THE troubled son of a murder victim stole cash from a vulnerable pensioner as his mother's killer finally faced justice. It emerged today (MON) that Kevin Hogg tricked a mentally-ill man into believing he was a carer working for social services, and
DIMI Konstantopoulos has been named the Powerade League Two player of the month for December. The big Hartlepool United keeper went through the month without conceding a goal - he was beaten at Shrewsbury on Saturday for the first time in 850 minutes
Sunderland have completed the signing of Arsenal striker Anthony Stokes for a fee of £2m. Stokes, who recently nded a four-month loan spell with Falkirk top of the Scottish Premier League scoring charts earlier this month, has signed a three-and-a-half-year
FERRYHILL'S Phil Nixon went 'One Step Beyond' one of his closest friends in the game when qualifying for the second stage of the Lakeside BDO Darts World Championship. The 50-year-old won 3-1 against the competition's seventh seed Darryl Fitton, who
A BANNED motorist with 13 previous convictions for driving while disqualified and four previous convictions for dangerous driving was today given an indefinite jail sentence for killing a school dinner lady in a hit-and-run. Heroin user Alan Steel, 26
BOB Geldof has pledged his support to Gordon Brown but warned that lack of action on world poverty issues would be a catastrophic failure. He spoke at a special ceremony in which he and the chancellor received an honorary doctor of civil law degree
MIDDLESBROUGH face a trip to either Bristol City or Coventry in the fourth round of the FA Cup - if they beat Hull in the third round replay. While Newcastle - providing they see off Birmingham - will meet Burnley or Reading at St James' Park. DRAW
A PROBATION Service expert who distributed internet child pornography while setting up a database of sex offenders will have to wait two more weeks to find out if he will be jailed. Vincent Barron, 49, of Kirk Rise, in Frosterley, County Durham, sent
18-year-old Jamie Courtney has been confirmed as the latest signing for the Redcar Bears speedway team. Jamie is the son of Bears' legend Mark Courtney who became British Under-21 Champion and a regular England international in his shale career. Jamie
PLANS for tackling anti-social behaviour in Hartlepool will be among the topics at a series of meetings. The next round of Police and Community Safety Consultative Forums is taking place in the north, central and south areas of the town. Sally Forth,
A POPULAR country park is planning a variety of family events. Summerhill, a 100-acre site on the western edge of Hartlepool, has unveiled its programme of activities up to April. They include a family archery taster session on Sunday, from 1.30pm to
DRIVERS are being urged to take extra precautions after a big increase in the sales of satellite navigation systems. Cleveland Police and the Safer Hartlepool Partnership have joined forces to issue a security reminder. The devices are popular with thieves
SEX education in schools will receive a wide-ranging study to try to improve services. Hartlepool Borough Council's children's services scrutiny forum will hold the first of several public meetings today, at Owton Manor Community Centre, Wynyard Road
THE last in a series of public meetings about the future of psychiatric intensive care services for County Durham and Darlington will take place in Darlington. The open event will be held in the Dolphin Centre on Tuesday, at 11am, and Tees, Esk and Wear
THE watchdog for councillors' conduct will not pursue an MP's complaint about what her local council says in its publications. Durham's Labour MP, Roberta Blackman-Woods, complained to the Standards Board for England about a story on Liberal Democrat-controlled
EVENING and weekend stop- smoking sessions have been introduced at pharmacies in Derwentside to help more people quit the habit. Iain Miller, tobacco control and smoking cessation co-ordinator for the north Durham area of County Durham Primary Care Trust
A COUNCIL leader has told residents of a sheltered housing complex that there are no plans to close the building and redevelop the site. Durham City Council's Liberal Democrat leader Fraser Reynolds is writing to the elderly and disabled people living
A SHOPPING centre is to build new toilets for shoppers as part of a revamp. The Gates, Durham City, will also create baby-changing facilities, this year, and a mall cafe. The Riverside area, which overlooks the Wear, is to get a restaurant in the spring
DONNY: Being the rock god that he is, Donny didn't like the idea of waiting hand and foot on the Goodys. I don't blame the guy. Anyway, he hot-footed it over the fence so we'll probably never see him again. KEN: He snores like a T-Rex with chronic asthma
MORE young people have turned their hand to making a community safer. Levick Field, in Middlesbrough, has been known for anti-social behaviour in the past, but that has been changed with the help of organised tidy-up days. Community worker Mel Rollinson
SADDAM HANGING: INTERVIEWED after Saddam Hussein's hanging, Sir Menzies Campbell, leader of the Liberal Democrats, was asked how he felt about the death penalty. He said that "he and his party were not in favour, sharing common ground with Labour, Conservatives
A CITIZENS Advice Bureau wants residents to go on a debt detox for the new year. Hambleton CAB is urging people to start the year with a resolution to manage their money better. Last year, the bureau dealt with more than 1.4 million new debt problems
A PLANNED trial banning traffic from a market place has been shelved by council bosses. The county council had intended to start the experiment in Pickering Market Place later this month Instead, a survey will now be carried out into the plan among businesses
AN award-winning attraction is opening free to local residents for four days this month. All Hambleton residents are being offered free admission to the World of James Herriot centre on January 20, 21, 27 and 28. Manager Sue Dalton said: "This offer has
A FREE workshop is being held for anyone aged over 50 interested in setting up a business. The event will take place at the Innovate Centre, Colburn Business Park, near Catterick Garrison, from noon to 2pm on January 31. The workshop is being run by
A BICENTENARY has been celebrated in Stokesley with stovepipe hats. Stokesley Model Engineering Club celebrated the birthday of engineer Isambard Kingdom Brunel. Stovepipe hats and bonnets were worn by members at the Brunel Dinner, in Stokesley Town Hall
COURSES in first aid and basic life-saving skills are being run across the county this year. The sessions have been organised by the Yorkshire Ambulance Service. The courses will be held in Harrogate, Scarborough and York. Courses include first aid at
A CAMPAIGN to promote the North-East as a short-break destination during the autumn and winter is to go Dutch. The campaign, by development agency One NorthEast, was a success last year and will be marketed internationally for the first time. More than
A MINI plantation of saplings has been created in Bedale as part of a national recycling initiative. The planting took place after Hambleton District Council joined an initiative to get more cans and foil recycled. For every tonne collected, a tree has
A DALES training company has been given a grant to launch courses in renewable energy. GTEC Training, in Hawes, has received £1,500 from Richmondshire District Council. The grant will help the company start courses in fitting solar hot water equipment
THE leader of a North Yorkshire health watchdog committee has demanded answers to the mounting financial crisis facing a new primary care trust. It has been revealed that North Yorkshire and York Primary Care Trust is expected to end the financial year
IN a move welcomed by campaigners, two major drug companies have formally applied to the High Court for a judicial review of controversial dementia drug guidelines. If Eisai and Pfizer succeed in overturning the guidelines, it could mean thousands of
ABEL XAVIER wants to reward Middlesbrough's loyalty by staying on beyond this season - but has warned he wants a contract at the Riverside Stadium that reflects his status. Xavier made his sixth appearance at Hull since being given the opportunity to
Darlington Mowden Park 23, Blaydon 24. IF BLAYDON gain promotion to National Two by a whisker they might look back on the moment midway through the second half which turned this pulsating game. Mowden were attacking and looking good value for their 20
SUNDERLAND are expected to land their third signing of the month with Anthony Stokes due on Wearside today to complete a medical. The Arsenal youngster was expected to move to Charlton over the weekend but the Black Cats are hoping to steal the Dublin-born
A MAN arrested in Greece over the death of a North-East father-of-two has been charged with his killing. A 40-year-old South African barman was charged on Thursday, along with two medics who treated Joe Arthur, 34, of Grindon, Sunderland, for three days
THE family of a 14-year-old boy have spoken of his bravery as he battled a fatal brain tumour. Andrew Storey died at his home in Ramshaw, near Barnard Castle, County Durham, on December 11, ten months after being diagnosed with the tumour. The Teesdale
AFTER just 90 minutes of football for Sunderland Jonny Evans is already contemplating making his move to Wearside more permanent. The 19-year-old central defender impressed in Saturday's 1-0 defeat at Deepdale, and admitted he is not certain he will make
HE might have represented his country and been lauded as one of the best young players in the land, but Kieron Dyer has admitted that he is haunted by the prospect of finishing his career without a winners' medal to his name. The Newcastle midfielder
THE spotlight will fall on women in the plays of Shakespeare in a series of courses starting at Durham's Clayport Library. Wicked Women runs on Saturdays, from January 27, between 2pm and 4pm, and looks at how attitudes to women in the 16th Century were
WORK on the main phase of a £7m bypass resumes today. Site staff will return to the site of the long-awaited West Auckland bypass, following the Christmas break, where work began last August. Due to heavy rain, the one-and-a-half mile stretch of single
A COMPANY has recruited 60 workers after winning a contract to help build Terminal Five at Heathrow Airport. It is one of the largest construction projects in Europe and will cater for an extra 30 million passengers a year and will cost about £4.3bn
PROTESTORS against the plan to close a ward at Bishop Auckland Hospital were out on the streets in Newton Aycliffe on Saturday. The protesters object to the closure of Ward 3 at the hospital and spent the day encouraging people to sign a
BARNARD Castle Rotary Club held a successful carol concert before Christmas, raising more than £275 for charity. Holy Trinity Church, in Startforth, near Barnard Castle, was the venue for the concert, and a packed church sang a variety of carols and
FUTURE options for a former village school are to be put forward by a parish council. Sadberge Parish Council will discuss the possible uses for the old primary school when it meets tomorrow. The school building is expected to be developed for housing
Dave Penney is refusing to reveal who Darlington's next signing will be despite the club being linked with a number of players. Quakers have already signed four players since the transfer window opened, and Penney has made it clear he is keen to further
IT has often been said that the fate of a struggling football club's season rests with the business they do in the January transfer window. This is certainly true of several top flight clubs since the much-maligned system was introduced by UEFA, who forced
DOWNING Street has assured us that Tony Blair will this week break his silence over the manner in which Saddam Hussein was executed. It is not before time. When Britain went to war in Iraq, it was on the basis that Saddam had weapons of mass destruction
PLANS are being drawn up to help businesspeople get a foot on the commercial property ladder. The Helmsley Group, a York-based property development and investment company, wants to help those who are renting premises but seeking cheaper units to buy.
DANNY Wilson is expecting Andy Monkhouse to sign for Hartlepool United in the next 48 hours. After a successful loan spell, he returned to Swindon Town last week. Wilson was hopeful the left winger would be part of his plans for Saturday's hard-fought
A MAJOR exhibition of paintings, prints and drawings by a renowned Victorian artist is coming to the region. In March, the Mercer Art Gallery, in Harrogate, North Yorkshire, will display more than 100 works by William Powell Frith in March. It will be
A NORTH-East storage company is carrying out its own detective work to track down the brother of a convicted killer. More than a decade ago, Vince Landa, the former boss of a one-armed bandit empire, left his household possessions in the safe-keeping
UNION officials say they will be speaking to workers at a chemical plant about safety in the wake of a leak that left 37 people needing treatment. A major incident was declared when 4.5 tonnes of the chemical hexamethylenediamine, known as HMD, leaked
A SPECIALIST at a Barnard Castle hospital has raised more than £1,500 through a supper dance. Anne Marwood, from Newsham, a clinical specialist at Richardson Hospital, presented a cheque for £1,542 to the chairman of the Friends of Richardson Hospital
Do not expect Sunderland captain Steve Caldwell to be seen in Hartlepool any time soon after some scathing comments recently. Asked in a recent Leicester City programme about the intelligence of his team-mates, Caldwell said: "The team-mate I'd probably
THREE sides each scored five goals but it was Teesside Athletic who took pride of place in the scoring charts on Saturday. They put seven past Boldon CA as Adam Henry bagged four goals, Billy Millington got two and James Kesterton added to the woes of
FORMER Middlesbrough skippper Tony Mowbray wants goalkeeper Brad Jones if he is to sanction the sale of Zoltan Gera from West Bromwich Albion to Middlesbrough, writes Paul Fraser. With Gaizka Mendieta on the departures list on Teesside this month, Southgate
A musical duo will play at a Teesdale village hall on Saturay. Sax and Axe will play at Ingleton Village Hall between 7.30pm and 11.45pm. For more details, contact Hazel Whitehead on 01325-730250.
THE newly-elected leader of the Conservative group in Darlington has said she is confident of regaining control of the town hall in the May elections. Heather Scott was unanimously voted in as the leader this weekend following the departure
A NEW business got fruity with shoppers at the weekend to celebrate its opening. The owners of Liquid 5ive, a juice and sandwich bar on the corner of Tubwell Row and Prebend Row, Darlington, decided to give away 25,000 pieces of fruit to mark the opening
WORK on the main phase of a £7m bypass resumes today. Site staff will return to the site of the long-awaited West Auckland bypass, following the Christmas break, where work began last August. Due to heavy rain, the one-and-a-half mile stretch of single
FUTURE options for a former village school are to be put forward by a parish council. Sadberge Parish Council will discuss the possible uses for the old primary school when it next meets tomorrow. The school building is expected to be developed for housing
A GRANDFATHER looking forward to his imminent retirement has been killed in an accident in the North Sea. Matthew Grey, a 59-year-old pipe-fitter from Darlington, suffered fatal injuries in what has been called "an appalling tragedy" while working in
Waking The Dead (BBC1); The Ultimate Hellraiser (C4); Celebrity Big Brother (C4): SEX, drugs, rock'n'roll. That's got your attention, just as it was impossible not to be fascinated and repelled at the same time by the outrageous antics and overindulgences
A LEEK club treasurer who disappeared along with thousands of pounds of members' money has rung his former employer to ask for his P45.Tom Henry vanished hours before he was due to hand over more than £5,000 at Colburn Lodge Leek Club's prize-giving night.The
AS part of The Northern Echo lifeblood campaign encouraging people to give blood, here are details of forthcoming donor sessions in the region:TODAY* Social Club, Dean Terrace, Main Road, Ryton, 2.30pm to 7pm.* Barracuda, Front Street, Chester-le-Street
THE region's football community is in mourning after the sudden death of a leading coach.Once named the best grassroots coach in the country, Alan Brown was only 46 when he died from a brain aneurysm on Boxing Day.Friends and family gathered at Teesside
TWO police vehicles crashed into each other while responding to a 999 call in a city centre.One officer was taken to hospital with minor injuries after the accident, which involved a surveillance van and a Ford Focus, in Newcastle at about 12.25pm on
Preston North End 1, Sunderland 0.DESPITE managing arguably the best footballing side in the Championship, Roy Keane will spend the rest of the transfer window strengthening his squad.The Sunderland boss' apparent determination not to let Arsenal reserve
Birmingham 2, Newcastle 2.YESTERDAY morning, the Birmingham ground staff arrived at St Andrew's to rip up the battle-scarred surface that had accommodated Saturday's 2-2 draw with Newcastle and lay a brand new pitch in its place.To them, the cultivation
CHILDREN from a South-West Durham nursery have experienced a different kind of day care.The group from the Little Acorns Nursery, on Newton Aycliffe Industrial Estate, have been visiting nearby dog creche, K9 Pursuits.Thirteen youngsters and their carers
A WAR hero who was one of only two men to win the George Medal with bar and the George Cross in the Second World War has died, aged 91.John Bridge was one of the Royal Navy's most highly decorated officers and took part in some of the war's most important
THOUSANDS of former miners will be quizzed about serious knee injuries they may have suffered down the pits as part of a fight for compensation against the Government.The County Durham branch of the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) intends to send
GOOD food and hard work are part of the recipe for a long life, according to Margaret Weatherell who is celebrating her 100th birthday.Mrs Weatherell, who lives with her daughter Anne Dunlop in Gilesgate Moor, Durham, marked her century on Saturday with
Shrewsbury Town 1, Hartlepool United 1.ON a level playing field, there would be every chance Hartlepool United's long and proud double record would still be intact.But Shrewsbury's Gay Meadow is nothing like a level playing field. It's nothing like a
BILLINGHAM Town opened up the title race with a battling fightback from two goals down to win 3-2 at Durham City on Saturday - but assistant manager Lee Tucker warned they can't afford to keep giving teams two goals start.Town played some good football
YOUNG people in Darlington have joined a campaign to get cheaper bus tickets.The Bus Fair campaign calls for those aged from 14 to 19 to be given concessionary fares if still in education or training.At present, teenagers have to pay a full fare once
GOOD food and hard work are part of the recipe for a long life, according to Margaret Weatherell who is celebrating her 100th birthday.Mrs Weatherell, who lives with her daughter, Anne Dunlop, in Gilesgate Moor, Durham, marked her century on Saturday
AN organisation that has given job opportunities to disadvantaged young people is expanding after it took delivery of new transport.Just the Job, a social enterprise scheme in Richmondshire, was set up as a pilot project a year ago and has ten members
THE North-East's role as one of the dirty men of Europe has been highlighted in figures which show how much it is contributing to climate change.The region belches out more carbon dioxide (CO2) - a major greenhouse gas - per head of the population than
Hull City 1, Middlesbrough 1.WHEN Nick Barmby played for Leeds against former club Middlesbrough four years ago he was left strenuously denying that he made racist remarks toward George Boateng.A scuffle between both sides ended proceedings and it was
CREDITORS still out of pocket two years after a heritage railway ran out of money have given a cautious welcome to news they could be paid by the end of the month. The Weardale Railway closed in January 2005, only six months after opening, owing £900,000
THE flight recorder from the helicopter that crashed, six people, has been located.The black box from the Morecambe Bay tragedy could give the families of the men, one of who is still missing but presumed dead, vital answers to the December 27 accident.Rig
A MAN died in hospital last night after falling 15ft while carrying out work on an empty building.The man's wife was at his bedside in Darlington Memorial Hospital after he was taken there with severe injuries.Phillip Platt, a 59-year-old from Barnard
A MAN died in hospital last night after falling 15ft while carrying out work on an empty building. The man's wife was at his bedside in Darlington Memorial Hospital after he was taken there with severe injuries. Phillip Platt, a 59-year-old from Barnard
A GRANDFATHER looking forward to his imminent retirement has been killed in an accident in the North Sea. Matthew Grey, a 59-year-old pipe-fitter from Darlington, suffered fatal injuries in what has been called "an appalling tragedy" while working in
JUST when they hoped to have turned the corner injury-wise, Darlington suffered three casualties on their way to a 42-12 defeat at Preston Grasshoppers. While there are still five clubs separating them from the second relegation place, the gap is now
REMEMBERING it was the quiz season, the Editor of The Northern Echo last week in this space wrote eloquently about the problems in reporting the Stephen Wright case - Mr Wright is accused of murdering five prostitutes in Ipswich - and asked: "Who's holding
FOUR men were being held last night on suspicion of false imprisonment following an armed police operation that closed a street for about three hours.The arrests were made at a house in Lansdowne Street, Darlington, after a man told police he had been
For his latest novel, Jonathan Tulloch found the perfect writing partner - his wife, Shirley. The couple talk to Women's Editor Sarah Foster about the African adventures that inspired it. SHIRLEY Tulloch welcomes me in. I'm a little early and she's immersed
It started off in 1920s Harlem - now Lindy Hop is coming to the North-East. Women's Editor Sarah Foster finds out more from a woman who was so hooked by the dance form that she's had a change of career to teach it to others. THE couple in the clip could
