URGENT safety work costing £50,000 is being done to the roof of Darlington Railway Centre and Museum.

The need for the work was spotlighted during a survey carried out for a heritage lottery grant to boost the facilities.

But permanent action will be needed further down the line and councillors have been told this was likely to be expensive.

The situation was considered by members of the council cabinet on Tuesday.

Development and environment director John Buxton said the museum roof had been leaking for some time. Engineers had also spotted that a main beam had moved and other parts were rotting.

The council has a 200-year lease on the building dating back to 1975.

To ensure the roof is safe - including the part over the North Road station to Bishop Auckland branch line - urgent temporary measures are needed.

Hired props will take the weight of the roof and eliminate risk of further beam movement.

Network Rail will be involved in supervising part of the work.

"In the coming weeks it will be necessary to design permanent works to repair the damage and ensure the roof is made permanently safe," said Mr Buxton.

He said another report would come to cabinet when the work had been designed.

"It is expected these works will be expensive," he said.

The work will not affect the running of the museum.