FAMILIES of elderly residents who are facing a move from their nursing home, which is due to be closed and demolished, have made a formal complaint to Durham County Council.

Relatives of residents of Stoneleigh nursing home, in Barnard Castle, have vowed to fight plans by the county council to close the site and replace it with a modern care facility.

The move is part of a Government initiative to provide elderly people with modern facilities offering them greater independence.

But because the county council has been unable to find an alternative site in Teesdale for the new care home, it looks certain that social services bosses will be forced to use the Stoneleigh site and demolish the building in September.

The announcement has been met with anger, with many relatives fearing elderly family members could be forced to move to homes as far away as Durham while the new facility is built.

In an attempt to keep Stoneleigh open and force the council to find an alternative site in Teesdale, relatives have formed an action group and gained the help and support of the Relatives Action Group for the Elderly.

The national action group supports relatives who are fighting the closure of homes, and has won a number of legal battles with local authorities.

Last week, George Hadden, whose father is a Stoneleigh resident, made an official complaint to the county council. Now 14 relatives of residents at the home have signed their own formal complaint, which has been sent to the director of social services at the council.

Iris Hillery, of the Stoneleigh Relatives' Action Group, said many family members were worried that any move could prove too much for some residents.

She said: "My mother is 95 and any move to another home would be a huge ordeal.

"But this is not about individuals, it is about working together to save Stoneleigh.

"We have invited the county council to attend two open meetings and they failed to. This formal complaint is an effort to force them to meet us, and hear our worries and discuss the issue."

A spokesman for the county council, which has five days to confirm it has received the complaint, was not able to comment last night.