A SUPERMARKET which was built as part of a pioneering community partnership is celebrating its first birthday this week.

As part of its plans to build the store on the site of the former Hugh Mackay carpet factory at Dragonville, Durham, Tesco formed the Dragonville Partnership to help to regenerate the community.

With the help of the Employment Service and shop workers' union Usdaw, it pledged to tackle unemployment by training local people to work in the store.

Over the past year, the partnership has been used as a model in a national conference on urban regeneration, held in Durham, and nominated for a Business in the Community Neighbourhood Renewal Award.

On Tuesday, to mark the first anniversary of its opening, Stephen Hall, 15, from Pity Me, who has autism and is doing work experience at the store, cut a ribbon signalling the start of celebrations.

Tesco is now holding various raffles and prize draws, which will culminate in a weekend of entertainment including a fair, face painting and a bouncy castle in the car park.

Customer champion Julie Wetherell said the past year had been a great success.

"We employed about 350 people from the nearby area and trained them through the Dragonville Partnership, and I would say 99 per cent are still employed," she said.

"We have also done a lot in the community with charities and schools.

"The store is doing really well - we get quite a few people from further afield and the new Cherokee clothing range, which was launched on Monday, has been massively welcomed."

Stephen Hall said: "It's great working here. I would like to work here in the future."