A gardening expert who worked for 40 years at a North East college campus is returning to his old stamping ground later this month to give a talk.

Former Northumberland College student Martin Sanderson went on to spend four decades as head gardener at the Kirkley Hall campus near Ponteland until his retirement. He will return to Kirkley Hall on Wednesday February 17 to give a public talk, Reflections on 40 years of Kirkley Hall Gardens.

Mr Sanderson, a well known figure in the Ponteland area, will be sharing his memories of the many changes which took place during his time as head gardener.

Police officers are investigating a theft from a field in Blagdon Hall Estate, in Seaton Burn.

Some rubber road matting for construction vehicles worth £740 was stolen from land adjacent to North Lodge.

The theft took place sometime between 5pm on Thursday, January 21, and 8am on Friday, January 22. The rubber has not yet been recovered.

Anyone with information about the theft should contact Morpeth Police on 03456 043043 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555111.

Music greeted the Archbishop of York as he travelled to some of the northernmost parishes in England yesterday.

The Most Reverend Dr John Sentamu called at Kirkharle, Wooler and Berwick as part of a two-day visit to the Church of England's Newcastle Dioceses organised by the Bishop of Newcastle Martin Wharton.

Dr John Sentamu shares a joke with furniture maker Jason Robinson-Gay

On Wednesday, the archbishop also visited parishes in Newcastle, as well as the West End Refugee Service, before giving the City for Peace inaugural lecture, hosted by Newcastle City Council.

A popular guide aimed at helping older people in Northumberland get the most out of life has been published for the fourth time.

Previous issues of the Golden Guide have gone down so well with the over-50s that there was a waiting list for the latest 5,000-copy print run.

The free booklet, which is produced by community information specialists Clever Clogs Publishing in partnership with Age Concern Northumberland, the county council and care trust, has also been given a new design.

A top Northumberland lawyer has joined a charity to devote her time to helping people with housing problems.

Emma Davidson, 37, changed jobs from being a senior partner at a private practice in Morpeth to become housing solicitor at charity DAWN Advice, based at Blagdon.

DAWN offers advice and information on a number of issues including debt, housing, employment, welfare benefits and family law.

Black ice on one of the North East's main dual carriageway caused a string of accidents today.

As commuters made their way to work along the A69 between Hexham and Newcastle, cars skidded out of control.

Drivers watched in horror as four cars slid into embankments and one even overturned.

No-one received serious injuries and the road was closed for a period of time. It started at 7.54am when a Land Rover slid off the road near Wylam. Police then received a flurry of reports from panicking drivers of a Vauxhall Corsa, a Fiat Punto and a Toyota Yaris.

All three had also skidded on black ice in separate accidents.

A determined mountaineer has delivered a £12,300 boost to a forces' charity after completing the challenge of a lifetime by scaling the world's highest peak outside the Himalayas.

Intrepid businessman Tony Hodson, 51, returned to his Darras Hall home at the weekend after spending a gruelling 16 days on a triumphant ascent to the summit of 6,962-metre high Aconcagua in Argentina's Andes mountain range (pictured).

It involved a three-day trek in sweltering, desert-like conditions to reach base camp, risking altitude sickness while lugging heavy packs up the mountain and surviving a last-minute weather scare which resulted in half of his group failing to complete the push to the summit.

Detectives investigating a crash which left a pensioner fighting for her life have renewed their appeal for witnesses.

The accident happened at 5.45pm on Tuesday, December 29, in Ponteland. A blue Renault Clio travelling north and a Landrover Freelander travelling south collided outside Callerton House on Callerton Lane.

An 89-year-old woman passenger from the grey Freelander suffered chest injuries and was rushed to Newcastle General Hospital. Her condition was originally thought to be stable, but last night police confirmed she was critical.

A mining company's bid to extend the working life of a massive opencast site in Northumberland will be unveiled to local people next week.

The Banks Group wants to extract an additional two million tonnes of coal from the 750-acre Shotton mine west of Cramlington - which was given the green light by the Government despite strong local opposition.

The latest plans, which would extend the life of the site by two years, will go on display at three public exhibitions.

A director embroiled in what allegedly could turn out to be the country's biggest ever alleged property fraud has been declared bankrupt.

Hundreds of families across the region have already lost their homes after being caught-up in the North East Property Buyers scandal.

And now former tenants who are owed tens of thousands of pounds by the now defunct buy-to-let company are facing yet more uncertainty after director David Purdie was declared bankrupt.