PRO-EUROPEANS told Darlington MP and Health Secretary Alan Milburn yesterday that if Britain rejected the euro, the North-East would pay the price.

Mr Milburn and the rest of the Cabinet have until Monday to decide whether Britain is ready to join the euro.

In an open letter, the North-East in Europe campaign told Mr Milburn: "Europe is this region's most important export market.

"In 2001, 78 per cent of goods exported from the North-East went to countries in the EU, bringing £5.1bn a year into the region's economy.

"Nearly 5,000 jobs from Darlington and nearly 142,000 jobs in the North-East depend on our exports to our European partners. This success will be put at risk by our long-term isolation from the euro.

"Saying no to the euro will damage our trade, undermine our ability to attract foreign investment and reduce our competitiveness.

"However, if Britain does join the euro, sharing the same currency with our largest trading partners and closest neighbours will help provide the economic stability necessary to boost our long-term prosperity."

Meanwhile, the Sedgefield and Darlington branch of the UK Independence Party announced that it would be out in the Prime Minister's County Durham constituency this weekend, demanding that the new European Constitution be put to a referendum.

Party activists will be asking Tony Blair's constituents to sign a petition calling for a vote on the Constitution which, they say, will cause much deeper European integration.

Earlier this week, the North-East's leading Conservative, MEP Martin Callanan also said that he was organising a petition demanding a referendum on the constitution.