A VILLAGE named as Britain's most perfect is under threat from developers, according to councillors.

Heighington Parish Council fears a scheme to build 12 affordable houses could destroy the harmony of the village, between Darlington and Newton Aycliffe.

About 200 people gathered in the village hall on Wednesday for a meeting with officials from development company Northern Affordable Homes.

The parish council sent leaflets to every home in the village to publicise the meeting. Councillor Val Whitby said it had been feared that many villagers had been unaware of the plans.

Speaking after the meeting, she said: "Twelve houses does not seem a lot to some, but if these plans do go ahead, then every developer in the land will want a stake in this village.

"We want to preserve the character of our village for future generations. It is outside the village boundary. The extra people will put great strain on our school, which is full already, and there are drainage issues on that site.

"We do not want this development. One elderly man at the meeting said he was polishing his Bren gun in case the plans go ahead."

But Simon Drummond-Hay, the managing director of Northern Affordable Homes, who attended the meeting, said it had been a success. He said: "There was a general agreement that there is a need for affordable housing, just as there is everywhere else in the country. Heighington is no different.

"However, there are grave concerns in the village about extending the village boundary, and that is something that I am very pleased came out of the consultations.

"We will be giving this further thought before taking the scheme forward, and I hope we can find a resolution to these concerns within a week."

The village was named Britain's most perfect in the BBC4 series The Perfect Village last year.

Coun Whitby added: "We feel threatened with developments closing in all around us. We have to protect our village.

"It is a very special place to us and we all feel very passionately about this."