People in County Durham are being encouraged to be food savvy by checking that restaurants take hygiene seriously. Durham County Council is advising residents planning on dining out over the festive period to check the hygiene rating of the establishment they want to visit. Any establishment serving food will have been scored according...

By Martin Walker Fans of both Newton Aycliffe and Darlington are being asked to arrive in plenty of time for this weekend’s big derby. The Newtonians welcome Quakers for the first-ever competitive game between the two sides at Moore Lane Park on Saturday (8th December), 3pm kick-off. Police will be coning off residential areas,...

By Martin Walker A leading business entrepreneur says Chancellor George Osborne’s Autumn Report has brought encouraging signs, but also says it’s “plastering over the symptoms”. Osborne has announced a fresh squeeze on benefits, as he admitted the UK economy was performing less well than expected. Austerity measures will be...

By Martin Walker A man has been arrested after Newton Aycliffe police officers were investigating a knifepoint robbery last week. A masked robber carrying a large kitchen knife allegedly entered the One Stop Shop, on Byerley Road in Shildon, shortly after 4.45pm last Thursday. After establishing the female shop worker was alone, he is...

Newton Aycliffe welcome local rivals Darlington for a first-ever competitive match at Moore Lane Park this weekend. The Quakers make the short trip for the third time in three years, but this will be the first encounter with points to play for. The former Football League outfit were demoted down to the Northern League in the summer, and...

By Ryan Gillham Head coach Dave Elderkin and his Durham Wildcats team are looking to bounce back this weekend after their losing streak continued with a defeat against Sheffield Sharks on Sunday. But the team face two tough fixtures this weekend, as they make the journey down the M1 to fellow play-off hopefuls Manchester Giants and then...

Thousands of lowly paid local Government workers could be in for a pay rise, after the North-East’s biggest council agreed to look into introducing a "living wage". As reported by The Northern Echo, a full meeting of Labour-led Durham County Council on Wednesday voted overwhelmingly to investigate paying its 10,000 staff at least £7.45...

Our panel of three football writers give their predictions on Newton Aycliffe’s game this weekend… Three points are awarded if our ‘experts’ pick the exact score, 1 point awarded if they get the result correct. Glen took the lead with his bang-on prediction of a 1-0 home win versus Marske, so the pressure is on him to prove it...

Newton Aycliffe's Ebac Northern League Division One clash with Celtic Nation tonight has been postponed. It's the second fixture in a row, after the short-notice demise of Saturday's tie with Durham, to fall victom to the weather. Aycliffe are keeping their fingers crossed this Saturday's derby at home to Darlington will survive the...

Column by Craig Peterson, taken from Aycliffe Today Business At the start of 2012 there were an estimated 4.8 million businesses in the UK. Within this population, 99.2% (almost all) were small businesses.  No wonder, then, that they are viewed as being the ‘lifeblood’ of our economy and the key to socio-economic recovery. This...