A TOTAL of £5m has been awarded for two new schools in the North-East.

Two years ago Durham County Council presented a bid to the Department for Education and Skills to replace four crumbling special schools.

It hopes to replace them with a new primary school in Bishop Auckland and a secondary school in Spennymoor.

However, the council has still to hear if it has received the formal go-ahead for the projects, despite Schools Minister Catherine Ashton's announcement yesterday of more than £21m for school buildings in the region.

The four special schools to be replaced are Murphy Crescent and Warwick Road, Bishop Auckland; Rosebank, in Ferryhill; and Whitworth House, in Spennymoor.

The planned new schools would be a 160-pupil centre for children aged two to 11, and a 200-place centre for 11 to 19-year-olds. Both would cater for children with moderate to severe learning disabilities.

Other authorities to benefit from the cash include Darlington £1.3m; Durham £5m; Middlesbrough £1.22m; North Tyneside £1.6m; South Tyneside £3.4m; Stockton £652,689; Sunderland £4.8m; York £3m.

It includes a special educational needs project at Sunnyside Primary School, in Middlesbrough.