Schoolchildren across County Durham are being taught how to be safe in and around water. Durham County Council is running sessions this week for 166 year five and six pupils from eight primary schools, as part of Dying to be Cool – a new campaign to educate youngsters on the dangers of cold water shock – and to coincide with National...

How Durham County Council involves local residents in decision making and scrutiny has been officially recognised with a national award. The 2016 MJ Achievement Award for Excellence in Governance and Scrutiny, sponsored by the Centre for Public Scrutiny, was presented to the council for its innovative approach to engaging with the...

The Newton Aycliffe Marie Curie Fundraising Group will be enjoying a spot of tea and cake to encourage local residents to get behind Marie Curie’s summer fundraising campaign. The local fundraising group will be opening the doors to their own Blooming Great Tea Party on July 9, 2016 from 10 am until 12noon at Heighington Village...

It’s that time of year again when Woodham Academy opens the gates for it’s annual Summer Fair. This year, visitors to the event can expect a whole host of exciting attractions including an inflatable assault course, smoothie making, a football tournament, trampoline fun and face painting, with more great activities still to be...

A man has died in a motorbike collision last night. The crash happened at around 9.50pm on Wednesday night on Brusselton Lane, Shildon, between the A68 Royal Oak and the A6072 Shildon bypass. The 49-year-old man from Spennymoor was riding a Suzuki 843cc bike and was with a group of other motorbikes travelling from Barnard Castle to...

Car parts manufacturer Gestamp Tallent has received a £12m investment boost from the European Investment Bank. The Newton Aycliffe-based firm supplies some of the biggest names in the automotive industry including Nissan, Honda, Jaguar and Land Rover with components including specialised chassis and suspension products. This new investment...

The chairman of a Newton Aycliffe company has put his own product centre stage in a tongue-in-cheek video to re-enforce his Vote Leave message in the EU referendum. The video shows Ebac boss John Elliott using his new British-made washing machine to wash an EU flag and, surprisingly, thanks to a non-EU approved component, manages to transform...

The HR team at Hitachi Rail Europe in Newton Aycliffe is celebrating after being crowned the HR&D team of the year at the North East of England CIPD awards. The Hitachi team was recognised at an industry event for its recruitment and training processes that have seen over 500 new people recruited from over 16,000 applications last...

Durham County Council leader Simon Henig has stepped down as chair of the North East Combined Authority. The Chester-le-Street councillor and lecturer of politics at Sunderland University has chaired the combined authority since its inception in April 2014 and before this he led the North East Leadership Board through its transition from shadow...

One of the North East’s three European MPs says Thursday’s referendum is a “decisive moment” for Newton Aycliffe. Jude Kirton-Darling, who was elected to the European Parliament after succeeding Stephen Hughes two years ago, has told Aycliffe Today that many companies are only here because of the single market. Aycliffe has the...