World Cup winner Sir Bobby Charlton has been voted the Greatest Living Northumbrian in a poll on the Your Place microsites.

The Ashington-born footballer won 27% of the votes, beating actor Robson Green (17%) and comedian Ross Noble (15%).

Other nominees in the poll were Sir Bobby's brother Jack, musician Kathryn Tickell, cricketer Steve Harmison, the Duchess of Northumberland and darts commentator Sid Waddell.

A new range of free courses is being launched at centres in the Berwick district later this month by Northumberland College in conjunction with the Berwick Learning Partnership.

The 'bitesize' courses will include Computer Essentials, Introduction to Retail Skills as well as a DIY Introductory Programme and another relating to tourism employment.

They will be available at the college's centre in Berwick; Seahouses Resource Centre and Cheviot Centre in Wooler.

A Northumberland pub is backing a charity for local cancer sufferers.

Staff at The Bamburgh Castle Inn at Seahouses have named Seahouses and District Cancer Research and Relief Fund as the pub's chosen charity for the year.

The pub is already donating the proceeds from its Sunday night quiz to the fund and is hosting its annual coffee morning on March 7.

The Journal's Think North East First campaign has been gathering pace this week with support from a number of firms in Northumberland.

We have been encouraging people to buy local products and services to aid businesses in the area during the financial crisis.

Now The Pantry, a delicatessen in Bamburgh, has become one of the first businesses in the region to sign up to the campaign's roll of honour to show that it is helping other companies in the North East.

A nursery has installed a fingerprint entry access system to provide added protection for children and staff.

Lucker Nature Kindergarten near Belford, has installed the biometric system which raises security while making access easier for carers and parents.

The system, supplied by Newcastle based UKB International Ltd, allows fingerprints to be registered in seconds.

Toad patrols are being set up to help amphibians hop across to their local pond. The safety campaign has been launched to stop the toads being killed crossing roads during their breeding season.

Nature-lover Keith White set up his own 'toad watch' close to his home near Belford, Northumberland, and is gearing up to help as Spring approaches.

The Toads on Roads campaign has been rolled out to stop numbers dwindling in the region.

Players in the North Northumberland League enjoyed the recent relative good weather and played some of their hectic fixture list.

Teams got straight back into the action with some high scoring matches. Acklington Athletic and Craster Rovers took out the frustration of the last few weeks on each other with a 4-4 draw in their Division One clash.

Phil Grey with a hat trick and a Steven Watson goal were not enough for Craster as the home team hit back to share the points with goals from Richard Lemon, Kevin Kirby, David Littlefair and Steven Pearce.

A serial burglar who spent decades touring the region and raiding rural homes has begun a nine-year jail term.

Anthony Graham targeted wealthy families in Northumberland, Cumbria and North Yorkshire, creeping into their isolated properties and making off with treasured possessions.

The 50-year-old even plundered an historic castle of expensive antiques in his 30-year career as a "professional burglar".

Northumberland's new unitary council has received a national award for its planning service.

The authority was given a commendation by the Royal Town Planning Institute for the innovative way it is merging the existing planning services in Northumberland.

After last week's fun poll to find Northumberland's favourite castle, this week we turn our attention to the important matter of finding the Greatest Living Northumbrian.

After much discussion in the Your Place office, we have come up with eight people who we think sum up all that is great about Northumberland.

From the world of sport, you can choose between World Cup winners Bobby and Jack Charlton, and the Ashington Express Steve Harmison. There's also comedian Ross Noble, folk musician Kathryn Tickell, actor Robson Green and darts commentator Sid Waddell. Finally, we've added the Duchess of Northumberland into the mix for her work in developing the Alnwick Garden.

You can vote below for your choice and the results will be revealed next Friday.