PLANS to open an amusement arcade on a Darlington school route have been criticised by objectors.

Church leaders, teachers and local businessman are complaining about the application to open the arcade, with 30 gaming machines, at Cockerton Green, Darlington.

Count Cash, of Middlesbrough, has applied for planning permission to open the arcade in a former caf.

Linda Hartley, head of nearby Branksome School, said she would be writing to the council about the application.

Father Richard Wallace, of St Mary's Church, Cockerton, has raised objections to the scheme and organised a petition to be circulated to five schools, two other churches and local businesses.

He said: "I think that gaming premises are not suitable in the midst of a residential area with a large number of schoolchildren passing by each day. It could well entice or influence them to play on the machines and these kind of places always attract large numbers of teenagers."

Barry Lamb, who runs Lamb's Toy Shop in Cockerton, said: "I don't think it is the right sort of development for the green, and I imagine a lot of the shops already there will think the same. From a gambling point of view, there is also the fact that children from local schools in the area will be going past the shop."