Archive
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Soldier is spared jail after attack
A SOLDIER with an exemplary service record was spared prison yesterday after an attack on his wife. Ian Paul Davies, 31, stationed at Claro Barracks, Ripon, admitted assaulting his wife and resisting a police officer. Harrogate magistrates were told the
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Ashes win inspiring young cricketers
THE success of England's fledgling cricket side in India is inspiring south Durham youngsters to take up the game. Coaches at Willington Cricket Club are expanding their coaching programme so that children as young as five can take up the sport, and play
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Centre to be re-opened
NORTH Durham MP Kevan Jones will re-open the Stanley Community Centre today, following refurbishment. The centre, in the town's Tyne Road, has been refurbished and upgraded to improve disabled access. Work has included the fitting of automatic entrance
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Public library will open - in local pub
BOOKS rather than beer will be on offer today when a pub opens for business. Residents of High Spen, in Gateshead, have been invited to join in the celebrations at the opening of the community library - in the Bute Arms, at 11am. The library is a joint
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Art funds Africa volunteer work
AN art student will leave for Africa next week to help in the fight against HIV. Campbell Patterson has raised the £3,000 he needs for the four-month volunteering trip by painting commissioned portraits. The 19-year-old, from Durham City, leaves for Malawi
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Students act out Scottish play
ENGLISH literature students took the limelight to prepare for their exams. Year nine pupils at Hurworth School acted out scenes from Shakespeare's Macbeth in the run-up to their Sat exams. The production, organised by the school and performed at Eastbourne
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Pool anxious for Friday hat-trick
WITH their last two victories - and their only wins since December - coming in their last two Friday night games, Hartlepool United know the importance of making it three tonight. Chesterfield and Huddersfield have been dispatched in recent weeks at Victoria
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Scouts' display
MEMBERS of Durham City and District Scout Council are to showcase the benefits of scouting with public displays in the city centre, to mark the centenary of the movement. The centrepiece of the activities will be a 20ft climbing tower, to be mounted in
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News in brief: Feathers will fly on stage
GUISBOROUGH Theatre Club will present Flying Feathers this weekend. The Derek Benfield play sees a chief constable arrive at the country house of his late brother to find it has been turned into a brothel. Performances are tonight and tomorrow at 7.30pm
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Police warn girls after park violence
POLICE have warned young girls about their behaviour following separate outbreaks of violence in a public park in recent days. The two incidents, in Peterlee's Woodhouse Park, are said to have involved girls from the Shotton Hall School in the town. In
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Citizen of year
ENTRIES to this year's Middlesbrough Citizen of the Year competition must be in by the end of next week. The scheme, run by Middlesbrough Council, aims to find the person in the town who has made a major contribution to the community in the past year.
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Police give design award
THE development company behind a new office complex has been presented with a design award. Amadeus Properties was given the Secured by Design award by North Yorkshire Police in recognition of its work on the offices at Swinton Grange, near Malton. The
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Search under way for the Best Bar None
PUBS and clubs across Middlesbrough are being challenged to prove they are the safest in the town. The Best Bar None competition, which is aiming to find the best and safest drinking venue, was launched yesterday in the Dickens Inn, in Southfield Road
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Top award for hospital nursing team
A SPECIALIST team at a North Yorkshire hospital has won a prestigious nursing award. The neurology service at St Katherine's, in Scarborough, has won a major award at the Palliative Care Awards 2006. Specialist neurology nurse Rebecca Haughty attended
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Company switches 215 jobs overseas
ELECTRONICS firm Saia-Burgess last night confirmed it was moving 215 jobs overseas in the face of competition from low-cost economies. The Gateshead-based company, which employs about 350 people, said it was scaling back manufacturing at its Team Valley
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Quinn 'putting together club bid'
NIALL Quinn is assembling a consortium to make an approach to take control of Sunderland Football Club "sooner rather than later", according to sources close to the player. A spokeswoman at the Stadium of Light last night told The Northern Echo: "The
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Street shut as grenade found
THE discovery of an 80-year-old grenade in a back garden led to the evacuation of houses on a North-East estate. It was uncovered by the new occupants of a house in Ashgrove Avenue, Hartlepool. When they found the device, they looked on the Internet and
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Fresh warning over rail dangers
YOUNGSTERS have been gi ven a fresh warning about the dangers of playing near railway lines with the Easter holidays fast approaching. Network Rail and the British Transport Police (BTP) said that with trains travelling at speeds of up to 125mph and dangers
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Inquest delivers unlawful killing verdict
An inquest into the slaughter of six Royal Military Policemen at the hands of an Iraqi mob has returned a verdict of unlawful killing. The Oxford inquest has heard graphic evidence on the massacre in Al Majar Al Kabir, near Basra, on June 24, 2003. Oxfordshire
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Town chosen for country's biggest sponsored walk
THE biggest sponsored walk in the country is this year to be held in Darlington, it has been announced. The Great North Walk is to be held in the borough for the first time, after being staged at various venues around the North-East since it was set up
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US approves flu drug
PHARMACEUTICALS group GlaxoSmithKline has won US approval of its prescription antiviral drug Relenza as a tool for preventing flu in adults and children. Relenza joins Roche's Tamiflu as the only other drug with Food and Drug Administration (FDA) clearance
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Shoptalk: Red hot chilli man
A passion for peppers has prompted Mark McMullen to launch his own website dedicated to the hot little numbers. DARLINGTON - the chilli capital of the world! Not as daft as it sounds and it's all down to Mark McMullen, who has a passion for peppers. With
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McClaren confident his side can turn it around
STEVE McClaren last night claimed his Middlesbrough side were capable of producing an unlikely escape act in next week's UEFA Cup quarter-final second leg. Last night's 2-0 defeat in Basle has left the Teessiders' European hopes hanging by a thread. A
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How £10 can save children's lives
Can the people of the North-East come together to give our children a better start in life? Health Editor Barry Nelson explains the goals of The Tenner Campaign which is launched today. THE Yellow Brick Road Campaign - which transformed children's health
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UEFA Cup Diary
WITH Basle inundated with jewellery salesmen, the travelling press pack decided to spend yesterday in Zurich. A swift tour of the city was followed by a lunch-time stop off at FIFA headquarters, one of Switzerland's most opulent buildings. Sepp Blatter
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Zoo was right to shoot escaped chimp - report
A DECISION by zoo officials to shoot dead an escaped chimpanzee has been backed by a council report. Environmental health managers said it was an "understandable but difficult" choice to make in the circumstances. But inspectors have called for improvements
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Smart on target for Guineas
Hambleton trainer Bryan Smart has revealed Sir Xaar and Misu Bond to be in great shape and on course for the Stan James 2000 Guineas at Newmarket on May 6. Sir Xaar, a son of champion two-year-old Xaar, notched three wins in a busy two-year-old campaign
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Red hot chilli man
DARLINGTON - the chilli capital of the world! Not as daft as it sounds and it's all down to Mark McMullen, who has a passion for peppers. With a fellow enthusiast, he has launched a website which tells you all you would ever want to know about growing
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Disgraced former analyst dies at 80
DISGRACED former psychiatrist William Kerr has died - only weeks after his wife Beryl Bromham passed away. Their deaths come just over five years after Kerr was found by a jury at a finding-of-fact hearing to have indecently assaulted a former patient
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Baby rescued by neighbour in house blaze
AN heroic neighbour ran through a burning house to rescue a baby after a suspected arson attack at 5am this morning. Fire fighters were called to Surrey Terrace, in Billingham, Teesside, after a wheelie bin was set alight. Neighbour Spencer Carter, who
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Pensioner raped in own home will face attackers at court
A pensioner who was repeatedly raped in her home by two drug-crazed teenagers has decided to face them in court on their judgement day. The 19-year-olds put the 65-year-old through hours of degradation, but she is determined to attend the hearing when
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Win against Lincoln would rekindle Hodgson's hopes
DAVID HODGSON has so far refused to concede defeat in the battle to secure a play-off place, but he admits Darlington will be playing League Two football next season if they fail to beat Lincoln City tomorrow. While many fans have long written off any
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Time running out as Boro pay for defensive lapses
BASLE is currently playing host to the world's biggest watch fair and, after Middlesbrough slipped to a 2-0 defeat in the city last night, the clock is now ticking on the Teessiders' UEFA Cup dream. With the second leg of their quarter-final still to
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Mr Blair must stop dithering
My good friend Ashok Kumar certainly seems to have stirred up a hornets' nest with his article in The Northern Echo earlier this week. For those who missed it, Ashok praised the Prime Minister to the hilt but said the time had now come for him to stand
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Princess Royal shares spotlight with four humble donkeys
THE Princess Royal shared the stage with four humble donkeys yesterday as she celebrated the work of a charity close to her heart. The Pageant of the Donkey at York Minster was organised by the local Guild of Freemen and Riding for the Disabled (RDA)
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Introduction of Drugs Act is welcomed by police chiefs
NORTH-EAST police chiefs have welcomed new powers which come into force in selected areas of the region today allowing officers to drug test people arrested for certain offences. The new measures are part of the Drugs Act 2005 and will be used in those
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How the Tenner Campaign could help children like Colin
COLIN Scott is four years old but cannot walk, talk or sit up because he has cerebral palsy. He was diagnosed after he had a seizure just three hours after he and his twin brother, Cavan, were born. Colin's family - who live in the village of Wentworth
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Pensioner raped in own home will face attackers in court
A pensioner who was repeatedly raped in her home by two drug-crazed teenagers has decided to face them in court on their judgement day. The 19-year-olds put the 65-year-old widow through hours of degradation, but she is determined to attend the hearing
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Review at Tenon as profits fall
FINANCIAL services group Tenon yesterday said it was carrying out a "strategic review of the business" as it reported a fall in pre-tax profits. Tenon, which employs 80 people at its office in Sunderland, said it had received a number of expressions of
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Europe's 'ghost ships' on course for North-East?
THE North-East could find itself in pole position when it comes to the scrapping of potentially toxic "ghost ships" from across the UK and Europe, it emerged last night. A Government study suggests Teesside and Tyneside are among the best possible locations
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Badger baiting swoop
POLICE executed a further warrant yesterday as part of a continuing investigation with the RSPCA into badger baiting in the North-East. Property was seized from a house in the Cramlington area of Northumberland. It forms part of Operation Rushford, an
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Arrests after pair attacked
A MAN and a woman have been arrested in connection with an alleged unprovoked attack on two teenagers in Darlington town centre earlier this week. The incident, involving a 15-year-old girl from West Auckland, and her 14-year-old boyfriend from Gainford
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Theatre group hits the road
A travelling theatre group is to visit primary schools in North Yorkshire to help improve pupils' communication skills. The education roadshow will visit schools in the Harrogate area in May. Activities include a 30-minute drama performance, followed
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Tributes are paid to former teacher
TRIBUTES were paid yesterday to an teacher who had a smile for everyone. Betty Mason, who died on Monday aged 75, was head of the sixth-form and head of biology at Teesdale Comprehensive, in Barnard Castle, until her retirement. Her husband Ted said yesterday
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Rescue centre fundraisers put their best feet - and paws - forward
PUPILS and pups went for a walk in the country this week to raise money for an animal rescue centre. Youngsters from Mowbray School, in Bedale, North Yorkshire, took nine border collies on a circular route from Richmond to Easby Abbey and back. The dogs
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Council cafe cash
A COUNCIL has scooped £2,000 towards staffing costs at its youth cafe. Ferryhill Town Council secured the grant from Sedgefield Borough Council's Koolcash Fund for the E-Cafe youth facility. The E-Cafe, in the town's market place, was developed to provide
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Attempted robbery
POLICE are appealing for information after an attempted robbery at a betting shop. Two youths with hoods over their faces entered Ladbrokes, in Denton Park Shopping Centre, Newcastle, at 6.30pm on Wednesday. They each pulled out knives and asked for money
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Introduction of Drugs Act is welcomed by police chiefs
NORTH-EAST police chiefs have welcomed new powers which come into force in selected areas of the region today allowing officers to drug test people arrested for certain offences. The new measures are part of the Drugs Act 2005 and will be used in those
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'Minewater project will not blight stretch of coastline'
ASSURANCES have been given that a proposed minewater treatment plant will not blight a stretch of the nearby North-East coastline. The Coal Authority plans to create the £2.5m facility in Dawdon, Seaham, to pump and treat contaminated water from nearby
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Barbara leading campaign to encourage recycling
A COUNCIL worker has knocked on more than 2,000 doors to encourage residents to recycle their waste. Barbara Webster, a waste liaison officer, has also carried out 487 waste audits working with Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council. The work has been funded
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Charity set up in back yard to move to new £400,000 HQ
A CHARITY set up in a borrowed back yard ten years ago has bought land for a new £400,000 headquarters. Chopsticks, based in Northallerton, has purchased a site on the town's Darlington Road Industrial Park. It is planning to build a 650sq metre base
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Troublemakers facing total ban from pubs in crackdown
LANDLORDS are calling time on troublemakers in pubs and clubs in a crackdown that has left drinkers crying in their pint. The tough action across Stockton, Billingham, Thornaby and Yarm, means a ban imposed by one pub is a ban from all drinking spots
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Scholarship joy for classmates
TWO schoolboys are celebrating after winning scholarships to Ampleforth College. Christopher Holmes and Patrick Faulkner, both 13, are pupils at Aysgarth School, near Bedale. Christopher has won an academic scholarship. He has attended Aysgarth since
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Andes trek supporting charity
COUSINS Caroline Bradley and Joanne Vest are staging a series of events to fund an emotional expedition to Peru. The duo, both aged 27 and from Durham, hope to join the trek, following the Inca trail through the Andean foothills, being staged by UK Cancer
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Consumer hotline up and running
RESIDENTS in Darlington can benefit from a new hotline designed to provide clear and concise consumer advice. Darlington Borough Council's trading standards department has joined Consumer Direct, an initiative funded by the Department of Trade and Industry
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Arrests after pair attacked
A MAN and a woman have been arrested in connection with an alleged attack on two teenagers in Darlington town centre earlier this week. The incident, involving a 15-year-old girl from West Auckland, and her 14-year-old boyfriend from Gainford, is said
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Countryside ranger appointed
THE first countryside ranger has been appointed in Darlington to help people enjoy the outdoors Ruth Congreve, a former ranger with Northumbrian Water, will work at the Maidendale Fishing and Nature Reserve, for Darlington Borough Council, helping people
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Animal ban for pair in cruelty case
A COUPLE who admitted five charges of animal neglect and cruelty have been banned from keeping animals for life. Martin Aldworth, 36, of Hall Terrace, Willington, and Denise Johnson, 34, of Hawes Crescent, Crook, were disqualified from keeping animals
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Couple met on dance floor
A COUPLE who met on the dance floor yesterday celebrated their diamond wedding anniversary. Thomas Burlison, 84, met his wife, Mary, 80, at an event in a hut during the war. He was a miner at the time, and his wife, who worked at the local dairy, was
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'I believe in aliens'
He's been a physics teacher and a literary editor. But last night Andrew Crumey was the winner of the country's biggest literary prize. He tells Lindsay Jennings why he doesn't take life too seriously. I'M not sure what to expect when I arrange to meet
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£4m wood recycling centre will open in June
A £4m wood recycling centre is being built to supply a biomass power station on Teesside. The move will create 40 jobs over the next three to four years. UK Wood Recycling (UKWR) will build the site next to the Wilton 10 Biomass Power Station on the Wilton
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Hearty skipping by pupils to raise funds for charity
CHILDREN sprang into action for charity when they held a sponsored skip in aid of the British Heart Foundation. Youngsters at Fairfield Primary School, in Stockton, took part in a Jump Off Challenge to raise money for heart research, education and patient
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Crime fighters' project to carry on
IT'S the end of the road for a crime-fighting duo, but the work they started will be carried on by others. Sue Willoughby and Jim Robertson have fitted burglar alarms, door entry systems and security lights to more than 1,000 homes and given safety advice
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Boots has an eye on the future after sales are revived
HEALTH and beauty chain Boots continued its recovery yesterday by unveiling a surprise pick-up in sales for the past three months. Boots, which earlier this month announced a restructuring plan with the loss of more than 100 jobs in the North-East, bettered
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Start of a new chapter?
THE competition watchdog yesterday defied the literary fraternity by ruling that a takeover of book seller Ottakar's by HMV would not harm choice or quality. The Competition Commission said it was provisionally giving a green light for HMV to make a fresh
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Guest leads North-East quintet at Wynyard
TEESSIDE Golf Club's Vince Guest led the way for the North-East among a group of five golfers from the region who took massive strides towards becoming a regular fixture on the PGA Europro Tour yesterday. In one of the country's pre-qualifying events
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Falcons boss wields the axe
ROB Andrew has swung the axe after what he called an abysmal display last Sunday as Newcastle Falcons prepare for tonight's European Challenge Cup quarter-final at home to Connacht. The return of internationals Colin Charvis and Jamie Noon was expected
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Brave James defies illness to win student of year title
A PROP maker for the film industry was honoured last night for completing his studies while twice battling cancer. James Oliver became FE+ Student of the Year at a ceremony in Yarm, near Stockton, as the Tees Valley celebrated the finest examples of determination
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The Judge's Tales: Durham start tour with comfortable win
WITH 22 players from Durham competing against each other in our first two-day game of the tour, it is fair to say that the headline was always going to include a positive result for the club. But after hours of nets and practice we have now all played
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Comment from The Northern Echo: We'll deal with 'ghost ships'
THERE will be mixed feelings today over the prospect of the North-East becoming the base for the dismantling of "ghost ships" from across Europe. But the potential economic benefits outweigh the inevitable environmental concerns - as long as lessons are
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Collins looks forward to locking hornes with Stubbs
ALAN STUBBS made as many appearances in his entire Sunderland career as he has since rejoining Everton, but still made plenty friends at the Stadium of Light. Stubbs was one of Mick McCarthy's major signings last summer when he was plucked from Goodison
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Falcons boss wields the axe
ROB Andrew has swung the axe after what he called an abysmal display last Sunday as Newcastle Falcons prepare for tonight's European Challenge Cup quarter-final at home to Connacht. The return of internationals Colin Charvis and Jamie Noon was expected
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Everything points to Angelofthenorth
James Bethell, who has a couple of all-weather winners to his name and has started the turf season in fair form, can notch his first win of 2006 on grass with Angelofthenorth in the Wallyford Fillies Handicap at Musselburgh. The four-year-old has come
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Company switches 215 jobs overseas
ELECTRONICS firm Saia-Burgess last night confirmed it was moving 215 jobs overseas in the face of competition from low-cost economies. The Gateshead-based company, which employs about 350 people, said it was scaling back manufacturing at its Team Valley
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A laughing stock
DEATH and taxes seem remote possibilities alongside the absolute certainties that a moronic motorist will get stuck in the River Wear after heavy rain and the English sprint relay team will drop, or fail to hand over, the baton. And what a surprise that
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On TV
Stairlift To Heaven (C4) A who believes soaps don't reflect real life would've been surprised to find this documentary in The Trouble With Old People season mirroring events in Coronation Street at present. In the week that fictional son Danny started
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£325m upgrade of A1 unveiled
DETAILS of a £325m scheme to upgrade 25 miles of the A1 have been unveiled. In a three-year project starting in 2008, a stretch of the motorway from Dishforth to Barton, in North Yorkshire, will be widened to three lanes, and junctions built at Baldersby
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Houllier seeks a move?
NEWCASTLE UNITED'S search for a new manager remains directed towards Martin O'Neill, although there is growing interest in the vacancy from abroad. Former Liverpool boss Gerard Houllier has emerged as the latest man to have contacted the St James' Park
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Murder victim's last movements
DETECTIVES investigating the murder of Lee Phipps have carried out a reconstruction of his final movements. They hope it will jog the memory of key witnesses who can fill in some of the gaps of Mr Phipps' last journey before he died in South Shields on
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Focus on deals
CAMERA firm Jessops impressed the City with its snapshot of trading yesterday as it prepared for life without the executive who led it through the digital revolution. Jessops said like-for-like sales in the 25 weeks to March 26, were 2.6 per cent ahead
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Brown hits back in Milburn tax row
Chancellor Gordon Brown hit back at a former senior Cabinet colleague yesterday over claims that his tax credit system had hit hard-working families. Darlington MP Alan Milburn - once Mr Brown's deputy at the Treasury - complained this week that a million
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'Radical thinking' urged as councils shake-up looms
NORTH-EAST councils were yesterday urged to think radically as they prepare for another bout of reorganisation. They were told to find new structures that will save money and provide strong leadership with directly-elected mayors, such as Middlesbrough's
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Europe's ghost ships on course for North-East
THE North-East could find itself in pole position when it comes to the scrapping of potentially toxic "ghost ships" from across the UK and Europe, it emerged last night. A Government study suggests Teesside and Tyneside as amongst the best possible locations
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Firm finds employment for redundant Elementis staff
Nearly a quarter of the workers spending their final day at redundancy-hit Elementis Chromium today have secured new jobs. A restructuring programme at the chemical company's Teesside plant comes into force today, with the loss of 114 jobs and the closure
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Residents urged to rat on dirty dogs
RESIDENTS are being asked to help the borough's environmental wardens catch dog owners who let their pets foul streets and parks. Wardens have a range of powers to deal with dog fouling and other environmental offences such as littering, fly-tipping,
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Prison warning to glass attacker
A MAN who glassed another man in a Darlington nightclub has been warned he could face jail. Adam James Egglestone pleaded guilty at Darlington Magistrates' Court yesterday to unlawful and malicious wounding. The court heard how 25-year-old Egglestone
