COUNCILLORS tired of waiting for a derelict racing track to be cleaned up will decide this week whether to blitz the area themselves.

The greyhound stadium at Spennymoor has blighted the town since a blaze in January 1998 gutted it and started its fall into dereliction.

Tomorrow, members of Sedgefield Borough Council will vote on whether to hire contractors to clean up the site near Spennymoor football ground, which was once likened to Beirut by an irate resident.

In April last year, after an application by Sedgefield Borough Council, a waste land notice was served on the track which required the rubble, waste and dilapidated fences to be removed and the buildings demolished.

Property advisor GVA Grimley took over the site after the original owner went into liquidation.

It cleared a large amount of rubble and waste and put up a barrier to prevent fly-tipping.

But according to the council no work has been done since May 16, and council officials want to take action to finish the job.

The council's cabinet committee will vote tomorrow on whether to proceed with the work and recoup the costs from the next owner of the land.

Councillor Bill Waters, from Spennymoor, said: "The stadium is an absolute disgrace. It is an eyesore. It is situated at the entrance to the town and at the moment is hidden by trees, but once they lose their greenery everyone can see it again.

"The council has given the owners every opportunity to tidy it up. There has been a lot of strong feeling about it since it burned down, because nothing has really been done to it since then and everyone has been using it as a dumping ground."

Coun Waters said he would like to see the land turned into a sports facility, a bowling green or cinema, which would aid the town centre's regeneration.

No one at GVA Grimleys was available for comment.