Free tennis taster sessions are offered by Stockton Council and Teesside Sport.

The sports development team is also giving youngsters the chance to represent Stockton in next year's Youth Games. Tennis sessions will be held in Billingham Campus School. The first, for children aged ten to 13, will take place on Wednesday, September 24 from 3.30pm. A five-week course, costing £10, to develop skills starts on Wednesday, October 8 from 4pm to 5.30pm. Call Emma Warnes on (01642) 397022 for more information.

CYCLE MAP: An initiative to promote cycling around Hartlepool will be launched on Friday. The Hartlepool Cycling Guide has been produced by the council and will be launched in the Middleton Grange Shopping Centre on Friday. A free copy of the map will also be delivered to every home in the town. It is hoped that that cycling in the town will increase by 80 per cent in the next three years.

MUSICAL YOUTH: Talented, young female musicians in Hartlepool are invited to apply for charity cash to help them develop their skills. The Sterndale Trust, a registered charity administered by Hartlepool Council carries the name of the late Isabel Sterndale, an accomplished musician who lived in Seaton Carew and was proprietor and headteacher of Melrose Private School. Musicians aged between 15 and 25 can apply via a form from Alan Macnab, Hartlepool Education Department, Hartlepool Civic Centre.

SUMMER CONCERTS: Stockton Council's events team is rounding off its series of summer concerts on Sunday, between 2pm and 4pm, in the walled garden at Preston Park, Eaglescliffe. The concert will feature the Trimdon Concert Brass Band playing a mix of Classical and contemporary pieces. Call Carol Croft on (01642) 415772 for more information.

FLOWER POWER: Billingham South Primary School beat St John's School, Stockton, in a tallest sunflower competition. The sunflowers are four metres high and are still growing.