DURHAM City Council is celebrating after being awarded two Charter Marks for the quality of its service.

The council's building control service was praised by assessors for its good organisation and "dynamic, flexible service." And the adaptations for disabled people service was praised for the "positive commitment from the staff who were cheerful and enthusiastic".

Building control principal surveyor Steve Chicken said: "The Charter Mark is a fantastic award to win because it underlines our commitment to providing a high class service from which people benefit.

"We're the first Durham City Council service to have achieved a Charter Mark and the ISO9000 quality control award - and that's a guarantee of professionalism from everyone working here."

Special needs officer Barbara Gow, who runs the adaptations service, said: "We make a real difference to people's lives and that makes it the most rewarding job I've ever had. We pride ourselves on being able to complete each adaptation as quickly as possible.

"Ninety-four per cent were finished within three months of the assessment carried out by myself or an occupational therapist from social services to find out exactly what was needed.''

Community services director David Marrs said: "Barbara is one of the very few people I would say were irreplaceable. She has shaped the post in a way that has influenced many other parts of housing policy and has improved the quality of life for many hundreds of local people during her five years here.

"The entire team deserve our praise and I'm delighted their outstanding commitment has been recognised with a Charter Mark.''