A Ponteland school is to bid to become one of the Government's new flagship Foundation Schools.

Ponteland High School is set to formalise proposals to create a charitable trust.

As a foundation school, Ponteland High would still be part of the state system but with more freedom to guide its own future and closer ties to parents and the community.

Police investigating the shotgun ambush on businessman Amjid Malik have made a third arrest.

The 31-year-old was blasted in the leg by masked gunmen as he visited a friend on Newcastle's executive Darras Hall estate on August 31.

Shakir Javid and Shazad Dhean made their first appearance before the city's crown court accused of conspiracy to cause grievous bodily harm.

The management team of a Northumberland office supplier are predicting rapid growth following a successful buy-out of the company.

Matfen-based Standing Stone Drawing Office Supplies was established in 1991 as a supplier of drawing office materials and provider of a print machine repair service.

The company has grown rapidly in the last decade and now has offices across the UK and is one of the largest independent suppliers of drawing office materials in the North of England and Scottish Borders.

Heddon have struggled this term - and are still seeking a first Premier League win after losing 3-2 against Harraby Catholic Club.

Harraby were given a sixth-minute lead when Jordan Coulthard's cross was headed on by Steve Archibald for Rob Bainbridge to poke the ball home.

The lead was doubled when Coulthard scored with his header from James Earl's corner.
Heddon began to take control, however, and, after having a penalty appeal refused following a foul on John Dunn, they reduced the deficit in the 40th minute - Andrew Hall bending his free-kick round the defensive wall and into the top corner.

Faulty wind turbines could remain at a Northumberland beauty spot for another year if a new planning application is approved.

The three giant structures at Kirkheaton, west of Ponteland, were put up almost 10 years ago by EDF Energy.

But technical issues meant that two of the turbines had to have their blades removed, and only one of the three has been operating since last autumn.

Smashing the ball and sometimes breaking their clubs, Northumbrians got a taste for a rather different kind of golf this week.

Men, women and children were all blasting their golf balls as hard as possible in the TSG Long Drivers event held at Close House Hotel and Golf club at Heddon-on-the-Wall.

Pictured from left: Ladies Champion Sandra Carlborg from Sweden; David Stonehouse from sponsor TSG; Open Winner Tom Hollingworth; John Glendinning, Golf Manager at Close House; and senior winner Johan Tumba

The aim, as the title suggests, is to hit the ball as far as possible and is an exciting variation on the traditional game.

Northumberland is the UK's worst blackspot for deaths involving fork lift trucks, new figures have shown.

The county suffers more fork lift-related fatalities per head of its population than anywhere else in the country, according to statistics from the Fork Lift Truck Association.

The Berwick area was home to the most per capita deaths from fork lift truck accidents between 2001 and 2008.

Savage job losses and service cuts flagged up for Northumberland's new super council over the next four years have been described as a "worst case scenario" by a town hall leader.

Details of the potential cutbacks - which it is claimed could mean up to 3,500 redundancies and draconian service reductions - have emerged from a private briefing session involving senior county council officers and political group leaders.

They depict a gloomy scenario in which the unitary authority could find itself by 2013, and are based on predicted budget reductions totalling £80m.

Golden leaves, lingering sunsets and flocks of migrating birds are among the many reasons to visit Northumberland in autumn, and a new campaign is appealing for more tourists to come and experience the region's charms.

Northumberland Tourism and its partners are inviting everyone from near and far to celebrate the beautiful season in the North East.

Called Autumn Warmth, the campaign will focus on walking, art and landscape, as well as Northumberland's trees and forests.

Ambulance response time figures released on Friday revealed crews are struggling to reach remote locations in the region within eight-minute target times. Paul Liversidge, director of ambulance operations for North East Ambulance Service NHS Trust sets out what his crews are doing to improve the "challenging and difficult" issues.

The ambulance service is an easy target for critics who point to response times in rural areas as a perceived "failure".

Yesterday's Journal printed one of these stories from a Freedom of Information request by the Berwick Conservative parliamentary candidate Anne-Marie Trevelyan. However, the suggestion that there is a 999 rural crisis which we cannot solve couldn't be further from the truth.