A bus driver who nearly lost his life in a head-on crash has won £250,000 compensation. Medics told James Morton, 60, he was lucky to survive after a Mercedes van smashed into his bus on a country road near Cramlington.
Mr Morton had to be cut free from the wreckage by firefighters and he was then airlifted to hospital.
His left leg was shattered below the knee and only the speed with which he was treated saved him from having to have it amputated.
A company that has been operating for less than two years has been crowned Wansbeck Business of the Year.
Food Local Food, based at Bothal between Ashington and Morpeth, was set up by Alison Taylor because of her passion for locally produced food and frustration at being unable to find it in many supermarkets.
The award-winning Food Local Food team with, far right, John McCabe of Rio Tinto Alcan, Food Local Food director Suzi Howey, second from right, and founder Alison Taylor, third from right
The company, which employs nine people, now provides locally sourced food from 120 suppliers for sale to consumers through its website - which also picked up the technical award on Thursday night.
Traders in Morpeth have started in an angry war of words with their local MP over his stance on the thorny issue of car parking charges in Northumberland.
Morpeth Chamber of Trade says it is disappointed that Wansbeck MP Denis Murphy will not support its campaign to end the current two-tier system of charging in his own constituency.
They have accused him of "political point scoring" rather than ensuring a fair deal for all of the communities which he represents.
Suspected car thieves have caused thousands of pounds worth of damage to a historic church building.
A vehicle was set on fire at the rear of the Grade I-listed Woodhorn Church, between Newbiggin-by-the-Sea and Ashington, Northumberland, destroying one of the stained-glass windows.
An artist, known only as Keif, at the church
The former church, which is one of the oldest on the Northumberland coast with its origins dating back to the 11th Century, has already been targeted on four previous occasions, including incidents where vandals stole lead from the roof and when someone attempted to break in through the front door.
Parents and their local MP are locked in a dispute with education bosses over a call for free transport for more than 100 children attending a new academy school in Northumberland.
The youngsters, aged 11 and 12, face a daily walk of more than two miles from their homes in Newbiggin-by-the-Sea to the Church of England Academy site in the Hirst area of Ashington because the county council says they don't qualify for a free school bus.
Their parents, supported by Wansbeck MP Denis Murphy, claim the council has a responsibility to provide free transport because the route the pupils have to walk is not safe enough.
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.
Volunteers in Newbiggin are feeling blooming marvellous after sowing the seeds of success in a floral contest for the second year running.
Newbiggin-by-the-Sea won another Silver Gilt award in this year's Northumbria in Bloom competition.
In addition, residents and businesses who entered the town's first annual gardens competition will be rewarded in an awards ceremony next week.
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.
Health bosses admitted last night "there is not enough money in the NHS" to solve the failure of ambulance crews to reach life-threatening call outs in time.
The stark claim come after it emerged families in rural Northumberland cannot be guaranteed that an ambulance will reach them within target response times if required in an emergency.
And ambulance crews are having to turn to volunteers as they look to close gaps in coverage in some of the most remote locations.
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"what can you say he was mad rude loud but he was the best blokes you could ever meet he had a heart..."
"he will be missed and remenbered always..."
"soo soo sad i fished that place once it looks soo dangerous RIP and love to the family..."
"so so sad me and my brother and 2 of his mates got washed off roker Pier in 1978 and we were lucky ..."
"R.I.P my thoughts are with his family and friends..."
" From a fellow angler. My condolences to family and friends at this very sad time.rest in peace. go..."
"God bless him and may he rest in peace.We fish clifftops every week in our club down here and it cou..."
"This is tragic news and I know the whole of the north east sea angling community will be shocked and..."
"Typical! If this were a private organisation, you'd just get the manufacturer, or another manufactur..."
"It's great that clive is able to raise so much money for children. Its a shame that he recks live in..."