COMPUTER lessons are on offer to North-East communities which might otherwise miss out.

Community computer centres in east Cleveland and on Tyneside will today receive grants of more than £260,000 from the National Lottery's New Opportunities Fund, as part of a £200m scheme to bring computers to communities.

Redcar and Cleveland College, at Redcar, has been given £30,000 from the fund for a project that provides short courses, tasters and general training on computers in disadvantaged communities throughout east Cleveland.

A mobile unit with 20 laptop computers will go into the villages and the computers will be lent out on a short term basis so that people can learn at their own pace with help from trained assistants.

The project will be run in partnership with Tees Valley Rural Community Council.

Glenn Preedy, European funding manager at the college, said: "This is a wonderful opportunity for communities living in disadvantaged rural areas and for people with disabilities to get involved wit an innovative IT project.

"Here they can learn at their own pace, at home, without the pressure of gaining a qualification."

The Gateshead Lifelong Learning Partnership has received more than £230,000 to set up a big project that will provide training at centres throughout the borough, and at the Baltic Arts Centre and the Queen Elizabeth Hospital.

Kim Davies, deputy principal at Gateshead College, which submitted the bid, said: "This will help people in Gateshead get the skills they need, both at work and in their family and social lives. It is a real example of what the Gateshead Lifelong Learning Partnership can achieve by working together."

l CommuniGate, The Northern Echo's free community website scheme has already proven a boon for charities and non-profit making organisations.

More than 500 groups have already signed up for the service, lauched in September last year. Further details can be found at our website www.thisisthenortheast.co.uk