Archive
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Seals receive mackerel-flavoured Easter eggs
THE Easter bunny has visited a family of hungry seals - with a delivery of mackerel flavoured eggs. Keepers at the Blue Reef Aquarium in Tynemouth, North Tyneside, devised the special Easter egg hunt for their resident harbour seals.
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Carroll's timely intervention hands Newcastle lifeline
Stoke City 1 Newcastle United 1 ALAN SHEARER now has six matches to save Newcastle United from Championship football and if successful he will remember one man that saved the day at Stoke City – Andy Carroll. Having spent the best part of an hour struggling
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North Yorkshire man arrested over Lake District robbery
A MAN from North Yorkshire has been arrested following a robbery at a Lake District building society.] Police were called to the office in Crescent Road, Windermere, after reports that a man wearing a balaclava had threatened staff and made off with
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Argentines dropped by Shearer at Stoke
ALAN SHEARER has shown his ruthless streak by axing £10m defender Fabricio Coloccini from Newcastle United’s starting line-up. And while a groin injury prevents Obafemi Martins’ from playing at Stoke City, there were also suggestions that Shearer
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Boro take the points at the Riverside
Middlesbrough 3 Hull 1 • Read match analysis in the blog section here Marlon King stunned former club Hull as Middlesbrough snatched three vital points in their Barclays Premier League survival fight. King, who left Hull after
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Darlington draw at Saltergate
CHESTERFIELD 0 DARLINGTON 0 A patched-up Darlington performed remarkably well in adversity to draw at Chesterfield this afternoon. Dave Penney's side travelled to Saltergate without several key players, lost two more just hours before
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Macheda goal seals win for Manchester United
Sunderland 1 Manchester United 2 • Read match analysis in the blog section here Federico Macheda climbed off the bench to snatch victory for the second time in a week as Manchester United clawed their way back to the top of the Barclays
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Pools make a point at Crewe
JAN Budtz enjoyed a fine display to earn Hartlepool United a valuable point in a goalless draw at Crewe. With both sides entrenched in a relegation battle, Pools will be happy with a point to keep the distance between themselves and the drop
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MIDDLESBROUGH 3 HULL 1
MIDDLESBROUGH kept their hopes of a Premier League great escape alive with a crucial 3-1 victory over fellow strugglers Hull City. Goals from Tuncay Sanli, Matthew Bates and Marlon King secured a pricless three points that takes Boro to within two points
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Teachers agree 'unlawful' boycott of primary school Sats
TEACHERS have backed plans for a boycott of next year's primary school Sats tests. A resolution calling for a ballot on industrial action was passed unanimously by delegates at the National Union of Teachers' (NUT) annual conference in Cardiff. The
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SUNDERLAND 1 MANCHESTER UNITED 2
TEENAGE striker Federico Macheda was again the Manchester United match winner as Sunderland slipped closer towards the bottom three. Middlesbrough's victory over Hull City now means there are just two points between the Wear-Tees rivals with
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Police hope cowardly attack will feature on Crimewatch
A COWARDLY attack on an elderly retired doctor is likely to be dramatised for a TV crime show. Detectives investigating the beating of 92-year-old William Benson hope the case will be featured on BBC's Crimewatch. They are in talks with
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Southgate throws caution to the wind
GARETH Southgate has named his most attacking starting line-up of the season as Middlesbrough look to keep their Premier League survival hopes alive against Hull this afternoon. Afonso Alves, Marlon King, Tuncay Sanli and Jeremie Aliadiere all start
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Richardson KO'd for Man United clash
KIERAN RICHARDSON picked up a knock in training on Friday and misses today's game against his former side. The news is a huge blow to Ricky Sbragia who starts with his first choice strike force of Djibril Cisse and Kenwyne Jones as he looks
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No Porter or Humphreys for Pools
JOEL Porter sat out Hartlepool United's trip to Crewe – the top scorer suffering from a groin strain. He was replaced by Daniel Nardiello, who started up front with Keigan Parker. Ritchie Humphreys was also left out, with Joe Scarz handed a first start
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Five in court over armed post office raids
FIVE people arrested following a spate of armed robberies on post offices in County Durham appeared in court this morning amidst tight security. Police cordoned off Peterlee Magistrates's Court where three men and a 17-year-old youth appeared on charges
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Three rescued as blaze threatens flat
THREE people had to be rescued from an upstairs flat early today when a fire ripped through the disused shop below. Fire and rescue crews were called to the former high street showroom of The Fireplace in Bishop Auckland. The ground floor stock room
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Junior club's model railway opens
RAILWAY children are sharing their love of trains with passengers on one of the region’s tourism tracks. The Weardale Railway Junior Club has built a working model railway which is on display at Stanhope Station, in County Durham. The youngsters named
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Gala plans underway
PLANS for a town's annual gala are under way. The date has been set for Spennymoor Town Gala which will be held on Saturday July 4. The official opening of a fun fair and activities at Jubilee Park will be on Thursday July 2 and they will run through
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Birthday win for Crook man
A COUNTY Durham man got an extra birthday present when he discovered he had bagged £500 of supermarket vouchers. Kevin Thomson, from Crook, bagged £500 to spend on a shopping spree in Morrisons in a prize draw from energy company ScottishPower. Full
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Archbishop to conduct open air baptisms
THE Archbishop of York will conduct his now traditional open-air Easter baptisms today. The ceremony involves people being fully immersed in a large tank of water. Dr John Sentamu will perform the baptisms outside the West End of York Minster. The
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Rise of the retro holiday
The Hi-De-Hi factor is sweeping the country as millions of cash-conscious Brits are planning to book a break in a UK holiday park this summer. HELLO campers! It will be Redcoats at the ready this summer as a survey has revealed that more than
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Pan's people
Next year sees the 150th anniversary of the birth of JM Barrie. John Hobbs visits the tiny Scottish town where the author of Peter Pan first put pen to paper. THIS is the stuff childhood dreams are made of – sleeping in the place where Peter
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Gala takes on world
Durham is all set to stage a World Cup final in tribute to tiny West Auckland FC. "I’m not all that keen on football to be honest,” admits Durham Gala Theatre’s far-sighted artistic director Simon Stallworthy, who still couldn’t resist
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Hinds sight
CIARAN HINDS can’t quite work out how he became an international actor. “It’s beyond me, I just go from job to job,” he says. “I worked in the British and Irish system, mostly in theatre, for 15 years or so. I suppose it’s the most recent work
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Easter feast
A major renovation project has given St Andrew’s in Crook a new lease of life – and not only the building, the congregation too. THE invitation is to the church reopening, Saturday 2.30pm. Sorry, I reply, but there’s football on foreign fields
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Mark Warr
WE wholeheartedly agree with the comments of George and Jen Dutch (HAS, April 7) about Mark Warr, the most superb newsreader on Tyne Tees, being made redundant. He is the best newsreader Tyne Tees have ever had and some of his replacements can
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Booze refusal
I AM a 20-year-old student who attends Leeds Metropolitan University. The youngest in my family, I don’t have anyone to buy alcohol for other than myself. If I was approached on the street I wouldn’t dream of buying anything for strangers. I admit
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MPs' expenses
WE have to accept that the allowance claims of Government ministers Jacqui Smith, Tony McNulty, Geoff Hoon, etc, are legal. Legal, but unethical. I mean, working the system when millions of ordinary people are losing jobs, homes, savings, etc –
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Gordon Brown
I LOOK at the way Gordon Brown reacts and am convinced that he suffers from a particular limitation. Yes, he and the Government will be judged on the state of the economy, how we get out of the recession, how many are unemployed and how many businesses
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Ghostport
IT saddens me to see that some airlines have stopped some of their flights from my local airport. I have fond memories of “Teesside Airport” and I always try to fly from there instead of using other airports so that I can give it some business.
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Park-and-ride
I HAVE used the Durham City park-and-ride only three times and I cannot recall travelling with Arriva, but I believe the recent criticism from other HAS contributors of this company. Throughout my working life I always found that when either an
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Join the Toddle Waddle
THIS month marks the Meningitis Trust’s tenth Toddle Waddle event and we are seeking more support from your readers in the North-East and North Yorkshire. For the whole month, this fun event encourages supporters to arrange a sponsored walk or
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Dayes of ye olde credite crynche
IN the days when Teesdale and the Cleveland coast were parts of Scotland, there was a medieval credit crunch. It followed a decade in which England had been awash with money spent – some might say frittered – on great public works. The crunch was
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Friendly fire
Our Friends In The North actress Gina McKee is famous for not talking about her private life, but she gets personal as she tells Steve Pratt the truth about her age, winning a Bafta and a rare foray into comedy. I BEGIN by telling Gina McKee that
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A tale of pot luck adds to the RA glove story
A LITTLE PS to the story of Craig Watson, the 46- year-old pressganged into victorious service – first game for 15 years – as Darlington RA’s goalkeeper last Saturday. Tommy Watson, Craig’s son, needn’t fret. The PS doesn’t concern his desperate
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Questions of meaning
IT goes without saying that no teacher should be attacked in the classroom (or elsewhere for that matter), so the figures on our front page today are shockingly high. But the figures show the problem with league tables. The obvious thing to do with
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Augusta bites back and leaves McIlroy stunned
JUST when it seemed he was coping with all that Augusta National could throw at him, Rory McIlroy four-putted and tumbled off The Masters leaderboard. The 19-year-old Northern Irishman, having climbed from 39th place to sixth with a run that
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Early reward for Blackwell’s fitness regime
IAN Blackwell was delighted to find yesterday that neither his loss of weight nor loss of sleep have affected his ballstriking ability. There was just enough play before the rain set in at Lord’s for Blackwell to complete a century on his Durham
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Baggett is last line of defence as Blaydon battle relegation
BLAYDON are to try Andrew Baggett at full back as they attempt to stave off the threat of relegation from National Two by winning at home to Cambridge today. The ex-Middlesbrough and Wharfedale player was seen as the answer to Blaydon’s fly-half
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Chester snap up Johnson
AUSTRALIAN former World Cross Country champion Benita Johnson is to join and compete for Chester-le-Street AC while working in the North-East this summer. The 29-year-old star has taken a job with Brendan Foster’s sports company Nova International
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City’s promotion bid suffers blow
A LATE goal by Curzon Ashton’s Phil Edghill yesterday afternoon dealt Durham City’s automatic promotion hopes from the uniBond First Division North a severe blow at the Arnott Stadium. City came back from a goal down to lead 2-1 against ten
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Moors ready for their ‘cup final’
SPENNYMOOR Town manager Jason Ainsley reckons today’s home game with South Shields will be like a cup final. Town go into the game at the Brewery Field fourth in the table, but they are just four points off the top, with at least four games in
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Belgian trial for rowers
TWENTY-TWO North-East rowers will compete for a place in the senior British rowing squad this weekend as GB Rowing’s senior trials take place in Hazewinkel, Belgium. Hexham’s Matt Wells and former Durham University student Steve Rowbotham –
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Falcons seek reward
NEWCASTLE Falcons are back on the trophy trail tomorrow, with director of rugby Steve Bates claiming a European Challenge Cup success would be a fitting reward for his players’ efforts in the second half of the season. Newcastle travel to Vicarage
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McGrath up for university challenge
YORKSHIRE captain Anthony McGrath is confident he can sustain his batting form when the county season starts in earnest. The 33-year-old has had a sparkling pre-season, amassing two centuries and an 88 in four innings, totalling 324 runs at an
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Man dies after cliff fall early today
A MAN has died after falling from a cliff at Souter Point, South Tyneside, early today. The man, who had early threatened to harm himself, was found by police officers sitting halfway down the cliff shortly befor 6.15am. Tynemouth RNLI inshore lifeboat
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Sohcahtoa has eyes on Easter goodies
SOHCAHTOA looks every inch a textbook Richard Hannon improver and can land a significant pot in the oddschecker. com Easter Stakes at Kempton. Fourth in two Listed races last year, he then ran well in the Tattersalls Timeform Million last backend
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Saturday Spotlight: Relegation would be nothing new
All three of the North-East’s Premier League clubs are staring relegation in the face, but if any of our teams do go down none will have to look too far back for their most recent demotion. Middlesbrough last went down in 1997, Sunderland three years
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Gerrard injury dilemma for Benitez
RAFAEL Benitez has revealed the full extent of the injury problem that threatens to wreck Steven Gerrard’s season. The Liverpool skipper is very unlikely to be risked from the start of today’s home Barclays Premier League clash with relegation-threatened
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Plenty still to play for as Penney plans big finish
DARLINGTON’S promotion aspirations may have suffered their severest blow yet in midweek, but Dave Penney insists his squad have plenty to play for – starting today at Chesterfield. Tuesday’s 2-1 home defeat to Wycombe effectively extinguished
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Collins anxious to avoid a late drama
THE Easter programme is always regarded as a time when the outcome of a club’s season is shaped. And, for Hartlepool United, this weekend is no different. A trip to Crewe today and a home encounter with Scunthorpe on Monday is on the agenda for
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Fergie is wide awake
SIR Alex Ferguson has dismissed talk of tiredness affecting Manchester United and instead told his team to stop conceding stupid goals. After a two-match losing streak, Ferguson must have felt United were back on the march again with their lastminute
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Howard leads the way
A SECOND-HALF goal from Brian Howard moved Sheffield United into second place in the Championship with a vital victory away to promotion rivals Reading. The Blades took the lead after the break when Matthew Kilgallon’s header came back off the
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Killer instinct at Hull
DEFENDER Kamil Zayatte believes Hull can kill off one of their relegation rivals in Middlesbrough this weekend. The Tigers travel to the Riverside Stadium today for a vital match at the bottom of the Barclays Premier League. Hull are just five
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Sunderland hoping to cash in on United’s mini slump
TWO defeats in three Premier League matches at this stage of the season is about as near to a crisis as they come at Manchester United, and Dwight Yorke wants his Sunderland teammates to prove once again that his former club are “beatable” this
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Beattie and Etherington stoke fires of survival for Pulis
STOKE manager Tony Pulis is confident January signings James Beattie and Matthew Etherington can continue to fire his team to Barclays Premier League safety. Beattie has proved a sensation on his return to the top flight, scoring six goals in
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Harper hopes for a happy ending
STEVE HARPER’s 17 years at Newcastle United make him uniquely qualified to one day write the definitive insider history of goings-on at St James’ Park. But the Easington-born goalkeeper baulks at suggestions he should pen a Watergate- style expose
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Boro’s dire predicament leaves Taylor feeling sick
With their Premier League status hanging by a thread, Middlesbrough’s players have been accused of not caring about the situation they find themselves in. In the build up to today’s game against Hull, Chief Sports Writer Scott Wilson met Andrew Taylor
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Success is spur to avoid the drop
WHEN Kieran Richardson waved goodbye to Manchester United in the summer of 2007, he did so safe in the knowledge that he had been given the perfect grounding to become a household name on the Premier League stage. During five years at Old Trafford
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Boro to pay for sell-off
GEORGE Boateng claims a “lack of experience” could cost Middlesbrough their place in the Premier League. Boateng was controversially released from the Riverside last summer, along with fellow internationals Mark Schwarzer, Fabio Rochemback and
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Shearer sharpens up Newcastle’s defences
ALAN SHEARER has installed his own rules and made the training ground a more intense place in the hope that the defensive errors which have blighted Newcastle United over the last few years can be eradicated. After his managerial bow ended in
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Drunken fans made journey a nightmare
A TRAIN passenger has spoken of her disgust after sharing a carriage with drunken football supporters. Marilyn Longstaff said she felt “very frightened” during a journey from King’s Cross, in London, to Darlington on Saturday evening. She and
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Public to play key role in crime fight
A NEW anti-crime campaign is being piloted in part of the region before being extended nationwide. Launched this weekend, it is hoped the thousands of people who visit the Yorkshire Dales National Park will play a valuable role. The agencies
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Chris aiming to tackle peak
A CRICKETER is facing the challenge of a lifetime as he gears up to climb the highest mountain in Africa. Chris Bayliss, who keeps wicket for Stokesley Cricket Club, in North Yorkshire, will scale the 19,300ft peak of Mount Kilimanjaro, in
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Tributes after death of talented teacher
TRIBUTES have been paid to a long-serving teacher who was a talented rugby and cricket player. Len Rowe, 71, died at his home in Western Hill, Durham City, on April 1 following a battle with cancer. Mr Rowe taught English at Durham School, Ferryhill
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Jamie vows to live life to the full as tribute
A TENNIS player picked to represent Britain in the World Transplant Games has vowed to live his life to the full as a tribute to his organ donor. Jamie Woodhouse was diagnosed with the rare lifethreatening condition primary pulmonary hypertension
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United for Good Friday service
A NORTH-EAST market town marked Easter with a joint service by various Christian faiths. The Christian community represented by Churches Together in Chester-le- Street, County Durham, came together in the town’s Civic Heart yesterday.
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Young mother killed in blaze
A YOUNG mother died in a house fire yesterday. The emergency services were alerted to the blaze in Grampian Road, Billingham, Teesside, at 10.30am. The body of a woman, believed to be aged about 30, was found in the kitchen. Despite efforts to
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Open day gallops home with a record turn-out
IT has become one of the biggest events in the region’s equine calendar – and yesterday was one of the best yet. Despite the rain and overcast skies, the crowds showed up in their thousands for the 20th annual Middleham Stables Open Day.
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£100,000 grant will help wood go ‘native’
AN ambitious “back to nature” project in the Yorkshire Dales has won the financial backing of the Forestry Commission. Through its English Woodland Grant Scheme, the organisation is to pump more than £100,000 into the initiative. The
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Organisers put the finishing touches to festival plans
FINAL preparations are under way for the North- East’s biggest food festival next Saturday. Wear Valley Food Festival, at Auckland Castle, in Bishop Auckland, will feature more than 90 stalls and attractions. The event, sponsored by
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A pretty tough task ahead of pageant judges
EIGHTEEN of the region’s best-looking girls and young women will compete next weekend to be crowned Miss Durham. The event, now in its sixth year, takes place at Sedgefield Racecourse, next Saturday. About 80 contestants who first entered have
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Easter appeal by father who refuses to abandon hope
AS people all over the region get together to enjoy the holiday, an anguished Easter plea for help has been made by a family in the depths of despair. York University chef Claudia Lawrence has now been missing without trace for more than three
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...but at No 1 Market Place, the champagne corks are popping on 'daring' £1m bar
BISHOP Auckland strikes you as the sort of place you’d be more likely to stumble on a cheap and cheerful chippie than an upmarket champagne bar. But two businessmen have invested nearly £1m revamping part of the Market Place to create a soiree
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Fighting to survive in the 'make do and mend' age
Woolworths, Adams, Dolcis, Zaavi, the credit crunch is claiming more retail casualties than at any time since the early Nineties. Helen Smithson visits Bishop Auckland, a typical North-East town, to see how the downturn is changing it – forever
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Union: No to bringing back the birch
VINCE ALLEN, from the National Union of Teachers, said an increase in attacks on teachers was no reason to bring back the birch. He said: “Our members do ring us to report incidents more often than they did ten years ago, but I do not think they
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Sylvia searches for sister 60 years after she was given up
A GRANDMOTHER is making a plea to track down her younger sister, who was taken away in infancy. More than 50 years has passed since Sylvia Gregory, 63, of Darlington, last saw sister Elizabeth Lynn. Mrs Gregory’s 90-year-old mother,
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‘The children would threaten to hit me’
Peter Mallinson, 24, explains why he turned his back on teaching in the UK to start a new life overseas. “I STARTED out in teaching at a school in Hull, which is now in special measures. “It was pretty rough and teachers would often be threatened
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Shocking violence aimed at teachers
SHOCKING statistics have revealed that more than 1,000 teachers were assaulted at the region’s schools in the past three years. But unions last night warned that the real figure could be even higher because of the systemic under-reporting of