TWO new staff have joined an accountancy firm in Darlington.

Tom Brindle and Caroline Allen have joined Clive Owen & Co LLP.

Mr Brindle joins the practice as an audit senior and will assist some of the firm's larger incorporated clients with year-end procedures and taxation. He is a Newcastle United fan and lives in Stockton.

Miss Allen joins the company straight from Durham High School after A-levels.

She will undertake a two-year accountancy qualification to become a member of the Association of Accounting Technicians. She is learning to fly, and hopes to get her pilot's licence.