A PUBLIC meeting is to be held in an effort to solve the problem of potholes.

Members of Teesdale District Council's overview and scrutiny committee said if the pothole problem in Evenwood was solved it could help other places that have a similar problem.

Durham County Council does not own the roads that need repairing and will not adopt them until they are brought up to standard.

But nobody has taken ownership of the roads.

Councillor Newton Wood, committee chairman, said he would attend the next meeting of Evenwood and Barony Parish Council, on February 8, to get its support before a public meeting was arranged.

There are concerns that if Teesdale council takes responsibility for the Evenwood potholes, it could become involved with other villages in Teesdale where there were similar problems.

However, Councillor David Blackie said: "It's no good backing off things that we're frightened of getting into."