DISADVANTAGED neighbourhoods throughout the region are to benefit from millions of pounds of National Lottery cash.

The money is coming to the North-East through the new Fair Share scheme, which is made up of the Community and New Opportunities funds.

The scheme is putting a total of £139.5m into areas across the country.

The idea behind the initiative is to give more money to disadvantaged areas of the region, which have missed out on large Lottery hand-outs.

The first round of grants from Fair Share include £2,089,432 for Darlington and £3,422,583 for Stockton.

The money will be used to improve the quality of life in the region, and it is hoped communities will work together to follow the new, easier rules to apply for funding.

Community fund chairwoman Diana Brittan said: "We know that there are many parts of the country where it will take effort on our part to reach the most disadvantaged communities with the funds that they need - but we will put that effort in.

"We look forward to trying new approaches to overcome some of the difficulties that people face in accessing lottery funds."