Serial fundraiser Lee Ford is putting the wheels in motion for a major fitness challenge in aid of North East charities.

The 27-year-old is set to cycle hundreds of miles in a gruelling event he created himself and is searching for two like-minded souls to get on the saddle and join him.

Lee, of Stakeford near Choppington, planned the route called Cap-to-Cap, a mammoth bike ride around all of the British Isles' capital cities, to raise money for charities based in the region.

A row has blown up after a council used money intended to help jobs blackspots to fund a horse show.

Blyth Valley Labour MP Ronnie Campbell (pictured) branded the summer event 'a weekend out for toffs'.

He strongly criticised Northumberland County Council - which is in the midst of making budget cuts totalling £40m over two years - for earmarking £80,000 to stage the high-profile equestrian event.

It's not often that people welcome the sight of graffiti in their neighbourhoods. But that was exactly the case in one community - until well-meaning officials wiped out a much-loved piece of urban art.

A 6ft mural of the 1970s comic book character Cerebus the Aardvark had brightened up a bridge near Blyth for nearly three decades until its disappearance last weekend.

Despite its popularity, Northumberland County Council blitzed the colourful design as part of a crackdown on graffiti.

A popular guide aimed at helping older people in Northumberland get the most out of life has been published for the fourth time.

Previous issues of the Golden Guide have gone down so well with the over-50s that there was a waiting list for the latest 5,000-copy print run.

The free booklet, which is produced by community information specialists Clever Clogs Publishing in partnership with Age Concern Northumberland, the county council and care trust, has also been given a new design.

Age Concern Northumberland are holding a Recruitment Fair on Friday 12 February at The Round House, Lintonville Parkway, Ashington (oppostie Lidl's).

We are running two presentations at 11.30am and 1.30pm, followed by the opportunity to discuss, with our experienced staff, the job vacancies and career prospects in further detail.

For further information on our Recruitment Fair and our other opportunities available or for an application pack call the HR & Training Team on 0845 140 00 88.

About 10 new members are being sought by the Ashington and District Male Voice Choir following the loss of a number of singers in the last year.

The choir meets for rehearsals every Thursday at 7.30pm in Ashington High School.

Anyone interested in joining is welcome to come along, or can make contact with the choir by calling Bob Brind on 01670 790169.

People in the former Wansbeck area of Northumberland are being invited to have their say on how their communities can be developed or improved.

Local community forums are about to start a six-month programme of public engagement, including public meetings, to help draw up community plans, which will influence future decisions and changes.

Meetings will take place in the Choppington, Newbiggin-by-the-Sea and Ellington, Linton and Lynemouth areas.

For further information, contact Lynda Fakir, Locality Development Officer for South East Northumberland on 0845 600 6400, email Lynda.Fakir@northumberland.gov.uk or visit northumberland.gov.uk.

A charity has taken off in the cold spell this winter after supplying four times as much woodfuel as normal.

The Woodfuel Centre in West Sleekburn, run by Blyth Star Enterprises which helps people with mental health issues, has seen deliveries increase fourfold during the recent cold snap.

Barry Lyden and Neil Hedley delivering logs from Blyth Star Enterprise's Woodfuel Centre in West Sleekburn

The extra work has provided disabled people and those with mental health problems with vital work experience which can help them to get into full-time work.

Caring bikers are riding to the rescue of a popular North East charity event which nearly reached the end of the road after almost two decades.

Every year since 1991, scores of leather-clad motorcyclists have taken part in the annual Easter Egg run organised by the Northumberland Bikers' club.

They collected thousands of chocolate eggs donated by customers at various pubs and clubs and then set off in a huge motorbike convoy to deliver them to children and elderly people in hospitals and homes across Northumberland and Tyneside.

Plans to close 12 libraries across Northumberland were put on hold yesterday - but communities are remaining cautious over what the future will bring.

A dozen libraries in the county have been earmarked for closure as Northumberland County Council looks to make massive savings in the next budget.

Libraries at Ashington Hirst, Lynemouth, Kielder, Bedlington Station, Blyth South Beach (pictured) and Hadston were first in line for the axe because of their alleged low usage, under initial consultations on £16m worth of cuts.