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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Hexham is to hold a special pancake themed Farmers' Market, with traditional pancake race, Mardi Gras carnival competition and live music from Mardi Gras band Tenth Avenue three days early on Saturday, February 13.

The market will be selling pancakes and eggs and butter for people to make their own on Shrove Tuesday.

More than 800 vulnerable pensioners across the county use the scheme, which allows them concessionary travel in taxis because they are unable to use other forms of public transport.

They use council-issued vouchers, tokens or passes to pay for taxi trips to the shops, GP and hospital appointments or to visit relatives and friends.

A 24-year-old nurse was asked to provide proof that she was over 18 when attempting to buy two bottles of Fentimans Curiosity Cola in a Tesco in Santry, Dublin at the weekend.

Staff insisted that the trace alcohol, less that 0.5 % ABV, in the drink means it cannot be sold to under 18s.

The Duchess called to officially open the refurbished Tynedale Hospice shop and new book shop, which supports the work of the hospice set up in Tynedale 16 years ago.

The Duchess is pictured with Edith Russell, Brian Massey, Christine Mitchel and Trish Fawcett

Last year, the charity's running costs were over £250,000 and around 15% of this was provided by Northumberland Care Trust.

It involves county council community wardens, Northumbria Police officers and Northumberland fire and rescue service personnel visiting farms and other remote rural locations in the Tynedale area on a regular basis.

The relaunched Farmwatch campaign also includes partners from the county's west area local multi-agency problem solving group (LMAPS).