THE Tees Valley's rich railway heritage has been celebrated with the help of talented local artists. After Stockton Council commissioned a colourful, 15ft mural showing some aspect of the town's history, artist Zak Newton, from Trimdon Village in County
CELEBRATIONS were underway on Wednesday night after the North-East was once again announced as the host of the next prestigious Tall Ships Race. Hartlepool beat off stiff competition from NewcastleGateshead, Aberdeen, Leith and the Shetland Islands in
THE man killed in a car crash near a North-East village on Tuesday was a 27-year-old father-of-two. Hamadi Ben Dhaou, of Joliffe Street, Chester-le-Street, died after his blue Ford Focus hit a tree on a North-East road. It happened shortly before 1pm
HEALTH officials have moved to reassure residents of upper Teesdale worried about changes to out-of-hours GP healthcare. From Sunday, patients who use the Middleton in Teesdale surgery will have to travel to the urgent care centre in Bishop Auckland
TRAIN passengers who faced severe disruption on the East Coast Mainline as a result of the closure of Kings Cross station will be able to claim vouchers for future rail travel, GNER have said. The station, which is the main hub for North-East passengers
Solutions ACROSS 7 Triumph. (anag) 8 Arsenal. (2 meanings) 10 Ascend. AS+C+END 11 Hastings. H+A+STINGS 12 Anne. (anag)+E 13 Rakishness. RAKIS+H+NESS 14 Bobby Shafto. BOB+BY+SHAFT+O 19 Letterhead. (straight cryptic) 22 Edam. (hidden
Cryptic Clues ACROSS 7 Torment hurt imp and exult (7) 8 Soccer club magazine (7) 10 Rise like many and then cease (6) 11 Henry, at first, cheats one of 25's victims (8) 12 Nan moved to England to become 25's wife (4) 13 Spirits lead hot head
A REVOLUTIONARY form of policing on Teesside has been hailed a success for the principle of working in partnership. Neighbourhood policing, which was launched in Hartlepool in April, is carried out by neighbourhood policing teams (NPTs) in each of the
A RESTORATION project in the historic heart of Middlesbrough has started with the £1.2m renovation of Linthorpe Cemetery. Over the next six months, the cemetery, which is the resting place of some of the town's founding citizens, will see major improvement
A BOY from North Yorkshire has landed a starring role in Peter Pan. Eleven-year-old Theo Close, from Melsonby, will play one of Wendy's brothers, John Darling, at the Christmas pantomime at Durham Gala Theatre. Theo joined the other cast members for an
TRIBUTES have been paid to a "people person" councillor who died after a long illness. Former Stockton Borough Councillor Malcolm Roots died last Tuesday after a battle against motor neurone disease. He was 61. He had served as a Liberal Democrat councillor
AN exhibition of flower photographs opens on Saturday at Ryedale Folk Museum, in Hutton-le-Hole, as part of a project to save rare arable plants. The display, Celebrating Cornfield Flowers, will run until September and is part of the Cornfield Flowers
A CHARITY sports event raising money for vulnerable people in the UK and abroad is to be hosted in the region. Ripon Cricket and Rugby Clubs is among organisations sponsoring the first Sainsbury's Sport Relief Mile event - one of hundreds taking place
VISITORS to Hambleton's leisure centres are being encouraged to take part in a World Cup-inspired challenge as part of a national fundraising campaign. Staff, members and users of all leisure centres are taking part in the British Heart Foundation's largest
A MARTIAL arts expert turned musician is looking for a female vocalist to record a version of a song he wrote while doing kickboxing training in the Far East. Graham Whalley, 43, of Catchgate, Stanley, wrote Sunrise while he was in Singapore. He has broken
AN express bus service linking east Durham to the heart of Tyneside was launched this week. Go North East has started the X11 service, which is running from Peterlee Bus Station to Heworth Metro Station. Bus and Metro services from Heworth Interchange
TENNIS enthusiasts are being offered the chance to try their hand at the sport during Wimbledon. Thirsk Tennis Club, in Newsham Road, is hosting an open day on Sunday, from 1pm to 4pm. Players aged four and over can try out the sport at the club's Thirsk
UNWANTED doorstep callers will be directed to nominated neighbours under a scheme to protect elderly and vulnerable residents. The initiative aims to deter criminals who are making bogus calls or using distraction burglary techniques. It has been developed
THE first environmentally-friendly business centre in County Durham is to be officially opened tomorrow. The £4.2m building in Annfield Plain, near Stanley, generates its own power using solar panels, wind turbine and source heat pumps. The Greenhouse
A FAMILY business, which began as a market stall and grew into a popular general store, has changed hands after more than 40 years. TH Sproat and Sons, in Crook, is under new ownership after Tom and Stephen Sproat decided to take early retirement. The
THE Riding for the Disabled Association's Unicorn Centre at Hemlington, Middlesbrough, has been presented with a cheque for £101 from Kirkleatham Hall School following a raffle. Children from the special needs school have ridden weekly at the centre
A GROUP of students has been rewarded for being helpful ambassadors. Nine students from Stockton Riverside College were presented with vouchers for their hard work and dedication to the college over the past year. Kirsty Hodgson, Lauren Duffey, Peter
A SELF-PROCLAIMED racist made a verbal attack on a take-away shop owner while on bail weeks after a similar incident. John Thomas Munroe's bail conditions banned him from approaching Big Mama's pizza premises in South Moor, Stanley, County Durham, following
OLDER people in north Durham got valuable advice on how to avoid hurting themselves in falls. Two events were held in the area yesterday, as part of National Falls Awareness Day. At Durham Town Hall and at the Salvation Army building in Low Chare, Chester-le-Street
PLANS for a proposed £50,000 play area in Barnard Castle will go on show to the public next week. The five designs for the project in Green Lane will be displayed at the site of the current play area. Barnard Castle Town Council, Groundwork West Durham
PEOPLE living in isolated dales communities could be put at risk by a planned shake up of rural ambulance services, residents claim. The Durham Dales Primary Care Trust launched a 12-week consultation exercise in Weardale and Teesdale yesterday. At present
plans to develop a former brewery site are vital to the future of a North-East city, it was claimed yesterday. Development agency Sunderland arc was putting the case for its proposals to regenerate the disused former Vaux Breweries site. The 16-acre swathe
STEPS to ensure that Hadrian's Wall remains one of the region's most popular tourist attractions have been put in place as it was announced more people than ever are walking the historic route. The number of walkers has increased 65 per cent on 2004 and
A MOBILE pooch pampering service has been launched in South West Durham. Shampoodle has been set up by Susan Hollingworth, from Toft Hill, to provide dog grooming across the North-East in a specially-equipped van. Ms Hollingworth, a City and Guilds trained
SAFETY checks in homes have more than doubled in two months after firefighters joined a partnership. Home fire safety checks have been completed in almost half of the homes in Hartlepool's Belle Vue area, thanks to the partnership scheme. Cleveland Fire
A CRACKDOWN by police aimed at identifying public priorities and tackling low-level nuisance has resulted in five arrests. The Neighbourhood Police Day of Action, co-ordinated by PC Ann Brannan, was held in York's Clifton ward. As well as the arrests,
EIGHTY-SIX residents have objected to a housing development, which has also been criticised by police. They are concerned over a scheme for 50 homes by developers Barratt (York) on land off Bogs Lane, Starbeck, Harrogate. North Yorkshire Police say they
THE first Veterans' Day was marked with an official presentation yesterday. The former mayor of Richmond, Councillor Russell Lord, was presented with a certificate by David Johnson from the town's Royal British Legion branch. The certificate thanked
POLICE are urging residents in part of Ferryhill to back an operation to tackle rising crime levels. Officers stepped up their fight against burglary, car crime and drugs in the Dean Bank area at Christmas because of a surge in reported incidents. Extra
THE hard work of health workers across Sedgefield will be recognised with a staff awards scheme. Residents are being urged to nominate individuals or teams from Sedgefield Primary Care Trust (PCT) for a PCT Life Award 2006. There are four awards up for
AN OLD Firm transfer battle has opened up north of the border to acquire the services of Middlesbrough striker Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink. Hasselbaink will be out of contract on Saturday, free-ing him to seek new employers and Rangers have joined Glasgow
PLANS to scrap toxic ghost ships in the North-East have boosted by backing from One NorthEast and the TUC. The regional development agency has been assisting the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) in the preparation of a national
A HIDDEN treasury of relics illustrating Roman life and the art of stonemasons centuries ago is being opened to the public. A warehouse run by English Heritage, in the former railway station yard, in Helmsley, North Yorkshire, contains a vast collection
Short of taking the train, there are two ways of getting to Edinburgh - the A68 and the A1, the High Road and the Low Road. The A68 is much more scenic, of course, as anywhere which avoids the western by-pass around Newcastle might reasonably be assumed
At this stage of the competition, four games in, England should be playing with confidence but not arrogance. We now need to see our big-time players producing the goods in the knockout stages because we've only got one chance. It's a very tough to know
SPECIALIST nurses will treat tens of thousands of North-East lung disease patients in their homes, under a national action plan to be announced today. Health Secretary Patricia Hewitt will pledge to end a "postcode lottery" in care of people with debilitating
NORTHAMPTON manager John Gorman has angrily rubbished reports suggesting Darlington have completed the signing of former Sunderland winger Martin Smith. Smith, who is currently out of contract after spending the last three seasons at Northampton, is expected
TRAIN operator GNER could face a flood of compensation claims amid continued travel chaos on its East Coast Main Line route. All GNER services running to and from London were starting and terminating at Peterborough as a result of a fire in a building
GRANT Leadbitter joined the rest of the Sunderland squad for the second day of pre-season training yesterday, despite still not having signed a new deal with the Black Cats. The combative midfielder, who made 12 senior appearances last season, was offered
A TOURIST railway which crashed 18 months ago with debts of nearly £1m will reopen again on a solid financial footing, bosses said yesterday. The new company running the Weardale Railway, in County Durham, is backed by one of the country's leading social
A DARLINGTON museum is on track for an overhaul after being awarded £498,500 by the Heritage Lottery Fund. The Darlington Railway Centre and Museum is one of the most important railway heritage sites in England and yesterday's announcement means that
POLICE in the North-East and North Yorkshire confiscated nearly £3m from criminals over the past year. In Durham, more than half of the money seized came from tax cheats George Reynolds and his cousin, Richard Tennick. Former Darlington FC chairman Reynolds
A COUNCIL officer appeared in court yesterday charged with stealing thousands of pounds from a community carnival fund. John Pearson, 54, an environmental officer with Teesdale District Council, faces ten charges of stealing from the Barnard Castle Meet
A SECTION manager at a Darlington department store is one of a 100 employees from across the country to have been rewarded for long service. Julia Tipling, who works at the town's Marks & Spencer store, attended a champagne reception in London to celebrate
ACCIDENT investigators looking into a car crash which claimed a teenager's life are appealing for a potentially vital witness to come forward. Daniel Purvis, 15, died in hospital two days after a stolen Mitsubishi he was driving crashed in Logan Terrace
ST Osmund's Pre-school, in Gainford, has been given £3,236 from Awards for All. The school, which takes children from the age of two to school age, will provide a range of outdoor play equipment to improve physical and social development. Wendy Withers
THREE teachers who have worked at Darlington's Queen Elizabeth Sixth Form College for 95 years between them will retire at the end of the summer term. Head of physics John Charney has been at the college for 36 years, head of German Mike Mountain leaves
A FILM chronicling the multi-million pound restoration of a historic park is to be premiered in the region. Award-winning film-maker Michael Bell has spent 18 months capturing every aspect of the £3.9m revamp of South Park, in Darlington. The project
CONSERVATIVES on Darlington Borough Council say that they will refuse to pay towards the North East Regional Assembly if they are elected to run the authority. In the first in a series of policy statements, the Conservative group on the Labour-run council
WITH Newcastle's players returning for the start of pre-season training this morning, Glenn Roeder has urged Spanish striker Albert Luque to make the most of a rare starting spot in next month's Intertoto Cup. Despite being linked with a move away from
SIGHTINGS of a mysterious big cat wandering the countryside of North Yorkshire are on the increase. Farmers were put on alert and countryside around Tadcaster was searched after a number of sightings of the animal. However, it appears the "beast" is
A TASTE of Thailand has arrived in Darlington, as students linked up with an Asian chef to prepare authentic cuisine. Chef Pong Donchai, from the town's Phutawan Restaurant, spent four weeks at Darlington College, giving three-hour classes on Thai cooking
DOG owners across Darlington are being urged to take greater responsibility for their pets, as part of a major national initiative. Darlington Borough Council is working with the Dogs' Trust to encourage people to clean up after their pets during National
EXHIBITIONS introduced during the £498,500 refurbishment of Darlington Railway Centre and Museum will give a taste of the town before the age of the railway. Computer-generated imagery will be used to show the significance of the historic North Road
PARENTS and tots from Darlington College's childcare centre took part in a cowboy-themed half-mile sponsored walklast week as part of the Barnardo's big toddle. Barnardo's hopes to raise more than £1m from the event to help disadvantaged children. Centre
A PARK which has been restored to its former glory after a £3.8m revamp is hosting one of Shakespeare's most celebrated plays. A modern take on The Tempest has been entertaining the public and more than 500 Darlington schoolchildren at the town's South
CATWALK models are to show off the latest designer clothes with a racecourse fashion show. Designers such as Joseph Ribkoff, Ruth Tarvydas and InWear are to be featured at the show, at Thirsk Racecourse, North Yorkshire. Carol Hilton, of Hilton Rose,
CHEMICALS group Elementis announced yesterday that its chromium business had returned to profit after it shed 114 jobs at its North-East plant. The company cut the jobs at its Eaglescliffe plant, on Teesside, at the end of March to reduce costs after
HEALTH experts are offering advice to patients and the public after a hospital nurse contracted measles. Tests confirmed a nurse at The James Cook University Hospital, in Middlesbrough, has the illness and as a precautionary measure staff got in touch
SALES of environmentally-friendly fuel have rocketed at a garage used by thousands of truckers a week. Londonderry Garage, owned by Exelby Services, off the A1 at Londonderry, near Northallerton, North Yorkshire, is a major refuelling stop for lorries
UNCERTAINTY still hangs over the future of 50 jobs at a car parts manufacturer after it announced plans to move a production line to Eastern Europe. TRW Automotive's Peterlee factory, in east Durham, confirmed in April it had begun a consultation process
AS the dust settles on Australia's bitter end to their first World Cup finals in 32 years, striker Mark Viduka is one of three members of the squad ready to announce international retirement. The Socceroos' hopes of reaching the quarter-finals of the
THE multi-billion pound merger of steelmakers Arcelor and Mittal has led to takeover speculation surrounding smaller rival Corus. As Arcelor and Mittel shook hands on an £18.5bn deal to establish the world's largest steelmaker yesterday, there were rumours
THERE is no doubt that Tony Blair could have done without Charles Clarke's belated outburst over his sacking as Home Secretary. It is further evidence of disharmony at the heart of a government which desperately needs to be seen to be uniting in the wake
CARLISLE'S Cumberland Plate could prove to be an open and shut case for Mark Johnston's Scotland Yard (3.50). Having only run four times, three of which were on the all-weather circuit, the handicapper has only limited evidence to evaluate precisely how
How To Look Good Naked (C4): ALONGSIDE how to become rich overnight, and how to find the man of your dreams, how to look good naked is one of the questions a woman would almost kill for to find the answer. So promising a solution to the latter worry
Once a friend of Robert Mugabe, journalist Wilf Mbanga ended up in jail after the Zimbabwean government closed his newspaper. Now living in England, he describes his fight for Press freedom under Mugabe's regime. I WAS a keen reporter for the Argus Africa
A BOY of 15 raped a 14-year-old girl in a churchyard after they went to shelter from the rain, a court heard yesterday. The teenager is alleged to have told the girl's 15-year-old friend what he had done and that it was her turn next. The girls were walking
OWEN'S INJURY: IT looks like Real Madrid have exacted revenge upon Newcastle United for the sale to them of Jonathan Woodgate (who has been plagued by injuries in recent years). Michael Owen's latest injury will mean that he will probably only play 30
Yorkshire v Durham (Twenty20) THE value of slow bowlers in the high-speed form of cricket was again underlined as Durham made a disastrous start to their Twenty20 Cup campaign at Headingley last night.Yorkshire coasted to an eight-wicket victory after
A TEN-MONTH investigation into video footage of Army recruits being hooded and forced into humiliating poses has ended without charges being brought, The Northern Echo can reveal. The footage was filmed at the Army's School of Infantry, in Catterick Garrison
Are you an endangered species? If you consider yourself a housewife, then you might just be. Even the Scottish Women's Rural Institute thinks so and are planning a debate about a change of name for their Housewives' Committee. If that lot think housewives
FOURTEEN people had to be rescued from a lift at the Thistle Hotel in Middlesbrough on Tuesday night. Firefighters from the Marine station dealt with the incident at the hotel on Fry Street shortly after 11.20pm when the lift malfunctioned just below
