A GIFT of land to Neasham Parish Council is degenerating into an expensive farce as it faces a further cost for a coal mining search.

In November, the village celebrated the news that an anonymous donor was offering to pay the then £1,124 legal costs of the transfer of a parcel of the village green it thought it already owned.

A former owner of Neasham Abbey had donated the land without changing the deeds and the new owner offered to make it official.

But the legal costs continued to escalate with news in December that the parish owed a further £51.95. It was also asked to take joint responsibility for a boundary wall that did not exist.

On Monday, council chairman, Coun John Weighell, said the saga was still dragging on despite the council taking responsibility for the imaginary wall.

"Now we have had a borough solicitor's letter saying the coal mining search is not £15 as originally thought, it is £45.

"This is becoming more ludicrous than ever because the nearest coal mining seam is at Bishop Auckland. I have told the clerk to go ahead and pay the damn thing."

Clerk, Gordon Sirrell, agreed: "There is a coal field at Bishop Auckland and Sedgefield, but the next one down would be Selby."

Coun Peter Foster said: "They have already done a complete mineral survey of this area, which we were told was covered in gypsum. Where you have that, coal doesn't exist."

Coun Weighell said it was even more annoying because the parish council was paying again for the same searches carried out on behalf of the new owner.