A MAN has died after tensions between warring neighbours on a North-East street erupted at the weekend.

The 35-year-old man, who has not been named, suffered a heart attack shortly after a confrontation between families in Hundens Lane, Darlington, on Saturday night.

Officers were called at about 11.30pm after receiving a report that a window had been broken and found a large group of neighbours locked in a confrontation on the street.

Two men aged 20 and 50 were arrested, but at about midnight, officers were called back to Hundens Lane after the man collapsed at his home.

Police said last night they were unable to rule out theories the disturbance may have had an effect on the victim's health. He was described by his family as having no medical problems. The man was understood to be one of the neighbours in the street when police arrived, but was not directly involved in the confrontation.

Police said they were aware of mounting tensions in the neighbourhood and were monitoring the situation.

One woman, who did not want to be named, said it was one of several confrontations between families in the street.

She said: "People are too scared to go out of their homes.

"It is a nightmare. It is the second death in the street over fighting. There was a fight on New Year's Eve and a man died of a heart attack.

"There are real tensions between neighbours. The street is like a graveyard now, people are drawing their curtains, and no one dares go out.

"We are keeping the kids in- doors. It is unbelievable."

The mother said there was also an incident in the street last summer when police cordoned off the street after a fight broke out between 40 to 50 neighbours.

After Saturday's disturbance, the victim was taken to hospital and a post-mortem examination has revealed he died of natural causes.

A police spokesman said: "It is impossible for us to say what bearing the incident might have had on triggering the heart attack that killed him, but obviously since it was close together we can't rule it out.

"There are tensions in the area between neighbours, we are aware of that, and we are monitoring the situation closely."

The two men arrested on suspicion of criminal damage, who both live in Hundens Lane, have been released by police pending inquiries.

The dead man is a relative by marriage to the two men.