STOCKTON has never really threatened the region's list of property hot-spots.

But an image overhaul and a smattering of famous names moving in have transformed the Teesside town into the third most affluent spot in the North-East.

According to a Barclays bank survey released yesterday, only Hexham and central Newcastle have a higher percentage of people earning £60,000 or more.

Image-makers and estate agents in the town have hailed the findings as proof that Stockton has finally emerged as a place for a des res.

The figures show that almost five per cent of people in Hexham, Northumberland, earn over £60,000, with central Newcastle a close second with 4.4 per cent, and Stockton South - which includes Yarm and Egglescliffe - third with 3.1.

Kensington and Chelsea, in London, easily top the national list with 12.5 per cent, with Stoke-on-Trent South propping up the table at just 0.3 per cent.

Stockton's high standing is in contrast to neighbouring Middlesbrough which, after being declared the not-so proud owner of Britain's poorest street - Newport Road - was found to be third bottom on the list of the North-East's most affluent neighbourhoods.

Kathy Winspear, Stockton Borough Council's tourism services manager, said: "Stockton has been transformed image-wise over the past ten years, so this doesn't surprise me.

"We did have a problem, but once we get people here it sells itself. There are now real pockets of wealth, in Ingleby Barwick, Norton, Wynyard and Yarm.

"It helps that famous people, like Juninho and Sunderland manager Peter Reid, have moved here."

Chris Brown, director of Teesside estate agents Browns, reckons house prices in parts of Stockton are now rivalling Durham City and Jesmond, in Newcastle.

He said: "Stockton is doing really well at the moment. People are attracted by the new Riverside developments, the good schools and changing perceptions."