FED up football fans are spelling out their frustration on the Internet.
The supporters' target is not their beloved Middlesbrough Football Club, but southerners who like to snipe at "smoggies'' - and add insult to injury by mis-spelling place names.
The People's Republic of Teesside (PRT) was launched last year and it has launched a website - www.theprt.co.uk - and a manifesto.
The group wants to provide a forum for ideas and suggestions to help project a positive image of Teesside
It is calling for an end to the "all too prevalent'' images of the area as a land of smog, heavy industry and dereliction.
It aims to: "Promote a clear, positive sense of identity of Tees Valley for the people of Teesside and provide a positive image of Teesside to non-Teessiders looking for information about our area.''
One of PRT's demands is to remove the mis-spelled words "Teeside" and "Middlesborough" from reports about the area written by Southern journalists.
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