ECONOMISTS have sought to reassure homeowners that the housing market is not heading for a 1990s-style crash following warnings that current price growth was unsustainable.

The comments come after Bank of England Governor Sir Edward George told a Commons Treasury Select Committee that the current rate of house price inflation was unsustainable. But economists said the market was not heading for a bust, insisting that an adjustment was more likely to come in the form of a stagnation in house price growth for several years.

SOOTY CUT: Children's favourite Sooty was involved in a £6m disappearing act after his owner cut the value of a business featuring the puppet. Gullane Entertainment said it was wiping £6.3m from the carrying value of joint venture Bridgefilms, responsible for the Sooty television series and Mumfie the elephant. Gullane is the subject of takeover interest from rival entertainment group HIT, owner of the rights to Bob the Builder and Barney the Dinosaur.

TELEWEST SALE: Debt-ridden cable group Telewest is raising £10m by selling its stake in concert ticket firm Way Ahead. The group, which has debts of £5.3bn, is selling its 75.6 per cent interest in the Nottingham-based group to Really Useful Theatres, which owns the London Palladium, Apollo and Lyric.

TOP FIRM: Seaward Electronic Ltd, in Peterlee, has reached the finals of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers Manufacturing Excellence Awards. The winners will be announced in London on June 26.

BEER SUCCESS: England's success in reaching the second round of the World Cup finals has boosted sales at pubs chain John Barras, which has 20 pubs in the North-East. Sales went up 15 per cent, and for the game against Argentina they rose a staggering 66 per cent.

BIZ CAMP: Pupils from five County Durham Schools will take part in a summer BizCamp next week designed to instill in them the desire to run their own businesses. Pupils from Sunnydale School in Shildon, Ferryhill Comprehensive, Greenfield Arts College in Newton Aycliffe, Bishop Barrington Comprehensive in Bishop Auckland and Staindrop School will take part