THE campaign for the regional assembly got under way with a slick launch emphasising North-East pride - but it appears the campaign managers still have some way to go in overcoming prejudices of ordinary voters.

The Yes 4 The North East campaign fired the opening salvo in the battle to win November's referendum with a celebrity launch last Thursday in front of supporters from the world of politics, sport and business.

In a curious mixture of ancient and modern, the rafters and the stained glass of Durham's Town Hall - home to the great and the good of North-East politics for centuries - echoed to a booming soundtrack by M People over stirring video images of the North-East and the repeated slogan Be Proud, Be Positive.

Before the launch, celebrity supporters including Sir John Hall, Brendan Foster and opera star Suzannah Clarke took to the Market Place in Durham City to put the case to ordinary voters.

If the campaign managers hoped that associating the region's success stories to their cause to win over wavering voters, it was a strategy that appeared to be working.

Watching was Anne Jones of Ferryhill. "I have a great respect for Sir John Hall and if he's in favour of it, then I'm in favour of it," she said.

Sir John, who has declared he will stand as an Independent candidate for the assembly if it wins support at the referendum, said he had argued the case for a greater say for the region for 20 years.

"This is a one-off opportunity for the people of the North-East and I firmly believe that it is vital for the future of the region that we grasp it with both hands.

"It is about having a say in your own affairs. I am standing as a candidate and I wouldn't join something which was a talking shop. I don't think everything about the proposed assembly is perfect, it is a challenge, but I am prepared to make a go of it."

The launch comes on the back of a poll conducted by ICM on behalf of the Yes campaign, which showed 48 per cent of voters in favour, 27 per cent against and 25 per cent undecided. The poll also discovered support for the assembly was strongest in County Durham and among the under-30s.

Campaign chairman Professor John Tomaney said: "We are really encouraged by the results of the poll and the launch. It is an indication of where we are but it is also an indication we have a lot more to do to persuade people."

Inside the hall, the persuading was under way. Olympic hero Brendan Foster argued the assembly would give the region an equal seat at the table with the likes of London, Wales and Scotland, and Suzannah Clarke argued the chance to have an assembly may never come again.

But even as the supporters filed out of the hall, there were the first signs that there is still much to be done to enthuse an electorate suspicious that the assembly will be made up of the current crop of the great and the good.

Outside in the Market Place, the real focus of attention seemed to be team of promotions girls from a national bread manufacturer who were handing out free loaves to passers by. The fear among the voters enjoying the summer sun seemed to be that, when it comes to real power, Westminster is only handing out crumbs.

"From what I understand, all the major things are still going to be run by the Government from London," said 66-year-old William May, of Newton Hall.

"I'm not in favour of it - I think it will separate the North-East from the rest of the country," said 19-year-old Sarah Nichols of Durham City.

There only encouraging sign for the Yes campaign came from 71-year-old Jean Ormiston of Carrville, who said: "I have never even heard of it, but it sounds on the face of it like quite a good thing."