FEWER than half of the councils in the North-East are on course to hit energy-saving targets.

In 1996, local councils were told to improve household energy efficiency by two per cent a year until 2010.

But several years later, 13 out of 23 local authorities in the region look likely to miss the target.

North-East Euro-MP Fiona Hall travelled to Darlington this week to drive home the message that failure to hit the targets is bad for authorities and householders.

The latest figures, published this month by the Department of the Environment, Fisheries and Rural Affairs (Defra) show Darlington, Derwentside, Chester-le- Street, Durham, Hartlepool, Newcastle, Sedgefield and Teesdale falling short of the 16 per cent improvement that would have been expected by now.

However, Middlesbrough, Easington, Redcar and Cleveland, Stockton, Sunderland and Wear Valley have already exceeded the targets.

Middlesbrough Council has improved energy efficiency by 29 per cent and Wear Valley District Council by 27.5 per cent.

Ms Hall, the Liberal Democrat spokeswoman on energy in the European Parliament, said: "I don't blame the local authorities. The Government can do a lot more, we hear a lot of rhetoric, but there is not enough support for the local authorities."

She believes the Government should speed up the pace of progress by offering financial rewards to those authorities that meet the targets ahead of schedule.