Work underway to transform Auckland Castle
Owners hoping County Durham site will become world-class visitor attraction
Man wanted by Cleveland Police
Police have released the photograph of a man they are trying to trace in connection with drugs and money laundering offences.
Pamela Jackson: 'no real chance' she's still alive
Police searching for missing Chester-le-Street woman Pamela Jackson have admitted there is little realistic chance she is still alive.
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Work underway to transform Auckland Castle
by Claire Montgomery
Owners hoping County Durham site will become world-class visitor attraction
Read the full storyCounty Durham hoarder killed in house fire
A woman died in a house fire in County Durham when firefighters were unable to save her because of the belongings she had hoarded in her home.
66-year-old Ann Bradshaw had packed the rooms of her house in Newton Aycliffe almost up to the ceiling.
This meant that despite the fire service rescuing her 37-year-old son, it took them 30 minutes to reach Ms Bradshaw and she died at the scene.
Coroner Andrew Tweddle recorded a verdict of accidental death and told an inquest that the amount of stuff in the house was staggering.
– Andrew Tweddle, Coroner"The conditions were quite extreme on a number of levels.
"The physical state of the property with the amount of stuff is quite staggering and made the job of the firefighters quite difficult and dangerous."
He also said that despite people making light of the issue, people who hoard are putting themselves at grave risk.
Fire and Rescue services sent four engines to the blaze just before 1pm on May 14 last year, and were first alerted to the fire after smoke was seen coming out of a vent in the roof.
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TRAVEL: A66 - WESTBOUND, DARLINGTON, COUNTY DURHAM
The A66 westbound is closed due to large amounts of mud on the road from A1150 (Great Burdon Roundabout) to A67 / Yarm Road Roundabout.
The road has been closed since Wednesday night, because mud has run onto the road from nearby waterlogged fields.
Diversion: leave the A66 at Long Newton and use Mill Lane and the A67.
Flooding in County Durham
Localised flooding on A690 Durham
Surface floods close part of A19
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Tata Steel decreases business value
Tata Steel, which employs around 1500 people on Teesside and County Durham, has written down the value of its European business by a billion pounds.
The Indian-based firm has blamed the devaluation on weak markets and a falling demand for steel across Europe.
Tata employs workers in Darlington, Skinningrove, Hartlepool and Redcar.
The firm is expected to comment further on the move when it reveals its annual financial results later this month.
Search resumes for missing Pamela Jackson
Specialist teams have resumed a search of remote moorland in Yorkshire as they continue to try to locate the body of a missing woman from County Durham.
Pamela Jackson's former partner, Adrian Muir, has been charged with her murder, but the grandmother still has not been found.
Watch the lunchtime report from Adam Fowler below.
Train factory gives jobs boost to County Durham
Contract signed to build County Durham train factory
Hitachi Rail Europe Ltd has announced it has signed a contract to build a high speed train factory in Newton Aycliffe in County Durham.
The Japanese firm has struck a deal with Merchant Place Developments for the construction and fit out of a rolling stock manufacturing plant.
The factory is due to be in operation in 2015.
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