TWO North-East leisure centres were closed last night after the potentially deadly legionnaires' bug was found in the hot water systems.

The legionella bacteria, which can cause pneumonia-like legionnaires' disease, was discovered at two complexes in Wear Valley, County Durham - Woodhouse Close Leisure Centre, in Bishop Auckland, and the Spectrum Leisure Centre, in Willington.

Evidence of the bug was detected in water samples taken during routine maintenance.

Wear Valley District Council, which runs both sites, had the systems drained, flushed and sanitised in line with Government and Health and Safety Executive guidelines.

Council bosses said the outbreak was isolated and had been detected before posing any health risk.

Independent health and safety consultant John Thompson, who is retained by the council, said: "The council is complying with all of the relevant codes of practice for dealing with water hygiene systems.

"Continued compliance will ensure that there will be no risk to the public."

The council's head of service contracts, Ian Thompson, who is responsible for managing the leisure complexes, said: "It is reassuring to know that the arrangements we have for testing water identified this issue before it could have any adverse effects on customers or staff, and we can resolve the situation with the minimum disruption to our customers."

Both centres are expected to reopen at 5pm today, although hot water may not be available for several days.

Legionnaires' disease is a rare but serious form of pneumonia, which cannot be passed from person to person. The bacteria are common, particularly in warm water or mud.

If the bacteria get in to water systems used in buildings such as hotels, they can multiply quickly and are a risk to people exposed through air-conditioning or waters systems