A MATERNITY hospital is on course to re-open after a successful recruitment drive - but more midwives must be employed first.

Campaigners formed a "Mums Army" across east Cleveland and north-east Yorkshire when South Tees NHS Trust closed the maternity unit at Guisborough Hospital in November.

Their pressure looks like paying off, according to a progress report by the trust, which reveals that ten more midwives have now been employed.

But it makes clear that another five midwives must be employed before the unit can re-open.

Managers believe that a number of trainee midwives from Scotland will join the trust when they qualify in September.

However, some of the midwives working at the James Cook University Hospital, in Middlesbrough, are due to retire so the problem may continue.

The trust has declined to put a date on when the maternity unit will re-open.

However campaigner and mother Karen Rule, of Guisborough, welcomed the news.

She said: "This is obviously good progress, but we will feel a lot happier when the unit is eventually re-opened. It should be re-opened in months rather than years."

Trust chairman John Foster said: "It must be stressed the decision to temporarily close the unit was made on safety grounds, in the interests of mothers, babies and staff.

"We feel we are making good progress."