A VILLAGE action committee has vowed to carry on entering floral competitions, despite the withdrawal of financial support from the council.

Aycliffe Village has won the best large village category of the Northumbria in Bloom competition for the past two years and has been nominated for the national Britain in Bloom award.

However, Great Aycliffe Town Council, which has poured several thousand pounds into the village over recent years, says it will not be entering future competitions.

Instead, it wants to spread its resources throughout Newton Aycliffe, especially the development of a proposed town centre park.

Members of the Aycliffe Village Action Committee were "gutted" at the decision, but have decided to continue independently of the council.

Committee member Billy Blenkinsopp said: "It has been unanimously agreed that we try to do the best we can and enter the Northumberland in Bloom, despite the pitfalls we're going to face."

The council has decided to maintain the village to its 1995 level, before entering the competition, which means filling in flower beds they had previously maintained.

Mr Blenkinsopp said the committee felt let down by the council, especially after all of the support from businesses and villagers over the past few years.