A PRINTING error which cost a US tennis club hundreds of dollars has served a North-East club well.

The Bellingham Tennis Club, in Washington DC, had 120 T-shirts printed earlier this year. However, when the shirts were returned it was discovered they had the name Billingham across the front.

Club owner Robin Robertson found Billingham through the Internet and called The Northern Echo to find out if the town had a tennis club.

After an appeal in the paper, Phil Webster, of Billingham Tennis Club, came forward. Now the T-shirts, worth up to £10 each, have provided a boost for the club, which is recovering from hard times.

He said: "We used to play at the Billingham Synthonia football ground but had to leave and go to the John Whitehead Park, which meant we lost a good few members.

"However the very good news is we're establishing ourselves at Billingham Campus School and are going to have a whole programme of events with the youngsters there who we hope will join. The club will be able to play at the school in the next season."

Robin Robertson, of the Bellingham club, said: "The story was so terrific about rebuilding the Billingham Tennis Club membership that we sent them the 100 plus Billingham Tennis Club shirts at no cost to them.

"We hope they will be able to use these shirts to create more excitement about tennis, promote their club, and do some fundraising."

The Billingham club only had to pay £60 for VAT and duty clearance costs.

The club can be contacted on (01642) 871559 after 6pm on most days.