CHILDREN in the North-East will soon benefit from grants totalling more than £500,000 to create nine nurseries.

The grants are coming from the National Lottery's New Opportunities Fund Building Better Nurseries programme, which aims to create quality nursery care for young children, enabling parents to work or train.

Baroness Jill Pitkeathley, chairwoman of the fund, said: "The grants demonstrate our continuing commitment to backing community-led, quality nursery provision that directly benefits children and their families."

Middlesbrough Council will create places with the £93,300 it received and extend classrooms in Whinney Banks School.

Sunderland youngsters will benefit from 67 extra places after securing more than £70,000 while Newcastle will have an additional 15 places from its grant of almost £20,000.

Other areas to benefit from the funding are Weardale, Wallsend, Castle Morpeth, Beechwood and Alnwick, which received between grants of between £22,000 and £128,000