A man has been charged with causing the death of a 33-year-old after a four-car pile-up.

Michael Thomas Patrick Hughes, 43, of Chesham Green, Kenton, Newcastle, will appear at Tynedale Magistrates' Court in Hexham on Monday after the fatal crash on the A69.

He has been charged with causing death while unlicensed, causing death while uninsured and driving an overweight vehicle.

Mindless vandals have smashed their way into a Northumberland church.

Police are appealing for witnesses after the yobs struck at St Wilfred's Church, on Ash Croft Terrace, Haltwhistle, overnight on Saturday.

They broke in by knocking the door off its hinges. Once inside they turned a table over, smashing a glass vase.

Wildlife reserves across Northumberland will benefit from a share of an £800 donation.

The Joicey Trust's money goes to Northumberland Wildlife Trust's Northumberland Native Woodlands Appeal.

The Appeal aims to preserve Northumberland's cherished woodlands for future generations.

Tynedale bus passengers are invited to quiz staff of their new bus operator.

Go North East will take over services from Arriva from Sunday, March 28, and the bus operator has arranged three bus surgeries for passengers.

Customers can meet staff on Monday, March 29, 10am to 1pm on Prudhoe Front Street; Tuesday, March 30, 10am to 1pm at Hexham Bus Station; and Wednesday, March 31 10am to 1pm at Corbridge Market Place.

Teenage wildlife photographer Will Nicholls is happy to mix business and pleasure.

Last year 15-year-old Will's picture of a red squirrel won him the national Young Photographer category in the British Wildlife Photography Awards in London.

Left, Will Nicholls gets his award from Countryfile presenter Matt Baker (picture David Mallows, BWPA). Right, some of Will's pictures

Now the image is to go on show in the middle of the animals' last stronghold in England. It will be part of an exhibition of Will's work at Kielder Castle in Kielder Forest in Northumberland.

All four parliamentary candidates for Hexham in the forthcoming General Election will take part in debate sessions at the Crown Inn, Catton.

Dr Steven Ford (Independent) will speak on March 24, followed by Antoine Tinion (Labour) on April 7.

The April 14 debate will feature Andrew Duffield (Lib Dem), and Guy Opperman (Conservative) will speak on April 21.

All debates begin at 7pm.

Farmers having a spring clean over the next few weeks are being urged to keep their eyes peeled for old equipment - and not to throw it out.

The Hay Time Project run by the North Pennines Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) Partnership is looking for anything harking back to hay time of days gone up.

It is staging a community exhibition called Hay - What's All the Fuss? in partnership with Beamish Museum on June 19 and 20 at Allendale. It will then become a touring roadshow during the summer.

The project, which has been running for four years, wants hay time photographs, farm diaries, clothing, hand tools or other related implements.

While most of us have been concentrating on the challenges of dealing with the snow this winter, an most pro-active band of volunteers have been working away planning the Haltwhistle Walking Festival.

The Festival Committee have comprehensively put together a mouth watering range of walks for the 2010 Spring Festival which runs from 24th April to May 3rd inclusive.

Festival highlights include 4 days of Wainwright's walks in Tynedale, to coincide with the publication of Wainwright's "Pennine Journey: From Settle to Hadrian's Wall in Wainwright's Footsteps".

The Festival will be opened by Eric Robson, the well-known broadcaster, who is Chairman of the Wainwright Society and of Gardeners' Question Time.

A star of England's women's rugby union team visited a Northumberland school to put the pupils through their paces.

Katy Storie was at Haltwhistle Community Campus as part of her involvement in the Youth Sport Trust's Sky Sports Living for Sport programme - a free online tool that uses the power of sport to motivate and inspire young people.

A group of pupils spent the day with Katy as she mentored and led activities, including a classroom session in which the rugby star talked about her own inspiring struggle through sport.

A well-known hostelry is to switch its menu to feature the best in Northumberland produce.

As a result of a pilot project being run by Northumberland Tourism, the Manor House Inn at Haltwhistle has developed The Griffin Menu, featuring the very best local goods.

This innovative project is part of the Market Town Welcome programme which aims to enhance every aspect of the tourism experience in the county's market towns.