FORMER mining villages are dying and will disintegrate in as little as five years if nothing is done to help them, according to a County Durham MP.

Kevan Jones, member for North Durham, made the comments yesterday at the launch of a study he had commissioned into the crisis facing some of the county's rural communities.

He addressed a meeting at Craghead Village Hall, near Stanley, packed with local councillors and concerned residents.

"These communities are dying," he said.

"Those people who can move out of the villages are moving out.

"If that carries on then the decline will continue. These communities are not dead yet but give it five years and we will have serious problems."

The housing survey, carried out by experts from Northumbria University in Newcastle, focused on the villages of Craghead, near Stanley, and Grange Villa, near Chester-le-Street.

Authors Julie Clarke and Lesley Matthews outlined how the communities suffer from the same problems as deprived inner city areas, but are not given the same level of funding to tackle them.

Drug abuse, anti-social behaviour and vandalism were all highlighted, along with the lack of employment opportunities. They suggested a "strategic response", with all concerned parties joining together to have a stronger voice in lobbying for Government aid.

The report received a cautious welcome from Durham County Council.

Councillor David Hodgson, lead cabinet member for regeneration, voiced fears about it becoming bogged down in red tape.

"My worry with these types of reports is that we end up setting up sub committees of sub committees and groups of groups," he said.

Mr Jones promised action. "The report was never intended to come up with all the answers," he said.

"I don't intend to let it sit on a dusty shelf. What I want it to do is help pull together the councils and all the other agencies. Some hard questions have got to be asked about who is doing what and how we can actually get these groups working together.

"In Craghead, there are some tough decisions to be made - maybe demolition in parts."