An argument has broken out between two heavyweight council leaders over plans for a sign which would be visible from aircraft flying overhead.

Durham County Council has given planning permission for the tower, which will cost about £50,000.

The 18m high sign, on the A689 between Wynyard and Sedegfield, will have the words County Durham made from stainless steel running down the side.

It will be made of steel columns with illuminated coloured glass panels.

But Coun Bob Fleming, leader of Sedgefield Borough Council, has accused the county of ignoring objections from residents, councils and Durham Police.

The sign has been described as unwarranted and indulgent and has been called loud and garish, with little artistic merit. Stockton on Tees Borough Council, Hartlepool Borough Council and Sedgefield Town Council all lodged strong objections.

Coun Fleming said if the outcome of a referendum on a North-East assembly reorganises local government, the sign may become redundant and a waste of public resources.

He said: "We considered the sign is too large, obtrusive and an alien feature in the open countryside, and the fact that it would be illuminated for 24 hours a day would have both light and pollution effects. "The county council has chosen to ignore our comments and those of the public and neighbouring authorities and will construct this unpleasant and incongruous tower.

But county council leader Ken Manton said the borough's criticism was motivated more by its views on local government reorganisation than the artistic merits of the tower or its impact on the surrounding area.

He said: "Coun Fleming says a local government shake-up may result in the sign becoming redundant, and of course, that would only happen if County Durham ceased to exist.

"That might be what Coun Fleming wants from local government reorganisation, but it is certainly not what I want or what the majority of people who have both responded to a MORI poll and written directly to the Boundary Committee for England want to see.

"They want to see a single council, serving County Durham as we currently know it, and speaking for its residents with one strong voice."