DOZENS of people took to the streets at dawn to protest against council plans to bulldoze hundreds of homes.

Up to 500 homes on Stockton's Hardwick Estate - once Western Europe's largest - could be destroyed as part of a £160m borough-wide programme to revamp 10,500 homes and knock down 1,000 others.

But residents said they liked living in the area and were worried that the whole estate could end up being bulldozed.

Up to 40 people were up at 6am on Tuesday to put up posters bearing the message Hardwick Against Demolition across the estate and to hold a meeting.

Many of the protestors said the council had deliberately run-down the estate and prevented people from moving in, including nurses at the nearby University Hospital of North Tees.

One of the protestors, John Farnell, said he had invested money into his home.

He said: "I'm just getting my life back on track and the last thing I need is this.

"There's been no consultation and we're not being told what's going on. People are very worried.

"We've noticed that other estates, like Roseworth and Ragworth, have had a fortune spent on them but we've had nothing.

"Yes, there are problems on the Hardwick estate but we work together as a community to overcome them."

Debbie Redwood, 19, said: "There's a lot of people who are scared about this, including people who have bought their own home in the last few months."

Terry Walters, who organised the demonstration, said the posters had been put on the walls early, before the council could have them taken down.

A spokesman for Stockton Borough Council said significant consultation had already begun and the public could help shape final proposals.

He said: "We have already committed to a new housing for rent scheme at Ketton Road on the estate and plan to invest £10m on the remaining 1,400 council houses by the end of 2009 to ensure they all meet the Government's Decent Standard level.

"This is an exciting opportunity to bring about a £15m long-term investment on Hardwick."

Ray Gibson, development director at Endeavour Housing, which would be involved in any new building work as a council partner, stressed that a full consultation exercise would be completed before any new work took place.