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
Dear Euan, I SYMPATHISE with you because I too, when I was about your age, ended up face down and very queasy after a disordered night out. I was 16 and growing up - or failing to grow up - in Armley, Leeds. Every Saturday night staff at the local swimming
WE are told we are living in halcyon economic times. There is sustainable growth; a budget surplus; low inflation; and falling unemployment. With such a golden legacy, it is difficult to understand why our region's manufacturing and farming industries
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
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
A 108-YEAR-OLD pensioner, who has lived through three centuries, yesterday became the newest and oldest trade union member in the country. Margaret Bridgewood, of Homeside, Westoe Village, South Shields, was conferred with an honorary membership of Unison
MARY Maugham is on top of the world after setting a world record as the oldest person to abseil down a cliff. Even at the grand old age of 91, dangling at the end of a rope on a slippery sheer cliff held no fears for the veteran of dares. Mrs Maugham
A PUB crawl with a difference is offering drinkers a health check alongside their pints. The Community Health Check roadshow, run by Teesside Health Action Zone, visited the Oasis pub and the Sheraton pub, Stockton, yesterday. Regulars were offered carbon
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'
HEARTBROKEN Ian Kennedy killed himself with an electric carving knife, an inquest heard yesterday. Mr Kennedy, an environmental health officer with Middlesbrough Borough Council, was found in his kitchen hours after a former partner refused to move back
BRITVIC Soft Drinks, which is controlled by leisure group Bass, has bought Hartlepool-based Orchid Drinks, the producer of health tonics Purdey's and Aqua Libra. Stephen Davies, Britvic's managing director, said: "This investment captures a portfolio
A NEW venture supporting talented dales musicians could have the added benefit of giving a redundant leisure centre a new lease of life. The Weardale Musicians' Collective is in talks with cement company Blue Circle about setting up a base at its former
POLICE in Durham and Chester-le-Street are urging residents to be extra vigilant after a recent spate of thefts from gardens. The call comes following a sharp rise in thefts of garden furniture, hanging baskets and plants. Detective Inspector Andy Reddick
PUPILS and teachers at a County Durham school could hardly believe their eyes when the legendary beard of their head of maths was shaved off. Bob Elston, a teacher at Moorside Comprehensive School in Consett, finally resolved to shave off his shaggy beard
A PIONEERING scheme to tackle the menace of drugs and alcohol abuse among youngsters is about to be launched. Education groups in a large rural area of North Yorkshire have been awarded a grant of almost £50,000 for the project, which aims to steer young
A hairdresser rubbed shoulders with some of the top people in her industry at the House of Commons. The event was the first in a long list of activities Suzanne Leadbitter will be involved in following her student of the year award success. Suzanne, a
A car park is to open next week to compensate for the closure of another near a busy city centre, although 83 spaces will still be lost. The 190-space Framwelgate Peth car park, in the shadow of Durham railway station, will close on Sunday, to make way
THE father of a baby who died earlier this year is running a five-a-side football competition to raise money for other bereaved parents. John Jackson has organised the competition between 16 teams at the Middlesbrough Football Academy, in Eston, on Sunday
RESIDENTS in a former mining village are hoping to rejuvenate their community. Grange Villa, near Chester-le-Street, has suffered due to a lack of amenities, but residents are hoping to get funding to help build a community centre and millennium garden
YOUNGSTERS jumped to it at a nursery yesterday to raise money for charity. Children at the House of Eden Nursery, at Rushyford, near Newton Aycliffe, raised money by seeing how many bounces they could do in a minute on a bouncy castle. Even the very young
A police officer relished the chance to dangle one of his chief inspectors by a rope. But Laz Szomoru wasn't unduly worried, because it was just an attempt to persuade him, as a leading member of Durham Agency Against Crime, to back a scheme encouraging
OWNERS of a North-East factory site transformed in part by mobile phone giant Orange remain tight-lipped over a possible new £2.5m office development. Property developer Highpoint Estates bought the Cummins engine component factory in Yarm Road, Darlington
A DECISION will be made today on the future of a group of houses in one of Middlesbrough's run-down estates. At a cabinet meeting, Middlesbrough borough councillors will discuss whether 12 properties in Tower Green, St Hilda's, should be demolished. In
A MAN who underwent heart surgery in Middlesbrough's South Cleveland Hospital put his best feet forward to thank the staff who looked after him. Peter Jones, of Stokesley, persuaded friends and relatives into completing a ten-mile walk to raise £600 for
A NEW service is being offered to help employees of small and medium-sized businesses with computer skills. E-Tees Valley is a partnership between the University of Durham's Stockton campus and Stockton Borough Council to promote the use of e-commerce
HANDS stretched skyward, faces eager, the class of four-year-olds clamour for attention from the woman who has come to visit. Keen to learn, cheerful and innocent, the children are a pleasure to be with - and that's the way the RSPCA wants it to stay.
A NORTH Yorkshire council has joined forces with central Government to help householders cut levels of radon in their homes. Richmondshire District Council is to work in partnership with the Department of Environment, Transport and the Regions (DETR)
A MOTHER had a sneak preview of her future when she saw her daughter graduate from a Teesside college. Linda Pickering has completed a foundation year, and will start a degee course in September. She will study at the Stockton campus of Durham University
SUNDERLAND manager Peter Reid will take his players to the Continent for three friendly matches as part of their pre-season build-up. The Wearside boss had originally planned to travel to Ireland as he did last year, but has decided instead to play games
CHART-BUSTING boy band Five will headline one of the region's biggest free music events later this month. The band will headline the radio station 96.6 tfm Party in the Park, at the Stockton International Riverside Festival, on July 30. An afternoon of
AN inquest opened yesterday into the deaths of two friends in a road accident as they headed to a bowls match. Mary "May" Waugh, 70, and Patricia Anne Packham, 53, both from Hartlepool, died as a result of the accident on the A19, near Peterlee, County
BRITAIN'S longest snake will be slithering into Sunderland on Friday. The 437-yard snake has been made by pupils from 12 Wearside schools. The children received help from students at Sunderland University. The huge home-made beast will be used as part
AN artist in residence has turned her front room into a exhibition for people devastated by recent floods in the region. Jean Grant, who is working as an environmental and community artist in Skinningrove, has displayed 50 photographs of the recent floods
PUPILS and staff from 21 schools stepped forward to receive accolades for health education initiatives. Healthy school certificates were handed over at a ceremony which was held in Sunderland AFC's Stadium of Light banqueting suite. The accolades were
LIBERAL Democrats in Gateshead are claiming victory in their battle to force open the borough council's cabinet meetings. Labour-run Gateshead Metropolitan Borough Council scrapped its committee system last year and replaced them with a closed cabinet
MEMORIES of the maritime past of one of the North-East's famous shipbuilding rivers have gone on public display. An exhibition, the History of Shipbuilding, opened at Sunderland's National Glass Centre, which stands on the site of one of Wearside's former
STAFF from the Environment Agency's Newcastle office are getting on their bikes for charity. Eleven women, one man and a dog called Emma are cycling across the region this weekend. The effort is in aid of Ovacome, the ovarian cancer chairty, and St Oswald's
A SCHEME to improve the quality of life for the sick and elderly in Redcar and Cleveland is hoping for Government funds. The borough council's social services department has developed a scheme called Moving Towards Independence, backed by a partnership
A NORTH-EAST lecturer has been named as one of the country's top university teachers. Dr Patricia Egerton, head of maths at the University of Teesside, will be awarded £50,000 tomorrow, to use as part of the first National Teaching Fellowship Scheme.
FOUR golfing friends tackled a marathon session to raise money for youngsters suffering from leukaemia. Ian Thomson, Gary Collinson, David Whales and Nigel Dodd drove off the first hole of Bishop Auckland Golf Course on Monday, at 5.30am, and completed
A MIDWIFE plans to create a garden of remembrance for parents who have lost children. Marie Richards, a midwife at Bishop Auckland Hospital, is appealing for donations so she can create a small garden in Sedgefield Cemetery for parents who have lost children
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
OWNERS of a North-East factory site transformed in part by mobile phone giant Orange remain tight-lipped over a possible new £2.5m office development. Property developer Highpoint Estates bought the Cummins engine component factory in Yarm Road, Darlington
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,
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
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
FUNDING looks to have been finally clinched to allow restoration work to begin on a village church - almost two years after it was virtually destroyed by fire. St Brandon's Church at Brancepeth, near Durham, which was left an empty shell by the blaze
A SUSPECTED burglar was killed and another left fighting for his life when a stolen getaway car crashed yesterday. Police believe the crash happened minutes after a raid on a Tyneside factory. The stolen car was found overturned in a nearby field after
POLICE in Ferryhill are getting some help from an unlikely source when they launch a week-long series of events promoting crime prevention. Ferryhill crime prevention and community safety week starts on Monday, July 17, and is being supported by Sedgefield
SENIOR police officers have organised a meeting with concerned residents to discuss crime problems in South Tyneside. Police in Jarrow hope to discuss their plans for the future policing of the area at the meeting planned in the town on Wednesday, July
TAXI drivers being forced to put new roof signs on their vehicles fear the increased uniformity in Darlington's Hackney carriage fleet could reduce safety for passengers. But Darlington Borough Council, which is introducing the changes, moved quickly
NORTH-EAST agony aunt Denise Robertson has helped launch a major anti-bullying campaign which aims to reach every pupil in County Durham. The TV personality yesterday opened a week-long exhibition at County Hall, in Durham, to which every child in the
PROPOSALS to build a controversial pylon line have been dealt a fresh blow with a ruling by Industry Secretary Stephen Byers MP. The Secretary of State has ordered the National Grid to alter the route of the 500,000- volt line to ensure it is at least
VOLUNTARY groups will come together tomorrow to discuss fostering links to improve the lives of North-East people. Paul Boateng, Minister of Home Affairs, will make the keynote address at the conference, Making it Happen, at Ushaw College, near Durham
VIDEO interviewing of adult rape victims is to be pioneered in the North-East in a bid to halt the decline in conviction rates, it has been revealed. Rape Examination Advice and Counselling Help (Reach) has won £21,000 in Government funding to become
A GROUP of pub regulars dedicated to fundraising have been awarded a millennium National Lottery grant. Anchor Aid, set up in 1986, operates from the Anchor inn, in Guisborough. It was established to provide support for the sick, elderly and disabled
NEARLY 150 employees from around the UK have received accolades from ARRIVA at a national achievement awards ceremony. Now in its 9th year, ARRIVA's apprentice programme has seen hundreds of young people work towards and qualify for their NVQ apprenticeships
THE North-East's food industry received an unlikely boost yesterday when a pantomime cow met a walking beefburger. The meeting of the costumed characters in Stockton High Street marked the launch of a new Food for Thought business club, run by the food
NORTH-EAST agony aunt Denise Robertson has helped to launch an anti-bullying campaign which aims to reach every school pupil in County Durham. The TV personality yesterday opened a week-long anti-bullying exhibition at County Hall, in Durham City, to
ACTING on behalf of James and Alma Elder, who are retiring from the hospitality sector, the Newcastle Office of leading licensed property agents, Christie & Co, has sold Stanhope Old Hall, a fully restored 12th Century medieval hunting lodge in Weardale
AN army of neighbourhood wardens could soon be working to make the streets of Middlesbrough safer. Middlesbrough Borough Council has joined forces with Cleveland Police to bid for £1m of Home Office funding for a warden scheme. A team of 18 wardens would
A PURPOSE-built business centre offering the very highest levels of accommodation and services has now opened in the heart of one of Durham City's most prestigious business developments. The Rivergreen Centre is the final development at the Aykley Heads
SINGLE CURRENCY FOR the euro to succeed, as it has already been agreed in the Maastricht Treaty, all the countries must have the same employment legislation and business taxes so that the internal market is not distorted. Consequently, doesn't logic demand
HARRY Potter author JK Rowling rattled off another 600 book signings in a frantic stop-off on her Hogwarts Express tour yesterday. About 500 children, parents and teachers waited patiently for the best-selling author, who arrived at Waterstones in Blackett
A SENIOR North-East MP has been interviewed by police about an allegation of assault after a neighbour's son needed hospital treatment, it was revealed yesterday. Middlesbrough MP Stuart Bell was released on police bail after being questioned last Friday
GYNAECOLOGIST Richard Neale has admitted that his CV contained many mistakes, but claimed that he had not intentionally supplied false information. Mr Neale, 52, submitted his curriculum vitae as part of an application to the General Medical Council to
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
A EURO MP has demanded an inquiry after outraged shop staff complained asylum seekers were spending their free goods vouchers on Pokemon cards. Workers at the C&A store in Northumberland Street, Newcastle, were "disgusted" at having to hand over the
A POLICE crackdown on the sale of alcohol to underage drinkers has been hailed a success. A number of off-licence premises in County Durham have had permission to sell alcohol withdrawn by magistrates in the past week, including one shop paying the penalty
PARENTS and supporters protested yesterday as a council official visited a closure-threatened Catholic school. St Anthony's, in Middlesbrough, has been hit by falling pupil numbers. It has been suggested that, if the school closed, its pupils could be
A MAN who underwent heart surgery in South Cleveland Hospital has put his best foot forward to thank the staff who looked after him. Peter Jones, of Stokesley, roped friends and relatives into completing a ten-mile walk to raise £600 for the South Cleveland
A THREE-DAY music festival takes place in Bishop Auckland at the weekend. Tickets for Bishop Auckland Summer Music Festival are now on sale. On Friday, the festival will feature Arabic and Medieval Mediterranean music, songs and stories. On Saturday,
