A STAR Wars themed coffee shop will bring a touch of New Zealand style cafe culture to Darlington.

Opened on Clark's Yard earlier this month, Echo 3 has a name inspired by the owners' love of Empire Strikes Back and a range of coffee inspired by their travels.

The venue is the culmination of the ambitions of Helen Sullivan, 29 and Kris Eland, 31, who lived in New Zealand for 18 months.

Upon their return to Darlington, they noticed that the coffee culture was "lacking" so decided to open their own place.

The pair are now roasting their own coffee on site, which can be enjoyed in the quirky cafe or taken home.

Mr Eland said: “We just fell in love with Wellington, we lived there, it’s the capital of New Zealand and they just had an unreal coffee culture.

“I worked in a café over there and did all my training and just had so much fun, it was brilliant.

“We came back to Darlington and there wasn’t anything that we wanted, any shops that could do a decent cup of coffee.

“Sometimes you just want to get lost, just have a cup of coffee that’s not overly priced. Because we roast our own it means we can keep the price down.”