A SCHEME to bring community organisations together to help the public has begun in an east Cleveland village.

The One Stop Shop in Laburnum Road, Brotton, will act as a focal point for a number of organisations and agencies - including the police, the community safety wardens, housing officials from the local authority and a private housing company, as well as the borough councillors.

East Cleveland MP Ashok Kumar, who was present at an opening ceremony yesterday morning, also intends to hold a monthly surgery as well.

The scheme is the idea of Brotton councillors Richard Rudland and Brian Hogg, who represent the village on Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council. Coun Rudland said the authority's intention is to use the Brotton shop as a pilot scheme and if it is successful, a shop will be opened in every community within the borough.

"There won't be someone here all the time but it will give a presence in the village and we will all be able to pass messages on to each other quickly rather than through the current bureaucracy," he said.

Sergeant Colin Askey, who covers the Brotton area for Cleveland Police, said: "It's excellent that Brotton will spearhead the first One Stop shop in the district.

Although there won't be a police officer staffing the office full-time, messages can be left at the office by members of the public who wish to be contacted."

At the opening, Dr Kumar paid tribute to the efforts of Coun Rudland and the borough council to open the shop.

"This is a partnership between community safety officers, the council and all the other groups but everyone is going to benefit from this.

"The idea is that we will all work together, because if we don't it will all fall apart. It is an opportunity to provide support and help and strengthen our community links and I hope it is a success," he said.

Redcar and Cleveland Mayor Councillor Vilma Collins said that the shop was wonderful and said she wanted to see one in her ward of Dormanstown.