A MOBILE phone company has been nominated for a local award for its work to help the environment in Darlington.

Orange, which employs 2,500 people at its Darlington communications centre, has been entered in the Doing Your Bit competition run by The Northern Echo in conjunction with Darlington Borough Council.

Orange staff in the town are involved in various environmentally-friendly policies.

The company encourages car sharing by holding a database of the addresses of its employees and is currently developing a 'cycle-friendly' policy by providing special lockers, showers and secure storage areas.

The Darlington centre is also powered entirely from renewable sources of energy, and there are dedicated recycling points for paper waste around the building..

The national Doing Your Bit roadshow is visiting Darlington later this month to encourage local people to take more care of the environment.

To mark its arrival, The Northern Echo has joined forces with Darlington Borough Council to find readers who are making an effort, however small, to help the environment.

The most inspired project will win the title of Darlington's Best Doing Your Bit supporter.

Nominations should be sent to: Doing Your Bit competition, The Northern Echo, PO Box 14, Priestgate, Darlington, DL1 1NF, before Monday, September 17.