A Darlington children's service has picked up an award for its work in the community

The Children's Information Service (CIS) at Darlington Borough Council has been given the national Matrix Quality Award.

The award is for excellent customer service by organisations providing advice to people

The CIS, run by the Early Years Team at the council, gives parents the information they need about the type of childcare that would suit them.

Staff at the service also provide help for those working in childcare or people wanting to start working with children.

To get the award, the service was assessed on a number of criteria, including its commitment to contacting minority and hard-to-reach groups in the Darlington area.

People who had used the service were also contacted to find out what they thought of the help they had received.

Councillor Chris McEwan said: "This award represents a year's hard work for the team.

"They have worked hard to make sure the service is available to all Darlington residents and they have achieved this in just under two years which is very impressive."