AN investigation is to be made into problems affecting one of Darlington's waterways.

The borough council and local people have been concerned for some time about the state of Cocker Beck, which runs through Cockerton in the west end of the town.

One of the main problems has been that it regularly silts up and suffers from excessive vegetation growth as a result.

Rob George, from the council's countryside section, said the investigation was part of efforts to bring Cockerton Park, through which the waterway runs, up to Local Nature Reserve standard.

Writing in Darlington House Martins, the newsletter of the Darlington Countryside Volunteers, he said: "The main concern is the apparent stagnant nature of the water in the beck and the subsequent growth from the stream bed."

He said the main problem was thought to be a lack of water caused by diversion works carried out in the 1960s and connected to Baydale Beck.

One of the concerns is that the poor state of the water is damaging wildlife, particularly the water vole population.

To alleviate the situation, there have been several clean-ups involving local people over recent years.