Archive
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Delays to town centre upgrade
A MULTI-MILLION pound scheme to pedestrianise a North-East town centre could be delayed by months and cost hundreds of thousand pounds extra. Last night, some traders in Darlington reacted with anger after the discovery that the £6.5m Pedestrian Heart
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Sea-plunge car owner banned
THE owner of a car that plunged into a North-East marina when her drunken friend got behind the wheel has been banned from driving for a year. Trainee accounts technician Stacey Margaret Carey, 18, had earlier been drinking with Sarah Lewis when the car
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Woman hurt by robber
A WOMAN has been left shaken after a robbery attack. The 36-year-old was walking home from a shop at 9.30pm on Saturday and cut through an alleyway between Tennyson Close and Birchington Avenue, in Grangetown, near Middlesbrough. She was hit on her head
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Success of transport scheme
A JOINT operation between a transport company and police to tackle troublemakers on a North-East Metro system has been hailed a success. British Transport Police (BTP) patrols have recently been stepped up on the Sunderland section of the Metro line.
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Award for top allotment
A PRIZE-WINNING allotment has been awarded £5,000 to spend on improvements. Harlow Hill Allotments, in Harrogate, has been awarded the maximum grant from the Award for All Community Fund. On previous occasions the site - which is run by its members -
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Affordable homes built in estate 'true test of fund'
NEW houses have been built on a village council estate to help meet the need for affordable accommodation. The Three Rivers Housing Group has built 14 homes on parcels of land at Rose Lea, Witton Gilbert, that were sold to it by Durham City Council. The
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Fight is won for village school
CAMPAIGNERS spoke of their delight yesterday after a seven-year battle to build a village school came to an end. North Yorkshire County Council's planning committee granted permission for the school to be built in Sutton-under-Whitestonecliffe, near Thirsk
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Gearing up for free city bus travel
ELDERLY and disabled passengers will be able to travel free on Durham City's park- and-ride buses next month. A concessionary scheme that starts on April 1 for ordinary bus services throughout County Durham, will also apply to the Durham County Council
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Leading jazz duo to perform
ONE of Scotland's leading jazz duos is to visit to Durham City next weekend. Saxophonist Ian Millar and pianist Dominic Spencer are to perform at the City Theatre, in Fowler's Yard, at 7.30pm on Saturday, March 25. The duo has previously played the Edinburgh
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Samantha leads the way with funding
PROMISING athlete Samantha Hart has been helped on the road to success with a grant from her local council. Redcar student Samantha, 18, will use her £80, from Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council's Community Chest fund, to pay for a weekend course in
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Talks on forest bike track proposals
CYCLE enthusiasts are being asked their views on plans to develop a Teesside beauty spot. The public are being invited to a consultation meeting next week on plans to create a series of mountain bike trails through Guisborough Forest. Guisborough Market
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Bobby to the rescue of bride-to-be
A HELPFUL bobby saved the day when a bride's wedding car broke down on the way to church. Victoria Cheal, 27, was in tears by the roadside in her bridal gown when she was spotted by PC Andy Smith. As her fiance David Richardson, 31, anxiously checked
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Football star wanted over burglaries
A TROUBLED former North-East football star has been on the run from the police for the past four months after being named as a suspected burglar, it emerged last night. Ex-Sunderland striker Chris Byrne is being hunted by police investigating a £1.5m
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Town wins grant of £653,000
DARLINGTON'S booming business economy has earned it one of the highest Government grants in the country. Darlington Borough Council was awarded a £653,000 grant - the sixth highest in the country - following the town's economic growth. Last year, the
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Man collapses after chase to catch bag snatcher
A MAN collapsed while giving chase to thieves who stole his sister's handbag. The 56-year-old man, who is an epileptic, was discharged after receiving treatment and being detained overnight in The James Cook University Hospital, Middlesbrough. He had
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Eternal hope for Boro boss McClaren in Rome
IN the Eternal City of Rome, manager Steve McClaren feels Middlesbrough can keep alive dreams of an historic UEFA Cup triumph by claiming AS Roma should be the team running scared. Boro trained in the outstanding Stadio Olimpico for the first time last
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No World Cup call-up for Dyer
KIERON Dyer has pledged to put his international ambitions on hold and insisted his latest return from injury should not be interpreted as the start of a World Cup warm-up. The Newcastle midfielder made his seventh appearance of the season when he replaced
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15/03/2006
REVISION COURSES IT was interesting to read that a Darlington school is offering revision courses to help GCSE students improve their exam results (Echo, Feb 17). But even more interesting was the fact that the school is charging £275 plus VAT for the
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No World Cup call-up for Dyer
KIERON Dyer has pledged to put his international ambitions on hold and insisted his latest return from injury should not be interpreted as the start of a World Cup warm-up. The Newcastle midfielder made his seventh appearance of the season when he replaced
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Market report
The latest round of takeover interest in London failed to inspire the market yesterday as it slipped just off Monday's high. A string of retailers surged up the blue chip risers board after mid-cap stock Kesa was targeted by private equity suitors. But
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Investment to bring jobs to region
A FAMILY firm has invested more than £300,000 in machinery and is planning to create up to eight new jobs over the next three years. Ernest Bennett & Co, based at Durham Tees Valley Airport, has won a contract from the UK's largest saw milling group
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Where the real danger to our children lies
SOMETIMES we miss the obvious... As we marked the tenth anniversary this week of the shooting at Dunblane - where Thomas Hamilton just walked into a primary school and killed a teacher and 16 of her young pupils - there has been much discussion of increased
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How can we plug the energy gap?
WITHIN hours of The National Grid warning that gas demand was outstripping supply, the price of wholesale gas had quadrupled. The warning was made after a number of factors ranging from the unexpectedly cold weather to the country's main gas storage facility
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Army denies 'sending men into death trap'
THE commander in charge of six Red Caps killed by an Iraqi mob has denied claims that the men were sent into a volatile "powder keg". Colonel Thomas Beckett was giving evidence yesterday on the first day of an inquest in Oxford into the deaths of six
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Band on track for bright future
A YOUNG band is looking forward to a bright future after winning a regional talent competition. Darlington band Kartel won the TFM Unsigned 2006 competition against five other acts in the grand final, in front of an audience of 700 at Zanzibar Club, in
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Constrained by freedom
TODAY'S education vote in Parliament is, according to the Prime Minister, all about giving schools greater freedom and parents greater choice. But the problems and pitfalls of these ideas are clear to see in Tony Blair's own constituency of Sedgefield
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Where the real danger to our children lies
SOMETIMES we miss the obvious... As we marked the tenth anniversary this week of the shooting at Dunblane - where Thomas Hamilton just walked into a primary school and killed a teacher and 16 of her young pupils - there has been much discussion of increased
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Nothing left in its Stead
EMBLETON is a village on the north Northumberland coast, tranquil save for karaoke night at the Greys Inn. Weather warning notwithstanding, we passed last weekend there. It was the home of Sir Edward Grey, later Viscount Grey of Follodon, the Liberal
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Farmers' market cooking challenge
SHOPPERS at a farmers' market can take part in a Ready Steady Cook-style competition this week. Darlington's indoor and outdoor markets will host a series of events to promote the variety and standard of foods available in the Tees Valley on Friday. During
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Delays to town centre upgrade
A MULTI-MILLION pound scheme to pedestrianise a North-East town centre could be delayed by months and cost hundreds of thousand pounds extra. Last night, some traders in Darlington reacted with anger after the discovery that the £6.5m Pedestrian Heart
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Delap glad to be on Wearside
Rory Delap has no regrets about his move to Wearside. On the contrary, he insists his decision to join relegation certainties Sunderland during the January transfer window was the right one. The utility man acknowledged he was under no illusion about
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Boots sheds 100 North jobs
MORE than 100 jobs will be lost at a Boots distribution centre after the retail group announced plans for an overhaul of its warehouse operation. Boots is to shed up to 2,250 jobs over the next three years with the creation of a modern automated £70m
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Cool Cowley is suited
JIM CROWLEY'S cool persona is ideally suited to Ungaros (4.00) hold-up run style for this afternoons Coral Cup at Cheltenham. The underrated journeyman jump jockey, who has survived a series of career threatening injuries over the past few years, is fully
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Keltie's appeal decision is due today
Darlington will discover this morning whether midfielder Clark Keltie will be suspended for their next four matches. Quakers lodged an appeal to the FA over the red card referee Carl Boyeson brandished in the second half of the win over Chester City on
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School fencing outcome
RESIDENTS have won their fight to prevent a 6ft high fence from being erected near their homes to enclose school playing fields. Harrogate Grammar School's planning application to erect the fence met fierce opposition from residents whose homes would
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How can we plug the energy gap?
WITHIN hours of The National Grid warning that gas demand was outstripping supply, the price of wholesale gas had quadrupled. The warning was made after a number of factors ranging from the unexpectedly cold weather to the country's main gas storage facility
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Arrested for would-be theft from pensioner
A MAN has been arrested in connection with an attempted theft from a 73-year-old woman who beat off her attacker with a brolly. Chester-le-Street police confirmed last night a 23-year-old man had been arrested over Sunday's incident in the town. As reported
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Repaving work will close road
A £480,000 repaving project that is smartening up the centre of Crook is on course to be finished by the end of the month. Durham County Council started work in January to lay York stone paving and install lighting in front of the Civic Centre. The project
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Chance to join growing trend
AN innovative project to encourage people to take up gardening while tidying their town has begun this week in Shildon. Two community gardens have been created in Dale Road and Waverley Terrace, which allow owners to choose how big a plot of land they
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Putting young artists in the frame
A SCHOOL hall became an art house yesterday as an exhibition of pupils' work went on display. Youngsters from St Cuthbert's RCVA Primary School, in Crook, had their artwork professionally framed. Watercolours, collages and much more were on show as parents
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Vandals attacking £2,000 Smiling Sid speeding signs
VANDALS are wrecking £2,000 traffic signs which frown at speeding motorists. It is thought the culprits are mistaking the electronic signs for speed cameras and are attempting to scrap them. The illuminating signs, known as "Smiley Sids", have been in
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Man on child porn charges
A 43-year-old man was committed for trial at Teesside Crown Court when he appeared before magistrates on child pornography charges yesterday. Joseph Robert Catterson, of William Street, Chester-le-Street, faces 16 charges of making indecent photographs
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Children creating a sculpture
SCHOOL pupils have experienced creativity by getting hands-on experience making a sculpture. Karen Rann, a freelance artist with the Baltic, in Gateshead, visited St Hild's Church of England Primary School, in Durham, for a two-day workshop. The visit
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Groups battle it out in crime competition
FOUR groups of young people are about to battle it out in the North Yorkshire Crimebeat finals - with prizes of up to £1,000 at stake. The national Crimebeat scheme aims to reduce crime, the causes of crime and enhancing the quality of life within communities
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Camera warning on road
DRIVERS have been warned mobile road cameras will enforce speed limits of 50mph to protect workers making improvements to a stretches of a trunk road. The temporary speed limits have been set up along sections of the A19, at the Chester Road Interchange
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'Hard-edged' policing teams
A CHANGE in police tactics in which detectives are used in the fight against low-level crime and anti-social behaviour has produced a dramatic increase in detection rates, officers claimed yesterday. They said the reorganisation of neighbourhood policing
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Boost for neighbourhood
WORK has started on a project to make a north Durham community a safer and more pleasant place for residents. The project in the William and Jane Street area of South Moor, Stanley, has been developed by environmental regeneration charity Groundwork West
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Woman denies supplying methadone
A MAN living in a homeless hostel died after being given a bowl of the heroin substitute methadone, a court heard. The body of Joseph Patrick James Smyth was found the next day in his room at the Roselodge hostel, in Yarm Road, Stockton. Claire Winter
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Three-way fight for seat
A BY-ELECTION is to take place following the resignation of a member of Durham City Council's ruling Liberal Democrat group. Fionna Davison, who holds one of three seats in the Shadforth and Sherburn ward, has resigned from the city council. Councillor
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Call for Alzheimer's funding
More than 180,000 new cases of dementia are diagnosed in England and Wales each year, according to the Alzheimer's Research Trust. More than half a million people in the UK have Alzheimer's disease and the charity predicts the figure will double within
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No headpineafhahfafhiafhaphfaphfaphfaphfahap
A HELPFUL bobby saved the day when a bride's wedding car broke down on the way to church. Victoria Cheal, 27, was in tears by the roadside in her bridal gown when she was spotted by PC Andy Smith. As her fiance David Richardson, 31, anxiously checked
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Health check for footballers welcomed
A CHARITY that has won support in the North-East for its campaign to have young people screened for heart defects has welcomed a plan to check the health of all footballers taking part in this summer's World Cup. Cardiac Risk in the Young (Cry) has won
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Brother and sister bound by life and death cancer fight
Brother and sister Derek and Susanne Foster face a joint battle for life after both were struck by breast cancer. They are believed to be the first male and female siblings in Britain to have the illness simultaneously. Mr Foster, 59, was diagnosed in
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Pensioner took own life
A PENSIONER being treated for depression hanged himself with a length of electric cable. An inquest on Teesside heard that 93-year-old Richard Trigg was independent, but received daily visits from care assistants as his health deteriorated. The widower's
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Stephenson's run comes to an end at Pool's bogey ground
PAUL Stephenson's impressive five match unbeaten run as caretaker manager ended in disappointing fashion last night when his Hartlepool side went down to Brian Laws' Scunthorpe in a proverbial game of two halves. Pool's stand-in boss cut an animated figure
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Fresh appeal after report of man's plunge
POLICE investigating a report that a man had fallen from a bridge have made a fresh appeal for information. A man was reported to have fallen off the Redheugh Bridge, between Newcastle and Gateshead just after 3.30am on Saturday. Since then, there have
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Roofer fined £950 for work on 85-year-old's home
A ROOFER found himself in court after he charged an elderly pensioner £120 for a roof repair without giving her the chance to change her mind. David Gascoigne called unannounced at the 85-year-old's Hartburn home, near Stockton, offering his services
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Italian thugs "Ultras" blamed for Rome violence
FOOTBALL fans told today how their trip to Europe to follow their team turned into an horrific bloodbath after extremist hooligans went on the rampage. Far-right Italian thugs known as "Ultras" were blamed for the violence which marred the build-up to
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Judges throw out knifeman's appeal to challenge sentence
A KNIFEMAN who repeatedly stabbed a neighbour in an early-hours doorstep confrontation has been told he deserves every day of his sentence by top judges. Stephen Renwick, 40, called at the home of his neighbour on September 27, 2004, produced a knife,
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Delap glad to be on Wearside
Rory Delap has no regrets about his move to Wearside. On the contrary, he insists his decision to join relegation certainties Sunderland during the January transfer window was the right one. The utility man acknowledged he was under no illusion about
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Preference to help sons buy first homes
A SURVEY has revealed parents in the region are more likely to help their sons rather than their daughters with getting on the property ladder. On average, sons in the North receive 20 per cent more than daughters when buying their first home. The survey
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Assemblies by the back door?
A CLASSIC example of the arrogance of New Labour came the other day. On a topic of huge importance, its assumption that the Government knows our minds better than we do demonstrates that Tony Blair and his circle have learned nothing from the collapse
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Furniture factory workers given help
REDUNDANT workers at Sunderland's Stag Furniture factory were being offered help to find new jobs yesterday. Staff from JobCentre Plus went into the factory yesterday morning following Friday's news that the Southwick factory was to close with the loss
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Firm secures £4m oil rig deal
GLOBAL consultancy firm Stapleton International has secured a multi-million pound deal to provide project services for the building of a new drilling rig. The Darlington company said the contract with GlobalSantaFe, based in Houston, Texas, will help
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Poised to put a smile back on the face of English rugby
DESPITE his tender years, Mathew Tait has already survived the ferocious fall-out that follows a Six Nations defeat. Last February, the 19-year-old's solitary senior international cap came as England lost 11-9 in Cardiff's Millennium Stadium. Just four
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A haunting we will go . . .
Ghosts in Durham City are not easy to come by. Around every corner in York or Chester, they seem ready to jump out at unsuspecting tourists, eager to recount their grisly tale. We could be forgiven for wondering if their stories are embellished for the
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Dark clouds of disaster gather as trouble brews at the mill
ON the face of it, the mills on the Skerne in the centre of Darlington were highly successful. By the middle of the 19th Century they employed 1,000 "hands" who made the highest quality textiles. All the flags that fluttered a welcome to the world's visitors
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Eternal hope for Boro boss McClaren in Rome
IN the Eternal City of Rome, manager Steve McClaren feels Middlesbrough can keep alive dreams of an historic UEFA Cup triumph by claiming AS Roma should be the team running scared. Boro trained in the outstanding Stadio Olimpico for the first time last
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17 workers to go in restructuring
SEVENTEEN jobs are to go at Thorn Lighting. The cuts will be made mainly through voluntary redundancies as part of a restructure at the factory in Spennymoor, County Durham. Thorn is looking to reduce its workforce over the next 18 months. "This should
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Firm secures £4m oil rig deal
GLOBAL consultancy firm Stapleton International has secured a multi-million pound deal to provide project services for the building of a new drilling rig. The Darlington company said the contract with GlobalSantaFe, based in Houston, Texas, will help
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Making the Chinese connection
BUSINESSES are being urged to export to China to bring success. UK Trade and Investment staged the first of about 20 seminars yesterday urging the region's business leaders to take on the world. The China Challenge, held at Durham County Cricket Club's
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From beer mats to business
A BEER mat, a pen, and mentoring could be the keys to business success, according to entrepreneur Mike Southon. The author of The Beermat Entrepreneur is giving two seminars at Business Link's Innovation '06 event at Middlesbrough Teaching and Learning
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Blair's drink fines on the rocks
TONY Blair's local police force is refusing to use his flagship new powers to stamp out underage drinking - saying they don't work. County Durham police handed out only one on-the-spot fine to an under-18 for trying to buy alcohol in the first 11 months
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Worker admits sex assault on waitresses
A JOB agency worker indecently assaulted waitresses serving at a county cricket ground. Albert Joseph Tudor was working as a dish washer during a Durham County Cricket Club fixture, at the Riverside, in Chester-le-Street, when the incidents happened,
