A GROUP which provides help and support to carers in the North-East has just gone online, thanks to The Northern Echo's CommuniGate scheme.

Under the scheme, non-profit making groups can promote themselves for free on the Internet, through The Northern Echo website at www.thisisthenortheast.co.uk

Sedgefield Locality Carers Centre, based in Newton Aycliffe, is the latest group to take advantage of the service.

They have set up an extensive eight-page website detailing the organisation's aims and activities.

The site also includes hyperlinks to other useful sites, e-mail forwarding and a calendar of forthcoming events.

Community web editor Alison Nicholson said: "None of the staff had previous experience of building web pages, but the whole site-build process took only about 80 minutes.

"They have learned how to manage and update it quickly and simply from a standard PC, without the need for any special web-authoring tools."

The group's new address on the Internet is: www.communigate.co.uk/ne/SLCC

Under the CommuniGate scheme, groups can create up to ten news and information pages.

Groups who do not have the Internet can reach CommuniGate by using the public access terminals at Northern Echo offices in Durham, Darlington, Northallerton and Bishop Auckland.

For more information contact Alison Nicholson on (01325) 505270 or by e-mail.