Northumberland Foods, based at Amble, was given a £1.5m emergency loan last August to stave off closure with the recession threatening its 190 jobs.

The package included £960,000 from the Royal Bank of Scotland and £250,000 from Northumberland County Council.

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.

It was feared that around £30m worth of savings would be required to balance next year's budget but the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) has allowed councillors to pay for some costs from the capital budget.

The authority had submitted four bids for capitalisation in respect of potential losses on Icelandic investments of £9.1m, for £6m in strain on the pension fund, £2.8m for enhanced redundancy and £1.4m for statutory redundancy.

County council leaders expected to be told yesterday whether ministers will allow them to use a financial loophole to avoid having to make almost £30m in savings this year.

But last night - as the authority revealed it has dropped plans to close a number of tourist information centres in Northumberland - there had still been no decision from the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG).

Cash-strapped Northumberland County Council - which is having to make budget cuts of up to £50m over two years - is thinking of using its capital resources to help would-be home buyers who are being frustrated by the continued squeeze on lending.

A report is being prepared for the Liberal Democrat executive in March on the possibility of the authority giving mortgages "in certain circumstances" to applicants unable to secure a loan from commercial lenders.

The Liberal Democrat administration at County Hall has drawn up the revised savings for 2010/11 after carrying out public consultations on initial £16m proposals published in November.

They will be discussed by the executive next week - and are based on the assumption the Government will allow the council to capitalise its £10m redundancy costs this year, cushioning the impact on the revenue budget.

Political opponents on the county council have clashed over a demand for a better system of repairs and maintenance - amid claims that 'small craters' have appeared on some roads which are both dangerous and potentially damaging.

Conservative councillors are calling on the Liberal Democrat administration to urgently bring in an improved system for looking after roads, pavements and bridges - and have condemned what they say is the current 'muddle through' approach.

Snow has not fully thawed in all parts of the county following last week's downfall and some areas were hit again on Wednesday night.

Predictions for the county on Saturday are for heavy rain and temperatures of between three and five degrees celsius.

Northumberland County Council is trying to get back to a normal bin collection routine.

A spokeswoman said: "There has inevitably been disruption to the bin collection service in Northumberland due to the recent winter weather conditions - particularly in the more rural areas of the county.

"The council is asking residents to refer to the normal collection timetable for their area, and place the correct coloured bin out on the next scheduled collection day. Where a bin has been missed the council will collect additional bags of waste on the next visit.

More than 1,600 county council workers faced the prospect of not having their wages increased this year to help the unitary authority save more than £1m.

The proposed freeze on pay increments - which sparked the threat of a ballot and possible industrial action by public sector unions - would have affected many low-paid employees such as refuse collectors, road workers and kitchen staff.

Since December, villages and estates have been badly affected by the freezing weather, which has seen much of the North East blanketed by snow.

But as the ice thaws and roads clear many residents are turning their attention away from the weather and wondering why they're still being left out in the cold by the postal service and refuse collectors.

The Conservative group, the main opposition at the county council, tabled a shadow budget for 2010/11 in response to the Liberal Democrat administration's recently released set of savings proposals which envisages cuts of £15.7m.

The Tories announced they would reduce bureaucracy and radically reform County Hall. By doing so they hope to make savings of at least £9m, compared to the Lib Dems' £3m.

Northumberland County Council produced a video (below) to raise awareness of the facilities available to people wanting to know more about their ancestors.

It was uploaded onto internet video sharing site YouTube and has got more than 12,000 hits.

Northumberland County Council and SITA UK will recycle Christmas trees, cards, wrappings and drink containers.

Household waste recycling centres across the county will be open every day except Christmas Day and New Year's Day, and Christmas trees can be taken along at any time and recycled with other green waste.

A new report has identified a number of ideas on how to improve the maintenance and upkeep of the county's 5,000km of roads and almost 1,500km of cycle and footpaths.

It also looks at the upkeep of assets such as bridges, streetlights and drains which in total are worth more than £5bn.