VOLUNTEERS have been helping to clean up an area of open space in Dean Bank, near Ferryhill.

Local residents and Barclay's Bank Staff worked alongside members of Ferryhill Scout Troop, Dean Bank Residents' Association and Groundwork East Durham's project officer, Stephen Armstrong, to clean up the site and paint the boundary fence.

The site, which is at the corner of Siemans and Main Street, has been allocated funds through Barclays SiteSavers.

The improvements to the corner site mark the start of the implementation of the Dean Bank Appraisal.

Mr Armstrong said: "Members of the local community have worked really hard and have already made a great difference to the site. Once the project is completed, the residents of Dean Bank will have an area that they can be proud of."

More than 700 Barclays SiteSavers projects have been delivered across the UK since 1996, bringing derelict land back into use on inner city housing estates, on the edge of towns and in the heart of rural communities.