A COUNCIL leader has rejected complaints that she and a cabinet colleague showed contempt towards residents by making their minds up on a controversial issue before hearing everyone’s views. Source: Local News from the Northern Echo

A WOMAN has told a court how she was raped and beaten by a violent pimp over a drug debt. Source: Local News from the Northern Echo

CHRIS ELLIOTT has reclaimed Darlington’s No. 1 spot, and Alun Armstrong says the onus is now on Liam Connell to earn another recall. Source: Local News from the Northern Echo

PUB goers have handed over more than £700 to the Great North Air Ambulance Service following their annual Christmas fundraising. Source: Local News from the Northern Echo

RESIDENTS who have raised concerns over a proposal to build up to 175 houses in a village have been reassured by a council that there is “no possibility of permission being granted” for the site within the next five years. Read More …

YOUNGSTERS at a Darlington school have demonstrated their baking skills after teachers asked how they would like to help their community. Source: Local News from the Northern Echo

LITTER heroes from across Darlington and County Durham are set to take to the streets and green spaces for this year’s ‘Big Spring Clean’. Source: Local News from the Northern Echo

A WOMAN has spoken of her lucky escape from the grasp of a potential rapist when she was a teenager. Source: Local News from the Northern Echo

THE biggest local authority shareholder in Teesside International Airport looks set to take a long-standing ambition to develop the 109-acre Southside area a major step forward with the approval of a key partnership deal. Source: Local News from the Northern Read More …

A KNIFE-wielding yob has been jailed for stabbing a man in the back after launching a violent and unprovoked assault. Source: Local News from the Northern Echo