THE government has authorised tests to be carried out at a housing estate on land that may be contaminated.

The land, at Seaton Carew, near Hartlepool, was used to store pit props before houses were built on it in the late 1970s.

Officers from Hartlepool Borough Council will now try to trace the firm to ask it to pay towards the £250,000 cost of testing the land and paying for legal costs.

And British Rail, which originally owned the land, and Wimpey property developers, which built the homes, could also be asked to pay.

The homes affected are in Wainwright Walk, Wainwright Close, Hornby Close, Cowley Close and Lithgo Close.

Residents are worried that children's safety may have been compromised and are worried about the effect on the values of their property.

The land was used as a storage area for pit props from the early 1900s to the 1960s. The props would have been treated with a preservative and initial tests have shown higher than normal levels of zinc.

Hartlepool council has been granted permission from the Government to borrow money to carry out testing in the gardens of the homes.

The authority will also forgo normal tendering procedures in order for contractors to complete the testing as quickly as possible.

The Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) has agreed that the council borrowing costs will largely be met by the Government.

However, it also said the authority must seek payment from the companies responsible.

The authority will wait before tests have been carried out before trying to trace the pit prop firm, or contacting British Rail or Wimpey Homes.

However, councillor Peter Jackson criticised all three companies at a Hartlepool council cabinet meeting at Hartlepool Civic Centre on Monday.

He said: "I'm disappointed that the other three parties have not even picked up a telephone to support us on this.

"As they were the ones that caused this problem, I hope they will be contacted by us as soon as possible."

The councillors agreed to fast-track the tendering procedure in response to residents' concerns that the testing process was taking too long. It is hoped that the tests will be carried out within weeks.

A spokesman for Wimpey Homes said: "We will be interested to see the findings of these tests. If appropriate, we will investigate the matter further if we are contacted by the council."

A spokeman for Network Rail, now responsible for former British Rail land sales, said the company had not been contacted. No one was available for further comment.