Box office hit Billy Elliot swept the board last night as it waltzed off with four major titles at the British Independent Film Awards. The feel-good movie - filmed in Easington, County Durham - tells the story of a teenager from a mining town who becomes
HIS name is enough the chill the blood but the last surviving member of the original Dracula family is assured of at least one warm welcome. Vlad Dracula Prince Kretzulesco is planning to flee his German home - surprisingly called Castle Dracula - and
THIS haunting image of a dying teenager is believed to have moved Prime Minister Tony Blair to order compensation for families devastated by the human form of mad cow disease. It shows the emaciated form of Donnamarie McGivern, a bright youngster whose
MULTI-millionaire George Reynolds told a court yesterday of the terrifying moment when he was attacked by a gang of vicious Rolex robbers. The Darlington Football Club chairman described how his frail 80-year-old mother-in-law joined in as he tried desperately
Darlington defender Neil Aspin could miss Quakers' home game with Brighton on Saturday. Aspin was helped off the field with a cut above his left eye midway through the first half at Cardiff on Tuesday night and had to be substituted by youngster Jordan
A LORRY driver who killed three Church of England ministers when his truck ploughed into their stationary car at traffic lights was cleared yesterday of dangerous driving. Long-distance lorry driver Mark King was cleared by a jury of three charges of
Middlesbrough yesterday halted a £1m move for Australian defender Simon Colosimo. Manager Bryan Robson made the decision after watching the 21-year-old centre-back play in a private match against Newcastle. Boro lost 2-0, with Alan Shearer scoring both
TERRY VENABLES WOULDN'T it be nice for English football if the FA would set aside its doubts and differences with Terry Venables and give him the job of coaching the England team? He is a seasoned professional, knows his stuff, and he could do as well
THERE seemed little hope for Badger, the West Highland terrier, when his lifeless body was carried from a burning County Durham flat. But, thanks to the quick thinking of Peterlee fire officers, the unconscious pet was successfully revived after being
A DRUG dealer barricaded himself in his room and tried to get rid of his heroin when police came to arrest him. Michael Graham was one of the street suppliers targeted by detectives tackling the drugs menace in Bishop Auckland, County Durham. When officers
England may review their decision to terminate Andrew Flintoff's tour in the aftermath of his breathtaking innings to seal their historic one-day international victory in Karachi. The Lancashire all-rounder is due to fly home for further specialist advice
PLANS to regenerate a run-down area of Redcar took a step forward yesterday. Outline planning permission has already been granted for the development of the Courts, estate and Roseberry Square, but officials from Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council say
A MAN was fighting for his life last night following a single-vehicle road crash which left four others seriously injured. The five, all from the Sunderland area, were hurt when their car careered off the A19 in North Yorkshire early yesterday. Three
IT WAS the most enduring mystery of her life, but Agatha Christie never spoke of the "disappearance"that caused a sensation in 1926. Friends and family knew not even to allude to it, and Agatha made no mention of it in her posthumously published autobiography
POLICE believe two handbag snatches which happened only five minutes apart in Gateshead, Tyneside, on Monday, may be linked. A 78-year-old woman was knocked to the ground, in Church Road, at 12.15pm, suffering minor injuries. Her attacker, a slim white
A HORSE-drawn hearse provided a grand funeral for a much-loved pensioner yesterday. The family of 90-year-old Sarah Barnes decided that the best way to mark her passing was in the traditional manner. So she was transported to her funeral in a horse-drawn
OK, here's the deal - I'll be nice to your children, as long as they don't wipe their sticky fingers on my coat, have trolley races round the supermarket, or run round the pub screaming when I've gone in for a quiet drink. Fair? And really, if it's all
TEESSIDE International Airport has broken through another milestone in its development. The latest passenger figures reveal the airport has smashed through the 750,000 mark for the first time, recording 752,901 passengers in the year to the end of September
A SMALL army of cyclists clocked up hundreds of miles when they peddled out along a new East Durham trail. The cyclists had all signed up to take part in an 18-mile Ride for Health family outing from Shotton Colliery to Crimdon along the recently completed
A NETWORK of closed-circuit television cameras will soon be keeping a round-the-clock surveillance of an East Durham town centre. Home Office funding has provided the go-ahead for the installation of a CCTV system in all of Peterlee's planned new car
A THIEF ran out of luck after stealing a bag from a car, Teesside Crown Court heard. The woman driver spotted Martin Moy, 26, running off. Her cries for help were heard by two off-duty policemen who gave chase and collared Moy in a garden in Newcommen
REDCAR and Cleveland Borough Council's Mayor, Councillor Arthur Dobson, has returned from a trip to the borough's twin town in Germany, already planning a welcome back. Coun Dobson and his wife, Iris, travelled to Troisdorf, near Cologne, as part of the
THIEVES who stole thousands of pounds worth of antiques from a North-East collector must have had specialist knowledge, police said last night. Experts from Newcastle auctioneers Phillips are being brought in to value the five-figure haul snatched from
THE mother of a North-East bullying victim has backed moves by one youngster to sue her local authority for the ill treatment she suffered at school. The woman, from Darlington, who cannot be named for legal reasons, says it is only right that if blame
A MAN accused of shoplifting hanged himself in Durham Prison using a belt, an inquest heard. New Zealand-born Graeme Limmer, 35, of Fernwood Avenue, Lemington, Newcastle, had been identified by police as a suicide risk in the past. But when prison staff
LIFE is looking rosy for an injured German Shepherd rescued after a road accident last Friday. The sweet-natured dog is being cared for by County Durham vet Paul Wilson after being found by police in the Trimdon Grange area. Staff at Paul's Bishop Auckland
THE reliability of fingerprint evidence has been questioned by a leading North-East expert. Geoffrey Sheppard, who works from the National Training Centre for Scientific Support, in Durham City, said the fingerprint system was not infallible. The national
INTERPRISE 2001 - Technologies for the Future is set for March 2001. Organised by County Durham Development Company (CDDC), it will each and every delegate with a schedule of pre-booked, 30-minute face-to-face meetings, it is the ideal forum for businesses
A SEX shop owner has confirmed he is prepared to continue his battle with the authorities over his uncon- ventional advertising. A caravan, emblazoned with a Pleasure Zone advertisement and phone number, has been parked on wasteland on the edge of the
PLANS to build a training centre at Tees and Hartlepool yacht club are set to be rejected by councillors. The club has applied to build a training centre and steward's flat at its centre in West Harbour Fleet Avenue, Hartlepool. The area is currently
RESIDENTS in Middlesbrough are invited to recall the town's industrial heritage in a guided walk tomorrow. Led by Robin Daniels from Tees Archaeology and Anne Gladwin from Middlesbrough Council, the Millennium Ironmaster's Trail promises to bring to life
A VETERAN North-East councillor is recovering at home after suffering a heart attack. Councillor Tony Moore, 59, of Newton Aycliffe, County Durham, was taken ill while walking home on Monday of last week. He was admitted to Bishop Auckland General Hospital
THE Birmingham Royal Ballet arrived in the North-East last night, fresh from a trip to New York. The company began a five-night stint at Sunderland's Empire Theatre. Ballet lovers can enjoy a celebration of the work of choreographer Sir Frederick Ashton
BUSINESSES across North Yorkshire have been put on the alert after it emerged that fraudsters are operating in the county. The county's fraud squad is warning small to medium-sized companies to be vigilant for con artists selling advertising space that
SUPPOSE that we had never had direct out-of-hours access to our GPs. Suppose that calls had always been dealt with by a telephone answering centre, whose staff dispensed advice largely according to a check list. Now suppose that the Government ordered
SUPPORTING his favourite football team can be a hair-raising experience for hospital porter Lol Vickers. But Lol will suffer rapid hair loss to entertain fellow Sunderland fans at a charity event following their return to a County Durham village after
IT is right that safety is the number one priority on our railways. In the eight days following the Hatfield tragedy, Railtrack has been at pains to put safety at the top of the agenda. In the immediate aftermath we had the offer of resignation on a matter
PETER NIVEN has the chance to supplement an already excellent record at Sedgefield by scoring aboard First Light (3.30) this afternoon. The majority of Niven's success has been achieved riding for Mary Reveley, but today he switches allegiance to the
HARTLEPOOL United last night put an end to a run of four away defeats by grinding out a goalless draw at Hull. Pool had not picked up a point on their travels since winning at Blackpool on September 9, but never looked like adding to that miserable run
A MOTHER who pretended Britain's first school milk co-operative was still sound when it was running up debts of £130,000, has been jailed for four months. Paula Eltringham, 44, fraudulently claimed European subsidies from the Intervention Board, and got
A FAIRGROUND worker who threatened to kill his girlfriend after their affair broke up was sent to prison yesterday. Prosecutor Peter Pearson told Harrogate magistrates how Carol Shaw was left frightened and crying by the calls made to her mobile phone
A WOMAN told a murder trial jury yesterday that she hated the brother who stabbed her husband to death at a family party. Mother-of-three Tracey Portis was questioned about three statements she made to police after her brother Carl, 36, was arrested over
A PRINTING company is creating 64 new jobs, just three months after opening for business. Washington Web Ltd, has invested £2m in its state-of-the-art factory, in Washington, Tyne & Wear, after successfully applying for a DTI grant. The investment
A MAN was pushed out of a bedroom window during a vicious armed attack by a father and son, a court heard. Victim Darren Bulmer injured both feet and needed a fractured bone in his heel put in plaster after the first floor fall, Teesside Crown Court was
Darlington paid the price for another bad start to lose a bad-tempered clash at Ninian Park. Quakers again conceded an early goal, this time after just five minutes, but they hit the woodwork twice and could have grabbed a point. There was controversy
LIKE many wartime brides, a young teacher had just a few hours to arrange her wedding to her sailor groom. In three hectic days, the soon-to-be Joan Harding left her job in Cumbria and sorted out all the details for the ceremony in a Newcastle church.
LITTER louts could face on-the-spot fines from a town's new "grime-busting" wardens. Darlington Borough Council's environmental officers are to get tough with those who drop litter on the streets. They will have the power to issue on-the-spot fines in
A TEENAGER who was left devastated when thieves wrote off his first car, had his faith in human nature restored yesterday when a mystery benefactor stepped forward. Stuart Sokell, of Binchester, near Bishop Auckland, had battled his way back to full health
WHEN it comes to spotting a celebrity, Carol Macmillan nose exactly how to do it. For the 38-year-old, from Darlington, has just won The Northern Echo Great Ford Ka Giveaway competition, by successfully identifying 13 famous noses. Every day for the past
MORE than 500 visitors are expected to descend on a forest next week for a Halloween event. The Forestry Commission is hosting its popular bewitching spectacular in the 5,000-acre Hamsterley Forest, near Bishop Auckland, County Durham, next Tuesday. Groups
ROYAL Mail has confirmed it will not take disciplinary action against staff who staged an impromptu strike. Thousands of homes on Tyneside were left without mail when 70 postal workers refused to work in a dispute over the suspension of two colleagues
A sign protesting about a pollution incident on the North York Moors has been destroyed. The sign was erected by Carlton Bank Stud owners Ken and Heather Saddington, spelling out their frustration at finding themselves still waiting for compensation,
CHILDREN looking for information about sex are being let down by their parents, according to a new survey. Research has shown that parents in the North are the worst in the country when it comes to talking about sex - with some opting to give the whole
HOSPICE staff celebrated a step forward yesterday when the Archbishop of York laid the foundation stone for a much-needed extension. Dr David Hope tapped the stone into place as work continued on the £2m project at St Leonard's Hospice, York. The 20-bed
A CAMPAIGN group battling to prove the innocence of a North-East mother jailed for the murder of her two children are lobbying politicians in the region to join the fight. The Portia Campaign believes new evidence from Canada throws serious doubt over
THE war against drugs has been stepped up after police confirmed their biggest seizure in a Northern city. A weekend operation in York netted a £100,000 haul of heroin, amphetamines and cocaine and led to six arrests. Two men and three women have since
TWO North-East university professors have turned authors to share their knowledge with colleagues across the world. Gill Crozier and Julian Elliott, of the University of Sunderland's School for Education, have each written books on their specialist subjects
DETECTIVES hunting three men who raped a woman at knife-point have issued descriptions of her attackers. The 31-year-old was walking alone through Fawdon Park, Newcastle, between 11.15pm and midnight on Friday, when the gang approached her and threatened
A LORRY driver who crashed into a car, killing three Anglican vicars, said he did not even have time to apply the brakes, a court heard. The three vicars were killed instantly when the 38-tonne lorry smashed into the back of the Rover 414 in which they
A HOUSE in Darlington has been hit by a fire for the second time in three days. The first floor of the house in Peabody Street, Harrowgate Hill, was badly damaged by a blaze on Sunday. Fire chiefs say that was an accident, but a second blaze at the rear
TOBACCO workers have repeated their call for the Government to intervene over proposed EU legislation on tar levels in cigarettes. As the last opportunity to amend the tobacco directive passed last night, regional union leaders at the Rothman's plant
EMPLOYERS organisation, the CBI, has fired a warning shot to the Bank of England not to raise interest rates next week. The Bank's Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) will decide whether to change interest rates, currently at six per cent next Thursday. But
