A DISPUTE that has seen grass cutting suspended for more than a year in 20 churchyards across north-west Durham looks likely to be resolved.

Cemeteries have grown wild for months after Derwentside District Council became involved in a disagreement with the Bishop of Durham's office over fears about dangerous headstones.

Council leader Alex Watson has pledged that work will begin in April after an 18-month suspension.

"This has taken some time to be finalised, because of the enormous sensitivity involved in making these headstones safe," said Coun Watson.

"Some families see the old headstones as part of their history and we could not go charging in like a bull in a china shop."

Problems emerged when the council, which is responsible for taking care of closed churchyards, had identified hundreds of gravestones that were in a dangerous state and wanted to lay them flat to make them safe.

The bishop's office would not grant permission to move the stones unless the council promised to restore them to their former glory in the future, and maintain them.

Residents were upset at the state of the graveyards and paths had to be cut through some of the overgrown cemeteries to allow people access to war memorials on Remembrance Sunday.

Chester-le-Street Council is facing a £65,000 bill to repair 300 unsafe gravestones and Durham City has already set aside about £10,000 a year for a rolling programme of repairs and maintenance.

But Derwentside said a similar scheme in north-west Durham would cost taxpayers hundreds of thousands of pounds and refused to carry it out.

The church responded by threatening legal action if any gravestones were moved without permission, so the council withdrew its workers.

The headstones will now be laid flat, providing the church does not raise any further objections. Families will be given the opportunity to pay for the stone to be restored.

The authority wants to contact relatives of people buried in the yards, whose headstones have become dangerous.

Relatives are asked to contact the council before April, at Consett Civic Centre, on (01207) 218000.