THE drug problem that is tearing the heart out of communities is being fuelled by some of the cheapest cocaine in the country. Middlesbrough topped the league when the latest survey on street drug prices was carried out and it was discovered the town
SIX inmates at a young offenders' institution have admitted staging a riot that was brought to an end by a specialist squad using stun grenades. The teenagers face lengthy sentences for the seven-hour siege, which left the institution chapel in ruins
ONE of the Government's major health policies was in disarray last night after it was revealed that people in the North-East are ignoring a campaign to eat more fruit and vegetables. Figures released today by the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health
EXTRA call handlers are to be taken on while staff at a police force's two communications centres are undergoing training. A one-off cash injection by Durham Police Authority will enable 20 extra call handlers to be based at communications rooms in Bishop
CAR dealership SG Petch, of Bishop Auckland, has added a fourth Hyundai franchise to its group to become the biggest supplier of the model in the North-East. The dealership is now a prominent landmark at the Fieldon Bridge development on the West Auckland
A BUSINESSMAN who held a golf tournament to celebrate 20 years of trading in Bishop Auckland has presented the proceeds from the event to charity. Joe Walters, who runs Choice soft furnishing store, in Newgate Street, asked friends and fellow businesspeople
A BEGINNERS' course in psychology aims to extend the minds and develop the thinking skills of students. The expert-led introduction to psychology ranges from criminology, to memory, child development, personality, interpersonal attraction and psychopathology
A FORMER pit town's nationally-renowned music festival has been secured for the immediate future. Derwentside District Council is to give the Stanley Blues Festival £40,000 - having already given it £45,000 - to see it through to at least 2007. The one-day
TRIBUTES have been paid to a woman with a big heart who spent hours helping other people. Ann Hallimond cheerfully tackled many unpaid tasks in Cockfield, near Barnard Castle, and refused to give up even when she was suffering poor health in the weeks
HEALTH workers have been honoured for their years of service and success in passing exams. Staff from the Durham and Chester-le-Street Primary Care Trust (PCT) and GP surgeries, dental practices, opticians and pharmacies received certificates for long
THE cash was in the bag when cricket-mad youngsters set about raising funds for their club. Players from Shotley Bridge Cricket Club's junior section spent a day packing shoppers' bags at the Morrisons superstore in Consett, raising more than £1,100.
RESIDENTS packed a planning meeting yesterday to oppose plans for a multi-million pound concert hall at Ripon Cathedral's Choir School. After hearing the objectors' case and a plea from the applicants for support, members of Ripon City Council planning
Flooding in New Orleans and bra wars with China - the last ten days have provided ample evidence that nations can no longer exist in isolation. As a conference on globalisation opens in the North-East, Nick Morrison looks at the consequences of living
POLICE chiefs have been asked to get involved in the debate over the future of a village school. Darlington Borough Council wants to relocate Hurworth School and merge it with Eastbourne Comprehensive in a new multi-million pound campus in Yarm Road.
A THREE-year-old cat is looking for a new home after being taken in by a charity. Megan, a dark tortoiseshell, was found in Darlington about three months ago. She was in good condition and was rescued by the National Animal Sanctuaries Support League
ABOUT 9,000 dogs have been entered for the region's biggest dog show this month. This year's Darlington Dog Show Society's Championship Show will be held on September 16, 17 and 18. The event is being held for the first time at Newby Hall, near Ripon,
A TRADITIONAL garden party will take place later this month offering entertainment for all the family. The Richmondshire Open Spaces Appeal (Rosa) is hosting the event at Sandford House, Richmond, on Sunday, September 18, from 2pm to 5pm. Visitors will
REBUILDING a cemetery wall is about to start after eight years of hard campaigning, petitions and public meetings. The first stone in a £170,000 reconstruction of a 245-metre stretch of wall around Eston Cemetery will be laid today. The project is expected
A TEENAGER stole more than £2,000 from her solicitor employers and attempted to take thousands more, in what magistrates yesterday branded a "very, very serious" breach of trust. Aimie Morrell, 19, a temporary worker at McArdles solicitors in Darlington
THREE drug dealers who were caught running a crack house by an undercover police sting have been sentenced to prison. The two men and one woman from Middlesbrough were caught selling crack cocaine to undercover police and members of the public. Robert
THERE'LL be some extremely happy campers at Doncaster this afternoon come the end of the immensely valuable St Leger Yearling Stakes. With a bumper £300,000 in available prize-money it's almost akin to scooping Saturday's Leger itself, even though the
A COMPANY that was started more than 20 years ago from its founder's North-East home last night confirmed a takeover bid believed to value it at £800m. Northgate plc, now a Europe-wide company expected to turn over £500m next year, did not name its suitor
I'm in Cologne this week for the German Masters - the last tournament before the cut-off point for the Seve Trophy. Things didn't really go to plan in the last two rounds in Switzer-land, so I'm probably going to have to finish in the top three in Germany
A KEEN horsewoman has taken up the reigns of a new job to make improvements for fellow riders. The Forestry Commission has appointed Vicky Pearson as its first equestrian development officer, covering 200,000 acres of woodland in the North-East and Cumbria
Fuel protestors are set to strike again if the Government does not bring down the tax on fuel. Farmer and hauler Andrew Spence, a spokesman for the fuel lobby, said refineries would be blockaded from 6am next Wednesday if cuts were not implemented. Spence
UNION leaders fighting to save one of the last shipyards on the Tyne have had their hopes dashed. The GMB, Amicus and T&G unions left crisis talks with the Government last night with no assurances of work for Swan Hunter's Wallsend yard in the near
New kit, new teacher, new school year... and all those satchels are full of promise IT'S that start of term feeling... Not much fun, perhaps, if you're a teacher or an unwilling student, but for the rest of us there is something very pleasurable about
MAGISTRATES took the unusual step of granting bail to a 45-year-old County Durham man who appeared in court yesterday charged with his wife's murder. Michael Luke appeared at Sedgefield Magistrates' Court in Newton Aycliffe yesterday over the death of
A weapon-wielding man and his step-son launched a savage attack on their defenceless victim after he reprimanded a teenager for fooling around in a snooker hall, a court heard. The assault on Neil Honeyman was described as "unwarranted and vicious" by
GOVERNMENT capping will cost a council £2.4m in lost income over the next three years, officials have said. Local Government Minister Phil Woolas ruled that Hambleton District Council should have its budget capped in July after the authority set a council
BODIES floating down the street in a waterlogged city; millions of jumpers stuck in a warehouse - images apparently so far apart, but really inextricably tied together. Both the devastation of New Orleans and the trade impasse with China which saw clothes
THERE were signs of a recovery in the manufacturing sector in July as output rose for the fourth month in succession. According to the Office for National Statistics, factory production rose by 0.1 per cent in July, leading to the longest sequence of
A SCHOOL which closed amid anger and tears is about to begin a new life. Parents fought a year-long battle, in vain, to keep the doors of 215-pupil Tedder Primary School, Thornaby, open, only for the Government to confirm its closure in 2002 due to surplus
UNION leaders fighting to save one of the last shipyards on the Tyne have had their hopes dashed. The GMB, Amicus and T&G unions left crisis talks with the Government last night with no assurances of work for Swan Hunter's Wallsend yard in the near
DAVID Hodgson last night reassured David Duke that his chance will come after admitting the Scottish defender hasn't had the best of starts to his Darlington career. Duke has been a peripheral figure in Hodgson's first team plans since joining Quakers
MIDDLESBROUGH prospect Adam Johnson provided manager Steve McClaren with a timely reminder that there is life without Stewart Downing at the Darlington Football Stadium last night. Johnson turned in a match-winning display for England under-19s in a 3
THESE are the faces of three women who have tricked their way into mothers' homes to try and snatch their children. The women have eluded capture for over two years and police are anxious to stop other victims falling prey. The con artists have posed
THE owner of Quorn manufacturer Marlow Foods is to invest £2m in the company. Premier Foods, the company behind Hartley's jam and Typhoo Tea, said much of the money would be invested in creating meat-alternative products at Marlow's base in Stokesley,
New kit, new teacher, new school year... and all those satchels are full of promise IT'S that start of term feeling... Not much fun, perhaps, if you're a teacher or an unwilling student, but for the rest of us there is something very pleasurable about
FASHION chain Monsoon is strengthening its presence in the North-East with several store openings. An outlet will be opening today in Darlington, in Northgate. The group is also about to open a flagship store in Newcastle city centre tomorrow. The company
AS former trainee toolmaker Tom Richford completes his degree in manufacturing engineering, his employer is hailing its ongoing apprenticeship programmes as a success. ThyssenKrupp Automotive (TKA) Tallent Chassis Ltd believes apprenticeships, which are
A BANK in a County Durham town has closed. The Barnard Castle branch of Yorkshire Bank shut yesterday afternoon. The bank was one of 30 closures nationwide announced as the first phase of 100 closures by Yorkshire Bank's Australian owners, the National
CHILDREN got their first taste of life at a £5.5m new-look school yesterday. The new Harrowgate Hill Primary School, in Darlington, is a merger of the old infants and junior schools, which were on separate sites. And pupils have now begun their lessons
THE outdoor products division of Electrolux, which makes the Flymo lawnmower range, is to operate as a separate business. The Flymo factory, in Newton Aycliffe, County Durham, will become the UK headquarters of the new business, called Husqvarna. Husqvarna
VILLAGERS are urged to take part in an event next month to support a school party's planned Asian adventure. Thirty students from Durham Johnston School will take part in the World Challenge expedition in Thailand, next summer. During their four weeks
A COUPLE died instantly in a head-on car crash involving four vehicles, an inquest heard yesterday. William and Dorothy Ingledew, of Carey Close, Middlesbrough, were killed in the collision on the A67, near Barnard Castle, County Durham. The inquest,
KELVIN Davis has slammed talk of an English goalkeeping crisis and claimed an emerging crop of homegrown talent will soon be giving Sven-Goran Eriksson a welcome selection dilemma. With David James having been cast into the international wilderness following
A campaign has been launched to rid the streets of untaxed and abandoned vehicles. The drive, which is focusing on Harrogate, is aiming to encourage people to keep their driving licence and registration documents up to date. One in three driving licences
A PUDDING made to a secret, century-old recipe has been honoured in this year's Great Taste Awards. The traditional plum pudding with Hennessey Cognac, made by Lewis and Cooper, of Northallerton, was named reserve champion in the best Yorkshire speciality
COUNCIL officials have issued a safety appeal to motorists as children return to school. Paul Watson, Hartlepool Borough Council's road safety officer, said: "The majority of motorists do show consideration to our school crossing patrollers by stopping
SIX inmates at a young offenders' institution have admitted staging a riot that was brought to an end by a specialist squad using stun grenades. The teenagers face lengthy sentences for the seven-hour siege, which left the institution chapel in ruins
KELVIN Davis has slammed talk of an English goalkeeping crisis and claimed an emerging crop of homegrown talent will soon be giving Sven-Goran Eriksson a welcome selection dilemma. With David James having been cast into the international wilderness following
ONE of the Government's major health policies was in disarray last night after it was revealed that people in the North-East are ignoring a campaign to eat more fruit and vegetables. Figures released today by the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health
THE Government may argue that the drop in the amount of fruit and vegetables being bought in Britain - a fall of 1.6 per cent on the previous year - is inconsequential. But the point is that, after five years of campaigning to highlight the virtues of
THE Tees Valley Young Cricketer of the Year was last night named as Jonathan Rickard. The 16-year-old opening bat from Norton CC won the award sponsored by The Northern Echo at the inaugural Tees Valley Cricket Dinner. The club volunteer of the year was
A COMPANY that was started more than 20 years ago from its founder's North-East home last night confirmed a takeover bid believed to value it at £800m. Northgate plc, now a Europe-wide company expected to turn over £500m next year, did not name its suitor
A POLICE officer has been charged with conspiracy to pervert the course of justice. Northumbria PC Jeffrey Sidhu, 41, has been suspended from duty and is expected to appear before North Tyneside magistrates tomorrow. He is jointly charged with his ex-partner
The body of a man has been found in a park on Teesside. The discovery was made by a member of the public who was walking in Ward Jackson Park, in Hartlepool, on Wednesday morning. A Cleveland Police spokeswoman said the body was that of a 22-year-old
EXTRA call handlers are to be taken on while staff at a police force's two communications centres are undergoing training. A one-off cash injection by Durham Police Authority, which includes Darlington, will enable 20 extra call handlers to be based at
A MOTHER watched as rescuers tried in vain to save the life of a student who had plunged off a cliff - not realising it was her own son. Pat Robson sat in the conservatory of her home and watched as an RAF helicopter hovered over the cliffs. She had no
STEVEN Taylor is hoping to revert to his former Saturday night routine this weekend - instead of switching off Match of the Day early to avoid confirmation of Newcastle's early-season strife. The home-grown centre-half has found the weekly football round-up
MARK Tinkler could get the chance to play his way back into the Hartlepool United first team. Tinkler has had a tendon injury, but is in line for his third reserve appearance tonight, when Steve Agnew's side meet Darlington. The midfielder scored in last
CIVIC leaders were last night hoping their chances of hosting a prestigious competition again has not gone to the dogs. Darlington could be in danger of losing the nationally-renowned dog show it has staged for nearly 150 years - and the economic boost
plans to build eight 320ft wind turbines have been approved by a Government inspector - despite fears they would interfere with an airport's radar. The proposals for Knabs Ridge, near Harrogate, North Yorkshire, were criticised by Leeds-Bradford International
BUS SERVICE: The new bus systems are creating a great deal of distress and Darlington Borough Council does not seem to care. The No 16 bus serves the Abbey Junior School area but it only runs once an hour. Many elderly and infirm people live in flats
EXTRA call handlers are to be taken on while staff at a police force's two communications centres are undergoing training. A one-off cash injection by Durham Police Authority, which includes Darlington, will enable 20 extra call handlers to be based at
