The North East | Archive | 2004 | December
A TEAM set up to help build workers' skills has donned fancy dress to send a festive greeting to its clients. more...
POLICE tackling crime in remote rural areas have received a boost. more...
A CONSTRUCTION worker pulled a knife from his sock to threaten a man who made advances towards his girlfriend. more...
OUTPATIENT Alan Wall has put his artistic skills to good use by designing a Christmas card for a health trust. more...
MOTHERS were in fine voice for a series of carol concerts in Darlington. more...
HUNDREDS of soldiers from across the region will be spending Christmas away from home this year - many helping rebuild war-torn Iraq. more...
A DRUNK man attacked doormen working at a pub's gay night after hurling homophobic abuse at them. more...
PEOPLE in Darlington are being encouraged to have their say about rural rights of way. more...
A PIZZA shop worker was subjected to a torrent of racial abuse after he refused to take a £20 note ripped in half. more...
AN auction held last month has raised £2,400 for a project that helps adults with learning difficulties. more...
HUNDREDS of soldiers from across the region will be spending Christmas away from home this year - many helping to rebuild war-torn Iraq. more...
PEOPLE at a hospice suffered heartache yesterday when it was burgled only 48 hours before Christmas. more...
A DRUNKEN caravan dweller was arrested after firing a tirade of racial abuse at a convenience store owner. more...
CELEBRATING their diamond wedding yesterday Durham couple Alexander and Edna McKechnie attributed their successful marriage to a lifetime of teamwork. more...
A GROUP of teenagers bridged the age gap when they laid on Christmas celebrations for elderly residents of Durham City. more...
BUSKER'S VOW: Redcar's charity busker Norman Evans is aiming to give a Christmas present to charity shops in the town. He has pledged to raise £100 each for shops including Age Concern, Kidney Research, Heart Foundation Oxfam and Red Cross, along with Redcar Lifeboat and the Mission to Seafarers. more...
A CIVIL servant accidentally hanged himself, an inquest has ruled. more...
A COMPUTER hacker has wrecked any chance scores of abandoned pets had of finding a new home over the Christmas holidays. more...
HUNDREDS of soldiers from across the region will be spending Christmas away from home this year - many helping to rebuild war-torn Iraq. more...
A MAYORESS is recovering in hospital after a fall on a flight of hotel stairs. more...
HEAVY vehicles are to be banned from Whitby's cobbled Church Street, used by thousands of tourists on their way to the 850-year-old parish church of St Mary's and Whitby Abbey, because of the damage they are causing. more...
A GROUP of youngsters blamed for anti-social behaviour have offered to make amends following a meeting with their community police officer. more...
FIREFIGHTERS in Bedale have been doing more than tackling blazes and rescuing people this year. more...
FOSTER carers and their families from all over the county have received a Christmas treat. more...
A TOWN'S sports facilities could receive a boost if a housing development is given the go-ahead. more...
EMPLOYEES of Richmondshire District Council have been honoured for their long service. more...
CHRISTMAS arrived days early for great-grandmother Dorothy McMillan - in the shape of a new car. more...
Youngsters on Teesside are being encouraged to think about working in sports sponsorship and marketing when leaving school. more...
HUNDREDS of soldiers from across the region will be spending Christmas away from home this year - many helping rebuild war-torn Iraq. more...
CHILDCARE students have designed a uniform to wear for work experience. more...
More than 50 members of Middlesbrough Bridge Club joined in a Christmas Chicago bridge drive, which was won by Andrew Welsh and Roger Mosley. more...
A MAN was involved in a struggle with police after he objected to them keeping watch on his girlfriend in a toilet with a broken door, a court was told yesterday. more...
A MAN who died in a fireball car accident was more than twice the drink-drive limit, an inquest was told. more...
A Teesside adoption charity is celebrating a successful appeal to find would-be adopters. more...
A DEDICATED mother-of-five is giving up a family Christmas to travel to the Ukraine to monitor the country's Boxing Day election. more...
RESIDENTS in a quiet rural village were celebrating this week after a 'lawless' nightclub had its late licence revoked. more...
A POLICE force has hit back at criticism published in a national report. more...
A HIT movie by a local filmmaker has been sent to shops, but shelves are emptying quickly. more...
DARING animal lovers and their dogs will brave the North Sea on New Year's Day in an annual sponsored splash. more...
TWO academics from the University of Teesside have won top awards for academic research in entrepreneurship. more...
ANGLO-Dutch steelmaker Corus has been accused of driving a wedge between its Dutch and British operations following the resignation of the managing director of Corus in the Netherlands. more...
CONCERNS about the UK economy's recent poor performance eased yesterday after revised third-quarter figures showed that gross domestic product (GDP) rose higher than original estimates. more...
STORE chain John Lewis was hoping for a late Christmas rush yesterday after revealing sales last week had been two per cent lower than last year's record. more...
A DEAL to create the UK's second-largest caravan park business was finalised yesterday. more...
TELEVISION Corporation is selling the outside broadcast unit that supports coverage of major sports events such as Premiership football. more...
LLOYDS TSB has agreed to buy a portfolio of loans worth £1.5bn. more...
THE arrival of the festive season has failed to bring a thaw in the long-running pay dispute at BPI's Stockton plant, as unions announced further strike action to begin in the New Year. more...
Shameless Christmas Special (C4): X-Rated: Sex In The Living Room (five); MOST Christmas specials content themselves with a bit of tinsel, a few sprigs of Holly and lots of festive jollity. Above all, nothing's included that could offend anyone. more...
AN exhibition on the history of tattooing will be staged in the North next year. more...
The Empire Theatre's first professional pantomime production, by Stage Further, grasps the key principles of panto. more...
A YOUNG travel agent is looking forward to her first taste of fame when she stars in a television commercial. more...
POP impresario Pete Waterman has returned to his North-East roots for a broadcast of Songs Of Praise to be aired on Boxing Day. more...
POP impresario Pete Waterman has returned to his North-East roots for a broadcast of Songs Of Praise to be aired on Boxing Day. more...
FOR A very expensive book on small objects, you could look at Wine Labels 1730-2003, edited and co-authored by John Slater (Antique Collectors' Club £85). more...
CHRISTMAS: I WAS very upset to read that Darran Weston feels that Christmas lights (HAS, Dec 3) are a distraction. more...
ARE you sure you've got time to be reading this? This really is your last chance to shop for Christmas. Just in case you really have left it to the last minute - or your nearest and dearest have just decided to come and stay with you after all, here are a few last minute tips. more...
It's been a case of planes, trains and automobiles this past fortnight as various appointments have taken me the length and breadth of the country. more...
DESPITE the gloom and despondency which so often dominate the headlines, we look forward to Christmas with a sense of hope that important strides can be made towards peace in the world. more...
In his seasonal message, the Bishop of Durham, the Rt Rev Dr Tom Wright, contrasts the conspiracy theory of the Da Vinci Code with the stranger-than-fiction truth of the Christmas story. more...
Hopefully, Santa will be bringing you a stack of gaming goodies tonight, but what happens if he's stocked up on socks and selection boxes instead? Fear not, because The Northern Echo has teamed up with Chips - the North-East and North Yorkshire's biggest independent games stores - to give you a chance to win some. more...
Nurse Barbara Wingrove is making a big difference to the lives of isolated MS sufferers. Health Correspondent Barry Nelson reports. more...
UNEMPLOYED sports fans in the region are being given the chance to qualify as coaches as part of a new scheme. more...
Hopefully, Santa will be bringing you a stack of gaming goodies tonight, but what happens if he's stocked up on socks and selection boxes instead? Fear not, because The Northern Echo has teamed up with Chips - the North-East and North Yorkshire's biggest independent games stores - to give you a chance to win some. more...
TWO thugs kicked a North-East man to death then sneered at his wife down the telephone: "Your husband won't be coming home." more...
PATIENTS at a North-East hospital will receive an improved radio service thanks to a donation from The Northern Echo. more...
THE Bishop of Durham has dismissed the international best-selling novel The Da Vinci Code as a "great thriller" but a "lousy history". more...
DESIGNER Ingrid Sylvestre found a subject she could really get her teeth into when Nigel McMinn won his wife an opportunity to appear in a series of children's books. more...
ANYONE fed up with turkey and tinsel can take part in what is billed as the perfect antidote to Christmas - a walk through centuries of death, dirt and disease. more...
TWO homeless heroin users burgled the home of an elderly disabled man to get money for their next fix, a court heard. more...
RESURGENT Darlington Football Club is hoping to have turned around its financial woes and be making a profit early next year. more...
A COUPLE who work for the ambulance service say they are dreading the Christmas holidays because of the threat of violence. more...
It's been a case of planes, trains and automobiles this past fortnight as various appointments have taken me the length and breadth of the country. more...
THE case of a man who went on trial in his brother's name was quite remarkable, a judge said yesterday. more...
RAILWAY bosses facing a cash crisis have secured enough funds to pay their staff in time for Christmas. more...
SANTA has brought a North village the best Christmas present local people could wish for -the re-opening of the railway station. more...
A COMPUTER hacker has wrecked any chance scores of abandoned pets had of finding a new home over the Christmas holidays. more...
The latest campaign against drink-driving warns it takes less alcohol than people think to impair their driving. Is the Government right? Joe Willis finds out. more...
TWO thugs kicked a North-East man to death then sneered at his wife down the telephone: "Your husband won't be coming home." more...
RAILWAY bosses facing a cash crisis have secured enough funds to pay their staff in time for Christmas. more...
A PLAN to build a multi-million pound shopping complex in a North-East town centre was back on track last night - with four developers bidding to win the contract. more...
CHRISTMAS has come early for a family who scooped £250,000 on the National Lottery. more...
THE winners of The Northern Echo's Christmas competition celebrated as they collected their prizes. more...
A CONMAN cheated an elderly woman out of £20,812 after calling at her home offering to help with building work. more...
A PLAN to build a multi- million pound shopping complex in Darlington town centre was back on track last night - with four developers bidding to win the contract. more...
A BANNED motorist who crashed into a car carrying a baby during a police chase was yesterday warned he faces a likely prison sentence. more...
A COLONY of pregnant bats is facing homelessness because of worshippers. more...
MEMBERS of an annual Boxing Day hunt have urged supporters to turn out in force. more...
THE region is bracing itself for snow, ice and more high winds over the weekend. more...
AN airborne 999 service celebrated a boost to its lifesaving work yesterday after it took delivery of a new helicopter. more...
WHEN an enterprising salesman posted a holiday brochure to the Sharp family, the travel industry was still in its infancy. more...
TWO North-East inventors say they have had worldwide interest in their device that combats wrinkles. more...
The Northern Echo's Tim Wellock recommends a trip to the opposite corner of the country for a golf tour which offers wonderful variety and surprising value for money. more...
THE days will certainly be merry and bright for the England cricketers, happily donning their whites for Christmas on the back of a record run of eight Test wins. more...
Leeds captain Paul Butler is warning his team-mates to be wary of the threat from Michael Bridges. more...
Next year sees England take on Australia - it's the best chance England have had of winning back the Ashes for over 20 years and Steve Harmison is a bowler the Aussies fear, as Ahmer Khokhar discovered. more...
DAVID HODGSON will cast an expectant eye across the terraces on Boxing Day after telling fans: "It's over to you." more...
THE days will certainly be merry and bright for the England cricketers, happily donning their whites for Christmas on the back of a record run of eight Test wins. more...
AN embattled Graeme Souness last night insisted that the threat of losing his job as Newcastle manager paled into insignificance given the "real pressures" he has already experienced in his life. more...
DARREN Ambrose is desperate to shake off a niggling hamstring injury - even though a return to fitness would ruin his family Christmas. more...
NICKY HENDERSON'S Calling Brave (2.10) should be spot-on for Sunday's big race at Kempton, the £200,000 King George VI Chase over three miles, writes Colin Woods. more...
STEVE CALDWELL has reassured Sunderland's supporters that there will be no Christmas hangovers on the pitch when Leeds United arrive at a festive Stadium of Light on Sunday. more...
STEVE McCLAREN is confident his Middlesbrough squad have the mental strength and character to bury the club's tag of half-season wonders. more...
FREE-WHEELING Lord Transcend (1.15) will be a hard horse to peg back if as expected he adopts front-running tactics in Wetherby's feature, the £50,000 Rowland Meyrick Handicap Chase. more...
SOUTH African prop Marius Hurter will play his last game for Newcastle Falcons in Monday's Zurich Premiership match at Leeds. more...
Absent friends, deaths in 2004: Tommy Blenkinsopp, post-war Boro favourite and Witton Park lad. Enjoyed two raw eggs and two sherries in the Empire before games but insisted reports of his capacity were exaggerated. Aged 83. more...
TWELVE months ago, Hartlepool United went into the Boxing Day programme with a long and proud unbeaten home run. more...
WHEN it comes to blooding teenagers in the Premiership, few do it better than Middlesbrough. more...
THE REGION'S over-40s have been asked to rally to the rescue of the North-East Veterans' Athletic Association, which is in danger of folding through a lack of officials. more...
MIDDLESBROUGH chairman Steve Gibson will be asked to loosen the purse strings when the transfer window opens in eight days time - with a new midfielder the priority. more...
POLICE tackling crime in remote rural areas have received a boost. more...
Four trees planted by Sue Prytherick seemed to be settling in well when I looked around the village green at Barningham this week more...
HUNDREDS of soldiers from across the region will be spending Christmas away from home this year - many helping rebuild war-torn Iraq. more...
A COURT usher hung up her gown for the last time this week. more...
CHRISTMAS is always a time for double celebrations for a couple who celebrated their Diamond Wedding anniversary yesterday. more...
STAFF at a Teesdale health centre are preparing to move premises to clear the way for construction of a community hospital. more...
DESIGNER Ingrid Sylvestre found a subject she could really get her teeth into when Nigel McMinn won his wife an opportunity to appear in a series of children's books. more...
© Newsquest Media Group 2008