A WRITER has recorded a host of stories about life in Weardale.

Half a Jellybean is the first published work by Jean Wade, from Heighington, near Darlington.

It is a collection of short stories she was told by her grandparents when she was growing up in Weardale in the 1930s.

She said: "I realised that if I didn't write down the stories I had been told they would be lost forever.

"Most of the stories are humourous, but there are a few sad ones in there too."

Mrs Wade is a member of the Bennet House Writers' Club, in Darlington, and her book has gone on sale at the Bennet House building in the Market Square.

All proceeds from the sale of book will go to St Teresa's Hospice in Darlington.