MORE than 60 jobs have been created in County Durham in the past two months, thanks to £265,000 of Government grants.

The latest money to develop fledgling businesses came from the Department of Trade and Industry. A total of almost £2m has now been granted to County Durham from the Government department, specifically to develop small to medium-sized firms.

The new businesses cover a range of activities from food processing to video production. They are ATV Productions in Middleton-in-Teesdale, Blue Diamond Engineering Ltd in Shildon, HDV Food Ltd in West Auckland, Hydram Engineering Ltd in Ferryhill and Rowbotham Ltd in Consett.

Managing director of Rowbotham Ltd, in Consett, who prepare and process vegetables for wholesale, is George Rowbotham.

He said: "The Enterprise Grant is good news not just for Rowbothams, but for all the other local companies in our supply chain. Thanks to the grant we are moving to bigger premises and taking on 20 new staff."

Employment Relations Minister Alan Johnson said: "These companies in County Durham are exactly the kind of small to medium-sized businesses Enterprise Grants are designed to encourage. We want to help these businesses and others develop projects which allow them to plan ahead with confidence.

"I would urge other small and medium-sized firms throughout the region to find out what Enterprise Grants can do for them."