A FORCE dedicated to reeling in loan sharks has been launched in York with a warning to the city’s crooked lenders that “we have teeth”. The Yorkshire and Humberside Illegal Moneylending Team is part of a Government-funded push to end the misery
SCORPIONS, baby wipes and Berber tribesmen were all part of the adventure when a secretary took on the blistering heat of the Sahara desert. Kim Barton is usually to be found behind a desk at Langley’s Solicitors, in York, and does not normally wake
RYEDALE is a low-crime area – and that is not only official but now widely-appreciated by the communities in the district, new research has revealed. This is one of the results to come out of a recent survey conducted by Safer Ryedale Community Safety
STARING defeat in the face, this Australian four-piece plucked something of a victory through a stirring second half. The opening set was polite and short of memorable moments. While the interplay of the four musicians was consistently entertaining
If Wednesday’s large audience, virtually filling the nave, is anything to go by, the credit crunch seems not to have affected box-office revenues so far. A combination of Vivaldi’s Four Seasons and Handel’s four Coronation Anthems clearly
A PENSIONER who says gardening is his one pleasure in life has appealed for help in catching the thieves who stole his outdoor lights. Paul Smith, of Gascoigne Walk, off Nunnery Lane, in York, said he was “devastated” when he discovered seven solar
Arts activists representing amateur arts organisations from all over North Yorkshire will converge on York on Saturday for the Celebrate! Conference at the Priory Street Centre. Running from 11am to 5pm, this free event is the culmination of
A CAREER burglar has been jailed for two years after he targeted a school and the elderly among others. Mark David Walker, 30, had 150 convictions before he appeared before the Recorder of York, Judge Stephen Ashurst, to answer for his summer crime
A NETWORKING group based in York is celebrating its 10,000th referral. The York Knavesmire group of Business Networking International (BNI), which was formed in 2001 and is one of the top performing groups in the UK, has passed 10,000 opportunities for
A “Try Accountancy” event at the University of York has been declared a success. A group of potential chartered accountants visited the event, which was hosted by Bright Futures, formerly known as the Students Industrial Society, as well as Price Waterhouse
YORK’S MP has called on the Government to reconsider a tax change that would see business rates nearly double for many city-centre retailers. Hugh Bayley has written to Hazel Blears, the secretary of state for communities and local government, asking
POLICE say a York woman who has been missing for five days may have been abducted. Claudia Elizabeth Lawrence, a chef at Goodricke College, at the University of York, was last seen on CCTV cameras in Melrosegate walking towards her Heworth
A WORRIED couple have issued a desperate appeal to their missing daughter as police mounted a massive search operation in York. Chef Claudia Elizabeth Lawrence, 35, of Heworth, has not been seen since she left work at the University of York
THE prospect of York City’s second-ever trip to Wembley will not interfere with the fight against relegation, insisted manager Martin Foyle. Foyle will emulate Alan Little, who led City out at the old stadium in 1993, when the KitKat Crescent club
YORK City defender Shaun Pejic cannot believe he has swapped Wrexham reserves for Wembley in the space of five weeks. Pejic was almost ready to write off his season at the Racecourse Ground, having made just one appearance for the Welsh club back in
POLICE cordoned off a York street today, after a motorist collapsed and died at the wheel. The incident happened at about 10.30am in Heworth Village. Police were called and sealed off the road, but a spokesman said the death had been
DIRECTOR of rugby James Ratcliffe refused to blame controversial refereeing for York City Knights’ defeat in their big Championship One opener – as he labelled his side’s performance “embarrassing”. The Knights lost 28-2 at title favourites Dewsbury
LEEDS United ensured they kept pace with the play-off contenders as they beat ten-man Crewe 3-2 in Coca-Cola League One. Hosts Crewe had Billy Jones red-carded on 17 minutes after a foul on Robert Snodgrass and an altercation with the travelling
Confidence is vital to a successful economy. It’s a failure of faith in the future that has led to the current global recession – and the relative buoyancy of York’s business life is down in no small measure to investors’ conviction that our region remains
THE ArtSpace is exhibiting “exactly the kind of artist who will benefit from more exposure,” say Greg and Ails McGee, co-owners of the gallery in Tower Street, York. York St John: Past And Present introduces paintings, installations, drawings
IN THESE times of recession and redundancies, York City’s victory over AFC Telford was just what we needed. The FA Trophy win means the Minstermen have reached a Wembley final for only the second time in the club’s 87-year history. Business and
The eighth York Open Studios will be bigger than ever. Running from March 27 to March 29, this free event will feature more than 50 artists, craftsmen and designers showing their wares in studios, homes, schools and community centres. Visitors
A BRACE from Sean Gorman helped Selby Town to a 3-0 victory over fellow high-fliers Long Eaton United in the Northern Counties East League premier division. Second-placed Selby took a fifth minute lead through Gorman and the striker added the second
PROMOTION-CHASING Heworth ARLC bagged 11 tries as they romped to a 64-0 victory over Egremont Rangers in National Conference division two. Centre Marcus Allan and second-row forward Adrian Leek scored a hat-trick apiece in a superb display at Elmpark
THE top three all won in the premier division of the Leeper Hare York & District Football League. Leaders Hamilton Panthers scored six second half goals in a 7-0 victory over York St John. Darren Branden scored the first half goal and then completed
The bottom three in division two all recorded wins. Basement side Moor Lane bagged their first points of the season with a 3-0 win at Huby. Late goals from Nick Laurie and Simon Archer gave Osbaldwick a 4-3 win over St Clement’s. Chris Thompson scored
YORK RUFC moved up to fifth in Yorkshire One with a 39-10 demolition of Skipton at Clifton Park. The home side led 15-10 at half-time, and raised their game to pull away after the break. Skipton opened the scoring with a second minute penalty, but York
REFEREE Chris Leatherbarrow had two professional games to his name before he was put in charge of arguably the biggest match in Championship One. Not only did both York City Knights and hosts Dewsbury kick off the campaign with title aspirations
OUR recent series of articles and old photographs depicting York in the late 1800s has touched a chord with readers. “I love these articles and pics of old York … more please,” enthused “Kim the swim” in a recent comment on our website. “I love to look
Trip Switch is in the infancy of his career and he can fulfill his early promise at Wolverhampton this afternoon. Both his races so far have been at Lingfield, a runner-up effort on his debut followed by a fluent win three weeks ago. A son of Reset
I CAME across the website of my first newspaper the other day – and it unleashed an explosive cascade of half-forgotten memories that have remained hidden behind the curtains of time since the Seventies. The Maidenhead Advertiser in Berkshire –
SHIRTY staff at a York-based train operator have won the battle of the blouse. The Diary can now reveal that National Express East Coast has mothballed plans to introduce new super-slinky shirts. Union officials said female staff had been left aghast
DOZENS of people were evacuated from a city- centre pub after a fire broke out on the roof. Firefighters were called to the Bootham Tavern, in Bootham, York, at about 6.45pm on Saturday. Watch manager Mike Jamieson, of North Yorkshire Fire & Rescue
I was amazed to read in The Press on Wednesday (Bid to ease homes crisis) that City of York Council is to encourage householders to move to smaller properties in order to alleviate the city’s housing problems. My husband and I live in a
NOT too long ago a Polo mint would always make me sneeze and on a cold winters day would seem truly warming. Now, on eating one, I never sneeze and a Polo seems strangely bland as if its been in your pocket for a few months. Have any other readers noticed
AS AN anxious viewer of the gradual disintegration of a fine building I can only applaud Mr Legard's vision and determination to rescue the Bonding Warehouse in this, the most unpropitious of financial times (New plans for warehouse site, The Press, March
We can all sympathise with the pensioners who find their life savings yield reduced by the present low bank rate, when relying on the interest to supplement a pension. On TV I saw a couple who said it had cost them £3,000 a year; after years of saving
The inquiry into the ill-fated council headquarters is becoming as farcical as the original fiasco itself (Too little money for HQ planning, The Press, March 16). Whether the estimated and escalating project costs were adequate or not is completely
POLICE were today still trying to identify a man who was “brutally murdered” and then dumped in a North Yorkshire canal. Detectives investigating the case have been interviewing every person coming near the spot where the body of an Oriental
I’m naturally a bit of a risk taker and don’t much like the idea of helmets for cycling, let alone skiing. With mandatory motorbike helmets and fairly universal use of cycle helmets for both road and mountain biking and rock climbing, reflecting on
I cannot speak for other areas, nevertheless, I can say with truth that at Tadcaster our Victorian parents of my generation would have been appalled if they had read your report and then studied the photograph of some Tadcaster Grammar School pupils throwing
THE building industry has been badly hit by the recession. The expansion of the University of York might be forging ahead. But elsewhere building sites are mainly lying idle, and construction firms have been shedding jobs. So why on earth
THESE were the joyous scenes at KitKat Crescent after York City reached Wembley for only the second time in the club’s 87-year history. When the final whistle blew, hundreds of elated fans invaded the pitch to celebrate with the Minstermen,
DAVID Longhurst Stand supporters, itching to invade the pitch, were awaiting referee Rob Shoebridge’s final whistle like Olympic sprinters might anticipate a starter gun at KitKat Crescent on Saturday. Party-poppers, meanwhile, were being
GUESTS at a gala dinner organised by staff at York’s Nestlé factory raised £20,000 for charity in only one night. About 450 employees, customers and suppliers of the chocolate factory attended the glitzy event in the Voltigeur suite at York Racecourse
