DISABLED residents say they are taking their life in their hands going shopping in a North-East high street.

They say the pavements of Front Street, in Chester-le-Street, are littered with road signs, rubbish bins, shop adverts and goods, making the journey almost impossible.

Durham County Council, which has responsibility for highways and most pavements, says there is legislation to force shopkeepers to keep pathways clear.

Pensioner Norman Dodd says he can only get up and down the street if his wife guides him.

The 72-year-old ex-retail manager and caretaker, who lives on Chester-le-Street's Garden Farm Estate, said: "It is getting worse all the time.

"As a partially-sighted person, you used to be able to walk fairly unaided down Front Street.

"Now, I spend most of my time bumping into things on the pavement. There are advertising boards, baskets of shoes, bollards, road signs and litter bins.

"I usually take a line from the kerb and use that as a guide to walk in a straight line. Now, only my wife, Margaret, acting as a guide can get me up and down the street.

"The question I have to ask myself is, is it safer to walk on the road, where motorists can take evasive action, or on the pavement, where I am faced with an obstacle course?

"The bottom half of the street is pedestrianised they say, but it seems that people like me are a low priority."

Bob Hall, who works for Durham's Disability Outlook, says it is not just the visually impaired who feel obstructed.

He said: "Whether it is people with a walking cane, mothers with buggies, or people in wheelchairs, the issue is the same.

"The obstructions from signs and street furniture are increasing, and this needs to be brought to the attention of authorities."

A spokesman for Durham County Council said it would speak to any shop owners if it received repeated complaints about signs.

He said: "They have to be in a position where they can be seen by the people they are intended for. Where they are put is governed by strict government guidelines."