WORK has started on a flagship housing scheme to provide care and support for older people.

The £4.3m complex, on the site of the former Campbell Park House in Hebburn, South Tyneside, will have 42 two-bedroom flats.

There will also be a range of communal facilities, including a hairdressing room, physiotherapy room, residents' lounge and a dining room.

The scheme is a partnership between South Tyneside Council and New Leaf Housing Association.

Elderly residents will receive care and support to help them live independently. It aims to reduce the number of people in the borough who rely on traditional residential care services.

Bulldozers will move in to demolish the existing building before Christmas and construction work will start next spring. It is hoped that the building will be completed by spring 2005.