THE number of abortions carried out on North-East girls under the age of 18 leapt by 16 per cent last year - four times the national increase. A total of 1,023 under-18s terminated their pregnancies in 2003 in the North-East, compared to 880 the previous
THE mother of an out of control 14-year-old boy asked magistrates to give her a parenting order yesterday. The court heard that the boy, from Darlington, who cannot be named for legal reasons, had been found guilty at trial of smashing the windows of
A FIRE dog has been praised after it was called in to sniff out suspected petrol bombers. Durham Police called in Phoenix and handler Dave Myers, of Northumberland Fire and Rescue's Arson Task Force, after one of their vans was firebombed. Two home-made
TWO pool attendants are to face disciplinary action after a mother had to dive fully clothed into a swimming pool to save the life of her five-year-old daughter. The attendants were on duty at Stockton's Splash swimming pool at the time of the incident
FORMER favourite Nolberto Solano has lifted the lid on some of the dressing room tensions that are threatening to undermine Newcastle's season. On the field, the Magpies have now won just one of their last 11 Premiership games after Aston Villa came from
John Tyson has written from Australia to tell me about the wretched time he spent as a boy in what he refers to as the Old Orphanage at Gainford, known officially as St Peter's School. A friend in Bishop Auckland had sent him a recent cutting from the
THE NORTH-EAST'S top under-15 sprinter, Yusuf Aliu, was in record-breaking form in Saturday's Tartan Games at Gateshead International Stadium. The Middlesbrough-Mandale Harrier, who recently added the AAA crown to his Northern and North-East titles, clocked
THE distraught mother of a 15-year-old boy found dead in bed after suffering an epileptic fit has spoken of her grief. The body of Arron Smith was discovered by his grandmother, who had gone to wake him up after he suffered the fit earlier that morning
THE two Darlington rugby clubs have been drawn away in the first round of the Powergen Cup to the teams they face in their opening National Three North matches next Saturday. For Darlington it means a second trip to Rugby Lions on September 18, while
A Tory-dominated council is responsible for one of the highest council tax increases in England - according to figures released by the Conservative Party. Their research shows the average band D council tax bill in England has risen from £689 in 1997-
JUST as the monkey on Durham's back seemed about to administer its final kick in the teeth of a season full of misfortune Liam Plunkett came to the rescue yesterday. With five balls to score 14 runs for victory, he drove Robin Martin-Jenkins for four,
RAY PARLOUR, a former member of Arsene Wenger's team of unbeatables at Arsenal, believes Middlesbrough are starting to develop the winning habit themselves. Boro, whose only defeat in four games was at Highbury, may not be about to go 44 games without
Due to technical difficulties we can only provide a limited newsfeed at present. The usual news service should resume on Monday, August 30. We apologise to our readers for any inconvenience.
ONE shot on target in 90 minutes is a miserable return for any home side but, according to Kevin Kyle, there's a ready-made excuse for the Sunderland strikeforce. "As a forward you're only as good as the service you get and I think we're not getting any
Sir Bobby Robson's five-year reign as Newcastle United manager came to an end this morning when the club's board decided to "dispense with his services". Robson, who turned Newcastle's fortunes around after replacing Ruud Gullit in September 1999, has
The Liberal Democrats were today accused of "re-writing history" by claiming they are the main rivals to Labour in the Hartlepool by-election. Stephen Allison, the candidate for the UK Independence Party, claimed the Lib Dems were trying to mislead people
A teenager's first taste of first team cricket was enough to bowl a maiden over, and make history in the process. Promising wicket-keeper Katie Brennan was asked to don the gloves for Langley Park first XI in their Durham County League clash at Tudhoe
ONLY in the weird and wonderful world of Newcastle United can what doesn't happen be more important than what does. Alan Shearer doesn't make the starting line-up on the fifth anniversary of Ruud Gullit's departure following his decision to drop the Newcastle
PATIENCE may be a virtue but try telling that to the Darlington fans practically begging manager David Hodgson for a new striker. While Hodgson is prepared to bide his time, supporters have become increasingly agitated by the lack of activity in the transfer
PHARMACEUTICAL companies must be allowed to protect their intellectual property if the development of life-saving drugs is to continue, an analyst said. The warning comes after major manufacturer GlaxoSmithKline settled a lawsuit on Thursday night with
HUNDREDS of people have signed a petition urging Royal Mail bosses to keep a threatened post office open as the company looks to make cost-saving cuts across the region. The Neville Parade branch, in Newton Aycliffe, is one of 11 in County Durham that
England captain, Michael Vaughan, kept alive Yorkshire Phoenix's hopes of promotion in the totesport League yesterday when his calmly constructed half-century helped to bring victory over Derbyshire Scorpions by five wickets in the rain-affected match
WHEN Middlesbrough signed Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink last month they acquired a figure both loved and loathed. Chief Sports Writer SCOTT WILSON unravels one of football's most misunderstood figures. IT was easy to pick out Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink as he left
IT'S only seven games and 16 weeks since Hartlepool United were last at Swindon. It might as well have been 700 games or 16 years such was the difference in both performance and emotions. On May 8, Pool drew 1-1, securing a point which cemented their
A list of more than 500 names has been suggested to fill one of the most prestigious posts in the academic world. Nominations close tomorrow (Tuesday) in the search for a new chancellor of Durham University to succeed actor Sir Peter Ustinov - who died
The ninth centenary of a northern saint's preserved remains being committed to a shrine will be celebrated with a series of events at Durham Cathedral next weekend. Saturday marks the 900th anniversary of what has become known as the Translation of the
REGIONAL GOVERNMENT JOHN Prescott states assemblies have nothing to do with Brussels, but that it is home grown by the Labour party. What rubbish. Regionalisation was put on the agenda for this country as far back as 1937 in the book, which after being
A LEAFLET encouraging people to vote in the referendum on a North-East regional assembly has been branded "offensive propaganda". Photographs of six people expressing their views in the Government brochure have sparked anger among the Tories, campaigning
Library doors remained closed across a county at the weekend as staff staged a threatened strike. All 38 Durham County Council-run libraries were unable to open due to day-long action by staff members in the public service union Unison. They voted 55-
DARLINGTON defender-cum-striker Matt Clarke answered his critics in the best possible way at the weekend, before vowing to earn manager David Hodgson more respite from his search for a goalscorer. The giant Yorkshireman scored his second goal of the season
AIRPORTS in the North-East successfully coped with the Bank Holday weekend rush of passengers. Fears of a knock-on from the threatened baggage handlers' dispute and a backlog of flights diminished last week, and the weekend appeared last nght to have
The main contractor behind the new Wembley Stadium has admitted for the first time that the breakdown in relations with North-East engineering firm Cleveland Bridge has caused difficulties for the £757m project. Speculation has been rife that an on-going
A COUNCILLOR who has been the subject of an investigation into his conduct has called for an overhaul of the complaints process. Bill Blenkinsopp says the Standards Board for England is being used as a means to settle old scores with political rivals,
There are a number of phrases that certain individuals should never utter and it has nothing to do with being economical with the truth. A football chairman foolish enough to publicly rule out ever sacking the manager is asking for trouble. The Press
AS the final whistle blew at the Riverside Stadium, Middlesbrough had lifted themselves to fourth in the Premiership courtesy of a sensational free-kick from Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink. But, while pundits up and down the country know all about the Dutchman's
FIVE years ago this week Sunderland fans had the bragging rights they'd waited nine years for. Not since Gates and Gabbiadini had ended Newcastle's promotions play-off dreams at St James Park in 1990 in the old division two had they put one over their
While welcoming his former Liverpool teammate into the management game probably the best thing David Hodgson could've done was to hand out the beating Ian Rush's side deserved. At least that way he'll have soon got to realise just what he's got to work
A shot at redemption and this afternoon's game with Colchester can't come soon enough for Chris Westwood. The Hartlepool United defender wants to get Saturday's 3-0 defeat at Swindon out of his system. And Westwood admits the chance to play just 48 hours
It is more than 170 years since slavery was abolished in Britain, but, as the UN commemorates the struggle agaist the trade in human lives, Glen Reynolds reports on how slavery is still alive and well in the 21st century. The deaths of the Chinese cockle
