Kristian Pilmer, a painting and decorating student from Newton Aycliffe, has painted his way to third place in Dulux Decorator Centres' National Apprentice of the Year 2013 after impressing the judges with his great brushwork and eye for detail. Kristian, 20, fought off stiff competition from nine other talented painting and decorating...

Aycliffe Care Home, which is part of Akari Care, has said goodbye to one of its valued members of staff who has finally retired at the age of 69. Norma Moore, who was a Care Assistant at Aycliffe Care Home and is older than some residents, enjoyed a surprise retirement party to mark her 15 years working for Akari Care. Residents, members...

Cigarette thieves targeted Woodham petrol station after breaking into the shop on Sunday night. Police are warning Newtonians to watch out for packets of 10 and 20 Richmond, Mayfair, Sovereign and Sterlings. Anyone with information is asked to call 101, quoting reference DHM-24062013-0013.  ...

Aycliffe police are appealing for information after an off-road bike was stolen from the Bluebell area of the town. Between midnight and 1:30am on Wednesday, entry was gained to a garage in Hamsterely Road and a blue/red off-road trials bike was stolen. The bike was later recovered near the woodland area at the rear of Barton Close, but...

Plans to redevelop Newton Aycliffe's town centre have been ramped down... But Newtonians needn't worry, £2m plans to give our ugly shopping centre a facelift took a turn for the better when the iconic ramp was demolished. Its removal is the third of an exciting, four-phase redevelopment to give the town centre a new lease of...

Work has started on an exciting £1.5m football facility which will provide seven state-of-the-art indoor pitches in Newton Aycliffe. It's now hoped the Soccer Factory, on the site of the old Thrislington Partitions building on Aycliffe Business Park, will be open for business later this year. The new landlords of the unit have invested...

By Martin Walker Police are appealling for information after two cars were damaged in Newton Aycliffe at the weekend. Sometime overnight on Sunday (June 16), someone has damaged the front window of a vehicle in the Sheraton Road area. Sometime on the same evening, a vehicle in the Marley Road has been broken into. The window of the...

Newton Aycliffe FC are appealing for willing walkers and cyclists to take part in an emotional fundraiser for the club. Several fans have already signed up to complete all or part of the 25-mile route from Northallerton Town FC back to Moore Lane Park on Saturday July 20th as part of the Frank Swinburne Memorial celebrations. Frank...

An exciting brand of cricket comes to Newton Aycliffe next week when the town's team starts a Twenty/20-style competition. Aycliffe have unveiled a brand new coloured kit for the very first time in their history, to compete in the NYSD League's exciting Fifteens Cup Competition. The strip, sponsored by Piggin Lush Hog Roast, is in the...

By Martin Walker A purpose-built "home" for firefighters in Newton Aycliffe is starting to take shape. The £600,000 living quarters, adjacent to the main station on Central Avenue, is part of plans to reduce the number of firefighters working in the town and is expected to be completed this summer. The changes will mean the number of...