Sent in by Ashington Town Council

Ashington Town Council is pleased to announce that the judging of the popular Gardens Competition has now taken place and the winners were announced during an event held at Ashington Leisure Centre on 17th August. Just about everyone who had entered the competition came to the prizegiving and brought either family or friends with them. More than 50 people came along to hear the winners being announced and joined the Mayor of Ashington and members of the Judging Panel afterwards for refreshments. The picture shows the prizewinners with the Mayor, Councillor John McCormack.

The Ashington Community Development Trust would like to invite you for a "cuppa in the park".

We have opened a coffee shop in the Hirst park, we sell Teas and Coffees, soft drinks and sweets . So if you are visiting the park why not sit and enjoy a cuppa. Our vountees will be pleased to meet you and have a chat.

We can serve a smile and a cuppa, but sorry we can not serve the sun shine.

Ashington bodybuilder, Michael Liddle, fulfilled a long term ambition when judges at the recent IBFA championships - held this year in Bedlington, Northumberland - awarded him the title of IBFA Medium Height British Champion 2011: he also took second place (Short Class) in the first annual Mr. Northumberland Competition, which was launched on the same day. And, if that wasn't enough, Michael, 42, was soon to discover that he'd been invited to compete in the forthcoming IBFA World Championships in Rome later in the year, on the back of his IBFA success in Bedlington.

Tri Northumberland hosted their best events yet. It might have been something to do with the weather but the feedback from these races have been amazing. Thank you to all volunteers, supporters and competitors over the two days for making the event at Ladyburn Lake in Druridge Bay Country Park a special one. There were four events taking place over the Saturday and Sunday, 1.5k and 3k open water swims on day one followed by a sprint and standard triathlon on the second day.

A former Ashington colliery worker took a trip down memory lane as he returned to his old school 50 years after leaving as a 15 year-old.

The Wansbeck Disability Forum and Youth Team are going out and about.

The Wansbeck Disability Forum will be holding outreach sessions. The first one will be at the Newbiggin Arts Forum, 56 Melton Terrace, Newbiggin-by-the-Sea between 10am and 12 noon on 7th July.

Come and meet the team, we will be there to help with any disability problems you may have, also the Youth Team Chair will be on hand to give advice. You will be able to join the youth panel and get involved with what we are doing.

Please bring any ideas you have that the WDF or the Youth Team can use to make things easier for the disabled and their carers.

The 2011 Hirst Park Middle School Summer Fair was again a roaring success as the final term of another campaign comes to a close.

Families in South East Northumberland have been set the challenge of completing a short distance run along Newbiggin Promenade as part of the London 2012 Open Weekend supported by BP - a series of sporting and cultural events taking place across the UK which will see hundreds of thousands of people participating in events to celebrate the 'One Year to Go' countdown to the Olympic and Paralympic Games.

A group of adults from Northumberland have completed an introductory Triathlon course aimed at newcomers to the sport.

The scheme, branded as 'Try a Tri' has been established by England Triathlon for men and women of all ages and backgrounds. In Northumberland, the programme has been organised by Blyth Valley Arts & Leisure in partnership with Tri Northumberland and England Triathlon.

Local transport charity WATBus are celebrating a double gift of £1000 from the Linden Family Trust and £1000 from Rio Tinto Alcan.

Transport Manager Lynn Mcintosh said: ''We are experiencing increasing demand for our Minibus service at a time of rising fuel and maintenance costs which is stretching our resources to the limit. We are very grateful to the Linden Family Trust for their timely injection of cash towards our running costs and to Rio Tinto Alcan for supporting our WATBike cycle maintenance programme.

"Two of our minibuses are now ten years old and we are trying to raise funds to replace them. Since November we have raised £18,000. When we reach £25,000 we have been promised another £10,000 and that will enable us to buy a super new mini bus with electric tail lift for wheelchairs''.