A NORTH East council has been recognised for its efforts to encourage residents to drink more sensibly.

Darlington Borough Council has been named Alcohol Concern’s Dry January 2014 Council of 2014 for promoting alcohol awareness.

The council organised a ‘Dry-day night' pub crawl in support of Alcohol Concern’s Dry January scheme to encourage people to quit booze for a month after the excesses of the festive period.

The event saw many Darlington pubs get involved by offering soft drink discounts and non-alcoholic cocktails.

Jackie Ballard, chief executive at Alcohol Concern, said: “We want to recognise and celebrate those who took Dry January to a new level.”

She added that preparations are well underway to make the 2015 Dry January campaign even bigger and better.

A Darlington council spokeswoman used the authority’s facebook page to thank everybody who took part in the Dry-day night pub crawl.