A Darlington man says he is tired of having to pay to replace a window regularly smashed by vandals.

Bryan Johnson, who lives in a council flat in the Lascelles Park area, says he does not think he should be charged for the repairs when the breakages are not his fault.

After the latest incident, Mr Johnson says he received a bill for £83 from Darlington Borough Council to board the window up, and for a further £158 to replace the glass.

He said: "This has happened several times and every time they bill me for the window."

A council spokeswoman said she was not aware of particular problems of vandalism in the area, but Mr Johnson could report incidents to his neighbourhood housing manager.

She said: "Tenants are responsible for breakages and that does include glass, whether or not it's their fault. And when they take the tenancy on we do advise them to take out insurance."

She said the cost of repairs can be spread out, or the tenant could arrange for the window to be repaired by another company to the same standard.