Barry Self, 38, suffered serious head injuries after attending a party in Gateshead.

Yesterday, Paul Robinson appeared before Newcastle Crown Court charged with murder.

A provisional trial date was set for July although no pleas were entered.

Following tip-offs from members of the public officers from Northumbria Police searched in two houses at Eskdale Avenue and Seventh Avenue, Blyth, and discovered more than 1,000 plants.

Anyone with information on the cannabis farms is asked to contact Blyth CID on 0345 604 3043 ext 61974 or ring the independent charity Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555111.

Blyth Valley Labour MP Ronnie Campbell (pictured) branded the summer event 'a weekend out for toffs'.

He strongly criticised Northumberland County Council - which is in the midst of making budget cuts totalling £40m over two years - for earmarking £80,000 to stage the high-profile equestrian event.

The bridge will carry walkers and cyclists across the river under plans to create a major new network of green travel routes, cut car use and promote healthier lifestyles.

It will be built near Humford Mill as part of a £2.3m scheme to improve walking and cycling links between the towns of Bedlington and Cramlington. The new bridge is a key element of a revised package of sustainable travel initiatives, building on £1.35m of Big Lottery funding which was allocated to Northumberland in 2007.

A 6ft mural of the 1970s comic book character Cerebus the Aardvark had brightened up a bridge near Blyth for nearly three decades until its disappearance last weekend.

Despite its popularity, Northumberland County Council blitzed the colourful design as part of a crackdown on graffiti.

A progress report on the review reveals hundreds of people have made their views known on whether parking fees should be imposed across the whole county - rather than just in selected towns.

More than 560 people have signed three separate petitions calling for an equal policy across the board, with charges being made in all principal towns.

It was planned to put up the annual charge for the service from £20 to £25 in March - to bring in an extra £60,000 and help the county council achieve tough budget savings.

Now the saving will have to be found elsewhere after Conservative and Labour councillors joined forces to defeat the move at a meeting in County Hall on Wednesday.

An initial six-week pilot Friday market was held in Morpeth in October and November last year, prompting anger from councillors in neighbouring Blyth who claimed it would harm trade at that town's established market on the same day.

Now county council bosses are launching a second trial, which will be carefully monitored before a decision is made on whether Morpeth will have both a Wednesday and Friday market.

County Hall officials say a second trial is needed during the quieter months.

The grant, given by County Durham mining and waste management firm The Banks Group through its Banks Community Fund, covered half the cost of putting in the new lights at the town's St Cuthbert's Church, and matched the amount raised by parishioners for the project.

From left: Ann Pearson (organist), Carol Yearnshaw (Toddler Group organiser), John Ruddick (Banks), Neville Craggs and the Reverend Richard Taylor

The new system is expected to cut the cost of lighting the church by up to 60% and saving several hundred pounds every year.

Blyth Community Enterprise Centre, which helps small local businesses, was awarded the grant by the Coalfields Regeneration Trust (CRT) to install a telecommunications system.

Blyth Valley MP Ronnie Campbell said: "News like this is always welcome in Blyth Valley."

The white-beaked dolphin is a little studied species which occurs around the coast of the UK and is vulnerable to the effects of global warming.

It lives in the cold waters of the northern Atlantic and its available habitat is thought to be shrinking.

More than 800 vulnerable pensioners across the county use the scheme, which allows them concessionary travel in taxis because they are unable to use other forms of public transport.

They use council-issued vouchers, tokens or passes to pay for taxi trips to the shops, GP and hospital appointments or to visit relatives and friends.

The driver of the vehicle, who was transporting the 40ft blade from Blyth to Scotland, pulled over on Laverock Hall Road, near Blyth, when he discovered a back wheel on the trailer was bent.

The dual carriageway was closed while the wagon was made safe. It reopened a few hours later.

Blyth Resource and Initiative Centre (BRIC) may have to return about £7,000 which was secured through the hard work of its staff and earmarked for its CV advice service, which helps jobseekers back into work.

People showing their support for Blyth Resource and Initiative Centre. Pictured front: Bob Watson of Seaton Valley Council

There is massive uncertainty about who in the voluntary sector will still get Northumberland County Council funding, with huge budget cuts due to be finalised next month.

Barry Self suffered facial injuries in an alleged attack at a New Year's Eve party on Gateshead's Leam Lane Estate.

The 38-year-old from Blyth was found unconscious in the snow in the early hours of New Year's Day, shortly after leaving the party.