Basil Bunting is remembered as one of Britain's and the North East's leading poets - but perhaps he hasn't been remembered quite as well as he should have been.

That should change this weekend with the inauguration of a new poetry competition to celebrate his life and work.

Dr John Halliday with a copy of the poem Briggflatts by Basil Bunting

Retired solicitor Dr John Halliday, of Anick, near Hexham, hopes the Basil Bunting Poetry Award will become widely recognised as a major honour for poets.

World Cup winner Sir Bobby Charlton has been voted the Greatest Living Northumbrian in a poll on the Your Place microsites.

The Ashington-born footballer won 27% of the votes, beating actor Robson Green (17%) and comedian Ross Noble (15%).

Other nominees in the poll were Sir Bobby's brother Jack, musician Kathryn Tickell, cricketer Steve Harmison, the Duchess of Northumberland and darts commentator Sid Waddell.

The owners of a Northumberland chipboard plant have been ordered to pay more than £37,000 after two workers were injured in separate accidents.

In one of the incidents at the Egger UK plant in Hexham in 2007, a man had to have part of his leg amputated.

The company, which employs about 400 people at Hexham, admitted six breaches of health and safety legislation at the town's magistrate's court. It was fined £25,000 and ordered to pay £11,881 in costs.

A mother suffering from breast cancer is set to start clinical trials at Sir Bobby Robson's new centre for research into the disease - inspired by the former Newcastle manager.

Sally Ann Fenwick, of Hexham, was diagnosed with the disease last October and will be treated at the Sir Bobby Robson Cancer Trials Research Centre, at Newcastle's Freeman Hospital, for the first time on Wednesday.

The 44-year-old, who has two daughters - Olivia, nine, and Miranda, 14 - decided to participate in the trial because the particular type of cancer she has is resistant to typically-used breast cancer drugs including Herceptin.

An award-winning musician is returning to his roots to perform at a concert in Northumberland.

Tom McConville, who was recently crowned Musician of the Year at the BBC Folk Awards, will be at Hexham Community Church on Saturday for an evening of traditional and original Scottish, Irish and English music and song.

Tyneside-born Tom, also known as the Newcastle Fiddler, is a renowned figure on the folk scene and has recently had some of his music broadcast on BBC Radio 2.

On Sunday 15th February 2009, 19 girls from FA Centres of Excellence around the country gathered at Maidenhead for a 5 day England women's U15 training camp to include 2 friendly matches against France. A total of 10 of the girls came from just 3 clubs, Arsenal, Aston Villa and Everton.

The North East was represented by local girl Jenny Wilkes, currently captain of the Newcastle United Girls' Centre of Excellence U14 team.

The squad's intensive training programme, focusing on individual fitness and endurance, included daily ice baths. In addition this was an opportunity to practise football skills with fellow elite players.

Police in Northumberland are advising householders to be aware of bogus callers following a report of two men travelling around the Hexham area offering apparently unnecessary household repairs.

The men are believed to be using a white Renault Traffic van.

One of the men is described as being about 30 years old with an Irish accent, 5ft 9ins, of slim build, with short, fair hair, a beard and moustache.

BBC news frontman George Alagiah is to launch a campaign to make Hadrian's Wall Country a world-first Fairtrade zone.

Hadrian's Wall Country covers an area 10 miles on either side of the world heritage site from Tyneside to Ravenglass in Cumbria.

The world heritage site campaign, which is being led by the Hadrian's Wall Fairtrade Group, hopes to establish the corridor as the first cross-county Fairtrade zone in the world.

Small local producers are being urged to show off their goods at an event designed to introduce them to buyers.

Hadrian's Wall Heritage has organised the Locally Produced Trade Fair, which will be staged in Hexham next month.

It wants businesses producing everything from food and drink to textiles, greetings card and jewellery, to attend the event where they will be able to show off their goods to buyers from around the region and hopefully secure orders for the coming tourist season.

A woman remains in hospital following a crash with a lorry on the A69 near Hexham on Friday.

She was driving a Nissan Micra which was in collision with the articulated lorry just after 5pm near the Warden turnoff, and is still in Newcastle General Hospital.

Police today repeated pleas for witnesses to contact them on 0345 604-3043, ext 61474.