Beleaguered council bosses in Northumberland have been left anxiously waiting for a key Government decision on whether they will have to find a further £11m in "horrendous" budget cuts.

County council leaders expected to be told yesterday whether ministers will allow them to use a financial loophole to avoid having to make almost £30m in savings this year.

But last night - as the authority revealed it has dropped plans to close a number of tourist information centres in Northumberland - there had still been no decision from the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG).

A cut-price travel scheme for elderly and disabled people who are too frail to use buses looks set to become a victim of tough council budget cuts in Northumberland.

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.

A council facing serious financial problems is considering providing mortgages for people struggling to get a home loan because of the credit crunch.

Cash-strapped Northumberland County Council - which is having to make budget cuts of up to £50m over two years - is thinking of using its capital resources to help would-be home buyers who are being frustrated by the continued squeeze on lending.

A report is being prepared for the Liberal Democrat executive in March on the possibility of the authority giving mortgages "in certain circumstances" to applicants unable to secure a loan from commercial lenders.

Woodhorn is lit up with an inviting glow in this photo sent in by Ron Dobson of Blyth.

Sent your photos of the area to northumberland@ncjmedia.co.uk

Scores of excited youngsters watched their mechanical creations come to life on the Northumberland coast yesterday.

Around 30 pupils from Ashington met on the beach at Newbiggin-by-the-Sea after their designs for sub-sea ploughs were turned into the real deal by engineers.

Hirst Park Middle School pupils Harry Bainbridge and Jordan Dixon test out sub-sea ploughs at Newbiggin beach

The children, all aged between 12 and 13, at Hirst Park Middle School, in Ashington, raced the two mean machines along the sand at a special unveiling event.

Plans have been lodged for the construction of Northumberland's second privately-sponsored academy school as part of a £48m education shake-up affecting three neighbouring communities.

Education officials at the county council have submitted a planning application to demolish Hirst High School in Ashington and build the new academy - sponsored by the Duke of Northumberland and the Church of England - on adjacent land.

The new building will cater for almost 2,000 junior, senior and special educational needs children, and form the centrepiece of the five-site Hirst Academy.

Spennymoor Town extended their lead at the top of the Skilltrainingltd Northern League First Division to nine points, beating Ashington at Woodhorn Lane.

Ashington, who could have gone second, conceded the only goal four minutes into the second period. Michael Rae, who had only been on the field four minutes, glanced the ball into the net.

There was a double boost for Spennymoor with the news that second-placed Whitley Bay went down at Dunston UTS, now third.

People in the former Wansbeck area of Northumberland are being invited to have their say on how their communities can be developed or improved.

Local community forums are about to start a six-month programme of public engagement, including public meetings, to help draw up community plans, which will influence future decisions and changes.

Meetings will take place in the Choppington, Newbiggin-by-the-Sea and Ellington, Linton and Lynemouth areas.

For further information, contact Lynda Fakir, Locality Development Officer for South East Northumberland on 0845 600 6400, email Lynda.Fakir@northumberland.gov.uk or visit northumberland.gov.uk.

He has been the world's best bowler, struck fear in the hearts of cricket's greatest batsmen and twice won the Ashes.

He has travelled the world doing so, yet Steve Harmison is rarely happier than when standing in the wind and the rain at Woodhorn Lane, pie and a Bovril to hand.

Now the former Ashington FC defender is backing a campaign to attract more people to non-league football. The Skilltrainingltd Northern League's 'Just Give it a Go' initiative offers free admission to newcomers and their families for up to three matches at any of the League's 42 grounds across the North East and Cumbria.

He's back doing what he does best after being given a helping hand from a confessed gangster.

The 10ft figurehead of Admiral Boscawen is officially standing guard again overlooking the youngsters of Northumberland.

The wooden sculpture has been restored to its former glory with help of cash from infamous hard-man Wilf Pine and his pals, and on Saturday was formally back with the Ashington Sea Cadets.