AN out-of-hours telephone number for council staff is to be displayed in parks, cemeteries and open spaces in Darlington, after a report in The Northern Echo.

Kathleen Bland discovered a dead duck in South Park at the weekend but was unable to alert park staff, as reported on Tuesday.

Mrs Bland, from Haughton, was shocked that there was no way of contacting Darlington Borough Council at the weekend.

Yesterday, a spokesman said her concerns had led to a review of the situation.

"We are going to put signs up in all our parks, cemeteries and open spaces straightaway," he said.

"There are people available to come out at weekends, but clearly people don't know how to contact us. We want to make sure that anyone who needs to contact our people can."

The out-of-hours number is 07966 347101.

Meanwhile, work has begun on a £118,000 scheme to improve security in Darlington's parks and cemeteries.

A closed-circuit television camera has been placed in Eastbourne Park - the first of five to be installed.

Two cameras will be put in South Park as work begins on the park's £3.9m restoration scheme. Two more will be installed in North Cemetery.

The cameras will provide live, colour pictures which will be relayed to the Town Hall control room and monitored 24 hours a day.