THE chairman of Darlington’s town twinning association has called on residents to support the 60th anniversary of its links with Europe.

Tom Nutt, who also represents the Haughton North ward at Darlington Borough Council, spoke at a meeting of the full council where he spoke about the benefits of town twinning.

Darlington was twinned with Amiens, in France, and Mulheim, in Germany, in 1963, and since then thousands of people, many of them school pupils, have enjoyed exchanges and sports and cultural events.

The anniversary celebrations have been timed to coincide with the events planned to mark the 150th year of Darlington’s Covered Market on the weekend of June 7.

Coun Nutt told councillors: “Town twinning is not just about civic links, it’s about forming as many links as possible between the towns – schools, colleges, training centres, football teams and women’s groups.

“The civic budget for town twinning in Darlington has been cut by 85 per cent since 2003. The association has been raising money and this year we will be paying for the majority of the events we have planned.

“About 300 people will be coming to Darlington from Amiens and Mulheim, staying in local hotels and spending money in the town and that’s really good.”

For more information about town twinning and the 60th anniversary celebrations visit darlingtontowntwinning.co.uk