A water-based hockey pitch which is the only one of its kind in the North-East was opened at the weekend.

There are only 12 world-class pitches in the UK, and Durham University has the most northern pitch in the country.

The site is part of the English Institute of Sport.

Sport England and Durham University, working in partnership for world class facilities in the region, have jointly funded the project, with £621,000 provided by Sport England and £207,000 by the university.

The launch event was attended by Sport England regional director Judith Rasmussen, University of Durham sports director Dr Peter Warburton, and English Hockey Association president Ian Forster.

Steve Cram, who is chairman of the English Institute of Sport, said: "From a community perspective, this outstanding facility supports local clubs, coaching programmes, school and university use. And it provides a development pathway from school through to world class performance level.

"It is yet another facility we have brought to region, in conjunction with a host of partners, to give the population of the North-East access to good sporting resources to improve the health and well-being of the region."

In the pitch feature match Durham University 1st XI beat the Scotland U-21s team 3-1.

Other events included a local schools competition and the Durham Old Boy/Old Girl Hockey Festival