Kind-hearted residents have received praise for the goodwill they give to their community, as national Volunteer Week 2017 draws to a close. A five-week Volunteering Campaign which ran from 2nd May to 7th June featured local volunteers and partner organisations in a series of short videos, from across County Durham and Darlington. Led by Ron...

Runners from Aycliffe took part in the second Summer Tees Trail 5k races at Tees Barrage. This was an interesting venue with a lot going on including kayaking and people just out walking enjoying the evening sunshine. The course entailed one lap around the Tees Barrage area before heading off towards Middlesbrough so far, then returning...

A technology company has been hailed as one of the region’s undiscovered gems after moving to the Aycliffe Business Park. Excelpoint celebrated its expansion with a recent office warming event. The official opening was performed by Mike Matthews, President of the North East England Chamber of Commerce. Mr Matthews said he was delighted to...

More than £5,000 has been raised for charity from the sale of calendars featuring officers from the Channel 5 programme Police Interceptors. Cleveland and Durham Specialist Operations Unit featured in the programme for three consecutive series until last year. The officers quickly became a hit with fans of the show, even being invited to...

When it comes to hygiene, these Newton Aycliffe cleaners don’t mind getting their hands dirty. Diamond Commercial Cleaning has now been running from premises on Aycliffe Business Park for more than 12 years. The firm celebrated its 10th birthday towards the end of 2015 after growing from a modest team of 12 and a client base of six...

A round-up of the weekend’s cricket action... Saturday 3rd June – NYSD Division 2 Bedale 1st XI v Newton Aycliffe 1st XI – weather was sunny and warm. Bedale won the toss and chose to bowl first. Newton Aycliffe 1st XI 235 all out after 48.5 overs Jack Slatcher 62, Subhan Christudas 31, Adam Gittins 25 and Tom Wickins 25 Bedale...

Newton Aycliffe-based Tekmar Energy has been awarded a contract to work on an on offshore project in the German Baltic Sea. Tekmar, leading specialists in cable protection systems (CPS), will supply 130 of its patented TekLink CPS to E.On’s project at the Arkona Offshore Wind Farm. The cable protection systems, along with j-tube bellmouths...

People are being encouraged to get involved with various volunteering projects across County Durham in support of Volunteers Week. Volunteers Week takes place between June 1 and 7, and celebrates the contribution made by millions of volunteers across the UK. Last year over 4,500 people volunteered with Durham County Council supporting...

Tips and advice on tracing your family tree will be available at a beginners’ family history course. Run by Durham County Record Office, the popular sessions are led by an archivist and also offer an introduction to the sources available at the record office. The course lasts for three weeks and runs on the following dates: • Thursday...

Major local employers including Hitachi Rail Europe, Circor Energy and Husqvarna are using new tailor-made apprenticeship programmes to help build their future workforces. Newton Aycliffe-based South West Durham Training (SWDT) is now delivering bespoke apprenticeship packages to accommodate the needs of businesses. SWDT says changes to the...