A regional daily has hailed the ‘power of local journalism’ after successfully campaigning to save a major factory on its patch.

Train operator FirstGroup has signed a deal with Hitachi worth £500m which will safeguard the future of Hitachi’s Newton Aycliffe site in County Durham, securing hundreds of local jobs.

The move follows months of pressure from the Northern Echo, which originally campaigned to bring Hitachi to the North-East 14 years ago, with its Get Hitcachi Back on Track campaign.

The Echo also carried an exclusive first-person piece from Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer confirming the deal in which he praised the newspaper for its “tireless” campaigning.

Under the agreement, Hitachi will manufacture 70 new rail cars for FirstGroup, delivering 14 new trains.

The trains will be used on the group’s rail services, including the existing Hull Trains and Lumo services on the East Coast Mainline and a new route between Carmarthen and London.

In an editorial, the Echo wrote: “We have once again shown the power of local journalism and delivered for Hitachi – keeping them on track just months before the bicentennial celebrations of the Stockton and Darlington Railway.

“The Hitachi leader recently praised the operation at Newton Aycliffe and spoke of how proud he was of its achievements. Japanese bosses even said that “The Northern Echo and the people who really wanted them here” were one of the reasons they chose Newton Aycliffe as a site – and once again we have proved our importance.

“The saving of Hitachi just goes to show the strength and importance of campaigning journalism and how we can still make a difference to the issues that matter to us the most.

“Hitachi is back on track and the workers, and their families have been given the best early Christmas present they could wish for.”

In his piece, Sir Keir wrote: “In April, I visited the Hitachi manufacturing plant. I spoke to the workers there who were staring down the barrel of hundreds of devastating job losses.

“And I promised them that, if we were elected, a Labour government would work with them to secure their jobs and the future of the industry.

“It’s a promise I made not only to those workers but also to the Northern Echo, which has campaigned tirelessly.

“I meant that promise. Today, my Labour government will announce a deal that will secure the future of Newton Aycliffe, uplift our industrial heartlands, and boost rail services for passengers across the UK.”