Archive

UP to 23,500 households suffered power cuts across North Yorkshire tonight following what was described as a "network fault". At 8.15pm a spokeswoman for NEDL, which distributes electricity in the North-East and North Yorkshire, said that power had been

TWO youths jailed for being passengers in a stolen car which ran down and killed an eight-year-old boy have had their sentences cut. Driver Ashley Lindo was showing off doing handbrake turns when he hit Daniel Conroy Curtin in Riverside park, Middlesbrough

This week's wine is a light golden colour, the bouquet is of lavender and rose petals. On the palate there's the typical lychees taste. It has a sweet edge to it - three on the dry sweet scale and with 13 per cent alcohol this makes for quite a full-bodied

AN animal sanctuary boss could be disqualified after admitting cruelty at the haven he has run for more than 20 years. Clifford Spedding also faces the prospect of a prison sentence after a judge warned he would consider "all sentencing options."

QUESTION Our 1 year old Bassett recently suffered a massive seizure which landed her at our local vet. Belle came home yesterday and we immediately noticed that she is noticeably weaker on the right side, dragging her front paw, can't seem to hear

QUESTION Our dog Buck had a sudden seizure-like episode three weeks ago. He recovered well with only slight loss of use of his right leg and a bit of legarthy. He began to decline for several days before having another, larger seizure five days later

QUESTION We have a yellow Lab puppy who has these small tremors or seizures that last a few seconds (it's only his head that shakes quickly) like a quick 5 - 6 nods). They always occur when he's calm and relaxed, usually just before he falls asleep

QUESTION My nine year old Jack Russell male has just been diagnosed with iodiopathic epilepsy and has just started Phenobarbiton 15mg 2 x day. I believe that a Skullcap/Valerian combination taken as an adjunct to the drug can be beneficial and can

THE BOSS of County Durham's NHS hospitals is to leave his post it was announced today. John Saxby is to step down as chief executive of the County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust to take up a post in Lancashire. Mr Saxby has been in charge

A man from Loftus in Cleveland today pleaded guilty to nine offences of animal cruelty relating to a large number of animals and birds. Clifford Spedding, 46, runs the Hope Animal Shelter in Loftus, Saltburn-by-the-Sea. Today he pleaded guilty

JONNY Wilkinson is a doubt for Saturday's RBS 6 Nations showdown with Ireland at Croke Park. The Newcastle Falcons fly-half missed training on Thursday with a tight hamstring. The problem with the injury-prone World Cup star is enough for England to

THE Americanisation of the 1960 British comedy original, which starred famously gap-toothed Terry-Thomas, finds Napoleon Dynamite star Heder cast as Roger, a geekish parking attendant nobody likes and everyone humiliates. Drivers abuse him, people

Middlesbrough Mayor Ray Mallon is to stand for a second term in office. He is seeking re-election in the May 3 poll on the back of completing the regeneration of the town and combating crime and disorder. Mr Mallon became the town's first ever elected

A STARK warning has been sent from a senior police officer to people who think 'pranks' involving home-made explosives are humorous. Detective Chief Superintendent Mark Braithwaite, of Cleveland Police, said that during a time when many people are on

ROBERT De Niro has waited 14 years to direct his second movie and while his first, A Bronx Tale, was an intimate take on growing up in the 1960s, The Good Shepherd is a sprawling epic about the birth of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). Writer

Solutions ACROSS 1 Select. S(E+L)ECT 4 Carpet. CAR(P+E)T 9 Best. (two meanings) 10 Inhabiting. I+N+H+A+BIT+IN+G 11 Averse. A+VERSE 12 Turnover. TURN+OVER 13 Estimated. ESTIM+A+TED (times anag.) 15 Ally. ALL+Y 16 Nips. (anag

Cryptic Clues ACROSS 1 Exclusive religious group accepts English student (6) 4 Vehicle carrying soft Oriental floor covering (6) 9 Outdo Georgie perhaps (4) 10 Dwelling in Italy, Norway and Holland a little then in Germany (10) 11 Opposed to a

PAKISTAN has been in the news a lot recently in connection with terrorism, but this splendid photographic ABC shows us what the rich civilisation of this complex country is like. From friendship customs, through favourite foods and lavishly decorated

Good books for children just starting to read aren't easy to find, but this one definitely fits the bill. It's about a junior wizard, left in charge of his great uncle's house, under the care of a small dragon called Odds-and-Ends. Needless to

THIS wickedly wonderful picture book was surely made for giggling at. On his first day at Monster Academy, Little Green Monster starts calling Big Blue Monster all kinds of naughty names. He doesn't realise that Blue Monster is really his teacher

HERE'S a splendid pop-up book with brilliantly engineered, colourful pictures that literally jump right out at you. The story, told in verse, is neatly based on the fable of The Boy Who Cried Wolf. But what will really enthral little ones

HAVE you ever wished on a falling star? If so, you'll love this enchanting picture book. A little star falls from the sky one night and lands in the sea. There he feels desperately lost and lonely until a kindly turtle takes him for a ride through

HIS brilliant baby book is full of bouncing pictures of chicks, bees and kittens, accompanied by appropriate sounds in rollicking verse. It's pure nonsense, but the rhymes and rhythms make it delicious to read aloud. The pictures are stylishly

DENTISTS, psychologists, a bus driver and a farmer are just some of the diverse range of budding authors who have taken up the chance to get published. The Northern Echo is running a competition to find its New Novelist of the Year with the winner

Best-selling writer Jacqueline Wilson has described lots of different childhoods in her many children's books, but what was her own like? We're about to find out... S booklovers prepare to celebrate World Book Day on March 1, there's an extra special

A grant of £217,600 was announced yesterday to ease the strain on hard working carers who spend their lives looking after frail or disabled relatives and friends. It will enable them to receive regular health checks and pampering to ensure they

A poor, poor performance saw the redoubtable (apparently it means formidable and resolute) Redmire United crash out of the Dales Cup away to Hawes United at the weekend. The home team went one up after less than a minute. Some heavy drinking the night

Fora any small boy, writing his name for the first time is a milestone, but for Tyler Dolan it is a minor miracle. The youngster was born without thumbs, and it is only through pioneering surgery that he can lead a normal life. Tyler suffered a

CORRESPONDENT E Wheatley picks a bad example when suggesting that the letter "b" be dropped from the end of "womb" (HAS, Feb 20). That silent sentinel is there to alert us to the different pronunciation of the "o" in the middle of the word. Without

I WAS concerned to read (Business Echo, Feb 20) about the difficulties experienced by US company Losonoco in securing £80m to build a bioethanol plant in the Tees Valley. Last week, at the European meeting of Energy Ministers, the UK Government

I FEEL that I must write regarding John Dean's story about poaching (Echo, Feb 19). I found the insinuations that all lampers are poachers and thieves, trespassing and causing criminal damage wherever they go, quite insulting. I lamp rabbits,

ONCE again we note columnist Peter Mullen in his usual ostrichlike head-in-the-sand pose, so that he cannot see the evidence, the rising levels of carbon dioxide, the ice caps shrinking, sea temperatures rising, as he tries to persuade us that

THE saga of Richmondshire District Council is becoming more like Alice in Wonderland every day, curiouser and curiouser. First we have the bullying episode and then we hear that councillors are offering at least £800,000 (my estimate) to remove

TWO police officers have received formal warnings after firearms were stolen from an armed-response vehicle. A Sig 9mm pistol with 12 rounds of ammunition, a Taser stun gun and three baton rounds were stolen from the Cleveland Police vehicle

COUNCILS across the region have outperformed their counter-parts in the rest of England for the third year running, according to the latest assessment by the Audit Commission. The watchdog today publishes its annual Comprehensive Performance Assessment

I CAN'T remember the last heartbreaking story about patients dying as they waited for an operation - even though I read more newspapers than is probably healthy. Similarly, what happened to the annual 'winter flu crisis', that February favourite that

A CHEESE packing business based on Teesside has broken the £10m turnover barrier after its most successful Christmas ever. A total of 26 per cent of last year's sales for family-run firm Tom Walker and Sons came in November and December last year, making

A BUILDING firm that has seen its turnover hit the £20m mark is celebrating its 25th anniversary. Newcastle-based Dorin Construction was founded by Ken Brown and David Kennerley in a small office in Newburn. Today, the group, which has its headquarters

WORK has started on two office buildings that are expected to bring up to 12 businesses to the region and create about 700 jobs. Developer Hillford Group, based at Lintzford, County Durham, is working on the latest phase of the Spectrum Business Park,

BLUNDERING Blackergreen (2.40) needs to get his jumping together at Haydock if he's to make a serious impact on the outcome of the Howden Novices' Handicap Chase. Sue Smith's eight-year-old paid a visit to Market Rasen on Boxing Day, however there was

A FAMILY-RUN electrical retailer has branched out into e-commerce as a means to increase sales. And in the 18 months that Middlesbrough-based Castlegate Electricals has run its online store, e-commerce sales have increased by 100 per cent a month and

BUTCHER Dicksons has extended a contract with supermarket company Asda, safeguarding many of the 250 jobs in the company's workforce. South Shields-based Dicksons is extending its contract to supply sausages to several Asda stores - a deal agreed six

TWO men went on a £5m wrecking spree, setting fire to lorry depots and leaving the vehicles as burnt-out wrecks, a court was told yesterday. Thomas Mackell, 55, is accused of targeting vehicles at eight companies, including one where a driver was asleep

DOZENS of prize guinea pigs and rabbits worth thousands of pounds died in an arson attack at an allotment. Bill Morris, 67, of Stargate Lane, Stargate, Ryton, Gates-head, was left devastated by the loss. He said: "I came up to the allotment and the

NEWCASTLE company Ward Electrical was last night in liquidation with its 38 employees facing unemployment, The Northern Echo can reveal. The firm, which has been in business for about 50 years, told its workforce on Tuesday afternoon of its financial

DAVE Penney is facing the prospect of losing the services of on-loan Middlesbrough defender David Wheater for Darlington's crucial League Two run-in. Under the terms of his 93-day emergency loan, Wheater will return to the Riverside after Darlington

AFTER ten years as Prime Minister, Tony Blair still has a winning way with a soundbite. Announcing the withdrawal of some British troops from Iraq, he said yesterday: ''It is important to show, and show particularly the Iraqi people, that we do not desire

A decision by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) on Christine Ohuruogu's appeal against her drugs suspension will not be made before the middle of next month. The Commonwealth 400 metres champion was handed a 12-month ban from a UK Athletics independent

RESIDENTS in Darlington have been warned to expect major disruption as work continues on a £12.5m road. John Johnson, project manager for the Eastern Transport Corridor, told a meeting of Darlington Borough Council's Transport Forum: "It's not going

As the first wave of troops to be withdrawn from Iraq prepare for the journey home, Joe Willis and Catherine Jewitt talk to their familes at Catterick Garrison and the anti-war protestors in the Prime Minister's North-East consitituency. TONY BLAIR'S

TESCO PLANS RE your story about plans being submitted for a Tesco Express store on the site of the former Shell Garage in North Road, Darlington (Echo, Feb 20). Does everyone forget that when Tesco tried to open in the town centre, there was such an uproar

The daughter of a psychiatric patient who died in a police cell where she was being held over an alleged breach of the peace said last night that she was "appalled" that nobody would face criminal charges over the tragedy. Moyra Stockill was found dead

Barcelona 1, Liverpool 2. Craig Bellamy and John Arne Riise both got on the scoresheet as Liverpool put a traumatic week behind them to claim a stunning Champions League victory over Barcelona at the Nou Camp. Bellamy and Riise were allegedly the two

Andriy Shevchenko's 58th European goal could prove vital to Chelsea's continued progress in the Champions League but they were left with a major concern over the fitness of John Terry ahead of Sunday's Carling Cup final. Terry was stretchered off in the

IT says much about the current state of English rugby that the most ferocious battle of this season's Six Nations campaign was fought on a weekend when there weren't any matches. While Ireland's players licked their wounds following a narrow defeat to

The acrimonious dispute between Bradford-born batsman Anthony McGrath and Yorkshire now looks like going to the England and Wales Cricket Board's arbitration panel for an independent decision early next week. It had been hoped that the Professional Cricketers

ROSS'S Pickles are to be produced outside of the North-East for the first time since 1918 after the stricken company's assets were bought by a rival pickle firm. Ross's, based in Newcastle, collapsed last week after what was blamed on excessive pressure

A HIGH street bank is hitting the road to reach customers around the region. The Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) has launched the first mobile service of its kind in the area. It operates out of York and runs from Monday to Friday. It offers the normal banking

A WOMAN told a court how she was attacked and dragged off the street years earlier by a man who denies assaulting a prostitute while armed with a knife and hammer. Michael Dodd, 25,of Parliament Road, Middlesbrough, is alleged to have punched a vice girl

GIVEN that it was Pancake Day on Tuesday, perhaps it was only fitting that Sunderland battered Birmingham for the best part of 70 minutes, only to toss away the chance of closing in on an automatic promotion spot by conceding a last-gasp leveller to DJ

Uncapped Harlequins wing David Strettle has been summoned to join preparations for England's RBS 6 Nations showdown with Ireland after Jason Robinson suffered a neck injury in training. Sale Sharks star Robinson, who has scored three tries in this season's

FOCUSED boss Danny Wilson believes Hartlepool United's ability to rough it with the League Two relegation boys proves they are worthy occupants of top spot in the division. Pools' 3-2 victory over Macclesfield Town on Tuesday night lifted Wilson's side

UEFA have confirmed they will investigate the incidents which marred Manchester United's Champions League win against Lille on Tuesday. French police were criticised by fans for being heavy-handed at the Stade Felix-Bollaert, where tear gas was used during

A DARLINGTON father was given a £30 fine for parking his car across two bays - even though he bought two tickets. Darren Spuhler was taking his three children to visit the revamped Dolphin Centre, and needed extra space to get the youngsters out of

A TRAILER was stolen from Lynn Road, in Spennymoor, at the weekend. Police are appealing for information about the theft, which occurred between Saturday and Sunday lunchtime. The single axle trailer is reddish-brown, 9ft long and 3ft wide, has a tailgate

CHILDREN have called for better play areas and greater access to services as part of a school summit. Pupils from ten primary schools across Sedgefield, Fishburn, Bishop Middleham and the Trimdons have been taking part in the Free to Talk event. The

ELDERLY residents fear that a council's failure to fix a light outside a community hall could result in serious injury. The street light, outside Neasham Reading Rooms, in Sockburn Lane, has been broken since Christmas. An 85-year-old Darlington woman

ORGANISATIONS and voluntary groups helped show what is on offer for people in Crook at an exhibition this week. The event, at St Catherine's Community Centre, was designed to showcase the groups who are working to make the town and its surrounding areas

AN organisation is hoping to recruit gardening volunteers of all ages at an event today. Groundwork West Durham and Darlington will be attending the What's On in Woodhouse event, at Auckland Youth and Community Centre, Bishop Auckland. They will promote

PLANS by a supermarket to open a store in a residential area of town have been revealed. Tesco, the UK's largest supermarket, last week submitted plans for an Express store on the site of a former petrol station in North Road, Darlington. The application

A TOWN council has joined the campaign to save services at Bishop Auckland General Hospital by going straight to the top. Spennymoor Town Council has contacted the Government's health chief and the hospital's boss for an assurance that the hospital has

It's just a thong at twilight as Walford girls rummage through the knicker drawer at a lingerie party in EastEnders (BBC1). They linger longingly over lingerie at Preeti Please's birthday celebrations. Some people have a cake with candles in it, she has

Antony Costa has left his days as a member of boyband Blue far behind him. And, as he tells Viv Hardwick, his new career on the stage means he has no regrets. 'I LOOK an absolute idiot," comments Antony Costa on the publicity shot of him complete with

Shaun the Sheep may not have been the star of the Wallace and Grmit films but he now has aseries all of his own. Steve Pratt takes a woolly leap through the famous sheep of stage and screen. For some of us, the real star of Aardman Animation's award-winning

AGE Concern Durham County is extending a programme of advice sessions. In Bishop Auckland, the sessions are held at the Four Clocks Centre, Newgate Street, from 10am to noon on the first Wednesday of each month, starting on March 7. In Barnard Castle

LIBERAL Democrats on North Yorkshire County Council were heavily defeated yesterday in their attempt to keep the authority's council tax rise down to 3.9 per cent. The quarterly meeting of the Conservative-controlled council overwhelmingly approved an

A COUNCIL legal team has secured national recognition for its service for the seventh year running. Sedgefield Borough Council's legal department is the only district authority in County Durham to retain the National Law Society Lexcel Quality Accreditation

FIRE crews in three appliances were called to Corus Redcar after a fire in a mobile coke screening machine at about 8.30pm on Tuesday. The cause of the fire was believed to have been a leak of hydraulic oil onto a hot exhaust manifold. Plant personnel

Singers Emily Devine and Sophie Daniels will be accompanied by pianist Leo Sanders for the Durham Young Musicians' concert, in the Durham Light Infantry Museum and Durham Art Gallery on Sunday, at 2pm. Their programme will feature Pie Jesu, by Faure,

tradiTonal jazz band the Swale Valley Stompers will celebrate 30 years of musical entertainment this weekend. They will be joined by fans at their regular haunt, the Queen Catherine, in Osmotherley, near Northallerton, at 8.30pm on Sunday. The band launched

A TEAM of architects has won an award at a national competition that has yet to be judged. DWA Architects swept the board in one section of the 2007 Healthcare Design Awards. The York company secured the three shortlisted spaces in the elderly and contemporary

DURHAM County Council is to provide a bus for villagers who will lose their commercial service from Sunday. Go North-East is axing some routes, amending others and creating new ones in the latest shake-up of its operations in Durham, Chester-le-Street

WITH spring just around the corner, more people are turning their hand to digging in an allotment. Middlesbrough Council is experiencing a mini boom in demand for allotment plots, and is recycling previously derelict areas to meet the demand. Staff have

CONSUMER watchdogs are warning people not to get taken in by scams offering the chance to make easy money. Trading standards officers in Hartlepool have issued information to try to protect the public. The schemes are usually advertised in local newspapers

FIVE sports coaches have been hired to increase the number of people taking exercise. Active Richmondshire worked with North Yorkshire Sport and Sport England to appoint them. One coach will work with five and six-year-olds to build their confidence and

POLICE in Durham have pledged to crack down on drivers who park illegally in a taxi rank near the city centre Police have received several complaints about vehicles being left in the rank, near O'Neill's Irish bar in Claypath, which is a short distance

YOUNGSTERS are working alongside Middlesbrough Football Club (MFC) to learn the importance of healthy lifestyles. Neighbourhood Management, in Stockton, has joined forces with the club at Riverside Stadium to devise a course for the pupils. Year four

A TAXI operator failed to pass on money deducted from drivers' pay to the Inland Revenue, a court heard. John David Newton, and his wife, Allison, who assisted him in the fraud, are having to re-mortgage their house to raise the funds to pay back the

A FAIRTRADE coffee morning and raffle will be held on Saturday, March 3, between 10am and noon, in Shincliffe village hall, Shincliffe Village. Admission is free.

New Street Law (BBC1); Child In A Million (five): IN the first series of New Street Law, the pious behaviour of barrister Jack Roper so incensed me that I wrote I wanted to hit him. Nothing has changed. As the series returned - and only the BBC knows

A PLAN to create a fishing lake near York has been approved on appeal after initially being refused. Hambleton District Council had refused approval for the scheme at Plainville Lane, Wigginton. An appeal was made to the Planning Inspectorate, which overturned

AN attempt to keep the county council tax precept rise down to 3.9 per cent was heavily defeated yesterday. The quarterly meeting of the Conservative-controlled county council overwhelmingly approved an increase of 4.9 per cent in its share of the tax

TWO teenage boys were arrested after a spate of graffiti attacks in a village. The graffiti is alleged to have been painted Sunday night in Barley Moor, near Chester-le-Street. Gateshead South neigbourhood inspector beat officer Dave Masson said police

A MAN is appealing for help to recover a stolen trailer which is used to transport his disabled wife's mobility scooter. The 66-year-old, from Lynn Road, in Spennymoor, was devastated when he discovered the trailer had been stolen from outside their home

A DEVELOPER wanting to build more than 50 sheltered flats in Northallerton has appealed against the plan's rejection by councillors. McCarthy and Stone wanted to build 57 sheltered apartments, manager's accommodation, car parking and landscaping on the

ALL my experience of ice-skating has come from the Olympics (a bit formal), Dancing on Ice (brave, but clumsy) and my own efforts (never let go of the side rail). So to see this young Russian company of skaters hurtling around the stage at the Theatre

A TWO-MILE walk from Hart to Haswell, on the outskirts of Hartlepool, will take place on Sunday, March 25, from 1pm to 3pm. To take part, meet at the entrance to the walkway, off Ocean Road, Hart Station. For details, call 01429-853325

Tony Blair yesterday announced the first step in a phased withdrawal of British forces from Iraq with the return of about 1,600 troops over the coming months.The pull-out from British-controlled southern Iraq was smaller than had been expected, with about

BALD and bespectacled, Hugh Penrose smirked as he stood in the dock while details of his lifetime of crimes were read out.Defiant to the end, as he was taken down to start a life sentence the 37-year-old drug addict could not resist making gestures to

HUNDREDS of people gathered yesterday to say a final farewell to a talented rugby player and his father, who died in a road accident.About 500 mourners were at St Cuthbert's Church, Darlington, for the funeral of Paul and Andrew Austen. The church was

A FORMER professional footballer passed on his soccer experience to youngsters at a Bishop Auckland school this week.Jon King, who played for Nottingham Forest, Carlisle United and Hartlepool during his career, held the half-term course at Bishop Barrington

A BEER festival which last year raised £7,000 for North-East charities is returning for a top-up.The Casks in the Castle festival, held in Auckland Castle, Bishop Auckland, last year benefited causes including The Great North Air Ambulance, the Teesdale

THE opening of a new call centre in the North-East next month will see the next stage of how benefits are delivered in the region put into place.Two Jobcentre Plus offices in north Durham communities are to close on March 12 and staff will

Campaigners in the region have worked for years to make the National Health Service safer for patients. Health Editor Barry Nelson reports on Governmant plans to make it harder for rogue doctors to thrive.LAST night, the Government announced proposals

CAMPAIGNERS fighting to keep rural ambulance stations fear closures could be a "done deal", even though their future is not due to be decided until the end of the year.St John's Chapel, in Weardale, and Middleton-in-Teesdale, both County Durham, could

FIREFIGHTERS rescued a cat after a three-hour ordeal trapped inside a metal storage container - but even after they managed to prise the door open, she still did not want to come out.Seven-month-old Jessie, locked in by mistake by builders, had to be

YOUNG people helped tidy up their neighbourhood centre yesterday.Ragworth Neighbourhood Centre, in Stockton, received funding from the People and Nature Development Awards, in conjunction with Tees Valley Wildlife Trust. The centre's aim is to work with

THE Killers thrilled a sell-out audience at the Metro Radio Arena in Newcastle with some cracking tunes. The evening opened with Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, who took the opportunity to introduce the crowd to songs from their new album, Baby 81. It was

A HUSBAND and wife from the North-East who trekked unsupported to the South Pole are setting out to conquer the world's largest freshwater lake.Conrad and Hilary Dickinson, from Hexham, Northumberland, will skate, ski and walk across frozen Lake Baikal

A VET yesterday told a court of the suffering experienced by animals at a popular animal sanctuary.Jacqueline Paterson told how quails struggled to forage for food because they had clumps of faeces stuck to their feet; how a tortoise was living in conditions

MORE birds are being attracted to a village water park after volunteers put up nesting boxes.Parish councillors and charity workers erected nine bird boxes and repaired existing ones at Middleton St George Water Park yesterday.The water park, which is

POLICE are appealing for help from the public to find a woman who has not been seen since Friday evening.Officers are concerned for Julia Wallis, 40, from Harrogate. She needs medication, but does not have it with her. She is 5ft 6in, of average build

SCHOOLCHILDREN have been building a future while protecting the heritage of the Yorkshire Dales.Youngsters from Eastbourne School, Darlington, are being taught the art of drystone walling.Children are taking a four-week course in a joint initiative called

When you're the father of boys,How you worry,But when you're the father of girls,You do more than that,You pray! THE lyrics of the old Perry Como record my dad used to play didn't mean that much to me at the time. But these days, I know exactly what Perry

AN art gallery is launching an exhibition this week celebrating movement and form.The Saltbox Gallery and Workshop, in Castlegate, Helmsley will show metal and paper works of art on the theme of flight.Items on show include jewellery by Annie Ruthven-Taggart

VISUALLY impaired students at a specialist college have entered the world of new media thanks to web designers.Knaresborough web development group 9xb.com spent a morning with young people at Henshaws College, in Harrogate, demonstrating how to set up

EARLY morning raids netted 17 suspected drug dealers as police continued their campaign to remove crack cocaine from the streets of Teesside.Dozens of officers in the latest leg of the long-running Operation Sabre targeted a number of addresses across

COUNCILLORS have agreed measures they hope will improve the taxi service in Durham City.The Liberal Democrat-run cabinet of Durham City Council has approved plans to issue five more hackney carriage licences for wheelchair-accessible vehicles.In addition

YOUNG people have spent their school break creating a stage production which will open tomorrow.Theatre Cap-a-Pie, at The Store, in Dipton, near Stanley, has held a series of workshops under the banner of Play in a Week, with about 15 youths who normally

GLENN Roeder acknowledged that Nolberto Solano has a good claim to be recognised as the best foreign player ever to represent Newcastle United ahead of the club's UEFA Cup clash with Zulte-Waregem tonight. The Magpies have had several outstanding overseas

AMBULANCE chiefs last night rejected claims they had done a "secret U-turn'' to close rural stations in the face of public opposition. Documents obtained by The Northern Echo show that the North-East Ambulance Service has included the sale of stations

MALCOLM Christie has repeated his desire to prove himself at Middlesbrough but the injury-plagued striker has admitted he might have to walk away from the Riverside if he is unable to secure first-team football in the final three months of the season.

ABOUT 60 jobs have been lost at Croda International's plant on Teesside as part of the company's plans to cut 300 posts globally, The Northern Echo has learned. The firm - which bought Uniqema from ICI for £410m last year, in a deal that included the

A DRUG addict who attacked a young woman with a samurai sword then drove over her as she lay dying by the roadside was jailed for life yesterday.Hugh Penrose smiled as he was told he would have to serve a minimum of 19 years behind bars for the murder

THERE are few discerning people in the North who would have even questioned it - but now it's official.The humble Yorkshire pudding, a staple with Sunday dinner for generations, has been named as the nation's favourite regional food.The mixture of eggs

As Tony Blair announces the withdrawal of 1,600 Britsh troops from Iraq, Lindsay Jennings asks: Are we at a genuine turning point in the conflict, or are we abandoning the country? THERE can't be many Iraqis who have the luxury of writing stories. After

When it looked like a final bow for Darlington's Civic Theatre in the 1970s, director Peter Tod was cast in the role of saviour, breathing new life into the theatrical corpse. More than three decades on, the column finally catches up with him in London

A seven-year-old boy was tonight in a critical condition after he was struck by a car near the Three Tuns pub in Easington Lane, near Houghton-le-Spring. He was rushed to the Sunderland Royal Hospital after the accident in Elemore Lane at 6.30pm.