Children have been learning how their food is produced as part of Farmhouse Breakfast Week with the aid of some seven-day-old chicks and Buttercup the model milking cow.

Farmers Carron Craighead and Dennis Gibb met around 40 children at Fordley Community Primary in Cramlington at the school's Fuel 4 Kids breakfast club.

An action group is hoping Northumbrians' generosity will help people to change their lifestyles for the better.

Mark Curr and Adam Bell, active travel co-ordinators for South-East Northumberland Sustrans, are aiming to get people cycling whenever they can, including offering to hire bikes out for free to help workers commute by bike.

But although they have a good supply of new bikes for community events such as group bike rides and car-less days at businesses, their fleet of donated and second hand bikes is limited.

A housing management company could take over responsibility for policing anti-social behaviour problems Blyth Valley following a major town halls shake-up in April.

Blyth Valley Housing - which manages the borough council's 6,000 houses and flats - is considering providing the troubleshooting service direct to its own customers.

The other alternative is to allow the county's new unitary council to assume responsibility for tackling anti-social behaviour issues when it takes over on April 1.

Communities fighting plans for opencast mining on their doorsteps have found a new ally in a pressure group set up to oppose a £2bn coal-fired power station scheme in Northumberland.

Panic Stations - an umbrella group launched to campaign against RWE npower's proposed clean-coal generating plant at Cambois near Bedlington - says the issue is inextricably linked to that of future opencasting mining schemes in the region.

It has agreed to offer support, advice and technical expertise to any local residents' groups set up to oppose new or expanded opencast sites.

Cramlington CC's winter net sessions will take place each Tuesday in February and March at the town's Sporting Club.

Practice for Under-13s and Under-15s is between 7pm and 8.30pm. Nets for Under-18s and seniors will run from 8.30pm-10pm.

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.

Tenants of Blyth Valley Housing are being offered a £1,000 incentive to keep up with their rent payments.

All tenants who have a clear rent account on April 3 will be entered into a draw for £1,000 of prizes.

Blyth Valley MP Ronnie Campbell is urging his constituents to take advantage of the new rules on free drugs for cancer patients.

The Government has said everyone undergoing treatment for cancer is entitled to any drugs they require free from April 1.

Mr Campbell urged local people to make sure they qualify by contacting their GP and collecting an application form, which can also be obtained from the patient's oncology clinic.

Bird lovers young and old can get involved in helping our feathered friends at an event in Cramlington.

Northumberland Wildlife Trust is holding a nest box building event as part of its celebrations for National Nest Box Week.

The wildlife charity is hoping to highlight the lack of natural nesting sites for garden birds and encourage people to compensate for this by putting up nest boxes.