The Northern Echo:

MIKE McGrother is a musician, teacher, and father who cares deeply about his local community.

He was the man who recently inspired Stockton’s poignant sunflower commemoration of the local men who died in the First World War.

His open letter to the producers of the Benefits Street television programme is published in tomorrow's Northern Echo.

Mike does not pretend to speak on behalf of Stockton – the words expressed so passionately are his own views.

He did not ask us to publish his letter. We asked him for permission when a shorter version began circulating on social media.

Nevertheless, those words will strike a chord with many fellow residents of Stockton who share his pride in their town.

It is not a town which is without its problems. It would be foolish to suggest otherwise. Just like most towns in the North-East, it has its challenges with poverty, unemployment and deprivation.

But there is much more to Stockton than is of any interest to the makers of Benefits Street.

Their cameras will inevitably focus on the negatives because, in the days of cheap television, that’s what they believe will attract the biggest audience.

They will not seek to inform viewers about the other side of Stockton – the rich heritage, the green parks, the well-kept housing, the community spirit so evident during the sunflower commemoration of the Great War.

Benefits Street is not welcome – far from it – but it will be filmed and screened no matter how many objections are raised.

The lazy, the bigoted and the narrow-minded will think that it is representative of Stockton and the North-East as a region.

But, of course, it is not. It is Mike McGrother’s view of Stockton which is far closer to the truth