Bishop Auckland Civic Society is marking the 50th anniversary of the last passenger train service through Weardale with a special open meeting.

John Askwith, archivist of the Weardale Railway Trust, will speak on the The Heritage Line Railway at the event in Bishop Auckland Town Hall on Tuesday, January 28, at 7.30pm.

WINDOW SMASHED: A single glazed window at Woodham Village Community Centre, St Elizabeth's Close, Newton Aycliffe, was smashed at about 7.25pm on Thursday.

HOUSE BURGLED: A house in Faulkner Road, Newton Aycliffe, was broken into between noon and 3pm on Thursday, but nothing was stolen.

PLANS APPROVED: Wear Valley District Council's planning committee as approved plans for a conservatory at 8 Demesne Court, Wolsingham, and extensions to 3 Gordon Terrace, Bishop Auckland.

CASE ADJOURNED: A woman has been bailed to appear before magistrates charged with two assaults on New Year's Day. Rebecca Anne Clark, 18, of Skipton Close, Ferryhill, is charged with assaulting Leslie Tweedy and Marie Tweedy and faces another charge of threatening unlawful violence with three other people. She is due to appear at Sedgefield Magistrates Court, Newton Aycliffe, on Friday.

COURT DATE: John Alan Wood, 24, of Lyne Road, Spennymoor, has appeared before Sedgefield magistrates charged with unlawful and malicious wounding during an incident in Spennymoor on October 26. The case was adjourned until February 24.

WEBSITE CASH: Darlington Borough Council's website is to be developed thanks to a Government grant of £200,000. The grant will make the site more user friendly, more interactive and provide users with more on-line services. The website, which was originally set up with a Government grant, can be found at www.darlington.gov.uk

RAIL IDEAS: Children from High Coniscliffe Primary School visited Darlington railway station yesterday to give their views on the future of train travel. They went on board the "train of thought", organised by the Association of Train Operating Companies, to see the first interactive and educational rail-related website for children, www.trakkies.co.uk.

COMPUTER BONUS: The Darlington branch of Mind, which offers computer training to people who have experienced mental distress, received a £2,000 grant from Abbey National yesterday.

COUNCIL MEETS: Middleton St George villagers are invited to attend a meeting at Dinsdale Court to discuss concerns about litter and street cleaning with Darlington Borough Council officials, at 6.30pm on January 29.

SOCIETY TALK: Darlington Historical Society is presenting a talk by Bill Sellars on the Georgian Theatre on March 19, at 7.30pm, in Walkington House, Vane Terrace, Darlington.