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VILLAGERS have slammed BT for offering a super speed internet connection they say the company knows it can’t provide. Residents of Oakenshaw, near Willington, were told Fibre Optic broadband was available to them with a minimum speed of 24.1mb

A SPECIAL telephone helpline has been set up to give advice and support to young people following the suspected suicide of two County Durham teenagers.The helpline will be staff by trained professionals who will give non-judgemental support, practical

A MAN who tried to turn his estranged wife into a human fireball has been jailed for ten years. Mark Laverick, 41, doused his partner of 22 years in petrol and threw lit matches at her before striking a cigarette lighter close to her fuel-sodden

A PAEDOPHILE who groomed a schoolgirl after learning she had been targeted by another sex offender has been locked up yesterday.Geoffrey Cooper, 45, persuaded the teenager to take and send explicit photographs of herself, Teesside Crown Court was told.The

STUDENTS have been praised for their woolly thinking after raising funds to buy antibiotics for babies fighting infections.Northallerton College students attended classes in their most weird and wonderful knitted creations to boost the fundraising drive

DARLINGTON and District Samaritans are urging residents who feel low this Christmas to seek help.Almost half of men who responded to a survey by Samaritans said they felt more worried at Christmas than other times of the year. The findings come with a

EMANUELE Giaccherini has looked sharp for Sunderland in the build up to Sunday's 151st Tyne-Wear derby, with head coach Gus Poyet boosted ahead of the trip to St James' Park. The Black Cats head in to the eagerly-awaited fixture on the back of

A MAN has been jailed for 13 years after he beat up a woman and then later raped her when she refused to have sex. Scott Burrell, 26, also began a relationship with a mother-of-one he met on the internet despite being the subject of an indefinite

A DISABLED man has been left with a £3,000 repair bill after a thug keyed his car and slashed his tyres.Stanley Naisbitt’s blue Citroen Picasso was parked on his drive in Cheviot Court, in the Springfield area of Darlington, when a man scratched every

THERE are still tickets available for a city’s Christmas pantomime.The Gala Theatre, in Durham, is staging Aladdin until Saturday, January 3.Discounted tickets are available for shows on December 28, 29 and 30, with a family ticket for four people including

SANTA’S elves have been keeping a closer eye than usual on children at schools and nurseries in east Durham in the run up to Christmas.Aided by PCSOs Kerri Bassom and Carole Hutton they have crept into six primary schools and six nurseries in Seaham to

SCHOOL students held a special seasonal event to mark the centenary of the 1914 Christmas Truce.One hundred years after German and British soldiers crossed No Man’s Land on the Western Front to exchange Christmas gifts and greetings in the midst of the

A FORMER town mayor is celebrating after becoming the first member of the North East Party win a council seat.Mary Cartwright, who won the Peterlee Town Council by-election for the Eden Hill Ward said: “The North East Party, formed only six months ago

VILLAGERS and a mining firm are preparing to renew hostilities over controversial plans to dig coal from open countryside.It was June of this year when Durham County Council refused Hargreaves Surface Mining permission to opencast up to 514,000 tonnes

NOMINATIONS for an awards scheme praising the contribution made by people involved in North-East disabled sports are now open.The North East Disability Sports Awards celebrate the achievements and contributions North East athletes, coaches and clubs have

UNDER-PRESSURE ambulance bosses have warned that callers who misuse the 999 emergency service risk prosecution or legal action, after receiving more than 2,200 time-wasting calls in the last 12 weeks.North East Ambulance Service (NEAS) managers said their

A CRUEL care home boss dubbed a female Darth Vader is behind bars tonight after abusing four vulnerable residents. Siobhan Koralewski waved her breasts in front of an 88-year-old man saying “Do you like that you dirty old man?”, bit him between

ROADWORKS on a busy route have been removed after the first stage of work on a new roundabout was completed.The T-junction between the A167 and B6300 at Sunderland Bridge, near Durham City, is being replaced with a roundabout in a £1.8m scheme to ease

A HORSE loved by a suburb's children for two decades and described by his owner as an “absolute character” has died of natural causes. Children and adults have left cards and a toy horse at the field where Dillon, a gelding, was enclosed by the

A MILITARY wives choir brought some festive cheer to shoppers at a North-East supermarket.Members of the Military Wives, Affiliates, Girlfriends and Servicewomen (Wags) Choir, from Catterick Garrison, spent an evening serenading shoppers at Sainsbury’

A RETIRED teacher’s unique take on his beloved home city is reflected in a new art exhibition opening soon (Monday, January 5).Olly Burton, from Neville’s Cross, Durham City, has produced a series of paintings under the heading “Durham As I See It”, all

A HOUSEBUILDER has donated £20,000 to a village green restoration scheme.Barratt Homes North East gave the money to support the improvement of the village green in Coxhoe, near Durham. The green has been transformed with landscaping work and the addition

ATHLETICSRichmond and Zetland HarriersAt the recent cross country at Croft, Richmond and Zetland Harriers showed their excellent all-round abilities in the Ladies, mens and junior races. The ladies race turned out to be a battle between two Harriers Jo

YOUNGSTERS have boosted their job prospects by completing a training scheme which involves Sunderland Football Club.Social housing provider livin' has funded the ten week long employability scheme Back in the Game in partnership with the football club

ELVES and other unusual creatures gave care home residents a festive treat.St George’s Hall care home in Middleton St George was livened up with a visit from a range of cuddly and exotic animals today (Friday, December 19).The Zoolab organisation descended

THE GRIEVING mother of a woman murdered in her own home has spoken publicly for the first time since her death.The body of 39-year-old Angela Wrightson was found in her terraced property in Stephen Street, near Hartlepool town centre, just before 7am

SHOPPERS and festive revellers will be encouraged – for one night only – to take sweets from strangers when they are and about in Darlington town centre tonight (Friday, December 19).Traditionally, the last Friday before Christmas sees a surge in the

CHILDREN were given an unexpected Christmas surprise when a police helicopter landed on their school field.The event at Belmont Junior School in Durham was organised by teachers and governors to commemorate the merging of the school with neighbouring

A MAN swindled a supermarket out of more than £100 worth of goods after a friend showed him how to cheat the self-serve checkouts, a court heard.Robert Harker, of Hundens Lane, Darlington, visited Asda in Spennymoor on Friday, September 5, taking £57

PASSIONATE parents have formed an action group to try and save a Darlington pre-school from closure.It was announced this week that the Elm Ridge Methodist Church pre-school will close next summer due to dwindling numbers and financial pressures.Shocked

Newcastle have lost the last three Tyne-Wear derbies and are winless in five contests against Sunderland, but bookies expect the Magpies to snap that sequence at St James’s Park tomorrow. BetVictor install them as odds-on favourites at 19/20 to get the

STUDENTS helped support a youngster with a rare life-limiting illness with a non uniform day.Youngsters at Ferryhill Business and Enterprise College raised £475.99 with the event in aid of 11-year-old Kyran Richmond.Kyran, a pupil at The Oaks Secondary

A POLICE force has been taking too many people with mental problems into custody rather than health facilities, inspectors say.Durham Police came out of the unannounced inspection well overall, but Nick Hardwick, Chief Inspector of Prisons, and Dru Sharpling

POLICE hope the festive spirit of goodwill will extend to both sets of supporters at this weekend’s Tyne Wear derby.Newcastle United host Sunderland in the Premier League on Sunday (December 21) lunchtime and there will be a “significant” police presence

THE Norman Woodcock Memorial 5 mile race hosted by Elswick Harriers and held at Newcastle Racecourse attracted six runners from the club last Saturday afternoon where David Best raced to a new personal best time of 28.00 to come home in 20th. Not

Worthington C.I.U. Winter League Bearpark A extended their unbeaten run when they only dropped one point to the visiting Meadowfield and lead the First Division by three points. Glen Morton, who tops the unbeaten players list, gave the home

A DISQUALIFIED driver who led police on a high speed pursuit for several miles through a North-East town has been jailed for 14 months for dangerous driving. Hugh Raymond Frederick Holmes, 24, showed no regard for anyone’s safety as he sped through the

Bishop Auckland St Mary’s THE Under 14s had a magnificent result in the County Cup quarter-final against Wearside. St Mary’s took the lead through Zak Holywell and looked like going through in normal time only for Wearside to equalise with

Tow Law’s new manager Steve Murray wants Ironworks Road to be a difficult place for opposing teams to visit again. Murray, who was appointed joint manager with former player Kevin Dixon earlier in the week, says that Lawyers’ home form of only

Running stalwart Ian Barnes, from Darlington, is preparing for new challenges after celebrating his 80th birthday. Graham Bell tells his remarkable story THERE are not many 80-year-olds who are still active England internationals, but Ian Barnes

A MAN has been left in fear of leaving his home after two men assaulted him for no reason in a bar, a court was told.Newton Aycliffe Magistrates Court heard how the men punched the victim several times to the back of the head in an unprovoked attack.Lewis

SPENNYMOOR swimming and water polo coach Adam Woods insists he will not let success go to his head despite scooping a top national prize at star-studded awards ceremony in Glasgow. Adam was named as the Heather Crouch Young Coach of the Year at

A PROLIFIC car thief is behind bars for a daring daylight raid at the home of a performance vehicle buff. Colin Fryett shimmied up a drainpipe and was seen by a passer-by "dangling" half in and half out of a tiny upstairs window. Inside the

A WOMAN woke in terror to find her estranged husband had broken into her home while she slept and attacked her.Craig Roberts twice punched the mother-of-three in the face before her screams alerted two of her sleeping children.Roberts continued the attack

A NORTH-EAST student’s eye for design has helped her win a national Christmas card competition.Esmee Ullyart beat off competition from across the country to be crowned the winner of the competition, hosted by Capita Education Resourcing. Students were

ALAN PARDEW has backed Jak Alnwick to put Wednesday’s clanger at Tottenham behind him and cope with the unique pressures of Sunday’s Tyne-Wear derby. Alnwick will make his third senior start when Sunderland visit St James’ Park at the weekend,

FIVE people have been arrested after hundreds of suspected fake luxury goods worth more than £10,000 were recovered in a series of raids.Trading Standards officers from Durham County Council carried out a number of investigations into suspected counterfeit

A CASH-strapped local authority has been urged to rethink its plans to charge 60 town and parish councils to put the brakes on speeding drivers.North Yorkshire County Council said a growing number of communities had registered speeding concerns this year

TWO companies have been fined for failing to having the correct paperwork to carry and dispose of waste.Spot checks were carried out as part on an ongoing crackdown on flytipping by Durham County Council, Durham Constabulary, Crimestoppers and the Environment

A JUDGE said he had no option but to let a man who attacked his partner for a second time walk free from court,.Imposing a two-year community order with a supervision requirement on Ashley Martyn Brown, Judge Christopher Prince warned Brown that if he

ARCHIE Inns is no ordinary 12-year-old. As this year’s Head Boy Chorister at Durham Cathedral, Archie will be spending his Christmas season “at work”, rehearsing for three hours each day in preparation for the month’s festive services. The

A NORTH-EAST car maker has frozen orders in one of its top European markets. Nissan, which employs nearly 7,000 workers at its Sunderland plant, says it has been forced to take action in Russia, as the country’s economy continues its dramatic fall

A CHRISTMAS window display, which took three weeks to create, has taken top honours in a competition to brighten up Bishop Auckland.Trimmers hairdressers, on Newgate Street, was awarded first prize by the Bishop of Durham, The Right Reverend Paul Butler

STAFF at a Darlington primary school have passed a deaf awareness course with flying colours.Teachers and support staff at St Augustine's Primary School, in Beechwood Avenue, completed the ten-week course which was held after school and hosted by JB Training.The

This is Aladdin but not as you know it. Andrew Pollard’s family Christmas fantasy puts a modern twist on the traditional tale of the lad with the lamp.One of its biggest assets is Paul Ryan, who’s been seen in a variety of guises on the SJT stage in the

Text Santa (ITV, 8pm) POPULAR Geordie pair Ant and Dec join the charity-raising set with a Yule Tucker Trial subtitled the 12 Critters of Christmas, based on the I’m A Celebrity’s most stomach-churning contests... and one unsuspecting celeb is

The Turtle Dove – forever associated with the festive season through the words of the seasonal song 12 Days of Christmas – is one of the fastest declining species in the country. Sightings this summer were the lowest ever and it's in serious danger

AN investigation into Serco's handling of a £285m prisoner escort contract has been dropped by police, the company has confirmed.Police were alerted last year over claims staff had been misleadingly recording prisoners as ready for court when they were

I AM appalled that you reported as your banner headline the six hour wait for a boy who suffered a knee injury at school (Echo, Dec 17), not because of the reported ambulance response time but the perceived need for an ambulance to take a child with

I WAS saddened and angered at the news of the wheelchair user losing his case to force bus companies to move passengers out of the disabled bays on their vehicles (Echo, Dec 8). Why are wheelchair users treated like second class citizens in this

COUNCILLOR Dorothy Long must travel around Darlington with her eyes shut if she has failed to see the number of people who ride bikes on pavements and footpaths in all parts of the town (Echo, Dec 5). They are a danger to young and old alike.

VLADIMIR PUTIN, the Russian president, has said it is time America stopped meddling in European affairs. Lots of people will say “Amen” to that. American interference in Europe and the Middle East has caused countless thousands of deaths and massive

ON December 10, at about 11am, a very large branch fell from a tree in Thorpe Thewles churchyard totally blocking the road into the village (the tree is awaiting planning permission to be felled). A resident rang our local Care for Your Area and

THE start of January is traditionally a time when many of us feel cash-strapped, so the prospect of petrol prices falling below the £1-a-litre mark could offer motorists some new year cheer.But plummeting fuel prices are filling the offshore oil industry

A GARDENING project inspired by World War One is so good it has won students an award. Pupils, aged between 12 and 15, from Nunthorpe Academy, designed an 'Outstanding' garden for the RHS It's Your Neighbourhood (IYN) Award Level Five. The garden, which

I AM sure most people watching the BBC's Sports Personality of the Year Awards were impressed to see the team award go to the England Women's Rugby Team, who won the Women's World Cup when they beat Canada in the final during the summer in France. The

I WOULD just like to thank everyone who helped me after my fall in Tubwell Row, Darlington, on Thursday, December 4, especially a nurse who I think was called Chris. He kept me calm and went with me to A&E. I’d also like to thank the taxi driver

EARLY on Tuesday morning, I woke with a jolt. A radio presenter, magically beaming his voice from London to my bedside, was talking about events taking place in Uff. As I tuned in, Uff began to sound like an interesting place: there was a lighthouse

FOLLOWING the article about the cost to local police forces from putting the wrong kind of fuel into their vehicles (Echo, Dec 4), there is a company in Darlington which manufactures a piece of equipment called Fuel Angel. This equipment prevents

YOUNG people in Hartlepool are being invited to bid for grants of up to £3,000 to help them organise activities and events or get a new business idea off the ground.A limited amount of funding is on offer from Hartlepool Borough Council’s Youth Support

A £5M PLAN to turn the derelict former Swallow Hotel on Stockton High Street into student accommodation has been submitted to the town's council. The highly prominent seven-storey hotel, which has been described as being architecturally "brutalist

A SECONDARY school has enjoyed a winter term of sporting success and special guests.The Wensleydale School's Year 11 boys football team remains in three cup competitions.The team beat teams from Richmond School and St Francis Xavier, in Richmond, to reach

TRIBUTES have been paid to a long-serving museum volunteer who has stepped down after seeing it develop into a celebrated tourist attraction.Ian Ashton, managing director of The World of James Herriot, in Thirsk, said Pauline Pengelly, who has worked

ELDERLY residents of a housing association complex have launched a fundraising drive in an attempt to stop their communal hub being demolished.Residents of Priory Close and Byland Avenue, in Northallerton, said they aimed to raise up to £10,000 by next

THE Treasury must accept significantly lower taxes from the North Sea to create jobs and boost investment, a senior MP has warned. Danny Alexander, Chief Secretary to the Treasury, admitted industry fears over plummeting oil prices were a major

ELSWICK Harriers’ Ethiopian athlete Tadele Geremew-Mulugeta will be chasing his fourth road race victory in just over a month in today’s sell-out Saltwell Harriers 10K in Gateshead.The 29-year-old African, who set a new course record winning the Richmond

A CIVIL and structural engineering company says it expects to deliver record results after increasing turnover and creating new jobs.Portland Consulting Engineers says it has secured a raft of deals on schemes worth millions of pounds.Bosses hailed the

Spennymoor Town manager Jason Ainsley is hoping that the effects of a sickness bug will wear off before they go to Ossett Albion today. Moors’ preparations for their home win over Kendal were hit during the week when striker Gavin Cogdon and midfielder

West Auckland have appointed Andy Toman as their interim manager ahead of their trip to Penrith today. Counting caretaker managers, former Darlington and Hartlepool midfielder Toman will be the club’s fourth of the season following Anth Smith’s

EVERYTHING is set for round six in the rivalry between Hurricane Fly and Jezki as the pair headline nine entries for the Ryanair Hurdle at Leopardstown on December 29. Hurricane Fly, who has won this Grade One three times, currently leads three-two

BADR AL BADOOR looks primed to take the feature at Wolverhampton, the Daily Enhanced ‘Magic Multiples’ At Unibet Handicap. Trainer James Fanshawe gave the four-year-old filly her first taste of the Tapeta surface at Dunstall Park three weeks ago

Hampshire chairman Rod Bransgrove is pondering his long-term future after the county's dream of hosting an Ashes Test in 2019 was extinguished.The England and Wales Cricket Board confirmed that Edgbaston and Old Trafford would join Lord's, The Oval and

ENGLAND second row Joe Launchbury is set to miss the RBS 6 Nations campaign after Wasps announced he will face up to four months out of action following neck surgery. Launchbury was ruled out of last month's autumn series at Twickenham because

Brendan Rodgers has tipped Bournemouth to join Liverpool in the top flight next season after navigating his team's progress past the Championship leaders. Having survived a couple of early scares Liverpool took control and a double from Raheem

We take a look back at the successes of business that have helped to shape the economy of the region in 2014 MANUFACTURING IT may come as a surprise to some, but land-locked Darlington is a world leader in offshore energy work. That’s why

AN investigation is underway after a man died following a call to police in Sunderland. Around 6.40pm on Thursday, police received a report of men with guns inside an address in Toward Road. "Enquiries were carried out and it was established

MARTIN Gray has paid tribute to Laura Drew, Darlington’s director of football operations, who is stepping down after almost three years with the club. She has been instrumental, playing a key role behind the scenes, and Gray went as far as saying

RUSS GREEN is the Hartlepool United chief executive who instigated the club’s takeover. The outlook on Pools’ desperate season has been transformed in a matter of days. From an all-too-familiar League Two thumping at Burton last week, to IOR selling

GRANT LEADBITTER does not expect his former boss, Mick McCarthy, to be springing any tactical surprises this weekend, but is confident his Middlesbrough team-mates can cope with the Ipswich manager’s no-nonsense approach.Leadbitter started his professional

MOUSSA SISSOKO has urged his Newcastle United team-mates to atone for Wednesday’s Capital One Cup capitulation at Tottenham when they entertain local rivals Sunderland this weekend.Newcastle’s hopes of a Wembley appearance were brutally crushed at White

JAK ALNWICK has been passed fit to start for Newcastle United in Sunday’s Tyne-Wear derby with Sunderland, removing the need for the Magpies to pursue an emergency loan signing. Alnwick damaged his shoulder in the closing stages of Wednesday’s

UNITED in grief following the tragic death of John Alder and Liam Sweeney in the summer, fans’ groups from Newcastle United and Sunderland have joined together to promote “a derby to be proud of” ahead of Sunday’s game at St James’ Park. It is

NIALL QUINN has encouraged Sunderland fans not to be too harsh on Jack Colback when the Newcastle United midfielder faces the club he turned his back on for the first time. Colback is in line to be at the centre of the Magpies midfield on Sunday

HE is a Premier League and FA Cup winner, has represented his country and had the country talking about his wing-play, but Adam Johnson admits there is something different about derby day in Tyne & Wear. It is not that helping Sunderland to

A FIRM battling Durham Tees Valley Airport (DTVA) over a scheme to power Middlesbrough FC's stadium with a 136m-high wind turbine has moved to ensure the High Court or the Planning Inspectorate settles the dispute. North Yorkshire-based developer

POLICE are appealing for a bus passenger to come forward as he could have been the last person to see a teenager alive. Aaron Booth, from the Catterick area, was found dead at about 8.30am last Thursday (December 11), in the Glenholme area of Crook

POLICE investigating a suspected multi-million pound fraud at Duncan Bannatyne's business empire have arrested the company's former chief executive, The Northern Echo can reveal. Graham Nigel Armstrong, a one-time close friend of the Dragon's Den