People in Haltwhistle are invited to have a cuppa with a coppa and receive crime prevention advice at an event today.

They can meet officers from their local policing team, have a free cup of tea and speak with police about crime prevention advice and any other issues they want to discuss.

It is happening today between 2.30-5.30pm at the Haltwhistle leisure centre cafe.

Northumberland Trading Standards is urging people in the county to fight back against the fraudsters this February by taking part in a major campaign.

The Scamnesty 2010 campaign runs from February 1 to 26 and will involve people dropping mail scams they receive through their letterbox into designated Scamnesty boxes which will be placed across Northumberland.

Online scams can also be reported via the virtual Scamnesty bin at www.consumerdirect.gov.uk/scamnesty.

People living in Northumberland are being targeted in a phone scam claiming to offer them a council tax refund.

Fraudsters pretending to be from Northumberland County Council have phoned up people living in the county with different stories to try to get bank details out of their victims.

The latest problem comes on the back of a spate of e-mails sent to small businesses in the county trying to get hold of bank and credit card details by telling them they had over or underpaid council tax and could face a fine.

Post office users in five Northumberland villages have received good news after a review into the proposed closures across the county.

Belsay, Gilsland, Netherton, Stannington and Rochester have all been successful after asking Post Office bosses to look again at their swathe of cuts.

Belsay has been upgraded from a hosted outreach service to a partnered outreach; Gilsland from a mobile outreach to a changed hosted outreach; Netherton from home service outreach to hosted outreach; Stannington will now be a changed hosted outreach; and Rochester is now a hosted outreach rather than a mobile outreach.

Schools across Northumberland are benefiting from a unique opportunity to meet the stars.

Northumberland's new mobile planetarium has already travelled the length of the county bringing the night skies to life for children, and has been booked up until May with visits to many more schools planned.

The planetarium has been to middle schools in Corbridge and Berwick as well as St Wilfrids Middle School in Blyth.

Landmark locations across Northumberland will be seen in a new light this winter with the return of a hugely popular winter festival.

Northumberland Lights - and the award-winning team behind it - are back with more bright ideas for outdoor illuminations.

From November 2 to 30, the winter festival will bathe some of the most beautiful and remote spots from Blyth to the Borders in an array of colour, in celebration of the county's contrasting architectural and natural environment.

Handmade crafts hit Haltwhistle next month when the annual arts and crafts fair makes its 22nd appearance in the town.

The event takes place in the Masonic Hall on Banks Terrace on Saturday November 15, between 10am and 4pm.

It is fully subscribed with more stallholders than ever before, and has attracted a varied range of different crafts both from local producers and across the North East.