PUPILS have come up with a name for a £750,000 healthy living centre aimed at improving the wellbeing of residents in one of the country's most deprived areas.

Children in three primary schools in the Easington area had been challenged to create a title and logo for the complex, which is to be established at the former waterworks in the village's Paradise Lane.

Yesterday, the winning pupils were guests of honour at a naming ceremony at the Easington Colliery site.

There was no outright winner. Ideas from all the best entries were amalgamated, and the name of Healthworks was chosen for the resource centre.

The naming ceremony marked the start of the refurbishment programme of the landmark building, which will be brought back into use as a Healthy Living Resource Centre by October.

The project is being carried out through a partnership that includes County Durham Primary Care Trust (PCT), Easington District Council, Northumbrian Water, the Neighbourhood Management Pathfinder and local stakeholders.

East Durham has been highlighted as one of the nation's most deprived areas, and the centre will provide a focal point for a wide range of service-providers seeking to improve the quality of life for local people.

Fiona Gillespie, Healthy Living Resource Centre co-ordinator for the PCT, said: "The entries were all so good we couldn't choose just one outright winner, so we took elements from each and came up with Healthworks.

"It's great that local schoolchildren have become involved in this way as the new centre takes shape, and we are delighted with the support from the local community and look forward to its opening later this year.''

The winning pupils included: Hannah Oram, Rachael Watson, Leona Wray and Amelia Davison, from Easington Village CE School; Becky Johnson and Natasha Weyte, from Easington Colliery Primary School; and Jordan Conroy, from Our Lady Star of the Sea School.

Each had their efforts rewarded with an i-Pod shuffle donated by Northumbrian Water.