SALTBURN Tennis Club held a 24-hour tennis marathon over the weekend - and a local MP dropped in to serve up his support for the event.

The marathon was designed to interest local youngsters in tennis in the build-up to Wimbledon fortnight, as well as raising funds to help pay for improvements to the club's courts, floodlighting and rain cover to allow the centre to be used all year round.

Middlesbrough South MP Ashok Kumar, who attended, said: "I am really pleased to be asked to be one of the group launching this festival.

"I will do all that is asked to help the club achieve its ambitions."