A TV documentary charting the final weeks in the life of a North-East man has won an award.

Jonny Kennedy touched the hearts of millions in The Boy Whose Skin Fell Off, a Channel 4 programme which chronicled the weeks before his death from a rare degenerative disease.

Mr Kennedy, 36, of Alnwick, Northumberland, suffered from a crippling disorder called epidermolysis bullosa, which caused his skin to blister and peel at the slightest touch.

It was watched by a record 4.6 million viewers when it was first aired in March - the biggest audience for a Channel 4 documentary.

The film-maker behind it, Patrick Collerton, 35, has been awarded the Griersons Documentary Award for Best Newcomer at a ceremony in London.

Mr Collerton is also the director of the Northern Lights Film Festival, a celebration of northern European cinema, which runs from Thursday to November 25, in the Tyneside Cinema, Newcastle, the Kino, in Middlesbrough and UGC Cinema, in Boldon, South Tyneside.

For further details, contact 0191-232 8289 or visit the website, www.nlff.co.uk

Published: 16/11/2004