A TOTAL of £110,000 has been granted to help promote water based sports on the River Tees.

The cash has been allocated by the lottery-funded Sport England as well as Stockton Borough Council and will go to Stockton-based Tees River Users Trust (TRUT).

Most of the cash, £80,000, is from Sport England and will be delivered over four years and will allow TRUT to appoint a community sports recruitment activator.

They will have the job of encouraging more people to try out water based sports, such as canoeing, rowing, dragon-boating and sailing.

The Sports Recruitment Activator will be based at the River Tees Watersports Centre in Stockton and it is planned to offer the public free trials of various activities on the water.

Ralph Pickles of TRUT, said: “Improvements to the river, in recent years, by Stockton council have made it a superb asset. We are currently working with Tees Valley Sport,Teesside University and sports governing bodies to identify the right candidate for the role, which will be crucial to successful delivery.”

Alex Cunningham MP for Stockton North, said: “Our great river, once the centre of our manufacturing and shipbuilding heritage, is still one of our greatest assets and I have been delighted to see it become a leisure and sporting hub not just for our community but for national and international events.”