Volunteers have received a massive cash boost to help them continue to save lives in the North East.

The North of Tyne Search and Rescue Team went head-to -head with Blyth Star Enterprises for £50,000 funding in ITV's People's Millions.

They received the most telephone votes through the People's Millions via the Big Lottery Fund and will use the money to buy a Mobile Incident Control Centre vehicle.

Travelling criminals who use the cover of darkness to prey on rural areas of Northumberland have been warned that police are on their trail.

Poachers, burglars and other lawbreakers who commit crimes in the countryside are being urged to take heed of a recent successful operation by Northumbria Police, which netted five offenders in Tynedale.

Hexham-based police officers were carrying out patrols in the Colwell village area when they caught the men with lurcher dogs and lamping equipment on land where they didn't have the required permission to be.

A hotel which won an award for its environmental activities could be chosen to represent the UK at a European event.

Battlesteads Hotel and Restaurant, based in Wark, won the Gold Green Apple Award in recognition of its work, which includes creating kitchen gardens and a woodland and wetland area in the grounds.

The hotel has now been told it has the chance to represent the UK at an international event in Brussels next year. Battlesteads will also be featured in the next Green Book, the a reference book on environmental best practice.

Firefighters were called after a van caught fire next to an oil tanker in Northumberland.

Crews from Bellingham and Hexham fire stations attended the incident in South View, Colwell, following reports of a fuel spillage from a domestic tanker close to the blaze, at around 8.30pm yesterday.

Around 600 litres of oil was reported to be running down the road close to the van, sparking fears of the fire spreading to nearby homes.

Northumberland Theatre Company (NTC) is to take The Last Snow Rider by Ann Coburn round village halls and small arts centres across the country this winter, beginning tonight.

The play will be at West Woodburn Parish Hall on 28th January at 6.30pm.

The cast includes NTC regulars Kim Evans and Gemma Clough and newcomers William Reay from Bellingham and Christopher Ranson.

Visit www.northumberlandtheatre.co.uk for a full list of performances and contact details for tickets.

A new organisation designed to support and sustain businesses based in rural west Northumberland has been launched.

The Mid-Tyne Business Forum will also aim to help companies in and around the area build new, mutually beneficial links with each other, and will encourage members to buy local wherever possible to help enhance the local economy.

A seven-strong committee of local business people has been formed after an initial meeting to discuss the aims and ambitions of the forum attracted more than 30 attendees. And plans are now being put in place for the forum's first networking event, which will be held early next year.

Losing six games in succession has dumped Seaton Delaval into the basement of the Northern Alliance, but Nick Gray's side was unlucky to lose 2-1 against league leaders Wark at Wheatridge Park.

Wark increased their lead at the top to six points, but found it heavy going after Tony Lancaster fired them into a 40th-minute lead.

After 74 minutes Stephen Howes struck to put Delaval back on terms and they hit the woodwork twice as they put their highly-rated visitors under pressure.

The near-misses proved costly, however, and Wark snatched victory with a telling strike by Mark Campbell in the dying seconds.

Below is a sneak preview of how tourism bosses believe Northumberland's identity could be portrayed in the future.

It follows an announcement from Northumberland Tourism that it plans to "present a new face to the world" in 2010.

As part of a re-focussing of advertising and promotion the travel chiefs are aiming to lure more big-spending holidaymakers to the area.

Father Christmas arrives in style next month when he swaps his reindeer for a horse-drawn carriage.

Santa has switched his traditional mode of transport for a green Victoria carriage pulled by a pair of black Friesian horses when he arrives at Peter Barratt's Gosforth Park Garden Centre.

The horses, 10-year-old Willem and 14-year-old Jolle, and carriage are owned by Jim Wainwright from Carriagehorses in Wark.

Upland farming in Northumberland is in crisis because of a lack of people with the training to carry it on. Brian Daniel reports on a new scheme that is aiming to pass on unique skills to a new generation.

Farming in some of the North's most rural areas has become a lonely existence. A drop in agricultural incomes has left most farms in upland areas unable to support more than one employee.

With few farms working together, that has meant an end to the old tradition that saw farmers pass on the unique skills needed to farm in those areas to their sons and daughters.