Local mixed martial arts fighter David Cunliffe added another win to his list after a 36 second submission victory over Newcastle’s Ryan Hovells for the featherweight British MMA title. Since last year, when David began his MMA career he has hit the featherweight division by force, beating his last four opponents in the first round by...

A local franchise of a national company based in County Durham is quickly exceeding expectations after seeing turnover jump by 40 per cent in its first two years. Lisa Fleming bought the DL franchise for Driver Hire, a national network providing recruitment services to the transport and logistics industry, in 2011. What started out as a...

The bell rings to end the school day at Stephenson Way and a wave of excitement ripples through the classrooms. However, this excitement isn’t for home time; it is because for many pupils their day in school isn’t over, as they will be attending one of a wide range of extra-curricular activities organised by staff at the school. The...

Newton Aycliffe extended their unbeaten home record with a hard-fought draw with in-form Consett at Moore Lane Park. The visitors - who have not played a home match yet this season - had scored 17 goals as they won three and drew one of their last four league games, but could only score once against a miserly Aycliffe defence. And the...

Woodham Academy has been successful in a bid to get cash from Children In Need to help fund more sports coaching at the school. Woodham Sports Academy has been boosted with an £8,000 cash injection from the BBC Children in Need fund to enable the expansion of opportunities on offer for young people in Newton Aycliffe. Due to the success...

By Martin Walker A £2m home development in Newton Aycliffe is just about finished ahead of schedule. The finishing touches are being made to the 22-home scheme in Newton Aycliffe, and are now available to let. The new development, which has been built by Galliford Try on behalf of homes and communities business livin, replaces the...

Newton Aycliffe left it late to beat Sunderland RCA in a dramatic encounter at Moore Lane Park. Goals from Jamie Owens and Danny Lambert saw Allan Oliver’s men come from a goal down in the last 15 minutes to extend their unbeaten start to the campaign on their home ground. It gave the Royal Blues supporters something to cheer on a day...

Police are appealing for information after a break-in at Stephenson Way School. The infant school on Stephenson Way in the town had its shed broken into over the weekend of Saturday/Sunday September 21/22. A range of items were taken including stationary, whiteboards, high visibility jackets, workmen’s bags and tools. If anyone has...

Woodham Academy Year 7 Students were inspired to raise money for the charity WaterAid after studying the book Millions by Frank Cotrell Boyce. In the novel the main character, Damian, collects money to build wells for the people in Nigeria. As part of their English lessons, students worked in groups to organise the whole event which...

A leading offshore cable protection company based in Newton Aycliffe has bolstered its senior management team with the appointment of a new chairman. High-profile industry figure Ally MacDonald takes up the post with Tekmar Energy, based on Aycliffe Business Park. With 25 years’ experience in the oil and gas industry and a background...