Tributes have been paid to two officials of the Ashington and District Male Voice Choir, who stood down from their posts at the recent AGM.

George Wade, who had been treasurer for 25 years, was joined in stepping down by secretary Alan Blevins, who has held his post for a shorter period.

Choir chairman Malcolm Corbett said the two men had been "worth their weight in gold". Mr Corbett was re-elected, while Chris Bache takes over as secretary and George Ridgeway as treasurer.

A lecturer from the North East has been elected to the top role of her trade union.

Kathy Taylor, who works at Northumberland College, has been made the new president of the University and College Union (UCU).

She beat candidates from Lancashire and London in an election that will see her serve as vice-president for two years before becoming national president in 2012. She has been a lecturer at the college in Ashington since 1986 and was until recently head of the business, administration and trade union studies department.

A charity lottery is ready to roll to help make a difference to terminally ill patients.

St Oswald's Hospice is holding a Superdraw - a one-off lottery to give supporters the chance to scoop £3,000.

Mr Superdraw, Ian Robinson, 33, of Ashington, has teamed up with the hospice to promote the lottery.

He said: "I'm really pleased that I can help a local charity to promote their services and hopefully raise some much needed funds towards their services."

Superdraw tickets cost £1 and each and can be bought at the Hospice reception on Regent Avenue, in Gosforth, Newcastle.

A gig to raise charity cash will mark the 10th anniversary of a Northumberland student's death.

Laura Dodds died in 2000 from bone cancer aged 19.

The former pupil of Ashington High School won admiration by passing 10 GCSE exams, including seven A grades, eight months after she had been diagnosed - and going on to pass three A Levels despite intensive treatment.

Police investigating a church roof raid have arrested a 37-year-old man.

The raid took place at around 2.30am last Tuesday when up to three thieves used the cover of darkness to strike at a Grade II-listed Northumberland church.

The thieves stripped away about 25m of lead flashing, a large sheet of lead and other smaller pieces of metal from the roof of St Cuthbert's Church in Bedlington .

Hollywood glamour arrived in Ashington with the unveiling of a celebrity star of fame.

The unique memento was created by local footballing legend, Jack Charlton, and Ashington FC's captain, Iain Nickalls, who joined store manager Barry Thompson in creating hand casts to mark the opening of Asda's new shop.

It was created last year but finally unveiled, complete with a commemorative plaque, in pride of place in the store this week.

Mr Thompson said: "Both Jack Charlton and Ashington FC helped to make the store opening a truly special day.

"This unique keepsake is something we'll treasure for years to come."

Firefighters were called out after a shed full of straw caught fire.

The shed, on the allotments at Green Lane, Ashington, was filled with used straw cleared out from nearby stables.

There were no horses or other animals in or near the shed at the time of the fire at 6pm yesterday.

The shed was destroyed and a nearby fence also damaged. No one was injured.

Investigators looking into the cause of the blaze have ruled out the possibility of sparks from passing horses' hooves. They are treating it as potentially malicious.

Drivers have been warned to expect delays when road improvement work starts in Northumberland next week.

The resurfacing work, which will be carried out on the A196 Blackclose Bank near Ashington, is scheduled to start on Monday and take about eight days to complete.

The road will stay open throughout and traffic will be managed by signal controls and stop and go boards.

An industrial lighting company expects to more than double its £8m turnover by 2013 after investing in the manufacture of high specification LED lights for the offshore oil and gas industry.

Ashington-based A-Belco Group has just received third party certification for their newly developed LED HDL106 floodlights, which have already received substantial orders and a high level of inquiries.

The lights, which come under the firm's Hadar Lighting brand, are manufactured specifically for hazardous areas which have a high risk of ignition, such as oil- rigs and underground mines, and use 40% less energy than traditional lighting.

Three people have been arrested after a break-in at an electrical substation in Northumberland.

Police received a report from an electric engineer on Friday February 26, about the incident at the station, in Wansbeck Road, Ashington.

Copper was reported to have been stolen from the premises and police are investing the theft.

The three people arrested are all from Ashington area and have been released on bail pending further inquiries.

Anyone with any information about this incident, or other metal thefts in Northumberland, is asked to contact police on 03456 043 043.