Sid gets the seal of approval from South Tyneside young carers

Steve Miller, director at Warmseal, with, back row, Young Carers team Karen Ahmed, Levi Cosker, Sarah Raistrick, Jayne Plummer. Front row, Poppy Sullivan, Indy Cain, Richard Duggan, Jaycob Hudson, Danika Lilly and Kaila Scarth.

Warmseal recently merged with the Jarrow-based UTS Engineering Group, in a move which will see the manufacture of Warmseal products return to the North East.The firm has undergone a rebrand, which has seen long-term mascot Sid the Seal disappear. But while Sid may have vanished from Warmseal’s marketing media, more than 400 toys based on the character are finding good homes with young carers across the North East.

Warmseal director Steve Miller said: “Sid the Seal has been an intrinsic part of the Warmseal brand. He was so popular that the company invested in hundreds of toys to give to our customers.

“However, we felt the time was right to refresh the brand and to give Sid a well-earned retirement. That left us with 450 toys in our warehouse.

“These are high-quality toys that we wanted to make sure found a good home and so we approached South Tyneside Young Carers Project. which was only too willing to distribute 100 of the toys amongst its young carers in the borough.

“Young carers do a fantastic job looking after family members who are long-term ill, some of them spending up to 50 hours a week helping at home.

“South Tyneside Young Carers Project gives youngsters an outlet where they can take time out to relax, have fun and do all the things that young children should do. In view of this, we were delighted to make available 100 of the toys for distribution to the youngsters.”

While South Tyneside, which has 400 registered young carers, has taken a consignment of the toys, Young Carers groups throughout the North East are also distributing Sid the Seal to children in their areas.

Karen Ahmed, manager of South Tyneside Young Carers, said: “Young carers are a disadvantaged group and are often overlooked. We thank Warmseal for its kind donation and appreciate all support which helps to raise awareness and the profile of young carers.”

With the Warmseal rebrand now in place, the company has instigated a an advertising campaign on Smooth Radio, based around the Stevie Wonder song ‘Signed, Sealed Delivered’.