TELEVISION personality Bill Steel has launched a scheme to encourage more people to shop in a rural part of the North-East.

Traders in Weardale, County Durham, have signed up to a loyalty card scheme, which rewards customers with special offers.

The cards are free to people living between Wolsingham and Killhope, but because the area attracts so many visitors, people from outside will be able to purchase cards for £1.

The project was set up by the Durham Rural Community Council, in partnership with the Weardale Chamber of Trade, with financial assistance from Wear Valley District Council, development agency One NorthEast and the Countryside Agency.

However, not all traders have signed up, said Joan Rutherford, who runs Woodhall's fruiterers, in Stanhope.

"I didn't see any point in joining. I had customers saying they had already been loyal to me over the years," she said, adding that if special offers were going to be made, they should be for everyone.

Mr Steel fronted a phased launch of the scheme on Saturday, starting at Killhope Lead Mining Museum and then moving to other locations in the dale