A FORTY-YEAR-OLD football league which has embraced the computer age has been named a winner.

An Internet site created for the Hathaway and Cope Stokesley and District Football League is the latest winner of The Northern Echo's Communigate competition.

The league was set up in 1957, but it has only recently gone live on the Internet.

The site, set up by league secretary Martin Scollay of Coulby Newham, near Middlesbrough, has had more than 400 hits since it was created.

It is now so successful that it has won the Pick of the Month prize under the Communigate project, which helps non-profit making organisations promote themselves for free on the Internet.

The site contains details about all 11 clubs involved in the league and is updated every Sunday night with news about the week's activities.

Mr Scollay is hoping to use the site to increase the number of clubs in the league. He has posted an appeal on the comment section asking for four new clubs to join.

Any teams which want to take part, and are within a 20-mile radius of Stokesley, should contact Mr Scollay via the website. It can be accessed via www.communigate.co.uk/ne

For more details about Communigate call Alison Nicholson, on (01325) 505270.