World Cup winner Sir Bobby Charlton has been voted the Greatest Living Northumbrian in a poll on the Your Place microsites.

The Ashington-born footballer won 27% of the votes, beating actor Robson Green (17%) and comedian Ross Noble (15%).

Other nominees in the poll were Sir Bobby's brother Jack, musician Kathryn Tickell, cricketer Steve Harmison, the Duchess of Northumberland and darts commentator Sid Waddell.

A village shop helped through crisis times by the huge support of its local customers has won a regional award.

Belsay Shop has been named Countryside Alliance North East village shop and post office of the year for 2008 and will vie for the national title against winners from the rest of Britain.

Stephanie Jarron, who runs Belsay Shop

Its post office was one of 81 that network bosses announced they were seeking to close last July.

The white carpet has been rolled out for visitors at a country estate.

Every year thousands of rare snowdrops flower in the grounds of Belsay Hall and gardens.

About 200 years ago, Lady Middleton, from the ancestral family of Belsay, planted them and now is the best time to see them.

Castle Morpeth Council is bowing out amid glowing praise from town hall watchdogs for making major improvements in its performance.

The independent Audit Commission says the Northumberland rural council has gone from being officially rated as weak in 2003/4 to becoming a good authority with an ambitious programme of further improvement.

An extensive range of opportunities is coming soon for adults who want to learn a new skill.

The Adult Learning Service is putting on a wide variety of courses for adults in the Ponteland and Prudhoe areas, and with so many different classes on offer there is almost bound to be something to suit every kind of person.

Some courses are there to help people improve themselves or develop a particular skill, such as basic first aid, digital photography (image manipulation) and web page creation.

Three students from Northumberland have been experiencing life at one of the world's most prestigious universities.

The Year 12 pupils, from Ponteland Community High School, in Northumberland, are already preparing for the next step after completing their A-levels next year.

Ponteland Community High School pupils Christopher Angus and Steph Fairburn

To help them decide which universities to apply for, the bright youngsters were invited to shadow a group of undergraduates at Cambridge University.

Rare breed organic grains grown and ground in Northumberland are on sale for the first time in an area stretching from the Bristol Channel to the Scottish Highlands.

Gilchesters Organics, which is based in Stamfordham, has expanded its sales territory following a link-up with two of the country's largest wholesalers, Suma Wholefoods of Leeds, and Green City Wholefoods of Glasgow.

Both wholesalers are radical workers' co-operatives supplying retailers, restaurants, bakeries and delis with organic, vegetarian, ethical and natural products.

BBC news frontman George Alagiah is to launch a campaign to make Hadrian's Wall Country a world-first Fairtrade zone.

Hadrian's Wall Country covers an area 10 miles on either side of the world heritage site from Tyneside to Ravenglass in Cumbria.

The world heritage site campaign, which is being led by the Hadrian's Wall Fairtrade Group, hopes to establish the corridor as the first cross-county Fairtrade zone in the world.

Councillors in Capheaton have expressed their concern about the state of roads in the area.

The parish council met on Tuesday and decided to raise the issue of road conditions with the county council.

A spokesperson said: "All of the members are concerned about the state of the roads in Capheaton and in wider Northumberland.

"There are poor road surfaces, the edge of roads are disintegrating and pot holes are being temporarily repaired and then washed out by rain and frost.

"Therefore, the parish council has written to the executive director in charge of highways and hopes to hear back soon."

The final Castle Morpeth festival of sport will start on March 15 with events in Morpeth, Ponteland, Broomhill and Red Row.

Local sports clubs and schools will compete and there will be a chance for people to get involved in kayaking, orienteering, swimming and hockey. There will also be a Young At Heart event at Ponteland Leisure Centre on March 18 for people aged over 50