MPs have joined forces to demand free bus travel for pensioners across County Durham - instead of journeys ending at district council boundaries.

The government's £350 million scheme for the elderly and the disabled comes into force in April, but only provides cash for district councils to provide free travel.

That has raised fears that pensioners in Darlington, Sedgefield and elsewhere would still face a charge to travel to Durham City, for example.

Now Kevan Jones MP (North Durham), Roberta Blackman-Woods (Durham City), John Cummings (Easington) and Helen Goodman (Bishop Auckland) have called on district councils to co-operate.

The MPs said the authorities would share more than £5 million from April and already together pump £2.5 million into the current county-wide half-price scheme.

Durham County Council has estimated free pensioner travel across the county would cost up to £7.5 million per year - which meant sufficient funds would be available.

Mr Jones said: "Many of my constituents regularly travel outside their district - into Durham for shopping, for example - and we feel journeys like that should be covered by a free scheme too."

Mrs Blackman-Woods said: "The government has assured me that councils have been adequately funded to provide this scheme. Durham City has had a particularly generous settlement."

And Ms Goodman said: "A free bus pass covering the whole county would make a real difference to the lives of many older and disabled people."

The MPs said the department for transport (Dft) had encouraged local authorities to work together to increase the scope of the free travel schemes being offered.

Furthermore, the current half-price scheme went further than the requirement to provide concessionary travel within district boundaries only.

It also covers journeys to and from other parts of the North-East as long as these begin, or end, in County Durham.

A separate row is brewing in Wearside, where public transport authority Nexus has warned it faces a £7.3million black hole in Whitehall funding to provide free pensioner bus passes.

Director general Mike Parker said buses to schools, shops and doctors' surgeries could be axed because other areas of the country had won a larger share of the £350 million.