THE 'forgotten' village of Carlin How is standing up for itself in an attempt to get regeneration cash.

Following the success of Neighbourhood Watch and the Millennium Committee, a residents' association has been set up in the former mining village of 600 houses.

Carlin How nestles between Skinningrove and Brotton on the A174, but residents say they lose out for regeneration cash coming into East Cleveland because people simply speed past the village.

Villagers have set up Change - Carlin How Against Neglected General Environments - to improve all aspects of village life.

Meetings have been well attended and a number of projects have been discussed by the group, which was set up four months ago.

Issues such as the floods, the selling off of council houses to private landlords and dog dirt are also being tackled by the group.

Chairman Linda White said: "There is lots of funding coming into East Cleveland and Carlin How hasn't got any of it. Things must change here - we have to get together and make a noise to stop people forgetting about us.

"We want to make it a nice village - a lot of us have lived here all our lives and we are upset with the way it is changing.

"We have no recreational facilities, nowhere for our children to play," she said. "We just want what everyone else has got."

The scheme has also brought other benefits.

Villagers are undertaking practical and educational courses and developing skills through schemes being run by the Education Action Zone.

The courses aim to show the options open to help residents apply for the cash they say will improve village life.

Mrs White said: "Community spirit has got a lot better since we started - everyone is working together."