ONE hundred and twenty homes could be bulldozed because they contain asbestos and have structural defects which may prove too expensive to repair.

The properties are in two streets on the St Andrew's Estate, in Bishop Auckland, where tests were carried out at the end of last year.

Wear Valley District Council, which owns most of the estate, would recoup demolition costs by selling off the land. However, the proposals have yet to be discussed by councillors.

The council checked 40-year-old 'Drury' built houses and bungalows in St Aidan's Walk and St Cuthbert's Walk after defects were found in similar steel-framed homes in the North-West of England.

The problems lie in the foundations, where metal posts are set in concrete containing corrosive salts.

Asbestos was discovered on the estate a year ago when engineers installing central heating in a house found a trace of the material in an internal wall panel.

This was once widely used as a heat insulator and is safe if it is in good condition, but it is now virtually banned because, if it is disturbed, it can release cancer-causing fibres into the air.

Total repair bills for underpinning the homes and clearing asbestos could reach £500,000, or more than £40,000 per property, and officers consider this would be uneconomic.

One tenant who did not wish to be named said that people on the estate were worried.

Michael Kelleher, the authority's new head of neighbourhood operations, promised that tenants and owners would be consulted before any decision was taken.

He said: "There is no immediate danger but the properties have a limited life. Even if we spend the money on repairs, we would still not have homes of the standard we want to offer our tenants.

"Our aim is to minimise the disturbance to people on the estate. We recognise that some may want to stay together as a community and this will be done wherever possible.

"We will work together with the residents to give them what they want."

Chairman of housing Belle Bousfield said: "I would like to reassure the residents of the St Andrew's Estate that no decision will be made about the future of their homes until we have carried out an extensive period of consultation with them.''