DARLINGTON's Victorian covered market building has been at the heart of the County Durham town since 1864.

But, earlier this year, its future was thrown into doubt due to the latest round of austerity cuts announced by cash-strapped Darlington Borough Council.

Thousands signed a petition, calling for the market building to be saved, and councillors recently agreed to spend £200,000 on improvements in the hope of attracting a private sector investor to take it over.

So what does the future hold for the historic market, which has been around for more than a century and a half? What do the characters who work there think? How strongly do the customers feel?

Tomorrow (Tuesday, May  10), The Northern Echo will be experiencing "A day in the life of Darlington's covered market".

Former editor Peter Barron will be starting at 5am to travel in fruit and veg man Robin Blair's van to Middlesbrough to select the day's produce from a market garden. He'll then return to the market building to talk to the stallholders, some of whom have spent more than 50 years trading on the site.

He'll be talking to them on video and recording their thoughts about the future, as well as interviewing customers.

He'll be having his breakfast and lunch there and will even be taking a turn on a stall himself, seeing what it's like to be a market trader.

It promises to be a fascinating experience - so keep up to date with tomorrow's live blog to see how A Day in the life of Darlington's covered market unfolds.