MORE than 10,000 jobs could be coming to Teesside if ministers green-light a multi-million pound bid from the region to secure Government cash.

The second round of the Regional Growth Fund (RGF) closed on Friday with £156m worth of applications submitted from Teesside.

More than half the amount (£79.38m) is made up of 26 bids from companies looking to grow their business.

If all of these applications are successful, they will rake in more than £1bn in private investment and create more than 2,500 jobs.

The remaining £76.62m has been earmarked for regeneration schemes designed to benefit the wider economy.

The bids include applications from 13 firms brought together by the Gazette and the Journal in Newcastle as part of our Let’s Grow campaign.

Teesside’s first-round bids were the most successful in the country, with £26m awarded to five schemes.

But the second round of bidding has the potential to have an even greater impact, with Teesside going head to head with other UK regions for a slice of a £950m cash windfall.

The Department of Business will look at the bids over the summer before making a final judgement.

Regeneration body Tees Valley Unlimited, which has been co ordinating the bids, said it had been impressed with the strength of the applications.