THE Darlington & Stockton Times has been awarded the title of North-East Weekly Newspaper of the Year.

The award was made on Saturday night at the Tom Cordner North-East Press Awards 2000, held at the Civic Centre, Newcastle.

It was one of three trophies collected by the newspaper and its journalists at the glittering ceremony.

News and Farming Editor Mr Mike Bridgen was highly commended in the North-East Weekly Newspaper Journalist of the Year category and Alison Lewis, the D&S Thirsk and district reporter, was awarded the Eric Dobson Scroll for the best result by a North-East journalist in the National Council for the Training of Journalists' examinations.

The newspaper's award was the second major prize it has won this year. Last month the D&S won the award for Best Campaigning Weekly Newspaper of the Year in the national Newspaper Society awards.

On both occasions the newspaper's Market Town Revival campaign, which highlighted the problems faced by small towns in rural areas, was picked out by the judges. The Cordner awards said the D&S was "a paper quite capable of teaching its daily rivals a thing or two. Prepared to campaign on key issues, the paper's Market Town Revival campaign struck a chord among the rural population it serves with distinction.

"Mixing hard news with the parish pump lifeblood of a rural weekly, the Darlington & Stockton Times was a compelling winner, in touch with its local community and reflecting its concerns."

In commending Mr Bridgen's work, the judges said: "His understanding of the farming community and ability to write about the challenges facing it were evident, while broader environmental issues were tackled in an interesting, engaging and informative way."

Journalists working for the D&S Times' sister paper, The Northern Echo, also picked up awards on Saturday. They were: Mike Amos (Columnist of the Year); Sarah French (Motoring Writer of the Year); Richard Davies (for front page design); Stuart Boulton (Picture of the Year); Mike Urwin (Photographer of the Year) and Stuart Arnold (highly commended for initiative).