PARISH councillors are counting on the discovery of lost deeds to help to resolve a land row and secure a play area for village children.

But after receiving a copy of the deeds, Dene Valley Parish Council at Bishop Auckland faces a race against time to prove its claim to the site where building work is due to start next month.

The council insists that land near William Street, in Auckland Park, where Hall Construction, of Rushyford, has planning permission for 40 houses, was left in trust to residents by trustees of the village colliery's welfare scheme and can only be used for recreation purposes.

Now it says that a copy of a 70-year-old conveyance document, unearthed by the Church Commissioners last month, could be its "trump card" in persuading the Charity Commission to support its claim by appointing it as trustees for the land.

It will also need to convince the Land Registry, which in 2003 accepted a claim of squatters' rights over part of the site, and registered it to a private individual without, the parish council claims, consulting it or the Wear Valley District Council. Hall Construction's managing director Stephen Hall said yesterday he was planning to start work on the homes in three weeks.

He said: "We are the owners of the site and are not trying to do anything illegal. We bought it from somebody else and are relying on our solicitors to advise us."

Councillor Chris Foote Wood said: "The copy of the original sale deeds is our trump card.

"They show that two acres of land was purchased for community recreation 70 years ago.

"The situation is urgent. It is essential we establish the legal ownership before any houses are built."

Coun Foote Wood appealed for help from anyone with records or information about the trust, the trustees or the recreation ground's supervisor.

He is also trying to trace records of the Miners Welfare Fund, the Miners Welfare Committee and the Durham District Welfare Committee from 1935 onwards.

Contact him on (01388) 605181