TURNOVER and employee levels last month painted an encouraging picture of business activity in Darlington.

They were reinforced by survey results produced for the Royal Bank of Scotland, which showed that monthly business activity in the North-East rose by 0.4 per cent - taking it to the highest level since last November and above the average level for the UK.

Neville Baldry, a partner at Clive Owen & Co Chartered Accountants, said: "This sharp increase in new business in the region has led to many companies hiring additional staff, resulting in the strongest growth in the region's private sector workforce for three years.

"Whilst figures produced by the Confederation of British Industry on the state of the manufacturing industry highlighted the sharpest fall in orders for two years, in the North-East, manufacturers bucked the trend with output rising slightly."

Employment in Darlington has risen for the fourth consecutive month.

More recruitment is planned at the Comet store, in Yarm Road, while 25 jobs are to be created at Windowman UK, which has moved to the Aycliffe Industrial Estate.

Mr Baldry said: "With Darlington business turnover figures fluctuating over the last six months, the slight increase in April is a positive sign.

"Two of the town's recent success stories feature insurance group BIB, which plans to double the size of its business over the next five years, and Acorn Dairy, which has grown from a small farm to an organic industry employing 14 full-time staff."

BIB has seen significant developments, such as its partnership with national convenience store chain Mills taking its name into 82 stores, and its acquisition of Easipay taxi insurance, insuring up to 400 taxis.

Mr Baldry said: "Much of its success lies in its investment in its marketing and commercial sales forces, which are continuing to explore fresh markets."

Over the past five years, Acorn Dairy, at Archdeacon Newton, has grown its doorstep market to supply 3,000 regular customers and won a valuable contract to supply organic milk to Darlington Memorial Hospital.

l The business index assesses local business activity, based on figures filed by a selection of firms in and around the Darlington area over the past month. The figures compare current business performance with previous months.