More than 2,000 female council workers in Northumberland are set for payouts after agreement was finally reached to settle a long-running, £50m equal pay claim.
Women county council employees such as cleaners, kitchen assistants and carers are in line for the compensation payments as a result of being underpaid for years in comparison to male colleagues who earned bonuses.
Northumberland County Council is the last local authority in the North East to settle its equal pay dispute with the GMB and Unison - and defended its case as far as an Employment Tribunal scheduled for earlier this month.
Police are appealing for information over a suspected arson attack.
A blaze destroyed a garden shed, which was set on fire between 11.30pm and 3.10pm on Thursday June 11 on Burnside, in Bedlington Station. Anyone with information should call 0345 604-3043.
Hundreds of elderly and disabled people who use seven council-run day centres in Northumberland face a three-month wait to find out whether they can be saved from closure.
A series of public meetings on the future of the threatened centres in Amble, Bedlington, Blyth, Hexham, Haltwhistle, Ponteland and Prudhoe - which are used by 370 people a week - has now been completed, and final decisions will be taken in September.
Further private meetings will be held with individual centre users and their families, and feedback from the public consultation analysed, before reports setting out the various options are presented to county councillors.
Fears were voiced last night over the potential impact on the health of elderly and vulnerable people if care chiefs press ahead with controversial plans to close seven day centres in Northumberland.
Relatives of elderly dementia suffers who use the council-run Lyndon Walk day centre in Blyth said they are worried that their conditions will get even worse if they have to uproot themselves and move elsewhere.
Two women told a public meeting in the town that their mothers don't cope well with change, and questioned whether adequate alternative provision will be available if the centre closes.
Transport officials in Northumberland are hoping to meet regional partners and Network Rail soon in a bid to make progress on long-awaited plans to restore passenger train services on an axed line.
The meeting is being sought to review work carried out to date on the planned reopening of the Ashington, Blyth and Tyne railway line, and try to shunt the scheme out of the sidings.
The latest moves were revealed yesterday after a new report by the influential Association of Train Operating Companies (ATOC) included the ABT scheme in a list of 14 railway lines it wants to see opened to passenger trains.
More meetings are to be held in Northumberland to allow people to have their say on £200m proposals for new and improved hospitals in the county.
Northumbria Healthcare NHS Trust has drawn up plans for a new specialist emergency care centre near Cramlington, plus improvements to Wansbeck General and the rebuilding of community hospitals in Berwick and Haltwhistle.
But the changes would see the closure of emergency departments at Wansbeck and Hexham General, moves which have caused some concern with patients.
Air cadets from Bedlington have triumphed in an athletics contest against youngsters from across Northumberland and Durham.
A 23-strong team from 2522 Bedlington Squadron went head to head against hundreds of air cadets from the Northumberland and Durham Wing, when they all competed in the annual Wing Athletics competition in Monkton Stadium, Jarrow.
The Bedlington team, consisting of junior and senior boys and girls aged 13 to 18, took part in all track and field events such as javelin, discus, shot, high jump and long jump.
Finance chiefs at Northumberland's cash-strapped super council are trying to recover almost £9m in unpaid council tax inherited from the county's former district authorities.
The huge debt has been revealed following the abolition of Berwick, Alnwick, Castle Morpeth, Tynedale, Wansbeck and Blyth Valley councils on April 1 - and their replacement by the all-purpose unitary council.
A new police crackdown on North East criminals is making its mark in Northumberland, after raids were carried out on homes in a former pit town yesterday.
Uniformed officers swooped on two properties in Milburn Road, Ashington - one a flat above a fish and chip shop and the other a house just across the road.
They smashed the front doors and carried out searches for stolen property, before arresting a 31-year-old man and a woman on suspicion of burglary.
Budding entrepreneurs from 12 Northumberland schools are preparing to pitch their ideas to judges in a contest which combines Dragons' Den with The Apprentice.
The high school students will be competing at the Alnwick Garden Pavilion tomorrow evening in the final of the Northumberland Enterprise Learning Network challenge for school-based companies.
The teams will champion their individual business ventures in a range of categories to a judging panel including Garden managing director Mike Dukes and County Durham estate agent and recent Apprentice contestant, Philip Taylor.
John Potts Fencing & Sheds -
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"I very strongly oppose the closure of Tynedale House Day Care Cetnre as my elderly father who is age..."
"This man christened my first little boy 4 years ago, and when the allegations were first aired, I de..."
"To The Handicap Committee. Will the club be included in the national web site for handicaps.? The W..."
"As an international greyhound protection organisation, we were horrified to read about this poor dog..."
"that is so sick ...who ever done that you are a really disgusting person...you siko..."
"I would just like to say that I was there at the time of the fire and it was really bad and the whol..."
"I live In that street that the fire was in and it was terrible there was 3 fire engines 1 ambulance ..."
"Please Show Support For Disabled Former Police Officers The Government is aiming to slash the injur..."
"The mention of ""Rolls-Royce" standards of services such as grass cutting, street cleaning and groun..."
"I think that this is an amazing story, this young man is a real hero, and a bit dishy!..."