TOWNS and villages in the area are again celebrating success in the annual Northumbria in Bloom competition.

The winners were announced at an awards ceremony held at the Oakwood Centre in Eaglescliffe on Monday.

More than 30 awards were presented by Colin Greaves, general manager of Newcastle Building Society which sponsors the competition.

Darlington won the best city title for the ninth time, just pipping Stockton by one point, while Sedgefield took the best small country town category for the 12th year in a row.

Neasham, near Darlington, came runner-up in the small village section and judges named Aycliffe Village the top large village for the third successive year.

Aycliffe's victory was all the more remarkable because it lost much of its funding when the town council withdrew its support.

Coun Billy Blenkinsopp, vice-chairman of the action committee that co-ordinates the entry, described the triumph as an achievement for the whole community.

He said: "After the town council pulled out, we decided we still wanted to carry on. We went out and got the funding from local businesses and got the whole community on board."

He added: "It's a marvellous achievement to win it three times, but to win it under these circumstances was a tremendous effort. I just think it's fantastic for all the village to come together to achieve something of the standard that it has."

Aycliffe has also been named as co-host of the 2004 competition with Sedgefield and is already planning for next year.

"The competition is so tough that you've got to improve each year if you want to win," said Coun Blenkinsopp.

Coun Ian Sutherland, the mayor of Sedgefield and chairman of Sedgefield in Bloom, said the secret of the town's continuing success was the skill, hard work and dedication shown by the team, led by head gardener Stephen Young.

He added: "We are very pleased to win again. Hopefully, we will get into the national finals next year and will have a go at that."

The judges picked out Darlington's market place as an eye-catching centrepiece with excellent colours and were impressed by the fact that so many shops and pubs in the town had contributed to the effort.

They also singled out the town's jubilee crest in the South Park as the best they had seen in the whole competition.

Coun Dot Long, cabinet member for leisure, said: "Our gardeners and local businesses, residents and schools have all worked incredibly hard this year to ensure that the town yet again achieved the success it deserves."

Parish council chairman John Weighell, who collected the runners-up award in the small village category for Neasham, said: "When you look at how many villages there are in the competition it's a great achievement. It's the result of the hard work of all the volunteers who put the time in to make the village as good as it is."

Right: The Mayor of Sedgefield, Ian Sutherland, is pictured with council gardeners John Doyle, left, and Stephen Young, and the trophy for winning the best small country town category- D&