A last minute promise of extra cash for Northumberland's crumbling roads and a climbdown on spending cuts in care of the elderly was enough to avoid a potential council budget crisis last night.

The 11th-hour package of concessions by County Hall leaders enabled the unitary authority to finally agree its 2010/11 budget plans, with just four days to spare.

The agreement averted the risk of the council failing to set a legal budget in the required timescale, and the threat of Government-appointed commissioners being sent in to do the job.

More snow fell on the region today as the coldest winter for more than 30 years continued to bite.

And forecasters say parts of the North East could see even more snow over the next few days.

Falls in excess of five inches are possible over the Cheviots, where some drifting is expected. The snow should ease and turn to rain from the south during the day.

Northumbria Police said no roads had been closed today but snow had caused disruption in parts of the region.

In Prudhoe less than an inch of snow left some roads very slippy this morning and further north, the B6341 near Rothbury was passable only with a 4x4.

Drivers heading along the A69 and A68 were advised to take extra care.

Bellingham & North Tyne weather links »

For the last three weeks we have been running a poll on some of our Northumberland community sites asking you what you think about the cull of grey squirrels in order to protect reds: is it justified?

The votes were 28% in favour of the cull and 41% against, while 31% of the votes were for 'Don't know'.

While the poll was not particularly scientific, the response has shown that there is plenty of strong feeling on the issue of how red squirrels should be protected in the county, with almost 5000 votes. There were also more than 200 comments debating whether the practise works and whether or not it is cruel, on the related article and on the poll itself.

Reader Andrew Gibson has sent us some red squirrel photos (above), showing that the creatures are alive and well in the woodland near Morpeth

The new question (see the right of the page) ties in with Fairtrade fortnight, running from this week. Morpeth, Northumberland's first official Fairtrade town, is supporting the national event, while it has been announced that Hadrian's Wall has become the first Fairtrade World Heritage Site.

Drivers took on the elements when they battled through snowy terrain in aid of a good cause.

The Kielder 4x4 Safari challenge took place over the weekend on a specially chosen path through the trees, with some interesting and tricky obstacles to overcome.

In all, 22 vehicles took part to raise money for the Mountain Rescue Team.

For the first time, nearly all the vehicles were the same make as the drivers had got together and chosen to go along after discussing it on a motoring website.

Julian Brett, fundraising officer for the Northumberland National Park Mountain Rescue Team, said: "It was a lovely day.

"We had 22 participating vehicles largely drawn from an internet forum group of Land Rover Discovery owners, so it was a bit different from the usual events with £50,000 vehicles!

Northumberland Wildlife Trust has launched a funding appeal for three bird projects.

At Druridge Bay, the trust is anticipating the return of marsh harriers which successfully bred at its East Chevington reserve last summer for the first time in over 130 years.

The trust needs funding to employ a warden to enforce a bird protection programme and help manage a Harrier Watch project.

Walker Central's hopes of picking up a third successive title have been badly dented by a long spell of indifferent form.

The Tynesiders have won only one of their last seven league games, and there was another defining point in their season last weekend.

Second-placed Walker made the trip up the Tyne Valley to take on current Premier Division leaders Wark and were narrowly beaten 2-1 by their impressive hosts.

Edward Brazier's early opener for Wark was cancelled out after an hour by the Central's Paul Newton- Eddie.

With three minutes to go Tony Lancaster scored Wark's winner and they are now eight points clear at the top with two games in hand.

The region's air ambulance service has been reduced to one aircraft after the retirement of its Northumberland helicopter for technical reasons.

The permanent removal of the Bolkov helicopter, which has been based at Otterburn Army Camp since 2006, means the Great North Air Ambulance has been left with just one aircraft to cover the region until enough funds can be raised for a replacement.

Technical difficulties have meant the aircraft has been grounded since last spring. Despite that setback, the GNAA has still flown 291 missions across the county since April last year, an increase on the same period from 2008-09.

With so many beautiful views and lots of open space, we're spoilt for choice in Northumberland when it comes to sitting down for a picnic - but which spot is best?

The Great Northumberland Picnics aims to find the best locations for eating out and wants people who have enjoyed an alfresco sandwich to let them know where they best like to spread their picnic blanket, as well as the best places to go and things to eat in the county.

Northumberland Tourism will launch the event in the coming months.

For your chance to win a Picnic Hamper for four, tell us all about your most memorable picnic in Northumberland, click here.

Tenant hill farmers who want to claim under the new Uplands Entry Level Stewardship scheme (UELS) are being urged to act immediately to find out if they are eligible because the small print means they could miss out on a share of the money.

The UELS scheme - which replaces the Hill Farm Allowance (HFA) - was officially launched on Tuesday.

It has a fund of £25m, up from £23.7m in the HFA pot, and could be worth up to £31m if a high number of hill farmers sign up to the scheme.

Political leaders in Northumberland were ordered back to the drawing board last night after their budget plans for 2010/11 were rejected by an alliance of opposition councillors.

The minority Liberal Democrat administration at County Hall will now have to come up with a revised package of proposals after its plans to make £21.5m in savings to balance the books failed to win the support of Conservative and Labour opponents.

Opposition councillors were accused of "political grandstanding" at a meeting of the full council in Morpeth, which had been called to approve this year's budget following months of detailed consultations.