Archive

  • Rail bid proposes direct services

    A NEW bid to run trains direct from the North-East to London has been formally lodged with rail chiefs. The proposal by York-based Grand Central Railways involves running four trains a day from Sunderland to Kings Cross, via Hartlepool, Eaglescliffe,

  • Sand and Samurai in the Scottish play

    It's five years since Terence Maynard was on stage, but a great director and a great play have tempted him back, he tells Steve Pratt. A FEW years ago Terence Maynard made a film in Germany which involved spending a lot of time in the water. Being wet

  • 28/02/05

    DRESDEN: PEOPLE are saying that the British are war criminals because of the the bombing of Dresden in 1945 (HAS, Feb 19). What about the bombings of London, Coventry, Liverpool, Middlesbrough and Newton Aycliffe? What about what the Nazis did to the

  • Children make a bit of history

    CHILDREN captured their own little piece of history during a weekend craft activity session. Mythical beasts, medieval knights and other historical figures were featured in a series of brass rubbings created by youngsters at Clayport Library, in Durham

  • Tait back to his best as Falcons snatch a draw

    Mathew Tait produced an inspired second-half performance, scoring one try and making another as Newcastle battled back for an unlikely draw against Gloucester yesterday. The Falcons were 22-6 down at the break before coming back to lead 27-22. It needed

  • Anger over names for new streets

    RESIDENTS are up in arms over new street names for a housing development. A reference to a famous 18th century farming family has incensed members of Archdeacon Newton Parish Council, because the place where the plates are sited has apparently no connection

  • Bridge slots into place as centre takes shape

    THE North-East's newest bridge was lifted into place over the weekend. The £250,000 footbridge, which is 24 metres long and weighs 15 tonnes, was erected at the Centre for Life genetic research centre, in Newcastle city centre, yesterday. Designed to

  • Figures highlight obesity problems

    COUNTY DURHAM and the Tees Valley has the country's worst obesity problem, according to new research. More than one in four adults in the region are obese, compared with a national average of one in five. The Department of Health figures show that 27.3

  • McCarthy gets a reality check as Cats close in

    NORMALLY a football manager is the one employed to bring the playing staff back down to earth, at Sunderland it appears midfielder Carl Robinson has been afforded the role as realist. After Sunderland had battled for the three points against Cardiff City

  • Bus lanes approved despite protests from police chiefs

    BUS lanes are to be added to three key stretches of road leading into, and out, of a busy city centre. Lanes will come into force on the B6532 between County Hall and Aykley Heads roundabouts, in Durham. They will also operate on the A167, on the southbound

  • Nightmare of tales from the Orient

    Having recorded some good results that indicated promotion was on the cards, Darlington have just lost at Leyton Orient and are about to win only two of the final 11 games of the season, a run that will knock aspirations of moving up a division way off

  • Families of jailed soldiers call for probe

    THE families of soldiers jailed and thrown out of the Army following the Iraqi prisoner abuse scandal, have called for a public inquiry. They believe it could lead to the officers in charge at Camp Bread Basket, in southern Iraq, at the time of the incidents

  • Flying start for keen biker

    A TEENAGER has been selected for national motocross trials - having only just taken up the sport. Michael Haddick, 15, of Bellburn Lane, Darlington, will be among 40 youngsters competing in the trials at Ballykelly, in Northern Ireland, in May. But while

  • Drivers in hospital after crash

    AN appeal was made last night for witnesses to a two-car collision which left both female motorists detained in hospital over the weekend. Police believe the driver of a Renault Clio car swerved to avoid a pedestrian or cyclist and drove into the path

  • McClaren in praise of golden Graham

    STEVE McClaren last night promised to step up Danny Graham's contract talks after the teenage striker scored his first Premiership goal to earn Middlesbrough a dramatic 2-2 draw with Charlton. The 19-year-old, who spent a large chunk of last season on

  • Same story for beleagured Hodgson after away defeat

    DAVID Hodgson never felt the need to return to the changing room at the end of Darlington's game at Leyton Orient at the weekend. The Quakers boss may be as outspoken as they come in football, but even he was lost for words after witnessing his side slip

  • Bid for Government cash to help foot landslip bill

    A BID is being made to Government for £500,000 emergency funding to partially re-shape a hill. But fears that the latest land slip at Loftus Bank, east Cleveland, could be a costly repeat of the £2.5m restoration project, which followed a major collapse

  • High priority for residents

    HOUSING bosses have made reassurances that local people will get higher priority for social housing in Ryedale. A points system is to be introduced to assesses prospective tenants. The council's overview and scrutiny committee was told there is a housing

  • Changes to health care

    A MEETING has been organised about the plans for proposed changes of medical services at Redcar. The proposal is for an integrated health and social care centre in the town, developed by Langbaurgh Primary Care Trust and Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council

  • Land lease is still up for negotiation

    PLANS for a divisional police headquarters are expected to move a step nearer next month. Middlesbrough Council is being asked to lease a site which has been earmarked for the new base at a peppercorn rate for 60 years. The Roman Catholic Diocese of Middlesbrough

  • Commuters braced for delays on road route over city bridge

    COMMUTERS are bracing themselves for disruption as work gets under way on one of the main river crossing routes into and out of North-East city centre, today. The road route on the High Level Bridge, Newcastle, over the River Tyne, closed to traffic last

  • No extension to superstore

    A SUPERSTORE has been given permission to extend, but says it has no plans to do so in the near future. Sainsbury's took over the store in Victoria Road, Darlington, from Safeway at the end of last year. A Sainsbury's spokeswoman said: "We have got consent

  • Getting steam up for museum prize

    THE region was rallying behind a new museum last night only 24-hours before judging begins for Britain's Museum of the Year. Sports stars, politicians, clergy and The Northern Echo are backing Locomotion: the National Railway Museum, in Shildon, County

  • The boxer with the bottle

    Professional boxer Nigel Wright is gearing up for the biggest fight of his life. He tells Neil Hunter what it's like juggling his training regime with work and caring for a new baby. NIGEL Wright is a self-confessed fidget. The light welterweight boxer

  • Caldwell: We can handle it

    STEVE CALDWELL believes Sunderland, after failing to make the most of opportunities in the past, are ready to welcome the pressures that arrive with being in the top two for only the second time this season. Victory over Cardiff on Saturday and defeats

  • Payout for boss sacked over wages plea for his workers

    A freight company has been ordered to pay compensation to the boss it sacked after he bought beers for his workers as a thank you for their hard work. Mark Stilwell, 46, a shift manager, lost his job at Freightliner of Wilton, near Redcar, east Cleveland

  • Old heads help young shoulders

    ACTIVE 'oldies' are being sent into Wear Valley primary schools to lead lunchtime exercise classes for youngsters. Volunteers trained in Tai Chi have been recruited by Age Concern for a programme which crosses the generation gap. Two volunteers will spend

  • Sorbiesharry to strike again

    COLIN HADDON'S career in the saddle has taken off big-time over the past few months, aided and abetted in no uncertain terms by Sorbiesharry, fancied to make it three-in-a-row at this afternoon's Wolverhampton all-weather fixture. Haddon, a little-known

  • Maddison suffers a big blow

    DARLINGTON manager David Hodgson believes Leyton Orient midfielder David Hunt should have been dismissed for his elbow on Neil Maddison at the weekend. Maddison sustained a suspected fractured cheekbone after he was hit by Hunt in the 43rd minute. The

  • Sidelined Ross adds ankle injury to insult

    JACK Ross could be facing a lengthy spell on the sidelines, after damaging an ankle on Saturday. The right-back suffered ankle ligament damage in a tackle on Harpal Singh in the first-half of Saturday's defeat. And boss Neale Cooper revealed: "He's left

  • Favourites emerge for Labour seat

    TWO favourites have emerged in the all-woman scrap over Labour's choice of candidate to fight the next election in a safe North-East seat. Fifteen names were cut down to a shortlist of four on Saturday, with constituency workers in Bishop Auckland, County

  • England's largest poison garden opens its doors

    The Duchess of Northumberland's controversial Poison Garden is officially opening today. Cannabis, opium poppies, tobacco and the caco plant - the source of cocaine - feature in the garden, which is part of the centuries-old Alnwick Garden in Northumberland

  • GNER 'to secure mainline franchise'

    RAILWAY operator GNER looked last night to have won the battle for control of the East Coast Main Line. The Strategic Rail Authority (SRA) is understood to have recommended GNER as the preferred bidder for the contract to run services on the line for

  • Cameras to be fitted on school buses

    SCHOOL buses are to be fitted with security cameras in a bid to reduce bad behaviour by passengers. The investment by Go North-East and Durham County Council means that school buses in Bishop Auckland will soon be among the best protected on the roads

  • Boss instructs Dyer to add more goals to his repertoire

    GRAEME Souness has called on Kieron Dyer to turn his attacking threat into goals and challenged his international midfielder to become a ten-goal a season man. Dyer hit only his third of the campaign yesterday to ensure Newcastle's mini-revival continued

  • Maddison dejected

    Neil Maddison made an impressive return to Darlington's midfield against Leyton Orient on Saturday, emerging with credit for a hard-working 90 minutes, despite suffering a suspected fractured cheekbone. But the same praise couldn't be issued to most of

  • Drama in the desert and a can-can challenge

    The Walk (ITV1), For One Night Only - Strictly Classroom! (ITV1): IF you're going to have a row with your husband or wife, don't do it in the middle of the Sahara desert in temperatures of 120 degrees Fahrenheit with a sandstorm blowing up and terrorists

  • Drivers in hospital after crash

    AN appeal was made last night for witnesses to a two-car collision which left both female motorists detained in hospital over the weekend. Police believe the driver of a Renault Clio car swerved to avoid a pedestrian or cyclist and drove into the path

  • £6m scheme to keep seaside free from sewage overspills

    A MULTI-MILLION pound scheme to improve bathing waters off the Teesside coast has been given the go-ahead. Two underground storage tanks, which will hold excess storm water, are to be installed by Northumbrian Water costing more than £6m. During heavy

  • Bid for Government cash to help foot landslip bill

    A BID is being made to Government for £500,000 emergency funding to partially re-shape a hill. But fears that the latest land slip at Loftus Bank, east Cleveland, could be a costly repeat of the £2.5m restoration project, which followed a major collapse

  • Uncovered survey results prove good news for council

    STAFF morale among workers at Darlington Borough Council is at an all-time high. The results from the latest staff survey from the local authority reveals that 75 per cent of employees believe the council is a good organisation to work for, believe teamwork

  • Search for missing teenager

    POLICE across the North are on the look-out for a vulnerable teenage girl missing from a hospital unit. The 17-year-old, only identified as Kimberley, disappeared from a hospital next to Durham Tees Valley Airport at the weekend. Checks of tour operators

  • Villagers protest at homes scheme

    VILLAGERS are urging councillors to throw out plans for a controversial housing development near their homes. People living in Middridge, near Newton Aycliffe, are opposing plans for 270 homes at High Thickley Farm, Shildon, which go before Sedgefield

  • 'My turbulent life as an aristocrat'

    She was born into a world of beauty and wealth, but priviledge does not guarantee happiness, as Susie Bulmer discovered. She tells Women's Editor Lindsay Jennings about failed relationships, swapping decorating tips with Margaret Thatcher and finding

  • Man dies in Minster fall

    York Minster was in mourning today after one of its faithful servants plunged 100ft from one of its towers to his death in full view of horrified tourists. John Robert Angus, 59, who had been a verger at the cathedral for 25 years, was killed instantly

  • Support for carers

    MORE help is being offered to young carers. Leaflets and pamphlets have been designed to steer young carers towards the assistance they need. The chairman of the county's carers strategy group, David Brown, said: "This information will prompt those people

  • Nowhere to hide in truancy crackdown

    truants and their parents have been warned there will be nowhere to hide from today as police and social services begin Britain's biggest clampdown. Teams of social workers and police will be combing the streets, hunting for children who should be in

  • On target with funding for Europe's largest skate park

    PLANS to create the largest skate park of its kind in the UK are on target. A £100,000 contribution from the SITA Environment Trust, which distributes cash from the Government's landfill tax credit scheme, means the Prissick Plaza, in Middlesbrough, has

  • Nowhere to hide in truancy crackdown

    truants and their parents have been warned there will be nowhere to hide from today as police and social services begin Britain's biggest clampdown. Teams of social workers and police will be combing the streets, hunting for children who should be in

  • Sports centre site is selected after 16 years consultation

    A SITE for a new sports centre has been identified - after three separate studies that cost the public £64,000. Consultants have recommended that the new Ryedale sports centre should be built next to Malton School, after a feasibility study that cost

  • Writer's tale of Northern life goes State-side

    A BITTER-SWEET first novel set in the pubs and clubs of the North-East is to be published in the US. Publishing company Time Warner was so impressed by Tim Relf's first UK novel, Stag, that they bought the rights to publish an American edition. Stag,

  • Safety checks on church memorials

    SAFETY checks are being made in a district's disused churchyards to ensure headstones pose no danger to the public. Relatives of the deceased in nine churchyards across Easington, County Durham, have been warned of plans for the forthcoming annual inspection

  • Payout for boss sacked over wages plea for his workers

    A freight company has been ordered to pay compensation to the boss it sacked after he bought beers for his workers as a thank you for their hard work. Mark Stilwell, 46, a shift manager, lost his job at Freightliner of Wilton, near Redcar, east Cleveland

  • Hobson's barrister says client admits killings

    A man accused of murdering his girlfriend, her sister and an elderly couple has accepted responsibility for their deaths. Mark Hobson, 34, of New Lane, Selby, North Yorkshire, made a brief appearance at Teesside Crown Court today. His barrister, Jeremy

  • Town's jazzing it up

    JAZZ is in the air at Bishop Auckland Town Hall on Saturday when a six-hour workshop is followed by a concert. The workshop has been designed to give brass and woodwind instrumentalists a chance to play alongside composer and arranger John Warren, tenor

  • Home plans for district

    DEVELOPERS are applying for planning consent to build homes on pockets of land in the Wear Valley district. Mr A Flockton, of Middle Musgrave Farm, St Helen Auckland, is asking for permission to knock down former farm buildings and homes and build 12

  • Boxing hero opens club

    Young boxers were knocked out to share the ring with heavyweight hero Danny Williams. Williams, who shot to fame when he beat Mike Tyson in four rounds last summer, was the guest of honour at the opening of new premises for a County Durham boxing club

  • Stag hunt comes to an end as the beast returns home

    A LIFE-SIZED stuffed stag that went walkabout from its home in Harrogate has made a welcome return after being missing for more than two-weeks. The 20 stone, 6ft stag, which is regarded as a Harrogate landmark, hailed from the Highlands of Scotland, went

  • £30m plan for estate to go on display

    DESIGNS for a £30m estate of 800 new homes being built on Teesside are to go on display this week. The estate has been planned as a redevelopment of the Mandale Estate area of Thornaby, and the first phase of work is already under way. The finished scheme

  • My turbulent life as an aristocrat

    THE imposing grandeur of Studley Royal House comes into view as the private road curves through the expansive deer park and winds around the side of the 18th century house. Across the snow-covered courtyard, Susie Bulmer throws open the double doors and

  • Love rekindled at St. James'

    GRAEME Souness's honeymoon period at Newcastle ended at Bolton's Reebok Stadium in October with his first defeat and, as his skipper Alan Shearer admitted, the result still 'rankled'. Dubai is a popular destination for many newly wed couples, and it appears

  • Penzance shows Triumph class

    Penzance staged a stunning performance at Kempton Park on Saturday, which rocketed him to favouritism for the JCB Triumph Hurdle at Cheltenham. Ladbrokes and VC Bet were sufficiently impressed by the seven-length triumph of Alan King's charge in the Racing

  • Gearing up for charity bike ride

    AN intrepid motorcyclist has set off on a journey around the country to raise money for the Unicef tsunami appeal. Jonathan Formstone, from Norton, near Stockton, left on his 3,000-mile marathon bike trip from Redcar, east Cleveland, yesterday. His journey

  • Boro hope for boost from clubhouse plans

    AFTER three victories out of 17 in North One, Middlesbrough are confident they can win three of the remaining five games to avoid relegation. They are determined not to slip straight back into North Two East at a time when the long-running redevelopment

  • An endeavour to be lauded

    IT is not very long ago that the future looked bleak for the North-East town of Shildon. Apart from its railway heritage, and the pride of its people, it didn't have a great deal going for it. So who could have imagined that Shildon's fortunes could be

  • On TV

    The Walk (ITV1) For One Night Only - Strictly Classroom! (ITV1) IF you're going to have a row with your husband or wife, don't do it in the middle of the Sahara desert in temperatures of 120 degrees Fahrenheit with a sandstorm blowing up and terrorists

  • Tipping leads to 999 alert

    EMERGENCY services last night criticised flytippers who triggered a full-scale chemical scare. Firefighters and police were occupied for four hours and a road was closed for three-and- a-half hours following the discovery of an abandoned batch of 50-gallon

  • Belated tribute to tragic race star

    Cyril Smith left the world of motorsport as an unknown sporting hero. Now, 42 years later, his achievements have finally been commemorated. Chris Brayshay reports. AMENDS have been made at the grave of a one-time motorcycling legend. Forty-two years after

  • Teenage student reaches final of national music competition

    TEENAGE singing sensation Faye Nesbitt is on her way to student stardom after being shortlisted in a national competition. After her talent was spotted by a singing teacher when she was in the school choir. The 17-year-old is one of the youngest finalists