NEARLY 240 long-term unemployed people on Teesside have been found work through the Government's Working Links private and public sector partnership, it is claimed.

Working Links runs nine employment zones across the country. It is about to reinvest £1m of its revenue into the communities it helps.

Chief executive William Smith said: "In each zone we work closely with a range of community organisations.

"At the outset, we made it clear that if the zones were commercially successful we would implement a profit- sharing system with our partners in these communities to help other long-term unemployed people."