TEAMS of union activists are to be sent into northern communities blighted by some of Britain’s worst unemployment levels to help struggling people survive.

The newly trained volunteers, drawn from the ranks of Unite Community members, will give benefits advice and teach people how to fight sanctions and the bedroom tax, the union revealed yesterday.

The localities targeted include Durham’s former pit communities and towns such as Redcar, where the closure of a steelworks will destroy at least 3,000 jobs.

Volunteer Angela Appleby, of Bishop Auckland, said: “The outreach work will provide a really valuable resource to people in some of our most disadvantaged communities.”

General union Unite set up Unite Community three years ago to recruit and train people not in work.

In the north-east, it teamed up with the Durham Miners’ Association and established a centre at the association’s offices.