ON the day that one of the North-East's most successful health campaigns was relaunched, Health Secretary Dr John Reid heaped high praise on a unique partnership.

Dr Reid said A Chance To Live perfectly complemented the NHS's increasing emphasis on disease prevention.

The campaign is a partnership between The Northern Echo, Wear Valley District Council, Durham Dales Primary Care Trust and Northumbrian Water.

From its beginnings nearly five years ago as a initiative by The Northern Echo to try to improve hospital heart services, the campaign has now moved on to promoting exercise and healthy living in the region.

One of it's showpiece events is The Great North Walk, which last year attracted more than 4,000 participants. This year's event, on July 18 at Auckland Castle, Bishop Auckland, is expected to attract even more walkers.

Yesterday Dr Reid said: "Congratulations for all the work you have done. It has gone from a relatively small campaign to become a pretty massive and successful one."

With the huge drop in premature deaths from heart disease reported earlier this week and dramatic improvements in waiting times for heart surgery, Dr Reid said the campaign's focus on promoting exercise coincided with the Government's health priorities.

"The initiative continues to thrive and spread," he said.

Earlier in the day representatives from all the organisations involved gathered at Bishop Auckland Town Hall to re-launch the campaign.