OVER the past two decades an east Durham community centre has helped to put the heart back into a former pit village.

And to mark its 20th birthday, Horden Youth and Community Centre is staging an exhibition recalling its early days and charting its success through to the present day.

From the outset in 1983, volunteer workers signalled their determination to provide a vibrant meeting place for the community.

The facilities include a nursery for children aged from two-and-a-half to school age, an out-of-school hours service, a youth centre and Horden Age Concern Luncheon Club.

The centre's community caf, which is open on Tuesday for home made lunches, is always oversubscribed.

Alongside the regular features there are Adult and Community Learning classes in subjects from Spanish and art to tai chi and soft furnishings.

Chairman of the centre's management committee, Margaret Robinson said: "More than a thousand people use the centre every week. It is a community centre in the real sense of the words.''

Secretary Tina Phillips said: "If anything, we are a victim of our own success because we are desperately short of space."

But as it enters its third decade, committee treasurer Florence Wilson revealed there was hope of new premises in the pipeline.