PLANNING chiefs admitted last night they were probably powerless to stop a Victorian hotel reopening as a paradise for swingers.

For the past few weeks, workmen have been converting the derelict King's Head hotel in Stanley, County Durham, into The Love Shack.

It is being hailed by its owners as the biggest venue of its kind in the region and already has 200 potential customers on its books.

And because it will be a private club and is still essentially a hotel, it does not contravene any planning laws.

Peter Reynolds, head of environmental services at Derwentside District Council, said: "This is a private members club and if people go there and decide to take their clothes off, then perhaps we are powerless.

"Our officers will look at the planning law closely."

The four-storey building, on the town's High Street, features nine themed rooms, including one with a webcam for guests to record their antics.

There are also two bondage dungeons in the cellar and a steam room with a sauna and whirlpool bath, which is being marketed at gay and bisexual men.

It is called TLS, which the owners claim stands for The Local Spa. But its real title is revealed on the website - The Love Shack. The opening party is due to take place on October 31.

A spokesman for Durham Police said: "We will be making inquiries to find out exactly what is intended."

The hotel, which is yards from a children's skate park, will be open every afternoon until midnight.

A spokeswoman for Archer and Rostron Ltd, the company behind the venture, said local residents had nothing to fear.

"This is not Sodom and Gomorrah," she said. "The people who will come here are extremely respectable, normal, consenting adults - teachers, nurses, doctors and architects."

There are 350 similar venues in the UK, but only one other in the region - a smaller club in Newcastle.