A DISABLED football fan has shown how The Northern Echo's appeal stretches much further than its North-East and North Yorkshire heartland.

When Darlington FC supporter Paul Hodgson launched his book, Flipper's Side, last month, he put his mobile telephone number on an article in The Great Daily of the North.

Soon, the orders started to flood in, but Paul, who was left disabled after contracting meningitis as a child, was stunned to get calls from Wigan, Eastbourne and even Moscow.

All three callers are Darlington football fans, who have The Northern Echo sent to them by family and friends still living in the region.

Paul has sold 160 copies of Flipper's Side in just over a month. The autobiography uses his passion for the Quakers to challenge the stereotype of disabled people being portrayed as victims.

He said: "There must be quite a lot of people who come from Darlington who get The Northern Echo delivered to them further afield."

The book, which took two-and-a-half years to write, is on sale at Ottakers and Dressers book shops, in Darlington.

Copies can also be bought from Darlington's Feethams ground, Darlington Association on Disability and Darlington College. Paul is also selling copies and can be contacted on (01325) 372730 or 07930 274704.