A progress report on the review reveals hundreds of people have made their views known on whether parking fees should be imposed across the whole county - rather than just in selected towns.

More than 560 people have signed three separate petitions calling for an equal policy across the board, with charges being made in all principal towns.

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.

Bicentennials are like buses: you wait an age for one and then two come along at once.

The Journal reported recently on the programme of events lined up to mark the 200th anniversary this year of the death of Admiral Lord Collingwood.

Now preparations are in full swing to celebrate a second 200th - the anniversary of the birth of another of the North East's greatest sons in Lord Armstrong.

The castle, which closes from November to March, will open for February half term.

Bamburgh Castle director Chris Calvert, pictured, said: "Opening the castle in February will support local tourism businesses who are working hard to attract off-peak visitors."

Council leaders are being asked to give the green light to a £1.5m transport scheme which would see a new station built at Belford.

The village currently sees trains travel into its existing station to turn around, however, there is no platform, as it was removed in 1969 when the service was axed.

The white-beaked dolphin is a little studied species which occurs around the coast of the UK and is vulnerable to the effects of global warming.

It lives in the cold waters of the northern Atlantic and its available habitat is thought to be shrinking.

The Liberal Democrat MP was revealed to have claimed expenses for cleaning his home, laundry, a new television and kitchen equipment when the furore over expenses broke.

He was also listed as claiming around £1,200 a month in rent on average.

The 25 tonne juvenile male was discovered at Beadnell on Monday morning and is thought to have died shortly after.

Northumberland County Council was responsible for removing the body and early yesterday its subcontractors and a plant hire company set about the task.

Equipment was taken down onto the beach via an access owned by Beadnell Fishermen's Society, rather than bringing it across sand dunes, risking damage.

The mayday call was made at 9.52am yesterday when the fishing boat ran into difficulties in Seahouses Harbour.

A member of Seahouses Lifeboat Crew was in the Lifeboat Station when the urgent request was made for a pump to assist the skipper of the Seahouses based fishing vessel Quo Vadis.

Natural England has been in discussion with Northumberland County Council which is charged with disposal of the sperm whale from the beach at Beadnell, where it was found on Monday morning.

The discussions have centred on how the whale can be removed without any damage being caused to rare flora and fauna habitats on the beach.

The presence of the habitats has seen the beach designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest - while it is also in the Berwickshire and North Northumberland Coast European Marine Site.

Meanwhile, the council has confirmed the carcass of the whale will be disposed of by rendering. The authority has spoken to a couple of removal contractors, and is awaiting quotes before it can give the go-ahead to dispose of the carcass.

The 10-metre-long male sperm whale was discovered just off a beach near Beadnell, Northumberland early on Monday morning.

The Journal has been told by coastguards they are aware local people and others from outside Northumberland hope to get a tooth from the whale as a souvenir or to sell it.

The adult male sperm whale, measuring 30ft (10 metres) in length, was discovered on rocks at Collith Hole, north of Beadnell.

The animal was first seen at around 8.45am by a dog walker, who claimed it was alive, and Humber coastguard dispatched its Seahouses branch to investigate.

Northumberland Wildlife Trust has been awarded £111,550 from the Aggregates Levy Sustainability Fund which aims to reduce the environmental impacts of the extraction of the material.

The funding is awarded on behalf of Defra by Natural England and offers the trust the chance to manage and restore whin grassland sites in Northumberland.

Sir Alan raised the issue after the Government praised farmers for their public-spirited help while at the same time warning they could not use red diesel in snow-clearing machinery in certain places.

The NFU last week sent out guidelines to members based on information from HM Revenue & Customs covering when the fuel could and could not be used.

Householders in parts of Northumberland had to sandbag their properties as the Environment Agency issued flood warnings across the region.

Water on the road at Newbrough, near Haydon Bridge

Firefighters were called out by worried homeowners whose houses were at risk of flooding.