A BROCHURE to attract visitors to the North-East has been criticised for failing to mention Sunderland.

More than 700,000 12-page flyers were enclosed in national newspapers last weekend promoting the some of the region's cultural gems.

But Wearside appears to have been overlooked in the £260,000 drive called Northumbria - England's North East, Forget Everything Else.

One NorthEast, which coordinated the campaign, said the area's heritage had not been forgotten and that plenty of the city's attractions were included in its main brochure.

Director of communications Stacy Hall said: "The main purpose of the inserts is to generate requests for the 2004 Visitor Guide, which covers the entire region and includes significant information about attractions and accommodation in Sunderland and Durham.

"The advertising is also being supported by publicity, which has included promotion of the Sunderland Museum and Winter Gardens and also Seaham Hall and Serenity Spa.

"Although the three-month long campaign has only recently started we are already seeing a good response with more than 2,175 people calling our contact centre to date.

"Around 100,000 guides are expected to be requested through direct mail and also hits to the website - an overall response which we expect will convert into 40,000 pre-summer trips to the region."

But councillors and campaigners believe Sunderland should have been included in the leaflets.

Political campaigner Neil Herron, of Sunderland, said: "This is not acceptable and we need people to fight our corner. One NorthEast has made a mistake and dropped a clanger here and I am sure they will regret it in the future.

"The people of Sunderland will be quite cross about this because it seems as if they have been forgotten again."