A TEENAGER who set up a web page on his home town in his spare time three months ago is hoping to meet the thousands of fans of his work from around the globe.

Alex Tighe, 17, of Etherley Dene, near Bishop Auckland, set up the History of Bishop Auckland Facebook page at the start of the year.

The teenager, who has autism, uses the site to list photos and messages from people about Bishop Auckland’s history.

In three months the Facebook page has attracted 4,595 enthusiasts in Britain, 30 in America, 12 in Spain, nine in Canada, Germany and France.

A further seven New Zealanders like the site along with six in Italy and six more in Pakistan.

The site has been such a hit that Alex, an A-level student at the King James 1st Academy, in Bishop Auckland, is aiming to meet his fans.

He is organising The Bishop Gathering, set to be held at Bishop Auckland Cricket Club on Thursday, April 30, from 6.30pm.

It will see users of the web page attend the club to discuss the town and, in some cases, to meet up with old school friends and colleagues rediscovered through the web page.

Alex said: “I created it one evening and I’m really surprised at how well it has done. After the first 24-hours we’d already gained 690 likes. It’s just taken off and I love it.

“People can post to the page and they can share memories, school friends and past experiences to the other site users.

“Some of the comments on the page are amazing. We still update it every day and all together we’re probably on the site for about six hours a day.

“I’m very impressed that people round the world are looking at the page. We’re helping people out and making a lot of friends.

“I think it is nostalgia and we’re celebrating Bishop Auckland.”

Visitors to the History of Bishop Auckland Facebook page can post photos of the town and people with a message asking people if they can help fill in missing details.

Alex, a volunteer with the Bishop Auckland Town Team, is helped by mam and dad Louise and Paul Willis plus his aunt Karen Smith on running the site.

He is in talks with Georgina Ashcroft, the archivist at Auckland Castle, on setting up a community archive project.

Alex is also working on a project with the Durham Amateur Football Trust to mark West Auckland Football Club winning the first World Cup.