FABRICIO COLOCCINI insists that Newcastle United are not heading for a relegation battle despite a depressing start to the season which has increased the pressure on Alan Pardew to step down as manager. Pardew was given another torrid night by
Nemanja Matic's first-half header was enough for Chelsea to record a first victory of Champions League Group G, but it should have been so much more comfortable than a 1-0 win at Sporting Lisbon.The Estadio Jose Alvalade, where Blues boss Jose Mourinho
Roma's Francesco Totti became the oldest goalscorer in Champions League history as Manchester City escaped with a draw from their Group E clash.Totti, 38, defied his age with a sublime finish to cancel out Sergio Aguero's early penalty for City
MG3 FORTY years ago the advertising men (and they were undoubtedly men) at British Leyland thought they knew their advertising demographic for MG. A quick look at the magazine adverts from that time makes it perfectly clear. In one, a yellow
MIDDLESBROUGH 1 BLACKPOOL 1SO much for strolling to promotion then. If Saturday’s shut-out at Charlton served as something of a reality check after three successive league wins, last night’s 1-1 draw with a Blackpool side still rooted to the
Hebburn are now top of the second division and still undefeated in 11 matches after they beat Tow Law 3-0 with goals by Channon North (2) and Sean Reay. North has now scored 18 league goals this season. In the first division, Ashington and Guisborough
Full-time: Middlesbrough 1 Blackpool 1 SO much for strolling to promotion then. If Saturday’s shut-out at Charlton served as something of a reality check after three successive league wins, last night’s 1-1 draw with a Blackpool side still rooted
AITOR KARANKA has made five changes to his Middlesbrough side for this evening's Championship home game with Blackpool. Despite his side securing a creditable goalless draw at Charlton on Saturday, Karanka has stuck with his preferred policy of
PAUL DRINKHALL admits a fantastic year has ended on something of a sour note after England failed to secure promotion at the European Team Table Tennis Championships in Lisbon.England's men's and women's teams both travelled to Portugal with
VIRGIN Money – the North-East based bank which took over parts of the collapsed Northern Rock – is expected to announce details of its stock market flotation imminently. Strong rumours from the City suggest the bank will begin promoting its listing
A LITTLE girl who was moved following a First World War commemoration service is becoming one of the Royal British Legion’s youngest members. Eight-year-old Chiana Gray announced she wants to fundraise for the military charity after attended
NHS bosses have moved to reassure patients over treatment availability, following the closure of consultant-led paediatric and maternity services at a general hospital.Both Darlington Memorial Hospital and James Cook University Hospital, in Middlesbrough
A HEARING aid battery maker is celebrating 25 years manufacturing in the North-East. .Washington company Rayovac, which is the world’s number one selling hearing aid battery manufacturer, employs almost 200 people at its Washington factory, many
A MODEL soldier covered in paper mache extracts of First World War poetry has been created to mark the launch of this year’s Houghton Feast.Mark Burns Cassell, who lives in Houghton, was commissioned to create the installation, as a key element
AN INTERNATIONALLY renowned ballet company will perform in the region next year.The Russian State Ballet, accompanied by the Orchestra of Siberia, will take centre stage at Darlington’s Civic Theatre in January.Classic productions Coppelia, Swan
PLANS have been resubmitted for a £1.5bn potash mine in a national park, along with an underground conveyor belt linking it to a processing plant on Teesside.The proposals to create what could be Europe’s largest potash mine at Sneaton, near
A WOMAN who doesn’t drink alcohol marked her 106th birthday down the 'pub'.Evelyn Mason, known as Evie, celebrated the milestone today (September 30) with four generations of her family at Church View Care Home, South Church, near Bishop
When hard-hitting smoking campaigns left her little boy afraid she might die, The Northern Echo's Lizzie Hill knew it was time to finally give up smoking for good. The young mum is now documenting her bid to break free from a 15-year- long addiction
SCHOOL children have helped plant a memorial garden at a new police force headquarters.It has been created at the recently-opened base for Durham Constabulary, which has been built at Aykley Heads, Durham City, on land near the old HQ.The students, from
A VICAR’S husband has become the first reader to be licensed by the Bishop of Durham.David Walker, whose wife Judith is an ordained minister, was licensed by the Right Reverend Paul Butler in a service at Durham Cathedral and will be based at St
A MAN who killed his common-law wife hours after her brother's funeral called 999 and said: "I've just killed my wife who I've been with for 29 years. It's f*****g disgraceful," a court heard. Grieving Angela Smeaton died of "catastrophic" blood
AS the Echo's Right Lines campaign to improve the region's railways gathers pace, Joe Willis takes the train to Saltburn to find out what life is like on board a notorious 30-year-old Pacer train. NEED a lift in life? Take a look at the Northern
SEBASTIAN COATES will undergo a series of tests to try to ascertain the cause of the thigh problem that forced him out of last weekend’s Capital One Cup game with Stoke City.Coates was forced off at the half-time interval of Sunderland’s League
SIX surface mines owned by UK Coal – including one in this region – are up for sale, the company has confirmed. Last week UK Coal Production announced the signing of a £4m commercial loan agreement with the Government to allow the managed closure
A MAN has been detained after a five hour stand-off with police in North Shields. Police were called to a house in Howard Street at 2.10pm this afternoon after concerns were raised about the distressed state of a man inside. Officers tried
ARCHAEOLOGISTS have exposed the scale of an 18th century olive oil merchant family's drive to introduce a range of culinary tastes to Britain.A 17-day excavation in the grounds of 390-year-old Kiplin Hall, between Northallerton and Richmond, revealed
AN inquest review into the death of an Army captain killed in Afghanistan took place at the coroner’s court in Crook, County Durham, today (Tuesday, September 30).Captain Richard Holloway, 29, from Hamsterley, near Bishop Auckland, was serving with
ACTOR, writer and novelist Mark Gatiss will return to the North-East this winter for an ‘in conversation’ event for charity. Mr Gatiss, who has written and acted in Doctor Who, Sherlock and The League of Gentleman and starred in Game of Thrones
VILLAGE leaders are inviting fellow residents to join them in celebrating a new era for their community centre.Having taken over responsibility for running Quarrington Hill Community Centre earlier this year, the community association has now completed
A TRIO of staff from a Darlington Engineering firm are celebrating taking first place at the Teesdale Triathlon last weekend.The event took place in Barnard Castle on Sunday, September 21, and involved a 400m swim, an 18-mile bike ride and a three-mile
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POLICE have issued an alert after three suspicious incidents at the homes of vulnerable people on the same day.They took place on September 24 in the Harrogate and Boroughbridge areas and police are now urging residents to be vigilant and keep an eye
PLANS to demolish working farm buildings used by tenant farmers as part of a scheme for new 113 homes have met with widespread opposition.Around 400 residents have submitted objections to Hambleton District Council over proposals by developers Gladman
SLOW trains across the North were criticised by a Government minister – who promised improvements.Greg Clark, the minister responsible for devolution, attacked the time it takes for passengers to cross the Pennines on trains run by the TransPennine
A CANNABIS farm has been discovered after police responded to reports of suspicious activity in the street.More than 40 plants and equipment used in cannabis farming were discovered by officer at a property in Ryhope Road, Sunderland.Police received a
A COUPLE who may have witnessed a city centre sex assault are being asked to come forward.Police say a woman in her 20s was followed down an alleyway in Newcastle and inappropriately touched, before her attacker was disturbed by a passing couple and ran
A MAJOR inquiry which could shape the region for decades to come begins tomorrow (Wednesday, October 1).Durham County Council chiefs say their long-awaited County Durham Plan is the catalyst to securing a better and brighter future for the area, with
MORE children than ever before have been found new homes across the North-East over the past year. New figures show that 390 children in the North East were placed in loving stable homes in the region over the last 12 months. The total is a
A FOUR-year-old boy has become one of the youngest people in the country to receive a bravery award after he saved his school from a fire. Liam Mansell raised the alarm when he spotted smoke coming from a laminator in a small kitchen at White Mere
THE big day is still nearly three months away – but thoughts are already turning to the festive season.Tickets for the annual York Minster Christmas Carol Concert go on sale at 9.30am tomorrow, October 1, for those wanting front seats for the popular
A SHOPPER who became a have-a-go hero when he saw a woman having her throat slashed was yesterday praised by a judge.David McNicholas intervened when he saw Tony Griffin attacking his victim near an old railway line in Middlesbrough.Griffin was this week
DOCUMENTS relating to the death of a solicitor who suffered fatal stab wounds while jogging in Durham City have been handed to his family. Detectives handed a bundle of evidence to the wife of Peter Maine, 56, yesterday (Monday, September 29) as
A TEESDALE vet will swap the North-East for Sri Lanka this weekend to help tackle the country’s stray dog problem.Janey Lowes, of Barnard Castle, has taken a yearlong sabbatical to set up a mobile charity dedicated to helping Sri Lanka’s growing
A MAN has been stabbed in the leg with a screwdriver after confronting a thief outside his Middlesbrough home. The 26-year-old victim noticed that the door to his vehicle was open at around 11.30pm on Saturday, September 27 on Belvedere Road, Beechwood
A PERVERT admin assistant who downloaded child abuse pictures on his works computer was unmasked after carelessly leaving a print-out in his desk. Andrew Plimmer, 40, left his job with a Darlington company and cleared his work area - but left behind
A PROVOCATIVE, award-winning play will take centre stage at a major theatrical festival opening in Darlington this week.The politically-charged Ballad of the Burning Star will be performed on Saturday, October 4 as part of Jabberwocky Market, a festival
ONE of a raft of controversial measures council chiefs hope will alleviate parking problems in Darlington town centre will come into effect tomorrow. From October 1, motorists can park at Darlington’s East St, Garden St, Archer St and Chesnut St
MORE than 160 acres of hay meadow has been restored and enhanced in an area of outstanding natural beauty in North Yorkshire. The restoration has provided essential habitat in the Nidderdale area, which covers areas from Masham and Ripon to Pateley
AN AUCTION house is celebrating the opening of a new saleroom with a celebrity antique valuation day.Tennants in Leyburn is welcoming star of BBC’s Bargain Hunt and Strictly Come Dancing Tim Wonnacott to host the show in the new Garden Rooms on
STUDENTS pulled together to raise funds for a holistic charity that helped one of their teachers to beat cancer.Year 10 pupils at Northallerton College took part in a host of sponsored sports events including tug-of-war, Frisbee, five-a-side football,
WOMEN with barely-worn shoes lying discarded and unloved in the bottom of their wardrobe are urged to hand them over for a good cause.Barkers department store in Northallerton is hoping to raise hundreds of pounds for Cancer Research by asking women to
CLASS sizes normally associated with the independent sector are to be introduced at a Darlington primary school thanks to a major investment in resources.Extra staff and new classrooms will come on stream at Reid Street Academy, which will reduce the
Darlington are to sign left-back Ian Watson from Blyth Spartans. The 28-year-old has had his registration with Blyth cancelled and is expected to make his Darlington debut tomorrow evening against Harrogate RA. The transfer was agreed at the
A FATHER-OF-TWO has told of his gratitude after his social housing landlord agreed to make what he claims was a safety hazard in his home safe.Simon Galloway, 36, claimed his social housing landlord would not repair a two-inch slant affecting his dining
THE 90-year-old treasurer of Hartlepool's RNLI celebrated his birthday - and 40 years' service with the charity.Edgar Atkinson celebrated his 90th birthday with his family and the following day was invited to Hartlepool Lifeboat station for a
A SEX attacker was chased through the streets by his victim's sister until he ran into the long arm of the law. Shakeel Razaq groped a schoolgirl in central Middlesbrough and fled when she screamed, a court heard today (Tuesday). The 15-year-old's
A DRINKER who smashed the jaw of another man during a bust-up in a beer garden has been told to pay his victim £2,000. Gary Bragg dodged prison for the late-night attack in Darlington town centre in April - because of his two children. The
BOOKED your summer holiday for 2015 yet? Probably not, but you’ll start thinking about it towards the end of December, no doubt. So if you’re going away in June or July, that’s probably six months ahead of when you set foot on the plane. The reason
THE BBC are repeating the classic 1970s stop-motion animated children's tv series The Clangers . But when I tuned in,all I got was the Tory party conference. I was fully expecting to see a bunch of puppets living on another planet, speaking
VOTE Ukip, get Labour; vote for the Conservatives and get hypocrites. The alternative vote (AV) system would have allowed right-of-centre voters to put Conservative and Ukip as their first and second choices (or second and first) without giving Labour
I DO not believe that any change in laws for women’s rights over their own bodies is ever ludicrous. Back street abortions may still occur but at least the majority of females now know there is a safe legal alternative. Unless you have walked in
I AGREE with CT Riley (HAS, Sept 29) that the Church does good work in the community. I was one of the RAF recruits square bashing in the early 1960s who preferred to wait for the Sally Army tea wagon rather than go to the NAAFI. Not only were they
GEORGE OSBORNE has given the Conservative party conference a glimpse into future economic policy. I see a reflection of Winston Churchill: “Never in the field of human finance is so much owned by so few. “All your hearts go out to the city financiers
LAST month a memorial statue to all who had served in the Durham Light Infantry was dedicated by the Lord Bishop of Durham, in the Market Place, at a ceremony led by the Lord Lieutenant. It was followed by a wonderful service in the cathedral.
RECENTLY, my friend and I visited Durham for the first time. We had a lovely day but the Market Square appeared to be pedestrianised until someone told us there was a bus behind us. This was a narrow road and the bus to the cathedral had to reverse
PAY-DAY lender Wonga said it expects that it will be smaller and less profitable in the near term after reporting a 53 per cent drop in pre-tax profits to £39.7m for 2013. The Newcastle United shirt sponsor blamed remediation costs - money it had
STRONGER economic conditions have boosted the recovery at Royal Bank of Scotland after it cut the amount of money set aside to cover bad loans.The taxpayer-backed bank issued a trading update, wherein it said it expects to significantly beat its previous
A PIZZA delivery firm is creating 30 North-East jobs.Domino’s Pizza says it wants workers for stores in Middlesbrough and Stockton.Bosses say roles cover pizza makers and delivery drivers, and are targeting students for the positions.Mike Racz,
HOUSE prices fell back from a record high in September with the first month-on-month decrease in more than a year, a report has revealed.The average UK property price dropped 0.2 per cent to £188,374, down from the all-time peak of £189,306
A FIRM behind proposals to build a £1.5bn mine have submitted plans for the development.Sirius Minerals has made its application to extract the fertiliser polyhalite from under the North York Moors National Park, near Whitby.Bosses say the scheme
A VILLAGE post office which was the scene of brutal murder has been bought by the victim's mother to complete home improvements begun by her daughter. Agnes Gaylor told the sellers she was buying the Village Shop and Post Office in Melsonby, near
Darlington boxer Stuart Hall will attempt to reclaim the IBF World Bantamweight title when he fights unbeaten American Randy Caballero in Monte Carlo next month. In the first of his exclusive diaries for The Northern Echo, he details how his preparations
IF there was a template of how not to run a Championship club, Blackpool owner Karl Oyston would probably come close to fitting it. Starting pre-season with just eight contracted players, cobbling together a cut-price side that sits at the bottom of
THE mother of a toddler with a rare medical condition has claimed her son’s life was put at risk by hospital staff who failed to ensure he got the treatment he needed.Charlotte Yarrow, 29, said she discharged her 21-month-old son, Joshua, from the
A CANCER sufferer claims a traffic warden saw her buy a parking ticket for an urgent hospital appointment before slapping a fine on her car just four minutes later. Gail Brown was called in to the University Hospital of North Durham (UHND) in Durham
A LOBSTER fisherman who was sceptical about the agricultural benefits of a £1.5bn polyhalite mine scheme has grown a 350lb pumpkin using just the mineral and water. Sirius Minerals, due to resubmit a planning application to the North York Moors
A WOMEN’S refuge has been overwhelmed by the generosity shown by pub customers at a fundraiser held in memory of a domestic abuse victim.Lindsey Forster, assistant manager at Hogans, in Newgate Street, Bishop Auckland, held a series of events at
AN engineering has expanded its presence in the nuclear sector after securing a multi-million pound deal.Amec, which runs its European headquarters from Darlington, will work alongside Jacobs Engineering Group and Balfour Beatty at Sellafield, in Cumbria.Bosses
AN engineering company is launching a training centre to inspire the next generation of young talent.Industrial and Marine Hydraulics Ltd (IMH), in Middlesbrough, will run an in-house scheme for hydraulic engineers.IMH, which offers services in engineering
A FORMER Northern Rock worker told the conference how his “life was back on track” after the sale to Virgin Money.Paul Bunyan was invited to speak after meeting George Osborne in a branch in Newcastle, when the Chancellor visited in May this
