NIALL QUINN jetted into the North-East tonight to save his multi-million pound take over for Sunderland Football Club. Sources claimed that four key members of Quinn's eight-man consortium had backed out of the deal. But last night the former Sunderland
A social worker who advertised herself as an escort has been banned from working with vulnerable children. Yvonne Doyle, of Waldron Street, Bishop Auckland, County Durham, was suspended for two years from working as a social worker by the General Social
STAFF and pupils at a North-East school were yesterday coming to terms with their second tragedy in a matter of months. Daniel Purvis, a 15-year-old pupil at Hetton School, on Wearside, died at the weekend when the stolen car he was travelling in overturned
Having overcome both Edinburgh Monarchs and Glasgow Tigers by healthy margins in the past two Premier League home fixtures at the South Tees Motorsport Park - the Redcar Bears speedway team now face yet another tough match when the reigning league champions
Royal & Sun Alliance today announced plans to shed one tenth of its UK workforce, putting jobs at its North-East call centre at risk. Britain's second largest commercial insurer said it was axing 1,550 jobs across the group in order to deliver cost savings
US investors are looking to launch a takeover bid for Newcastle United. Newcastle United club president Sir John Hall admitted he is in talks to sell off his 28.8 per cent majority stake. Speaking from Spain where he is on holiday the former chairman
A brood of chicks has beaten the odds to survive after hatching under the bonnet of a van. The pied wagtails are nesting next to the radiator of the Ford Ranger van, which was being driven 25 miles a day by Northumbria Water maintenance workers. The
A RETIRED butcher ran the gauntlet of animal rights activists as he exercised an ancient right to drive a flock of sheep across a London bridge. Bryan Cockburn, from Bedale, was one of 17 members of the Worshipful Company of Butchers, all Freemen of
Scotland v Durham (C & G Trophy) CALLUM Thorp yesterday pro- duced the best one-day bowling fig- ures for Durham since they be- came a first-class county in 1992. The 31-year-old seamer from Perth that 's Australia,not Scot- land took six for 17
CAMPAIGNING pupils will present their MP with cut-out paper dolls to represent the teachers needed in the third world. As part of the Global Campaign for Education, children at Teesside Prep School, in Eaglescliffe, are making the dolls to represent the
A MUSIC lover has struck a chord after ditching his city job to set up as a guitar maker instead. Jim Fleeting, 29, turned his back on a six-year career in IT to start making and repairing guitars. Having set up Jim Fleeting Guitars in Ripon, he is now
PARENTS were taken on a journey to Narnia when a group of 30 children from four Hartlepool primary schools devised and performed a drama based on the CS Lewis novel, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. The year six pupils from Kingsley, Rift House,
A CASH windfall is being offered to small businesses who may not think they are entitled to it. North Yorkshire County Council spends more than £250m a year on essential goods and equipment. And well over three-quarters of the funding goes to businesses
CHILDREn affected by the Chernobyl disaster enjoyed a day out at Lightwater Valley as part of a trip to North Yorkshire that extends their lives. The seven to ten-year-olds from Belarussia are staying with local families for a month to relieve the suffering
DUCK RACE: Saltburn Victorian Footballers and Friends are hoping to sell 1,500 ducks at £1 each for their Grand Duck Derby on Sunday, July 16. Members will be outside Somerfields in Saltburn on Saturday, with a fancy dress duck. CHARITY WALK: A sponsored
A SERVICE to help NHS patients is making itself more accessible to young people. The Patient Advice and Liaison Services (Pals) in County Durham has spoken to youth groups to find out how to give them their say. Investing in Children, a local organisation
DEMOLITION of part of a north Durham community hospital is to start today. Contractors working for national regeneration agency English Partnerships will start to knock down redundant buildings at Shotley Bridge Hospital, near Consett. The structures
THREE pictures by a North-East artist who chose working- class men and women for his paintings are to go under the hammer in Newcastle on Tuesday. Alex Millar has joined the ranks of County Durham's Norman Cornish and the late Tom McGuinness by painting
YOUNG cricket players in north Durham have got their game all figured out following the £5,000 facelift of their club scoreboard. Shotley Bridge Cricket Club has installed an electronic scorebox after receiving funds from Awards for All. The battery-operated
FENCING has been donated to organisations involved in a scheme to reduce fly-tipping in Chester-le-Street. The dumping of rubbish has become a problem around the Fourth Avenue area. Chester-le-Street District Council is working with police, the fire service
A PLAY area for young people has opened in north Durham following a lengthy campaign. Outdoor Activities for Kids (Oak) started four years ago, and with help from various sources and a lot of community fundraising, the area beside Sherburn Leisure Centre
AHOY me shipmates was the call on Saturday as dads enjoyed a Father's Day Pirates in the Park. Dressed in their finest eye-patches, skull and cross bone outfits and striped tops, the fathers took their children to Middlesbrough's Albert Park for the afternoon
A MIDDLESBROUGH community is blossoming into a floral haven as it attempts to pick up a prize in Northumbria in Bloom. Nunthorpe residents, with a little help from Tees Valley builder Rok, is hoping this will be their year to win one of the categories
TWO youngsters who lost their father to leukaemia have seen their dream of creating a garden for other hospital patients come true. Jake and Chloe Costello, whose father, David, had been a patient in the haematology unit at Stockton's University Hospital
A GOLF club has been granted an extension to its opening hours, despite claims from residents it was turning into a nightclub. Management at the Woodham Golf and Country Club, in Burnhill Way, Newton Aycliffe, had applied to open until 1am on Fridays
A NURSERY is celebrating after becoming the first in the country to renew its National Day Nursery Association Kitemark. The Playday nursery, in Simpasture Gate, Newton Aycliffe, recently held a fun day to mark its achievement and to raise money for an
A POPULAR brass band celebrates its 21st anniversary this year. The Thirsk Royal British Legion band is holding several events during the year to celebrate. The band is made up of amateurs and runs a junior band called Chirons. Musical director Mary Dickinson
A social club for people with physical or learning difficulties has been launched. Options is based at the Pioneering Care Centre, Burn Lane, Newton Aycliffe, and its members meet fortnightly on Thursdays and activities include pool, table tennis, bingo
A CAMPAIGNING former leader of Middlesbrough Council says he is being asked to drop his Labour candidacy for next year's local elections. However, the leader of the council's Labour group, Councillor David Budd, has dismissed the claim out of hand. Councillor
A COUNCIL bricklayer has retired after building up 41 years of service. Lenny Bird has retired from his post with Richmondshire District Council. He first took up his trowel with the authority back in 1965 and since then has laid thousands of bricks.
A SERVICE to help NHS patients is making itself more accessible to young people. The Patient Advice and Liaison Services (Pals) in County Durham has spoken to youth groups to find out how to give them their say. Investing in Children, a local organisation
A FORMER headteacher paid a surprise visit to his old school. Neil Donkin, who is an educational consultant, was head of Bishop Barrington, in Bishop Auckland, for six years. He left in December 1995 to become headteacher in his home town of Bradford
MUSIC lovers have boosted church funds with a marathon 24-hour non-stop piano session. The performance at St Andrew's Church, in Aysgarth, is thought to have raised more than £1,000 for funds. It began at 10am on Saturday and went right through to 10am
A teacher is raising cash for a trip to Sri Lanka to help orphans. Helena Teasdale, 26, from Ingleton, near Darlington, a teacher at Sedgefield Primary School, needs to raise at least £1,400. Once in Sri Lanka, she and five other teachers will help pupils
BREAKFAST radio DJ Peter Grant took part in a beat-the-goalie competition at the weekend as World Cup fever spread to a north Durham shopping centre. The event took place outside Waitrose at The Gates, in Durham, and was held in conjunction with Durham
CYCLISTS clocked up 100 miles without getting anywhere in a charity event at the weekend. The cyclethon was held on exercise bikes and turbo-trainers at The Gates Shopping centre, in Durham, on Saturday. The participants were training for a cycling trek
RESIDENTS have played a key part deciding on the name for their local hospital. Scarborough Whitby and Ryedale Primary Care Trust decided to re-name Ryedale Hospital and suggested Ryedale Community Hospital. However, the name was turned down in favour
A COUNCIL leader is to answer questions from from members of the public via a video link. Derwentside District Council leader Alex Watson is going live on television as part of the Ask Alex event. He will be beamed into community centres and schools using
FEARS have been voiced over powers to let councils seize homes empty for six months. Anne McIntosh MP has spoken out over the powers handed down to councils by the Government. She says they are hidden in small print in the Government's leaflet Empty
YOUNG soccer pundits have broadcast around the world on the World Cup. Four students from Northallerton College have been working with BBC Radio York's presenter Sandie Dunleavy. The pupils have written reports on England's performances, which have been
A POLICE probe into a £60,000 armed robbery at a former bank in a market town is still ongoing. Shortly before midnight on Thursday, a security guard was restocking the cash point at the former Yorkshire Bank, in Barnard Castle, County Durham. Police
A WOODLAND fire needed nearly 25 firefighters to bring it under control yesterday. The blaze at Gribdale Gate, near Great Ayton, North Yorkshire, spread across 500sq ft before firefighters reached the scene. Fire crews from Stokesley, Guisborough, Kirbymoorside
The so-called beautiful game is not everyone's ideal entertainment. As the World Cup enters its second week, Peter Mullen explains why football has become the new religion. The way we are being plagued and terrorised by coverage of the football is...
After winning the television show Strictly Dance Fever, Darrien Wright has the world at his nimble feet. He passes on a few dancing tips to Lindsay Jennings - owner of two left feet - and explains how he owes his dance career to Kylie.IT'S one thirty
TWO men have been charged with the rape of a woman in a Darlington flat. The alleged attack on the 31-year-old woman, from Catterick, North Yorkshire, is said to have taken place in Coxwold Drive, in the Lascelles area of Darlington, on Thursday evening
SIX people - five of them from the same family - died in an horrific head-on crash yesterday. A 19-year-old man, his 21-year-old partner, their four-month-old baby and the teenager's sisters, aged eight and 16, were among those who died in the accident
A COMMUNITY has rallied together to safeguard the future of its village hall. The Ingleton Village fete was revived last year to raise cash for the hall after trustees were told council funding would be withdrawn. This year's event, opened by The Northern
DARLINGTON have agreed a deal with League Two rivals Wrexham which will see Ryan Valentine join his hometown club, writes Lee Hall. After four years in the North-East Valentine will pen a deal at the Racecourse Ground this week. Valentine's departure
DOZENS of vintage vehicles motored to a Darlington museum at the weekend. It was the first time in seven years the Vintage Vehicle Rally has been held at the Darlington Railway Centre and Museum. Cars, motorbikes, wagons and buses as well as vehicles
RAIN failed to dampen the enthusiasm of the crowds packing the live stages during a free music festival in the region. Middlesbrough Music Live attracted thousands of music lovers of all ages and tastes. Thirteen stages set up across the town centre showcased
A FORMAL complaint about the alleged mistreatment of North-East football fans by Italian police is to be taken to the European parliament. Euro MP Stephen Hughes is to submit evidence from more than 1,000 Middlesbrough fans, detailing their experiences
TWO men arrested during a stag party trip to Spain claim they were beaten up by local police. Carl Christopher, a 19-year-old making his first trip abroad, and 23-year-old Robert Tones, were accused of fighting, resisting arrest and damaging a hotel room
ROY KEANE has pulled out of the running to spearhead Sunderland's challenge for promotion next season - meaning Niall Quinn could be forced to take the managerial reins, writes Paul Fraser. Keane, who called time on his playing career last week, was
DAVID Miliband has said claims his web-blog is costing taxpayers £40,000 a year are "absurd and ridiculous". The Environment Secretary and South Shields MP hit out at claims by Liberal Democrats that his daily internet chat is costing £1 a word. The
AN artist from the North-East has asked Tony Blair to intervene in a court case that could see him jailed for up to three years in Turkey. Michael Dickinson, 56, has been warned he is likely to be charged for exhibiting a collage that depicts the Turkish
MICHAEL OWEN'S below-par performances at the World Cup have had the nation discussing his worth to England, but his club manager Glenn Roeder is under no illusions. Roeder has revealed he is desperate to add the firepower that will convince the £16m
IT is strange how expectations differ. England's fans, who have not seen their side appear in the last four of a major tournament since 1996, reacted to last week's qualification for the World Cup second round with a mixture of disappointment and disdain
IT was the performance that finally ignited the 18th World Cup. It contained the goal of the tournament so far, a strike that drew instant comparisons to Carlos Alberto's effort in the 1970 World Cup final. But did Argentina's 6-0 rout of Serbia & Montenegro
NEW medical equipment is helping asthma patients in Darlington. Darlington Primary Care Trust has taken delivery of 15 pulseoximeters, which are devices that fit on the finger allowing health staff to monitor the oxygen levels in patients' blood. The
David Sharp died alone on Mount Everest with other climbers powerless to help him. Andrew Douglas reports. IT was bitterly cold - minus 30 degrees - when guide Mark Woodward and his colleagues came across David Sharp. He and fellow New Zealanders Mark
AS he strives to restore credibility to the beleaguered Home Office, John Reid needs a positive headline-grabber - a new policy that will earn him and the Government lots of friends. And the Home Secretary's signal that he is considering a British version
ON Saturday, in the bowels of Frankfurt's Waldstadion, it was time to see what all the fuss was about. Little more than a month after Luis Felipe Scolari turned down an offer to lead England, this was my chance to experience what life might have been
A SERVICE to help NHS patients is making itself more accessible to young people. The Patient Advice and Liaison Services (Pals) in County Durham has spoken to youth groups to find out how to give them their say. Investing in Children, a local organisation
A TRIBUTE show to one of the earliest guitarists of the 1960s Beat generation has raised more than £1,000 for charity. The show was held in the East End Club, in Darlington, in memory of Brian Myers, of Middleton St George. Brian died suddenly last year
A DARLINGTON group improving life for the over 50s in the area has launched an appeal for members. GOLD, Getting Older in Darlington, works with the primary care trust and Darlington Borough Council to ensure that older peoples' views are acknowledged
THE head of the Government's anti-social behaviour task force has praised the organisers of a project to tackle disorder. Louise Casey, who heads the Government's Respect unit, hailed the West Side Project in Darlington as a key weapon in the fight against
FIVE games were lost to the weather yesterday, but Kimblesworth managed to complete their fixture and victory over Brandon propelled them to the top of the table. At one stage the weather threatened to wipe out the match but following a delay, the home
Voices in My Head (C4); The Girls Who Came to Stay (ITV1): MULTI-NATIONALISM is the hot topic of the moment, with the World Cup dominating the TV, the papers, and most people's lives. And so that theme continued in two of the programmes that appeared
SHE might be old enough for a free bus pass, but 74-year-old Martha is still going strong. The gleaming red bus, which runs on coal, is the UK's first steam-powered scheduled bus service. The law had to be changed to allow Martha to ferry passengers between
CARLISLE'S stiff uphill finish should help Riotous (2.15) make the best of his way home in the opening Novice Auction Stakes. Alan Dickman's juvenile boasted a stunningly shiny coat prior to his latest run at Ripon, well-being which transferred to his
Foster's Northumberland and Tyneside Senior League: Sacriston enhanced their championship aspirations defeating Shotley Bridge, who would have gone top had they won, by three wickets. Peter Collingwood (46) and Neil Burdon with a half century led the
It's all change at the top of the Foster's Durham Senior League. With South Shields only drawing at Whitburn, Burnmoor's resounding victory against Felling means they now lead the table. Burnmoor lost little time in establishing their superiority and
Most teams played twice in the weekend double header but Blackhall had just one fixture with Middlesbrough which was affected by the weather. They took just nine points from the game but still enjoy a healthy lead at the top of the table. Paul Moss (72
South Northumberland, aiming to win the championship for a record-breaking fourth consecutive season, powered their way to the top of the table with a big win at Norton. They started the season with two consecutive defeats but since then have hardly put
Calvin Stephenson gave another man-of-the-match performance leading Murton to an emphatic victory at Boldon CA who were back in the pavilion with just 65 runs on the board. Stephenson, who earlier in the season took all ten wickets, added another five
Researchers have claimed that tmany drivers cannot recognise everyday road signs, with young female driver the worst culprits. Reporter Lauren Pyrah puts their findings to the test. WOMEN drivers get a bad Press. An inability to park, read a map or identify
A ROW is building between National Park bosses and the Army over helicopter training. The Ministry of Defence (MoD) has used the North York Moors National Park for intensive training. Its pilots used the area to test Apache helicopters but the environmental
Bishop Auckland will take some stopping in the race for the championship if they continue to produce performances like they did against Hartlepool at Kingsway on Saturday. Pools went into the game in second position having lost just once in ten outings
For years, the family of Private Harry Farr believed he died a hero's death in the First World War, only to learn he was shot for alleged cowardice. As part of the The Northern Echo's campaign to win pardons for 15 executed members of North- East regiments
AN MP from the region has criticised a judge over his sentencing of serial paedophile Craig Sweeney. Redcar MP Vera Baird said he might have got it wrong when Sweeney was given 18 years but could be considered for parole after five years. Ms Baird, a
FOOTBALL fans across the region are being urged to think green during the World Cup and help reduce Britain's waste mountain. The Environment Agency has devised a series of tips to help fans cut down on their rubbish and conserve energy while watching
CHEESEMAKERS from the region have returned triumphant from the World Cheese Awards. Wensleydale Dairy Products, from Hawes, North Yorkshire, picked up seven medals at the event. The creamery received three gold medals for its Real Traditional Wensleydale
COUNTY IDENTITIES: I OWE columnist Harry Mead a very belated apology. When Redcar and Cleveland Council decided to add "Yorkshire" to its address it created a furore among borough councillors. In HAS, I took Harry Mead to task because he wrote supporting
FOOTBALL chairmen can be an unpredictable bunch and the North-East has had the good, the bad and the downright crooked. When Bob Murray announced last week that he was quitting as chairman of Sunderland after 20 years, supporters celebrated. Fans who
IT was suggested at Stockton that if points were to be deducted for the standard of the pitch they ought to be added back on for the quality of the bacon butties.Sadly, the delights of outground cricket do not score highly with the mandarins at Lord's
GORDON Brown is failing to bring prosperity to the poorest parts of the North-East because he is wrongly relying on "market forces", a study claims today. The Chancellor's drive to increase enterprise in deprived areas has had disappointing results,
A mountaineer was filmed as he lay dying close to the summit of Everest, The Northern Echo can reveal.The footage was captured by Sherpas wearing helmet cameras, who were part of a documentary film crew that came across North-East climber David Sharp
