TRIBUTES have been paid to a former florist who became a tireless campaigner for the Lindisfarne Gospels to be returned to the North-East. As a leading force in the Northumbrian Association, John Danby fought for years to see the priceless medieval
CHRISTIANS saw out the old year with a traditional procession through a city’s streets. Durham Churches Together, which includes churches of various denominations from across the city, staged an early evening New Year’s Eve procession from Durham
A MAN was taken to hospital this afternoon after falling off a cliff on the North-East coast, landing on rocks 20 feet below. Paramedics and members of Tynemouth Volunteer Life Brigade were called to the scene at Sharpness Point, between Tynemouth
A MISSING man from Normanby, Middlesbrough, has been found. Andrew Young, 49, had last been seen at an address on Flatts Lane, Normanby at around 2.30pm on Sunday, December 30. Mr Young, from Normanby, is known to walk for extended periods
POLICE are appealing for information after a woman reported being raped in a North-East park. The incident took place at about 9.30pm on Thursday (December 27) in Westgate Park on Rectory Lane in Guisborough, east Cleveland. The victim, a local
TWENTY flood warnings are in place in the North-East and North Yorkshire tonight as rain-sodden 2012 comes to an end. Almost 8,000 homes and businesses have been flooded across the country this year (2012) and the nightmare has just carried on
Northallerton Silver Band has raised more than £1,176 over Christmas with a series of outdoor concerts at supermarkets and shops across the town. The money is to help towards ongoing costs and with a new euphonium which will be around £6,500.
JOHN McCririck is clinging to hope that he might appear on Channel Four Racing at some point in the future after the curtain came down on a colourful era. Saturday was the final day of the long-standing Channel Four team, with the Morning Line
POLICE believe two smart phone thefts from neighbouring city centre stores may be linked. Staff from Carphone Warehouse, on Silver Street, Durham City, reported an iPhone 5 had been stolen on Sunday, December 2. They found no CCTV footage and
FUNDRAISING for a nine-year-old North-East boy with a rare, life-limiting illness was boosted by more than £750 thanks to the efforts of a Boxing Day dip participant. Cheryl Ellis, from Darlington, took part in the annual sponsored dip at Redcar
THE clean-up is underway at a masonic hall left saturated after thieves stole lead from the roof allowing rain water to seep into the building. Members of Burnopfield Masonic Lodge, in County Durham, are awaiting the final estimate for the damage
DAVID Pipe will aim Grands Crus at either the Betfred Gold Cup or the Ryanair Chase at the Cheltenham Festival following his pleasing comeback run at Kempton. The seven-year-old grey was an excellent third to Long Run in the King George VI Chase
COLLEGE students have staged a city centre art exhibition. Undergraduates from Cleveland College of Art and Design (CCAD) showcased their work in a display hosted by Empty Shop, in Durham City. The Artists Book exhibition featured ceramics,
NORTH Yorkshire Police officers have breathalysed over 3,400 people since the launch of their Christmas drink and drug drive campaign. The campaign, which began on December 1 and continued into New Year’s Day, has seen 109 people arrested and 3,412
A YORKSHIRE Dales youth hostel is to undergo a £460,000 redevelopment. YHA Malham will be upgraded to include private family rooms, a restaurant and education facilities. The numbers of beds at the youth hostel is being reduced from 82 to 81
A SHOPKEEPER has been left shaken and upset after thieves broke into her store - grabbing more than £1,000 pounds worth of cash, alcohol and cigarettes. Sue Hilder said she had never experienced theft on this scale in the 18 years she has run Sue
A CRICKET club has today had its premises licence suspended after a man was stabbed in the clubhouse on Boxing Day night. The 28-year-old was rushed to Darlington Memorial Hospital for treatment following the incident at Etherley Cricket Club,
A HIGH-FLYING graduate is celebrating after receiving a hat-trick of awards. Alecia Cotterell, 23, was crowned Teesside University’s Student of the Year shortly after winning the prestigious Professor Oglesby Prize for Achievement and the Teesside
Despite taking the lead just before the break, Sunderland emerged empty-handed from the home game against Tottenham and bookies don't expect them to get back to winning ways at Anfield on Wednesday, where BetVictor consider them to be 15/2 outsiders
FARMERS have been urged to review their security in a bid to reduce thefts of equipment and vehicles. Dorothy Fairburn, Country Land & Business Association (CLA) North regional director, said a combination of dark nights and economic uncertainty
Final Score: Middlesbrough 4 Blackpool 2 TONY MOWBRAY is one match away from having presided over a victory over every team in the current Championship since he took the Middlesbrough job two years ago – and his side's latest win was a 26-year
TOM INCE'S future remains unclear – but Jason Steele and Scott McDonald were relieved to have kept him quiet at the Riverside Stadium on Saturday. Liverpool retain an interest in signing the Blackpool winger after making a startling impact on the
A SET of false teeth, a full-sized skeleton and a crocodile’s head that was an ashtray in disguise are just some of the weird and wonderful donations given to a charity. Barnardo’s, which has 22 shops across the North-East, said it had been given
AN Ecumenical Service of Thanksgiving for Butterwick Hospice Care will be held at St Cuthbert’s Church, in Yarm Road, Stockton, at 3pm, on Sunday (January 6). Among those attending will be Darlington mayor Paul Baldwin. LIVE MUSIC: Soprano Pamela
A TEESSIDE UNIVERSITY graduate is behind the pedal-powered Christmas trees at the heart of a major London festival. Colin Tonks helped to create the illuminated Christmas trees which have had pride of place on the banks of the River Thames throughout
A FURTHER appeal for information was today made by police investigating the killing of a man found stabbed in a back lane shortly before Christmas. Detectives seeking the killer or killers of David Scott specifically want to hear from anyone who
A GROUP that offers support to older people is working with care home staff to promote the importance of dignity for residents. Members of Growing Older Living in Darlington (Gold) are hoping to launch accredited training for care homes. It
DERELICT buildings in Middlesbrough town centre could be turned into a multi-million pound hotel in a new scheme. An application to convert the neighbouring Cook and Endeavour House office blocks on Albert Road has been submitted to Middlesbrough
AN annual audit into Darlington Council’s accounts has found the authority is operating well and represents good value for money. The 2011/2012 audit was undertaken by independent auditors Pricewaterhouse Coopers to assess the council on its account
FIREFIGHTERS have pulled a man to safety after he became trapped inside a blazing house. The man, who has not been named, had to be rescued after a fire spread to a two-storey home on Aspen Court, in Blackhill, Consett, County Durham, in the early
It’s Only A Book “What are you doing, darling?” My wife’s head in a book “It’s something from the library” “Well can I have a look?” “It’s something that’s called ‘Fifty Shades’. Not suitable for men! So will you find a job to do, I’m
POLICE are trying to trace a woman who arrived at a cashpoint moments after a pensioner walked off without taking her cash. The 65-year-old pensioner used the cashpoint at Tesco in Westwood, Scarborough, on December 22 to withdraw some money but
HAVEN'T we been here before? With the winter transfer window ready to open, the mention of a certain clause in Demba Ba's contract has managed to cause a stir. Again. Just when the memory of a summer of uncertainty surrounding the future of the
THE New Years Honours again ignored those who work tirelessly for the common good and often the communities in which they live. It was not unexpected that the bunch of prima donnas from the Olympic have been rewarded a second time (I exclude from
I WAS quite interested in your article about Mesolithic people (Echo, Dec 26). Archaeologists believe a Stone Age tribe may have set up homes with sea views close to Whitby. Researchers have unearthed evidence suggesting Mesolithic people either
I RECENTLY walked around Spennymoor during icy conditions and found that certain paths were dangerous to walk on. I reported the Valley Burn path to Spennymoor Town Council and I was disappointed that it is unable to grit this path, which is a
HISTORY TALK: An illustrated talk by Gordon Henderson called 'Connections: Pompeii and Binchester' will be hosted by the Long Newton History Group from 7pm on Wednesday, January 9 in The Wilson Centre, Darlington Road, Long Newton. Entry for non-members
MARGARET THATCHER’S recently released cabinet papers from 1982 reveal the extent to which her cabinet considered dismantling the welfare state (Echo, Dec 29). Sadly, the revelations did not surprise me one bit. In many ways, the declassified
THERE has been a lot of concern recently about the youth of today not taking up the offer of training schemes. I wonder if it may have anything to do with the fact the parents of these young people are the youth of yesteryear, who were involved
DAVE QUINN (HAS, Dec 29) shouldn’t feel guilty because he feels out of touch with today’s celebrity culture. It’s an attribute he should celebrate. I have a complete celebrity bypass. I’m proud of it and it’s nothing to do with my advancing
I FOUND Jim Tague’s letter (HAS, Dec 29) interesting, but he forgot to mention that in the UK homelessness, poverty, depression, suicides and the use of food banks have all dramatically increased since 2010. He made no mention of Britain getting
REGARDING John Armstrong’s attack on John Phelan (HAS, Dec 28) for having the temerity to label George Osborne and David Cameron as “not the brightest stars on the planet”. In David Cameron’s case, an Eton education is an automatic passport to
I SEE that yet again in The Northern Echo sports calendar for 2013, there is no mention of Newcastle Racecourse’s big threeday Northumberland Plate meeting held at the end of June. Of course, it goes without saying that both the Epsom Derby and
A SERIAL sex attacker is being hunted by police following a spate of incidents involving a youth on a bike. The first attack happened on Monday, October 8 at 11.30am in Grangetown near the junction of Slater Road and Birchington Avenue. A 19
A SEVEN-YEAR-OLD boy involved in a four-car pile-up on Boxing Day is still in hospital today (Monday, December 31). Max Doddy, aged seven, of Eston, near Middlesbrough, sustained a broken leg, broken collar bone and broken ribs but his condition is
A WOMAN was pulled to the floor and dragged along the pavement when she tried to stop teenagers stealing her handbag. The 51-year-old was walking past Booze Busters on Dalton Way in Newton Aycliffe, County Durham, at about 10.30pm on Saturday,
A once decrepit cockpit of a Second World War fighter jet has been restored to its former glory - and is display on a driveway. Plane mad Neil McCarthy hit the headlines when he bought a vampire T11 Jet and parked it on the driveway of his house
THE second of two festive free admission offers applies at the Durham Light Infantry (DLI) Museum and Art Gallery tomorrow (Tuesday January 1). Usual entry charges were waived for both Boxing Day and New Year’s Day at the military museum, near
A WARNING has been issued about the tough decisions that lie ahead for a police commissioner as he attempts to balance the books in his first budget. Barry Coppinger, the Cleveland Police and Crime Commissioner, has pledged to protect neighbourhood
A KNIFE amnesty has resulted in more than 250 bladed items being handed into police, including meat cleavers and Gurkha knives. The initiative, which was organised by Redcar and Cleveland Police, ran throughout December in stations including Redcar
A GIRL who was fitted with metal bones which grow as she does has been given the all-clear from cancer. Doctors discovered a bone tumour called osteosarcoma in nine-year-old Lily Willis's right leg last February after she came home from school
A COMMUNITY organisation that encourages men to socialise and help others is searching for new members. Round Table is aimed at men who want to improve their social life and health and fitness, while making a difference to their community.
The long-term partner of a man who went missing days after being sacked has urged the public for information to assist inquiries into his disappearance. Colin Morton left his home in Whitley Bay, North Tyneside, at 9am on Christmas Eve. The
AN ABANDONED dog is recovering after being taken in by a foster family. Biddy, a female Lurcher, was found tied to a fence in South Hetton, east Durham, in October – seriously underweight and suffering from a severe skin condition. Durham County
A MAN has been remanded in custody after he was charged with stealing a car belonging to Redcar MP Ian Swales. The car, a VW Golf worth £5,500 was taken from the town's Station Road on November 11. James Trevor Lawrence, 32, of High Street,
A 44-year-old man has appeared in court charged with arson and destroying property worth £6,700 at Myra Farm, Easingwold. Christopher Knowlson of Myra Farm, Easingwold was remanded on bail by Northallerton and Richmond magistrates until March 7..
ORGANISERS behind plans to revive a popular air show after more than 20 years have revealed more details about the event. The Friends of Durham Tees Valley Airport hope to stage an air show at the venue for the first since 1989, with displays from
THE Prime Minister is fond of telling us we are in this together. It seems, however, that some parts of the country are in it more than others. According to the Chancellor, the burden of cuts is being shared equally. But authorities in the
A CAMPAIGN to keep 480 civil service jobs in a town is continuing to gather support. The Department for Education (DfE) plans to transfer the posts from Mowden Hall, in Darlington, to Newcastle. The Government says Mowden Hall would cost too
Northallerton police are appealing for information following a burglary and the theft of a £6,000 road bike . The Colnago CLX was stolen from a shed of a house on Forest Road, sometime between Sunday, December 1 and Tuesday, December 18. The
POLICE investigating a handbag snatch in Saltburn are appealing for information. A woman was parked outside of The Woodlands on Victoria Road. As she reached into her car, a man rode past on a bike and grabbed her black handbag from her hand before
A MEN’S club that carries out community work is on the lookout for new members in the new year. Darlington Bondgate Round Table is looking forward to welcoming new members as people look to make changes to their lives in 2013. Jason Thomson
A BRACING walk along the upper Derwent valley in north-west Durham, will be led by voluntary countryside ranger Brian Page, on Friday (January 4). The Banks and Braes of the Bonny Derwent is described as of ‘medium-long’ difficulty, over an eight
IMAGES of graffiti daubed around a North Yorkshire town have been issued by the police in the hope of tracking down the vandals . The graffiti was sprayed around Harrogate, including the underpass at Norwood Grove and on telephone boxes in Euclid
Police have issued CCTV images in a bid to trace three men suspected of being involved in a violent attack near a city centre nightclub. The incident occurred outside Club Salvation on Tanner Road, York, between 1.30am and 2am on Friday 19 October
An events technician from the North-East is celebrating this morning after winning £1,000,000 in the EuroMillions Millionaire Raffle draw on Christmas Day. Andrew Stephen Garth, 29, who works as a freelance light and sound events technician, was
A NORTH-EAST cricket club is preparing to show off its new look, following a makeover. Darlington Railway Athletic Cricket Club, which has members aged between five and 80 years old, celebrates its centenary in 2013. The club competes in the
PROFESSIONAL artists will lend their skills to a range of creative courses starting at The Bridge centre this month (January). The sessions, which include illustration, ceramics, watercolours and digital photography, will be led by professional
From the pageantry of the Queen’s jubilee to the Olympic summer of sport, 2012 has been a year that will live long in the memory. Andy Walker and Hannah Bryan look back on some of the stories that have made local, regional and national headlines
A NEW eight-week basic dog obedience training course for beginners starts in Hurworth on Thursday, January 10 at 7pm. The class is run by the Skernedale Dog Training Club at Hurworth Grange Community Centre and the usual class for more advanced
HOUGHALL Horticultural Society’s next meeting will be held in the conference hall of East Durham College’s Houghall campus, near Durham City, on Tuesday, January 8, at 7.30pm. The subject is: Durham gardens in bloom. SHOPPERS’ SERVICE: St Andrew
A TEAM of enthusiastic volunteers have worked together to transform their local football club. Thornaby FC, which competes in Northern League Division Two, desperately needed refurbishment to ensure it met the standards set by the league. Volunteers
Final Score: Sunderland 1 Tottenham Hotspur 2 AS part of the Invest in Africa Day which was held at the Stadium of Light to raise the profile of the club's sponsors, Sunderland's players wore t-shirts to highlight how that particular continent
SUNDERLAND are looking at boosting their attacking ranks with the short-term acquisition of former Everton goal-threat Tim Cahill. After being reassured by Tottenham manager Andre Villas-Boas that left-back Danny Rose will not be recalled early
Final Score: Arsenal 7 Newcastle United 3 TRUST Newcastle. It takes a special degree of ineptitude to score six goals in the space of three days at Manchester United and Arsenal yet still emerge from the Christmas schedule in a state of complete
DURHAM skipper Paul Collingwood and team-mate Graham Onions are among those who have led the tributes to Mike Hussey on his retirement from international cricket. It has always been hoped that Hussey, Durham's captain in 2005, would return to the
Final Score: Sheffield United 2 Hartlepool United 3 RITCHIE Humphreys has ticked off plenty on his career list; on Saturday he could add another to his collection, and it was one of his best. As a schoolboy he supported Sheffield United from
ALEX Oxlade-Chamberlain is confident Alan Pardew will guide Newcastle United away from trouble in the second half of the season. Oxlade-Chamberlain scored Arsenal's second goal on Saturday as the Gunners claimed a remarkable 7-3 victory that plunged
NEWCASTLE United will step up their pursuit of Marseille striker Loic Remy after Demba Ba's representatives met with Chelsea officials last night to discuss a proposed January move to Stamford Bridge. The Magpies, who slumped to an embarrassing
FLOOD warnings have been issued on a number of rivers across North Yorkshire as heavy rain continued through the evening. Within the last hour, the Environment Agency has issued a flood warning for the River Swale at Brompton-on-Swale Caravan Park
COUNTY Durham rugby players will get a lesson in playing for the big league when coaches from a top side visit in the New Year. In February the Durham Tigers Rugby League will be renewing its ties with top flight team Bradford Bulls with a visit
A CAR has been damaged after being attacked by arsonists in a County Durham town. The Volkswagen car was parked in Stargate Close in Newton Aycliffe when it was set alight on the evening of December 10. Police have launched an appeal for information
A FORMER Prime Minister has expressed his delight after hearing one of his former agents will receive an MBE. John Burton, who worked as constituency agent for Tony Blair, was named in the New Years honours list. Mr Burton was the constituency
A MAN has appeared in court charged with burgling the home of an elderly woman while she slept. Darren Michael Russell appeared at Newton Aycliffe Magistrates’ Court today (Monday, December 31) where he was charged with a dwelling burglary and
A WOMAN has been warned she could go to jail if she breaches a suspended sentence order after a court heard friends cut her curfew tag off. Charlotte Davies from Bishop Auckland was given the order in November - part of which was to be in her Cedar
DAMAGED VAN: Damage has been caused to a van in Bickford Terrace in Newton Aycliffe, County Durham, sometime between December 24 and 27. The vehicle’s locks were glued and the wire to the rear tail lift controls cut. Contact 101 with any information
A SEARCH has been launched to find good ideas that will benefit communities in the North Pennines. The North Pennines Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) Partnership is offering funding to turn ideas into reality through its Sustainable Development
