A NEW 700-capacity theme pub will take the place of a city's only mainstream cinema. Regent Inns yesterday won an appeal against licence refusal by North Durham justices following a two-week hearing at Durham Crown Court. The London-based leisure company
MEDICAL officials have renewed a suspension order against a North-East doctor. Two years ago, the General Medical Council (GMC) suspended Dr Michael Donnolly from the register of public health doctors pending a full investigation into allegations made
A FAMILY thanked the hero police officers who saved their lives at an awards ceremony last night. Sergeant Simon Trotter, PC Andy Metcalfe, PC Mark Gill and PC Janette Turnbull, from Spennymoor police station, County Durham, were presented with framed
AN optician's is investing £250,000 on a store expansion which will treble its size. An extra four jobs have also been created as a result of the revamp at Specsavers in Bishop Auckland, County Durham. The project will create space for two more testing
A kinky bondage doll that looks like children's favourite Barbie has won a court battle against her famous rival. Lily von Frauenau bears a striking resemblance to the blond bombshell - but Barbie's ball gowns have been replaced by leather fetish gear
PEOPLE are being asked to add an extra item to their Christmas shopping list to help poverty-stricken families in the North-East. The Children North-East charity, which supports more than 2,000 families in the region, is making the request as part of
All events are on Sunday, unless otherwise stated TEESSIDE BILLINGHAM - 10.30am parade from East Avenue Community Hall, Billingham, to the Garden of Remembrance in Station Road, at 11am. BOOSBECK - 2.30pm wreath-laying at war memorial, followed by 2.45pm
NEWCASTLE Falcons are set to pitch Samoan international Earl Va'a straight into Zurich Premiership action when they visit bottom club Bristol tomorrow. The 30-year-old fly half has arrived from New Zealand for a four-week stay to help the Falcons during
Bishop Auckland will give new keeper John Caffrey his debut as they try to climb away out of the bottom three in their away game at Farsley Celtic today. Manager Brian Honour has brought in Caffrey from Whitley Bay to replace former Darlington keeper
Brave policemen who plucked a suicidal woman from the sea seconds before she would have been praised by senior officers. Inspector Neil Ingham and Sgt Leo Suret waded into the sea off Scarborough's South Bay at 2.30am on Friday after calls to say a woman
Q My husband and I, both aged 79, get retirement pensions at the standard rates for a couple and he gets Attendance Allowance. Is it true that I can now claim Carer's Allowance? A The 65 age limit for claiming the £42.45 a week Carer's Allowance has been
Shildon will give new defender Leigh Grant his debut when they take on Marske United at Dean Street this afternoon. Grant has been unable to hold down a regular place at Spennymoor in recent weeks, and Shildon boss Ray Gowan has snapped him up. Gowan
He's not interested in parties or premiers any more. Actor Robson Green would rather concentrate on making his North-East -based production company a huge success. These are tough times for TV top names. No longer do their names automatically mean huge
A school has been left dangerously unstable after fire ripped through it in the early hours of this morning. The blaze was discovered at 1.15am on Saturday morning in the Humanities Block of St Peter's School in King Oswy Drive, Hartlepool. Although the
LIFE without Chris Turner could take some getting used to for Chris Westwood. As Hartlepool United headed for Exeter yesterday without Turner, who today takes his Sheffield Wednesday side to Norwich, the in-form Pool defender admits to feeling a tinge
A GOVERNMENT minister is taking an interest in a town's plans for a multi-million pound police station. Home Office Criminal Justice Minister Lord Falconer was briefed on plans to build a replacement police station in Middlesbrough on a visit to Teesside
A SUPERMARKET manager has been putting his head to good use in a bid to raise money for a teenager who lost two limbs in an accident. Ian Watt, manager of the Safeway store, in Cockerton, Darlington, volunteered to have his head shaved to raise funds
THE Duke of Edinburgh paid a visit to one of the region's tourist attraction yesterday to unveil an exhibition dedicated to Second World War "human torpedoes". Prince Philip was at Eden Camp, near Malton, North Yorkshire, the former Second World War prisoner
GLOBAL chemicals business Huntsman has opened a manufacturing facility on Teesside. The ICON 2 titanium dioxide plant, at the company's Greatham site, is the first plant designed and built by Huntsman since the company was founded by chairman Jon Huntsman
A MAN who plunged into a dangerous river to save a pensioner says he is no hero - but professional rescuers think otherwise. Bradley Margach, 24, was presented with a bronze life saving medal of the Order of St John yesterday - an award made only to those
A MAN will appear in court next week charged with the murder of a popular North-East journalist. Lee Alan Cook, a roofer, of Longe Road, Norwich, has been charged with the murder of Lorraine Turner, 37, originally from Newton Aycliffe, County Durham.
FARMERS fighting for more than £1m from the Government for work during the foot-and-mouth crisis vowed yesterday never to work for them again unless they were paid in advance. More than a year after the region was declared disease free, the Northumberland
It's been a bad week for the Conservative leader, but in a visit to the North-East yesterday he was in bullish mood. Political Editor Chris Lloyd takes a stroll with IDS. "CAN you tell me where the Conservatives are?" the barman at the Pitcher and Piano
THE successes of some of the North-East's most original and inventive young entrepreneurs will be showcased next week. An exhibition at Durham City's Gala Theatre on Monday will focus on business men and women who launched ventures after taking part in
START-UP figures are set for a boost with the launch of a partnership between enterprise agencies and Business Link Tyne and Wear. The contract, worth more than £2m, has been won by a consortium of four local agencies - Entrust, Project North East, North
MORE than 100 jobs at a North-East factory could be under threat, following an announcement yesterday by struggling engineering group ABB. The Swiss-Swedish firm, which employs 120 people at its Sunderland factory, said it could have to cut 10,000 jobs
A TAXI driver found guilty of killing a man who died after a single punch walked free from court yesterday. The Recorder of Middlesbrough, Judge Peter Fox, sentenced Mazhar Ali, formerly of Park Road in Stockton, to two years in prison for the manslaughter
THE unanimous approval by the United Nations Security Council of the resolution on Iraq brings one step closer the prospect of British military personnel becoming involved in war. Saddam Hussein can be left in no doubt that he now has the option to disarm
AN independent review panel is calling for an "urgent" review of the allowance paid to Middlesbrough Mayor Ray Mallon. A review panel chaired by University of Teesside vice-chancellor, Professor Derek Fraser, says: "It is the considered opinion of the
TWO soldiers awarded the Victoria Cross for outstanding bravery during the Falklands War will be honoured in a Remembrance Day ceremony. The widow of Lieutenant Colonel "H" Jones and the mother of Sergeant Ian McKay will lay the final wreaths at Sunderland's
AN emerging artist used his engineering skills to create an evocative tribute to the fallen of the First World War. Ray Lonsdale's finished work, the Return of the Souls, has gone on display at the Durham Light Infantry Museum and Durham Art Gallery.
Wolviston could find Ferryhill Athletic a different proposition to the side they defeated last month when they meet in the second round of the Monkwearmouth Charity Cup this afternoon. Ferryhill have shown considerable improvement in recent weeks and
WHEN Venetia Williams lines up one of her big guns for a major staying chase, such as this afternoon's £50,000 "Badger Beer" at Wincanton, then the opposition better watch out. The Hereford-based handler has always been a dab hand at getting her horses
BELEAGUERED Tory leader Iain Duncan Smith came to the North-East yesterday to launch a pre-emptive strike against Labour's plans for a regional assembly. It is almost certain that the Parliamentary path towards a North-East assembly will begin in the
Whitley Bay start their defence of the FA Vase with a game at fellow Northern League side Billingham Synthonia today - and manager Andy Gowens admits the going will be tough. Whitley beat Tiptree in the final last May but their league form hasn't matched
I AM back. It is four weeks since my words last graced this outside leg of the paper. You probably won't have noticed my absence because I've spent the last four weeks being completely overlooked. We've had a baby. Our second. Admittedly, my part in this
SECURING top-flight status has never been more important in the wake of the ITV Digital crisis, so can we really blame Premiership clubs for devaluing the Worthington Cup by fielding weakened sides when the pitfalls are so great? Clogging up an already
Caretaker boss Mick Tait faces the toughest test of his caretaker manager reign when he takes his in-form side to second-placed Rushden today. Quakers remain unbeaten under the leadership of Tait, with a win and two draws. This afternoon they face a Rushden
DETECTIVES have uncovered a "fake" pensions scandal involving thousands of pounds swindled from the Railways Pension Board headquarters in the North-East, The Northern Echo can reveal. Officers working on the inquiry uncovered fraudsters who had taken
LEADING North-East club Morpeth Harriers take three senior men's teams to this afternoon's English Cross Country Relay Championships at Mansfield as they try to win the title for a third time. The Northumbrians, runners up in last month's National Six-Stage
HUGO Viana was last night ordered to put his strong objections to playing on the wing out of his head and become Newcastle United's favourite wide boy. Sir Bobby Robson knows Viana despises being deployed on the left-hand side of midfield - a position
A MURDER-style investigation was under way last night after a 99-year-old widow died only hours after being the victim of a bogus caller. Police officers found Rose Hunter dead in her home in Stanley Grove, Heaton, Newcastle, on Thursday morning, after
FAILED chaser Sir Ninja (3.30) is worthy of an each-way bet in the £40,000 Tote Scoop6 November Handicap, provided rain-affected Doncaster passes an 8am inspection. The final high-profile mile-and-a-half handicap of the season is always ferociously competitive
A NEW concession to private patients by the Richard Neale inquiry has failed to impress campaigners. Yesterday, The Northern Echo exclusively reported that the group leader, Sheila Wright-Hogeland, is recommending that victims of the former Friarage Hospital
TRIBUTE has been paid to a former captain of Sunderland AFC who has died from motor neurone disease. Rob Hindmarch died this week, aged 41, in the US, where he was a coach at a soccer school for children. The central defender, who was born in Morpeth,
AS HARTLEPOOL begin life without Chris Turner, Sports Editor Nick Loughlin looks back on his Victoria Park tenure, a period that has seen Pool become a third division force who have their sights firmly set on a move up to a higher level. IN FEBRUARY 1999
THREE students from Darlington College of Technology have been getting in some last-minute practice before taking part in a national hairdressing competition. Joanne Barras, 18, Veronica Copeland, 25, and Sarah Walker, 17, are representing the college
Passengers on buses in Darlington run by Stagecoach face increased fares from tomorrow. Single fares will all be increased and a £1 fare will be introduced for longer journeys in the town. There will be no changes to adult, child weekly and monthly saver
A COMMITMENT to scrap the controversial funding formula which discriminates against the North-East in favour of Scotland, has been included in the Liberal Democrats "Alternative Queen's Speech". At the launch of the document, published in advance of next
A married anaesthetist was cleared of sexually assaulting female patients by the General Medical Council yesterday. Dr Chandra Ganatra, 51, told of his delight that his reputation had been restored after sex claims from three patients and three nurses
A MAN under investigation by police over allegations of child pornography set fire to himself at a moorland beauty spot, an inquest was told. A verdict that John Agar killed himself while the balance of his mind was disturbed, was recorded by the North
I MUST take issue with comments (HAS, Nov 6) which were critical of recent BBC comedy offerings, comparing these programmes to the so- called "Golden Age" of British TV comedy. I, for one, would agree that shows like Dads Army, Fawlty Towers and Monty
FINAL funding has been given for an ambitious North-East museum projects to celebrate the region's golden railway heritage. More than £7m is set to be poured into the creation of a North-East railway village dedicated to the pioneers of steam. The development
A SCOOTER enthusiast is to ride 1,500 miles round the country to raise money for a disabled children's play scheme. Tony Diamond will be reliving his 1960s mod days when he sets off on the marathon ride tomorrow. Mr Diamond, a club entertainer, runs the
CAROL singers are being sought to bring a touch of Christmas spirit to an ice rink. The Centre for Life in Newcastle is looking for choirs from around the region to sing at its temporary rink. All groups will be invited to bring their collection tins
