SHOPPERS are being given the opportunity to breathe more easily thanks to a special market stall.

As part of its Healthy Homes Scheme, Middlesbrough Borough Council is running a stall at North Ormesby market between 9am and 3pm tomorrow.

Information and advice will be available to anyone who has breathing problems, asthma or whose home is difficult to keep warm.

Project officer Susan Lee will be on hand to answer questions and to arrange free and confidential home visits to advise on improving indoor air quality.

She said: "A number of residents have already taken advantage of our free home visit and are starting to benefit from our advice. The average indoor air that we breathe can be a cocktail of thousands of chemicals from sources as diverse as tobacco smoke, the smell from new curtains, carpets or furnishings, inefficient gas appliances, paints, sprays and other solvents.

"Mould and condensation can affect breathing and can make the house feel cold."

She added: "By taking a few simple steps - such as drying clothes outside where possible and closing the bathroom door when having a bath or shower - you can cut down on condensation and mould spores."

A special Smokerlyser will be available on the stall so that shoppers can measure their own levels of carbon monoxide.