EMERGENCY services have warned that lives are at risk from daily arson attacks on a housing estate.

Firefighters are called to at least one blaze a night on the Dene Estate, Willington, where boarded-up properties are a magnet for arsonists and vandals.

Three years ago, Wear Valley District Council decided to bulldoze the estate because so few council tenants wanted to live there.

In its place, the Three Rivers Housing Group is building 15 bungalows for retired and disabled people in a £891,000 scheme. In the next few years, Persimmon Homes also plans to build more than 100 homes.

Nearly 170 houses have already been demolished, but some rows of properties must remain standing until the last dozen residents have moved out.

One mother has been so worried by the vandal attacks she sends her children to sleep with relatives every night.

Sergeant Brian Maudling, of Crook police, said: "There is great concern about the kids getting in and setting fire to things. We are concerned about the safety of the children as well as local residents.

"In the last week, there has been at least one per night in the area, and there have been one or two incidents where the roofs have burned down.

"I'm worried that one day I'll come in to work and find a kid has been buried or something."

Divisional Officer Ian Dockerty, from Durham and Darlington Fire and Rescue, said the service was working with police on an arson taskforce.

He said: "Once a derelict property has had a few fires - or even without a fire - the structure is very dangerous. It is a massive problem for ourselves and the police.

"While we are dealing with these fires, other people's lives are risked, because our resources are tied up.

"I would get the message to parents: If you know your kid is playing in this area, get them out."