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. 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 mother and daughter who died in a head-on collision have been named.

Police say that Susan Elizabeth Washington and her daughter Katherine, who was known as Katy, died when their Vauxhall Astra hit an oncoming Jaguar on a rural road.

The 47-year-old and 16-year-old were pronounced dead at the scene of the crash on the B6318 at Chollerford near Hexham. The mother and daughter lived in nearby Humshaugh. Their family are said to be too devastated to speak at the moment.

Young actors can take part in a special summer theatre festival.

The event, taking place in Hexham, will be led by professional artists and run a programme of drama, ending with two productions by participants, at the Queen's Hall Arts Centre.

The Northumberland Youth Theatre Festival 2010, is being hosted by the centre in association with the Royal Society of Arts.

Members of Northumberland YFC 27-up will strut their stuff - better late than never - in a rearranged production of Aladdin this week.

The pantomime was originally scheduled to take place on January 9 and 10 at the Queen's Hall in Hexham but was cancelled for safety reasons because of the heavy snow.

Northumberland YFC panto- Charlottle Ridley, front, as Aladdin, with David Carr, the executioner, Geoff Hubbuck as Widow Twanky and Sarah Sparks as Wishee Washy

Northumberland County Show secretary Gaynor Shotton, who is in the chorus and has appeared in every one of the productions since 1992, said: "Everyone was making it through to the rehearsals but we are all farmers with four-wheel drives.