Communities and individuals across County Durham and Darlington are being urged to become Litter Heroes by joining the annual ‘Big Spring Clean’. LitterFree Durham & Darlington, which celebrates its tenth anniversary this year, has once again teamed up with Durham County Council and Darlington Borough Council to inspire local residents,...

The boss of a company which helps other firms train HGV drivers says the logistics could be heading for another recruitment problem this year as key qualifications are due to expire. As part of new legislation introduced in 2009, all drivers of vehicles weighing more than 3.5 tonnes had to undertake the classroom-based training by 2014. The...

Stockton Town 2, Newton Aycliffe 2 By Dave Strickland Newton Aycliffe travelled to Stockton Town and earned a respectable 2-2 draw after being 2-0 down with 20 minutes to go. Stockton went into the game on a six-game winning streak, but Aycliffe matched them for long periods and fully deserved the draw. Stockton started brightly and...

Looked after children are set to receive exciting new reading packs, with the hope of inspiring them to fall in love with books. Durham County Council’s Virtual School, working in partnership with Durham Learning Resources, has designed a reading pack called Curious Kids that will be delivered to the homes of children in care. Intended for...

A young Dad who migrated to Teesside with few qualifications has engineered himself a new future after studying hard and landing a sought-after job. Adam Juma, originally from Tanzania, came to the UK from Sudan and started a cleaning job at Middlesbrough College to support his family. Juggling being a father of four children aged between...

By Donna Campbell After a few quiet weeks it was a full return to racing last weekend. Starting with the local Parkruns on Saturday morning two members achieved PB’s at the Darlington Parkrun. Lisa Dowell in 34.51 and Jan McLuckie in 34.52. On Saturday afternoon it was the next cross country race in the NEHL, this one taking place at...

A Newton Aycliffe resident says he plans to relaunch a bid to bring the Great Aycliffe Show back after claiming the local council has “moved the goalposts”. Councillors have given the go-ahead to a four-day circus on land at the Sports Complex in May this year – despite the application being incomplete. Resident Russ Gibson’s attempt...

Newton Aycliffe 1, Whitley Bay 2 By Dave Strickland Newton Aycliffe went out of the League Cup at the quarter-final stage with an injury-time sucker-punch at home to Whitley Bay on Tuesday night. The entertaining tie could have gone either way, but it was the Seahorses who took it when they converted an injury time penalty. Aycliffe...

Together 21, a project supported by the Pioneering Care Partnership and based in Newton Aycliffe, has welcomed a donation from the town’s Hays Travel store. The local branch of the Sunderland-based travel agent has been fundraising for the children’s project, which provides vital support to children with Down syndrome and their...

Ambitious small companies aiming to grow will be able to access critical guidance and advice from a team of Aycliffe business leaders in a series of new free workshops. Ebac executive chairman John Elliott, Roman managing director David Osborne, business advisor Pamela Petty and other experienced business leaders will offer one-to-one mentoring...