A campaign has been launched to save the last remaining building which formed part of what was once Europe's largest mental institution.

Much of the former Winterton Hospital at Sedgefield, County Durham, has already been developed to make way for housing.

One former hospital wing remains, but that forms part of a site which the NHS is preparing to sell off.

Jacqueline Sanderson, who has become fond of the building and what it represents, fears that a new owner would demolish it to make way for a new development and the last remnant of the hospital would be lost forever.

She said: "I'm an ordinary person who has driven past that hospital many times before it was knocked down and I lkike to see things of an historical value kept.

"This is not an old building, but it's the last piece of the hospital which is full of memories for people."

Mrs Sanderson, from Shotton Colliery, said she would like the building to be turned into a visitors centre, or converted and the facade retained with a plaque placed upon it.

A spokesman for NHS Estates said it had received a number of bids for the site, but added that no decision had yet been made over its future.

He said: "We are just finalising those bids with a view to choosing a preferred bidder for the site and we are hoping to do that soon. "That particular building is not listed, so we're not obliged to save it, but no planning application has been put in on the site so we'll have to se what the future plans are."

Mrs Sanderson, who has researched the history of the building, said the materials were made by the patients from reconstituted bricks. She believes that gives the building some historical value and has been in touch with English Heritage to see if she can get the building protected.

The wing has been a target for vandals and she is hoping it can be saved for future generations before it is too late.

Mrs Sanderson would like to hear from anybody else interested in saving the building and can be contacted at Caretaker's Cottage, Queen Street, Shotton Colliery, County Durham.