By Martin Walker Bungling thieves walked away empty-handed after a botched burglary in the town this week. The hapless criminals broke into two cabins at Newton Aycliffe FC's Moore Lane Park, on the grounds of Aycliffe Sports Club, on Monday night. But despite causing significant damage to locks as they struggled to make entry, their...

Woodham Academy's Year 7 basketball team have started the season in style by finishing runners-up in the schools district competition held at Sedgefield School. The side, who have benefited from the coaching input of Wildcat player Mark Elderkin as well as coach and Woodham Assistant Headteacher Danny Morgans, now qualify for County finals...

As a national charity reveals figures of how many carers are needed nationally to foster children in 2014, Durham County Council is holding a number of information drop-in sessions. The council is looking to recruit 50 carers over the coming year and anyone interested can pop in at anytime to have any questions answered. The council is...

Three former footballers visited a Newton Aycliffe school as part of the acclaimed Show Racism The Red Card initiative. As part of Stephenson Way School's cultural and emotional enrichment programme, the trio of ex-pros spoke to youngsters and held a mini football session. Former Boro defender Dean Gordon, ex-Leicester and Coventry...

By Martin Walker A Newton Aycliffe-based subsea technology firm has bagged a hat-trick contract wins to further boost its impressive growth. Tekmar, which provides bespoke cable protection systems to both the global oil & gas and offshore renewables industries, has won three major contracts with leading international EPC contractor...

Dog walkers across County Durham are signing up to be part of a growing network of responsible pet owners. More than 1,000 people have now joined the Green Dog Walkers Scheme and pledged to always pick up after their dogs to help keep communities clean and safe. Recent campaigns to promote responsible dog ownership in West Cornforth,...

Adults can improve their English and maths skills with a series of free courses. Sessions, run by Durham County Council, take place at community centres, children’s centres and libraries across the county throughout the year. Improving your reading, writing and numeracy skills can make a big difference when you are filling in forms and...

A family fun event is being held at Woodham Community Centre this weekend. If you’re thinking of trying something new in 2014, this could be the place you start! The event, between 10am and 2pm on Saturday (11th January), aims to promote the health benefits of active travel through a variety of activities including: Nordic Walking...

By Martin Walker A state-of-the-art gym will form part of an exciting £1.5m football facility on Aycliffe Business Park, it has been revealed. The Soccer Factory now hopes to open its indoor five-a-side complex in the spring after problems with its refurbishment programme caused slight delays. But bosses behind the new facility are...

People in County Durham are being warned not to fall for a new type of scam which claims to offer protection from nuisance calls. Durham County Council’s fair trading team has issued the warning to make residents aware of a so-called service which offers to stop householders receiving unwanted telesales and marketing calls. The scam...