Thousands of people who put their names to petitions opposing the potential closure of day care centres in Northumberland have been sent official council letters - questioning whether they had the right information when they signed.

The letters - signed by a senior member of the Liberal Democrat administration at County Hall - have gone out to almost 2,500 people who signed petitions calling for the seven county council-run centres for the elderly and disabled to remain open.

Yesterday they were branded insulting, unnecessary and a waste of taxpayers' money by some of those who have received them.

Hexham has been announced as the location for next year's Beef Expo event.

The National Beef Association (NBA) organised event, which takes place at a different venue each year, will be staged at the town's mart on May 27.

Thousands of beef producers from around the UK and overseas are expected to attend the expo, which serves as the industry's major technical event and will include beef breed demonstrations, educational and advisory exhibits, practical demonstrations of livestock machinery, a comprehensive seminar programme plus trade stands and competitions.

Organisers of the Hexham Native Horse and Pony Show were relieved that they had far less wet weather than expected at their event.

The show, one of three key rare breed events nationally, avoided much of the anticipated rain and crowds enjoyed a variety of classes.

With nine native breeds including Shetlands, Welsh, New Forest and the rare Irish Draught, dedicated show participants were joined by those who simply liked horses and wanted to have a ride.

Police are trying to trace two drivers after a road crash in Hexham.

Officers believe the drivers of an orange Nissan Micra and a white coach pair may be able to shed light on the collision which left two other drivers needing hospital treatment.

The incident happened at about 2.40pm, on Saturday, when a silver Nissan Almera collided with a black Vauxhall Corsa, on Allendale Road, Lowgate, Hexham.

Anyone with information should call police on 0345 604-3043 ext 61474.

When it comes to saving money, Monique Clark is a one step ahead.

With the credit crunch continuing to bite, every penny counts. And mother-of-two Monique is no slouch when it comes to saving.

In fact she has made it through to the final of a competition to find the UK's savviest shopper.

A series of workshops to help people wanting to set up their own business will be coming to Hexham.

HM Revenue and Customs is hosting the free workshop at Tyneside, Northumberland and Wearside.

The workshops will provide a comprehensive overview of tax, National Insurance, VAT, record keeping and payment schedules.

For a man lucky not to be killed falling 30 feet from a Corbridge dentist's roof on to his van - and who virtually turned his back on golf for 13 years - Ken Mewse is enjoying a hot streak.

The 48-year-old roofer from Hexham has won the Tynedale club championship for the fourth year in a row to qualify for The Journal Champion of Champions at De Vere Slaley Hall on September 6. Mewse learned his golf at Hexham and won their 1985 club championship. But by the time he hit his 30s, Mewse had tired of golf, and of the pain he was getting from his back. "I just got bored with it and fed up," he said. "I played a couple of times a year or so and that was it. I didn't miss it."

When he was 40, he had the work accident and says: "I blacked out as soon as I slipped off that roof in Corbridge and came round five hours later in hospital. That five hours of my life has remained a blank ever since, but the doctors told me I was lucky to have survived it."

Just one extra 20-year-old train is being offered to ease overcrowding on North East commuter rail services.

Transport operator Nexus was pitching for extra trains to run between Newcastle and commuter hotspots like Hexham, Morpeth, Chester-le-Street and Sunderland.

But the Department for Transport (DfT) has offered just one Class 142 pacer train, a make of train built only between 1985 and 1987, for the whole of the Tyne and Wear area.

A Hexham thief was given a three-month suspended jail sentence after he admitted stealing a piece of plant equipment worth £1,000.

James Isaac Dodds pleaded guilty to the theft from a Northumberland County Council depot on Burn Lane, Hexham on Sunday July 19.

Dodds, 24, of Chirdon Crescent, got into the compound by climbing over a wall and then took a mechanical breaker, stashing it near the entrance.

Market towns in the region are being hit harder by the recession than anywhere else, new research suggests.

A study carried out by the Government's Commission for Rural Communities (CRC) suggests that unemployment has risen by a third more in market towns than in other areas.

A report by the rural watchdog, which draws on research by Action for Market Towns, the Centre for Local Economic Strategies and the Rural Evidence Research Unit at Birkbeck, University of London, suggests that the number of vacant shop units in market towns is also increasing.