Boxing Day shoppers stayed away from the High Street and shopping centres, compared with last year, footfall data suggests. Data gathered by MRI Software showed footfall on UK high streets wasdown 6.2% on 2023, while shopping centres saw a 4.2% fall in visitors. The figures are an early sign thatContinue Reading

Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch has accused Nigel Farage of “fakery” over Reform UK membership numbers, after his party said they had surpassed the Tories in signed-up members. A digital tracker on Reform’s website shows its membership numbers have overtaken the 131,680 figure declared by the Conservatives earlier this year. BadenochContinue Reading

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has paid tribute to his younger brother Nick, who had cancer, after he died on Boxing Day at the age of 60. “My brother Nick was a wonderful man,” Starmer said in a statement. “He met all the challenges life threw at him with courageContinue Reading

Tributes have been paid to a cyclist who died in a crash two days before Christmas. Anthony Brian Milburn died in the collision with a BMW on the A688 close to Binchester Services, near Bishop Auckland in County Durham. The 34-year-old dad was airlifted to James Cook University Hospital inContinue Reading

In a shocking incident on Christmas Day morning, ambulance workers were subjected to violence while attempting to provide care to someone in need. A North East Ambulance Service (NEAS) first responder was returning to her station in a rapid response vehicle when she noticed a person sitting alone in theContinue Reading

Officers have released images of a man they would like to identify after they received a report that counterfeit bank notes were used at a shop in Newcastle city centre. Police received a report that just after 2.30pm on Friday, November 22, a man entered CEX Entertainment on Northumberland Street.Continue Reading

Alasdair MacConachie OBE, a revered philanthropist, business leader, and dedicated community campaigner, passed away on Christmas Day at Darlington Memorial Hospital following a brief illness. He was 78. Mr. MacConachie’s impact on Darlington and beyond is immeasurable. As the driving force behind Sherwoods Motor Group, he built a thriving businessContinue Reading

A campaign group says a railway line’s new timetable is “bad” for north-east England. South East Northumberland Rail User Group (SENRUG) understands the changes to the East Coast Main Line, external, due to come into operation in December 2025, mean Morpeth will lose three LNER northbound and two southbound services, as wellContinue Reading

Work to prop up part of a dangerous flyover has begun, a council has confirmed. Gateshead Highway closed suddenly on 13 December after investigations judged the 1960s structure to be dangerous. Metro services between Monument and Heworth, which run in tunnels under the flyover, were also suspended and replaced byContinue Reading

Three taxi marshals have been removed from duty after a passenger was reportedly pressured into giving them a tip. Darlington Borough Council was told a person was not allowed to get into a taxi without tipping a marshal over the weekend. It said the marshals had been pulled from dutyContinue Reading