A former Northumberland coal mining stronghold will find out today if it has won the title of the UK's enterprise capital.

The Wansbeck area of Northumberland is one of 12 finalists in the prestigious Enterprising Britain competition.

Earlier this year it was chosen as the North East winner of the contest - and in the summer a team of judges visited the area and met some of the new businesses which have received help from the Go Wansbeck agency.

A South East Northumberland local history group have compiled footage that brings back to life the horror of what war in the North East was like.

From German aircraft landing on rooftops to the VE Day celebrations across the region, a new DVD has been produced to show how the area both suffered and survived the Second World War.

The rare archive footage showing places was brought together to remember how millions of men, women and children coped during one of the worst conflicts in history.

Mini masterchefs learned from the best when they entered the heat of the kitchen to improve their skills.

The young apprentices from Bothal Middle School in Ashington began learning advanced cooking techniques by going along to the Half Moon Inn in Stakeford.

They were shown the ropes in the kitchen by the Half Moon's owner Shane Otley before having a lesson from the head chef David Lee.

The 11 year-seven children have already started their own bistro club at school, and this allowed them to learn about the pressures in a working kitchen and how it works as a business.

Hundreds of youngsters are being challenged to make money grow as part of a drive to foster a new spirit of enterprise.

About 1,500 school pupils in Wansbeck are joining forces with local companies of all sizes, who are investing thousands of pounds in the project.

Make £5 Grow is the brainchild of the Wansbeck Education Enterprise Network (WEEN).

Families can give the gift of a greener lifestyle this Christmas.

Northumberland Warm Zone is offering people the chance to buy loft or cavity wall insulation as a present for a family member or friend.

For the basic cost of £129 the Warm Zone team will arrange for a voucher and card to be sent to them.

Brothers Trevor and James Crooks took the plunge into the freezing sea at Cambois to raise money for Children in Need last week.

Trevor, 11, and James, 13, collected sponsorship from family, as well as friends at West Sleekburn Middle School and Bedlingtonshire High School. Mum Coreen said: "I'm really proud of them. They have raised more than £115 so far and every bit helps."

A leaked report has laid bare the full extent of a £16m package of cuts being drawn up by council bosses in Northumberland.

Details of Northumberland County Council's draft budget for 2010/11 will go to the Liberal Democrat controlled authority's executive later this month, with the anticipated savings coming in at £15.772m.

The document proposes a series of cuts across all council departments, with areas worst affected set to include highways, adult care, youth services, libraries, leisure centres, public transport and refuse collection.

Around 600 more posts are set to be axed at Northumberland County Council as embattled town hall bosses seek a further round of budget cuts of up to £30m next year.

County leaders will meet later this month to examine a number of "financial scenarios" aimed at achieving the massive savings without having to slash front line services, bring in a big council tax hike or make large-scale compulsory redundancies.

Yesterday it emerged that the scale of the cuts required will mean between 400 and 600 posts being axed from the 8,500-strong workforce - on top of the 800 which were shed this year.

Two Northumberland women have come up with a 'cheeky' way of raising money for a cancer charity.

Natalia Sassetti, 21, of Stakeford, and Carly Luther, 20, of Cramlington, both hair stylists at Saks Hairdressing in Morpeth, have produced a 'nude' calendar in support of Cancer Research UK's breast cancer awareness and fundraising campaign Join the fight for women survival.

Businesswomen of Morpeth who have produced a 'nude' calendar in support of Cancer Research UK- Natalia Sassetti, 21, of Stakeford holds the calendar

The friends enlisted the help of female employees from other local businesses in Morpeth to bare all for the calendar - a different business for each month.

Action taken to reduce the impact of car parking charges on recession-hit town centres across England has been seized on by campaigners fighting to retain free parking in part of Northumberland.

Labour MPs Ronnie Campbell and Denis Murphy are battling to ensure a wide-ranging review of parking strategy by the county council does not result in the imposition of charges in towns such as Blyth, Cramlington, Ashington, Bedlington and Newbiggin.

Now Mr Campbell is holding up the actions of councils in other parts of the country as evidence that charging has a damaging effect on the local economy and traders.