A football star from Darras Hall has escaped losing his driving licence despite being clocked speeding at 105mph in a bid to beat the transfer deadline.

Sunderland defender George McCartney, 28, was given six points on his licence and fined a total of £408 at Gateshead Magistrates after pleading guilty to the speeding offence.

Just hours remained until the transfer window closed on September 1 last year, when the former West Ham left-back raced up the A1(M) from his former Essex home to Sunderland.

Smaller communities should be thinking ahead to the day when they can generate all their own power, energy expert Dr Barbara Sexon believes.

Dr Sexon runs the Thropton Energy consultancy in the Northumberland village of the same name, near Rothbury.

She studied for a PhD 25 years ago on the potential of small scale wind turbines in the days before wind farms of considerably larger machines became the hot potato they are today.

The Northumberland Girls' League held their end-of-season finals day at Cramlington Sporting Club.

The day kicked off with the Under-10 Cup final between Blyth Town Pumas and team-mates Blyth Town Panthers, the Pumas triuimphing 6-0.

Forest Hall, just crowned Under-10 League champions, claimed the Under-10 Shield with a 4-1 victory over Corbridge.

A presentation on plans to revamp the region's hospitals takes place in Northumberland next week.

Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust is proposing a new specialist emergency care hospital near Cramlington for people living in Northumberland and North Tyneside, improvements to Wansbeck and North Tyneside general hospitals and rebuilding community hospitals in Berwick and Haltwhistle. The proposals would also affect emergency care services at Hexham General.

A presentation on the plans takes place at a meeting of Warkworth Parish Council on Thursday, June 4 at 6.30pm in the Memorial Hall on Castle Street.

Two cancer charities are set to benefit from an equestrian-based event in Northumberland organised by students at a college campus specialising in land-based courses.

Equine management students at the Northumberland College's Kirkley Hall centre near Ponteland will be running the fundraising event on Thursday June 11.

Breakthrough Breast Cancer and the Orchid Cancer Appeal will share the proceeds of the evening, which will see the students performing a range of short demonstrations in the college's outdoor equestrian arena.

A clothes shopping event is being held at Kirkley Hall near Ponteland next month.

Jenny B's Style and Sparkle Swap Shop will come to Kirkley on June 12, where guests can trade their unwanted clothes and accessories with other guests.

Jenny Bersin (pictured) - who runs the Stocksfield-based business - will also give a talk on "Creating Style with Sparkle".

A Young Farmers Club that has been a feature of Northumberland life for many years is facing closure unless new members can be found.

The Ponteland YFC branch has put together a package of events to try to bring in new members and breathe life back into the old club.

The club has been a mainstay of the area's social life for 75 years, and has provided entertainment and social activities for young people who come from the sometimes isolated life of agriculture.

But over the years, membership has reduced and the branch now only has 13 members on the list.

Gardening experts are offering tours, tips and advice on how to make the most of outdoor areas this summer.

Jo Hindhaugh, head gardener at Belsay Hall, and her team will be advising visitors as part of English Heritage's Bloomin ' June series of events.

One of the region's top family lawyers has set up her own divorce and family law firm in Northumberland.

Joanne Major has left Colette Stroud Solicitors in Ponteland to launch her own firm in the town, specialising in family law, divorce, separation and children's proceedings.

The mother of two joined Colette in November 2006 from leading Newcastle firm Watson Burton where she had been head of family law for seven years.

The clash of the North East season so far will attract a few extra spectators to watch some free golf at Ponteland on Saturday, when Northumberland play their derby match against Durham County in the Northern Counties League.

Teeing off around 1.00 will be the No 1 singles match between Morpeth's Mark Penny and Callum Tarren from the Darlington club Dinsdale Spa.