For the first time, people living in part of the region now have a dedicated genetics service.

A ceremony at the James Cook University Hospital, in Middlesbrough, yesterday marked the beginning of a medical genetics service covering Teesside, South Durham and North Yorkshire.

Dr Paul Brennan, the consultant who heads the Teesside Genetics Services, said he was delighted that the area now had a local service.

While patients have been able to attend clinics in local hospitals, until now they have had to travel to the Centre for Life, in Newcastle, for treatment and tests.

The Northern Genetic Service, based in Tyneside, has opened a purpose-built clinic in Middlesbrough.

Unusually, it means that the genetics team at the James Cook University Hospital will be part of the Newcastle Hospitals NHS Trust.

Dr Brennan said: "We have been seeing patients in the south of the region for years, but now we have a firm base in Middlesbrough.

"It has been very difficult to deliver services from Newcastle, but now we are here to stay."

The unit is for patients who are suspected of being at increased risk from an inherited disease.

Most of the patients referred to the centre will undergo sophisticated blood tests that are designed to find damaged genes.

Dr Brennan said he hoped the clinic could one day host an advanced, fully automated processing system, which will enable large numbers of blood samples to be scanned for signs of genetic disease.