Coast & Country, one of the largest regeneration and housing companies in the North East, asked youngsters to create a new name for an estate, where £22m is being invested.

Groups of pupils at Hummersea School at Loftus were asked to present their ideas for an alternative name for the town's Westfield Estate, based on the area's history and geographical location.

An initial panel of judges, made up of tenant representatives from the Westfield Regeneration Steering Group, Coast & Country staff and a representative from Southdale Homes, which will be building properties on the estate, was very impressed with the quality of the presentations, which involved the primary school pupils putting together PowerPoint displays.

They shortlisted three names - Hummersea Hills, Seawood, and Summer Hill.

The pupils behind these suggestions then presented their ideas to an audience comprising residents, Coast & Country staff and board members and Redcar and Cleveland Borough councillors.

The names were put to the vote and the slips counted election-night style with Hummersea Hills declared the winner. The team, which had come up with the name, was rewarded with music vouchers as a prize.

Tracy O'Neill, Head of Development - Communities said: "Community involvement is central to all Coast & Country activities, which is why it was important to involve local schoolchildren, residents and councillors in the name choosing process.

"As well as demonstrating their creativity, the pupils also showed excellent IT skills by compiling very professional PowerPoint presentations as part of their entries. The judges were also impressed with their enthusiasm and confidence."

Peter Tyreman, Hummersea School head teacher, said: "This Coast & Country project was a valuable learning experience for our pupils as it involved putting a range of skills into practice such as IT, compiling a presentation, speaking in front of an audience, and team work."

The old poor quality housing on Westfield is to be replaced with about 300 newly-built environmentally-friendly high quality two, three and four bedroomed homes and two bedroomed bungalows.

The estate's regeneration will provide a more open and accessible estate with improved car parking to the homes, better road layouts and a much enhanced overall living environment.