A new recycling and rubbish collection service could lead to savings of more than £9m over the next five years. The new system, being introduced across County Durham over the coming months, will see rubbish and recycling collected on alternate weeks, with rubbish being collected one week and recycling the other. Similar systems...

Glen Robertson continues his series of features looking back at some of our famous North-East players. This week, it’s Newtonian Brian Atkinson… Brian Atkinson is not just well-liked at one North-East club. The former England under-21 international is revered at three of the region's clubs. He made appearances at Wembley for both...

Councillors will next week discuss proposals that would enable libraries across County Durham to remain open despite reductions in Government funding. Durham County Council, which needs to make savings of £159.2m over the five years between 2011 and 2016, is proposing measures that will guarantee that no libraries have to...

By Martin Walker Electronics company Filtronic increased turnover but its losses also rose in the six months to the end of November. The Newton Aycliffe company, which makes products for the mobile phone market, reported sales of £10.5m, up from £7.3m a year earlier but pre-tax losses rose to £2.3m from £1.2m. But it grew sales in...

We’re really sorry to our visitors – we had to close the site down for some essential maintenance work over the last 36 hours. Unfortunately, this work had to be done at short notice due to an unforeseen spike of visitors to the site on Tuesday evening – we’re quickly becoming a victim of our own success! Our web geeks have been...

By Martin Walker Darlington manager Craig Liddle has tonight completed a double signing. The Quakers boss has signed Sunderland’s highly-rated Northern Ireland international defender Liam Bagnall on a one-month loan deal, while former midfielder Clark Keltie has returned to the club on a non-contract basis. Liddle said: “I’m...

Meet the Newton Aycliffe Spartans – the ONLY Baseball team in the whole of the North-East! Aycliffe Spartans began their pre-season training this week after the club was formed by passionate Baseball enthusiast John Johnston. Aycliffe Today spoke to John this week to find out more – go to our Video Vault to see it....

By Martin Walker The company behind the eagerly-awaited Hitachi development are planning to hold a second open day for potential suppliers. Hitachi and developer Merchant Place Developments are working with Durham County Council – through its business development division, County Durham Development Company – to hold an open day...

The Charity Commission, the independent regulator of charities in England and Wales, has launched a mobile version of its website, making it easy for people to check charities' details on their phone before making a donation. The site, http://m.charitycommission.gov.uk, is specifically designed for use on mobile phones. It means that...

By Martin Walker Phil Wilson says the Government’s decision to increase tuition fees is to blame for a drop in university applications in the North-East. According to UCAS, 16,887 people living in the North- East have applied to attend university this September, compared to 19,026 at the same time last year – a drop of 11%. It...