In the North Pennines Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, Shildon Engine House near Blanchland, Ninebanks Tower (pictured) near Allendale, Muggleswick Grange in County Durham and the remains of Whitesyke and Bentyfield Lead Mines near Alston, Cumbria, are all scheduled ancient monuments.

All four sites are currently on English Heritage's at-risk register but will be removed once the restoration work is done.

Jon Charlton, of the AONB Partnership, said: "These buildings taken together really tell the story of the North Pennines, how our ancestors down the ages lived and worked in the area.

The petition is the largest ever collected by the RSPB.

According to the RSPB's most recent annual Birdcrime report, published last August, Northumberland is the third worst county in England for illegal persecution against birds of prey.

It was planned to put up the annual charge for the service from £20 to £25 in March - to bring in an extra £60,000 and help the county council achieve tough budget savings.

Now the saving will have to be found elsewhere after Conservative and Labour councillors joined forces to defeat the move at a meeting in County Hall on Wednesday.

A new set of culling projects were launched recently in the county, aiming to prevent competition and the spread of the deadly squirrel pox virus, a major cause of the reds' decline.

A recent study concluded that the number of grey sightings has risen despite widespread culling, though critics say the study was unable to give a true picture of grey populations. A second objection is that the practise is an unnecessarily cruel one.

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).

More than 800 vulnerable pensioners across the county use the scheme, which allows them concessionary travel in taxis because they are unable to use other forms of public transport.

They use council-issued vouchers, tokens or passes to pay for taxi trips to the shops, GP and hospital appointments or to visit relatives and friends.

The Scamnesty 2010 campaign runs from February 1 to 26 and will involve people dropping mail scams they receive through their letterbox into designated Scamnesty boxes which will be placed across Northumberland.

Online scams can also be reported via the virtual Scamnesty bin at www.consumerdirect.gov.uk/scamnesty.

It involves county council community wardens, Northumbria Police officers and Northumberland fire and rescue service personnel visiting farms and other remote rural locations in the Tynedale area on a regular basis.

The relaunched Farmwatch campaign also includes partners from the county's west area local multi-agency problem solving group (LMAPS).

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.

A dozen libraries in the county have been earmarked for closure as Northumberland County Council looks to make massive savings in the next budget.

Libraries at Ashington Hirst, Lynemouth, Kielder, Bedlington Station, Blyth South Beach (pictured) and Hadston were first in line for the axe because of their alleged low usage, under initial consultations on £16m worth of cuts.

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.

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.

Every winter thousands more people die due to the effects of cold weather than in the warmer seasons and many cannot afford to heat their homes. The Northumberland Warm Zone team, based in Blyth, wants householders to be aware of the financial support which is available to them to make their homes greener and warmer.

With signs yesterday that the snow is beginning to melt in parts of the region, the Environment Agency issued a warning that flooding could be the next winter problem for the beleaguered region.

While the cold conditions are predicted to continue for some days yet, Agency staff are monitoring the situation in readiness for when the thaw arrives.