A new village was born today, breathing life back into a former pit site in one of the most deprived areas of the country.

The remnants of the Vane Tempest Colliery, on the outskirts of Seaham, in east Durham, have been swept away and replaced with the East Shore Village, which developers hope will live up to its name and be a self-contained community.

The pit was one of the last in the Durham coalfield to be shut down by John Major's Government.

The death knell was sounded by minister Michael Heseltine in 1992, as part of a round of 31 pit closures and 31,000 job losses.

The colliery was rapidly wound down and the coastal site then lay derelict for more than a decade.

Regional Development Agency, One NorthEast, bought the land several years ago and spent £5million on reclamation work, before inviting construction firms to submit design bids.

Phil Hughes, One NorthEast board member, said: "This is large scale regeneration and is a model of how regeneration should be carried out on brownfield sites."

The site contains 560 homes, a pub, restaurants, shops and even a village green.

"It is not something artificial that would attract only one sector of the population, on one income and with one particular interest," said Mr Hughes. "This will be a living, breathing community.

"Underneath the pall of coal dust that was over Seaham for so many years, is a lovely little coastal town and this development can only help its further regeneration."

A consortium of builders, made up of Yuill Homes, Haslam Homes and Miller Homes, was behind the development.

The housing is a mixture ranging from two bedroom semi-detached properties, to five bedroom executive homes. There are specially designed units for people wanting to work from home and it also includes housing for the elderly.

The group has spent more than £1million on creating the village green and features such as public art works, country walks and cycle paths.

To mark the event, the consortium launched 560 balloons - one for each home on the development. For every tag returned from a balloon, the group will donate £5 to Macmillan Cancer Relief's County Durham appeal.