A FUNCTION room undergoing renovation at a County Durham greyhound stadium has been gutted by fire.

The lounge at the Pelaw Grange Greyhound Stadium, near Chester-le-Street, went up in flames after a fire engulfed the basement cellar yesterday afternoon.

Firefighters using breathing apparatus and hose reels took just under an hour to tackle the blaze at the stadium in Drum Road.

Durham station officer Ken Dixon said: "It was quite a difficult fire to extinguish because we had to cut away at the timber floor between the basement and the lounge above.

"Also, there was a lack of ventilation in the basement, which meant it was heavily smoke-logged."

He added there were no suspicious circumstances surrounding the fire, although the cause was not yet known.