The Evening Gazette is celebrating after helping to stop a controversial scheme to demolish Middlesbrough's historic North Riding Infirmary.

The Teesside newspaper has waged a year-long campaign against plans to tear down the former hospital to make way for a supermarket.

And its fight has ended in success after planning committee members unanimously rejected plans by store giant Aldi, following unprecedented public opposition - including a petition signed by 7,626 Gazette readers.

Editor Steve Dyson told the planning committee that in 15 years of community journalism he had never known such a response to such an issue with people expressing such strong feelings and in such numbers.

He said Middlesbrough should be proud of what people had shown: pride and passion, and told the committee: "Don't make the mistake of ignoring it. Don't waste it."

The Evening Gazette launched the campaign after it received a flood of letters from readers objecting to the plans from Aldi.

Steve said: "Never before had we had so many letters in such a short period of time on one subject.

"Within three days of the plans being announced we had had 60 people writing in with letters of complaint, without us asking for them.

"When I saw the response I knew it was a winner and we quickly launched the campaign."

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