LAWYERS in County Durham are in the running for a national local government legal award.

Durham County Council's legal services team has been shortlisted with five other councils for the LGC Legal Award to be announced next year.

The award is one of 12 to be announced at a ceremony in London in March.

Linda Walker, the county council's head of legal services, said: "We're a relatively small team but we like to think that our flexibility, adaptability, originality and experience combine to make us a can-do legal team.

"We have achieved much across a wide range of county council activities in the past year.

"To be shortlisted for this award is quite an achievement in itself and we're keeping our fingers crossed for even more success."

During the past year, the team has had significant input into the county council's Building Schools for the Future programme, as well as the launch of the park-and-ride scheme.

The other authorities shortlisted for the award are Brighton and Hove City, Bury, Scottish Borders, Suffolk Coastal and Hackney.