MORE than 100 people fighting to save council care for the elderly in their rural community have packed a public meeting.

Director of Durham County Council social services Peter Kemp attended the meeting in Brandon, near Durham City.

Village campaigners say a council proposal to close Lowland House will leave the district between Belmont and Crook with no council care for the elderly.

There is a similar campaign in Shildon, where Hackworth House may also be closed.

Durham County Council says 17 homes for the elderly in the county do not meet new Government standards. To bring them up to standard would cost £60m.

The authority proposes closing the 17 homes and building four homes for the elderly and mentally ill, five extra-care housing schemes and bringing a further eight homes up to standard.

The Brandon group, which has collected more than 2,500 signatures for a petition against the plan and sent more than 30 letters of objection to the authority, held a public meeting in Brandon, on Wednesday night.

Organiser of the meeting Paul Taylor said the discussion had been a success.

He said: "It's not just about Brandon. There are at least eight other villages affected, including Ushaw Moor and Esh Winning.

"The population of County Durham is going to keep on getting older for some time yet and we feel this is a very bad time to be closing homes.

"I know there are a lot of very good private homes out there, with some very good staff, but at council homes staff have to be trained to a certain standard.

"The other thing is, our elderly people have often been part of the community all their lives and don't want to be forced to leave."

A spokesman for the council also said the meeting had been productive.

He said: "We have a consultation period precisely for these kind of issues to come out before a decision is made."

He added: "That is also why we have decided to extend the consultation period so that anyone who wishes to contribute to the debate can do so.