FERRYHILL Flyer, Phill Nixon, reached the quarter-finals of the World Darts Championship, BDO, at Frimley Green on Wednesday night with a stunning 4-1 triumph over tenth seed Martin Atkins. Nixon, 50, who had to pre-qualify for the event, shocked his
ARCHAEOLOGISTS have submitted a planning application to build a Roman bridge - 2,000 years after it was first constructed. They have been working for more than two years on uncovering one of the most impressive pieces of Roman masonry in the Hadrian's
A COLLECTION of rare and out of print books on Africa is expected to raise £10,000 when it goes under the hammer. The collection of more than than 3,000 books was put together by traveller Rosemary Goode, 75, originally from Whitley Bay, North Tyneside
REAL Madrid yesterday confirmed their contract offer to David Beckham was still on the table - despite the club's sporting director Predrag Mijatovic saying the former England captain will leave the club in the summer. Talks on the new two-year deal
This is a test to determine whether the page developed to host Dave Roberts blog is quality.
HUNDREDS of vital community projects across the region face the axe to fund the soaring costs of the London Olympics, a Lottery chief has warned. Sir Clive Booth, chairman of the Big Lottery Fund, fears "dark forces" in the Treasury are planning to
Solutions ACROSS 1 Cabinet. CA(r)BINE+T 5 Wrapper. W+RAPPER 9 Nurse. NUR+S+E (run rev.) 10 Relenting. R(E+LENT)ING 11 Immediate. IM+MEDIATE 12 Extra. (two meanings) 13 Maths. M+A+T+H+S 15 In transit. IN+T+RANSIT (trains anag.)
Cryptic Clues ACROSS 1 Roger left a gun on the top of Ted’s cupboard (7) 5 Dust jacket showing Welsh door-knocker (7) 9 Hospital worker to hasten back to southern England (5) 10 Yielding to compassion call about Elizabeth before Lent (9) 11 Without
PEOPLE are being asked to get involved in a wildlife partnership. The Hambleton and Howardian Hills Cultural and Natural Development Opportunity involves local authorities, conservation bodies, residents and businesses. It is known as the Can Do partnership
A STUDENT is encouraging others hoping for a career in architecture to attend an open evening later this month. Paul Senior, a 16-year-old who has just completed his GCSEs at Greencroft Comprehensive, Annfield Plain, is one of 16 recruits taken on by
PEOPLE are being urged to splash out for children with a sponsored swim. Children's charity NCH is asking people to take part in an event at Durham City pool on Saturday, February 10. The swim will take place from 4.30pm to 5.30pm. Entry is free, but
A MULTI-MILLION-POUND community college opened yesterday. Pupils and their teachers moved into the 10,000sq metre Freebrough Specialist Engineering College, at Brotton. It is the culmination of a £16m project by local education authority Redcar and
A MINIBUS service for disabled shoppers could soon be back on the road thanks to a grant. Durham County Council is giving £37,500 from its Local Transport Plan (LTP2) funding to Durham's Shopmobility scheme. The city's branch of the national charity
FUNDING has been secured to help experts investigate what is believed to be one of the worst cases of mine pollution in the country. Mine water flowing into a trout beck at Saltburn is blighting the town and killing wildlife. The Saltburn Gill Action
TWO charities are to benefit from £1,000 each thanks to the success of a festive ball. The event, hosted by Richmondshire District Council chairwoman Jill McMullon, was held in Middleton Lodge, Middleton Tyas, and attended by 80 guests. About £1,700
A GROUP for pre-school children hopes to re-open on Monday after it was devastated by a vandal attack during the Christmas holiday. A specialist cleaning company has been brought in to clear up the mess at the Waldridge Road Toddler Group's premises,
A SHAKE-UP up in healthy eating is on the menu with the introduction of the first lifestyle nurse for a town. Pam Henderson has been appointed to work with Hartlepool schoolchildren with the aim of reducing childhood obesity and promoting healthier lifestyles
ASDA'S bid to expand its Bishop Auckland store has been knocked back by councillors. Asda had applied to expand its South Church supermarket to allow it to sell more non-food items, such as clothes and household goods. Officers at Wear Valley District
POLICE in Barnard Castle are investigating a possible link between two burglaries in the town. The first happened at about 2am, on Sunday. Thieves broke into a shed at a property in Richardson Fields and stole tools. They also broke into the house, but
A SOFTWARE design company is encouraging its staff to cycle to work with the offer of a low-cost bike. Thecitysecret, in Richmond, has teamed up with local retailer Arthur Caygill Cycles to supply discounted bicycles and cycling equipment to workers.
ANGRY taxi drivers have called a meeting over changes to the licensing process. Cabbies in Hambleton said they were not consulted about the district council's new licensing policy, which was approved by members in November. It requires new drivers applying
A LIFELONG friendship descended into a bloodbath when two pals fell out over their girlfriends. John Smith, 18, is alleged to have stabbed Shaun Mulligan five times during a row in their street. Twenty-year-old Mr Mulligan suffered a collapsed lung and
A GAME fan from Shildon is showing the skills and imagination he needs to land his dream job - at the age of 11. When he is older, Marshall Fessey wants to design computer or board games. And after beating thousands of entries to become a finalist in
CAMPAIGNERS who lost their battle to keep a Bishop Auckland hospital ward open say NHS bosses must now take expert advice and bring a specialist unit to the facility. Members of the Save Ward Three campaign, which ended in failure on Monday, said they
A COUNCILLOR is to write to a bus company after receiving a number of complaints from residents about services. Councillor Cyndi Hughes will ask Arriva North-East to send a representative to the next meeting of Skerne Park Community Partnership after
AN art gallery in Darlington has applied for planning permission to open a cafe. Owners of the Houndgate Gallery, in Houndgate, have drawn up plans for a cafe. The gallery has also applied for permission to change existing council conditions to allow
REGULARS at a Darlington pub are raising money for charity. Drinkers at The Dalesman, in Victoria Road, have been saving pennies with every pint and have been sticking the coins to the panelling above the bar. And after more than four months, the pub
A MAN has been warned he could be jailed for assault. Adrian John Walker, 18, pleaded guilty at Darlington Magistrates' Court yesterday to assaulting his cousin. Peter Smith, prosecuting, said Walker had attacked his cousin near Cactus Jacks Bar, Commercial
A WEEK after capturing his No 1 striking target, Danny Wilson believes patience has been the key at Hartlepool United. Pools sold Adam Boyd to Luton Town for £500,000 before the season started and have waited four months to recruit a permanent replacement
FERRYHILL Flyer Phill Nixon, confident in his ability to become world darts champion, will be seeking revenge in tonight's second round match. Starting at 6.05 in the Lakeside BDO Championship, he faces tenth seed Martin Atkins, who progressed to the
IRRESPECTIVE of individual views on the Royal Family, Kate Middleton has become one of the world's most newsworthy young women. She is the beautiful girlfriend of the future King and it appears that an engagement announcement may be in the offing. But
HOME Secretary John Reid was last night forced to admit he knew nothing about a blunder that may have allowed sex offenders who committed crimes abroad to escape checks and get jobs working with children in the UK. The Association of Chief Police Officers
A MINUTE'S silence was observed yesterday as the first funeral took place for victims of the Morecambe Bay helicopter tragedy. Silence was observed by employees at Centrica, which runs the Morecambe Bay gas fields, Aberdeen helicopter operator CHC Helicopter
AT A time when Newcastle United are looking for new signings, young centre-back Steven Taylor has paid tribute to the club's Academy system for producing reputable defensive reinforcements. Manager Glenn Roeder has stepped up his search for fresh recruits
A FITNESS fanatic collapsed and died after following his local hunt for 15 miles. John Partridge, 55, had been walking and running following the Hurworth Hunt, based in Northallerton, on Saturday afternoon when he collapsed and died. Tributes were paid
The announcement that bottling of Newcastle Brown Ale will take place away from Tyneside has stoked fears that the traditional beer may be on its way out of the North-East. Business Correspondent Deborah Johnson reports. NEWCASTLE Brown Ale is regarded
ENGLAND captain Michael Vaughan has warned his battered and bruised side it's time to stand up and be counted after the Twenty20 party turned into another nightmare Down Under. With England still reeling from their Ashes whitewash the shortened version
MARKS & SPENCER yesterday hailed its recovery from the losses it made two years ago, after posting its sixth successive quarter of growth in the build-up to Christmas. The high street chain announced a 5.6 per cent rise in year-on-year sales between
RICHARD FAHEY'S purple patch looks all set to continue at Kempton, where Boppys Pride (4.50) is expected to follow-up yesterday's Southwell all-weather double for the stable. Boppys Pride made his mark last season by scoring on turf at Ayr in the autumn
PLANNING officials are recommending that controversial proposals to extend a quarry near an ancient monument should be approved. English Heritage has withdrawn its objections to the plans for Nosterfield Quarry, between
Evan Williams was ''over the moon'' after Highland Games justified the Welsh handler's long trek to Sedgefield with an impressive victory in the Magic 1170 Handicap Hurdle. The seven-year-old is a half-brother to 2000 Guineas and King George VI & Queen
STEEL group Severfield-Rowen yesterday said its full-year profits are likely to be "materially ahead" of current market expectations. The company, based in Dalton, near Thirsk, North Yorkshire, said it expected to deliver another strong performance for
VAN hire group Northgate posted a 48 per cent jump in half-year revenue yesterday, and said it was on course to achieve an annual profit of £80m. The Darlington plc said it planned to strengthen its operations both in the UK and Spain, and admitted it
GUIDE dogs are being confused by a multi-million pound scheme to pedestrianise a North-East town centre. The dogs are getting lost in the barriers and bollards of Darlington's £8.5m Pedestrian Heart scheme, leaving their owners at risk from the traffic
A FURTHER round of belt tightening has been ordered at one of the most indebted NHS trusts in the region. Yesterday, members of the South Tees Hospitals NHS Trust board heard that there had been "a continuing deterioration" in the finances for the period
SADDAM'S EXECUTION THE images of death and the acts of tyranny perpetrated by Saddam Hussein against millions of people cannot be resolved by his execution. His trial and conviction should go some way to reassuring the Iraqi people and those who lived
Judge John Deed (BBC1) Shameless (C4) : I managed 30 minutes of Judge John Deed before my finger hit the STOP button. It was the line "Do you have sex with Mrs Mills?" that finally did it for me. I had a vision of Martin Shaw's bumptious, obnoxious legal
Few individuals push the "green' cause more persistently than Prince Charles. Unfortunately his own lifestyle, with many trappings of wealth and a large personal entourage, makes a mockery of his insistence that we must consume and pollute less. A striking
A TEENAGER who wandered on to railway lines near her home was killed when she was sucked into the side of a 115mph train.An inquest into the death of 17-year-old Catherine Joanne Hodgson heard how the accident, in Darlington, in May last year, should
A PUBLICAN was being questioned by police last night after threatening to set fire to his pub when bailiffs turned up to evict him.Robert Tidswell was arrested after a tense stand-off with police.Friends said he acted after he spent the past five years
Doncaster Rovers 2 Darlington 0 It is not often a club's supporters chant the name of an opposition manager but that's how the Doncaster fans greeted the final whistle at the Keepmoat Stadium last night.But Dave Penney's Rovers return ended in misery.Darlington
A CONTROVERSY worthy of a Dick Francis horse racing thriller has rocked the normally tranquil world of point-to-point.Trainer Robert Tierney is under investigation following claims one of his horses was replaced with a "ringer" in two point-to-point races
POLICE are treating the death of a 39-year-old man found at a North-East hotel as suspicious. Officers discovered the body at the Bay View Hotel in Newcomen Terrace in Redcar on Tuesday afternoon. No details of the man have been released, but a spokesman
THE last bottle of Newcastle Brown Ale to be completely produced on Tyneside will roll off the production line next month. It follows an announcement by brewer Scottish and Newcastle (S and N) yesterday that although the iconic Tyneside beer would still
MIDDLESBROUGH last night insisted England winger Stewart Downing is staying at the Riverside Stadium. Long-term admirers Tottenham have, according to reports in London, been alerted to an air of discontent from Downing following an inconsistent start
FURY erupted yesterday when it emerged that young prisoners at one of the region's jails were paid £575,000 in compensation last year. The payouts for injuries and unfair treatment at Northallerton Young Offenders' Institution - which holds 252 inmates
AFTER becoming one of the Football League's most expensive recruits, Anthony Stokes' lucrative move to Sunderland is to receive instant international rewards. When Stokes became the most costly acquisition at the Stadium of Light since Tore Andre Flo
PACKAGING company British Polythene Industries (BPI) has announced plans to shed one tenth of its workforce on Teesside, The Northern Echo has learned. The company yesterday told workers at its Stockton site of its intentions to make 30 redundancies and
IS Kate Middleton the new Diana? She certainly attracts nearly as many photographers. Just a picture of her walking down the street can make a photographer £1,000 so no wonder she is pursued by cameras wherever she goes. Poor kid. Every morning, apparently
A LOVELY break, thanks, right down to the Rev Graham Smith's Christmas morning sermon which spoke of Gospel and (less intentionally) of Gadfly column. Graham, a team vicar in the East Richmond area, professed himself a words man. Aren't we all? In medieval
THE news came as a surprise to the public in general and the regulars in particular at the Prince of Wales pub in Railway Street, Hetton, on Wearside. The great-great-great-great grandfather of the elegant Ms Kate Middleton - girlfriend of the heir to
THE Football Association are set to ask world governing body FIFA to put pressure on eight agents to co-operate with the Lord Stevens bungs inquiry.Officials from Stevens' firm Quest met the FA yesterday for the first time since the former Metropolitan
