AN MP has praised a Teesdale business for its initiative and support for the community.

Bishop Auckland MP Derek Foster, opened the new £750,000 premises of the Honeyman Group, on Barnard Castle's Harmire Enterprise Park.

The Honeyman Group provides specialist support services within the pharmaceutical industry.

Employing 37 people, the company began in 1991 when chairman Trevor Honeyman left his job at Glaxo to set up business in a disused Army building at Stainton Grove.

Teesdale District Council chief executive Charles Anderson thanked Mr Honeyman for the support his company had given to the local economy.

Mr Foster said: "Opening these new premises is probably one of the most thrilling moments of my 24 years as MP. It's a realisation of my dream.

"This company is a real success story, you started off in a shed and now you're here."

Mark Thompson, the managing director of Honeyman Group, said the company was still expanding, and had plans for a subsidiary in Ireland.

The group was helped to set up by Teesdale Enterprise Agency.