A GROUP of young Scouts flocked to a woodworking workshop to create bird boxes for their feathered friends. Cubs and Beavers from Bishop Auckland made the nesting boxes with the help of staff from Bishop Auckland College. The project, which was supported
PEOPLE who make models are invited to show them off for free at an event at the Neville Community Centre in Newton Aycliffe. The model exhibition will be on Saturday, April 22, from 10am to 4pm. Telephone (01325) 313924 for more information. TEN HOMES
WE see it time and time again in politics at both national and local level. When it all goes pear-shaped, blame the media. After all the behind-the-scenes briefings, and the mounting speculation about a rift over a handover of power, Tony Blair and Gordon
THE experience of almost a year without scoring a Premiership goal should ensure Jon Stead is mentally tuned in to spearhead a Sunderland promotion push next season. With young Irishman Stephen Elliott also on the way back to full fitness, caretaker boss
A SYSTEM allowing young soldiers to report bullying by text will be trialled at an Army training centre in the region. Bullytext will be launched today at the Infantry Training Centre, in Catterick Garrison, North Yorkshire. Young recruits who are being
A suspected case of bird flu is being investigated in Scotland, it was confirmed last night. A statement from the Scottish Executive said preliminary tests had found ''highly pathogenic H5 avian flu'' in a sample from a swan found dead in Fife. The statement
Detectives launched a murder inquiry today following the fatal stabbing of a nurse at a hospital. The victim, a woman in her 30s, was stabbed in the grounds of St Georges Hospital in Suttons Lane, Hornchurch, Essex. She was found by fellow members of
MIDDLESBROUGH'S teenage general Lee Cattermole is facing up to the prospect of his debut season coming to an injury-stricken end with ankle ligament damage sustained at the weekend, writes Paul Fraser. Cattermole, who was extremely doubtful for tonight's
A YOUNG girl is making a remarkable recovery after a horrific road accident, thanks to the pioneering work of a team of surgeons. Ten-year-old Charlotte Leighton, of Tollerton, near Easingwold, North Yorkshire, was involved in a car accident nearly three
ENERGY efficiency company The Eaga Group last night announced plans to create up to 1,000 jobs and increase turnover to £1bn by 2010. Eaga, based in Newcastle, has pledged to create 300 jobs on Tyneside in the next two years, and up to 900 across the
As digital photography leaves film in the dark, a young North-East photographer makes it an art form. Ian Lamming reports. POINT, press and snap; everyone is doing it, from children to professional photographers and with startling results. Just point
A DRUG dealer has been banned from living on a North-East estate after a court heard she intimidated neighbours and left them fearing for their safety. Stockton Borough Council yesterday successfully repossessed the home of Lisa Brown following complaints
THE Dixons name is to disappear from the high street after almost 70 years, its owner revealed yesterday. DSG International will use the "Currys.digital" banner for its 190 Dixons stores as it merges its two core operations to create a 550-shop division
THE recovery in the manufacturing sector stalled in February after firms scaled back production of chemicals and artificial fibres, official figures showed. Manufacturing output declined by 0.2 per cent between January and February, bringing to a halt
WITH his inability to hold down a place in the Newcastle team threatening to cost him a trip to the World Cup, Jean-Alain Boumsong is expected to head to the St James' Park exit door this summer. The Magpies centre-half paid the price for a series of
A BURGLAR alarm that rings for 20 minutes could land its owner with a whopping £100 on-the-spot fine from today. Rowdy residents who throw noisy parties, or play deafening music day and night, could find themselves £5,000 poorer and have their stereo
OVERTURNING a two-goal deficit in the quarter-finals of the UEFA Cup demands a memorable performance and Middlesbrough chairman Steve Gibson last night declared: 'It's going to be a night for heroes'. Swiss Super League leaders Basle arrived in the region
A NEW era for Wear Valley's 5,000 council tenants began yesterday with the launch of an independent company set up to manage and improve their homes. Dale and Valley Homes will be mainly run by staff who have transferred from Wear Valley District Council's
THREE houses in Darlington were raided by police yesterday as part of an operation to slash the number of burglaries and break-ins in the town. Operation Ulrika was launched about three weeks ago, and is designed to tackle persistent and prolific offenders
COMMUNITY policing has taken to the roads in east Durham this week to bring crime prevention advice to isolated villages. Thanks to the donation of an Astra van and a portable marquee from Easington's Community Safety Partnership, the policing message
AN amateur dramatics group in Darlington is celebrating its 20th anniversary this week with the production of a well-loved children's story. Stepps drama club starts a four-day run of the Wizard of Oz at Darlington College tonight, not only celebrating
MORE than 100 youngsters competed in a table tennis tournament in Bishop Auckland as part of a sports initiative. Children from primary schools across Wear Valley made up 20 teams who took part in the competition, which was won by St Anne's C of E Primary
TWO men were injured when their vans collided on an icy south Durham road yesterday morning. Garry Scott, from Shildon, was travelling along the B6287 towards Coundon, when his van skidded on a patch of ice and careered onto the other side of the road
AN over-60s lunch club met for the first time yesterday. More than 50 members have signed up for the Attlee Square Club, in Sherburn, Durham City. But for the first few months, the only item on the menu will be raising the rest of the money needed to
SHOPPERS will be able to meet retired greyhounds on April 15. Representatives from the Retired Greyhound Trust will be in Easingwold market place, from 9.30am to 1pm, to mark the start of the show season. Gifts will be on sale to raise money for the charity's
HUNDREDS of pounds has been given to charities by Ryedale Lions Club after its members organised a chain of events during the past year. President John Leckonby presented cheques of £500 to Kirkbymoorside Surgery towards the cost of a scope used for diagnosing
THE wife of a doctor who disappeared has placed a death notice in a national newspaper almost nine years after he vanished from their marital home. Jane Noble's pleas for Dr Matthew Choyce, 34, to return home and see their new-born son went unanswered
TWO eco-friendly students have won a grant for a hedgehog conservation project. Louise Taylor and Claire Reed, both 15, from Thirsk School have been awarded £150 by environmental charity Earthwatch. They were runners up at a wild species and wild spaces
A POSTMAN hoarded away 13,000 letters because his bag was too heavy for him to carry. A court heard the job proved too much for slight Christopher Meek, who is 5ft 5in and weighs less than 10st. Meek now faces jail after he admitted hoarding 13,819 postal
A CONTROVERSIAL artist is planning to create his latest masterpiece by burying a bus in a park. Christoph Buchel wants to dig the single-decker into the ground at Barley Mow Park, in Sunderland - and his fans will be able to get close to the artwork by
LANDLORDS and property managing agents who let large houses in multiple occupation will soon need to have a licence, a North-East council has warned. Licensing is part of a nationwide drive to improve standards in private rented accommodation. Landlords
PEOPLE are being urged to have their say on the future a historic building and the land surrounding it. The Grade II-listed Friarage Manor House, on Hartlepool's Headland, dates back to Elizabethan times and also lies in a conservation area. Built on
TWO bellringers have pulled first prize at a pub quiz with a cultural bent. Harvey Dowdy, of Northallerton, and Dot Salmon, of Brompton, won an opera-themed quiz at Tithe Bar and Brasserie, in Brompton. The event was held by pub company Market Town Taverns
A MIDDLESBROUGH school has scored top marks in two reports. Ofsted has praised 280-pupil St Joseph's RC Primary School, in Grove Hill, as a school where children get a good start and make good progress. The inspectors says the children do so well because
COUNCIL chiefs are celebrating being awarded Investors in People status. Assessors praised Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council's business planning, its equal opportunity culture and working with other organisations. The council's cabinet chairman, Councillor
A TAXI driver has lost his job after being caught flouting the law, in an undercover operation. Mohammed Sajad admitted picking up fares that were not pre-booked and not having the correct insurance, when he appeared in court. He was banned from the roads
STEVE McCLAREN last night chose to overlook talk of him being one of the front-runners for the England job by claiming that leading Middlesbrough to UEFA Cup glory is higher on his list of priorities. McClaren's odds for taking over from Sven-Goran Eriksson
A COMPROMISE has been reached over neon advertisements signs which have been likened to large-scale graffiti. Darlington Football Club and the borough council yesterday reached an agreement over sponsorship signs which adorn the side of the club's 96.6
TEENAGERS are taking up a high pressure challenge to improve their chances of exam success. About 300 16-year-olds from schools across County Durham will give up part of their Easter holiday to take on a free High Fives Challenge. The students have volunteered
HI-TECH surveying equipment worth £80,000 will reduce traffic disruption after serious road accidents, police said yesterday North Yorkshire Police has taken delivery of two systems that will reduce the time taken by officers to investigate fatal and
RESIDENTS of Chilton can protect their bikes from thieves by attending a free marking session next week. Sedgefield Borough Council Neighbourhood Wardens and Sedgefield Community Safety Partnership will host the event on Wednesday at Henderson Community
A PARTNERSHIP has been formed in east Durham to rid the area of unsightly graffiti. Easington District Council has joined forces with the County Durham branch of the National Probation Service to target graffiti hotspots. A team of local adult offenders
EASTER Funky Junk workshops will offer young people in north Durham the opportunity to explore a completely new approach to music making. The Melting Pot Junk Orchestra has been created from recycled and natural materials, everything from water barrels
WHEN kids go on a school trip, you know three things for certain: it's going to cost so much that it needs to be paid in instalments; you'll end up missing them badly no matter how much you look forward to a bit of peace; and they're going to bring you
ROSEDALE Abbey Primary School, near Pickering, has been given a gold award for the number of pupils opting for health school meals. Keith Tillbrook, head of North Yorkshire County Council's catering services, presented the award to staff and pupils after
THERE'S been a flurry of reports about care of the elderly in the past few weeks - and they all make chilling reading. Apparently, sick elderly people are being shunted around hospitals - often in mixed wards - with no thought for their welfare. They're
A ROOFER who told a pensioner her home needed repairs has been fined £500 for trading standards offences. David John Moor, admitted four Trade Descriptions Act offences and one of failing to offer written cancellation rights during a "cold call" to a
WITH his inability to hold down a place in the Newcastle team threatening to cost him a trip to the World Cup, Jean-Alain Boumsong is expected to head to the St James' Park exit door this summer. The Magpies centre-half paid the price for a series of
A crazed killer who butchered his ex wife in broad daylight has been found hanging in his prison cell. Former civil servant David Turner, 47, plunged a knife into Linda Hewitt, 45, over and over again in the street outside her home. The couple had split
Murder City (ITV1) Grand Designs (C4) NOTHING is guaranteed to put a damper on the big day more than a dead woman dropping on the bridegroom from a great height on the eve of the wedding. The bride is particularly unlucky if she's waving him goodnight
Sixties superstar Gene Pitney died yesterday, only days before a concert in Newcastle. Graham Keal one of the last journalists to interview Gene, mourns the passing of one of pop's great surviviors. HE was a superfit superstar who was in the middle of
A SOCIAL worker yesterday became the first person to appear before the profession's new standards watchdog - accused of advertising herself as an escort. Yvonne Doyle, of Waldron Street, Bishop Auckland, County Durham, is facing a General Social Care
A SCIENTIST who has found that low levels of folic acid leads to lower birth weights has backed plans to add the vitamin to some types of flour. Today, the Food Standards Agency is expected to sanction a 12-week public consultation exercise about fortifying
A man charged with the rape, kidnap and sexual assault of a six-year-old girl snatched from her bath appeared in court today. Peter Ivor Voisey, 34, who gave his name as Peter Smith, was led handcuffed into the dock. Voisey, who is around 6ft tall with
PAY DIFFERENCES: THE pay gap between workers in the public sector and private industry has widened, but not in the way many readers of The Northern Echo will realise. Revised figures from the Office for National Statistics show that gross pay for those
AINTREE'S Grand National meeting kicks off with a mouth-watering card including the £120,000 Grade One Novices' Hurdle, a race perfectly framed for Afsoun to redeem his tarnished reputation. Afsoun was the subject of sustained market support throughout
WITH six games remaining and Darlington just a point off a play-off place, Jemal Johnson couldn't have found a better time to hit the goal trail. After failing to score in his first three outings since joining Quakers on loan from Blackburn Rovers last
A TEENAGE musician who is echoing Sir Bob Geldof in a mission to help underprivileged people in Africa was back at her desk yesterday after seeing the impact of her fundraising on children in Ethiopia. Sixth-former Briony Thompson, from St John's Chapel
WITH six games remaining and Darlington poised just a point off a play-off place, Jemal Johnson couldn't have found a better time to his the goal trail. After failing to score in his first three outings since joining Quakers on-loan from Blackburn Rovers
A strain of bird flu has been found in a dead swan in Scotland, health officials said last night. The Scottish Executive said that preliminary tests had found "highly pathogenic H5 avian flu" in a sample from the bird. More tests are being carried out
NORTH Yorkshire ice-cream manufacturer Richmond Foods yesterday confirmed it had received a takeover approach from an unnamed suitor. The company, based in Leeming Bar, near Northallerton, is believed to have been approached by a private equity firm.
ENERGY efficiency company The Eaga Group last night announced plans to create up to 1,000 jobs and increase turnover to £1bn by 2010. Eaga, based in Newcastle, has pledged to create 300 jobs on Tyneside in the next two years, and up to 900 across the
WHEN kids go on a school trip, you know three things for certain: it's going to cost so much that it needs to be paid in instalments; you'll end up missing them badly no matter how much you look forward to a bit of peace; and they're going to bring you
NORTH Yorkshire ice-cream manufacturer Richmond Foods yesterday confirmed it had received a takeover approach from an unnamed suitor. The company, based in Leeming Bar, near Northallerton, is believed to have been approached by a private equity firm.
INVESTIGATIONS were last night continuing into the death of a woman found in a smoke-filled garage in what is believed to have been the second tragedy to hit a family. The property in Middlesbrough's Cambridge Road is believed to be owned by Maherban
MEN are the reason that women pile on the pounds, according to academics from the region. For women eat more unhealthily and put on weight once they set up home with a man. On the other hand, a man's diet tends to become healthier -with the woman's influence
THE wife of a doctor who disappeared has placed a death notice in a national newspaper almost nine years after he vanished from their marital home. Jane Noble's pleas for Dr Matthew Choyce, 34, to return home and see their new-born son went unanswered
Magnolia Lane, the meandering driveway that leads to the clubhouse at Augusta, sounds so authentically American, it should be the setting for an episode of Desperate Housewives. This week, it has provided the backdrop for some Desperate Golfers. While
THE North-East was dealt another devastating jobs blow last night as tyre maker Goodyear Dunlop said that it was ending production at one of its factories with the loss of almost 600 jobs in the region. The company said the move was because of low-cost
The last time the world's greatest golfers gathered for a Major Tiger Woods paid Phil Mickelson a huge compliment. Not by anything he said, but in something he did. The world number one's decision to fly home from the US PGA championship last August when
A TASTE of Thai culture is on the menu as a college teams up with a local restaurant. As part of an initiative by Darlington College to link up with local employers, staff from the Phutawan Restaurant, in the town's Parkgate, will stage a Thai evening
TRIBUTES have been paid to a bugler who used to play The Last Post at the funerals of former soldiers. Hugh Lewis Williams died on Saturday following a triple heart bypass operation at James Cook University Hospital in Middlesbrough. The 70-year-old was
THE secret banker on cult television show Deal or No Deal is a former North-East soap star, it was revealed yesterday. Glenn Hugill was unmasked as the mysterious dealer who calls host Noel Edmonds on the hit Channel 4 show. Although his identity or voice
A GRANDMOTHER who has worked tirelessly to bring about positive changes and a reduction in anti-social behaviour in her community has been given a Home Office award. Margaret Maitland, of Sacriston, was presented with the Taking a Stand Award from Home
YOUNGSTERS enjoyed a taste of Army life when they visited their local military base. Some 45 youngsters of the 1st Topcliffe Scout Club went to Alanbrooke Barracks as guests of the Lowland Gunners - the 40th Regiment Royal Artillery. In addition to the
TWO sisters and their brother have all achieved belts in the martial art of Taekwondo. The Callards - Alex, 14, Isobel, 12, and Charlotte, ten - all underwent their physical exam at the Kim Chung Do Dojang, in Darlington, last month. The threesome, who
TWO sisters and their brother have all achieved belts in the martial art of Taekwondo. The Callards - Alex, 14, Isobel, 12, and Charlotte, ten - all underwent their physical exam at the Kim Chung Do Dojang, in Darlington, last month. The threesome, who
AN innovative home safety scheme is proving so successful that the service has been doubled. The idea behind the scheme is that people in Hambleton can call for help installing security items - and have home safety checks carried out on their homes. The
TEENAGERS are taking up a high-pressure challenge to improve their chances of exam success. About 300 16-year-olds from schools across County Durham will give up part of their Easter holiday to take on a free High 5s Challenge. They have volunteered for
FUNDING has been secured to refurbish tennis facilities. Work is expected to start soon after Easter on the four hard tennis courts at Saltburn Tennis Club, in Marske Mill Lane. Two of the courts will also be floodlit and the site will be made easily
A PARK-and-stride initiative is proving a step in the right direction for pupils and the school they attend. Children and their parents are said to enjoy the five-minute walk to Nunthorpe Primary School School, near Middlesbrough. Freed of the problem
A TOWN is to build on a runaway success last year. Not only will the Middlesbrough 10K and Primary Care Trust (PCT) Fun Run be staged again this year, Middlesbrough Council is considering a half-marathon or triathlon next year. The inaugural ten-kilometre
VILLAGERS are being urged to put their best foot forward and join a walking club. Sedgefield Borough Council has launched a free walking group for residents of Sedgefield Village and the surrounding area. The group, formed as part of the Walking the Way
THE North-East was dealt another devastating jobs blow last night as tyre maker Goodyear Dunlop said that it was ending production at one of its factories with the loss of almost 600 jobs in the region. The company said the move was because of low-cost
ACCESS to funds to keep sixth-form students in school has become a lot easier for one special school in east Cleveland. Students and their parents are receiving help in applying for £30-a-week payments from the Learning and Skills Council (LSC) Education
AINTREE'S Grand National meeting kicks off with a mouth-watering card including the £120,000 Grade One Novices' Hurdle, a race perfectly framed for Afsoun to redeem his tarnished reputation. Afsoun was the subject of sustained market support throughout
