AWARD-WINNING efforts to transform a stretch of North-East coastline came under the national spotlight yesterday.

The clean-up and improvement of the former coal-blackened beaches of County Durham was featured on BBC1's Countryfile programme.

Presenters John Craven, and Michaela Strachan visited the area to see work done by the Turning the Tide project, which has now given way to the Durham Heritage Coast scheme.

Focusing on Crimdon, Easington Colliery, Blackhall Rocks and Dawdon, the programme reflected the changes through interviews with some of those involved in the transformation, including Niall Benson, now Durham Heritage Coast's senior officer.

It also spoke to former beauty queens crowned Miss Crimdon in the heyday of the coastal beauty spot, which is undergoing regeneration funded by the Millennium Commission, backed by the Durham Heritage Coast and its partners.

The aim of the ten-month £700,000 project is to achieve local nature reserve status for Crimdon Park and CrimdonDene.

Mr Benson said it was good that the message of on-going improvements was spread to a wider audience.

He said: "It is very satisfying to see it receive the national recognition it deserves through Countryfile.

"Hopefully, the programme will help to educate people around the country about our unique and beautiful coastline. It has taken a lot of people a long time to revitalise the Durham coast."

Turning the Tide, featuring local councils and national environmental agencies, was set up to remove the scars of colliery waste-tipping when mining ended in the mid-1990s.

Countryfile, a late Sunday morning programme, attracts audiences of two million.

Published: ??/??/2004