A NORTH-EAST housing group has appointed a chairwoman.

The Tees Valley Housing Group's advisory panel elected Redcar woman Linda Beel at its annual meeting this month.

The panel is made up of 14 tenants and is used as a consultation group to help review and shape the work of the organisation.

A part-time barmaid at Middlesbrough Football Club's Riverside Stadium, Mrs Beel, 55, gave up work to care for her husband, but became actively involved in the central advisory group.

She was nominated at the group's annual meeting and voted in as chairwoman.

Mrs Beel said: "I've enjoyed being on the housing advisory panel because it isn't just there for show. Tees Valley Housing Group actually bounces ideas off us and takes our views very seriously.

"We were also involved in the production of the tenants' compact, which increases liaison between residents and the group, so we really do have a strong voice, not just in Redcar, but across the Tees Valley and further afield.