smokers in the region are quitting compared to people in London, according to statistics. The figures, released by the NHS Health and Social Care Information Centre, put the North-East in front when it comes to giving up. The best
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Surgery with a softer touch
SHE may be strident, bordering on the officious on Channel 4's hit makeover show 10 Years Younger, but Nicky Hambleton-Jones is disarmingly affable in person. ''I'm not vicious at all,'' she protests with a laugh. ''In the first series I was a bit nasty
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Sex attacks may be linked
Two sex attacks in a North city may be linked, police say. In the first incident, a 20-year-old woman was assaulted as she returned to her car in a car park off Westgate, in Ripon, North Yorkshire, at about 1am on Saturday, December 17. The woman was
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Gas pipeline dispute adds to region's concerns
RUSSIA'S gas pipeline dispute with the Ukraine could add to the headache of rising energy prices for the region's businesses. The North East Chamber of Commerce (NECC) warned last month that rocketing fuel bills were threatening productivity in the region
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Jails are full so drug dealer, 19, walks free
A DRUG dealer who was expecting to be jailed was allowed to walk free because prisons are full. Anti-drug campaigners last night condemned the decision to punish Thomas Scarth with a suspended sentence and community-based orders. And they called on judges
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It's going to bake the Earth to a cinder
The days may at last be getting longer, but the Sun is still making only fleeting appearances. Nick Morrison looks at a new biography of the most important body in our lives. TO the Egyptians it was Ra; to the Greeks, Helios; in India it was known as
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Southgate admits it's time for Boro to scrap
GARETH SOUTHGATE has made no attempt to paper over the cracks by admitting Middlesbrough are in the midst of a relegation scrap. Despite being denied a valuable three points at Newcastle on Monday only by an injury-time leveller from Lee Clark, the draw
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Son jailed in Australia for killing adoptive parents
A COLD-BLOODED killer who murdered his adoptive parents after the family moved from the North-East to Australia has been jailed for 28 years. The jailing of David Weightman brings to an end a family's six-year crusade for justice, after Australian authorities
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Decision awaited on arts grant
ONE of the region's leading arts venues is waiting to hear if an extra £200,000 will be available for a refurbishment project. More than £1.5m will be invested in improving Darlington Arts Centre, in the town's Vane Terrace. Funding has already been secured
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Conman posed as police officer to rob pensioner
Police are hunting for a conman who posed as a police officer to steal more than £3,000 from a pensioner. The 79-year-old victim was left shaken and upset after the incident in Redcar, east Cleveland, on Tuesday. The incident has prompted a warning from
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Salon is just the tonic
A SALON offering clinical and beauty treatments has opened on Yarm high street. The A Vita offers hot stone therapy and massage, reflexology, botox, fillers, fat transfer and skin peels. The firm is run by plastic surgeon Paul Baguley, as medical director
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Mystery man left fighting for his life
A TILL receipt for a can of lager and a security TV image are the only clues to the identity of a mystery man left fighting for his life after a traffic accident. The man, thought to be in his 30s, suffered serious head injuries and broke both his legs
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Historian Vera chronicles town's celebrities past and present
THE achievements of men and women from a town have been recognised in a book. Redcar Personalities is the 11th book by historian Vera Robinson. The 90-year-old, of The Willows, Redcar, has written several books on the history of Redcar and surrounding
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Drivers questioned as hunt for girl's attacker continues
Police last night carried out road checks in a small community where a six-year-old girl was abducted from her bath and sexually assaulted a week ago. The child was dumped naked and shivering in a back lane a few streets away about 15 minutes later in
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Comment from The Northern Echo: More than a drugs problem
IN the run-up to the election which gave Tony Blair his coveted third term in Downing Street, the electorate's desire to see tough action taken against anti-social behaviour was placed at the top of the campaigning agenda. It is hard to see how that fits
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Murray survives early scare
Andy Murray insists he was not concerned, despite being given an early scare before booking his place in the second round of the Adelaide International. The 18-year-old had to fight back from a set down before overcoming qualifier Paolo Lorenzi, 24, who
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Children show off their talent
PRIMARY school youngsters proved they had the X Factor as they took to the stage to show off their talents. Pupils from Coundon Primary School were the stars of their version of the television show which they put on to entertain family and friends. The
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Historian Vera chronicles town's celebrities past and present
THE achievements of men and women from a town have been recognised in a book. Redcar Personalities is the 11th book by historian Vera Robinson. The 90-year-old, of The Willows, Redcar, has written several books on the history of Redcar and surrounding
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Fined for sandwiches
A SHOPKEEPER has pleaded guilty to displaying out-of-date sandwiches despite several warnings. Tariq Nazir, who runs Zaks Off Licence, in Linthorpe Road, Middlesbrough, was fined £500 and ordered to pay £634.92 in costs by Teesside magistrates. A food
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Gas pipeline dispute adds to region's concerns
RUSSIA'S gas pipeline dispute with the Ukraine could add to the headache of rising energy prices for the region's businesses. The North East Chamber of Commerce (NECC) warned last month that rocketing fuel bills were threatening productivity in the region
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Council hopes for award of £322,551
DURHAM City Council's planners may have won a Government cash boost after hitting targets set by Whitehall. The department, which handles applications ranging from major re-developments, such as Walkergate, to extensions to houses, has been provisionally
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Woman sought for using stolen card
POLICE are turning to the public for help in cracking a crime which has been unsolved for eight months. Shortly before 4pm on Tuesday, May 3, a woman, thought to be about 30, went into Martin Newsagents, in North Road, Durham City, and bought a large
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Motivation to get fit in 2006
RESIDENTS hoping to shed a few post-Christmas pounds will have extra help this year. Gateshead Council has taken on four physical activity development workers to motivate people to exercise. The recruits include Paula Shaw, who previously worked as a
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One in five sea dippers back out
ONE in five fundraisers who volunteered for a freezing Boxing Day plunge backed out on the day. They had promised to brave the icy waters at Seaburn Beach, in Sunderland, to raise money for charity. But out of more than 1,000 people who registered to
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Fear of moors without sheep
THE sight of sheep roaming across the North York Moors could soon be a thing of the past, according to research. And conservationists are warning that the lack of grazing animals could change the landscape forever with open moorland giving way to scrub
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Licence to tackle nuisance tenants
A NEW licensing scheme for private landlords aims to raise standards and deal with the minority of nuisance tenants. Middlesbrough Council has been given the power to introduce the scheme for landlords in selected areas to ensure they run their properties
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Baby Lennox home after op to save his life
A baby whose will to live has astonished doctors is back home. Lennox Nicholson's family, friends and neighbours were celebrating last night after doctors gave his parents the all-clear to take him home. The six-month-old, who had only days to live before
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Overhaul of taxi ranks may get the go-ahead next week
A RADICAL overhaul of taxi ranks, as part of a controversial scheme to make Darlington town centre traffic-free, could be agreed by council chiefs next week. Darlington Borough Council is pressing ahead with work on its £6.5m Pedestrian Heart project,
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China girl daphne dances her way to 100
A PENSIONER who was taught to dance the Charleston by a royal prince celebrates her 100th birthday today. More than 50 friends and family will join centenarian Daphne Stevenson at the Nightingale Hall Nursing Home, in Richmond. Mrs Stevenson was born
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Passion since boyhood leads to exhibition
A CHILDHOOD pastime has brought artist Walter Behrens to his first exhibition in east Cleveland this month. Mr Behrens, 61, of Redcar, has been painting for more than 50 years, travelling across Teesside and North Yorkshire to find inspiration for his
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Debate starts on proposal to amalgamate two schools
TALKS are to start on the closure of two Teesside primary schools to make way for a modern education centre. Plans are being drawn up to demolish the under-subscribed Redbrook and Roseworth primary schools in Stockton, in favour of a £4m single replacement
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Christianity in spotlight
A LEADING expert will address the question Is Christianity Arrogant? at a lecture later this month. Michael Ramsden, the European director of a Christian academic think-tank, will be talking and answering questions at Harrogate New Life's informal lecture
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School celebrates-straight As' report
THE year has got off to the best possible start for a North Yorkshire school. The Allertonshire, in Northallerton, has been highly praised and judged as "outstanding" by the Government watchdogs at Ofsted. The school, which teaches 750 students aged 11
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Being locked up -was sobering experience'
SPENDING Christmas and New Year behind bars convinced a teenager he ought to get a job and settle down, a court was told yesterday. Harrogate magistrates heard how Gary Brown, 19, had spent the past three weeks on remand in a young offenders' institution
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Serial sex attacker may be at large
Detectives have warned women to be on their guard amid fears a serial sex attacker could be on the loose. The warning comes after two young women were assaulted in separate incidents in Ripon, North Yorkshire. In the first incident, a 20-year-old woman
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On TV
Sweeney Todd (BBC1) IF nothing else, this retelling of the gruesome story of the demon barber of Fleet Street was a 90-minute commercial for vegetarianism. I may never be able to look a steak and kidney pie in the face again. Most of us know the bare
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Pranksters put Black Cats for sale on ebay
Internet pranksters have put the Premier League's worst football club up for sale on internet auction site ebay. By Wednesday morning, bottom-of-the-table Sunderland had attracted bids for more than £2.5 million, but with more than eight days left, the
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Quakers boss set to tempt stars with new contracts
DARLINGTON manager David Hodgson will make his first signings of 2006 today. With seven players out of contract, Hodgson is ready to offer new terms to Shelton Martis, Clark Keltie, Anthony Peacock, Carlos Logan and Guylain Ndumbu-Nsungu. The future of
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Town pessimistic for 2006
BUSINESSES are pessimistic about the forthcoming year in Darlington, despite more optimism in the wider North-East region. But recent trends have continued, with turnover figures maintaining steady growth and numbers of employees also showing a positive
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Pool need to keep it clean to win games
SKIPPER Micky Barron believes the key to getting back on track this season is to tighten up at the back. After just two wins in 11 League and Cup outings, Pool have slipped down the League One table and have won only three times at home this season, Monday's
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Thousands go unpunished for speeding, statistics show
THOUSANDS of motorists are escaping without being fined after they are caught by speed cameras on roads in the North-East. Figures from the Department for Transport show a third of all drivers caught on camera in the Northumbria Police area avoid prosecution
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Phil is on a roll with new venture
A RETIRED teacher has taken his hobby one step further so others can enjoy his favourite pastime. Former classics teacher Phil Balmforth has used his specialist knowledge to add two new boardgames to the market. Mr Balmforth, 60, of Linthorpe, Middlesbrough
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Inglis Drever joins high-profile casualties
Inglis Drever became the latest high-profile casualty of the New Year when he was ruled out for the rest of the season with a tendon injury. Three leading Cheltenham Festival candidates have now been sidelined in as many days, with Harchibald and Kicking
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A hair raising prospect
A government think tank proposes asking hairdressers for advice but do we really want snippers deciding services? SO are you going anywhere nice for your policies this year then? The latest wizard wheeze from Demos, the Government think tank (And doesn't
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Ishka Baha can make switch to fences pay
THE lamentable British Horseracing Board have again failed in their duty by scheduling the fixtures in such a way that there isn't a meeting within 120 miles of our region this afternoon. It's bad news for northern jockeys, trainers, and owners, all of
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O2 agrees to takeover
SPANISH telecoms group Telefonica said that a majority of shareholders in UK mobile phone firm O2 had accepted its £17.7bn takeover offer. Telefonica said that O2 investors owning 62.72 per cent of shares has indicated their support for its bid by midday
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A hair-raising proect
SO are you going anywhere nice for your policies this year then? The latest wizard wheeze from Demos, the Government think tank (And doesn't that strange phrase conjure up a wonderful image...?) is that hairdressers could be trained to dispense advice
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Extra patrols kept streets free of Yuletide criminals
POLICE say a Christmas crackdown on shoplifters, pickpockets and bag-snatchers operating in the centre of Consett during the festive season proved a success. Police increased the number of foot patrols, by local beat and community support officers led
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Man, 40, headbutted officer
A 40-YEAR-OLD man headbutted a police officer following a row with his wife, a court heard. Graeme Sykes, who called police to his house in Brinkburn Road, Darlington, was given a 12-month supervision order. He was also ordered to pay the police officer
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Girl facing sentence
A TEENAGE girl is to be sentenced later this month for scalding her mother with boiling water. The incident took place at her former home, in the Consett area of County Durham, last June, when she was 14, after she was ticked off for staying out the previous
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First business moves into new office development
AN online trading company has become the first business to move into offices at newly-developed Ripon Business Park. Online payment service provider, SECPay, has moved into 2,100sq ft offices in the development, built by Severfield-Reeve Projects (SRP
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Ornament thrown at woman in argument
A MAN who threw an ornament at a woman's head during an argument has been spared jail. Magistrates at Newton Aycliffe Court yesterday heard that Kim Robinson needed five staples in her head after she was attacked in her home by George Albert Harrison.
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Read all about it as pupils put pen to paper
A POETRY publication by children at a County Durham school has caused countless youngsters to find their muse. Editors of the Barney Bard, at Barnard Castle School, have been flooded with rhymes since it was launched last year. Editor Rebecca Heslop said
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Partners' expansion is a beauty
TWO hairdressers who have worked together for 25 years have proved it is never too late to learn something new by branching out into beauty therapy. Yvonne Harrop and Lynne Goldsborough, both 41, of Salon 19 in Leadgate, near Consett, have expanded their
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Funding for green project
AN environmental charity has received a donation from the North East Postcode Lottery. Groundwork West Durham has received a cheque for £2,212 for its Greenhouse project on Greencroft Industrial Park, at Annfield Plain, near Stanley. The Greenhouse, which
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Revealed: plans for future of popular visitor centre
PLANS for the future of a visitor centre which promotes Bishop Auckland's heritage have been revealed. The Discovery Centre, which brings visitors from around the region to the town, is to move from its Market Place base to a bigger building at the heart
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Man suffered broken jaw in street attack
A MAN received a broken jaw when he was attacked in the early hours of New Year's Day. The 22-year-old who is recovering at home, in Chester-le-Street, was attacked in the town centre, at the junction of Newcastle Road and Pelaw Bank, between 1am and
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Speeding puts paid to teenager's French job
A TEENAGER'S plans to work in France were thrown into chaos yesterday when he appeared in court. Police clocked Frank Flannigan's Audi A4 travelling at 100mph in a 60mph limit as he was driving back to Darlington to see his sick mother, magistrates were
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Council to take over funding of community hall
COUNCIL chiefs are poised to take charge of financial aspects of the £473,000 revamp of a community centre in Darlington. Red Hall Community Association is preparing to carry out the major refurbishment and extension project. Money has been secured from
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Shoplifter used a pushchair as cover
A MOTHER-OF-TWO was arrested for shoplifting after using her child's pushchair as cover while she stole a Christmas present for her boyfriend. The offence happened only minutes after Louise Hart was freed by a court following a row at the funeral wake
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Ruling tomorrow on controversial road closure
THE end is in sight for a road closure that has split a community. Council officials will rule tomorrow on whether Lowfields Avenue, Ingleby Barwick, near Stockton, should remain closed. But Alf Graham, who has lived in the area for 20 years, said Lowfields
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Jails full so drug dealer walks free
A DRUG dealer who was expecting to be jailed was allowed to walk free because prisons are full. Anti-drug campaigners last night condemned the decision to punish Thomas Scarth with a suspended sentence and community-based orders. And they called on judges
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Choirboy with a golden voice
A TEENAGE choirboy has won a top national award. Scott Richardson, 14, from Catterick Village, is one of only 30 people in the country to receive a Royal School of Church Music gold award. Scott is head chorister of St Mary's Church choir, in Richmond
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Man accused
A MAN accused of using his brother's identity in an attempt to evade arrest faced a total of 12 charges when he appeared in court yesterday. Magistrates in Harrogate sent Ali Reza Bakhtiary-Nejad, 21, for trial at York Crown Court and bailed him to make
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Leader spells out challenges to get council back on track
ALL is not well at Richmondshire District Council. Councillors have been accused of bullying officers, officers have been accused of breaking rules, and both staff and members have incurred the wrath of residents over a proposal to sell property in Richmond
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04/01/06
HOT UNDER COLLAR: I READ with interest the article by Nick Morrison (Echo, Dec 28) on the question of the increasing abandonment of wearing ties. It was factual enough but made no mention of a matter that concerns me that, when an ordinary shirt is worn
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Manslaughter case thrown out of court
The case against a man accused of killing his housemate during a drunken row has been thrown out of court. On the second day of his manslaughter trial jurors were ordered to find Robin Jacques, 41, not guilty of killing his friend Barry Thompson. The
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Trading begins as skincare company joins stock market
SHARES in a Durham-based company were being traded for the first time today after shareholders approved a name change and takeover. Dermasalve Sciences, which produces skin products for dry skin sufferers, was floating on London's junior stock market,
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Praise for success of Echo campaign
A NORTHERN Echo campaign to save residents from the heartache and misery of doorstep crime is working, trading standards officers say. A report released yesterday by North Yorkshire Country Council shows that the number of residents visited by doorstep
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N'Zogbia leaps to defence of under-fire Boumsong
WHILE the critics of Newcastle United's error-strewn defence continue to feed off fresh mistakes, teenage winger Charles N'Zogbia has leapt to the defence of his French colleague Jean-Alain Boumsong. Even club talisman Alan Shearer chose to publicly moan
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Liam hopes for Cup boost
THEY might not carry the same allure as a Chelsea or a Manchester United, but Liam Lawrence is hoping this weekend's visit of Northwich Victoria marks a turning point in Sunderland's season. Northwich, who are third in Nationwide North following Monday's
