A LABOUR of love has gone into an embroidered history of Darlington which will be handed over to the town tomorrow.

It will be a celebration of the 21st anniversary of the Darlington branch of the Embroiderers' Guild and will also mark the millennium.

A portfolio-style collection of seven panels was two years in the stitching and reflects different aspects of the town and its environs. It is due to be presented to the mayor, Coun Dot Long, at a day-long event at Polam Hall.

Ms Helen Kendrick, who co-ordinated the working, mounting and framing of the panels, said each piece had been designed by a different member of the branch. But about 50 of them had had a hand in the actual stitching.

The frontispiece shows the logo of the borough council with an ear of corn for the agricultural nature of the area, the town clock as the middle motif and, on the right, the chimney of George Stephenson's Locomotion No 1.

The leisure and a tourism panel includes the floral Locomotion, South Park firework displays, the Dolphin centre, Darlington dog show, the football club and the Bulls of Darlington rugby club. It also depicts the Brick Train coming out of its earthen tunnel.

All the Christian churches, plus Judaism and Islam, are represented on the religion panel which has an overseeing Eye of God symbol.

The railways and the bus wars are stitched into the transport panel which also shows the River Skerne, the A1 and the local airport.

Stump work - raised embroidery - has been used for the panel on Darlington's markets, including the cattle mart, cobbles in the market square and colourful stalls.

The final panel is based on the decorative architectural details taken from the new and the old town hall, the Civic theatre, the town clock, Bank Top station and St Cuthbert's church.

Mrs Joyce Bradshaw, who founded the branch, said: "Young people in Darlington and beyond have benefited from the commitment and enthusiasm of guild members.

"A generation of young embroiderers, boys as well as girls, have been introduced to the fun and creativity to be found with fabric and stitch.

"Through Darlington young textile group, which ran regular classes at the arts centre, skills we value from our heritage of embroidery have been shared with many of the stitchers of tomorrow."

Membership of the branch is open to all, from the leisure stitcher to the talented professional, and meetings are held at the arts centre.

"It is a myth that you have to be an expert to join, and everyone, whatever their level of experience, is very welcome." she stressed