AN exhibition of photographs outlining the support given to the community by a local Labour Party branch has been launched in Shildon.

In the past financial year, Thickley ward Labour Party has given £7,500 to local charities, including the Butterwick Hospice at Bishop Auckland and the North of England Cancer Research Fund.

Support for the projects has come from local businesses Chicken Scaffolding and Transmore Van Hire, and Spennymoor Town Council.

Ward members were also successful in a bid for a grant from the National Lottery Awards for All scheme.

The exhibition was launched in Spennymoor Leisure Centre at the weekend, by Bishop Auckland MP Derek Foster. It will be touring sites in Shildon in the next few months.

Members held a St Patrick's Day event on Saturday which raised £1,000 for the British Heart Foundation in memory of late Councillor John Sedgwick, treasurer of the branch.

Other events planned including a family fun day on August 25, in aid of the Butterwick Hospice