DAVE Watts has fiercely blasted national press and TV for their negative portrait of St Helens.

The controversy over the selection of former Tory Shaun Woodward as Labour candidate for St Helens South has brought the town firmly into the national spotlight.

But Dave, who is defending St Helens North for Labour, believes some of the coverage gives the impression that the town is past its 'sell-by date'.

He said: "As I watch the ongoing national media coverage of the General Election campaign in St Helens I can't help but be dismayed by the negative image of St Helens which is being portrayed. This town, that invented float glass, cut the first canal and has just won the Rugby League treble, is being portrayed as an industrial town with no future.

"When the national press moves on and the outcome of the General Election is decided that image could remain in people's minds. That's why when the BBC asked me for an interview I insisted on it being conducted at the new World of Glass Centre. The centre celebrates the great achievements of St Helens and the progress that we have made over the last 100 years. It demonstrates that despite all the problems we may face, the people of St Helens have the skills and commitment to lead the world".

Dave added that the recent school inspectors report indicated that secondary educational standards in the borough had improved at four times the national average and that this, along with the massive house building programme taking place in the area and unemployment down by 33 per cent, showed that, despite our problems, "we still have what it takes to achieve".

He called upon politicians and reporters to think about the long-term damage that negative publicity could do to the town and concluded: "Our image in the outside world affects our ability to attract inward investment and jobs to our town. Over the next few years St Helens may face more difficulties but I am confident that we have now built firm foundations for the regeneration of our town and community".