RESIDENTS are protesting that a flagship multi-million pound redevelopment threatens to disrupt the heart of their community.

While the 300-strong present-day population of the closely-knit St Hilda's community face losing their homes in a £500m revamp of Middlesbrough's old dockland, there are also concerns that the neighbourhood's long-closed graveyard - the last resting place of generations of past residents - is included in the developers' plans.

"They are not bothered who they hurt," claimed 68-year-old resident Henry Woodier.

He remembers the "immense'' size of the St Hilda's Church graveyard because, as a boy, he used to cut through it to catch the school bus.

Mr Woodier was the best man at the last wedding to be held in the church, which was demolished between 1969 and 1970 after serving the community for 120 years, with the entire site being landscaped.

Fellow resident Harry Brown said: "It is consecrated ground.

"This is a land grab at the expense of the people of St Hilda's.

"They are not cattle to be moved from field to field.''

As St Hilda's is incorporated into the redevelopment, 279 houses, 89 of which are empty, are to be demolished.

A spokeswoman for the developers said: "Tees Valley Regeneration is aware of the site of the former St Hilda's churchyard and developers will, of course, deal with it in the same sympathetic way as the listed buildings have been incorporated into the site."

Earlier this year, Middlesbrough Mayor Ray Mallon told The Northern Echo: "The fact is that developers are simply not interested in including the occupied houses of St Hilda's in their plans. They want a clean sheet to work off and if they don't get it at Middlehaven, they will simply take their plans and investment elsewhere in the country.''

Mr Brown says telling people their homes are coming down shows a lack of compassion.

He has seen drawings of the scheme and he said: "My house is going to be a flower bed."

Two elderly women residents from St Hilda's are threatening to chain themselves to the top of the nearby Transporter Bridge in protest at the first hint of bulldozers moving in.