FAMILIES in a village cul-de-sac will hold a public meeting tonight in a move to keep their neighbourhood safe.

Residents of an estate in Kirk Merrington, near Spennymoor, are desperate to see plans for a housing development altered so a road is not built near their homes.

Homeowners in Merrington Close are pleading with Sedgefield Borough Council, which approved plans for 67 homes on farmland bordering Hallgarth and Cleveland View earlier this month, to make the developers take a different route into the site.

As it stands, the proposal is for a lane that meets the entrance to Merrington Close to be extended and widened to provide an access road to the new estate.

But families who say the road is already dangerous for children and old people, because of a blind bend, fear that the extra traffic would lead to an accident.

Resident Mary Kirby said: "We really hope the council insists that the details of the full plan don't include an extra road leading on to an already busy route."

Villagers are invited to the meeting, held in Kirk Merrington Village Hall, at 7pm, to establish how they plan to campaign against the road.