WORK has started to remove floodwater which has left a school playing field submerged for a year.

Parents and parish councillors expressed fears for the safety of pupils at Bishop Middleham Primary School because of the flooding.

Drainage work on the field started on Monday and is expected to be completed today.

The work has been organised by Durham County Council has is being paid for from the school's budget.

David Wilkinson, business manager at the council's laboratory and reclamation group, said officials would be monitoring the problem.

He said: "We are investigating the cause of the flooding and have sought advice from the Environment Agency.

"The conclusion is that the flooding is due to a combination of rising ground water following the closure of the mining industry, and the high rainfall we have had over the past two years.

"We are going to do more investigation on that to see if we can be more precise over the exact cause of the flooding, because the county council is also looking at means of dealing with it on a long-term basis. That could involve laying a drain from the school field to a suitable point."

The village has other flooding problems, notably at allotments and on farmland next to the Bishop Middleham to Fishburn road.

Mr Wilkinson said the council is talking to Sedgefield Borough Council, which owns the allotments, and will pass on any information.

He said that subsidence may have contributed to flooding on the agricultural land. Meanwhile, investigations are continuing.