A Redcar MP is urging the Government to find a solution to the problem of landlords withholding tenants' deposits.

Vera Baird said she hears weekly about cases in the Redcar area where bonds have been withheld and believes they have become a perk for unscrupulous landlords.

She said: "The problem in Redcar and Cleveland regarding non-return of deposits is fairly bad.

"The issue is of the highest importance to a relatively poor and excluded sector of society."

She said landlords could claim damage has been done to the property or furnishings, despite protests from the tenant, who would often be paying for damage that has been paid for by previous tenants the same way.

There are about 3,500 private tenancies in Redcar and Cleveland and deposits vary from £50 for a bedsit up to £400 for a house.

Until last year, people on Teesside who could not afford a deposit could get help from a bond guarantee scheme called Junction, which allowed landlords to let dwellings without a deposit.

The scheme, which ran out of funding, cost about £30,000 a year to run, and meant potential tenants were vetted and supported so landlords rarely had reason to complain about damage.

Mrs Baird said: "It is believed that the scheme helped hundreds of vulnerable people find somewhere to live.

"Shelter says that £790m of tenants' money is held by landlords nationwide and it is plain from my local experience, and from the Government's national experience, that there is every argument for a national scheme of that kind, which should be mandatory."