More than 20,000 new organ donors have signed up as a result of a regional daily’s campaign.

The Chronicle, Newcastle, announced it has smashed its own target after urging readers to sign the NHS’s organ donor register.

When the campaign was launched in November, The Chronicle had aimed to sign 10,000 new donors up.

However new figures revealed 23,063 people had made the pledge across the North-East of England as since the drive began.

Chronicle editor Darren Thwaites said: “The people of the North East have, once again, done us proud.

“The gesture they have made by signing the register in their masses could be the ultimate gift to a stranger and save a life.”

The announcement has been made as the British Transplant Games, in which transplant recipients compete across a variety of sporting disciplines, begins on The Chronicle’s patch.

Graham Wylie, chairman of the Games, pictured above left, said: “The Chronicle’s Become a Donor campaign has been a rallying cry to the people of the North-East to get to grips with the issues linked to organ donation.

“The campaign’s success in helping attract an additional 20,000 individuals to sign up to the register is fantastic, and I’d strongly encourage anyone reading about the initiative who hasn’t yet made that commitment to strongly consider it.”