CONCERNED relatives and friends of elderly residents of a nursing home which faces imminent closure, were told last night the legal battle to keep it open would continue.

Members of the Stoneleigh Relatives Action Group, which is fighting the closure of the home, in Barnard Castle, told the meeting that a legal challenge is gaining pace.

The national organisation Relatives Action Group for the Elderly (Rage) is supporting a legal challenge against Durham County Council's plans to close the home.

The home's planned closure, which could take place as early as September, is part of the county council's scheme to modernise residential homes in County Durham.

But relatives of Stoneleigh are angry at the way the council's social security department has handled the issue.

The home had been due to close in 2004, but because planners have failed to find an alternative site in Barnard Castle, the existing building will have to be demolished to make way for the new unit.

Residents face being moved to alternative homes while the new unit is built.

David Deacon, of the action group, told the meeting in St Mary's Parish Hall, Barnard Castle, that a meeting between the county council and the action group, including a legal representative from Rage, will be held this week.

He said: "The county council knows it has got it wrong, but they keep changing the goalposts. At the end of the day they want to close Stoneleigh.

"It's important that we keep the ball rolling and we keep the pressure on, and we now have a petition that anyone supporting our voice can sign."