RESIDENTS have won their battle to stop developers opening an amusement arcade and caf yards from a primary school.

More than 200 people living near the former Locomotive pub, in Manor Road, St Helen Auckland, signed a petition against the plan by Unetco Securities to install 15 gaming machines in a ground floor room.

Planning committee members at Wear Valley District the Council agreed with the objectors, which included St Helen Auckland Primary School, a doctor's practice and the local church, that the development would be in the wrong place.

Councillor Alex Clements, who attended a site visit, said: "We felt that putting 15 machines in a residential area would cause havoc. It is a busy road and the school is not far away.

Councillor Eddie Tomlinson said: "Apart from the planning issues there are moral and social issues. It would be in the wrong place in a residential area."

Councillor John Ferguson said he was alarmed that the highways authority had not objected to the proposal.

He said: "This is the most dangerous place in this area. There is a fish shop and pizza place and people park on the footpath. If there was any more traffic the problems would be horrendous."