Archive
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Durham v Yorkshire: Day Four
THERE had been barely a drop of rain at Chester-le-Street for six weeks, but a 35-minute shower arrived just when Durham were poised to push for victory against Yorkshire. It robbed them of nine overs and the visitors held out on 193 for seven
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Purdie receives top honour
Rob Purdie has been named Darlington's Player of the Year. He received the honour at The Northern Echo Darlington Arena after Quakers' home defeat to Brentford. The 26-year-old's flexibility has been proved essential this season, as
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Classy Clarke sinks Quakers
Darlington 1 Brentford 3 Darlington's season at The Northern Echo Darlington Arena ended with defeat for the hosts and promotion for Brentford. Billy Clarke spent the first half of the season on loan with Quakers, scoring nine goals,
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Baggies embarrass sorry Sunderland
West Brom 3 Sunderland 0 IT appears someone had told the Sunderland players they were safe from relegation before Saturday’s game at the Hawthorns. There appeared no other reason behind such an inept performance from a side just four points
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Beckford makes the difference at Victoria Park
HARTLEPOOL UNITED fell to their eighth home loss of the season – the same amount they have won – as they went down to Leeds United. Jermaine Beckford's 33rd goal of the season proved the difference in a game of few chances and little penalty area action
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Durham Diary
THE glass-jawed Fran Cotton is just about the last person I would pick a fight with. Looking something like a gorilla, his mud-encrusted face in a photograph taken on a British Lions tour to New Zealand still adorns many rugby clubs. Once he
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Two awards for Porter at Pools
JOEL PORTER took the honours in Hartlepool United's end of season awards. Presented on the Victoria Park pitch before the final home game of the season with Leeds United, the Australian was rewarded for his efforts with two gongs. He was voted the
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Same again for Darlington
Darlington have named an unchanged team for this afternoon's game with promotion-chasing Brentford. Manager Dave Penney sticks with the XI that beat Rochdale last weekend although Neil Austin has returned to the squad after recovering from
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Hartlepool United v Leeds United
JOEL Porter lined up in a Hartlepool United shirt at Victoria Park for the final time this afternoon. The top-scorer is heading back to Australia when his contract expires this summer and has just two more outings left in a blue and white shirt. Pools
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Six injured in car accident
POLICE in North Yorkshire are seeking witnesses to a road traffic accident which left six people injured. The accident took place on the A6136 road between Richmonf and Catterick Garrison, at a place known locally as Longwood Bank, at 1.20am on Friday
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Darlo Dog reports brisk ticket sales for All Stars game
DARLO dog, Darlington Football Club's mascot, greeted shoppers today in an effort to boost sales for the forthcoming All Stars game. With little over a week to go before the team of All Stars go head to head with the Quakers 1999-2000 play-off team,
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MEDIA SCRUTINY
New rules to open family courts to the media rushed in by the government represent a missed opportunity to allow thorough and effective public scrutiny, Resolution is warning, as it calls for the establishment of a Family Courts’ Inspectorate. From
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Police issue warning on phone scam
POLICE are warning people to be wary of suspicious telephone callers asking for their bank details. Although no crimes are believed to have been committed on Wednesday (APRIL 22) three Sedgefield villagers received such calls. The caller maintained
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Cream of the Cornish
It’s far enough away in miles and in culture from the North-East of England to be classed as a foreign country. But Cornwall is nearer than you think, as Ken Snowdon discovers. I DON’T want to be sexist but – generally speaking – the ladies
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Sats success at Witton-le-Wear Primary school
GROWING vegetables and getting close to nature are helping to raise standards at a successful south Durham primary school. Witton-le-Wear Primary School celebrated its best ever Sats ratings this year when it was ranked 123rd in the country
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Fame game winner
Beverley Trotman was voted off X Factor but won a role in Fame and an album contract. YOU want fame, well fame costs… goes the famous line from Fame The Musical. None know that better than Beverley Trotman, who has survived the highs and lows
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Anything Goes: Darlington Civic Theatre
DARLINGTON Operatic Society’s artists seem to be getting younger and more confident with every performance. This production of Cole Porter’s sparkling Thirties musical does full justice to the bouncy, witty songs and the choreography fits to
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Wait until the Ghost is Clear, Eden Theatre, Bishop Auckland
THE childhood hometown of comic genius Stan Laurel seems the perfect place to watch this farcical comedy, produced by Bishop Auckland Theatre Society. The play hits the ground running as the curtain opens, with the two main characters, Jack and
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Stirling work
WAKING up in someone else’s body, says Rachael Stirling, would be a nightmare. She should know, she’s been studying what it might be like for ITV1’s new series Boy Meets Girl. She plays glamorous fashion journalist Veronica Burton, who is struck
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St George’s crossroads
Since the masonry fell numbers have soared: a dilemma for our times. WITH an appropriately almighty crash, and missing the rector by inches – “If it had hit me, it would have killed me,” says the Reverend Paul Neville unambiguously – large lumps
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Totalitarianism
PETER Mullen declares that we live in a totalitarian state (Echo, April 21). This implies absolute rule by a dictator not bound by constitution, law or opposition, where the state regulates all aspects of public and private life. That is totalitarianism
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Politics
THERE is something distinctly distasteful about the non-stop vitriol heaped on Gordon Brown. Who else would have managed the G20 summit to its successful conclusions? Surely David Cameron would have been completely out of his depth. As in 1997
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The budget
THIS week’s Budget was bad news for families and business in Teesside. It was revealed that there would be: tax rises of £1,000 on every family in Britain; tax rises on everyone earning more than £19,000; tax rises on all new jobs; and higher taxes
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Pension collection
I REFER to Joyce Ophield’s letter (HAS, April 20) regarding Miss Janet Hogarth’s pension collection problem (Echo, April 7) caused by the closure of Rookhope post office. What the writer does not recognise is the personal circumstances of Miss
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G20 protest
AFTER reading David Lowdon’s response (HAS, April 21) to my letter (HAS, April 18), am I to assume he does not agree with the tactics employed by the police when controlling unruly crowds? What would he suggest they do – face a hostile mob with
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Slipstream dancers are just dandy
MY travels beneath the burning April sun this week have taken me up the old Great North Road and round the new Shildon bypass. All along, the green grass verges glowed with vibrant swathes of tigerish yellow. Wordsworth might have been wowed by
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Ice maiden
Steve Pratt has a rink-side seat when he joins the judging panel on Torvill and Dean’s 25th anniversary Bolero tour in Newcastle as the mighty Quinn loses his ice skating crown. "REMEMBER,” I’m told. “Don’t tread on the white stuff.” Producer Heidi
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Wunderbar Sir Bobby!
AMID these bleak economic times, Sir Bobby Robson’s wonderful appeal to raise money for cancer research has been a true cause for celebration. It is hard to imagine anyone other than Sir Bobby raising more than £1.2m through the sheer force of his
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Arshavin’s Anfield haul no match for Bobby
HIS email headed “Nivver mind Arshavin”, John Briggs reveals that Arsenal’s Anfield hero isn’t the first to score four at Liverpool. There was Bobby Gurney, for Sunderland, Easter 1930. The other main difference was that Sunderland actually won
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Oscar Park can land the big prize at Sandown
NATIONAL HUNT aficionados have been lamenting the demise of the once great Whitbread Gold Cup but this year’s renewal will still take plenty of solving. The profile of Sandown’s Bet365 Gold Cup has slipped slightly in recent years such is the
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Pool promise tough test for Thornaby
Darlington Building Society NYDS Premier League SURPRISE opening-day winners Thornaby get their home programme under way today against Hartlepool. Pools also have a win under their belts and, ominously, expect to have a stronger team out for the
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Champs have a new King
Readers Durham County League CHAMPIONS Kimblesworth have signed Australian Travis King, who played for Sacriston last year, as pro and Barry Strong will play again after injury. Bryan Potts has, however, gone to King’s former club. Runners-up
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End of an era for Falcons players at Quins
ONE chapter of the Newcastle Falcons story will close this afternoon as Tom May, David Wilson, Phil Dowson and Geoff Parling make their final appearances for the club. But despite concern over the number of experienced players leaving this summer
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Guthrie back for Blaydon
AFTER 15 years as captain, Dave Guthrie is fit to return to the Blaydon side and make his final home appearance in today’s National Two match against bottom club Waterloo. Needing five points to make virtually certain of survival, Blaydon are
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Wellstream Northumberland and Tyneside Senior League
SHOTLEY Bridge are out to build on last weekend’s victory over Ashington, a win that was followed by the capture of the 2008 Justsport Trophy as they defeated Sunderland in a thriller. They look to continue their perfect start today at home
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Murton under threat
3D Durham Coast League THE dominance of Murton looks to be under serious threat this summer. Champions in five of the last six seasons, the loss of star men Calvin Stephenson and Joe Dodd will be a significant hurdle for new skipper Graeme Robson
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Time for Hamilton to stand up and be counted
LEWIS Hamilton believes that as world champion it is now time for him to stand up and be counted. Just seven days after a tense, edgy, inhibited press gathering at the back of the McLaren garage in Shanghai, Hamilton was a little more positive
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Marathon a sell-out
AS OVER 45,000 line up for tomorrow’s Flora London Marathon, North-East athletes have flocked to sign up for the region’s first race over the classic distance in 20 years. The North-East Veterans AC is staging the Newcastle Town Moor Marathon
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Wami happy to play the part of London underdog
GETE Wami has been in the background for the build-up to the Flora London Marathon, with much of the attention focused on pre-race favourites Irina Mikitenko, Constantina Dita, Catherine Ndereba and Zhou Chunxiu. The former world marathon majors
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Saturday Spotlight: Survival would complete Bates’ recovery
There hasn’t been too much to shout about at Middlesbrough this season, but the performances of Matthew Bates have provided a series of highlights in an otherwise disappointing campaign. Andy Richardson met the latest Teessider to roll off the
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Penney determined to draw Bees’ sting
THINGS could have been so different at The Northern Echo Arena this afternoon, where Brentford hope to claim the win over Darlington which could secure them the League Two title. As a result of the ten-point deduction for going into administration
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City hope to settle nerves
DURHAM City manager Lee Collings will tell his players to go for an early goal on a nailbiting last day of the regular season at Woodley Sports in the UniBond League First Division North. City are a point ahead of Skelmersdale in the race for
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Wembley’s controversial pitch to be dug up
THE controversial Wembley pitch is to be dug up immediately. Arsene Wenger branded the surface ‘a disaster’ after Arsenal’s FA Cup semi-final with Chelsea on Saturday, while Sir Alex Ferguson called it ‘dead’ in the aftermath of Manchester United
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Turner planning for next season without Porter
CHRIS Turner has revealed that planning for next season at Hartlepool United is well underway. And last night it was confirmed that leading scorer and crowd favourite Joel Porter is among those he will have to replace. Now into his sixth season
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No time for fooling around as Southgate gets tough
GARETH SOUTHGATE has warned his young players to get out of the playground and down to serious business as Middlesbrough seek a shock result at the Emirates Stadium tomorrow afternoon. The manager has become concerned that, with only five games
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Survival would be career high for Downing
HE has been part of a Carling Cup-winning squad, played in a UEFA Cup final and represented his country in a World Cup finals, but Middlesbrough midfielder Stewart Downing claims that avoiding relegation would top anything he has achieved in his
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Shearer calls on Smith to play crucial role
ALAN Shearer expects forgotten man Alan Smith to play a crucial role in Newcastle’s battle against relegation. Having finally recovered from a serious Achilles injury that ruled him out of the whole of the first half of the season, Smith made
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Gutierrez not fazed by battle
WITH five games in which to overhaul a four-point gap to safety, Newcastle are a club in the mire. To one of their players, however, the current situation is a cakewalk compared with a relegation battle from the past. In 2006, in his first season
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Allardyce unimpressed by Keane’s managerial verdict
SAM Allardyce has delivered a withering put-down to Roy Keane after the Irishman’s ‘‘bizarre’’ outburst at his former Manchester United team-mates who have become managers. Keane, the new Ipswich manager, questioned whether Steve Bruce and Mark
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Loyalty call to Baggies
TONY Mowbray is calling on his players to show loyalty and remain with West Brom if they are relegated from the Barclays Premier League. The Baggies boss feels the members of his squad he will want to keep ‘‘owe the football club’’ and should
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One win is not enough
A VICTORY at the Hawthorns today would lift Sunderland seven points clear of the relegation zone, but Kenwyne Jones has warned that Premier League survival would still be far from secure. Winning at bottom club West Brom would put Sunderland
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Flintoff blow for England
ENGLAND’S planning for a gruelling 2009 schedule has suffered an early setback with Andrew Flintoff being ruled out for the start of the summer with a knee injury sustained playing in the Indian Premier League. The influential all-rounder has
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£152,000 bill for cruelty case against shop owners
A COURT case in which pet shop owners were found guilty of causing unnecessary suffering to animals has cost the taxpayer £152,000. Craig Basford and Lauren Gibson, of Weardale Avenue, Billingham, near Stockton, received 16-week jail sentences,
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News in brief: Car production falls sharply
CAR and commercial vehicle (CV) production fell sharply again last month. The number of cars made in the UK totalled 61,829 in March, a drop of 51.3 per cent on the March 2008 figure, the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders said. CV production
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Hays saves jobs in rival travel company
UP to 109 jobs have been saved after a collapsed holiday firm was bought by a North-East rival. Hays Travel yesterday bought Newcastle-based Freedom Direct Holidays, which went into voluntary liquidation on April 16. Last night, Hays said
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Market report
LONDON’S FTSE 100 Index was more than 3.4 per cent ahead yesterday despite news the UK economy had suffered its sharpest contraction in 30 years. The surge on the market came as US car maker Ford unveiled better-thanexpected first quarter results
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Memphis enjoys a double success story
THE North-East’s most outstanding building projects, which are acting as beacons for the region’s construction industry amid the most torrid conditions it has faced in the modern day, were commended last night. Among the winners of the Royal
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Man seriously hurt during mass brawl on city estate
A MAN remained seriously injured in hospital last night after he was stabbed during a mass brawl on a housing estate. Police were called to the Sherburn Road Estate, in Durham City, following reports of a fight involving up to six people, some
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Three jailed for savage baseball bat attack
THREE thugs were locked up yesterday for a revenge attack on a man who was bludgeoned with baseball bats and slashed with a knife on his doorstep. Stuart West recruited two friends to carry out the Sunday afternoon beating to his mother’s former
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Vaughan must follow in Di Venuto’s footsteps
Durham v Yorkshire (County Championship) : Day Three IF Michael Vaughan can bat like Michael Di Venuto today he might just secure a return to the England team and restore some Yorkshire pride. They took a battering from Durham yesterday, but
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Sbragia set to face hard times ahead
RICKY SBRAGIA insists he has no idea whether keeping Sunderland in the Premier League will be enough for him to keep his job, but preparing for a “difficult” few years is the only thing on his mind. Over the course of the last month Sven-Goran
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Hundreds gather for funeral of mother-of-three
MOURNERS packed into a village church yesterday to pay their respects to a devoted mother- of-three who collapsed and died while out with friends. Joanne Sayers, 25, who was described as gorgeous, hard-working and reliable, was laid to rest
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Drug dealer escapes jail for sake of unborn child
A WOMAN who delivered drugs across the North-East for her boyfriend was spared prison yesterday – for the sake of her unborn baby. Mother-of-two Amanda Phillips was given a suspended jail sentence while her lover, Michael Fawcett, was jailed
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‘A mess’ or ‘brilliant’... as city’s plans are put on show
THE group behind a city centre revamp is asking people for ideas on what to put on an empty plinth while the landmark statue that stands on it undergoes vital repairs. The depiction of Lord Londonderry on horseback in the centre of Durham City
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World Cup team to reunite for Sir Bobby
ARGUABLY the most memorable match in the history of football is to be replayed to raise money for Sir Bobby Robson’s cancer charity. Nineteen years after the original heart-breaking game, the 1990 World Cup semi-final between England and West
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Kurlers sweep aside disability in push for glory
AN ambitious team of blind and partially sighted kurlers is to take on the world’s best next weekend. The team of eight, from the Wear Valley area, will travel to Widnes, in Cheshire, for the 2009 Kurling World Championships, which begin next Saturday
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Statement from former chairman George Houghton
FIRSTLY I apologise both to the Echo and its readers for not being able to carry out the planned interview today (yesterday) – the circumstances were beyond my control and I am happy to rearrange a similar session should that be required. In the
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Fans hit back as ex-chairman blames them for failed deals
FANS of Darlington Football Club have criticised the former chairman for blaming them for two companies pulling out of buying the team. Last night, George Houghton said that negative publicity from supporters towards him was one of the reasons
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Youngsters to shine at all-star day
YOUNG footballers will take to the field alongside some of England’s greatest players at a charity match next month. The under-eights teams will take part in a tournament at Darlington Football Club, on the day Paul Gascoigne and Peter Beardsley
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Daughter killed 19 years after mother
A FAMILY is struggling to come to terms with two deaths with horrifying similarities two decades apart. This month, Karen Leonard was found stabbed and strangled in a flat in Middlesbrough. And it has emerged that 19 years ago, her mother was
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Covert team tackling menace of loan sharks
Loan sharks preying on cash-strapped victims across the North are being snared by a specialist team of investigators. Lucy Richardson reports. PHYSICAL violence, sexual abuse, threats and public humiliation are some of the ploys used against people
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Mother-of-three was a loan shark
MOTHER-OF-THREE has become the first person in the region to be convicted following the launch of a task force to tackle loan sharks. According to the Illegal Money Lending Team (IMLT), vulnerable people across the North-East are being charged
