The digital economy in the Tees Valley is worth £174 million every year, with £64 million coming from Middlesbrough alone.

That figure comes from Digital City, an equivalent to London’s Tech City, which is celebrating its 10-year anniversary this year.

It was set up in 2004 to “to create a vibrant, successful and self-sustaining supercluster based on the digital technologies, digital media and creative sectors”.

Today Middlesbrough and Stockton are ranked number 16 in a list of UK digital hotspots by the National Institute of Economic and Social Research (Niesr).

It is the only hotspot to make the table located north of Birmingham.

David Jeffries, head of DigitalCity, said: “DigitalCity was created to capitalise on Teesside University’s expertise in the technology sector 10 years ago by giving a framework of support for digital start-ups and entrepreneurs.

“Long before boot camps and accelerators were well-known DigitalCity fellowships gave enterprising graduates access to world-class mentors and facilities.

“We’ve seen over the past 10 years DigitalCity grow from an idea into a project that is making a massive difference to the economy of the Tees Valley and the North East region as a whole.”