Hexham 3, Newcastle BT 1

Once again the Northern Alliance fixture list was affected by the weather but Hexham were fortunate that their Division Two match was given the go-ahead. Once again the squad was depleted with seven call offs in the morning due to injury and work commitments, but this year's squad has great strength in depth and Hexham were still able to name five subs.

Curtis Harvey scores his first senior goal for Hexham

There was even a change of match referee as appointed official Colin Smith was requested to take a game in Cumbria but another local ref Brian Young stepped in to save the day.

Newcastle BT had not come just for a day out and was looking for the points and for the first ten minutes had Hexham on the back foot. They seemed sharper in to the tackle and were finding their men better than the home side but did not put Dave Anderson in the Hexham goal under any serious pressure.

Parking fees levied on drivers visiting Northumberland towns has emerged as the hottest topic in the initial stages of a major review aimed at developing a county-wide parking strategy.

A progress report on the review reveals hundreds of people have made their views known on whether parking fees should be imposed across the whole county - rather than just in selected towns.

More than 560 people have signed three separate petitions calling for an equal policy across the board, with charges being made in all principal towns.

Families in Northumberland have been spared a 25% increase in the cost of having their garden waste collected this year following a revolt by opposition county councillors.

It was planned to put up the annual charge for the service from £20 to £25 in March - to bring in an extra £60,000 and help the county council achieve tough budget savings.

Now the saving will have to be found elsewhere after Conservative and Labour councillors joined forces to defeat the move at a meeting in County Hall on Wednesday.

A heartbroken father whose wife and teenage daughter were killed in a tragic road accident spoke last night of his love and pride for both of them.

Nurse Susan Washington, 47, and her schoolgirl daughter Katie, 16, died when their Vauxhall Astra collided head-on with a Jaguar on the Military Road at Chollerford near Hexham on Sunday.

Katie Washington, right, in the arms of her mother alongside brother and sister Rachael and Nathan

The double fatality stunned residents in the close-knit village of Humshaugh, where Mrs Washington lived with her husband Colin, 49, and their three children.

Young apprentices gathered outside NCL House, the base of North Country Leisure in Hexham, to highlight Apprenticeship Week.

NCL's apprenticeship scheme has led to several participants already securing full-time positions after completing their on-the-job training.

They learned skills including sports leadership, customer service and health and safety.

The week, which has been running from February 1-5, aims to highlight the benefits of getting paid while gaining qualifications and workplace experience.

Black ice on one of the North East's main dual carriageway caused a string of accidents today.

As commuters made their way to work along the A69 between Hexham and Newcastle, cars skidded out of control.

Drivers watched in horror as four cars slid into embankments and one even overturned.

No-one received serious injuries and the road was closed for a period of time. It started at 7.54am when a Land Rover slid off the road near Wylam. Police then received a flurry of reports from panicking drivers of a Vauxhall Corsa, a Fiat Punto and a Toyota Yaris.

All three had also skidded on black ice in separate accidents.

Plans to create a £3.5m centre of creativity for young people in Northumberland have come a step closer.

Designs for the Tynedale Creative and Media Skills Centre - next to Prudhoe Community High School - have gone on public display.

The centre will house state-of-the-art media production facilities in a leading edge building shared across the Tynedale Virtual College - a partnership of the four high schools in the area along with Northumberland College, Dilston College and Hexham Priory School.

A veteran Labour MP has accused council bosses in Northumberland of seeking the easy way out by targeting elderly and disabled people when making tough budget cuts.

Blyth Valley MP Ronnie Campbell is writing to Liberal Democrat leaders at County Hall and asking them to "stop hitting" the elderly population of the county.

He says the recent announcement the council is axing a scheme which provides cut-price taxi travel for hundreds of pensioners who are unable to use buses is the latest in a damaging series of cost-cutting measures affecting older people.

Hexham u16 girls 1, North Shields u16 girls 1

Hexham girls entertained North Shields at Tyne Green on Sunday in what was only their second league game of the season.

After a cold start, the Hexham girls settled into the match well with some good play up the left hand side between Beth Kennedy and Emma Smith. However as one of Hexham's attacks was broken down, the first goal of the match came as North Shields broke with a quick pass from the midfield over the Hexham defence to leave the North Shields striker to hit the back of the net.

Hexham's heads did not fall though and with growing communication between Holly Turley and Hannah Kennedy the defence grew strong.

A charity music night is to be held to raise money for Tynedale hospice.

The Metal 'til Midnight event will feature live music from local metal bands, as well as a hog roast, a bar and a prize draw.

Metal 'til Midnight takes place from 5pm until midnight on Saturday February 6 at Hexham Racecourse.

Tickets, priced at £8, are available from Tynedale Hospice at Battle Hill, Hexham, and Core Music. Call 01434 604321 or visit www.metaltilmidnight.tk for more details.