AN award-winning tourist information centre has warned it may have to close unless funding can be found to help with running costs.

The centre, in Middleton-in-Teesdale, is staffed by volunteers, but manager Judith Mashiter said it received no support from the district council and may have to close if money cannot be found.

Yearly funding of £20,000 would be enough to safeguard its future, she said.

She said: "There are many people in Middleton who feel that Teesdale District Council has a responsibility for the whole of the district and not just at the tourist information centre, in Barnard Castle.

"Every year we ask for some revenue support. We are not asking for a great deal. It is a much-needed service for our accommodation providers and other businesses."

In 2001, the centre was voted the best in Northumbria by the Northumbria Tourist Board. It received the runner-up award last year.

The centre is open seven days a week throughout the year and handles more than 20,000 calls annually.

It does not receive any grant support from other bodies and derives its income from renting out flats above the premises, taking bookings and a small amount of retail.

However, it does not aim to compete with other shops in the village.

Ms Mashiter said: "Our volunteers do a wonderful job. There is so much that they have to know and be familiar with. It is not like minding a shop. But there is a limit to how much they can do, they have other commitments. We can't run on volunteers indefinitely. It is not sustainable."

Charles Anderson, the chief executive of Teesdale District Council, said that although the council did not help the tourist information centre directly, it had provided funding for Middleton Plus, which owned the building.

The council had also provided free training for the Middleton centre staff members.

He said: "Unfortunately, it is a non-starter. In an ideal world, and if there were no constraints on our expenditure, it would be logical for there to be more than one tourist information centre in Teesdale, and Middleton would be an appropriate choice.

"But such are the financial constraints of the council we just couldn't enter into such an activity."