IT is with great sadness that we report the passing of Tom McGuinness, for he was a truly remarkable man.

For all the recognition that his wonderful talent brought him, Tom never strayed from his County Durham roots.

He remained in the same little side street in Bishop Auckland, a home as humble and unassuming as the man himself.

It is a crying shame that Tom did not live to see the opening of a major retrospective exhibition of his work at Bishop Auckland Town Hall in honour of his 80th birthday in April.

The exhibition is still to go ahead. And we urge our readers to pay it a visit to celebrate the gift that Tom McGuinness possessed, and the rich legacy he has left behind.

Short shrift

CONVICTED of film piracy, Joanne Dunn escaped being fitted with an electronic tagging device because her lawyer argued that it would have spoiled her outfit when she went out on the town wearing a short skirt.

Whether it is appropriate to tag someone for DVD piracy - whether they are male or female - is debatable

But with respect to Mrs Dunn's lawyer, Peter Thubron, he is talking rubbish when he suggests it is easier for males to wear tags than women.

If poor Mrs Dunn had wanted to go out on the town, surely she could have coped with the ignominy of wearing trousers.

Or better still - in view of her crippling financial plight which Mr Thubron was so keen to outline as part of her defence - perhaps she could even stay in for a while and save her benefits.