Archive
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Police investigate sudden death of woman, 26
POLICE are investigating the sudden death of a young woman in Middleham, North Yorkshire. Police and paramedics were called to the town at 10.25pm. A spokeswoman for North Yorkshire Police said: "Police are currently at the scene of a sudden death
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Darlo concede quickfire double to lose at Rushden
TWO goals inside seven second-half minutes saw Darlington lose their unbeaten away record and a game they were leading at half-time at Rushden and Diamonds. Danny Powell's first goal for the club had put Darlington ahead but their run of poor form continued
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McSweeney does it again for Pools
THREE days after scoring the winner at Plymouth, Hartlepool United attacker Leon McSweeeny was at it again this evening. His goal against Bradford City in the Johnstone's Paint Trophy may not have been anywhere near as spectacular as his strike at Plymouth
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Newton Aycliffe go top of Second Division
Newton Aycliffe went top of the STL second division with a 2-0 away win at Marske United last night. Warren Byrne put them in front from the penalty spot after 29 minutes after he was brought down, then just on half time Paul Broom made it 2-0 from a
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Tory hint at tax break to ease child benefit backlash
TAX breaks for stay-at-home mothers could be used to help couples disadvantaged by the decision to abolish child benefit for high earners, Prime Minister David Cameron suggested today. Chancellor George Osborne's announcement that from 2013 taxpayers
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Bishops lose again to Synners
Billingham Synthonia beat Bishop Auckland for the second time in three days. Both sides had chances in the first half, and on the hour Synners took the lead from the penalty spot through Nathan Jameson. Bishops had youngster Arran Wearmouth dismissed
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A flawed proposal on child benefit
IT is right that tough decisions have to be taken to tackle the deficit and it is right that we all have to make a contribution to filling that enormous black hole. But there is a glaring flaw in the coalition's plan to cut child benefit that
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No more games at West for Bishops
Bishop Auckland have played their last home game on the road. Bishops had two more home games lined up next week at West Auckland – against Whitley Bay and Stokesley – but the league has agreed to switch them to their opponents’ grounds instead, and
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Reveller banned from clubbing after drug charges
A RAVER who spent £400 a month on drugs has been banned from clubbing at the weekends by magistrates. Ryan Lee Gilbert, 19, of Victoria Terrace, Cockfield near Barnard Castle, admitted three charges of possession of Class A and B drugs when he appeared
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Armed raider targets newsagent
SCHOOLCHILDREN stood and watched as a woman wearing a balaclava raided a North-East newsagents armed with a knife. The female is believed to have leapt over the counter at Low Grange News, in Billingham, shortly after 8am this morninf to steal lottery
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Darlington drop Smith and Hatch
Gary Smith and Liam Hatch have been axed by Darlington manager Mark Cooper for this evening's game at Rushden & Diamonds. Out-of-form Hatch has started all but one game this season, missing the trip to Barrow through injury, but he misses
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Wadsworth rings the changes
ADAM Boyd, Armann Bjornsson, Fabian Yantorno and Steve Haslam all started for Hartlepool United against Bradford in the JPT at Victoria Park. Joe Gamble, Sam Collins, Andy Monkhouse and Paul Murray were all rested. HARTLEPOOL UNITED: Kean; Austin
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Legal challenge to coal depot decision
LAWYERS claim a planning application for a coal depot in a Weardale village was illegally given the green light. Durham County Council’s legal team is seeking advice after protestors against a development at Wolsingham’s former steelworks launched
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Centre opened in memory of daughter
A counsellor has opened a therapy centre in memory of her severely disabled teenage daughter. Jessica Wright died just days after her 16th birthday last year, leaving her mother Brenda Wright distraught. The former horse riding trainer has since sold
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Patients can get a lift to see their GP
PEOPLE who need to see their GP could benefit from a transport service offered by volunteers. A new pilot scheme in Crook and Willington could be rolled out in the Durham dales, where public transport could fall victim to spending cuts. It follows
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Young people benefit from apprenticeship scheme
A SCHEME designed to get young people on the careers ladder has celebrated its first anniversary after helping dozens of apprentices to pick up new skills. The Young People's Employment Programme was launched by Redcar and Cleveland Council to provide
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Key steel industry building to be restored to its former glory
THE former headquarters for British Steel and Redcar and Cleveland Council is set for a £1.5m overhaul to preserve its heritage. Python Properties has started work transforming the Cargo Fleet building into business space, which will also include a heritage
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Volunteers get hands dirty to clean up beck
A TEAM of volunteers have been getting their hands dirty clearing undergrowth from the banks of Spencer Beck in east Middlesbrough. The event, co-ordinated by one of Middlesbrough Council's neighbourhood development teams - STEM, saw youngsters from
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Premiership Review - Week 7
Chelsea bounced back from their defeat at Manchester City by beating Arsenal 2-0 at Stamford Bridge. It was the away side that had the better of the play but were unable to carve an opening for them. Chelsea took the lead when Cole’s cross was cheekily
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Chris Beaumont: Interesting times are keeping us busy
A CHINESE proverb that I have referred to before says: “May you live in interesting times.” These are undoubtedly interesting times, and with the election of the first coalition Government, a recent change in Labour leadership and a plethora
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When Harry met Paul
Harry And Paul (BBC2, 9.30pm) Wedding House (C4, 8pm) AS in all good relationships, there’s some dispute over when comedy duo Harry Enfield and Paul Whitehouse first met. Enfield thinks their first meeting was while Whitehouse was at university
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Taking cash out of your business?
CASH extraction from your business is possible through various methods, from dividends, pension contibutions, share buybacks and many more. Careful consideration as to the lawfulness and tax efficiency of such methods must be given when contemplating
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Shares rise as Premier confirms meat-free business could be sold
THE UK’s biggest food producer confirmed it was considering selling its meat-free business, which has its production hub in North Yorkshire. Shares in Premier Foods surged yesterday after confirmation it was considering a sale of meat substitute
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Festive countdown to an economic boost
THE countdown has begun – there are only 80 shopping days left until Christmas. While most of us spend our time wondering where the majority of 2010 went, retailers are wondering what the festive season has in store for them. Marks & Spencer,
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Market report
THE FTSE 100 Index paused for breath yesterday closing down 36.9 points to 5556. Resources-based stocks have gained in recent sessions following a run of positive economic figures, including a better-thanexpected Chinese manufacturing report
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How your bank manager can get you match tickets
IF you were chasing tickets for the next Manchester United match at Old Trafford, seeking an electrician to fix a problem at home or booking a table at a restaurant in New York, would you ask your bank manager for help? Some of the seven million
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Gove accused of ignoring parents' pain
MICHAEL Gove was accused of ignoring the pain of parents who lost their promised new schools, after falling to mention the controversy in his conference speech. The under-fire Schools Secretary spoke just hours after three local councils -
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Awards for students
HIGH-achieving pupils at a Durham City school have been rewarded for their efforts. Youngsters who recently completed Key Stage 3 at Framwellgate School Durham were presented with awards at a celebration event. Among the winners were
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Advice to winter wheat growers
WINTER wheat growers have been urged to capitalise on this autumn’s good seedbeds to get a head start against black-grass now that drilling has started. Stephen Williams, Syngenta technical manager, said the preparation of firm, fine seedbeds
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‘Gutworms costing up to £178m a year’
DAIRY farmers in England could be losing up to £178m a year because gutworms are reducing the milk production of grazing cows. Tests on bulk milk samples last year showed 92 per cent of the herds tested had been exposed to a high gutworm challenge
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Milk supplies move ahead of past years
WHOLESALE milk supplies are higher this year than in the previous two. Graham Wilkinson, Arla Foods UK agricultural manager, said they had seen an increase in volumes from farms coupled with fewer farm retirements. However, he told the NFU’s
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Borrowing a few words of encouragement
Andy Richardson meets Stephen Hester, the new boss of Royal Bank of Scotland. THE day before The Northern Echo is invited to meet him, Stephen Hester faced two very different audiences – a gathering of RBS employees where he fielded questions
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Local tourism attractions scoop top awards
TOURIST attractions across North Yorkshire are celebrating after scooping the bulk of the title at prestigious countywide competition to promote tourism. Nine of the recent White Rose Awards run by Welcome to Yorkshire went to venues in the North Yorkshire
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Two-year-old business now one of region’s brightest
ONLY two years after a pair of North-East entrepreneurs set up their high-tech business it is being hailed as one of the region’s brightest young companies with the opening of a modern laboratory creating jobs. Viper RF founders Dr James Mayock
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Digital team members aim to become number one
A FAST-GROWING digital company is predicting a turnover of £350,000 for its second year of trading after securing major contracts. Calm Digital, based in Middlesbrough, has secured a project worth £60,000 to help Peak Partnerships, a healthcare
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Leader's pledge over flood defences
A LEADER of a council has promised to help ensure a water company can carry out vital flood defence work. The pledge came after it was revealed there have been delays in Northumbrian Water undertaking the second phase of a £5m flood defence project
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Park’s expansion to continue
A SCIENCE park’s expansion has continued after it was granted approval for two more buildings. Plans for the Grow on Space buildings at the North-East Technology Park (NETPark), near Sedgefield, have been granted approval by Durham County Council
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Contract process to expand school
CONTRACTS are to be put in place for a £900,000 expansion of a popular primary school. Darlington Borough Council has given permission to waive the tendering process and employ a specialist contractor to expand Harrowgate Hill Primary School
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Brewers' War of the White Rose
A war over the use of Yorkshire's White Rose is brewing between two beer manufacturers. Cropton Brewery launched it's Yorkshire Warrior Beer in 2008 having won permission from the Yorkshire Regiment to feature it's emblem, a lion carrying the standard
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Friday night football takes off
More clubs are going to try Friday night football in the STL over the next month. It's difficult for Northern League clubs to compete on Saturday with all the other attractions -- nevertheless overall attendances are on the increase -- so in an attempt
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Nick Pout: Marianne O'Leary
NICK POUT is trying to find his daughter. She is Marianne O'Leary who was born in Hartlepool on April 5, 1986, before the family moved to Great Yarmouth. She moved onto London with her mother when she was five before returning to the North-East. Mr
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Tributes paid to Sir Norman
Sir Norman Wisdom was a ‘‘beloved comic genius’’ and ‘‘true icon of the entertainment world’’, the agency which discovered the comedian and actor said today. The 95-year-old died peacefully at the Abbotswood Nursing Home on the Isle of Man
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A fitting ending
The popularity of humanist funeral services is rising with a third more people in the North-East choosing them in the last three years. Anna Mason talks to Darlington celebrant Jan Mole about her involvement and the satisfaction her job brings.
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Vanishing wildlife
THERE is much in the press at present about declining wildlife. I wonder how many people know about the demise of the American passenger pigeon? The last remaining specimen of what some say was the most numerous bird to populate the planet died
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A fine mess...
OK, so nobody got hurt and nobody died when the now infamous publicity leaflet for Bishop Auckland claimed the town to be the birthplace of comedian Stan Laurel, but does nobody proof-read these things? Did nobody think “Stan Laurel – what other
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'Royal' prefix
RE Geoff Howe’s letter concerning the prefix “Royal” when referring to the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force, but not to the Army (HAS, Sept 23). It occurs to me that one answer may lie in the fact that while the Royal Navy is divided into
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The Pope
SURELY Robert Meggs wants it both ways in his letter about the Pope’s recent visit (HAS, Sept 29). But surely it’s illogical to condemn the Papal visit costs to the taxpayer and complain when that visit brings revenue to small and large businesses
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Justified strikes
THE strike of the women machinists at Ford’s Dagenham car plant in 1968, which is the subject of a new film referred to in Steve Pratt’s article (Echo, Oct 2), is an example of a totally justified stoppage. It led to the Equal Pay Act which, once
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Jargon
RALPH Musgrave’s letter about quango jargon (HAS, Oct 1) brought a smile to my face. It encompasses everything that is wrong with central and local government. Too often we have to wade through verbal garbage to find the true facts. I have
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Miliband brothers
IT would seem “New Labour” has finally been laid to rest as “New Generation Labour” takes control while owing a debt of gratitude to its trade union paymasters for ignoring their own members. David Miliband was the obvious and popular choice
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Joke-telling threatened – I jest not
ONE of my favourites of the old Monty Python sketches is the one where they invent a joke so funny that anyone hearing it will laugh himself to death. They end up using it as a weapon of war. I was reminded of this the other day when I read about
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eBay seller raided for stolen goods
RARE and expensive sports equipment stolen from a North-East car has been returned to its rightful owner after it was put up for sale on internet auction site eBay. Police raided a Darlington house and recovered the two rare archery bows and
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Leader's pledge over flood defences
LEADER of a council has promised to use his influence to ensure a water company can carry out vital flood defence work. The pledge came after it was revealed there had been delays in Northumbrian Water undertaking the second phase of a 5m flood defence
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Tales from a life in comedy
Writing her first memoir was like having homework for six months, comedienne Jo Brand tells Steve Pratt. But she’s done it all over again and is ready to face the public on a book-signing tour that brings her to the North-East tomorrow.
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Crock star comes to Darlington
MUSICAL fans met a character from the silver screen on Saturday. Mrs Potts, from Beauty and the Beast, was in Joseph Pease Place, Darlington, to meet children and parents at a family fun day organised ahead of Darlington Operatic Society's stage performance
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Scouse humour
RICKY Tomlinson, 71 last week and still proudly one of the workers, put in a back shift on Friday night at the Belvedere Club in Bishop Auckland. His wife, he said, had given him a willy warmer to mark his birthday. “I asked her why I needed
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Hartley’s home start
LAST time around in the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy, Mick Wadsworth and Hartlepool United needed the game to get the previous one out of their system. Tonight, as Bradford City visit Victoria Park, it’s a different story on the back of Saturday’
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Cooper out to sign another front runner
DARLINGTON aim to return to winning ways at Rushden & Diamonds tonight, with manager Mark Cooper hoping his team will be bolstered by the addition of a new striker. Having signed Daniel Powell on loan from MK Dons at the end of last week, Cooper
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Jackson misses out on podium finish
JO JACKSON cut a disconsolate figure in Delhi as her miserable 2010 continued on day one of the Commonwealth Games – missing out on a medal by the width of a fingernail. Richmond-born Jackson has had a nightmare preparation for the Games seeing
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Probe into exam marking errors
AN investigation has been launched after students received lower grades in their exams than they should have due to a technical error. Government regulator Ofqual has started an investigation into exam board AQA after it emerged 150 A-level students
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Club night planned in memory of Andrew
FIVE friends of a DJ who died after he grabbed a 25,000-volt overhead power line are organising a rave in his memory. Dance music fan Andrew Minto, 23, died a week after he was injured when he climbed on a stationary train to retrieve one of his
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Floods left pensioner hanging on for his life
A PENSIONER has told how he clung to a telegraph pole to stop being washed away as he waited to be rescued from flash floods. Malcolm Dowson, of Kirkbymoorside, North Yorkshire, was among dozens of people left counting the cost yesterday of
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Boy of seven falls through skylight on family holiday
A SEVEN-YEAR-OLD boy from the North-East fractured his skull when he fell 12ft through a skylight while on holiday in Lanzarote. Callum Jones hit his head on the floor when he fell into a basement, during a family holiday. He was flown to nearby
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Nearly 4,000 call for train work return
NEARLY 4,000 people have signed a petition calling for train building to return to the region. The signatures were obtained by campaigners calling for the Government to award the £7.5bn Intercity Express Programme (IEP) to Hitachi. The Japanese
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Integral role for legal firm in £12.4m revamp
AN overhaul of a Tees Valley school will go ahead after a North-East law firm played an integral role in making a compelling case to the Government. The £12.4m remodel of Dyke House Sports and Technology College in Hartlepool came under threat
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Chairman steps in after death of chief executive
A COMPANY chairman quit the comfort of his semiretirement to help a leading firm of County Durham glassmakers recover from the devastating blow it suffered following the death of its inspirational chief executive. John Kennair MBE had been
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Chemical firm’s closure means eight redundancies
A LOSS-MAKING chemical firm was shut yesterday as part of an overhaul of an animal drugs company’s business. The eight employees at Travik Chemicals, based in Newton Aycliffe, County Durham, were made redundant following yesterday’s decision
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Upset Hunter is haunted by his crucial loss
A DISTRAUGHT Hunter Mahan was unable to hold back the tears after the United States’ heartbreaking Ryder Cup defeat at Celtic Manor. Mahan broke down while reflecting on his 3&1 loss to Graeme McDowell in the final match of this year’s competition
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Bishops look for quick revenge
Bishop Auckland are going for swift revenge when they play Billingham Synthonia for the second time in three days tonight. Bishops agonisingly lost to an extra time winner against ten man Synners on Sunday in the FA Carlsberg Vase, and now they travel
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Monty's moment
EUROPE’S Ryder Cup hero Graeme McDowell revealed how he had to battle with the worst nerves of his golfing career before clinching a classic win at Celtic Manor. The US Open champion’s 3&1 success against Hunter Mahan ended a fearless United States
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Pompey defender reveals all about battle
PORTSMOUTH defender Aaron Mokoena has admitted he elbowed Barry Robson in the build-up to the incident that saw the Middlesbrough midfielder sent off in Saturday’s 2-2 draw at the Riverside. Robson received a straight red card after an assistant
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Bruce out to keep the spirit
STEVE Bruce hopes that the international break will not scupper the momentum built by a succession of recent encouraging results for Sunderland. The Black Cats earned a point at home to Manchester United on Saturday, following draws at Liverpool
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Bent earns support of coach Capello
FABIO Capello expects Darren Bent to be one of England’s most “important players” during the remainder of the Euro 2012 qualifying campaign, but Andy Carroll’s wait for a maiden international call-up goes on after he was omitted from the squad
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Ben Arfa stays on Tyneside
NEWCASTLE’S medical staff will oversee Hatem Ben Arfa’s recovery from the double leg break that led to Nigel de Jong being expelled from the Holland squad for this weekend’s Euro 2012 qualifiers. Ben Arfa underwent surgery at Manchester Royal
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Presenting a united front
WE have been critical of the coalition Government’s muddled thinking over what should replace regional development agencies (RDAs) such as One North East and Yorkshire Forward. It has seemed to us that the Government wanted to dump the RDAs but
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‘Totally committed to economic strategy’
THE leader of a bid that would see parts of the North- East go it alone with their economic strategy last night said those behind it remained “totally committed” to the plans. Sandy Anderson, chairman of Tees Valley Unlimited, said a so-called
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Trial to begin at death anniversary
THE trial of a sub-postmaster accused of murdering his wife will begin almost a year to the day after the alleged killing took place. Robin Joseph Garbutt, 45, will appear at Teesside Crown Court on March 21 next year to be tried for the murder
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No comparison meeting baby meerkat
A CENTENARIAN who is fascinated by meerkats has been given the chance to meet one of the furry creatures. Edith McHugh, 100, from York, was invited to visit Adia, a female meerkat born last month at Askham Bryan College. Mrs McHugh’s family
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Swinger jumps to Dales club defence
A WOMAN proposing to hold swingers’ parties in a dale has hit back at claims they are inappropriate. The woman, calling herself Estelle Pollard, claims to be behind Wolsingham’s Swinging In The Manor. She told The Northern Echo yesterday the County
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Anger as families lose right to benefit
A DECISION to axe child benefit for 1.2 million better-off families – snatching back about £1,750 a year from parents with two children – triggered an angry backlash last night. Chancellor George Osborne was accused of forcing families to “
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Amazing chance for young singers
YOUNG performers from the region will hold their last rehearsal today before lending a hand to a national touring production. The youngsters from Stagecoach performing arts schools across Tees Valley will form the choir for the production of
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Crash victim's family left in shock
THE partner of a motorcyclist who died after an accident has spoken of her sadness. Nigel Wright, of West Crescent, Darlington, was heading west through Middleton-In- Teesdale, County Durham, when the crash happened on the Laneside B road