A THOUSAND red balloons were released on Saturday, as Darlington marked World Aids Day.
The borough's mayor, Councillor Isobel Hartley, performed the ceremony in the Market Square, in an effort to help raise awareness of HIV and Aids.
This year's World Aids Day theme, Out of Sight Out of Mind, was aimed at reminding people how the viruses are still around today.
This fact is illustrated by the figures for the year 2000, when 3,500 new infections of HIV were recorded in the UK - a 14 per cent increase on 1999.
The event was part of a coordinated awareness push by Darlington and the Dales Primary Care Groups, Gay Advice Darlington, Darlington Borough Council and TFM radio.
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