A CARE home which will create about 30 jobs in a former County Durham mining village opened yesterday.

Guardian Care Homes UK Ltd opened the 40-bed Chilton Care Centre, in Durham Road, after investing £1.8m.

Guardian's managing director Gary Hartland said: "Chilton has undergone a lot of regeneration recently and we are delighted to be able to add to that by creating a care centre that really fits in with the local scene.

"When full, the home will provide jobs for about 30 people, including nurses, care staff, housekeeping and catering staff - and we look forward very much to playing our part in the local community."

More than 400 people have already applied for jobs at the home, which will provide accommodation for older people, some of whom have dementia or other mental health difficulties.

Appointments will be made as residents begin to fill the two-storey accommodation, which was built on the site of an old school.

The manager of the Chilton Care Centre, Patricia Slater, who grew up in the neighbouring village of Sedgefield and worked as a district nurse in Chilton, said: "It's an absolutely gorgeous building on the site of the former Chilton School, which closed in 1973.

"Although it's brand new - with 40 bedrooms, which are all en suite - it's a traditional building with a lovely, homely atmosphere.

"It really fits in with the surrounding area, which is quite rural."