The North-East's offshore and marine industry will be able to take a share of benefits announced by the Government to boost the amount of electricity generated by offshore wind power.

Doug Everard, chief executive of the New and Renewable Energy Centre, (NaREC), in Blyth, said the region was ideally placed to secure offshore contracts that would flow from the creation of windfarms in the North-West, the Wash and Thames Estuary, announced by Trade and Industry Secretary Patricia Hewitt.

Mr Everard said: "The announcement is very positive and is a good first step that will allow North-East industry to take advantage of the major offshore contracts in this round and provide the proving ground to allow the industry to move into deeper water sites, like those off the North-East coast.

"We are already seeing regional companies who are world leaders in this market taking advantage of contracts for the Round One sites, in particular for project management, grid connection issues and installation of the turbines and cables.

"The North-East provided Britain with its first offshore wind facility off Blyth.

"Our industry stands to create jobs now and in the future by transferring to the renewables sector the skills it has developed over 30 years of working in the hostile environment of the North Sea."