Prison work delayed:

Drivers in Northallerton could face more delays, as work rebuilding the town's prison wall is running five weeks behind schedule.

East Road, which runs past the young offenders' institution, has been closed and a one-way system put in place in the High Street, while work on the front wall of the prison is carried out.

Contractors had originally promised that East Road would be re-opened in time for the annual May fair, held this year on Monday, May 7.

But they admit the road may have to be closed again after the event, for the work to be completed.

Speed zones on the way:

Work to make Crosby Road and Grammar School Lane in Northallerton 20mph speed limit zones should be completed by the end of March.

However, plans to make Topcliffe Road in Thirsk a 20mph zone will not be completed until the next financial year, because this scheme is now going to include Green Lane East, where traffic calming measures will be needed.

Members of North Yorkshire County Council's area committee for Hambleton heard that £25,000 had been allocated for 2001-02 to create 20mph zones near schools across the district.

Student's thanks to hospital:

A student has thanked the hospital that saved her baby cousin's life by handing over a £1,600 cheque this week.

Charlie Toothill, 18, of Brompton, Northallerton, even shaved off her hair last year, in a bid to raise cash for the heart unit at the Freeman hospital in Newcastle. In total she raised £1,639.

The Northallerton college student started fundraising for the hospital after her 18-month-old cousin, Sophie Marani, was diagnosed with cardiomyopathy, a deadly viral infection, in 1998. Surgeons at the Freeman performed the heart transplant that saved Sophie's life.

Full details on these stories in Friday's Darlington & Stockton Times.