EMPLOYEES at Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council are donating £4,000 to help a local team compete at the Special Olympics.

Workers who have personal loans with the authority's bankers, the Co-op, have contributed to a £4,000 donation from Redcar and Cleveland Council's Employees Loan Fund. The sum was built up with commission from the loans.

The money will go to the Northern Region team preparing to compete at the Special Olympics National Summer Games in Cardiff later this month.

Keith Wilcox, manager at the Skelton Skills Centre, manages the team. Of its 148 members, 67 are trainees at the Skelton, Upsall Hall and Grangetown centres for people with learning disabilities.

The award is the biggest single donation to the £10,000 target needed to fund the trip. Other fundraising events have helped pay for essential clothing, track suits, uniforms, sports kits, travel and accommodation.

The games take place from July 28 to August 4 and involve 2,500 competitors from 17 regions.

It's the fifth time people from Teesside have been involved. At the last games in Portsmouth in 1997, local athletes won 42 gold medals, 54 silver and 36 bronze.