A COLOURFUL exhibition of the final nine pictures in a photography competition is being staged.

Tees and North East Yorkshire NHS Trust launched its Open Up campaign last year to tackle the stigma often linked to mental health problems and learning disabilities.

As part of the campaign, amateur photographers were invited to enter a competition on the theme that one in four adults will suffer from mental illness during their lives.

Caroline Parnell, head of communication for the trust, said: "We are delighted with the quality and innovative use of imagery interpreting the one-in-four theme, so much so that we decided to run the exhibition for the full 12 months of 2004."

Entrants can be seen until Friday at Springs, at Teesside Retail Park, Stockton.