Councillors have welcomed the news that Bamburgh Beach in north Northumberland has been rated among the top five stretches of sands in the United Kingdom.

A national survey has placed Bamburgh in fourth place behind Blackpool Pleasure Beach, Holywell Bay, in Cornwall, and Bournemouth Beach.

After taking cod to 6lb at Beadnell, noticing that on each trip the fish were getting bigger, sea angler Allen Matthews and friend Dave Todd decided on another session at the same spot.

All was very quiet until Allen got the only bite of the night, which nearly pulled his rod in. After a hectic struggle bringing his fish through thick kelp and rocks, Allen was relieved when Dave was able to grab the fish and bring it ashore.

When officially weighed the next day at Billy's tackle in North Shields, it was an impressive 18lb 6oz and by far the biggest Allen has ever caught from the shore.

The RNLI's lifeboats in Northumberland had more than 70 call-outs in 2008, new figures show.

The boat at the Seahouses station launched 39 times last year, while Amble went out 35 times. In addition, RNLI volunteers travelled inland to help dozens of people affected by September's floods in Morpeth.

Statistics have been released as the RNLI kicks of its annual SOS fundraising drive today.

Northumberland's new super council is to retain the existing county council's official logo when it takes over following local government reorganisation in April.

A working group has concluded there is merit in reviewing the 35-year-old logo to ensure it reflects the new unitary council's vision and values.

However, the need to prioritise effective service delivery from April 1 means it will be retained for the time being.

Tomorrow will see the launch of a new free newspaper for Journal readers in Northumberland.

Journal Extra will come free with The Journal every Thursday with 36 pages of news and sport from around the county in addition to The Journal's normal service.

Regular features in Journal Extra will include a nostalgia page, readers' pictures of Northumberland and a weekly focus on one of the county's schools. There will also be weekly promotions and competitions exclusively for our Northumberland readers.

An informal business forum is to be launched covering the North Northumberland coastal villages of Bamburgh, Seahouses and Beadnell.

It is being arranged by the North Sunderland and Seahouses Development Trust with a view to improving communication with local businesses and members of the community.

People are being given the chance to abseil down the sides of Bamburgh Castle.

The Grace House North East Children's Hospice Appeal - which aims to build, equip and run a hospice for youngsters with life-limiting conditions - has set up an abseil from the Constable Tower at the castle to the dunes below on April 12.

There is a £20 registration fee to cover the cost of staging the challenge and participants are asked to try to raise a minimum of £80 each in sponsorship. The minimum age to take part is 15.

Anyone wanting to take part should contact Karen Larkin at kl@gracehouse.co.uk or ring 0191 5166302 or 07846 542929. There are 50 places available.

The double whammy of the credit crunch and last summer's poor weather has left horse owners struggling to find sufficient bedding for their animals over the winter.

Fewer wood shavings are being produced because of the slowdown in the construction industry and there has been a shortage of straw due to the wet summer.

Belford-based wood shaving producer Bedmax, which also has a factory at Newark in Nottinghamshire and has just opened a third in Andover, Hampshire, says it is "flat out" trying to keep up with demand.

English Farming and Food Partnerships is holding workshops in Belford and elsewhere in Northumberland to offer advice on how farmers could ride out the recession.

The sessions will explain how arable, dairy and livestock farmers can work together to capitalise on the current economic climate, saying that customers are realising the importance of locally-produced food because of the fall in sterling and the current economic gloom.

Using its Share to Farm initiative, EFFP will be showing farmers how they can work together to reduce costs and market their produce to a wider audience.

Two goals in the last two minutes saved Berwick blushes in their derby clash with Springhill.

Berwick United Reserves, playing with home advantage in the Division Two meeting, took the lead when Martin Tait opened the scoring.

But Springhill hit back to lead with goals from David Jardine, Andrew Skelly and Kristian Neil.