Former Boro footballer Craig Hignett has officially opened the permanent studios of Teesside’s newest radio station, The Red.

The station, which launched just over a year ago, is the first commercial radio station in the area since Radio Tees was established 49 years ago.

It currently broadcasts to 311,000 adults across the Tees Valley and plans to expand its coverage to half a million listeners by 2025 from Redcar to Spennymoor.

The new studio, located in Teesside, was developed with contributions from the local community.

The brand new, The Red Radio studios (Image: The Red Radio) Middlesbrough College joinery students built the soundproofing that now lines the walls.

Carpentry and joinery lecturer Aaron Lunn said: "“It’s good to get the lads doing something different in the workshop.

"They’ve all been engaged, asking questions, and are proud to come in and see the finished product.”

Outside the brand new, The Red Radio studios (Image: The Red Radio) The Red owner, Dave Roberts, says: “Young people today can get a bad rap, but it was fantastic to see the students embrace the challenge of building the studio soundproofing solution.

"They seemed to really enjoy getting hands-on in what was a unique project and asked lots of questions about the radio station.”

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Hignett, who presents his own radio show on The Red, said, “It’s great to move into the permanent studio.

"The station is really flying so it’s only right that we develop the station’s facilities to suit our future needs.

"The Red is a great place to work, and the Middlesbrough College lads have done a fantastic job.”

The Red’s launch followed the closure of TFM’s Thornaby studios a decade ago when operations were moved to Newcastle.