Football ground honours former MP Mo Mowlam

A new football pavilion on Teesside has been named after former Redcar MP and minister Mo Mowlam.

The Mo Mowlam Memorial Ground, in Dormanstown, is where Redcar Town FC will stage its home matches.

More than half of the pavilion's £419,000 cost came from the Football Foundation, the remainder from Redcar and Cleveland Council.

Former Northern Ireland Secretary Ms Mowlam represented Redcar for Labour from 1987 until 2001. She died in 2005.

Another new sporting facility funded by the same bodies has also been officially opened.

The £311,000 pavilion at Smiths Dock Park, the home of South Park Rangers Junior FC, has changing rooms, kitchen facilities and communal areas.

Sheelagh Clarke, Redcar and Cleveland Council's cabinet member for culture, leisure and tourism, said: "These pavilions provide wonderful new premises for many young footballers and whole communities to enjoy.

"We are grateful for the Football Foundation funding, which has been put to excellent use in creating facilities that will hopefully encourage more young people to get involved in sport."