The Rochester Show took place over the weekend, and despite the shortening days and colder weather, people enjoyed a great afternoon of sunny weather on the show field.

The dog show proved popular and there were lots of people taking part in the industrial sections, as well as flower arrangements and vegetable competitions.

And instead of the traditional tossing the bale competition, there was rolling the bale, which was won by James Chapman from Carrs Billington Agriculture in Hexham.

A Northumberland farmer is set to become the first in the UK to sell the world's most rare and expensive beef.

Steve Ramshaw, who farms near Otterburn, has been breeding special Wagyu cattle for the past three years. Originally from Japan, the special meat - also known as Kobe beef - sells for as much as £120 a kilo in Harrods.

It is famed for its deep flavour, extreme tenderness and rich, smooth texture and can only be bought in a few top restaurants and shops around the world.

Seven new members of the Forestry Commission at Kielder are being welcomed by the North East Ambulance Service after signing up to become community first responders.

Kielder village is one of the remotest villages in England, about 200 people live there and most have jobs related to forestry or tourism. The terrain of Kielder Water & Forest Park can also affect ambulance response times.

In response North East Ambulance Service NHS Trust (NEAS) is developing first responder schemes in the Kielder area to improve the service.

Wild animals such as the beaver and the lynx could be reintroduced to the North East under Government plans to be announced today.

Environment Secretary Hilary Benn will call for a "re-wilding" of Britain at the Labour Party conference in Brighton.

The lynx (a young cub is pictured) and the beaver could be two species to benefit from the plan

Under the scheme, which is still at the review stage, large parts of the UK would be allowed to run wild in an effort to boost conservation and combat biodiversity loss.

Victories for Wark and Walker Central left them level on points, sharing an impressive six-point lead at the top of the Premier Division table. Wark are just edging out Walker on the basis of a slightly superior goal difference after beating hosts Ashington Colliers 4-0.

Ashington had taken three points off Walker Central the previous week, and on Saturday managed to keep Wark at bay until early in the second half.

Matt MacLoughlin finally got the visitors off the mark and further strikes by Marc Nixon (2) - who has found the net for Wark in every game this season- and Tony Lancaster killed off the Colliers.

Charity bosses want to mark the sixth anniversary of the death of Jonny Kennedy by ensuring that his legacy lives on.

Whitley Bay-born Jonny, who lived in Rochester, Northumberland, for most of his life, suffered from the rare condition Epidermylosis Bullosa (EB) which causes a breakdown in the proteins which hold skin together, meaning his skin could literally fall off at the slightest touch.

Edna Kennedy and Nell McAndrew at the launch of debra, the charity of Jonny Kennedy, at St James' Park

For much of his life he suffered in silence, cared for by his devoted mum, Edna, until his story was featured in a book and award-winning television documentary.

Older and wiser, a 60-year-old former record holder returned to take part in a Northumberland race and managed to beat his time from 15 years ago.

In 1994, Gordon Reavley held the record for the Kielder Water Circuit Challenge - a 26 mile challenging marathon walk around the rugged shoreline of Kielder Water in Northumberland.

Now he has returned to the scene of his former glories, although he got a little help from the updated track.

A shot of a red squirrel peeping out from behind a tree in Kielder Forest, Northumberland, is one of the prizewinners in the British Wildlife Photographer of the Year awards.

Its creator, 14-year-old Will Nicholls, scooped the under-18s award with the image and a £500 prize.

A stunning image of a damselfly in silhouette yesterday landed photographer Ross Hoddinott the overall title of British Wildlife Photographer of the year.

Tourism agencies in the region have put out the welcome mat for a multi-million pound holiday complex planned for rural Northumberland.

Developers behind the proposed Waterfalls Country Estate - a 14-acre site just off the A68 near Ridsdale in Tynedale - claim it will be a unique visitor destination, creating 200 jobs and generating a £2m increase in tourism revenue.

Youngsters from a Palestinian refugee camp woke up on the North East coast yesterday to a bewildering but exciting new world.

The 10 girls, aged between 12 and 13, arrived at Newcastle Airport late on Monday night after a 16-hour trip involving three planes from the Shatila camp in Beirut.

Over the next six days they will perform a play written by Cullercoats-based writer Peter Mortimer, who spent two months in Shatila, where around 17,000 people live in an area no bigger than a cricket pitch. The play will be performed in Bellingham as well as venues across Tyneside.