Saturday 14th April 2012The Bishop Press Issue 80 Page 1

Published at:First Floor, Town Council Offices,

Civic Hall Square, Shildon, DL4 1AH.

Telephone/Fax: 01388 775896Duty journalist: 0790 999 2731

www.bishoppress.comemail: bishoppress@yahoo.co.ukof our wonderful community

Bishop press The

At the heart

Saturday 14th April 2012Issue 80

Fully archived online at www.bishoppress.com email us at: bishoppress@yahoo.co.uk

GARNETTSBook one of our upcoming day breaksTravel with GARNETTS for miles of smiles

Saturday 21st Aprilkeswick

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Monday 23rd Aprilscarborough

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Thursday 26th AprilFlamingoland

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Thursday 26th Aprileden camp

Adult: £11.50 Child £10.50

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Sunday 22nd Aprilmystery tour

Adult: £10 Child £8

Saturday 28th Aprilyork shopper

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Saturday 28th Aprilharrogate Flower showAdult: £11.50 Child £10.50 (Ad not inc)

Monday 23rd Aprilwhitby

Adult: £10.50 Child £9.50

College student makes video to support Town Team bid

Lewis Raine, aged 19 from Shildon, is helping Bishop Auckland Town Team’s bid for funding by producing a short film. The Bishop Auckland College Art & Design

Bishop Auckland College student Lewis Raine with Barbara Shepherd and Kimberley Cunningham at Chittocks general store.

Student is using his skills as a film maker to capture on film both the positives and the negatives of Bishop Auckland Market Place and shopping town centre. Uploaded onto YouTube

on Friday 30th March, the film forms part of the Town Team’s bid for £100,000 from the Mary Portas Review Pilot Scheme, which looks into the future of the high streets through-out the country.A leading retail expert and advisor to the Govern-ment, Ms Portas set out 28 recommendations in her December review commis-sioned by Prime Minister David Cameron, which warned that high streets could “disappear forever” without urgent action.Lewis' short film, which he directed and produced, includes interview pieces with local town's people and members of Bishop Auckland's business com-munity including The Bishop of Durham and Barbara Shepherd, owner of Chittocks traditional grocers store.Lewis said, “This has been a great opportunity to work on a real project. It has been hard work but I have learnt a lot from this experience and thoroughly enjoyed it”.

Cinema plans receive muted welcomePlans for a drive-in cinema at Bishop Auckland Rugby Club have been approved by Durham County Council.The man responsible for the application, Dave Appleby, said: “It will evoke nostalgic memories for older patrons who may have visited a drive-in in America, Australia or else-where, and bring a totally new experience for the younger generation.”Campaigners in Bishop Auckland have been calling for a cinema for many years – with more than 4,600 joining a Facebook campaign. The news received a lukewarm reaction on the page, which noted the applica-tion while commenting: “let’s keep our fingers crossed for a more per-manent addition to the town.”Cinema plans were approved as part of the £45m Terrace Hill de-velopment at St Helen

Auckland, but the cinema was shelved due to the recession.Sam Zair, county council-lor for Bishop Auckland, said, “We have had promises of a cinema coming to the town for many years, but hopefully this is one that will go ahead and it is one with a difference.“It will be unique and will draw people into Bishop Auckland, enhancing the economy and benefiting local businesses.”Mr Appleby believes the Bishop Auckland drive-in, which would operate between April and October and allow up to 150 cars to park on one of the playing fields at West Mills, will create about 20 jobs and will prove a British success. “This will be a valuable asset to Bishop Auckland, bringing a unique form of cinema much wanted in the area,” he said.

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Saturday 14th April 2012 The Bishop PressIssue 80Page 2

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Thanks to the generos-ity of the Bishop Auckland business community and individuals alike, Sixth Form Business Studies students at King James I Academy are one huge step closer to raising the money needed for their forthcoming volunteering trip to Ghana.The group of eight students have been fund-raising since September to raise the money needed to take part in the ‘Original Volunteers’ programme, a scheme that relies on vol-unteers travelling to Ghana at their own expense, to work on a range of projects that will benefit some of the poorest communities in the world.The hugely successful

Local Support for Ghana Volunteers

‘Ghana Fun Night’ event at Bishop Auckland Rugby Club was the most recent in a series of fundraising activities which, thanks to a fantastic level of com-munity support, raised a grand total of £1,017.50. Speaking on behalf of the group, student Stephanie Puckering said, “We are all thrilled with the final total, but know that we could not have achieved this without the huge range of raffle, tombola and auction prizes that were donated for the event. We are so grateful to everyone involved.”The project was the idea of David Longstaff, Director of Business Studies at King James, who wanted to give students a challenge that would develop their

business skills in a practical way. He will be accompa-nying the group along with two other staff members: “Students have really embraced this opportu-nity and shown great ini-tiative in raising the money needed. We will be working with truly underprivileged children in Ghana, many of whom are orphans, so we will all see first hand what it really means to survive with nothing. I have no doubt that this will be a life changing experience but that our students will rise to the challenge.”The group will be depart-ing for the three-week trip in July. Until then, fundraising will continue, starting with a bag pack at Asda on 21st April.The mayor of Bishop

Auckland, Councillor John Lethbridge, was on-hand to thank staff and custom-ers of The King’s Balti on Newgate Street, after their fundraising box filled faster than any other business in

Mayor John Lethbridge accepts a total of £74.83 from manager, Sonny from The King’s Balti.

Fast food & fast money!

the town.The box contained £74.83, which had been raised for The Butterwick Hospice.“The generosity shown by customers of the King’s Balti exceeded all expata-tions,” said John.

The sound of ScotlandBishop Auckland now has the sound of Scotland, with the Bishop Auckland and District Pipes & Drums.The band consists of a group of enthusiasts who love the sound of pipes and drums and aim to

promote Scottish culture and music in the region and to attract, train and retain bagpipe and drummer mu-sicians.The band practices on Tuesday evenings, between 6.30pm and 9.30pm at

the Community Centre in Cumbria Place, Henknowle. Anyone wishing to join the band can go along to rehearsals, call John Atkinson-Millmoor on 07903209759, or email www.baadpad.co.uk.

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Hamsterley Forest WalkHamsterley Forest Walk, a sponsored walk which raises funds for Macmillan Cancer Support, is taking place on Sunday, 29th April, starting at 10am. The main walk is a chal-lenging 11 miles through

the forest, but there is also a shorter 4 mile route. There is a registration fee of £7.50 to participate in the walk and Macmillan suggest walkers aim to raise a minimum of £35. The event is both children

and dog friendly. Walkers can register on the Macmillan website at www.macmillan.org.uk/walking, by email at ham-sterley@macmillan.org.uk or by calling 0300 1000 200.

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Saturday 14th April 2012The Bishop Press Issue 80 Page 3

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Cabinet is set to hear how highlighting heritage and encouraging more shoppers and national retailers are key plans for the town.Cabinet members will discuss the Bishop Auckland Development Masterplan when they meet later this month and will hear how Durham County Coun-cil’s Regeneration and Economic Development department is looking at ways to optimise visitors to the town.Plans include deliver-ing improvements to the town’s bus and rail station and highlighting the famous Palace, home to the Bishops of Durham for 800 years. They also identify the need to make the most of opportunities for more hotels and accommodation within the area.The masterplan details how attracting more national retailers is a key priority and reflects the fact that the council is working with Newgate Shopping Centre owners, Ravenhill, to look at potential expan-sion. This would include reconfiguring the size of the bus station but the au-thority will work with bus service providers to ensure services are maintained. Cllr Neil Foster, Cabinet member for regenera-

tion and economic de-velopment, said, “Bishop Auckland really is one of the jewels in our county’s crown. There is so much to celebrate there, the Palace, the Zurbaran Paint-ings and the Deer House and of course the magnifi-cent Town Hall building. “Regeneration work is well underway and improve-ments can already be seen in the Market Place, includ-ing those to key buildings such as the former Fortune Court takeaway.”The paper makes it clear the council is working with a range of private sector partners to ensure that the town centre is capable of attracting new retailers and at North Bondgate the local authority is seeking to develop the site in a joint venture with Gentoo. Preliminary work is being undertaken to find out whether retail develop-ment is viable and if it is, planning permission will be sought.As an interim measure the former bus depot will be resurfaced to provide ad-ditional car parking in the town centre. The report identifies that Newgate Street is the main shopping area of the town, with research showing that only ten per cent of

the available shops are empty. Cllr John Lethbridge, Mayor of Bishop Auckland, said, “There is a lot to celebrate in Bishop Auckland and this masterplan will help us take great steps in making the most of this historic town both for both resi-dents and visitors.”Plans also highlight the need to establish a new Customer Access Point offering residents much improved access to council and partner agency services within the town and the long-term desire to redevelop Kingsway, an area just off the main shopping street.In addition the paper states that Bishop Auckland requires 2,800 new homes in order to meet the needs of the expanding popula-tion.The council is also working with Visit County Durham to improve the town’s tourism potential and increase en-trepreneurial activity. Investigation work is also being undertaken on the Grade II listed former boys grammar school. The council is working with in-terested parties to look at the best way of taking the building forward. Cabinet will discuss the masterplan on 18th April.

Making most of historic town

Bishop Auckland Theatre Society is desperately seeking a home to store its flats and props, as they are no longer able to use their current facility.“If any one has spare space

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Jail for drunk driverBen Collinson, 23, of Raby Terrace, West Auckland, was jailed for 12 months after admitting dangerous driving and driving with excess alcohol.The joiner, who later admitted drinking eight pints, was seen by police in a car outside a pub in Burnley, Lancashire, but sped off when the officers approached to speak to him. Collinson, who also has a

previous conviction and a two-year ban for drunk driving, then led police on a high speed chase near a hospital and through a residential area, where he was clocked at 65mph in a 30mph zone. His driving was so erratic and danger-ous that police were forced to back off.Eventually he crashed into two parked cars near Burnley General Hospital and was found to have

89mcg of alcohol in 100ml of breath. The legal limit is 35mcg.Collinson admitted the offence at Burnley Crown Court and was jailed and banned from driving for three years.Judge Beverley Lunt said, “There must be an imme-diate custodial sentence to punish you and deter others from ever driving as you did when you were drunk.”

Town looks forward to Food Festival Feeling peckish? Then there’s not long to wait now for the annual Food Festival, which returns to Bishop Auckland on 21st April and promises to be tastier than ever before!Among the stalls to tempt your taste buds will be: artisan breads; char-cuterie; organic wines; award winning cheese; seafood; meat and game. Get ready to be inspired by cookery demonstra-tions and entertained by performers from some of Durham’s other big fes-tivals, including Streets of Summer Festival and Brass.Producers and food cham-

pions from across the North East and the Taste Durham award scheme will be joined by a regional market offering a ‘taste of Wales’ so don’t forget to take your appetite and your shopping bags.The festival highlight this year is TV stars, the Fabulous Baker Brothers. Tickets to see their lecture, priced at £3, have been selling fast and are almost sold out as we go to press. To check if there are any tickets left, contact the Durham Visitor Contact Centre on 03000 262626. The talk will take place between 11.30am and 1.00pm on the 21st April.

in a garage or outbuilding we would be very grateful,” said a spokesperson.Contact Rob Berry, Chairman of the society on 01388 663208, if you can help.

Storage sought

Saturday 14th April 2012 The Bishop PressIssue 80Page 4

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Colleagues at Sainsbury’s Bishop Auckland are cel-ebrating after going the extra mile in their fundrais-ing efforts for this year’s Sport Relief campaign. Fol-lowing a number of sport-themed fundraising activi-ties organised by colleagues at the store, situated in St Helen Auckland, they raised in total £5,915.13. Sport Relief 2012 mer-chandise went on sale in Sainsbury’s on 15th February, with the Sport Relief weekend taking place between Friday 23rd to Sunday 25th March. Many customers supported Sains-bury’s Bishop Auckland fun-

draising activities, which began with sponsored bike ride on Friday 23rd March.To culminate their fun-draising for this year’s campaign, several col-leagues from Sainsbury’s Bishop Auckland were involved in the Sainsbury’s Sport Relief Mile. Marion McKenna, a Counters Manager who took part said, “Running for a good cause with so many local people truly was a great experience. Sainsbury’s are proud to have sponsored the mile and we’d like to thank all our customers who liter-ally went the extra mile in

their fundraising efforts for Sport Relief”.Sainsbury’s Chief Executive Justin King also went the extra mile and took part in a special Sport Relief Mile Challenge. Justin ran 32 miles between 14th to 17th March, where colleagues from every Sainsbury’s store ran with Justin, which equalled over 1000 colleagues. Tom Phillipson, Daniel Hardy and Nicky Dixon from Sainsbury’s Bishop Auckland were the colleagues who ran with Justin in the 5th leg of his challenge on 14th March at Bishop Auckland Football Club .

Colleagues go the extra mile for Sport Relief

Town Hall eventsBishop Auckland Town Hall continues to bring top class an comprehensive entertainment to the town and this month is no dif-ferent. On Wednesday 18th, join Kieran Halpin and Jimmy Smith for an evening of folk with “intelligent lyrics

and memorable melodies” (8pm, tickets £8/£6 concs).Friday 20th sees the return of the popular Comedy Club featuring Phil Ellis, El Purnell and MC Ray Bradshaw from 7.30pm (tickets £8 in advance, £10 on the door). On Wednesday 9th May

a brand new musical comedy, Eddie and the Golden Tops, will be staged from 7.30pm. Tickets £8, or £6 for con-cessions.Contact the Town Hall on 01388 602610 to enquire about any of the events or to book tickets.

Colleagues at Sainsbury’s Bishop Auckland taking part in a sponsored bike ride.

Dancing QueenKays Hill Animal Sanctuary is to hold a Dancing Queen Disco, with music from the 70s and 80s, on Saturday 21st April. As well as the disco, there will be karaoke, a quiz, raffle prizes, food and a

tombola. The fundraising event will take place at The Manor pub on Henknowle from 7pm. Tickets cost £5 for adults and £3 for kids.For tickets and information, contact Becky on 07972 268 420.

Bishop Auckland Choral Society is presenting a Diamond Jubilee Concert at Bishop Auckland Town Hall on Friday 11th May, from 7.30pm.The group will perform pieces from Schubert and

Mozart, as well as other light music.Tickets cost £8 (£6 for con-cessions) and are available from Jennifer on 01388 747621. Alternatively, pay on the door.

Jubilee concert

Crafts fairThe Four Clocks Centre on Newgate Street will be holding a Crafts Fair on Saturday 12th may, between 10am and 2.30pm.

“We have the stalls, you bring the crafts,” said a spokesperson.For more information, contact the Centre on 01388 609852.

Missing catThe owners of a 9 month-old female tabby cat are appealing for her safe return. Lulu went missing on Wednesday 28th March from the West Road area. She is wearing a brown spotty collar with a pink

heart-shaped tag. She is also microchipped.“She belongs to my 9 year-old autistic daughter and is a much-loved pet,” said the owner.Anyone with information should call 01388 458215.

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Saturday 14th April 2012The Bishop Press Issue 80 Page 5

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Robyn Witherspoon, Danielle Foster and Bethany Ridley.

Creative Eggs-cellence!

As Easter Sunday approach-es, students have been showing off their creative talents by entering the ‘Decorate an Egg Competi-tion’, held every year at King James I Academy.Year 8 student, Danielle

Foster, was declared the overall winner with her truly spectacular entry entitled ‘Eggs Angels’, an ingenious idea which was inspired by her Dad’s love of motorbikes. Claiming joint second place

were Robyn Witherspoon, with a clever twist on ‘Devilled Egg’ and Bethany Ridley, with a very cute sheep! Each student was present-ed with a chocolate Easter egg and a voucher.

Three accused escape prison in cannabis factory caseA farmer who rented out dozens of steel contain-ers on his property was acquitted of being con-cerned in the production of Class B drugs, while two unemployed men were given 12 month suspended sentences and ordered to undertake 150 hours of unpaid community work, after convincing Teesside Crown Court that their roles in the production of a crop of cannabis plants was ‘subordinate’.The cannabis factory, which had the potential to make more than £100,000-

a-year was described by prosecutor Jonathan Walker, as a “conveyor-belt” for producing seed-lings and plants. It was discovered by police when they raided a farm near Bishop Auckland. The farmer, Joseph Elliot, 53, told police that he was completely unaware of what went on inside the containers and said that he had simply leased them to “a couple of dodgy lads from Stockton.” Mr Walker said that police immediately noticed a pungent smell of cannabis

on the site and could hear an electricity meter.Jobless pair, Mark Thompson, 26 and Craig Hull, 27, both from Hartle-pool, claimed to have been paid £150 a week by “bigger players”, to water the plants every other day. Passing sentence, Judge, Recorder David Dobbin, told the two defend-ants, “This was clearly a well-organised and fairly sophisticated production unit.” Mr Herrmann told the court that the “bigger players” have not been caught.

Bishop Auckland Music Society (BAMS) is tuning up in readiness for its series of summer concerts, with one each month from April to July and another in Sep-tember. The first concert features Clarion 3 on Friday 27th April. All the concerts take place in the Throne Room at Auckland Castle from 7.30pm. Tickets can be bought for each individual concert at £12 or a season ticket for

BAMS summer season

all five concerts is available at £48. Eighteen year-olds and under can enter free, but must book a ticket. All ticket types and bro-chures are available from Brian Varley on 01388 606075. Single tickets are available from Cameo Fine Art Ltd, 93 Newgate Street, Bishop Auckland. For more information on Clarion 3 and their pro-gramme for the evening, see www.communigate.co.uk/ne/bams.

WoW – events in AprilWoW – Woodhouse on Wednesday, is a free event at the Woodhouse Close Library each Wednesday from 1pm – 2.30pm. On 18th April, Mr F Farley will give a talk on ‘Aid work in Burma’ and on 25th April, Olly Burton will give an ‘animated cartoons

demonstration’.If you have suggestions for activities for WoW – they can be informative, sup-portive, or just good fun – the library would like to hear from you. Call 01388 604 612 or email wood-housecl.lib@durham.gov.uk.

For some time, a group of like-minded individu-als have been informally discussing the potential for a Road Transport Museum to be situated in Bishop Auckland.With a potential venue having been identified in the town, the group have decided to take their idea to the next stage.

They would like to invite members of the public who share their interest to meet at Asda, Bishop Auckland’s meeting room on Monday 16th April at 7.30pm with a view to forming the Friends of Bishop Auckland Road Transport Museum.All interested parties are invited to attend.

Road Transport Museum meeting

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Saturday 14th April 2012 The Bishop PressIssue 80Page 6

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Swim challenge for Hospice care

Bishop Auckland Town Council and Bishop Auckland Town Team have had only a few weeks to put together a bid for the Portas Review Pilots money of £100,000 which was submitted at the end of March.The Town Council was de-lighted that over 60 people attended a Public Meeting in early March in support of setting up a Town Team, after which the frantic

The Butterwick Hospice are appealing for keen swimmers to take part in the annual Great North Swim.The Great North Swim is a one mile open water challenge that takes place in the beautiful setting of Lake Windermere in the Lake District. The event takes place on Saturday, 23rd June 2012. If you would like a place in this event, Butterwick Hospice in Bishop Auckland has a limited number of charity places available. Participants must be regis-tered by mid-May. Registration is £37 (non-refundable). “We ask swimmers to raise a minimum of £200 and fundraising support and advice will be given,” said

a spokesperson. Contact Julie Nisbet on 01388

603003 or email julienis-bet@butterwick.org.uk.

Fundraisers with their medals at last year’s swim.

work began.A spokesperson for the Town Council said, “Tre-mendous support from the Town Team enabled the bid to be completed with new ideas, new partners and a shared vision to revitalise the town. We consider our bid to be a strong contender and feel that with, or without the money, the Town Team will continue its work for the benefit of the town.”

Council delighted with turn-out

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Dear Editor,

I was extremely happy to read the article on page 3 of the Bishop Press on Friday 31st about the petition to keep M&S open in Bishop by Christine Atkinson [‘Petition will fight for town centre M&S’].

I have always shopped at M&S, mainly for underwear, but also clothes and food. I was horrified when I heard it was moving to St. Helen Auckland.

I don’t know where she is collecting signatures but I would be very happy to give mine if I knew where.

Yours failthfully, A J Thirkell, Bishop Auckland

LettersHave your say...

You can sign the petition to save the Town Centre M&S store at The Four Clocks Centre on Newgate Street.

Would you like to make new friends? Then why not join The Friend-ship Coffee Club, which meets in The Four Clocks Centre on Newgate Street

from 10.30am on the first Thursday of each month.“Everyone is more than welcome to join us,” said a spokesperson for the group.

Coffee Club

Boy attackedPolice are appealing for wit-nesses after a 15 year-old boy was attacked on South Church Road.The incident occured on Thursday 29th March at around 6.20pm.A woman who stopped to

help was unable to catch the suspect, who is described as around 15 years-old with short light brown hair and wearing casual clothing.Anyone who may have seen the attack is urged to call PC David Wray on 101.

Handbag solenA black handbag was stolen from the British Red Cross shop on Newgate Street at around 1.20pm on Thursday

5th April.It contained £100 cash as well as cards. Anyone with information should call 101.

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Open 7 Days, 4pm - 11pmFree Deliveries on orders over £6 (2 mile radius)

Saturday 14th April 2012The Bishop Press Issue 80 Page 7

High Quality Gates Garden Fences - Wall Railings

- Free Estimates &Advice on any project

- Experienced Tradesmen - Friendly Reliable Fast Advice

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Bishop Band night goes with a bangFive local bands played to a packed house in Bishop Auckland recently, as once again Bishop Band Night proved to be a big success.The popular event is or-ganised by Durham County Council’s Positive Activi-ties for Young People team and around 80 youngsters under the age of 18 gathered at the Town Hall in the Market Place on Saturday 31st March to listen to musicians from the area showcase their songs.Alison Ghent, youth worker with Durham County Council, said, “Once again the young people who per-formed were fantastic and we were really pleased with the turn out.“Thanks to all of the staff at the town hall for their support and help for the

King James I Commu-nity Association have new courses for adults on offer this month. If you are interested in learning a new language, there are Beginners French, Spanish and Italian lessons, as well as Advanced French. There are also Next Steps Computers, Flower Arrang-ing, Jewellery Making and Art.As well as these adult classes, there are also lots of activities for children

E + E CORNPeel Street, Bishop Auckland, 01388 603333

Garden Compost - multi-purpose big 60ltr bag: 3 for £10

Grow Bags from £1.50

Levington’s multi-purpose compost 75 ltr bag: £6

Lewis Gallon, Bradley Layton, Tom Hargrove and Max Hargrove perfoming in their band, Trafalger.

previous events.”The next event takes place on Saturday 21st April at Bishop Auckland

Cricket Club. For more information contact Alison Ghent on 07825 341218.

and young people, holiday activities and sports and meeting facilities for hire.“As a centre we are always looking for enthusiastic tutors to join our excellent team,” said a spokesper-son.For enquiries contact King James I Community Asso-ciation on 01388 603543, email kjca@durhamlearn-ing.net or look on our Community page of the school website www.king-james1academy.com.

New courses on offer

Work to improve road safety on a busy rounda-bout has been completed.Durham County Council has carried out the work at the A689 roundabout at Toronto.It follows a number of complaints from drivers that they found it difficult to see traffic approaching on the roundabout due to

Roundabout improvements

The Durham Amateur Football Trust are seeking photographs and other items of memorabilia relating to the Auckland District League for an exhibition, taking place between 9th May and

Memorabilia appeal 2nd June in the Locomo-tion Railway Museum at Shildon. Contact John Atkinson on 01388 602245 or Sam Smith at the Trust headquarters in Soho Cottages, Shildon on 01388 772524.

sight lines being blocked by bushes and other plants growing there.The foliage has now been removed and landscaping work has been done to improve the appearance of the roundabout and make it safer for drivers.Steven Johnson, Durham County Council’s area su-pervisor for the local clean

and green team – which carried out the work – said, “This work has been carried out as part of our ongoing roundabout pro-gramme, which aims not only to improve the local environment but also to reduce the maintenance and associated costs needed to keep the area attractive and safe.”

Grandmother Ann Fiona Teesdale, had been enjoying a drink through-out the course of the af-ternoon of 31st March, as she entertained her grand-children. When one of the children suffered stomach cramps the 54 year-old became concerned but then foolishly decided to drive the child to hospital in Bishop Auckland. She

Grandmother’s drink drive shame

drove her Suzuki Swift from her home in Park Avenue, Coundon Gate but en route to hospital, drove into a barrier near a roundabout in Newgate Street. She was stopped in Escomb Road and gave a roadside reading of 100 micro-grammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath. The District Judge at Newton Aycliffe Magistrates’ Court

noted the high reading and the fact that the defendant had driven with a child in her vehicle. He ordered a stand down to enable the Probation Services to prepare a pre-sentence report. In mitigation it was stated that the events had been “a wake-up call” for the defendant, who was now addressing her problems with alcohol.

MP April Surgery Helen Goodman MP’s next constituency surgery will take place on Friday 20th April at 5pm at the Coundon & Leeholme Partnership Building, Tees Walk, Coundon. No ap-pointment is needed. If you cannot attend Miss Goodman’s surgery, she can be contact via her

constituency office at 1, Cockton Hill Road, Bishop Auckland, her parliamen-tary office at House of Commons, London SW1A 0AA, by phone or fax on 01388 603075, by email at goodmanh@parliament.uk or through her con-stituency website at www.helengoodman.co.uk.

Saturday 14th April 2012 The Bishop PressIssue 80Page 8

SportLocal leagues, competitions and events...

Bishop press The

18 year-old Bishop Auckland Rugby Club star Alec Clarey was delighted to be included in the England Under 18 side to face Leicester Academy and Ireland Under 18s on 8th April.Alec, from Witton Park, plays at prop for Bishop Auckland Academy and 1st XV at Barnard Castle School and is due to sign contracts at Leicester Tigers as a full time professional.He is the first interna-tional player from Bishop Auckland Rugby Club, where he started playing only four years ago at the age of 14. By 15, Alec had made his debut for Durham County and at 16 was awarded a rugby scholarship to Barnard Castle School.Bishop Auckland coach Steve Colwell stated, “It is a testament to his hard work and dedication that Alec has been selected to play for England. He has obviously got a huge talent – but works hard every day to condi-tion himself for rugby. He

International honours for Clarey

The Under 13s Angels played against Whickham Fellside in the semi-final of the Russel Foster Cup. It was a tremendously close and tense game, ending in a 2-2 draw after extra time with two goals from Kimberley Dodds.The game went to penal-ties and with two great saves from goalkeeper Emily Stothad and goals from Kimberley Dodds, Ebony Thompson, Shannon Reed and Sam Moody, St. Mary’s went through to the final 4-3. The Under 13 Kings got promoted after missing out by a point last year. They clinched promotion with four goals from Sam Parnaby in a 6-0 win over Redcar Town, with a goal each for Kieran Kirkby and Thomas Wilkinson.The Under 13 Aces had a good 1-0 win over Hardwick Youth, with Myles Swift getting the all important goal and Brett Davison winning man-of-the-match.The Under 18 Kings had a good 2-2 draw away at Marton FC, with two

Alec Clarey was picked for the Under 18s England squad.

has been a key figure in the club for a few years now and every player and member is incredibly proud

of him.”England were narrowly defeated by Leicester, 28-25.

Off to Wembley, Sherwoods parts delivery driver Matt Coad with football mascot sons, L-R, Heath, three, Jude, nine months and Harley, five

Footballer overcomes career-ending injury to play at WembleyA footballer who believed his playing days had been ended by a terrible injury is set to walk on the hallowed turf of Wembley with his boys as he takes part in an historic cup final.Matt Coad snapped a cruciate ligament playing for his Northern League side, West Auckland, but surgeons replaced it with one of his hamstrings.And after two successful operations and a host of physiotherapy, the Sher-woods parts delivery driver was back on his feet and playing for his team.The 27 year-old winger is now one of the squad due to play in the FA Vase final at Wembley on 13th May against Dunston.“I managed to secure a YTS with York City straight from

school and did a year with them as a professional,” said Matt.“After that I played for Crook Town but recently snapped my cruciate ligament. I thought ‘that’s it, game over’. It went through my head a million times whether I would ever play again and now, look, my first season back and I’m being rewarded by playing for West Auckland at Wembley. You dream of it as a boy but you don’t imagine it will ever happen.“There are players out there getting £100,000 a week who will never get to play at Wembley; and look at us, delivery drivers, builders, electri-cians, getting to play in the national stadium.”

St Mary’s roundupgoals from Sam Dixon and man-of-the-match going to keeper James Cleminson.The Under 7 Aces finished their season off with the same points as the Under 7 Kings, with a 3-1 win over Spraire Lads. Goals came from Danny Shaw (2) and Robbie Wilkinson. The friendly was a 2-1 win with goals from Cole Layfield and George Tinkler.The Under 8 Aces had a good 3-1 win over Seaton Carew with goals from Luke Brownless and Kyle Blacklock (2).The Under 10 Aces had a great 2-0 win against 21st Allstars with two goals from Aaron Willoughby. The friendly was a 1-0 win with Connor Jackman scoring.The Under 10 Kings also had a great 3-1 win over league leaders Middleton Rangers, with goals from Lewis Poppleton, Jack Glasper and Oliver Lamb.The Under 12s lost 3-1 against Redcar with Aidan Martin scoring and Adam Dobson winning man-of-the-match.