A COLOURFUL awards ceremony has recognised the region's most outstanding floral displays.

Results of Northumbria in Bloom 2004 were announced at the Hardwick Hall Hotel, near Sedgefield, County Durham, yesterday.

The biggest surprise of this year's competition was in the best city category, where Darlington lost the title it had won for the past nine years to Stockton.

Mayor of Stockton Councillor Jennie Beaumont paid tribute to the council's Care for your Area team, which has been working hard to improve the borough's environment.

She said: "I'm absolutely delighted. It reflects the hard work that's been put in by the whole team.

"It reflects everything in the borough - it's not just floral, it is the general tidiness of the area, the lack of graffiti and the fact it is kept as spic and span as possible."

It was business as usual for Durham City, which secured the best large town award for the eighth year running, and now has high hopes of success in the national Britain in Bloom contest.

Andrew Jackson, co-ordinator of the Durham bid, said: "No matter how many times the top prize is awarded, it still give you that great feeling of achievement and makes all of the hard work worthwhile."

Joint hosts Sedgefield had another successful year, winning the small country town section for the 14th year in a row.

The Saltburn in Bloom committee was also celebrating after winning in the coastal resort section, two years after a poisoner tried to wreck the town's efforts by slipping weedkiller into a water tank used to spray flowers.

First-time winners Fishburn, in County Durham, came in for high praise after winning in the voluntary project section.

The Fishburn in Bloom committee, formed two years ago, is made up entirely of volunteers who have worked hard to transform the former pit village.

Parish council clerk John Irvine said: "We've said all along that we are not in it for the award. We are in it to make Fishburn a better place, but winning does give us a boost and hopefully we'll get more volunteers involved."

The overall winner this year was Warkworth, in Northumberland, which the judges described as "a blaze of colour".

Northumbria in Bloom winners

BBC Radio Newcastle Trophy (small village)Callerton

Wansbeck Trophy (village)Earsdon

Cameron Trophy (large village)Warkworth

Whitworth Hall & Gardens Trophy (small country town)Sedgefield

Federation Breweries Trophy (small town)Hexham

Scottish and Newcastle Trophy (large town)Durham City

Whitbread Trophy (city)Stockton

Co-op Trophy (large city)Sunderland

Durham City Trophy (urban community)Rowlands Gill

Inner City or Urban DevelopmentWindmill Hills

Coastal Resort TrophySaltburn-by-the-Sea

Evening Chronicle Trophy (most improved)Chopwell

Percy Boydell Trophy (best overall)Warkwort