THRIVING engineering group Tanfield has boosted its employment levels to more than 200 just six months after it was established. The Tanfield Lea, near Stanley, based business was formed at the turn of the year by bringing together the operations of components
DETECTIVES remain hot on the trail of a constable who mysteriously appeared among its ranks 65 years ago. But, despite numerous inquiries, they admit that so far they have drawn a blank. The curious case of Constable X was featured in The Northern Echo
A HARD-UP council was criticised yesterday for spending £18,000 to send managers on a team-building exercise. Newcastle upon Tyne City Council cut its budget by £6.2m this year and reduced spending on services such as school meals. Yet 70 managers from
A PROJECT to improve the grounds of North Yorkshire County Council's Northallerton headquarters has taken a step forward. The chairman of North Yorkshire County Council, Roy Wilson, yesterday completed the ceremonial topping up of a large ornamental pond
A FAMOUS fashion designer is to give a Darlington student a taste of the industry. Queen Elizabeth Sixth Form College student Alison Bolton has been offered work experience with fashion icon Zandra Rhodes. Alison, 18, will work in the London fashion house
IT WAS amazing really that Robert Runcie ever made it into the church, let alone became one of its leaders. His father, an electrical engineer, had "a love of horse racing and a dislike of clergymen'' and it wasn't love of God that drew young Robert to
STRUGGLING supermarket group Somerfield has reported a steep fall in profits for the full-year and sales declines at its supermarkets and Kwik Save stores. For the year to April 29, pre-tax profits before exceptional costs fell to £70.7m against £208.5m
POLICE in Ferryhill will get some help from an unlikely source when they launch a week-long series of events to promote crime prevention. Ferryhill crime prevention and community safety week starts on Monday, and is being supported by Sedgefield Borough
A LANDMARK Government decision to increase compensation payments to children disabled by medical vaccinations has given renewed hope to a North-East pressure group. Middlesbrough-based Group Action into Steroid Prescribing (Gasp) believes a decision to
EVEN a swashbuckling century from Darren Lehmann could do little to relieve the gloom at Headingley yesterday. Given the rarity of a fourth day's play, there was never any prospect of an exciting climax as neither side showed much interest in winning,
TWEED jackets and wax cotton coats rub shoulders with anoraks and fleeces as the British crowd switches into mooch mode. A sea of people moving round a huge showground, hunched and with collars pulled high against the cool wind. On park benches the general
A NORTH-EAST solicitor who buried his head in the sand in the face of complaints was suspended indefinitely from the solicitors' roll yesterday. Timothy Husbands, 36, of Petch's Cottages, Liverton, Saltburn, east Cleveland, will have to explain himself
A CRICKET-LOVING businessman regularly makes a 2,000-mile round trip to play for a village team, even though it has no ground and no league to play in. Foreign exchange trader Luen Man travels from his offices in Switzerland to North Yorkshire every month
Darlington's local education authority (LEA) is to face an in spection by the Government's Office for Standards in Education (Ofsted) next year. Sixteen LEAs covering inner cities, suburbs and rural areas in the country face inspections in the 2001 spring
A PIGEON fancier is counting the cost of a theft which has left him thousands of pounds out of pocket. Ian Cadman has spent years keeping pigeons, and had 49 in a loft at the Sugar Hill allotments, in Cockerton, Darlington. When he went to check on them
DARLINGTON officials last night fired an angry broadside at Michael Oliver after the former midfielder accused the club of lacking ambition. Oliver left Feethams for third division rivals Rochdale after turning down a new one-year contract. And in a parting
AN artist-in-residence has turned her front room into an exhibition for people devastated by floods two weeks ago. Jean Grant, who is working as an environmental and community artist in Skinningrove, east Cleveland, has displayed 50 photographs of the
CHILDREN in eastern Europe can start out on the information super highway thanks to a North-East university. Old computers from Sunderland University were yesterday passed to a police charity to go to Romania later in the year. University Chancellor,
MIDDLESBROUGH may be ready to challenge Everton for Leicester City's £6m-rated midfielder Neil Lennon. Midlands sources claimed yesterday that Boro had entered the frame for the Northern Ireland international. New Filbert Street boss Peter Taylor is understood
RESIDENTS on a troubled Durham estate undergoing a revamp are looking forward to a day of fun this weekend. Sherburn Road, which is getting a multi-million pound facelift, is holding its annual fun day in the grounds of Laurel Avenue Community Centre
WHEN Ivan Pratt found himself struggling to find a celebrity to pick his new shop's grand draw winner, there was only one person that he could turn to -his mother. Ivan, from Gainford, opened the Iron Horse Cyclery, in Clark's Yard, Darlington, last month
A WOMAN who had a lung transplant is raising money to help Newcastle's Freeman Hospital, where she had the operation in February last year. With the help of family and friends, Lesley Earnshaw, 50, of Maxwell Close, Darlington, has raised almost £4,000
TWO of three men arrested at the weekend after an alleged raid on a pub have appeared in court charged with aggravated burglary. Colin Calvert, 38, of Brooklands, and Mark Wright, 26, of Walker Drive, both Bishop Auckland, were remanded in custody by
An unemployed couple who scooped more than £1.6m on the National Lottery after being down to their last £10 are today planning their first holiday together. Bet Howard, 48, and husband Dave, 46, of Whitby, North Yorkshire, had only a few pounds left to
A COUNCIL has been accused of cronyism after it announced plans to make school governors sign contracts promising they will back council policy. Darlington Borough Council wants governors appointed by the authority to sign a contract indicating they will
YOUNGSTERS in Darlington are being invited to audition for an event which could lead to them performing in the Millennium Dome. The auditions are being held this weekend as part of the McDonald's Our Town project. Local people aged between ten and 18
Bride Anne Henry told yesterday of her stalking hell at the hands of the husband she jilted on their wedding day. It took just six hours for her to realise she had made a mistake when Derek Tate became drunk and abusive in front of their guests. Mrs Henry
PEOPLE are complaining about a police spotter plane flying low over their village. Residents of Middleton St George, near Darlington, say while they support the use of the aircraft to catch criminals, they believe it should not need to fly directly over
Paul Doe, who was seen to very good effect when partnering Rushmore to victory in a valuable Sandown handicap on Saturday, can stay in the news by scoring on Freddy Flintstone in the Bonusprint Showcase Handicap over a mile and a quarter on day two of
THIRD World campaigners are to hold a three-hour vigil at the Angel of the North to urge world leaders to scrap the unpayable debts of the poorest countries. Members of the Catholic Fund for Overseas Development (Cafod) are staging the protest over frustration
PENSIONS THE mathematics of the national pension can never add up if you have fewer and fewer contributions coming in, and more and more taking out larger and larger sums. Before condemning a rise in the pensionable age, it is worth looking at some facts
DISABLED people are being offered extra help to achieve more independence. Health Secretary and Darlington MP Alan Milburn will launch the Darlington Association on Disability (DAD) information guide on Friday, at the Dimensions Centre, West Lodge, in
A HARD-UP council was criticised yesterday for spending £18,000 to send managers on a team-building exercise. Newcastle upon Tyne City Council cut its budget by £6.2m this year and reduced spending on services such as school meals. Yet 70 managers from
PUPILS at a comprehensive school near Darlington are to hold a technology day. Hurworth Comprehensive School students, aged between 13 and 14, will be holding the fair next Monday. The Mayor of Darlington, Councillor Dorothy Long, will open the event
FOR years archaeologists had believed the earthworks in the heart of a castle's ruined remains were the site of a medieval tournament. The embankment was thought to have been part of an arena where knights jousted to win honours from their king, the envy
TRANSCO is consolidating its regional operations at Doxford International Business Park, in Sunderland, creating 150 jobs over the next 18 months. Akeler Developments, the business space developer, has let 1,257 sq m of offices to the gas pipeline operator
THE unprecedented wave of optimism which followed Labour's landslide victory at the 1997 General Election gave Tony Blair the longest honeymoon period ever enjoyed by a British Prime Minister. If he didn't know it already, events in recent weeks have
THREE centuries of British military history will be marked with two days of celebrations in the North-East later this month. The Coldstream Guards is 350 years old this year, making it the oldest British regiment in continuous service. The majority of
COUNCILLORS will make a site visit before deciding whether to give the go-ahead for an open-cast mine in County Durham RJB Mining is seeking to develop a 104 hectare site at Brusselton, near Darlington. Because the site covers takes in both the Darlington
LEADERS from steel communities across Britain will arrive in Redcar tomorrow to hold emergency talks on the beleagured steel industry. The representatives from 30 local authorities, known as Steel Action, intend to mobilise a lobby group which will travel
A NEW venture launched this week promises to transform the commercial property market and attract more private investors in to the marketplace. PrimePitch, which can be contacted at the Internet site www.PrimePitch.com, will utilise the marketing power
A CELEBRATION of art around the world has given a group of schoolchildren food for thought. Children at Keldholme School, in Ormesby Road, Middlesbrough, are spending all week learning about art in different cultures. As well as learning about dance,
STAFF at a north County Durham library are to be honoured today for their work with children. Staff at Pelton Library, near Chester-le-Street, are to be presented with an Investing in Children certificate in recognition of their efforts. Investing in
IT may have raised a titter among knowing football fans, but Paolo Di Canio's recent advert for a North-East sportswear firm earned him a red card from some viewers. Fila UK, based in Gateshead, advertised its latest line of sports gear using West Ham
A FIRE which ripped through a family home may have been caused by a plastic toy left near a gas fire. Emma Woolams and her two young children escaped from their burning home just before 8pm on Monday. The fire may have been started by Ms Woolams' two-year-old
TRAFFIC on some the region's roads was brought to a near standstill yesterday as work began to move the final sections of a new sea terminal from a North-East engineering firm. Having successfully completed the manufacture and installation of a 250-metre
SEVEN students from Stagecoach Yarm and Darlington have gained places with theatre companies in the region. Every year Junk Arts, based in Bishop Auckland, auditions 16-18 year olds for a month-long project during August where six young people form a
MULTI-MILLION pound proposals aimed at dramatically improving rail services throughout the North-East were unveiled yesterday. The plans, which include introducing new stations and offering more frequent and faster services, have been described as "a
HIGHWAYS chiefs say bridge repairs in the centre of Durham will cause severe traffic delays from this weekend. Durham County Council is giving New Elvet Bridge a £250,000 revamp that includes laying a new surface, repairing the exposed concrete deck,
PLANS to convert a farm building into a shop have met with opposition from villagers. The owners of Piercebridge Farm, at Piercebridge, near Darlington, submitted a planning application to Darlington Borough Council to turn a barn into a farm shop for
A student seconds from death was saved by the quick actions of neighbours. Nicola Robson, 21, collapsed in the arms of her next door neighbour, after suffering an asthma attack. Moments later she stopped breathing. Eventually the combined efforts of three
THE Government will today come under mounting pressure to take emergency action to save thousands of jobs feared to be at risk in the region. An aid package will be demanded by the TUC for the North-East and other regions hit by manufacturing job losses
Mark James received a vote of confidence from the European tour's tournament committee last night and resisted all calls for him to resign as Ryder Cup vice-captain. James has been involved in controversy and a war of words with Nick Faldo over the book
THE people of the North-East would rather drink water from the tap than shelling out on designer bottled water. Despite having a reputation as being full of chemicals and not as pure as bottled spring waters, it seems tap water is not only good for us
A 13-YEAR-old girl with a crippling spinal condition has been commended by her school for suffering "with a smile on her face". Tracy Timms, of Pelton, near Chester-le-Street, has had scaffolding and metal rods put round her spine to correct a 90-degree
A careers and education advice centre in Sunderland has been hailed a success. The learningplace was set up in part of the old Binns store in Fawcett Street and opened in May. It brings together advice on work, training and education, as well as offering
A special school today says goodbye to three pupils who have clocked up 51 years between them. David Fletcher, Finola Walker and Clare Dodds joined Villa Real School, in Consett, when they were just two years old. Today the trio, now aged 19, will be
THREE disabled athletes from the same school are hoping for glory in October's Para-Olympics in Sydney. Les Allison is at Sunderland's Barbara Priestman School for youngsters with physical disabilities and other difficulties. The 18-year-old, who comes
STAFF at a north County Durham library are to be honoured today for their work with children. Staff at Pelton Library, near Chester-le-Street, are to be presented with an Investing in Children certificate in recognition of their efforts. Investing in
A NORTH-EAST solicitor who buried his head in the sand in the face of complaints was suspended indefinitely from the solicitors' roll yesterday. Timothy Husbands, 36, of Petch's Cottages, Liverton, Saltburn, east Cleveland, will have to explain himself
THE calendar says it's July, but the beach at Scarborough yesterday looked more like a bleak day in January. Not a single holiday-maker braved the windswept, rain-lashed sand that told the story of this soggy summer. The miserable weather has already
A BISHOP Auckland woman has praised hospital staff for the care and attention she received while undergoing an operation. Marina Lockey, of Dorset Place, was admitted to Bishop Auckland General Hospital for a knee replacement operation. During her stay
EVERTON are ready to test Newcastle United's resolve to hold on to Gary Speed by lodging a shock £6m bid for the Wales skipper. United chairman Freddy Shepherd has already warned the Merseysiders they would be wasting their time if they tried to prise
Police hunting missing schoolgirl Sarah Payne have arrested a registered sex offender over her disappearance. Officers seized the man in his 30s from his home in Wirral, Merseyside, early on Wednesday. The arrest, described by police as 'routine', came
Bride Anne Henry told yesterday of her stalking hell at the hands of the husband she jilted on their wedding day. It took just six hours for her to realise she had made a mistake when Derek Tate became drunk and abusive in front of their guests. Mrs Henry
ABOUT 100 children with speech and language special needs in Newcastle are to benefit from an extra £200,000 in funds over the next two years. The local education authority is the only one in the northern region to be awarded a £100,000 Special Education
FOOTBALL legend Len Shackleton yesterday expressed his surprise that fans still think about him - 43 years after hanging up his boots. The self-styled "Clown Prince of Soccer" - now 78 - made a special trip to Wearside to sign an oil canvas of him in
A £1M housing scheme for the elderly, which looked certain to be shelved, has been handed a lifeline. Plans to build 16 flats in Barnard Castle town centre were destined to be scrapped because the original developer dropped out. But work is set to start
YOUNG two-wheeled fans are to feature on a TV programme promoting bicycle safety. The ITV Police Camera Action programme crew will be filming a day of action with youngsters on their BMX bikes and adults on motorbikes. The police event, called Ridewell
DURHAM are to ask the world's leading Test wicket-taker, Courtney Walsh, to have a chat with Steve Harmison. Walsh is expected to be with the West Indies squad for the two one-day internationals at Chester-le-Street this weekend and Durham are leaving
TWO councillors have called for an urgent inquiry into allegations that a council sent a vulnerable 13-year-old boy to stay with his sex offender father in the North-East. The boy spent two weeks with the man in his Gateshead flat, despite social services
LABOUR POLICIES THIS Government spins so fast it is in danger of disappearing. Successes are all their own work, failures all inherited. Ministers smugly claim credit for reduced prices in retailing, cars and now banks, when both they and business were
A THUG who left an innocent teenager brain damaged for life lied about the attack until police showed him a video of it, a court heard yesterday. Mark Hobson, 24, was thrown out of a nightclub after a fight over a girl, said prosecutor Shaun Dodds. Outside
PROOF-of-age cards are being issued to Stockton teenagers over 16. The cards, which are free, are being issued by Stockton trading standards at Stockton Central Library, tomorrow, from 10.30am to 4.30pm. There are various discounts for cardholders, including
A CAMPAIGN has been launched to win recognition for a First World War soldier executed for cowardice 84 years ago this month. On July 2, 1916, 25-year-old George Hunter, from Stockton, who served in the Durham Light Infantry, was shot at dawn after a
TEN teenagers became mums for a weekend to discover how hard caring for a baby can be. The pupils from Ormesby Comprehensive School in Middlesbrough spent a weekend at a field centre near Barnard Castle, County Durham, with a team of school nurses and
UNION leaders from across the region will meet today to discuss the crisis in manufacturing in the North-East. The meeting is part of the union's overall strategy to persuade the Government to help regions hit by manufacturing job losses. On Monday, the
NEWCASTLE United manager Bobby Robson goes into showdown talks today with a trio of troubled stars. Midfield pair Kieron Dyer and Silvio Maric face Robson's wrath on the first day of pre-season training after getting on the wrong side of the Magpies'
A suspected burglar killed when a stolen car he was driving spun out of control has been named. David Ryan, 30, of Denton Road, Scotswood, Newcastle, was killed when the car crashed through barriers near Lemington Road Ends, in the Walbottle part of the
THE managing director of an international firm was jailed yesterday over a trading cover-up. William Dane, 65, who ran Kestrel Management International Limited from Crakehall, near Bedale, North Yorkshire, destroyed documents when the Securities and Investments
VISITORS to an exhibition of everyday objects could be forgiven for thinking they have shrunk because of the larger-than-life exhibits. The giant sculptures include mushrooms, a 6ft tap, 4ft candle, 3ft needle and thread, padlock, dice, poppy stem and
A DRIVE to combat anti-social behaviour by young people is reaping rewards in Sedgefield. Sergeant Barry Anderson, in a report to the July meeting of the village's Crimewatch Panel, told of the success of the initiative, which aims to improve residents
A MOTHER'S place is in the wrong. And fathers don't fare much better. It's been a bad month for parents. Mothers were banned from the inner sanctum at Wimbledon. Fifteen-year-old maths prodigy Sufiah Yusof disppeared from Oxford and seemed bent on blackening
A PIONEERING £30m road scheme for the region could be approved by the Government. The joint initiative by Middlesbrough and Redcar and Cleveland borough councils would see a new road built along the East Middlesbrough Corridor, the route that runs next
THE eyes of the cricketing world will focus on Durham this weekend as the county prepares for its biggest ever sporting fixture. England play their first international at the Riverside ground on Saturday when they entertain the West Indies, followed on
GRANADA Media, which owns Yorkshire and Tyne-Tees Television, was listed on the stock exchange at 515p-a-share yesterday, giving the company a value of £7.5bn. Conditional trading in the company began yesterday, with full trading starting next Tuesday
AN artist with a flair for capturing the atmosphere of coal mining in the North-East has turned a hobby into a successful business. Bill Hindmarsh, 58, of Belmont, County Durham, took voluntary redundancy four months ago from Philips Components, which
PRIMARY schoolchildren enjoyed learning about road safety thanks to a travelling roadshow. The BP Amoco Living with Traffic Roadshow was at Dormanstown Primary School, in Middlesbrough, to perform to 300 children. The show, which includes an eye-catching
THE plug was pulled on the Cavalcade of Steam celebration when an unnamed "major investor" withdrew its offer of £150,000, effectively killing the project. It was planned to bring together some of the world's most famous trains over the August Bank Holiday
A WOMAN was rescued from the crumpled wreckage of her car, as it threatened to explode, by the quick thinking of a passing North-East couple. Retired naval commander David Hughes, 71, and his 68-year-old wife, Elizabeth, discovered two smashed vehicles
A THREE-YEAR plan was launched yesterday to improve the health of people living in an area dubbed one of the unhealthiest places in the UK. The Health Improvement Programme, created by health officials and local authorities, aims to stop the decline of
