HEALTH workers are toeing the line in an initiative to get people walking their way to a fitter future.

A hundred staff and board members from the Durham Dales Primary Care Trust are backing The Northern Echo's Chance to Live campaign by wearing Step-O-Meters, small electronic devices which count the steps and distance that the wearer walks.

All those taking part will keep a record of their activities and enter the number of steps they take in a league table, with winners receiving prizes.

The trust hopes this will encourage them to increase their daily exercise, particularly walking, which is a cheap and easy way of staying healthy and preventing heart disease.

Chairman Anne Beeton said: "If we are going to encourage our community to take care of their own health, then we are going to have to demonstrate our own commitment.

"Walking is the cheapest and easiest form of exercise and it is open to people of all ages."

Caroline Levie, the trust's specialist heart nurse, said: "The number of people who die prematurely from heart disease in the Durham Dales is higher than the national average.

"We hope the Step-O-Meter initiative will help to encourage people with predominantly sedentary lifestyles to become more active safely."

Hundreds of our readers are already using Step-O-Meters, which are sponsored by the Countryside Agency.

Shortly after launching the Chance to Live campaign last year, former Health Secretary and Darlington MP Alan Milburn persuaded five of his Government colleagues to wear the devices.

Wear Valley District Council has a programme of walks in its Walking The Way to Health initiative.

And there are still places on the ten-mile Great North Walk, which sets off from Wolsingham at 10am on Sunday, July 13. Contact the council on (01388) 765555.