INVESTIGATORS could face weeks collating information about an arms cache found at a North-East house.

Last night, Raymond Fothergill, 66, and John Lambert, 55, of Kexwith Moor Close, Firthmoor, Darlington, were charged with a total of eight offences following the discovery.

They are due to appear at Sedgefield Magistrates Court this morning.

Mr Lambert is accused of manufacturing two sub-machine guns and of manufacturing a handgun. He also faces a charge of possessing firearms and of possessing ammunition.

Mr Fothergill faces three charges of possessing firearms and a fourth of possessing ammunition.

The arsenal of weapons, which included Sten machine guns and Uzis, were removed from the three-bedroom council house on Monday.

Equipment for making bombs - including live detonators - as well as gun parts, were also found at the property, which is in the middle of a housing estate and close to a school.

Yesterday, police officers carried out a finger-tip search of the house and Army bomb disposal experts conducted two controlled explosions on chemicals found in the house.

The specialist search team also checked outbuildings in an attempt to collect all available evidence from the property, which appears to have become a potential bomb-making factory.

Officers said they were surprised by how much military equipment was found at the house, and a police spokesman said it could take weeks to complete a full inventory of the arsenal.

Neighbours, still shocked by the discovery of guns, ammunition and weapon parts, told The Northern Echo they believed the two men, who are uncle and nephew, had military connections.

One man, from Kexwith Moor Close, said: "The older guy had been in the Army but was discharged on ill health.

"He had a scar on his face which I think was from his Army days.

"I think his nephew was also in the Army. It's terrifying when you hear what they had in the house, but it would have been more frightening if the stuff hadn't been found and the house had exploded."

An Army spokesman declined to comment on the two men's connections with the armed forces because of the ongoing police investigation.

The controlled explosions were carried out on waste land opposite Kexwith Moor Close.

A police spokesman said: "The explosions were carried out on the chemicals that were found in the house on the advice of specialists from the Metropolitan Police.

"They had been made safe but had not been removed from the area because they could still have been dangerous".

Neighbours remain at a loss to explain why the two men collected guns, weapon parts, explosives and highly dangerous chemicals in their semi-detached council house.

One said: "We never saw them and they didn't talk to any of us.

"I saw them getting parcels delivered from the post office, but never thought anything of it."