A woman has appeared in court accused of trying to smuggle drugs into a Northumberland prison.

Jamie Fox, 20, of Warwick Terrace in Sunderland, is alleged to have committed the offence at Acklington Prison.

No plea was entered when she appeared before Alnwick Magistrates on Wednesday, and the case was adjourned until September 9 for committal to Newcastle Crown Court.

After a packed summer of family events around Northumberland, the final weekend of the summer holidays is beckoning, with another busy programme across the county.

The event likely to attract the biggest crowd is the Glendale Show (pictured), now in its 117th year, featuring a host of rural attractions and stalls. Spectacular carriage driving and falconry displays and a Ready Steady Cook style cooking competition are some of the highlights of the event on Bank Holiday Monday.

In the bottom corner of the county on the same day, Blanchland & Hunstanworth Show (see link below) will be taking place, and two days before on Saturday Bellingham will also be welcoming visitors to its Show to take part and watch various traditional competitions.

This year's GCSE results have been confirmed as the best yet. More teenagers than ever are leaving North East schools with at least five A* to C grades.

And thousands of pupils were seeing stars yesterday as they achieved the highest grade possible.

Students at Coquet High School, in Amble, were celebrating as a total of 43 students achieved 10 or more GCSE passes.

Christina Henderson and Matthew Donkin gained nine A* and A grades each, followed by Anna Middlemass with eight A* and A grades.

A new look for Northumberland online is being fronted by TV presenter Wendy Gibson.

The BBC personality features in a video on Northumberland Tourism's relaunched website, offering potential visitors to the region a virtual tour of some of its highlights.

Among the sites explored from spectacular aerial views are Hadrian's Wall, Bamburgh Castle, Berwick, and Lindisfarne.

A threatened day care centre for elderly and disabled people in Northumberland offers good value for money and should be kept open, it is claimed.

The facility in Amble is one of seven council-run day centres across the county which are at risk of closure under proposed changes in adult care.

The centres in Amble, Bedlington, Blyth, Prudhoe, Haltwhistle, Ponteland and Hexham could be axed by the county council as part of moves to give elderly people personal budgets to spend on activities of their choice.

A major review of local government boundaries in Northumberland is entering its second phase.

The Boundary Committee for England has started a second round of public consultation on future arrangements for the county's new unitary council.

The main purpose of the review is to ensure "electoral equality" following the restructuring of local government last year.

People in Northumberland are being urged to do their bit to maintain the beauty of the county's beaches.

The county has some of the most picturesque beaches in Britain, such as those at Warkworth, Bamburgh and Alnmouth.

But they can be spolit by litter which in turn can put wildlife at risk.

Warkworth juniors won the North Northumberland League Cup for the third time in six years with a 6-2 win over Goswick at Burgham Park, captained by Jayden Hindhaugh.

After gaining promotion to the Northern Alliance First Division, Amble United are setting a hot pace, clocking up three straight victories and banging in 16 goals.

In midweek a 5-0 home win against Percy Main was claimed with goals by Martin Humble (2), Chris Moffitt (2) and Darren Riddell. And United followed up by beating Cumbrian visitors Northbank three days later.

This time their marksmen were Ronnie Warwick (2), Lee Harker, Ian Common, Darren Riddell and Shaun Kelly.

Students across Northumberland are looking forward to university life after picking up top grades.

Students at Coquet High School, in Amble, sat a total of 159 examinations and achieved a pass rate of 86.8%.

Nicholas Duquemin and Aminder Singh both gained three A grades.