A council has denied bizarre claims that residents were forced to have their front doors painted blue. 

People in Darlington Council-owned properties in Cockerton were reportedly told by Mitie workers, contracted by the authority, that their doors must be painted blue as part of refurbishment works across several homes. 

Cllr Jan Cossins challenged the council over the alleged order after workers turned up at her house to repaint her door. The Labour member for Cockerton said she was first alerted to the plans by several nearby residents.

Raising her concerns to the council at a meeting on Thursday (March 23), she said: “A resident told me ‘do you know I have to have my door painted blue?’ I said you get a choice of two or three colours but she said she was told she could only have blue. 

“And then another person told me the same. They then came to paint my door and they said: ‘we’re here to paint your door blue’.

"I asked why couldn’t it just be white but they claimed they weren’t allowed to do that and they were told by the council it could be painted blue or not at all. 

“I think that’s absolutely appalling. My daughter, who lives around the corner, told the workers that she didn’t want a blue door. One of the workers reportedly said ‘I don’t mind painting it white’ but a voice from the other side of the hedge said ‘you can’t do that’.”

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Cllr Cossins questioned whether the workers were using up a ‘cheap batch of paint’ to refurbish the doors.

But the council’s health and housing cabinet member, Cllr Kevin Nicholson, denied the claims.

“I can categorically say, in all certainty, that is not the case,” he said.

“As customers, they have a choice with a number of options.”

In response, Cllr Cossins said: “When Cllr Nicholson is saying it’s not true, it is for Cockerton. It might not be in their own patch, they might have been allowed to have different colours, but in Cockerton it's definitely not the case. It’s just bonkers.”

Opposition Labour councillors claimed it was no coincidence that the doors were allegedly ordered to be painted after the council’s recent rebrand to a blue colour scheme.

But Cllr Dulston hit back by saying: “For the avoidance of doubt the colour is teal not blue.”