Cheltenham 2.40 Boston Bob (pictured), 5/4fav with Ladbrokes We're sticking with the favourites as we cannot see this seven-year-old beaten under the ride of Ruby Walsh, who's had a pretty tame festival to date. The only blip on this Willie Mullins trained gelding's card in the past 18 months was a third at Punchestown over a year ago,...

By Martin Walker Aycliffe Police are naming and shaming local criminals as part of a tough new approach. In his exclusive weekly blog here on Aycliffe Today, Neighbourhood Police Team Sergeant Mark Edwards (pictured) has revealed our local NPT are now operating an active ‘name the offender’ policy. “I have no doubt that there...

The Town Tipster got his daily Cheltenham punt spot on today! He backed Riverside Theatre in today’s 2.40pm Ryanair Chase, and he romped home. He got up in the final strides to give Nicky Henderson a sixth winner at the meeting with a dramatic victory at Cheltenham this afternoon. Barry Geraghty galvanised the eight-year-old,...

Aycliffe chairman Gary Farley talks to Aycliffe Today about the club’s trip to Penrith this weekend. The Newtonians have slipped to seventh in the Northern League first division after back-to-back defeats last week, at South Shields and at home to Dunston respectively. Farley talks about the season so far, and hopes of getting back on...

Newton Aycliffe NPT Sergeant Mark Edwards continues his weekly blog on Aycliffe Today… It’s that time again. Hello all. It’s been a busy week at Aycliffe – lots happening in the town and with the team here. Where to start? I guess the beginning is always the best place! In the last blog I made reference to a van that had been...

Newton Aycliffe have learned that their debut season in the Northern League’s top tier will stretch to Saturday April 21, after their home game with Shildon was finally rescheduled. The Newtonians were due to finish their campaign away to Tow Law on April 14, but will now face their local rivals for the fifth time this season in the...

By Martin Walker Thousands of music-lovers will descend on two parks in Staffordshire later this year after tickets for the biggest festival in England sold out. Ex expected, general tickets for the 2012 V Festival quickly sold out last week as fans flocked to secure their place to see a string of headline acts at the August gig. The...

Hitachi says it remains committed to building the new plant in Newton Aycliffe, despite delays in the final sign-off. The Japanese company is planning to build a £4.5bn train factory at Aycliffe Industrial Park, creating hundreds of jobs and pumping millions of pounds into the local economy. And it has moved to reassure the region...

Darlington have reduced matchday ticket prices at the Northern Echo Arena. For the rest of the season, and the final five home games of the campaign, matchday tickets will be priced £15 adults, £10 concessions and £5 children. General manager Jason Lees said: “We’d hope this will encourage more of our fans to come back on...

By Martin Walker Hundreds of Aycliffe schoolchildren are getting a special insight into personal safety during a popular event on the town’s Industrial Park. The Safety Carousels is a multi-agency event delivering a series of safety workshops to 8,000 year 6 students in the County Durham and Darlington area. Held at The Workplace,...