THE Army is to stop burying slaughtered livestock in a landfill site a few hundred yards from houses.

But the ending of operations tomorrow night at Chapman's Well, near Stanley, will leave County Durham without a mass grave.

Officers and the Ministry of Agriculture (Maff) are looking for other sites, including the former Inkerman opencast site at Tow Law.

Maff overrode Durham County Council's objections to use Chapman's Well at the weekend, a move that angered residents at nearby Quaking Houses.

It is expected that when the site closes at 6pm, fewer than 40,000 carcasses will have been buried.

Lieutenant Colonel Gary Donaldson, who is in charge of the operation, said the Army and Maff were looking at various sites, including Inkerman, but no decision had been taken.

He said: "When Chapman's Well closes I will have no mass burial site.

"The problem with County Durham is that it has a high water table, and where it isn't high there is rock.

"We will choose the site very carefully. We have to make sure that it is safe and will not cause a problem for public health."

Durham County Council has been consulted on the Inkerman option and told Maff it considers the site more suitable than Chapman's Well.

John Shuttleworth, county councillor for Weardale, said: "There should be no pollution of watercourses, infection of other animals or risk to the public."

l More than 150 Quaking Houses residents attended a meeting last night to discuss the Chapman's Well burials.