YOUNG people from the region supported World Aids Day yesterday by taking part in a range of events.
A thousand balloons were released in Durham Market Place to mark the day, while in Sedgefield members of youth groups and projects took part in an art competition.
World Aids Day was designed to highlight the fact that five people a minute worldwide die of Aids.
Staff from Durham and Chester-le-Street Primary Care Trust were on hand in Durham to offer advice and support about sexual health and other related issues.
They also handed out free items, including condoms, and campaign literature.
Consett Junior Brass provided musical entertainment before the balloons were released into the sky.
Maria Lawson, a health worker with Sedgefield Primary Care Trust, said: "The art competition was organised to help raise awareness about World Aids Day and, in particular, about the stigma and discrimination associated with HIV and Aids."
The event was judged in the Pace Gallery.
Elsewhere in the county, there was a World Aids Day T-shirt design contest at Derwentside College, in Consett, and an advice and support event at East Durham College, Peterlee.
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